Chapter 48: Thunder and Steel Pt. II

"So, no matter what happens, no hard feelings right?" Richard asked.

"Yeah," I said, knowing that something would change, whether I won or loss. I didn't know what, only that it would. How could it not? And worst of all, there was no way to avoid it. We had to fight each other. "Of course."

Richard smiled and patted me on the back. The sun was nearing the center of the sky, which meant that we had about two and a half hours before our match began. The sky was quickly growing cloudy, which boded badly for our rooftop battles (all of the matches from the final sixteen on were played out on the massive, top-floor arena of the Battle Tower). The day's first four fights had already taken place. The fifth would be beginning shortly.

We were just going into a restaurant for lunch, all four of us. My dad and Casey were already inside, at the table. Richard joined them.

I waited just a little longer, staring at the darkening sky. A drop of rain fell, plinked against my glasses, and distorted my view. A storm was coming.

(-o-)

By the time we finished eating, rain was coming down in sheets. The wind howled mercilessly. We hurried back to the hotel, trying and failing to remain dry. When we stumbled into the lobby, an alert was playing over the public television at the front desk.

All matches were postponed until further notice, meaning until the rain stopped.

I sighed, glad to have the extra time off…

Of course, the mere thinking of that thought jinxed my hopes. Shortly after the sun fell, the clouds ceased their spitting. The pale moonlight could be seen peaking through the shroud.

The night was still young, and we were called to the arena.

Damn.

(-o-)

I squirmed, once more, in a waiting room, but this one was much plusher than any I had been in so far.

The seventh floor trainer's lounge was spread with luscious velvet couches, diverse buffets, and ice sculptures. Richard and I were not sitting together. We took to our own couches, not speaking. It wasn't that we were mad at each other. We were both just nervous, and uncertain. We would let the battle decide our fates. Seems like we've been doing that a lot lately.

"Nonono, you see, I have two friends in here! I have to get in to see them! You let me in yesterday, I don't care if this lounge is exclusive!"

I recognized the voice instantly: it was Casey.

Seconds later, the door to the lounge flew open and she stomped in. The two security guards that had been standing outside were shrunken against the wall, thoroughly intimidated. I couldn't help smiling.

Casey was dressed nicely in a white skirt and black vest. She wasn't wearing her usual cap, and her short copper hair was curled painstakingly. I hadn't seen her in about an hour, and was pleasantly surprised at the change. And she was carrying a purse. I don't think I'd ever seen her do that before.

She ran up to me, beaming, and gave me a warm hug. She drew back quickly and held up a finger.

"Don't stop me," she said, her face becoming briefly serious. She pecked me on the cheek before I could protest, then released me and opened up her purse. "I can't believe it! I'm so excited Ian, this is great for you guys. You both made it…"

She noticed my sullen expression.

"What's wrong?" she asked, shoulders drooping.

"I'm just… worried about this match."

"What, you don't think you can beat Richard?" She paused, realized what I was actually thinking. Casey gave me another quick hug. "Ian, listen, I am sure that this match won't change anything between you and Richard. You guys are best friends. I mean, I've never had a friend as close as you two are. I know my saying this doesn't help much, but it still needs to be said."

"No, it does help," I said, half-truthfully.

"Anyways," she continued, happily changing course. "I bought a new camera, a nice digital one, to take some pictures of the match. It's in here somewhere…" she rummaged further, but no avail. "Crap, I guess I left on the airship. I'll go grab it before the match starts. Your dad is saving seats in the front row. But I better go say hi to Richard. I'll see you after the battle, ok?"

I nodded, and she started to walk off. After a second, she turned back and called over her shoulder, "Ian, try no to worry too much, ok?"

I sighed with smile and waved her off.

(-o-)

Richard's and my podiums ascended. Spotlights glared from the four corners of the battlefield. The announcer's voice boomed resoundingly, introducing us. They didn't mention our shared hometown or rivalry. The Emcee did nothing to signify the feelings this battle would create between Richard and me.

But I guess it didn't matter. Richard and I would fight. One of us would win. Surely Casey was right: it wouldn't change us.

But if it did…

I mentally slapped myself, listened to the crowd roar. The seats rose in tiers from the square battlefield. I could just pick out my dad sitting in the front row, near the centerfield line; the seat beside him was empty. He caught my gaze and shrugged. He didn't know where Casey was either.

With a silent sigh, I selected my first Pokemon and readied the ball in my hand. I saw Richard do the same. He smiled cautiously and nodded at me.

"WITH NO FURTHER ADIEU, LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"

Our Pokemon manifested on either side of the arena. Richard and I began to fight.

(-o-)

Casey stumbled aboard the Sebastian. The wind had ripper her carefully curled hair out of place, and she was soaked and out of breath. And she had gone through such trouble to look good. She scowled at herself as she attempted to preen her hair in the reflection of the airship's windshield.

The storm may have calmed down at the Battle Tower, but the airfields were still swept and racked by wind and rain. The airship mumbled to itself and swayed in its mooring.

Casey went to her room. She couldn't seem to find the light-switch, but there was enough light coming from the window for her to see the camera lying on her bed. It glinted in the reflected light of the Tower.

She started toward the bed, and tripped over something sprawled on the floor. Casey swore, then slid up to her knees and inspected what she had fallen over. It was her backpack, and it was open.

Leaping to her feet, Casey strained her eyes, scanning the floor. Her clothing was strewn everywhere, and with a sinking feeling, Casey knew what had been taken. She checked to make sure. And, right enough, the airship startup key was gone from it usual pouch near the top of her pack.

Casey turned, snatched the camera, then turned back toward the door…

Lightning flashed, followed by a brotherly boom of thunder. Its radiance was reflected in a single amber eye.

Some one was blocking the door.

There was a second burst of thunder and Casey screamed.

(-o-)

A dust cloud filled the heart of the battlefield. The crowd watched, holding its breath… a gyrating pink ball came flying out. To cheers from audience, Gusto smashed into the ground, unfolding as he did so and coming to halt. He stood, steadying himself with one arm, and watched the dust cloud dissipate.

A mass of blue-green tentacles surged out of the smoke. My Lickilicki's eyes widened, but it was too late for him to move. The Power Whip sent him into the air over the arena, and Tangela scrambled out of the dust in pursuit.

Gusto landed once more, this time on his back, and began to struggle up.

"Tri-Element Surprise!" I called, hoping that Gusto would last long enough to do it.

Just in time, Gusto popped up to his feet. A lashing vine struck where he had been lying seconds before.

Puffing out his cheeks, my Pokemon built up his first elemental attack. When practicing the attack, Gusto had never seemed to be able to get the order of moves right: they came out randomly each time, but one way or another, I was confident that the move could take Tangela down.

A Thunderbolt leapt from Gusto's mouth, hitting Tangela head on. The grass Pokemon shook with the force of the attack and leapt back in pain. Gusto pursued, leaping forward to slam Tangela with his belly. He skipped back to dodge a Wrapping vine, then released his second attack.

A jet of water was fired at Tangela, but this time it was ready. The little Pokemon fired vines to the side; they wrapped around a spotlight at the edge of the arena and pulled it to safety. The Hydro Pump washed by, already forgotten.

"Bullet Seed!" called Richard, desperate. He had seen me practice this attack. He knew what came next.

The seeds flew at Gusto, but in its eagerness, Tangela had aimed poorly. The missiles flew wide, exploded in the dust behind my approaching Pokemon.

"Finish it!" I yelled, excited. The final element was fire, and it would be a decisive trump if it connected. Gusto inhaled, gouts of flame rose through his throat…

There was a flash of white light from across the field. Shit. Tangela vanished in the glow of its body. It expanded, its vines twisted into arm, its feet narrowed out. The light receded, depositing a fully grown Tangrowth on the battlefield. The crowd absolutely exploded.

Gusto was on the verge of exploding too; he had been holding the attack in anticipation of Tangrowth completing its Evolution.

"Go Gusto, quick!"

"Tangrowth?" asked Richard, surprised.

A jet of red-orange fire burst across the arena. Tangrowth nodded to its master, then flexed its limber arms. A green radiance surrounded it.

Tangrowth hefted its arm upward, as if lifting a great weight. The floor exploded, and green-luminescent rocks came flying out. Ancient Power, I knew already. The ruins shielded Tangrowth from the flames. With another small motion, the grass Pokemon sent the glowing avalanche at my Pokemon.

Gusto was too surprised to move, and the boulders crashed over him in a second. I knew that he had lost. With a sigh, I returned him to his pokeball. I watched Richard, who was grinning excitedly. His new Pokemon lumbered up to him and hopped up and down happily. But the match wasn't over yet.

I still had two Pokemon. I selected quickly, knowing already which Pokemon I would choose, and tossed in my lot.

(-o-)

Back at the airfield, the storm had moved away, out to see. It was time.

Dark shapes moved in the still-rushing wind. The air was clean and free of dust, and the moon shown bright; still, the shapes stayed too low to be illuminated. The darted like living shadows, severing the mooring lines that tied the Sebastian down. The instant all the lines were severed, the shapes fled aboard the aforementioned ship.

Without a sound, it took off, rose into the night. It circled over the sea for several minutes, as if uncertain of its destination. As if the pilot were remembering how everything worked.

Finally, the Sebastian's black nose was turned toward the glaring pinnacle of the battle tower. It stood, looking almost exactly like a lit candle, to the north.

The black airship rose so high it seemed as though it might eclipse the moon…

(-o-)

"Get out of there, Stella!" I called, desperately.

Rotating quickly, my Starmie glided to the right, just enough that Fearow's Drill Peck missed by inches. The bird Pokemon twisted its long, ungainly neck and watched my Pokemon go; its red crest rippled in the night air.

Stella twisted through the air, riding the invisible air-currents made by the bird Pokemon's wings. Somehow, it wound up behind its avian foe.

"Turn and use Steel Wing!" ordered Richard.

Fearow halted mid flight and spun, so that its belly faced up and its wings were in range of Stella. The feathers suddenly glinted, metallic. The wings pulsed…

"Hydro Pump!"

A jet of water sent Fearow just out of range, and because it was upside down in the air, the bird Pokemon was unable to prevent itself from slamming into the ground.

Stella landed, a few feet away. It had handled Richard's Tangrowth without too much trouble because Gusto had already weakened it. Now, Fearow was proving slightly more trouble. Stella's attacks seemed to have little effect, and Fearow could fly far out of my Pokemon's range.

It was going to be a tough match, but it wasn't over yet. My battle instincts were taking over, and for the moment, I had forgotten about any repercussions this battle might have on our friendship. After all, who knew there would be any? Adrenaline rushed through me… it was going to be close.

Fearow surged up with a single wing-flap. It was Richard's second oldest Pokemon, no doubt almost as strong as his Charizard. It put up a good fight, that's for sure.

"Glare!" Richard shouted, before I could counter. There was a flash of dark, multi-colored energy from Fearow's eyes, which I saw mirrored in Stella's gem. My Pokemon was paralyzed, just like that. Uh-oh. "Now, Drill Peck!"

Fearow's beak snapped shut and spun like a drill pit. With another single wing-stroke, the bird Pokemon flew to Stella, neck extended. The beak hit Stella's gem like a lance. My Starmie was sent fly, its paralyzed stillness broken, and slammed into the wall. It tumbled to the ground, legs bending, gem glowing and chiming in pain.

"Finish it," said Richard. He seemed to be having an energy rush similar to my own. "Fly!"

Fearow rose, spiraling quickly into the sky. It flew around the light posts, ascending into the dark sky. I followed it fearfully. The stars were beginning to come out, I noticed. A clean, salt-scented wind rolled through the upper floor of the Tower.

I glanced over at the seats and noticed that Casey still hadn't shown up. Perhaps they Tower workers wouldn't let her in because the match had already started. Maybe she got lost. I didn't know what else could have happened…

Fearow passed in front of the moon. The audience cheered at the sight of its silhouette. Without passing out of the moon's beautiful circle, it angled toward the ground and dove.

Stella was still struggling up from the wall. It didn't look like it would get up in time, and even if it did, Fearow would be able to redirect its attack so that it would still connect. We only had one chance.

"Come on Stella, please!"

"You might as well give up now, Ian," said Richard calmly. "I don't want to hurt your Pokemon."

"Funny," I shot back. "I was about to say the same thing."

Stella struggled up, managed to balance on three or four of its legs. Fearow was still careening downward. I had to time this just right, so that the bird Pokemon wouldn't have time to move…

Fearow dove past the lip of the arena. It was closing in, a blur of tan and red.

"Light Screen!" I called. Stella's gemstone gave a half-hearted pulse of light. A cluster of hexagonal, transparent panels appeared in the air between it and Fearow. The bird Pokemon squawked in fear; it could not turn, it was going too fast.

It crashed, headlong, into the Light Screens. There was horrible cracking noise. It resounded throughout the arena. Everyone was silent.

But in the end, momentum won. The shields shattered, and Fearow tumbled through, crashing with considerable force into Stella. The two Pokemon tumbled across the ground, brown wings entangled with purple star-legs. I caught the glimmer of my Starmie's gem.

The Pokemon wound up, a few away from each other, sprawled on the ground. They were both fainted. The crowd held its breath.

The official nodded at both of us: a tie.

So it was all up to our last Pokemon. I watched Richard carefully.

We had agreed before the match not to use our starters. We thought that the fight would be too equal if we did; Charizard and Venusaur would never stop fighting each other, they were as strong rivals as Richard and I. But I thought I knew which Pokemon Richard would use instead.

"Go, Fang!" I called. My Steelix appeared, towering, on my side of the arena. I watched.

I was right.

"Go, Electivire!"

Thunder and Steel faced each other like warlords. This was going to be quite a fight.

Without another word, Fang drove forward, her head slamming into Eletivire like a train. The electric Pokemon was thrown massively back; it skidded across the ground and smashed into the wall. The Battle Tower shook.

"Get up!" barked Richard. Electivire did so at once. It looked angry. "Now, use thunder!"

Lifting its hooked fingers to the sky, my opponent called down a massive bolt of electricity. The charge filled it, turning it blindingly bright. Mumbling clouds began to gather overhead as a result of the attack.

A thunderbolt arced between the two Pokemon, zapping the steel parts of my Steelix. Luckily, the attack didn't do much damage because of her stony core.

"Thunderpunch!" pursued Richard, still excited.

"Double Team, Fang!" I countered. The steel Pokemon vanished in a burst of after-images. She rushed to the side, and Electivire's attack hit where she had been, dispersing an intangible copy. "Now, Crunch!"

Fang flew forward, jaws wide. Her tombstone teeth descended on Electivire, but Richard's Pokemon was ready. And strong.

It grabbed Fang's upper and lower jaws in its thick yellow arms and brought the attack to a shuddering halt. For a second, all was still. At first I didn't even realize that the Pokemon were still attacking each other, then I saw Electivire's arms shaking and heard the metallic creak of Fang's jaws.

With a catastrophic snap, the two Pokemon flew apart from each other, their pent up energies unleashed. Both landed, sprawled, on their respective sides of the arena. They were both slowly getting up: this could be our chance.

"Quick, Fang: use Earthquake!"

Shaking her head quickly, my Pokemon flexed her tail, slapped it against the ground. A visible shockwave rocketed away from her, shattering the ground.

I was glad the Tower was designed to take such damage. Most buildings would have collapsed at an attack right like that.

"Do the same, Electivire!"

Electivires can use Earthquake? Go figure. It's a weird world. I guess Richard had picked up the move in one of his earlier matches. His Pokemon let loose an identical shockwave… the two quakes were on a collision course.

The met in the middle with enough force to the make the arena shake violently. There were screams from the crowd. At the center of the arena, a line of metal and stone heaved itself up. The floor exploded, split in two.

That was massive.

I guess we needed to be more careful.

"Iron Head!" I commanded.

"Thunderpunch!" Richard called, as if replying to me.

Our Pokemon met in the middle, over the newly-formed divide. Electivire caught Fang's massive, metal head and was struggling to reverse the attack. Metal shown. Electricity snapped through the air. It was going to be a close one…

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of the Pokemon League," crooned a voice from the sky. Oh no. I knew that voice, without a shadow of a doubt. I would never forget it, and I had hoped to never hear it again!

"I hope I am not interrupting anything," said John rook from… somewhere. The voice seemed to be echoing, mechanically, from the sky around the moon. The crowd looked around, confused. Possible afraid. No one had started screaming yet. "Unfortunately, I have not come to speak to all of you on this occasion: I had a brief stint in public speaking, which ended rather badly. I have a pressing need to speak to one of the current combatants. A Mr. Ian Cartwright? Why, that's him there.

"Hello Ian. I do rather need to confer with you on a few subjects, but first, there is someone here who is just dying to speak with you. Here, I'll put her on the line."

With an electronic flash, the giant monitor that had previously displayed battle stats and shots of the match went black. Picture returned, seconds later, but it was a different picture entirely.

"Ian?" called Casey desperately. I could see her on the screen, cowering against a grey metal wall. There were bruises on her shoulders and her face was red and flushed. She had been crying. I noticed, to my horror, that her hands were tied with white zip-ties. Oh no, oh shit…

"Ian, are you there?"

"He can see you, dear," murmured Rook deceptively. "You can tell him whatever you like, he'll hear you."

"Ian," said Casey, with no more certainty than she had had before. "Run."

With that, the image on screen whirled. I suspected that it was being filmed from Casey's new digital camera. Somehow, Rook had managed it to the arena's video system… I suspected a Porygon was involved, since Rook had used one to control the hologram projector that was the Director back on the Iris.

When the image settled, it was on a poorly lit, hideously deformed face. It had one eye, and was mostly covered in blotchy, red, scared over burns. There was a terrible smile on Rook's blistered lips.

"And there you have it. Now, Mr. Cartwright, to the matters between us."

"Let her go, Rook!" I screamed at the sky. "She's done with you, she's moved on. We've moved on. Please, just let her go. Let this be over!"

There was a rasping chuckle from both overhead and from the arena's sound system.

"It will never be over Ian," said Rook. "Not until I, or you and everyone you know and love, is dead."

There was total silence in the arena, then all hell broke loose.

There were people screaming, trying to flee the arena. The pandemonium shook the tower as the crowd tried to squeeze out, all at once, through the exits. Needless to say, it didn't work.

"Now, now: let's have none of that."

And suddenly, there it was. The Sebastian appeared, like a finger poking through the blanket of night. It was a manifestation of the darkness… I knew that it would no longer be called the Sebastian, that it was once more the Galeforce, Rook's ship. I could hear the whine of its engines as it dropped from straight above. It positioned itself over the bole of the arena. Spotlights pinned its hull in the air, like mooring lines.

The view onscreen swung away from Rook's horrible face for a few moment, there was only oscillating darkness gunmetal stairs, steel walls.

The Jumbotron suddenly displayed the airship's cargo bay. Huddled in it, like frightened children, were about two dozen metal spheres, the size of curled up men. At the sound of Rook's approach, the spheres began to move. One by one, they split into two hemispheres and separated. Their interior were red, and had eyes. Big, round, ovular eyes. Foretress.

The camera swung one final time: this time, its view was of the hatch in the cargo bay's floor. Through it, the top of the Battle Tower could be seen. Rook was directly above the field.

"As you see, trying to flee is futile. All of you will remain in your seats, or I will simply order these Foretress to explode. The flaming wreck of my airship will fall into the Tower, no doubt destroying it completely. So please, ladies and gentlemen, take your seats. And I do mean you, Mr. Suzuki."

I could practically hear the smile on Rook's face.

"After all, every great battle needs and audience. And we are going to have quite a match on our hands, ladies and gentlemen, I assure you. You see, Mr. Cartwright and I had a little bit of a disagreement a few weeks ago. He had an unfair advantage in our fight, you see, a deceptive little girl helped him in his fight. This time, he shall have no such help. If anyone interferes with our match in any way, I will press the detonator attached to my wrist and bring down the whole Tower. Once the match is over, I will leave you all unharmed and you will never hear from me again. But Ian, the loser, shall accompany me, as shall any of his present associates.

"So Ian," he concluded. "It is time we finished this. One last round. Winner takes all. Are you ready?"

It had been over. We had moved on, finished. We were done, and the score was settled. But now… now I could see how it would be. It was horrible, and I was terrified. I knew that I was about to break my promise to my father, but there was no other choice. I had no option but to beat Rook, and somehow save Casey and move the potentially exploding airship out of harms way. It was all I could do.

It was what I had to do.

"Let's go, you bastard!" I screamed. He was right, it was time we finished this.