Chapter 6: The Rescue
A giant airship with the Icelandic corporation's symbol on it flew over Ora's jungles with groups of Fearow patrolling the airspace around it.
Directly below them, Ash, Felix, Maylene, Cameron, Daniel, Cynthia, the Aura Guardians, and their Pokemon watched multiple helicopters land inside two bays on the ship's sides.
"Mentor." Gima muttered. Despite being under Orahaoya's influence for days, she and the other Guardians showed no less devotion to the Mother of Aura.
Ash and Lucario both took a deep breath and reached out with their aura towards the airship. Together they felt Orahaoya's aura within the vessel, but only faintly.
"Ahhh, what are they doing to her!?" A Guardian yelped in horror with his Lucario as another grabbed Ash by his jacket collar with fiery eyes.
"You did this! Orahaoya was only taken because you led Mr. Ubbe straight to us and then weakened her!" Two other furious Guardians joined their companion, surrounding Ash, while five nearly feral Lucarios did the same to Ash's.
"Grouu!"
"Grouuu!"
Ash didn't immediately respond but narrowed his eyes which flashed blue.
"She stole my son, and you all helped her." Ash's words struck harder than any blow, and the three Guardians backed off, each turning pale as the Lucario did the same.
Felix looked ready to maul the other Guardians for their part in his grandson's abduction, each one sheepishly looking away, save Riley, who came up beside Ash.
"He was little Aaron...That's what we all believed." The aura guardian muttered, too ashamed to even meet Ash's eyes.
"It's what Orahaoya believed too." Ash exhaled with his Pokemon before staring up at Ubbe's airship again.
"We won't abandon you, Orahaoya." Ash promised.
"Grouu!"
Inside the airship's docking bay, a few of Mr. Ubbe's men refueled the two helicopters docked there when they heard a commotion from their flock of Fearow circling them.
"Ehhh?"
"Ahhh! Look!" Several guards raced over to the ledge and saw two titan-esk Charizards racing straight for them with a Swellow, Talonflame, two Garchomp, and a flock of wild flying Pokemon behind them.
Many Aura Guardians rode on Pidgeot with their Lucarios on others.
"Captain, we have incoming!" On the bridge, Captain Floki frantically dashed to the windows and began to sweat when he saw the Aura Guardians approaching with Ash, Daniel, and Cynthia in the lead.
"Damn it! That fool got his son back. Why would he come after Orahaoya now!? Grrr, battle stations! Activate turrets and prepare electric moves!"
Mr. Ubbe's guards scrambled into position across the airship, with many coming onto walkways with their Pokemon while automated cannons rose up. The guards also set up devices to teach their Pokemon counter-flying type moves while Floki got onto his comm device.
"Sir! Sir, they're coming!"
"It was expected."
"The Kaiser, former Kaiser, and Sinnoh Champion are leading them!"
Mr. Ubbe remained silent for a moment.
"...I see. Hold them off as long as you can. We're nearly ready."
"Yes, sir!"
Ash and Charizard saw the swarm of Fearow descend upon them like a cloud of death, yet the fire-lizard smirked while preparing to counter-attack.
"Easy, Charizard, we don't want to destroy the airship too, not with Orahaoya onboard."
Charizard sweatdropped and groaned, realizing Ash had a point.
"Pikachu, clear a path!"
"Pika!" Pikachu smiled slightly when he saw the Fearow, remembering back to the first day he met Ash and their encounter with the Spearows. Pikachu drove them off, but nearly at the cost of his and Ash's lives, and upon closer inspection, the electric mouse realized there were probably more Fearow here than Spearow then.
Oh, how things had changed.
"Electroball!"
"Pika chu!"
The Aura Guardians watched in awe and disbelief as Pikachu's electroball exploded in a blinding light, enveloping the entire Fearow flock.
Floki, his men, and their Pokemon all trembled with crestfallen expressions as they watched every single Fearow fall out of the sky unconscious and landed in the canopy with swirled eyes.
"Geez, you Pikachu could've held back a little!" Maylene muttered, also slightly afraid.
"He did." Daniel laughed while Cynthia giggled.
"Chu." Pikachu sparked his cheeks with a proud smile.
"Grauu." Charizard smirked while jesting that he could've done it faster.
"Pika." Pikachu countered, claiming he might've knocked out their allies too.
"Ahhhh! Send out the second wave! No bunching up! Return fire!" The cannons unleashed a series of electric bursts aimed at the incoming Pidgeot while the Ursaring, Toxicroak, and Gengar similarly let loose electric moves.
"Watch out!" Charizard and Daniel's Charizard easily knocked away the incoming cannon blasts with their claws while the others moved in closer.
"Swellow, take out those guns!"
"Talonflame, back him up!"
"Swellow!"
"Flame!"
"Be careful not to destroy the airship!" Ash added, causing both flying Pokemon to sweatdrop upon realizing a full-powered attack might do just that.
"Swell."
"Flame."
"Garchomp, let's clear off those platforms." Cynthia said as her dragon eagerly nodded.
"Us too!" Felix added while riding Ash's Garchomp.
"Chomp!"
Both Garchomp would've brushed off the incoming electric attacks even if they hadn't been immune to them. Even so, Ubbe's men frantically used their machines to switch their Pokemon's moves to ice attacks.
Yet this proved no more fruitful as the two most powerful Garchomp on the planet dodged or knocked them aside with counter moves, suffering no damage as they came up and shattered the walkways to pieces with their dragon claws, careful not to rupture the airship itself.
"Yahhh!" guards and Pokemon fell to the jungle below, only for Zarude and Rillaboom to leap up and ensnare them.
Similarly, Swellow and Talonflame very carefully sliced apart each turret without damaging the airship itself.
Floki spat out orders like a madman as he watched turrets and defensive positions vanish from a display monitor.
"They're knocking out our defenses, sir!"
"I can see that!" Floki turned his attention back to the sky battle where Aura Guardians on Pidgeot battled their second wave of Fearow. Without the turrets and defensive positions, the fight quickly turned in the Guardians' favor.
"Full power to the turbines, get us out of here-" Floki started before the entire airship shook.
"Gahh, what was that!?"
"...Uhhh, Captain." One of the helmsmen gave a crestfallen expression while Floki came over and looked at the camera feed.
The Guard Captain's mouth dropped to the floor when he saw Ash's Garchomp eating two of their back propellers as if they were Pokeblock and then belched, causing Felix to laugh.
"...Were those the propellers used to make the airship move forward?"
"Yes, sir."
"...Of course, they were. Ok, let me think-"
"Cccccaptain!" Another crewman stuttered, his face turning pale. Floki didn't want to look but forced himself to do so and peered at two groups approaching their hangers.
Ash and his Charizard from the port side, and Daniel and his on the starboard side.
"Close the hanger doors!" Floki breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the reinforced, super titanium doors shut.
"Alright, that should by us some ti-" The airship shook again, knocking the bridge crew off their feet.
"What was that!?"
"Ccccccccccccaptain!" Floki could only cringe as he saw both hanger doors go flying away into the distance, ripped clean off.
"No."
The ship rocked as Ash and Daniel's Charizards touched down in the hangers. Daniel, Cynthia, Gima, Cameron, and two other Aura Guardians landed inside one hanger. At the same time, Ash, Felix, Riley, Maylene, and two Aura Guardians set down in the other.
The guards and Pokemon inside turned pale when they saw Ash's Charizard, Garchomp, Swellow, Pikachu, Greninja, and Lucario facing them.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh, halt!" One of the guards held out a nightstick.
Ash, Felix, Riley, and the other Guardians' eyes flashed blue.
"Let's go!" The battle through Ubbe's airship was nothing short of a stroll as the two parties virtually walked through their opponents who came at them in the dozens.
Ash and Lucario's hearts raced as they felt Orahaoya's aura grow weaker and weaker even as they got closer.
"Mentor!" Riley cried.
"Grouuu!" Finally, they reached a security door, which Ash's Lucario punched into tiny pieces.
Inside lay a massive laboratory where machinery and generators all leading to a more extensive version of the Icelandic Corporation's devices near the back.
Ash and Lucario caught their breath when they saw Orahaoya strapped inside the device, barely conscious.
"Grouu!" Lucario and the other Lucarios all trembled when they saw various pieces of machinery and armor forcibly placed around their Mother's body.
"What is that!?" Cynthia almost covered her mouth in pure horror.
"Those, those crystals!" Felix muttered. Ash and Lucario gasped upon realizing they were the memory crystals Ubbe took from the temple.
"Orahaoya." Ash stuttered. The legendary Pokemon slowly opened her eyes but only saw through aura vision.
"Aaron?" She muttered while looking at Ash's aura.
"Greetings, Kaiser." Ash and the others stared up at Mr. Ubbe and his Urshifu, who stood on a walkway over Orahaoya. His demeanor had changed entirely as an evil grin flashed on the businessman's face.
"Ubbe! What's the meaning of this!"
"Pika!"
"Grouuu!"
"This is my grand design, Kaiser. The sole purpose I brought life back to this damned island."
Gima started breathing heavily as she looked upon the man she once admired with pure horror.
"You, you were after Orahaoya the whole time?!"
Mr. Ubbe nodded as he stood directly over the legendary Pokemon.
"Yes, revitalizing that village of yours was merely a means to gain your trust, my dear. You and the elders shared so many secrets about the Mother of Aura with me, secrets I never could've learned otherwise."
Gima, Riley, and the other Aura Guardians turned pale and trembled.
"We, we helped him." Riley stuttered.
"Yes, you gave me so many clues I needed to awake Orahaoya. The biggest hint was her connection to Sir Aaron, so I did some research into Rota and his history there. Imagine my surprise when Queen Ilene so happily told me a much more recent story about how she once met the future Pokemon Kaiser."
Ash and Lucario's eyes widened when they saw Ubbe's satisfied expression meet them.
"Her majesty regaled me with an exciting tale about you, Kaiser. How you once traveled there and awoke Sir Aaron's sleeping Lucario trapped inside a crystal, just like Orahaoya. How your aura did so because it was so similar to Sir Aaron's. Then it occurred to me after looking at multiple murals of Sir Aaron and images of you that perhaps your connection to Sir Aaron was stronger than you realized, Kaiser."
"What are you talking about!?" Felix snarled while Ash's Lucario slowly looked back at his trainer.
"You mean you didn't know!? Either of you!? How adorable. Well, it only took a bit of genealogy research to discover that Sir Aaron had a daughter before his sacrifice, one even he didn't realize he had. This daughter eventually had a family of her own, including one son and one daughter." Ubbe's eyes moved from Riley to Ash and Felix.
"You Felix, Ash, and Riley are all descendants of Aaron's daughter and Aaron himself."
Ash, Felix, and Riley nearly jumped and looked at each other.
"We, we're distant relatives!?" Riley muttered.
"Indeed, you, Riley, are a descendant of Aaron's granddaughter, while Felix and Ash come from his grandson's bloodline. I then realized that perhaps your presence and aura might awaken her just as it did Sir Aaron's Lucario. However, Riley has been here for years, and Orahaoya never revived, so his aura wasn't close enough to Sir Aaron's. That left three alternatives."
"Three?" Ash said, slightly confused.
"The tournament!?" Daniel shouted as the others soon came to his realization.
"That's right! It, too, was but a means to revive Orahaoya. The first was to lure Kaiser Ash and his Lucario here. From there, the intense aura from so many powerful Lucario battling would further the possibility of her return."
"So that's it then, you hoped my aura would revive her like it did Sir Aaron's Lucario!" Mr. Ubbe's smile grew, and he shook his head.
"Oh, Kaiser Ash, why do you assume it was your aura that revived her." Ash, Felix, and the others all turned paler and shook.
"Satoshi, his aura revivied her."
"Yes, when reporters first got snapshots of your baby boy, I compared them to murals of baby Sir Aaron and realized that they looked nearly identical, almost as if he were Sir Aaron reborn. Then it occurred to me, what if he was Sir Aaron reincarnated. His aura wouldn't be similar to Aaron's as yours is, but virtually identical."
Ash shook with pure and fiery rage as he'd never done before.
"You wanted this. You used my son as bait to draw out Orahaoya."
"Correct! Do you think I ever really cared what happened to your brat? He was a means to an end, just like all of you!" Mr. Ubbe and his Urshifu laughed while Ash's Pokemon readied themselves to literally destroy them.
"Ahh, ahh, ahh! Are you sure you want to do that? Six of the most powerful Pokemon in the world attacking me all at once would certainly kill poor Orahaoya too."
"Pika."
Pikachu and the others hesitated.
"What's the point of all this!?" Cynthia roared.
"The point is twofold. You see, as the Mother of Aura, Orahaoya possesses a unique ability that all of you have seen or even experienced firsthand. The ability to influence others with her aura. Unlike traditional mind-control, Orahaoya merely guides others to her line of thinking, convincing them to help her rather than controlling them like puppets. Doing so allows a Pokemon of Aura Guardian to retain their independent skills and power. I realized that if Orahaoya obeyed me, I could control any Pokemon or person I desired, and they'd do so willingly." Ubbe gazed down at Orahaoya with horrible desire.
"Imagine the possibilities, the power, and influence I'd possess. I could literally own people and Pokemon as my own possessions!"
"You're sick!" Maylene roared.
"No, my dear, I'm simply taking whatever I want and destroying anyone who gets in my way! After all, I am a Viking!" Ubbe's laugh now turned pure evil, and he revealed his true self.
"You, you're!" Gima started.
"That's right! I am Ragnar's direct descendant! I will succeed where he failed and make Orahaoya mine! People, Pokemon, they're just things for a Viking to own, and anyone who says otherwise can taste my ax and feel Odin's wrath!"
"I'll give you this one chance. Let Orahaoya go." Ash didn't shout, but his words came out like a focus punch, and Ubbe nearly trembled. However, he quickly regained his composure.
"Big talk, Kaiser. I wonder how much force you'll have without your precious Pokemon!" Mr. Ubbe pressed a device on his arm, and the crystals surrounding Orahaoya lit up.
"Grouu!" Orahaoya wailed in agony as a blue energy coursed through her body.
"Orahaoya!"
"Pika!"
"Grouuu!" Before any of them could act, the Mother of Aura slowly lifted her head. Both eyes glowed a deep red, and her aura was no longer her own, but a shadow of Ubbe's.
"No!"
"They're mine now, all of them!"
"Grouuu!" Orahaoya raised both paws as red energy glowed within them. Soon, Maylene, Cameron, and the Guardians save Gima and Riley all thrashed around in pain before their eyes flashed red, and they turned on their former companions alongside their Lucario.
"You're not going to get away with this!" Maylene shouted at Ash with a furious expression.
"How dare you try and hurt Mr. Ubbe after all he's done!" Cameron added.
"No!" Riley and Gima cried in unison.
Ash, Daniel, and Cynthia's Pokemon readied themselves to act when Orahaoya raised her paws to them. However, each shook off the attempted control, their eyes flashing blue as the bond with their trainers shielded them.
"Nice try, but even Orahaoya can't break through our aura connections!" Daniel roared back.
"I thought as much, which is why I came prepared." The businessman held out his hand and revealed something that made Ash freeze in terror. He hadn't seen an artifact like this in years, the last time being in Kalos during their trip to the Azoth Kingdom. A Mega Wave stone.
The dark crystal glowed and soon spread its corrupting energy to Orahaoya, who howled in agony as a dark sphere surrounded her.
"No way!" Cynthia shouted.
"That's that's impossible!" Felix yelped.
"Grouu!" Ash's Lucario surged forward but was too late. Orahaoya emerged, appearing closer to a Mega Lucario than ever, only highly corrupted.
"Now, Mega Orahaoya, show them your power!"
Mega Orahaoya's eyes met Lucario's, and with a feral expression, she raised both paws again.
"Pika!"
"Grauuu!"
"Gre!"
"Swel!"
"Garrr!"
"Grouu!" All of the remaining Pokemon thrashed about as Ash, Felix, Daniel, and Cynthia tried desperately to maintain their aura connections. But to no avail.
Ash trembled when he saw his six Pokemon now surround him with glowing red eyes.
"Pika." Pikachu growled, his cheeks sparking.
"Charizard, everyone, no!" Daniel cried, appearing on the verge of tears.
"Garchomp!" Cynthia muttered.
"Lucario! This isn't you!" Felix pleaded.
Riley and Gima found similar results, and Ubbe laughed.
"How about that, the most powerful Pokemon in the world are now mine-"
"Grouuu!" Ash's Lucario thrashed about in pure agony, his eyes flashing blue momentarily as Ash pushed their aura bond to the limit.
"Lucario! Lucario!"
"Grouu!"
Pikachu and the others, believing that the one before them wasn't really Ash, tried to help Lucario in sincere concern.
"What!? How is this possible!? Control him!"
Ash turned to Greninja next and raised his fist.
"You won't break our bond, Ubbe!"
Greninja similarly held his head as Ash's presence pushed against Mega Orahaoya's.
"Gre, Gre!" The red vanished, and a blue aura appeared in Greninja's eyes moments before a watery veil did the same.
"Let's go! Ash-Greninja!"
"Gre!"
Ash-Greninja emerged while Ash touched one of his keystones.
"Grouuu!" Mega Lucario burst from his colorful sphere and stood beside Ash-Greninja behind Ash, all of their former companions turned on them.
"Now!" Without hesitation, Ash-Greninja and Mega Lucario slammed the airship floor, causing the section directly beneath them to shatter.
"What the!?" Mr. Ubbe cried in disbelief as Ash, Felix, Daniel, Cynthia, Gima, and Riley all fell down towards the canopy with Ash-Greninja and Mega Lucario.
Each used their skills and abilities to navigate the vines and foliage, landing safely among half the Aura Guardians who escaped Mega Orahaoya's influence.
"The mentor!?" One cried.
"There's no time! We need to move now!" Gima barely kept herself from crying.
Mega Lucario nodded with Ash, and both stared out towards Gisei village in the distance.
A minute later, Mega Orahaoya emerged in the canopy via aura portal, only to see her prey had escaped or had they?
Mega Orahaoya's eyes widened when she saw Riley enter an aura portal made by Mega Lucario.
Mega Lucario and Ash remained, and both exchanged glances with Mega Orahaoya for a moment.
"We will free you, Orahaoya, I promise!" Ash cried.
"Grouuu!" Throwing down another aura portal, Mega Lucario took Ash and vanished inside, leaving Mega Orahaoya to snarl in frustration.
"They escaped!" Floki muttered from the airship.
"Hmp, no matter. We have most of their Pokemon. Two won't make a difference." Mr. Ubbe stroked his Urshifu before summoning Mega Orahaoya back to his side.
"Assemble our forces. It's time to make the Kaiser kneel before me."
"Grouu!" Mega Orahaoya teleported back to the jungle and held both paws out. Soon thousands of eyes across the island all glowed red at once.
Back in Gisei village, Serena, Grace, and Delia tried desperately to calm Satoshi down.
"Shhh, there there, you're safe now, Satoshi." Serena gently rocked her son, but the baby cried harder than he'd ever done before and reached out towards the jungle, his eyes flashing blue every few moments.
"Something's gone wrong?" Gurkinn groaned. The old man and his Lucario looked sick, and Stephen, whom they watched, didn't look much better.
"The island's aura, it's corrupted, Orahaoya!"
"The Kaiser!" Someone shouted. All eyes turned to Ash and the others as they appeared in the village via Mega Lucario's portals.
"Ash! What's happening!?" Serena cried in terror when she and the others felt what sounded like an earthquake of movement.
"Serena! We don't have time! Is there a Pokeball transfer machine here!" Ash cried to the villagers.
"Yes, in the Pokemon center!"
"Perfect, Daniel, Cynthia, let's move!" Both nodded and sprinted inside while Ash-Greninja and Mega Lucario took protective positions in front of Serena and Satoshi.
Both turned to each other and nodded.
"Grouu."
"Gre."
As Mega Orahaoya approached the village with her army, she paused for a moment and hesitated.
"Grouu?"
Unknown to her, Satoshi stared directly at the Legendary Pokemon even from miles away.
"Mama."
"Grouuu!?"
"Mama!"
"Aaron!?"
The crystals glowed brighter and Orahaoya's eyes turned back to red before continuing.
