Hi all,
Here's the latest update!
Chapter 26'That's it, we're done,' the Phantom cackled as a loud bellow could be heard echoing through the walls of the room, shaking the very foundations of the building.
Registering his words, May blinked as she and her Blaziken stared at the man in stunned shock. Appearing unperturbed, he recalled his dual water and dark type before sending a smug smirk to his opponents.
'Where are you going?' May frowned as Manaphy stirred in her arms, calling his name in a distressed tone.
'Haven't you figured it out yet? We've got the crown!' The man roared, his pupils dilated with an ecstasy May had never experienced before.
'You've what?' May blinked as Manaphy began to squirm, jumping out of her arms and rushing out of the room as fast as his little body would carry him.
'I knew that would surprise you!' The man's voice boomed as he left the room, leaving a shattered May to glance at her starter pokémon, who looked just as stunned as she was.
Watching the man disappear out of the door, it took May a moment to register what had happened. Once her pokédollar dropped, she bit back a yelp and returned her Blaziken, running as fast as she could out of the room.
'Manaphy!' May yelled as she rushed through the hallways with tall ceilings, hearing a deep, rumbling sound echoing throughout.
'May!' A deep voice growled, causing May to stumble slightly, turning to see a familiar mop of auburn hair.
'Gary, where's Ship?' May questioned, her voice sounding hoarse to her ears.
'He's back near Phantom's tiny submarine, why?' The Researcher frowned as he focused his eyes on her.
'Samiya is sinking. Get yourself and Ship out of here,' May snapped before turning her attention to the crown room.
'What? May, I'm not leaving you or Max!' Gary snarled, lurching forward to grab a hold of her arm.
'No, Gary, I can handle myself and get the others. Please just save yourself and Ship,' May responded as she struggled against his arm, the temple shuddering as its walls were breached by water.
'And leave you here to die?' Gary responded, his face flushed as he pulled her back into him.
'I won't die, I've done this before!' May yelled back, suppressing tears. Where had Manaphy rushed off to? She had to get the parts of the crown back before it was too late! Why was he even arguing with her? Didn't he realise that they had no time?
'Doing something risqué once is one thing, but doing it twice is downright suicide! May, I can't let you do this,' Gary snapped as he moved to pull her back as she moved away.
'No, Gary, don't! Max is back there!' May retorted as she began to struggle, the temple shaking with each step she took, the sound of its struggle to keep the water out reverberating through her.
'I'll go back for him, but you need to get out of here,' the man continued obstinately, appearing unaffected by her escape attempts.
'Gary, LET ME GO!' May roared with a surprisingly loud yell, stopping the man in his tracks.
Seeing the man's face pale, she snapped, 'what has gotten into you?'
There was a moment where neither of them spoke, both collecting their thoughts in the sound to running water.
Blinking, May pulled forcibly on his arm before turning to rush to the crown.
'Don't you dare go further in this building!' Gary snarled as he lunged for her, tackling her to the ground as she turned to glare at him.
Hitting her head on the pristine floor, May felt tears sting at her eyes as she saw the ceiling above her vibrate once more.
'Are you going to tell me what your problem is?' May glowered as she inhaled the familiar scent of saltwater. The fresh air of Samiya was gone, replaced by the saline fragrance of the ocean.
'May, I can't let you go, you're my family,' Gary whispered as he ran a hand through his dried hair.
'What?' May gasped as she stared up at him, aware of his body pressed against her own.
'We're cousins, May,' Gary continued, his expression anxious. Letting out a shaky breath, he continued, 'it's why I can't let you go.'
'Well, that may be the case, but you're going to have to trust me. Please take Ship to safety, Gary. I'll get Max out of here,' May responded in a more firm and confident voice than she had ever thought she could muster under the current circumstances. She had no idea what he'd just said, and all she was thinking about was getting everyone out of Samiya.
The man hesitated once before May pushed him off.
'I'm not going to let them destroy this place, Gary. Get Ship out of here, I won't ask you again,' May spoke in her most commanding tone. Without waiting to see if the man was digesting her words, she turned and ran out of the room.
The young woman rushed through another door, bumping into a familiar chartreuse haired man.
'M-May!' Drew gasped as he tentatively steadied her.
'Drew, I'm sorry!' May squeaked as her sapphire orbs flickered to Jackie and Max, her brother barely gaining consciousness.
'Max! Raikou strike me down with thunder, what's happened to you? Can he stand?' May gasped as she rushed forward to her brother, whose eyes remained unfocused.
'He's fine, but we need to get going,' Jackie frowned as he stared at May, his expression hardening.
'Get him out of here. I'm sure Kyogre will be back to take you up to the island. He must have noticed Samiya is sinking by now,' May replied, her expression flickering from one part of the room to the other, hearing the thunderous sound of water crashing into the ceiling, breaking it apart.
'May, don't you dare think of doing this again,' Jackie warned as May pushed him ahead.
'I promise I won't do anything I can't handle. Now, get my brother to safety and go,' May insisted as she stared at the furthest wall, unable to meet his gaze. She knew he'd scold her for attempting to be heroic, but honestly she just wanted to save a small piece of her ancestry.
'I'll come back for you if I need to,' the older man growled before leading the still slightly delirious Max out of the room.
'You know where I'll be if you feel the need to,' May responded back before pursing her lips together with worry for her brother.
When her companion made a slight noise from the back of his throat, May visibly shook her head before turning and running into the crown room.
Upon seeing the jewels scattered on the ground, May bit her bottom lip as she heard Drew puff behind her. Not turning around, her sapphire eyes focused on Manaphy as he struggled with the obelisk like gems.
'Manaphy,' she whispered as she rushed forward to help him, leaning cautiously on the ground beside him to take the shining blue gem.
'What are you doing? We need to get out of here!' Drew growled as he reached for her.
In a sharper voice than she intended, she snapped, 'don't even think of trying to stop me! If you want to go, then you might as well follow Jackie and Max.'
The chartreuse haired man blinked at her, his emerald eyes widening at her unusual reprimand.
Hearing the crash of the ceiling outside breaking under pressure of the water above, May grimaced, 'this place feels like home to me, Drew. I can't just let it be destroyed. I'm sorry if I'm being an uncharacteristic so-and-so, but I have to do this.'
'Then what do you need me to do?' Drew questioned, staring into her frantic orbs, his jaw set in a determined manner as the floor once again shook under their feet.
'Help us put the gems back,' the young woman responded as she jumped forward to help the water type struggled to pull one of the heavy blue objects to an empty slot on the spiralled crown.
Rushing around the circular object, May gasped as she saw not one, but three different holes in the crown. Without those gems, the temple would collapse in on itself and sink under the pressure of the sea around them.
'We're missing three gems,' Drew grimaced as May bit back a frustrated groan.
'Right, I'm searching the place. The Phantom can't have gone far with those heavy items. You stay here and protect the crown,' May frowned as her eyes flickered around the room.
'No way, I'm going too! Why do I have to protect it?' Drew retorted hotly, glaring at her in anger.
'I've had dreams about this place and know it like the back of my hand. Besides Phantom might come back and I need someone I can trust to protect this place,' May whispered as she found herself unable to meet his eyes. After all, she knew perfectly well that not many people would find her request reasonable.
'This is not negotiable, May. I'm searching too,' Drew glared at her before ushering her out of the room, Manaphy following them on the ground.
With a begrudged nod, May ran out of the room, Drew taking Manaphy and following her.
'You look left, I'll look right. Meet back here in thirty minutes. If you find the Phantom, release a signal in the air with your pokémon,' May instructed as she held out her hands for Manaphy.
'There's a slight problem with that,' Drew grimaced as he placed a ginger hand on his belt.
'What's wrong?' May responded, her eyes narrowed as she saw Drew's face flush quite uncharacteristically.
'They beat all of my pokémon. I'm out,' Drew murmured sheepishly, unable to meet her eyes.
'You're joking, right?' May let out a disbelieving laugh as the chartreuse haired man scowled at her.
'Right, take some of mine,' May frowned before releasing her Glaceon, Skitty and Elgyem.
'May, I couldn't,' Drew protested as the trio of pokémon stared at them in confusion.
'Now is no time to be a gentleman, Drew. Right, Glaceon, Skitty and Elgyem, I want you to go with Drew and protect him from anyone you don't recognise. The Temple of the Sea is drowning because they took some of the gems from the crown. Help us get it back and get it there,' May spoke in a business-like manner, surprising her childhood friend.
As her pokémon nodded, she continued, 'Elgyem, when you've found any of them, teleport yourselves into the room behind us and help Drew put it in the crown. If there's anything wrong, find me and I'll get over to you to help to my best ability. Any questions?'
As her friends shook their heads, Drew frowned, 'how will I know you'll still be safe?'
'Trust me and my pokémon, Drew. I'm not the same ten year old girl who was terrified of pokémon, you know!' May glowered back as her pokémon voiced their own dissent at his statement.
With a small chuckle, Drew replied, 'no, you're not. Stay safe for me, May.'
'Don't you worry about me,' the young woman giggled up at him, blinking as she tore her gaze away from his brilliant emerald orbs. With a bright smile she flicked his hair out of his eyes once before taking the prince of the sea from his arms and running through the right hallway.
The man grinned once before hearing Glaceon and Skitty chuckling knowingly at him.
His face returned to its impenetrable mask as he turned and walked at a brisk pace out of the room, wondering just why May always caused him problems when he met up with her on any of his journeys.
'Roserade would have a field day if he heard I was stuck with you,' Drew grimaced to himself, wishing that he had at least returned Flygon to his pokéball.
Skitty let out a questioning sound whilst Glaceon rolled her eyes once.
'I suppose we'd better hurry up,' Drew grimaced as he saw the ground below him was slowly rising with water.
Elgyem floated before him, his hand flashing a series of green, red and yellow lights.
Deciding that talking to an unknown pokémon whose responses were all silent was strange even for himself, Drew flicked his hair out of his eyes once before beginning to jog, glancing around him as he rushed into the cold, rising water.
The ground shuddered once again as he caught sight of a blue gem under water.
Glancing around them, he realised that there was no easy and efficient way down.
Seeing a flow of water up ahead, Drew's eyes flickered to the two pokémon he knew.
Stripping his jacket off, he growled, 'Skitty, Glaceon, you two stay here and cover me. Use your ice attacks on that water to create a slide so I can get down quickly.'
The two called their names out as he climbed over the railing near him and jumped for the water.
Letting out a shuddering gasp as his face was drenched with water, blocking his airways as he inhaled it. Coughing and spluttering slightly, Drew's body was next attacked by the icy attacks of the pokémon as they sought to create the perfect slide for him.
Seeing the water rise up to meet him, Drew grabbed the snorkel mouth piece from his pocket and hurriedly placed it into his mouth as his face went under.
Adjusting his eyes to the water, he kicked his legs until he reached the gem. Grabbing it, he turned and struggled to get out from the water.
As his head broke the surface, Drew blinked away the water as he heard someone laugh.
'Thanks for getting that gem for me, matey, it'll save me going back to get another,' a gruff voice chuckled as Drew saw gloved hands reach for the gem.
Spluttering, Drew glared at the khaki haired man as he ripped the gem from his hands. Immediately, he took the mouthpiece from his face and snarled, 'give that back.'
'Oh really? What's the incentive?' The man leered back, his black eyes narrowed in clear resentment.
'This place doesn't mean a lot to me, and I'm not too sure what's going on, but it means a lot to someone I care a lot about. She happens to be the Trainer of those three,' Drew drawled as he waved a nonchalant hand to the three pokémon who had rushed towards him, their lips pulled back in a sneer.
'A Glaceon, Skitty and an Elgyem, huh? Stop the press, I'm so intimidated,' the man scoffed, rolling his eyes as Drew clenched a fist.
'All right, have it your way, then. Elgyem, use psychic on that gem and get yourself and it out of here,' Drew commanded, the certainty in his voice surprising him. To strangers his words and actions would appear indifferent, but to those who knew him well, they would realise that his interference and acceptance of May's desires meant something a whole lot more.
The chartreuse haired man might have been called shy if he wasn't a Top Coordinator. No, his reserved personality and wary actions were traits he had inherited from his father, who only acted upon events once he was certain. Like his father, Drew was not a spontaneous man. He was meticulous, studious and cautious. After seeing his uncle, mother and sister acting in an extremely carefree manner, Drew had learnt that sometimes it was important to have a level head.
However, Drew was all of these things until he was angry. Once his rage was triggered, he was as ruthless as he was meticulous, as catastrophic as he was studious and as unpredictable as he was cautious. Now, it took a lot to anger him, but this man had just gone there.
Once Elgyem held the gem in his clutches, Drew growled, 'no one talks about May's pokémon like that. Elgyem, you get that gem out of here; Skitty, Glaceon and I will handle this.'
As the two older pokémon called their names in agreement, Drew glared once at the man before he released a Scolipede and Heracross. The centipede-like pokémon towered over Drew, its dark magenta body shining as its two antennae moved slightly. Beside it, the bipedal pokémon with its blue exoskeleton forming a horn on the top of its head, glowered menacingly.
'Heracross, mega evolve!' The man sneered as he touched a mega stone on his belt.
The pokémon was surrounded by a bright, white light before revealing his sharpened horn, curved slightly upward, whilst his arms were bulkier, appearing like cannons. Even his shell appeared stronger, seeming to be armoured on the front whilst there was an orange half-circle between its eyes.
Blinking, Drew glanced at the two pokémon before him. Not only were they not his pokémon, but one was in its pre-evolved form. He hadn't seen the pokémon in years and he knew he was at a great disadvantage. Not for the first time did he find himself regretting letting May go anywhere by herself. All of his pokémon with him were knocked out, and Skitty and Glaceon would be hard pressed to fight these opponents.
Letting out a calming breath, he called, 'I know it seems hard, but just do it for May, guys. This place means the world to her, and I know you'll fight for it with me. Skitty, blizzard on that Scolipede followed up by assist. Glaceon, you use ice beam on that Heracross followed by shadow ball.'
The two pokémon before him called their names out once before launching into their attacks, Skitty's blizzard narrowly missing the Scolipede as Glaceon's ice beam hit it straight on.
Heracross called its name before shaking its head, appearing unaffected by the attacks.
'Change of plans, aim for Scolipede!' Drew called, knowing the plan was risqué. The speed of Scolipede would make it a difficult opponent and he needed to remove it quickly.
Calling her name, Glaceon's dark, purple orb hit Scolipede in the face as Glaceon sent a magical leaf at it. Whilst the latter attack was not very effective, it was an attack which never missed.
Hearing it cry out its name, the man glared, 'Heracross, close combat that pink blob! Scolipede, venoshock that ice type!'
'Dodge it and use your ice attacks!' Drew yelled back as the ground shook again, causing the larger opponents' attacks to miss.
Narrowly missing the green poisonous attack, Drew bit back a smile as the mega evolved pokémon tried and failed to attack Skitty, who danced around him with ease.
The smaller pokémon responded to Drew's instructions by blowing ice at Heracross' feet, freezing him into place whilst Glaceon released a powerful ice shard, releasing glistening icicles from her fur and immobilising the Scolipede.
'Clearly you still need some training,' Drew chuckled at Skitty as she continued to blow ice attacks at the Heracross, stubbornly refusing to take on the Scolipede as Glaceon once again released an ice beam.
'No you don't, venoshock that—' Drew's opponent snarled as he yelled, 'Glaceon, defend with ice beam, then go into dig! Skitty, assist!'
Skitty called her name once before releasing a silver wind attack out of her pink tail, successfully hitting the Scolipede as it hit Glaceon with the green poisonous sludge, forcing her ice beam onto Skitty.
Letting out a weak cry, she launched into her dig attack as Drew let out a strangled hiss. Not only were these pokémon not his own, but he was far away from a Pokémon Centre which could heal all of them.
'Glaceon, we need to finish this now! Attack that Scolipede with all you've got! Skitty, use your double—no, use blizzard!' Drew yelled, silently cursing himself for not checking with May what moves her pokémon had. He was just lucky that he knew these two so well, and that he knew of Scolipede's ability, poison point.
As Glaceon hit the bug and poison type, leaving room for Skitty to use her blizzard attack, the Heracross jumped forward, lifting an arm and hitting the ice type, knocking her out.
Biting back a curse, Drew rushed onto the battle field to pull Glaceon away, not even registering as the Scolipede fell to the ground in a shuddering heap.
'Skitty, thunder!' A female voice yelled as something splashed into the rising water beside Drew.
Skitty let out an eager cry before releasing the electric attack at the Heracross.
'So, Phantom told me you were here,' the man chuckled as May blinked.
'Hang on, do I know you?' May frowned as Drew stared at the two in disbelief. How could May possibly know this man?
'I don't know, do you?' The man responded, a mocking underlay in his voice which made Drew bite back a growl.
'I think I do,' May frowned, stepping across the battlefield in a completely unperturbed manner, placing a gentle hand on the Heracross, smiling into his eyes.
'Please, as if the likes of you could know me,' the man snarled, though May seemed unsurprised.
'Forrest, is that you?' May questioned, narrowing her eyes dangerously as she leaned forward to stare at the young man, a act which Drew didn't appreciate.
In response, the man blinked once, grimacing as he tried, and failed, to calm his sudden nerves.
'Weren't you a Ranger?' May frowned, placing a finger to her lip as she placed another hand on the man's left cheek, eliciting another growl from Drew.
'Get off me! I'm Franklin, don't make me repeat myself!' The other man yelped, swatting her hands away.
'It is you! What are you doing here and why are you battling Drew?' May gasped, unaware of Drew's angry glowers behind her.
'I'm undercover for the Union, they want intel on Phantom and how he escaped,' the man whispered, flickering his eyes around them.
'Well you can do that by losing this battle against my pokémon, for starters! Samiya is more important than one battle, don't you think?' May snapped at him, sending him her best glare.
'W-what? How can I possibly affect the Temple of the Sea?' Forrest laughed as he watched her role her eyes.
'The gems from the crown are needed for this place to work, Forrest. Without them, this place sinks, and so does Manaphy's home and mine. Please, can I fight you?' May questioned, her voice soft as she glanced at the rising water.
'Yes,' Forrest responded as he gestured towards the Heracross before Drew.
'Glaceon, you did well, return,' May called, recalling her pokémon before turning her attention to Skitty. Apparently reading her thoughts, her friend let out an eager cry.
'If you're sure, use Assist!' May called, crossing her fingers behind her back as her pokémon's cream coloured paw glowed yellow as she hit her opponent in the face with a thunder punch.
'Use close combat!' Forrest called, though May grinned, 'dodge it and use assist again!'
'What are you doing?' Drew hissed as her pokémon ran through Heracross' legs, her tail glowing as her opponent was frozen in a pink glow, a psychic attack.
'Trust me,' May whispered to the man, picking up the courage to squeeze his hand slightly before yelling, 'again!'
Her friend called out her name before let out a fiery inferno from her tail, Blaziken's overheat.
'Yes! I knew you could do it, Skitty!' May beamed as Heracross fainted.
'You did well, Heracross, return,' Forrest grimaced before rummaging in his bag and giving her a string of berries.
'For both of your pokémon. I hope you restore Samiya, it's a beautiful place. You might need a pokémon to get out, though,' Forrest grinned as he handed them a few berries.
'That we would,' Drew grimaced as May frowned at the man.
'Then here, keep this one. Consider it my peace offering for how I attacked you,' the man smiled before offering Drew a pokéball.
'You're just giving me a pokémon?' The man questioned, his emerald eyes widened in surprise.
'She's served me very well, and your needs are greater than mine. Besides, her calling isn't helping a Ranger, she's too stunning for that,' the man responded with a shrug before disappearing deeper into the water.
'Did you find one?' Drew questioned May as he reluctantly pocketed the pokéball.
'Yes, that's where I saw Elgyem. She was frantic so I knew something happened to you. I was really worried,' May whispered as she demurely glanced up at Drew.
'Well, you had reason to be. I couldn't have fought that Heracross the way you did,' Drew grimaced, unable to meet her eyes. He'd failed her, and worse.
'Of course you could have. Don't worry, Forrest is a good man and would have stopped before it got too bad. I'm just amazed the Union convinced him to dye his hair,' May giggled before hearing Manaphy call out his name to them.
Looking up, she saw Manaphy pointing to a fountain.
'Is it there?' May called as the young prince nodded his head.
'Excellent, then what are we waiting for?' May grinned before recalling her Skitty into her pokéball. With a smile, she lifted the water type onto her shoulder, not turning to glance back at her rival.
'What about—' Drew began, only to see his companion rush off, appearing unaffected as the Temple of the Sea once again shook under his feet as something crashed into the ground.
'In the name of Rayquaza, Kyogre and Groudon, this woman is driving me crazy!' Drew murmured before running after her, taking a moment to grab his jacket and shrug back into it.
'May, you can't just go jumping into the fountain to get it!' Drew called as he saw her climbing on the railing. Watching the determination in her eyes as she searched the area below them, Drew felt his heart lurch in his throat. He knew her better than most, and he recognised that reckless look on her face from when they battled. She was going to pull a wild card, and he wasn't going to like it.
'May!' He hissed at her, stepping forward slightly. Whatever she was planning, it would be hit or miss, and judging by the view below, he had no idea how well covered it was with water.
Glancing back at him, the young woman let out a light laugh before jumping from the balustrade.
Please do let me know what you think. I couldn't help but end it with a bit of a cliffy :)