Silver looked at the fortified, medieval looking castle standing in front of them, towering imponent and powerful and defying them to try throwing it down. It was titanic, it's enormous structure shaded the oceans with the darkness of the boulders that formed it, the figure cutting itself like a black monster against the clearer night sky. The dragon's eyes darkenned with fear and respect torwards the colossus, "there is just one way to enter that fortress, hold on tightly" Silver growled deeply, her voice nearly a venomous hiss. Ash nodded with understanding, his paws and claws holding as tightly as they could on the dragon's impressive neck and the glowing,silvery feathers. He, as well, had experienced the darkness of the castle reaching the bright lights of his heart and soul, forming a stormy cloud over it's purity and cheerfulness. The great dragon steered down and closed her enormous wings letting the weight or her gigantic body carry the both of them torwards the water. Her eyes focused on the vast and deep green that formed the mild woodlands around the fortified prison. The great animal expanded the enormous wings as she penetrated the woodlands, her enormous, feathered arms breaking the weak branches of the trees as they were hovering over the ceiling of leaves. She flapped the grat wings strongly, raising a small gust of warm, summer wind, and placed both padded feet on the ground with a soft thud. Silver leaned forward to let Ash dismount off her back, "I cant walk around in this size" she explained looking down at the silvery fox with gentle eyes.
Aruana swamspeedily across the oceans, around her sides the water raised and flapped against her skin like the cool, delicate wings of faeries. The island grew larger as they rached, and the darness that irradiated from the fortress wraped the group of pokemon that swam like kamikazes torwards their own destruction. Elly shuddered, "Aruana, what's this feeling?" she asked upon feeling the intensity of some unpleasant cold expanding across her skin, sending goosebumps through her pores, and making her feel as if the despair of the whole world hd fallen upon her back. Aruana looked forward seriously, her bright, wise eyes scaning the area attentively, "that's the hathred, the evil that raises from the castle for having captured a creature so pure as it's the Mistress" she explained in a tone that was full of anger torwards the captor of the godess. Elly nodded understandingly and kept her eyes fixed on the place where the large dragon had vanished, the place that was obvious due to the broken branches that hanged in a very disordered manner from the trees, still holding on with a few fibrous threads. Had they crashed? Or had they landed? She hoped they had landed since, although Ash had conffesed his love torwards Misty to the young, female Pikachu next to her, she still loved him with all her heart.
Silver wraped both wings around her body, her violet eyes closed and her brow frowned with concentration. Ash stared at her with curiosity, wondering what she could possibly be doing to shrink in size. Sure, there were some attacks that worked for that, but usually reduced the pokemon to the size of a minuscule midget. He looked away quickly as Silver's body started shining with the bright, white light belonging to stars. She indeed loked like an enormous star fallen from the dark, night ceiling that crowned the world, the misterious and vast skies. He dared to open an eye as he felt the glow that emanated from the dragon subsiding, and he saw, with great shock, that the glow was not becoming fainter, it was the animal's size, she was becoming smaller. The glow started becoming fainter this time, and Ash's eyes widdened with shock and even admiration torwards the creature. In front of him stood, on two lion like legs, the ost elegant and amazing creature he had ever seen. The height of a male human, Silver stood on her two, feline hind legs, but in a position as erect as a Homo Sapien's nature. Her slim body resembled that of a human woman, perfectly round breasts were placed on her chest, and her musculous waist was delicate and slim yet strong, like ice. Her neck had shortened and now looked normal, yet her head remained the same, with the same black feathers over her eyes and the same violet and intelligent orbs observing every detail of the world through a dreamy mist. Her arms still looked like lugia wings, yet smaller, and deffinitely not a thick, they tended to get thnner in the area around the elbows, and wider by the end, where you could see finger like structures. Silver smiled at Ash and waved her long, lashing tail back and forth, "we lugias can transform to something close to human, not yet totally human but close to it, at least I'msmaller now" she explained, grinning while a wing ruffled the other wing's silvery white feathers.
Aruana collided against the sandy beach, emmiting a rather annoyed moan upon feeling the small particles of sand scratching her delicate, rubbery skin, creating faint gashes that emanated no blood at all. Elly and Pikachu were thrown off her by the impact, and the little rodent stood up dizzily, rubbing her forehead tenderly and shaking her sea sick body. Elly lost no time at all, she stood up ignoring everyone, Pikachu and the gentle Aruana, and raced torwards the depths of the forest, where she vanished into the thick foliage and dark insides of the woodlands. Elly raced quickly through the forest, her little, black nose picking up the scents as quickly as she could, and her acute, icy blue eyes gazing frantically at the trees towering over them, staring at the broken branches and following the trail. She spotted them finally, and wave of releaf coursed through her tense muscles, calming her down. In front of her stood the silvery and elegant shape of an espeon, and in front of the espeon a misterious creature she had never seen, but which reminded her dangerously of someone she had met. She didnt care, Ash was ok and that's all she cared about at this moment.
Ash kept staring at the figure, his jaw hanging open h ignored if due to fascination or that little human self still nagging his male senses from the dark corner of his mind, "ASH!" a very familiar voice barked from the dpths of the forest. Ash turned around, snapping away from his stupor, in time to see the reddish dog trotting torwards him. His heart lightened but also felt a sudden and freezing current of icy water, the feeling of fear. Elly was there, all right, with him, and that made him feel completely full of life, yet at the same time the thought that this perilous journey could bring any damage to her made him get angry at her, but the anger reason to worry, he cared about her too much.
Elly leapt forward and landed on Ash's outspread paws, sending the both of them to the ground with the female dog on him. Elly buried her face on Ash's silky and silvery fur, tears of joy moisting the shinny hair that decorated his chest, "you're all right, I thought I'd lost you back there...I saw Silver...she fell...thought I'd loose you..." Elly managed to choke in between convulsions and hicups. Ash stared at her with confusion and placed both paws akwardly around her body, patting her furry back lightly, "shhh, Elly, Elly..." he whispered softly in the female's ear. Elly looked up, her eyes were shinny and her cheeks were damp and wet with salty tears, "Ash...I..." she tried saying but a padded finger was placed on her lips, "Elly look, I'm fine, ok? Right now we are gonna enter that fortress, save Suicune and flee from here"he said kindly. Elly nodded and managed a rather weak smile, "but Ash...once all this is over, once you return to your human self...I'll go to the forest and we might never meet again" Elly said in a strangled voice, her gaze moving away to stare at an interesting spot on the ground. Ash skipped a heartbeat, split? Was that the destiny Elly thought they were going to encounter? "NO!" Ash suddenly snapped in a hurted voice. Elly looked at him startled, she had been expecting soft whispers, not such an anghished negation, "I'll never let anything split us apart Elly, you are my best friend!" he said in a drowned voice which looked strangely high pitched and weak. Ash finally managed to voice out his feelings, and Elly felt a strange warmth spreading through her, she ignore the magnitude of his feelings, if they skipped the friend level, but now she knew something, he cared for her, and a lot.
Silver's eyes snapped open and her chest inflated as a long breath penetrated her, "guys...quick...I know where Suicune is" she said in a weak, exhausted voice. Elly leapt off the male espeon and stared at the dragon, "really?" she asked, her vopice had changed, no longer strangled or drowned, now it was strong and determined. Silver nodded and rushed off torwards the dark fortress, the feared colossus. Ash, Elly and Pikachu, who had been silently standing next to Silver, rushed behind her as quickly as theyr legs could carry them, which was little effort for the canines against the pikachu's tiny legs.
No time was to be wasted now, Silver emerged from the forest with the greatness she was famous about, her eyes vicous and her mouth split open, revealing the deadly fangs that decorated her beaky mouth. A bright light shone from her oppened mouth and was followed by a long current of tiny colums built out of that same energetic light. The colums hit the twosurprised humans dressed in black that stood protectively guarding the main doors. Their faces froze in the shocked terror they had experienced, their limps body fell to the ground, leaning against the wall. Their bodies were pierced in numerous places, most covering the area of the torso, crimson blood flowed from the numerous and fatal wounds and stained the black uniform. They had not expecte it so no alarm had been raised into the mortiferous walls of the ancient castle.
Ash,Pikachu and Elly stared at the scene in front of them with something close to reverencial shock, "wow, Silver, I did not expect you to actually KILL someone!" Ash snapped surprised about that unknown, dark side of the gentle dragon. Silver seemed to ignore them as she proceeded to walk forward, torwards the wooden door, now decorated with several burnt marks. The four pokemon entered the dark castle with caution, their eyes stared around at the sinister yet medieval looking castle, the stone walls created a vast space yet the lack of light formed a rather disturbing darkness around them. Silver held her breath, she sensed Suicune somewhere nearby, yet she could also sense her own despair, her own suffering. She narrowed her eyebrows with determination and took a step forward, "this way!" she hissed venomously.
Ash looked at the moving figure with shock, she had never heard Silver speaking like a venomous snake, and her sudden vice, the sudden hathred that seemed to flow within her voice was scaring the little, noble pokemon. Elly could sense his unease, and remembered Aruana's words, "nobody is safe from the evil that irradiates from this place, even Silver will soon be possesed" she voiced feeling her heart pressing against her chest with the feeling of cold fear and darkness that she had felt ever since reaching this island. Ash stared at her through his dark chestnut eyes, scaning the beautiful female as if trying to extract more information to sort his confused thoughts, "but Elly...I feel normal, frightened because of Silver's behaviour, but normal still" he explained frowning while focusing his gaze on her icy blue eyes. He saw her shock, and her own suffering and need to escape this place before she, as well, became prey to the invisible evil. Pikachu walked forward, she had been behind them all the time, almost as if inexistent, invisible to them as thye were oblivious to her little pressence, "Ash, your heart has always been too pure and noble, always willing to risk your life for others, no evil will ever posses you because you are not human, nor pokemon, you are an angel" her little, squeaky voice explained in a serious tone. Ash leapt shocked about the mere fact that she actually existed, he had been too busy trying to think about how to rescue Suicune and save the world to even realize Elly and even Pikachu were there. He felt guilty about such fact but he understood now what she meant, because he had realied right now that, for the millionth time in his previous life and this together, he had forgotten his own life for the sake of others. He may not be an spiritual angel, but his chest inflated with pride upon realising he had the most precious thing anyone could ever desire, a heart full of light.
Silver looked back at the still frightened group of young pokemon, "come on, we dont have all day!" she hissed more harshly than she would have wanted, and she realized with a great pressure in her stomach that the evil was slowly possesing her pure soul. Ash, Elly and Pikachu looked forward at the towering godess and nodded. They trotted behind her once more as the animal seemed to hover, nearly not stepping on the floor at all, and indeed she wasnt. However as the evil grew more inside her heart like a parasite plant growing at the foot of a tree and crawling up it's trunk, strangling it till death, each step Silver took brought her closer to the mortal realm, to the ground,and Ash noticed this with great fear.
The group rushed past a long, dark corridor, dimly lit by the faint, golden light of the torches perched on the stone walls, held by very sinister stands resembling the claws of something so evil it belonged only to a twisted mind's dreams. Ash examined the horrid and empty walls with a reverencial respect and even a slight fear coursing through his heart, but no evil seemed to touch his soul. He looked back upon hearing a gasp and saw Elly pacing behind him, her head hunging low, eyes fixed on the stony ground, her muscles trembling continuously, almost as if a freezing cold was expanding through her veins. Ash tried to ignore her thinking they had a mission to fulfill, and trying to understand the suffering all of them were passing, all except himself. He couldnt, however, forget the fact that Elly was pacing behind him, her mind inmersed in something he ignored and a great suffering coursing through her.
The female dog collapsed on a heap, her body convulsing with continuous sobs. Pikachu stood by her, a tiny hand patting her shoulder, her little, dark brown eyes looking at the dog with simpathy, "Elly, come on Elly" the tiny rodent whispered soothingly in her ear, trying to comfort her. Elly responded by shaking her head vigorously, "NO!" she barked letting a few desperate tears fly free and fall to the floor with an unaudible splatter. Ash looked at her and rushed worriedly torwards the dog, "ELLY!" he barked trying to call her attention. The female eevee didnt respond, she kept shaking her head continuously, eyes staring into an infinity, soemthing inexistent only she was able to see, "Ash...Ash..." she muttered silently. Ash raised his eyebrows bewildered, "er...Elly, I'm here Elly, look, right in front of you" he said pushing her shoulder with a gentle paw. To no avail, the dog was oblivious to the fact that Ash was right next to her, it was almost as if he was a ghost, something she couldnt see.
He looked around desperately, "Silver!" he snapped excitedly, almost hopefully as the dragon stood by him. She kneeled down by Elly and touched her shoulder lightly, "what's wrong with her, Silver?" Ash asked desperated, his eyes glittering with the worry that drowned him. Silver looked at him, her gaze colder than it had ever been yet it was obvious she was trying hard to fight the evil, "Ash, whatever it is that's placed into this walls, it's not only the evil for capturing Suicune. It's some sort of dark magic that makes the intruder feel what they most fear" Silver explained in a harsh tone, but remaining it as warm as possible. Ash looked at Silver and back at Elly who still looked like a cronical patient of a psychiatric hospital. He was bewildered, why was Elly's worst fear related to him? Yes, he would hate loosing her and probably that was his worst fear, but he could not feel anything at all but worry for her well being. Pikachu looked at Elly and back at Silver, "so that's why Elly's like this? She's living a moment where Ash dies? The same you are behaving like an evil creature?" Pikachu snapped wisely, feeling suddenly proud with herself. Silver looked away and nodded, "that's right" she said in a weak, ashamed voice.
Ash looked up at the troubled eyes of the dragon, "is that your worst fear Silver? Being evil?" he asked in an even accusing voice. Silver looked down at the dog and nodded, "indeed, I'm a noble heart but Ash, i'm not as noble as yours is, being avel to fight the evil without even trying, pushing your fear aside and moving on with a determined obsession of helping everyone, I wished I would have been like you" Silver said, her voice returning to a gentleness, a nostalgic gentleness but still a tender and caring voice. Ash looked at her and then at Pikachu, "Silver, Pikachu's all right, is she pure hearted too?" he asked thoughtfully. Silver shook her head with sadness, "no Ash, nobody I've ever known has had a heart so full of light as yours, noble soul, Pikachu has passed her greatest fear, so she is unable to feel it again" Silver explained with a glitter of knowledge in her eyes. Ash looked at pikachu and a wave of understanding coursed through his mind, "me! Loosing me, just like Elly,but you lost me already Pikachu, that's why you dont feel anything!" Ash concluded with a bright, high voice. Pikachu nodded with a slight but proud embarrasment, she was now older than the canine pokemon and felt nearly her mother, but most of all her best friend, and knowing he was all right had made her stronger torwards life.
His eyes looked with simpathy at the eevee, he ignored how to help her, not even making her realize he was there would help her and that was because she could not differ reality from the cruel image of her mind. The cruel image of her mind? He was Psychic! He looked at Silver and Pikashu hopefully, "I've got it, stay away, I dont know what this could do" he explained in a cheerful yet serious voice. Ash layed down next to the trembling body of the eevee and closed his eyes, his brow frowning with concentration, his body shivering slightly with the feeling of energy coursing through his body, he didnt know how to do this, but he knew he would manage it.
The espeon stared around, he was inside Elly's mind, yet the place was something close to the site of a recent war, the sky was stained with the blood of a dark sunset, and the grass was tore down and shredded. The whole place, a field apparently, was blooming with the corpses of numerous pokemon and several humans in black armours. Standing in the middle of the field was Elly, sitting elegantly yet her head hanging low over the body of a dark brownish canine. He walked forward and saw that the canine was none other that himself, Ash, in his previous eevee form. Elly was an ocean of grief, crying over the imaginary corpse of his now unexistent self. He knew what he had to do, modify his thoughts, he was not dead, not yet. The eevee Ash raised his head weakly, his warm chestnut eyes started into Elly's puffy, icy blue ones, "Elly" he gasped weakly. Elly gasped as well, more energetically and with shock more than Ash's faint attempt to create speech. The eevee smiled weakly, "Elly, re...remember how we met? Remember how I told you I was human?" he started in a faint, weak voice. Elly nodded a bit too vigorously, mostly due to the nerves she was feeling, "well" the male eevee continued, "dont forget it's not the end, we will meet again, I promise" the male eevee said trying desperately to remain alive until finishing his wordsof encouragement. Elly nodded trying hard to hold back her grief and not cry, "close your eyes Elly, and open themwhen I tell you to" both, Ash the eevee and the espeon said in unision. The female eevee closed her teary eyes and breathed in deeply, holding back a sob that threatened to escape.
Elly's mind swam in some sort of ocean of conffusion, "Elly..." a distant voice echoed into her deaffened ears as the images of past weeks swarmed across her mind, "Elly..." that voice, so familiar and calming, where did it come from? "Elly..." to who did it belong? "Elly..." he meant something to her, something great, "Elly..." she loved him, "Elly..." memories, more thoughts swam across her mind, "Elly..." all related to a dark eevee with chestnut eyes, "Elly..." she remembered, "Elly..." Ash...
Elly's eyes fluttered open with something close to caution, she stared around and blinked several times to make the diffused silvery and golden blurrs become something closer to a shape she could recognize. She looked around, Silver was there, standing with a troubled look in her eyes, had she caused so much trouble? Next to Silver was a cheerful Pikachu beaming at her with pleasure for her return to the real world. The eevee felt something warm leaning against her right side, something pleasant and comfortable. She turned her head to stare at a pair of loving, warm, chestnut eyes, that pair of eyes she recognize with a great, breathtaking shock, "Ash..." she said breathlessly. Her paws moved around the dog's silvery neck as her eyes gazed once more into an infinity, yet this infitniy was of disturbed memories, not confusing semi realities, "I thought I had lost you back there...thank you" she whispered breathlessly. Ash sighed and smiled pleased with himself, "shhh, it's ok Elly, I'm here" Ash whispered into her hear taking a deep breath, feeling the pleasant warmth of her body next to him.
Silver shook her head and took another step forward, "let's go, the sooner we save Suicune, the sooner we are outta here" Silver snapped in a harsh tone, something that did not escape her concious and that caused a great fear to her heart. They kept walking across the same, anghishing corridor, Elly still trembled from time to time but mostly as a remembral to the recent and terrible experience. They reached a steep staircase that seemed to sink low into the dark abyss of the underworld, the first few steps were visible, a few dull, dark grey forms, yet the further down they attempted to see the darker it got, until nothing but an enormous black hole was visible. Silver looked determined at the depths in front of them, "it's down there" she snapped. Pikachu looked up at Silver, her features alarmed, "you've gotta be kidding! There's NOTHING in there!" Pikachu snapped with a trembling, squeaky voice, which, far from fear, was actually warning. Silver shook her head, "there is,it's simply hidden in the shadows!" Silver explained with a true, proud and determined smile.
Those words said, Silver started taking slow yet powerful and strong steps down the stairs. The others followed hesitantly, their padded feet steping carefully on the hard, stone floor, their eyes looking forward with distrust. However, oblivious to all of them, the first time Silver had placed a padded paw on the first step, she had actioned a silent, magical alarm that was soon spreading torwards the brainwashed minds of the loyal workers of such evil organization.
They kept walking down torwards the infinite depths of something they really ignored, their eyes had grown accustomed to the penetrating darkness yet something weird seemed to be happening. Silver's body had always irradiated that perfect, smooth and calming, pale light, similar to the glow of the full moon in the wintery paradises of endless snow. However now it seemed like that glow was not only fainter now, but it was actually vanishing with an alarming speed. The Evil, whatever that was actually, was possesing the lugia with great speed, they had to find Suicune and inmediatly. He was becoming nervous about the fact that the stairs seemed endless, was there even an end to this? To him it was just another trap planned by Team Rocket, yet not even in his wildest dreams would he have ever thought that the evil organization destined to steal rare pokemon and use them for battle could actually hide such darkness, close to a servant of the dark arts.
Elly gasped loudly and pointed forward with her nose, "Ash! LOOK!" she yelled shocked and even excited. Ash, too inmersed in his own, dark thoughts to pay attention to the darkness surrounding him, looked forward, suddenly snapping out of his train of thoughts. He stared forward, in front of Silver there was an opening, and from that opening a pale, yet intense blueish light seemed to illuminate some sort of chamber, was this the place where Suicune was held captive? They all rushed forward, Ash nearly tripping over Elly's excited body, which he graciously avoided by leaping aside. They stopped by the entrance, their eyes widdened, Silver's darkness suddenly illuminated by the light that seemed to come from the entry, hiding the veil of darkness that covered her. They just couldnt believe their eyes, "wicked..." gasped Elly with excitement flowing through her, "wow..." whispered Ash breathlessly, "I cant believe this!" exclaimed Pikachu. Silver remained silent, observing the scene in front of her with calm yet hurt eyes, she had expected something similar yet the vision in front of her eyes made her heart burn with desires of revenge, yet the sadness that filled her made her remain into a passive kind of calm.
To Be Continued...
AN: Ok, there it is, another chapter, FINALLY! Sorry this took me so long but I've been kinda busy with my exams and so, and lately I've just not been in the mood for writting, but I'm back, and working. I know not many people have left a review, but that doesnt mean they are not reading it so well, I just hope whoever is interested in this is actually enjoying this. A review will be much acepted but remember it will also give me acess to your stories so I can read them too, I usually read my reviewer's stories because they have the same likes I do. Well, enough babbling, please, read my other stories, they are kinda ok. I'll update this as soon as I can, perhaps no more than 2 or 3 chapters to go, wohoo!