Pichu Star – Yeah, I think, though, that I'll probably end up having Ash go to the pairing that I'm personally more inclined to myself (which I just VERY recently remembered ), but I know that I'll eventually have a fic in which the other pairing is there. Anyway, I don't think that it's very weird to be your own fan of your OC. I mean, stranger things have happened, right?
Charmeleon – Thanks. For both things. It really means a lot to me.
Author's notes: Well, I actually made this longer than I had intended, but I guess that that just means you get to read more now, huh? Though, it's not much longer, but it's still longer. Anyway, there's not much else that I have to put here, so I guess I'll just start chapter 8.
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Ash is exhausted. They'd been moving as quickly as they could. The phosphorescence was still lighting their path through the caves. Ash wondered how long they'd been moving through the caves. It felt like they'd been moving for a long while now. Ash could see that Misty and Brock were also getting exhausted, but May hadn't really gotten any more alert since they started. She just moved making it obvious of how much asleep she still was. Ash couldn't help but feel worried about her with the thought of what would happen if she fell asleep. As they turned another bend in the cave, Ash knew that they had to stop. No matter what Mark or Sara said, they had to stop if only for a few minutes. Ash didn't really know how they could get Mark or Sara to stop, but Ash had an idea.
After a few moments, Ash just sat down. Ash watched everyone as they continued to walk a little ways away from him, before Sara noticed Ash sitting down, watching them. "What are you doing!?" Sara practically screamed.
Ash ignored the ringing in his ears as he replied, "I'm taking a break that we should have already."
"We don't have time," Mark said. "We need to get you to the Chamber of Light before the seal is broken."
"If we do get there at the pace we're going, we'll be too tired to do anything," Ash snapped. "We need to rest if we're going to be able to do anything."
Ash began to feel uneasy when Sara began glaring at him, but he knew that he needed to hold his ground on this. After a few moments, Mark sighed. "Alright. We'll rest just a few minutes."
Misty and Brock seemed to be the most relieved that they could rest. May sat down, still hugging her pillow. She was the first that Ash realized had fallen asleep, as she began to use him as a pillow. Ash looked around and noticed that Mark and Sara had fallen asleep as well. Both were leaning against each other, so it didn't look like they were asleep at first. Ash figured that they were more tired than they had been willing to admit. Ash felt his eyelids beginning to tug at him, and shortly after that, all of them were sleeping soundly.
- - - - -
Jack looked around the clearing. No one was around that he could tell. Jack would have liked to see the crystalline ball, but there wasn't anything he could do right now. Other than wait for his Blazeon to bring Will and the others that came with him from Team Rocket. Jack couldn't help but feel a little bad for the three he tricked so easily. He had hoped that it would have been more fun to trick them, but since they fell for it so easily, it felt like he'd done something that he shouldn't have and should have been a little more kind to them. Nothing I can do about now, Jack told himself firmly. If they actually have gone there, then if they're actually intelligent, they'll leave soon enough.
Focusing back on his task, he knew that his Blazeon would bring Will here after that last rumble. Jack knew that the seal was breaking faster than anyone has expected. Jack could only wonder what that meant. Jack looked carefully at the stones that the Mew had empowered to guard the crystalline ball. Jack knew that there was one stone that it was all centered around, and if he could move it, then he'd be able to basically unlock the shield that kept anyone and everything from being near the ball. Originally the metallic ball and the crystalline ball had rested side by side, but when the metallic ball had disappeared, there was a panic that the crystalline ball would also disappear. Which was why the shield had been created to keep the crystalline ball safe.
Jack looked at each stone several times. He could feel the minutes passing as he examined each one closely several times. They all looked identical, but Jack knew that if he chose the wrong one, he'd either die or wish he had. At least that's what he'd been told, and Jack had never had a desire to find out if that was true or not. Especially because of how there wouldn't be a way that he'd have a way to avoid the consequences while still doing the action. Finally Jack decided on one. It was more of a random choice than anything else. As Jack touched the stone and moved it away, the field seemed to start to flicker. Eventually, it seemed to just dissipate and vanish. Jack knew now that he had chosen the correct stone. Now when Will got to the crystalline ball, he'd be able to take it and break the seal by capturing one of the sealed ones. Jack left, wondering what it would be like when that happened. Or what events would occur.
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May jumped when she was woken up. It took her a moment for her to get her bearings. As it was, she was still a little groggy from just being woken up. After a few moments, however, she was wide-awake as they continued to travel through the cavern. May was certain that it wasn't just a cave. It seemed like it was more of a passageway. Normally she wouldn't really want to go through something like this, but she knew that Ash was going and if she had any hope of winning him over Misty, she'd have to go through this. As it was, she thought that she was finally winning him over, but she knew that her efforts to win Ash's heart could all be wasted if she relaxed her guard with Misty around. May was certain that Ash was at least infatuated with Misty. If he had any deeper feelings for her, May knew she wouldn't stand a chance, so she wouldn't allow herself to consider Ash feeling anything else towards Misty. If she did, then she knew that she would just give up.
May couldn't help but feeling more uneasy about traveling further into the cavern, but the feeling seemed to be getting worse and she was doing her best to not let so much as a whimper escape her. Though, she knew that she'd let out a frightened sound, so she was doing her best to stay silent no matter how uneasy she felt. Though, after a little while, they felt another rumble, even worse than the one they had last night, and not just because they were in a cavern. May couldn't help but letting out a scream. When the rumbling stops, May realizes that she had grabbed hold of Ash's arm during the earthquake. After a moment for her mind to process what happened, she lets go blushing fiercely.
"Sorry," May says quickly.
"It's all right," Ash answers.
May turns to Ash to find him smiling at her. May can't help but blush even more. She can feel her entire face turning crimson. She wonders if her face will ever return to its original color. Until she notices Misty glaring at her. May knows that she probably got another point with Ash with her doing what she did unintentionally, but anything that would help her beat Misty, so she smiles at Misty, making her glare even harder. May begins whistling to herself quietly, despite of her uneasy feeling.
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Ash was surprised at May's reaction. All he knew was that there was another earthquake, albeit a worse quake than the one that occurred last night. Ash only heard May scream a moment before she grabbed his arm. Then after the rumbling was over, it seemed to take her a moment to realize what she'd done. Ash could see May's face growing red. Ash assumes it's embarrassment, so he smiles at her, hoping that it might make her feel a little less uneasy about it. He actually had been wondering when she'd actually cry out from the pressure that he could see building up since they continued moving.
"Sorry," May apologizes.
"It's all right," Ash assures May.
Ash has no clue why May's face grew even redder when she looked at him for a moment before turning away again. Ash just figures that it's something that he wasn't going to understand, and he should just let it remain that way. Ash sighs softly, so only he would know that he sighed. Ash really would have preferred to just let it remain as it was. May grabbing a hold of the nearest person when her fear broke through her fragile hold on being calm. If that's the case, then why does it make me feel like this? Ash couldn't help but wondering. All he knew was that May grabbing his arm like that set up a swirl of feelings that was pummeling his stomach from the inside. Either that or an entire swarm of Butterfrees had taken up residence in his stomach.
Ash just hoped that he'd be able to sort out in his mind before too long. Either that, or having this little adventure end quickly so that way he could take a break from his pokemon journeys and have some time to himself. Maybe doing a little light training, but nothing much. Ash is so wrapped up with his thoughts that he doesn't realize that Misty is walking next to him. It wasn't until she said anything that he noticed that she was next to him.
"What was that all about?" Misty asked.
Ash jumped. He was startled that Misty was there. When the fact that she had asked him a question registered in his mind, Ash quickly replied, "Nothing."
"I see," was Misty's reply, as she walked away.
Weird, Ash thought to himself. He knew now that there was no way that he'd be able to understand women. Yeah, he might have a few ideas occasionally, but overall, he knew that he'd never understand them. Ash looked at him other companions. Brock was at least more clueless on how to handle women, as he would chase after any pretty girl he saw, even when they flatly reject him. Though, what occurred between him and Professor Ivy was still something that no one seemed to know. Mark seemed to be someone who might know as much as Ash, possibly more, but Ash figured that he'd probably want to wait and make certain of that first, before he made a fool of himself even more than he had already.
Ash shook his head. He should just focus on what he was brought here to do. Then after he was done, he would have plenty of time to sort out his feelings and hopefully, something else wouldn't come up like this did. Ash just hoped that things would finally calm down once this was over. Ash then noticed out of the corner of his eye that Misty seemed to be smiling to herself over something. Ash shook his head again. Whether or not he was imagining that, he shouldn't even ask. It would probably lead him down the train of thoughts that he was trying to avoid. Ash sighed, hopefully this would end at least for a while after this was over.
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Will knew that they were moving away from what they had been heading towards earlier. The only reason he had to support his theory was that the oppressive feeling was dissipating. Where, it had earlier been growing more and more. Will wondered how close they really had been to what generated that feeling. If they were still a long way away, Will wasn't sure about him taking all of his men with him. Because if even he was getting uneasy, he didn't want to have to kill some of his men because it would just be a waste.
Suddenly, Will noticed that there seemed to be a light ahead of them. Will wondered if they were finally through the caves and on to their next destination, or if they had backtracked for whatever reason. Will hoped that they didn't come back without a cause, otherwise he might just have to kill Jack when this is all over. No matter what that pokemon that invited him here thought, Will was only here to capture the pokemon for Team Rocket. Will knew that if he tried to keep these pokemon for himself, he'd somehow screw it up like so many others. Even Giovanni screwed up when he tried to clone Mew. There wasn't anything that could go right, unless it was someone else who took the fall; and Will was going to make certain that it wasn't him who took that fall. Because it was a long way before he would land, and it might be too far for him to get out.
Will kept watching the opening of the cavern come closer. As they neared, Will was able to make out some of the surroundings. He could tell that it was a forest that they would be going to, but he couldn't tell if it was the forest he had left earlier or not. It was morning, he could tell that much from the light. When they reached the opening to the cave, Will saw Jack waiting. "What's the meaning of this?" Will snapped, not caring that he was relying on Jack to finish this mission.
"The chosen one of Lugia will reach the Sealing Crystal before you'll be able to make it to it. So, after the seal is restored, you'll just have to capture one of the sealed ones in this," Jack said, pointing to a pokeball that seemed to be made half out of ruby and the other half out of sapphire. "When you do that, the seal will be unable to contain so much power and the seal will break. This is the only way now that we can release them."
Will smiled. Now that he had been given the reason, he'd be able to reason with himself to keep Jack alive, if that boy didn't get in the way. Will picked the ball up, and said, "Thank you. I'll be sure to do that," Will told Jack. "But, I want to know how far I'll have to go."
"It isn't very far, but you will need to be the only one who enters through the seal. Otherwise, the chosen one of Lugia will sense it. Even if it's just you, he might still sense it, but it won't be enough to recognize it. So, it might be best if your men left the island. My master will ensure them a safe departure."
Will figured that Jack realized what was happening, and was trying to find a way out of the trap that had been laid. "I'm sorry, but I'll need them to wait for me before we can leave. You see, I don't know what will happen after the seal is broken and I may need my men here to help keep everyone safe. I'm also quite sure that you don't know what will happen. So, I know that there isn't any argument that you can make about this," Will answered smugly.
Jack glared at Will, but nodded slowly. Will knew he had beaten Jack and Jack knew he couldn't escape the trap laid by Team Rocket. Will laughed inside. This was going to raise himself in his boss' eyes. If Will was careful, he might even find a legendary pokemon here that Giovanni would generously reward him with. Will knew that this was going to be something that went down in the history of Team Rocket. Jack seemed smart, and if Will played his hand correctly, Jack could easily reach high in Team Rocket. And after they had finished with this operation, Will would make certain that Jack told them how and what a Blazeon evolved from. That would further increase the value of this mission.
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Mewtwo sighed. It had been a long journey, but he'd finally arrived. It was an island that he hadn't heard of before, and one that he didn't even know existed. He had brought with him all of the cloned pokemon, but he didn't know where on the island they could settle. Even the young pokemon were wanting a place where they could stay and call home. Mewtwo had already allowed a few to leave his group and go off on their own. Mewtwo didn't want them to, but he also didn't want to force them to stay where they didn't want to. As Mewtwo neared the island, he saw three pink things streaking towards him.
When they arrived he saw that they were all Mew. So, the ones that I was cloned from are already here. Mewtwo declares.
The Mew looked at each other, seemingly confused. Then one, who seemed to be the leader of the three asked, Who are you? You seem different from the other males that we know.
Other males? Mewtwo thought. Had he finally found where the ones he had been cloned from originated? I am Mewtwo. Cloned from Mew
Apparently the other Mew found this hilarious and began laughing their heads off. Which only made Mewtwo extremely angry. Tell me where I am NOW! Mewtwo ordered them.
Their reaction was to streak towards the island so fast that it took Mewtwo a moment to realize that they had gone. Mewtwo sighed. He might run into them again, or he might encounter these 'males' that they had commented about. At the very least, he might have found a home for his cloned family at last. That thought alone was able to put Mewtwo's temper to a close. He would finally be able to relax.
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The Beta stretched her wings. There wasn't much to do now that the chosen one had arrived, but she couldn't help but wonder why she couldn't relax. The Legendaries were gathering, all for the weakest of the Legendaries. Even some pokemon that weren't legendary, at least to other pokemon, had been called. But, she still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something that they still needed to finish. Something that was going to go terribly wrong. The Beta lifted her head as her closest friend neared where she was resting.
"Hello, Mar!" He called.
Mar sighed. She never really liked that name, but it had been a source of pride for her that it had been given by the humans who left the island. She never was able to understand why they had seemed to say it with such contempt. It always seemed such a lovely name to her, even though she didn't really like it. "Hello!" She called back.
"Thinking again?"
"Yes. Something feels out of place."
"You feel it too huh?"
"Grime, what do you think it is?"
"I don't know, but I just hope that it isn't what I fear."
Mar sighed. She knew perfectly well what it probably was. Even though the chosen one had arrived with plenty of time to reseal the sealed ones, things just didn't feel like they had when it had happened so many other times.
"But, I came to tell you that your son seems to be up to something again," Grime said. "He's been avoiding the Mew lately and has refused to appear at any gathering that any pokemon request his presence. I think that he may be trying to break the seal again."
"Yes, but remember why he does this. He desires revenge on the humans who nearly killed him. The humans that gave us these lovely names," Mar answered.
Grime looked at Mar quizzically. Mar knew that Grime thought that although the names sounded lovely to them, the humans probably thought that it wasn't quite so lovely. Mar refused to believe that the names were any less beautiful than she believed them to be. "I think that he may be trying again to break the seal. I think that he even brought several outsiders to the island again," Grime told Mar.
Mar knew that this was more than her son had done before. "Be that as it may, my servant, Mark, is with the chosen one. On their way to the Sealing Crystal. There is no way that we can reach them. If any of this is going to release the sealed ones, then we both know that it will only happen when the wanderer makes a friend. There is no way that the seal can be broken if the wanderer remains friendless."
"But, the Mew say that nearly happened four years ago," Grime said. "And it was only a matter of time before it would happen."
Mar sighed. She knew that Grime was right, but what could they do about that?
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Jack laughed to himself after his Blazeon took Will back in the cave. Jack knew Will thought that he'd be able to trap him, but Jack knew that when that ball was used, something that Will didn't expect would happen. There wouldn't be anything that could save him or his men. At least since Jack's master had found a way to get the Metallic ball to become lost. A very easy trick. Just convince a young Mew that it wouldn't hurt to play with it, and soon enough, it was lost in the sea. No one ever knew about it, especially since the Mew was too scared of what might happen. And it would never return to the island. Jack could hardly wait for those who had treated his master so poorly would pay for that.
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Misty sighed. She knew that what happened earlier between Ash and May didn't really mean to Ash, at least not that she could tell. As far as she could see, his heart was still open, so she knew that she might be able to slide in it, if she was careful enough. She couldn't think of anything that she'd be able to do while they were in this creepy cave on this weird island. Misty was just glad that there hadn't been any bugs around. She wasn't sure of how much of that she could take.
Suddenly, they walked out into a chamber that seemed to be carved straight out of the rock. One moment the walls were rough, natural cave walls, then it was obvious that it had been once occupied by humans. As they walked along, Misty noticed some pictures on the wall. Misty wasn't sure, but she figured that it was probably some sort of writing system like hieroglyphics, except these pictures seemed very detailed and each one almost seemed to represent a story in of itself. "What are these?" Misty asked.
Mark was the one who answered. "Those are the carvings from the Mew. They saw the day that the sealed ones would break free. It was said that the only way to save the world after that was by the Crystalline ball and the Metallic ball. Created by the fifth chosen one, they were to hold the pokemon that had been sealed. But, the seal would only be broken by the events that occur after the Wanderer finds a friend. Until then, the seal will remain closed. Holding the sealed ones inside."
Misty let her breath out, when she realized that she had been holding it for a moment. This was much more than she had expected. She thought that it might be some sort of history, made by people. But, she never thought that it might have been made by pokemon, or that it would be a prophecy. All that just amazed her at how intricate each detail was done.
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Author's Notes: Well, that's it for this chapter. Please let me know what you think about it. And, any guesses on what the wanderer is, or who it is? If you have any thoughts, please let me know! I'm also open to any flames you may have about this, so please leave me a review!