Author's Note: HAH! I HAVE FINALLY DESTROYED THOSE FOOLS! FEAR ME! You have no idea how long I've wanted to kill off Ash. Since I was six, seven years ago. Yeah, well everyone thanks for reviewing! And meet some semi-romance in this chapter. No kissing or anything, but two teens get awfully close.
Cuddlybear: Who said they got eaten? Oh wait. Yeah, they did. –smiles evilly-
Chapter Fifteen: Hidden CaveA long silence continued onwards, as the whole party had stopped to just watch where Ash and the rest had fallen to their doom.
" I didn't do it!" Bry cried out.
" What do you mean you didn't do it? We all flipping saw you!" Ricca yelled (My bad Jen. I forgot to mention her in the last chapter. She's with Winona and Cecilia and Anna).
" Shush." Bry mumbled, staring off.
" YOU JUST KILLED FOUR PEOPLE!" screamed Ricca," That's not something to shut up about!" She then smirked," Now you'll be hunted down for murder."
" BUT IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!" Bry protested, wiping his nose on his sleeve, as it was running either from his sudden doing, or because it was so damn cold.
" Why does Ricca seem so happy that Bry will be hunted down?" Chase asked.
" She's like, evil." Miro replied simply.
" Ooooooh…"
Cecilia, prone to cry and as sensitive as her mother as anything unlike her father Marlin, began, and continued, to sob uncontrollably.
Anna sniffed, but didn't break into hysterical tears," Why is Cecilia crying so much? We only knew them for a few days."
" She's prone to cry at anything." Miro and Bry mumbled together, as they continued to watch, quite frightened, at Cecilia's weeping. She cried as if her own grandmother had died. It was a wonder why Cecilia's eyes didn't stop out or something…
Winona narrowed her eyes at Bry," No one will hear about this. They might even blame myself for it, the police, as I was the only adult here, and did nothing to stop it. Everyone, promise you will never tell this to anyone," she ordered.
" Promise." Everyone said, instead of Ricca, who snorted, crossing her arms. Everyone gave her a withering glance, and she snorted again.
" Fine, fine." Ricca said, throwing her hands up," Well, let's go everyone. Just get to that stupid cave."
" Right. Skarmory, Pelliper, Altaria, Swellow. Continue southwest until Pacifidlog Town." Winona ordered to her Pokemon. All four nodded, and began to race towards the town. After an hour or so of flying, listening to Bry's bickering of how long this was taking, and Ricca's threats that if he didn't shut up she would tell the Police what he had done, Winona looked down and smiled.
" Pacifidlog Town! Everyone, lower down!" Winona commanded, looking behind her. Again, her Pokemon nodded, and almost turned on their sides, making a turn and lowering themselves. Chase seemed quite content on Swellow, and didn't mind its sudden turn. Unlike Bry, who gripped onto Skarmory's neck as to not fall off, and yelped as he cut himself across the arm, creating a long, and somewhat deep cut. Yelping, he moaned in pain and his eyes began to water.
William looked behind to see Bry almost crying, and winced," That looks bad. Well, we'll do something about it when we land." Bry snorted, and looked at William flatly.
" Whatever."
William grinned, then turned around, and watched as they were coming down. Swellow's small and quick figure gracefully glided right above the waves, Chase looking down uneasily," Eh heh heh." He laughed nervously, remembering in Lilycove what had happened.
The townspeople of Pacifidlog looked up, bright and happy at seeing new visitors. They obviously didn't get many, being in the middle of the wide ocean. Skarmory, Swellow, Altaria, and Pelliper all lowered themselves onto the boards of the small town, as they began to wobble under their weight.
" You can let go Bryson." Winona instructed, watching as Bry slowly released his grip around the metal bird's neck, and slid down, landing flat on his hindquarters on the dock.
" My arm hurts." Bry whined, sniffling at his arm. Skarmory crowed, sounding like metal scraping against concrete, and the rest of the teens except Winona cringed at the sound. Skarmory looked somewhat offended at the boy, and crowed again, stomping its claws against the wooden dock.
Cecilia looked towards Skarmory, a bit frightened by the bird much taller than herself, made of metal. " I think you upset it, Bry," she informed, nodding in agreement. Skarmory turned towards Cecilia, and nodded, agreeing.
" Oh boy. Well, that thing hurt me." Bry whined.
" Quit it or this will start a fight." Matthew said, glancing around," Wow. Amazing. These houses seem to just float on the wood and the water. But there must be something else for these houses to float upon."
" Corsola. This town is supported by a colony of Corsola, causing it to float. Therefore, many of the houses have things made of Corsola's horns." Winona informed happily.
" Corsola? Another Pokemon, probably a coral looking Pokemon, right?" Anna asked.
" You guessed right. Now, let's go. I need to ask a favor of someone here. One of my friends. We stay in touch through letters. I met her when I came to visit here, looking to see what had happened to the Pelliper and Wingull flocks that seemed to become terribly annoyed and angry. I just hope she'll allow us to use him." Winona said, beginning to walk across the boards, which began to push themselves under an inch of water before stopping their descent.
" Him?" Ricca asked, stepping onto the platforms, the rest following after her. Pelliper settled to swimming in the water, paddling after, while Altaria floated gently beside them, Swellow gliding a few feet above them, Bry quickly stepping out of the way from under the bird with a yelp, almost falling in, and having to had Cecilia and Chase steady him before he did.
" Bryson. Do not annoy Swellow." Winona scolded, and then smiled," Yes. Him. Now, come along."
" As I see it, it's bad luck to be under a bird." Bry concluded proudly, still making sure not to be directly under Swellow.
Cecilia giggled slightly, while the rest rolled their eyes. Winona snorted, and made a left, Skarmory walking behind Bry, eyeing him carefully. Winona then walked on thicker wood, giving the rest of the gang relief, as they wouldn't wet their shoes much more. Winona then smiled," Marina! Marina!" she cried out, waving her arm in the air, the other cupped around her mouth to make her voice carry farther.
Sitting what seemed to be actually on the water, sitting to be precise. The girl was about the age of a seventeen-year-old, and her dark blue hair was in two ponytails, sticking out at the sides of her face. Under her was a massive, and I mean MASSIVE, shadow. Her eyes were a very dark blue, like the ocean, and she wore basically, blue and yellow shorts with a black shirt and a white and blue jacket, unzipped. Not to mention, her shoes were also white and blue, and also had matching fingerless gloves. Basically, if you've played Crystal Version, this is the female character you can choose.
" Winona! Hello!" Marina smiled, turning and standing up, waving her left hand happily. She then gave a sound that sounded like an 'oh' and an 'ah' at seeing the teens behind her," You brought company!" Marina yelled, still appearing to stand on the water.
Chase and Winona laughed at this, while the others were just dumbfounded.
" HEY! YOU'RE FLOATING ON THE WATER! HOW'D YOU DO THAT?" Anna yelled from the group.
" I want to try that." Bry said, stepping to the edge of the boards and looking down into the water," Okay now. Abra Kadabra!" he yelled, and jumped in. Unfortunately, he did not stand on the water as he had hoped, but only pencil dived, as I call it, under. Marina giggled, but quickly burst into a fit of laughing, Winona and Chase as well, who seemed to know what was going on.
Bry reappeared at the surface a few moments later, frowning and cursing to himself. Chase and Winona helped haul him out of the water, and he looked at himself with a groan," Now I'm soaked! How come it worked for you?" he asked Marina angrily.
Marina giggled," Oh. I'm special."
" More like retarded." Bry mumbled, and a huge wave, more like a tidal wave, washed over him, pushing him back into the water. He struggled, but managed to get back into the platform.
" Don't call me retarded kid. You're really starting to bug me." Marina said, hands on her hips. " So Winona, what brings you to Pacifidlog Town anyway? You're usually too busy at the gym in Fortree."
" I've come to ask you a favor. Do you think we could borrow Hoeruo for a while? We have important business to do underwater. Very." Winona asked.
Marina smiled," Well sure Winona! How could I say no?" she giggled," I mean, you're like my role model. I remember when we first met, about a few years ago, right? Yeah, it was. I always wanted to be just like you, except you know, not old."
Winona snorted, while the rest snickered and began to whistle when Winona turned to glare at them. Winona then smiled at Marina," Thank you. I see you're…standing on top of him, right?"
Marina nodded, then looked down, giving the shadow a pat with her foot," Yep. Hoeruo just rests out here instead of inside his Pokeball. Everyone adores him. He also looks after the rest of the water Pokemon around here." Marina smiled, and patted the shadow," Wake up boy! Up!"
With a long groan that resembled that of a whale, the shadow began to lift out of the water. Chase and Winona smiled, while the others were scared out of their minds at the huge being. It was, indeed, a Wailord, if you hadn't gotten that already, and might be mental. At about fifty feet long, and who knows how tall, Wailord was the largest Pokemon EVER to walk this earth, or um, swim in it.
" It seems to be a whale!" Matthew informed the rest, readjusting his hat as another small tidal wave of about two feet washed over the planks of the platforms.
" It's huge!" Anna and Cecilia chimed.
" I wonder what it eats to get that big." Ricca asked herself and the others.
" Maybe it eats Plankton like the other whales. You know, the tiny microscopic things." William replied.
" It must be a pain to feed though, if it doesn't eat Plankton." Miro said, bewildered.
" Hoeruo is a he, thank you! And yeah, he eats basically anything. Lots of fish." Marina said on top of the huge beast." Now Hoeruo, swim over to the platform where the people are."
Hueruo moaned like a whale, again, and began to move slowly to the platform.
" Thank you Marina! We'll bring him right back after we're done. Now everyone," she said, turning to behind her," We'll be going underwater, on Hoeruo, to reach our destination. No fussing over how we get there, right?"
The others nodded, quite excited at traveling on this huge beast, except Chase, who was a little nervous.
Marina walked to the top of Hoeruo's head, and smiled, jumping down and landing on her knee on the platform. She then stood up, and patted Hoeruo," Be good boy," she told him," I'll see you later."
Hoeruo sniffed, almost miserable at being left with these others, and began to fuss by wailing. The others watched, bug-eyed.
" Errr. He's a bit, sensitive." Immediately, Cecilia took a liking to this huge whale as Marina said that. " Now Hoeruo. Don't worry. I'll be right here. You obey Winona while I'm gone. She knows what she's doing."
Hoeruo moaned again, and stopped wailing, sniffing. Hoeruo then nodded his huge head, and looked to the group, opening his HUGE mouth, waiting patiently. Winona smiled, and Chase was relieved, as they nodded at Marina, and began to walk onto Hoeruo's tongue, proceeding inwards.
" So, why did big whale dude open his mouth?" Bry asked.
" Well, if you're going to go underwater, this is how you travel. In his mouth." Marina said.
" His mouth? OH NASTY!" Anna squealed. Cecilia gave a withering glance at the others.
" Oh come on everyone! It looks like fun!" Cecilia urged, taking a step on Hoeruo's tongue," It's squishy!" she squealed in joy," And it doesn't smell bad at all!"
" Doesn't mean it's going to smell like flowers." Ricca mumbled, stepping on.
The rest followed onward reluctantly, and Bry turned to Marina," Well, thanks Marina for this."
" No problem boy. I never got your name anyway. So, what is it?" Marina asked.
" I'm Bry, this is Veloci and Apology," he introduced, noticing they had just somehow appeared," And this is Cecilia, Ricca, William, Matthew, Chase, Anna, and Miro." Bry said.
" Hello! I'm Marina Crystal, if you didn't know! I come from New Bark Town in the Johto region, and was born there. After defeating Johto League, I came here to relax for a while before I went off to figure out something else to do with my life."
Noticing this might be a life story coming on, Bry moaned," Just get the whale to close his damn mouth, please."
Marina snorted," Fine. I'll just tell you when you all get back!"
" Well, at least we have something to look forward to." Bry said, oozing with sarcasm.
Marina rolled her eyes, then yelled," Hoeruo! Dive!"
Hoeruo moaned, and began to close his gaping jaws, locking the teens and gym leader inside. Once his mouth was closed, light still came from his blowhole. But this, too, became closed, and now, only some light filtered in. You could still see well, but in some places, it was trapped in shadows. Luckily, Apology gave off light from his flames.
" Eugh. It smells horrible in here." Bry coughed, covering his nose with the collar of his shirt, pulling it up.
" Do not insult Hoeruo Bryson. We are lucky Marina allowed us borrowing him for a bit. If she knew what we were doing, we'd never be allowed to. It would be far too dangerous. Marina is quite protective of where her Pokemon go. But she thinks I would never go to the Hidden Underwater Cave near here." Winona then heard the sound of water, and said softly," We're under now." She then raised her voice," Hoeruo! It's me, Winona! Please, head for the Hidden Underwater Cave on Route 128!"
Hoeruo groaned again, and a sudden lurch sent the group forward, landing flat on their backs.
Bry, having gotten used to the smell now, sat up, resting his head on his knees," So, you basically lied Winona?"
" She didn't lie Bry. It was only for the protection of this region, and the whole world. Besides, Team Magma has talked of a girl named Marina that lives in Pacifidlog Town. They say she is almost invincible to defeat. They fear her. But Marina herself does not believe in her own Pokemon's abilities. She would rather baby them then send them off somewhere dangerous. But they are almost invincible. Hoeruo can take these currents and get us there." Chase informed, his eyes closed as he got up. Winona nodded in agreement, a small frown upon her face, and she and the rest stood up.
The others nodded, and then inspected their new surroundings for their next ride. Bry continued to just rest his head on his knees, ignoring everyone else. His cut still bled slightly, but he ignored it.
Anna and Ricca glanced back at Bry, but practically ignored him, only giving each other flat glances while they continued to investigate the territory. Occasionally, they would wander too far back, and Hoeruo would groan, warning them to stay back. Chase translated for them, as he was part Pokemon himself, he could understand Hoeruo's speech.
Apology and Veloci began to chat with each other, Apology throwing his head towards the walls of Hoeruo's mouth, and becoming incredibly nervous, incase somehow water came crashing in, it would spell doom for this fire horse. Veloci attempted to reassure Apology that this would not be the case, but Apology still glanced around nervously.
Matthew and William were off chatting about something else near the opening of Hoeruo's mouth, although they were mumbling, so no one else but themselves could hear them. Miro joined them in their conversation boredly, and they began to talk up a storm, quite out of both Matthew's and Miro's personality.
Winona and Chase were busy inspecting Hoeruo's cheeks, Chase helping the whale by gently pulling off some algae and other things that might hurt him. Hoeruo moaned in happiness, thanking him and Winona, who pointed out the rest. Pelliper, Skarmory, Altaria, and Swellow all very playing tag inside the huge whale's mouth, Pelliper currently it, but being slower than the rest, would often zoom straight at one of its opponents, and miss, stopping itself from crashing into the side of Hoeruo's mouth.
Cecilia was busy humming by herself, then began to talk aloud to what appeared to be no one," So, how's it like to swim? So, you can breathe underwater? I wish I could do that. Swimming underwater all day. It would be so nice," she sighed deeply in relaxation, then reopened her eyes, and turned around. She frowned immediately at seeing Bry alone. Deciding to go and see what was wrong, Cecilia began to walk over, hovering over Bry.
Bry hadn't noticed Cecilia, his face in the other direction, laid on its side, staring off to what appeared to be nowhere.
" Hi Bry."
" Huh?" Bry glanced up and spotted Cecilia," Oh. Hey Cecilia."
Cecilia frowned," What's wrong?" she said, sitting down beside him now, deeply concerned by her facial expressions, and the look in her dark grey, almost black eyes, like her mother's and father's. " Oh! You have a cut!"
" It's nothing. Really."
" Not if it gets infected! I had a nasty cut on my finger once that got infected. It went all red and bumpy, and then, this really nasty yellow stuff started to come out. But Mom and Dad treated it with bandages and cream, and Dr. Hardy looked at it, so I was fine."
" Ewww."
Cecilia quickly took out a first-aid kit from her apron, and set it down," Hold still. I have to put on some of this cleaning alcohol, so it might sting a little." She then padded Bry's cut with a cloth and some cleaning alcohol, Bry ignoring the stinging pain shooting up his arm.
" That didn't hurt really."
" Good. Now, all I have to do is bandage this up, and we're done!" she said cheerfully, taking out a roll of bandages and beginning to bandage Bry's arm, making sure it was tight. " Too tight?"
" Nuh-uh. It's perfect."
" Good!" she beamed, and finished up," There we go! All better!"
" Wow. Thanks Cecilia. But why do you have a first aid-kit anyway?"
" For the plants! They sometimes get hurt, and then I spend all day bandaging them, and talking softly to them, and give them a lollipop, so they feel all better!"
" Umm. Okay then. Do I get a lollipop?"
" Sure. I only have grape left though."
" Ugh. Never mind. Grape tastes like crap."
Cecilia then put the first aid-kit away in her apron," So, what is really wrong? I know you're too tough for that to be the only thing wrong, and you be here all by yourself."
" Nothing really. I just kind of…miss home," he admitted. He then added," But, I mean, it's not like I'm crying or anything," he snorted.
" Me too. I kind of miss Mom and Dad, and the plants!" she agreed, letting her feet stretch out, ignoring the tongue underneath as she put her hands on it, for support.
" Oh yes. The plants." Bry said, glancing at her," I miss the animals, and Mom and Dad. Oh. I'm so angry with myself," he muttered, clenching his fist, adorned with a red and black glove, from his father.
" Why are you angry?"
" Because, when I'm finally out on my own, I miss them. It's not like a teenager to miss his own parents. You're supposed to want to get out of the house, go somewhere and travel. But me-"
" Everyone misses their family Bry." Cecilia said," Everyone does. Right now, although they don't show it, I bet Chase, Ricca, Anna, Matthew, Miro, and William all miss their families right now. It's just, life really."
" That was deep Cecilia."
" Oh it was? Oh neat! I got that off a greeting card, actually! Only I replaced the names!" she giggled, clapping her hands together and smiling.
" Yeah, it was. But still-"
" Bry, give me your hand." Cecilia ordered, pulling out something from her pocket on her apron, exactly resembling her mother's.
" My hand?" Bry asked," Umm. Okay," he said, holding his hand out.
Cecilia took his hand, and opened it, revealing his palm. She then smiled, and began to pull at the glove. But with all her tugging and pulling, she could not yank it off," Umm. Bry…"
" Yeah, yeah. I'll get it off." Bry said, Cecilia letting go and allowing Bry to yank at his glove. With a strong jerk, Bry had pried it off and it slapped him in the face," OW!"
The rest of the group glanced up, but shrugged and went back to what they were doing.
Bry rubbed his face, and stared at the incredibly dirty glove in his hand, with dirt and grass stains all over it. " Whoa. I need to wash these," he muttered.
Cecilia sighed, then took Bry's hand again, and put her other hand, holding something, over his. " Here. Hold it close, and it will lighten the darkness." Cecilia whispered gently, closing Bry's hand and letting go.
Bry looked awed at Cecilia's words, and then glanced at his hand, bewildered at seeing his own hand first off. He then opened his hand, and saw a golden pendant, in crested in the middle of it a bird, made of small sapphires, fitted perfectly together to create the bird. Tiny lines of gold ran into the bird, making it glitter.
" Wow…" Bry said, awed," But where did you-"
" It was my Grandmother's." Cecilia quickly answered," Well, she made it. She passed it down to my mother, and then to me. And I want you to have it, now." Cecilia quickly blushed scarlet, realizing this was very much out of her nature of being sensitive and shy.
" It's so…pretty." Bry said, still awed," Thanks Cecilia," he said.
But Cecilia had already fallen asleep, her head leaning on Bry's shoulder for support. Bry widened his eyes a bit, then smiled," She probably got that other line from a greeting card or something." Glancing around at the others, who weren't looking, Bry smiled and sighed in relief, leaning his head on Cecilia's.
" Hey Bry! Wake up!"
Bry quickly awoke with a groan, his vision clearing to show Cecilia, smiling right in his face.
" Gah!" Bry said, scooting back a bit," Are we there yet?"
Cecilia blushed, then pulled away," Did I scare you? Sorry! And yeah, we're almost there. You slept through the rough torrents and stuff. It was really loud and stuff, so I woke up. But then…" she looked away, blushing a fierce red," I fell back asleep on your shoulder. It made such a nice pillow."
" Err. Good to know, Cecilia." Bry laughed nervously. Bry then looked to his palm, and still saw the pendant. He placed it in his pants pocket, patting it gently. " So, when did you wake back up?"
" A few minutes ago. Winona told me that we'd resurface in the cave in a few minutes." Cecilia said, colour still in her face.
" Oh. Well, I hope we get there. We have to get Trinity to stop this and save the world and stuff."
She giggled, then heard a lurch and felt a sudden rise," We're here," she said, turning towards the entrance of the whale, Bry standing up and wiping off his pants.
Winona glanced at the others, and ordered," We're here! Everyone, file off quietly. I don't want to hear a sound out of any of you. They probably already know that we're here."
The rest nodded, and began to form two lines at the entrance. Hoeruo then opened his mouth wide, allowing the group to see sand, almost like a beach. The group all nodded to themselves and each other, almost like speaking, and began to march out of the Hoeruo, and onto the sand. Bry, volunteering to head count everyone, turned around and began to count, as Hoeruo closed his mouth and prepared to sink. Counting everyone, Winona ordered Hoeruo to go underwater, in which he obeyed and did so.
" So Bryson! You followed us all the way here? You're just too stubborn. But that all ends now."