Light across Layla's eyelids draws her out of sleep, the world feels groggy and thick as she rubs her eyelids. Yesterday's events play across her mind and once she's caught up she opens her eyes. Her body slumps further into the bed as she finds herself unable to see as clearly as before.
Disappointment turns into the warm fuzzies when she looks down to see the blurry mass on her chest is Morty. A giddy smile forms on her face to see his mop of hair splayed on her body while his head sits on her breasts with one arm wrapped around her midsection. He's emanating warmth and she tries her best not to jostle him too much as she settles against him.
It warms her heart to feel him against her, his breathing even and calm as he dreams in the early morning light of the spare room. He inhales deeply as she draws her fingers against his scalp, a little hum starting deep in his throat as she massages his temples. Unable to contain her excitement, she squeezes his body tight, wrapping both arms around his shoulders and pressing a kiss to his head.
While her vision isn't fully back, she doesn't need it to feel this moment and feel so... full.
Content and happy with him here.
"Morning," she mumbles when he stretches out and exhales deeply. "Did you sleep well?"
He yawns, his eyes squeezed shut and his pearly whites gleaming at her, wiping his face and nuzzling into her chest again. "I'm still sleeping."
"Of course," she laughs, running her fingers through his hair some more. "Good thing I was on my best behavior then. Don't want you missing out on your sleep schedule."
"Good," he mutters, settling back down again.
They've nestled back into that morning peacefulness when his memories return and he leans up on his elbow to look at her. "Can you see?"
"Kind of," she replies, glancing down at him to see him all fuzzy. "It's blurry, which is a good sign."
He settles on her again. "Good."
She chuckles, listening to his breath even out once more within seconds of relaxing against her. It's one of his super powers, as she likes to call it, the ability to lay down and fall asleep in mere seconds. It always astounds her, but not a surprise given 'sleepy' is definitely part of his personality.
She learned that quick in the early stages of their relationship, she'd always find him asleep on the couch, or called him in the middle of a nap.
She slips into a light sleep herself until the door opens and Jasmine rushes in. "Eusine ran off."
That wakes them both up.
Morty and Layla sit up on the bed and glancing in Jasmine's direction with wide eyes. Layla thinks it's a ploy to get them out of bed, but the fuzzy outline of Jasmine is curled in on herself and even across the room she can see her trembling hands. Her heart plummets into her stomach thinking of Eusine out there, hurt, facing down Archer.
No, no, no!
"When? Why? Where?" the questions fall from Layla's lips as Morty slides off the bed to change.
The bathroom door sits open as he slips back into his clothes while Layla stays in the main bedroom. Jasmine paces across the floor, her hands smoothing the ends of her hair while her eyes dart around as though searching for a clue. It's strange seeing her so worked up, Jasmine is usually quick to take charge in situations like these, but Layla can't fault her with the danger involved.
"I don't know, I made him breakfast and brought it to him in his room a half hour ago. I went to check on him now and he's gone," she replies. "What do we do?"
"We find him and kill him," Layla groans.
The world seems to spin as she sets her feet on the ground and pushes herself up. Her legs feel wobbly but she manages to propel herself forward into the dresser a few feet away. Using her hands, she finds suitable pants for running around in with a bra and shirt to go with it. Jasmine uses this time to try and call Eusine, hoping to reason with him and get him to turn around.
"He probably went after Entei," Morty says, tossing his scarf on. "He probably thinks Suicune chose him for a mission or something."
"Of course," Jasmine rolls her eyes. "We have to go after him. It's not safe."
"I'm sure he took Hugo," Layla emerges, dressed with her hair up in a messy bun. "We have to fly there."
With that decided, they migrate to the inner part of the house, Jasmine makes two sandwiches for Morty and Layla while the latter calls her mother and the former calls Lance. The two stand on opposite sides of the room while the phones ring with no answer. They both hang up with a frustrated sigh and scurry outside with food in hand.
Aves welcomes Morty and Layla on his back while Jasmine takes to Skarmory. The pokemon sense the urgency in their trainers and fly as fast as possible without hurting them. Below, the landscape blurs past them, none of it easing Layla's thundering heart as her eyes form tears in the wind blustering in her face.
"It'll be okay!" Morty calls against the wind, his grip on her tightening. "Lance and your mother must be there, they'll see him."
"For his sake, I hope so!" she calls back, wiping at her face.
Within a couple of hours they make it to an area north of Fuschia, drawn to it by the smoke rising in the sky and attacks raining down in one spot. Layla huddles down closer to Aves' body as they zero in on a small clearing north of the Safari Zone. With her limited vision, she can make out who's who by their outfits. Team Rocket in dark grays and red 'R's barely visible, while G-men run around in a range of dark colored suits.
Despite her disadvantage, she scans the grounds for Eusine's bright purple suit or even his white cape. Aves keeps high in the sky to avoid the brunt of the fight, his agile body easily dips and swerves around attacks, leaving Layla slightly sick.
It's a mess of Team Rocket and G-men agents and...
"Watch out!" Layla screams at Jasmine as a fireball rages past them. "It's Entei!"
The fire type lets out a loud bark from below, taking down five Rocket pokemon while Lance tries to offer it cover from strange machines. Much like the ones found holding Suicune, these rounded machines lash out with an electric pulse to grab the fire type. When one hits the pokemon, it stuns him while the others move in to immobilize it completely. Lance's Dragonite swoops down to beat them away, his attack barely denting the machinery.
"Where's Eusine?" she calls back to Morty, her eyes scanning the outskirts of the area.
"Hey!" Jasmine shouts, coming next to them. She points out towards the center of the chaos, where the same helicarrier from before has landed. "There he is!"
Sure enough, Layla follows her finger to a fight between Eusine, his white cape stark amongst the fighting, and two other figures. The hulking figure has to be Attila and she can only guess the one next to him is hun. Eusine's pokemon struggle to keep up against Attila's Muk and Hun's Steelix.
The two flying pokemon dive down in the fight, Layla getting out Misdreavus while Morty calls on Nox. Jasmine takes a look at the Steelix and smirks, sending her own out to face it while Skarmory offers his support. True to her expertise as Gym Leader, Jasmine's Steelix stands well above Attila's in size, it's sheen much stronger and its battle roar much louder.
"Oh, you must be Layla," Hun hums from across the field. Their voice sounds as though they're bored at the thought of trouble with Entei so close. "Archer will be pleased to know you're here."
Layla gasps, her vision still not good as Belle listens to Morty's commands too, her head whipping around in case he comes out of nowhere.
"Not yet, dear," they speak again, smirking at her fear. "He's busy on the other side, trying to catch Entei."
"Focus Blast!" Morty shouts to distract Hun. Nox's attack hits the ground in front of the two as Hun reaches for his pocket. Morty takes Layla's hand and pulls her close. "Do not run away from me, okay? Stay with me."
"I will, I will," she breathes. "We have to find my mom."
"There's no time."
His point is punctuated by an explosion that makes the ground tremble and sends a burst of dust at them. Eusine hobbles over, his arm close to his body, his sling gone and his cast dirty. It takes all of Layla's resolve to not smack him upside the head as she meets him part of the way with Morty in tow.
"What were you thinking?" she demands.
"They just got here," he defends himself. "I was here with Lance and Juni when these goons showed up. Layla, you have to leave, Archer's here."
"I'm not leaving," she shakes her head, squinting at him. "If they do something to Entei I want to help it. Get all three under my belt."
"You slut," he snorts. "Fine, but you're not leaving our side."
"That's rich coming from you," she retorts.
The Steelix collide head on, the smack of steel on steel makes Layla grit her teeth as Jasmine's pokemon manages to shove the other away. Muk goes down fast thanks to Belle and Hugo working together. Hun calls out their Skarmory next and Jasmine's swoops in, looking excited to have some competition. Their talons clash and it's all a blur from then on.
Eusine returns Hugo when a blast of fire rains down from above, the foreboding heat of it warning them to duck. Layla's heart seizes as the sounds of battles echo all around and now the sight of Houndoom leaping before them soaks in. The pokemon zeroes in on her, but gets slammed aside by Belle's attack.
"Well, well, well."
The voice makes Layla's grip on Morty's hand tighten, her heart pulses against her chest as she turns around to see Archer approaching. She doesn't need her sight to know the look on his face is seething. He smiles at her, with all the friendliness of a Nidoking whose territory has been encroached, it sends a shiver down her spine. Morty pulls her behind him, calling out Hecate, his Mismagius to help protect her.
"Was I not clear last time?" he questions Layla, moving out of the way of a ricochet of fire from houndoom's fight with Belle. "What did I say would happen if I saw you again?"
When she refuses to answer, he does so for her.
"I'd kill you. Did you think I was joking? That I wasn't capable?" he stalks from side to side. "I'm sure you're behind these pathetic G-men here too. What a joke they are."
"Has anyone told you that you talk too much?" Eusine calls, urging Layla and Morty towards the center of the fight where her mother and Lance are. "I'll distract him."
"You, impudent, little..." Archer rages at Eusine, and whistles loudly for his pokemon to ditch Belle.
Layla cries out as her ghost type gets tossed aside by Iron Tail, returning her to her ball immediately. Her breath catches as Houndoom leaps across the way towards them, she clutches at Morty for life, her body locking up and accepting her fate. At the last second, Nox manages to slam into Houndoom, sending the fire type tumbling in the grass, and giving Morty the chance to pull her away.
"Don't you dare!" Archer snarls.
Houndoom lunges once more, dodging Hecate's Power Gem with an impressive leap over the beam. The pokemon tackles Morty, forcing him into Layla who flips around, crying out as she tries to see past the fuzzies in her eyes. Houndoom makes it easy, his face coming within a breath of hers, his teeth grazing against her skin.
"Crush her."
Layla puts up a fight, kicking and screaming until she feels the weight of Houndoom get blasted off from her. Her eyes open to see Medicham towering over her, the pokemon's head shining with the remnants of Zen Headbutt. Relief floods Layla and she allows herself to lay back with her eyes to the sky and be thankful she's still alive with these close calls.
"Layla!" her mother's voice rings in.
It gives her the energy to get up and orient herself. Her vision still blurry, Medicham takes her hand and guides her to her mother. It isn't until she feels her mother's arm enclose around her that she feels truly better and safe. The terror of Archer, Houndoom and nearly getting crushed (again) abades for a while yet.
It doesn't completely leave, though, as the helicarrier roars to life. The two glance back to see Archer retreating with Houndoom nowhere in sight. Layla whips her head around the other way to see the other rocket grunts retreating into the woods as the carrier mobilizes and moves towards Entei.
"Shit," Juniper curses, she looks to the others. "Get your pokemon and let's go."
They nod, following her orders easily.
All the pokemon except Hugo and Nox allow themselves to go back to their little homes, the clearing empties fast as the pressure changes in the air. Morty takes Layla's other hand and the group runs after Juniper. The G-men have gathered to heal themselves, returning their pokemon and calling out new ones to distract the machines.
Lance and Aaron take to the sky to aid using air support, their attacks blazing into the sky. The helicarrier hovers just outside the radius, a barrier surrounding it to protect against the two tamers. It's a futile fight from the view on the ground, attacks die out against the barrier and the machines zip around the rest of the agent's pokemon.
"Oh no," Layla breathes, watching as the two men try and fail against the helicarriers barrier.
There's a loud whirring sound, followed by the appearance of a satellite looking device on the top of the craft. It emits a deafening screech, shoving them down to their knees and grounding the pokemon in the sky. The sound echoes, leaving a ringing in her ears as Layla glances up to see Entei struggling against the last machine.
"We have to help," she shouts, pulling Morty up and then her mother. "We have to help him!"
They meet up with the other two, Layla rushing to the dragon types to help. Lance's Dragonite snaps at her and growls, but Lance reaches up and holds his muzzle as she sprays a Full Restore on his wounds. She thanks him before moving on to Aaron's pokemon, a Salamence that growls but submits to his trainer's stare to get healed.
"What do we do?" she turns to the others.
"Ryu, Hyper Beam," Lance states.
The dragon type charges the beam and releases it in the middle of the chaos, disrupting the last machine as it grips the pokemon. Entei releases another bout of fire, but the satellite screams again and everyone cowers to its screech.
"We're so close," Aaron growls. "Salamence, fly up and hit the satellite with Fire Blast."
The pokemon takes off with a gust of wind while Ryu prepares another Hyper Beam only for it to miss the last machine as it reaches out to Entei. It grips the fire type and engulfs it in a bubble before the bubble shrinks down to a collar around its neck. The orbs circle the pokemon on the ground as it struggles.
The group falls silent, even as Salamence destroys the satellite and it crashes to the ground. G-men agents come to circle them, unsure of what the next step should be now that Entei has been caught.
Up above the carrier lets out another, short soundwave only known because of the waves it produces in the air. The second confirmation of the wave comes from Entei's pained grunt. It falters in its step before rearing its head up. Time slows down as the earth seems to rumble beneath their feet and the air grows warm.
A roar explodes from Entei's mouth, it takes up all of Layla's senses and she falls to the grass trying to block out the sound, it feels like the air around them has disappeared. The ground shudders and the aftershock rattles through the trees. The roar tapers off to dead silence as if all time has stopped. It's just the same feeling Layla had when Raikou had roared, but this one rattled her stomach more.
"Ryu," Lance breaks the moment easily.
Sounds filter in and Dragonite flies up and uses Dragon Rush to destroy the orbs one by one while the pokemon struggles with its next move. With the orbs gone, the collar seems to break as though it was rusted through. The fire type pokemon shakes off the static and runs off before Layla can get closer to see if it's okay.
With the speed in which Entei took off, she can safely assume it'll be fine and only hopes Archer won't continue after it.
She glances up to see Salamence and Dragonite crashing into the carrier, knocking it to the side. The hits seem to dent the metal and give them enough reason to take off, their rotors working overtime as it starts to rise. Though, before it disappears, the sound of feedback sounds before a voice filters through.
"We've gotten all that we need, good luck cleaning up the mess!"
Layla frowns, glancing over at her mother and then Morty. "What does that mean?"
Eusine and Morty pale, their eyes glancing to each other. It's Morty that's the first to speak up, his voice grim. "Entei's roar, the last one, was special... If legends are true-"
"A volcano is going off," Eusine states with a grimace.
Her heart drops at that, the nearest volcano is here in Kanto; on Cinnabar Island. She glances over to her mom, her eyes narrowed to focus her vision. "I have to go. An eruption means lots of pokemon injured."
"I know, honey," Juniper responds and glances around at Aaron. "What do you want us to do?"
"They're going to need you," he states with a nod at both women. "Lance will go with and," he turns to the other agents, "Those of you able to make it to Cinnabar, go. Those of you that can't, go back to HQ and get the fire teams out. Lance, please call Blaine and let him know we're on the way."
Eusine gets Hugo out to teleport Layla, Juniper and Morty and Jasmine first. Too many people in a teleport bubble and someone gets split apart. There's no sound as everyone mobilizes, the severity of the situation weighs down on all of them, the lives that will be lost if they don't move fast enough. The danger the island will suffer...
It's almost too much to think about.
Layla grips Morty's hand tight as the world starts to spin, she prays they'll make it in time.