Chapter 37: Where the teams are beaten.

The three teams quickly took their battle poses, ready to defend themselves and hinder Bao and Ferhat the Spiritomb from getting the stone.

"Amy, Axel, just let us pass. Too many Pokémon were hurt today.", Bao tried to reason, sounding sad.

"Bao, you do realise we outnumber you.", Ziggy pointed out.

"You know it does not matter ... to me.", Bao answered without changing his tone.

"Oh, no, it isn't!", Richard called out.

"We trained with you, Phil and Paul. We know what you can do and what you can't. We saw you fight already.", Nya added.

Ferhat listened interested. Enjoying the show from the sideline.

Bao smiled sinister, even more than Ferhat did before.

"What if I told you ... I was holding back the whole time?"

The eyes of the teams were one him.

"If I wanted to, I could take down Hilarius and everyone who would stand in my way. Right now, I'm forced to the point of doing so.", he further told.

Ziggy was unimpressed.

"Show me.", he ordered Bao and smiled meanly.

At this point Mo already knew, either Bao did overestimated himself, Mo never saw him fighting before, or they all were underestimating him. There would be at least on surprised side.

Bao closed his eyes, took a deep breath, slowly took in a fighting position like a shaolin monk showing off and breathed out as he did. In response, Ziggy quickly went on all fourths, ready to charge his thunder bolt attack at the Mienshao.

No one could really realise what happened next. Apparently, Bao dashed forward to Ziggy like a bullet, leaned forward and punched the Pikachu so hard and in his face that he flew and slid across the floor. Ziggy came to a hold as his body did a backflip on the ground and was knocked out instantly. The teams, even his own team mates could do nothing but stare at what just happened.

Bao stood straight again and looked down to Axel and Amy.

"Does anyone else wants a taste?"

Noticeably scared, Amy put herself together and walked closer to Bao with new found confident.

"You chose the wrong side, Ling Bao!", she spoke. "As long as we can stand, we will not let you get your hands on the Origin Stone!"

She looked over to Axel to seek verification from him. Axel, scared as Amy was before, got himself together as well and gave her a nod.

Bao seemed unimpressed, or rather disappointed. He brushed over his whisker. Amy took her fighting pose again and her paws began to glow in a blue aura, while Axel's back lit up.

Mo had a really bad feeling about the situation. He did not know if he could take on Bao and Ferhat, even with everyone by his side. Axel and Amy were the only ones that still gave him hope.

Before anyone could properly react, Bao swung his arm and smashed Axel over his head, knocking him violently to the ground and out of commission. Already to late at this point, Amy tried to step in and threw a punch at the Mienshao. Instead of taking it or dodging her attack, Bao grabbed the Riolu's arm and countered by smacking the edge of his paw against Amy's neck. First, Amy stood there with a blank expression, like paralysed. Then, she just fell over ...

Silence ...

For Mo ... there was no logical chance of winning anymore. None of the remaining adventurers could believe it.

"Oh no, this is horrible!", Richard cried out.

The Spiritomb laughed quietly.

"Good, Bao, very good. If I had you with me instead of this shell of a bug all these years ago, the Adventurer Guild would have been mine."

Bao went on one knee and stroke Amy over her head.

"If I was a member of Team purple back then, I would have made sure you did not even confronted the old Guild Master in the first place."

"I hope you mean, you would have taken out that Feraligatr for me!", Ferhat assured himself.

Suddenly, Mo saw something flying over him and Aaron, flying directly towards Bao. Charlotte leaped herself upwards and mid air, wing her log as well as herself around as she aimed for his head. Not even Bao could see that coming. He looked up, only to get her wooden log round his nose, leaving him dumbfounded for a moment, a short moment.

Back on the ground, Charlotte flanged herself back at Bao. This time he was prepared and blocked her attack with his arm, then again, and a third time afterwards.

After the third time, Charlotte paused and took some run-up, rolling away a little towards the entrance, Bao backing the pedestal. He was seemingly surprised from what just happened, tried to keep his cool and took his fighting pose he did before attacking Ziggy.

After only a short while, still feeling to Mo like an eternity, Charlotte dash forward, rolling at Bao with high speed, flanging herself into the air again, swinging her log like a weapon and the anger written in her face, moments away from clubbing her log on his head again.

Then ...

With a precise performance, Bao hit Charlotte's stomach with the palm of his paw. A shock wave shook the room as the Komala was struck in mid air. Without her log in hand, Charlotte limbly flew through the air. She flew against the top of the rooms entrance, hitting it with either her head or her neck. she fell back to the ground, almost onto the Spiritomb who stepped back and looked upon the Komala as small piece of rock rained down to her.

It was like something bursted inside Mo as he saw the final moment of this fight and finally Charlotte, laying there, not moving anymore.

"Charlotte, are you alright?!", Aaron called out to her.

Mo, who hid behind Aaron, pushed his bottom aside and rushed to her, not thinking, not caring about anything else.

The Spiritomb turned to Mo.

"OUT OF MY WAY!", Mo demanded, but was not using his demon voice.

Ferhat made space like he was told, not that Mo cared right now.

Mo checked on her. Blood was running down her backside. Some got in his claws as he held her, he unwary whipped it on his on his cloth.

"Charlotte ... Charlotte.", Mo said again, tears wetting the parts of his disguise around his eyes.

Not here, not now, not like this, not at all, not her.

Mo turned her around. Her mouth was open and she did not respond.

"AARON! ORAN BERRY, NOW! NOW!", he turned around and shouted.

Aaron reacted quickly and rushed over to them with their team bag as the others looked at what was happening.

Mo forcible grabbed their team bag and dug trough it in search for what he was looking for, scattering other items like seeds over the ground.

Finding what he was looking for he directly stuffed it into her mouth and helped her chewing by moving her jaw with his claw.

"Please, please please, please, please!", he kept begging to himself.

"Mo ... I don't think this is working.", Aaron told Mo.

Mo snapped on him without his demon voice, glowing eyes and dark aura.

"DO YOU HAVE A BETTER IDEA?!"

As he turned away at Aaron, Charlotte spat pieces of chewed and unchewed oran berry at Mo's side, spewing and coughing and grunting.

Hearing this sound behind him made him trembled and a hot, corrosive feeling spread from his inner core through his whole body. Mo quickly turned back around, and a mixture of salvia and oran berry juice sprayed on his front side.

"Or it does ...", Aaron corrected himself.

Charlotte was still not kicking it, but at least she was awake, or awake in her way.

Mo pressed her face against him.

"I thought the worst ...", Mo said to her. His eyes could not stop watering.

Charlotte patted the side of his fake head.

"Team Purple?", Ferhat, who was still standing beside them, said to the team.

Realising that he was still there, Mo and Aaron quickly turned around.

The Spiritomb sort of smiled at them.

"First I thought they disbanded Adventure Team Purple forever, then I heard of you, but never had the chance to meet you properly. ... not that it matters anymore. Still nice to know my old team is still around."

Ferhat turned to Bao, who was watching what happened like the others. Bao looked back at Nya and Richard, both intimidated by Bao as they looked back at him.

"I recommend you to not further interfere with our plans.", he told them.

"I don't suppose I will.", Richard answered.

Ferhat floated by Team Purple, Team Red and Team Blue, joining Bao as they made their way to the pedestal.

Axel, Amy and Ziggy were still out, he and Aaron knew that interfering would only mean slaps and kicks for them and so did Nya and Richard as well, probably. And Charlotte? Mo was not sure if she was not able to fight at the moment or knew as well there was no use. She did nothing to prevent the two from getting the stone.

Only a miracle can save us.

"Bao ,... why? Why are you doing this?", Axel asked. He had a bump on his head and it was hard for him to push himself off the ground.

Bao stopped, Ferhat turned around to see why.

"If you take the Origin Stone away from us, you take away the power to change things for the better.", he said, then turned around. "I did something in the past I cannot forgive myself. After I heard that the Origin Stone was real, I promised myself to do anything I could to fix it. I need to do it. Not for me ... for her."

"Her?!", Mo thought to himself.

"How can you be so sure you can trust him into having your wish granted?!", Axel slowly stood up, but was still shaky.

Without further words, Bao turned around again.

"Are you talking about Yinping?!", Mo spoke up out loud. " Are you talking about your sister?!"

Bao stopped again, so did Ferhat, who, as he looked at Bao, seemed to be surprised.

"Who?", Nya asked Mo.

Bao slowly turned around again. His eyes were wide open and his pupils shrunk in. He almost appeared to be terrified.

"You actually want to use this rock to bring her back to life?! That's not how life works!", Mo further told him, now feeling confirmed by Bao's look. "It was not your fault what happened! There was nothing you could do to prevent it! No one could!"

Axel turned around to Mo as well.

"Mo, what are you talking about?!"

"She wants you to move one, Bao!", Mo went on. "I want you to know that Yinping his happy and she wants you to be happy, too. I know her, and she would not want you to goes this far, not even if it is for her."

Silence. Everyone had their eyes on Mo, who slowly began to think this was not a good idea talking about her.

Still with the same expression, Bao slowly walked back to the teams with Ferhat still standing where they stopped. With each step Bao got a little faster and his expression changed as well, until he start running directly at Mo, with a face filled with rage while Mo stood there between his two team mates, frozen in a state of shock.

Aaron managed to dodge in time while Charlotte was pushed away by Bao with his leg. He then grabbed Mo by his fake head and picked him up like a toy, holding him so they could see in each others eyes.

"How DARE you talking about her?!", Bao shouted directly at him, shaking back and forth.

Mo was not sure how to respond.

"After that SCENE you just made a minute ago, what would YOU have done if Charlotte died?!", Bao shouted.

To be fair, Mo did not knew either. He actually would have done the same, probably even more. Bao had a point.

Mo's eyes glow up.

"At least it would not have been MY fault if she had died!"

Silence. Mo and Bao kept looking at each other, and everyone else at them.

Without warning, Bao let Mo go and he fell to the ground. Bao turned around to join Ferhat again. Amy, who just came back to her senses, was helped up by Axel. As Bao walked past them, he stopped again for a moment.

"Everything will be fine ... soon.", Bao said, then walked on again.

As the Mienshao and the Spiritomb walked up the pedestal, Aaron went to Axel and Amy, they still had some oran berries in their bag left. Mo watched from afar as Bao and Ferhat made their way to the top. He remembered there still was a third task for them, but beside from these two nothing had happened by now.

Charlotte, who just got her log back, rolled up to Mo and sat down next to him. Mo looked at her. What happened moments ago ... Mo's mind simply acted out of instinct. He would have done the same thing if it was Aaron or Amy. Maybe? In her, he saw not his egg he saw in his vision, he would rather see himself to be her egg instead. And somehow, Mo was never so glad to have her by his side.

Bao and Ferhat reached the top of the pedestal and placed themselves in front of the chest under the gate like structure.

Ferhat demanded to be the one opening the chest and hold the Origin Stone for the first time. Bao did not protested and quietly stepped with his arms behind his back, waiting patiently.

Ferhat bumped against the chest, pushing a button on it. The lid opened slightly, but not fully, so Ferhat floated up to lift it further with his stone he was attached to.

He greedily looked inside the chest. ... looking longer than expected into it.

"Ferhat? Do you got it?", Bao asked and stepped forward to check for himself.

Ferhat looked up again and stared at Bao with a shocked and confused expression.

"It's empty!", he announced.

Bao quickly took a look himself into the chest. Ferhat floated up into the air and created a shadow ball in front of his face, firing it at the chest with Bao still looking into it, blasting it into countless pieces with a loud bang, and Bao off his feet.

"WHY IS IT EMPTY?!", he screamed and looked back to the adventurer teams, with his ghostly visage turning corrupted and demonic in a fit of rage.

No one knew what to respond. They were the first down here. No one took anything from this room.

"Are you looking for this?", a aquatic voice asked, the same one from the mirror room.

Looking to their right, from the entrance, there stood an Omastar. Mo wondered how long he was there, because they all saw him just now. At first, he appeared to be a normal Omastar, looking closer he was partly transparent, see-through, like a spirit. And in one of his tentacles he presented a pear like stone, something like a diamond, shining in a light-blue light.

"Who the flip are you suppose to be?!", Ferhat asked and floated closer to the Omastar.

"He does not know who I am?", the Omastar spoke. "I am the eternal guardian of the Origin Stone, the legendary prophet! I am Helix the Great!"

"I don't know you, so it does not matter.", Ferhat answered to that. "Give me the stone! Now!"

The Omastar seemed rather offended by this response and grabbed the stone closer.

"Not so fast, Banished One! First of all I would like to know which one of you was chosen to get the Origin Stone next. So far there was only one Pokémon, chosen by Arceus himself, to receive and hide the stone next.", the Omastar looked around and at each of the present Pokémon.

Mo remembered something and stepped forward.

"You mean you are THE Helix?!"

The Omastar nodded.

"That's right, Guardian of the holy sites."

He called Mo a what?!

"I am bound to the Origin Stone until the day when the Human comes from beyond space and time to take it from this realm!", Helix spoke further.

Axel, thanks to the oran berries on his feet again, stepped forward.

"That would be me."

Helix looked over to the Cyndaquil and looked rather confused.

"Not on my watch!", Ferhat shouted and raced over to the Omastar, trying to take the stone from him.

A sudden and incredibly bright light came from the Omastar, swallowing him and Ferhat for a moment. Gone, Ferhat fell to the ground, his eyes closed shut in pain.

"Ah,my eyes!", he shouted in pain.

"Quiet, you!", Helix ordered and turned to Axel again. "You are the human I predicted would arrive?"

He walked over to the teams, past Ferhat still rolling from right to left in his pain, and inspected Axel. Nya and Richard made space for the Omastar as he passed by.

"You don't look like a human to me.", Helix pointed out.

"It was decided to transform me, so I would fit in and fight. I made look like a Cyndaquil, but I am human from soul and mind.", Axel explained. "These Pokémon here are my friends. The came with me to protect me from dangers that may awaited us."

Amy stepped in.

"I assure everything he's telling. We came to fulfil your prophecy."

Helix looked at both of them unsure.

"Arceus may have his reasons, even though it is not exactly like I saw it.", Helix answered. "The fact that you are here now should prove me enough, but I still need you, human, to overcome my third and final task, before I can give you the Origin Stone with the knowledge that you deserve it."

Helix looked over to Amy.

"I want all of you to step away from me and the ... human.", he ordered.

Amy, as well as Aaron and Nya did as they were told and stepped away from both of them, leaving a generous amount of space between.

"The final task may begin.", Helix spoke.

Around the room, Unwown, similar ghost like as Helix was appeared out of thin air and gathered around Axel and the Omastar, forming a half sphere. Not just Axel, but also Amy seemed nervous of what was about to happen.

Suddenly, the Omastar's eyes glow up in a bright yellow light, similar to Mo's.

"FACE ME!", Helix screamed, followed by a the Unown forming a light blue and not see-through shield around them, trapping them as well as Axel and Helix inside.

Amy shouted and raced to the shield, trying to help. Upon touching it, she was pushed forcefully away and was caught by Aaron.

"Axel!", she yelled.

"It's something between him and that Omastar.", Bao told her. He watched it all from the distance.

"What are we going to do now?", Mo asked into the round.

Meanwhile, Ferhat managed to recover from the bright light.

"Looks like we have no other choice but to wait until whatever they're doing in there is over.", the Spiritomb said. "But I think there is something we could do."

He looked over to Bao.

"Let's finish the adventurers while their hero is busy."

Realising what will happen, Amy, Aaron, Nya and Richard joined Mo and Charlotte by the entrance, forming a line to defend themselves.

"As you wish ...", Bao accepted Ferhat's idea, reluctantly.

"And NOW?!", Mo asked Amy.

"It does not look good. But he need to hold on, at least until Axel did it.", Amy said.

As Bao walked up closer, followed by Ferhat, Mo thought how to deal with them. Was there even a way for them? ... maybe. Mo remembered something and started to get an idea. Not a good one, but better than nothing.

"Amy?", Mo whispered to her. "I need to try something, again. I don't know if it will work. No matter what will happen, ... do your best."

Amy silently nodded.

Mo left his spot and walked by himself directly to Bao.

"Mo, what are you doing now?!", Nya protested.

"Probably something stupid.", Mo answered in his mind.

Mo stopped Bao in his path. They were looking at each other with Ferhat floating next to Bao like a shoulder angel.

"You think you can best me? By yourself?", Bao asked as he looked don to Mo.

"Actually, no. Him maybe, but ...", Mo answered and pointed at Ferhat for a moment.

"There is something else you should know about Yinping.", Mo went on.

Before he knew it, Bao grabbed him again and picked him up. Now more violent than the moment before.

"I TOLD YOU TO NOT TALK ABOUT HER!", Bao screamed directly at Mo.

Now! As Mo was being screamed at, he charged his inner energy, similar like he did with his thunderbolts and how Ziggy explained it to him. Mo released yellow, electric rings from his body, shooting it directly at the Mienshao. His eyes widen as he realised what Mo was doing and also realising that it was already to late to do something.

Mo's plan had worked! Bao grunted and stiffly fell forward while still holding the Mimikyu in his paw.

Kapling! Mo forgot Astonished and learned Thunder Wave the night before!