Chapter 33

The Ark: Part 2- The Gate

Earth 63, 2049, 4:04 PM

3rd Person POV

As the team entered the cave they found remnants of Giovanni's team. A few spent flares and blasted in cave walls as they continued deeper. Luckily they had no need for flares themselves as Alex was using an aura sphere in his hand for the torch up front while Nixullium had a small flame in his hand bringing up the rear.

"We need to be careful, it's easy to get lost down here" Alex warned.

Lucina smiled and said "don't worry, I'm leaving behind little bits of psychic energy in the walls. They'll stick around for at least 12 hours"

"You sure?" Nixillium asked.

"I've practiced this skill for years, believe me," she assured.

"We used it on some of the assignments for the MRPA" Alveri added.

"I've been meaning to ask, why did you join the MRPA before all of this. I mean after the MRPA disbanded it made sense to keep working for Connor but why?" Nixullium inquired.

"Honestly, I was hoping to find out what happened to you" Lucina confessed.

Nixillium tilted his head and said "really? You were worried about me that much"

Lucina sighed and responded "we all were, after you disappeared no one in Hau'oli city had any idea of what happened. I joined the MRPA to find out what happened and if I helped people along the way, that was even better"

"Thanks" was all Nixillum could muster before falling silent again.

"I think I found where they went" Alex said as he called the team to come closer. Once they came up behind him they all collectively went wide eyed at the sight before them.

"This looks fun" Charlie joked as they arrived at the hole, the jagged obsidian walls doing little to calm the team's nerves. However one could still see the flares burning at the bottom

"They left us a way down, come on," Alex said as he dispelled the aura sphere in his hand that was acting as a torch. He gave the team a smirk and jumped into the pit, grabbing one of the ropes as he fell.

Kelly shook her head and said "Showoff"

One by one the team repelled down and regrouped at the entrance to the cave. One they entered the doorway they saw Giovanni's team approaching the ark door.

"Hurry!" Charlie yelled as they sprinted after them. They had no time to spare, and as such failed to notice how conspicuously empty the cave around them was.

"Stop!" Alex yelled as they arrived on the other side of the bridge.

"Well, well, timely as ever Alex" Ethan taunted as Olivia and Calrok turned to face their adversaries. The four soldiers followed suit and leveled their assault rifles.

Alex gasped, stunned that Ethan was here. He knew that Ethan was still out there somewhere, but he never expected him to throw in with Giovanni completely.

Calrok shook his head and said "I'm in no mood to play around, fire"

The soldiers opened fire, unfortunately for them, Kelly and Charlie were ready for it and tackled their father and teammates out of the way. Much like their mother, their training with lightning bolts had given them obscene reaction speed if they were prepared.

The soldiers gasped, no one aside from Calrok and the Mason twins themselves could even register what had just happened.

As the rest of the team were registering what had happened the Mason twins unleashed a massive blast of electricity, shifting into Raikous as it happened. The soldiers were fried by the electricity. Luckily Calrok had created a psychic barrier around Oliva, Ethan and himself.

"Good reaction, I'll admit. However, how can you stop us, when you'll have to fight all of them" Calrok asked before opening a portal beneath his opponents and warping them back to the entrance of the cavern.

The team got to their feet only to see an army's worth of beta charging at them.

Everyone else shifted, Alex included, his gauntlet shrinking to match a Lucario's smaller arm.

The Mason twins unleashed thunderbolt after thunderbolt, disintegrating the Gargoyles above. Meanwhile Lucina was using a light screen and reflect on Alex, Layna Nixillium and Alveri. A multicolored aura covering their bodies to lessen damage.

There were over one hundred betas at least, Alex, Nixillium and Alveri were holding the line but it was clear that they were blocked for now….

"You can open it, RIGHT?" Calrok demanded.

"Give me time" Olivia groaned as she scanned the gate with her tablet.

"We don't have any more TIME!" Calrok yelled as the betas cries became quieter in the distance. It was clear that Alex and his team were gaining ground, despite being outnumbered.

"Good luck opening it yourself, we need to give her time" Ethan reminded him.

Calrok put his hand to his face and yelled before walking up to the gate and standing there as still as a statue, he began looking back and forth at the gate, as if he was scanning it with his eyes. Then closed his eyes and focused his powers. Along the edges of the gate, wisps if black smoke seeped out and began funneling into Calrok, as if he was absorbing the shadow energy out of the door.

He held out his clenched fist and opened it, his hand dissolving into that of a Latios' claw as he raised it up with a tremendous amount of effort. As if something invisible was pushing his hand down. He raised his claw until it was pointing at the top of the gate and then released it. With a thunderous boom, the stone gate fell, sinking into a grove within the ark's floor.

Olivia's jaw dropped, she stared at Calrok and demanded "how did you do that!"

"None of your business, that's how, now let's move before Alex catches up!" Calrok snapped as he reapplied the illusion to his hand.

Olivia had no time to argue, she picked up the tube needed for the sample and ran after Calrok and Ethan. This was it, the ancestors and their ancient powers would belong to them at last…..

Author's note- I used the anime's portrayal of light screen and reflect there, after all i always thought that was the best way to explain it instead a of psychic barrier in one direction that Pokemon didn't know how to get around..

On a more important note I've nearly finished this story, Chapter 39 is finished leaving only 12 more to go, one of which being the immediate aftermath of the finale and the epilogue chapter. Since I've got such a substantial buffer built up I'll be releasing a new chapter every Saturday The last two will be released the Monday after chapter 49 and the Friday after that respectively. Meaning the entire story will be finished and published by May 8th. Leave a review, the story will be getting pretty intense from here on out...