OSPREY….SWOOOSH
UO: (Comes in with smoke coming off him) God damn that girl. Everyone alright?
Ash: Yeah (Cough)
Misty: (Her shirt is shredded) I think your friends did more damage
Anabel: Is everyone okay?
Dawn: (Skirt is ruined) Yes
Gabby and Tori: (Hair ruined) We will live.
May: (top is ruined and her bra is threatening to fall) Lets go before I lose any more clothes.
Drew: Damn it Nui. UnitedOsprey1991 Does not own Pokemon or Kamen Rider. He would be a billionaire and he would have paired Ash with at least Misty.
Giggling is heard. UO Growled. "DIE! (Guns start blazing)
Normal: Dialogue
Italics: Thoughts, Flashbacks, and telepathy.
CAPS: Attacks
Bold: Yelling and Belt Noises
Bold and Italics: Yelling in head:
Chapter 43: A Prince's Lament
When we last left our heroes, they had just conquered the Snowpoint Gym after nearly losing Tori, Misty May and Anabel to a blizzard. After beating the gym, Paul made his appearance after routing Candice and attempted to take the pokémon of Pyramid King Brandon. They drove him off after he had disabled their belts, but not before he struck Dawn and Tori with such force that they were forced out of their armors.
That was three days ago. The armors had protected the two healers from the majority of the damage, but their bodies were still in pain from the impact and Nurse Joy estimated another day before they were fit to walk a significant distance.
Sounds of explosions were heard in the distance of the center they stayed at. Misty looked outside the window and sighed.
"They are at it again. God they haven't done anything save train and eat since Dawn and Tori were injured."
Gabby and May walked in. "Can you blame them? Tori was always a fragile person and to see her hurt like damaged his pride." Gabby said sitting down.
"As for Dawn, we know she is not as athletically built as some of us. To see her in pain like that, it hurts all of us. Especially someone who swore to protect her."
Misty sighed. "I just wish they would talk to us."
Brock chose to speak up. "It could be their coping mechanism, they would rather take their frustrations out in the forest then blow up at all of you."
Anabel sighed and stood up. "I think they realized what we should have figured out long ago. We aren't immortal. These armors may protect us…but we are human underneath. We can still get hurt, we can still lose. I'm just saying I think we should train more to use our abilities outside our gears. " The empath said.
Max rubbed his chin. "I think your right. We may have been doing physical training but to actually use our abilities, outside of learning Aura, we've been neglecting them."
"Let's face it, our opponents are only going to get tougher. If we don't get our act together, a hospital bed is not what we are going to need." Misty said.
A shuffling was heard and the group turned to see Dawn and Tori leaning against the door.
"Dawn? Tori? You should still be in bed." May said gently.
Dawn shook her head. "I feel better. It was just a sore back."
Tori walked over wincing slightly. "I've faced worse. But I can still walk."
Dawn looked around. "Where's Ash and Drew?"
Another explosion was heard shocking the two.
"They are out training. They've been at it non-stop since you were hurt."
The two healers looked at where the explosion came from. Looking at each other and nodding they went outside."
"Tori where are you going?" Gabby asked.
"We're going to check on the boys. I think seeing us up and about might get them to calm down." She said as they walked away.
Where the explosions were heard
Swords were clashing in the woods the woods, the shockwaves shaking the snow off the trees.. Two more clashes occurred before they locked up, Broadsword vs. Katana. Ash was being pushed back by Drew's impressive strength. Thinking quickly, Ash threw a kick at Drew's stomach. Back away to avoid the kick, Drew pointed his finger like a pistol.
EMBER SHOT
Ash quickly dodged the blasts and ran holding up his hand to respond.
BULLET SEED
Drew jumped out of the way and started to cartwheel.
FLAME WHEEL
Drew charged in and Ash quickly responded.
THUNDERBOLT
The electric attack struck but it seemingly did nothing and Ash was hit and driven back. Once the wheel stopped moving, Ash quickly suplexed Drew and stopped his momentum. He then turned around and began to try to grapple Drew on the ground. Unfortunately for Ash, despite his striking speed, he did not have enough strength to keep Drew on the ground and he flipped onto the ground and was forced to defend his face. A couple of hard punches broke his guard and Drew leaned back to deliver a knockout punch. At the last second he tilted his hand slammed the ground.
He rolled over and both boys panted.
"God…Damn…it I thought…you were Paul." Drew said bring his hand to his face.
"Same…here." Ash said panting. "He really got into our heads."
Drew hummed. "Yeah. Damn it. He hurt Tori and Dawn. I want to end him so bad."
Ash sat up. "Don't. Revenge is not the answer. We'll get Paul on our terms."
Drew sighed. "Tori's mom is going to kill me for letting her get hurt."
A rustle of snow was heard. The two boys watched with wide eyes as Dawn and Tori appeared out of the bushes wiping some snow off."
"Dawn? Tori? What the heck? Your supposed to be on bed rest." Drew asked.
Dawn rubbed her arm and looked away bashfully. "Well…we heard that you've been training non-stop since we got hurt. We figured if you could see us walking, it would snap you out of it."
"Besides, We weren't going to be held down for long. It was a good thing we focused on healing. Our bodies seemed to go into overdrive to heal us. That's why we were so tired for the last couple of days.
Ash nodded. "We figured that. I'm glad your feeling okay."
The two healers saw the bruising and immediately went to work, with Tori bending some water and Dawn's hands glowing.
"You two did a number on each other." Dawn said as she traveled up Ash's chest.
"Yeah, well we rather take our frustrations out on each other than on everyone else." Ash said as he smiled which Dawn returned with a small blush.
Tori had to heat up the water because of it being ice. Drew simply leaned into the touch getting Tori to blush. After a few minutes of quiet the girls were done and the boys stood up.
"Thanks girls."
The girls smiled and had luminescent blushes. They started walking until Dawn and Tori felt pain in their back.
"Dawn?"
"Tori?"
Dawn looked up with a pained smiled. "No need to worry, I'm going feel this for a while though."
"It's fine I can walk through this."
Having none of that, the boys hoisted them up on their shoulders. The girls said nothing and securely wrapped their arms around their necks.
As they walked back, Dawn became curious. "Ash why were you training like that, nearly putting yourselves in the hospital."
Ash sighed. "Part of it was we needed to blow off steam. We were powerless to stop you getting hurt and we needed something to destroy. The other part is we need to take our training seriously or else we could wind up dead."
"And if it means we protect everyone, we'll break our bodies and rebuild them as many times as we need to." Drew said.
Dawn teared up slightly. "Don't do that for me. I just want you to be safe alright?"
Ash nodded with a smile. The walk back was silent save the footsteps in the snow. Dawn nuzzled into Ash's back and sighed in happiness. Tori was already asleep with a smile on her face, Dawn followed suit, content their men would care for them until they felt better.
A week later on top of Mt. Coronet
Cyrus was walking through the team's base on the mountain. He had been informed of a breakthrough in their research into the dimensional world. Walking into the lab he spotted his three subordinate generals, his lead professor, Charon and the Riders Paul, J and Glenn.
"Charon, you have progress on the Red Chain?" Cyrus asked.
Charon nodded. "That and more Cyrus. With the help of Glenn we managed to secure the pokémon we needed to make your new world a reality."
Lights were turned on to reveal three pokémon. They were Dialga, Palkia and a third pokémon. It was Black with red claws, bat like wings and a yellow face mask.
"Dialga, the Time Pokémon. Palkia, the Space Pokémon and Giratina, the Dimension Pokémon. Impressive. That moves our plans up considerably."
Glenn grinned. "Especially considering, I will be using one of these pokémon to merge with. Paul may use one as well." Getting the purple haired trainer to smile.
"And me?" J asked.
"You'll get one, provided you help capture the Lake Guardians."
"As it is, we will need two weeks to prepare the bomb to bring out the Lake Guardians. So until then, reek as much havoc as you can."
J nodded and left. No one noticed a recording device hidden on one of the walls Team Rocket who been listening in from another looked at each other and nodded. This had to get back to their friends before it was too late.
Same time further down the slope outside Lilypad Town (Elements of DP145)
After allowing Dawn and Tori to recover, they made their way down the slope to the next contest in Lilypad Town. In this contest, Dawn tried her hand with Mamoswine, while May used her Skitty. Both of which failed, Dawn because Mamoswine was uncontrollable, May due to losing out to a disguised James, who took Jessie's place because of illness.
It wasn't all bad. They had ran into two visiting trainers from Johto after Dawn's Piplup unceremoniously freed Lyra's Chikorita from a predicament and then ran in Khoury and his Totodile. The two trainers were part of a festival that promoted Johto culture. Lyra challenged Dawn to a battle and the Light based rider won, receiving an egg in the process. This egg was nearly stolen by a Kaijuu attack. Fortunately only two riders were needed due to their increased training regimen. The two Johto trainers were none the wiser as Kusa and Ace successfully beat back the Feraligatr monster.
Now sitting down to lunch, Dawn, Misty and May were cooing over the new addition to the family. The Cyndaquil in Dawn's lap was hatched from the egg and the three girls were bonding over the pokémon they hatched, with May's newly evolved Glaceon and Misty's Marill. Cyndaquil, though was cute, lived up to its type and nearly torched Dawn's hair.
Finishing up their lunch, Drew stood up. "Alright girl's you can play with Cyndaquil later, we need to train."
Lyra looked curious. "Train? Cool we get to see all of your pokémon."
The two trainers watched as their new friends released their pokémon. After scanning them with their pokedexes, they were perplexed as the pokémon went to do their own training, with their own weights and training equipment. They watched as the trainers went behind the trees and changed into what appeared to be martial arts training outfits.
"Uh…guys what are you doing? Aren't you going to be training your pokémon?" Khoury asked.
"Yeah, our pokémon are training. They've been working on stamina, now they are working on speed." May said as she stepped out and started to stretch. The others appeared and began their stretching exercises. After a few minutes of stretching they went into their katas.
Lyra was curious and walked over to where Dawn was standing with her sword in front of her like a fencer.
"Dawn what's going on?"
Dawn smiled. "In addition to training our pokémon, we train our bodies. We are training for something more important than some contest. If you would like to watch, can you step back a couple of feet I can get a little wild."
Lyra nodded and then sat back down. Dawn took a deep breath and then began a familiar kata to her. It was a simple one that focused on defense. The final steps she started to switch into an attack that was complimenting with a spin to disorient her opponent and then a final thrust she burst through her imaginary opponent.
Lyra was wide eyed. "That was so cool."
Dawn just laughed and curtseyed. "That was a simple one and not as graceful. Look at May and Anabel."
Lyra watched as May danced through her kata, her sword cutting through the air like a bird. She noticed there were flower petals flowing around her. Turing to the empath, she watched as she did a handstand with what Dawn called Chakrams as the spun around her hand and ankle. She then quickly hopped up and tossing into the air. She then started to twirl and dance as the circular weapons were moved in a rhythmic pattern and ended by catching them and bowing.
Lyra clapped at that and searched for her friend. She had to laugh as Khoury was struggling to pick up and swing Drew's sword. Turning back around she watched with eyes wide as Dawn fired off what appeared to be a Bubblebeam coming out of her hand.
"Was that a Bubblebeam?" Lyra asked confused.
Dawn giggled. "Yeah, we can use our pokémon's abilities like Piplup's Bubblebeam. Speaking of abilities, wonder what I got from Cyndaquil?"
The fire-type happened to be walking over and Piplup tried to say hello to it. The baby fire-type turned its head away, shocking and angering the penguin. Before they could start fighting, Dawn separated them.
"Cyndaquil don't be mean, Piplup is trying to be nice."
Lyra giggled at the interaction and looked around to find her pokémon. She gasped when she didn't see her Marill in the camp.
"Marill? Marill Where are you?"
Her calls got everyone's attention and she explained it to everyone. Ash had made the decision that since not everyone had to go, they would split up. He would go with Lyra, Khoury, Dawn, Max and Misty. The others would stay in case Marill found its way back to the camp.
An hour later the search group had found where Marill was, in the hall ways of a nearby power plant to which the security guard let them in. They had found the lost water type, but due to a power surge the door leading to the storage room was locked. After failing to get the guard's attention on the camera and ignoring Khoury's panic that they would be in their forever, they spotted a grate that was small enough for Max to get through.
As the boys moved the boxes and worked on getting the door open, the girls sat down to watch them open it.
"You know, in the off chance we are stuck here forever, I would like to get married you know." Lyra said leaning back. She looked at Misty and Dawn. "I think Ash and you Misty would make a great couple. Same with you Dawn."
The two girls blushed and giggled. "Who's to say we aren't?" Misty said as she took Dawn's hand. This got the Johto trainer to drop her jaw in shock. "You…and Ash…Both of you?"
"Not just us being with Ash." Dawn said she leaned into Misty. "Also May and Anabel are part of this. We love him too much to fight over him. And over time that love has spread to us. And quite frankly we don't care if anyone else says otherwise."
Lyra smiled. "Wow, you guys are so cool."
Dawn nodded and leaned into Misty. She was then gently bombarded with images of her older and more mature self, holding an infant with her hair color in her arms while a second child with black hair and blue highlights was in the cradle with other children of various hair colors.
"Dawn?" Misty asked see the sparkles in the young woman's eyes.
"We're going to have such beautiful kids." She said dreamily. Misty giggled and started to pet Dawn's blue locks.
A few mintues later, Max was able to slip through the grate and crawl through the vents. Reaching a place to drop down, he turned and saw Piplup, Pikachu and Cyndaquil walking back. The water-type and the fire-type were finally getting along and Pikachu was smiling at them.
Max laughed at that and went to free his friends. Once free, they left the Power Plant.
The next day Before Daybreak
Unusually for the two leaders, they were the first ones up. It was about 6:30 in the morning but the sun had not risen yet, but the first rays of the morning were breaking. After stretching, they started sparing with their blades, not going all out due to the early hour. As the blades clashed in the increasing light, Ash's face looked to be in thought.
"Ash? What's wrong?"
Ash shook his head. "I've just been wondering…do we have enough power to protect our families. I mean Paul was able to shoot Dawn and Tori in one shot."
"Ash…Paul caught them off guard and disabled their gear. Paul's sneak attack, while hurting our loved ones, did us a favor. It made us that relying to much on our armors will not be beneficial to us in the long run. Something I don't think J or Paul have ever figured out."
Ash nodded and they returned to the spar. Another ten minutes passed before they decided to stop and relax to watch the sunrise.
"Follow the Music."
Ash snapped to attention and started looking around.
"Follow the Music…light the path to the sky."
"Ash?" Drew asked.
"Follow the music…light the path to the sky." Ash said standing up.
"Its your temple, isn't it." Drew asked as they started sprinting towards the camp.
Ash said nothing as he ran to his bag. Just then he heard the first notes of a song he was familiar with.
(Play Symphony of Lugia By DJ Sakke)
Ash grabbed his bag which started waking up the camp.
"Ash what's going on?" Lyra asked rubbing her eyes.
"Everyone up! Ash found his temple! Let's go!" Drew called out. At the word temple, everyone shot out of their sleeping bags and scrambled to get their gear together. Brock and Max stayed behind to help Lyra and Khoury pack up, while the rest left in staggered formations with Drew and Misty leading the way.
Ash already had a head start with Pikachu running beside him, and was heading to where the music was taking him. At a cliff side he spotted a statue with his emblem on it. Holding it up the statue activated and sent out a beam of light.
Pausing a moment to catch his breath and let the others catch up. Then he took off around the lake to where the light was going. He hopped across the river with his friends not too far behind and being able to keep up with his speed. He found the second statue at the base of an old tree. His friends save Max and Brock, quickly caught up to him as he gained his bearings. He then took off in the direction of the beam. As he ran he looked behind him to see his friends keeping pace with him. Misty and Drew happened to catch his eye and smiled as they stayed in line with him.
The third statue was up a small hill that Ash had to climb but he activated it and then the light shot back across to an island in the middle of the lake.
(End song)
Ash had stopped to allow his friends to catch up. They were all out of breath and Drew was wheezing, forcing Gabby to give him his inhaler.
"So where do you think the entrance is?" Misty asked.
Ash pointed to the island. "I think it something on that island out there. There's a path to the island."
Misty nodded and once everyone's breath was caught, they started to walk towards the island.
"Wait…Hold…up!" Lyra's voice called out as the stragglers brought up the rear.
Ash turned to Lyra. "What's up Lyra?" He asked as the two Johto trainers caught their breath.
"What the heck is going on? You were running and waking us up and it was crazy." Lyra said waving her arms.
Ash sighed and took a seat. "Well, it's a long story Lyra and it involves our weapons."
So Ash and the gang told Lyra and Khoury about the Legend of the Guardians. About how the Kingdom fell and how the gems were scattered to five different worlds, including this one. And how they need to train to defeat this darkness once and for all.
At the end of it, Lyra's eyes were sparkling. "Oh wow that is so cool. Misty is a princess? She would be absolutely beautiful. Ash would make a great leader, so would Drew. And those powers sound so cool."
Ash chuckled. "Well, it's not all about being a leader, it's being able to protect our friends and innocent people with our powers. Great power comes with great responsibility after all.
Khoury then looked around. "So where is this temple? I don't see anything that could be it."
Drew looked at the island. "Normally when the belt is presented to their emblem the temple opens up. But Misty's temple had to use the trick of the light to unlock it. Also I don't think the temple is physically on the ground." He pointed to the island. "If Misty's temple was underwater, then I suspect that with Ash's element being lightning, his temple…is in the sky." He said point straight up.
Khoury panicked. "That's nuts! How the heck do we even get up there? For that matter, wouldn't we need oxygen masks?"
"If its below a certain altitude we may not." Max said. "But regardless, its going to be a long way down."
"Right. Hat's in the bags now we do not lose them." Drew said as he stuck his hat in the bag. After removing the hats, they jumped across the island to where the lights were pointing.
Ash held up the buckle to an indentation on the ground which had his symbol. It glowed and the island started to rumble. Backing up the group watched as the ground opened to reveal a canon.
"Okay…so how is that going to get us to the temple? Suck us in and fire us?" Khoury asked. The riders were about to comment until the canon rattled to life and opened its back. A strange light shined and sucked them all in, compacting them into the space. It then stood up and aimed for the sky. With one lurch it launched everyone skyward. Everyone screamed as they flew higher and higher until they reached a structure that seemed to be out of place in the sky. They crested their launch and then they started screaming again as they fell. Fortunately they landed in a large pool that softened the blow.
Sputtering and surfacing the group quickly swam to the edge and everyone caught their breath.
"Is…everyone alright?" May asked.
Lyra was breathing heavy. "Yeah…holy Arceus…what was that?" Lyra said as she laid back on the ground feeling dizzy. Anabel walked over and helped her recover.
"That's what happens when you tempt fate with us Lyra." Drew said as he shakily stood up and looked at Khoury.
Khoury coughed and hacked as water spewed out. "Sorry."
Drew sighed. "Alright, Max help me out. Lyra, Khoury you might feel a little warm."
The two trainers watched as a red aura surrounded Drew. He sent a pulse and instantly they felt the water on them evaporated. Max then blew air to cool them off.
The two Johto trainers smiled in thanks and the group turned to the path in front of them.
(Play the City in the Sky theme from Twilight Princess)
"So this is the temple?" Anabel asked. "Looks more like a palace.
"A Sky Palace…or City." Misty pondered.
"Whatever the case, this is Ash's temple. We need to look out for anything." Drew said as they walked down the path. Drew's warning about the wind came true as they were struggling with the wind blowing everywhere. Brock and Anabel activated their Iron Defense and blocked the wind as they walked across.
Lyra was curious at the metal and touched Anabel's shoulder.
"I can feel that. Just because I have metal doesn't mean I trade out my real body." Anabel said with a smile.
They reached the end of the path to see the gat locked. A cursory glance revealed a switch. Gabby lined up and fired but the wind drove it off course. Unfazed, she waited till the wind died down and fired again getting the switch. The gate opened and they headed inside.
A look around the interior and Drew knew what needed to be done. "Misty, Max, get your hookshots ready. May, Anabel be prepared to help in case we fall."
The mentioned riders nodded. Max and Misty fired their shots at the vined wall and swung over. Everyone else got a running start and wall ran up to the ledge. Brock and Max helped Lyra and Khoury up and they watched as Drew stopped everyone.
"Wait…if I know these temples right…these blocks." He pointed to the blue ones. "Are going to fall if we step on them. We are going to have to be jump and then run to that section over there. If those that can fly or float can do so it will make our task easier."
Getting the hint, Max picked up Khoury while May picked up Lyra and flew over. The rest quickly ran over to the ledge.
May had just set down Lyra when the girl screamed. May quickly turned around and braced herself as a large creature rammed into her. She winced in pain but held firm as her boyfriend swiftly moved in and stabbed it.
"May are you alright?" Lyra asked.
"Its fine, I've taken worse." May said. Tori quickly ran over to heal her.
"You guys really care for each other." Lyra noted.
"Yeah. You should have seen Ash and Drew when Dawn and I got hurt. They went absolutely ballistic according to Gabby."
They finished healing and caught up with the group who were on the other side of a grated wall.
"How do you think we cross?"
Anabel happen to notice what appeared to be a rotation mechanism. Pulling her chakram out and inserting it, it fit snugly and she used her telepathy to rotate it. A bridge started to extend out and stopped close enough to the wall to float, jump or grapple over.
Once over they approached another bridge only it looked like it could collapse at any moment.
"We need light people. Max, Tori, Misty come with me." Ash said. Carefully they crossed the bridge, while Gabby kept out for the floating enemies. Drew directed the others back into the room, with May staying to watch her brother. The group carefully crossed, with Tori throwing up a shield to block the wind, while those not on the bridge watched for anything breaking. A couple of the bricks fell, getting them to stop but they pressed on.
Once on the other side, Max quickly used the Hookshot to vault him over and opened the chest to get a key. Jumping back over they went back outside and on the other side of the bridge. They started to slowly walk back fighting the wind again, but were confident they would reach the other side.
Halfway across, disaster struck. As Max was stepping, one of the stones came loose. The stone fell leaving an opening in the bridge. The sound caught the attention of the others. Then the cracking started to get louder as more stones started falling.
Drew seeing the bridge beginning to fail, started screaming. "HAUL YOUR BUTTS! MOVE!
The four on the bridge ran as the bridge collapsed behind them. Ash and Misty were able to jump passed the edge of the bridge but Max and Tori fell just short and the stones collapsed under their feet. May launched her vines to grab Max and Tori grabbed onto Max's legs.
Tori looked down and screamed. "May pull us up!"
"May don't let go!" Max yelled.
May was trying her best to hold on. But with no grip, she started slipping. She was halfway over the edge when she felt her legs being pulled. Looking back, she saw Drew tied with some rope and Ash and Misty pulling them back.
"I'm not going to let you die. Guys! Pull hard!"
Ash and Misty pulled hard as they slowly pulled the four up. As they did so the rope started to unravel and break.
Drew happen to look back to see the progress and saw the rope breaking. Knowing they had to stay calm he turned back.
"Guys, don't be scared. Just look at me we're going to get out of this." Drew said, hoping to be the calm in the face of what may end up killing them. "No matter what happens, I am not letting go."
They heard the rope strain and Ash noticed it. Before he could react, the rope snapped. Eight horrified faces watched as the momentum carried the four dangling over the edge.
When the rope snapped, May's eyes widened as she fell off the edge. Reaching out she hugged Max and prepared for the inevitable. Drew had slipped over the edge and reached out for Tori who looked in horror as they fell. Drew closed his eyes waited for the impact on the ground. When he felt the wind stop he cracked his eyes open and saw they were floating. Then he saw them float up and back to the bridge. Looking around, he saw Anabel's eyes glowing and her hand's out.
'Telekinesis.' Drew thought as the four in the air were put down.
May opened her eyes and looked around. Upon seeing her friends, she looked at Max who was opening his eyes as well.
"Are we dead?" Max asked.
"No Max. We're alive." May sniffled and hugged her brother. At the same time, Gabby ran and hugged Tori and Drew.
"Don't scare me like that. I thought I lost you." She cried. The water works were flowing as the Ash, Misty and Dawn hugged May and Max.
Max after squeezing away from her sister asked the question. "How the heck did we live?"
Drew nudged his head as much as he could from Gabby's death squeeze. "Ask Anabel, she over exerted herself trying to levitate all of us."
Ash looked and saw Anabel was woozy and went over to her. "Ana?"
Anabel looked up with a small smile. "I couldn't let my friends die, I just acted. I'm just glad you are all okay." The empath said and you could see from her expression she was exhausted.
Drew stood up after assuring Gabby was okay. "Is everyone alright?"
May and Max nodded and Anabel after taking a few minutes to catch her breath, stood up.
"This temple…I don't know who designed it…but I think its messing with our heads. Everyone stay alert and keep your eyes out for anything strange." Drew said.
The others nodded and headed back to the room they came in from. Max had recovered from the ordeal and sent his Hookshot to a set of vines, with Misty following and the others wall running up the nearby wall. Outside once again, they saw another mechanism. Anabel having recovered enough did the same thing as before. As she turned the crank, she glanced over and thought she saw something in the clouds. Before she could comment, they disappeared.
Shaking her head, she finished turning the crank and the group proceeded forward.
"Is anyone else getting the feeling we are being watched?" Khoury asked.
Misty covered her bare arms. "A little. Its like this place is alive."
"This place hasn't been inhabited in thousands of years. Perhaps there are spirits inhabiting this place." Brock theorized.
The group pressed onward entering a room with turbines. With hair blowing around, they searched for a way to shut it off.
Dawn glanced around and saw a crystal switch. "Max, Misty! Aim for that crystal."
Max saw it and pulled out his Hookshot and fired. The wind died down and they were able to move on.
"Max send some wind into the platform. Trust me." Drew said at Max's confused looks. Max shrugged and sent a gust of wind at the platforms. The tiles flew up and it was revealed that there were creatures underneath it. Drew grinned as Gabby sniped them. After negotiating the wind, they jumped across the platforms towards another door. Once inside the door sealed itself.
"Oh man, we're stuck in here." Khoury complained.
"Relax, if the door closed it just means we need to clear something in this room." Ash said as he jumped down.
"You sure you don't need help?" Misty asked.
"I'll be fine." Ash said as two lizard like creatures showed up. Pulling out Raikou he got into a stance as they charged at him. To Lyra's and Khoury's shock, he disappeared and reappeared behind them sheathing his sword. The lizard creatures cried out and dispersed into dust.
"Damn man that was fast, didn't even see you move." Drew said as the group came down to meet Ash."
"Yeah, well Pikachu might have influenced me more than I thought." Pikachu hopped up and nuzzled Ash.
Drew smiled and then looked up. "Max hop up there and then make yourself heavier."
Max nodded and fired his hook shot straight up. When he got there he used Steel Wing and weighed himself down. The turbines underneath the gap activated and the group quickly hopped up and rode them to another floor.
Seeing another chandelier, Misty did the same thing opening up a gate. With the large room and the winds, Ash and Drew called out their Staraptor and Anabel released Metagross to ferry people while Max was able to fly with his staff. Metagross had to handle five people but it took the extra weight with no trouble. Ash flew ahead with Misty and Lyra, while Drew took Khoury and Dawn.
The trip was slightly perilous with all of the wind but with their coordination, they flew through the tunnels. On the other side of the tunnel was a spiraling tower."
As the group discussed how they would proceed, Ash looked down the tower.
"Something is down there." Ash said getting the grous attention. "Something is calling for me and I need to get it."
Drew nodded. "Misty, Max give us your Hookshots." The two did so. "You guys stay here. Ash, I've got your back."
Ash and Drew then made their way down the tower. Drew noticed Ash seemingly distracted.
"What's going on man?" Drew said as they hopped across a platform.
"Nothing, I just…feel like no matter what I do, everyone I know will get hurt or worse."
Drew sighed and whacked his head. "You're a knucklehead. Paul is getting into your head."
The younger trainer rubbed his head. "Ash…your under the belief that you're alone in this. You forget that technically I outrank you. If anyone has a burden, it's me making sure everyone makes it. You are not alone, you have me, and you have Brock and Max. You have your girls. You have my girls. We are going to have more allies and you are going to help lead them.
Drew held up his hand. "Remember when we made this pack? I protect yours, you protect mine. We are brothers. We do not shoulder burdens alone."
Ash rubbed the spot on his head. "Thanks. I guess I needed that."
"It's what I'm here for." They landed at the bottom next to a door.
"Its in here." Ash said pulling out Raikou. Drew nodded and pulled out Leonid and the two went inside.
Inside, the room was empty but it had large open windows. As the two searched around, they heard a large cry. Looking up, they spotted a monster that looked like a dragon descend. It looked like a Dragonite but a lot smaller. The monster charged and the two boys ducked out of the way as they charged at them. Flying back, the two swordsmen charged but the dragon just held up a shield and deflected them back.
"Well that didn't work." Ash said.
Drew looked at the dragon and then whipped out Max's Hookshot. The piercing shot burst through the shield and pulled it away. Then in total sync they began to slash in unison, doing enough damage to force it skywards.
After their opponent took off, it disappeared behind the window and flew back in. With quick reflexes, Drew caught it and brought it down, letting Ash slice its head off.
"Well that was annoying." Drew said as a gate opened up. Ash swung his way over to open the chest. Inside was a pair of golden gauntlets and chains.
"Another Hookshot? No…Clawshots."
Ash jumped back down and showed Drew.
"Another set of hookshots. I think your ancestors used them to bring opponents in and slash them when stunned."
Ash nodded and looked around and spotted latches on the wall.
"Take one of these. Combine it with the hookshots and we can get out of here." Ash said handing one of the claws to Drew. With coordination taken from months of training, they climbed out of the room. Back in the tower, they did the same think going around the wind. In short rder they were back with their friends.
"We are back and with a new item." Ash said as the items were exchanged back. The group then head back to the center room and headed to the northeast of the center room. They were outside again this time following Ash's lead. He crossed the tightropes that were there and the others quickly following on the ropes almost like ninja. They reached another room and Ash and Drew wasted no time destroying the armored creatures and taking the Big Key that was in there. Jumping back around he launched his clawshot at another chandelier which caused it to drop.
"Come on guys, the end is near. Let's go!" Ash said jumping down.
"Okay maybe my little pepped talk worked a little too well." Drew said to himself.
"What pep talk?" Misty asked.
"Just a little talk to snap him out of a funk he was in." Drew said as they landed. Ash was quickly on the path across the turbines using his clawshots. His friends quickly started flying to keep up with him.
In what appeared to be the final tower, Ash came across two of the Dragonite enemies. Before he could react, Drew and Misty who were riding the same Staraptor came and struck them down.
"Thanks." Ash called out and started climbing the tower again, latching onto the grating on the towers. On the towers that weren't spinning he quickly turned around and found the switches to activate them, letting him climb all the way to the top of the tower.
His friends quickly landed and caught their breath. The high altitude was making them a little uneasy. But one look at Ash and they nodded in complete support of him.
Ash used the key and the door unlocked. They were once again outside but this time they looked to be on top of the tower. Firing his clawshot up, he climbed the wall into some sort of arena.
Everyone stopped, getting Lyra and Khoury to question why they stopped.
"What are you doing?" Lyra asked.
"This is Ash's test. No one can interfere with it." Drew said. "We've just got to believe he can do it." Drew said as he sat down prompting the
Ash stood in the center of the arena and noticed the clouds start to get a little dark. He held up his buckle which shot out a beam of light into the center of the arena. The storm clouds suddenly got darker and a lightning bolt struck down across from Ash. When the smoke cleared and Ash's vision restored, he got a good look at the man. He was clearly at least decade older, and much more regal in appearance. Despite that, he had the look of a man who worked hard for his money and had the muscles and body to back it up. He was dressed in a military officer's uniform with several medals on it and his katana was strapped to his right hip.
"After thousands of years, my descendent finally finds this place. My apologies, I am Prince Satoshi, Guardian of Lightning, and one of five top generals of the Kingdom's Armed Forces." He said bowing.
"My story began simply enough, I was raised by two loving parents. My father was soldier and my mother was a farmer. At the age of six, my father unfortunately died in combat but died protecting his friends and the previous prince and princess, for that he was awarded the highest honors. After hearing that story, my goal in life was to become the best soldier I could be, honoring my father and hopefully become one of the Knights of the Guardians, to repay them for honoring my father's sacrifice.
That changed one day, when the previous generation's princes and princesses and knights retired and a new generation was to be found. I was the second royal identified, after the first Prince, the Prince of Fire, happened to be passing by one day and walked to my house when I was eight. The prince took a long look at me and asked his advisors if I was the one identified. Once he got his confirmation, he held out his hand to welcome me into Guardians.
The next four years was a whirlwind. I trained my hardest to become a Guardian worth remembering. During that time I helped save Hikari from a pack of marauders, got rescued by my mermaid Princess Kasumi, nearly burned my beautiful butterfly Haruka in her forest, made a brother in all but blood in Sergeant Takeshi, became entranced by my dancer Lila and helped train my friend for life Masato. It was this force of riders that became one of the five teams of Kamen Riders that protected the Kingdom."
Satoshi stood up straight. "My specialty was Speed. I was as fast as Lightning as young as ten years old. During my service in the military, I was a Marine, much like how Kasumi was a Naval Officer, Masato was an Airmen and Takeshi was an Army officer. I probably saved more people using my speed alone. Combined with the skill I possessed with my weapon, the fact that I trained my hardest every day and an almost unparalleled skill in Lightning manipulation, I was a force to be fear by our enemies." He held up the sheathed katana. "This sword, has killed thousands. All for the sake of protecting the Kingdom and my family. Looking at you, you've only had a few months of training and you look like you still get sick at the thought of killing someone."
Ash flinched at bit at that. It was true he still felt ill about killing, but it did not mean he gave up his emotions.
"I may be young, but I've beaten people more experienced than myself. My pokémon are my friends and they would go to hell and back." Ash said.
Satoshi chuckled. "We'll see your resolve. If you defeat me, you'll proved to our ancestors you are worthy of this belt. And considering your companions have already beaten mine, it will also prove to us that the future of this team of riders are in good hands." He said pulling out his buckle and Ash mirrored his actions.
"Ready?" Satoshi said as the belts surrounded them and latched into place.
"Always." Ash said getting into his stance.
HENSHIN
EVOLVE
The two warrior stood in their base forms and pulled out their katanas and began to circle around each other.
Dawn was concerned. "Why aren't they attacking right away?"
"Its because of their style. Katanas are wielded by Samurai who value patience and precision. They are currently gauging their strengths and looking for a potential opening. In this situation, the first move could be the game ender. However, that could potentially go against Ash because he is not the calmest person in the world.
After a few moments, Ash charged in, poised to strike. Satoshi quickly blocked it and countered with another slash. This quickly became an act react fight as Satoshi launched a strike and Ash blocked, and vice versa.
After a few minutes of stalemate, Satoshi backed off. "Impressive. You can definitely match my normal speed. Let's take it up a notch. LIGHNTING JAVILIN.
Ash ducked out of the large lightning bolt. Before he could recover, Satoshi was on him slashing across his chest.
"LIGHTNING PALM!" Ash got zapped again and sent flying back.
Ash stood up shakily and pulled out a couple of his cards.
BULLET SEEED
Firing off the grass attack, Satoshi sped away and got in close to Ash. Before he could slash at Ash, a green shield appeared bouncing him back.
"Interesting, you are borrowing the abilities of your companions." Satoshi mused. "Perhaps I need to take it up a level."
The clouds seem to swirl around him. "ZEUS BOLT."
Ash barely dodged the attack, and ducked behind the pillars. Catching his breath, he turned around and saw that Satoshi had disappeared.
"Where did he go?"
"Looking for me?" Ash just had enough to turn around and get zapped in the chest.
Satoshi chuckled. "My mastery over lighting allows me to control the very weather. I've even developed a way to hide in the clouds. No one has ever hit me in the clouds and neither will you." Satoshi said disappearing
Ash got up panting and pulled out another card.
FORESIGHT
He sent out the red beams in attempt to find him. Unable to find him, he went to Plan B and pulled out his Lucario card and scanned.
SOUL
Now combined with Lucario, he closed his eyes in an attempt to find Satoshi. Getting a faint trace he launched an Aura Sphere behind him. He did not feel the attack hit but he did feel the Aura move.
"Impressive, you were able to detect me. But if you can't hit me you cannot defeat me." Satoshi said climbing out of the clouds. He was about to speak again when something impacted him. Looking down he saw one of Ash's Clawshots impacting him.
"I may not have your strength but I definitely know science thanks to my friends. THUNDERBOLT!"
The conductive nature of the claws zapped the elder Rider and Ash moved into take advantage and began to punch and kick Satoshi when he was down. Bringing out Raikou he moved to deal a massive blow but Satoshi blasted him back a few feet.
"Impressive. I guess your abilities are good. Time to stop playing."
Satoshi disappeared and multiple copies appeared. "Good luck finding the true me. By increasing my speed I can make myself appear in multiple locations at once." Satoshi's voice echoed taunting Ash.
Ash stood to block but like Satoshi said, the speed in which he was going allowed him to attack from multiple angles.
On the sidelines, Misty grew worried. "Ash has been taking multiple strikes. Do you think he'll be okay?"
Drew closed his eyes. "Its hard to tell. This battle has been a battle of who can make the fewest mistakes. Ash as far as I can tell has made one in taking his eye off the battle when he got blasted from the pillar. Satoshi has made two, one staying in one place too long prior to the Clawshot hit and the other is thinking Ash cannot detect where Satoshi is."
Indeed, Ash had already closed his eyes and sent out his Aura. In his vision, he saw Satoshi moving closer to him, weaving in and around in an attempt to throw off Ash. Satoshi decided to then charge in from Ash's left. He sent a slash toward Ash, but was quickly caught by the younger man's hand.
Griping the blade with his left, he twisted his body around and brought a glowing hand to Satoshi's chest.
Force…PALM
Satoshi yelled as he got sent back into the pillars. Ash knew that didn't end it and stood ready to continue battling.
As he thought, Satoshi's Katana was pulled back to the elder rider. "I must say my descendent, your powers are impressive. What is it called?"
Ash stood firm. "Its called Aura. In specific bloodlines, it manifests and those who can control it are called Aura Guardians. They allow us to sense other auras and even use it as a weapon. The pokémon I am using, Lucario is called the Aura Pokémon and naturally use this power in their attacks."
Satoshi nodded and then reached into his pocket. "I never thought that after all these years, a young man that has never truly see combat, has forced me to use this form."
He held up the card. It had big letters that said MASTER on it.
Ash's friends had wide eyes. "If Ash forced his opponent to go into his final form…" Misty said.
"Then the previous riders were not taking the fights seriously. They got cocky and you exploited it. If Satoshi thinks he can't win without his final form, then Ash must have made Satoshi take him seriously.
Satoshi chuckled. "This form right here…is what you will get for beating me. But that is if you do beat me."
Satoshi scanned the card.
MASTER
Satoshi's armor glowed and changed. The armor now has three obtrusions that looked like a crown entirely gold up and down the chest. On the arms and legs were a mixture of gold and blue. On his back was a cape that flowed in the breeze.
Before Ash could blink, he felt a slash on his back. Satoshi had gotten behind him so quickly he could not see him move. Another thunderclap and a knee was buried into his gut and send back flying back.
"Speed was my specialty, you may be able to sense me but it will do no good if you can't hit me." Satoshi said disappearing and Ash barely got out of the way of another lightning bolt.
Ash was on the run from the multiple bolts fired from Satoshi knowing he had to keep an eye out for close attacks.
"Now face my wraith." A large build-up of energy was felt as Satoshi held up his hand.
"TITAN"S WRAITH!
Multiple lightning bolts dropped to try and hit Ash, so much so their friend had to duck and cover. Ash tripped and fell down. He faced his friends as the lightning struck him."
BOOOM
Satoshi had to chuckle. "It was a good battle." He said as the effect of multiple attacks had begun to take its toll on him. He watched as the smoke dissipated, expecting a charred mess.
He looked at Ash's friends. "Your friend fought well. I expect him to come back and challenge me." He said as the smoke cleared. What was revealed was Ash not only still standing but covered by a green shield.
"I-IMPOSSIBLE! How the Hell did you survive?"
Ash chuckled. "This is the power of my pokémon. This move is called Protect. It protects against one attack guaranteed but the chances to activate consecutively go down with each use."
Now Satoshi was scared. If his descendants could do this, then he could be in serious trouble.
"That's not all. Watch my strongest form. Lucario!"
The Aura Pokémon reappeared as Ash put on the Mega Ring and activated sending out beams of light between the two.
(Play the Japanese Digivolution theme)
"Execute, MEGA EVOLUTION!"
Lucario roared as he merged into Ash's armor. Satoshi was blinded by the light. When it died down, Ash's armor had changed into his Mega form.
"Meet the pinnacle of my pokémon's bond. Mega Evolution."
Satoshi growled and charged at Ash. "It doesn't matter! I have never fallen and I won't fall here!"
They clashed again this time causing lightning to flash and for the first time in this battle rain began to fall.
That did not concern Satoshi as he tried to strike Ash. But whatever Ash had merged with had caused his speed to match his.
Falling back, Ash raised up a card.
"Perhaps I should tell you what my world does. We battle pokémon using moves they learn or we taught them. In the process we have developed strategies that take advantage of every possible weather condition and battlefield. You are about to experience one of these strategies." He said scanning the card.
THUNDER
"In normal conditions, Thunder has a 3 in 10 chance of missing." He said holding his hand up.
"But in Rain…The Chance of missing is…zero." He said bringing his hand down. The large bolt struck Satoshi getting him to yell in pain.
Ash watched as Satoshi struggled to stand and sensed that the end of the battle was near.
"(Huff)…this battle has been…one of my best fights ever. But I believe we both know the end of the battle is near. One last strike, no power just pure speed and skill."
Ash nodded sheathed his blade, Satoshi doing the same. They closed their eyes and concentrated. The air already thick with tension, seem to heat up even more as Ash's friends waited with bated breath for the final strike.
There was a rumble of thunder and then the lightning flashed. In a blink of an eye, the two were on the other side of each other, their blades in a position of finishing an attack.
The only noise that was heard was the rain as the observers watched the battle end. Finally the silence was broken.
"It seems, the guardians…are in good hands." Satoshi said as a large gash appeared in the armor and exploded in sparks and blood.
Powering down, Ash walked over to Satoshi, who despite the wound was standing and walking towards him.
"You did well, Ash Ketchum. The power of the final form is yours to control." Satoshi said holding up the card as the rain stopped and the sun appeared.
Ash nodded and took the card. Satoshi turned to watchers. "Those who have battled my team please step forward."
One by one Ash's friends and girlfriends walked over to him. As they did so the spirits of the other six knights appeared out of their armor and in the clothes they originally saw them in.
"Riders of the Guardians of Water and Lightning. You have passed your trials and accepted your destiny. Please kneel." Satoshi said.
All seven riders did so. Satoshi held his sheathed sword and tapped each one on the shoulder. "Do you solemnly swear, to never give up, to uphold justice, to protect the innocent, and to stand side by side with each other and your comrades, through life and death?"
As one, the answer was the same. "We solemnly swear on the blood of our ancestors and our predecessors, to use our powers for good and to protect all we hold dear."
Satoshi nodded. "Then as your predecessor I dub you the new generation of Guardians and Knights of Water and Lightning. Arise, Riders of Aura."
A glow appeared and they wer back in their armors but there was an air of strength in all of them now.
Satoshi nodded as he started to fade away. "The treasure I protected is just underneath the platform as well as a portal back to the surface. Do us proud." Satoshi said as he stepped back and took Kasumi's hand. They faded away for the last time, their spirits finally at peace.
Powering back down, Ash was glomped by his girls in happiness. Brock and Max patted Ash's shoulder and back as Drew and the others approached.
"Congrats man, that was awesome." Drew said shaking Ash's hand and giving him a bro hug.
After all the congratulations, they took the elevator down to the treasure room. It was massive, larger than all but Misty's treasure room, which it equaled. After sealing up the treasure, they picked up Satoshi's body and teleported back down the surface. They buried Satoshi's body in a nice spot over-looking the lake and heading out hoping to get to a center to rest for the night.
At the center
Ash was in the room he shared with his girls as they watched a T.V program. Ash was using May's bra-clad chest as a pillow, not like he had a choice with May holding him to her chest. But he didn't mind especially considering her breasts were soft. Even if May wasn't holding him down, the weight of his other girlfriends were holding him down. Dawn in her pink gown as on his left shoulder nuzzling Ash's bare chest with a content smile on her face. Anabel was on his right in her purple pajamas and leaned on his shoulder. Misty in her sports bra and panties was laying on her back against Ash's stomach and boxers watching the show with interest. To any observer, they looked like friends having a strange sleepover.
After a commercial came on, Misty rolled around and faced Ash, getting him to groan slightly.
"What you did today was amazing." Misty said. "The way you battled was great." She said with a smile and then it dropped. "But you scared us, particularly when you near got zapped by that big lightning attack."
Ash chuckled and petted her hair. "Well that's what happens when you over estimate me. If it wasn't for Protect, well…I don't want to think about it." Ash said.
Misty just purred. "When did I become this emotionally dependent on you?" Misty said.
"I would say about the same time we became dependent on you Mist." Dawn said holding Misty's hand. "We saw you close to tears when Ash got hit. We were feeling it too.
"Your emotions were fluctuating a lot during the fight. From sadness, to anger, to joy, to relief. If we weren't watching Ash, we could get an idea of what happened through your emotions." Anabel said as scooted down and hugged her. "Even though you were acting strong for us, you were battling your fear and your feeling of helplessness."
Misty nodded and just buried herself into Ash's stomach. "I know. Just that we've faced stronger opponents together and Satoshi was really strong almost being able to kill Ash, save for his extraordinary luck."
May who had been silent until now, giggled at that. "His luck is a little insane." May then scooted out from underneath Ash. "But in the end, our prince won. And his princesses want to reward him." She said kissing Ash who quickly wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. Releasing her lips, she started kissing down the chest, while Dawn took his lips.
Misty giggled and turned around to kiss Anabel. The empath moan in delight as they nuzzled each other. Separating from her May immediately took Misty, getting the two to giggle. Anabel then came up to Ash's face and tenderly kissed him. She was always shy about affection and Ash understood that and gently held her. Anabel released her kiss and Dawn took her back and hugged her like a stuffed animal.
Misty then crawled up to him and to her he looked like the king of the world with his concubines pleasing him.
"You enjoy this. Seeing us girls playing with each other like this, all innocent and cute. Knowing that we all love each other equally." She said sweetly as Ash grabbed her and kissed her hard. When they released, they were out of breath, just like the others on their bed.
Ash had a stupid grin on his face as the girls readjusted themselves onto Ash's chest with Misty and May on the shoulders and Dawn and Anabel on his stomach.
Ash looked at his girls and smiled. "I promise to always be faithful to you, until the day I die or you never want me." He said as he looked at the clock that said 10:30. He turned off the T.V and slowly the group of five entered dreamland dreaming of a future there kids would want.
Next Day
After saying good-bye to Lyra and Khoury, the group of ten continued their journey to the next gym at Sunnyshore City. The walk was quiet and peaceful, with Anabel and Dawn on Ash's arms and May and Misty talking about different stuff. Max and Brock were reading a book, Tori was watching the scenery and Gabby was taking pictures. Drew was out front leading and glancing behind him to see his friends in step with him. As they approached Lake Valor and the turn to Sunnyshore City, they heard what appeared to be helicopters flying in.
"Wonder what's going on?" Dawn asked as the copters were flying by. They watched as they slowly stopped and then a familiar plane appeared.
"That's Hunter J!" Ash called out.
They watched as a hatch opened up, revealing a large spherical object descended.
Drew looked at the object and then at the lake. After three looks, Drew widened his eyes.
"Get down." Drew whispered.
"What?" Max asked.
Drew turned around. "GET DOWN!"
Knowing there was a good reason for him to yell that, they turned their backs and hit the dirt.
KABOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM
The resulting explosion was massive, causing the lake water to splash up and rain down. The shockwave was massive as well and the teenagers were struggling to hold on. After a few moments of quiet, they slowly sat up and turned around. They gasped as the absolute devastation the lake had endured as a large crater was created. What was J doing? Whatever it was it was not good.
Team Galactic makes its move. Can the Riders stop their plans or has the plans gone to far to be stopped? Find out next time on the Journeys of the Dreamer.
END OF CHAPTER
UO: That's the chapter we are on the home stretch. I estimate at least five maybe six more chapters on this one and then I can begin some other stuff. If all goes as planned, book 2 of this series might go up by Christmas.
Preview: Team Galactic begins its plans to create Cyrus' perfect world. The riders move to stop it and battle with the dark riders. Will the win? Find out next time
Next time: Chains of Fate
Please Review Kindly. Next update is Bleach Grand Prix. Also check out my pals, Lalapie203, Spartan719, Code-Emperor07, Kurogane 7, Soleneus, Soulsilverlord, Vanishing Raptor, Kage Bijuu, Giratina Zero EvashinobiKaiserKnight Kamen Rider Super-Fan and NorthSouthGorem. I help on a lot of their works. Also call me out on mistakes.
OSPREY…SWOOOSH