A/N: Sorry is the first thing I would like to say. Once again I find myself updating over 2 weeks after my last update, and I hate myself for it, especially after promising the daily updates so many days ago. Really, I only hope you guys can forgive me for taking so long, and I want to thank everyone who continues to read, and those who have just recently joined me in this adventure. Here's your update guys, hope you enjoy it!
P.S. I didn't know I made so many mistakes last time! I hope it hasn't been like that the entire time! I'm so ashamed =[
Ash set foot on the top of the hill, out of reality, and into his worst nightmares. At least that's how it seemed. The world grew darker than anything he'd ever experienced, in ways he'd never felt before. Bright flashes could be seen all over the valley, each one accompanied with an explosion, what they had perceived as thunder earlier.
There in front of their eyes, Lugia and Palkia could be seen locked in an embrace as Palkia threw Lugia to the ground, following up with a hyper beam. Groudon summoned an earthquake, blasting Deoxys and Articuno away as the two attempted a double-team tactic. Celebi and Mew met head on, sending out psychic waves that indented the ground beneath them. Everywhere they looked, pokemon were waging war with one another, fighting with pure ferocity. They were fighting to the death.
As painful as it was to watch, it wasn't possible for them to look away from the captivating scene in front of them. They were all witnessing and feeling the darkness that Max had heard when Jirachi had spoken to him.
A gust of wind snapped them out of their daze as a glowing purple ball raced toward them and came to a near-instant stop. The glow faded and beneath it they saw Mewtwo's figure emerge. He slowly lowered himself closer to Ash, who felt better than he had ever felt in his life to see a face he knew amidst the darkness.
"Mewtwo!" He cried to the pokemon, "What's going on? Why are all of these pokemon fighting?"
Mewtwo simply continued lowering himself closer and closer. Once he was close enough to see his eyes, Ash noticed that they were pitch black. No shine whatsoever. Mewtwo held his hand out and prepared to fire off an attack. Mason and Noone jumped in front of the confused Ash, ready to intercept the attack.
Before Mewtwo can send the psywave out, the group feels a rumbling in the ground that knocks them to the ground as Rayquaza swoops out of the sky and constricts Mewtwo. Mewtwo is flung from Rayquaza's tail and straight into the ground a hundred yards away where Rayquaza follows with a hyper beam. Mewtwo emerges and deflects the beam, charging into Rayquaza. The two of them continue to brawl, oblivious to anything happening around them.
Ash dropped to his knees, his arms hanging at his side, feeling utterly useless. He had to stop what was happening, but he had no idea how, nor why it was happening.
Jessie caught a glimpse of something a short distance from where all of the action was taking place. She turned to see a group of people in hoodies moving a large metal crate.
"Hey, look!" She said and pointed toward the scene, "What do they think they're doing?" Everyone turned and saw what she was pointed toward. Brock recognized the outfits as soon as he saw the color.
"Isn't that team Aqua?" He yelled, "What are they doing all the way here in Johto?"
Ash, May and Max took a closer look and noticed the familiar outfits as well. As they watched, the crate was being moved behind a very thick brush. Just before the crate disappeared from view, two men emerged from behind it wearing black t-shirts with a red "R" displayed on the front.
Jessie, James and Meowth gasped. "Doze guys were Team Rocket members!" Meowth yelled.
"Yeah!" Jessie agreed, "What're they doing working with Team Aqua?"
Ash's blood began boiling when he realized that the scene they had witnessed was undoubtedly related to the gruesome fighting carrying out within shouting distance of them right now. "Well I'm not sitting around and waiting to find out! Let's go!"
Ash charges off down the hill, followed closely by Mason and Ritchie. The others stay atop the hill for a moment, contemplating calling after Ash, but decide to follow him. They know that his mind's set on finding out what was happening and there was no way they could stop him.
Ash was making a beeline for the brush that the crate had disappeared behind while Mason and Ritchie did their best to keep up with him. Not far off in the distance the roaring and explosions continued to shake the world around them as the legendary pokemon battled one another. As the brush approached, Ash lowered his head, ready to charge through it and take on anything he met.
He shoved his way through the thick branches and emerged on the other side with his hands balled into fists. He dropped his guard and stared blankly ahead. There was nothing on the other side of the brush but empty space. Mason and Ritchie came running around the side of the brush and stared as well.
"Where'd they go?" Ritchie asked, "There's nowhere they could have taken off to that we wouldn't have seen."
As the rest of the group caught up to find the space empty, Ash dropped to his knees and slammed his fists against the ground. "They were right here!"
"Calm down, Ash," Gary said, "let's look for any clues as to where they went." He knelt to the ground and examined the markings. Whatever they were moving was heavy as it had carved four lines in the grass where the wheels were. Everywhere else the grass had been flattened by everybody standing on it. He looked toward where the tracks led and noticed that they stopped abruptly, as well as the footprints. "Look there," he said and pointed, "the grass is undisturbed over there. The footsteps and tracks stop in a perfect line."
Ash looked and saw what Gary was talking about. "Like an imaginary line they couldn't cross…but what does that mean?"
"I'm not sure," Gary said. "But-"
Before he can continue, the ground they are standing on begins buzzing as they hear a low hum. After a few seconds the world around them begins to rise slowly. It took them a moment to realize that the world wasn't rising, they were being lowered down. The area they had been standing on was now dropping into the earth with them on it. They all stood at the ready, prepared for what might meet them when the platform stopped.
All over the world natural disasters were raging, and Pallet Town was no exception. Delia had taken refuge with Tracey and Professor Oak in Oak's lab as a lightning storm ravaged the town.
The skies had grown darker than they had ever been, even though it hadn't yet reached noon. To top it all off the power had gone out all around town, leaving only those lucky enough to have a backup generator with electric lighting. Oak had more than one, seeing as his lab operated on a quite a bit of power when things were busy.
The news reports had said that all major forms of transportation had been grounded indefinitely until the freak disasters ceased. This included the magnet train that Ash and company were supposed to be arriving on, which left Delia more than worried about her son's safety. She hadn't stopped fidgeting since hearing the news.
"Calm down Delia, please," Oak said as he offered her a cup of tea, "you're starting to worry me. Ash can handle himself, and he's not alone. Brock's a doctor-in-training, and the others are all perfectly capable of handling themselves as well."
Delia took the tea and gave it a small sip. She hadn't expected it to be as calming as it was, and she felt her muscles give in a little and relax. "Thank you, Professor. I know that if anybody can take care of himself, it's Ash, but still…" She peered out the window where the sky was constantly flashing from all of the lightning. "Something's not right, and he's stuck out there. I can't help but be worried for him."
Tracey emerged from the kitchen carrying a platter with three bowls of noodle soup. The three of them sat and ate silently for a few minutes. Delia's eyes began to glisten just a little as tears began forming. The professor noticed and offered her a tissue.
"If it would make you feel any better, I can pull up his position on our tracking computer and we can see where he's at," the professor offered.
"Huh? You can do that?" Delia said.
"Yes," Oak replied, "every one of the pokedex's we hand out is fitted with a chip that allows us to pinpoint its location. We only use it in case of emergencies, of course, but it's a safety precaution implemented for the security of new trainers. They are only ten when they set out on their journeys, after all."
Delia's face beamed for a moment, though her thoughts soon turned negative as ideas of where Ash might be began racing through her mind, not all of them being good. She nodded and followed the professor into a large room. He sat in front of one of the computers and dusted the screen off. It had been a long time since they had used it.
The three of them anxiously sat and waited as the computer booted up. After a few minutes a box appeared on the screen, prompting the user to input information. Oak typed in Ash's full name and hit enter.
They looked at the screen for a moment and saw a map of the Johto region. A yellow dot began flashing. They leaned in to examine the location.
"Where there's Goldenrod…" Oak said, putting his finger to the screen. He dragged it across the screen to the dot. "And there's Ash. Wait a minute…what's he doing in the middle of nowhere?"
"And in a time like this!" Delia yelled, clutching the back of the chair the professor was sitting in. "I can't just sit around here, I need to go find them and bring them home!" She took off out of the room and toward the front door.
"Delia wait!" Oak yelled and chased after her. "How do you expect to reach him? Every major form of transportation has been shut down, you saw for yourself."
"I'll walk if I have to," Delia said as she grabbed her coat.
"Eh, just wait, please," Oak said, grabbing her shoulder. "At least wait until the storm eases up and then we can take my private chopper. I'll call up my pilot and see if he can make his way here."
Delia was against the idea of waiting at all, but knew the professor was right. "Okay, then. Thank you."
Professor Oak nodded and smiled. In all reality he was just as worried as Delia was. He knew that whatever was happening it was much bigger than anything they had ever seen before, and was almost positive that Ash was going to find the source of it. He only hoped that Ash could come through just as he had so many times in the past.
As the platform came to a rest far underground, Ash and everyone else found themselves staring down a bright and long hallway. They stepped off of the platform, wary and cautious of their surroundings, as if the walls themselves would jump out and attack them at any moment. James was the last one on the platform, and as soon as he lifted his foot off it began to rise again. He turned around just a moment too late to see it rise out of reach, leaving them trapped.
"Should have seen that coming," Brock said.
"Let's just keep moving," Ash suggested, "we'll find whoever's at the bottom of this and get some answers."
The hallway was much longer than it had originally seemed. There was no end to it as far as anyone could see. On each side doors were staggered in increments of about 15 feet. They checked the first few they came upon only to find that each was locked. With no way back to the surface and no exit in sight, they had no choice but to continue moving forward.
May, Dawn and Misty huddled close together for comfort. Even with the hallway lit up as bright as it was, there was a very eerie feel to it, most likely from the emptiness it held. Mason made sure to keep his sights on Noone at all times, convinced that a trap would be sprung at any moment, attempting to capture all of their pokemon. Brock, Gary, and Ritchie walked behind the girls, keeping on their toes the entire time. Max stayed between Brock and Ritchie, finding comfort in the presence of both of them at his sides. Behind everyone Team Rocket trudged along, not completely unaware of how awkward it was that they were here with the same kids they had chased for years attempting to steal their pokemon.
Ash, however, was completely oblivious to everyone else. Blinded by anger and fueled by rage, all he wanted was to stop whoever it was that was causing all of this trouble and make sure they got their just desserts.
As they continued to walk, they're caught by surprise when one of the many doors in the hallway opens itself, inviting them in. They all simply stare at it for a few moments, waiting for anything to happen. Ash makes up his mind and stomps his way in, despite protests from Brock and Gary, and everyone is quick to follow him. In the room they see a wide assortment of electronics spanning the length of the walls and a large screen on the furthest wall. As soon as James (once again the last to enter) steps foot inside the room, the door slides shut behind him and locks itself.
Just as Brock is about to suggest looking for another way out, the screen across the room turns on, prompting everyone to gather around it. The view on the screen looks like that of a security camera. They can see a small group of Team Aqua members standing around, doing nothing of importance. A light shines on them and they jump to their feet and run toward it. They appear again a moment later, pulling on large ropes. After some struggling the thing they were pulling comes into view of the camera: A large cage containing Kyogre. Aqua members all around are splashing water on the large pokemon as the ones pulling the ropes prepare to transfer it onto a ship of some sort. The pokemon looks as though it had been through a series of hurricanes.
"Hey! It's that kyogre!" Max yells.
"Wait, you mean you've seen it before?" Misty asked.
"Yeah," Ritchie answered, "on the ferry. Kyogre and Lugia were the ones causing all of the whirlpools and cyclones, and then they started fighting. Last we saw them they were headed for Johto."
"You mean headed for a trap," Ash muttered through clenched teeth. In all of his dealings with wrong-doers, he had never seen such neglect for a pokemon, let alone a legendary. He balled up a fist and slammed it into the screen, causing it to turn to static.
As soon as the images on the screen stopped, a section of the wall that had previously seemed empty slid open, revealing yet another room. With no other choice, everyone stepped into the newly revealed room, the hidden door closing just like the first one after everyone was inside. Brock knew what was happening, though he also knew there was almost nothing they could do about it.
The room they were in was almost identical to the last room. The only difference was that the wall furthest from the screen was completely empty. The group gathered around the screen and waited for it to turn on. When it did, it was split into a dozen sections, each one showing a news clip from a different part of the world. All of them were focused on some sort of seemingly natural disaster ravaging a city or town. The numbers of missing and injured people continued to rise with each passing minute.
"What is this?" Ash asked.
"It's someone's ego," Brock replied. "we're seeing exactly what they want us to see. They're proud of everything that's happening." He could feel his own anger start to build, but knew he had to keep a cool head, even if Ash wasn't. "They're also guiding us- no, they're herding us. We're going exactly where they want us to, and I have a feeling it's not going to be anywhere pleasant."
On queue, the wall across the room began sliding open slowly. Everybody lifted their arms to shield their eyes from a bright light shining through the door. After some hesitation, they all stepped into the bright room. Unfortunately, this would be the last room one of them ever sees.
A/N: So there you have it! I hate to do it, but a wake-up call is in order, and there's no other way. I'll leave it to you guys to try and figure out who. Just know that I had a very hard time deciding, I'm in love with each of the characters, the canons and my OC's, and to see one of them go (let alone write it!) is going to be devastating. As always, feel free to leave a review. Any constructive criticism is welcome. =]