Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except Lorelei and Damien – that's the only character
A/N: Thank you for reviewing the story – and there's a little more to the legendary Pokémon than you think!
Chapter 04
Lorelei felt the anger and confusion building up in her – she was not about to just let Ash walk away just like that – he had fought back a battle that he looked sure to lose, so why did he give up? If he wanted to get off the island, then he would probably go to the pier and hitch a ride to the Montazul Islands, eager to find out the truth of the mystery.
"I can't believe I even let you do that – I should have left last night before you even had the chance to scarper." Lorelei could feel her heart racing in her chest as she sprinted away from the arena. "Dragonite, I choose you!" She swung her arm swiftly through the air, releasing the Pokéball.
An almighty Dragonite started to thunder alongside his trainer with a beaming grin after not seeing her for so long. Seeing Dragonite made Lorelei wonder why on earth she hadn't used him to fight in the semi-finals.
"Dragonite, we need to fly back home to Montazul – can you do that?"
The dragon frowned, as if to say 'what? Of course I can!' He opened out his illustrious wings and waited for his trainer to jump onto his back and hold on tight.
"Go Dragonite!" Lorelei yelled, encouraging a speedy take off.
With a flap of his wings, Dragonite took off and soared up into the air leaving the tournament and the remaining battles behind.
The wind was cold, but to feel it whooshing past her face was unbelievable and it was something she loved to do. To fly, and upon Dragonite, the experience was exhilarating. Up in the sky, she could be free – and sometimes, she didn't always feel like she could be this in the past.
She left the island behind and, on the way to the Montazul Islands, she could see the sea below her shimmering in the early morning sun.
A raucous call from behind Lorelei made her turn to look over her shoulder. It was a flock of Yanmega, and they had picked their target. Dragonite.
The next thing she heard was a high pitch screech and sound waves pulsating through the air towards her which sent her head rushing in a never ending marathon.
"Dragonite…" a murmur passed her lips as she fell to one side of her Pokémon, the wind whipping past her. "Return…"
The shock of her hitting the water brought her back to the moment. Lorelei's heart began to race and she floundered about the water. To the left, she could see, just water, and the same to the right. Just the same royal blue ocean she had been flying over not long ago.
"Oh my!" Lorelei gasped, kicking her legs feistily in an attempt to stay afloat. Her hands clasped around her sash bag, hoping that nothing had fallen out of the already open bag.
After managing to calm down a little, Lorelei kicked back and started to swim in the direction that she had been flying in. She considered using Ninetales at first, but Ninetales would only last about five minutes so it wouldn't be fair to tire the fire Pokémon out for nothing. Swimming only using her legs was a challenge – she needed to hold onto her bag, but her efforts were short lived as the strong currents half her possible distance.
In the distance, she saw a small boat bobbing about. It wasn't a ferry, but it was enough to give Lorelei strength to force herself on, powering herself towards it.
"Hey! Hey!" she shouted across the ocean, knowing that this boat could get her to the Montazul Islands. "Over here!"
The nearer she got, the more exhausted she became, and the boat still felt like it she miles away.
"Hello?!" Lorelei screamed out one more time before accidently swallowing a mouthful of ocean water.
"Pika!" A bright yellow electric mouse leapt up onto the back rail and called out to its trainer.
"Pikachu – what's wrong?"
That voice! Lorelei recognised it – she would recognise it anywhere.
She rolled her eyes when she realised who the voice belonged to. "You have got to be kidding," Lorelei groaned, panting heavily as she got nearer to the boat.
Her competitor appeared at the back of the boat beside Pikachu, and he couldn't believe his eyes either.
"You just couldn't stay away, could you?" Ash stifled a laugh
The blood rushed to Lorelei's cheeks and she carried on kicking, swimming past the boat boldly. She couldn't stand the fact that Ash was trying to be this brave and charming person that would just forfeit a match he clearly wanted to win, it didn't make sense.
"Oh come on, Leia. You know that the match was yours, so I did what I had to!" he called out after his last opponent who was still struggling to swim away from the boat. "Come on, you know you're nowhere near Montazul islands – come on the boat and we'll take you there… maybe you can even show us the way round the island. Like a guide or something."
"A guide!" snapped Lorelei quietly. "Oh you make me so made!"
Ash slapped his face with his hand. "Wow…"
Behind him, Brock noticed that Lorelei was in the water and he tossed the lifesaver over the rail. It splashed down in front of Lorelei who wrinkled her face at it. Treading the water, she debated whether she would take it.
Instead, she swam around it, leaving it behind her. Stubborn was clearly one of her middle names.
Brock and Ash looked to Dawn who was busy lying down on a bench in the shade. Her eyes rolled around her face in an arch.
"Fine," she sighed, walking over to the side of the boat. "Leia – don't be so persistent. Just take the ring and we'll go together. Ash just wants to see what the mystery of Montazul Islands… And I think you know that you're never going to make it there swimming like you are." As far as pep talks go, this was one of the first Dawn had ever given. "Leia- what do you say?"
"On one condition." Lorelei spun around a little in the water.
"Name it!" Ash exclaimed, before shying away a little. "Yeah…"
"You come and meet my family- and you tell them that you beat me in the tournament."
A frown formed along Ash's brow as he tried to understand why. When he was about to ask why, he received a sharp elbow to the side of his ribcage. "Of course," he whimpered, trying not to double over.
Lifting Lorelei onto the boat, she emptied out the contents of her bag onto the deck of the boat. She separated all the different items. Potions, Pokéballs, a soaked raincoat, a soggy guidebook and a camera in a plastic bag that seemed unaffected by the water. Everything was incredibly wet and needed a good few hours to dry, but nothing was going to be the same even if it was dry.
"That was tiring to say the least…" Lorelei fell back against the deck, before sitting upright. "Why did you want to go to the Montazul Islands?" she looked directly at Ash.
"The mystery and all of that – who wouldn't?" Ash grinned cheerfully, only to be slightly shut down by the grimace on Lorelei's face.
"Ash…" Lorelei stood up and despite being less than a head shorter than him, she wasn't intimidated. "You barely know what you're getting yourself in for." Before Ash could reply, she collected her partly damp belongings and wandered towards the front of the boat. There, she let her wind blow ripple through her clothes, shivering a little.
"Lorelei?"
She got a little fright, she didn't expect company right now. Turning around, she found herself facing Ash.
"What is it?" Lorelei looked back to the sea.
"Do you have some kind of problem with me or something?" he asked, calmly exhaling deeply.
A small smile was tugging at Lorelei's cheek muscles. "Quite the opposite," she whispered.
"What did you say?" Ash asked, moving towards her cautiously. "Do you think we'll make it to Montazul in time?"
"We have to," Lorelei replied confidently, feeling the warmth of Ash's sleeveless jacket on her shoulders. "You're a really amazing guy, Ash…" Her blue eyes connected with his eyes, and they stared at each other for a moment. "Sorry," she murmured, looking away. "My mum is going to love you."
"Eh?"
Lorelei seemed a little flustered. "I just mean that you're going to have to charm her and explain how you beat me…"
"So no pressure." Ash laughed. "Any idea what this natural disaster will be?"
"No, but Mum is certainly going to go crazy when she hears that I've seen Absol…"
How right she was. When Lorelei's mum heard this news, she refused to let go of her. Not in joy, but of fear and distress.
"No! I refuse to let you go! Never. There's no way I'm going to let you go gallivanting off to the shrine. Not now, not after I lost your grandmother, Lorelei Periwinkle if you dare go anywhere near that mountain, so help me! These friends of yours probably don't know about it, but I refuse to let you become the sacrifice to save the Islands."
This came as a shock to Ash, Brock and Dawn who didn't expect that at all.
"But Mum – I have to. I'm going and you can't do anything to stop me. I care far too much about this place to even consider not going."
"Lorelei Periwinkle – at least stay for the day… You can leave in the morning. Ash, Brock and Dan – you are welcome to sleep in the guest room. Dan, I'm sure you can kip on the floor in Lorelei's room."
"Dan? But I'm Daw-" Dawn started, only to be interrupted by Mrs Periwinkle.
"And Professor Maple's daughter Holly will be coming over in the morning. Make sure you're up when she gets here – you know how prompt she likes things to be. And I think the Mareep flock need a little sheering."
"Yes Mum." Lorelei smiled weakly. "You can count on me."
Only that night, Lorelei packed a bag with the essentials that she would need to climb including sturdy climbing equipment and a whole lot of rope. She thought she would be able to sneak off in the middle of the night, out of the window, but Dawn keep one eye slightly open and watched her newfound friend drop out of the window. Not long after Lorelei had left, Dawn packed her own bag and followed, walking straight into Ash who couldn't sleep that night.
"Dawn?" Ash stammered. "What are you doing out – and with a bag packed? Where are you going?"
"Lorelei – she's gone somewhere. I think she's gone up the mountain. I'm worried about her, Ash. Her mother kept going on about a sacrifice or something."
"I'm going after her." Ash reached through the open window and picked out his rucksack. "I'll be able to catch up to her, I'm sure of it."
"No, Ash – I'll go. She'll understand me more than she can you."
"Dawn, you need to stay here so that her mother doesn't get suspicious. And someone needs to keep Brock company, and keep him away from this Holly girl – the daughter of the Professor."
Somewhere inside Dawn, she saw a look in Ash's eyes that said he needed to do this. "Okay- I'll stay. Be quick, catch up to her, and stay safe Ash. Take care of him, Pikachu."
"You can count on me." Ash slung his rucksack over his shoulder and ran away up the hill in the direction of the mountain, with Pikachu hot on his heels.
They were quick to tire, but Ash didn't give up. His feet continually pounded the dewy grass as he ran up the hill. The early morning sun was beginning to rise over the horizon as the Swablu filled the skies and flew over the islands.
"This really is an amazing island, right Pikachu?" Ash said as they reached the path that spiralled up the mountain. He realised how small and also unpopulated the island was because, from the path, he could see the tiny settlement that summed up the population and the coastal villages dotted about.
"Pik-ka!" his friend chimed in agreement, continually racing up the mountain path in pursuit of Lorelei.
Ash and Pikachu continued to scale the mountain after Lorelei, so much to the extent that the early morning sun was beginning to rise. Looking out over the Montazul Island, in the distance, he could see a dark cloud looming over the sea and it seemed to be heading for the island – most likely, it was the natural disaster that Absol had 'warned' Lorelei about.
"Pikachu – do you think we can get to Leia in time?" Ash asked, breathing heavily in between strides, until he reached a point where the path just disappeared, and dropped down. "Looks like some rockslides have destroyed the path… But I got this covered." Instinctively, Ash grabbed one of his Pokéballs from his belt. "Bayleef – come on and help us out!" When he saw his Pokémon appear in front of him, he ordered it to use vine whip for him to cross the chasm.
"Bay- Bay!" Two long and sturdy looking vines shot out across the chasm and fastened onto a jagged rock at the other side. Bayleef prepared for Ash to cross on the vines, but when its trainer began to scale the distance, it struggled at the halfway point. Pulling back to tighten the vines, a bead of sweat was building on the side of Bayleef's head as it endeavoured to keep Ash safe.
The vines slipped on the rock and in a matter of seconds, Ash was falling through the air.
"Dragonite – fly! I said fly!"
Ash was sure he heard Lorelei call, but he continued to fall. A hand lashed onto his and Ash's body jerked, stopping in mid-air. Looking up, he could see Lorelei in Dragonite's bulky arms, struggling to hold onto Ash.
"Take us to the mountain path, Dragonite!" Lorelei snapped, gasping at the pain in her arms. "Quickly!"
Dragonite shot up into the air and reached the mountain path much higher up the mountain than Lorelei had anticipated. He dropped her and Ash onto the path before flying away above the clouds. The two Pokémon trainers rolled along the mountain path. Lorelei was first to leap up off Ash and she stepped back away from him.
"Are you crazy?" she squealed in disbelief, trying to tell herself that Ash had not just followed her up the mountainside. "Why have you followed me, it's not safe, you could have died!" Lorelei cupped her hands over her mouth. "If something happened to you…" she trailed off, too inaudible for Ash to hear.
"You know- I followed you because I was worried about you!" Ash snapped angrily, but he stopped when he saw the tears forming on the ridge of her eyes.
Lorelei stared back at Ash with big eyes, wondering what to do. Her shoes scuffed the stony mountain path as she made her way towards him. As if she lost control of her limbs, she threw her arms around Ash, squeezing him.
"Pika!"
"Bay- Bay!"
Bayleef glared at Lorelei embracing Ash and butted into them sharply, bowling them over onto the ground.
"Return, Bayleef," Ash said, feeling his Pokemon nuzzle his neck. "Sorry, Bayleef gets a little overprotective with affection."
"That's okay- I probably would feel the same way too if… Never mind. I need to go up to the shrine on the top of the mountain." Lorelei looked up to the mountain's peak. "There isn't much time – I can feel the temperatures dropping, something's going to happen and I have to get to the top before it's too late."
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Ash jumped up to his feet and extended a hand out to her.
She looked up at him and took a hold of his hand, letting him pull her to her feet.
"Thanks," Lorelei mumbled.
The two raced up the path, feeling the wind whipping at their clothes and sending shivers down their spines. Pikachu took refuge inside of Ash's jacket, poking his head out and looking at the path ahead.
"We're here!" called Lorelei as they reached what looked like an amphitheatre.
The stone circles of seats surrounded Ash and Lorelei as they walked into the centre of the amphitheatre.
"Ash, I need you to stand back and not interfere. Do not interfere, even if your life depends on it. You must not interfere. Please." Lorelei walked slowly towards the altar which stood at the centre.
"What is this place?"
"The temple… This is the temple that my family have served under for many years. As the holder of Mew."
"Holder?" Ash asked. "Mew!?"
Lorelei laughed gently at Ash's sudden surprise. "Ash – Mew is a legendary Pokémon. No one can own and command it, however much Damian would like to think that he can make me order it as the holder, I can't. It's not possible. That's why I carry this around my neck." She removed the Pokéball from around her neck. "From the moment I saw you, I knew you had seen Mew before, and not a lot of people can say that."
"Yeah, I know." Ash watched intently as Lorelei placed the Pokéball into a half spherical indentation of the altar. The Pokéball lit up and began to glow a pale golden colour.
"Lorelei Periwinkle – step away from that altar!" a deranged scream alerted the pair of another's presence in the temple.
She looked up from the altar and saw Damien standing at the entrance she had come in through not too long ago.
"Damien? Why are you saying this? I have to do this…" Lorelei squeaked timidly. "As a holder, I must do what needs to be done. Mew must be released once more."
"No! Mew is mine and I will not allow you to sacrifice it! Mew is mine! Mine!" Damien stormed forwards, his coat flailing in the wind.
Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Here's the climax of the story – the plot thickens and a little more is revealed. Hope you're enjoying it and I'd love to know what you think of it.