PokeStones of the Dead – Chapter Thirteen
Articuno was hit.
It had been dodging fire and lightning, twisting and turning in order to turn the blasts of flame and crackling bolts of electricity away into the ocean. Articuno was not even trying to fight back now, fatigue taking hold of its body. It might be legendary, but it was faced with two of its kin, and would eventually tire. And tire it did, as one Thunderbolt came too fast and too suddenly for Articuno to dodge or to deflect. Shocked into paralysis, Articuno's speed dropped like a stone falling through water. Moltres and Zapdos went for the kill, unleashing a combined burst of projectile attacks that combined to form a fiery bolt that melted the blizzard as it passed through the air. It travelled with all the speed of lightning, combined with the pure, raw power of fire. Articuno was still shaking off its paralysis, and the combination attack went closer. Then two beams came from the side to deflect the bolt away into the sky.
Lapras and Xatu then unleashed the same two beams again, the Ice Beam and Psybeam directed against the corrupted guardians of Kanto. As the beams were unleashed, a small figure, almost invisible in the blinding snow and roaring wind, leaped gracefully from Xatu to Lapras, and released more of her Pokemon at the same time. Scizor and Misdreavus took the battlefield as well, and the battle was now well and truly on. Lillette remembered the way that Zapdos and Moltres had cleared the Dead at Lavender and Victory Road respectively, while an entire host of Pokemon could not even stop the Dead from advancing. Now they were in alliance, working for the very evil they existed to combat. They were outnumbered, yes, but Lillette doubted her Pokemon could counter the two legendary birds effectively.
And Zapdos and Moltres reacted to the new enemies well, Zapdos' beak drilling a hole in Xatu, while Scizor had to be alert to stop Moltres from instantly killing him with a single Flamethrower. Lapras could not use Surf in these conditions – the two birds had far higher speed than her own Pokemon, and the Surf would probably do more damage to her own team that the enemies. The blizzard was affecting everyone adversely.
The battle was in a stalemate, with Zapdos and Moltres being able to dodge the attacks with relative ease, while there were too many on the other side for the two legendary birds to direct and focus their attacks effectively. Zapdos flew high, where it started Thundering everyone from its elevated position. The majestic thunder, used to wipe out the armies of Dead that were plaguing the land to great effect, was now being used against them. Lapras was hit, and Lillette was forced to jump on Xatu in order for Lapras to take cover underwater. Scizor took advantage of Zapdos' constant stationary casting, and tried to rise up to Metal Claw it and cause some damage, but all of a sudden a whirlwind of fire rose up from the sea, where it expanded and caused all of Lillette's Pokemon to back off. Thunder on one side, Fire Spin on the other, Lillette's Pokemon were literally helpless against the combined forces of the two legendary birds.
Pathetic. You think your Pokemon can scratch the two legendary guardians of the land? Those that managed to contain the even more powerful evil that I will tap into soon? After I get Articuno! And then, you will see the true power of what I am scheming.
The necromancer must have been feeling pretty confident, until the two Hyper Beams combined from behind to send Zapdos down to the earth in a plummet. Temperance, lying in wait at the landing point in an ambush, was on Gyarados as Flygon flew overhead, both temporarily unable to move, but the damage was done. Zapdos hit Seafoam Islands, the force of the Hyper Beams carrying it there, against the force of its mighty wings. And right on cue, Articuno, regenerating its strength with some help from Lillette, rose up into battle again, and this time it was at full power. The blizzard stopped, then was redirected at the immobile Zapdos. Instant concussion.
The tables had truly turned now. Moltres, alone against a dozen angry Pokemon, was forced to flee for its life, and Temperance allowed himself a smile of triumph. They had won. Moltres would too fall, and the ancient evil in slumber could not awaken. Until the sky, overcast, snow falling incessantly, brightened. And now everyone could clearly see the same figure, cloaked in blood-red, standing at the far end of Seafoam. With a sweep of his hand, Zapdos revived and flew back in battle. But that was not all. Far worse was to come.
A crystal vial was raised, filled two-thirds of the way through. It was filled with… blood. Blood, so dark it was almost black. And Articuno seemed unsure of what it was doing, eyes drawn to the vial, even though it was not full. Temperance had no idea what was about to happen. Another potion! But… no PokeStones have been destroyed. In fact, I have no idea where he got the sixth PokeStone to even form his second potion. Now… what is going on?
The necromancer raised a bloody dagger, and Temperance suspected that dagger had just been used to draw the very blood that filled the vial. The vial was not a small test tube used in small experiments. It was wide, long, and from Temperance's estimates, could store at least 1.5 litres of blood. That meant 1 litre of blood had been drawn, by a dagger, from someone. Who was the unfortunate victim? Before Temperance could contemplate the matter further, the dagger was put to the necromancer's own skin, and then with a deliberate and hard slash, blood poured out of the necromancer's wrist, falling into the vial. The flow could not be stopped, and the vial gradually filled to the brim. The necromancer collapsed, and as if a spell had been broken, Temperance and Lillette rushed towards the fallen body, determined to uncover the identity of the mysterious mastermind behind the chaos in Kanto –
And three beams blasted the ground where they stood.
Temperance and Lillette were trapped in a maelstrom of hell. Wave after wave of fire, lightning and ice came at them, while their Pokemon desperately deflected the attacks away. All this while the two tried desperately to approach the necromancer's fallen body. The potion had taken effect, and Articuno was now fully in the spell of the necromancer, like its other two brethren. Temperance had his dagger out. He would get to the body, cut his throat, and then everything would end. Without a perpetrator, the evil residing in the earth could not transport its power to anyone, and would be forced to unleash its power on itself while it was still weak, practically committing suicide. It would be over if they could just reach that body, a few metres away. The birds would not kill them first; they would end it once and for all. And with a final dodging of a Ice Beam, throwing themselves on the ground next to the necromancer, Temperance drew back his hood and steadied his dagger.
Only to see the wounds on the necromancer, self-inflicted, heal themselves in front of his very eyes. The power was transferring. Recover had been used. The wounds, deep as to cut to the bone, sealed themselves. His eyes flickered open, and Temperance knew that he had to act fast. He plunged the dagger towards the red cloak, backstabbing the fallen villain, only to see the dagger splintered in his hands. The back of the necromancer was now as hard as granite. Harden.
The necromancer flew up into the sky, propelled by nothing except his own force of will. Face still covered, he looked towards the guardians of Kanto that he had corrupted, and said in a terrible voice: "It is done! I am now the ruler of all power that exists in the land! Resistance is futile… and you shall now be killed by the guardians that were once revered, that once saved the day from the power that now resides inside me! I am still weak, if you can call this weak – there is still far more power to come!"
Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno resumed their assault, but not before Temperance took the naked blade on the ground, still stained with the blood of the necromancer, the same dagger that had taken the lives of others and had been used to make the final potion that had sealed Kanto's destiny. Flinging it at the necromancer, he scarcely expected it to work – he was hoping beyond hope – but it seemed like the cursed blade had some effect on the newly reincarnated necromancer. Cutting away the mask that covered his face, the dagger buried itself inside the necromancer's cheek – before the blade splintered into dust. Temperance then ran, ran far away from the three deadly birds, with dust and rubble erupting everywhere from the attacks. The necromancer flew off into the distance, and the two returned their Pokemon, and flew away, while the three birds gave chase. They knew what they had to do, knew that there was still one thread of hope left. And Temperance now knew where to go to save the day, because he HAD seen the necromancer's face. He knew who he was.
Lance.
It was him. Him that allowed us to bypass him, despite our loss – he wanted to give us a sense of hope, a sense of hope that we could actually succeed. Why didn't he just turn us away? To stretch out his little game… he thinks that he would have no trouble fending off our assault. He was in wait all along, waiting for us to counter the two legends. The bastard!
Temperance was now filled with an anger that knew no boundaries. He simply could not get over the betrayal, the false compassion and counsel that Lance had given them before he left to "help fight" the Dead attacking Indigo. A front as well. A decoy, meant to create a crisis somewhere, while the main attack was at the other end of Kanto. Red mist clouded his vision, and if Temperance had a tinge less self-control, he would have rushed through the three guardians after Lance. But he didn't, knowing that there would be a less suicidal way to achieve victory. All was not lost, and there was a way to utilise the ancient events of the past to win.
Actually, we couldn't even beat him in a fair battle. Now… the battle is most certainly unfair.
Temperance purged the pessimism that still lay low under his determined self. The will to live was stronger than never before. The will to save Kanto, to get rid of the evil Dead, an overbearing sense of wanting it all to be over. And of course, the will to come out of everything unscathed, the will to live. With Lillette at his side.
Flygon and Xatu flew on back to Indigo Plateau. The sounds of pursuit from the three birds grew fainter, as the Pokemon understood the urgency of the situation and flew faster than they had ever done, leaving behind even the legends. While they approached Indigo at breakneck speed, Temperance deduced that the book had not mentioned that besides Gym Leaders, Elite Four members apparently also had the power of the bloodline. This was, obviously, how Lance had masterminded his evil and sadistic scheme.
Temperance and Lillette jumped back on the same balcony that they had flew off from two hours ago. Temperance was surprised to see that the Champion's chambers, at least at first sight, were undamaged. Perhaps, the Elite Four HAD managed to shake off the assault. Temperance and Lillette rushed through, looking for a secret door where Lance had carried out his activities, a secret chamber where the instruments of evil had been wielded to form the three potions needed to take away the power of the guardians that prevented such an event from happening ever again.
Temperance decided to exit the rooms of the Champion first, to communicate with the other Elite Four members while Lillette searched the rooms for hidden passageways. The dark corridor was still there, untainted by the destruction of the Dead. Temperance ran along, still blind from the change of lighting. And so he did not see the obstacles halfway, banged into them, and fell down. What?
Temperance saw two objects hanging from the ceiling, but he was still unable to discern their identities. Waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dark, Temperance blinked, vision focusing, and saw… bodies.
And they had previously belonged to the first two members of the Elite Four.