Hello there, readers!

The third chapter of LtL, MtM is out. Hope you enjoy it! It is action packed and very dramatic, but it sure is interesting. And there's a lot of foreshadowing as well, so pay close attention!

And now, without further ado, the third chapter!

Less than Legends, More than Myths

Chapter 3: The Temple of Untold Tales

As soon as May was inside, a wave of cold air hit her face-on, causing her to shiver and utter some less-than-honorable words. She walked a bit forward, until the light of the entrance faded in the distance and the girl realized she didn't have a light if her own. With a silent curse, she advanced deeper inside the ruins, using her hands to feel the walls and guide her. Soon, she could hear the sounds of humans, although she couldn't make out what they were saying. She hurried on.

--XXXXX—

"Argh, damned sense of duty!" whispered Brendan.

"Ah, stop whining and start thinking of a way to get outta here!" Jake whispered back.

'Here' was a very bad position. Wandering through the ruins, they were now in a wide tunnel that continued on for some time before they made sharp turns to other halls. The sole source of light in the tunnel was a single torch that burned brightly at the center of the tunnel, its flimsy light making the shadows of the boys jump around as if they were alive. On one side, they could hear men screaming, and on the other, men shouting (although Brendan did say it was pretty much the same thing), leaving no doubt that the criminals were heading their way. And to make things worse, the path they had just came from had suddenly been closed off by a closing secret door.

"In case you didn't notice, there's no way to get out! Were in the middle, quite literally, of a conflict between two criminal organizations, we have one Pokémon each, and our only way out is through a very rude door that closes in your face!"

"Well, what about another secret door, then? If we could find one, we might just be able to get out of this un-pulverized!"

"Duh! What do you think the 'secret' in 'secret door' stands for? What makes you think we'd find one in fifteen seconds?"

"The power of positive thinking! Now start looking!"

With a small 'bff', Brendan began to help Jake at his current task, which involved frantically looking for a secret door. Needless to say, they miserably failed, and soon the criminals turned their respective corners and saw each other (and, of course, the boys). There were some bright flashes of light when Pokémon were released, and the boy's situation suddenly got a good deal worse, seeing as they were now between twenty evil Pokémon.

"Get them!" shouted one of the yellow leaders, easily recognizable by his cape.

"The only time when you get us will be when two boys and a girl with stupid names magically manage to evade from our grasp!" shouted one of the normal red guys, causing everyone to stop and look at him like he was crazy.

"What? It's not like that's ever gonna happen…" he defended himself, shrugging. Everybody shook their heads and returned their focus to the matter at hand.

"Sir, what do you do with those kids?" asked a normal yellow guy.

"Those? Tyleene, can you take care of them?" said the male yellow leader.

"No problem, Mark. But remember to leave me some of the action!" replied the female one.

She walk towards Brendan and Jake, who grasped their Pokéballs tightly. She was taller than the boys, and looked about seventeen or eighteen years old. She had curly black hair that was cut short, and was wearing the leader's yellow outfit. Behind her, using most of the space of the tunnel (since Brendan and Jake were leaning against one of the walls), the other criminal members started fighting, and soon bolts of electricity, fire and some pulsating dark stuff flew from one side to another.

"Now, don't you dare move, children." the woman said, as if she was talking to a bunch of babies. "It'll all be over soon enough…"

"You know that's pretty much an invitation for us to actually do something, right?" asked Brendan, unable to contain himself.

With a laugh, the woman answered. "Then be my guest. I'd like to see you fail on your efforts!"

"Then try we will." said Jake, throwing his Pokéball in the air. "Scorch, you're up!"

"What he said!" said Brendan, releasing his own Pokémon. "Mudkip, go fight the ugly witch!"

The woman suddenly stood deadly silent and still. Slowly turning her head towards Brendan, she whispered in a dangerous voice. "What did you call me?"

"Ugly witch! Old, green, ugly witch!"

"That's IT! I'll show you insolent brat what do you get when you insult a Team Thunder Warrior! Electrike, show these kids what we're made of!"

On the battlefield, Scorch and Mudkip faced off against Tyleene's Electrike, which was a green dog with a large, somewhat flat had. His nose, the point of his tail, and the stripes going from his eyes to his ears were yellow.

"Scorch, Ember!" ordered Jake.

"Mudkip, Mud-Slap!" commanded Brendan.

"Electrike, use Thunderbolt on the blue thing!" shouted Tyleene, causing Brendan to gasp, for two reasons. First, she had ordered a super-effective hit against Mudkip. Second, she had called the latter a 'blue thing'.

Scorch opened his mouth and shot a bunch of small firebolts towards the dog. The latter dodged, and the attack continued on until it hit one of the red members, who ran around in pain and accidentally stepped on more than one innocent Pokémon. This worked out on the boys' favor, however, since Tyleene and her Electrike were distracted by the miss and the electric dog couldn't dodge Mudkip's Mud-Slap. The attack hit the Electrike painfully head-on, scoring a super-effective critical hit. The dog flew through the air and landed at Tyleene's feet, struggling to get up.

"Electrike! You damned brats!" cursed the woman, recalling her Pokémon. She reached for another Pokéball. "Voltorb, come on and teach these kids a lesson!"

"My, you certainly love teaching, don't you?" mocked Brendan. "Mudkip, let's keep it up with another Mud-Slap!"

"Scorch, you help him with your Ember again!" ordered Jake.

"Voltorb, roll aside and strike at Mudkip with your Thunderbolt!" commanded the woman.

Both Scorch and Mudkip shot their particular attacks at the Voltorb, a round Pokémon that resembled a large Pokéball. The latter easily rolled aside, avoiding the attacks (which this time harmlessly hit a wall), and replied with a powerful electric bolt headed towards Mudkip. The attack connected, scoring a super-effective hit, but Mudkip managed to stay awake, although barely. The trainers ushered more commands, and Scorch quickly approached the Voltorb, paw raised, ready to attack. The ball-like Pokémon charged another Thunderbolt, this time at the Charmander. Another order was spoken, and the salamander's paw glowed bright before being dug into the stone floor, easily breaking it. The electricity coursed through it and onto the floor, causing most of the damage to be wasted. Mudkip, by this time, had recovered and shot another Mud-Slap at the Voltorb. The attack hit, and the Pokémon-ball rolled for a while before shaking it's 'head' and focusing once more. This was going to be a long fight.

--XXXXX--

"Damn it!"

The threatening silence was broken by this single curse, spoken by a girl dressed mostly in red. She had been wandering for a long time now (or at least it appeared to be a long time; it was impossible to tell without light and watch), and so far was completely lost. The pitch-black darkness wasn't helping at all, and refused to go away, even at the girl's pleads, demands and even threats. When she was about to give up, May heard silent someone shout nearby, and pressed on.

"Shut up, you filth!" she heard someone shout, with a grave, male voice. The shout was quickly followed by the sound of something hitting another something, and then crying.

"Let me go home!" another voice replied. It was pretty obvious it was a little girl, and even more obvious that it was her that was crying. May's heart tightened from a mix of fear and anger.

"You idiot! You have no home to go to, or did you forget? The fire, the screams…" the first voice said, clearly taking great pleasure in his words.

"Shut up!" the second voice shouted, but the crying got more intense. May's heart was now also filled with repulsion and hatred, which were slowly consuming her fear. Adrenaline was flowing through her veins, and her heart almost skipped a beat when a small light appeared in the distance.

"Oh, the little girl's not so brave anymore, huh? Wretched little vermin…" Another kick and a small shout cut the air. May clenched her jaw, almost running through the tunnel.

As the light got bigger, she saw a large rectangular room. She was standing near one of the short sides. In front of her, the room continued for almost thirty feet, while at her left there were only ten feet before another tunnel much like her own. On the faraway corners, there were three cages that completely covered the edge. Two were empty, but on one there was a small girl, younger than ten, with brown hair that weren't that different from May's. She was dressed in a blue sleeveless shirt and a short red-brown skirt. On her feet stood long, blue socks and white shoes. Most of her was covered in dirt and some black thing that looked like soot. She was kneeling on the ground, clutching her left arm tightly. One man, dressed in the normal yellow clothes, stood near her. He was obviously her aggressor.

"Step. Away. From. Her." May growled.

Both people quickly looked at her. The girl had a look that was half-way through fear and relief, while the man had a very evil and disturbing stare. He let out a creepy smile.

"What do we have here? Well, well, well, if it isn't another little girl… one more for the collection!" he said, then laughed (although it seemed more like a bark).

"I'm warning you. Step away from her!" shouted May, jaw clenched and fists curled up into fists. She was literally shaking with anger.

"Oh, and who's gonna make me? You?" the man asked.

"Yes, me!" May replied, releasing her Torchic. "Torchic, let's show this yellow-clad clown what we can do!"

Now, the man was angry. "YELLOW-CLAD CLOWN!? I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S THE CLOWN! ELEKID, GO!"

Torchic was now facing a yellow egg-like Pokémon. It had plug-like horns and bulky arms. The Pokémon glared daggers at each other, waiting for their trainer's commands.

"Torchic, let's start up with a Ember!" commanded May.

"Ha! What a pitiful attack! Elekid, dodge and strike back with Quick-Attack!" countered the man.

On the battlefield, Torchic opened her mouth and shot small fireballs at her oval opponent. The Elekid suddenly sprang forth in a blur of motion, completely dodging the attack and quickly counter-attacking by slamming into Torchic. The smaller Pokémon flew through the air, painfully hitting a wall. May flinched when she heard a small 'crack' at the impact, but the chicken-like creature managed to get up and responded by shooting more fireballs at the enemy. The electric type created a translucent barrier prior to the impact, and the Ember attack lost a good deal of its power. It still hit, though.

Overseeing the battle, May clenched her jaw. She recognized that technique as a Lightscreen, which would be a serious problem against her ranged attacks. She would have to get in closer, where the Elekid had a great advantage. One look at the helpless girl in the cage was all it took to make her decision.

"Torchic, close in with a Scratch!" she ordered.

The man smiled, knowing he had the upper hand. "Elekid, Thunder Punch!"

The two Pokémon met in melee, Torchic slashing the Elekid with her tiny claws while the latter punched the smaller opponent with a fist covered in electricity. Torchic once again flew through the air, but this time (luckily) didn't hit any solid object other than the ground. She struggled to get up, but was barely hanging. May rushed to her side, tears in her eyes. She definitely didn't like to see her first and only Pokémon hurt like this.

The Elekid took the opportunity to zap both of them with a Thunderbolt. May screamed as the electricity coursed through her, then passed out. The last thing she remembered was the caged girl's stare, a mix of fear and concern.

--XXXXX--

"Jake, did you hear that?" asked Brendan. Around them, the Teams were still fighting, neither one giving up any ground to the other. In their own battle, the two boys had managed to take out Tyleene's first two Pokémon, and the third, a Plusle, was almost out as well. On their side, all of their own Pokémon were still standing, although Scorch was injured and Mudkip wasn't far from fainting.

What had caused him to say those words was the fact that he had thought he heard a scream tear through the air, but with all the commotion, he wasn't sure. Still, there was something familiar about that scream…

"Yep. It was May." answered Jake, not taking his eyes off his own battle. "She's on the left tunnel. Go, and I'll finish this yellow-clad clownette in a second."

"May? Are you sure?" Brendan asked, then mentally slapped himself. Jake's hearing had been honed to an almost unnatural point from the work at his farm, and if he said it was May, then it was surely May. "Nevermind that. I'll be waiting for you."

"You won't wait long." promised Jake. Brendan recalled Mudkip and ran off towards the tunnel to their left.

"Where do you think you're going, brat?" asked Tyleene from her post in front of Jake. "Get back here!"

"Make me!" replied Brendan. "Smell ya later, yellow-clad clownette!"

Jake smiled at his friends words, and smiled even more at the Team Thunder member's reaction. She was literally speechless in her rage, but both boys could safely bet that she was thinking about some terms that are best be left untold. Jake nodded at Brendan, who resumed his running, and turned to the woman.

"So, ready to give up?" he asked in his best is-that-sarcasm-or-not voice.

"Shut up, you overgrown vermin!" the woman replied. Jake only smiled. Her attention was at him, at least for the moment.

After that merciful rest, the Pokémon resumed their fight.

--XXXXX--

The first girl was alive with emotions. She had seen the older, red-dressed girl enter and try to rescue her. She had seen the girl get zapped, together with her Torchic, by the evil man's Elekid. She had seen the said man cruelly kick the girl before throwing the older girl at another cell, adjacent to her's. And she was unsure of how to feel.

Anger? Sure, that'd be understandable. Fear and hatred too. A bit of concern for the girl and repulsion for the guy, maybe. A bit of sadness at her fate, too.

Everything got even more confused when a few seconds later, a boy entered the room. He was dressed mostly in long black clothes, and strangely had white hair. He didn't look like one of those mean yellow guys, though. And sure enough, as soon as he saw the unconscious girl, he went wild, shouting some censored words and making wild motions. He then released a Pokémon of his own, a Mudkip that looked tired. The yellow guy still had the same evil smile and mocking expression when he released his Elekid once more.

The two began to battle fiercely, neither wanting to lose, although for different reasons. Sara, for that was the first girl's name, couldn't help but to admire the boy's courage and willingness to help her friend, and was ashamed when she felt a point of jealousy about it. She didn't have anyone that cared like that about her. Heck, she didn't even have anyone that cared at all. Not anymore…

--XXXXX--

"Mudkip! Please, you gotta get up!" pleaded Brendan.

Things were bad. After a short battle against the man's Elekid, Brendan's already tired Mudkip had fainted, leaving him defenseless. Recalling his Pokémon, the boy got up, clenching his jaw and bracing himself for whatever would happen.

The older man recalled his Elekid and slowly approached Brendan, an evil smile on his face.

"So…" the man said, mocking Brendan. The boy immediately hated his voice. "That's all? Well, I'm disappointed. I really am."

"Shut. Up." Brendan replied, using all his willpower to refrain himself from jumping at the guy and beating him up. Mostly because Brendan would probably lose the fight.

"Oooh, so you're feisty, huh? Like your little girlfriend?"

"May's not my girlfriend! And yes, although she's probably more feisty then me. And probably stronger, too."

"Ha! Weaker than a girl! What a wimp!"

Brendan clenched his jaw. He looked over the man, towards the cages. There, the first girl looked at him, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and… admiration. It was awkward at best, and the boy quickly looked at May. He realized with a sigh of relief that the girl was waking up. He then looked back at the man.

"I'm not a wimp." he said, with as much calm as he could muster. "You're the one picking on little girls."

The man's smile disappeared so fast it'd make a diving Swellow look like a snail. He let out a threatening growl and asked in a low and dangerous voice:

"Are you calling me a wimp?"

"No, I'm calling you the biggest wimp on existence. Scared as a baby Poochyena!"

"You… you… little vermin…" said the man, shaking with rage. Brendan realized pissing him of probably wasn't a good idea. He ignored all his instincts, which told him to run like the wind and hide, and was about to say something when the man jumped on him, punching the (much) smaller boy with tremendous strength at his stomach. As Brendan drifted off to unconsciousness, he thought he heard a small 'thump', like something made of metal was hitting something hard, but dismissed it as a trick of his imagination.

--XXXXX--

Now things were even more confused. Not only had the white-haired boy been defeated and knocked out, but another, bigger boy appeared. The latter hit the evil man in the head with what seemed like a frying pan, and the man fainted. Now, the new boy was checking on the smaller boy to make sure he was alright. Once his examination was complete, he headed towards the cells, where Sara and the girl that was called May stood. The older girl was just now recovering her senses, so she had lost pretty much all the action.

The boy opened Sara's cell first (or more like broke it open), then turned to do the same with the May's cage without a word. Once both girl were free, he hurried back to the first boy.

"Jake? What happened?" asked May.

"Dunno. When I arrived here, Brendan was out being attacked by this yellow-clad clown and you were unconscious. Ask that girl next to you. I think she was awake for all the show." answered the one called Jake. Sara now knew the name of each and every one of her saviors.

"The girl?" said May, trying to remember what had happened. With a gasp, she turned to Sara, who was surprised by her first question.

"Are you okay?"

Sara blinked, surprised, at the question. She had been expecting something more straightforward towards what had just happened, not this.

"Humn, sure…" she answered, unsurely.

"I hate to break your little chat, but we gotta get outta here. Now." said Jake, taking off his backpack. "Here, I'll carry Brendan. May, you carry my backpack."

The red-dressed brunette accepted the backpack without a word and, with a groan from the effort, threw it over her back. Sara stayed at the side, feeling like she was an intruder. May saw the look on her face, and asked:

"Tell us, what's your name?"

"Sa… Sara…" the younger girl answered.

"Sara, huh? Pretty name…" said May, although it was obvious she was thinking about something else. Jake literally threw Brendan over his shoulder and headed

towards the tunnel opposite from where he had come from. The girls subconsciously walked behind him.

"Thank you." Sara blurted out after an awkward silence.

"What? No need to thank us. After all, I had to be saved as well…" replied May kindly.

"Only because you helped me…" muttered Sara, shaking her head. She could feel tears form on her eyes. "You could have gotten hurt. You did get hurt, and so did your friend. And it's all my fault! I just hurt people around me!" And she started crying.

"What? Don't… don't cry… It's okay…" comforted May, rather awkwardly.

"I'm sorry… It's just that… bad memories…" sniffed Sara.

"It's okay, it's okay… Don't cry."

Sara silently wiped her eyes with the back of her eyes and looked at the ground. Soon, the tunnel got darker, and Jake called out a Charmander named Scorch. The salamander looked pretty beat up, but was still standing. They walked in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the door appeared in the distance, and Jake recalled his Charmander. The three conscious humans hurried on, and soon were once more breathing the cold morning air.

"Finally!" shouted May, breaking the silence. "Now, let's just go to the Pokémon Center and get some rest, or help in Brendan's case. Tomorrow, we'll have a lot of time to talk."

"Sound's good for me. This guy's heavier than he looks." grunted Jake. Sweat was rolling down his face.

"What… what about me?" asked Sara.

"What a question! Of course you're coming with us! Unless you have somewhere to go to, of course…" answered May.

"No… Nowhere…" muttered the younger girl, looking at the ground.

"Then, a good night's rest at the Pokémon Center then." said May softly. "Everything will be better tomorrow. I promise."

So, what do you think? Still needs some humor, but that will come on latter. Pretty heavy for a third chapter too. Oh well.

I'm pretty satisfied with this story. For my first FanFic, I already have thirty hits and a favorite (thanks a bunch, Murkrowfeather!). I wasn't expecting that much. Thank you all!

So, be ready for the next chapter. It should be out by Saturday, Sunday tops. See you then!

Gotta Go With The Flow!
BlackShadowKnight