Chapter 14
Falling into Darkness
After a long descent through the pitch-dark water, we finally came to a halt as the body of the submersible crashed against a hard surface. Only after making sure that the Shadow Gyarados went elsewhere did we get out of the vessel; James peeping his head above the airlock to look out for any threats as he trembled nervously.
"It looks as if the coast is clear – let's go! I don't want to spend any more time in this place! Let's get in there and then get out!" he stammered.
"Right. You first," Jessie slapped him gently on the back.
"…doesn't some code say, 'ladies first'?" James remarked with the hope that he would not have to be the one to go first, before squealing and jolting up and out of the sub, just as Jessie made a fist with her hand. The rest of us followed, dusting ourselves and making sure that our Pokémon were ok. But as soon as we hit the ground, our bodies started to ache with excruciating pain.
"What…is this…pain…and where's it…coming from?" Brock wailed, clutching his thighs.
"It's the effects this place has on regular people, through its corrupted aura, Brock," Sabrina said, standing upright albeit with the pain visible in her eyes. "You have to fight it for every minute and every second, otherwise all of us won't last."
"I'll…I'll try to put up a barrier around us," I groaned as I focused myself, putting up the barrier with success. All of us sighed with relief and took deep breaths: none of us were used to physical pain on such a high scale.
"Thank you, Ash…I don't know how long we would've been able to put up with that," Tracey exhaled.
"Thank me later, Trace," I said, "We gotta move right now. And keep close: if any of us get separated, we may not survive."
Everyone nodded, before following behind me and Sabrina, who were at the head of the party. We walked through a colossal hallway which was lit with fire torches hanging on the walls, while the air was as cold as ice, with a hard stone floor which seemed to stretch endlessly. But the more we walked, a stench which was hardly noticeable at first grew greater and greater, until none of us could deny its presence: blood... Placing our hands over our noses, we were all surprised and shocked to hear a loud voice echoing from the darkness.
"Welcome, all of you…and welcome to you, Chosen One of Arceus. Please, make yourselves more comfortable…after all, you soon find that you will be staying here for eternity, with no hope of ever seeing the outside world, again…" the voice whispered, reminiscent of the hissing of a snake.
"Who…who's there?" I shouted, as all of us started looking around.
"You will see me, soon enough…but first, you will have to find me…"
"Wow, what an overdramatic jackass…" Gary scoffed.
"Show yourself, coward!" Paul bellowed, "Come out and fight!"
"Ah, Paul…I've heard about, and seen you numerous times in my visions…you are a powerful trainer, indeed…powerful enough to become my apprentice, with the Chosen One himself…"
'A…apprentice?' I thought. 'What was this guy up to?'
"Chosen One…I assume you've come here for your father, as well as your young wife and child?" the voice said again.
"What have you done with them? Where are they?" I shouted.
"Calm yourself, young one. I assure you, that they are safe…in a matter of speaking…" the voice snidely chuckled.
"I swear, if you've done as much as to lay a finger on them…" I growled, seething with anger, before stopping as I suddenly felt my willpower weaken.
"Come, now…surely by now, you've realized that your anger and hatred weakens your resolve in this place, and only makes you more susceptible to my powers of corruption?" he teased.
"Ash," Sabrina said, placing her hand on my shoulder as I looked back at her, "You must control your emotions in this place, or we'll…we'll all die…"
I nodded, reaching back with my hand and placing it on hers to show her that I understood, before retracting it to move on.
"Come now, Chosen One…meet your fate…" the voice died out, but not before an entrance opened at the far end of the hallway to our right, a reddish-yellow emanating from it and catching our attention.
"Do…do we really have to go in there?" James winced again, as I started walking.
"Come on, James! Do you wanna be left behind, and left out of this forcefield that's the only thing keeping us from…" Jessie pulled James along, speaking in frustration before she paused, not knowing the proper word. "…well, you know!"
"Oooh, Jessie…please don't leave me!" James started wailing like a little child.
"Don't worry – I won't ever abandon you, James," Jessie then spoke softly, planting a kiss on his cheek. "Now come on. We've gotta get moving."
James followed behind Jessie, who led him on by holding his hand. Meowth exhaled and started to grin sheepishly in silence, as I looked back to see what was going on.
'I have no idea why dese two don't get married like dose two twoips! They've gotta realize that they're perfect for each odda!' Meowth thought as I read his mind, before turning around again to continue on into the illuminated room.
After all of us entered the room, the huge stone doors slammed shut without any warning, causing us to look back in horror as we realized we were trapped. Even Sabrina, who was almost always perfectly calm, had a worried look on her face, as she moved to Brock and hugged him in fear. Deciding that the only possible way now was forward, we turned around to face the pitch-black darkness at the center of the room. The darkness wasn't caused due to the absence of light: there were plenty of fire torches inside. Instead, it was a supernatural power, covering everything in the area with a black mist which was completely opaque.
"What…is that?" I pointed, before drawing back as a voice rang out from within.
"If you cannot see with your eyes…then use your heart, boy!"
I paused for a moment to recuperate my senses, seeing the truth behind the shadowy mist – someone was there, waiting for us all along. Then, the shadowy mist subsided, revealing the figure of a man garbed in black, seated on a large throne of hard stone. In front of him were six Pokémon, their hides a complete pitch black: a Scizor, Nidoking, Tyranitar, Garchomp, Salamance, and at the head, a Dragonite which appeared to be the leader, all looking at us with hate-filled eyes.
"Torterra, Hyper Beam!" Paul threw out his Pokéball, clearly sick and tired of the man's attitude. His Torterra immediately fired a massive Hyper Beam attack towards the centre of the Shadow Pokémon, only to see it deflected with a lift of a finger by the man. While Paul looked on in shock, Torterra grunted before firing a Razor Leaf attack, which was incinerated with a mere puff of the Dragonite's breath.
"How rude…you begin to attack, without carrying out the proper introductions?" the man scoffed. "My name is Julius Aeneas, servant to the master Apothes."
"I do not care about your name!" Paul raged. "You've threatened the life of my fiancée, as well as countless others with your evil, and I'll see to it that you're destroyed!"
"Hmph…so vengeful," Julius sneered. "I guess that means you've forgotten what I told you barely minutes ago, about controlling yourself, correct?"
"Paul…control your anger. I understand why you're upset, but please…" Sabrina pleaded to Paul, who was breathing in and out ferociously, before cooling down after she spoke to him.
"Where are you keeping them?" I shouted.
"Why…they're with me, right now!" Julius smiled, holding up the palms of his hands to either side of his body.
'Strange,' I thought. 'I don't see anything. Unless…' I peered at the wall of black smoke which still remained behind Julius, concealing what was within. But no matter how hard I tried to sense what was behind it, an immense power prevented me from doing so: it could be none other than Julius' corrupted Aura.
"Well then…shall we begin?" Julius grinned. "But first, to ensure a fair fight, I shall allow you to call out all of your Pokémon. Bring out as many as you wish: I assure you, you will need every single one of them."
"Alright then, you asked for it!" I shouted, reaching down to my Pokébelt and releasing every one of my Pokémon. "Go, all of you!"
"You too, guys!" Brock cried, releasing his Pokémon. Steelix was released to the forefront, as he positioned himself to intercept any attack on his friends. Tracey then nervously released his Scyther, Azumarill and Venomoth, Scyther eagerly leaping over Steelix's body and glaring menacingly at the Scizor, while the latter two remained behind. Sabrina said not a word, instead glowing a faint blue as her pokeballs levitated off the ground, before releasing her Alakazam, Haunter, Hypno and Venomoth.
"Don't leave me behind! Go, my Pokémon!" Gary commanded, releasing all of his Pokémon at once; Blastoise assuming a stalwart stance upon its release, and Nidoking growling with intent at its Shadow counterparts. Meanwhile, his Scizor moved next to Tracey's Scyther, as if it had sensed its common abhorrence of the Shadow Scizor.
"All of you, standby for battle!" Paul released his party. His Magmortar, Ursaring, Electivire, Aggron and Drapion each let out massive howls towards the opposition. Glancing over at Gary's Electivire, Paul's Electivire's eyes sparked with what appeared to be a curious rivalry, before reverting its attention to the battle.
"Arbok, Seviper, Yanmega, go!" Jessie called out her party, before begrudgingly reaching to the final Pokéball. "And…you too, Wobbuffet…"
"Wo~~bbuffet!" it cried, doing its trademark pose of placing its hand on its head.
"You too, Weezing, Cacnea and Carnivine! Go!" James threw his Pokéballs, releasing them. "Eeee! Not me, Cacnea and Carnivine! At them!" he wailed, as his two grass types smothered him with their prickly bodies, before he pried them off him. "Well, at least I can be thankful that Victreebel isn't here to do the same…"
"Now, seeing as you've taken the time to launch the first attack, allow me to reply in the like," Julius grinned, before stretching his arm out and pointing in our direction. "Shadow Blast!"
As soon as he gave the order, all of Julius' Pokémon except his Scizor unleashed a massive blast of dark energy. Instinctively, Pikachu, Infernape and Paul's Gastrodon responded by using a combined Counter Shield to block the attack, after jumping in front of Brock's Steelix. After seeing his Nidoking and Tyranitar maintain their attack but to no avail, Julius held up a hand, drawing them to a stop.
"Ares…Terra…" he said, a slight touch of boredom in his voice.
"Get ready again, guys! We don't know what they're capable of!" I warned our Pokémon, who nodded back.
"…Quake Driver…" Julius uttered.
'Huh? 'Quake Driver'? What kind of move is that?' I wondered.
More wary now than ever, Pikachu, Infernape and Gastrodon immediately restarted their Counter Shield. Just as we all thought that we were safe from another round of attacks, the Nidoking and Tyranitar each stood with their legs fairly apart, applying such weight on the ground that the stone floor we were standing on became cracked; a rip in the ground extending to where we were standing. Then, the two Shadow Pokémon slammed their feet on the ground, throwing all of us, except for Brock's Steelix who was prepared by tensing his body, off balance. In the process, Pikachu and Infernape were rocked off the ground, and Gastrodon was also shaken, putting an end to their combined Counter Shield. Immediately, the Nidoking and Tyranitar rushed towards us, their fists brimming with dark energy in what appeared to become a combined Mega Punch attack of sorts.
In response, Steelix promptly lashed his heavy tail outwards, taking the full force of the colossal attack to protect all of us, albeit with a great amount of pain inflicted on him. He winced and groaned, as Pikachu darted up his body and looked him in the eyes, asking him if he was okay. But we were all made worried, as Brock also suddenly went to the ground on his knees, clutching his body.
"Brock! Brock! Are you okay, honey?" Sabrina cried, falling to the ground and holding Brock.
"My chest…it hurts…" he groaned.
"Oh…my apologies…I almost forgot to mention this fact: what pain your Pokémon experience in their battle down here, you will experience also," Julius said.
"What? How's that possible?" Gary asked.
"It is because of this: this place you are in, is, in truth, the island which I called home, long ago," Julius answered. "Once, long ago, the people of the land didn't use any of that so-called 'Pokéball technology' that you use today. Instead, Pokémon chose their trainers purely as a result of gaining one another's trust, over years of travelling with each other and facing many hardships in the process. As a result, the bond formed between trainer and Pokémon is far superior than yours of today. That is the trial that you face here: if you become corrupted, then so will all of your Pokémon, in an instant. And if all of your Pokémon fall in battle, then…you…will be mine…"
"Come on, Brock. Get up," I said to him, helping him up with Sabrina. I didn't want to give Julius the satisfaction he would get, if I had given him an answer. I now despised the sound of his voice.
"Ungh…I'll be…just fine, Ash," Brock mumbled, before finally getting back on his feet, while Sabrina still looked at him with worried eyes which were on the verge of producing tears.
"What kind of attack was that?" I cried in frustration, before Julius answered.
"That, Chosen One, is something that you would refer to nowadays, as a 'combination attack'," Julius wagged his finger.
"A…'combination attack'?" I murmured.
"Pathetic fool," Julius hissed. "Now I know how that pitiful weakling, the King of Pokélantis, possessed you in the first place…you are blatantly naïve, and utterly predictable and stupid…" he berated me, as I began to clench a fist in anger at his comments. "Do you truly believe that you will get far as a trainer, by always attempting to use singular attack after singular attack, whilst almost perpetually reacting to your opponent's moves? Such battle methods are dull, overused, and above all, obsolete. You must think in an innovative manner, constantly creating combination moves of your own, so that your opponents will never suspect your actions, if you are to achieve victory after victory. And do not assume that you hold the advantage, simply because your Pokémon vastly outnumber mine. You have no idea what kind of power we have amassed over the millennia…"
"Mi-millennia?" Gary whimpered.
"Correct. My Pokémon and I are from a time when prophets of Arceus still roamed the world, and ancient civilisations such as Pokélantis and Pokémopolis were still thousands of years away from existing. Over time, my Pokémon have surpassed any and all of their contemporaries, with none even daring to track them down and challenge them. But for now…" he said, rising slowly from his chair and looking down, smirking. "Let us continue!" he yelled, suddenly forming a dark ball of corrupted Aura energy in his hand in an instant, before hurling it towards us. I immediately tried to strengthen my barrier to prevent the attack from getting through, while Sabrina tried her best to stop it, but succeeding only to slow it down. After it struck, my barrier was left barely intact and fading fast.
"Guys…" I groaned, "I don't think I can keep this up…"
"What do you mean, twerp? Of course you have to keep it up! We'll all die if you don't!" James wailed.
"Just let go, twerp," Jessie said. "We all have to play our part, anyway."
"Huh? Jess, you can't say that! Do you have any idea what kind of place this is?" James jolted over to her and begged, holding her hands.
"Snap out of it, James!" Jessie slapped him back and forth repeatedly. "If the twerp keeps this up, then he'll have no energy to battle! And if he doesn't have energy to battle, then what do you think that means?"
"You're right, Jess," Sabrina nodded. "If Ash falls, then so will we. After all, he is the Chosen One – if he fails, then the entire world is doomed."
"I agree," Brock chimed in. "Let down the barrier, Ash. We'll all be fine."
I nodded reluctantly, as the barrier dissipated from around us. Just as before, the pain returned to all of us, Sabrina and Paul virtually being the only ones to not jerk about and grip their hands tightly on their bodies, but still struggling to maintain their posture.
"…attack, Kradus…" Julius murmured, and without another moment's hesitation, his Scizor lunged towards us, while his Nidoking and Tyranitar prepared another volley of intense fire. His dragons rushed up and over towards us, as Heracross, Brock's Crobat, Sabrina and Tracey's Venomoths and Paul's Gliscor and Honchkrow rushed to intercept them, trying desperately to keep their attacks away from the rest of us.
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur growled, before he and Torterra unleashed a combined Razor Leaf attack towards the Shadow Nidoking's eyes, temporarily stunning it before Bulbasaur rushed up for a Take Down attack. But just as he was about to make contact, the Shadow Scizor came in with a pulsing claw to counter him. However, Squirtle immediately decided to save his friend by hitting the Scizor's eyes with a Water Gun attack.
"Ursaring, Hammer Arm!" Paul ordered. Ursaring growled savagely, rushing forward and pummelling the Scizor's body mercilessly with its fist. "Torterra, Electivire and Magmortar, prepare to give Ursaring covering fire!"
His Pokémon immediately began charging a Leaf Storm, Thunder and Flamethrower attack respectively, awaiting the right moment to strike as Ursaring turned his attention to the Nidoking and Tyranitar.
"Scizor, get out there and take out that pretender!" Gary yelled, as his Scizor rushed forward to prevent its Shadow counterpart from attacking Ursaring and Bulbasaur.
"Go help him out, Scyther!" Tracey pointed outwards, as his aged Scyther charged nobly towards the enemy. His Scyther and Gary's Scizor then engaged the Shadow Scizor in a dangerous duel with their claws; Julius' Scizor's skills were amazing indeed, as it seemed to have little trouble taking on two foes at once.
"Bulbasaur, get on Ursaring's back, and fire another Razor Leaf at them!" I called out.
"Bulba!" he nodded quickly, leaping and hanging onto Ursaring's back as it surged towards the Nidoking and Tyranitar.
"Fire now!" Paul cried, as Torterra, Electivire and Magmortar unleashed a massive wave of searing-hot leaves infused with lightning, which made heavy contact against the two Shadow Pokémon. "Ursaring, Hammer Arm again!"
"Razor Leaf now, Bulbasaur!" I shouted.
"Maaaaar!" Ursaring bellowed furiously, smashing both his fists against the Tyranitar and Nidoking, after Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf and the combined attack of Paul's other Pokémon distracted them.
"Hmph," Julius cracked a smile.
"Huh? What's going on? That attack hit em' dead center!" I jerked back.
"They used Protect! Get out of there, Ursaring and Bulbasaur!" Brock cried frantically, but it was too late: the force field produced by their Protect dissipated, before the Nidoking and Tyranitar mercilessly smashed Ursaring and Bulbasaur away, sending them sailing through the air, as the Shadow Salamence fired at them with what looked like a dark Flamethrower attack, after ramming its head into Heracross and sending him into a wall. Crashing onto the ground in front of us, Ursaring and Bulbasaur struggled to stand, but they both refused to give up, as Paul and Squirtle rushed over to them. Scyther and Scizor were also knocked back towards us by their much-powerful opponent.
"…Shadow Blast…" Julius whispered. The Tyranitar and Nidoking then fired another blast at us, causing Sabrina, Brock, Gary and Tracey to dive in one direction, while Team Rocket, Paul and I dived the other way. Our Pokémon dodged in every direction except for Brock's Steelix, who had the misfortune of being bogged down by his massive weight, thus taking the full brunt of the attack.
"Steelix, return!" Brock recalled him while still lying on the ground next to Sabrina, whose body shook as she whimpered. "Sabrina! Are you hurt?" he cried, taking her in his arms.
"It's nothing, I…I just rolled my ankle slightly, that's all…" she replied softly.
'I didn't know that the fighting was gonna be in such close quarters…I'm starting to regret that I didn't bring along Primeape as well…' I thought, biting my lower lip.
"Saaa…" I looked up, to see the Salamence suddenly only a few feet away from me, drawing closer towards us at a soaring pace. James was still stunned and struggling to pull himself together, while Jessie was very much the same as she slowly shifted her arms and legs beside me. With no time to spare, I instinctively covered Jessie's body with my own to protect her, keeping her head down low with my hand. But just as I thought that I was done for, Pikachu stunned the Salamence with a Thunderbolt, before Infernape gave a swiping blow to its face with a Mach Punch, knocking it against a wall.
"Twerp…what did you…just do?" Jessie asked, looking up at my face.
"Jessie, just because you guys annoyed the hell outta me for so many years, do you honestly believe that I'd just leave you to die?" I replied. "Although you've always been my enemy, that doesn't mean that I'd be heartless enough to do something like that. After all, it's the decent and proper thing to do."
"Th-thank you…Ash…" she whispered back. Did she just call me by my name?
"Okay, then. Now, let's get back to where we were at," I nodded solemnly.
"Ri-right…" she murmured, before getting back up to her feet as I helped her up. James and Meowth both got up as well, rubbing their heads and trying to find their balance again.
"Get back up, all of you!" Paul said out loud. "This fight isn't over!"
Minutes later, the vast majority of our Pokémon were exhausted along with us, panting heavily and finding it difficult even to stand. The only redeeming fact at present was that Infernape's Blaze ability had been activated, enabling him to maintain his power. Bulbasaur took deep breath after breath, all his muscles tensed as he glared furiously at the dark figures before us: if there was one thing in this world he hated more than anything, it was losing to, or being bested by absolutely anyone. We all looked across the room, to see the Shadow Pokémon still very much intact, whilst half of our Pokémon had now been recalled into our Pokéballs.
"Why?" I panted. "Why aren't any of his Pokémon showing even the slightest amount of fatigue?"
"The darkness of this place…" Julius smiled darkly, "…feeds their power…they will never tire, never falter, whilst your Pokémon grow weaker with each passing moment. It is inevitable. There is no escape for you. Surrender now…or die…"
"I can't…keep this up…for much longer…" James wheezed, as he and Jessie struggled to support each other to remain standing.
"Wait a minute…what was that noise just now?" Brock looked around, after we all heard a crashing explosion in the distance.
"That, is the sound of my limitless army, at last beginning battle with your paltry gathering of motley individuals and Pokémon alike," Julius said. "However, like you, should they insist on fighting, they will all ultimately lose, and eventually become servants to my master. But for now…" he grinned. "What do you say that we get a…better view of the battle?"
Julius raised his right hand upwards as a titanic tremor followed, rocking our entire surroundings. We all felt as if we were being elevated upwards at an uncontrollable pace, collapsing to the ground due to the vibration and struggling to regain our bearings. We could hear a huge surge of water above and around us, the sound growing louder and louder, until at last, the top of structure pierced through the water and soared more than a mile into the sky, revealing itself once more to the outside world. With a point of his finger, Julius caused a great hole to form on the wall behind us, as we all stood up and looked outside: we were hopelessly outnumbered, and the skies were literally filled with corrupted dragon Pokémon and a limitless number of Crobats.
"So what shall it be, Chosen One?" Julius spoke to me again. "Will you surrender now, and swear your loyalty to me and Master Apothes? Or are you willing to continue this hopeless fight of yours, in which you will all lose your lives? You need only to surrender, and your lives, at least, will be spared," Julius leaned forwards, away from the back of his throne.
"I will…" I grunted, struggling to answer. My mouth was dry and my throat more sore than ever, as I finally collapsed onto my knees in fatigue. Julius' eyes lit up and he let out a small smile, ready to accept what he thought to be my agreement to eternal servitude. He was to be greatly disappointed. "…never…serve you…"
Julius then leaned back against his throne, tilting his head from side to side while looking at me with a slightly irritated look in his eyes, before smiling devilishly once more. "Very well, Chosen One. So you have chosen…death…However, I shall allow you a brief moment of respite, and some pause, before your demise. And…" he raised one finger, "…the wish you've been waiting for more than two years to come true."
And with that, Julius reached out his arm, dissipating the black mist that hid everything behind it in shadow for so long. My eyes widened with disbelief: to the right was my father on his knees, his clothes tattered and stained with blood, while his hair was a long and utter mess. And to my left…
To my left stood Misty, not tortured and seemingly on the verge of death like my father, but standing, garbed in black, with more strength and determination than I had ever seen in my life. She was every bit just as beautiful as I remembered in my dreams; her pale skin was perfect as it had ever been, while her long hair flowed freely down her back, like the ravishing style she used to apply whenever she gave one of her mermaid shows. Her cerulean-blue eyes looked at me as if she was looking into my very soul, to tell me that she missed me just as much as I missed her. My heart was immediately gladdened by the sight that she was alright, as she looked down at Ethan, who was covered with cloth. But my joy disappeared altogether, as Ethan turned his head round slowly to look at me.
Ethan's eyes burned an evil red, as he gave a slow and sinister smile which sent shivers down my entire body. In a state of disbelief, I looked back up at Misty, before freezing in shock as I looked into her eyes – they were now also burning with the intensity of a searing furnace.
"What's wrong, Ash?" she grinned at me after a moment of silence. "…didn't you miss your family?"
(End of chapter 14)
A/N: Chapter 15 will be uploaded soon, and it will be split about half-half between the battles happening both outside and within Julius' lair.
I was thinking of maybe switching the rating now to M, but I think that I'll just keep it at T instead, as the later chapters won't be as dark as I imagined, although they're still quite dark.
Please tell me if you see any odd bits in terms of Pokémon moves, grammar, etc (my Microsoft Word is automatically set to English (Australia), so there might be a few spelling issues with U.S. spelling which my computer looks over)... I was also watching a drama about Napoleon at the same time I was writing some sections of this chapter, and might have been slightly distracted :S .
And just as a reminder of what Pokemon Ash and his friends have brought with them, here is the list:
Ash: Pikachu, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Sceptile, Torterra, Infernape, Glalie, Tauros, Donphan, Heracross.
Gary: Blastoise, Umbreon, Electivire, Arcanine, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Alakazam, Scizor.
Brock: Steelix, Geodude, Crobat, Forretress, Marshstomp, Sudowoodo, Croagunk.
Tracey: Scyther, Venomoth, Azumarill.
Team Rocket: Arbok, Seviper, Wobbuffet, Yanmega, Weezing, Cacnea, Carnivine.
Paul: Torterra, Electivire, Ursaring, Hariyama, Aggron, Gastrodon, Drapion, Magmortar, Honchkrow and Gliscor
Also a reminder of what each of Julius' Pokémon are:
Mars = Dragonite, Jupiter = Salamence, Saturn = Garchomp, Ares = Tyranitar, Terra = Nidoking, Kradus = Scizor.
Please leave your reviews! :)