August 27 3:15 p.m.
Sinnoh - Solaceon Ruins
Where was he? This place looked incredibly familiar, but completely new...and it was shifting? He was standing in the middle of a grassy field, a tree line resembling the Viridian Forest to his left. Everything was super bright, washed out almost. Then he was in a city, then on an island, then standing beside a waterfall. All melding together at once, but at different moments. All connected, yet indistinct in their own way, and each place was so familiar. Each place a memory he knew was there, but had retreated into the recesses of his mind.
And those weren't the only ones. Scenes of different cities, and other forests melded into the shifting images. Oceans, and lakes. Roads and dirt paths. Mountains and plains as far as the eye could see. Every place he had ever seen in his travels.
Then they were no longer places, but events, and there he saw himself. A ten year old making his way down the road, hauling a Pikachu with leather gloves and a tiny rope.
"Hey that's my bike!" Misty bellowed after him as he shouted in reply, "I'll give it back someday!"
"These Pokemon are willing to fight to the death," Brock said as they looked on to the Pokemon and their clones battling themselves to tears. Mewtwo and Mew fighting for different causes.
"Ash your the only one who matches the description perfectly," Tracy told him as they stood at the edge of Shamouti, watching the supposed end of the world.
May hummed a tune to put Max to sleep, despite how hard he was fighting to stay awake.
Dawn snatched at his Misty lure, but he jerked it away before her fingers could grapple the item.
He sat bolt upright, sniffing the air as Cilan's cooking wafted by. Iris already eagerly awaiting their meal at the table.
Firelight flickered as Clemont fiddled with some new invention while Ash watched Serena and Bonnie play a game of guess that Pokemon.
He stood on the edge of a tall mountain, the stiff breeze blowing across him and Pikachu on his shoulder as they contemplated their next big decision.
"I think it's time we go home buddy," he said.
"Pikachu!"
His mother opened the front door and beamed when she saw him, "Oh my son is home!"
Boom! Mark's Tyranitar blasted a hole in the ceiling with a HyperBeam. Debris splashed down into the pool while Ash tried to help an injured Misty swim to the edge.
He was kissing her beside the lake, she was kissing back, then Pallet Town was under attack, and he was standing before a room full of somber people as they mourned the loss of Tracy.
Gary was swept away by Misty to go dance, hopefully to lighten his mood. Ash chuckled at how bad he was while Pikachu sneakily sniffed his drink.
Mewtwo appeared before him and the Professor's, claiming a great Darkness was coming and Mew must be moved for protection.
He jealously watched Misty dance with Cameron while he danced with May.
Delila slipped from the cliff, but they thankfully caught her.
"NOOOO" his throat ripped as he screamed for Gary, saw his friends blood dripping off the Dominion's arm. The creature discarded Gary's body.
He was slow dancing with Misty, working his way through the the speech he had rehearsed a thousand times. Then he proposed, beaming when she said yes, but Team Rocket and the Dominion's arrived.
Indigo Plateau fell under Dominion assault, but they escaped alongside Lance and Ash's father.
Pikachu cried out as the cliff gave way, and he plummeted beneath the crushing rocks.
Ecstasy raced through his veins as the blood and flesh splattered his skin. His nails ripping and tearing into Giovanni's torso.
Kyle ran circles around the jeep as Dawn chased after him, shouting that she would inflict pain on him he could not imagine while Lance could only shake his head at their behavior.
Cracking, squishing, and the dull thuds as the baseball bat smashed into Kyle's head again and again. Numbness tingling Ash as Rorik smiled joyously of his actions.
"Stop!" Ash yelled to his memories, his voice echoing as if he were in a tunnel. It bounced relentlessly, surrounding in him in his own shout. Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! He shut his eyes.
Then it was silent, his voice gone. The sounds of his memories gone. Slowly cracking open his eyes, he saw nothing but white, enveloping him on all sides.
Ash...
The whisper did not echo, but it was crystal clear as it reverberated inside him. He found he could spin in place, noticing he seemed to be floating in nothing. His eyes scanned the whiteness, but there was nothing to see. No source for the whisper.
"Hello?" His voice echoed once again, but this time it bounced away until it was gone. He turned in place again, this time even looking up and down.
Ash?
The voice was louder this time, and he could identify it as female. Dawn? Was she here too? Somewhere so far he could not see her?
"Dawn?" He called. "Are you here?"
The question floated away, but there was no answer. Silence ensued, with no more voices of any kind emitting from the nothingness, and as he swirled himself something clicked in his mind.
Was he inside the Vitan? Or at least just his mind inside the artifact?
And the second he asked himself that question, he blinked, and in that millisecond of darkness, dozens upon dozens of figures were standing before him. He jumped back with a shout of surprise, floating a few feet away from them, who's eyes were shut. Wait a second...he recognized them! All of them!
Everett, Delila, Kyle, Tracy, Gary...his eyes hesitated, a pang twitching in his heart...his mother...wearing a peaceful expression, as if she were sleeping. The corners of her mouth were pulled up lightly into a soft smile, and her long brown hair flowed down her back, swaying gently in a nonexistent breeze.
Beside her, causing another painful ache in his heart, sat Pikachu. Wearing the same sleepy expression, and swishing his tail softly back and forth. Carefully Ash moved forward, slowly extending a hand, but he paused as his eye caught sight of others.
His Bulbasaur, Professor Rowan, Agatha and Bruno, Mewtwo, even Mark. but anger bubbled in his gut when his eyes landed on the next one. Giovanni, eyes closed, but wearing a smug smile in victory.
Farther in the back he saw his grandparents, Maria and Terrence, his Snorlax, Misty's Corsola and Horsea, Dawn's Quilava, and Norman Maple.
Countless more, from people he had met a few times to various cousins and other figures from his life. Most of them he knew to be dead...so did that mean...ALL of these people were dead? His eyes traveled back to Delila...oh no. Poor Brock...
And Norman...quickly his eyes scanned over every soul before him. Thankfully he did not see any of his other friends, so for the moment, that had to mean they were still alive.
Briefly his gaze landed on Gary, the very reason he was even here, but soon he found himself drawn back to his mother. She really did look peaceful, and so beautiful. He had almost forgotten. Beside her, Pikachu's bright yellow fur stood out among the dull white. What he would give to see them open their eyes, to hear their voices one more time...although...technically, couldn't he?
He had the power in his grasp to bring anyone of these people back to life. If he wished, he could be giving his mother a loving hug, or catching Pikachu as he dove at Ash. And what about Brock? He could bring Delila back to the man who had always been like an older brother to him. Then there was also Everett, and Kyle, both who had died unfairly. Tracy? Who had been taken before the Dominion's were even known about. What about May and Max? They no longer had a father, and he could fix that.
A tingling spread through his hands, and he held them up. In his hands he had the power to revive any one of these people or Pokemon. Quite literally. He wasn't sure how, but he knew in his mind that whomever he touched would be the one brought back. The pounding of his heart was deafening, never before had he been faced with such a powerful decision. In his hands he had the power to reunite, or be reunited.
But wasn't he here for a reason? Wasn't he supposed to revive Gary to save the universe? All that about pure hearts, and souls of Fire, Ice, and Lightning. Three keys to the power of the universe, and combined with Mew they could remove the Darkness?
Once more his eyes went to Gary, who was wearing the same expression as all the others. His spiky hair ruffling in whatever ethereal wind was blowing. As much as he missed Gary, he missed his mother and Pikachu just the same. How could he make this decision? To help his own desire, to reunite one of his friends with a loved one, or to revive a pure heart?
Pure heart...
Hell, Ash wasn't even sure if he truly believed in all that, not really. At least not for himself. Dawn maybe, she was always so pure in a way. Even Gary was. Hell, most of the people he was staring at he would consider pure...and there was one he considered the purest of them all. Misty Waterflower, the fiery red head he loved so much. Sure she had that temper, and could be revved up almost on a dime, but there was not a single person he knew more caring than her. More loving, or more passionate. So why was she not a pure heart? Or his mother? Or even Kyle? The man risked everything he had to follow them around Sinnoh and assist them. So why just three pure hearts? Why him, Dawn, and Gary? What proof did he have that any of it was all real?
But...what would everyone think of him if he didn't choose Gary? Would Dawn be happy if he brought back Kyle? Would Brock sing with joy to see Delila once more? Would they respect his choice, or scold him for not choosing the supposed third person needed to save everything?
Not that he didn't want Gary back, but would he be able to forgive himself if the pure heart thing turned out wrong and he could have revived Delila instead? Or his mother? Would he be able to forgive himself at all anyway? There were so many choices he could make! What if he brought back Norman, and Brock hated him for not bringing Delila? Or vice versa? Would his Pokemon forgive him for not bringing Pikachu? Would he forgive himself?
Why was this put on him?! Why couldn't the big decision be placed on someone else for once?! Why was it ALWAYS him?!
He pulled at his hair in frustration, giving a short shout to relieve some of the pent up anxiety. The choice had to be made, and by now it was clear, whatever he decided he would never forgive himself for leaving everyone else to their demise. Maybe it would have been better if they never learned of the Vitan, then he would never know one person could be returned to their world.
The tingling in his hands grew, pinpricks coating his nerves. The Vitan was growing restless, if that was possible. A choice needed to be made, and it needed to be now. Once more his eyes lingered over every single soul in front of him, although he skipped the ones like Mark and Giovanni.
Pikachu reappeared in his sights more than the others, Ash's gaze being refocused onto the yellow that stood out so much. Perhaps that was his minds way of telling him it was made up? No one would blame him for picking Pikachu right? After all he had a bond with everyone.
Slowly, he reached his hand out to his faithful Pokemon, and when he was within an inch he stopped. His hand shaking terribly as his heart drummed against his chest, threatening to burst from his ribcage. Looking down one the oh so calming face of his little mouse, something broke inside him. Or something fixed? A sense of purpose maybe? If Pikachu could be speaking to him right now, there was one thing without a doubt he would be saying.
'You can't pick me! Gary! Choose Gary! Everyone back home is counting on you, and I refuse to let you make the selfish choice! You are Ash Ketchum! So start acting like it!'
Granted that would have been a bunch of variations of Pikachu spurting his name, waving, pointing, and cracking sparks from his cheeks, but the message would've gotten acrossed.
And his most faithful friend would have been right. He couldn't be selfish. He had never been, and he certainly couldn't be now. Not with so much riding on him, what had he been thinking? Maybe that was the Darkness in his heart the Dominion's had kept mentioning? If so, then with great pride and sadness, he had just conquered it as he backed away from Pikachu.
"Thank you buddy," he whispered. "I needed that...I miss you. I miss you all."
He said the last bit aloud, addressing all the loved ones he could see, and he could've swore their peaceful smiles got a little bigger.
The time was now. His final decision had been made. With a heavy, yet content heart, he turned to Gary. As he approached his childhood friend, deep down in his heart he could tell the right decision was being made. The guilt would still be the there, but he would find a way to forgive himself in time.
And with one last look to the few people he cared to recognize, he clasped Gary's shoulder in his palm.
Dawn had called Ash's name for several minutes now, shaking him gently and praying beyond hope that he was still alive. She knew he was, he still had a pulse and was breathing, but that didn't stop her from worrying. So much for no need to worry...
After the Vitan's light diminished, she saw him lying on the floor, clutching the artifact deathly tight. His eyes were rapidly moving behind his eyelids, and every now and then he would twitch, but beyond that he showed no signs of consciousness.
"Come on," she pleaded. "We need to get back outside to Misty! Come on Ash!"
Still there was no response, so she turned her head up to the gold statue of Arceus.
"A little help now would be cool," she said angrily. "You sent us here, now do something!"
To her dismay, but also to her prediction, nothing happened. Oh what was she going to do?! She could use one of their Pokemon to help carry him out of there? Of course that would be slow, and if they were attacked then odds were one of them would be slaughtered.
'Come on, think Dawn! There has to be something!'
Desperately, she slapped him as hard as she could just once. Leaving a bright red mark across his cheek, but it accomplished nothing. Great, now he'll be angry with her when he does wake up.
"Ok Piplup, help me out."
She unhooked his PokeBall and released the little water type.
"Lup?" The penguin blinked at its surroundings, and turned to Dawn.
"Use water gun on Ash," she said. "But only a small dose."
"Piplup!" And a stream of water splashed against Ash's face, soaking his grimy hair, but otherwise having no effect. "LupPiplup?"
"Agh! Thanks anyway Piplup," she sighed, hanging her head in defeat.
"Lup..."
FLASH! The Vitan exploded in a massive burst of light, blinding Dawn and her Pokemon. They shouted in surprise, both falling onto their rumps as they shielded their eyes away from the light. There was a thud, and a groan, but Dawn could not open her eyes to see. Fearing that the Vitan would burn them from her sockets. Then almost as fast as it had started, the room was dimly lit once again. Opening her eyes wasn't helpful, as the initial flash of the light had left her temporary blinded. Spots and lines dashed across her vision as it slowly returned, and she could see two silhouettes now sitting on the floor in front of her.
"W-what? What's going on?" That voice wasn't Ash's, but it was familiar.
"Take it easy, don't overdo it yet," that was Ash. Then he addressed her, "Dawn? You ok?"
One figure shuffled closer, and she could hazily make out his brown eyes the nearer he got.
"Yea, I think so," she muttered. "Just a little blind."
To help with her point, she waved her hand in front of her face. Piplup imitated her to show his own irritation.
"Dawn?" The other voice said quizzically. "But how..."
Her vision fully returned in time to see Ash reface the other person, a person with spiky brown hair, and dark eyes.
"Hey, focus on me Gary," Ash said, scooting right up to his oldest friend. Gary, who had been swaying on the spot, with glossy eyes, and a bemused expression, locked his gaze onto Ash's.
"Ash?" He blinked a few times, dark eyes coming into focus. "What's going on?"
"That's a long story," Ash told him, giving the Vitan a glance. It was no longer glowing the pale silver color it had been, and was now hollow in appearance. Like an elongated glass shaped diamond. It truly must of been a one time use. He discarded it and turned back to Gary, "What's the last thing you remember?"
Gary's brow knit together as he looked down in thought, "Pallet Town...it was dark, and people were...screaming? Lots of flashing lights, and-"
His head shot back up to look at Ash," the Dominion?! It-it struck me-".
Looking down to his chest, he placed a hand against it. Feeling the skin, muscle, and bones beneath. "It killed me."
He could remember the feeling, "It burned, like nothing I'd ever felt before. Then I felt empty, light almost. There's..."
He squinted as if to see something in his mind better, "There was a lot of white after that, a little bit of gold maybe? It's hard to see...but there's a face. My mother?"
And he went silent, lost in his own thoughts. Ash and Dawn remained quiet to allow him the moment he needed to process...whatever it is one needs to process when coming back from death. Suddenly his head shot up again, and he stared Ash down as he asked, "How did you bring me back?"
"Once again," he started. "That's a long story, and we don't have time for that. We have to get back outside to Misty."
"Misty?" The once dead man mused slowly. Then he smiled, "Red's here too?"
Dawn felt the tension radiate from Ash, and it must of been visible because Gary tilted his head in bewilderment. "What's with the face?"
Coming to Ash's rescue, Dawn quickly said, "We don't call her that anymore. Now it's either Mist, Blue, or Preggo."
Gary frowned at the odd exchange, but seeing the angry yet terrified look on Ash's face he let it drop. Instead opting to question something else he just registered with an eyebrow raise, "Preggo?"
"We really don't have the time for all this," Ash fumed embarrassedly, turning a bright pink.
"Hey," Gary began lightheartedly. "I've been dead for apparently a while, I don't think it would kill us to catch me up a bit."
Boom! The ruins rattled from a massive quake somewhere above ground, sprinkling dust down onto their heads. Looking Gary dead in the eye, Ash said, "It actually might."
Misty had been waiting for what felt like a lifetime. A lifetime of sitting on her rump in the bushes, waiting for the others to return from the ruins. Well, if there was one thing she had to be thankful for at he moment, it had to be the weather. Sure it was stormy, and windy, but it was a cool temperature. And this was August! During any normal time, the heat would be sweltering, and she'd basically be sitting in a pool of her own sweat. Of course she was only half thankful for that, because you know, the world was pretty messed up right now and that wasn't good.
Thunder boomed far away, passing her a few seconds after the flash of lightning. So far so good. No signs of any Dominion activity, which men't they had hopefully moved on to somewhere else. She leaned back on her hands, stretching her legs out in front of her, and causing her belly to bulge upwards.
Never once before had the thought of a baby, a real life baby, ever crossed her mind. At least not the intention to actually have one yet. What a terrible friggin time too. Of course, there was a 50/50 chance it wasn't her or Ash's fault...not that that made it any better...actually it kind of made it worse, considering what the other chance was...
She shook her head in an attempt to derail that train of thought, but it only succeeded in redirecting it. Ash and her had not discussed the baby since the initial conversation, and the one time Dawn brought up names. In fact, he almost seemed hesitant to discuss the topic. Guess that was to be expected. What with the world how it was, everything already resting on his shoulders, and the whole Giovanni situation...
She shook her head again. Stop it Misty! All that's behind you and him. Focus on the right here and right now!
A yelp of surprise escaped her as a beam of light burst from the temple's top and rocketed into the sky. It split the clouds and vanished behind them, leaving a hole in which for the first time in months she could see the blue sky behind them and the Suns illuminating rays. She had almost forgotten what that looked like. But what the hell was that light just now? Are Ash and Dawn ok?!
The clouds moved to block the tiny glimpse of the heavens behind them, thunder roaring as if it were angry the light had been shown. Every fiber in her being wanted to get up and run to the temple, delve into the ruins and find the others, but...Ash's voice played in her head. 'What were you thinking?! What if something happened to you?!'
"Yea well, what if something happened to you," she retorted to the imaginary voice with a grumble. A minute passed by, and her mind was about made up when the beam returned, exploding through the clouds and zooming back into the temple. The tiny glimpse of blue sky it revealed was covered much faster this time, and in the far distance Misty heard the thing she dreaded most. A high pitched, metallic like cry.
Oh no...that light would bring those creatures right to them! She had to get inside and find them quickly! There was no more debate, Ash could be angry all he wanted. She would just knock him around until he simmered down anyway.
Rising to her feet with a little difficulty in her condition, she only took one step forward before the Dominion's shrieks were right on top of her. Flinching from the ear bleeding sounds, she looked up to see a handful of them speeding towards the temple. Without even attempting to survey the scene, they blasted their lightning at the ruins, exploding a chunk off the side of the temple.
"No!" She shouted, reaching for her PokeBall's. "Let's go Politoed and Mamoswine!"
The frog and the Twin Tusk Pokemon materialized with battle ready cries.
"Aurora Beam and Hidden Power!"
The Dominion's swung around in the air at her shouts, two of them taking the attacks straight on, knocking them back with angry shrieks. All of them except for one screeched down at Misty and began to speed towards her.
A terrible shrill sound came from the one who had not moved, and Misty heard it shout, "I'll handle her! Find the pure hearts and exterminate them! Lest the Darkness eliminate you!"
The others halted halfway to her, and with barely a second glance back, flew to the temple.
"Oh no you don't," she shouted after them. "Ancient Power Mamoswine! Ice Beam Politoed! Freeze them in their tracks!"
Both Pokemon obeyed, launching their attacks as swiftly and accurately as they could, but they collided with a strike of yellow lightning. Exploding in midair and raining ice crystals from the sky. The one Dominion who commanded the others charged another attack and flung it at Mamoswine, who barely dodged the blast as it blew dirt into the air. Then the creature swept forward blindingly fast, swiping its long claws at Politoed, who narrowly avoided decapitation by summersaulting to the side.
The other Dominion's flew into the ruins through the hole they had blasted, causing Misty to grit her teeth. "Alright, Mamoswine dig. Politoed bubblebeam!"
Faster than one would think, the boar like Pokemon dug into the dirt, creating a tunnel big enough for it to disappear into. The frog opened its jaw wide and blew thousands of bubbles towards the dark bastard, but it twirled away and its yellow eyes flashed angrily. Seeing its opening it took off at Misty, pointing its third arm forward to skewer her through.
"NOW MAMOSWINE!"
With a quaking crack and a boom, the massive Pokemon exploded out of the ground, rocketing up and Body Slamming into the Dominion's chest. Sending it high into the air and way over Misty's head as it swung wildly. Recovering too swiftly for her to protect herself, the creature blasted more of its electricity at her. She felt the heat sear across her back from the bolt, and was thrown into the air by the blast two feet from her.
She screamed and closed her eyes, then there was a flash of light, and the impact she had braced for never came. Cracking one eye open she found herself hovering an inch above ground, a feint purple glow around her.
"Duck!"
"Psyduck?!"
The tiny yellow duck was holding his hands out, large beads of sweat forming on his temple as he concentrated on saving his trainer. Gently she was sat down the last inch and the Psychic attack vanished.
"Duck?" He blinked, tilting his head to the side. Their ears bled as the Dominion screeched and dove at the small duck.
"No! Politoed Aurora Beam!"
"Poli!" The colorful ray smashed into the creature just before it could slice Psyduck open, sending it twirling away and hitting the ground. With a metallic shriek of rage that pierced the air around it, the Dominion vanished in a blink of dark light, or rather it shot at Politoed so fast the creature appeared to teleport. The Frog grunted in pain as the Dominionms third arm went through its torso and lifted it off the ground, throwing the Pokemon far away. Misty watched in horror as the water types limp body bounced along the dirt and grass, tumbling to a stop in a broke heap. "MAMOSWINE TAKE DOWN!"
Yellow eyes had only enough time to turn and glare at the red head before the giant frame of the Twin Tusk Pokemon slammed into it with a body crunching smash. It launched away from them, crashing into the ground and leaving a trench dug into the dirt from its slide. Dust billowed around the area it came to a stop, clouding the creature from her view, not that she was looking, she was running to Politoed. "No, nononono!"
Sliding to a stop on her knees, she turned the green body onto its back, choking on a sob at the sight of the gaping fleshy hole in its abdomen. So there truly wasn't anything she could do...
Laughter, maniacal, high pitched metal laughter came from the dust cloud behind her, and the Dominion was rising from the dirt.
Ash's arm flew out, slapping Dawn in the chest, "LOOK OUT!"
Part of the ceiling caved in, crashing to the floor and throwing debris in their faces. Gary waved the dust away, coughing to rid the grit in the back of his throat.
"Now's not the time to be grabbing a chicks breasts Ashy-Boy," he smirked, and ran on ahead. "Hurry up!"
Noticing what he was talking about, Ash quickly yanked his arm away from Dawn, raced after him, and fumed, "I can make you dead again Gary!"
"Fued later boys," Dawn shouted. "Run faster!"
She bolted past the both of them, gaining the lead with Lance's cape whipping behind her. Both men cocked their heads back to see, and with a simultaneous yelp they picked up the pace. Since the initial quake the ruins had become unstable, and they had been dodging various collapsing walls and bits of ceiling. Now it seemed the entire thing had given up because the hall was caving in on itself behind them.
Somewher outside a Dominion shriek reached their ears, and that only provoked Ash to run faster. If they found Misty...
"She's alright Ash," Dawn yelled to him over the crumbling of stone behind them. "She'll hold them off!"
Then adding a joke to attempt a moment of humor, she added, "and I won't tell her you just groped me! So you'll live past today."
"No he won't, because I'll tell her," Gary snickered, nearly losing his balance.
"Can we focus on RUNNING!" Ash bellowed, glaring at the pair of them.
"Sure! Let's run for our lives! This was a great welcome back to the living present! I can't wait to see what you got me for my birthday."
"I should've just picked Pikachu..."
"What?"
"Nothing! Just hurry!"
"You know what this reminds me of?" Gary asked as he ducked his head to avoid a rather large piece of debris.
"So we're not going to focus on running?" Ash retorted, but Gary ignored him and continued, "back at the Team Magma base at Mt. Chimney. After Groudon made the whole place unstable. How long ago was that?"
Quickly doing the math in his head, Ash replied, "roughly eight months."
"That's it?! Huh, it seems like I was dead longer."
"BOYS!" Dawn shouted. "We've got company!"
Both of their attentions were pushed forward to their only exit, and it was blockaded by Dominion's glaring down at them. Thinking quickly, Ash unclipped a PokeBall and shouted, "Donphan Rollout!"
The Ground type called out and was rolling ahead of them almost as soon as it appeared. Catching the Dominions offguard, it barreled through them, sending them flying like bowling pins. The crashing of the hall behind them was deafening by this point, and Ash could feel the snags on the back of his clothes from the pieces of rock.
"JUMP!" Gary roared, shoving both Dawn and Ash forward. The three of them put all their strength into their pounce, and they flew into the larger room as the tunnel completely filled itself in. Blowing dust into the murky air and clouding all vision in the room. Ash could barely make out the death stares of the glowing yellow eyes, and he stayed low to the floor, pulling his shirt over his mouth to breath better. His eyes seared in burning agony and teared up from the dust, but he forced them to remain open. A tiny cough came from his right, and a pair of Dominion eyes swung around. "No, Dawn!"
He lurched forward, slamming all his weight into the dark being and toppling it aside. Its silhoutte vanished back into the dust, but its eyes turned on him, and he ducked just as its claws raked above his head. A petite hand found his, and he was pulled away from the creature.l, leading him to the edge of the room. How did he know? His nose smashed into the wall...
Inching carefully along the wall behind Dawn, they made their way around the room. Feeling for an exit of any kind. A Pokemon's cry of pain rang from the center of the room, followed by the sound of blood pouring onto the stone. It took all the strength Ash had not to shout for Donphan, to hope beyond a doubt that he could hear it's voice, even though he knew he wouldn't...
The evil creatures in the room began to whistle, at least that's what Ash would've described it like, only a lot more painful on the ears. The sound bounced from wall to wall, crossing over each other and creating something far from musical. One by one though, the pairs of eyes turned their direction, staring straight into Ash's soul it seemed. No way...did they just use sound to pinpoint them?! So it seemed because the eyes began growing closer!
Him and Dawn both tumbled back into an empty space, hitting their lower backs on a step. A staircase? That must be the way they came down!
"COME ON!" Gary's voice bellowed, and his footsteps raced up the stairs. He must of been the one leading them against he wall. The Dominion shrieks were more than enough motivation to get Ash up and moving, sprinting after his childhood friend, Dawn's footsteps hot on his heels.
"I recognize you," the Dominion mocked as it stepped from the dust cloud that was now blowing away in the wind. Misty stood upright, her anger over Politoed balling in her fists. "You were with the pure heart."
It said that last part with a disbelief laced in venom, then continued, "What's the matter? Don't recognize I?"
In truth they all looked the same to Misty, and she couldn't think of a single time she had any interaction with a single Dominion. Except...
"I killed your friend," it grinned. "And that pesky Pokemon clone."
"You're the one that killed Gary?" She asked bewildered, her anger turning into astonishment for the briefest of a moment. "But, that's not possible. Mewtwo obliterated you!"
It laughed, a sound she'd heard before but never would get used to. Like the sound of a wet engine belt as it was started up. "The clone destroy me?! Amusing, but false. It did succeed in closing the portal behind it, but that was its last mistake, for it was trapped on the other side with me and my brethren. I enjoyed tearing it apart."
It sneared a sickly smile, continuing it approach towards Misty. Mamoswine and Psyduck placed themselves in the way, ready to fight until death if need be, and it was evident from the glares on their faces.
Misty's rage reached an all new height, and that was saying something. Her body temperature rose alarmingly fast, and she felt the skin on her palm break under her own fingernails from her vice tight grip. A thunderous pounding in her chest reverberated through her entire body, making her shake with fury. How dare this thing talk with such arrogance, such pride in what it had done. How dare it sneer at her knowing it took one of her closest friends. Since Seafoam Islands this thing had been haunting her, hounding her and Ash nearly every step of the way, and this evil son of a bitch was about to pay. It just didn't know it yet.
"You've taken friends from me," she began in a low growling voice, her eyes hiding beneath her long dirty bangs. "You've taken people I love. You've destroyed moments in my life that should have been special. You threaten my world and everything I know..."
She looked up, straight into those glowing eyes, and for the first time she thought she saw fear behind the Dominion's expression.
"So it's time for you to fuckin die." The voice that escaped her did not sound like herself. It was full of the purest hatred imaginable. A primal anger buried deep within. This must of been how Ash felt as he ripped apart Giovanni...although somehow that same attempt probably wouldn't work against a creature that could shred her right back, but she didn't need to use her hands.
The Dominion cocked its head to the side in amusement, waiting for the so called death it was about to receive. Then it happened. The moment Misty was waiting for. Thunder shook the air around them as lightning cracked across the sky, and she roared, "Psychic Psyduck!"
Before the lightning could vanish, the duck Pokemon quacked and its eyes lit up. The strike of the white hot bolt of electricity warped and sparked, changing its course and causing more strikes to emerge from the clouds. Connecting together in a web of lightning streaks. They rocketed at the Dominion, who screeched in terror as it attempted to fly away, but the lightning arcs hit their mark. Connecting with the dark beings blackish body and encircling it in a frenzy of electricity. They did not vanish thanks to Psyduck's attack, causing the Dominion to twist and scream, a demonic manifestation of its usual metal cry.
"KEEP IT UP PSYDUCK!"
The ducks eyes flashed, and Misty felt the heat from the voltage at her distance. Mamoswine itself had to take a step back. Just when she was about to order Mamoswine to use a ranged attack to help finish the job, the Dominion exploded in a burst of golden blood that blew dozens of feet in all directions. Not expecting that, Misty squeaked as the heated blood showered over her, covering her in the sticky substance.
"AAAGGGHHHH!"
"THE SCREAMING DOESNT HELP DAWN!"
"WELL THEY'RE DOING IT!"
"STOP SCREECHING BACK AT THE DOMINION'S DAMMIT!"
"WELL DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER PLAN?!"
"Will both of you shut it," Gary bellowed, wincing continuously as he ran through the temple. Once they had reached the top of the stairs the Dominion's began screeching and hadn't stopped since. "Come up with a real plan!"
"Well how's this instead," Dawn retorted, enlarging a PokeBall. "Piplup Whirlpool!"
The penguin stumbled from its sudden reappearance, but nevertheless it charged a quick but powerful swirling vortex of water that cascaded back down the hall from where they had came. Shrieks of anger turned to screeches of panic as the creatures were swept away down the hall, yellow eyes penetrating through the waters current.
"That'll do Blue," Gary smirked.
"That's Misty's nickname!" She barked back.
"But it fits you so much better!"
"WATCH IT!" Ash demanded, slamming his weight into Dawn as a strike of yellow lightning went hurdling by.
"Good eye Ashy boy."
"NOW can we focus on getting the HELL out of here?!" The raven haired man shouted as he helped Dawn regain her composure, she recalled Piplup when he let go.
"After you," the former dead friend motioned for Ash to continue the lead, which he did. They ran on, now entering into the main tourists rooms of the ruins, snaking their way through the halls until at last they sprinted into the entrance area.
"Almost there!" Dawn stated unnecessarily. If there was ever a time for a bad thing to happen, this would've been it, but thankfully nothing did, and they were able to reach the main entrance without any problems. They burst out into the dim light of day, only to halt in their tracks from a fierce flashing array of blinding lights. Squinting his eyes to better see the commotion, Ash spotted Misty standing behind her Psyduck and Dawn's Mamoswine. The duck was using Psychic to warp lightning to its will, and it was repeatedly striking a Dominion!
Dawn screamed as the creature exploded, showering nearly the entire area with its yellow blood, coating the three of them like paint.
"Holy shit!" Gary exclaimed loudly, flicking his arms out to rid himself of some of the gunk. "Talk about a firework show."
Misty's attention snapped to the newly arrived party, and relief mixed with excitement swept across her face. Without saying a word she bolted their direction and threw herself into a hug that Gary was forced to catch. "Hey now, you'd think I was missed or something!"
"Shut up," she said into chest. "We did miss you!"
And then squeezing him a few times, and back away to pinch his arms to make one hundred percent sure she wasn't seeing things, she hugged him tightly once again. Ash couldn't help but smile at the scene, "Unfortunately she's right. We did miss you."
"Eh, they don't speak for me," Dawn added playfully.
"Gee thanks," the spiky haired man drawled. "At least Preggo here is glad to see me."
Misty turned bright red and let him go sheepishly. So he had noticed? Of course he had noticed. It's not like she wasn't showing at this stage.
"Ok, chop chop," Dawn suddenly clapped. "Let's get going! Those things will be right on our tail!"
"And I'm sure more will be on their way after that light show," Ash added.
Misty nodded once, but then turned pale, her expression morphing into the purest terror Ash had only seen once before. Her eyes were locked into the sky behind him above the ruins, so he turned and felt his expression shift to match hers.
"To late," Gary's voice tried to sound snarky, but came off more shaky than he would ever admit.
Hundreds upon hundreds of yellow eyes glared down at them. Hundred upon hundreds of dark bodies contrasting against the stormy sky. Hundreds upon hundreds of Dominion's sneering at their caught prey.
There was no where to go, no way to fight them all off, no way to get out of this mess. Not that their minds weren't thinking of some way. They had survived up until this point, most of them, and surely there had to be something they could do. Some way to run, or distract them, or even take them down. But as their eyes went from one Dominion to the next without ever seeing the same one twice, they new it was over this time. There wasn't anything they could do...except go down fighting!
Reaching the same conclusion simultaneously, the three with Pokemon reached back for their Balls, never once taking their eyes of the evil creatures.
"Guys," it was Gary, and he was wearing a somber expression, ands he gave one slow shake of his head. He was right, releasing their Pokemon to experience one last moment of pain was cruel. Better to just take the defeat with as much pride as they could. It was a good run, they'd gave their best shot...
Up above each individual Dominion pointed all three of their arms at the group, taking their time as they charged their lightning. Knowing what the humans had just figured out. Misty recalled her Psyduck, and gave Dawn Mamoswine's PokeBall so she could do the same. It called to her as she returned it with tears in her eyes, turning the Ball to face her as the red light vanished. Misty's own eyes began to water, but she found the tiniest bit of comfort when Ash's hand worked its way into hers. At least she had him, and two of her closest friends, till the very end. No matter how soon that came to be. Poor Gary, back among the living for only a few moments...
Dawn's eyes vanished behind her bangs as the Dominion's raised their arms high, their lightning sparking with power...
"I'll be damned," came Gary's voice for the second time, causing Ash and Misty to look for the cause of his statement.
With a high pitched echoing cry, the creatures launched their attacks. The lightning barreling downward in a frenzy of sparks and jagged bolts of white hot energy. Something flashed around them, and Ash could've swore he saw a glimpse of Mew, then the lightning reached them. Exploding around them and blasting dirt and rock high into the air, leaving only a behemoth of a smoldering crater in its wake. The Dominion's cried their metallic screeches in victory.
Duh duh duh! That's it! That's the story, hope everyone enjoyed reading this fix because I sure did enjoy writing it! What's that? That can't be the end? Why not? Oh, cuz it's a massive cliffhanger and didn't wrap anything up? Good point, guess I can write a few more chapters ;p
In all seriousness this was a fun chapter to do, and OF course it's not the end! We've got a few more Chapters left to go! I'd say probably two or three. Depending on how things flow, so stay tuned because you won't want to have read ALL of this and then not read how this story ends right?!
Thought so!
As always, let me know what ya think!