CHAPTER 39
"Hurry, Rylan! Get away from there!" yelled Zorian.
Rylan quickly dashed through the doorway. He had anticipated an exit beyond the door, but what awaited him on the other side was a quite long hall. The trembling did not stop, and the sentinels were still on his tail. More chunks of black and white stone fell from the walls as he ran.
"Keep running!" Rylan yelled. "It hasn't stopped!"
The hallway continued on for a good distance. It was hard to tell where the end was, if there even was an end to it.
As he ran, Rylan began to feel periodic bursts of wind in his face, causing him to squint a little. "Where's that wind coming from?" he asked.
Not a moment after he finished asking did something began to slowly take shape above him. Something was emerging slowly from a translucent state to opaque. It appeared to be a large winged Pokémon with rough, rocky skin and a lethal-looking jaw.
"Aerodactyl?" asked Rylan.
"Rylan!" exclaimed Vulpix. "I can see you!"
Rylan looked around. As with Aerodactyl, all of Rylan's allies were slowly coming into view around him. They were all running with him.
"Guys!" he shouted joyfully. "We can see each other again!"
"Focus," Gallade panted as he ran. "We need to get the heck out of here before we're crushed."
"Wait… Oh!" Aerodactyl turned his head as he flew. "Hello, friends!"
"I have an idea!" Nidoran said. "Aerodactyl, can you fly lower?"
"Ah-ha!" chuckled Aerodactyl. "Good idea!"
The massive prehistoric Pokémon slowly descended toward everyone else. Nidoran quickly jumped onto his back. "Get on, guys! Aerodactyl can fly faster than any one of us can run!"
Nidoran grabbed Wingull and held her close since the latter could not hold on with her wings. Gallade leaped onto Aerodactyl's back, grabbing hold of Rylan as he did so. Zorian scooped up Vulpix and Buizel under his arms and successfully leaped onto Aerodactyl's back after Gallade.
"Hang on tight," Aerodactyl warned.
Everyone braced themselves. Since Aerodactyl no longer needed to keep himself at the same pace as everyone else, he was prepared to fly faster. With a mighty flap of his wings, he thrust himself forward with a burst of speed.
To everyone else's relief, the crumbling walls and marching sentinels slipped further from view.
"Look up there!" said Buizel. "There's a light!"
A brightly twinkling light from up high caught everyone's attention. Thinking fast, Aerodactyl sped upwards towards it.
"This hallway doesn't seem to end," he said. "I'll bet that light up there is the exit. Hold on."
Everyone gripped Aerodactyl's back tightly as he soared up toward the light. The light seemed much brighter than the exit lights which Rylan had already come across. He closed his eyes as they flew into the light, hoping dearly that it would lead them out of the labyrinth for good.
He felt himself flying through the air for a second or two, then he hit solid ground. Slightly winded, he picked himself up and opened his eyes to look around.
He was surrounded by a scenic grassy plain. A small tower stood before him. His allies were with him as well, all opening their eyes and getting to their feet.
"Where are we now?" asked Gallade.
"This has got to be the Province!" Aerodactyl replied. "I've never seen it with my own eyes, but I've heard stories of what it looks like!"
"I hope this is the Province," said Zorian. "After everything we've been through, I'm ready to get this mess with Slowking over with."
"Well, let's not put it off any longer, then," said a calm and familiar voice.
Everyone looked to the left side of the tower. All three members of Team Tranquility were standing near it. Unlike the exhausted group of Rylan and his allies, Team Tranquility seemed unfazed.
"I see the trials gave you quite some trouble," Slowking said. "Pity. It takes a strong bond of friendship and loyalty to make it through the trials with minimal effort."
Bronzong turned to look away for a moment. This gesture caught Rylan's eye, as well as Slowking's.
"Perhaps we would have been here sooner if Bronzong didn't stall during the first trial. I can sense something is troubling him, but we'll worry about that later. We have business to attend to first."
Rylan glanced curiously at Bronzong. Jynx whispered something to her teammate.
Slowking approached Rylan, then gave a nod to the tower in front of them. "This is indeed the Province of Balance," he said. "Reshiram and Zekrom reside at the top of this tower, and they await anyone who seeks counsel with them. Fortunately, we can use the lifts to ascend the tower from the outside.
Two small platforms rested on either side of the front door of the tower. Slowking walked up to one and stood on it, then gestured for Rylan to approach the other one and do the same. Rylan walked up to the second platform and got on. Seconds later, both platforms began to rise.
"If anyone can verify that my desires are just," said Slowking, "it's the righteous judges of the Pokémon world, Reshiram and Zekrom."
Rylan looked at Slowking disapprovingly. "I know you're intentions are good, but you're going about it the wrong way," he said.
Slowking just smiled. "We shall see, young one. We shall see."
The platforms finally reached the apex of the tower. Rylan stared in awe as he noticed what was ahead of him.
The two legendary dragons, Reshiram and Zekrom, were standing right there at the top, eyeing the two visitors as they approached.
"AH, WE HAVE GUESTS," said Reshiram. "YOU HAVE DONE WELL TO MAKE IT THIS FAR. I CAN ONLY ASSUME YOU WISH TO SEEK TRUTH."
"WE PROTECT THE IDEALS OF YOUR WORLD," said Zekrom. "SINCE YOU MADE IT THROUGH OUR TRIALS, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ADDRESS US."
"May I speak first?" Slowking asked Rylan.
"Suit yourself," Rylan replied. It did not matter to him who spoke first. However, his argument was meant to counter Slowking's, so perhaps it was best for him to speak last.
"I'll make this short and simple," Slowking said. "There are far too many things going on in our world that are making life completely miserable. Pokémon commit crimes, fight with each other, do other dreadful things to each other… I want to establish my own rules over all Pokémon to prevent such things from happening. I want to create peace with my own hands. I want to own the world, to be the undisputed king of all Pokémon. I can turn our world into a paradise."
Zekrom looked at Reshiram and shook his head. He then turned to face Rylan. "YOUR RESPONSE TO THIS?" he asked.
"I strongly disagree with Slowking," Rylan replied. "It's true that the world is full of imperfection, but that's the thing. Nobody is created perfect. We all have to live and learn, even though bad things happen. When we put our past hardships behind us, we can become stronger and wiser. My brother and my teammates at the guild…they taught me this. I know that bad things are hard to live with in this world, but we have to do the best we can with what we have. If we live under false happiness, we're not really living at all."
Reshiram smiled at Rylan. Zekrom closed his eyes and nodded his head. The only one who did not look happy was Slowking. A bitter frown formed across his lips as he watched the nonverbal approval from the two dragons.