Here we go, the first multi-part chapter so far. Hope you guys enjoy!
The journey to Cinnabar Island lasted for the entire rest of the day and into the night, one of the many reasons for this being that they were forced to navigate around the tricky Seafoam Islands.
However, when they all awoke the next morning, the ship had already docked at the port in the resort city. Ash, Brock, May, and Max all made their way off the ferry quickly and into the town.
"Man...we haven't been here in a while." Ash commented, silently recalling how Blaine, the island's Gym Leader, had forced Ash to solve a series of riddles, disguising himself as a local innkeeper, before finally allowing Ash to have a battle with him.
"That's for sure." Brock added, looking around and noticing how little the town had changed.
"Piika..." Pikachu chimed in nostalgically.
As they roamed the streets of the small town, looking for the Pokemon Center, they suddenly heard familiar voices calling out to them.
"Hey - HEY! Ash!" Lily cried after them, causing all four to turn to the source of the noise. They were met with the sight of Trey and Lily running toward them from down the street.
"Oh, hey, you guys!" Ash greeted cheerfully as the couple approached him.
"Good to see you too." Trey replied hastily. "Listen, we really need your help."
"What's wrong?" Max questioned. "Are you guys in trouble or something?"
"Not us." Trey said, turning and shifting his gaze to the horizon behind him. "It's the Battle Pyramid."
"Huh? But I thought that the Battle Pyramid left for Sinnoh yesterday!" Max argued.
Lily nodded to him. "Well, yeah, it was supposed to. But before it could take off, something happened to it, and then - well - "
She stopped, looking to Trey worriedly. He glanced back at her for a moment before turning back to Ash. "Nate's in the Pyramid. He's hijacked it and taken the Pyramid King hostage. And...there's one more thing..."
Ash and crew simply stared in astonishment, unable to respond, waiting on edge for Trey to finish.
Trey looked down at May's left arm solemnly, the fang marks from Seviper's bite still readily visible. "...My older brother's in there with him."
"This place still sealed up?" Will asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.
"Yes!" Nate answered angrily, turning to glare at him. "Now will you shut up about that already! We've got bigger problems right now!"
"I know, that's why I'm making sure that nothing else can get screwed up." Will retorted.
Nate and Will had both been reduced to pacing the stands of the Pyramid's arena, frantically trying to figure out how to proceed with their plan. Brandon, after being drugged by the two men, had been tied up and suspended from the chamber wall at the edge of the bleachers. After tying him up with steel cable, they had then wrapped the extra cable around a large rod and driven it into the wall, leaving Brandon completely helpless, unable to even touch the floor.
"This isn't...grah!" Nate growled angrily, turning to Brandon, who was quite a ways up the stands from him. "Hey! Brendan or whatever your name was! You ready to tell your crew to lift off now?"
Brandon ignored them, as had been their luck before. Nate howled in anger and turned away, continuing to pace the stands.
"Look, I still want to go through with the plan and everything, but if we can't lift off pretty soon, someone's gonna find a way in here. Even with the exits sealed." Will pointed out.
"I KNOW THAT!" Nate bellowed. He, like Will on the boat, had discarded his previous garments as well, and was now wearing a sleeveless white shirt underneath an also-sleeveless brown vest with a high collar, which complimented his light brown hair well. These were accompanied by long dark jeans.
"Well, I guess there's still the ransom money. We were gonna stay here until tomorrow anyway to see if someone actually brings it...remember?"
Nate didn't answer right away, instead spending a few moments pacing the bleachers in silence. Then, he turned back to Will, breathing normally again. "Yeah...yeah, you're right. We should just wait it out for now."
"So Nate and your older brother took control of the Battle Pyramid?" May repeated incredulously. "That's crazy!"
"Yeah, we know." Trey assured her. All six of them were now rushing across the island to where the Battle Pyramid was still docked. "Why do you think we're going back?"
"But why isn't anyone else doing anything about it?" Brock asked. "From what you guys told us, everyone on the island should know about it by now. Shouldn't the police or Blaine or someone be out here, too?"
"Well...that's another thing." Lily began slowly.
"They say they're holding Brandon for ransom. Ten million Pokedollars, or they say they'll take off tomorrow and just leave." Trey explained. "The police can't get involved unless they have the money. My guess is they're still talking it over in their big padded rooms."
The group swung around the corner of a building and was met with the imposing silhouette of the black-colored Battle Pyramid looming over them.
"Whoa..." Ash commented, staring up at the giant structure.
"Anyway, we already talked to Blaine. He said something about 'not wanting to get involved'." Trey finished, a touch of disdain is his voice now.
"I hate to say it, but that does kind of sound like Blaine." Ash admitted.
The group approached the small ferry service that had been providing access to the Battle Pyramid for challengers. The one woman that was working it eyed them as they walked up to her. "A-are you here to pay those two...?"
Ash shook his head. "No way!"
"We're here to free Brandon, and everyone else in the Pyramid." Trey told her confidently.
Fortunately, Brock didn't seem phased by the girl. She nodded gratefully to them as they all piled in to the small sailboat that was their transport across the water.
Not five minutes later, they had arrived. All six of them unloaded onto the gargantuan metallic facility. They headed for the main entrance, but were met with a large steel door in their pathway instead.
"Yeah, I figured it'd be sealed off." Trey said. "Hmm..."
"Heh. Don't worry." Brock said, stepping forward and pulling a Pokeball emblazoned with a lightning bolt on the front, as well as two yellow patches on the sides. "I can take care of this."
"Huh?" Trey mumbled, turning to face him as he tossed the Fast Ball.
"You guys might want to step back a little." Brock suggested as his Forretress emerged from its Ball.
"Forr!" Forretress grunted as everyone in the group moved back a few paces.
"Forretress, Explosion!" Brock commanded.
"Foooretress!" Forretress groaned, glowing a bright white for a split-second before blowing itself up on the spot, causing everyone behind it to throw up their arms to shield themselves from the blast.
A moment later, when the smoke cleared, Forretress was lying on its side on the ground, unconscious, and there was a smoldering crater in the wall where the door used to be.
"Good job, buddy." Brock praised soothingly as he called back his Pokemon. "Take a rest for a while."
"Wow. Nice job." Trey said, clearly impressed.
"Come on! Let's go!" Lily urged, waving them all forward.
"Man, this is tough, waiting like this." Will commented, who had taken to sitting on one of the bleachers lazily.
"Yeah, well, what are you going to - "
Nate was cut off in mid-sentence as Ash and the group charged into the empty arena.
Will jumped up off his seat instantly. "What the - ?"
"You kids again? Where did - how did you get in here?" Nate roared angrily.
They all turned and saw Nate and Will up in the stands, and Brandon hanging off the wall behind them.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu cried angrily, sparks flaring from its cheeks as it jumped down on the floor in front of Ash.
"There you guys are!" Trey roared ruefully, glaring up at his brother.
"Trey! What are you doing?" Will fired back.
"We're taking this place back, you got that?" Ash told them defiantly.
"I don't think so!" Nate replied, walking down to the arena. "This is gonna be different than the Battle Palace. Understand me?"
Will followed closely behind him, glaring angrily at his younger brother. May, however, after looking closely at his face, recognized him as the man that had attacked her on Chrysanthemum Island.
"Hey...wait a minute!" She piped up, pointing a gloved finger across the room at Will. "I know you!"
"Huh?" Max replied at once, staring at her in disbelief. Everyone else glanced at her in confusion as well. "You do?"
"Yeah. He's...that's the guy that had the Seviper! He was at the Contest Hall before!"
They all recoiled in shock, especially Ash. "Wh-what?" He turned to Trey angrily. "Your brother's the one that attacked May?"
Trey looked away from him sadly. "I...yeah. I never got the chance to tell you..."
May looked at him for a moment, but then decided that it wouldn't get her anywhere to hold it against him.
"Yeah, that was me." Will admitted, both himself and Nate moving to the battle square opposite Ash and the group. "But I wouldn't have had to attack you if you'd just listened to me!"
"Yeah, like I was just supposed to give up to throw the match for you!" May shot back.
Trey and Brock were glancing between everyone in the room now. When their eyes finally met each others, they nodded silently and turned to their companions.
"Hey, guys, listen." Trey began, motioning to Ash, May, and Max. "You have to get Brandon and get to the control room. You can control the entire place from there - including opening the doors, and signaling for more help to come."
Ash and May nodded together, but Max decided to speak up. "But what about you guys?"
Trey gestured to Lily and Brock behind him. "We can stay here and hold off these two. You two up for that?"
"I'm always ready, you know that." Lily answered playfully.
"Yeah. That's pretty much what I was thinking, too." Brock said, nodding.
Trey nodded as well. "All right, then. Hurry, get Brandon down and get going!"
Ash and May obliged at once, turning and heading up the stands toward Brandon, with Max and Pikachu not far behind.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Nate began in a huff, but was stopped short by Brock's Marshtomp appearing in a flash of light, right in his path.
"Where do you think you're going?" Brock mocked, grinning ruefully at Nate from across the room.
Nate gritted his teeth and returned to the trainer square beside Will. "Fine. You want to play like that?"
Trey and Lily stepped up to the battle square, leaving Brock behind them for support and Marshtomp guarding the corridor that Ash, May, and Max had just ran into, along with Brandon.
"I'd ask if you were ready...but I don't think I'd get anywhere." Trey muttered playfully to Lily.
"You're right." Lily answered, giggling. "You wouldn't."
"All right, little brother! I hope you're ready to lose!" Will roared, tossing a Pokeball forward. "Ninjask, go!"
"Ninjaaask!" Ninjask buzzed, emerging from its Ball in mid-flight.
"Go, Regice!" Nate cried, throwing a Pokeball of his own.
"Reg-iiiice." Regice echoed, its robotic voice similar to Regirock's.
Trey and Lily both recoiled at the sight of Regice, even though they both knew it was merely one of Nate's Ditto masquerading as Brandon's Pokemon.
"All right, then..." Trey muttered, grabbing a Pokeball off of his pants. "Let's go, Houndoom!"
"Doooom!" Houndoom bellowed, emerging in a flash of light across from Ninjask.
"Looks like I'm the lucky one!" Lily commented to herself, talking about the fact that she knew everyone else's Pokemon choices before choosing her own. "All right - Quilava, give me a hand!"
"Quii-lava!" Quilava chimed fiercely, igniting the flames on its body as it spoke, staring down Regice from across the field.
All four trainers and their Pokemon stared each other down for a moment, letting the silence hang in the air. Then, the battle began. "Ninjask, use Agility now!"
Ash and May quickly ran up the steps to who they assumed was the Pyramid King. He was dangling by a cable from a metal peg in the wall, and that same cable had tied him up.
"Oh no...how are we supposed to break this?" May began, fingering the steel rope in her hands.
"Hey, Ash, try using Pikachu's Iron Tail on it!" Max suggested, joining them at the top of the steps with Pikachu beside him.
"Good idea!" Ash said. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail on the cable!"
"Pika!" Pikachu obliged, leaping up at the restraints and charging up its tail, which began to glow a fierce white. "Pii-ka!" It sliced its tail at the cable a moment later, cutting a clean incision through it and dropping Brandon to the floor.
"Thanks for getting me out!" Brandon thanked quickly, shoving the now-useless steel cable off of his body as he got to his feet. "Now come on! We've got to get to the control room!"
"Right!" Ash agreed, nodding, as Pikachu climbed back up on his shoulder.
With that, the four of them ran back out of the bleachers and into the corridor leading out of the battle chamber, just as Brock's Marshtomp moved to block the doorway behind them.
Please R&R!