Chapter 20: The Oceanic Museum Heist
"MUDKIP, WHAT DID YOU DO?" Lyla demanded, tapping her foot.
Mudkip stood before her, all covered in smelly sewer goo and cowering as if she were going to beat him. Behind him, people were running around frantically as hoards of Grimer came crawling out of the sewers and flooded into the streets.
"Earlier today, at around 6:30 AM, the Grimer who apparently inhabit our sewers began to surface," a nearby reporter began as her camera man recorded the spectacle. "As you can see, some of the Grimer have what appear to be small chunks of ice lodged into their bodies. Authorities suspect that an Ice-type Pokémon found its way into the sewers and irritated the Sludge Pokémon out of hiding. We advise everyone to stay indoors and keep the air freshener close!"
"If they trace this back to us, I have no idea how we're going to pay for the damages. And my contest is tomorrow so we can't just split…Mudkip, YOU IDIOT!"
"Can't…go on…losing…ability to breathe," Olivia choked.
"Oh knock it off," Eziray muttered, pinching her nose.
"Haaaa," she gasped. "Aiden, I need mouth-to-mouth!"
"Ask one of the Grimer to do it…" he trailed off.
"We're going to be responsible for tearing the city down," Lyla said calmly, in spite of how overwhelmed she was. "We allowed this to happen by sending him into the sewer. This is our fault."
"I'm sure we can fix it somehow," Eziray said with an obscured voice from pinching her nose.
"Yeah, let's send him into a nuclear center this time," Lyla muttered.
"Shiftry, use Razor Leaf!"
"Shift," a Shiftry growled as it landed on a nearby roof and released a flurry of razor-sharp leaves with one hearty flap of the fan leaves at the end of its arms. The leaves shot forward, slicing up a rather large handful of the Grimer in the street.
"Griiie?" the Grimer all said under the breath, pausing to stare blankly at their attacker.
There was a long stare down and everyone watched with hope that something big was about to go down. To their delight, the Grimer all charged towards the building on which the Shiftry stood, but he was ready for them. With a couple more flaps of his palm leaves, he had them surrounded by a whole storm of leaves. The Sludge Pokémon could only take so much; when it ceased, they were quite done with being sliced up and fled back to the sewers. On their way down, they all let out ear-shattering cries to call their friends who were dispersed all throughout the city.
"What is that thing?" Eziray asked, taking out her Pokédex.
"Creepy," Lyla replied with a frown.
"Shiftry, the Wicked Pokémon: Its large fans can cause winds in excess of one-hundred feet per second and can blow anything away. They are said to live in the tops of trees that are over 1,000 years old."
"Sounds like a Pokémon you don't wanna mess with…" Lyla trailed off.
"Nicely done!" a boy praised as he joined the Shiftry on the roof. His hair was blond and slicked-back. He looked to be in his early twenties and he was dressed in a rather expensive-looking blue suit.
"Hey, cool heroic entrance and everything, but do you really think your dressed right for jumping around on rooftops?" Lyla asked, putting her hands on her hips and looked him over.
"Obnoxious little brat," he muttered.
"Oh goodie! Someone finally agrees with me!" Olivia cheered.
"Hey, I didn't mean anything bad by it, but if that's how you're going to be then I wanna make another little suggestion. Why don't you save some money on hair gel by not using the whole container when you style your hair each morning?"
"I think we need to get you a sign that says 'doesn't play well with others,'" Eziray said, smacking herself in the forehead.
"Come on, this guy's a dick!" Lyla defended.
"Do you know who you're talking to, kid?"
"I'm maybe a year or two younger than you. Don't call me 'kid.'"
"Whatever…Why do I feel like I've seen you somewhere before?"
"Ehh…I was on TV recently. Rustboro Contest?"
"Oh God, don't tell me…"
"Excuse me?"
"You're that rookie coordinator Selena was telling me about on the cruise liner…So this is the infamous Lyla. Selena seems to be somewhat interested in you, although her talent scouting leaves a little something to be desired if you ask me…"
"Excuse…me?"
"Oh, don't mind me. I shouldn't have said that. I apologize! Heavens, I haven't even seen you perform yet. I shouldn't be making such a judgment, forgive me. My name's Ashton. I've been a coordinator for about six years now, but I'm not from around here actually. I was born in Sinnoh, where I won myself ten gorgeous ribbons and made it to the semi-finals of the Sinnoh Grand Festival three years in a row. I decided to come and check out Hoenn this time around though. After all, this is the birth region of contests, you know! I intend to earn my fourth Hoenn ribbon tomorrow."
"No one asked for your life story," Lyla mumbled, but not loud enough for him to hear.
"Soooo, tell me about your friends!" he exclaimed.
"Well…this is Eziray. She's taking the Hoenn Pokémon League challenge, and she currently has two badges under her belt. This is our friend Aiden. He's a musician. And…this is Olivia. She stalks us from time-to-time."
"I DO NOT!" Olivia objected. "I'm simply here for Aiden's moral support!"
Ashton watched as the two bickered for a moment but then he cut them off because he couldn't stand it any longer.
"So, basically, you hang out with some hotheaded Pokémon trainer who seems to think she has what it takes to win the Pokémon League, an 'artist' with no particular talent, and occasionally some eccentric fangirl with a few too many loose screws. Don't you know that your self-image in the contest world is really reflected upon those who you associate yourself with? And with that said, I don't really want to be seen talking with you all, especially with that reporter standing around over there. It was nice meeting you though, Lyla! Good luck tomorrow. You will most certainly need it."
"…What a prick," Lyla said, staring blankly as he and the Shiftry hopped off the roof and walked away together.
"Seems like you and Robin are the only decent people in the 'contest world,'" Eziray said, putting her arms behind her head.
"HEY I JUST REMEMBERED SOMETHING!" Olivia exclaimed.
"Here we go," Lyla muttered.
"So…that guy said something about a contest tomorrow, right?"
"Very good, Olivia…"
"Can it, Lyla! Anyways, that means tomorrow is Friday…which means today is Thursday…which means…"
"You know your days of the week, yay?"
"No! I mean yes…Anyway, it means that something bad was supposed to happen today!"
"Well I'd say this was pretty bad," Lyla said, throwing up her arms to direct everyone's attention to the mess that the Grimer had left behind.
"No!" Olivia shouted, and then started again in a whisper, "I'm talking about the pirates."
"Oh, right. They were gonna pay the Oceanic Museum a visit, huh? Then I guess we will too…"
"Wuhh?" Eziray asked. "They had you quaking in your boots on Dewford Island and you wanna go sabotaging their plans all of a sudden? HELL YES! LET'S GO!"
"Well, I'm in too so it's settled," Aiden replied with a grin.
"I-I think I'm gonna sit this one out. I don't feel good all of a sudden…" Olivia trailed off. "I don't really want to go chasing pirates today. You guys go ahead…"
"I think you're better off that way," Eziray said. "You don't need to be going and getting hurt or anything…"
"I'll go find the authorities and give them a heads up, but they may have their hands full until this whole Grimer mess gets cleared up. Guys…be careful…"
"Will do, Olivia. Thanks for helping out," Aiden said with a smile.
"Anytime," she replied, blushing brightly.
"According to the map, the Oceanic Museum is only a few blocks from here," Lyla said as she examined her PokéNav.
"So…what's the plan?" Aiden asked.
"I was kinda hoping you'd come up with one, actually," Lyla said. "Eziray?"
"You mean, you guys didn't come up with something?"
"Well, this should be a curious endeavor," Lyla muttered.
"I guess we should just take a tour and see what happens…" Aiden trailed off.
"This is a sample of some soil from the ocean floor. Over many years, the remains of life-forms settle at the bottom of the sea, making sedimentary layers. By analyzing these layers, the ancient past is revealed!" a museum tour guide explained as the three trainers and some other visitors examined a glass display.
"Fascinating," Lyla muttered sarcastically as she watched someone snap a picture of it. "Yeah, take a picture lady. You'll want to remember this pile of dirt for the rest of your life…"
"Now follow me to your right and we'll see a sample of some beach sand!"
"Hey you guys, this thing is cool!" Eziray exclaimed, examining a glass vessel with blue fluid spiraling around.
"Why would Team Aqua have any interest in this place? I mean aside from the fact that both are completely obsessed with the ocean. It just seems like there isn't really anything useful or valuable here…" Aiden trailed off.
"Cancel the tour? Why cancel the tour?" the tour guide whispered, trying to be discrete.
The trainers turned to find her talking to one of the museum security guards. He whispered something back to her and she suddenly burst out laughing and asked how a helicopter could possibly be landing on the roof as they spoke.
"Do you think?" Lyla asked.
There was a pause and everyone began to listen carefully to the noise that was becoming more and more distinct. It did, in fact, sound as if a helicopter was steadily coming down onto the building. A sudden thud above their heads finally confirmed it.
"Yep, that's gotta be them," Aiden said as the engine was killed.
"What's going on here," the tour guide demanded as she began making her way to the front desk to phone the police. "This is just ridiculous."
"MIGHTY!" a Mightyena roared as it bolted in through the front doors and grabbed ahold of her wrist with his sharp fangs before she could reach for the phone on the wall.
"Now, now. No need to be calling the police. We're just visiting, but you'll have to excuse us for having no money to pay the entrance fee," Commander Tabitha said with a grin as he walked through the front door with two female Magma grunts.
"Team Magma? I thought Olivia said Team Aqua was going to be infiltrating the museum…" Lyla thought to herself. "No matter…I'd rather ruin their plans anyway!"
"You two, stay here and guard the door," Tabitha ordered. "No one here is going anywhere until we have what we need."
"Yes sir," the two grunts replied in unison.
"Now, who here is willing to tell me where I can find the man called Captain Stern?"
"He's on the research floor, but–"
Before the tour guide could finish her sentence, Tabitha grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and the Mightyena released her. Tabitha then shoved her forward and demanded her to take him to said research floor.
"Hey, security guard. You planning on doing anything about this?" Aiden asked as Tabitha and the guide disappeared up the staircase.
"Do you think this museum banks enough money to hire real security guards? I'm just a volunteer! I don't even have a Pokémon…"
"Then I guess, we're gonna have to do your job for you," Eziray replied as she reached for a Pokéball at her belt.
"But we gotta get all these people out of here first," Lyla added as she sent out Eevee. "I can handle these grunts. You two should go save this Captain Stern guy."
"Are you sure?" Eziray asked skeptically.
"She'll be fine now," Aiden said, giving Lyla a wink.
"You really shouldn't meddle in our affairs, kid," one of the grunts said as Aiden and Eziray raced up the stairs.
"How many people are going to refer to me as 'kid' today?" Lyla muttered.
"This was supposed to be a quick, in-and-out sort of deal, but if you wanna make a fight out of it then you're really going to regret it!" the other added.
"We'll just see about that. Skitty, Eevee, get ready!"
The two Normal-types braced themselves and stared the two grunts down angrily.
"The girl's got herself two run-of-the-mill Pokémon and she seems to suddenly think that she's some hero. Let's get this over with and put her in her place! Numel, take her out!"
"You too, Slugma!"
The two grunts' Fire-type Pokémon materialized and positioned themselves for battle.
"And you think my Pokémon are 'run-of-the-mill,'" Lyla thought to herself. "I'll show you…"
Not wanting to take any chances, Lyla called the first move; she ordered both Eevee and Skitty to use Tackle. Slugma was designated as Eevee's target and Numel was designated as Skitty's. The two Normal-types charged forward with all their might, but the Slugma surprised them both with a Smog attack that choked and blinded them with a cloud of noxious gas. Luckily, neither of them inhaled enough to poison themselves, but before the cloud dispersed, the opponents gave them another little surprise. Eevee and Skitty were both suddenly knocked right out of the cloud by a flurry of scorching embers that both of the Fire-types had shot at them.
"You guys okay?" Lyla asked as the two stood; they both gave a nod. "Good! Now Eevee, let's hit 'em with your new Swift attack. And Skitty, help her out with Assist!"
Eevee made a quick whipping motion with her tail, firing a dozen of star-shaped discs towards her opponents. Neither of them could dodge in time and the stars pelted them, exploding against their bodies upon impact. As the attack hit, Skitty opened her mouth and revealed that a bright ball of energy was forming inside it. Just as the final star struck, Mudkip's Water Gun shot from this orb and soaked the two opponents before they even had a chance to recuperate.
"Come on you idiots, we know you have more in you than that," one of the grunts barked.
"Stand up, and gang up on them with Ember again!"
"Maybe you'd get a little more out of them if you treated them properly," Lyla said angrily as more bits of fire came at her and her Pokémon. "Eevee, use Dig!"
Eevee quickly dug through the wooden flooring and Skitty jumped into the hole after her to avoid the attack as well. Lyla then realized that the embers were going to hit her now so she dove out of the way and they destroyed one of the exhibits instead.
"NOOOOOO!" one of the museum visitors screamed as beach sand spilled everywhere and Lyla got back on her feet.
"I almost forgot about them…better finish this up soon before someone gets hurt," Lyla thought to herself. Then she called out to the group of visitors, "Stay out of the way people! Don't worry about the exhibits…they're really not that spectacular anyway."
"Why can't you take this outside before you completely trash this place!" the visitor cried as she glared at the hole Eevee had made.
"I better not have to pay for all this damage," Lyla muttered, turning back to the battle.
"On your toes, Slugma! They could come up anywhere…"
"The same goes for you, Numel!"
"You know neither of them even have toes, right?" Lyla said, rolling her eyes. "Eevee, go ahead and use Double Team if you haven't already. Then pelt them with Swift a little more!"
A mass of Eevee suddenly exploded from the ground and began firing Swift at the two Fire-types who simply braced themselves and endured it.
"Quit just standing there and use Ember!"
The Slugma spat out more bits of fire to counter the stars and destroy the Eevee duplicates. The Numel was about to join in too, but Lyla ordered Skitty to come out and use DoubleSlap so the Normal-type knocked the Numel around a bit before it had the chance to help out its teammate. Then she landed a few feet away and stared her opponent down as Slugma hit the last Eevee duplicate and began aiming for the real one.
"Eevee, use Quick Attack to dodge them and then knock it out with Tackle!"
Eevee increased her pace into a speedy Quick Attack, dodging all of the incoming embers, and then she rammed into her opponent with all her might, sending it flying back a ways.
"Myaaa!" Skitty cheered victoriously.
"Skitty, watch out!" Lyla exclaimed as Numel came at her with Tackle.
The Normal-type evaded the attack and then Lyla ordered her to finish the Numel off as well with a DoubleSlap-Iron Tail combination. Skitty nodded and her tail began to glow brightly as she charged towards the Numel. Then she knocked it upside the head repeatedly until it fell to the ground. The Kitten Pokémon was just about to start cheering once more when the Numel forced itself back onto its feet and fired one last Ember at her.
"Myaa…" Skitty trailed off uneasily as she braced herself for the attack.
Suddenly, Eevee came to the rescue by tackling the Numel which skewed the attack. Then she finished it off with one last Quick Attack and Skitty watched as the Pokémon fell before them.
"Return!" one of the grunts said as they both called back their fainted Pokémon. Without saying anything else, they fled.
"Awesome work, Eevee!" Lyla exclaimed as she returned Eevee as well, but then she noticed how depressed Skitty was for not being as useful.
"Hey, don't feel bad, Skitty. You're still my number one!" Lyla exclaimed, scooping her up and cuddling her lovingly. "We just took out two Magma Grunts by ourselves! Don't you know how proud I am of you?"
"Myaaa!" Skitty cheered.
Meanwhile, on the research floor, Captain Stern was seated at a work table where he had been examining a volcanic rock of some sort. He had chestnut brown hair that was overall medium length, but a little longer in the front where a large strand fell between his dark brown eyes. He was dressed in a grey suit with a teal green turtleneck under shirt.
"Captain Stern!" the guide shouted as she and Commander Tabitha entered the room.
"What's…going on?" he asked, taking notice of the way Tabitha was holding onto the woman.
"…This man wishes to speak with you, sir. I don't know what he wants, but I'm so sorry!"
"It's not your fault, don't worry. Alright, let the girl go. I'm all ears; what are you looking for?" Captain Stern asked as he rose from his seat.
"You've got what I want right there! And I'll gladly hand her over if you hand it over," Tabitha proposed.
"This? But it's just a sample of volcanic rock we found at the bottom of the ocean. What use is it to you?"
"Don't play with me, Captain. We both know that there's something slightly unusual about that rock."
"I don't know how you learned of this discovery considering it hasn't even been publicized yet…but it's not worth someone's well-being. It's all yours! I only ask that you give us just a little more time with it because I'd really like to discover its origins."
"Am I not making myself clear enough, Captain? I want the rock now!"
As the commander finished his demand, the Mightyena at his side let out a low growl to emphasize that they meant business. Then the Dark-type's ears suddenly perked up and he turned his head as Aiden and Eziray busted into the room.
"Great…You kids again. Why don't you just mind your own business," Tabitha muttered.
"Do you think we're just gonna sit by idly while you try to bully everyone around and make plans to take over the world? Don't think so!" Eziray challenged.
"Well you're in over your heads, and what's this take over the world crap? We are striving to make it a better place. More than seventy percent of the world is covered by oceans, but if we can somehow expand the land, we could create so many more places for people and Pokémon to live! Can't you see how that would benefit everyone?"
"And what about all of the Water-type Pokémon that will lose their homes? Is it better for them too?" Aiden argued.
"So what if some sacrifices need to be made. I guess kids could never understand such an issue, but I promise you that you'll be grateful one day."
"I'm not so sure about that because we're about to burry you!" Eziray exclaimed as she tossed a Pokéball into the air. "Charo, here we go!"
"CHAR!" the Charmander cried as it materialized before Tabitha.
"Combusken, let's help them out," Aiden said as he sent out his Fire-type as well.
"Two against one isn't very fair, although I shouldn't be talking because neither is two against twenty!" Tabitha exclaimed with a sly grin.
Before either of the trainers could react, Magma Grunts began flooding in through the doors around the room. They had broken in through windows and the back entrance, and each was equipped with one Pokéball that contained a Numel, Slugma, or Poochyena. All these Pokémon were released at once while Tabitha turned back to the table to find that Captain Stern had disappeared, along with the volcanic rock.
"Find him!" he ordered to his Mightyena.
"Miiii…" the Dark-type growled as he sniffed the air.
Captain Stern was making his way down the stairs in a desperate attempt to escape through the main entrance. It had been the only path available to him because all the others were crowded by grunts. Before reaching the bottom, he crashed right into Lyla who had begun making her way up to help her friends.
"Are you Captain Stern?"
"ENAAAA!" Tabitha's Mightyena roared from up above.
"There's no time to talk! I've got to go get help!"
"Wait, is that rock what they're after? If you go running out in the open with it, they could intercept it…"
"…You're right. You take it."
"Me? But–"
Before she could finish, Captain Stern quickly shoved the stone into her bag and rushed down the stairs once more. Lyla stared after him for a moment, trying to take in what had just happened. When she turned her head back, Tabitha's Mightyena stood before her, staring her down as if he would tear her to pieces. Skitty began growling too, stepping in front of her trainer to protect her. The Mightyena crept past them slowly and stared into their eyes, provoking such an intense fear that they couldn't help but cower. He didn't attack them, however, because they weren't his target. His target was currently headed towards the front door, and he couldn't let him reach it.
"Almost there!" Captain Stern exclaimed as he hurried towards it.
"I don't think so…" Tabitha called.
Captain Stern turned his head and the Mightyena bolted past him, and blocked the door. Then Tabitha appeared at the base of the stairway. He looked around in frustration, wondering where the hostages had gone and how the two grunts could have been taken down by a single insolent trainer.
"We have other matters to tend to, Stern. Please just give me what I want and we will be on our way."
"I can't give it to you now…"
"And why is that?"
"I don't have it anymore."
"Then who does?"
"Do you think we'll be safe in here, guys?" Lyla asked as she paced back and forth in what appeared to be the staff's lounge.
Skitty and Eevee were seated on a red sofa, completely alert and Mudkip was trying to figure out how to get into the water dispenser.
"I mean a few grunts…Yeah, we can handle that. A commander? Not so sure about that one!"
"Mya," Skitty meowed in an attempt to comfort her trainer.
"Mudkip…Use Ice Beam on the doors."
Mudkip gave up on his strange task and bounced over to each of the two doors, icing down the edges to keep anyone from getting in. Lyla took in a deep breath and sat down on the couch, holding the other two tightly as Mudkip scampered back and wiggled into her arms as well.
"All this over a rock?" Lyla asked herself as she held up the volcanic rock to examine it.
Suddenly, she let out a gasp and dropped the rock onto the floor. It had gotten hot, very hot, and she had no idea how that could even be possible. It had been stone cold only a minute ago.
"Mud…" Mudkip trailed off, staring curiously at the rock as he opened his mouth.
"Mudkip, no!"
As usual, Mudkip acted without taking notice of his trainer's plea and doused the rock with a quick squirt of Water Gun, creating a cloud of smoke that drifted around the four and began choking them.
"Damnit," Lyla coughed as she covered her mouth and her nose with her hand.
"Ee-vui!" Eevee exclaimed as she hopped onto the floor and ran in circles with Quick Attack to disperse the smoke.
"Hey, did you hear that?"
"Great," Lyla thought to herself. "They heard us…"
"Yeah, there's someone in there!"
"But the door's stuck…HEY YOU IN THERE!"
"We better let Commander Tabitha know about this…"
"Too bad we won't be here when he gets here," Lyla said to herself as she noticed an air vent above them. "But first, we gotta figure out how to carry this rock without burning ourselves…that'll do!"
She stood and headed towards the microwave where an oven mitt was hanging, brought it back to the sofa with her, and shoved the rock inside it. Then she ordered Eevee to use Double Team and form a ladder up to the opening so she could climb up and remove the cover. Once inside, she called back Eevee and Mudkip to their Pokéballs and pulled Skitty out of her bag which she had used to carry the Kitten Pokémon up with her.
"I think they're coming back Skitty," she whispered as she carefully put the cover back into place. "Be quiet…"
As they were just about to head off, the door of the lounge was broken right off its hinges and a Mightyena charged into the room with Tabitha right behind him. The two looked around as if they didn't understand and then the Magma Commander turned to a grunt at the doorway.
"Did you really hear someone in here?"
"I promise you I did, sir!"
Lyla grew uneasy as she noticed the Mightyena sniffing around and she held her breath, praying that it wouldn't notice them there. As soon as his nose hit the couch, he let out a low growl and looked around with eyes full of suspicion.
"See someone was there!" the grunt existed.
"Well I guess they just picked themselves up and floated right through a wall because there's no one here now. Come on…"
Lyla let out an enormous sigh of relief as soon as she heard the door slam behind them, and then she and Skitty began their search for some sort of exit. It wasn't long before they were just above the room where Aiden and Eziray were still engaged in a massive battle with a small army of riled up Magma grunts.
"Well they seem to be handling themselves, but we've gotta get this rock to safety. Come on," Lyla whispered as she began to crawl away. Skitty pranced along silently but as soon as they wandered into the next room, the old vent gave out just beneath them and they both came crashing to the floor.
"Is it that hard to tighten those screws every once in a while?" Lyla moaned as Skitty struggled to crawl out from beneath her. "I mean that could have really hurt someone standing underneath it. Not to mention, I bet it made a ton of noi–HI THERE!"
In the middle of her ramble, she had looked up and noticed Tabitha standing over her, arms crossed and aggressive as ever. His Mightyena was sitting obediently at his side, awaiting orders.
"Hi there…Please tell me, because I'm a little in the dark here, is there any particular reason why you were crawling around up there?"
"You mean to tell me that you've never crawled around in an air vent before? It's great exercise, I mean really great. It's like a full body work out and–"
"In a museum…"
"I'm really passionate about the ocean."
"Quit playing games, Captain Stern told me about your little meeting between the first and second floor. Just hand over the rock and–"
"Okay!" Lyla exclaimed joyfully, holding out the oven mitt. "It's in there."
"…Um…thanks…" he trailed off, a little thrown off by how cooperative she was being.
"Mhm!"
Tabitha reached into the oven mitt and pulled out the rock with a faint smile. Then he got onto his radio and told all the grunts that it was time to head out. Before leaving, he looked Lyla over curiously and then he hesitated for a moment as if something very bizarre had suddenly crossed his mind. However, his expression vanished just as quickly as it came and he walked away.
"Holy shit…" Lyla trailed off, letting out a huge breath of air once he was gone.
She stood up shakily and tried to pull her heart out of her stomach as Aiden, Eziray, and Captain Stern came rushing into the room. Captain Stern looked both disappointed and relieved at the same time but her friends demanded to know what happened.
"It's alright…You three did your best. I'm glad nothing bad happened to any of you. Although it would have been nice to research that rock a bit more…"
"Who says you can't?" Lyla said, tossing him a fragment about two thirds smaller than the volcanic rock he had given her to begin with.
"What's this?"
"The rock broke with the little spill I took. This smaller piece bounced out of what I was carrying it in and I kept it out of sight. You could still make due with just a sample of the rock, can't you?"
"Brilliant!" Captain Stern exclaimed as he held it up to examine it. "You have no idea how thankful we are for this…I don't feel right even asking, but perhaps you could do us just one more favor?"
"What is it?" Eziray asked curiously.
The four stood before a large pedestal with some sort of crystalized rock at the top of it. Captain Stern approached it and lifted the object from its place.
"Another rock obviously. A very pretty, shiny rock…" Lyla trailed off.
"We found this in a sunken vessel at the bottom of the sea but it doesn't seem to have originated anywhere near the ocean so it's not of much use to us. However, I am in contact with a scientist who goes by Professor Cosmo and I think it might be more useful to his research. I've sent him samples of it and, well, this crystal doesn't seem to be of this world…"
"What do you mean?" Lyla asked, cocking her head.
"It means it's from space!" Eziray exclaimed.
"Maybe…Could you three possibly take it to him in Fallarbor Town? I've been much too busy with my research to take it to him and I'm really worried about these two gangs that are becoming more and more troublesome in Hoenn. You three seem to be able to hold your own though, and you're clever too."
As the four worked out the details, two shady characters stood outside the museum having a discussion of their own. It was Commander Shelly of Team Aqua and an Aqua Grunt, both disguised by black cloaks with hoods.
"Team Magma beat us to the punch. No doubt that they took the same thing we were after…" Shelly trailed off.
"Maybe they failed? We shouldn't call off our mission just yet…"
"You don't know anything do you? If they hadn't found their target, they would have burnt this place down to the ground looking for it…literally. There's no use going in there now. It's not like we needed that stupid rock anyway; it's not going to help us achieve our goal. It's a piece of a completely different puzzle. But the harder we make it for them to solve that puzzle, the slower it'll take them to complete it. That was the only purpose of this mission…to buy us more time. We have to achieve our dream before they can achieve theirs. We cannot fail at that…"
"Someone's coming…"
"Don't worry about it. It's about time we get going anyway."
As Lyla, Aiden and Eziray exited the building, the two Aqua members disappeared into trees to the right of the museum and their movement caught Eziray's attention so she turned her head to scan the area.
"Something wrong?" Aiden asked.
"I thought I saw something…"
"Maybe it was just a Zigzagoon or something," Lyla suggested, as she searched.
"I'm just on edge maybe…Olivia said that Team Aqua was going to show up. I can't help but believe that this isn't over quite yet."
"Well, if Team Aqua does show, Magma's already beat them to the rock and we've got this crystal thing so I don't think there's anything left to steal," Aiden said with a slight chuckle.
"Except the little fragment maybe, but that'd be easy to hide," Lyla said as the three started walking again. "I'm sure they'd believe Captain Stern if he told them that Team Magma already took it. I mean did you see that mess I made near the entrance?"
"What would they want with these rocks anyway? How could a rock have anything to do with expanding the land or ocean?" Eziray wondered out loud.
"Maybe, they're looking for where the rock originated…" Aiden suggested.
The three were silent for a while as they thought about it. They eventually came across an empty dirt lot and Lyla paused to look it over.
"Hey, I'll meet up with you two later. I think we're going to practice a bit more for the contest," she said.
"Good idea!" Eziray exclaimed.
"See you later then I guess," Aiden said with a smile.
When the two had walked away, Lyla sent out Eevee and began practicing their preliminary appeal. As she watched Eevee perform, images of what Team Magma had done to her as a child began flashing through her mind: when the two grunts waltzed into the shop, the chills that crept down her spine when she was told to wait in the back room, how helpless she felt when the men began attacking her mother, and how the fear made her so sick to her stomach when one of the grunts lifted her from the ground and threatened her. She regretted not fighting back and she regretted not even trying to save her mother that day. She swore, however, to swallow her fear and stand up to the two teams no matter what. She was going to do everything in her power to prevent them from destroying anymore lives.
Author Notes:
So Ashton concludes the main contest rivals and he's a complete diva. He's also the person Selena was talking to back in chapter 13. As for the Oceanic Museum, the exhibits I mentioned are directly from the games. I tried not to make the scene too much like the anime though, but it was similar in that Team Magma was after a volcanic rock and it breaks in half at the end. Team Aqua, however, was not involved at all in the anime and neither was this crystalized rock at the end. I hope you enjoyed it! Please be sure to leave a review.