*... ... This chapter's long. Jace is awesome... And so is Sebastian... (excuse me while I try to shake off my extreme Mortal Instruments addiction. It's always been there, but a new book just came out. :X) So anyways, Sapphire is here, as promised! ;) And you guys gave me 7 reviews! :D 7! What a lovely number. :3 Onto the story...*
Chapter 14
Sapphire knew she had found the right place when she was met with furious rain, drenching her clothes and making her feel as heavy as lead, exchanging constantly with strong, harsh sunlight that seemed to burn her skin and suck away at her energy. She could also feel the peculiar call running through her veins. It could perhaps be described as almost a game of 'hot-and-cold', Kyogre seemed to be telling her whether or not she was getting closer or not, and she knew she was red-hot. Though, it was hard to feel hot when it felt like you were being drowned in rain, despite flying in the air. This is how the disasters of Hoenn from five years ago started, she thought absentmindedly. Are they going to happen again?
Fighting the air currents and the rain, both Sapphire and Pilo were drained of energy, only barely staying in the air. The Tropius's wing flaps were becoming more slow and forced, but it had to keep flying, or they would drown in the depths below. Or Sapphire would never be able to save Ruby.
The girl always felt like crying when she thought of him, knowing deep inside that it was all her fault he had been taken away. She had become a trainer so she could be strong enough to protect the people she loved, protect the boy who had so bravely saved her from the Salamence, who had protected her too many other times to count, her best friend, her partner, her rival... She hadn't been strong enough to save the one person who really mattered to her. In her vision, he had looked almost dead, taking tedious breaths as his blood stained the cave floor beneath him. But he couldn't be dead, she told herself, feeling tears and something that felt like a knife twisting in her heart. Because I'm goin' ta save him. I'm definitely goin' ta!
With a revitalized spirit, she cried, "Pilo, fly higher!" She felt the rain beating against her skin start to weaken, the rolling of thunder in the black clouds fading. This was her chance to get past the protective shield of weather. "This is impossible to fly through! So we're going to fly above it!"
The heat and the storm had formed a wall of sorts, with inpenetrable winds and unwelcoming conditions. She knew if she flew too high while it was raining, she risked being electrocuted by the lightning- not that the risks of that weren't high enough already.
By flying higher, she hoped to escape the winds and find out where she was supposed to land. She envisioned the storm as a hurricane, with the still, calm peaceful 'eye' in the middle. That would be where Kyogre, and Ruby, were located.
Her soaking hair buffetted her face, sticking to her skin as the clouds cleared up, however, the wind was ceaseless, blowing so hard she could barely keep her eyes open against the endless onslaught, constantly shifting in the direction they blew. North? West? East? South? Sapphire had lost track a long, long time ago.
"Ah," she gasped as she nearly slipped from her Tropius's neck, clutching onto its long, sturdy neck for dear life. The wind had thrown her off-balance, and the Pokemon was having a hard time constantly adjusting to the direction of the fierce winds.
Climbing back on, with a determined look in her sharp blue eyes, Sapphire commanded, "Higher, Pilo, higher! We hafta get higher!"
The Pokemon complied, using what was left of its strength to beat the air with broad leafy wings, soaring upwards to where the sun shone like a bright golden coin.
"Yer doing it!" exclaimed Sapphire excitedly as she felt the gusts around her begin to die down until they were nothing more than light breezes. "Yah did it, Pilo! Now I have to find out where Ruby is! Just hang on for a few more minutes, Pilo!" she said to the exhausted Pokemon, feeling guilty for forcing Pilo to have to beat his workload alone. Unfortunately, she had no other flying type, so this was the only course of action.
Down below, there was island, beaches covering the whole perimeter, a forest in the middle, and a large hole into what Sapphire suspected to be a cave. Her powerful eyesight also spotted a small tower near the edge of the water, with a tiny window facing the beach. She couldn't see any doors.
She wanted to charge down right into the island, but she knew it was too risky. Wind was invisible- she had no way of telling whether or not it was safe to simply attempt to land on the island. Not to mention that she'd have to choose a way to come down discreetly and hide, lest she be discovered by Rei.
She waited until the clouds of rain reappeared, swirling around the island like a whirlpool, meaning that the island itself most likely had no wind.
"Pilo! Fly for that spot right there!" she said, pointing to a thicket of dense forest close to the tower, bracing her self as Pilo shifted his wings and position to hurtle down towards the hole below. She closed her eyes as she felt wind buffet her for a few seconds, only to brush against the leaves of trees the next.
Pilo landed with a resounding thud, but Sapphire could barely hear it, unadjusted from her time up in the clouds where the only sounds had been the loud roaring of wind and noisy crackling of thunder. The Pokemon collapsed onto the ground, Sapphire barely managing to pull her leg away before it was crushed underneath the Tropius's heavy body.
"Go hide, Pilo," she said quietly, unable to hear herself. "You deserve a good rest, but you're gonna hafta run first. I don't want Rei ta find ya." The Pokemon gave a tired grunt before heading to the trees.
She looked around, suddenly realizing how much less bright it was than it was outside the island. Of cos... she thought. It's only early mornin'. I guess Groudon's ability made it brighter? I wonder how long I was flyin'. A good couple hours at least... She shook her head to clear them of her pointless thoughts. Concentrate, Sapphire! Ya gotta find Ruby! My first target is that tower!
She could see the tip of it rising above the trees to her right, and instantly ran towards it, hoping that she'd be able to figure out how to get to the window once she was able to get over there. Unfortunately, even with the tower a mere feet away, lkooking up, there was no visible way up except to fly.
Pilo's too worn out for dat... she thought, knowing her only flying-type would be unable to manage the way up, even if it wasn't that high. I'm goin' ta hafta get creative!
She drew out a Pokeball, releasing Toro and quickly giving commands to it. "Toro, can ya get me up there with Sky Uppercut? I can grab onto the window edge once I get up."
The Blaziken nodded, the fiery rings around its wrists lighting up at the challenge. Carefully perching atop her Pokemon's head, Sapphire counted down. "3... 2... 1... Go!"
It was like flying, not really, but the weightless feeling in her stomach and the sudden exhilaration despite the fact she was absolutely exhausted was similar. Toro's powerful punch wasn't enough to propel the pair the entire way up, however, Sapphire was able to leap off, her strong legs and years of jumping up and down trees (yes, jumping) allowed her to easily land on the narrow ledge, expertly keeping her balance, returning Toro into its Pokeball as she did so.
"Ruby!" she whispered as she looked through the glass, seeing the boy in a bed on the other side, crude, but obviously effective, bandages wrapped around his arms, clothes torn and bloody. It was obvious that he'd been through a rough time. He was still covered in blood.
Sapphire pressed her hands against the glass, suddenly realizing that she would be unable to get through without breaking the glass. But if Rei showed up, he'd be immediately notified of her presence.
A Pokeball inside the room suddenly opened, and out came Ruru, who stared at Sapphire with an intense gaze. Sapphire met it without blinking, feeling herself floating for a split second, teleporting, and reappearing inside the room.
"Thank you, Ruru," she said, giving the Gardevoir a thankful smile. She walked over to the bed, feeling herself begin to cry as she took Ruby's hand without thinking.
"Ruby... I'm so sorry. I should have been stronger, he shouldn't have been able to take you from me! This is all my fault," she whispered, trembling. "I'm going to get you out of here, I promise, I-"
Ruru suddenly raised its hands, using its psychic abilities to force Sapphire under the bed, tucked tight into a dark corner. Sapphire could think of only one reason why the Pokemon would do such a thing. The sight of two shoes and the feet of a Gengar confirmed her fears. Rei was here.
"Rayquaza makes its home on the 50th floor of this tower," said Silver, staring upwards towards a unnaturally clear sky. No clouds, no burning sun, no torrential rains. Such things were prevented by the mere presence of the long green dragon. "We can only fly part of the way up though- once we reach a certain height, the air outside the tower will be almost completely devoid of oxygen and full of poisonous ozone, not to mention that wild Pokemon do their best to guard from intruders."
"Then how far up can we fly?" asked Green, struggling to see the top of the tower. "Halfway up?"
"Most of the way, actually. All the way up to floor 49- but it might be safer to enter on a lower floor. I'm not sure if the same conditions still apply and asphyxiation is nothing to laugh at." Silver's metallic gray eyes gave a cold glint, shining in the sunlight that he couldn't feel, making him shiver. Another ability of Rayquaza- not only was severe weather prevented, you couldn't feel the effects of weather. If it had been raining, he wouldn't be wet nor cold. "We'll have a team going inside the tower and outside. You can fly inside, I believe. I asked someone who went in before- he didn't fly, but he says it's possible. It might be better to split up as well- it'll save time if one of the options doesn't work."
They all exchanged critical glances, staring up once again with slight trepidation. It was like they could feel Rayquaza's power emanating from the stone tower itself, coming off in invisible, pulsating waves. But they were Pokedex holders. They could handle it. They'd done greater things before.
"I'll take Aero to fly on the inside," volunteered Red after a short moment of silence. "Since it's a tower, I'm betting there's twists and turns- Aero will manage it better than Honchcrow, Charizard, or Mantine."
"I don't think you should go in alone," said Green, who seemed to have taken the comment about his Charizard as a challenge, viridian eyes flashing. "You tend to make a lot of rash, stupid decisions when you're alone. So I'll follow you, and you'll see exactly how well Charizard can handle turns."
Red rolled his eyes at his best friend. Green was right, but Red couldn't resist sticking his tongue out a little. Just because he'd grown up didn't mean he didn't act like a kid.
"Oh grow up," retorted Green, returning the eye roll with a hint of a smile, climbing into his Charizard. "I'll see you guys at the top." He gave a small wink before returning to his stolid ever-present scowl as he took off, leaving a small trail of dust and turned-over rubble behind him.
"Wait up!" cried Red, realizing that Green had just gotten himself a head start, Aero's claws tightening on his shoulders, carrying its trainer up into the air and following the Charizard, quickly gaining distance, entering the dark hole that made up the tower entrance.
"We should take off too," said Silver, his Honchkrow grabbing into his shirt, talons digging snugly into the black cloth, lifting the red-haired boy off the ground with great flaps of ebony wings. "We'll fly up as high as we can and find the nearest window from there."
Emerald and Crystal nodded, hopping onto Mantine's broad navy-blue back, holding on tight to its 'wings.' "Got it." The manta ray Pokemon rose slowly, but steadily, making sure that its passengers weren't going to fall off as it started to gain speed.
Emerald looked up suddenly and frowned as his water-type followed Silver, scrutinizing the sky, where he could have sworn he saw something bright and fast. "Did you see lightning?" he asked Crystal, who shook her head in confusion at the young boy's sudden question.
"What are you talking about, Rald?" she asked, sounding dubious, unsure. "There aren't even clouds- how would there be lightning?" Even as she said that, she tilted her head upwards too to check. No clouds. No lightning.
"I don't know, but I definitely saw something," he replied as the Mantine continued spiraling the tower as it gradually climbed higher and higher. "It was blue. There it is again!"
He said it so loudly that even Silver, who was a few floors above them, heard and looked up just in time to catch a flash of blue, and then red. Red lightning? Blue he could believe, but red- that just didn't happen.
"I don't think that's lightning, Emerald," said Silver cautiously, slowing his Honchkrow's flight, metallic gray eyes completely focused on the sky, waiting for the flashes to appear again. "That's not fast enough- and never in my life have I even heard of red lightning."
"Then what-" Emerald paused, freezing as he realized what the 'lightning' was. "Watch out, Silver! That lightning isn't lightning, they're-" Without warning, the light appeared again, and stuck at Silver, who was staring in the other direction.
The red-haired boy's eyes widened in shock, turning his head, as the fast-moving streak of blue missed him and his Honchkrow by mere inches. And then he knew too. It was Latios. Rei must have sent it here. He had read them like a book. Silver thought on his feet- there was only one course of action. Battle.
"Catch me!" screamed Silver, his Honchkrow dropping him onto the Mantine below, and he landed as lightly and gracefully as a cat, quite experienced in high drops. "Weavile! Go!"
The dark-type came flying out of its Pokeball in a night-colored blur, jumping into the Honchkrow's back with stunning agility, almost invisible due to its speed. Its bright-red eyes searched the skies for the Latis, its body tensed as it awaited orders, ears perked up. It saw blue and red coming from opposite directions.
"Honchkrow, use Dark Pulse!" commanded Silver as he spotted the legendary Pokemon, smiling in satisfaction as the black rings pulsated outwards, leaving dark purple aura in its wake, hitting the two incoming targets with its large reach. "Weavile, follow up with Night Slash!"
One moment, Weavile was still on Honchkrow's back, but a second later, it had already leaped off, flying as fast as the two legendaries, claws streaming inky black shadow as they slashed the surprised Latis, who recoiled in pain as the ice-type struck them both, the Weavile using their bodies as platforms to propel itself back onto Honchkrow's wings, ready to strike another blow.
"Dusknoir, use Mean Look!" screamed Emerald, cringing at the sight of his opponents. He didn't want to fight Latios and Latias- they were his friends. But what choice did he have?
The two Pokemon froze in place, as if hit by a powerful blizzard, easy targets as Honchkrow and Weavile released their powerful combo attack once more. Their high-pitched shrieks pierced the air as they fell, spiraling towards the ground.
"Catch them, Dusknoir," said Emerald, averting his gaze. It was painful to have to hurt the two Pokemon who were at one point his only friends. "Don't let them fall." The ghost type raised its translucent gray hands, slowing the Latis descents with a strange, dark purple light.
"It's too dangerous to just let them stay there, Emerald," said Silver, resting his hand on Emerald's small shoulder. "What if they come to attack us once they get their energy back? I don't think we can handle Rayquaza as well as those two again."
"I don't think I can do it," Emerald replied, squeezing his eyes shut. "I know it's just a battle, but I don't want to hurt Latios and Latias. Silver, Crystal, please do it for me." He heard the creepy, quiet noise of a Dark Pulse and felt the air burst into flame next to him as Crystal's Arckee released a powerful Flamethrower. It was quiet. The two legendaries didn't even scream.
"They're not going to recover for a while now," said Crystal quietly as Emerald opened his eyes. "Once we catch Rayquaza, we'll see about what we can do with them. It's dangerous to have such powerful Pokemon controlled by the enemy so close to us. Arckee will make sure they don't escape." On cue, the Arcanine leaped down despite the fact that they were several stories up, about twenty. Its pale yellow fur whipped upwards as it fell, paws extended as if to catch the ground beneath it. If Emerald hadn't seen it pull such stunts before, he would have been worried, but there was no need to fear. Arckee landed as gracefully as a Persian.
They travelled the rest of the way up the tower in silence- luckily, it didn't take too long, so the awkwardness that came with quiet didn't have too much of a chance to take over. At the top they were met by Red and Green, who had been waiting impatiently for their juniors to show up.
"You guys are too slow!" taunted Red jokingly, though he sobered up instantly once he caught the look on Emerald's face, tone instantly turning serious. "What happened?"
"We'll talk later," interrupted Silver, walking to the side of the large, spacious room where an iron chain was barely hanging out of a hole in a wall. "Now it's time to catch Rayquaza. Emerald, go to the center of the room." The small blond boy obeyed, standing on the pattern-inscribed circle, expression determined and ready.
Silver pulled, and suddenly, light flooded the room from above, along with an infuriated, ear-splitting roar. The ceiling exploded in a starburst of rubble and broken stone, and sharp, obsidian black claws followed by a green, scaly arm burst through. Without a second's warning, Emerald had been snatched by Rayquaza.
*And you have to wait for next week to find out more. I pity you guys. :V XD But the next chapter is over 4,600 words long... ;) Review Replies!
Mystic: That might not happen for another couple chapters or so. :X I usually update around 7-8 EST, so that's the best time to check. ;) Make an account! Nothing wrong with having one. ^^
spiritgurl21: Suspense is my middle name. (not really. :V That'd be horrible. XD) Here's your update! Now wait another week in suspense. :3
blazelight790: I love Hoenn and its legendaries/characters too! (it's my fav region both in-game and in-manga. :X) I mentioned Emerald a few times here. :3 (I'm bad with his character, so he's not around as often as he should. Sorry...) And Sapphire found Ruby...
AnonymousIsSleepy: I wanted to, but then I realized I'd have to include so many other people. E4, Gym Leaders, everyone... It's hard enough with 10 Dex Holders to keep track of. I think Ruby would win! Ruby purposely chose Pokemon weak to Emerald's and could have easily taken out Sceptile while it was frozen. He's got the best battle instinct. (but of course, for manga purposes, Red would probably win. Shame.) Mind a long review? MIND? I love it!
KimikoHeroux: Of course Rayquaza is involved. If there is earth and water, there must be sky! :D I don't think Rayquaza enjoyed Emerald disturbing its nap though... Updated! Hope a week counts as 'soon.' XD
Eleni: Your wish has been granted. ;)
anon: Sorry, it's Amethyst. ^^ Who knows? I think it's partially because of her, but he's also just that type of person...
Please leave a review! They make me feel happy. XD See you next week!*