Chapter 33: Sloth's awakening.
Sorry for taking a little longer than expected, I accidently deleted the next few chapters as well as the final chapter, forgetting to put it on my hard drive. Also sorry for the false alarm, made an error in the initial release of the chapter.
(3 days earlier)
"Sloth, your mission is really simple, head to where the enemy is, south of Veilstone City," Pride instructed the last of his comrades, he turned away and walked up the secret stairwell of the palace, his smile broad, he peered back to see Sloth walking slowly towards the wall, "don't hold back," Pride instructed his ally.
"Yes…..I will not fail," Sloth replied slowly.
"Good," Pride retorted calmly, he started laughing as the thoughts of his plan, "soon I will use the full might of the Sinnoh forces to destroy and recreate," he whispered to himself. He walked up the stairway and entered the hallway, he looked around to see where the guards were, only to be greeted by a man with long green hair, wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, "who are you?" he asked the mystery man.
"I am N, thought I would come to see what the fuss was about," the man introduced himself to the Shadow Lord leader.
Pride growled at the former Plasma member, clenching his fists angrily he punched the wall causing it to crumble away, "I thought you were dead!" He yelled out furiously.
"What's the matter, couldn't keep tabs on Greed I see, that fool saved my life," N remarked with a hint of sarcasm, "Envy and Lust got a number on me with that ambush a couple of years ago, luckily Greed wasn't exactly on your side," N stated as he walked towards the Shadow Lord leader.
"By now, I think the navy you were amassing will find some trouble, I met a young man wanting to end your plans as well, he was seeking revenge for a friend," N explained to the Shadow Lord, he was brushed aside by Pride, he watched him running towards the balcony on the second floor, "that's right, Paul is going to end your conquest plan, much like my other friends, Ash, Hilda and Hilbert."
Pride rushed onto the balcony as the smoke started to rise in one of the buildings in the distance, "guards go to that location right now!" Pride ordered the soldiers in a panic, growing more angry at being out smarted by two enemies he hit the railing in a rage, he looked back to see that the man had vanished almost as fast as he appeared, "damn you N, for humiliating me, I am going to make you suffer, your friends are also dead!" Pride yelled out his threats in a rage that caused the windows to vibrate.
"Threaten me as much as you want, that isn't going to stop you inevitable failure," N's voice echoed through the halls
(3 days later)
Ash, Salvia, Hilda and Hilbert were sitting at the camp fire discussing the plans for the upcoming battle against the last of the Shadow Lords, "alright, it seems like we have a plan, Ash and Salvia will be going ahead of us, since I can sense the presence of another Shadow Lord," Hilda explained to Ash and Salvia, she scanned the area and noticed that he was getting closer.
"Yeah, this isn't Greed, it will more than likely be Sloth," Hilbert acknowledged with a deep breath. The Unova king placed his hand over his chin and started to think about the next stage, "our problem is, Sloth isn't an enemy we can take lightly," Hilbert stated his concerns about the final stages of the battle.
Hilda placed her hand over her right wrist and gulped for a moment, "maybe I should…" she started before ending the sentence prematurely.
"No Hilda, we don't want you to lose control over your abilities, remember what happened the last time?" Hilbert enquired, the question now caused some confusion with Ash and Salvia.
Hilda glanced over to Ash and Salvia, they were staring at her wondering what secret was being held back, "I think it is time for them to know just what I am capable of," Hilda replied to Hilbert, she stood up and started walking towards the forest, "Ash can I talk to you for a moment? I have a question I want to ask you," Hilda finished her request.
"Why me? Can't it be Salvia?" he asked in a puzzled tone.
"No, it is you I need to talk to," Hilda specified, she walked ahead of Ash leaving Hilbert and Salvia behind.
After waiting for the two to leave the area, Hilbert turned to Salvia and rolled up the maps, "so Salvia, have you said anything to Ash?" Hilbert asked the princess calmly.
"About what?" the confused princess questioned the Unova king.
Hilbert started laughing at the princess, shaking his head he watched Ash walking into the forest, "haven't you confessed yet?" Hilbert asked the young royal.
With her face turning red, Salvia covered her face to hide her blush, "w-w…why do you ask?" the shocked princess responded quickly.
"It is pretty clear to everyone that knows you," Hilbert answered with a chuckle, "you're in love with Ash," Hilbert told the princess catching her off guard, stuttering in her attempt to come up with an answer, she gulped at the comment, "come on Salvia, the longer you wait to tell him…."
"I know, but I am nervous," Salvia snapped back in fear, "I have never been in love before, the emotions is something that I have never experienced before," Salvia tried her best to explain it.
"Seems like you are making an excuse there," Hilbert pointed out with a sigh, "alright then answer me this, when he is feeling down, what is the first thing going through your mind?" Hilbert asked the princess.
Salvia closed her eyes and turned her head to look out into the distance, upon turning towards a tree, she spotted a familiar figure, a smile on her face, she nodded at her causing the princess to shoot open her eyes, in shock she turned back to the tree yet again this time no one was standing there, 'lady Dawn?' Salvia remembered the friend that she had lost. Again Salvia looked at the ground and smiled, "how I can be there when he needs me the most, to keep him from feeling sad again," Salvia answered her friend as best as she could.
"I see, you would pick him up when he is down," Hilbert retorted softly, opening up his, he pulled out a book and handed it to the princess, "here this is yours, I get the feeling the best way to his heart is through his stomach," Hilbert joked, laughing at the cookbook.
"Me cook? I have never cooked before," Salvia hesitated in her response she looked at the book and gulped at the possibility, 'well Ash does love eating.'
Meanwhile in the forest Hilda led the raven haired man to the lake front, "I am sorry for putting that suggestion up," Hilda apologized, she knelt down and stared at her reflection, "if it wasn't for Hilbert, I would be alone in this world," Hilda admitted to Ash.
"Alone? I thought you have a family to talk to in Unova," Ash replied quickly.
"I lost my mother and father four years ago," Hilda replied as memories started to flow in her mind, painful and scary memories that still haunted her, "the truth Ash, my parents died because it was my fault."
"What happened?" Ash asked his friend gently.
"It's something you don't know about me," Hilda answered in a riddle, "as you know, I have psychic abilities, but I only use a fraction of my psychic powers, the rest are being held back by this bracelet," Hilda explained to Ash, revealing a golden bangle around her wrist, with tears flowing down her face, "my powers got out of control and my family got caught up in the vortex that destroyed my home," Hilda confessed her pain to Ash.
"I tried to save someone I loved and I failed," Ash replied solemnly.
Hilda looked out into the distance to see the spirit of a young blue haired woman looking on from a distance, "I know, Dawn is a really nice person," Hilda replied to Ash, catching him off guard, "you might think how do I know who Dawn is?" Hilda watched the spirit disappear, "I can speak to the dead, which is something I am capable of, she looks like Princess Salvia too."
Ash stepped back until his back made contact with a tree, "blue hair?" Ash asked to which Hilda nodded, Ash knelt to the ground, upset about the revelation that Dawn was now a ghost and following him, "why?" Ash asked with tears starting to flow.
"I cannot answer, in fact I am not allowed to answer, she will tell you herself when she is ready," Hilda responded softly, she turned to Ash and noticed his back turned to her, "I am sorry Ash," Hilda apologized to the Kanto native.
"For what?" Ash asked coldly, but was trying his best to hold back his emotions.
"For bringing this up, I know you have a lot on your mind, but I just want you, like everyone else to be happy," Hilda answered as she approached Ash, placing her hand on his shoulder, Hilda looked out to her husband and Salvia, "you know something, you need to tell her," Hilda reminded Ash playfully.
"But I am scared of what might happen, I am scared that I might lose her," Ash responded fearfully, his gaze fixed on Salvia.
Ash felt Hilda hugging him making him feel uneasy, "you are a special friend of mine, we can relate on so many things, it is like you are the male version of me," Hilda stated with a warm smile, "I was serious yesterday when I said that I wanted to make you my brother," Hilda confessed, stepping back from Ash, she tilted her head as the trainer looked back at her, "I want to support you in your pursuit of Salvia, but you need to stop beating yourself up for something that wasn't your fault," Hilda chastised Ash with a smile.
"Why are you so adamant in being my sister?" Ash asked calmly.
Hilda started laughing as she walked ahead of the trainer, "because I love you," the brunette answered Ash, the young man gasped in shock at the admission of the Hilda, "hey don't think I love you in that manner, unless…." Hilda started to tease the trainer.
"No, I was just surprised that's all," Ash replied with a gulp, he turned his gaze to the princess, "I just didn't expect someone to want to be my sibling," Ash confessed as he grew a more serious expression, 'he is nearby,' Ash thought.
"You sense his aura right? Big brother?" Hilda asked the young man.
"Yeah, I do," Ash replied coldly, "he isn't far, besides I can sense three more people approaching pretty quickly," Ash commented calmly.
Hilda raised her right hand, nodded at the young man and smiled, "from this day forward," Hilda started with a smile.
"We are now brother and sister," Ash finished as he clasped Hilda's hand with his left hand.
"As brother and sister, let's make this world a better place for all," Ash and Hilda promised, the two nodded only to be separated by the appearance of the enemy, landing in opposite directions, "looks like we have some company," Ash confirmed with Hilda.
"Go, we will take care of this bastard," Hilda replied, watching Ash charge in with an aura based attack, "wait big bro, don't charge in this battle isn't yours!" Hilda yelled out her concerns, she shook her head, 'not related by blood, but we have the same tendencies to charge in without thinking,' Hilda admitted to herself, witnessing the enemy being hit with a powerful aura based attack.
Ash landed next to Hilda and the two nodded, "alright sis, I will leave this to you, Salvia, Greed and I will head out to defeat the last Shadow Lord, I will see you soon," Ash replied as he glanced up at the powerful foe , "so, you finally showed yourself," Ash commented with a smirk.
"Ah the lazy bastard of the Shadow Lords," another person called out to the much larger foe, he looked back at the brunette and smiled at her, "and you what were you thinking about? Telling Ash that you love him," Greed teased his Unova friend.
"What I cannot love my friends?" Hilda asked the former member of the Shadow Lords, "plus I have decided to make Ash my brother, so family is meant to love each other," Hilda ferociously growled at her friend.
"Fine, I was only teasing, besides Ash, you're coming with me, we are taking Salvia to Arrowroot Town," Greed informed Ash about the new direction.
"Then that leaves Hilbert, Dusk and myself to fight off Sloth," Hilda clenched her right fist, preparing to fight off the enemy. With her eyes glowing blue she unleashed a burst of energy knocking the Shadow Lord back, "go my brother, with the help of our friends, we will bring an end to this Shadow Lord," Hilda declared her intentions, preparing to take off her bracelet again, 'I have waited for this day to arrive, this time I will end the Shadow Lord Sloth,' Hilda slowly removed the bracelet, "this time for certain," Hilda dropped the bracelet onto the ground.
Before she started to attack another young woman appeared this time kicking the enemy with all her might, "I am not going to miss out on this party," Dusk landed next to her friend, she started to sense the power concentrating around the brunette, "so you finally decide to stop holding back, this is going to be fun, I cannot wait to snap Sloth's neck," a sadistic Dusk declared her intentions to the enemy.
Hilbert entered the forest after passing by his two friends, he noticed that his wife had taken off her bracelet, the golden ring on the forest floor as parts of the forest started to uproot, "Hilda, why did you remove the bracelet?!" Hilbert asked the brunette, only to have the item being flung towards, catching the bracelet he looked at it for a moment and shook his head.
Ash, Salvia and Greed rushed off as explosions emanated from the forest, Ash peered back to see the shockwave knocking over parts of the forest and the pokemon flying away, fearful of the power that was being used against the member of the Shadow Lord, "come on Ash, we don't have all day, we need to help out Paul and N," Greed informed the young man.
Ash shot his eyes back at the former member of the Shadow Lords and glared at him, "N? He can't be alive, I thought he was killed off," Ash replied frantically.
"I saved him when the other members of my former team weren't watching," a calm Greed answered, he led his friends down the road ignoring the battle that was happening in the background, "don't worry, they will be fine, I told Dusk to help Hilda and Hilbert out," the former member of the enemy continued down the road.
Ash halted, thinking about the brunette and her comments, Salvia looked back with concern, tilting her head, "is there something wrong?"
Shaking his head, Ash remained quiet and walked ahead, 'is it true?' he questioned himself, "I am trying to save everyone and yet, when things don't go the way I hoped…" Ash whispered, he glanced back again, staring at the princess, she smiled at him, causing him to turn away, his heart pounding faster, 'what if I can't save my princess?' doubting himself, walking slowly.
"Are you alright?" Salvia placed her left hand on the shoulder of Ash.
"I have an uneasy feeling that is all," Ash replied sensitively, trying his best to hide his concerns from the young noble, Ash looked up to see the scared pokemon rushing away from the fight, "it is just that, I am concerned for Hilda," Ash whispered to himself, 'I never had a sibling before, let alone a sister,' Ash stared back into the distance
Meanwhile at the fight Hilda wiped away a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth, "is that the best you've got?" she asked before spitting on the ground, she raised her right hand and focused a psychic aura around the enemy, smirking at the boss in a bloodthirsty manner, "because I am only getting warmed up," Hilda started lifting the much larger foe with her psychic abilities.
Dusk glared at the Unova based trainer and cracked her knuckles, "I don't want to miss out on this bastard's death," she hissed at the more powerful female.
"Wait your turn," Hilda snapped back as she burst out into laughter.
"Why should I? You said that five minutes ago!" Dusk argued with the brunette, watching her sending the powerful Shadow Lord crashing into the ground, "plus I can sense that you are barely controlling your power," Dusk growled as she watched one of the trees being picked up with ease, hovering in the air, 'great, if this continues, my mission will not be complete,' Dusk thought to herself as she jumped back to avoid being hit by the tree.
Hilbert stared in awe, his wife barely in control of her psychic powers, he grasped the bracelet, "my wife is putting it all on the line," Hilbert acknowledged, watching her picking up a powerful set of trees flinging them towards the powerful foe.
Sloth punched the trunks sending them back to Hilda who was shocked to have seen such a counter, Dusk used the remaining Aura abilities to snap the trees in half, "I won't let you hurt my friends!" Dusk yelled at the powerful foe, rushing towards him with her fist raised, glowing blue, "even without my full aura powers, I will still beat the crap out of you!"
Before Dusk could land her attack, a man with long green hair grabbed her wrist and prevented her from landing the next attack, "Hilda, Hilbert sorry for taking so long," the man apologized calmly.
"No it can't be," Hilbert started, in shock at the appearance of the man, "we thought you were dead," Hilda and Hilbert called out in shock.
"Greed told you nothing, I was secretly brought to Sinnoh last year, because he knew that when the time would arrive I would be able to help you out," N explained to his friend, he turned to Sloth who was getting angry at the man, "Sloth, I never wanted to see you again," N scowled at the powerful foe.
"What the hell man, I was about to kick his ass!" Dusk berated the Unova native.
N turned to the bluenette and shook his head, "he isn't even using his full power, sadly the only way to defeat him is if he is at full power, right now he is too slothful and is capable of countering," N explained to the three comrades.
Hilbert noticed the weights on the arms of Sloth, "they inhibit his power, meaning that if he takes them off, much like Hilda, he might lose control," Hilbert whispered to himself he glanced over to Hilda who was barely maintaining control over her powers, "what secret does this enemy have?" Hilbert continued to ask himself as he watched the foe slowly taking off the weights.
N remained calm and noticed the enemy laughing, he turned to Hilbert and grabbed his neck, "you will be the first one," Sloth sneered at the foe.
Before he could cause any damage, a powerful explosion pulsed out in every direction, before Sloth could react, he felt the burning sensation across his face, Hilda landed in front of her husband and glared at the large enemy, "don't you dare hurt my husband, lay another finger on him, I will shatter every bone in your body," Hilda passed down her threat.
"Too bad you won't be able to catch me," the large foe charged towards Hilda with his left arm extended out, sending the young woman flying towards the trees, he watched as Hilda used her psychic abilities to soften the landing, "little runt, how long can you keep this up?" Sloth asked Hilda as she landed on the ground, panting from the vicious attack.
"Die bastard!" Dusk yelled out as she performed another attack from behind, Sloth caught her leg and sent her flying towards Hilda who used her psychic powers to slow Dusk down enough to help her land gently on the ground, "we weren't having this much trouble before hand," Dusk complained about the situation they were getting in.
Hilbert was pushed back losing his grip on the bracelet, falling to the ground, Sloth noticed the item, and he picked it up and stared at it for a moment, "give it back!" Hilbert yelled out in fear.
"Give that back now!" Hilda repeated the demand, but with more venom.
N charged towards Sloth but was repelled by the enemy, Hilbert charged in for an attempt to get the bracelet, "Hilda needs that bracelet, without it she will lose control over her abilities!" Hilbert lunged for the bangle, the enemy grabbed his wrist and felt the grip tighten, Sloth punched him hard sending him flying, in that instant he watched Sloth crush the gold item before falling to the ground unconscious.
Sloth started laughing at the young man who was out cold from one attack, "poor weak little runt," Sloth taunted the young man.
Hilda got back to her feet, she looked up this time her eyes were glowing blue, seething with anger, her psychic powers becoming more wild and destructive, "you….you will suffer for that, your death will be slow, it will be painful…" Hilda announced her intentions to the enemy, "but most of all, I am going to enjoy making you suffer!" Hilda yelled out as her psychic powers whirled around, picking up trees in a large radius.
Dusk watched in amazement at the extent of the power that Hilda was showing, "oh Sloth now you've done it, you have pissed the queen of Unova off big time," Dusk cracked her knuckles as she charged up her aura, hitting the powerful foe with all her might she sent him flying into the growing vortex.
Hilda coldly stared at the Shadow Lord, "I am going to destroy you," Hilda's voiced her intentions, she opened her eyes revealing that it had changed from a blue glow to a purple glow, "I…will…..make…..you….suffer…." Hilda slowly stated maliciously grinning at her foe, as the psychic energy started to lose control, picking up logs and parts of trees that had broken up in the vortex.
"Dusk we need to get out of here now!" N yelled for the bluenette who was getting ready to continue the fight.
"Like hell I will leave, I want to enjoy watching the foe getting ripped apart," the sadistic bluenette confessed, she watched N picking up an unconscious Hilbert and running away from the battle.
"H-H…Hilda," Hilbert called for his wife in his unconscious state.
"It will be fine old friend," N whispered as he ran away from the dangerous situation.
"First after killing you two, I will focus my attention on the other two, then I will end the lives of the Aura master and the princess," Sloth explained his intentions to the two women.
Hilda's powers exploded again as she glared at the enemy, "lay a finger on my husband and my brother, there won't be enough of you for winds to scatter!" Hilda threatened the enemy before rushing in with a psychic blade forming from her left hand, she sliced down with the attack, then leapt back as the enemy made a counter attack, "lay a finger on my best friend, I will slice your hands clean off your arms!" Hilda used the psychic blade to charge in once again, "I will never forgive you!"
Meanwhile Ash looked back to see a large spiral forming from the forest, he gasped in horror at the sheer size of it, "what's going on?" Ash asked Greed.
"That would be your sister," Greed informed the young man.
Ash stepped back in shock, "is that the full extent of her abilities?"
Greed shook his head in concern, "no, that isn't even forty percent, I have seen her psychic powers at seventy percent," Greed watched the vortex growing, "from the looks of it, we better move, because soon the weather is going to change, she will be going one hundred percent," Greed informed Ash and Salvia of the danger of Hilda's power, 'something happened, it must be pretty for her to go this far in destroying Sloth, she is going to need all her psychic abilities,' Greed thought to himself as he turned away to keep going on.
"Hilda, please stay safe," Ash whispered with Salvia watching his concern.
"She will be fine Ash, I am certain she will get full control very soon," Salvia assured the raven haired man with a warm smile.
As the trio pressed on for the final battle, the skies grew darker, the wind picked up as bolts of lightning started to shower the area, "this is it, the full extent of Hilda's psychic power, I would hate to be her enemy now, but then again, I feel sorry for anyone who would be caught in her rage," Greed let out a sigh, concerned about the change that was happening around the group.
Ash turned away from the scene and headed towards the next destination, "no time to waste," Ash remarked trembling in fear from the power he was sensing, not wanting to think what would happen to the person he allowed to be his sister, he pushed forward not daring to glance back at the devastation that Hilda was unleashing on her enemy.
With the battle against Sloth coming to an end, both combatants awaken their full potential, can Hilda finally manage to control her abilities? Or will it destroy her?
Next up chapter 34: When Shadows fall
AN. Please note, Hilda doesn't love Ash romantically, that would piss the readers off, she loves him as a friend, like a sister for that matter.
Please leave a review guys because we are heading to the end