Chapter 45: Executive Marlen
It was early in the morning on route 15 and a man was approaching an abandoned building. The man was tall with blue eyes, and long orange hair that went into a goatee. He was wearing a black and orange suite with furred collar.
The building in front of him was an abandoned hotel, a once proud building was now withered by time and nature. As the man looked stared at the hotel he was also being watched.
A few moments later 3 team rocket members came out of their hiding places with a few Nidorino. The two grunts had electric batons while the third member had a pistol.
"Move and your dead" The one with the gun said. The two grunts walked over and grabbed the man by his arms and began moving him into the abandoned hotel with the other rocket member close behind.
"We've been waiting a long time to get you Lysandre, you finally realized you couldn't beat time rocket and gave up?". Unknown to the rocket members Lysandre was smiling as a device hidden in his suit activated.
Elsewhere on route 15 Ash and the others were just waking up. Pikachu slowly opened his eyes and stretched like a cat.
"Chu" he said. He had been laying right above Ash's head. Pikachu slowly nudged his head against his trainer's forehead in affection. After what they had been through in the last two days, Pikachu felt closer to Ash than ever.
Zorua was laying beside Serena , who was in term still cuddled against Ash. Zorua slowly woke up and saw Ash was still asleep. He smiled as he had an idea and changed his form. When Ash woke up he slowly opened his eyes and saw Pikachu standing on his chest.
"Pika".
"Zorua I know it's you" Ash said. The pikachu gave a disappointed expression as he turned back into Zorua.
"Zor".
"There's no way I could ever mistake my partner for anyone else" Ash said as Pikachu climbed onto Ash's chest and gave Zorua a triumphant look. Zorua jumped off Ash's chest and laid back down next to Serena. Ash saw Serena was still asleep.
"I should probably get up, but I don't want to wake Serena" Ash said to himself as he slowly tried to get up. As soon as he moved he felt Serena's grip around his chest tighten.
"Crap, I can't move now. Is she still asleep?" Ash said not noticing Serena slowly grinning.
Elsewhere Red and Korrina were already up with Clemont. The three were making breakfast as Bonnie and the other 3 were still in their tents.
"Bonnie sure is a late sleeper" Korrina said.
"You don't know the half of it" Clemont said. As Korrina poured some ingredients into a pot she felt Red was a little distressed. Over the last few days she noticed that he had seemed a little distressed about something. She didn't think anything of it before, but now she was a little concerned herself.
"Hey Red, is something bothering you? I've been noticing it through our connection". Red took a deep breath.
"I've just been thinking about team rocket. We took out all their officers and we've gotten dozens of their members arrested, but they still have a tear of Reduka from that battle chateau" Red said.
"I guess that's true, but keep in mind the masters and Mentors know about it and the last time I saw my grandfather he said they were working hard to try and find team rocket and get that tear back".
"I guess the idea of something as powerful as a tear of Reduka. I mean it can turn rocks into Mega evolution stones, and summon a legendary pokemon. If they figured out what it could do".
"We just need to trust in the mentor, he's kept the Kalos region safe for as long as he's been our leader in Kalos" Korrina said.
"Kalos leader? Isn't he the mentor of the order?" Clemont said.
"Oh no, the Mentor here is just the Mentor of the brotherhood in Kalos. Each region's branch has their own Mentor".
"Who's in charge of the entire brotherhood?".
"That would be the grand mentor or the brotherhood" Red said.
"Who's that?" Clemont said.
"I'm afraid that'a secret" Korrina said.
"Oh alright" Clemont said. A few minutes later the others got up and joined the others for breakfast.
"So Ash are you going to use your new Mightyena at your next gym battle?" Serena said.
"I probably will, I want all of my pokemon to have an opportunity to challenge a gym leader. Though he'll need some training first, I'll swap him out for one of my pokemon when we reach Dendemille Town. By the way Red, how is your new Skarmory doing. I haven't seen you training him with your other pokemon since he tried to eat Chespin" Ash said.
Clemont gave a bit of an irritated look to Red as he sweatdropped.
"Well since then I've been training him alone. He's gotten a bit better, but he's still got defiance and an unhealthy love for power in him. Hopefully I can get that all out of him by the time we get to Anistar City" Red said.
"Don't worry Red , some Aura guardian training will defiantly get him in the right mindset" Korrina said. Meanwhile in the trees above them , another person was quickly moving through the branches. Just as Serena was about to speak , the young man in the trees leapt down and in front of them.
The young man was wearing a red and black aura guardian robe and had a familiar presence.
"There you guys are, I've been looking for you all morning" the guardian said in a very familiar voice.
"Anton? What are you doing here and why are you in your robes?" Korrina said.
"A messenger Fletchling came flying around the route looking for any aura guardians. He had a message".
"What message?" Ash said.
"We've discovered the location of team rocket's main headquarters in Kalos. It's where they're holding the tear of Reduka. The mentor has ordered in half a dozen full time guardians to move in, as well as every other guardian who is near the area".
"That means we need to get over there too" Korrina said.
"Alright we're going to fight team rocket!" Bonnie said.
"No we're not. We're going to let the aura guardians handle it" Clemont said.
"Aww" Bonnie said.
"If this is an opportunity to take down team rocket once and for all count me in until the end" Red said as he got up. Ash also got up with Pikachu on his shoulder.
"Team rocket see's pokemon just as tools, means to gain power and money. Putting a stop their plans here in Kalos would give me so much pleasure" Ash said.
"Pika!".
"Alright! Let's get ready to kick some rocket butt!" Korrina said. A few minutes later Ash had was behind a tree after changing into his guardian robes he saw Serena walk up to him.
"First time I get to wear these when I'm on an assignment" Ash said.
"I think they make you look very handsome" Serena said as she took his hand. Ash already knew why she had come back to him.
"You want to come alone with us don't you".
"Ash you know how I feel about this, I hate leaving you alone to deal with this stuff when I can help out". I
"Serena we're going into the heart of the team rocket operation. I'm an aura guardian, besides I'll be with Red, Korrina, Anton, and even more aura guardians. We'll be fine" Ash said.
"It's not just that, it's the idea of you going through something so hard without me. You've helped me through so much. The idea of not helping you through something like this". Ash took a deep breath. He didn't like having Serena in danger, but at the same time, having her beside him would give him extra confidence and strength.
"Serena this could get very dangerous. You know how these rocket people can be. If something happened to you I'd never forgive myself".
"Ash if something happened to you and I could have done something, then I'd never be able to live with myself. I know it's dangerous and I know what they're capable of. But I'm not letting you go without me".
He also knew that she didn't like putting herself in dangerous situations, but that she did it because she didn't want to leave Ash to his own when she could help him.
"Alright Serena, but if you're going to come talk to Korrina first. She might be able to help you get ready for this".
"Good idea" Serena said. Elsewhere Red , who had just changed into his red and black robes, was talking with Anton.
"So are we going to meet up with another guardian or two first?".
"Yeah another guardian is waiting for us at the entrance" Anton said.
"Where is the entrance exactly?".
"I'll show you when we get there".
"Do you know exactly what we're up against Anton?".
"My guess is dozens of rocket grunts, maybe a few Sgt's too. No sign of any officers so far".
"Yeah, we already took care of them" Red said.
"Wait that was you guys who took out the rocket officers?" Anton said very surprised.
"Yeah that was us".
"Wow, I'm impressed man" Anton said. Behind another tree Korrina lent Serena her older robes.
"Wow these are more comfy then they look" Serena said.
"They're designed for quick and agile moments. Now I don't want you going in totally unarmed but it takes plenty of training before one can use wrist blades. Plus I don't have any extra wrist blades. Luckily I have something else." Korrina said as she took out a small wooden box. She opened it up and revealed what looked like wrist blades.
"I thought you said you didn't have extra wrist blades?".
"There aren't wrist blades, they're wrist hooks" Korrina said as she picked one up and demonstrated how to use it. Instead of a sharp blade , a long dull hook came out.
"There are more designed for grabbing and throwing your opponent away from you then hurting them. Put them on and I'll show you a few moves" Korrina said. For the next few minutes Korrina showed Serena some moves. Meanwhile Ash and Clemont were speaking.
"Keep some distance between yourself and us, but don't go too far. If we don't come back by sundown, head to the nearest town and call the army".
"Alright. But uh how do I call the army?".
"Just find some police and tell them where team rocket is, I'm sure they can contact the army".
"True".
"Alright we're ready to fight team rocket!" Bonnie shouted with a red headband tied around her head and two black lines on her cheeks. Her Skitty, who was standing beside her had the same things on.
"Bonnie I already told you that we're not fighting team rocket. Ash and the others are".
"Aww but I want to stop they're evil plans".
"Bonnie you need to keep an eyes out, a girl could come by and be a suitable bride for Clemont" Ash said.
"What!?" Clemont siad.
"Ash you're right! Come on Clemont let's go!" Bonnie said as she ran off.
" Bonnie no!" Clemont said as he chased after her.
"Alright guys, Serena and I are ready" Korrina said as she came out with the Serena.
"Serena you look great" Ash said.
"Thanks" Serena said blushing a little".
" Alright guys we're ready , time to meet up with the others" Anton said. The group quickly moved through the path towards the rocket base. A few minutes later they saw what looked liked an abandoned building in front of them.
"What's that?" Serena said.
"The abandoned hotel. It use to be the most successful hotel in all of Kalos. That was until a storm hit and tore the hotel apart and it's been shut down ever since".
"Is this where we're suppose to meet?" Red said.
"Yup" Another voice said. Ash and the others turned to the bushed as a man in a gray aura guardian robe came out.
"Nice to meet you all, I'm Nathan" The aura guardian said. The guardian had skin as dark as Anton's, with brown eyes and a shaved head.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Ash. This is my brother Red, my girlfriend Serena, Red's girlfriend Korrina, and Anton".
"So where is the team rocket base?" Korrina said.
"It's the abandoned hotel. That's where they made their base".
"How did we find it?" Red said.
"After Felix found the team rocket grunts we started looking around the area. An ally of the aura guardians volunteered to act as bait and head around this area. When he found the hotel he was taken prisoner , but activated a tracking device".
"Who is their prisoner?".
"I don't know, they never told me his name. But come over to the bushes, we don't want to be seen" Nathan said. The others got into the bushes with Nathan as a team rocket grunt walked by.
"Alright our main mission is to get back the tear of Reduka. But rescuing the hostage is just as important. Ash you and Serena should take care of that. Then there's the base security locks and systems that need to be shut down. Red , Korrina you guys head that way. Anton you should find alternate entrances and shafts , make it easier for the other guardians to get inside. I'm going to try and locate whoever's in charge of the rocket operation" Nathan said.
"Alright sounds like a plan" Red said.
"Let's get closer to the entrance" Nathan said. The group slowly moved through the bushes until they reached the hotel entrance. There were a pair of rocket grunts near the entrance each with a nidorino.
"There are hidden guards" Nathan said. Ash and Anton both used their aura vision to see the aura around them. They both saw a pair of hidden rocket guards in the bushes and behind rubble.
"I'll take the one in the rubble" Anton said.
"I'll take the one in the bushes".
"Good once their down , Red I want you to rush the grunt on the left and I'll rush the one on the right" Nathan said.
"Alright" Red said. Ash slowly and stealth-fully made his way through the bushes until he reached the hidden grunt. Ash quickly put the grunt in a choke hold, quietly knocking him out. At the same time Anton quickly moved through the bushes and rubble until he was behind the grunt.
"Night night" Anton said as he put the grunt in a choke hold.
"Now!" Nathan and Red both came out of the bushes and grabbed the grunts by the neck and knocked them out.
"Pikachu Thunderbolt!". Pikachu leapt up and blasted the two Nidorino as they turned and saw their trainers get knocked out. The Thunderbolt easily knocked out both Nidorino.
"Alright nicely done. Let's get inside" Nathan said. The group slowly walked inside the abandoned hotel and down a set of stairs to the front desk. Sitting at the front desk was a rocket grunt who was sitting back in a leaned back chair.
" Hey guys what was with all the ruches up there" The grunt said just before he saw the group.
"What the?". Natan quickly took a breath then hurled a ball of aura forward. The aura sphere smacked into the grunt, hurling him into the wall and knocking him out.
"Head to your objectives. I'll see you when you complete your objectives" Nathan said before he quickly moved down a hallway.
"Good luck guys, I need to get the other guardians inside" Anton said as he moved down another hall.
"We should free the prisoners" Serena said.
"Just stay close to me" Ash said as they walked down another hall. A few minutes passed as Ash and Serena slowly made their way across the hallway.
"So how do we know we're heading in the right direction?" Serena said.
"We don't , what we need to is find some grunts. Eavesdrop on them, or tail them" Ash said.
"Tail them?" Serena said. That was when Ash saw a pair of rocket grunts walking towards them.
"Serena hide" Ash said.
"Where? We're in the middle of a hallway?" Serena said. Ash had to think quickly. That was when Pikachu had an idea as he pointed to a room door. Ash felt Pikachu's thoughts through their aura connection and knew what he was trying to tell him.
" Good idea Pikachu". Ash quickly bashed his shoulder against the room door as hard as he could. The door opened and Ash grabbed Serena by the arm before he pulled her into the room and shut the door.
"Did you hear something?" One of the grunts said.
"This place is ancient, I hear things fall or creak all the time" The other grunt said. Ash and Pikachu went to the door and listened closely.
"Did you hear about the prisoner we caught today?".
"Yeah Merlan is real happy. Though he's a little suspicious that he just walked up and surrendered".
"Maybe he realized that there was no chance in his side winning".
"Feel like paying him a visit and ruffing him up. We're allowed to".
"Eh why not" The other grunt said.
"That's it, let's tail them" Ash said.
Elsewhere in the hotel , Red and Korrina were slowly making their way down a hallway tailing a team rocket grunt. The grunt opened a door to what looked like an old fitness center turned lounge with a some more rocket members inside. Red quickly got into an old towel hamper cart while Korrina got into a closet.
"Just get back from sentry duty Godger?" Another grunt said to the grunt that just walked in.
"Yeah, nothing to report".
"There's always something to report" A rocket Sgt said. From her position Korrina could see the rocket members inside sitting on some couches. The rocket Sgt's uniform looked a bit better than the grunts, he also had a blue R instead of a Red one.
"Well I suppose I might have seen a little movement in the bushes" The first grunt said.
"Movment in the bushes, sounds like it was just a wild pokemon" The other grunt said.
"Or it could have been a person. Our force in Kalos has lost to many grunts and all of our officers, get down to the security room and tell them what you saw". The grunt sighed.
"Yes Sgt" The grunt walked out of the room and back down the hallway. Red and Korrina quietly got out of their hiding places.
"Let's tail him" Red said through an aura message as Korrina nodded. Elsewhere Ash and Serena were still following the rocket grunts down a hallway. As stealthy as Ash was, Serena wasn't quite as skilled as him in that art. Every step she took on the old floor made a hearable sound.
Occasionally one of the grunts would turn around and Ash had to quickly use his wristblades break the locks on room doors, allowing Ash and Serena to get into a room and out of sight. As Ash and Serena continued moving, Serena accidentally tripped over a broken floorboard and made a loud creek as she almost fell over. Ash quickly caught her and then used his wristblade to break open a door lock, then rushed inside with Serena.
"Alright I swear I heard something" One of the grunts said as he turned around.
"I already told you, it's just the building".
"No there's something here" The grunt said as he walked back and towards the door Ash and Serena were behind. Serena felt her anxiety and nervousness rise as the footsteps got closer. Ash grit his teeth and prepared to whip the door open to strike the man.
"Come on , I want to ruff up the prisoner".
"Alright fine" The other grunt said as he walked back.
"Whew, that was close" Ash said. Serena now felt a little guilty that she has insisted on going with Ash. Was she putting them both in danger.
"Ash , I'm sorry I keep making so much noise. I shouldn't be here, I'm putting us both in danger" Serena said.
"Serena it's ok, you're only trying to help" Ash said. He slowly opened the door and saw the grunts were further down the hallway.
"Just keep close to me and try to follow my steps" Ash said as he took her hand and they slowly walked down the hallway. Another few minutes passed before they reached a door with the sign pool changing room.
"Here we are" One of the grunts said as he opened the door and walked inside.
"Alright time to free that prisoner" Ash said. He slowly opened the door and saw a changing room with some changing booths locked from the outside.
"Those must be where they keep the prisoners" Serena said. The two grunts walked up to a third grunt who was sitting at the back of the room in a chair with an electric baton in hand a a pair of Golbat sitting beside him.
"Hey Ned we want to ruff up the prisoner".
"Which one?" The third grunt said.
"You know which one".
"Alright I'll just, wait intruders!" The grunt shouted as he saw Serena by the doorway. The two grunts quickly turned around and whipped out their electric batons . Ash came forward and blocked the two batons with his wristblades before pushed them back.
"Golbat use Wing attack" The third grunt said as he got up and came at Serena. Ash heard this and knew he had to do something.
"Pikachu Thunderbolt!". Pikachu leapt off of Ash's shoulder.
"Pika chu!" Pikachu shouted as he blasted the two Golbats with electricity , knocking them out. Serena was now very scared as the third grunts was only a foot in front of her and raised his electric baton.
"Serena move!" Ash shouted. Serena lurched back just in time as the man's arm and baton flew past her face. Serena remembered what Korrina had shown her and whipped out the wristhooks. She used the hooks to grab onto the grunt's shoulder and used his own force to push him into the wall.
The grunt smacked his head into the wall and looked scorned as he turned around and ran at her with his baton above his head. Serena lurched to the side narrowly avoiding the baton as she grabbed the man with her wrist hooks and threw him into another wall. This time when he smacked his head, he was knocked out.
Meanwhile Ash was finally able to gain an angle of leverage and cut through the electric batons with his wristblades. He then smacked the not sharp base of his wristblades into the grunts' faces, before grabbing their heads and smacking them into each other.
"Great job Serena you knocked one out" Ash said.
"Pika!".
"Wow that was actually kind of fun and exciting" Serena said as she looked very optimistic.
"Now to free the prisoner" Ash said. He used his aura vision and saw which changing booth had a person in it. Ash walked over to the right one and used his wrist blade to open the door. To his surprise, sitting on the other side was none other than Lysandre.
"Well look who came to rescue me" Lysandre said.
"Lysandre? What are you doing here?" Serena said.
"I'm the one volunteered himself to lead the guardians to team rocket".
"You're an aura guardian?" Ash said.
"No, I'm just a friend of your brotherhood. I've always loved what you guardians stood for. Protecting our beautiful world and it's pokemon from monsters who would abuse them both. Monsters like team rocket, when I heard the guardians needed help finding them, I was more than happy to offer my services" Lysandre said.
"Well thanks Lysandre, now that you're safe we can meet up with the others and capture whoever's in charge of the rocket operation" Ash said.
"The person in charge is Executive Marlen".
"How do you know that?" Serena said.
"He came down here earlier and personally questioned me" Lysandre said.
"Well if you take a left out of here and follow it to a staircase you should be able to get out" Serena said.
"Thank you both" Lysandre said. He walked out of the room but took a right instead of a left with a grin on his face.
"We should meet up with the others" Serena said. Ash was about to agree when realized something through his aura senses. There was another prisoner in the room.
" Serena there's someone else here" Ash said. He walked over to another door and used his wrist blades to open it. Sitting inside the booth was another man. The man was massive , he looked like he was almost nine feet tall. He also had extremely long white hair that came down halfway across his shirt. The man also looked very poor, his cloths looked old, withered, and very dirty.
The man slowly turned his eyes towards Ash and Pikachu but didn't say a word.
"Hell-Hello" Ash said. Ash and Pikachu felt something very strange about the man's aura. Stranger than they had ever felt before. The man slowly got up and walked over to Ash.
"You're an aura guardian" He said a low and powerful voice.
"Yes, who are you and why are you being held by team rocket?" Ash said. The man said nothing for almost ten seconds.
"My name... Is AZ".
"AZ?" Serena said.
"I was taken prisoner by team rocket because they didn't know what it could do, and I do".
"What are you talking about?" Ash said.
"You'll find out soon enough" AZ said as he got up and walked out of the room.
"Hey wait a second" Ash said as he tried to go after him.
"Forget it Ash, we need to meet up with the others" Serena said as she grabbed his arm.
"You're probably right" Ash said. Elsewhere Red and Korrina were quietly tailing the rocket grunt across the hallway until they reached a conference room. The rocket grunt put a key in and opened the door.
"Here we are" Korrina said. Red slowly walked over to the door and used his wristblades to break the lock. Meanwhile Serena let her Lucario out of his pokeball.
"We could have a fight on our hands Lucario, be ready" Korrina said.
"Grauu" Lucario said nodding. Red slowly opened the door and saw a few team rocket grunts with a rocket Sgt surrounded by set up computers and monitors. Red rushed in and formed a sphere of aura in his hands as he smacked his palm into the grunt and hurled him into the ground. Korrina rushed in and delivered a powerful kick to another grunts head.
Korrina then quickly thrusted her palm into another grunt's throat as her Lucario sprinted at a pair of Nidorino next to the Sgt and slashed them with metal claws. The Sgt scrambled up and tried to pull a gun out. Red saw this and quickly whipped out his left wrist blade, cutting the man's gun in half just as he raised it.
The Sgt looked at his now sliced in half gun in confusion just before Red smacked his palm into the Sgt's neck.
"Too easy" Korrina said.
"Now we just need to shut down the security systems" Red said as he got on the terminal the Sgt was on. A minute later, the alarm systems, motion trackers, electric door locks in the restricted areas were all shut down.
"Alright we're good" Red said. Moments later as Korrina was looking at the security cameras and saw another aura guardian in black robes come through a ventilation shaft and smacked him into the ground as he came out.
"Alright the other guardians are here!" Korrina said.
"Let's get out there and help them" Red said. Ash and Serena made their way into a lower section of the hotel and entered a larger area where they saw another aura guardian and a Manectric battling a group of team rocket grunts.
"Look another guardian!" Serena said.
"Let's get down there and help him" Ash said. Serena sent out her Absol.
"Absol we're fighting team rocket".
"SOl!" Absol said with determination. The aura guardian blocked two electric batons with his wristblades and delivered a powerful knee to the grunt's gut as his Manetric covered himself in electricity before smashing into a pair of Golbat. When another grunt tried to come at the aura guardian from behind, Ash rushed forward and tackled the man to the ground before quickly bashing his palm into the man's throat.
Another grunt hurled his baton down at Ash, but Ash quickly knocked the man's forearm away with one hand then grabbed it with his other and hurled him into the ground. Serena saw another grunt send out two Golbat.
"USe bite on him".
"No you don't, Absol Night Slash!". Absol rushed forward with the crescent on his head glowing black. Just as the first Golbat came behind Ash, Absol leapt forward and slashed the pokemon across the face and hurled him into the wall. The second Golbat backed up a little before Absol came forward and slashed him too. The rocket grunt saw Serena's Absol turning towards him and backup.
"Absol!" Absol shouted before he slashed the rocket grunt and knocked him out. As Ash got up he saw another 2 grunts running towards them from further down the hallway.
"Pikachu , Thunderbolt!".
"Pika chu!". Pikachu shouted as he blasted the grunts with electricity. The aura guardian plowed his palm into one of the remaining grunt's throat before smashing his foot into the sgt's calf. The sgt fell to his knees before being knocked out by the guardian's elbow.
"Looks like we're safe" Serena said.
The guardian turned to Ash with his Manetric.
"Nice work you two".
"Thanks, we freed the prisoner".
"Good, that means we can try and capture Marlen without them threatening Lysandre. I'll keep moving down this hallway. You two take the other one. We need to find the entrance to the main compound, it's where Marlen is probably hiding." The guardian said as he and his Manetric moved down the hallway to the left.
"Alright let's keep moving" Ash said.
Elsewhere Korrina and Red were looking around in another hallway when they saw Ash and Serena on the other end.
"Ash, Serena" Red called out. The two groups rushed forward until they met.
"There you guys are, did you find the prisoner?" Korrina said.
"Yeah and you won't believe who it was" Serena said.
"Who?" Red asked.
"Lysandre" Ash said.
"Lysandre?" Red and Korrina said in confusion.
"Yeah he apparently is a friend of the aura guardians" Ash said.
"But the first time I met him was when you guys did" Korrina said.
"That's weird" Red sad.
"Regardless, we need to help the other guardians fine executive Marlen and the tear of Reduka" Ash said.
"Right" Red said. They continued down the hall until they reached a dinning room with a lot of commotion coming from the other side.
"Sounds like there's a fight going on in there" Ash said.
"Come on we need to help them out" Red said as he kicked the door open. As soon as he did he saw a pair of rocket grunts fall to the floor unconscious. All over the room there were over a dozen unconscious rocket grunts and a few Sgts with their pokemon.
Standing over the rocket members were a trio of Aura guardians with a Sceptile, Swampert, and Lucario.
"Nevermind" Red said. One of the guardians was wearing a familiar blue and black robe with a blue cloth over his mouth. Standing next to him was a familiar Lucario.
"Well look who's here" Felix said.
"Dad!" Ash and Red said as they came forward and hugged him.
"Boys, it's so good to see you again. I was wondering If you'd be around this area in time for the raid".
"We wouldn't miss it" Red said.
"Korrina good to see you again too and, Serena is that you?" Felix said.
"Uh yeah the thing is" Serena said sweat dropping.
"It doesn't matter, we're got work to do" Korrina said.
"Right, is Lysandre safe?".
"Yes" Ash said.
"And the security system is down" Red said.
"Good, that means we can head into the sub levels where Marlen is" Felix said.
"Get back the tear of Reduka" Red said.
"Hey Felix look over here" One of the other guardians said. Felix looked over as the other guardian removed a painting revealing a panel with buttons behind it.
"Looks like we found the entrance to the sub levels" The guardian said as he pressed a button. A part of the group moved back revealing a staircase that went down.
"Alright let's get moving" Felix said as he lead the others down the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairs they reached a black hallway. A pair of rocket Sgt's were at the bottom each with a Nidorino.
"Intruders!" one of the Sgts shouted as he and his partner each whipped out a pistol. Felix's eyes glowed blue as he twisted his hand and unleashed a burst of Aura energy. The blast knocked the pistols out of their hands.
The Sgts both sweat dropped as Felix and another guardian leapt forward and tackled the men to the ground as Lucario and a Swampert came forward and clobbered the two Nidorinos.
"Let's keep moving!" Felix shouted as the group ran down the hallway, dispatching each group of rocket grunts or Sgts as they came across them. After another few minutes they reached a massive room with several upper areas and walkways.
"What is this room?" Serena said.
"Looks like some kind of storage room or maybe a hanger" Felix said. Just then dozens of rocket grunts and officers revealed themselves all over the room , each with a pokemon beside them and a gun in hand.
Fear now gripped Serena, more fear than ever before.
"Uh Felix" Said said.
"Stay behind me" Felix said.
"Shoot them!" One of the Sgts said as he and the others all fired.
"Ahh!" Serena screamed as she embraced Ash and closed her eyes. Several moments passed but she felt nothing hit her.
"Huh?" She said as she opened her eyes with the others. Felix, his Lucario, and the other 2 adult guardians had created a barrier of aura around them that was absorbing all of the bullets.
"A barrier awesome!" Red shouted. Another few moments passed before all of the guns clicked empty.
"Huh" The same Sgt said.
Felix lowered the barrier and smiled.
"Our turn" Felix said as he pressed his mega evolution stone. The other guardians also pressed their Mega evolution stones as Ash let out his Charizard and Red his Charizard.
One by one the pokemon transformed into their mega formed and roared at the rocket members.
"Uh now what?" One of the grunts said.
"Now you let me take care of the rest" An unknown voice said. The group looked up at a platform above them and saw a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes walked forward. The man was wearing a mechanical suit that seemed very similar to a suit Electric Earl would wear. Inside the center of the suit was a metal container with power couplings coming out of it.
"Executive Marlen" Felix said.
"Welcome aura guardians to my base of operations. I wish I could offer you something to drink, but you won't be staying for long" Marlen said.
"No you're coming with us, your plans in Kalos have failed" Another guardian said.
"Failed , how so?".
"Look at your situation, all of your officers are gone, your numbers are dwindled , and now we have you. So just hand over the stone you took from that battle chateau" Felix said.
"My officers are dead, my supplies dwindled, and my men imprisoned. But thanks to my special prisoner , and this suit Earl left me. It doesn't matter" Marlen said.
"What are you talking about?" Ash said.
Marlen smiled and opened up the container in the chest, revealing the tear of Reduka from the battle chateau.
"The tear!" Felix shouted.
"After some persuasion my hostage devolged what this stone is and what it can do" Marlen said as he let out a pair of Pinsir. He then revealed a pair of mega evolution stones in his gloves as the two Pinsir began glowing and growing larger.
When they stopped, they had gained a large pair of clear wings with an area of orange venation. Additionally, a set of wing coverings appeared. On each wing cover was a pair of large, thin, orange blades. Their arms became longer and more segmented, with triangular extensions on their lower arms. The pincers on their heads were now longer with larger spikes, and its eyes are now yellow.
"This Tear of Reduka will allow me to do anything. Create an army of invincible pokemon, wipe out all who stand in my way, take control of the Kalos region. Even the boss can't order me around anymore" Marlen said.
"You don't know what that stone is capable off" Felix said.
"Oh , but I do" Marlen said as his suit started to glow blue and he raised his hand and sent out a wave of powerful energy. The group and their pokemon were hurled back against the wall.
"Ha ha! I am invincible!" Marlen shouted as he raised his other hand. Just as Ash and the others tried to get up they felt a harsh presence enter their minds and fill them with pain.
"Ahh!" Ash shouted as he fell to the ground again.
"Pika!" Pikachu said grasping his head.
"FFF-Fight it" Felix said as he struggled to stay on his feet.
"Ash" Serena said as she fell to the ground.
"Stay, firm" Red said just before he fell to the ground.
"I can't" Korrina said as she fell to the ground. One by one the other guardians and their pokemon were forced to the ground holding their heads.
"Perfect, kill them" Marlen said as all of his men reloaded. Serena felt her eyes tear up as she slowly and painfully moved her hand over to Ash's. Ash looked over at her seeing the fear and sorrow in her eyes.
"This is it" He said.
"Ash there's something you need to know before we die".
"What's that?".
"I, I love you". At that moment Ash felt like his entire world has just changed. A tear formed in his eye.
"Why did I let her come". The rocket members all unleashed a hurricane of bullets down at the group as they embraced for the end. Just before the bullets could reach them a barrier of aura formed around the group, shielding them from the barrage.
"What?" Marlen said as his mens' guns clicked empty. Another aura guardian entered the room behind the group. He was wearing a dark green and black cloak with a pair of Mega Lucario's beside him.
Ash and Serena slowly opened their eyes and saw the aura guardian standing over them. Ash could feel an unprecedented amount of power in the man. More power than he had every felt before.
"Looks like we arrived just in time" The guardian said in a familiar voice.
"Kill him!" Marlen shouted as his men reloaded.
"Not on my watch" The guardian said as the two Mega Lucario started channeling some of their aura into their trainer. The Guardian's eyes glowed blue as he raised his arm and formed a ball of aura in his hand. The guardian smiled as he hurled the aura sphere at one side of the room and it exploded into a wave of aura that gripped the minds of the grunts and Sgts.
They all dropped their guns and fell to the ground unconscious.
"What!?" Marlen said as Ash and the others watched in amazement as the guardian did the same thing to the rest of the rocket members.
"How is he doing that?" Red said.
"That's Chairon, the mentor" Felix said. Chairon sprinted forward and leapt up almost ten feet onto the edge of the wall before he started scaling it with his Lucario.
"Wait a minute , as in General Chairon?" Serena said.
"That's right" Korrina said. Marlen quickly tried to blast Marlen with energy from the tear of Reduka. Chairon used his aura abilities to resist the effects of the blast. After a minute Chairon and his Lucario's reached the top of the platform.
Marlen backed up a little as Chairon and his Lucario stepped forward.
"I'm only going to say this once. Give me the stone". Marlen stepped forward with a look of determination.
"Never!" He took out a pair of electric batons wired to his suite as they started to glow blue. His Mega Pinsirs also came forward snarling.
Chairon took out his wrist blades and held them in an offensive stance as his Lucarios also got into a fighting stance.
"They're weak to rock. Use stone edge" Chairon said.
"Guillotine and Superpower" The first Mega Pinsir lunged forward with his massive pincers opened up. The first Mega Lucario swept low with his foot and knocked the Pinsir over him. As the Pinsir landed on his back, Lucario came over him revealing both his paws filled with spiked rocks.
The Pinsir's eyes widened just before he was barraged with the rocks and knocked unconscious.
"What!?" Marlen shouted. The second Mega Pinsir came forward and raised his arms up to unleash Superpower. The second Lucario took a defensive stand and used his forearms to knock each of Pinsir's arms away. Once he was safe, Lucario deliver a powerful kick to the Pinsir's stomach and knocked him back before unleashing Stone edge.
"No!" Marlen shouted as his second Mega Pinsir was knocked out. Chairon smiled as he came forward with his wrist blades held out. Marlen tried to smash Chairon with his power batons, but each of his strikes were easily blocked by Chairon's Wrist blades.
After blocking each strike, Chairon struck of cut part of Marlen's armor with his wrist blades. As the fight went on Marlen's armor took more and more damage until the power couplings started to spark and the energy stopped flowing.
"No! My armor! My power!". Chairon took a deep breath before his eyes glowed blue. Marlen saw Chairon smile before he unleashed a burst of aura energy that hurled him across the room and off the platform.
"He got him!" Serena said.
Marlen slowly got up and help his side as he looked at the group.
"The stone is mine!" He shouted as he ran through a doorway behind him.
"Stop him!" Felix shouted as he ran after him.
"Come on we can't let him get away" Ash said as he and the others joined in. As they rushed down the hallway they started coming across knocked out team rocket grunts and pokemon.
"What happened here?" Serena said.
"Did someone else get here first?" Red said. Felix was also getting suspicious as he moved down the hallways. At the end of the hallway they came across a garage with an opened door leading to route 15.
"Dam it! He got away!" Felix shouted.
"No he didn't Ash said. The others turned to see Marlen on the ground beside a wall. He looked even more roughed up than he was before. Most importantly, the tear of Reduka was gone.
"It's gone!" Korrina shouted. Marlen groaned as he opened his eyes and saw the group standing in front of them.
"Oh no" He said. Felix grabbed him by his armor and hurled him against the wall.
"Where is the tear of Reduka!?".
"Why should I tell you?". Felix raised his right hand and held his wrist blade an inch from Marlen's head. This freaked the others out.
"You tried to kill my sons, I won't hesitate to kill you. Who took the tear or Reduka?".
Marlen was now sweating with a freaked out expression.
" I don't know, she somehow got down here. She had a Pyroar and a Torkoal, both incredibly powerful. She tore through my men like tissue paper. She took the stone and my transport".
"What did she look like?" Felix said.
"She had orange eye, and pink hair. She also wore orange shades. That's all I remember I swear". Felix retracted his wrist blade then smacked his palm into Marlen's throat, knocking him out.
"Now what?" Ash said. Felix sighed.
"Now we report back to Chairon". A few hours later the Kalos army arrived off with Chairon in his officer uniform. He was watching as his soldiers started orderly taking the grunts and Sgt's out of the hotel.
"So sir, how exactly did you know they were here again" Colonel Frian asked.
"One of our anonymous informants saw something".
"Still from the looks of things , it seems like someone else got here first". Chairon didn't respond.
Elsewhere the group had gathered in the brush.
"I can't believe someone else got away with the Tear" Ash said.
"At least we all got out of their safely" Serena said holding his hand.
"Plus team rocket is finally defeated" Red said.
"He's right, all you are here and safe. I have to tell you, when I thought we were about to well. I've never been more scared in my life" Felix said.
"Me too" Serena said.
"So what do we do about the Tear of Reduka?" Red said.
"Chairon said other guardians are looking for her. It's nothing you guys have to worry about. I just want you guys to keep on your journey and stay safe" Felix said.
"We will" Ash said as he and Red hugged their father.
"Alright it was great seeing you again. Now I need to get to Dendemille Town. Your mother is there waiting for me".
"Mom, you guys made up" Red said.
"Yes, we did. She's very excited for the entire family to be together again when you get there" Felix said. He got up with his Lucario and started rushing through the path.
"Well we should find Clemont and Bonnie" Korrina said as they got up and started heading back towards their camp. Later that night Ash and Serena were in their tent with Pikchu already asleep.
"Quite an exciting day" Serena said. She noticed that Ash had a very troubled and confused look on his face.
"Ash is everything alright?" Serena said.
"Serena, just before we were shot at you said you loved me. Did you mean that?". Serena's face turned red and she sweat dropped.
"Well I just uh". Ash put his hands on Serena's shoulders.
"Serena, I need to know if you feel that way. When I thought we were going to die , I felt so much pain for putting you in that situation". Serena sighed.
"Ash I don't regret coming with you, even after that. I knew that I was never going to let you go on alone with something as dangerous as that. The truth is, I can't imagine life without you".
"So did you mean it?" Ash said. Serena looked deep into Ash's eyes.
"Ash I do love you". Both of them felt their passion for each other reach new height as they stared into each other's eyes. They had gone beyond a time teenage romance to something much more.
"I love you too" Ash said before he came forward and kissed her. Miles away, a woman got out of a team rocket vehicle and stepped out towards a man sitting before a fire. The woman was tall with pink hair and orange eyes. She was wearing orange shades and had a blue gemstone in her hand.
"I got it, the tear is ours" The man smiled as he stared at the flames.
"Look at the fire, such natural beauty and grace. Fire can cause so much death and destruction, but it can create beauty and life as well. Without fire the world would be a dark and cold place. The same is true for pokemon. Yet so many people in this world just want to control and taint it's beauty. Well no more" .
The man stoop up and took the Tear of Reduka from the woman's hand.
"With this, we shall create a new and beautiful world" Lysandre said.
Sorry for the long wait, I had such a busy week last week and I fear this next week might be the same.
So I'll update as soon as I can, but bare with me. We now also know Ash and Serena are in love with each other, I felt it the right time in their relationship for it to happen.
So until next time , please review, comment suggest, or ask.