Gain Of Trust

CHAPTER 3

The brunette winced as she slowly sat herself up, supporting herself with one hand on the ground. She rubbed her lower back, seeing as how that's where the force of the impact had affected her most. She opened her eyes again, not seeing anything but darkness save for the ominous spotlight of light shining down on her. Looking around, she couldn't even tell where she was. Had she fallen into a chamber in an ancient ruins? Was this a small ice cave? She couldn't tell at all, but looking up, she realized she had fallen quite a ways as the seemingly small patch of light shone down from where she had fallen through the ice. She slowly got to her feet, wincing again as she almost stumbled over.

"May! May, can you hear us?!" she recognized her friends voices yelling down at her, also noticing the radius of the light began to shrink around her from them looking down and blocking the hole. She moved her hand to her head as the fall had seemingly caused a headache as well. And those loud voices were not doing well for that.

"Yeah, I can hear you! You don't have to yell so loud!" she called back, noticing there was a slight echo to her voice around her.

"Chupi!" the mouse exclaimed happily, glad to hear the girl was alright.

"Oh, thank Arceus! Are you all right? It sounds like you went down quite a ways, and it looks like it too! What do you see down there?" Brock called down, May rubbing her head and she looked around to confirm what she already knew.

"I can't tell anything, really. It's way too dark down here to see anything, the only light I have is what's coming from that hole I fell through," she answered, her friends all looking at each other in concern.

"We gotta get down there! Gary, where's that rope?" Max asked, the young professor giving a worried look at the hole.

"Even if we climber down there, what then? If it's too dark to see-"

"That's why we brought flashlights!"

"Uh, guys, I don't mean to cause worry, but we really should be doing something instead of arguing over it."

"Well, that is true, Dawn, but why would it cause worry? I know it's scary having May down there alone, but she can handle herself."

"It's not that, just...Remember we thought this was the last room of the Great Chasm, but now we found a mysterious and unknown room. And rumors say that the human-eating monster is in the Great Chasm...So..."

"..."

"..."

"Oh, Arceus," everyone gulped, Gary quickly throwing off his backpack to find the rope. "May, hold on! We're gonna throw down a rope, but we're gonna give you a flashlight first, okay? You ready?"

"Yeah, send it down," she called back, noticing everyone's heads disappear and then be replaced by what looked like a hand with an object. Then the object fell, descending into the darkness towards her. "Aaand...There," she muttered, catching the flashlight and giving a sigh of relief. She reached for the switch, but her finger froze before it could touch it. She felt a strong chill take over her whole body, her arms instinctively coming close to her chest in defense from the cold. She breathed out, noticing it instantly became visible in the air. "Oh, come on, it wasn't like that two seconds ago..." she muttered, her teeth almost chattering. "Guys, hurry up! It just got a lot freakin' colder down here!"

"We're coming!" Gary called back, holding the rope and an iron stake with one end tied to it. "Alright, Brock, you're probably stronger than me for doing this."

"Got it," he took the stake, moving to the wall of the room. He figured the wall would be better than the ground, seeing as how May had fallen through the ground moments ago, and the rest of it could be unstable. He took a breath, drawing back his arm as he gripped the stake tighter.

"Come on, guys..." May whimpered, rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm herself. Letting out a long breath, she flinched as she noticed something strange. Her breath had come out visible, given how cold it was. But then it disappeared halfway. At the same moment, her chills had stopped. "What the...?" her muscles locked up, not from cold, but from worry. She glanced around the room, tightening her grip on the flashlight in her hand. She gulped, sliding her finger towards the power switch again. But just like before, a sudden wave of frigid temperatures washed over her. But this one was much worse. "AAAAHH!"

"May!" her friends heard her sudden shriek, looking away from Brock as he drove the stake at the wall. In that moment, one could say time almost slowed down. The second wave of cold that had struck May had found its way to the hole this time, blasting up past the heads of everyone in the room above, knocking them back on their behinds. The cold instantly affected the temperature in the room, seemingly having an effect as the stake's tip made contact with the ice wall. But bounced off. Brock grunted as he stumbled back from the force, catching himself and securing the stake again safely and securely.

"Man...These walls are too tough, it didn't even scratch it," Brock stated, rubbing his hand over the unchanged wall where he had struck.

"I mean...Didn't you just feel that cold? It might've instantly reinforced the walls in here," Max said, but Gary shook his head.

"No, maybe the stake was a pointless idea. I mean, this ice has been here since the meteor struck, unfazed by time or any humans that have come here. It wasn't because of that strange cold wave," he replied, everyone looking at each other worriedly.

"Uh...Again, not to cause worry, but...That thing was glowing before, right?" everyone looked at Dawn strangely, noticing her finger pointing straight up. They looking at the single ice pillar hanging above them, noticing that there was indeed a strange almost golden glow from within the base of it.

"It was, but..."

"It wasn't that...strong before..."

"Okay, so...I'm not overworrying- Ooooh no, no, no! Gary! Scientist!" Dawn exclaimed, starting to panic as she had looked down. Everyone else looked at her quizzically again, following her gaze and understanding her cause of panic. Which instantly struck everyone else.

"Oh, crap! Fire-types, all fire-types! Now!" Gary shouted, pulling a pokeball from his belt. Their reason for panic was because an icy mist had covered the floor of the entire room, and the hole that May had fallen through was now almost half its size. And it was shrinking rapidly.

"Guys? Guys, what's going on up there?!" May called up, noticing that her spotlight was beginning to shrink around her. "Guys!"

"May! Don't worry, alright?! We'll get you out, just don't-!" their voices cut off as the hole sealed off completely, leaving May in darkness.

"Arcanine, Fire Fang!" Gary exclaimed, the fuzzy canine's fangs igniting with flames as it struck down at the ice. But they bounced off, not doing a thing.

"Alright, all or nothing. Everyone, in the doorway," Brock hurried everyone out of the center of the room into the doorway where they had come from, releasing his boulder pokemon in front of it. "Golem, Flamethrower at the center! Full power!" the boulder opened its mouth, powerful flames firing in a stream at the floor's center, raising the temperature quite a bit. This continued for a while, until the boulder cut off to catch its breath. Everyone stared in awe.

"No way..." they muttered, noticing not even a scratch on the floor. The room's frigid temperature had also returned in less than a few moments. "This...This can't be possible! Ice can't withstand fire, that just doesn't happen!"

"...There is one way," everyone looked at Gary. "We said earlier that this ice hasn't changed for years because whatever caused it, has been maintaining it."

"What are you getting at...?" Misty was almost afraid to ask.

"If this ice was really formed because of that dragon from the meteor, then it's stayed here without changing because of the dragon, as well. And if the ice just cracked, then reformed..." he gave a worried look as his gaze moved to the center of the room, where there had once been a hole.

"Are you saying...That wave of cold air...?" Max didn't finish the sentence, as everyone in the room already understood what he meant.

"...May's not safe down there. We gotta get her out, now."

"Maaan, does it ever feel good to stretch!" Jack exclaimed, stretching his arms above his head with a big grin. The man next to him arched his eyebrow as he glanced at him.

"And what, doing nothing is...tiring to you?" he asked, the younger man giving a chuckle.

"Well, you know when you spend all day in bed sleeping, then wake up and you're still tired? How do you explain that?" he asked with confidence, feeling wise. Leader rolled his eyes.

"You know that is not the same thing," he replied, turning back to the pokemon standing beside him.

"But it's the same logic! Like seriously, no sleep makes us tired, but also lots of sleep makes us tired! Why is there no middle ground there? It's ridiculous," Jack stated, Leader throwing him a glare.

"You do remember that Pidgeot does not care for stupid questions, right?" he asked, the majestic bird beside him giving the same glare as its owner to the younger man.

"Yeah, I know...Relax, big guy, we're all friends here," Jack stepped towards the bird with a grin, raising his hand to the side of its feathery mohawk. The bird simply closed its eyes as he stroked his hand down the side of it, repeating the motion several times. "So, Leader...You told Steven we were gonna rush over to Cynthia to get our final grasp on the world, and yet now we're here in a field just outside of the League, taking a break."

"And?" Leader inquired, Jack giving an expectant look.

"...And, mind filling me in on why that is?" he finished his thought, Leader giving a smirk as he stepped away from Pidgeot, looking out at the small clearing in front of them. As Jack had stated, they were currently taking a break in a small field surrounded by trees, just east of the Hoenn League's entrance. They had just defeated Steven, the Hoenn League Champion, and Leader had told him that all that was standing between him and being the strongest trainer in the world was Cynthia of Sinnoh. But also as Jack said, when they got to the entrance, Leader had told Jack they were going to a nearby field and take a rest. Not just Pidgeot, but all of Leader's pokemon, save for his mythical powerhouse, were in the clearing and relaxing. This goes for Jack's pokemon as well.

"Do you have a problem with taking a break once in a while? I thought you liked sitting around and doing nothing all day," Jack frowned at Leader's words, narrowing his gaze on him.

"Hey, for your information, it is not doing nothing. I'm brainstorming for ideas, my novel hasn't been getting anywhere lately," Leader arched an eyebrow at him. "And that is not because I've been doing nothing! I just haven't been hit with inspiration, alright?"

"And you haven't considered there's no inspiration because..."

"Because I haven't done anything to spark inspiration, right? Man, you sound like Lexi right now."

"Oh, gross. I just mean it as a fair question."

"Yeah, yeah, I know- Wait, why is that gross?"

"Because I don't want to be your flirting replacement while she's gone."

"Wha-?! Where the hell did that come from?!" Jack almost stumbled back in surprise, Leader giving a chuckle.

"What, did you think you were being subtle about it?" he asked, Jack's face starting to heat up.

"No! I mean, that's because I wasn't trying to flirt! I would never, she's like an annoying sister!" Jack exclaimed, Leader's smirk growing as he simply walked away. "Hey! Don't ignore me! I'm serious, I don't like her!"

"Riiight," Leader rolled his eyes with a chuckle, moving towards the edge of the clearing with the thinnest treeline.

"Yeah, that is right! Because I'll have you know, she is actually not the girl I'm interested in!" Jack said confidently, Leader giving a quiet sigh to himself.

"You do realize you give yourself away with every new sentence that comes from your mouth, right?"

"Not true. Even she's told me that."

"So Krystal, huh?"

"Ye- Wait, What?! What makes you say that?!"

"Logic, Jack, you really don't give a challenge. The only other girls you're in constant contact with beside Lexi is Krystal and Gina, and we both know Gina doesn't give you more than ten seconds of attention before she gets bored. Leaving Krystal. Plus, I know for a fact she's said you're an idiot, on multiple occasions."

"That is not-"

"You once offered to warm her jacket for her by wearing it before her."

"...So? Chivalry isn't dead."

"You are such an idiot," he sighed again, breaking through the treenline and reaching his destination. Jack followed almost aimlessly, only following his voice as he avoiced branches in his face. "All I can offer you is either one, don't ever try that again because it's just stupid. Or two, try a girl who doesn't enjoy the cold. Warming her jacket would just piss her off."

"But it was freakin' cold that day! She could've gotten hypothermia or something..." Jack muttered, breaking through and noticing Leader had stopped. "So, what are you doing-"

"I thought I taught you to be aware of your surroundings," Leader sighed, holding his arm out beside him. Jack walked into his arm, effectively stopping his body.

"What? Why would I-" Jack looked down, almost immediately jumping back in surprise. The reason Leader had stopped was because it was a cliff. And Jack had almost walked right off. "Arceus, man! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Like I said, what did you even learn from me...?" he sighed again, pulling the purple sphere from his belt. Jack gave a questioning look, then watched him press the button on the sphere, opening it and releasing a burst of light that quickly shot out into the open air in front of them. In a matter of seconds, the light took on a large form, then disappeared to reveal a familiar black dragon, its intimidating red eyes staring at Leader. Jack flinched, glancing at the man, who put away the sphere and held his hand out. "I'm sorry for keeping you cooped up, big guy. We're gonna be hanging out here for a while, and there's nothing but ocean around here besides this island, so go ahead and stretch," Jack was surprised to see Leader flash a smile to the dragon, who only stared back. It glanced over at the open ocean around it, then back at Leader, before giving a single nod. "Just try to stay within sight, alright? So I know you're okay," the dragon nodded, giving a low and seemingly friendly growl as the two men watched it take off towards the open air happily.

"...O...kay...I guess it's just like any other pokemon, huh...?" Jack chuckled, his friend/uncle giving a nod. "So...A while, huh? Does that mean we should set up camp?"

"No harm in that."

Darkness. Silence. That's all May could feel or hear. It's almost as if her body's senses had just shut off. Still gripping the flashlight, she reached for the switch and managed to flick it on. But looking down at the flashlight, she saw the lightbulb inside flickering with the faintest of light, with cracked glass attempting to cover it.

"Crap...It's so cold it cracks glass...? Great..." she muttered, giving a sigh as she held her arm nervously. She took a step in a random direction, not being able to tell where she was going or how close the walls were, if any. Then she had an alternate idea.

"Blaze!" the pokemon exclaimed, suddenly confused as it was greeted by darkness.

"Blaziken, the flashlight's broken. Think you could give a light?" the brunette asked, the pokemon responding with its wrists igniting flames. She gave a sigh of relief as her sight was restored, even if only of her pokemon. Looking around, she noticed the expansion of the light didn't reach too far, and didn't reveal anything near her but the continuing icy floor. "Well...Which way do you get a good feeling from, Blaziken?"

"Blaze," the bird-human figure raised its claw to point in a single direction, the brunette giving a shrug before walking in said direction close to her partner. This was the start of a nerve-racking process for May, given her situation. Exploring the Great Chasm in search for a dragon, who was rumored to eat humans, and falling into a strange cavern below floor level and becoming trapped in the dark, where she could only assume no human had discovered and escaped. As they explored further down the unknown path, they noticed the air was getting colder.

"Uh...If you get scared, Blaziken, you can say it, you know..." she nervously chuckled, keeping close to her pokemon. The fire-type glanced down at its trainer, putting an arm around her to keep her close. The girl smiled, then noticed they were heading towards a wall. Getting closer, they noticed it was made of solid ice as well, giving a faint gleaming in the light. "Huh, must be a doorway somewhere around here..." the pair explored towards the left, only finding a stone wall. They then tried the right, but same result. There was no other doorway. "This can't be...Is this a dead end again...? I really hope I don't have to go through the floor again..." she muttered, breathing into her hands as she shivered. The air had gotten very heavy compared to the room she had fallen from, in both frigid temperatures and ominous feeling. "You feel anything, Blaziken?"

"Blaziken..." the pokemon muttered, glancing behind them curiously. The path of its eyes moved upwards, until it was looking right up. The bird opened its eyes, releasing a quick burst of flames into the air above them. The ball of flame provided a burst of light as it moved through the air, revealing nothing but open air as it traveled for a distance before hitting the ceiling and disappearing.

"There really is...nothing down here..." May stepped forward towards the gleaming wall, slowly putting her hand to it. Quickly regretting said decision, she yanked back her hand as the cold feeling of the wall nearly reduced the feeling in her hand to almost nothing. "Jeez...There has to be something here...There's no way that dragon rumor is just a rumor. It has to be here!" she started pacing, making sure to keep close to Blaziken for light. "That ice pillar lead us down here...But why down here...? Why did it stop leading-" the brunette stopped on the spot, looking towards the ice wall. Then towards the other wall she had seen, now hidden by the shadows. "Hey, Blaziken, how much light do you think you can make right now? I need to see as much of this area as possible."

"Come on, there's gotta be some way to get down there!" Max shouted, getting frustrated. The group had tried nearly every fire-type they had, but nothing had made a dent in the ice. They additionally tried the iron stake again, as well as stomping their feet like May had, but nothing worked.

"Max, calm down. We're just as worked up as you," Misty told the boy, who only gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Yeah, she's a friend to all of us. I don't want her to be down there all alone, especially if-" Dawn stopped short, feeling Misty's elbow swiftly knock hers, noticing a questioning look on Misty's face expressed to her. "...if the dragon is definitely not down there, because then she would be completely alone, right?"

"I'm willing to bet she's called out Blaziken by now, for extra light," Gary stated, crossing his arms with another sigh as he fell back and let his back hit the wall. "...But I've never dealt with ice like this before, so I have no idea how to break through it..." everyone shared concerned looks, Max clearly being the most concerned for his blood relative. His fists clenched on his arms.

"Please...Please be okay down there, May..."

"Blaze!" the pokemon nodded, closing its eyes and focusing its power to the flames on its wrists. In a moment, the flames explosively expanded, growing significantly and providing a wider cover of light in the area. May looked around, seeing that they were in a massive open cavern, the only pathway leading back where they had started from. Her eyes followed the wall from that direction, moving towards where she stood and noticed something.

"The walls...They're not ice...They're stone..." true to her word, the cavern walls around them were solid stone, with patches of ice covering them in random places, ranging in size. "If this is a cave...then..." her eyes stopped on the gleaming ice wall. She moved closer towards it, not placing her hand on it, but hovering inches from it. Even the cold radiating from it chilled her skin. "...This isn't made of stone...This wall is pure ice..."

"Blaziken?" the pokemon asked, moving closer beside her.

"That's why those ice pillars lead here, Blaziken. This is what they want people to find," she said, her gaze moving up the ice wall to see as far up as she could. "But why...?" in that moment, another gust of chilling air blasted past her. This one was the strongest of all, nearly reducing the feeling in her body to zero, if not for Blaziken's close proximity and warmth.

"Blaze..." the pokemon held its arm out in front of May, nudging the girl back as it stepped in front of her. She gave a confused look to her pokemon, watching it get into a defensive stance as it stared at the ice wall.

"Blaziken? What is it?" she asked, the pokemon not budging as it growled at the wall. May's eyes followed her pokemon's, feeling concerned by its sudden defensive approach. That's when May noticed something strange on the other side of Blaziken, something that wasn't there before. Its image distorted by the ice, there was a strange...glow. Its golden glow was faint, but it was visible through the ice, and from what May could tell by its brightness and shape, it appeared to be a fair distance from the other side of the ice wall and almost resembled the shape of a diamond.

"Truths..."

May flinched, her eyes quickly looking around behind her. She had noticed Blaziken was looking around intensely, as well. "So I didn't just imagine that, huh, Blaziken...?"

"Ideals..."

May looked around again, failing to notice that the glowing behind the ice wall had begun to grow brighter. "Who's there?!"

"If you are like the others before you...Which is it that you seek...?"

END