Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Blue Dragon
The sun was shining, and May was faking a smile. Only Trucy knew that her smile was fake: hiding deep sorrow.
"I wish I didn't have to take this case," May groaned.
It was the first time that May had entered the Haina Desert. It was nothing that she expected. Haina Desert appeared tame compared to the sandstorms in Hoenn that were were vicious that you needed goggles to get through. At least with the Haina Desert, May would see aqua skies above the horizon. She was able to see flock of people in the desert where the devil horn shaped boulders were. May and Trucy crossed the desert and saw that Detective Looker and Detective Gary Oak were present. The two men appeared to be arguing about something, but May ran out in front of them and spoke to them.
"Hello guys," May said. She forced herself to smile, despite the fact she wanted to eternally scream on the inside. "Feels like ages since we last met."
"Uh..." Detective Looker widened his eyes "Do I know you?"
"Detective Looker won't remember us," Trucy reminded May. "Queen Elodie removed Mewtwo's trial from existence." May wished that Queen Elodie would use her powers to prevent Ash from getting kidnapped in the first place. It felt typical. The one time where Queen Elodie's time altering powers would actually benefit May and it didn't happen.
At the same time, she wondered if Mewtwo was still up in the mountains? Wherever he was, she hoped that Mewtwo was safe.
"Of course," May whispered. "She could control time." She couldn't believe how stupid she was. "Yeah," May said. "You were the detective in Mrs. Uzumaki's murder case."
"Now I remember you," Detective Looker said with a smile on his face. "So I take it you two are friends with Gary?"
"You could say that," May said. "So I've heard about Queen Elodie's father..."
Detective Looker nodded. "Joslyn, the Duke of Caloris was brutally murdered in this desert, we think his wife, Lusamine Caloris might also be dead. We've already arrested the prime suspect. We've come to the desert hunting for more clues."
"How did he die? May asked.
"He was bashed in the head by what we believe to be a blunt object like a bat," Detective Looker explained. He pointed at the red clumps on the floor. May knew that it must have been the place where the poor Duke was murdered. Her stomach began to churn as men in white cloaks took samples from the bloody sand for examination. May hadn't heard Ash's voice since his kidnapping, she didn't even know if he was alive or dead. She could not trust her client or his psychopathic girlfriend. What if the blood didn't belong to Joslyn Nova? There seemed to be too much blood for it to belong to one person. May had to look away for just a few seconds.
"May!" Gary yelled. "Are you alright? You know about Ash don't you?"
May nodded. "I was waiting for him at his school, but he never showed up. Instead I saw Harley Quinn. I don't know where she's put Ash, she might have dumped him here."
Detective Looker shook his head. "You'll have to speak to Detective Oak about Ash Ketchum's kidnapping. He's the one in charge of that case."
"They're both related," May said, clenching her first and fighting back tears. She didn't want to appear weak. She knew she had to be strong. She didn't want anybody to think she was a crybaby because she lost her boyfriend again. "Harley Quinn kidnapped Ash. She said if I didn't defend The Joker, then she would kill him."
"And you're defending him?" Detective Looker gasped in horror with a disgusted look on his face.
May nodded. "If it means Ash will be save, I'll do it."
"I knew it," Gary muttered.
"Have you found any clues to Ash's location?" Trucy asked Gary.
Gary shook his head. "There's only one location we haven't examined. But I can't get through."
"Why not?"
"Because Detective Looker won't let me," Gary explained. "He thinks that the kidnapping and murder are separate events."
"Right!" May snapped.
Detective Looker rubbed his chin with the back of his hands as he nodded at Gary. "I should have known the two cases would have been connected. We're both in the same place after all Be careful though, the dragon's at home."
"Dragon?" May said, raising an eyebrow and steering her head towards the huge boulders shaped as devil horns. May pointed to the horns, "You mean over there?"
"The old ruins next to the funny-shaped boulders," Detective Looker explained. "An old dragon lives there along with other dragon-type pokémon Good luck trying to get any information with him! My men won't go in there, they don't want be dinner."
"How do you know it's male?" Trucy asked curiously with a smile on her face. "What is the dragon is a lady dragon?"
Gary shrugged his shoulders. "Well we better get going. We've got nothing to lose."
Gary ran into the main entrance of the ruins.
"Come on May," Trucy said. "We better follow Gary."
May nodded as both girls chased Gary down the old dragon ruins. "We're behind you Gary," May cried out. Even though she was on the urge of a panic attack, it was comforting to know that Gary still cared for Ash. He had been through a lot and the more people who loved him and did their best to save him, the more likely they would find Ash alive. May wanted to find Ash alive, and she wouldn't except anything else. May would never forgive herself if they found Ash's mangled body in the cave. She prayed that they would find Ash tied up to some chair or locked in a small cell. Ash had been in prison for five years, he was used to life in a cell.
"What information do you have about Ash's kidnapping?" May asked Gary.
"Lusamine, Joslyn's wife called for him and then he vanished."
"What happened to Lusamine?" Trucy asked.
"We think she's dead," Gary explained. "They found her ring in the sand. Detective Looker is trying to find her body as we speak." Gary guided Trucy down the old dragon ruins where they saw a flock of dragons playing around as if they were kids in the playground. Next to a fallen pillar was a hut. "Do you want to investigate the hut first?"
May nodded as she marched straight towards the entrance to the hut just as she was about to open the door, she tripped and landed on a statue. May pushed herself away from the statue and was able to retain her composure without causing any damage. Out of the hut, May saw huge golden eyes glow before her and the shadows of a big blue dragon overtake her body. The dragon roared. "HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY STATUE!"
"She didn't mean it." Trucy jumped to May's defence. "It was an accident!"
"That statue is the statue of Daenerys Targaryen!" the blue dragon roared. "She is the holy mother of dragons."
"I was wondering if you could help us?" Gary asked the raging dragon.
"And why should I help you?" the dragon hissed, rolling around his big pile of gold and jewels.
"My boyfriend was kidnapped," May explained to the dragon. "He was kidnapped by two murderers. I'm hoping he's alive, but I think there's a chance that he might have been killed."
"I've seen no humans other than you guys and those annoying humans outside. Make them go away!" the dragon moaned. "I want my afternoon kip."
May sighed. "You must have known something about the murder."
The dragon shook his head. "Unlike humans, dragons don't lie."
"Tell me your name," May requested.
"It's Clarence," the dragon said. "But I like to be called Charlie."
"CHARLIE!" May said in shock. She didn't expect the dragon's name to be common. A mountain of gold coins tumbled down and covered May's feet. She was surprised to see what the piles of coins were hiding. The tumbled coins had revealed a large painting inside a golden floral border. Drawn on the canvas was a close-up of a young couple getting married.
The groom with green hair had teeth as white as his pale skin. His ears were spiked and he had the biggest smile known to man. The bride wasn't smiling, but she didn't seem sad either. Her brown eyes and curly hair matched the shade of chocolate brown on the groom's cape. White and yellow roses were scattered around the top of the bride's veil.
"Wow, that's an amazing painting," Trucy exhaled.
"It's me and my wife," Charlie announced, catching tears with his paws.
"Your wife?" Gary shouted. "No way, the couple are human."
"Some dragons can take human form," Trucy said. "Charlie must be one of them."
"That's correct," Charlie hissed. "Now go away and take those brainless twats outside with you."
"Wait!" May shrieked. "Tell us more about your wife."
"She was..." Charlie croaked as he struggled to speak. "She was so ahead of her time. She was a year older than me and she was so much stronger than me."
May took a step closer towards Charlie and noticed the features of the young couple. There was nothing about the young groom in the picture which would suggest that it was the old dragon in front of her. The bride's beauty in the painting caught her attention. May felt as if she had met the woman somewhere before. For some reason she could see herself in the bride. If the bride had shorter hair and blue eyes instead of brown, the bride would have looked like a spitting image of her.
"How did you two meet?" Trucy asked.
"Outside this hut," Charlie explained. "I was guarding the dragon ruins to prevent other creatures spreading filth to our honourable ruin. I wanted to protect the statue of Daenerys Targaryen: The Holy Mother of dragons. I charged everyone 200 gold to get through. It was a tradition for young dragons to collect wealth for a comfortable life in old age."
"That's where you met your wife?" May asked. "What was her name?"
"How is this gonna help us?" Gary whispered.
"He might warm up to us," Trucy whispered back to Gary. "Maybe he might be hiding something."
"Her name was Olive," Charlie explained. "She was the daughter of Oyl. A retired hero that my grandpa knew. Olive and her father were very close. I was a jerk, Olive was the first person to stand up to me. Instead of paying the toll, she challenged me to a battle. She kicked my ass. It was so embarrassing. I was thirteen and she was fourteen. She visited a the dragon ruins a lot and I was so scared to meet her again. But... I couldn't stop thinking about her. When I was sixteen, my grandpa finally gave me the courage to go to her house and ask for her hand in marriage. I didn't think her father would be say yes. We got married the day after Olive's coronation."
"Wait!" May cried out. "Olive's coronation?" May remembered a story told in ancient art and poetry about a queen named Olive who married a dragon. Historians were divided if Queen Olive of Alola had actually existed or not. "So the legend is true. Queen Olive exists."
"Of course she exists!" Charlie's voice creaked as he spoke. Coughing at every five syllables. "Olive was the greatest queen in the world. She was beloved by her people and the kingdom flourished because of that. Our children were beautiful."
"CHILDREN!" May shrieked. "But you're a dragon and she was human. How did you two breed?"
"Dragons can still breed with humans in their human form," Charlie explained. "Magic also increases fertility too."
"How many children did you and Olive have?" Trucy asked.
"Three daughters: Nova, Khura'in and Alola," Charlie explained. "When my wife died, she wanted her kingdom to be divided between her daughters so they wouldn't fight over the throne."
"So Queen Rayfa and Queen Elodie are your direct descendants?" May asked.
Charlie nodded. "I've lost track of many of my other descendants. My grandchildren continued to visit me until they passed away. And all the generations after that have long forgotten about me... until five years ago."
"Five years ago?"
Charlie nodded. "She's known as the girl who knows the heart of the dragons. She's a powerful pokémon trainer who recently started working in law."
"Iris Den?" May asked. Her stomach dropped.
"Yes!" Charlie cried out. "She claimed to be a direct descendent of Ami Fey. When she said nobody believed her when she said the tale of Queen Olive was true, I knew she was telling the truth. Since then, she would visit me every April with her children. She says I should go to Dragon's Den in Johto some day."
May gasped. "I'm one of your descendants too!"
"What!" Charlie screamed. "You are?"
"Iris and I share a great-grandmother. My biological mother was Mia Fey!"
"She was murdered by a conman!" Charlie said. "You are telling the truth. You must be May Maple: my 30 times great-granddaughter."
"What's stopping you from going to Johto?" May asked.
"I can't fly any more," Charlie sobbed as he flapped his torn wings. "I was attacked by some stupid kids who thought it was funny to throw balls at me. Then they ordered some creatures to attack me. Please May, come closer."
May approached Charlie without any fear. "Do I remind you of Olive?"
"Your hair is shorter and your eyes are blue instead of brown," Charlie said, nodding. "But yes, you resemble Olive a lot. I can see her brave spirit in you. The boulders outside these ruins are the entrance to hell. A young man with dark hair opened the entrance so demons have been coming in and out. But don't be scared, not all demons are bad. My father-in-law's butler was a demon, and he was so kind and gentle. This also means that the entrance to Heaven is also open."
"Has any angels and demons been giving you grief lately?" Gary asked, biting his lip. He appeared to be in disbelief.
"This loud-mouth wrench was attacked a couple in a carriage," Charlie explained. "A young man tried to intervene, but they were already dead. The wench knocked hit him with a bat and dragged him away with the carriage the deceased couple were in."
"Must be a woman," Trucy said.
"GIVE US MORE DETAIL!" Gary demanded. "What did the wench look like? What did the young man look like? Did you hear anything?"
"The wench looked like a crossover between a jester and a whore," Charlie explained bluntly. "I didn't get a good look at the dead couple, but the young man had black hair and a red cap. I remember him talking to his Pikachu before being knocked out and taken away."
"What did he say?" May asked with desperation in her voice. Her lips trembled.
"Run to the police Pikachu!"
"Charlie, did she have a bat?" May asked.
"She did!" Charlie shook his head. "If only I was more stronger, I would have taught that demon some manners."
"Detective Looker has already arrested The Joker for it," Gary announced. "I don't know why he hasn't arrested his girlfriend. She's been causing so much trouble for the police. It wouldn't surprise me if they're being blackmailed."
Everything had become clear. Charlie's description of the assailant made it very clear that Joslyn and Lusamine's killer was Harley Quinn. And if Harley Quinn was one of the demons that had escaped Hell, then it was likely she has placed Ash there. But the gates of hell can only be opened at night. If they wanted any chance of finding Ash, they would have to wait till it the sun slept.
"PIKA!"
Everybody was startled.
"It's the young man's Pikachu!" Charlie said with an open mouth.
"PIKACHU!" May cried out. Pikachu scurried into the dragon ruins and into May's arms. Pikachu panted, gasping for breath.
"Chu...chu...chu."
"We know about Ash," May said as she cradled Pikachu in her arms. She rubbed her face against his cheek. She closed her eyes and patted Pikachu's back. "Don't worry, I'll find Ash."