Chapter 25:
Stone
Aura rubbed her shoulder gingerly.
"I hate caves," she grumbled. "Why are we in a cave?"
"If you didn't over-strain yourself, you'd know," Ash muttered back over his can of soup.
"You never complained about caves in particular before," Misty said in a louder voice to stop any in-fighting before it could begin. "What's so bad about them?"
"They're confining," Aura said. "They're dark, and you can get turned around rather easily, even with sharp senses of sight and smell like mine. Then, you're lost and you can't find your way out and you're trapped forever."
Ash paused, his spoon hovering above the can with his dinner in it. He looked at Misty.
"Oh…kay…."
They were all gathered around a small fire, deep in the Union Cave. Misty had, fortunately, possessed the common sense to realize that they were going to be spending the night in a dark cave and—when Ash's insistence at being the one to carry the unconscious Aura finally won—she gathered a small amount of firewood to get them through it.
Aura had woken up to the smells of burning wood and hot food. She had been placed across the fire from the others, leaning against a tall, solid stalagmite. Nyx was curled up and asleep nearby Ash, the Shiny Umbreon's ears twitching every so often. Pikachu was seated, as usual, upon his trainer's shoulder, and Arceus only knew where Jerzy had run off to….
Ash and Misty were still eating their dinner—quite slowly, as well—from out of tin cans. Two, open, still-full cans were placed in front of Aura, a spoon stuck into one. Slight heat radiated from them, and their scents—while most certainly not gourmet in any way—were admittedly quite appetizing.
Aura picked up the can with the spoon and began eating without another word.
Yep, she thought to herself. A few years ago, I was eating high-class, gourmet meals on a consistent, if not quite regular, basis. Now, I'm eating chopped-Vienna-sausage stew from a tin can.
We are certainly a classy bunch…
A small twinge of guilt prickled the back of her mind.
Ah, the small voice whispered. But, recall, a few months ago, you were devouring every edible piece of a Magikarp just to keep from starving to death.
Aura scowled, hiding her thoughts by finishing off the first can and starting on the second.
A distant sound—like a rock falling to the cave floor—made Aura look up from her meal.
"You hear that?" The Lucario muttered.
"Hear what?" Misty asked.
"I didn't hear anything," Ash said. "Pikachu?"
"Me neither," the Electric Pokémon shook his head.
"You're probably hearing things, Aura," Misty assured her. "You had a rough day today."
"I… suppose," she mumbled. "What happened, by the way?"
"You passed out," Ash mumbled.
"I figured that one out on my own, thanks," Aura said in a slight growl. "The black gap in my memory told me that much. I meant, what happened after that. Did we succeed in rescuing the Spiritomb?"
"Hmm?" Ash hummed. "Oh, yeah. Lance took it with him. He said he knew someone trustworthy who could take care of it while it recovered."
I didn't get to warn Lance about… Aura realized with a start. Damn it! I hope he's as bright as they say he is; he may be the best weapon we'll have against the Rockets. We'll have to take them out, too, before we can hope to defeat Moonsbane. Or, make it impossible for him to gain control of them. If he were ever to add their power to the force of his Returned….
Aura shook the thought.
One thing at a time. Let's get through this cave, through this Temple and get Ash through his Test. We can worry about the rest later.
She rubbed her chest softly.
I have enough things to worry about at the moment.
"What about those other two?" Aura asked.
"Brendan and Wally?" Misty clarified. "They said that they were headed just across the gulf, that they were going to keep an eye on Team Rocket for Lance for a bit."
"Make sure they don't hunt us down and murder us in our sleep," Pikachu added softly.
"Do you really think they'd kill us?" Ash looked at his companion. "I mean, this is the group who hired Jessie, James, and Meowth, after all."
"Absolutely," Aura muttered. "Those three are not indicative of the Team's true nature, at all."
"Indicative?" Ash repeated.
"They're not like the majority of the other Rockets," Aura sighed. "An average Rocket will kill anyone upon order. Though, I admit, the rumors and whispers of their murders did dwindle quite a bit during my youth, up until…." Her voice trailed off. She suddenly stood and turned, and shot a Dragon Pulse into the dark caves behind her.
"What's—?"
"Come out here and fight me, cowards!" Aura snarled, ignoring Misty. "Pathetic, cowardly, sneaking—!" She shot another Dragon Pulse, the burst of purple fire illuminating the empty cavern behind her for a brief moment. "No one sneaks up on me, do you hear me?"
Aura yelped in surprise as a column of rock shot up just in front of her, stumbling backwards slightly.
"The Lucario barks so loudly," a new voice spoke behind her, "she could wake a hibernating Ursaring in the darkest winter."
Aura turned sharply to face the new speaker.
"Who the hell are you?" she snarled.
Ash and Misty turned slightly to see the figure standing directly behind them. A Rhydon looked down at them, his eyes narrowed.
"Mmm?" Nyx blinked awake.
"You are trespassing on sacred and dangerous territory," the Rhydon calmly spoke in his dark timbre. "I highly suggest you return to the surface, where you came from; I do not wish for you or your companions to be harmed."
"At least he's friendly," Pikachu muttered.
"We're not going anywhere," Aura growled.
"We're supposed to be here," Misty added quickly.
"Whatever expedition you're on is over," the Rhydon spoke softly. "You will leave, in any case. Best do it of your own choosing, while you can choose to maintain your health."
"Who talks like that?" Ash muttered.
"Wha…whoo…whhaaauuunn," Nyx attempted to speak with a yawn, still drowzy. He mumbled incoherently for a few moments, before the word "Chosen" was finally identifiable.
"Uh, yeah!" Ash realized. "I'm supposed to be here! I'm the Chosen One!"
"Arceus has a sick, twisted sense of humor," Aura grumbled just loud enough to earn a short glare from the teenager.
"And, why should I believe you, human?" The Rhydon asked.
"Uh…" Ash hesitated. He grabbed Nyx, offering the Shiny Umbreon to the Rhydon. "Would anyone else have the Dark Temple's Head Aide with them?"
"I wouldn't know if that's even a member of any Elemental Order," the Rhydon shook his head. "I've never left the caves; our Sage leaves his best behind for the highest possible security."
"Oh, you must be Haldor," Nyx chuckled lightly. "Suk mentioned you the last time I saw him at Hikari's Keep."
"You could be an intruder, a spy, for all I know," Haldor ignored the Umbreon. "Give me just one good reason to believe you could possibly be the Chosen One, human."
"Ash," Aura snarled in a low tone at him. "Use an Attack."
"Which one?"
"Any Attack…"She added through her clenched jaw.
Ash swung his hand, the small, bright bursts of light of a Swift Attack extending from it and gently hitting the Rhydon in the face.
"Cute," Haldor muttered flatly. "A Normal-Type Attack? That's nothing special. You could even be faking it. You are certainly not the first person to try to convince another that you can use Swift."
"Mach Punch him," Aura gave Ash a light punch on the shoulder. "Hit him right between the eyes. That should serve quite nicely as evidence."
"Puh," the Rhydon scoffed. "This kid doesn't have enough backbone to even try."
"I'm not afraid of anything." Ash narrowed his eyes.
"Prove it."
Ash clenched his left hand, the gauntlet reappearing in a brief shimmer of steel before glowing a burnt-orange color. In a sudden blur, he threw his fist, slamming a sharp punch right on the Rhydon's horn. Haldor bellowed in pain, stumbling backwards and shaking his head back and forth.
"That… wasn't a Mach Punch," Nyx said.
Ash stared at his fist.
"Focus Punch," Aura sounded almost impressed.
"Oops," Ash said nervously.
"Master of the Elements, huh?" Aura sighed, shaking her head.
"Shut up," Ash grumbled.
"Brilliant comeback, Chosen One."
"Shut—!"
His retort was cut off by the Rhydon roaring in anger, the yellow glow of a Hyper Beam building in his mouth.
Before the Attack could be unleashed, a large, dark blur slammed straight into the Rhydon, knocking him into a nearby stalagmite.
"You need to learn what the words 'do not approach humans' mean," the large shadow spoke in a dark timbre. It walked out of the darkness and into the light shown by the campfire, revealing itself to be an unusually large Rampardos. "Forgive my Head Aide, Chosen One. He's still got a lot to learn."
"Hello, Suk," Nyx said brightly.
"Ah, the young son of Zyne." The Rampardos gave the Shiny Umbreon a polite nod. "I suspected that one of the Sages near the Chosen's birthplace would send one of their Aides to guide and protect him. Best to keep him—and the Elements—safe."
"Wait." Aura shook her head. "Who the hell are you?"
"Ah, Hikari's young charge." Suk turned to the Lucario. "I have heard of you from my predecessor; you wouldn't remember me from when you were at Hikari's Keep. I met Nyx when the Sages and some of their Aides met at the Keep two years ago, when I was announced as my predecessor's successor." He turned towards Ash. "I am Suk, Sage of the Rock Temple, and I am honored to greet you at last, Chosen One."
"Uh…" Ash stammered.
"I'm afraid we do not have time for pleasantries," Suk continued before Ash could find his voice. "There have been humans nearby. Evil humans. I'm not entirely sure what horrors they have carried out since arriving, but they have been chipping away at the earth and stone of the mountains."
"Team Rocket," Misty nodded, "we had a… bit of a run-in with them earlier."
"To protect my Order and the Elemental Orb we guard," Suk continued, "I have placed our Temple under the strictest lockdown I can manage. For all but myself and my Head Aide, the Temple is completely sealed off and hidden. We cannot risk this… Team Rocket finding us. Especially if the rumors from Hikari's Keep are true."
"What rumors?" Ash asked.
Suk looked at Ash, then Nyx, before glancing at Aura. The Lucario flattened her ears against the back of her head.
"They are," she said in little more than a whisper.
"That greater evils than unethical experimentations and manipulation of law for power occur within the Team," Suk said simply. "But, we don't have time to discuss them now. We must get you on the path to the Shrine, allow you to take your Test and claim the Orb of Stone and take it far from here. As soon as possible."
"Why?" Ash asked. "Hasn't the Shrine been hidden for… countless years?"
"True," Suk nodded, "but all things change eventually. It has always been prophesized that a human would discover the Temple one day. I'd rather make sure that human is you, Chosen One. You will be able to handle the Orb without its power destroying you. You, we know will be able to claim it. You, we can trust to not be corrupted by the sheer power of the Elements, to not turn them against friend and kin, against us."
"So, you know," Pikachu said dryly, "no pressure."
"Oh, there is pressure on you, Chosen One, I don't deny it," Suk admitted. "Before this is over, you will likely feel the weight of the mountains upon your shoulders. But, as the Chosen One, you also have the resolve to stand strong and firm under it. You must, or…." He shook his head.
"Or what?" Ash asked. "What aren't you people telling me?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Suk said. "In any case, it hardly matters at the moment. Pack your camp. When you are ready, I shall lead you to the passageway towards the Shrine, where you can make the rest of the journey to your Test."
"What about Haldor?" Aura glanced over at the dazed Rhydon in the shadows.
"He disobeyed a direct order," Suk said simply, "and in doing so, he could have put the entire Temple we are sworn to protect in grave danger. Being left to deal with his headache on his own is an extremely light punishment, I'd say."
Ash and Aura exchanged a glance.
The last time I disobeyed a direct order, Aura mused, I almost died. I'd say that he's getting off criminally light.
I just hope that it doesn't come back to bite us in the ass.
…
…
"So, let me get this straight," Aura growled. "You expect a human with barely any Elemental power, or any real mastery over what power he does have, to wander through a maze of twisting caverns and natural passageways to a Shrine that possibly contains some ancient horror waiting to possibly kill him. By himself. In the dark."
"Of course not," Suk said flatly. "He'll have a torch."
"That's comforting," Ash grumbled as he took the Pokéballs off of his belt, handing them to Misty. "Glad to know I won't be blind when I stumble into a chasm to my death."
"With all the holes and traps we've fallen into Ash," Misty reminded him, "I highly doubt something as simple as a fall would be what ends up killing you."
"Yeah," Aura nodded. "I'm banking on an eldritch abomination slaughtering all of us. In our sleep."
"Glad to know you're optimistic about it," Ash gave a dry chuckle.
"You also won't be going alone," Suk continued.
"I can pick a Pokémon to go with me?" Ash asked, glancing at Pikachu.
"No." Suk shook his head. "But I will."
"Who?"
"One who, from what I've heard, has stood firm against the force of death itself, and persevered."
Please, tell me you're joking, Ash groaned inwardly.
Suk turned towards Aura.
The Lucario swore bitterly.
"What if I refuse?" She asked. "What if I won't go with the precious Chosen One?"
"If you are willing to risk his death on your watch," Suk said, "then that is your choice. Only you would be able to truly give him the aid he will likely need on this leg of his journey. The Chosen One may be the only person capable of fulfilling this prophecy, this destiny, but it has never been said that he would achieve it on his own."
"Didn't you promise Hikari you'd help him?" Nyx asked her.
Aura glanced at him, though instead of seeing the Shiny Umbreon's yellow eyes, she saw a pair of warm brown ones. Desperate eyes, pleading eyes.
Promise me.
Seems like every vow I've ever made is going to either haunt me or force me to my death. Aura shook her head.
"Fine," she sighed. She took the torch from Suk. "But, I'm in charge of this. The last thing we need is for you to stop paying attention for a moment, and drop it down a hole or into one of those underground streams, or Arceus only knows what."
"Are you calling me a klutz?"
"Your powers of deduction are electrifying," Aura said in a flat tone. "I seem to recall that you cut yourself shaving the other day."
"So?" Ash scoffed. "Every guy does that once in a while."
"I'll rephrase: you cut your arm."
Misty made a strange, muffled sound as she tried to hold back a burst of laughter.
"You did what?"
"Oh, shut up," Ash grumbled. "It was her fault," he added, jabbing a thumb in Aura's direction.
"Sure, blame me," Aura grumbled. "I'm still the one in charge of the torch." She spat a burst of a Dragon Pulse at the torch, the purple fire igniting it. "Now, can we get this over with? Before old age blinds me?"
Before he could protest, Aura grabbed Ash by the wrist with her free hand and dragged him along down into the twisting caverns.
"Arceus go with you, Chosen One!" Suk's voice bellowed through the passageways as they turned down and out of their sight.
"Can I have my arm back?" Ash asked after the Lucario nearly pulled it out of the socket to bring him down a series of what appeared to be jagged steps.
"Whatever," she grumbled as she let go suddenly, the rapid movement causing him to lose his balance for a moment.
"What is your problem?" he asked loudly as he followed her under a low overhang into a new series of caverns.
"I don't have a problem," Aura grumbled, the soft light illuminating her eyes to suggest otherwise.
Ash staggered around in the otherwise utter darkness, eventually settling for grabbing onto the Lucario's shoulder for support as they continued around the nearly-impossible maze of irregular stones, stalagmites, and stalactites.
"Then why do you have to act like you're being forced to…to…" he stammered. "I dunno. Drink poison or something."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Aura snarled. "I'm the utter freaking—gahk!" She yelped as she tripped suddenly over the uneven cave floor, dragging Ash with her as she struggled to stay upright.
"No!" Ash yelled, grabbing the torch and forcing Aura to face him. The orange glow of its flame flickered in his frustrated expression. "Every time I think you're finally starting to not be such a grouch, you do a complete one-eighty. And now? Now you tell us that you know about Team Rocket? That you know about their leader? And you suddenly pass out during your part in our assault against them earlier today? When you were apparently capable of massive Psychic ability before? And you won't tell us why this is all happening? You won't tell us anything?"
"The hell is your problem, Ketchum?" Aura snarled.
"You won't even call me by my first name," Ash pointed out. "I'm supposed to rely on you, or whatever, but you constantly remind me how much you hate me and that you 'have dibs' on killing me. You expect me to just trust you with whatever you want, but you don't give me a single reason why I should trust you."
"I gave Hikari my word that I—!"
"If there is one thing you've taught me since we've met," Ash interrupted, "it's that I really can't trust what anyone says anymore. And God knows you refuse to trust me."
"What about—?"
"No." Ash's voice was low, but still managed to make her stop immediately. "Give me the torch."
"What."
"I'm the Chosen One. If you don't want to help me because you want to help me, then I'll just go alone."
"No."
"Give. Me. The. Torch."
"No." Aura kept her voice down.
Their eyes locked in a fierce glaze for a few moments. Ash eventually relented with an aggravated scoff.
"Fine." He let go of the torch.
Aura closed her eyes, shaking her head.
"Some Chosen One," she sighed. She turned and continued jumping the short distances down the rocky ledges into the lower area of the cavern. "You can't even stick to your convictions against me. Me, a single Lucario. Whatever force chose you to be the world's hero has condemned us all to hell." She leapt to the apparently solid ground at the bottom of the final ledge. She turned back, looking up at Ash, her disappointment the only thing visible in the utter darkness. "Pathetic coward."
Whether it was the final insult simply pushing him past his limit, the exhaustion from the day's events finally being too much for him to bear, or that the Lucario had finally hit a nerve raw enough, something had finally broken through Ash's frustrations, sparking an anger in him he'd never experienced before.
"Rrrrrrgh!" He threw himself off of the ledge he had been tentatively balanced on, straight at her, slamming a perfect Brick Break into her cheek. The force knocked her aside several feet, the Lucario collapsing to the ground, with the torch rolling away from her, as Ash regained his balance with little effort. He swore bitterly at her.
Aura shook her head, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Had he really…?
Ash?
She gaped at him for a moment, little more than his silhouette visible in the fading torchlight. She narrowed her eyes with a dark, animalistic snarl.
Oh, hell no.
"That does it," she spat. "I don't care who I promised what. You're dead. Now."
"Try it!"
Aura flung herself at the teenage boy, striking him across the face with a crude punch. He retaliated with a Mega Punch in her stomach.
Aura stumbled backwards a bit, before opening her mouth to charge energy within it. Even in his haze of fury, Ash recognized the yellow light as a building Hyper Beam.
Aimed right at his face.
Desperate, Ash swung up with a Sky Uppercut, striking Aura on the underside of her chest spike.
Pain erupted through her body from the spot the attack had hit, and Aura stumbled back further, unleashing the Hyper Beam up towards the ceiling. The attack hit with a loud crash, followed by a rumble that seemed to shake the whole cavern.
That did shake the whole cavern.
Aura hardly noticed, as her vision returned, grabbing Ash by the front of his shirt. It wasn't until the stone beneath her paws shifted and split that she realized that they were both in danger. The Lucario looked down to see the large crack right beneath her widen.
"Shit!"
The floor completely gave way, and they fell down into the dark chasm that had opened its maw under them.
The expedition into Union Cave has been prematurely cancelled, the memory of a voice echoed in Aura's mind, after yet another team sent into its unexplored caverns suddenly turned on and nearly killed each other.
The force of a new stone floor suddenly stopped her decent, and Aura heard the loud cascade of a rock fall surround her as the darkness that claimed her vision enveloped her mind.
The darkness didn't last long, as Aura was almost immediately dragged back into reality by the throbbing pain in her head, chest, and back. She raised one hand cautiously, finding the flat rock that had been stopped by something, landing just a few inches away from the tip of her muzzle.
That would have been a terrible way for this to all end, she decided groggily. Crushed to death in a rockslide because I couldn't contain my anger for two minutes. I'm better than this. Better get the Chosen Idiot and…
Ash. The realization shot through her. No.
Aura focused a Psychic blast on the boulder on top of her, knocking it away from her with another loud crash. She pulled herself to her feet, stumbling around the remains of the rock slide.
"Ash?" She asked timidly.
Could he have been…?
"Ash!" She shouted into the darkness. She let out a short burst of a Dragon Pulse, the purple fire illuminating the cavern for a brief moment, allowing her to identify a pile of stone debris nearby that looked like...
Don't let anything happen to him, a soft, distant memory echoed. Promise me.
"Ash!" Aura cried out, reaching towards where the pile was, grabbing every stone, rock, and boulder she could lift and flinging it away.
If there is onething you've taught me since we've met, it's that I really can'ttrust what anyone saysanymore.
"Please," Aura choked. "Come on, Chosen One."
Suddenly, she grabbed something soft, something warm. Cloth. His jacket.
His arm.
Feeling for his head, Aura pulled her hand back almost immediately.
Blood.
No.
"Ash, please, wake up."
I'm… I'm alone in the dark.
Again.
It's my fault.
I've… I've…
Aura slammed her eyes shut, despite the darkness leaving nothing to see in the first place.
The sharp sound of an inhale, and the sudden grip of a hand on her wrist nearly caused Aura to leap straight out of her pelt.
"Did you get the number of the truck? I think it hit me."
Oh, thank God, Aura allowed herself to sigh in relief. He really can't die.
"What happened?" His voice cut through the utter darkness. "Last thing I remember is… going off towards another Element… and then I remember being really mad. What…?"
"It's likely a defense mechanism of the Orb here," Aura mused aloud. "It probably causes anyone that gets too close to suddenly become violent and angry at any companions. After all, if any potential intruders kill each other, then they won't be a threat to its safety anymore."
"Where's the torch?"
"Hell if I know."
"What now?"
"We keep going."
"That's it?" Ash asked, as she helped him back on his feet.
"Well, no." Aura admitted. "First, you use Recover to heal the nasty gash on your head. Then we keep on going."
"Hmm?" Ash hummed in confusion, reaching up to the top of his head. "Oh, hey. Good point."
A soft glow emanated from the gauntlet as Ash effortlessly accessed the Normal Orb to use the suggested power.
There was nearly an audible click from Aura's mind as she suddenly got it.
"Better?" Ash asked as they found themselves in utter darkness again.
"I guess," Aura said dryly. She stumbled over towards a wall in the general direction she believed they had been headed in before the rockslide. Forcing herself to ignore the aching pains that seared through most of her body, Aura started to strike the wall with the full force of several different Fighting Attacks.
"What are you doing?"
"We have to keep going, don't you get it?" Aura asked. "No matter what else we do, we have to keep on headed towards the Orb, no matter how strong its defenses fight against us."
"Maybe we're trying too hard," Ash suggested, his voice suggesting that he had stumbled over next to her. "Maybe we need to step back and…"
"No, Ash!" Aura snapped.
"What did you—?"
"Think!" She cut him off. "Don't you get it, yet? Some Tests will force you to prove your courage, or the purity of your heart, or the loyalty of those who follow you. Some will force you to put your ability to think to its limit. Others… will test your resolve."
"I don't understand."
"What Element is this?" Aura sighed.
"Stone?"
"Will a boulder just move aside because you ask it to?"
"I don't…"
"How do you bring down something too stubborn to relent by choice?"
"Uh…"
Aura slapped the backside of Ash's head.
"Ow! Hey! I could have a concussion, and you're hitting my head?"
He knows the word concussion, now. Cute.
"THINK!" Aura insisted. "What is the first step to bringing down an opponent stronger than yourself?"
"Find their weaknesses?"
"Before that."
"Step back and think?"
"Before that!" Aura barked. "What is the first step? How do you do the impossible?"
"You… you don't give up?"
Aura smiled without realizing it.
"Exactly."
"Don't give up." Ash got it.
"That's how you master the Rock Element. You have to be as unyielding and unrelenting as a boulder."
"How do you know this?" Ash asked.
You won't tell us anything… you refuse to trust me.
Promise me.
Aura shook her head.
"My father had… was forced to have unusual and highly powerful abilities. He was a lab rat, and I inherited some of his… curse. Between him and my mother, I was taught how to control my power…by understanding it from the most basic levels."
"Your father?" Ash asked softly. "A lab rat?"
"Yes."
"How?"
Aura didn't speak.
"Aura?"
"Think, Chosen One," Aura said. "It's not too hard to figure that one out by yourself." She continued her barrage on the wall. "You gonna help me, or not?"
Ash sighed.
One step at a time, I guess.
"All right, then," Ash chuckled. "What do you need me to do?"
"Light would be glorious."
"How? I don't have the Fire Element, yet."
Smack!
"Hey!"
"You have the Normal Element, you dolt!" Aura barked. "What Attack is light?"
Ash closed his eyes, trying to think.
What Attack gives off a burst of light? He opened his eyes. That's it!
Aura yelped in surprise at the sudden burst of light from her left.
"Too bright! Too bright!" She shielded her face with one arm.
"Nothing's ever good enough for you, is it?"
"Strike here," Aura used Metal Claw to scratch an X on the cave wall, "with a strong Fighting Attack. Hopefully, that will be enough."
"Which one?"
"I dunno. Brick Break, I guess. I don't care."
Ash shrugged, before slamming the side of his open hand perfectly on the center of the X-mark. Light shone from the cracks the emanated from where his Attack hit, running up and down the wall in jagged patterns.
Aura took a step back in mild concern, before the stone wall suddenly crumbled, revealing a room filled with warm, yellow light. Briefly blinded, Ash and Aura turned sharply from it, blinking and raising their arms as shields until their eyes adjusted.
"Huh," Ash muttered when his finally had. "The Shrine was right here… all along."
"No wonder I wanted to rip your throat open," Aura added. "Suk was right. He wasn't wasting any time, ours or his."
"Who knows?" Ash chuckled. "Maybe this means I'll get some sleep tonight."
Aura looked at him. "Oh just go in already," she scoffed, giving him a sharp shove on the back.
Unlike the other Shrines, this one didn't seem to have an entrance beyond the one they had forcibly made. Instead, all four walls were covered in the same archaic carvings as the other Shrines, suggesting that Suk and the Sages before him had found some other way in and out. The warm lighting came, not from torches, but from strange, glowing, yellow crystals on the walls, forming tall, irregular-shaped columns. In the exact center of the intricately detailed carvings on the floor sat the Shrine's main statue, this one's cross-legged Riolu made of silver and holding up the Rock Orb. The Orb's rich, brown coloring stood out against the cool greys of the stone floors and walls, even in the yellow light.
Surrounding the Riolu statue, like in the other Shrines, were various types of metal statues depicting Pokémon of the Shrine's Element: a Rhyhorn, Kabutops, Sudowoodo, Nosepass, Cranidos, Shieldon, Lunatone, Solrock, Shuckle, and Armaldo, all dwarfed by the overlooking Aerodactyl that seemed to glare right through Ash. Unnerved, Ash turned to the corner where he expected to see another statue of a young Hikaru and the Traitor.
Much like the Orb's Statue, this one was made of silver, and depicted Hikaru as a Riolu, sitting cross-legged on the floor. However, this statue appeared to be holding some sort of book, metallic leaves of scrolls lying around him. The young human that Ash now knew to be the child that became the Traitor was sitting next to the Riolu, leaning gently against Hikaru in slumber. The Dratini was loosely draped around the Riolu's neck. Hikaru's young face was gently illuminated by the crystals' glow, making his soft smile seem all the warmer.
What's with the Dratini?
Ash turned towards Aura, opening his mouth to ask her opinion, when he stopped, startled. Aura was ignoring him, instead staring straight at the statue.
She was crying.
Ash took a few steps back, almost stumbling backwards over the Shuckle statue. He tried to say something, but he couldn't even string a thought together in his head.
She wasn't sobbing, or anything. There was just a small, though noticeable flow of tears streaming from each eye. Her ears were pressed back against her head, but other than those two traits, her expression and body language were rather stoic.
Still…
Why was she crying? Aura?
She had always seemed to treat the story of the Traitor and Hikaru with scorn before. What was it about this statue that made it so….?
Is it because they're depicted as children?
Ash shook his head. For once, he decided to not press the question. Not yet. One day, he would. When she proved that she finally trusted him.
But not today.
Today, he had a whole different ordeal to go through.
Ash turned back to the Orb's Statue. Vaulting over the Shuckle statue, he approached the Orb. Ash sighed, before reaching out and grabbing the Orb with both hands.
As expected, a surge of pain erupted through his body from the point of contact. However, this time, it seemed to echo and multiply within his skull, making his head feel heavy and like a water balloon stretched to bursting. Ash cried out in his agony.
Then, suddenly as it had erupted through him, the pain stopped.
What? Ash blinked. He tried to open his eyes, finding himself in a very different place than he had been a few moments prior.
Is this another vision? He wondered, as he looked around. Wherever this was supposed to be, it was extremely foggy; the sky and the featureless ground both seemed to be made of soft fog.
"Where am I?" He asked aloud, not sure if he was really speaking or if the words were merely echoing inside his own head.
"Exactly where you stood a minute ago," a deep, familiar voice answered.
"Hikaru?" Ash asked.
As if in response to the recognition, a tall Lucario materialized out of the swirling fog in front of him. Like before, he was clad in a golden collar and bracers, studded with various, gleaming gems. Unlike before, however, from the back of the collar hung what remained of a tattered, black cloak, its frayed remnants draped over the Lucario's shoulders and arms.
"Hikaru?" Ash repeated.
"I must apologize, young Ashura," the ancient Sage spoke. "I gave the Orbs the ability to protect themselves in this manner, but they have… evolved. The two of you should have been able to traverse much further down the caverns before even a spark of anger would've ignited, in your heart, at least. It was my lack of foresight that almost got you both killed. I am sorry."
"Um," Ash stammered briefly. "D-don't… don't worry about it. I've been through worse, I guess."
"It seems there is a rather lot I did not foresee or expect," Hikaru admitted. "Particularly where you and your companion are concerned."
"You…you mean Aura?"
Hikaru simply looked at him.
"What is wrong with her?" Ash eventually asked.
"Pain," Hikaru said simply. "Heartbreak. Betrayal. Anger. And many, many failures. All of them, distilled down to one swirling, never-ending sea of Pain. She simply can't let go."
"Why?"
"I do not know. I cannot see her heart, Ashura. That is for her to reveal on her own."
"Should have known it wouldn't have been that easy," Ash grumbled. "Then… how do I get her to…?"
"You must be as the Rock."
"In English?"
"Overcome impossible odds."
"How…I—?" Ash stopped.
How do you do the impossible?
"Don't give up." Ash nodded. "Got it."
Hikaru nodded.
"I'm afraid," the Lucario said softly, "that I cannot maintain contact for much longer. You must now claim the Rock Element, before the Orb's power rips through and destroys you."
"Wait!" Ash yelled. "What about the Test? What about the Orb's Test?"
"There won't be one this time," Hikaru chuckled. "I… surpassed it."
"How?"
"I… cheated. Even dead, being the most powerful Sage of the Elements in our history does grant me some… useful abilities."
"Why?"
"Sometimes, Ashura," Hikaru said softly, as his form began to fade back into the fog, "it isn't you that needs to learn from the Tests."
"Wait!" Ash yelled after him. "What about the Dratini? What's with the Dratini?"
But Hikaru was already gone. Pain began to shoot through him again.
NO! Ash screamed through his own mind, forcefully pulling up on the Orb, jolting his conscious mind back into reality.
There was the slight pop of the Orb slipping out of the Shrine's grip, and the pain stopped.
"Oh, thank God!" Ash sighed, collapsing forward onto the Shrine.
He hadn't rested there for very long when he felt something lift his arm, draping it over itself. Herself.
"Aura?" Ash muttered. "What are you doing?"
Aura lifted her other arm around his back and under his far arm, helping him to walk away from the Shrine and towards their crude entrance.
"We don't have time for you to pass out and recover," Aura grumbled. "We need to get going, and this is the easiest way to get you back into the caverns towards the others again."
Ash smiled.
"Sure, of course."
"And," Aura added, "I've had more than enough of this cave."
"Right. You're gonna deny you ever did this, aren't you?"
"Deny what?" Aura asked in a flat tone.
"Exactly," Ash held back a chuckle.
"You gonna light the way?" Aura asked as she half-carried him into the darkness.
Ash lifted his left hand, the gauntlet materializing and emitting the bright, white light of a Flash.
"So, I have a name now?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Aura grumbled.
"So, I didn't hear you calling me—?"
"If you're hearing voices," Aura cut him off, "you probably shouldn't tell anyone. The idea of the Chosen One being completely delusional might make it harder for us to get help along the way."
"Right," Ash chuckled softly. "You know, if we stopped fighting each other, we might actually make a good team."
"Don't get any ideas, kid," Aura said. "I just want to go home before this crazy adventure of yours kills me."
"C'mon, Aura," Ash insisted. "Give it a shot. You could be that last team member we need to do the impossible."
We need you, a warm voice echoed in her mind. Between the three of us, we can do the impossible.
"We'll see, Chosen One," Aura eventually whispered, lifting Ash with her up a half-collapsed stone ledge. "We'll see."
…
…
A/N: Nothing much to say. Just trying to get these written and form a backlog so that I can try to keep a schedule again. I will still respond to any and all Reviews and PMs I get (sorry it took me so long this time), though they might take me a little while until term starts up again. So, as always, please shoot me any questions.