Well...this is awkward *sweat emoji*. Hello again, everyone. I know I've been gone for years, but I still have the motivation to continue this story. I feel really bad just leaving you hanging like that. You guys deserve to see the story come to a conclusion, so here we are.
Hope you guys enjoy the chapter and see how much I've grown as a writer over this little disappearance. Enjoy.
On a dark, rainy night in the Kanto city of Asiatic, there was not a soul running about outside at the late hour. The normally bustling downtown area was barren and the waterfront boardwalk was as well. Due to the strange occurrences in the weather, residents had been advised to stay in their homes for the night lest things get worse.
In one such dwelling, news reports about the weather were on virtually every single channel. It was hard to avoid it even if one tried to. Victor Black, or Vic as he had been known by to his friends and family, was settled on the couch with dinner and a bottle of beer in front of him.
Vic was the father of legendary Kanto trainer Troy Black and looked every single bit like his son. They both had the same shade of brown hair, dark green eyes, and good looks to match. He, too, had been a champion trainer back in his day until he got married and had a family. Trophies and pictures were littered around the entire living room to display all of their accomplishments.
"What is going on with this strange weather?" he asked himself. "It's the middle of summer for crying out loud."
The picture on the screen cut to a map showing four islands in the middle of the sea.
"We have reason to believe that this strange phenomenon began somewhere in the Shamouti Island area of the Orange Islands," said the news anchor.
Vic's eyes went wide. If he remembered correctly, that was where his son and his friends were at the present time. Terror gripped his heart.
"What is that boy getting himself into this time?" he groaned.
His eyes drifted over to a picture of him and a younger Troy. Whatever was going on, he hoped his son was not in the middle of it.
Melody leaned against the column as she watched the storm roaring outside the hall. This was the worst storm she had ever seen come through the island. Nothing came close to this. The more she thought about it, the more concerned she became about Maren, Troy, and Ash's safety due to the fact they went ahead and left for the other islands.
Why did she have to pick them for this dumb ritual? She felt so responsible. If something happened to them––
"Everything okay?"
Melody turned and saw her sister behind her. Like clockwork, she was done with the silent treatment. Whether Carol was done being mad over what happened earlier or not was not clear, but that didn't matter. The younger sister knew the older one way too well. However, this was no time to rub it in Carol's face.
She shook her head. "No. This storm's bad and it's only going to get worse." Melody took a sharp breath. "Carol, I need the keys to your boat. I'm going after them."
Carol's eyes widened. "No way. You're staying here," she said. "It's tradition that the festival maiden remain on Shamouti Island. I also don't want you out there in that storm either."
"You don't understand. They're out there because of our dumb ritual, and I'm the one who picked Ash for it." Melody bit her lip. "It's also my responsibility as the festival maiden to ensure the safety of our Chosen One."
"But it's–"
She extended her hand.
"Please. Don't fight me on this, Carol. Just give me the keys."
Melody kept her hand out as she saw the conflict play out on her sister's face. The argument they had earlier that evening was gone from Melody's mind. Stuff like that was not important when lives were at stake.
After a few more moments, Carol nodded and reached into her pocket. "Very well," she said, handing Melody the keys. "But be careful."
Melody smiled. "I will."
Without a second to waste, she took off toward the harbor. The rain and wind seemed to pick up with almost every step she took. Melody raised her arm to her face to block both elements the best she could, but it was getting worse by the second. Her determination was strong, but it was going to take everything she had to make sure the three that went out came back safely.
Melody soon reached town without incident and headed for the harbor. Splashes were heard with each step she took as she picked up the pace. Above the wind, Melody heard a few extra pairs of footsteps behind her. She glanced back and saw Misty and Tracey following her. She smirked.
"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.
"To find Ash and Troy," Misty replied sharply. "And before you say I'm going because I secretly like Ash, don't bother because I don't like him that way."
"Okay, geez," Melody said. Her smirk widened. "You sure are sensitive over someone who's not your boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend! He's a boy and he's a friend, but he's not a boyfriend."
"You talking about me?" Tracey chimed in.
"Shut up, Tracey!"
Melody laughed. "That's what I said. I said he wasn't your boyfriend."
"Still," she heard Misty grumble, which made her smile.
"As I said earlier, Misty, try not to be jealous. You have nothing to worry about."
She then gave the redhead a wink before they continued on.
The group of three soon reached the boat and got onboard. Melody put the keys into the ignition and started it. She had been around boats all her life, so she knew exactly what she had to do. The rain pelted her and the other two, landing so hard that it hurt. It was growing harder to concentrate on preparing the boat for departure.
"Wait!"
Melody looked up. To her surprise, Carol was standing on the dock.
"I'm going too," her sister said.
Melody smirked. "Worried about Troy, are we?" she teased.
Carol blushed and turned away for a moment. "No," she replied in a way that Melody did not interpret to be a solid denial. "Someone has to make sure you don't do anything crazy."
"Yeah, sure. Keep telling yourself that, sis."
"I am!"
"Just get on. We're wasting time."
Carol stepped onto the boat and cast off the mooring line. Melody resumed her final checks. Everything was ready to go. From the corner of her eye, she saw her sister had joined them at the top.
They were off.
Troy held on as best he could to the control board on the captain's perch of Maren's ship. It was all he could do to not get thrown overboard with Ash and the green-haired captain herself. The boat was pushed and pulled in every direction by the violent waves while the rain hit the three of them like knives falling from the sky. This was a tropical storm unlike any Troy had lived through––Asiatic City had never been hit by a major typhoon the entire time he lived there, but it still endured bad storms off the coast.
"I hope the legend ceremony doesn't include a funeral."
Troy glared at his young charge. "It was your crazy idea to come out in this, Ash," he argued. "So don't––"
The group of three, along with the two Pokémon, cried out as a wave slammed into the ship's port side. Troy almost lost his grip on the control board, but held on by digging his fingers into the wet, freezing metal. His eyes then resumed shooting daggers at Ash.
"If we don't make it back, I'm gonna kill you," he said.
"Can't this wait until later?" Maren cried over all the sounds that surrounded them.
Any words that Troy wanted to say next died in his throat at her request. The rain stopped a few moments later, but the sea was like an endless assault of wave after wave. Troy wondered exactly what god they had angered. He had no time to dwell on this as the boat approached a collection of sharp rocks. Fire Island was just beyond them. He closed his eyes and hoped for the best.
"Hang on!"
Troy had no problem abiding by Maren's order. A loud crunch was then heard over everything. That did not sound good at all. The boat got a few more yards before his worst fears were confirmed.
"We lost the rudder!" the captain reported. "Brace yourselves, boys. It's going to be a rough landing."
Troy saw the shore get closer and closer to them. Due to the rudder being out of commission, the waves were the only thing keeping them going. Unfortunately, Maren had no control over them like she did a rudder or motor. Troy swallowed the sick feeling in his stomach and waited for the violent impact he knew was coming.
A resounding crash filled the air as the boat landed on the rocky shore of Fire Island. Whichever way the boat rocked, Troy went away from that direction to not get thrown off. This lasted only a few seconds before the rocking ceased and the boat came to a stop.
He waited a few extra seconds to be sure, but all was calm and stable.
"Everyone all right?" he called out.
His eyes went out to the front of the ship to see if Lucario was okay. Luckily, the black and blue Pokémon seemed unharmed, as did Pikachu. Lucario flashed a thumb's up.
"I'm okay," Ash replied, having grabbed onto the antenna at the back of the captain's perch. He pushed off to land safely on the floor below him.
Maren also responded that she was fine.
Once his legs stopped shaking, Troy jumped down from the perch and went straight into the galley to hurl his guts up. That was the scariest thing he had ever been in and he hoped to never do something like that again.
As he finished throwing up whatever was in his stomach into the unfortunate waste bin, Troy turned back to the object of his ire. Ash was standing out the back looking up at their surroundings. The former Kanto champion came out to join him. Before he could give the young trainer a piece of his mind, he saw a long staircase that went up almost the entire island face. The wind howled further up the cliff, which sent shivers down Troy's spine. It looked like a long and treacherous climb to wherever the stairs led them.
"And she's buying a stairway to heaven," he sang under his breath before clearing his throat. His eyes narrowed sharply as he glared at Ash. "Now what, genius?"
Before Ash could reply, Pikachu took off with a cry. The young trainer was not far behind the small yellow mouse as he jumped off the boat and left. Lucario went with both of them.
"Ash, we shouldn't split up!" Maren cried. "The storm might pick up again."
The dark-haired trainer turned back and responded, "Pikachu's been acting weird. I've got to find out why," before following the two Pokémon.
Troy growled and slicked his hair back in exasperation. Where one went, the other followed––so the saying went. Not like he had a choice anyway; without him, Ash would have been killed or seriously injured many times before. He leapt over the side of the boat and ran after the younger trainer and two Pokémon.
"Not you too, Troy!"
"See if you can radio some help," he replied without turning back to look at Maren. "We won't be long."
So many stairs.
Everywhere Ash saw ahead of him there was another ten steps to go. It seemed to go on and on and on––practically to the heavens. His legs screamed with exertion due to being used to run the entire time, but he ignored them. Whatever was going on with Pikachu and Lucario, he was determined to find out what it was. He wondered if it had to do with all the strange things going on with the weather.
About five minutes later, the two Pokémon stopped at the top of the staircase. An archway made of rock above them functioned as a gateway to somewhere Ash believed to be important. The young trainer paused for a second to catch his breath.
"Down…there?" he heaved, gasping for air.
Pikachu nodded. The spry, yellow mouse then darted down another flight of stairs. Lucario followed closely behind.
Ash was about to follow as well when he heard the sounds of panting come next to him. Troy had finally caught up to him.
"This…had…better…be…good," the older male panted, placing his hands on his knees.
"This way," Ash said, helping Troy down the stairs to join Pikachu and Lucario.
At the end of a rock that jutted out over the island below sat a monument to something. It was a rock carved in the shape of a bird. Pikachu climbed on top of the structure while Lucario stood beside what Ash assumed to be the beak.
Ash was surprised to see a red glass ball with a small fire burning inside of it. He wondered what it was for. Then he realized this had to be the treasure he was supposed to obtain for the Legend Festival.
"Is this it?" Troy asked. "Is this what we were supposed to find?"
Lucario nodded to the two trainers.
Ash gazed at the ball for several moments, trying to figure out the best way to go about pulling it out. It seemed to be held in tight, so it was not going to be easy. Finally, he reached into the beak to grab hold of the glass ball and tugged. The ball wouldn't budge, but that wasn't going to stop him from pulling until it finally came loose. He pulled harder, but still nothing happened. Ash then gritted his teeth and growled, putting all of his strength into pulling.
Pikachu gave cries of encouragement, which Lucario echoed.
Ash felt Troy wrap his hand around the one pulling the ball. That extra power was enough to pull the ball loose. It was so sudden that he stumbled back into Troy, sending the two of them to the ground. Ash started to pick himself up by planting his elbow on the –
"Hey! Hey!" Troy cried.
The younger trainer looked where his elbow was. He instantly went flustered. "Oh. Sorry." Ash then moved his arm away from that spot before putting his elbow on the ground to pick himself up. He turned back and helped Troy up.
Ash looked the glass ball over and inspected it. There didn't seem to be a scratch or knick on it. The ball was perfectly pristine.
"Okay, we got the ball," Troy said. "Now, let's go back to Maren and try to call the Coast Guard. We don't know when this storm is going to pick up again, and I don't want to be out here when it does."
Ash nodded and put the ball in his pocket. "Come on. Let's go."
As the two trainers made their way back to the steps, a rumbling sound filled the air. It grew louder with each second that passed. Ash didn't know what was making that sound, but it didn't seem good. He hoped it wasn't an earthquake; that would really compound their problems.
His fears were assuaged when he didn't see the ground coming apart beneath him and Troy. Instead, something that looked like the underside of a boat appeared above the stone arch at the top of the stairwell and crashed through it. Ash gulped. The danger was far from over.
"Heads up!" Troy cried.
Ash dove to the side as the sounds of rock being crushed filled his ears. The boat barely missed his feet by a few inches before it settled in the middle of the platform. The sails then fell, allowing him to see who had been operating the boat.
To his surprise, Melody and her sister were there, along with Tracey and Misty. He wondered how they managed to use the sails to make the boat fly on land like it had. His curiosity was short lived as Melody gave him the sharpest glare he had ever received; not even Misty's were this vicious.
"I certainly hope you're happy, Mr. Hero," the girl snapped. "If you had just listened to me and stayed at the party, we wouldn't be stranded out here. Are you incapable of using your head or something?"
He saw Misty sigh next to her. "Welcome to my world."
Ash glared at the red head. "And what is that supposed to mean, Misty?" he snapped.
"You know exactly what it means, Ash Ketchum! Your head is so hard it could break through an Onix."
"Oh, like you're so much better!"
From the corner of his eye, he saw Melody giggle. Misty then turned her ire onto her this time instead of him.
"What's so funny?" the red head cried.
Melody settled herself down enough to speak. "You guys sure love to argue," she said. "But that's okay. It's just something the two of you will need to work on when you get married."
Tracey burst into hysterics. His laughter, along with Melody's words, caused Ash's face to turn beet red. Married? To Misty? Like that would ever happen. One look at Misty's face, which was as red as her hair, was all he needed to know how she felt.
"Take that back!" she snapped, though her voice sounded flustered.
xXx
Troy couldn't help but chuckle at what Melody had said. She was certainly not afraid to call it as she saw it. That, and he enjoyed getting a rise out of his two young friends. Those two were so jealous when it came to each other that it was impossible to not see the obvious.
He took Carol's hand and helped her off the boat. She looked unharmed, but he wanted to be absolutely sure. One quick look told him what he already knew. She was perfectly fine.
Ignoring the blush on his face, he smiled and asked, "You okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
"Good." Troy could sense Lucario giggling behind his back. He did his best to ignore the jackal Pokémon as he focused on the young woman in front of him. "I'm sorry you had to get dragged into this. Once Ash sets his mind on something, it's impossible to talk him out of it, which puts everyone else around him in danger too."
"You have a choice too, you know," Carol replied with a chuckle.
Troy scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, that's true," he said with a nervous chuckle of his own. "But someone has to look after the kid and make sure he doesn't get himself killed. What kind of mentor would I be if I let that happen?"
"You really care about him, don't you?"
Pretty, but with a brain and a straightforward personality to go with it. Not many girls he had met in the past were like her, which made Carol all the more interesting to Troy. Most of the girls he came across only wanted to get in his pants so that they could brag to their friends. Carol was different. Whoever her previous boyfriend was, he must have been a loser to not appreciate what he had in front of him and cheat on her.
That's why Troy had no intentions of ever getting married. Why invest the emotional commitment when the person you thought loved only you could just leave at the drop of a hat? It was messed up. That's why it was easier just to date for a short time and then either remain friends or go your separate ways and never speak again.
"Yeah. I do," Troy finally said, feeling a smile play on his lips. "He's like…the little brother I wish I had." He smirked. "I could say the same thing about you and your sister."
"Someone has to look after her," Carol replied, turning Troy's words back on him.
The two young adults laughed together. She was witty too.
Lightning shot through the sky, making contact on the ground dangerously close to the group. Troy grabbed Carol and brought her under the ship's bottom to shield her from the lightning bolts. He took a quick look on the other side and saw Ash had taken cover as well.
Lucario now came to Troy's side. The blue jackal gazed up at the sky in wonderment. Troy followed the Pokémon's gaze. A large bird with a long wingspan – possibly seven or seven and a half feet easily – surrounded by electricity flew in a circle above the group. From below, Troy saw its body was yellow, but the top parts of its wings were black. The tail feathers were a mix of yellow and black. The bird let out a loud crow, loud enough to possibly be heard from Shamouti Island.
He heard Carol gasp. "Zapdos."
Troy's eyes widened at the name. He had heard about this legendary bird before, but hearing about it and seeing it with his own eyes were two very different things. If it weren't for the danger presented by its presence, the sight of the bird would have mystified him.
After circling a few more times, the electric bird finally landed on top of the stone shrine. More lightning bolts shot out in all directions, not caring where they went nor who or what they hit. Troy ducked down with his arms wrapped protectively around Carol. He could only hope Ash and the others had taken cover as well.
The sound of surging electricity then stopped. Troy stayed down another second before looking up. Zapdos gave no indication that it noticed their presence as it crowed proudly, its posture that of a conquering hero standing on the captured land. The former Kanto champion watched the bird with trepidation, worried it could turn on them at a moment's notice.
"This is strange," Carol said. "Zapdos wouldn't normally come to one of the other islands. What's it doing on Fire Island?"
Troy had no answer.
"Pi-KA!"
A cry from Pikachu snapped him out of his daze. He looked over and saw the electric mouse shoot off one of its trademark Thunderbolts. It struck Zapdos, but had no real effect. Troy wasn't sure what Pikachu was thinking because due to the two Pokémon being electric types, an attack of that variety would not do a thing. Then he realized, this Thunderbolt seemed different. It wasn't like the ones Pikachu would use to rid themselves of Team Rocket or any other battle situation.
Repeated Thunderbolts came from the electric mouse. The last one encircled the great bird, which seemed to finally get its attention. It sent a bolt at Pikachu, who received it without any trouble. Troy wondered if this was a means of communication between the two. He looked to Lucario for some help in understanding what was being said.
The jackal's eyes were now as wide as dinner plates. Its jaw was slightly agape, exposing the sharp canines in its maw. That didn't look good.
"Lucario, what's wrong?" Troy asked.
The Pokémon's answer shook Troy to his very core. He looked back at Carol.
"I think I may have an answer for you now, Carol. Moltres has vanished for some reason, and now that its gone, Zapdos felt emboldened to take over the island," he explained. "That's why it's here."
She gasped. "What? How could Moltres just vanish? That doesn't make sense."
He shrugged. "Beats me. But something apparently happened to it for Zapdos to make this kind of a move. The balance of the three main islands has been thrown out of balance."
Something felt off in his aura. The more Troy thought the situation over – the bad storms, Zapdos being on Fire Island – the more it all strongly smelled of foul play, or "fowl" play for the pun's sake. For there to be balance in the universe, there had to be four sides to counteract each other. If one thing was taken out of that cycle, then that would allow one side to completely dominate the other. Thus, the whole balance is thrown completely off. He wondered if the same logic applied here.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Troy finally said.
Zapdos then blasted another flurry of bolts in every direction. Troy resumed his protective hold over Carol. Before he could get too far into it, his eyes caught a glance at the bolts changing direction. Curious, he looked up and saw the streaks going up into the sky.
The great bird of lightning had turned away from the group and gazed upward to where its electricity was heading. Through the clouds, a large mechanical mass descended like the alien ships from Independence Day. Troy felt shivers roll down his back and, through his aura, sensed the others feeling the same. What was that thing?
More and more of the mass came into view, and Troy saw that it was an airship with propellers encircling the top half, which was held together by red steel girders. Zapdos had stopped sparking electricity by this time as it gazed up with the rest of them.
The bottom opened up, and several rectangular shapes flew out from it.
"Zapdos, get out of here!" Troy heard Ash yell.
The great bird took to the sky, but made no move to fly away. Instead, it took the flying shapes head on. A blast of electricity sent two away, but others continued the pursuit. Troy was slowly realizing the true danger of the situation.
"Let's go!" he cried. "We can't stay here!"
But before he could move Carol away, Zapdos flew right over them. Two of the shapes stopped on either side of the boat. Troy felt the ground be swept out from under him as he and Carol hung in mid-air with the others and the boat. Blue electricity surrounded them. They had been captured.
Troy saw that the devices had captured Zapdos too. The great Pokémon was then carried up to the ship, with the others not far behind it.
This did not bode well.
What awaits everyone next? Find out next time.
Hope that makes up for the three-and-a-half years I've been gone. Like I said, I intend to see this story through.
See you all next time, whenever that may be.
Tootles.
