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Ash was way in over his head.
What seemed like a great idea quickly proved to be the dumbest move he ever could have made. The sled worked out fine at first, but once the legendary birds made their presence known, everything instantly fell apart. Even with Lugia watching over him and absorbing the attacks, he and his Pokémon were completely overwhelmed. The line about having a plan until you got punched in the face was never truer than it was right now.
Just as he was three quarters of the way to the island, a combination of Moltres's Flamethrower and Articuno's Ice Beam cut through the frozen sea and then sealed it back up, creating a massive wall that effectively blocked off any way through.
It was hopeless. He was never going to get there now.
Pikachu let out a cry of curiosity. Ash turned and saw the electric mouse looking back toward Shamouti Island. He wasn't exactly sure what it had seen as he couldn't spot anything unusual. Then, he saw a trail of snow dust flying behind something that was moving at a fast pace. His eyes squinted to try and get a better look.
A small orange raft danced across the frozen sea like a snowmobile. The small motor at the back had been improved on by adding a fan on top, making it almost like an airboat. It would have been a funny sight to see if it weren't for who was driving the raft.
"Troy?" he gasped as the raft got closer to him.
"Didn't think I was going to let you go out there alone, were ya?" Troy said as he slowed the raft down to a stop. "Hop on. Next stop: Ice Island."
Ash was too stunned by what he saw before him to move.
"How did you find all of this?" he asked the older male.
Troy shrugged. "I found some parts laying near Carol's boat," he explained. "You weren't the only one to think of something like that. Now come on. We've got to get moving."
Ash recalled Squirtle, Bulbasaur and Charizard into their balls and made sure Pikachu was perched neatly on his shoulder before climbing in. Rope was wrapped around the sides and front of the raft, which explained how Troy was able to drive it like an airboat. He grabbed hold of the bit of rope that was closest to him.
"You ready?" Troy asked.
Ash nodded. "Ready."
"Then away we go!"
The raft took off with a burst of speed that could be compared to riding in a Ferrari or Corvette, going right around the ice wall in front of them. Ash managed to hang on and quickly settled in. Ice Island got closer with every second that past. Maybe this was going to work after all.
It was not long before the three birds arrived to try and thwart their progress. Lugia used its force field to absorb every attack as it threatened to come close to the raft, leaving the two with a clear path toward the island. The raft bounced over a small bank of snow, giving the two a brief moment of air time, before landing on the shores of Ice Island.
A cave was straight ahead, signaling temporary sanctuary for the two of them. Ash helped Troy keep the raft straight as it darted straight into the cave. Darkness surrounded them, but there was a light at the very top to guide them to. The fan echoed loudly inside of the cave, but Ash kept his concentration. Nothing was going to stop him from finishing this job.
After being inside of the cave for only a few moments, they emerged into the open air and crossed a frozen bridge. The bridge led to another tunnel, this one feeling much longer than the one before. After a short while, they came out the other side. A shrine was just up ahead. Ash and Troy turned the boat to the side to slow it down to a stop.
The raven-haired trainer leapt out of the raft and ran toward the shrine. The ground was covered in ice, so he kept his steps light and controlled in order to not fall down. That would have been extremely embarrassing.
"Be quick, Ash," he heard Troy say. "They could find us at any moment."
"I will," Ash replied.
He went up the steps and saw a blue ball wedged inside the ice bird's beak. There it was. The third and final treasure. Ash reached inside the ice beak and grabbed hold of the glass sphere inside. He placed a foot on one of the higher steps for balance as he pulled. Luckily, this one was not as difficult to pull out as the one on Fire Island. After two yanks, the ball finally came free. Ash briefly stumbled, but kept his balance. The sphere glowed on the inside.
"I got it," he said to Troy.
"Great," Troy replied. "Now let's get out of here."
Ash stuffed the sphere in one of his shirt pockets. Just as he began his way back down the steps, he instantly saw that they had company.
"They're back!" he cried as attacks went off all around them.
He quickly jumped into the raft. Just as they started the fan to get them moving, a lightning attack struck near them. The rope slipped out of Ash's grasp, which caused the raft to take a hard left. It crashed against an icy wall. Ash looked behind him. The fan propeller was completely disabled and useless now. He and Troy quickly jumped out and ran as a Flamethrower from Moltres came down. It just missed them, but the raft was not so lucky.
Ash looked around, but could not find any signs of an exit. Slick icy rocks and icy walls surrounded them. It was like they were mocking their predicament and doing everything possible to obstruct them and allow the legendary birds to stop them. A sharp cry came from above as Articuno fell down to earth. The large, blue bird slid across the ice and crashed through the shrine, letting out a shriek of pain before two more attacks came to make sure it stayed down.
A cry came just above him. Ash looked up and saw Pikachu at the top of the wall. It had found the way out. He and Troy nodded to each other and climbed up to reach the electric mouse. It was hard having to think about where to place his hand and make sure he didn't slip, but he soon reached the top safely. Troy did too as he stood alongside him. Pikachu scampered down the cliff face. Ash quickly followed his partner Pokémon, keeping his balance the whole way down.
Something flew up alongside them. Ash turned and saw Lugia flying right alongside them. He took the sphere out of his pocket to show he had it. Lugia smiled before gesturing for him to climb on. Ash called Pikachu back to him. The electric mouse held back to scamper up to Ash's shoulder. Once Pikachu was secured, he leapt onto the creature's back where its neck began. He heard Troy let out a grunt as he joined right behind him.
Lugia took off into the air, heading straight for Shamouti Island. Like an awful, recurring nightmare, Moltres and Zapdos came back. They seemed determined to make sure they did not succeed. Lugia swerved and dodged attacks from both birds, but one got way too close for comfort.
Ash ducked under the lightning bolt, but a distressed cry behind him made his blood freeze. He turned back and saw the spot behind him was empty.
"Troy!"
Troy cursed himself for being stupid as he clung onto Lugia's leg for dear life. He had leaned too far to the right to dodge Zapdos's attack, which caused him to overbalance and fall off Lugia's back. Luckily, the legendary Pokémon's leg was close enough for him to grab onto.
The former Kanto champion pulled himself up and adjusted his grip so that it didn't feel like he would slip off at any second. He took a deep breath to calm his racing heart as the adrenaline surged through his body from the experience.
"Troy, you okay?" he heard Ash shout from above as he turned to look at him.
Troy nodded. "I'm fine," he replied.
Even though he sounded confident, Troy knew he could not hold on for very long. Every time he tried to climb up, an attack would whizz by and cause him to retreat back to where he was. It was growing harder and harder with each second to climb back up.
He saw Ash turn around to reach out his hand. The young trainer was using his knees to keep himself stable on Lugia's back.
"Give me your hand!" he cried.
Troy tried one more time to climb up and reach Ash's hand. A rough patch of air, along with a near miss from Moltres's attack, stopped the attempt right in its tracks. Troy clung tightly to Lugia's leg. It felt like the legendary was slowing down because of him, making them sitting Farfetch'd for Zapdos and Moltres. They couldn't make it back in one piece like this.
"Give me your hand!" Ash repeated, sounding more desperate than he did before. He saw the tears welling up in the young trainer's eyes.
It was too late for that. Things were getting more dangerous by the second, making it almost impossible for him to climb up to safety. Not to mention he was slowing Lugia down and preventing it from escaping effectively. The only way Ash could succeed was if…
Troy took a deep, shaky breath and shook his head.
"It's your turn now, Ash," he said.
The declaration stunned Ash for a brief moment before Troy's words seemed to finally hit him. Troy eased his grip on the Pokémon's leg just a little.
"Troy, don't let go!"
Troy bit his lip. This was the only way. He knew it, and Ash knew it too. Ash had his destiny, and Troy had his. He took a moment to contemplate what he was sure would be his last words.
"It's okay. You can do it." He looked Ash dead in the eyes, struggling to keep his own tears at bay. "I believe in you, Ash. I always have and I always will."
Troy took another second to gaze upon Ash's face for the last time. He then sucked in the biggest deep breath he could and gave the boy one last nod.
He let go.
"No!" he heard Ash cry as he fell through the air.
Wind rushed past Troy's ears as he stared back at Ash before the whites of his eyes were like little pinpricks. Lugia shot up into the sky, looking much faster than it had a second ago. He smiled. It had been the right decision.
He cried out Ash's name one last time and closed his eyes, accepting what he knew was coming. He hoped his mother would be waiting for him on the other side.
SPLASH!
Ash couldn't stop the tears from falling any longer. The last image of Troy falling through the air was imprinted on his brain. His mentor and friend meant so much to him that it was like he had lost a part of himself. It felt like they were just now starting to get to know each other on a more intimate level before this whole dumb adventure happened.
The raven-haired trainer quickly wiped his tears away. Troy wouldn't want him to be mourning him. He let go to give him a chance of making it back to Shamouti. Ash would not let his sacrifice be in vain. He was going to get that final treasure back to the shrine on the island and stop all this madness. For Troy.
Before they could get very far, Ash noticed something coming straight towards them. It was another one of Lawrence's traps. The metal triangles encircled Lugia and captured the beast right inside of them with an electric barrier. Ash grunted as he felt the electricity surge through him as he was sure it did Lugia. The legendary Pokémon dove into the water and surrounded itself with a force field to try and shrug them off, but it didn't work. Ash held on, determined to not let go as Lugia broke the surface.
Ash watched in awe as he saw the Pokémon charge up what he knew to be a Hyper Beam. The attack was launched with such power that Ash nearly lost his grip on Lugia's neck. He watched in awe as it shot out to Lightning Island and a familiar airship. The airship exploded on contact like an atomic bomb had gone off. The smoke and fire billowed up into the air with such ferocity
Ash couldn't help but smile. That was it. No more Lawrence to deal with.
The same could not be said for the trap. Lugia launched another Hyper Beam into the air, aimlessly hitting anything that was unfortunate to be nearby. The creature then dove into the water below with the speed of a missile.
Everything went black.
Things look bleak. What will happen now? Find out next time on The Power Of One.
Hope you guys enjoyed that. It was a bit sad, but it had to happen. Stay tuned for what will happen next.
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Tootles.