Finally on this climax! I've been looking forward to this for ages. But, unfortunately this chapter may not be out until Friday, because Life needs a laugh sometimes and I'm usually the butt of its jokes. Currently I'm dealing with a busy schedule, and, as it stands, only 2 hours to work on this today. So, this may end up being delayed, and I'm sorry about that, especially after leaving you with such a bombshell.
Chapter 48:
Aura Surge Part 1: Total Loss of Control
Serena stares up at the place where she last saw Ash's Charizard fly off to the volcano. She's standing at the doorway of the Maple residence, and for some reason she has a huge sinking feeling in her gut. Drew steps out of the house and stands beside them. "Worried about Ash?" he asks. Serena looks at him, then nods. "I just have a bad feeling that something happened up there, and it wasn't good." Drew nods in agreement, also looking in the direction the trio had flown off in the early hours of the morning. "I get it," he says. "I've got a similar feeling," he admits. "Like something is going on up there. Something really bad." Serena nods. "I suppose it is just nerves," she says. "Ash and I have been fighting lately, so if he dies, those may be the last memories he has of us. And the last things I ever did with him." She begins to tear up at this. "Though, I suppose it's worse for you huh," she adds quickly. "After all, you and May only just got together."
Drew shakes his head at this. "Nah, I'd say it's definitely worse for you," he says. "You and Ash have been together for almost 4 years, and I think this is the first time you've ever properly fought. I couldn't imagine the pain of losing someone you love, especially when one of the last things you did with that person was argue. That seems so much more painful." The two of them fall into an awkward silence at this, and spend some more time staring at the sky. "But I don't think we'll need to worry," Drew continues. "This is Ash Ketchum and May Maple we're talking about. And our Champion is with them too! And he managed to defeat Steven Stone for Arceus's sake! They'll be fine." Serena nods at this, and looks back up towards the last place she saw her boyfriend. "You're right," she agrees. "They'll be fine."
BANG!
When the gunshot went off, Ash moved so fast it was as if he teleported. Brendan felt him shove him out of the way right before the bullet struck him. However, he wasn't fast enough to dodge the bullet himself. Now, As Brendan stares at the Monarch of the World Coronation Series, he sees him standing there, panting furiously and clutching his chest, a huge red stain on his shirt. As Brendan watches, Ash falls to his knees, his breathing becoming more ragged. May runs over to him, crying his name. "Ash you idiot!" she shouts. "What were you thinking!?" Ash can't answer. He's too focused on his wound. Brodie smirks at this. "Well now, wasn't that heroic of you?" he taunts. "But, it's ultimately useless, as I have more ammo." Then, he raises his gun again, but before he can fire Brendan releases his Steelix, which takes the bullets without receiving a scratch, allowing May to help Ash.
May kneels down next to Ash, who's breathing has become shallower. "At least it hasn't stopped yet," she muses, before focusing on the wound. "Ash," she says as seriously as she can. "You need to heal yourself!" Ash shakes his head, grunting now. He seems to be straining to keep his power in check. "Ash listen to me!" May snaps. "I know you don't want to use your power because your scared of hurting someone you care about, but if you don't heal yourself you'll die!" Still Ash doesn't heal. Instead, he continues to grunt, which become louder and more strained. "Think about Serena!" May exclaims. "Think about how devastated she'd be if she found out you were dead! If you won't do it for yourself, then do it for her! Don't leave her behind like that!"
At this, Ash groans and falls to his hands and knees. "May," he says, his voice straining, "I need you to run!" "What?" May asks. "Run!" Ash repeats. He claws at the ground, which cracks in his fist. "I'm not leaving you!" she says. "RUN!" Ash bellows, his voice becoming a growl. He looks up at her, and she can see that his eyes have become red. May yelps and leaps back, crawling away from him. Ash continues to groan and strain, as if trying to keep something at bay. Suddenly, his body begins to convulse. Blue tendrils of power begin to emerge from hi. "Brendan!" May calls. "Get out of there! Something's coming!" Brendan returns his Steelix and retreats behind May's boulder. "What's happening to Ash?" he asks.
His question is answered when Ash lets out a scream of pain. The blue tendrils completely absorb his body, covering him from head to toe. Now, he looked like a being of energy in the shape of a human, with glowing red eyes. Eyes that stare at Brodie with pure hatred. As everyone watches, Ash puts his hand up to his chest, and heals the wound left by the bullet. He pulls the bullet out and flicks it in Brodie's direction. Brodie ducks, allowing the bullet to sail over his head and hit a rock behind him. That rock shatters upon impact. "Well now," Brodie says, his voice full of intrigue. "This is quite interesting. So, this is the full power of an Aura Guardian!" Brendan looks at May with shock. May gives him a look that says, I'll explain later. "I've always wanted to fight one," Brodie continues. "So, come on then, show me what you-"
Before Brodie can even finish his sentence, Ash is suddenly right in front of him, his fist pressed against his chest. Brodie has just enough time to utter, "huh?" before Ash extends his arm. Brodie is sent flying, tumbling a few times before crashing against another rock. He coughs as the wind leaves his lunges, and May sees him spit out a bit of blood. "Well *cough cough* that's certainly interesting." Then, he moves his sleeves, revealing a pair of thick black gloves. May's eyes widen. Those were the same gloves that the Team Terra Admins used against her brother in Kalos. Brodie presses a button on either glove, and electrical energy charges through them. "You know, I've spent these past few months training my fighting skills against wild Lucario," he says. "And now, I get to use them. Finally, a worthy foe! Our battle will be legendary!" Then, the two of them charge at each other, and their fists make contact.
I recommend you play The Only Thing They Fear Is You (aka the DOOM theme).
When their fists make contact, a shockwave erupts from their fists, throwing everyone back. Sub-Admin R is nearly thrown out of the cockpit of the Tremor machine, which slows down his progress in setting up the machine. This gives Brendan an idea. "I'm going to shut down that machine," he says. "You keep an eye on them." Before May can argue against this, Brendan begins to sneak away towards the machine. Cursing under her breath, May turns her attention back to the battle. Ash and Brodie are in a stalemate. Ash has one of Brodie's fists in his hand, and has tried to throw a punch of his own, but Brodie caught that one. Now they're battling back and forth, trying to gain control of the fight. Brodie has his gloves still on electric, but Ash is immune to it due to the amount of times Pikachu has shocked him. So, Brodie manoeuvres himself so that he's free of Ash's grasp, then switches the electric power to fire, before slamming both fists into Ash's back.
Ash flies forward, crashing to the ground. Brodie leaps into the air, ready to pound him, but Ash raised his feet and kicked out, throwing Brodie away. Before Brodie could even hit the ground, Ash rushes forward, grabbing his arm. He spins around and throws Brodie into another rock. Brodie tries to get to his feet, but Ash punches him repeatedly, not allowing him to get back up. He switches his gloves back to electric, then finds an opening to punch Ash in the chest, throwing him backwards. Ash flies in again, but Brodie is ready for it. The two of them proceed to trade blows, with Brodie getting better at blocking Ash's punches. Ash meanwhile only grows more erratic. May starts thinking that maybe he isn't in control of himself anymore. But that surely can't be possible, can it? After a few more minutes of this, Ash backs off, then claps his hands together. A long pole of energy emerges from his palms. He spins it around, then charges back at Brodie. Brodie tries to defend himself, but Ash's staff smacks him across the face, throwing him backwards once more.
He gets to his feet, then pulls out his gun again. He begins shooting at Ash, but Ash dodges them with so much ease. He reaches Brodie again and slams the staff down onto his head. He raises his staff to do it again, but Brodie blocks it with his gloves. As the two struggle, Sub-Admin F suddenly shouts out, "It's ready sir!" "Well fire it then you imbecile!" Brodie roars. Sub-Admin R positions the machine to fire at the base of the volcano. Brendan rushes forth, desperate to try and stop it. But before he can, R fires the weapon. Electricity courses through the rings around the rod at the centre of the machine. As everyone watches, a pulse of blue light fires from the rod and strikes the ground nearby. At first nothing happens. Then, Ash undoes his energy pole and clutches his head, crying out like a wounded animal. He falls to the ground and curls into a ball, freaking out just like the pokémon whenever a Tremor struck.
Brodie sees this and laughs. "Well now, it seems in this state, you're little more than a rabid Lucario," he comments. "What are you doing to him!?" May demands. Brodie looks at her. "Me? Nothing," he says. "It's the machine at work. Whenever we fire it, it sends out massive shockwaves across the area, which trigger the tectonic plates under Hoenn, triggering the Tremors! These shockwaves are at a frequency that only pokémon can hear, which is why they freak out like this." Then, Brodie activates the gloves again. While Ash writhes in pain on the ground, Brodie begins to slam his fists into him. "Not so tough now are you," he gloats. "The great Ash Ketchum, reigning Monarch of the World Coronation Series, brought down by the mighty Team Terra. I can see the headlines already!" Every few words he spoke, he slammed his fists into Ash.
He switches his gloves to fire and is about to resume, when Ash stops writhing. The ground begins to shake around them, and to May's horror, smoke begins to billow from the top of Mt. Chimney. Brodie sees this and laughs. "This is why you should've heeded my warning!" he says. "Now all of Hoenn will suffer because of you-Oof!" before he could finish his taunts, Ash strikes him with an uppercut to the jaw. Brodie is thrown into the air by the punch, so he pulls out his gun and starts shooting again. To May's surprise, instead of dodging, Ash spreads his arms out. A big barrier appears in front of him, blocking the bullets from hitting him. Then, Brodie's gun is emptied. He barely has time to say, "Uh oh," before Ash fires this barrier right at him. Brodie is launched farther into the air. Ash bends his knees, then leaps up after him. He swings his fist, punching him back down to earth. Brodie geta to his feet, then has to start dodging around as Ash throws Aura Sphere after Aura Sphere at him.
"May!" Brendan calls from somewhere nearby. "You need to get Ash to calm down! If he doesn't, he could tear this place apart! The volcano is going to erupt!" Ash hits the ground at this, and Brodie takes the opportunity to run in for some more punches. While he does that, Sub-Admin R suddenly appears behind Brendan and pins him to the ground. "We don't need to worry about that," he says, before pressing a button on a controller hidden in his coat. "Because this is a Team Terra base! It's not attached to the mountain!" At this, May suddenly feels the earth begin to shake. Looking around, she sees that the piece of the mountain she's standing on begins to levitate above the rest of Mt. Chimney. She gets to her feet and runs to Brendan to help him out, Pikachu on her shoulder. At that moment, an explosion occurs at the top of the volcano, as lava and ash begins pouring out of it. Mt. Chimney has erupted.
Brodie loses focus for one second to stare at the sight, and that costs him the fight. Ash takes the opportunity to strike him in the chest with his fist, and sends him flying off into another rock. Brodie gets up and tries to run towards him again, fists aflame, but he's too dizzy. Ash strikes him with another uppercut, sending him up into the air again. Ash doesn't even give him time to pull out his gun. He throws a bunch of Aura spheres at him, sending him higher and higher into the air. Brodie tries to recover, but Ash is with him in a second, not even giving him the chance to breathe. Brodie tries to throw some punches, but Ash just uses another barrier, completely blocking all attacks. Then, he sends out a huge pulse, sending him hurtling downwards. By this time, May and Pikachu have managed to free Brendan from R's grip. At that moment, they notice that Brodie is falling towards them. They dive out of the way as Ash throws more Aura Spheres, covering both Admin and Sub-Admin in a cloud of dust.
When it clears, they see Brodie stagger to his feet. He's panting furiously and quite bruised, but still standing. "I'll admit," he says. "I underestimated you. But, you won't beat me! In this state, you're little more than a wild animal! I will not lose to a wild animal!" He tries to run towards Ash again, but Ash doesn't even give him the chance to ignite his gloves. He appears in front of him and whips around, kicking him in the face. Brodie hits the ground and lays there motionless. But Ash isn't done yet. Blinded by rage and whatever consumed him, he proceeds to beat the crap out of Brodie, punching every inch of him that he could reach. May could barely watch this sight. Ash channels a massive Aura Sphere into both of his hands and raises it above his head. At this, May has seen enough. "ASH STOOOOOOOOOP!" she yells.
Stop music here.
Ash stops. He lets the Aura Sphere dissipate, then turns to look at her. May expects him to return to normal at this, and apologise, but that doesn't happen. He continues to stare at her, eyes glowing red with hatred and power. "Ash?" May says, suddenly a lot more nervous. "It's me, May. Don't you recognise me?" Ash continues to stare at her, like a carnivore pondering the best way to kill its dinner. "Ash?" she says again. "You're scaring me. Cut it out!" But Ash only continues to stare at her. Then, he roars, and May comes to a realisation. Ash doesn't recognise her in this form. By shouting to him, all she's done is make herself his next target.
Am I cruel enough to end this chapter here? Yes. Yes I am. But hey, at least I got it out on time, go me! But man, that fight was just as fun to write as I'd hoped! By the way, I hinted at this all the way back in Kalos, around the start of the second half. If you're wondering why I added that part with Serena and Drew, that's only there so that this chapter doesn't start with Ash's transformation. Sorry it's so out of place. But anyway, good news, part 2 will be out on Saturday, so I'll see you then!