Chapter 84 - Battle For Agate
A/N: This is an original Pokémon Fan Game made by Amethyst. To check it out and play the game, download it at Reborn Evolved. Search for it on your web browser to get to the website.
Location: Agate City
A city was wide awake and in chaos. People in black suits ran wildly, holding people hostage; civilians were both barricading themselves in houses to protect themselves, while others were trying to flee the city, while others stubbornly tried to enter the city.
Shouts, bolts of thunder, bursts of flame, rocks, water, leaves, and much more scattered in each way. Fights were breaking out everywhere, be it a Gym Leader trying to protect civilians or Meteor grunts trying to protect themselves from the onslaught of angry civilians, gym leaders, and trainers.
"Can't you just leave us alone for once?!"
"When is enough enough for you people?"
"*sigh*" A girl with silver eyes and blonde hair glared at one of those Meteor Grunts. Leave them alone? Weren't they the ones who decided to take not just one but two cities hostages? Shaking her head, Lucille recalled her two pokémon.
Lucille glanced at the one Meteor lying on the ground unconscious, a small trickle of blood coming from his head. In all this chaos, this guy had gotten hit by a ricochet rock blast from… somewhere.
"Surrender yourself now, and I'll guarantee treatment for your friend."
"..." The conscious grunt could only glare at Lucille in response—her eyes wandering to the Agate City Officers behind Lucille. None of them appeared happy that they'd been forced asleep for so long. But with the city in chaos, the girl had no chance to escape with her friend. "Fine, we surrender…"
"Officers take them to the holding area between West Aagate and Agate Circus holding area. No unauthorized use of excess force." Lcuilel said in a stern tone.
"Yes, Ma'am." The officer was older than Lucille but was willing to comply.
As the Police took the two grunts away, Lucille exhaled. This had been a stressful day. She had found her friends being lured away from Calcenon into some weird shed north of Agate, been mind-controlled to attack other friends, been pulled into an unknown void, and now… fighting to reclaim the city of Agate.
Lucille was honestly tired, but no rest for the wicked, they say… not that Lucille was a wicked person. But the saying still rang true. Percival, Nero, and Hardy were rescuing Ciel and Samson on one side of the city. Shelly, Titania, Noel, Radomus, and Serra were off rescuing regular civilians and arresting Meteor Grunts like Lucille.
"!" Lucille felt a chill, looking across the river that flowed through Agate. Lucille saw her, Lin.
Lin calmly walked through the chaos around her with her green hair and eyes. Almost as if it was a serene day. Lucille could swear she could see a smile on her face. All the pain, the hurt, the blood on her hands, and she smiles like it's normal… and she seems to be heading somewhere.
"..." The smile suddenly disappeared. Lin looked up, straight at Lucille, before suddenly jumping right into the river.
"?!" Lucille blinked, trying to see if she saw it correctly. To what it seemed to Lucille, Lin just jumped into Agate's River. It was known that Lin was looking for something here… but what that was, no one knew… Lucille couldn't hesitate. She grabbed a Pokeball from her belt, tossed it into the river, and out came a giant blue and grey serpent. Livia, Lucill'es Gyarados.
Lucille took out a re-breather before jumping onto Livia's back. And into the River, the two went.
Lucille followed Lin below the waters of Agate City. At first, it was the usual thing one would expect from a river: Random junk thrown away from people, rocks, riverweeds, and Pokémon. What Lucille didn't expect to find beneath Agate was an underwater cave.
It wasn't a deep cave, or at least that's what Lucille thought until she noticed the petrified forest. Trees that had remained underground for a long time turned to stone. It seemed to stretch on infinitely, but perhaps the light couldn't reach deep enough to the other side of the forest. But what stood out was the blank platform, made of different cutstones… weathered. Standing… rather floating above that platform, was Lin.
She was there unabashed, no rebreather in sight. Sensing Lucille's approach, a voice rippled through the water, Lin's voice. "I see. So, the gaggle above has already broken apart. And the power source we sought was never here to begin with. All this time, they were looking for something that could never have been found. And they destroyed themselves over it. Aha... Ahah…"
"..." Lucille was unsure what to do… This madwoman was somehow doing the impossible, speaking and laughing underwater as if she were incapable of drowning. Each laugh of Lin's echoed into the depths of Lucille's soul; what type of per…thing was she staring down?
"Hey." The laughter ended abruptly, Lin's green eyes staring into Lucille's silver eyes. "Don't you think it's funny? Don't you think it's funny…" There was madness etched into her voice, yet somehow sorrow as well. The sadistic tone was most striking as her lips curled into a smile. "...How easily people break?"
"..." Lucille trembled but couldn't move. Her hands wouldn't move, Livia wouldn't move…
"Everyone in the world wears a stone face." Lin continued, "Underneath, they swear they're solid gold. Hearts of crystal, souls of steel… But no matter their face, everyone has nothing. You take away something away. Their home. Their love. Something as simple as a necklace."
"!" Lucille almost spat out her rebreather, looking at the silver pendant In Lin's hands. It was a simple silver locket with a crescent moon carved on the outer surface, Lucille's locket. When did Lin take it? How did she take it?
"Their breath… And they just fall to pieces. We are made of nothing. And surely it would take an act of God to create something from nothing." Lin said, throwing the necklace into the water with surprising force. It launched into Livia, forcing the giant serpent to crash into the wall, Lucille with her.
With a blink of her eyes, an object formed behind Lin. It was comprised of moving stones, all hovering around a central cylinder… spinning. It was a mystical sight, an object appearing from nothing. But it was also a breathless sight, as the Relic Stone appeared from nothing.
The Relic Stone is said to be a great object connected to Celebi. Years ago, the neighboring Orre Region was under threat from Team Cipher and their army of Shadow Pokémon. The Relic Stone was used to purify the hearts of Shadow Pokémon. But this wasn't the Orre Region's Agate Village; Lin and Lucille were in Agate City. While there were similarities, especially in name, they were two different towns built on the same mountain. Though the Stone Forest below the City… could have pointed to more similarities… But no, the Relic Stone was a unique item that belonged solely to the Orre Region.
"(How the hell did that end up here?!)" Lucille cursed internally. As Lin now had the item she needed… The Relic Stone.
"Life is unfair like that," Lin smirked, exposing her back to Lucille. No mere mortal could hurt her after all; she made that painfully apparent with Titania. Lin left with the Relic Stone.
For a woman with no pokémon, rebreather, or support for swimming… Lin was inhumanely fast. By the time Lucille had left the cave, she had almost lost sight of Lin. If it weren't for the shadows reflecting from the water's surface she thought Lin might try to escape by river.
Up on the surface, the Relic Stone was hovering in the air by Lin as she hopped on to her three-headed Hydriegon. Though Lin wasn't alone, while they were far away, it was clear that Ciel, Samson, and Shelly surrounded Lin. Lucille just had to make it in time to help them subdue Lin.
"Now, Now!" Ciel, a woman with light blue hair and a blue leotard, shouted as a flying puff of cloud with a blue neck and beak flew to cut off Lin's Aerial Escape. "You can't possibly leave until the show is rightfully over!"
"While you're at it, how about you hand over whatever that big stone business is." From the ground, Samson had his Conkeldurr out, ready to lob one of its concrete pillars right at Lin's Hydreigon.
Looking down at them, Lin's expression didn't change. "Who makes demands with their cheek on the ground? All the souls in this world insist on mercy. But there is none. A world like this cannot exist any other way."
Ciel sighed as she heard Lin's words. "I do hope you don't intend to take the moral high ground after everything you've done."
"Morals are only lies we believe in for our comfort. Such fictions have no bearing on this world. All that matters is control. Who can make the other man bow? Who can make the other one kneel? Who can make the other disappear?" Lin outstretched her arm, snapping her fingers as a creature appeared out of thin air. "And who can bring them back?"
"..." The creature was silent and unmoving. Her white arms were still and controlled, and her heart crystal glowed a dull red… a puppet of her former self. Shelly paled as she recognized the Gardevoir.
"What is lost can yet be found. What is found can be extorted. What's extorted is forgotten." Lin looked straight at Ciel. "What's forgotten is your place." The Gardevoir raised her arms, and reality rippled as a dark sphere came into being, aimed right at Ciel…, and then launched.
"Look out!" Samson moved before he realized, pushing Ciel out of the black hole.
"No, what are you?" Ciel screamed, but it was too late… The black sphere engulfed Samson and then dissipated, leaving nothing behind. Speechless, Ciel looked back up at Lin. "What… happened? Where did he go? What did you do with Samson?!"
"Why should the sun care if the stars go out?" Lin responded indifferently. "It is still the center of its own world. Unable to see past its own sheen. Shield your eyes, or burn them out. It makes no difference." With that, Lin flew off with the Relic stone in tow.
"Hey!" At this point, Lucille finally got to shore. She decided against chasing after Lin. With Gossip Gardevoir under Lin's control, things got a lot harder… But even still, Lucille had two people in shock before her: Ciel and Shelly…
"Again…?" Shelly stood frozen, not expecting the Gardevoir to show up.
Ciel didn't seem to be fairing much better, either. She looked sad, her eyes on the verge of tears. "Of course I care… I've always cared…"
As distraught as they were, Shelly and Ciel started talking over each other. Shocked by what happened.
"Another black hole? That Gardevoir... It's just like with Cain…"
"Even if it wasn't how he wanted- Even if I couldn't say it- And just what does she know?!"
" Why did it listen to her? Why couldn't we do anything again? Did I do something wrong asking for help stopping her?"
"No…" Ciel answered Shelly. "There was nothing we could do, but you weren't wrong to ask us…" Ciel, ashamed of her own weakness, turned away.. And ran.
"Lucille…" Shelly looked up at Lucille, her lavender eyess about to burst with tears."Why does this keep happening…? First, Cain, now this…"
"Shelly, hey… It's alright." Lucille kneeled, hugging the kid. "You froze… I know, what is happening is a lot more terrifying than… I think any of us could expect.."
"It's my fault- I saw Lin-" Shelly didn't get to continue as Lucille pulled her tighter.
"It's not your fault." Lucille tried to assure.
"Lucille's right, you know." Another voice came in. Looking up, the two saw three boys, Percival, Hardy and Nero. All three of them looked exhausted… but from the sounds of it the battle was over. Agate City was freed.
"Don't think you should have tried to face her by yourself either." Lucille continued. "No one will blame you for not taking on something you can't handle."
"Right, chin up, Shell Bell." Hardy poked in, and his messy red hair brightened his smile. "Gotta remember, someone tried to fight her alone and was declared dead for a while. Ain't that right, Mr. Sunshine."
"..." Nero sighed, rolling his eyes at the sunshine comment. Nero glanced at Shelly, a kid in the middle of a war. "What? He's not wrong; I barely escaped with my life… not to mention my arm… look, don't let a loss let you down; you're not dead. We'll find them if Luna doesn't find them first, that is."
"I think that's the most optimistic I've ever heard you, Nero." Percival teased, lighting the mood, only for Nero to glare in response. "But really, the battle's over… And we should continue; Titania, Florinia, and Serra have rounded up many MeteorGrunts on the City's west side. They're locking them up as they speak… But I'm sure they could use another set of hands. Think you can do that, Shelly?"
Shelly took a deep breath, still shaking. "O-okay…"
As Shelly left, four people remained: Nero, Lucille, Percival, and Hardy. Not a single person was sure they could continue what to say until Hardy broke the ice.
"My sis is with them." Hardy coughed, "She may not be good for much more than sharp words most of the time. But She and Shelly seemed to be hittin' it off earlier."
"Her harsh attitude will probably be better for the kid," Nero interjected. "Titania's words may be as sharp as her words… but she's not cruel. To her allies, at least."
"Well… as the battle's over… I had better talk to local law enforcement and help civilians calm down. Now that they're safe." Lucille sighed; it was a mix of relief for the battle won and annoyance at the continuous work left to do.
"While Lucille's doing that… Hardy, it may be an impromptu time. But I would like to request a Gym Battle." Percival stated he received some looks from Nero and Hardy, though. "I know, timings not right… but seeing that the last base is Labradora, which is connected to Reborn's Victory Road… and How Ame is dead… I just have a feeling… Lin might force a last stand on the champion's throne."
"..." Nero just sighed. It was something that that woman would do.
Hardy though he just smiled brightly. "Heh, You know… I've been lookin' forward to a battle with you ever since I saw you fight Aya. It's gonna feel GREAT to use my gym again!"
"Then I'll meet you guys back in Calcenon." Nero said, "I may have been declared dead, but I'm still classified as a criminal. Don't think a Gym or a nearby police station will do me any good."
"...I'll ask if Adrienn can pull any strings." Lucille sighed; it may have been a bit immoral… but what, after everything they've been through, Nero would just wind up in Prison?
With that, the group dispersed and headed to different locations. Readying the Calm before the Storm.