Chapter 13
Hey ya'll ^.^
Thank you both Artek and celuthea for posting ^.^ All else I'll say is that Dawn will continue to participate in Gym Battles considering how much I loved writing Chapter 11 ^.^
Here's the chapter, which has been renamed, oh and read this:
~~~WARNING! This chapter does contain a bit of violence, nothing majorly gory and horrible, just an arm being broken, a kick in the ribs, hair-pulling, an attack to the eyes and a face being hit into the ground to knock someone out. If that's gonna be too much for you, don't read this chapter ^.^
Chapter 13 ~ Battle Dimension
On the road...
Lost, alone, separated. Where to go? Where to go? Where am I? Who am I? I can't do this... I'm running around wild in the streets, the darkness chasing me. Maniacal laughter coming for me. She's here! She's here! Coronation cannot be stopped, I know this now. The Cover cannot be stopped...
Far from home...
Skya's hair falls over her face as she scoops a bundle of leaves up in her arms, protecting the creature as she runs from the laughter. Many voices, many voices singing and laughing, getting louder, getting closer. She nuzzles into the creature as they approach a dead-end alley, turning back to see silhouetted people laughing and screaming... for her...
But you don't have to feel alone...
Running also, Twila and May, hand in hand, fight to protect each other as mysterious masked men, white masks, happy smiles, sad eyes, chasing them, attacking them. Pokémon fire beams of light and attempt to control their actions. They are not alone as they're faithful pups cover them as they try to get away...
Brave and strong...
Rekka's arm snaps at the hands of a tall, old woman. Her hair is prim, her eyes mad, her outfit and demeanour more than refined. She is teaching him a lesson. He must learn, he must learn. A sick smile crosses her face at the sound of his bones cracking. That'll teach him to run...
Together we will be...
It's our destiny...
I stop as I reach what is left of the Pokémon Centre, quickly dashing inside for safety. Within its brightly lit seating area I feel safe, although it is deadly quiet. There are blue seats flung all over, the orange tiles on the floor are cracked and covered by dust. The roof, fortunately, is intact, preventing all moonlight from entering.
"Let's see," I speak to myself as I walk across to the computer by the reception desk.
The blue desk as a large dent in it, as if something was thrown into it. Behind I can see Nurse Joy's chair, her computer and a Pokéball lying on the ground. I carefully climb over the counter and pick up the ball and push the button at the front, but it does not open.
"Should've figured," I sigh.
I know full well that only the owner of the ball may open it, one of the most recent additions that came with the Pokéball makeovers. Beyond that, many balls were replaced and renamed, some even upgraded or taken out of commission all together. Regardless, now is not the time for a lesson in Pokéballs. I return my attention to the PC in the corner, quickly running over it, avoiding an upturned tile, and pushing the power button. No response.
"Great," I groan. "Just great."
I look around, not really sure what else to do.
"Guess I'll just have to head back out," I cringe at the thought.
There is something very strange going on in this town - all the people are gone, as soon as we got here we immediately separated. I remember being totally washed over by some intense wave of pure fear and paranoia. We all ran in different directions and I found myself here, inside the Pokémon Centre eventually. Looking at my Pokétch, I can see that it should be midday, but the moon is high and full. There is something about this seemingly eternal darkness that is causing it I'd imagine, or at least there must be some kind of connection. I really don't want to go back out there.
"Got no choice," I encourage myself.
I know that if I go back outside, this madness will overcome me and i am unsure of how to survive it.
"Got no choice," I repeat.
It could go very bad, I could hurt someone totally innocent without realising it.
"Got no choice," I say again.
What if I hurt one of my daughters?
"Gotta take that risk," I argue with myself.
What if I'm too out of it to even do anything?
"Gotta take that risk," I continue to say and sigh. "Look, there's no other choice," my eyes look at to what I can see of my hair, "we gotta do this, got no choice, what more do you want?"
Silence in my head.
"Right then," I smile as I head outside. "That shut her up," I spit at myself.
On the road...
Stepping outside, everything... where am I? What is this place? No! Shadows! No! Shades! No shadows! No! No! No! I'm running, my legs banging off each other causing me to fall to the... what is it I'm running on? Please help me. My babies, don't hurt me. No. Why? No. Why? No...
Far from home...
"Hold on to me," Skya whispers to the creature she cradles.
It's black body is covered by leaves as it nuzzles into her stomach. She is backed into a corner, surrounding by shadowed figures.
"Hold on to me," she lets out a weak smile. "My baby."
Burmy looks up at her, completely unaffected by the affliction.
"Burmy, burmee burm," it says to her, trying to reassure her.
"Ssh, my baby," tears fall from Skya's eyes as the shadows close in on her. "I know, I know, it's okay, it's okay..."
But you don't have to feel alone...
"Help me!" Twila screams as she runs away from the night, her Riolu stopping behind her.
The puppy Pokémon turns swiftly, its black ears twirling behind its as it runs towards one of the shadowed figures, clenching its blue paw into a fist glistening with snowflakes, it leaps into the air and strikes the swiftly solidly, pummelling it to the ground with a flurry of frosty fists.
"No! No! No!" May shrieks, running slightly ahead of Twila.
May's Pokémon arches its shimmering back, its coat sleek and tender, as it gathers all the cold from the night sky in front of its face using its cap-ends until a giant block of pure ice floats before it. Within an instant, the ice-cube shatters and millions of tiny shards of ice fire outwards, hitting every shade and spectre that can be seen.
The two Pokémon turn to face each other and look back upon their masters, cowering in fear, beating down on the ground as the madness overcomes them...
Brave and strong...
"Why do you resist us?" the old woman asks politely as she grips Rekka's arm tightly.
"What you are doing is wrong!" Rekka says through gritted teeth.
He appears to be completely aware and sane.
The old woman's glove can be heard stretching and twisting as she firmly snakes her hand around his wrist, burning it with her touch.
"Who are you?" she begins to lose composure, her voice growing louder and frantic.
Rekka summons up his strength, his face contorting with pain and fear, "bite me," he growls.
"Imbecile!" the woman screams and throws him to the dark cement floor beneath their feet.
Tall buildings surround them on all sides, a strong wind forcing its way through them. The buildings creak as if alive and a shrill laughter echoes on the wind along with screams. The screams sound familiar, but Rekka's mind is fraught with confusion and turmoil, like he's really tired. He begins to realise that the madness will take over and that being near that woman someone made him temporarily immune...
Together we will be...
"Dawn," Darkrai's voice echoes in my head.
"Don't give up," Mesprit's soft voice speaks.
"Let's go!" Ash cries.
"This is gonna be great!" Brock's declaration soon follows.
"You forgot the most important thing," Zoey reminds me.
"I wanna see you in the finals," Kenny challenges me.
"Thank you Dawn," Maylene smiles.
"I would say prepare for trouble," an old enemy groans, "but what's the point?"
"Believe in yourself," my daughters say in unison.
"We believe in you," Rekka says sincerely.
"Even if you don't believe in yourself," I hear Misty's voice too.
"Just remember us when you take all the glory!" May laughs.
"And never forget where you've come from," my mother speaks.
"It's our destiny!" they all say together.
Suddenly, the madness leaves me. Everything comes back to me, all of my memories, all of my usual feelings and all that I know. I find myself lying on cold concrete, it is wet, windy and dark and I somehow do not have even a smidgen of dirt or dust on my precious whites. I stumble to my feet and look up at the pitch-black sky and see three tiny coloured lights flying away, one red, one blue and one yellow. How strange...
"The others!" I gasp as I begin to remember all I say in my sickened state.
I dash back to the Pokémon Centre, which is only a few feet away from where I had found myself lying, running inside into the light and back to the computer just behind the nurses station.
"If there was ever one thing Lucas was good at," I mutter to myself as I pull off a piece of the tower's plastic covering, "it was with computers," I pull out a cable and connect with my Pokétch, "and I learned a lot from him."
The computer screen flickers briefly and a 3D rendition of my husband comes through clearly, being projected by my Pokétch new imaging system, another advance made over the years, but now is not the time to get into such insignificant detail.
"Lucas!" I snap impatiently at the tiny image.
"Ah, Dawn," he smiles. "I see my latest Pokétch upgrade is working perfectly, although it saddens me to see it so..."
I sigh, "I know, I wish the circumstances could be better," I try to cheer him up, "but, this is exactly the situation you invented it for so let's just be glad it's working, alright?"
He nods and grins up at me, his dazzling smile still flooring me every time, it's no wonder I...
"Anyways," I swiftly shut my mind up. "I'm in Jubilife City, it's under attack from ghosts or something so Ambipom, Spinda and Lopunny are relatively useless here."
"Yes," he agrees. "You want to use the RED to exchange them?"
"Yes," I nod. "Well, just Ambipom, I'd like to keep the others just in case."
I press a button on the side of my Pokétch and a small slot slides out the back of it, facing a way from me. On it is a small indentation, just big enough for one PokéBall that has not been enlarged. I place Ambipom's red-and-white ball onto it and watch as it is teleported away.
"Received on this end," Lucas confirms. "What would you like in return?"
"Well, Mamoswine and Pachirisu have a lot of experience, but so does Gliscor," I think through all I have in storage. "Hmm... Mawile's pretty resilient and Venomoth's got some great speed... oh I don't know..." I begin to bite my nails.
"Ahaha," Lucas laughs and then coughs.
"What?" I turn my focus back to him.
"It's nothing, it's just that..." he trails off.
"What?" I hold his image right up close to my face. "Tell me!"
"I just... I mean..." he sighs, "I forgot how cute you could be."
Tears fill my eyes as the one Pokémon I want more than any other comes to my mind.
"Send her to me," I says blankly.
Lucas nods, knowing full-well who I want.
In a tiny flash of light, a new PokéBall appears in my Pokétch.
"Thank you," I smile at him as I place the ball on my belt.
"You're welcome," he grins boyishly.
"Goodbye," I go to end the transmission.
"Wait!" Lucas calls out, his voice rather frantic.
"What? What is it?" I begin to well up again. "What's wrong?"
"I, uh, I," he scratches the back of his head. "When you get back home, once you're done saving the world and all," he doesn't look at me, "would it be alright if we maybe went out to, you know, like a dinner or a coffee or something?" he looks at me with his deep eyes, that charming little shy look he used to always pull on me. "I've really missed you and the girls since you've been gone..." he chokes up.
I watch on the tiny projection as he covers his sobs with his creased white lab-coat.
"Lucas..." I begin to cry as well, "I don't know what to say..."
This is totally unexpected and really at the wrong time, I mean, I'm really busy here trying to save my friends and family and now he wants to get back together? Maybe this is my destiny, maybe part of saving my family is to bring Lucas back into the fold...
"Of course," I sniff back my tears and grin at him. "Nothing would make me happier."
He looks up at me, his eyes red from crying and grins back, his face a perfect picture of joy.
"Thank you," his voice is shaky. "Thank you so much."
"No," I shake my head, "thank you."
We end the transmission there. I unplug the cable from the computer and get back to my feet, turning to face the smashed in double-doors of the Centre.
"Let's go save the world!" I shout to myself.
With that, I step back out into the night...
On the road...
Skya's body shakes as she scrambles further and further into the cold concrete corner. The shadows close in on her, completely enveloping her in their sinister glare.
"Mime!" one of them yells and rushes for her.
"No!" she screams and darts to the side.
The creature's pale pink body slams into the wall behind her, but as it does another sends out a projectile beam of light at her. Skya rolls across the ground to dodge it, clutching the bundle of leaves so tightly that it coughs. As she tumbles, one of the creatures foresees her actions and fires another beam at where she will be, striking her eyes...
But you don't have to feel alone...
May grabs Twila's hand and the pair run towards the edge of the city, seeing the dawn of a new day just beyond the city's boundaries.
"What madness is this?" May asks as her sanity returns at the sight of the sun.
"Riolu!" Twila calls back to her Pokémon. "What's going on?"
Riolu rears its blue face, his black ears swirling around as he replies in a language only Twila can understand. Shortly behind him is another, much larger dog running on all fours.
"Glaceon," May spins around, "behind you!"
Chasing Glaceon are human-sized creatures, each walking in odd square patterns while pushing their hands all about them, as if they are miming.
"We should leave," May suggests to Twila, "and return with more help."
Twila nods in agreement and the two, along with their faithful companions make one final run for the city's limits. However, as they approach, a strange forces knocks them back and a large glass wall is seen before them.
"What is this?" May cries.
The pair turn back to see the miming pink creatures close in on them, trapping them in a glass box that only they can disperse...
Brave and strong...
"You know, it's funny," the old prim woman speaks to Rekka, who can barely understand her, "you've spent your entire life living a lie. I mean, The Coven have always governed the world for as long as Arceus has been alive," she says but receives no response from the disillusioned Rekka. "So why resist us now? What has changed in the world to turn you against us?" she asks him. "We've controlled Arceus ever since the moment the first Mew came into existence, it just didn't know it," she continues.
Rekka attempts to crawl away from her, but she stomps on his back, forcing him back to the ground.
"Stay down pet!" she snaps at him, her voice changing to sound more masculine. "Is it because of what we did to Dawn that you resist us?" her voice returns to its previous feminine sharpness. "No, that can't be right," she laughs and kicks Rekka's ribs with a brown heel, "because we've been taking people for centuries!"
Rekka coughs and clutches his stomach, tears creeping down his face.
"Or maybe," she kneels down beside him, "is it because we took you father?"
Rekka's eyes widen as she pulls back his light orange hair.
"But I'm sure he's alright up there with Arceus," she gloats, "being able to see all that is happening, all that I am doing to you and all that I am going to do to you," she slams his face into the concrete, causing him more disorientation than before. "But he'll be alright," she gets back to her feet, wiping her hands and mouth with a white handkerchief. "After all," she grins, "Ash is a strong man."
Rekka's tears flow freely as the pain takes over, fully pulling him into the realm of sleep...
Together we will be...
It's our destiny...
Gardevoir suddenly teleports away, without Celina having to lift a finger.
"Looks like Jubilife is keeping them pretty busy," she licks her lips as she moves from the kitchen into the living-room, to where Johanna is asleep on the couch.
A ball of dark purple energy begins to form in the palm of her hand, her eyes widening with happiness as she approaches the old woman.
"Time to end this," she cackles.
We will be heroes...
We can change the world if we try...
I go where you go...
Forever friends you and I...
We will be heroes...
Battle Dimension...
Pokémon!
~~~END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN~~~
The next chapter coming your way is slated to be called Special! Mother Of Dawn! and focuses around Johanna, which I hope a lot of will be happy to see ^.^
Til next time *cookies*
