Blade of Destiny Chapter 9: Destiny Revealed The sky erupted into a myriad of colors as the sun began its descent over the horizon. Another day had come and gone, and the city of Viridian was reduced to no more than a mere pile of rubble. The sense of death and destruction hung like a veil over the ruined city, the survivors trying to ignore it as they tried to piece together what was left of their lives. Some merely stared out into the sky, shell-shocked; unable to accept the reality of their surroundings. The stars in the sky twinkled in the black sky, providing light for what seemed to be a bleak future. *** "What's the count, Harrison?" The young man sighed and leaned against the wall of the conference room in the League building. He turned his head and shook it slowly. "Two thousand agents confirmed dead, another eight hundred missing. Civilian casualties are in the hundred thousands and climbing. Bodies are being turned up every few minutes." Azusa cursed and ran a hand through his short black hair. "How did they catch us so off-guard? It's like they had an inside man..." "They did, sir. It was Tracey. He stole the weapons and took off, clearing out at least fifty agents on the way." The Chief shot up in his seat in surprise. "What!? Sketchit was our mole?!" Harrison nodded slowly as he turned his head back to the laptop that lay on his lap. "How long has he been working for Team Ultima?" Harrison shrugged and clicked some more keys on his computer. "Our Johto and Hoenn branches have dispatched four platoons each to Viridian, Chief. They should be arriving here in a few hours," he said quietly. The Chief nodded and leaned back into his seat. "And where are the fugitives?" Azusa didn't trust them at all, but they had helped tremendously in battle, and had retrieved one of the weapons from Tracy. Right now, he couldn't worry about a few stolen objects when an entire city was just destroyed from an assumed disbanded crime syndicate. "They're in the conference room down the hall with Gary and Misty. As soon as we cleared out the debris in the building, they rushed into the room and locked themselves in. No telling what they're doing in there." Azusa leaned forward in his seat and dropped his voice as he questioned Harrison. "Harrison, did you see anything...unusual out on the battlefield today?" Harrison chuckled and looked up from his laptop. "You want to know if I saw what the others claimed they saw, right? Laser beams and people floating in mid-air; that sort of thing?" The Chief nodded and Harrison laughed and closed the computer and sat it beside him. "No Chief, I didn't see anything. I was giving cover to Misty, and then I got a call to the other side of the city. If you ask me, I think they're just a little shaken up, that's all." The Chief nodded solemnly and sat back into his seat. "I was thinking that too, Harrison, but quite a few of them have the exact same story, so we can't exactly rule this out." "You're serious? Chief, this is not one of those old fairy tales your parents used to tell you when you were a kid. You have to be reasonable; people shooting beams from their hands, floating in the air? I find that more than a little hard to believe. They must have just seen a pokemon use an attack, that's all," Harrison scoffed. Azusa rose from his seat and headed for the door. "I think you're right. Inform me when the other branches arrive. As soon as they get here, we're all going on a hunt for these bastards." *** "God, my head is killing me," Gary groaned as he laid his head on the cold table. All of the Guardians were assembled in the room, and the sword lay in the middle of the table, glowing brightly and humming loudly. Duplica stared with awe as she picked up the weapon and inspected it carefully. "It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like this before in my life," she said with awe. Ash chuckled and leaned against the wall in the corner of the room, Pikachu happily slurping on a packet of ketchup near his leg. "Wish I could say the same thing. It looks like one of those little orbs I had to collect in the Orange Islands when I was a kid. That whole Chosen One crap," he said dejectedly. The others stared at him before turning back to Max, who sat next to Brendan, furiously clicking on the laptop. "So what's the word, Max?" May impatiently asked. Max rolled his eyes and turned back to the screen. "We're searching Brendan's database for as much information as we can on this sword. Maybe we can figure just exactly what's going on," Max answered. Ash felt around in his pocket and fished out the jewel that Stryker had given him earlier. "You don't need to search the database, guys. This is all we need." He held the jewel into the light, where it glistened brightly. The sword began to hum even louder, and vibrated viciously in Duplica's hands. "Duplica set the sword on the table." "Whoa, what are you going to do, Ash?" Misty asked as he neared the table, jewel in hand. Gary groaned and lifted himself from the table. "Stryker gave him that stone. He's supposed to place it in the hilt of the sword, and we're supposed to know what we have to do next," Gary answered. All of the others now turned their gaze to him, bewildered at what he had just said. "Gary blinked, obviously surprised at himself. "Don't ask how I know that." Ash slowly approached the sword and raised it up, looking it over for where he was apparently supposed to place the jewel. He spotted a small groove in the center of the hilt and grinned. "Well, here goes nothing." Ritchie groaned loudly in the background. Ash ignored him and slipped the jewel into the groove; it was a perfect fit. Suddenly, the sword vibrated even more and hummed loudly, filling his ears with the growing humming sound that emanated from the weapon. The blade shone brighter, the colors inside brilliantly glowing, lighting the dim room. Ritchie grabbed Duplica and pulled her away from the viciously reacting sword. "Get back, it looks like it's gonna explode!!" The rest of the group backed away, but kept their gaze fixated on the weapon. In an instant, the sword glowed even more and abruptly stopped. The light, the sound, even the vibration of the sword had ceased completely as it lay there silently on the table. Gary edged closer to the sword, Misty right by his side. He chuckled and picked it up, swinging it in the air a few times. "Well, I guess that's a bust." Misty let out a sigh of relief and plopped into a nearby chair. "God Gary, don't scare me like that. I almost had a heart attack." Gary grinned and tossed the sword to Ash. He caught it and sliced the air a few times, the air whizzing loudly. "Looks like the jewel's a dud," he said as he swung the weapon again. Suddenly, the sword glowed again as a huge flash illuminated the room. The sword shook violently as it fell from Ash's grip and clattered to the floor. The humming grew even louder as the streaks inside the blade pulsed with power, threatening to shatter the blade into pieces. In a burst of energy; a gold streak, followed by a silver one and a rainbow of others exploded from the blade and swirled about in the air above their heads. Ash's eyes grew wide as the colors whipped about in the air above him, before they came crashing down to the ground. The lights slammed into each of the inhabitants of the room, throwing them into walls, tables, and chairs. Then as quickly as it came, the commotion ceased. All of the people that were standing in the room moments earlier were now sprawled across the floor, their bodies giving off a faint glow of color. Pikachu and Sparky glanced at each other for a moment, the ketchup packet dropping from Pikachu's lips. "Chaa..." *** A light breeze blew across Ash's face, waking him as the world slowly blurred back into vision. He rolled over and took in the world around him. Please don't let this be another one of those weird dreams I've been having. "Don't worry kiddo, this isn't a dream," a soft voice said from behind him. Ash whirled around and spotted a small figure standing under a tree. A huge grass filled field surrounded the tree, continuing on into the horizon. "I suggest you get over here, Ash. Don't want to get wet, now do you?" As if on cue, the skies rumbled and darkened as he felt a splatter of wetness land on his cheek. Almost instantly, the rain began to beat down, pounding against Ash as he scrambled to the tree for cover. The young man laughed loudly at him, and fell back against the trunk of the tree barely able to stand upright. "You don't listen too well, do you?" Ash growled as he wiped some of his hair that clung to his face. "You didn't exactly give me a lot of time to react, you know." The young man laughed again as the winds whipped his long blonde hair into the air. If not for the small amount of muscles that adorned his small frame and the lack of breasts, Ash could have easily mistaken him for a girl. "Just who the hell are you, anyway? Where are we?" he demanded loudly over the now howling winds and pounding rain. His voice could barely be heard as a clap of thunder boomed overhead, causing Ash to jump. The young man laughed again. "Aww, is the little child afraid of plain old thunder?" he teased. Ash growled again before a bolt of lightning struck the ground mere inches away from him. Ash yelped and dove to the ground while the blonde-haired young man laughed even harder. "Oh man, this is gonna be something. I guess you put the jewel in the sword, huh? Of course you did, otherwise we wouldn't be talking." He strolled over to the trunk of the tree and leaned his head against it, taking in the maelstrom that roared around them. "Well, you're gonna want to find Stryker. He's waiting for you at the foot of Mount Moon," he advised. "Who are you? Where are we?" Ash demanded angrily over the storm. The young man merely smiled and pointed to the blackened sky. Suddenly, his cheerful expression faded into a frown as he stood up and gazed out into the field that surrounded the tree. "Who is that?" He pointed out into the storm at an approaching figure, blanketed by the sheets of rain and the darkened skies. The lightning flashed, and for a split second, Ash saw a solemn expression on the figure's face. The thunder clapped and as he drew closer, his eyes seemed to pierce the darkness and glow brightly. The young man narrowed his eyes as the lightning flashed again. In the brief moment of light, the figure had vanished. "That does not seem to be normal..." *** "Ash? Ash, wake up!" "Let Pikachu wake him up." A small cry flooded into Ash's ears as the crackling of electricity snapped him awake. "No wait, Pikachu, I'm awake!!" His cries were too late as the energy was already released and screamed through the air towards him. Ash braced himself for the ensuing shock, and felt the energy strike him. But instead of the pain he was used to, a feeling of pleasure washed over him like a wave as he could feel the sparkling energy swim through his body. He slowly sat up and looked around him, the expressions on their faces bewildered. "Did you see that? It was like he absorbed it or something..." Ritchie said quietly. He felt two hands grab him from beneath his arms and lift him to his feet. "You feel ok, Ash?" Ash shook his head and turned around. "Yeah, Brock. I feel better than okay. I feel excellent." "Yeah, we all do. We know where we need to go now. We need to-" "Go to Mount Moon and find Stryker," Ash finished for him. "But who told you?" Brock shrugged. "Some huge guy was standing on a cliff and told me. The guy looked like a giant. The others say that the last thing they remembered was the light slamming into them and waking up someplace else. After they talked, the people told them where to find Stryker and they woke up. Did the same thing happen to you?" Ash nodded slowly and looked at the rest of the group, not mentioning the weird guy he saw in the rain. "How long have I been out?" Misty cleared her throat and stepped forward. "About ten or twenty minutes. Harrison and the Chief rushed in here to see what had happened, and we just made up some story to make them leave. We need to leave as soon as we can so we can find this Stryker guy." Ash picked up Pikachu and set the small yellow rodent on his shoulder. "Well then, let's go. *** Dr. Leto rubbed his eyes, his neck hurting from staring at the computer screen for such a long time. It had been a few days since the assault on Viridian and he had been spending every waking moment studying the shield and the ancient texts. "Doctor, the Directors want to speak with you for a moment." The Doctor turned and nodded at the young man. "Follow me please." The Doctor nodded and left his computer on to translate the large leather bound book that sat on a table in front of them. "Stephens, I want you to watch this computer until I get back. If you see anything show up that seems to be of any importance, I want you to call me immediately, understand?" he instructed as Stephens nodded. "Lead the way, young man." The Doctor followed him as he led him throughout the facility. The main headquarters of Team Ultima was a marvel of architecture as it was built inside a hollowed out Mount Silver. It had taken at least six months to clear out enough stone just to build the Coliseum, and another two years to actually hollow out the entire mountain. Pokemon and Ultima member alike helped to build the facility, and the numerous pokemon that inhabited the mountain were promptly captured and used in their various plots. It was important that they kept a low profile; the organization was severely crippled after the confrontation between the Special Forces and Team Ultima in Saffron City. But now, they were so close to awakening all of the Guardians that the time for stealth and hiding in the shadows were over. "In here, sir." The agent's voice snapped the Doctor from his wandering thoughts. "The Directors are waiting for you." The Doctor nodded and waved his hand, dismissing him. "Thank you. You can leave now," he snapped. The agent glared at him for a moment before walking off, muttering under his breath. He walked into the room and spotted all of the Directors standing in front of a giant glass window that adorned the far wall. "What is it, Director? I'm very busy right now, and I can't waste my time on trivial matters." Jessie scoffed, taking a sip of coffee. "Please, Doctor. You should know by now that all Butch and Cassidy can handle are trivial matters." A man whirled around, glaring at Jessie. "Jessie, I have had it up to here with your crap!!" His voice was extremely rough, as if he had swallowed gravel and attempted to talk as the small rocks slid down his throat. He looked similar to James, except that his hair was blue, and he was a lot more muscular than James was. "You are under our jurisdiction, so don't think you run anything. Your little base was destroyed, so you have no authority!" Jessie smirked and took another sip. "Please, Butch, you're not intimidating anyone. And for your information, we do have more authority than you and your little partner. Hell, Roxanne has more power than you now," she chuckled. Steadman grunted as he folded his arms and leaned against the wall, staring out of the window. Tracy was in the room adjacent to them, training with Roxanne as they honed their abilities. "Can you explain what you called us here for? All of this arguing is wasting our time." "Of course, Steadman," a sensual voice chimed from behind them. The Doctor turned as Cassidy, a very attractive blonde, walked into the room. Her Director uniform seemed to be custom made just to show off her curves; Cassidy had quite a reputation throughout the ranks as a showoff, and it was all too evident here. "We called you here because the Board is arriving here in a day or two to review the progress on your research, Doctor. The Board was not too thrilled to find out that we just launched a full scale battle in Viridian without their consent," she commented as she tossed a glance in Steadman's direction. "Our low profile was our greatest asset, and you just threw that away, Steadman. Nice job; I can't wait to hear what the Board has to say to you," Butch taunted, backing away from the window as Tracy's body slammed into it. Steadman threw a vicious look at Butch. "Oh?! And what would you have done, Butch? I got the shield back; a few days ago we didn't have anything to even research!" he exclaimed. "A mistake that happened at your facility last time I checked. If anything, you and your poor leadership with those rejects have single-handedly compromised this organization," Butch snapped back. "Enough," The Doctor interrupted. "Yes, Steadman has made some less than stellar decisions, but we do have one of the Legacy Weapons back in our possession. And the last time I checked, neither of you have done anything to even assist us in our operation to obtain them the first time we had them." Butch and Cassidy looked away, knowing they had just been showed up by Dr. Leto. "However, pointing fingers like a group of schoolchildren is just going to waste more time. It's time for us to stop this bickering and put forth all our efforts into this research. The League Special Forces still have no idea that this facility exists, and while they are searching the regions in a desperate attempt to locate us, we can be training our Guardians so we can retrieve the sword." "Now, when is the Board arriving?" Jessie questioned. "In about a day or two," Cassidy answered as she flipped through the files she carried in her hands. Dr. Leto clasped his hands together and smiled. "Well then, let's get to work." *** Stryker sat in front of the fire of the small cabin and stared into the crackling flames, entranced by his thoughts of his encounter with Ash. "I assume you met with one of them?" a voice said from behind him. Stryker nodded grimly and continued to stare into the fire. "Yeah, the host of Ashura. But there are complications now, Scryer. Huge complications. The host of Ashura bears the mark of the Chosen One," Stryker replied as he tossed another log into the dying fire. "What? Are you sure?" Stryker nodded again. "Positive. No one else in the world has a mark like the Chosen One has. You should know that." He heard Scryer close the cabin door and take a seat behind him. "We must be prepared. Do we have the sword yet?" Stryker shook his head and glanced behind towards the window. The waning sunlight streamed in and landed on Stryker's face. The sun was setting, and he could sense the power of the Guardians arriving. "They're here. And they brought the sword with them." *** Pikachu chirped softly as the group continued their trek up the mountain. Ash chuckled and patted the small rodent on its head. "I know, Pikachu. I'm tired too." "Yeah, it is getting dark. Maybe we should find some shelter and continue on up during the morning," Brendan suggested. Gary scoffed and kicked a stray pebble on the ground. "This whole Stryker thing is pointless. I bet the guy doesn't even exist. Hell, we might have been hallucinating or something; we were unconscious the entire time." "Well, it's the closest thing we have to a lead, so stop complaining and keep walking," Misty replied. All Gary could do was grunt in reply and continue his journey up the steep mountain. Ash chuckled and surveyed the woods around them, searching for a safe place to rest. His eyes soon fell onto a small cabin tucked away in the corner of the woods; if he had not been carefully searching he would have missed it completely. "Guys, over here! I found us a place to stay!" Let's just hope the people who live here are kind enough to take such a huge group in for the night, Ash thought to himself as he plucked Pikachu from the ground and placed him on his shoulder. "Looks like we might get to eat, Pikachu. I'm starving," he groaned as he rubbed his growling stomach. "Some things never change," Misty said playfully as the group neared the cabin and knocked on the door. The woods were silent as the group waited for an answer. "Maybe no one's home yet. This is a big mountain after all," Ritchie said before being interrupted by the door being opened. A small, old man answered the door, a frown present on his wrinkled face. He looked so fragile that it seemed as if he would tip over if the slightest breeze came through. "What do you punks want?" he asked with a gravelly voice. Max cleared his throat and stepped forward, putting out his hand. "We're looking for shelter for the night, sir. My name is Max, and you are...?" The old man stared at his outstretched hand for a moment before turning around. "Hey, lazy! Your idiot friends are here and they're looking for freebies!!" He turned back around and narrowed his eyes at the group. "You can put your hand down now, stupid. I swear, kids these days...." he trailed off as he inspected the rest of the group. His eyes fell on Ash and the old man seemed to be startled before his same scowling expression fell onto his face. "Fine, you idiots can stay here. But you're earning your keep for tonight, got it? There's no lying around here," he growled before motioning for the group to come in. As Ash and Ritchie stepped into the door, the old man whacked them in the chest with his walking cane, stopping them. "Your little rats know how to behave, right?" he said as he pointed his cane towards Pikachu and Sparky. Ash growled and nodded while Ritchie did the same. "Good. If they mess up once, all four of you are sleeping outside, got it?" With that, the old man turned and headed to the back of the cabin before stopping and rapping his cane against a nearby door. "Get your lazy ass up, ugly, before I kick you out too!!" A groan could be heard from the room as the old man turned back towards the group. "If you need anything, tell ugly to get it." With that final remark, he headed towards the back of the cabin, and slammed the door shut. "Geez, what was that guy's problem?" Ritchie asked. Sparky and Pikachu were sitting in front of the blazing fire, chirping happily as Pikachu pulled out a small deck of cards and slammed them onto the ground. "Are you guys playing that Pokemon card game again? I swear you guys are addicted to that game," Ash said. Pikachu merely dismissed him with a wave of his paw and threw a card down. "Well, at least we can finally rest. This has got to be the craziest day I've ever had, and I'm exhausted," May sighed as she stretched out on a nearby couch and lay down. "Well, don't get too comfortable, then. You guys still have a lot of work ahead of you," a voice said. The others looked up to see a young man with silver hair stroll out from the room the old man was tapping on. "So guys, ready to find out what's going on?" *** "All of the Gym Leaders have been briefed on the situation and are currently headed for Indigo Plateau, sir. They should be arriving within the hour, sir," Harrison said. Azusa nodded and turned in his chair. "And how is the search for Team Ultima going?" A young woman turned her head and sighed. "Not too well, Azusa. We've been searching all over the Johto region and we can't find one lead on where these guys might be. I don't get how an army like that can just vanish into thin air." She brushed her brown hair back and tossed a glance to the man sitting at the edge of the table. "What about you, AJ?" The man shook his head. "No luck. I can't find any trace of them. We've checked all of Team Aqua and Magma's old hideouts, but they're all abandoned. Giselle's right; it's like they vanished into thin air." Harrison cleared his throat. "Um, I may have a suggestion. They brought a huge force of agents to assault us, right?" The others nodded. "Well, obviously, they couldn't go too far with such a large force without being spotted. So I'm thinking that...." "...Their base is very close to Viridian City. There's no way they could transport such a huge force of personnel and equipment like that without being spotted by anyone and launch a surprise attack...unless our mole had access to our surveillance equipment," AJ finished for Harrison. Azusa shook his head. "Tracy was high up, but he didn't have that kind of security clearance. The only ones who could access that kind of equipment and shut it down without anyone knowing would be Harrison, Gary, Misty, and myself." "Well, we should run a sweep of the surrounding cities and terrain. With the manpower we have here, we should be able to cover every inch in about a week or two," Giselle suggested. The others nodded as they rose from their seats. "Harrison, I want you and Jenkins in charge of this. We have to go meet the Gym Leaders at the Indigo Plateau," Azusa ordered. "Yes, sir. Don't worry Chief, we'll find those bastards." *** "Guardian Spirits, huh? So that's what's going on." Gary flexed his hand as Stryker explained the situation to them. "But, why are they here now? You said that people who have met the requirements haven't activated the sword, so why us?" Max questioned as Stryker shrugged. "We have no clue. Apparently, they're here for a reason. Something big is going to go down. Unfortunately, we can't see into the future." Ash sighed and leaned against the wall while Brendan clacked loudly on his laptop. "So what are you, anyway?" Stryker smirked. "I'm a Keeper. My job is guarding to guard the Guardians and their hosts until their abilities are at full strength. I'm also the person who's going to teach how to use your elemental abilities. Scryer is your combat instructor; he's going to teach you how to use these elemental abilities alongside some martial arts techniques." "I don't think I'm going to need any help with martial arts training," Ash said confidently. Scryer chuckled and tossed a glance in his direction. "Of course you don't, Ash. After all, you fought me with all your might and I beat you without even trying. You're all going to be learning combat tomorrow, and Scryer likes to wake up at the crack of dawn, so I suggest you get some rest." He pointed to Pikachu and Sparky, both of whom were lying on the sofa asleep. "Your pokemon should get as much rest as they possibly can, too. They're going to be training with you." Stryker stretched his arms and yawned. "I'm going to hit the sack myself. Don't stay up too late, kiddos." "Just where is this Scryer guy anyway?" And who is he?" Ritchie asked as Stryker rose and headed towards his room. He chuckled again and opened the door. "Let's just say you've already made an impression on him. There are some beds in the other room, but I don't think there are enough for all of you, so some of you are gonna have to sleep on the floor." The others nodded as he waved and closed the door. Ritchie yawned and cracked his knuckles. "Well, we should get some sleep. Apparently, we have a big day tomorrow." The others replied and filed into the room to get some rest for the day ahead. Ash stayed behind, staring into the fire with a solemn expression on his face. "Ash, you ok?" Misty's voice snapped him awake from his sleep. "It looks like you fell asleep in front of the fire." Ash nodded and glanced at the now dying flames. "I should add some more wood. The fire's dying down," he remarked as he rose and tossed another log onto the flames and grabbed a poker before settling on the floor again. "What are you doing up?" Misty shrugged and sat down next to him, hugging her legs to her chest. "I couldn't sleep. I've been pretty restless, and Ritchie's snoring doesn't help." Ash chuckled and poked the fire. "Yeah, he does snore pretty loud. I don't get how Duplica can sleep next to him at nights." Misty looked at him with a surprised expression. "What are you talking about?" "Ritchie and Duplica are married, Mist. They've been together for about two or three years now, I think." He glanced at Misty, who was staring into the fire with a small smile on her face. "What's so funny?" "N...nothing. It's just that...you haven't called me that since...you know..." She looked at him for a moment before staring back into the crackling flames. "Oh...right. Sorry." She shook her head and chuckled. "It's all right. Well, since we both can't sleep and we have a warm fire going, how are we going to pass the time?" Ash looked at her with a shocked expression on his face. "Uh, Misty...you're not suggesting that we...um..." Misty stared back at him, puzzled for a moment before realizing what he was talking about. "No, Ash!! God, can't two people just have a conversation without it turning into something about sex?!!" She buried her face in her knees, trying to hide her bright-red cheeks from his gaze. "Geez, sorry. Well...what do you want to talk about then?" "Well, I have been wondering something..." Ash poked the fire again and sat the poker beside him. "What is it?" "How did you become a thief?" Ash fell silent and just stared into the flames before answering. "I don't really want to talk about it. It's a long story." "Good, I like long stories, and it's not like we have anything else to do." Ash sighed and blinked before turning to Misty. "I don't think you wanna hear it, Mist." Misty groaned and rolled her eyes. "Ash, let me be the judge of that, ok? We used to be able to tell each other anything, didn't we? What's the problem with telling me now?" Ash stared into her eyes solemnly before speaking. "Fine. It all started not too long after the Hoenn League Finals. I had come in 4th place and was pretty happy with myself, not to mention that everything else had seemed to be going pretty well in my life. You, Gary, Ritchie and all of our little gang had finally come back together; everything seemed to be perfect... so I decided I would take a break from training for a while and just head home for some rest. So, a few months after I had been living at home with my mom, I headed out with Pikachu to pick up the latest issue of Trainer Monthly. When I came back home, I found my mother lying in a puddle of blood on the kitchen floor." Misty gasped as his voice cracked and he clenched his fist. "Some Team Aqua member had found out where I lived and wanted to get revenge for throwing a monkey wrench into their plans. But since I wasn't there, he took it out on her. S...she was stabbed eight times in the stomach." He clenched his fist even tighter as a stray tear escaped from his eye. "She died in my arms, Misty. All these legends about me, all this Chosen One bullshit and how I'm supposed to save the world, and I couldn't even save my own mother!" Ash slammed his fist into the wooden floor and cursed. Tears began to fall from his eyes like a broken fountain as he sobbed loudly and huddled himself into a ball. Every time he thought about what had happened to his mother, he never could control his emotions; and the last person he wanted to break down in front of was Misty. Soon, he felt arms surround him and pull him into an embrace. "I...I'm so sorry, Ash. I had no idea," Misty sobbed as she hugged him tighter. "Believe me; I know how it feels to lose your parents. You don't have to talk about it anymore...I should never have asked. Please forgive me..." He looked up and stared in her sapphire eyes. "It's not your fault, Mist. You were just curious, there's nothing wrong with that." He gave her a small smile and wiped the tears from her eyes. Instantly, Misty shot forward and pressed her lips against his. He cried out in surprise for a second before returning the embrace with his own. Then as quickly as it began, she broke the embrace and stared him for a moment before jumping to her feet. "I...I'm sorry, Ash. Good night," she said hurriedly as she rushed into the room and closed the door. All Ash could do was stare, dumbfounded at what had just happened. "Yeah.....good night." *** "What's our status, Chief Azusa?" A balding man folded his arms and leaned back into his chair, his shades hiding his eyes from the others. Azusa cleared his throat and stood up. "As you all know, Viridian City was viciously attacked three days ago by a crime organization that was previously regarded to be disbanded," he answered. A giant of a man slammed his fist onto the table, causing it to rattle. He seemed as if he was going to burst out of his skin, so many muscles covered his frame. "Cut all this formal bullshit, Azusa? Just tell us straight up what happened." Azusa nodded and leaned forward. "It seems that all of the crime rings we shut down joined together into a new organization called Team Ultima. They hired a gang of thieves to steal a number of artifacts for them." "You mean the sword and shield?" a young green haired woman questioned. Azusa nodded. "Yes, along with two stone tablets. Apparently, Team Ultima tried to kill the thieves, so they ran off with the sword and shield. They turned themselves in to us four days ago at our headquarters. It seems that these artifacts are of great importance to Team Ultima because they practically sent in an army to get them back. Needless to say, we suffered major losses, and Viridian was reduced to rubble." The group of people chattered about at the conference table before Chief Giselle stepped forward. "The Johto, Hoenn, and what remains of the Kanto branch are searching everywhere for their hideout. We've called you all here because you are the world's best Pokemon trainers. When we do find them, we are going to launch a full out assault and we would greatly appreciate it if you provided combat support." A small mousy looking boy grunted as he flicked a pencil across the room. "What about the Elite Four?" "They've already agreed to help, but we're taking no chances here," AJ answered. "Give us a moment to confer, please." Giselle and the other Chiefs nodded before leaving from the room. "You think they're gonna help us, AJ?" Azusa asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee. AJ simply shrugged and plopped onto a nearby couch. "You know how some of them are...they could care less what happens to the rest of the world as long as they're safe." AJ started to talk before he was interrupted by the sound of the conference room opening. A young woman with black hair stepped out from the door and glanced at all three of them. "We've decided to lend our assistance." *** "Wake up, Ash. It's time to start your training." The voice drifted into Ash's ears as he woke up groaning. He took a glance out of the window and noticed it was still dark. "What time is it?" he said groggily as he picked himself up from the floor. "It's time to wake your lazy ass up." A sharp pain rushed into his leg, causing him to jump up and yell in pain and surprise. Angrily, he whirled around and found himself face to face with the same old man from yesterday. "What the hell's your problem, you old fossil?! I was getting up; you didn't have to whack me with your cane!" Ash exclaimed. The old man scowled and whacked him in the leg again with his cane. "My problem is that the fact that you and your rat are still sleeping when there's work to be done!" The old man pointed towards the slumbering Pikachu on the nearby couch and scowled. "Wake that damn thing up and get outside. It's time to start your training." The old man turned and headed towards the door before being stopped by Ash. "You're Scryer, aren't you?" The old man turned his head towards Stryker, who was emerging from his room wearing a light training outfit. "Hey ugly, call Pokemon Tech. Tell them we have a genius on our hands," Scryer said sarcastically as he headed out the door. Stryker chuckled and patted Ash on the back. "Don't take it personally; he's mean to everyone. You should have met him five hundred years ago, with the last group of Guardians...thought he was gonna have a stroke or something." Ash sighed and shook Pikachu awake. The small yellow rodent waved a paw at Ash, dismissing him as he rolled over and went back to sleep. "Pikachu, wake up. We have to get outside," he said while rolling his eyes. Finally, Pikachu woke up grumbling and chattering to itself, obviously annoyed that it had to wake up at such an early hour. Ash chuckled as it yawned and stretched out on the floor before scampering up his arm and perching itself on Ash's head. The sky was still lit with a blanket of stars as Ash strolled out from the cabin, stretching his arms and flexing his muscles for the workout ahead. He could spot a few rays of the sun peeking out from the horizon; a sign that the sunrise was not too far away. He had barely finished his stretches before being smacked in the back of the head by Scryer's cane. "Damn it, old man! I'm getting tired of you hitting me every five seconds!" he yelled as he rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head. "Yeah, and I'm getting tired of you complaining every five seconds too, so tough luck," Scryer snapped back, shoving a large stick into Ash's face. "Here's your breakfast." Ash stared at him, puzzled by the old man's bizarre statement. "Um...you're not talking about eating the stick, are you?" he asked. Scryer groaned and whapped the stick into Ash's forehead. "No, stupid. There's a stream that runs from the top of this mountain. You are going to use this stick to catch your meal. Be done by sunrise, cause if you aren't, too bad. We start training, understand?" he said, thrusting the stick into Ash's arms. Ash snatched the stick from the elderly man and began his trek up the steep mountain, grumbling and muttering random obscenities under his breath. Stryker emerged from the cabin, grinning from ear to ear. "What the hell are you so giddy about, Stryker? Don't make me wipe that little smirk off your face too," Scryer scowled. Stryker simply chuckled and folded his arms onto his chest. "I must say, you've taken quite a shine to Ash, old man. I've never seen you so hard on someone before...except maybe Satoshi. I must say though, he does bear quite a striking resemblance to him." Scryer grunted and thumped his walking stick into the ground as he began his own journey up the mountain. "He bears more than just a passing resemblance to him, Stryker. You can tell by the marks on his face that he is a direct descendant of him." He sighed and turned to Stryker, concern showing from his eyes. "I have a bad feeling about this..." *** "Wow, this tastes really good," Duplica commented as she spat out another bone. "I never knew there was a stream on this mountain, or that it had such good fish." She giggled as she handed Ditto a small piece of fish. The shapeless blob of pink goo quickly gobbled up the food and chirped for another piece. "I know, and look at the view up here...I can see Cerulean City from here," Brendan said as he took another bite of his meal. "Where's Ash, anyway? I haven't seen him since last night." Brock shrugged and tossed the bones away. "Knowing him, he's still asleep. Too bad though, he's missing a great sunrise." As if on cue, a figure appeared on the edge of the path. Brock chuckled. "Well, well, speak of the devil." The figure came into view, struggling along the path, using a stick to drag his weight along the dirt, a small Pikachu following close behind. As Ash reached the stream, he collapsed on the ground, exhausted from his trip. Max walked over and pulled Ash up to his feet before giving him a piece of fish, which Ash tore into greedily. "Geez, Ash, what happened to you?" "Beedrill. We ran into a swarm of Beedrill on the way up here," he gasped between bites. "Of course, that was before we stumbled upon an Ursaring's den." "Chaa..." Pikachu confirmed as it collapsed onto its back on the dirt. "Get up, lazy. It's time to start your training," a gruff voice said. "Scryer, go sit over there and brood or something, will you? I have to teach them their abilities before you kill them with all this training." Stryker came bounding up the path, smiling behind a scowling Stryker. "Well guys, let's get started, shall we?" "Your emotions and your relationship with your Guardian Spirit are the basis for your elemental abilities, understand?" The group nodded as the light breeze blew through the small clearing atop the mountain. The sound of the surrounding elements of nature and the trickling of the nearby stream made for a very serene and tranquil setting that seemed to soothe the very soul. "Now, I want you all to close your eyes and cause your mind to go blank. Picture your mind as a closet, and empty it gradually until there is nothing left." Stryker instructed quietly as the group silently obeyed. "Now, there is a center of energy inside your body; I want you to find it and focus all of your senses on that center." Slowly, a barely visible aura began to surround each of the people sitting atop the mountain, giving a faint glow in the morning light. Stryker smiled and nodded slowly. "Perfect, all of you. Now, I want you to send all of that energy to your hands, and keep them there." A small, crackling orb of energy began to appear in the middle of Ash's palms; tiny at first, but gradually increasing in size and intensity before it took the shape of a perfect sphere. Stryker glanced around and observed his students, seeing that all of them had perfected the ball of energy in their hands. The nearby stream began to ripple and seemed to be pulled by the orb of blue energy in Misty's hand, while the light breeze that had blown through was now surrounding May, causing her brown hair to flutter in the wind. Stryker's own eyes began to glow with power as his voice boomed and echoed throughout the massive mountain. "Suscitatio O Tutela of vires, quod servo is universitas ex suus terribilis plight! Is Custodis beckons unlock vestri awesome vox, quod causa copiae copie of malum ut cower! Exsisto existo O Tutela, exsisto existo!!" The skies began to darken; lightning flashed and thunder clapped in the distance as the winds began to pick from the gentle breeze to a whirling gale that whipped his silver hair across his face. "Awaken Haruka, Guardian of the Sky! Kasumi, Guardian of the Sea! Takeshi, Guardian of Stone! Hiroshi, Guardian of the Flame! Masato, Guardian of Balance! Saici, Guardian of the Grass! Liandri, Guardian of the Light! Shigeru, Guardian of the Psyche!" Instantly, the corresponding individuals' aura intensified and lit the morning sky ablaze with color as their powers began to awaken. Stryker smiled before turning his head to Ash. He stared at him for a moment, seeming almost reluctant to awaken his powers before shaking his head clear of the doubt in his mind. "Awaken Ashura, Guardian of Thunder!" The sky lit up with the rainbow of colors; a symbol that the awesome power of the Guardians had returned. The lights swirled in the air, dancing about in the darkened sky before crashing back into their host's bodies. Quickly as they had come, the lights and color disappeared, and all of the now awakened Guardians fell unconscious. Scryer strolled over to unconscious figures and shook his head as the elements around them began to die down. The skies brightened again as the thunder and lightning disappeared; the winds died down and became a gentle breeze once again. "Do you always have to be so dramatic, Stryker?" *** "Wow, Scryer was right. You are lazy, Ash. Every few moments, always on the ground asleep." The soft voice chuckled as Ash heard footsteps grow nearer and stop at his head. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open, and endless green plains filled his vision. He looked up and saw the same young man with blonde hair standing over him, chuckling. The young man bent over and hauled Ash to his feet with surprising ease; the young man was much stronger than his delicate frame seemed to allow. He smiled and trotted back to the same tree as before, and leaned his head against the trunk. "Who are you? Where is this place?" Ash questioned as he followed the young man to the large tree. The young man smiled and closed his eyes, enjoying the light breeze that blew through the tree, its leaves rustling in the background. "Hey, I asked you a question!" Ash demanded. Finally, the young man opened his eyes and stared at Ash through his striking blue eyes. "Actually, you asked two questions. But that's beside the point." He stood up and dusted himself off before offering a hand to Ash. "Greetings, Ash. I am Ashura, the Guardian of Thunder." Ash stood there for a moment, bewildered at the young man's statement before finally shaking his hand. Ashura had a deceptively strong grip; he had no idea how the young man held such a huge amount of strength in such a small body. "Wait, wait, wait. How can you be Ashura? First off, you're so..." "Small?" Ashura interrupted as he flicked a stray hair from his eyes and grinned. "It's strange how you humans think. When are you ever going to understand that size truly does not equal to strength?" He sighed and leaned back against the tree. "Oh well, I suppose I should be used to it by now." "Oh...well, sorry. It's just that..." "You were expecting someone bigger right? Some massive being that speaks with a booming voice that causes the very heavens to tremble under his might!" Ashura said sarcastically. "Well sorry, human, you won't find any of that here." "How are you doing that? It's like you're..." "Reading your mind or something," Ashura finished for him. "Isn't it all too obvious, Ash? All this around us," he said as he swept his around the plains, "is really the inside of your mind. The fact that there's barely anything in here really says a lot doesn't it? The only thing I could find in here is that door over there, and it's locked." He pointed over his shoulder past the tree behind him. Ash leaned to the side and spotted a small wooden door sitting in the middle of the plains. "Well, since it is my mind...I should be able to unlock it, right?" Ashura just shrugged and grabbed a piece of fruit from the tree before taking a large bite out of it. "There's really only way to find out, correct?" Ashura muffled with his mouth full of fruit. Ash nodded and walked up to the door and examined it. It was a simple door and frame, as if someone was building a house and left a door in the yard or something. He peered behind the door and saw that there was nothing behind it; the door was simply sitting in the middle of the grassy plain. Ash grabbed the handle and tugged; the door didn't even budge. "It's not locked, it's just stuck." He decided to put a bit more force into it and turned the handle before yanking it roughly. Still, the door refused to move. Soon, he had tried everything: slamming his shoulder into it, trying to kick it down, pulling with his might on the handle, and yet it still hadn't budged; defiant to every attempt he tried. Ashura munched on another piece of fruit as he stood over a now wheezing Ash, who had collapsed to the grass from the strain of trying to open the door. "Right now, I can't decide whether to applaud you for your persistence, or slap you for your stupidity. Obviously, we aren't meant to open that door, so leave it be for now." He grabbed another piece of fruit and dropped it onto Ash's heaving chest. "Here, have a piece of fruit." *** Dr. Leto had been working furiously to translate the large leather bound book that Team Ultima had uncovered while excavating the inside of Mount Silver. It seemed that every time one page was vaguely translated, the next page would take three times as much energy and effort to make sense. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose before turning to Professor Stephens, who was nodding off in front of the computer screen. "Jenkins, I'm going to use the bathroom. Alert me if anything happens, ok?" The half-asleep doctor merely groaned in reply, too drained to even speak. The Doctor rolled his eyes and slapped Jenkins' shoulder, snapping him awake. "Look at the screen, understand?" "Jesus, calm down, Ryan. Ever since we found about these Guardian things, you've been obsessing over them. What's the deal? Why are you so interested, huh?" Stephens question seemed to catch Dr. Leto off-guard, as it took him a few moments to reply. "I'm simply looking to help Team Ultima succeed, that's all." Stephens scoffed and clicked a few keys on his keyboard. "Fine, whatever, you don't want to tell me, it's ok. But coming some bullshit answer like that? You honestly thought I'd believe it?" He laughed out loud before turning back to the screen. "I know it's been a while since Jessica died, and I was just wondering if you were just throwing yourself into this project to try and make yourself forget." Dr. Leto almost flinched at the name and turned to leave. "Just call me if you find anything, ok Stephens?" The man nodded in agreement as the Doctor turned and left the research facility. The Doctor wandered about the massive compound aimlessly, forgetting about his need to go to the bathroom. Stephen's comment had rattled him, and he needed to clear his mind. The Coliseum was a marvel of modern engineering; it had taken nearly 2 years to build the massive structure inside of the mountain, and it sapped a lot of the energy needed to run the facility. It was a fully functional Pokemon stadium, complete with stands even refreshment vendors; it was designed to help hone the skills of the Pokemon use for battle, but it was also the main source of recreation for the agents of Team Ultima. Battles were fought almost every day; many placed bets on the competitors, but it had become famous for its special matches. For a change of pace, special matches were held, such a full blown eight trainer battle royales, gladiator matches, and element challenges. While all were popular, none could hope to reach the pandemonium of the Onslaught matches. The premise borrowed from all of the special matches and dumped them all into a single event. The latest match pitted one of the new genetically enhanced Elite Agents against a group of Machokes. The arena was filled with weapons and whoever was the last man or pokemon standing was the winner. But there was a catch: after set amounts of time, more obstacles would be tossed into the match to increase the chances of a competitor being eliminated. Explosives, electrified floors and fences, rabid pokemon, and other random hazards were added. The stadium was even flooded once and then filled with an electric current to make things more exciting. The stands would be filled to the brim with cheering and jeering fans, pumping up their favorite competitors while shouting random obscenities to their opponent. But now, however, the stands were deathly silent. The sound of an electronic door whirring open broke the stillness, and Dr. Leto trotted into fray of bleachers and took a seat. His mind was ablaze with thoughts that fool Stephens had dared to provoke. He had always come here to relax and clear his thoughts, and now more than ever he needed time to himself. In a fit of frustration, he slammed his leg onto the cold stone floor. Suddenly, a large cracking sound shattered the silence of the stadium. The Doctor whipped around in search of the origin of the noise, his eyes falling to the ground beneath him. Before he could react, the weakened stone gave way and the Doctor plunged into the black abyss under him. Pain shot in his body as he collided with the hard stone floor and random debris fell on him. Groaning, he slowly rose to his feet and shook the loosened dirt and stone from his white lab coat. He shuffled around in his pocket before pulling out a small flashlight. As he clicked it on, he nearly dropped it in surprise of what lay before him. An enormous mural adorned the massive stone wall in front of him. He ran the beam of his light across the stone painting, revealing drawings of large black figures with demonic like red eyes. None of them seemed to have a body, and he couldn't tell where one creature ended and the next one began. They seemed to simply swarm together into a gigantic mass of blackened swirls of vapor. He gasped in amazement as he ran his hand along the stone wall, stroking every crack and crevice in the ancient painting. He threw the beam of his flashlight across it once more, and it fell on a small inscription that was barely noticeable if he wasn't careful. Quickly, he rummaged through his pockets and yanked out a crumbled piece of paper. He smoothed it out and examined the ancient writing, scrutinizing every stroke of the archaic lettering. He had sketched a small translation guide; a list of words that popped numerous times in the various tablets and transcripts he had translated. "Hic lies Creatura of Umbra , obfirmo a existence per Curator Phasmatis. May totus quisnam insisto sursum in is inconcessus humus temerarius is admonitio neque nec praesumo expergefacio quietus malum per...." His voice trailed off as he dropped the paper and flashlight, which clattered loudly on the stone floor. "I...I found it..." Next Chapter: Darkness Falls