The Dragon Master II: Chapter Eight I had to get out of this predicament, and fast. I swung myself up and over and landed on the tile that I had been hanging onto before. I then did flips and back flips over to the Thunder Shard. I landed right behind it and grabbed it. I then hopped all the way back to Misty. I attached the Shard to the rest and put it back inside my cloak. "We're half-done," I said to Misty. I heard a clapping from the ladder. "Bravo," Flargini said. "You're almost going to defeat me. Almost. Without the medallion, you will never defeat me. And if I kill you before you complete the medallion, I will win." He generated his katana and came at me as I called my teal one. We were fighting and I was getting very close to the edge. He came at me and I dived at his legs, forcing him to fly over me into the crackling electricity below us. "That won't keep him for long," I said. "Let's get out of here." Misty and I took off as fast as possible out of the Power Plant. "Which Shard are we going to get next," Misty asked. "While you decide, give me the flute so we can figure out the location." She grabbed the flute from me and made the map appear. "Um," I said. "Let's go get the Fire Shard I Cinnabar Island." I put everything in my cloak, grabbed Misty and we flew off together towards Cinnabar Island. When we landed, it was about midnight. We had to go and talk to Blaine about where the Shard could be. "Blaine, open up," I said as I banged on the door to his motel. The door opened. "Bob," Blaine asked wearily. "Do you realize that it's midnight?" "Yeah," I said. "And we need your help." "What for," Blaine asked. "We need to get into your volcano," I replied. "Okay," Blaine said. "But make sure that all of the Slugma and Macargo are out of there." The three of us ran up to the top of the volcano. Misty sprayed a Hydro Pump down there to harden the lava, and we jumped down there on the hardened surface. "Outrage," I said as my fists erupted with a teal fire. I punched down repeatedly, while Blaine and Misty just stood there and watched. When I reached the bottom, my fist hit something metal and my fist started to hurt. I pulled it out, Blaine held out his hand, and all of the lava cleared away for us to see the door. "Now why didn't you just do that in the first place," Misty asked grumpily. "Bob looked liked he was having fun," Blaine smirked. "Shut up the both of you," I said. "Let me have a look at this door." There was a riddle on the door, as there were on all of the others. It read: What lies beneath this door is worse than hell, Surely you don't want to go in. But, alas, if you insist, You'll go to hell anyway, as doing this is a sin. "Well," Blaine said, "that's sure pleasant." "Actually," I said. "That's one of the better ones." I pressed the button underneath the riddle and steam that could melt steel came out. Misty sprayed some water down there and it ceased. "This is even too hot for me," Blaine said. "But, as the resident Fire Master, I'll jump down first." With that, he called his red cloak and jumped down into the fiery abyss. "Well," I said. "At least we're all resistant to fire." "Very funny, dragon boy," Misty said sarcastically. "Just go into the hole." "Now there's something I thought that I'd never hear you say," I said as I dodged a blast of water and jumped in after Blaine. I realized that I was falling into a pit of lava, when a hand reached out and grabbed me. "You all right," Blaine asked as he pulled me onto the cliff where he had landed. "Yeah," I said. "Let's just wait to go in. I have to catch Misty." She came down, and I caught her in my arms. "Nice catch," Misty said. I put her down and looked over the chasm. There was something over there that was reflecting red light. I picked her back up again. "What are you doing, Bob," Blaine asked. "Going to get the Fire Shard that's across that chasm filled with lava," I said. "I think that I should fly because I'm not that good of a swimmer." I added that last part sarcastically. I then called my wings and flew over to the other side. Blaine followed us by lava surfing. When we got over there, I grabbed the Shard and connected it to the reconstructed part of the medallion. "Whew," Misty said. "Only eight more Shards to collect and then we can defeat Flargini." "I don't know what you're talking about," Blaine said. "But I'll go along with it anyways." "Now," I said. "Let's get the hell out of here so we can go get another Shard." I picked Misty back up, when the ground started to rumble. "What's that," Misty asked. "The volcano," Blaine said, just realizing something. "This was supposed to be a secret chamber that only the worthy can enter. Mainly Fire Masters. If an unworthy person entered, it would explode. Cinnabar Island will be no more." "That's just great," I said. "Is there anyway that we can stop it?" "Well," Blaine said. "There is supposed to be another chamber, but it's under the lava. I'll go. Get out of here and warn the citizens." "How will we know if you fail," Misty asked. "The volcano will erupt, duh," Blaine said. "If I fix it, I'll send up a sign." We took his word for it and watched him dive into the lava. Misty and I flew out of the cave, and went to the Town Center. "People of Cinnabar Island," I yelled. "There is a chance that the volcano will erupt. You must evacuate immediately. Blaine is working on solving the problem as we speak. You must hurry. There isn't much-" The volcano exploded! There was a panic and water flooded from the sea onto the land. Every person and pokemon on Cinnabar Island was trapped, not being able to get off the island, waiting for his or her doom. I was not going to let that happen. We couldn't evacuate the people by sea, or by air. There had to be a way. I had to figure out some way… Blaine had to be dead. There was no way that he could have survived that rush of cold water into the volcano. But, we had a different problem to worry about. The lava was getting closer, and we had no way to evacuate the people, or to stop the lava. I had and idea! "All trainers with pokemon of a psychic attack," I yelled. "Please come forward and let them out." All that there was on the entire island was Misty's Golduck, a Girafarig, an Alakazam, and a Mr. Mime. But the Mr. Mime was already busy creating walls to stop the lava. Misty's Golduck was using Hydro Pump to slow down the lava, while the other psychic pokemon were using their psychic attacks to stop the lava. It looked like we were fighting a losing battle. "How is it working, Bob," a voice said behind me that scared the carp out of me. It was Sabrina. She must have teleported here while we weren't paying attention. "Not good," I said. "Could you give those Psychic pokemon over there a little help?" "Sure," she said and hovered over there. I, however, took off into the sky. I flew above the lava that was advancing rapidly. I summoned a twister to suck up all of the lava. Sabrina knew what I was up to, and helped me out. With my twister, I sucked up all of the lava and deposited it over the sea. I flew back down, where Misty and those psychic pokemon were keeping the rest of it at bay. The volcano exploded again, and something was hurtling towards us. It crashed into a building behind us, and I went to check it out. It was Blaine! His glasses were broken, and his cloak charred. "Blaine," I said. "What the hell happened?" "I fixed it," Blaine said. "But it was right." "What was right," I asked. "The riddle," Blaine said. "It was right. Underneath, it was worse than hell." With that, he fell over, dead. I couldn't believe it. Blaine, one of the best Pokemon Masters in the League, was dead. The volcano had stopped, but I had lost a Master in the process. A red energy orb, which was Blaine's Fire Mastery, appeared in his hand, which I placed inside my cloak. There was two pieces of charred paper inside of Blaine's cloak. One of them was from Blaine himself. It read: To whomever may be reading this, This is my will. I knew that my end was coming shortly, so I wrote this. The most important thing shall be first, my Fire Mastery. I will leave it to my one and only daughter. She lives in Goldenrod City with her mother. Her name is Darla Blaine. As the new Fire Master, she also inherits my Gym on Cinnabar Island and all of my possessions. She also inherits my hotel and everything in it. As for all my money, she also gets it all. That is everything, so I hope that you all will never forget me. Sincerely, Anthony Blaine, The Fire Master "I never knew that Blaine had a daughter," Misty gasped. "We have to find her and tell her the news about her father. It'd be the right thing to do." "Yeah," I said. "But let me read this other letter." I pulled out the other charred piece of paper and unfolded it. Bob, Yep, killing Blaine was my handiwork. I did eventually cut him a deal. I would let him turn off the volcano, but I would kill him. I just wish that I could've killed both you and Misty when I was in my killing mood. I am not on this island anymore, and I couldn't care less about his little girl. But I will be back for you, Bob. And I will kill you. I don't care how long it takes. You will be dead by my hands. By the way, did you know that Blaine's first name was Anthony? I didn't. I didn't fix his will or anything, just so you can sleep better tonight. Watch out for you and your little whore, Bob, because that fireworks have just begun. From, Mysticman John Flargini "He killed Blaine," I said, with my teeth clenched. "He will die at my hands, I don't care if it kills me, too. He will die." "Bob," Misty said. "Let's go. We have to go and inform Blaine's daughter about what happened. We'll fly from here. Okay?" I was in silence, but I degenerated my cloak and called my wings. I then motioned her to get on. I took off, leaving Sabrina and Cinnabar Island far behind. We landed in Goldenrod City and went to a phone booth. I picked up the address book, and looked for the name 'Blaine'. Perhaps his wife was still in town. I tore out the address and went there. I knocked on the door, and a woman in her late forties opened it. "Um...Mrs. Blaine," I asked, hoping I was right. "Yes," she said, leaning against the door. "Something has happened to your husband," I said "My ex-husband," she corrected. "If you mean Anthony." "Yes," I said. "Anthony was in an accident. The volcano on Cinnabar Island exploded, and he was killed saving the island." "He was always the heroic type," she said. "Let me guess, the reason that you're here is to discuss his will with me." "Actually," I said. "I've come to talk with your daughter, Darla. Blaine left everything to her." "Is that a fact," she asked. "Well, then, come on in. Darla! Come into the living room." A teenage girl, around the same age as me, came down the stairs and sat in a chair. Misty and I took seats on their couch. "Hey," Darla said. "You're the Pokemon League Champion." "Um...yeah," I said. "I am. I have to discuss something with you. It's about your father. The thing is, he died. He died saving Cinnabar Island." Darla clapped her hands to her mouth. "But, he left everything that he owned, in your possession. That includes his Gym, his hotel, all of his money and worldly possessions, with you. But, there is something more important than all of that. He left you his Fire Mastery." I pulled out the red energy orb. "What's that," Darla asked. "Your father's Fire Mastery," I said. "He left it to you. This is one of the two ways that becoming a Master is possible. The other is inheriting from one of your parents, which you did not. If you take this orb, you will become a Fire Master and will be sent to train at the League Headquarters. There, you can train your fire pokemon, and yourself. Your father's pokemon were also left in your possession. If you are a Master or not, from this point on, you shall be a Gym Leader. You'll have to leave Goldenrod City no matter what you do. What's your choice? I'll leave you some time to talk about it with your mother. I'll be back tomorrow at noon to see what your choice is." I tucked the Fire Orb inside my cloak and got up. I was headed out the door. "I don't need until tomorrow to decide," Darla said. "Following in Dad's footsteps are what I've always dreamed of. I will be a Fire Master, and I will preserve my Father's legend." "Good," I said as I held out my hand. "So we have an agreement." She shook my hand and I held out the orb for her to take. She took it, and it was absorbed into her very bloodstream. I handed her Blaine's 4 pokemon. His Magmar, his Rapidash, his Macargo, and his Houndoom. She was kind of speechless as she walked out of the room to go pack, and I pulled out my teal cell phone from my cloak. I dialed the League Headquarters. "Hello Koga," I said, "I'm sure that you've Blaine. Well, he left his Mastery to his fifteen-year-old daughter. I've given Blaine's Fire Orb to her and she took it willingly. Send a helicopter to come and pick her up for her Mastery training." "Yes, Bob," Koga said through the phone. It will be there on the top of the Radio Tower in fifteen minutes. I trust that you have briefed her." "Yes," I said. "She knows everything except Flargini. I feel that she shouldn't know about her father's murderer." "I was never told that Blaine was murdered," Koga exclaimed. "I suppose that you will take care of him. How many Elemental Shards do you have?" "Ten," I said. "We're hoping that the Normal Shard is in Goldenrod City. Once we locate it, we will resume our mission. I'm guessing that Blaine's funeral will take place tomorrow." "Yes," Koga said. "Blaine's ex-wife and daughter are asked to come. Also, before I forget, I will have someone prepare a eulogy for you to read." "Good," I said. "I will be there tomorrow. I am sending Darla's mother along with her." "Excellent," Koga said. "Blaine's body has been transported here and is being prepped for burial. I assume that you would like his body to be buried in the Master cemetery by the Palace of the Elite Four." "Yes," I replied. "That is all. I will see you tomorrow, though I wish that it were under better circumstances, such as the medallion being completed. Goodbye." "Goodbye," Koga said as he hung up the phone. I closed my cell phone and stuffed it inside my cloak. Mrs. Blaine walked up to me. "Anthony was murdered," she asked, though she knew the answer. "You told me that he died because the volcano exploded." "He did," I said. "He stopped the volcano from fully erupting. However, somebody created the explosion which ended up killing him." "Who," Mrs. Blaine asked. "Were they affiliated with the League?" "No," I said. "As a matter in fact, he has been on the League's most wanted list for the past few weeks. He will be brought to justice for the murder of many innocent people, including Anthony." "Good," she replied. "Just don't tell Darla, or she'll go after him by herself." "You have my word," I said as Darla walked into the room, packed and ready to go. We walked out of their house and went up to the top of the Radio Tower. A helicopter was waiting for us there. Darla and Mrs. Blaine got in, and they flew off towards Indigo Plateau. Misty and I jumped off of the Radio Tower, and landed on the street. Misty played the flute, and the map of the Shards appeared. "Well," Misty said. "What do you know? The Normal Shard is in Goldenrod City. it says that it's in the Radio Tower. Let's go and have a look." We walked into the Radio Tower and went and talked to the Manager. "Have you ever seen this artifact before," I asked him. "Why yes," the manager exclaimed. "We found it here when we tore down the old Radio Tower. It's right here." He pulled out a key from his pocket and opened a drawer in his desk. He pulled out the Normal Shard and handed it to me. "You can have it. I have no use for it." I attached the Normal Shard to the Normal Shard to the medallion and it stuck. Suddenly, there was an explosion right behind us! Flargini was standing outside of the hole that he had just created with one of his rockets. "Hey Bob," Flargini said. "I'm not playing games anymore. Kinda a pity about Blaine, though. He was a good guy. However, if that's what I do to people that I like, just wait and see what I do to you." His glider, with him holding his katana on it, flew into the room, leaving no escape... - End of Chapter Eight -