Scratch that! She's back, and the new chapter is arrived just a few minutes ago! Prepare for time travel goodness!
~~~~
Something ticked Aeris’s nose, and she sneezed violently. Moaning, she opened her eyes. Immediately, her stomach lurched as her brain tried to make sense of the images her eyes were conveying to her brain.
The sky was in the ground and the ground was in the sky.
Had the world somehow reversed while she was out?
Aeris looked down, and saw below her, one of her feet was caught in the branches of a tree. It hit her in a flash.
The world didn’t reverse. I’m upside down and hanging in a tree...
Aeris blinked rapidly several times. From what she could discern, she was hanging from the branches of a stout beech overlooking a simple, well-traveled path. Lush meadows on either side of the path, and mountains off in the distance. It all looked somehow familiar to Aeris but she couldn’t place it. Then it hit her.
“Ohhhh, Jesus Christ Almighty.”
It was Route Two. The route that bridged Virdian Forest and Pewter City.
Pewter City, Kanto.
Something was terribly, terribly wrong here...
Kanto was not lush and green and brimming with life. Kanto was devoid of life, battle-scarred, war-torn. Ruined buildings, burned tree stumps, dead plants, and the ground all brown and dusty and the sky all reddish.
“Holy...” breathed Aeris. “That goddam Guardian and her goddam time warping. Great. Another typical day for me.”
Sighing with expasteration, Aeris fumbled at her belt, and breathed a sigh of relief when her hands found Maverick’s pokeball. She pressed the release button, and there was a yelp following a crash as the Totodile thudded headfirst into the dirt path below Aeris.
“Tot a diiiiiiile!” Maverick groaned, rubbing his head. He looked around, puzzled.
‘Up here, kiddo.”
Maverick followed the direction of the voice and his eyes popped out.”
“Totodile toto totaaaaa!” He howled with amusement and sat down promptly, his small frame quivering with laughter.
“Yes, Maverick, I am perfectly aware of the fact that I am hanging from my right foot in a tree like an overripe fruit. Now shut your yap and go find a poor loser to help me down.”
The Totodile produced a very rude raspberry and scurried off down the path. Aeris yelled out a parting comment after Maverick’s retreating back.
“And don’t bite them!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So, what do you guys think we should do?” asked Hydro as he sat staring into the brightly burning fire that the small group of boys had built on the spot they had come into this strange and ancient land. Blade was sitting a ways off, looking out into the dark night, and Shadow was laying on his back a few feet away, staring at the sky that somehow looked so much like the rooms they had stayed in on the ship.
“There’s not much we can do,” said Blade after a thoughtful pause, “Perhaps we should just explore around a bit. I’m sure there has to be something interesting in this land, and maybe we can find something to help us.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” said Shadow, shrugging, “I just wish I could get back… I mean, this place is interesting and all, but I’m sure Raven must be worrying about me by now…”
“Don’t give me that, Shadow,” said Hydro half-jokingly, “You’re worried about her, I can see it in your eyes.”
“So?” said Shadow, “What’s so wrong with that? You can’t tell me you’re not worried about Terra!”
“I may be worried, but I can’t do anything about it in this situation,” said Hydro quietly, looking back into the flames, “I wish I could, but I can’t…”
Shadow sighed, and looked off into the darkness surrounding the small group, “Sorry, Hydro. I didn’t mean-”
“No one meant anything,” said Blade, “Yeah, it’s hard being stuck out here, with friends missing, but we may as well make the best of it. Gods know I’ve had to before, and I’m sure both of you have been in similar situations. Why don’t you both go to sleep, I’m sure you’ll feel better about things in the morning.”
“What about you?” asked Shadow, sitting up from his reclining position with a look of worry, “Don’t you need to sleep?”
“Thanks for volunteering for second watch, Shadow,” said Blade with a sly smirk, “I’ll wake you in a few hours.”
“What?!” exclaimed Shadow, “I didn’t mean that!”
“Oh, come off it,” sighed Hydro with a chuckle, “Do you really want some prehistoric behemoth of a Pokemon to sneak up on us when we’re sleeping. I know I wouldn’t!”
“Fine,” sighed the light-haired boy, “But tomorrow you’re taking first watch, Hydro.”
“That’s how it goes,” said Hydro amiably, settling into a comfortable position on the gritty turf.
With a snort, Shadow did the same, and soon both were snoring gently. Blade continued to stare off into the darkness, wondering how it was that the night could be so warm in this area. It had always been chilly at night when he had been alone in his wanderings years ago. It must be that the sands kept the heat of the day. The landscape had been much different from the beach they had vacationed on… now it seemed so long ago. Had it truly been just a few hours ago that he and the rest had been enjoying themselves on the warm sands? Now they were lost and alone, and the girls were possibly in the same situations as themselves, or even in worse…
“Serra…” whispered Blade into the wind, remembering the girl’s fair face and sand colored hair, and they way she moved… so gracefully… when she battled. Where was she now? Was she in a different time, or had she been blasted to the same one they were in? Was she locked in battle with the Guardian? Or… was she already dead?
“Shut up,” Blade snarled at himself, “Serra would never lose to Celebi, she’s too strong for that. She can’t lose…”
“Rise and shine!” said Shadow loudly and obnoxiously, poking Hydro and Blade with a long stick, “Come on, you two lazy lumps, it’s time to get moving!”
“Wha-?” said Hydro, blinking sleepily.
“Ugh, come on, Shadow,” moaned Blade, rolling over, “It’s barely light out.”
“Hey, don’t adventures usually start at first light?” asked Shadow innocently, poking Blade once more, “You ought to be used to this, you know. Before we went on vacation we always got up at first light… or has our stay in Hoenn made you soft?”
“Hey!” said Blade, taking an annoyed swing at the cheerful boy and missing. He sat up, eyes still bleary but more awake than he had been, “Come on, then, let’s go!”
“Morning people,” muttered Hydro as he stood up to follow the other two. The dark-haired boy stopped for a moment to kick around the ashes of the fire, and trotted to catch up with Blade and Shadow, whom were heading towards the clear path that seemed to lead to a more open area ahead.
All three stopped in shock when they reached the end of the path.
“What is this?” said Shadow in awe as he gazed at the huge, seemingly endless piles of rust red sand dunes and swirling dust devils. The red, shimmering morning sun rose magnificently behind them, making the shadows of the dunes lengthen and almost touch the little grove of trees.
“We’re in a desert!” exclaimed Hydro, looking all around with wide eyes.
“I vote that we go on a small search for water before we even think of continuing,” said Blade, turning back and shrugging.
“I second that motion,” said Hydro, following him.
“Carried, then,” replied Shadow after a second of looking into the red glare that promised to be a scorching heat in no more than a few hours, “And how about finding something that can be used for shade, too?”
“We’ll look for everything,” said Blade, “This seemed to be a small oasis, so I’m sure there must be water about, and some large leaves weaved together will provide a good shade for us. If anybody thinks of anything else we’ll need, try and find it as we go.”
“Wait, wait!” said Hydro suddenly, pulling the group to a stop, “Look there!”
He pointed in the direction that the Anorith had gone the previous day. The bushes were still slightly parted from the Pokemon’s passing, and a small trickle of water could be seen between the foliage. Shadow, always enthusiastic, whooped and leapt forward. The other two boys looked at each other, shrugged, and followed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Route 3, Between Mount Moon and Pewter City...
“Thank god..I never thought we’d get out of that cave...and not a single Clefairy to be seen. So much for making some easy money...” groaned a purple-haired older boy as he stepped out of the dark cave entrance of Mount Moon. The boy blinked as the sunlight dazzled him after being in the dark caverns for so long. Yawning, he stretched, standing on tip-toe. Behind him, a small creature walked up and gave him a shove, sending the boy stumbling.
“Hey! What the heck did you do that for, Meowth?!” snapped James of Team Rocket. His emerald green eyes flashed with annoyance as he regained his balance somewhat gracefully.
His feline companion, Meowth, looked up at him pityingly, the sun flashing off the golden talisman set in his forehead.
“There’s no time to be standin’ aroun’ stretchin’ and simperin’ like a prissy goil.” purred the alley cat Pokemon. “We gotta get movin’.”
A third person came up behind the bickering pair.
“Can it, you two!” she snapped irritably. Jessie of Team Rocket and James’ partner in crime had beautiful flowing magenta hair and frosty icy blue eyes. And a temper to put a Primeape to shame. “We need a break, Meowth...we’re tired!”
“Youse humans jus’ don’t have the endurance us pokes do.” chuckled Meowth, dodging a kick from James.
Jessie snorted and looked out down the hill. The walk from Mount Moon was all downhill, thank goodness. As her eyes traveled down the path leading to the distant Pewter City, they focused onto a dark object a little off the path and in the grass.
“Hey... you guys... what’s that?” Jessie asked, pointing down at the dark lump. James squinted and put his hand over his forehead.
“I can’t quite make out what it is..”
“Well, let’s go look, shan’t we?” Meowth pushed past his two friends and dropped to all fours. “Last one there is a rotten Exeggcute!”
He took off, tail waving upright in the air like a banner.
“I’m always the rotten Exeggcute,” sighed James as he and Jessie followed Meowth at a more leisurely pace down the hill. Overhead, the sun shone mirror bright in a perfect pastel blue sky filled with downy clouds, floating by like Mareeps. A distant Fearow called out, its rasping cry mingled in with the soft whickering of Rattatas.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“This is a pretty big oasis,” moaned Shadow, all his enthusiasm gone as they followed the slightly larger stream. It had been a few hours since the discovery, and the sun was beating mercilessly down on all their heads. The heat was getting to all of them, and only the need for something familiar and known kept them from biting each other’s heads off.
“We’ll Shadow,” growled Hydro, “I’d seem smaller if you’d just be quiet for a little while!”
“What’s that supposed to mean!?”
“You know exactly-”
“Hey!” cut in Blade before the two could start bickering again, like they had just a half-hour before, “The heat is getting to all of us. I think we should take a break; get in the shade and drink some water to cool off. The stream will wait, and we have about as much time as we want to follow it.”
“Good idea,” said Shadow, perking up.
Hydro nodded, and all three flopped down in the shade of a large fern. The temperature instantly cooled, and all three took the flask that Blade carried and drank greedily.
“Although we can’t do this when we’re in the desert,” said Blade after wiping his mouth on his sleeve. He passed the water to Hydro, who refilled it in the stream, “We’ll have to ration it.”
“Well, we may not even have to travel in the desert,” said Shadow with a small shrug, “We don’t know if this is a main forest or an oasis, after all.”
“Not anymore,” remarked Blade, “It seems a little large to be an oasis.”
“You never know,” said Hydro after a moments thought, “after all, in Orre there’s a city that’s built in an oasis.”
“That big, huh?”
Hydro nodded, and the group fell into silence. There was little sound in the jungle besides the constant buzzing of insects and the occasional cry of some mysterious bird. It seemed to all that they were alone.
“You know,” said Shadow, breaking the silence, “I always thought of the ancient times as filled with Pokemon and life… this just seems rather deserted.”
“I was thinking that, too,” said Hydro, nodding, “Why haven’t we seen anything besides that Anorith?”
“Don’t know,” said Blade, standing up, “But the break’s over. Lets get moving again.”
Shadow groaned, and the others gave him a sharp glare before moving off, making the blonde boy jog to catch up. The insects quieted slightly as they moved, then resumed their chorus with renewed zeal, almost as if trying to make up for their previous faltering.
“Well,” said Blade cheerfully, “It looks like we didn’t have to start complaining, after all. See?” he pointed to the bushes before them where the stream disappeared, “There’s a lake right past those.”
“Really?” said Shadow, trotting forward. He parted the bushes and cheered, “Heck yeah! Man, I’m glad we finally found it!”
Hydro looked around while the others filled the flasks yet again with fresh water. The lake was fairly large, and there were dozens of small streams that branched off from it into the forest all around. He suspected that this might even be the feeding lake for the entire oasis. His eyes widened as he looked at the center of the lake, however, and he shook Shadow to get him to look as well.
“What the-”
In the middle of the lake was a small island, and on that island rose a huge and elaborately ornamented pillar. It seemed almost man-made, and that is what surprised Hydro so. By all their calculations, humans should not have been in this ancient world, yet here was a testimony to an advanced civilization!
“What’s a pillar doing here?” asked Blade, his brow furrowing.
“Look, though,” said Shadow, “it has… spikes or something on its side!”
Indeed the gigantic pillar did have some sort of projections on its side. They numbered at four on each face, made of what seemed to be onyx or obsidian. The body of the pillar seemed suspiciously like pure gold, the way it flashed and glittered in the sun, and its sides seemed to be encrusted with different forms of jewels.
“Let’s get a closer look,” said Blade, coming out into the open to look for a place to cross the water.
WHO DARES TO ENTER MY DOMAIN?
“What the heck was that?” asked Shadow, his voice squeaking slightly as they all jumped at the booming voice in their heads.
“Look!” gasped Hydro, pointing to the tip of the pillar.
The top of the pillar was a four siding triangle… a pyramid in shape, and had beautiful curving black designs on each face. But now, as the three below watched in awe, the designs parted and opened to reveal four glittering and flashing rubies of gigantic proportions. The jewels sparked in the red sun, and suddenly moved to focus on the intruders.
STATE THY NAMES AND PURPOSES, INTRUDERS, OR BE DESTROYED!
“Uh…” said Hydro as he was pushed from behind by Shadow, “My name is Hydro, this is Shadow, and Blade.” He stammered nervously, “We… uh… well, we just want some water and a way to get out of this place.”
SO YOU ARE NOT FROM HERE? Boomed the creature, eyes somehow narrowing.
“No,” said Blade, “We come from far away.”
YOU ARE NOT TELLING THE WHOLE TRUTH, snarled the pillar, its ruby eyes glowing, PREPARE FOR DESTRUCTION
“Hey, wait!” yelled Shadow, coming forward, “We just want to get back home! Celebi blasted us here through time from an attack… I don’t know if you’d know of that Pokemon? We’re lost, confused, and we don’t even know what you are, where we are, or how we’re ever gonna get back! Go easy on us, whatever you are…”
YOU TELL THE TRUTH, stated the creature, its eyes returning to normal, I HAVE NOT HEARD OF THIS CELEBI YOU SPEAK OF, THOUGH POKEMON I KNOW OF WELL ENOUGH, here a sound that seemed like a chuckle emanated from the pillar, I AM KNOWN AS AN OBELISK, A MEMBER OF AN ANCIENT RACE OF POKEMON THAT HAVE BEEN ON THE EARTH SINCE ANY CREATURE CAN REMEMBER.
“Wait, you’re a Pokemon!?” asked Shadow disbelievingly.
OF COURSE, said the Obelisk, ONE OF THE FIRST. YOU SAY YOU ARE FROM ANOTHER TIME? Here, the Pokemon sounded very curious, TELL ME OF IT. IT HAS BEEN LONG SINCE I HAVE SPOKEN WITH ANOTHER, FOR NONE HAVE EVER DARED TO DISTURB ME.
Shadow looked at the others, and they shrugged. It was better to give the giant creature what it wanted, after all, since the group had a feeling it could destroy them without a thought. They waded through the shallow lake and emerged upon the soft green grass of the island. The Obelisk was even larger up close, and Hydro had to crane his neck back to see the top of it.
ALLOW ME TO MAKE CONVERSATION MORE COMFORTABLE, said the Obelisk.
With a grinding roar, the Pokemon glowed with garnet light and lifted from its spot on the ground. The boys stared with open mouths as it floated to what seemed to be a prepared spot in the water, and lowered itself down into a deep hole. When it finally stopped, the Obelisk’s ruby eyes were almost level with that of the boys on the shore.
“Okay, then…” said Shadow with a trembling voice. He cleared his throat, and began again, “Okay, this is the story… our story. It began with an evil, power hungry organization known as…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Are we there yet?”
“No.”
“How about now? Are we there yet?”
“Ash, CAN IT!”
“Ow! You don’t have to hit me!”
“Pika! Pika chu chu!”
“You two are worse than a old married couple.”
“Brock, shut up!”
“Brock, shut up!”
“Touchy, touchy..”
Banter shot back and forth between the trio of old friends as they moved through Virdian Forest. Shafts of sunlight filtered down through the gently swaying leaves of the canopy, creating a lush golden glow throughout the forest. Butterfree danced around lazily in meadows while Spearows flitted from tree to tree, pecking at the soft bark in hopes of uncovering a meal of juicy grubs and beetles.
Ash, a young boy of fourteen years with slightly untidy jet-black hair, had just arrived in his homeland after defeating the Hoenn League for a much-deserved vacation with only his Pikachu and his two oldest friends, Misty and Brock. Misty was an attractive young woman with a shock of orange hair tied back in a ponytail and a temper to match a Typhlosion. Her much more sedate companion, Brock, spoke in a lazy drawl and his eyes were always half-closed, an aspect of his slow but dependable persona. Although he wasn’t so slow if he happened to catch a glimpse of a Nurse Joy...
Ash stretched and yawned, letting his concentration drift.
“Tot-a-diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiillllllle!”
“Waaaaaaaah!”
Ash yelped and tripped, crashing down face first into loamy grass. Pikachu landed beside him, headfirst in the soil.
Misty gasped and bent down to Ash.
“You alright, Ash?” she asked worriedly, her forehead creasing.
“Ptooey....yes...relatively...” Ash muttered darkly as he looked up at the small blue reptile standing before him. The Totodile did a little jig, giggling gleefully.
“A wild Totodile in this place? That’s unusual..” drawled Brock as he pulled Ash to his feet.
The Totodile stopped dancing and looked up at them again, its gaze more intense.
“Toto toto totoooo!” it squealed, turning and pointing up the path ahead them. It turned back to the trio and jumped up and down.
“Diiiiiiiile!” it finished, a bit empathically.
“Uh.....what?” Ash blinked.
“Ash, you moron! It wants us to follow it..right, little guy?” asked Misty. The Totodile cried out happily and started up another bizarre little jig. Suddenly, it dropped to all fours and took off.
“Totodile!”
“Come on, let’s go!” yelled Ash, taking off after the Totodile, with his loyal Pikachu in hot pursuit.
“Wait up, you-you moron.” snarled Misty as she broke into a jog with Brock following close behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts....there they are all a-standing in a rooooooowwwww..dee-dee-dee-dee....” Aeris sang softly to herself as she swayed slightly. Her foot was getting sore, though.
The blonde girl was jolted from her reverie at the thunder of approaching feet.
About time, too...
From her upside-down perspective, she saw three approaching people...a red-haired girl, a brown-haired older guy, and a young guy in a hat with a Pikachu. He looked strangely familiar...
Aeris’s heart began to beat rapidly.
Oh my God. It’s Ash. Ash Ketchum.
She went into a state of dazed shock as memories played in her head...
When she and her fellow champions had been introduced into the Elite of the National Pokemon League, they had met Ash, who at that time been the current Champion of the Kanto Region. He had been twenty when they were fourteen, and they had all looked up to him....when he died in the advent of the first Andros invasion of Kanto, they had all been heartbroken...
“Maverick, you fool. ” groaned Aeris. By this time, Ash and his friends were drawing to a stop and looking up at her with stupefied confusion and curiosity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brock immediately went gaga over the blonde trainer stuck in the tree.
“A damsel in distress! This has made my day!” he crowed as he gazed up at the girl, eyes shining with newborn love.
“Lovely maiden, do you require-Yeaaaaaargh!”
“Not now, Brock.” snarled Misty as she loosened her grip on the hapless boy’s ear. Meanwhile, Ash had already gotten the girl down safely.
“Thanks, kiddo.” panted the girl as she sat down and massaged her sore foot. “I owe you one.”
“Is that your Totodile?” asked Ash, pointing at the Totodile dancing its now-familiar jig beside the blonde girl.
“This idiot? Yep, he’s my partner. His name is Maverick. And my name is Aeris.” sighed the blonde as she jabbed a thumb in Maverick’s direction. She wore casual attire, simply baggy jeans with a tight sleeveless white top and fingerless black gloves. A single Net Ball hung from her belt, presumably Maverick’s.
“Aeris, what a lovely name!” gushed Brock, but immediately went silent with a frosty glare from Misty.
“This is Misty, that’s Brock, and my name is Ash Ketchum. And this is Pikachu,” finished Ash. Pikachu raised a hand in greeting.
“I know.” Aeris stood up and stretched.
“Uh...how’d you know?” asked Ash, puzzled. Aeris suddenly smacked her forehead.
“Never you mind.” she snapped as she picked up the hyper Maverick and set him on her shoulder. “It’s been nice, guys, but I gotta go look for my friend.”
“But wait! How’d you get stuck in that tree?” blurted out Brock. Aeris shrugged.
“It’s a long story..” She turned to go, but Ash blocked her path.
“Maybe we could help you find your friend!” he grinned.
Aeris ground her teeth.
Was he really this annoying as a kid? Exasperated, she threw up her hands.
“Fine! Come if you want, I guess.” she grumbled.
I’m too soft...dammed kids.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I SEE… said the Obelisk after a long and uneasy pause, THIS IS TROUBLING… VERY TROUBLING…
“And that’s why we need to get back,” said Hydro, “We need to help our friends and finish our quest so the world can be saved.”
I FEAR YOUR SMALL GROUP ALONE CAN DO LITTLE AGAINST THE THREAT FROM THE FUTURE, said the Obelisk, it’s eyes wavering down to sweep over the three on the island, EVEN WITH THE GODDESS REBORN, MAY SHE LIVE FOREVER.
“What are you getting at?” asked Blade suspiciously, eying the giant ornamented Pokemon.
YOU NEED AN ARMY TO RIVAL THAT OF THE ANDROS IF YOU EVER HOPE TO SUCEED IN YOUR QUEST, said the Pokemon bluntly.
“But we do!” said Shadow, “The humans and Pokemon of all the regions will come to fight-”
YOU WILL NEED MORE THAN THAT, interrupted the Obelisk, FOR THERE IS A CHANCE THAT THE GODDESS WILL NOT BE WITH YOU TO FIGHT THE ARMY. YOU MUST BE SURE IN YOUR POWER, OR YOU SHALL FALL... AND IT SHALL BE A LONG FALL INDEED… the ancient creature growled the last words, almost as if remembering something.
“Then what do we need?” asked Hydro, almost afraid of the answer.
YOU SHALL NEED AN ARMY THAT WILL NOT LOSE, replied the Obelisk, AN ARMY OF THE DEAD.
“What?!” squeaked Shadow, backing away slightly.
GO NORTH THROUGH THE GREAT DESERT, said the Pokemon, ignoring Shadow, THERE, YOU WILL FIND THE ALPHA OF THE ARMALDO. SPEAK TO HER, AND IF SHE DEEMS YOU WORTHY, SHE WILL DIRECT YOU TO YOUR NEXT DESTINATION. GAIN AS MANY ALLIES AS YOU CAN, YOUNG ONES, AND YOU WILL GATHER AN ARMY TO STRIKE FEAR INTO THE FUTURE TIMES.
“Alright,” said Blade, “but what about you?”
GO, said the Obelisk, I AM TIRED, AND MUST SLEEP NOW IF I HOPE TO WAKE IN TIME FOR THE WAR. SEEK ME OUT IN YOUR OWN TIME, WHEN YOU ARRIVE THERE. YOU HAVE GAINED THE OBELISK TRIBE AS YOUR GENERALS.
“We thank you, great Obelisk,” said Blade gravely, bowing.
MY NAME IS GIORN, muttered the gigantic Pokemon, and then it was silent. The small group of boys backed up as the red glow engulfed it once more, and it rose to its previous spot on the island. After a few moments, the group could sense the small yet deep grumbling of snoring echoing in their heads.
“Okay,” whispered Blade, “Lets go.”
“To the… desert?” asked Shadow a little hesitantly.
“That’s where it told us to go, and now we at least have a purpose before we somehow get back to our own time.”
“But how will we do that?” asked Hydro as they began to walk, “We certainly don’t have the power of time travel, and I don’t know any other way to get back unless we want to become members of the dead army!”
“Don’t even say that,” groaned Shadow, shuddering.
“We’ll get back,” said Blade, “We have to…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Oh, my..” whispered the young woman as she drew near what they had been heading for. A deep, brutal scar was gouged into the ground, and at the end of it was the crumpled form of what looked like a young girl, sixteen at the very least. Only four years younger than the twenty-year old Jessie.
James knelt to examine the girl. Her body was grotesquely crumpled like paper and a thin trickle of blood trailed out of her mouth. Her face and clothes were smeared in dirt and uprooted grass from the collision she had apparently suffered with the ground.
“Don’t tell me she fell from the sky?” exclaimed Meowth, scratching his head and looking puzzled.
“So it would appear,” commented James in his usual soft tone. “What do you propose we do, Jessie?” His green eyes locked onto Jessie’s, and her heart gave a small flutter.
“Um...we can’t leave her lying there. Let’s move a little further into the trees and set up camp. It’s almost evening anyway. We can see what we can do for the poor girl.”
James nodded and gently lifted up the girl. His expression was one of surprise.
“She’s pretty light.” His voice was startled. Meowth shrugged impatiently.
“Whatever, ‘mon! Let’s go...or are youse guys gonna stand around?”
James huffed and stalked forwards, following Jessie and the Meowth into the woods.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“How big is this desert?” asked Shadow once more, making both other boys bristle and clench their teeth. The annoying boy had been asking the same question every few minutes not a half-hour since they had set out.
“Shadow,” said Blade quietly, “Please be quiet, or I shall personally rip your tongue out.”
“Okay, okay,” sighed Shadow, “But it’s kinda boring out here… How about we talk about something?”
“Like what?” asked Hydro, glad to actually have something to do besides think of the sweltering heat the shimmered up off from the red grit beneath their feet.
“Umm… how about the rest of the group?” asked Shadow, slightly hesitant, “Like, what do you think Raven or Terra is doing right now? I bet they’re back in our own time already, waiting on us to arrive. They were always more efficient than us…”
“Probably,” snorted Hydro, feeling the beginning of a slightly better mood rise in him, “Or both of them could be fighting some giant creature, and having fun doing it. I know Terra would. They may even be looking for us…”
“They could even be in the same situation as us,” said Blade tersely, “And that’s why we have to make the best time we can so we can get to the Armaldo lands.”
“Really,” began Shadow thoughtfully, “How would Armaldo lands be in the desert? Don’t they live in water?”
“We don’t know that for sure,” said Hydro, getting into the new discussion, “All we know is information from resurrected fossils and the few studies we’ve done. Even so, not many people have Armaldo… I only know of two of the creatures right now, and both of them are on Victory Island.”
“Yeah, but didn’t a few people in Cherrygrove have some?”
“They might have,” shrugged Hydro, “If they did, I didn’t see them.”
“I saw one,” said Blade, turning slightly with his eyes shining, “Hydro, you know you were too busy boasting about your team to see anything! A woman had it; said she found the fossil that she resurrected it from in the Hoenn desert.”
“Yeah, I heard there’s a bunch of fossils hidden out there,” agreed Hydro, “Just like in Orre. The deserts always hold some interesting things.”
“Like what’s coming at us right now…” said Shadow suspiciously, drawing his katana and gesturing towards the strangely swirling sands before them.
A mysterious sound that seemed alluringly like whale song echoed though the driving wind, and the sand before the group shifted and moved as if some giant thing beneath it were writhing. Blade stumbled back as the sand under his feet heaved, knocking into Hydro who in turn fell into Shadow. The entire group dropped onto the red grit, knocking the breath from their bodies as they looked around in wild confusion for the source of the phenomenon.
With an abrupt hiss, the dirt to the left of the group exploded upwards and just as suddenly settled back into place, giving the appearance of some gigantic portion of a sea serpent undulating though the surf. The occurrence was repeated behind and to the right of them. Blade struggled up, closely followed by Hydro and Shadow, and looked with guarded curiosity as the humps of sand continued to rise and fall.
The sand was beginning to rise even higher now, and as the grit slid off whatever was beneath it the boys could catch glimpses of some dull tan carapace… almost like that of some enormous millipede, flash in the sun before disappearing in its element. Blade slowly drew a small, hidden dagger from his boot, though he was convinced it would be of very little use against such a creature.
His thoughts were confirmed as the red grit flew into the sky no more than twenty yards from where they were standing. The gigantic, flat head of some strange and ugly creature emerged, and Hydro gasped as he saw it. It was enormous, indeed, and its eyes, so very small and bead-like where they were set on the sides of the head, were very easily the size of beach balls. Inside the gigantic, ever open maw, at least three rows of teeth flashed, each tooth as long as Shadow’s own katana. With a squeak, the light-haired boy lowered his weapon.
“What do we do?” he asked, backing up as the dark, soulless eyes of the creature locked upon the three standing under it.
“There’s only one think we can do,” said Blade, slipping the dagger back into his boot, “RUN!!!”
With a yell, he turned and sprinted across the sands. Hydro followed him instantly, and, after a moment to sheath his katana, so did Shadow. The worm-creature trilled in its whale-like voice, and slammed headfirst into the sand behind them to give chase. The sand flew into the sky where it had passed.
Blade picked up the pace, running as he had never run in all his life. Hydro, who was a better runner than the others, ran beside him easily. Shadow struggled to keep up, not used to running in such amounts. Blade looked back, and, upon seeing Shadow’s predicament, slowed the pace down so that the other boy could catch up.
“We’re dead, we are SO dead!” Shadow panted, cursing.
“Just keep running,” gasped Blade, “It might lose interest in us…”
“Are you kidding?” said Hydro easily, not tired as of yet from the running, “This thing is toying with us! Do you really think it would have gone through all the trouble of putting on that show of sand if it hadn’t been planning this to begin with?! It’s obviously much faster than us; the worm is just letting us tire out for its own entertainment, like how a Persian plays with a beaten Rattata!”
“Then there’s no hope…”
“There is always hope!”
From the dune before them, a line of shadowed creatures rose. All three boys pulled to a stop, surprised and frightened by this sudden show of numbers and the mysterious voice that had called so strongly from the sands. They whirled around, though, as the grit behind them rose and the worm reared into the sky, its needle-sharp teeth grinding in anticipation.
As if on some unseen signal, all the shadows on the dune roared. From each one came a torrent of clear blue water, hissing though the air and sand to hit the gigantic worm head on. The immense beast screamed in protest, closing its maw and flailing its great head into the sky. As the water continued, it squealed a final, gut-wrenching squeal and sank down into the muddy ground, it’s song silenced as it slithered away in defeat.
The three boys watched this with mouths agape, still in shock of their brush with death and amazing rescue. Shadow was the first to sink down upon the sands as his legs gave out, in part from running but mostly from faintness. Hydro followed him soon after, and as Blade tried to help the others get up from the red dirt, he too felt the overwhelming tiredness sink upon him. With a final, bleary gaze at his rescuers, he closed his eyes and slept.