Metamorphosis (Pokémon Watties 2017)

13: Time and Space

The stairway that they traveled on was much bigger than anything Isa had ever seen. He followed Ayana and Kaden, who had both been to the tower before and therefore led. His attention was caught by a few of the windows, light streaming through. Some of it cast bright beams, while a bit of it cast rays of shadows across the stairs. A few of the windows were colored, which caused for some of the beams to cast in shades of blue, red, and green.

The stairs never ended. They were climbing for about fifteen minutes before Kaden finally let out a groan and sat down. "It is not supposed to take this long. Maybe two minutes, max? We must have gone the wrong way."

"I know this entire tower by heart, I'm certain we are going the right way." Ayana declared. "Now, get up, both of you. We're almost there."

Both boys let out small moans before standing up again and continuing the climb. They didn't get very far before Ayana held a hand out, motioning for them to stop. Isa began to question her, but was cut off with a sharp "Shhh!" She slowly moved forward, watching something.

"What is it?" Isa eventually whispered, which caused Ayana to jump.

"Hold it!" She demanded once again, slapping a hand over his mouth. She continued to watch the something until she was convinced it was gone, then motioned them forward.

The three continued, only stopping once more when Isa noticed a blur of black on the edge of his vision. "Did you see that?" He asked, pointing in the direction from which he saw the movement. Kaden was the first to look in the direction, slowly approaching it. They both jumped when another voice entered the room.

"Hello?" It was definitely a woman's voice, one that came off with a bit of a hoarse croak. From the source of the sound, Isa picked out a person wearing a black, hooded cloak. Despite the fact that she sounded older, she definitely looked much younger. "Ahh, are you three here to see Valencia?"

Before Kaden could do anything rash, Ayana spoke. "Yes, we are. The way up seems to be much longer than before, however. Are you certain that we're travelling in the right direction?"

"Of course. She's only just above us. I'll lead you there." If at all possible, the way she spoke made it seem as if she was smiling.

"Thank you." Ayana gave a sort of curtsy to the woman as she started to join the three.

"I haven't seen a group your size in a long time. You know, there was a group of three children many years ago who looked like you. It was two boys and a young girl. They all traveled through Luminia and had their eyes set on meeting with Valencia. It's quite an interesting story, actually. Would you like to hear it?"

Before anyone else could object, Isa spoke. "Sure."

The woman laughed a bit. "Most people think that the stories I tell are absurdity. Thank you for allowing me to share."

---

"Come on, we're almost there!" The girl screams. She brushes the hair that's fallen on her face out of her view, glaring down the woman in front of her. To her side she hears a scream from one of her friends.

"We can't hold on much longer, Scizor's about to go down!" The boy to her left calls. The girl lets out a moan.

"Lucario, help Nate out! Eric, are you and Zoroark ready?" She turns to look at her friend, who gives an energetic nod.

"You bet we are! Come on, Zoroark!" His blue eyes give off a bit of a dangerous glow to them as he nods ahead, Zoroark disappearing. It soon reappears behind the woman and gives off a sharp call, causing her to turn around. The boy grins and runs at her, raising a sword in the air. He swipes down, a rush erupting from the area as he calls on the power of Palkia. The woman remains unfazed as he attacks. "How-?" Eric is cut off by an ear-splitting yell. Both Eric and the girl turn their heads to see that Scizor and Nate are both on the ground. Scizor is well past fainted and Nate is curled up into a ball, trembling.