Love in the Time of Turbulence

Chapter 14: A Tear

Yeah, I know. A long chapter. On another note...I'm mixed. On the one hand: awesome! Hawlucha beat Mega Absol and the Tierno/Sawyer fight was pretty great. But come on! We could have seen at least the whole Mega Absol fight. Then again, I'm sure the writers are planning something and that's why we're not getting all of this...reserving judgment until we finish. That said, Chapter 14!

Chapter 14

A Tear

Serena's eyes were alight with a small sense of horror as she watched Rayquaza entering the town. To her surprise, it completely ignored the Mark Omega, heading straight for the circling and swirling green circle of energy. Looking a little closer, Serena could see that inside those circling green circles were black lines, which must have been the cables. Whatever they were, they looked eerily similar to a larger version of the tools Team Rocket would use on them. Although, these looked like they were going to do more than just hold Rayquaza in place.

Said legendary was now in the town's area, opening its mouth wide. Within that maw formed a dark nexus of energy. She had only heard of what had happened with Rayquaza in Ancien City; seeing it happening firsthand was a much more frightening experience. And this time it wasn't even Mega Evolved.

"Serena, move!" Ash yelled. Next thing she felt was Ash grabbing her and bringing all of them to the side. Rayquaza's Hyper Beam came out in a line. Its first point of impact became the fountain before it stretched upward to the nearby Gate and into part of the town proper. The concussive blast from it was more than enough, and all three of Ash, Serena and Pikachu were pitched to the side from the blast. When it receded, Serena found that she had landed on Ash's back, and he was groaning. She quickly got off.

"Sorry," she apologized, grabbing Ash's hand and pulling him up. Rubbing her head from the bruise she felt was forming, Serena turned her attentions towards the fountain to find that it was still in one piece and going strong with its keystone energy output. Clearly, even its normal form was unable to output the kind of power that could destroy the device...or it was just because the device was in action.

Not that Rayquaza was stopping. If anything, it was getting more and more violent, like a wounded animal. It was no surprise when Serena caught sight of its tail suddenly stuck in that swirling energy of the cables. More than that, its tail was being pulled in, along with the rest of its body. All too quickly, Rayquaza was being dragged into the trap, almost like it would be assimilated with it. Firing off more Hyper Beams, some of the trees in the forest were knocked over, while another landed in the lake. What was most amazing was that none were hitting the airship, being blocked by some kind of pink barrier that was erected like a large disc that covered the marketplace. Somehow the Lord of the Skies had managed to pass through it in its descent. Maybe because of its body composition? Serena couldn't be sure.

"This can't be good..." Ash commented. Serena had to agree, especially when the Gates started glowing an even brighter color and the energy output was clearly going off the charts to the point that it was making her skin tingle. Above in the sky, clouds had completely obscured the stars, brimming with some sort of green lightning, like it was setting the stage for the temporal rift to be opened.

ROOOOOOOOAR!

Rayquaza's howl was more frenzied now as its whole body was suddenly trapped within the circle. Serena wasn't sure if it was some kind of miracle, or the beginning of their doom. All she knew was that they needed to free Rayquaza in order to stop Team Neo. At the very least, they had to do something.

"Diantha!" Ash suddenly yelled, attracting Serena's attention. She turned and noticed that the Champion and her partner were against a broken bench, part of the splinters from the wood slicing across her arm. She was gripping it tightly, though even Serena could see the blood on her white clothing.