Inner Demons

Chapter 3

Lillie put her arms over her head, the rocky roof about to crumble ontop of her and Gladion.

"Charizard! Flamethrower!" Kiawe yelled, and Lillie looked up to see everyone.

Charizard threw a burp of fire at the rubble, and it was turned into mere cinder that blew away in the wind.

"Kiawe!? Mallow!? Everyone!?" Lillie gasped.

"What are you doing here!?" Gladion hissed.

"We're here to help you save Ash!" Lana insisted.

Lillie had tears in her eyes. "You guys..." She whispered.

Gladion groaned. "Fine, but we have to be quick. We have no idea what's happening to Ash."

Lusamine butted in. "But imagine all the wonderful things he must be seeing... The world must be breathtaking!"

"Mother!" Lillie shouted. "Focus on rescuing Ash!"

Lusamine snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh, sorry! You really love him, don't you?"

Lillie turned cherry blossom pink. "M-mother!"

Lusamine laughed. "I was just joking!"

Everyone except Lillie laughed slightly, then moved on. They climbed up a mile high staircase, to see all the island guardians huddled in a circle.

"Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele!?" Lillie gasped.

"Tapu Bulu and Tapu Fini, too!" Lusamine added.

Lillie shook her head to clear her thoughts, then walked up too the guardians. "U-um..." Tapu Koko turned to her, and the others glanced the same direction. "T-tapu Koko... A-ash was taken by an ultrabeast, we have no certainty that you can, but could you please call Sogaleo or L-lunala to open up an ultra wormhole..?"

Tapu Kok turned inward to the other island guardians, and they all talked, no one being able to understand their Pokémon talk. Tapu Lele walked up to Lillie and gestured to her wrist, then made a diamond shape with it's hand.

"I-I don't have a Z-ring," Lillie responded to this strange act.

Lusamine tossed a bracelet over to Lillie. "You can use mine!"

Lillie turned to her mom with a grateful smile, then slipped thw Z-ring on. Instantly Tapu Koko snatched it, leaving a cut on Lillie's wrist.

"Ouch!" Lillie cried, as blood dripped out of the cut. She untangled her backpack, and tried to patch herself with on hand. Eventually she was able to get some gauze on her wrist to stop the bleeding. "What was that for..?"

Tapu Koko paid no mind, going into it's wings and shaking around. It tossed the Z-ring to it's fellow guardians, and they repeated this motion. After Tapu Fini finished, they lifted the Z-ring into the middle of then and sang a chorus of crys. After all of that, the Z-ring floated back down to Lillie, but looked slightly different.

The moon shadowed over them, casting it's disrespectful gaze as Lillie slipped on the Z-ring back on. Almost immediately, Nebby's cocoon floated out of her backpack and shined brightly.