Love in the Time of Tenacity

Chapter 10: A Recovery

No, I will not talk about the recent news...mostly because my opinion is quite plain over Twitter. Instead, let's focus on the realization that the last 9 chapters all took place in 24 hours. On to Chapter 10!

Chapter 10

A Recovery

A guttural scream tore from Plumeria's throat, and Clemont was barely able to lean back, away from her fierce uppercut. Unfortunately, the strike made him lose his balance and he began to fall down the stairs, caught by Bonnie and Squishy holding him up (with Rotom attempting to for all of a second, but failing). He grinned at them with some exertion as his sister tried to push him up carefully. Hau bounded forward, throwing his hand out to grab ahold of Clemont's hands. He then pulled him further upwards, but the clear distraction from the chaos that was going on around them was enough for Plumeria.

"Crobat, Air Cutter!" she snapped, flipping her legs straight up into the air. This woman just doesn't give up, does she? Clemont found himself thinking. Blades of air came cutting through the surroundings, revealing that Crobat had been flapping high up above and now descended. Those blades cut straight through the string binding the Skull admin, freeing Plumeria's legs. Lillie stood on the steps, mind clearly wavering between helping with Plumeria or continuing on a mad dash to the top of the altar. She decided fairly quickly.

"Komala, use Wood Hammer," she commanded. Like always, Komala detached from Lillie's arm, swinging his green glowing chunk of wood around to slam Plumeria in the back and send her tumbling back down the stairs. "Sorry, but I can't let you stop us."

"You go, Lillie!" Hau cheered, pumping his fist, though his eyes were shifting downward, showing where his mind was truly focusing. Clemont finally regained his balance in time for Plumeria to tumble down at his feet. Behind him, Bonnie had dug into her bag, taking out the Sun Flute. Clemont felt like they were encapsulated in that little space for a moment, despite everything going on around them. He briefly looked back to see Serena flipping to the side, her skirt flaring out while Braixen whacked a grunt on the head with her wand and Greninja dashed through with his white blades. Gladion also seemed to be involved, gripping his Z-Ring, which was changing colors alongside Silvally. It was something the inventor cataloged for later.

"Lillie, go!" Bonnie screamed. Clemont barely stepped out of the way, in time for his sister to take the object in her hands and toss it right for Lillie. He had to admit that she had a pretty great amount of arm strength. Plumeria groaned and pushed up, making a lunge for the twirling Sun Flute. She also had an insurance policy.

"Crobat, grab it!" she shouted as she dove for the object. Clemont grit his teeth and moved forward, patting Luxray. It was going to hurt, he knew, but Plumeria was being beyond persistent. The Gleam Eyes Pokémon sparked all over his body and blasted forward, knocking into Plumeria and sending the Team Skull admin off the side of the stairs where she was forced to grip the edge with both hands, slowly pulling herself back up.

"Vikavolt, go! Take Crobat down!" Clemont yelled out. Like a sudden shot that appeared to be little more than a flash of shadow, Vikavolt was in front of Crobat, tangling with the poisonous flyer. They grappled in midair. The Sun Flute finished spiraling and Lillie reached out for it, clasping with her hands and pulling it tight.

"On it! Komala," Lillie cried, beginning to dash up the stairs carefully. Plumeria finally pulled herself up, flipping with more alacrity than Clemont had expected. She dove for Lillie, but her hands barely managed to rake through the blonde's hair, pulling at the tie on her ponytail. Clemont dove now, locking himself around Plumeria's ankles.

"You need to stop this, right now!" Clemont roared at her. She didn't listen, tossing a punch at him, but that was caught by Hau, who sent all three of them rolling to the sides and nearly falling off the stairs again. "Bonnie, go with Lillie! We have no idea how long she'll need to be unprotected, so protect her!"