Love in the Time of Tomorrow

Chapter 21: A Resurgence

I like surprising readers. I may not always do the unexpected, but sometimes I seem to be able to. Last chapter seemed to do that. Lots thought there was a traitor, though that wouldn't have made sense. This twist, however, does, and you'll start seeing just how. Time for Chapter 21!

Chapter 21

A Resurgence

A horrible wrenching noise filled the air, and underneath Ash's feet, he could feel tremors. The roof was giving way beneath him and the others, but all he could do for that moment was look at the spot Deirdre had vanished. No...it was hard to say she had vanished when her form had never been real to begin with. His mind kept asking why. Why hadn't they noticed earlier? Why hadn't they tried to notice earlier?

"Ash, we need to move!" Serena shouted, gripping at his arm. She had recovered far faster than he, and Ash turned his head, locking eyes with his wife. Hers were just as wide, reflecting his own confusion setting in. She hadn't recovered, but she had enough presence of mind to know that they needed to get off of the building right that instant. There was another loud wrenching, and the sound of rubble falling.

"I think this whole hotel is about to completely collapse..." Clemont observed, kneeling at the edge of the chasm that was a sign of the hotel's splitting. "That Hyper Beam was insane...or was it the Z-Move itself that did it...?"

"Who cares?" Ash asked. Clemont shrugged sheepishly, clearly realizing that now wasn't the time to be scientifically musing about what was causing their command center to be broken apart. Ash didn't mean to sound so harsh, either, but in light of what had been revealed, he still felt himself slip into a state of shock. Serena's hand on his reminded him that they were in a battle, however. Knowing that, he reached back and pulled out the flute from his bag, blowing once on it. Charizard was too far away, scorching the enemy Pokémon in the air.

"Altaria's Hyper Beam never seemed that powerful before..." Serena commented while the three of them waited, their Pokémon drawing close. It prompted Serena and Clemont to return their own. The sharp cry of Latias filled the air, and Ash looked up to the rainbow sky. There were less Pokémon than before attacking the city, but still enough to cause problems for the fighters that remained below, especially with so little seeming to be fighting above.

"She was probably holding back," Ash said. Latias became visible now, shooting right for the three of them. The hotel shuddered, the piece they were on beginning to lean down towards the street. Their feet began to slip, and Ash took a final look around the airspace of the city; like its trainer, Altaria seemed to have vanished, but not in the same sense. "Didn't want us to engage her too closely. So, when we finally became too much of a threat, Altaria turned up the heat to stop us from reaching her, even if it didn't work. I'd hate to see that thing with even more power."

"Right now, the only power we should think about protecting is our own. I'm not about to die here," Clemont stated, pushing up on his glasses. Ash agreed wholeheartedly, letting a grin plaster itself on to his face. Latias had reached them, and all of them there jumped on to her back, with Pikachu yet again clinging to Ash's shirt. Greninja once more leapt from the building with alacrity, while she zoomed away from the falling building, aiming towards the ground, where Ash could see Diantha and a number of others still gathering, having escaped the building. Thankfully, among them were Brock, Aria, and even those that appeared wounded, like Astrid, now wearing a jacket on herself. Another creaking and cracking, and Ash looked to the collapsing building, watching as it was tipping over. Clemont reached for a pokeball. "I know you're tired, Vikavolt, but I need you to use String Shot and hold the hotel together as much as you can!"