Chapter Nine: The Malamars Attack

Ava's Point of View

I push my leg against the wall and set the box of groceries on it, barely balancing it there as I use my single free hand, the other holding multiple bags of groceries, to dig through my pocket for my keys. I find them and pull them out, sticking them into the door and twisting. The door clicks as it unlocks. I twist the knob and open the door. I'm greeted by Espurr's loud cry. It's louder than John and Jo's screaming arguments (in other words: extremely loud!). I am so glad this place is soundproof, otherwise we would have been caught a long time ago. Hades comes rushing to me.

"Thank the gods you're here," he says, taking my bags and pushing Espurr into my arms, Cass taking the box. The moment I start holding Espurr it goes quiet, snuggling into me. Hades and Cass sighs with relief.

"Thirty minutes," Cass says, taking the box to the table. "Espurr has been crying for thirty minutes straight."

Hades nods in agreement, taking the food out of the bags. "Yeah. I'm so glad you didn't get caught because if you never came back then it wouldn't have stopped and I would have went crazy."

I cradle Espurr, rocking it gently, its eyes slowly closing. We don't know why but Espurr has clung to me ever since we got it. It tolerates Hades but will only handle him for a brief amount of time, quickly breaking into a fit until I take it. Nobody but us two can touch it or else it will rage.

Jo and John come out of a room, peaking out cautiously. "I-Is it done," John asks, lifting his noise canceling earmuffs, sighing with relief when there is no scream. Seeing his reaction, Jo takes off his, tossing the pair onto the table. Hades and Cass glare at them.

"Yeah, it's done," Hades says, his tone irritated.

"Thanks for your help calming it down," Cass says with an attitude, something he normally doesn't have.

Jo shrugs. "Hey, we all know that even if me and John tried to help it wouldn't have done anything. We shouldn't be expected to help with something that is helpless."

Hades's eye twitches as he yanks the fridge open, causing the whole thing to shake. John sighs. "Alright, fine. Sorry for leaving y'all with the screaming cat. To make up for it, me and Jo will put up the groceries."

Jo snaps his head to John, eyes wide. "We will," he exclaims with question. John nods.

"Yes, it's only fair," he responds, handing Jo a head of lettuce. Jo, surprisingly, doesn't argue. Kind of hard to when John's not wrong. However, Jo does glare at John, muttering under his breath as he takes the lettuce to the fridge.

Hades and Cass seems pretty satisfied with this, going and taking a seat in the living room. I join them, sitting down in the rocking chair. Once I sit down and make sure that Espurr is still asleep, I study the orb that will save the world that's in the center of the room. Chewy and Mewtwo are both using Thunderbolt on it, charging it. They both look exhausted, which is understandable considering they've been doing this for a week straight with barely any breaks. Cass offered to use Embers with Thunderbolt as well, but we wouldn't let him. We're gonna need it when we use the orb.

We have to fly the ball of light high into the sky when we use it, that way all of Lumios City will be able to see it. It may seem like Hades and Char would be the best choice, but we plan to use them to on the offensive to protect from the Mega Malamar as Cass uses Mega Delphox to get it into the air. Jo and John will also be helping Hades in combat while I fly up with Cass in case we need any more electricity. We're ready to do it, but we're waiting for the orb to finish charging.

"Clasingla wasn't kidding," Hades says randomly, making me jump lightly as he snaps me out of my thoughts. "This thing really does take a long time to charge."

"Yeah, but this time it will be worth it when it's done," John says, coming to the living room with Jo right behind.

"We'll finally get to go back to our old life again," Jo exclaims excitedly as he flops onto the couch, John seating himself next to him.

I nod, a bit sad from hearing that. Our old life. Does that mean we're gonna go our separate ways again? All these months living together just to say good-bye. Hades seems to be thinking the same thing. He's looking around the room with a bitter-sweet expression, like he's already saying farewell. Like me, though, he keeps his thoughts to himself.

"Old life," Cass asks, looking at Jo, head tilted. "You saying things are just gonna go back to how it used to be? Like none of this happened?"

Jo sits up, eyebrows furrowed. "Well, yeah, kind of."

"That's dumb," John says. There's no bite to his tone, but that's just enough to set Jo off.

"Of coarse you think that," Jo shouts, shooting to his feet aggressively. "Everything I do is either dumb or childish in your eyes."

John scoffs and rolls his eyes. "That's not true."

"Then why do you say those things all the time," Jo questions, raising an eyebrow.

"Because you often say things that are dumb or childish," John responds. Because that was a smart thing to say.

Jo's eye twitches as he glares at John. "You literally just said I am!"

John shakes his head. "No. I said you often say things that are. I didn't say you are."

Jo looks at him, confused. "That's the same thing!"

"No, it's not," John replies.

"Okay, let's say it's not," Jo states with an attitude. "What would you say I am then? Hm?"

John goes silent, thinking for a second. I figure that means that he's actually going to be smart about his response and not say something that could make the situation worse. "You're immature," John finally says.

So I was wrong. He thought of a word that made it worse. Like he usually does.

"Immature," Jo repeats, asking it offendedly. He just stands there for a second, stunned. Finally, he shakes his head, storming to the door. "That's it! I need a second!"

John stands up, pointing a finger at Jo. "Don't you dare leave this building!"

Jo yanks the door open and walks out, sticking his tongue out at John as he does. He slams the door shut behind him. After all this commotion that was the last thing needed to wake up Espurr, which wakes up screaming and crying. All of us groan as we rush to try to calm it down. I'm worried about Jo, but I'm sure he'll be fine.

Switching to… Jo! That's right! For once it's not back to Hades!

"Can you believe that John called me immature," I shout to Cinders as we walk down the street. "Well the joke's on him! I don't know what that means," I say with a proud smirk, Cinders nodding with a grunt of aggressive agreement.

I kick a pebble, which hits a nearby wall and bounces into the street with little clacks. I see a bench and go sit in it, Cinders joining me. "He says that I say dumb and childish things, but that's not true," I state confidently.

Cinders nods making a noise that sounds like "Yeah!" I nod back, leaning into the bench, slowly relaxing. We sit in silence for a second, giving me time to think.

"Well, maybe it was a bit dumb to think that things would just magically go back to how they were," I say quietly, Cinder looking at me, head tilted. It squeaks with question. I sigh. "Honestly, I don't even know if I would want things to go back to normal. If we go back to our old lives, wouldn't that mean leaving each other?"

Cinders thinks for a second, then nods slowly, making a sound of unsure agreement. I shake my head. "But I don't want that! All I've ever wanted was a family, and while John is great and all, he's just one person. I want a bunch of people that will love and accept me."

I think about the Malamar Hatars and smile. They are what I've always pictured as a family. They are caring and loving. We get into fights but always forgive each other in the end. We protect one another at all costs and will do anything for a member. They are what I always dreamed of. I suddenly shoot to my feet. Cinders, although confused, follows suit.

"I need to go back there and tell them what I've realized" I tell Cinders, sprinting towards the base. Cinders shouts back as it begins to run. It has no clue what's going on, but it joins me without question.

We rush down the street, turning into a nearby alley way. As we do, two Malamars come out of it. I try to stop, but it's too late. I holler as I crash into them, all of us getting knocked to the ground. I scramble to my feet quickly, helping Cinders up once I am. As I get Cinders off the ground, the Malamars get up, too. They glare at us, their lights starting to flicker. Unfortunately, I left my sunglasses at the base.

"Um… Sorry," I say, more as a question than a statement. Their lights shine brightly, but I block my vision, Cinders doing the same. "Run," I shout, turning around and dashing down the alley, Cinders right behind me. I glance back once and see that the Malamars now have friends, all of which are chasing after us.

I just screwed up!

Over to you John! (I know y'all are missing Hades!)

I sigh heavily as I collapse onto the couch, shutting my eyes. We finally calmed Espurr down. Ava and Hades are playing with it in Ava's room. Now that it's quiet, I have time to think.

I don't know why I said that to Jo. I get why he thought that. I've thought the same thing before. And calling him immature was pretty rude. While yes he acts that way sometimes, it's not true. He can handle a lot and has gone through more than most people his age has. If anything he's tough or strong.

I guess I still see the kid I saved two years ago, young and naive. He's grown since then, though, and I know I shouldn't worry, but I can't help it. And I'm a jerk about it, too, calling him things that I shouldn't because I won't see past the boy he used to be.

I groan, squeezing my closed eyes tighter. I hope he's okay! If anything happens to him, it's my fault! He has every right to be mad at me! While I do think his reaction was overdramatic, I can't say he's in the wrong.

Suddenly, a hand starts rubbing my back gently. I open my eyes and look over. Hades is crouching beside with a soft, reassuring smile. "Don't worry," he tells me. "Remember, he's the second strongest member!"

I laugh, sitting up with a sigh. Hades sits down beside me. "Yeah, you're right. The number is wrong, but he is strong," I say, nodding. "He can take care of himself!"

Hades hums with agreement. "Exactly. He'll be back soon, completely unharmed!"

I smile at him and we sit in silence. Until Hades randomly speaks up. "Hey, uh, when all this is over, what do you plan on doing?"

I stare at him silently, thinking. "I'm not sure," I say slowly. "Haven't really thought about it much."

Hades nods, looking at the orb. "I have. I've put a lot of thought into it, yet I'm still not sure." He goes quiet again, looking a bit sad. "Guess we're all gonna separate and go back to what we used to do, huh?"

"I… I don't know," I respond quietly. I didn't think about the fact that we're only together because of this mess. Once it's over, we don't have a reason to stay together once it's done. I don't want to leave them, though! I've grown attached to everyone here. Even Hades, believe it or not!

Hades begins to say something, but then the front door bursts open, an exhausted, breathless Jo standing in the frame. I rush over to him, sighing with relief. "You're back," I exclaim. "I am so sorry for-"

"Yeah, yeah," Jo cuts me off, speaking quickly. "You're sorry, I'm sorry, cool. We've got a problem!"

"What is it," Hades asks, joining us at the door.

"The Malamars caught me," he tells us, which me and Hades gasps at. "I-I didn't know where else to go! There's a whole army behind me. Cinders is holding them off, but-"

Suddenly, Cinders screams as it comes flying into the room, crashing into a wall. It's beat up and tired. Jo rushes to its side. Ava comes rushing out.

"What's happening," she asks, holding Espurr protectively.

"The Malamars are here," I tell her, pulling out Meowtwo. Her eyes widen with shock.

"What," she shouts, Jo flinching.

"I-I'm sorry," Jo stutters out. "I didn't mean to!"

Ava sighs. "You're fine! I'll tell Cass. John, grab the orb. Meet back at our discussed location in an hour."

We all nod in agreement, rushing around the room. As Ava and Cass come out of Cass's room, the Malamars finally make it here. I go to send out Mewtwo, but Hades steps up first, releasing Char from its ball.

"Fire Blast," he commands. Char inhales deeply. As it exhales, a giant ball of flames comes shooting out its mouth, knocking out the Malamars. Hades leaps over them, Char following. "I'll distract them! Get out of here!"

"Wait-" Jo starts, but Hades is already gone, sounds of battle echoing through the hall. I growl, not wanting to let him do this alone. However, I have the orb. Nothing can happen to it, so I have to trust Hades to defend himself. He is the strongest on the team he claims, so he'll be fine.

…

Right?

Finally going to Hades!

"Hurricane," I shout. Char flaps its wings powerfully, pushing out an immense gust of wind that blasts the Malamars. Some of them get knocked out, but most of them tank it, continuing the chase.

I make a turn, leading the Malamars into another alley. As I do, more Malamars come from the other side of it, these ones Mega Evolved. The Malamars behind us catch up. I look around, completely surrounded.

"Looks like we're gonna need more power," I say, grabbing my necklace, tapping its Key Stone. Char howls as our stones shimmer, threads of light connecting to each other. With a blinding flash (luckily I have my awesome sunglasses!) the light disburses, Mega Charizard X now next to me.

The Malamars leap into action, charging in with Foul Play. "Breaking Swipes," I command. Char's tail lights up as it spins in a circle, knocking back the incoming Malamars. The ones we hit with Hurricane collapse, but the new Megas hold their ground, glowing blue as their stats decrease. Unfortunately, more Mega Malamars come in, replacing the Malamars we just defeated.

I clench my jaw tightly. "Y'all are annoying," I shout at them, but they don't care about my insult. They spin their tentacles quickly, summoning purple shards, which they launch at Char. "Go through the Psyshock with Dragon Rush," I tell Char. It growls as it kicks off the ground, soaring right into the Psyshock and continuing to the Mega Malamars. It rams into them with a bang. Some of them glow brightly as they fall, their Mega Evolution disappearing. The ones that still stand stumble as they regain their footing (but they don't have feet!).

"Don't let them recover," I say. "Fire Blast!"

Char takes a deep breath. I roars at it let's it out, blue flames exploding the Mega Malamars. I laugh as they fall to the ground, knocked out. "Great work! Let's keep going!"

I run down the alley, Char close behind. It's been mostly empty, only a few Malamars here and there. I come to a stop at a dead end, looking around. "I think we lost them," I mutter, Char grunting in agreement. Suddenly, one of the building's door swing open, Malamars coming out. Before I can react, one of them grabs my ankle, pulling me to the ground.

I yell as my body hits the concrete below my, my glasses falling off as I do. I try to grab them, but they pull me in too quickly. "Get out of here, Char!"

Char looks at me, terrified. It shakes its head. "Yes," I shout. "Go to the meet up spot! The others will need you!"

Char stares at me, looking conflicted. Then it spreads its wings, shooting off into the sky. I watch with a small smile. I'll just have to trust the others to make it to Lumios Tower and put a stop to all this. My head gets lifted off the ground as the Malamars dangle me upside-down. Before I can shield my eyes, they flash me.

I scream, trying to resist. But soon, I quiet down, my mind blanking. Only three words fill my brain.

"My… Friend… Malamar."

There it is!

Number Nine!

Our main man got hypnotized!

The next chapter will be the last, so there's something to look forward to!

I was going to have an Epilogue, but I'm gonna use a time skip in the fianal chapter.

@clasingla @Catcatmyoop @fineasmatei @Voltareon2012 @dragonitebeam @UnovanZorua @Pokémaniac25 and anyone that I am forgetting

Enjoy!