route_1065 | Comin' to the Rescue

Entry tags:

Comin' to the Rescue

Who: Athrun Zala, Lacus Clyne, and Shinn Asuka
Where: Union Cave
When: August 14-16
Summary: Lacus didn't emerge from Union Cave. Athrun and Shinn head in to find her.
Rating: G - PG.
Log:
It was fortunate that Athrun decided to stop in Azalea Town first. Union Cave was only a couple of hours away by Tauros, so it didn't take him long to get there.

And so, Athrun was riding through Union Cave, perched atop a Tauros with Lacus's Igglybuff. Lesseps was being worked hard, but both Pokémon and trainer knew its limits, so it wouldn't work to the point of exhaustion.

Unfortunately, the cave is far from small, and Athrun knew that it could take a long time to search on his own. So, he pulled out his own PokéGear, and called up a friend.

"Shinn? Shinn, can you hear me?"

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A reply came soon enough, with a worried face staring at Athrun to the screen.

"Athrun! Where are you!?"

"I'm in Union Cave right now." Sure enough, Athrun's surroundings were dark and rocky. "Did you get the message from Mr. Pink?"

Shinn, meanwhile, had just reached the Violet City entrance to the cave, looking for Mr. Pink.

"Yeah, I did."

He nodded at that, before venturing a guess.

"Is she with you now?"

"Unfortunately, no. I'm looking for her as we speak. Where are you right now?"

"The entrance from the Violet side. Mr. Pink should be around here somewhere..."

"I've got him with me. He was outside the south exit." The camera panned down to show the Igglybuff.

"Let's split the cave into two halves. You search the northern half, I'll search the southern half. Sound like a plan?"

Shinn gave a nod at that. That way, they'll be able to cover more grounds than if they actually started from the same point.

"Sounds like a plan, alright."

With that, Athrun ended the call and resumed his search. He made sure that no corner, no nook, no cranny was missed.

Lacus wasn't even sure if anyone would notice that she was missing, especially when she wasn't expected back until the next day. It had really been just a stroke of bad luck. During a battle with a wild Onix, the Pokemon probably got a little over-excited. The battle shook the small space and before she knew what was happening huge rocks covered the path she came from.

Polywag and her new Onix couldn't help her. At the moment, Onix was much too weak to help. Her flashlight was out of batteries, her gear was missing and she was exhausted. It took no genius to understand --- that she was clearly in trouble. Though Lacus was good at remembering where she came from, but this was a part of the cave she'd never seen before.

"It seems to me that we're in a little trouble, Aqua. I was naive to think I could come here myself," she admitted, quietly but still very much calm. " It seems my only option right now is to stay right here. If I don't return by tomorrow... someone is sure to notice." But most of all, she was worried about Mister Pink. He seemed to be missing. What worried her was that a normal type can get hurt in this cave.

Well, he hadn't remembered a wall being there before. Athrun urged Lesseps to come to a stop, and he dismounted the Tauros and took a closer look.

He inspected the surface closely, and noticed -- these rocks didn't seem as worn as those on the floor. Which meant that there had been a collapse here. Of course, Athrun had no way of knowing that Lacus was on the other side of these rocks, but if she was, it would make perfect sense as to why she hasn't emerged from the cave yet.

"Lacus!" Athrun shouted. "Lacus, are you back there? If you can hear me, answer!"

For a moment, Lacus thought she was hearing things. She was almost certain she heard someone call her name. Slowly, she got up to her feet and tried to assess where the voice was coing from. From what she could tell, it sounded like it was coming from behind the rocks. At the moment, she wasn't sure who the voice belonged to but if the person knew her name... it was possible it might be a friend.

But that was not possible, was it? Yet --- she had to take a chance even if it may just be wishful thinking on her part.

"I'm in here!" she shouted back, praying that whoever was behind those rocks would hear. "Please, help?!"

Athrun could barely make out Lacus's voice. He'd found her. He was tempted to breathe a sigh of relief, but just because he'd found her didn't mean she was safe.

"It's Athrun!" he shouted into the rocks. "Just hold on, I'll get you out soon!"

Once he said that, Athrun took a few steps back and opened the rest of his Poké Balls. Out came a Golem, a Kingler, a Scizor, a Magmortar, and a Gallade.

"All right, guys, we need to get these rocks out of the way! Lacus is trapped behind them!"

Almost immediately, the five went to work. Before joining in, however, Athrun pulled his PokéGear out again.

"Shinn! Shinn, I found her! There was a collapse, and she's trapped, so I'm gonna need your help!"

Shinn's voice replied from Athrun's Pokégear within a second.

"You did!? Alright, just give me the location and I'll be there shortly!"

Shinn was relieved and happy and glad to know that Lacus is at least alright, but there's a more serious matter at hand, and thus, he waits anxiously for Athrun's reply

Athrun tried to remember the layout of the cave.

"Just keep going south, and you'll eventually hit a pool of water on your right. Follow the path to the right past the pool of water and you'll hit it."

"Right!"

And not long after, Athrun's going to hear the patter of footsteps, followed by several more as Shinn arrived at the scene with his Electabuzz and Golem, who were obviously helping the younger Coordinator in navigating the rough and dark terrain.

"Over here!" Athrun called. By this point he'd joined his Pokémon in the effort of moving the rocks.

"Athrun?" Lacus whispered. When did he return? How did he know she was here? She had so many questions, but she shook her head. Answers can come later. Right now, concentrating on getting out was the more immediate problem.

Lacus returned her Polywag into her Pokeball, so that in case anything were to happen he, at least, wouldn't get hurt. It was faint, but she could hear voices from behind the rocks. It sounded like --- it was Shinn. Shinn was here as well? "Shinn?!" wondering if he could hear her. It seemed somehow ---they knew she was in trouble. For that, she felt a little guilty.

Not wanting to simply wait to be rescued, she tied her hair up in a ponytail and began to help moving the rocks out of the way... trying to be careful because she did not have the advantage of light.

Without even saying anything, Shinn immediately jumped into the fray with his Pokémon, trying to move the rocks out of the way as fast as he can.

...

And making sure that none of them falls and cause deaths everywhere.

The rock wall rapidly shrank as the group chipped away at it. Eventually, Justice smashed apart a rock and left a hole behind. They could see through to the other side.

"We're almost there. Just a little longer...!"

She could hear the voice clearly now -- and it was Athrun. Looking through the hole they just made, she can also see that he wasn't alone. It was dark, but she could swear that it was definitely Shinn.

It wasn't long before the hole was finally big enough for her to pass through. She finally thought it was appropriate to speak.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," Lacus said, smiling as poked her head through the hole first, before carefully climbing up the rubble. It was not easy to walk on rubble with the boots she was wearing. "You saved me... I thought it would take much longer for people to even realize I was missing."

"Well, you have Mr. Pink to thank for that."

Shinn said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck. Really, if Mr. Pink didn't make the call.

"That's right." Athrun gestured to further back in the cave, where a Tauros stood waiting. There was a familiar pink thing perched atop its back.

"Mister Pink?" It didn't take her long to deduce what had happened. So that was where her Gear went... it was with Mister Pink. She thought she had lost it.

Once outside, Lacus ran towards the waiting Tauros upon seeing Mister Pink on him. " Mister Pink," she exclaimed pulling him off the Tauros and into her arms. " My dear, dear, Mister Pink... thank you." Mister Pink preened with pride, thinking of himself as the Hero of the day --- though Athrun and Shinn really did all the work.

She also pats Tauros on the head. "You worked hard as well, didn't you? Thank you... and I am so sorry I have caused so much trouble."

Lesseps just closed his eyes as Lacus patted him on the head.

"Well, I can't imagine you want to stay in this cave any longer than you have at this point, huh? Are you ready to get going?"

After asking that, Athrun turned to Shinn. "What about you? Are you going to go on with us?"

He looks back to the road leading to the cave, and at Athrun and Lacus, on one hand, Raidou and the others were waiting for him, and on the other, his friends from back home.

When it comes to these kinds of decision...

"I'm going with Raidou and the others."

At Athrun's question, she nods. Yes, she was very much ready to go though --- she also looks back at the cave as well. She was a little disqppointed that she and Sheryl seemed to have missed each other again.

Turning to Shinn, she gave the younger boy a smile. "Thank you, Shinn. For your help. I am sorry that my plight took you away from your friends." Then she gives Shinn a friendly hug.

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Comin' to the Rescue

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late. so late.

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