LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 3: Maelstrom
Screams fill the halls partnered by pokémon cries. The smoke leaves many blind; and Ava wakes up slouched against a bookcase, coughing. "My ears!" 'The ringing ain't disappearing any time soon. Ava staggers to her feet "I need to find mom."
"Is anyone else around?! What's happening!? Please someone answer me!" A Man's voice calls out into the thick smoke, before Ava could respond a Deoxys bleep was heard with the man screaming "Wait no!"
'… Yeah I need to find mom.' Ava goes in the opposite direction of where the man was screaming; which was into the less smoke filled dining hall
"Hey! You're Nancy's kid: glad to see you. I dunno how you got out of the way of the explosion but kudos!" The piano lady turns towards a huge car sized hole
Ava reaches out to her shoulder "First off are you ok?"
" I'm doing well enough, Thanks for asking!"
"Grand Secondly, where is my mother?"
"I don't know; but the Captain was conscious during this whole thing, so he might."
Man's a tank! She follows the Piano Lady
"Why today? They could've done this any other day; but no, today." The Captain stares into the fire
"Captain, you're too close to the fire. Step back!" The piano lady's plea was listened to as Augustus steps back
"I loved this ship, she was my prized possession. Now she'll be the sea's before she can reach land." His voice sounded as if he was speaking on top a windy cliff: distant despite how close he was
"A ship can be replaced! The life on a ship can't be replaced or brought back! Look, Nancy's kid survived the blast didn't they?"
"Oh.." He sounded closer as if the winds calmed down
"You've been conscious for this whole ordeal, right? You know where Nancy went?"
Augustus clears his throat "Uhm after the explosion she jumped down after the assailants that destroyed my ship."
"So she's down there then? That's not good." The piano lady's words prompt Ava to turn around, as she walks beside Augustus. "Welp, come on Augustus. We need to start getting off this thing." Ava does some short stretches "If we work together, surely we can-!"
"See ya!" Ava runs and jumps into the hole. Once she reaches the bottom a man swatting away some of the smoke.
"I guess this is the end for us." He looks Ava in the eyes, his stare is contempt and firm unlike is adrenaline fueled body
"Maybe.." Ava stares back while still running in place before running back to her and her mothers room. 'I need to find mom, I need to help her anyway possible. We can make it out of here together.' Without warning the floor explodes a few paces in front of her: a dark skinned male jumps out first before quickly turning to see the Gothitelle that followed. Upon seeing it his slow back ups turn into full on sprinting; It lets out a sound upon seeing Ava before blasting after the male and chasing. 'That has to be Crescents.' Ava turns to the only route she can and continues running. 'Please let me find my mother.'
"All you do is run! Fight us woman!" Nancy yells into the extremely thick smoke. "Why are you doing this, what's the point?!"
A violet haired woman jumps down from the crates as Ava enters the room. "Perhaps you should focus less on me, and be more concerned about our guest that just joined us."
"What?" Ava's mother turns around to see Ava breathing hard "Wha- WHY are you still here!? I thought Crescent.. She was supposed to send you somewhere safe.." Her voice soft like a puffy cloud but had hinted to betrayal as if threatening to rain.
"Oh.. Sorry, but safety is long~ gone for both of you. We're taking our target. You."
Ava's mother looks at Ava, then her opposition. "M-me?"
"That's right. Why would our target be Ava?"
Ava's mother stands silent.
"Anyway, I was originally only going after you, but since both of you decided to come to me… I'll be happy to take you back to HQ on silver platters. Unharmed even.. Kinda." Two speed forme Deoxys show up between: Ava and her mother, Nancy and her opposition. "Do you understand now?"
"The game was rigged from the start. This ship and the people aboard had no future." Nancy seemed distraught , but her voice was still calm as if she was sure her and Ava would get out of this
"Glad you see things my way-!" The purple haired woman side jumps to dodge a moonblast
"Ava, get out of here! Moonblast! Have a life! Make friends! Don't come back or look for me!" Nancy screams out towards Ava: who's already running with her head down. A Deoxys attempts to block her way but she runs right past it and over the hole it came up from. Before it can follow her a piano falls on top of it
"Keep running kid! Get out of here!" The piano lady covers her eyes from the steam "For the rest of us."
Ava reaches the stern, but she doesn't see any of the life boats she did last time she was there, she stands out of breath "What the fuck! Really!" The purple haired woman jump through a premade exploded hole, and the door opens behind Ava.
"It's. Over. You have nowhere else to run. Your mother made an honest effort but that's not enough in the real world." Ava takes a standard boxing pose. "Oh? You're going to fight me?" The purple haired woman sounded surprised, she probably looked surprised but her glasses are too dark to tell.
"Talonflame!" A female voice is briefly heard as a boat zooms past, not even seconds later Ava gets snatched by a blur of red and black.