Thunderlight

(Cont.) Not Very Fast, but Definitely Furious

Why didn't the assassin kill them? Why did they bait them? Where were they leading them?

He wishes his mission was clear again. He wishes it was just a direct and open path to taking down a mindless, bloodthirsty beast. He wishes he didn't have to worry about players in the background, manipulating their surroundings like a chess board and drawing them away from what really matters.

Why did they bait them? Where were they leading them?

He wants to get back to the root of things: Zekrom. He wishes things would stop leading him away from it.

That's when it dawns on him.

Lenny must've sensed the dread trickling through his veins, because he offers Mott a look of concern. "Are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost."

Where were they leading them? That's not the real question. The real question is where were they being led away from.

"The museum," Mott utters, horror burrowing a deep pit in his gut. The museum, with the world's largest stockpile of research on Zekrom. He leaps to his feet, heart hammering. "They were leading us away from the museum; they're gonna destroy all the research!"

"Huh? Who? Who's gonna do what?"

Mott swoops his head down, scooping Lenny up and tossing him on his back. Yelping, Lenny flails to catch a hold of his neck before he falls. Already racing back to the museum, Mott promises, "I'll fill you in on the way, but we've gotta go now!"

By the time they return to the museum, Mott is relieved to find it's still in one piece. He almost expected to be confronted with the dramatic sight of the whole building lit ablaze. But it's just as solemn and silent as ever, and without the broken window and the faint smell of blood in the air, Mott would've never guessed anything was amiss.

As they rush to the library, Mott's steps falter when he passes the curator's door. A rush of guilt overwhelms him, and he has to remind himself that if someone called a hit on her, there was nothing he could've done to have stopped it. Him being there didn't cause her death; if anything, it just prolonged the inevitable. But that doesn't stop the aching remorse, and it's only when he swears to care for her body after they get the information on Zekrom that it fades in the slightest.

When they reach the library, Mott is surprised but overjoyed to see no one is here. Even better, none of the books on Zekrom seem to be missing. He was certain that the assassin would've backtracked here by now and destroyed what they wanted to. Did the two of them somehow beat them back? Or were they not out for the books, after all?

There's no way Mott and Lenny will be able to transport all these books out of the library at once. If the assassin does end up returning and destroying the books, Mott wants to have saved the most important ones, first. Obviously, he hasn't read them all to be able to rank them, but he can discount ones he's skimmed. None of them cover the scope of research he's looking for: how to beat Zekrom. But there was one book that he remembers that has his attention...

"Lenny, where's that book you were reading?" He asks, pushing through piles of books in a frenzy. "That book that talked about Zekrom and the stone?"

"I don't remember the title, it was long and confusing, but the pictures were pretty," Lenny responds, searching alongside him. "Um, it was... red... I think..."

They hunt for a few minutes before Lenny triumphantly pulls it out from under a chair. Crowding around a desk, they glue their eyes to the pages and Mott feverishly flips through it. Muttering words and chapter titles aloud, Mott skims at a rapid pace before striking gold.

After hi-fiving Lenny in victory, he reads, "'As Zekrom can be encaged in the stone, so can they be summoned from it. This, naturally, will return Zekrom into the world, and to be reversed, Zekrom must be returned into the stone. Just as the stone can either contain or release Zekrom, it can also control it. As for the theories regarding each topic, they are as follows...'"

Mott curses, skipping a few lines before landing on what he actually wants to know. "'The theory of returning Zekrom to its stone is rather abstract and complex.'" Great. "'It is imperative, first and foremost, that the individual who wishes to seal Zekrom holds Zekrom's stone in their hands.'"

Yes, he already knows that! Tell him something useful, please!

"'Secondly, the individual must be prepared to—'"

A sudden force erupts from the wall nearest to them, blowing them back.

Mott is thrown across the room. The explosion is tremendous and violent, quaking the ground and rattling bookcases. Books fall from their shelves and tables and chairs shatter. Splinters from the smashed wood cut through the air like knives, slicing Mott's skin in midair. Then, with spine-snapping impact, he slams into the far wall.

Spots dance in his vision, black and fuzzy and tingling. The world around him spins. His mind is foggy; all of his senses have fled him. He's detached from himself, unable to connect his thoughts to his body. It takes all his focus just to move his arm enough to push himself off the ground.

Somehow, he manages to look up. Lenny is in front of him, gritting his teeth as he slowly struggles to rise. He's covered in scrapes and bruises and blood. When Mott glances down at himself, he discovers he's not much better.

A low, thunderous sound rumbles from the smashed wall. Hazily, Mott turns his head to see the exploded wall completely demolished, bricks and rubble raining down. In that gaping, open maw of debris, he's met with a familiar, bloodcurdling face.

Zekrom.

Mott's eyes slowly trail up the massive, hulking figure looming before him. Muscle and scales and claws define every inch of the creature, shaping it into a monster beyond comprehension. The claws flex and stretch. The powerful tail rises and falls. Sharp fangs glint in the dying moonlight.

The tail burns blue, electricity coursing through the beast's form.

With a single strike of lightning from Zekrom, the building catches ablaze.

Swinging its hand, it smashes a nearby pillar to dust. The part of the roof it was supporting comes tumbling down, raining dust and wood and shingles. With the collapse, the floor trembles.

It's clear that Zekrom intends to demolish the building—with or without them inside.