Bab 148: EPISODE 38: Here we go again!
The sky is a somber grey, save for the band of salmon pink that hovers over the mountains. The dust grey gives the bottom a jagged edge, whereas the clouds above soothe it with charcoal swirls. The more closer we arrive at the islands of Seafoam, the darker the clouds become. It is as if our helicopter is approaching the eye of a storm.
I could barely see anything beneath my keen eyes. From the land to the seas, the gray clouds give me zero visibility. The wind is also quite harsh, fervently blowing the helicopter from the north, causing it to shake at times such as my experiences during my first time riding an airplane when I was four years old. I and Athena were heading to Cinnabar Island at that time, to run some errands for Professor Oak.
All in all, the skies are not colorful, nor is dull and lackluster due to the wind. It is a blend of suspense in a sky of black and white. And from this suspense, comes the climax. A drizzle of rain has arrived, tapping the rooftop of the helicopter. The clouds become darkness, forcing the pilot to turn on the lights of the helicopter.
Now, I am traumatized, for I am uncertain if history is about to repeat itself. The last time I've gone here, our helicopter crashed, and now that I'm here again, I beg to Arceus that it won't happen once more. The pilot remains calm over the first few minutes of the soft drizzle. However, the harsher the weather becomes, the more uncomfortable our pilot is. I continue to watch him, panicking internally.
He seems to be worried as well as a drop of sweat falls over his face. His hands are now tightly clenched on the controllers, trying to keep the equilibrium of the plane stable. I wonder why, but Virgo and Charlotte still seems to be calm amidst the storm. Virgo reads her book with her Slowpoke, while Charlotte listens to music as she gazes over the clouds of black and white.
I and the pilot are technically the same, worried, afraid, and anxious. Two clouds crash, bumping unto one another. The product is a crackle of thunder that gathered everyone's attention. Virgo and Charlotte's calm nature is snapped out as they start to panic as well. Charlotte even asked the pilot if everything was going alright.
The pilot tries to calm her, saying that the helicopter is under his control. The downpour strengthens, causing more thunders to clash. This is one of the very few chaotic thunderstorms I've seen but this is my first time to experience a chaotic one inside a helicopter.
The turbulence becomes grave and harsh, causing the helicopter to sway violently. The storm becomes tougher, gambling us. The pilot tries to do tricks up his sleeves by controlling the outraging vehicle. Brutally, he clenches the controllers, turning it to the left with all his might. The helicopter has become a wild bull, wherein the pilot is the tamer.
Things start to intensify as we feel a sudden drag, leading us downwards. The pilot persists to tame the vehicle's unruly behavior. Even during the toughest downpour, the storm shows mercy. The rain slowly stops, the wind becomes lull, and the pilot gains control over the helicopter's operation. He ascends the helicopter back to its average altitude of 18,000 feet, the usual altitude of Rocket helicopters.
The sensation of relief is around us, and in the end, we all sighed. Thank Arceus we didn't crash. During the storm, the helicopter drastically declined to 2,500 feet. Although, even if everything seemed to be normal, this doesn't mean that we won't be encountering other troubles and dangers.
Even with the rain gone, the wind calm, the clouds remain as black and white. Out of nowhere comes an unusual sound. We could hear the sounds of propellers beside, beneath, and behind our helicopter. The peculiar thing is, the propellers are not those of ours. I take a look outside the window, seeing another vehicle. It has the looks of an old airplane, mixed with a steampunk style with propellers on the front.
On the other side, Charlotte peaks out of her window, only to see the same plane. Behind, the situation is completely the same. Our helicopter is completely shrouded with four unknown air crafts. This is truly out of the ordinary for us, and obviously the air crafts are a threat. I was able to take a glimpse at the pilot of one of the planes surrounding us. She looks back to me, chuckling hysterically. She is no other than Ebony Stone and her crew. We're now prisoners of sky pirates, or in other terms, the Rebirth Society.
I glare back at her, seemingly wanting her plane to crash. Even with my ferocious eyes, she seems to chuckle, waving at me sarcastically. Her plane then zooms in, surpassing our helicopter. This wave is not a gesture of friendliness but more like a bid of goodbye. Unexpectedly, I look behind, and I was too late to warn the pilot and my friends.
The plane from behind has launched a small missile, damaging the back of the helicopters gravely, causing us to descend rapidly. Here we go again, and history repeats itself. The helicopter crashes, with a tail of black smoke from behind. Our breathing becomes heavy, with the wind pressing us. The pilot tries to control the helicopter, however, it was no use.
There are only three parachutes but there are four of us. One must sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Luckily, below us is one of the islands belonging to Seafoam. The pilot gives up, grabbing one parachute and jumping off like a coward, leaving the three of us left. Now that there are two, one of us must sacrifice.
A sacrifice is not something we want to do, but we must. However, we thought wrong. Little does the pilot know he's heading to his own agony. He has mistaken his bag for a parachute due to his worry and fear of death. Luckily Virgo was paying attention to the pilot's cowardly actions that led him to his own demise.
"The pilot took his own bag, there are still three parachutes." Virgo notices, telling us quickly before the plane reaches zero-level altitude. We took the three parachutes, and survived the crash, but for the pilot? Not so much.
We land safely upon the flakes of snow, still willing and eager to continue the mission despite the presence of the Rebirth Society. Little do they know that the three of us are still alive. The race for Articuno has only begun. I will make sure, Ebony and her sister will not acquire the mirage of ice, Team Rocket will.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone