33: The Fight for Survival

The rest of the night consisted of us planning out our attack. Time is of the essence. We cannot afford to waste any of it. Sadly, this means that sleep becomes a luxury. Here’s hoping that the adrenaline keeps us awake and alert. The plan we came up with was this. Umbreon and Espeon would stay behind and do some last minute research on the Entercards. Unfortunately, the entry and exit points need a solid or liquid medium to travel through in order to make a connection. Simply put, it can’t create dungeons that travel through the air. This puts another complication in our already fragile plan. But with any luck those two can find something before it’s too late. 

Meanwhile, Emolga, Virizion, Thunder and I will go over to the Great Glacier and see if there is any other way up. If Umbreon and Espeon can’t figure it out, we must. Dunsparce will stay behind in post town, working to keep the town motivated and positive. That positivity could easily mean the difference between success or failure. When and if we find a way inside we will split up into teams to reduce the chance of being caught. We will then make our way to the central spire and destroy the Bittercold once and for all.

The odds are stacked impossibly against us. But, with so much at stake, we will do everything in our power to survive.

“You ready, guys?” Umbreon asks, bringing me back to attention. 

“Yes we are.” I respond. “Open it up.” Umbreon nods and sets the coordinates into the Magnagate generator. It isn’t long before the gate itself flashes to life.

“Alright, everyone. You know the drill.” I say as I step inside. Everyone else quickly follows suit.

“Good luck, you guys.” Dunsparce says to us. “We’ll be rooting for you.”

“Don’t worry about us. We’ll get back home and celebrate our victory.” Emolga says, confident. I wish I had his confidence right now… Soon the Magnagate closes, taking us to the artificial dungeon leading to the Great Glacier. I nearly forget to close my eyes during the ride. Now is not the time to get sick.

Within seconds, we arrive in the dungeon. Alright, everyone.” I say. “Move fast and stay sharp. We may not have much time.”

The trip through the Magnagate dungeon takes very little time. It isn’t long before we are ported to the Great Glacier. Still as jaw dropping as ever. Well, with the addition of the caldera that used to be a peak.

“Guess I get to see the Great Glacier after all.” Emolga says, taking in the sights.

“Shame it’s under such dark circumstances…” I say. “There’s the Glacier Palace.” I point to the giant ice castle floating overhead. It’s moving relatively quickly. “We should try and get to it before it crosses the crevasse at the edge of the glacier. Otherwise we’ll lose it.”

“Alex, we have more immediate problems right now.” Thunder says, nervously. Turning to the direction he’s looking, I see what he’s talking about. Salamence and the two Chandelure are headed right this way.

“Crap! Everyone! Spread out! Make yourself a harder target!” Thankfully we outnumber them. But I know from experience that Salamence won’t hesitate to crush us in his jaws. And he’s not going to be easily felled. “Concentrate on Salamence. He’s the greater threat.”

Emolga strikes first with thunderbolt. Salamence flinches, but doesn’t stop. The Chandelure responds by throwing fire. I quickly back away, as does Virizion. I open fire with an energy ball at one of them, disorienting them slightly. Using the opportunity, I rush in, grab hold of them with a vine and slam them into the ground. Thunder follows up with an electro ball and the Chandelure is out cold. 

Emolga, meanwhile, has taken to the air, shrouding himself with a light screen which is keeping him safe from the majority of Salamence’s strikes. “Hey guys! A little help?” He calls to us. 

“On our way!” I call back. I reach into Thunder’s bag and pull out a blast seed. Winding up, I prepare to toss it in Salamence’s direction. With my aim on target, I let it loose. Unfortunately, the other Chandelure gets in the way, taking the brunt of the attack, consequently turning Salamence’s attention my way. Not good.

I barely dodge his massive jaws, though they manage to nick my tail slightly. Virizion responds with a flurry of magic leaves. They unfortunately don’t do much. The Chandelure is engaged with Thunder currently, unable to land a hit on my nimble friend. All he gets is a bolt of lightning to the face. And it isn’t long until the Chandelure is defeated, leaving only the Salamence. But he’s strong. And nothing we’re doing can even dent him. 

“We have to find a way to take him out!” Virizion says.

“I’m open to suggestions.” I respond. Suddenly, the area darkens. Catching us all off guard. Then from behind Salamence, a Magnagate opens, revealing I spot two figures inside. And I recognize them. Umbreon and Espeon. The reinforcements have arrived.

Without hesitation, Umbreon’s forehead ring lights up and fires a yellow beam at Salamence, confuse ray. The target starts stumbling about as if they had one too many beers, unable to coordinate himself. Espeon follows up with a volley of psybeams, quickly incapacitating the target. 

“Nice timing, guys.” Thunder says.

“Glad to be of use,” Umbreon responds. “because we have no way of getting up there. Our research found nothing.”

“Well then what do we do?” Emolga asks. “There has to be a way up…” I start trying to come up with something when I feel a metal object hit me on the top of my head.

“Ow! What the-” looking up I spot small metal squares falling from the Glacier Palace. “The heck are these?” Picking up one to inspect it, I recognize similar features to another metal tile I’ve seen before. “Wait a minute… These are Entercards!” 

“What?! Let me see that!” Espeon calls out in surprise. I show it to her and watch her eyes dart all over the metal device, scanning and analyzing. Suddenly, she gets a eureka moment. “Of course! Oh! How could I have been so stupid! It’s so obvious!”

“What are you talking about?” Thunder asks, confused.

“That’s how you make a dungeon across air! These things are made to move people across the air! And make it instantaneous as well!”

“So it makes it essentially a teleporter?” I respond. “What are upgraded Entercards doing on the Glacier Palace?”

“Let’s not worry about the how.” Emolga says. “We have them now, so let’s use them.”

“Right.” Espeon responds. I can hear her mumble what sounds like mathematical values and equations. She must be trying to figure out how to place the Entercards. It doesn’t take too long, thankfully, before she places the cards in their slots in the Magnagate generator. She then promptly activates the Magnagate. It… Looks exactly the same. But here’s hoping it acts differently. “Ok, everyone. Pile in.” 

Everyone gathers into the gate. The outer rings slowly vanish and the moment of truth comes ever closer. Then it happens. We vanish along with the Magnagate, hopefully to our intended destination…