28 Chapter 28

While the two Metagrosses were chasing after Jax and Vioarr, they had to destroy the obstacles that were in their way. From the damage the cave sustained from Vioarr breaking its walls and the two tanks not caring about how they got through the debris, the tunnel finally went and completely collapsed! Now it would take even longer for the trio to dig a stable hole through all this debris before they could even start looking for the missing children.

'I take back what I said! You're just like your father! Causing trouble wherever you go! I really will tear you apart when I find you. And Vioarr! I'll make sure to take good care of you when I throw you into my soup! Argh!' After such disturbing thoughts, Doria ordered Arcanine to use Take Down to try and make a hole through all these rocks but before he could start, Nidoking stepped in front of them and used Dig.

Turning around to look at the human woman and large canine, Nidoking had a superb smirk on his face. In the battle earlier, he couldn't showcase himself since Arcanine acted faster than he did and even dealt the finishing blow to all the enemies. As a king, he prided himself on his prowess so someone one-upping him left a bad taste in his mouth. Now that the chance had arrived, he would prove that he was helpful. Plus, Take Down caused to much vibrations once Arcanine charged into the rocks which would make the precarious tunnel cave in further.

After digging a secure tunnel through all the rocks in their way, the trio finally managed to reach somewhere that she recognized. 'Those paintings! Me and Oscar painted them ourselves so that we would know where the secret entrance was!' Walking down memory lane, Doria stepped towards the large-printed letters and took a deep breath while closing her eyes. Now that she was closer, she could see a streak of red that ran across the words that she had painted with her husband so many years ago. Grinning, she bit into her thumb and ran her own finger across the same red streak that was left before hers.

"MOMMY!?"

Greeted by the familiar high-pitched voice of a pre-pubescent boy, Doria spread out her arms in eager anticipation of her cherished son's warm embrace. Only, nothing came into her arms. Opening her eyes, she saw streaks of silver and purple flash past her with clearly no indication of giving her the warm embrace she was picturing.

"Arcanine! You came to save me! I'm so happy to see you but your job isn't done yet! Save me from Mommy too! She's going to tear me apart, I know it!" The silver-haired boy wrapped his arms around the canine's neck and hung in the air with his legs swaying to and from.

Looking at his trainer, Arcanine could do nothing but walk forward with the boy still hanging off of him and deliver the boy to his mother who replaced her smile of warmth with one that wasn't quite a smile but wasn't a frown either. For a second there, Arcanine swore he saw a certain white-haired bearded man with even longer hair that matched the color of his beard. Trusting his instincts, he could only comply and send the boy off to his loving? mother.

"You traitor! I never want to speak with you ever again!" Turning to face the inevitable barrage of questions his mother would have for him, Jax waited with bated breaths but nothing of the sort ever came. Instead, he was pulled into a comforting hug that he so fondly remembered. The tears he had been holding back this whole time finally reached the tipping point and fell out of his eyes as he return a hug just as strong towards his savior and place of salvation.

"MOMMY! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH, MOMMY! I WON'T EVER DO ANYTHING SO STUPID EVER AGAIN! I PROMISE I WON'T GO OUT FOR THE REST OF THE DAY! WAHHH!" Listening to the cries of her favorite human, Doria slightly chuckled before disconnecting the hug and looked at her son who had snot coming out of his nose.

BAM!

With a good whack, Doria hit her son on the head before pulling him back into her arms and kissing the same spot that she just caused to swell up a second ago. In between laughs, tears, giggles and snot, the mother chastised her son about how stupid his decision was and how dangerous it could have been. After the mother and son duo finished their tears only because there was none left to shed, did they finally turn and face the rest of the group. The father and son duo weren't in a spot that was dissimilar to their own.

Once everyone regathered themselves, they all took turns recounting the events that led to their situation. Jax started off by talking about his morning in which Nidoking nodded his head along because he already knew it since they were at his place. Only when Jax talked about tracking down the green auras he picked up did the rest of the group understand what had occurred. The Metagross must have been taking its kids out to hunt for themselves at the edge of Thora Forest since all the other pokemons within the Great Beyond would have been too strong to serve as training practice and eventually food for the Beldums.

Jax then narrated how he distracted the family of seven while Vioarr was busy leveling up and then about how they ran away towards the Great Beyond which was their only option left at that point. Remembering about Doria's tale, he revealed how they found the hole in the ground, or more like how it found them and how they opened their eyes to a massive and complex maze-like cave system.

Jax then told the rest about their impromptu bath, meeting the mother Steelix and how his choice made him awaken as an Aura Guardian. Then, going down the only path left, the duo arrived at the cave that the trio were so amazed by. Jax even told them about how they ate some rainbow-like berries but left out the part where he stored some of the berries that he had picked up into his sub-space. Even now, Doria had no idea about his system nor his psychic and aura abilities. Today was the first time she even knew Jax had aura and now he was suddenly one of the legendary Guardians!? What other secrets was her son hiding from her?

After Jax recounted his story, he suddenly remembered about the origin of his fears, the Metagrosses! Panicking, he told his mom that they quickly had to leave before those terrible monstrosities came back only to be met with a quiet chortle from the trio. 'Huh? Why are they just snickering?' Taking the cue, Doria began her own recount of what they had just experienced.