"No! I'm sorry!"

"Help me!"

"Please…"

"Don't kill me!" cries of anguish and fear echoed in the man's mind. All of the stuff he's done… all the people he's killed… the memories flooded into his mind at a steady pace, in the form of jumbled screams of terror. He had killed so many people, and he wasn't done yet.

"Hey! Wake up!" a voice called. The man slowly opened his light brown eyes and took in his surroundings. He was wearing a brown suit, and was sitting in a leather chair. He was in a small room, with a red light illuminating everything around. He was sitting behind a desk, his eyes trained on a woman sitting in front of him. She had long brown hair, her eyes were covered by dark sunglasses, and she was holding a particularly large briefcase.

"Thought I'd lost you there. Don't want that to happen, this deal will set the both of us for life, as well as any of our descendants," she said, opening the briefcase. Inside was a mere piece of yellow paper with some words on it. It was a contract. The man didn't bother to read it. He just reached into his pocket, pulled out a black pen, and moved it towards the parcel.

"Argh!" a loud scream carried into the room. Both the man and the woman froze. Smoke began to seep in through the cracks in the door. Both the man and woman stood up, frightened.

"What is going-" the door buckled. The locks on it held firm, though, and the door remained standing.

"Oh no…" the woman said, a look of dread coming over her face. The man pulled out a pair of pokeballs.

"Nobody messes with me! I'm the most feared tyrant that ever existed!" he cried. The door buckled again, this time more tremendously. The man lost it.

"Tyranitar! Use Hyper Beam! Ursaring, use Focus Blast!" he ordered, releasing a giant bear with a golden ring on its stomach, and a big green creature. The Ursaring formed a small blue orb in its hand, which glowed a bright blue. Electricity danced around it as it grew larger, until it was about the size of a basketball. Tyranitar's mouth began to glow a fearsome gold, its eyes changing color to match. Both of them launched their attacks at the same time. The door was blown off of its hinges, and flew to the other side of the hallway, slamming noisily against the far wall. The man stepped out, followed by his two pokemon. Nobody was there. All he could see was the intricate tunnel of red-lit hallways that made up the base. The woman stepped out behind him.

"What's going on?" she asked, her voice surprisingly smooth and relaxed.

"I… don't know," the man replied, looking around hesitantly.

"Sir!" a voice called. Both the man and the woman looked down the left hallway to see a guy in tattered Team Rocket clothes run up.

"What is it?" the man asked. The grunt didn't speak for a second, trying to catch his breath. His body was covered in ash. He looked like he had run through a fire.

"There was an explosion… half the platoon was killed!" he cried suddenly. The grunt suddenly burst out. The man stared at him in disbelief.

"How could this have happened? This base is TOP SECRET! Someone here is a traitor, and I want to find out who it is right now!" he bellowed. The grunt sighed, nodded, and ran off. The woman smirked, and stuck a hand in her pocket, pressing a small button she had inside of it. All the lights went out.

"What the hell?!" the man cried. The woman said nothing, but reached in her back pocket.

FOOM!

A jet of red light. That was all it took. Straight from the woman to the man, flying right into his chest, sending him flying into his Ursaring. It was over in a matter of seconds. The Tyranitar couldn't see, and thus was unable to find the woman and attack her. Suddenly, the lights flickered, and the Tyranitar saw her walking down the hallway that lead to the entrance. It charged up a hyper beam, its mouth glowing a fearsome gold. The lights turned out again, but Tyranitar fired anyways. The golden beam flew down the hallways, illuminating everything it passed in golden light, and hit the wall all the way down the long hallway the woman was just walking in. The beam bounced off, and flew back at Tyranitar. The pokemon couldn't react, and was hit full force by its own attack, sending it sprawling over the floor.

The woman was outside. She pulled off her sunglasses, revealing intense blue eyes. Putting a hand to her hair, she pulled it off, revealing a short head of snow white hair. It had a faint glow in the night sky. Her phone began to ring.

"Elizabeth?" the voice asked, sounding uncertain.

"Yeah. It's me," she responded, her voice carefully devoid of emotion.

"What is the status of your target?"

"Wasted,"

"And who is your target?"

"Giovanni, former leader of Team Rocket."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I got a bad feeling about this…" Jake said as soon as his white sneakers hit the floor.

"Why's that?" Alexis asked, winking and stepping in front of him.

"It looks pretty bare to me…" John said, shoving his hands in his pockets. The three kids were on the first floor of the Sky Pillar. The Sky Pillar so far was completely empty. The ground was cracked in a few places, and a staircase could be seen on the other side of the room.

John and Jake both had blond hair and blue eyes, wearing the same torn up jeans and white t-shirts. That's twins for ya. Alexis was wearing a dark black shirt, with light orange flames on it, with a matching pair of black jeans.

"We might as well get going then," Alexis said, beginning to walk towards the staircase.

"Why are we here again?" Jake asked nervously, walking next to her. John, who was on the other side of her replied.

"We're here to see if Rayquaza actually resides here," he said, smirking slightly.

"What if that thing DOES live here?" Jake asked terrified. The three kids stopped at the stairs.

"Will you get a hold of yourself?" Alexis asked him.

"We're all extremely powerful trainers who have been through this kind of thing before. Why are you punkin out now?"

"I just think we-" Alexis slapped him across the face as hard as she could. The impact created a loud sound that echoed throughout the Pillar. The boy fell flat on his butt.

"Now man up!" she said, stomping a foot. With that, she turned around and trudged up the stairs. Both boys hastily followed. The next room was also horribly bland. In essence, it looked just like the room downstairs, with the exception of holes in the ground that lead to the first floor.

"Watch your step guys. I don't think that fall is as forgiving as it looks," Jake said. Alexis nodded, and carefully stepped forward.

"Wanna know something I noticed?" John asked sullenly, as if he was afraid to speak.

"What?" Jake asked him, trying not to laugh.

"This area was said to be full of pokemon, but we haven't encountered a single one. Isn't there something odd about that?" Alexis rolled her eyes.

"Since when does there have to be pokemon everywhere we go?" she asked him angrily. She began considering hitting the wuss again.

"No… he's right. There are usually high level pokemon in this area, but there's nothing… something is definitely wrong. Jake said. The group reached the next set of stairs. Alexis sighed.

"I sure hope the next room actually has something to it…"

"What was that?" John asked quickly. Both of his allies spun around, pokeballs at the ready. Nothing was there.

"What was what?" Alexis asked, laughing. All three of the kids relaxed.

"I thought I heard something," John muttered silently.

"You're paranoid," Alexis muttered. All the kids walked up the stairs.

"Holy shit!" Alexis screamed. The room was decorated like a banquet hall. Plates lined three long tables that had white tablecloths over them. In essence, it looked like an area for a feast. The only thing about it that made it stand out was all the skeletons and blood. Giant blood patches stained the walls at random spots. A few skeletons were lying around the floor, their mouths hanging open as if screaming for help. Blood was also on the floor.

"Alright, bye!" John cried. He turned, and ran down the stairs. Alexis watched him run.

"You two should be as smart as your friend," a voice said. Jake and Alexis both jumped and turned to face the opposite staircase.

"Who… who said that?" Jake asked, taking a step forward. No answer came, but a woman, wearing nothing but mere rags, came walking down the stairs, holding three short black objects. She began walking to the pair, stepping over a skeleton. Alexis pulled out a pokeball.

"Hold it right there!" she said, showing the woman her shiny blue pokeball.

"Those won't work in here, so I would just give it up," the woman said. Alexis smirked.

"Alright then, let's just see what my Magmar has to say about that!" she said, throwing the pokebll at the woman. She tilted her head slightly, the pokeball missing her and flying across the room, hitting the wall. The pokeball fell to the floor, not doing anything. Jake puled out a pokeball of his own, and pushed the button on it.

"Nothing is happening!" he cried. Alexis took a step back. The woman tossed one of the black objects at Alexis. She caught it, and looked it over. She tossed the other one at Jake, who was so busy freaking out didn't notice and the object hit him in the face.

"Those will well save your lives. Aim it. Pull the trigger. Run," the woman said, turning around and walking off. Alexis aimed the weapon at the back of the woman's head.

"It was a mistake to give these to us," she said quickly. The woman ignored her until she got to the staircase. Looking over her shoulder, she said:

"If you were to kill me things would change; not for the better." And with that, she began walking up the stairs.

"What- what was all that about?" Jake asked. Alexis shook her head.

"I don't know, but I think it's time we got out of here," she said, turning around.

"What about Rayquaza?" Jake asked.

"Screw that. There's a lot more shit goin on here than I thought, so we're going to come back with a larger crew," she said.

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!" a blood curdling scream entered the room. The sound came from downstairs. John. Both Alexis and Jake froze, waiting to see what the other was going to do.

"Well let's go!" Alexis finally shouted. Both kids ran down the stairs to see- not what they expected. When they had at first gone through this level, it was horribly bare. Now, large walls extended out of the ground, blocking all sight of what the other side held. They extended for a long distance, twisting and turning in an elaborate maze.

"I just got three words to say," Jake said. Alexis ignored him, and boldly stepped into the mouth of the maze.

"John?" Alexis called. No answer.

"He's probably deeper inside," Jake said. Alexis turned left when she came to a road that led in three different directions. Jake followed. Suddenly, the sound of someone running could be heard behind them. Jake turned around. Nobody was there.

"John?" he called out. Alexis got her weapon at the ready.

"I have a feeling someone else is in this maze with us," she said. Jake turned to her.

"Like wh-" the wall next to them shattered. Pieces of it flew towards the kids. Both kids immediately took off running. Loud footsteps, as if a giant was running after them could be heard.

"What is that thing?!" Jake screamed. Alexis looked over her shoulder. It was, as expected, big. It had red skin, which was dotted seemingly at random with strange blue letterings Alexis had never seen before. Two golden horns extended out of its head, and it was lined with large muscles all over its body.

"Nothing nice!" she cried, bolting to the left. She looked over her shoulder.

"Jake? Shit!" her friend was not there. Neither was the creature that had been chasing her. She stopped to get a breath.

"Come 'ere!" a high pitched voice cheered, grabbing her from behind.

"What the hell?" she screamed in shock, a pair of powerful hands grabbing her and pulling her away. The hands slammer her against a wall. Letting out a cry of pain, she looked at her attacker. He looked exactly like the other creature that had attacked her, but this one wasn't nearly as big. The thing grabbed her by her hair, and slammed her against the wall again.

"Urgh!" she cried. The creature ignored her, grabbing her by the leg this time. It began to drag her, spun in a circle, and slammed her against the wall again.

"OUARGH!" she cried, her body twisting and bending. This time the creature left her on the ground, and began to walk away. Slowly, she slipped her hand around her weapon.

"Hey, buddy," she muttered. The creature turned around. Its red eyes grew large as it saw Alexis was still alive. She pulled the trigger.

FOOM!

A jet of red light flew from the gun, which didn't kick one bit. It flew towards the creature, hitting him full on in the face. It crumpled, hitting the ground with a loud thud. Slowly pulling herself up, she walked over to its body.

"What in the world is going on?" she asked, looking down at the creature's crumpled corpse. She heard more footsteps coming from behind her. She spun around, and aimed her weapon at the direction it was coming from. It was a long hallway, and the footsteps sounded like they were coming from around the corner. In fact, it sounded like they were running.

"Don't shoot, it's me!" the person said, before turning the corner. It was Jake. His clothes were a tattered mess, blood showing in spots where his clothes were cut. Alexis ran over to him, and wrapped her arms around him in an embracing hug.

"What's going on?" he asked. She released him, and shook her head.

"I don't know, but if we don't get outta here we're gonna die," she said glancing over her shoulder at the creature's body on the ground. Suddenly, all the walls began to sink.

"What's happening now?!" Jake cried, jumping five feet into the air. The walls were slowly sinking… into the ground.

"Come on! Simple resting place for Rayquaza my ass!" Alexis screamed.

"You will find that most things are different than they may seem," both kids turned around to see the woman walking up to them. This time, she held a thin white tube in her hand.

"The pillar will explode in five minutes. If you don't get out of here by then you shall all die. However, if you push this button sooner than five minutes, the pillar will explode early," the woman said, handing the thin metal object to Alexis. She turned, and began walking away.

"What… what kind of game are you playing?" Alexis cried out.

"And what about you? Won't you die if this tower blows?" she screamed. The woman ignored her, and continued walking higher and higher into the tower.

"Five minutes?" Alexis asked, seemingly to no one, looking down at the detonator.

"RUN!" Jake screamed, pushing her and running for the staircase downstairs. A loud thudding noise began filling the room. It echoed off of the walls, sinking deeper into the thoughts of the two kids. Both of them froze.

"RARGH!" the giant creature burst down the stairs, and looked directly at the two kids. It jumped into the air, and landed right in front of them. Jake spun around and tried to jump down the stairs in an attempt to get away. Alexis stuck her foot out, tripping him up, and causing him to fall face first to the stairs.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed as she jumped over his body.

"Alex! YOU BITCH!" Jake screamed after her. As expected, the creature stopped when it saw Jake on the ground, and pulled him up the stairs.

"NO! PLEASE! HELP M-" Jake's cries for help were cut short. Alexis wasn't wasting any time. She came to the first floor, breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was the same as when she had first gone through it, and took off towards the door in a full on sprint. She was getting extremely close to the door. All she had to do was throw it open for freedom.

"Alexis! Help!" the girl froze, and saw John, tied up in a corner, the ropes rimmed with explosives. Immediately Alexis ran to try to help her friend. She ran up to him, and began trying to rip the ropes in half.

"You're not strong enough! There's a jagged rock over there that'll probably do the trick!" John yelled, throwing his head in the direction of the opposite wall. Alexis sprinted over there, hopping over a rock on the way, and picked up a piece of rock off of the floor. It was sharpened to a point, so it would definitely get through the rope.

"RURARGH!" a mighty roar came from the staircase. Alexis froze.

"Aw shit… it's back," she said, her breath leaving her.

"HURRY UP!" John screamed. Alexis just looked at him. She was so close to the door…

The creature began running at her. That was it. She'd had it.

"I'm sorry," she said again, before rushing to the door. The giant creature sprinted after her, and was within feet of her in seconds. Spinning, Alexis jammed the jagged rock into its eye.

"AURGH!" the creature moaned, stumbling back.

"ALEXIS!" the girl ignored her friend's pleas, and threw hers body at the door, piling outside. Holding out the detonator, she pushed it.

Multiple minor, orange explosions went off on the sides of the pillar. It went on for a few seconds, the pillar seemingly unaffected. Suddenly, a large explosion went off towards the top, smoke billowing from it. The pillar leaned, and another large explosion went off, this time towards the center. Massive red and orange flames burned on the pillar, coal black smoke billowing from them. The pillar fell, the flames spreading to the rest of the pillar.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" Alexis screamed, and ran to the far left of the island she was on. The tower slammed into the ground, causing the very ground to shake. The smoke was darker than ever, and the flames were just growing larger. The top half of the pillar slammed against the water, causing two twin tidal waves in both directions. The flames reacted violently, more jet black smoke billowing into the sky. Alexis stood there, dumbstruck.

"I guess Rayquaza wasn't living there after all…" she mumbled.

"Rayquaza once lived here. That was a long time ago," Alexis didn't even turn around. She already knew who it was speaking.

"You gave up the lives of your friends for your own," the woman said. Alexis sighed.

"I did what I had to do," was all she could say. The woman walked up next to her.

"You did the right thing," she said calmly. Alexis stared at her.

"Trust no one but your blood, be wary of strangers, and most of all, watch your back," the woman said.

"What?" Alexis asked. The woman shook her head.

"Your pokeballs work now. You can get out of this place now," the woman said. With that, she walked out to the water, stepped on it, and walked of over the sea. Alexis dropped to her knees.

"I honestly don't know what to expect anymore. I'd better get home,"