Laborious Labyrinth ~ Part 1 of 7
A/N: The weirdness factor's been toned up a bit for this one…Without giving anything away, the rooms were all created by my father. Yeah, you've seen some of his ideas in the story before…Hope you like it ~_^
"I choose you!" a Poke'Ball flew forward, breaking open on the grass a few feet in front of the trainer who threw it; it revealed a Flareon with slightly off-color fur.
"I can counter that! I choose you!" another Poke'Ball was tossed out onto the field, the pinkish light forming a Drowzee.
The girl who sent out the Flareon grinned and waved at the Drowzee as it waved back at her. The guy who sent out the Drowzee nearly facefaulted. Noticing her opponent's look of annoyance, the girl sent her Flareon in to battle. The Drowzee clapped and put up a Barrier, bouncing the Tackling Flareon away. The blue and green in the girl's eyes twirled around each other. She grinned and ordered a Flamethrower. The fire blasted forward and the other trainer ordered a Light Screen. The flames broke the shield and crashed into the Psychic-type. He stepped back and stomped forward.
"Weehee!" the girl clapped, "Great! Now!" she threw up her arm and dropped it to point out, "Use Fury Tackle!"
"Drowzee!" he pointed with his right hand, but spun and threw out his left, "Use Confusion!"
The Flareon rolled back and the Drowzee ran forward. He raised a hand and went to Pound the Flareon, but the Fire Pokemon sprang to the side and rammed forward, bashing the Psychic-type away. The Flareon bounded for the disoriented Drowzee and blasted him with an Ember. The Drowzee flipped head over heels and landed on his back, eyes spinning.
"Well done," he brushed the short white cape back over his shoulders, "Return, Drowzee. Good battle. Now go!" he let the Poke'Ball hover over his hand a moment before throwing it, "Electrode!"
"Hurrah!" the girl accepted the Flareon to her shoulder, "You did great! Return and rest a bit. Now I choose you!" she threw another Poke'Ball forward, letting loose an Eevee with a scar on his ear and eye.
"Go, Electrode! Attack with Thunderbolt, now!"
"Counter attack with Contact Tail Whip!"
The Eevee flew forward and smacked the Electrode with his tail. The Electrode winced and attacked again, this time with a Thunder Wave. The Eevee spun, again using his tail to attack, and whipped it around like a propeller. It refracted the paralyzing Electric-type attack. The Electrode's master growled, holding his Poke'Ball in a tight grasp.
"Go! Use RollOut!"
"Use Shadow Ball!"
The sphere of purple, black, and bright pink collided directly with the spinning ball of white and red which was Electrode. It pushed him away and sent him sailing into the air. He cried out and spun furiously in mid-air, screeching as he approached the ground. His Poke'Ball was raised.
"Return now, Electrode!" the screaming Bomb Ball Pokemon was recalled and his trainer sighed, "Great job. You tried your best."
"Wahah!" the Eevee ran to his master, "Well done, little friend! Well done!"
"You're getting even stronger," the other trainer spun a Poke'Ball on his finger, "Which is kind of scary, considering you were strong to begin with."
"Thanks, cous," she smirked, "Return now, Vovo," Eevy's eyes returned to normal as she pulled her Eevee back to his Star Ball, "You're getting stronger too. But when are you going to evolve that ugly Drowzee of yours?"
Eusine glared at her slightly, "Probably the same time he gets rid of that flippy thing he calls his hair," came a third voice, "Which will be never."
Eusine growled and clenched his fists, "How do you like it, Mortimer Michael?!" he snapped, turning toward the older of his two cousins.
"Oh, nyaa!" Morty waved his hand at him, "And stop calling me that!"
"Aww, stop fighting, you two!" Eevy threw an arm over each of their shoulders, "Let's go back up to the Mansion and grab some lunch."
"But it's half past three…" Eusine tilted his head.
"Yeah? What's your point?" Morty snickered and ran forward, "Race you!"
"Hey! When will you ever out-grow this kind of stuff?!" Eevy ran after.
"Probably the same time you stop being his baby sister! Which will be never!" Eusine bolted by.
All three sped past the Pokemon Center, groups of Pokemon trainers flying out after them, screaming for them to look back. All three paused, turned, bowed, and then took off again. Men and women alike screamed after them as they approached Rainbow Bluff, near the eastern end of Rainbow Metro. Unbeknownst to any of them, even despite their psychic abilities, a shadowed girl stood in the crowd, moving with it, but talking into a microphone attached to her flopped red-and-white hat. She fiddled with her two large blond pigtails subconsciously and stared at Eevy as she and her brother and cousin ran through the front door of Rainbow Mansion, slamming it shut and locking it behind them.
"I've spotted her. But she isn't alone."
*^~^**^~^*
"Mobs of fans," Eevy guzzled her water bottle, "Gotta love 'em."
Lance closed his eyes, crossed his arms, and shook his head, "You are the one and only Champion I've ever known who liked running from screaming people."
"You should try it sometime. It's a great source of exercise," she poked his stomach with her bottle, "Pudgy."
"Very funny," he narrowed one eye at her.
"Just you wait," Will pointed out from his seat on the cabinet behind them, "When one of those mobs of fans catches you, you'll change your mind."
"Meh," she waved her hand at him, "I'm too fast for 'em."
"Sure you are," Luri rolled her eyes, "One of these days though."
"Ooh…My stomach," Mizu slumped down in her chair.
"Look at it this way: Just six and a half more months," Lisle grinned evilly from the chair next to her.
Mizu glared off at her, "The past two and a half have gone slow enough. All together, nine will take forever."
"Oh well," Medira shrugged, "Just hope for a girl. That'll make it a little better anyway."
Eusine just sat in the corner, quietly trying to ignore the conversation completely. He was finally getting a break from taking care of Marina and didn't even want to think about taking care of two kids in a mere six months. Morty thought it was just hilarious that his cousin was in such a predicament. Too bad it was going to get worse in just a few short hours.
Jason tossed a Poke'Ball up and down, throwing it around, "Oh, Eevy. You got a call while you were out. It was a number I didn't recognize, so I didn't pick it up. I wrote it down for you," he tossed a paper at her.
She snatched it from the air without touching it, drawing to her hands by use of her powers, "Let's see," she examined it for a mere second, "You dork!" she smacked Jason over the head, "This is Ash's number!"
"Oops," Jason cringed, ducking slightly.
"Yay for us…The kid's number," Lance puffed, growling slightly.
"Oh, stop it," Eevy flicked his nose, "Be right back! Have to make a phone call!" she hopped out the door and down the hall.
She slid to a stop in front of a door and jumped for the videophone. She smacked down the number and waited a moment before a Pokemon picked up.
"Mr. Mime!" Mimie cried waving to her.
"Hiya, Mimie! Is Ash in?" Eevy frowned as Mimie shook his head, "No? How about Delia? Is she there?" Mimie nodded, "Great! Can you please get her for me?"
Mimie nodded again and hopped away, then shoving Delia into the chair, "Oh, hello, Eevy!" Delia chirped, "I was hoping you'd call back!"
"You called me, Mrs. Ketchum?" Eevy's head fell to the side.
"Well, yes, but I called for Ash," she dug around papers beside the phone, "Here it is! Ash wanted me to tell you…" she scanned a paper, "…That Pikachu, Togepi and, well…Brock…Have been wanting to come visit…He's packed a few things, including the others, and he's on his way over with Maren."
"Oh! Great! Thanks for calling! And I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier. I was training with my cousin and my brother."
"Oh, that's all right. It gave us some time to bake some muffins," she grinned and patted Mimie's head.
"Ooh," Eevy smirked back, "They wouldn't be…Raspberry, would they?"
Delia smiled wide, "I've already got some wrapped up for you. Sent them with Ash just as he left."
Eevy's eyes went wide as could be, "If I could get to you, I'd kiss you. Your muffins are delish! Especially the raspberry ones."
"It's a mix, really. Blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, and banana-nut," Delia leaned off to tell Mimie to check the other muffins, "Hope you enjoy them."
"I'm sure I will! I'll just have to keep them away from Lance," she snickered, then looked off to the side as the door creaked, "Can you hang on just a sec? Thanks," she leaned back and looked out the door, "Hmm…" she reached into her pocket and pulled out one of the ketchup packets she always had with her, "Trade ya'."
A little yellow paw slid a muffin wrapped in raspberry red across the floor. Eevy laughed and tossed the ketchup toward the doorway. The yellow paw returned to snatch it.
Eevy looked back to the phone and held up the muffin, "I presume this is yours?"
Delia nodded and smiled, "Yes! That's one of mine! I'll let you go then. Tell the kids hello for me."
"I will," she muffled while jamming the muffin in her mouth, "And thanks again," she swallowed and hung up, "Come here, my little Pikamigo!"
"Pika pi-pika!" Pikachu scampered in the door and hopped up into her lap, tossing the empty ketchup wrapper in the trashcan as he ran, "Pika-pika pikachu!"
"You're welcome," she patted his head, "Where's your master?"
"Pikapi!" Pikachu called out the door, "Pikapi! Pi-pika cha!"
"Where are you, Pikachu? Did you find Eevy? Or is it just ketchup?" Ash wondered along the hall, searching for his rodent friend, "Well there's ketchup paw prints on the floor out here, so I'm guessing you went in this door…" he slowly peeked in, "There you are! And hello, Eevy!"
"Hiya, Ashy-boy!" she smirked at the scowl he shot, "Sending your Pokemon to look for me?"
"No. He ran up here on his own," he shrugged, plucking Pikachu from Eevy's head, "Probably smelled that red gunk right through your pocket and into the wrapper. And I see he gave you one of my mom's muffins."
"Yeah. I just got off the phone with her. She says hello. And thanks for bringing them. They're great, as usual! Where's everybody else?" she grinned as Pikachu hopped on Ash's head, then back onto hers.
"Downstairs," he started walking out as Eevy did, "Probably pigging-out on your muffins."
"No!" Eevy sped forward, "Not my muffins!"
*^~^**^~^*
After prying the muffin box from Lance and Jason and hiding it in the cabinet (with a few booby traps, knowing her), and after keeping Lance from beating on Ash a bit, Eevy had an appointment, of sorts, to meditate with Will. She questioned him on it, but he told her it'd have to wait. He had to accompany the Metro-clueless Eusine into the League City to get something for Mizu, as no one else would go and Eusine didn't want to bother Eevy when she had company. Cheap shot at getting out of training, Eevy thought. She'd have to try it sometime.
So, in light of this, she patted Pikachu goodbye, and wandered off to the porch. She climbed up on the railing, hoisting herself up onto the roof and settling herself. After watching the clouds for a moment or two, she crossed her legs and sat silently. Without Will, she wasn't as entranced as she could have been, which she didn't mind. She merely sat quietly and thought about nothing. Peeking out from behind a building a few yards away, the blond with pigtails again spoke into the mic on her hat.
A small black blimp lifted up out of Spectral Spirit Woods behind the house. It raised just enough to hover over the treetops and glided along. In her current state, Eevy didn't hear, or even sense, the oncoming trespassers. She merely sat there, ignoring everything but herself. The blimp was nearly completely silent, and with all the fighting inside Rainbow Mansion, no one else heard it either. A rope ladder dropped and unfolded as it fell and dangled just above the porch. Three figures dressed in grey, red, and black climbed down, the last accidentally stomping as he hopped down. Eevy's concentration broke and she shot to her feet, turning quickly. She started to snap at the three men standing there, but an explosion from behind sounded a tad more urgent. A black blast of electricity smashed into her as she turned. She shrieked and screamed, jolting and sparking with electricity.
Eusine turned to look back at Will as the Psychic Master stopped in mid-step, holding his head and groaning, "Are you all right?" he sat his backpack down and looked him over, "What's wrong?"
Will slapped him back, "Go. Get back to the Mansion," he looked up at him, "Hurry up! Eevy's in trouble!"
"What about you?! Eevy would kill me if I left you here like this!"
"If you don't go now, you may not have to worry about Eevy killing anyone!" he hissed, pointing down the road, "Run, Eusine!"
Eusine grabbed his backpack and bolted as Will stumbled to his feet and followed as fast as his legs would go. His every bone ached and stung, which meant that Eevy had been knocked cold and what she couldn't feel while unconscious was being passed to him. Upon hearing Eevy's scream, the group that had been fighting inside came rumbling out onto the porch. They looked up, spotting a black blimp with a bold red R on each side hovering there. Hanging from the hatch was a rope ladder. Bashou was near the top, looking down at Tyson, who looked down at Buson. Buson had one arm strung through one of the ladder's rope rungs and the other firmly holding Eevy's right wrist, allowing the Champion Mistress to dangle lifelessly.
"Hey!" Morty spat, "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Heh…Whatever we want!" something zipped overhead as Domino flew above them on her hang glider and landed in the hatch of the blimp.
"You let her go right now!" Lance thundered, "You've got to be crazy to think I'll let you get away with this!"
"Go ahead and do what you want!" Tyson waved down at them, "But you'll have to be quick at it! Go, Fearow! Attack!"
"Steelix! Attack them now!" Bashou tossed his Poke'Ball down after climbing up beside Domino.
"Skarmory! Do your job!" Buson kicked his off one of the clips on his boot.
The Steelix roared and bashed around in front of them, throwing them away as Skarmory and Fearow clawed at them. Eusine and Will were both approaching, but were tossed back by one of the two dive-bombing Fearow. Lance went for his Poke'Ball, but Steelix's tail crashed down in front of him, rolling him head over heels in the opposite direction. Ash and Richie were tossed one way, Misty and Kayla another, Brock and Tracey over Steelix's head, and Sooney rolled back beside where Mizu and Lisle had been pushed. Luri and Medira jumped back from Fearow, but Skarmory slammed them from behind, pushing them back toward Fearow and crushing them between both birds' beaks. Jason and Morty were outrunning the other Fearow until Steelix's tail emerged from the ground under them and threw them off to the right, where they landed smack-dab on top of Eusine and Will. Team Rocket grinned as Buson neared the top of the ladder. Eevy stirred and started flailing and kicking.
"You! You-You-You dirt bags! Let me go! Let me go right now!" by the time she was awake enough to fight, all four Rockets had her, pulling her up and in the hatch, "Get away! Let go! Help m-" Buson cracked his hand over her mouth.
"Eevy!" Lance scrambled to his feet, "Eevy! No!" he winced at his stinging arm, "Evangelina!"
Eevy pushed and pulled and kicked, yanking her way to the open hatch as the blimp flew higher and higher, "Dragon!" she wailed as Bashou and Domino pulled her back and Tyson slammed the hatch shut.
*^~^**^~^*
Domino was standing at the wheel, directing the blimp this way and that, Eevy was handcuffed, tied, and chained to a chair by the wall, and Bashou, Buson, and Tyson were playing cards at the other end of the room. Eevy glared down at the floor, thinking how stupid she must have been to go anywhere alone anymore. What if it hadn't been Team Rocket? It could have been Taylor. Or Rubeus. That would have put a real crimp in her life. Like an abrupt stop to it. She glanced off at Tyson and Buson, beating on Bashou because he was supposedly cheating, and over at Domino, who was gnawing on strawberry gum Eevy could smell all the way over where she was. She swallowed and looked down at the glass bell hanging on her necklace. Was this why had they kidnapped her so suddenly?
She suddenly felt their altitude drop and watched the guys pick up their cards. She heard metal sliding across metal and watched the windows as the tops of trees came into view. They were landing…They passed through some kind of mechanical hatch in the ground. Domino sauntered over and grinned at her, untying her and unchaining her, but leaving the handcuffs on.
"Come on," she yanked her along, "No dawdling and no talking."
Eevy rolled her eyes, deciding it best to do as she was told. Maybe if she was silent…
*^~^**^~^*
Lance growled and grunted as Will's Xatu mended his broken arm, then swung it to test it. Morty and Eusine were curled up with their foreheads on their knees in the corner of the porch, seemingly bawling lowly to themselves. Ash, Misty, Brock, and Richie were trying to calm the spastic Kayla. She'd been Eevy's friend for years and couldn't stand this to the point that she was bashing the wall of the brick Rainbow Mansion with furious punches. Tracey was trying to get Sooney to stop rambling on about what disasters Eevy could be facing, most of which were so farfetched, even a leek-spinning bird Pokemon wouldn't have believed it. Luri, Medira, Lisle, and Jason were fighting to calm the infuriated Mizu, warning her she had to be still.
Will looked up as his Xatu did. His Pokemon tilted his head, as did Will. Xatu put his wings to his sides, bending them as much as his joints allowed, and Will put his hands at his hips. Xatu started swaying side to side and rocking back and forth and Will's shoulders and neck loosened to the point that he looked like he was asleep while standing. Luri looked at him, then alerted everyone else.
"Look!" she shrieked, pointing at him.
Will shot up straight and held his head, the light green and dark green in his eyes fighting each other for charge over which color his eyes would be, "Ert-ert," his Xatu called, wobbling and hobbling to his side.
"Yes, I'm fine," he placed his hand on his Pokemon's head and turned toward everyone else, swallowing hard, "I know where Eevy is."
"What?! Where?!" Lance grabbed his collar, "Where is she?!"
"She's somewhere to the north," Will pointed to his left, "She said she-"
"What do you mean she said?" Richie questioned blankly, now restraining the wailing Kayla.
"She…She spoke to me. Through our connection. She knows the trees that grow everywhere in Gertan Rin, and saw a type of pine that only grows north of here. She said they landed in a clearing, where a hatch opened in the ground and the blimp fit right inside. She broke her entire link with me, feelings and all, incase something happens to her," Will glared off to the north.
Lance stared off to the side, reaching inside his coat and tossing a Poke'Ball forward, "Rage Ball! Go! Draco, I choose you!" he ran for his Dragonite and jumped on, "I'm going after her. If you want to stay, stay," the Dragonite lifted off and shot northward.
"How do we Fly?" Ash frowned, "None of our Pokemon can do that…"
"We don't Fly," Brock smirked, "We roll! Go, Onix!"
Ash, Misty, Sooney, Tracey, Richie, and Kayla piled onto Onix's back, following Draco as fast as the Rock Snake could go, "I choose you! Wind Dance!" Medira grabbed Jason's collar as she whipped past, "You can ride with me!"
Morty and Eusine looked up, faces red, then looked to each other, "Let's go," they nodded together, "Haunter! We choose you two!" they both called.
Two Haunter emerged, one grabbing Morty with one hand and Lisle with the other, and the other snatching Eusine and Mizu in the same way. Will's Xatu scrambled forward, zipping under him and lifting off. Will caught Luri's raised arm and pulled her up behind him. Lance's Dragon suddenly veered off to the side, Lance directing it to do so. He landed slowly, the other Pokemon staying suspended. Lance pounded on the window to the front gate. His brother opened the sliding window and waved.
"Hi! Wanna play some Uno?" Victor grinned.
"Shut up!" Lance dragged him halfway out the window, "Get Dargo and Durga and get your butts out here!" he snorted as Victoria peeked over to see what was happening.
"What's wrong?" Vic asked while prying her twin's collar from her older brother's grasp.
"It's Team Rocket!" Kayla suddenly cried, "They took Eevy!" she started sobbing again and nearly knocked Richie flying when she latched onto him.
"They took Eevy?!" Vic pushed Victor the rest of the way out the window and hopped out behind him, "Not allowed!" she puffed, "Durga! I need you!"
"No way they're taking Eevy away from you before I get to!" Victor grinned at the evil look Lance shot, "Dargo! I call you!"
Both Dragonite, though smaller than Draco, were his older brother and sister. They were both hatched from larger Eggs, but were half Draco's size. Explain that one. After all three Ryujin had hopped on their Dragonites' backs, Will's Xatu led the way to where he could sense the Champion Mistress's energy; Machete Forest in southern Hokubu. Kratos looked out his office window and tilted his head at the Pokemon thundering by, both by land and by air.
"Well…" he murmured as Rachel wandered up beside him, "There's something you don't see every day…"
*^~^**^~^*
"It worked," Eevy sighed thankfully.
Her silence had made it possible for her to connect with her psychic link back at Rainbow Metro. She knew she could trust Will and knew that he and everyone else would do anything and everything in their power to get her out of there. Domino had wondered off somewhere, which left Bashou, Buson, and Tyson to sit in front of Eevy, playing cards again. Tyson had his back to her, and she grinned impishly.
"Full house, huh?" she sniggered, "Good cards."
Bashou and Buson tossed their cards into the air as Tyson turned to Eevy and growled lowly, "Why did you do that?" he hissed.
"Hmm…Could it be because I hate you?" Eevy asked with a smirk and tone of utter sarcasm.
Tyson balled his fists just as the door opened, then shooting to his feet, "Now you'll get it," he glared, "Master Giovanni can take care of you."
"Shut your mouth, Tyson," Giovanni snapped, silencing the grunt quickly, "Well, hello, Mistress Hikoboshi."
"What do you want, Sakaki?" Eevy's eyes narrowed quickly, "If you think you're getting my Pokemon, you'd better think again, because so help me, if you-"
"It has nothing to do with your Pokemon," he patted his Persian's head, "Only to do with Pokemon of which you have an acquaintance to," he pulled the Bell on her necklace up to her nose, "And which I believe happen to know this bell."
Eevy gasped and growled, "The Legends?! You must be crazy if you think I'd give you any information on them!" if her legs had been loose, she would have kicked him, "I will never tell you anything about the Beasts or the Birds! Not a thing about Mew and Mewtwo! And nothing on Lugia or Celebi! You can do what you please to me, but I will never speak a word of them to you or anyone from your decrepit team of losers and slackers!"
Giovanni pulled the necklace off and tossed it at Buson, who tucked it in his pocket, "You can go on believing what you will, but given the right incentives, you will comply. You have too many friends. Too much family. You're easy to play on."
"You leave them alone! You hear me?!" she gnarled as he walked off, his Persian following, "Don't you lay a finger on them! Any of them!"
The door slammed shut as Domino waved through the opening. Eevy started turning a hot red, her eyes glowing violently. Bashou, Buson, and Tyson grinned at her, then went on about other things. Eevy clenched her teeth, her eyes shut tightly.
"They only want the Legends for their powers. To use them for what they believe will be controlling the world. I can't let that happen," she balled her fists behind her and moved them to cross her wrists, "No bindings can hold me. And by God…Neither can any man alive," snapping her arms apart, the ropes ripped, the chains snapped, and the cuffs pulled apart.
*^~^**^~^*
"Hey, guys!" Brock waved up to the Pokemon flying above his Onix's head, "Look at this!"
After every Pokemon had landed, the trainers began examining the ground on which they stood, "This must be the place," Lisle looked at the nearly invisible seam-like line in the grass.
"Xatu, do you sense her?" Will looked at his Pokemon.
"Ert-ert," the Pokemon bobbled back to front, nodding.
"Good. This is it then," Lance looked around bit, "But how do we get down there?"
"Well…If the blimp landed here, maybe it's activated by something. Like a motion sensor or a step pad…" Sooney wandered about.
"Maybe…Maybe it's weight activated?" Misty suggested, everyone looking at her, "Well…Planes must weigh a ton, so maybe when there's a certain weight on the platform, it drops."
"Could be. Let's try it," Luri shrugged and stepped past the seam.
"I can handle the weight part. Onix, forward," Brock pointed onto the platform.
The ground shook as everyone jumped on. Draco, Durga, and Dargo stood in front of Onix, prepared to blast anything that may have been in the way. As soon as the platform dropped, buzzers and sirens sounded from every direction and grunts dressed in black and white and executives dressed in purple came running from the doors lining the walls of the long metal-walled hallway.
"Well…A welcoming party," Jason smirked, crossing his arms.
Medira, who was sitting on her Pidgeot, giggled at Jason, "Wind Dance!" she called, "Fly up now!" the Pidgeot lifted off into the air, "Whirlwind attack!"
Grunts went flying as Medira swooped again and again, shoving them away with heaves of her Pidgeot's wings. Pikachu hopped forward, bounding out into the center of the hall. Three voices rang out from the back of the grunts that remained standing.
"It's the twerp!" cried two humans and a Pokemon.
"Oh no…" Ash slapped his own forehead as Jessie, James, and Meowth shoved their way to the front, bumping Butch and Cassidy aside, "Go, Pikachu!"
"Kingdra! I choose you!" Kayla called, letting her Poke'Ball fly, "Kingdra! Use Whirlpool!"
"Duu-duu!" the Pokemon cried, raising his head and dropping it to shoot a spinning funnel of water.
Grunts were sent sailing as the water rushed along the hallway, pushing some back and into the crates that lined the walls. A Gloom rushed about, spouting poisonous powder everywhere. Sooney ordered a Sleep Powder and Rockets started dropping like flies, snoring away. Crates and tanks exploded left and right as Onix flailed and smashed things away and Corsola hopped along, Tackling things.
"Go, Weezing! Attack!" James ordered.
"Arbok! You too!" Jessie called.
"Haunter! Go!" Morty and Eusine called, "Hypnosis, now!"
Both Haunter raised their hands, rocking them side to side. Arbok and Weezing swayed for a moment or two before dropping into a peaceful slumber. Scyther and Scizor lunged forward, shoving the Pokemon back into their trainers. Jessie, James, Meowth, Arbok and Weezing tumbled back, other grunts dodging them. They collided with a tank of something, knocking it over and spilling black liquid everywhere. Now that things were narrowed down a bit…
"Sparky!" Richie threw his Poke'Ball forward.
"Pikachu!" Ash pointed out into the center of the room.
"Thunder attack, now!" they called as everyone gathered behind Onix, ducking.
"Pika…Pika…Pika…Pika…PikaCHIU!"
A bolt of lightning rolled down from the sky and exploded in the middle of the room. The blast was strong enough that Onix slid back a bit, pushing everyone behind him along as well. Onix roared and everyone screamed as Pikachu's electricity sparked a fire in the oil that had spilled. Lance peeked over Onix as fire alarms blared and the Rockets that remained, though very few, started worrying more about the flames than the intruders.
"Now is our chance," he recalled Draco, who'd been huddled beside him, as everyone else also brought back their Pokemon, "They're focused on the fire. Let's go."
Xatu, who'd been left out for location purposes, hopped to a door and threw it open with his powers. He kept moving and everyone followed. Giovanni sat, examining a video screen with his right fist against his mouth. They were destroying everything. If they continued at this pace, he wouldn't have the time he needed to get the Champion Mistress to use the Bell. He wanted those Legendary Pokemon and that was all there was to it. For him, anyway.
*^~^**^~^*
Xatu bounced along the long hallway the group had come to. They ducked quickly as a group of grunts passed by. With them were Wendie and Mondo. The whole group of black and white clad Rockets hurried past, not even bothering to look back. Xatu continued along and stopped in front of one of three doors. He then moved to the next. Then the next.
"Which one, Xatu? Is she behind one of these doors?" Will asked it as it continued to go from one door to the next.
"Ert-ert!" it cried and indicated the first door.
"Guess this is it," Tracey looked the door over.
Lance checked the handle, finding it to be locked. He stepped back and bashed the door, slamming it open. He tripped in, everyone else following. Eevy looked to the door and beamed, leaving her solitaire game laid out on the floor.
"Hey, guys!" she shrieked, "What took you so long?"
"Took us…So long?" Ash scratched his head, as did everyone else.
"Pika?" Pikachu also questioned.
"Great job, Xatu!" Will praised his Pokemon, "Superb! You'd better rest a bit. You've had a hard day."
Lance pushed his way around everyone and latched onto Eevy, "You're all right! They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"Who?" Eevy tilted her head and shoved him back, "You mean those three?" she pointed off to the side.
Pikachu toppled off Ash's shoulder and Morty and Eusine shook their heads. Bashou's shirt collar was hooked to a coat hanger on the wall, wrists and ankles bound with rope. Tyson was hanging upside-down from a pipe running from wall to wall, chains wound tightly around him. And Buson was in Eevy's chair, handcuffs securely wrapped around the back rungs to keep him from just standing and walking off without a fight. Lance twitched slightly.
"Don't worry about those three. Someone will find 'em. Sooner or later," she shrugged and gathered up her cards, "Here ya' go, buddy," she stuffed the pack in Tyson's mouth as he growled at her, "And I believe this is mine. Thank you," she pulled her Bell from Buson's pocket and started out with everyone else, "Have fun, boys!"
"There! Now let's get out of here," Kayla suggested thankfully.
"I think not," a black Persian trotted in, followed by Jen, Jaz, Mondo, Giovanni, and Giovanni's Persian, "You're not going anywhere."
"Way to tell 'em, Persian," Jen nodded and smiled evilly.
Morty and Eusine stomped in front of Eevy, "Back it off, Sakaki," Morty hissed, "And get out of the way."
"You'd think I'd let you on your way, wouldn't you?" Giovanni left his hands in his pockets, "And after what you did to my three strongest Executives…It might be a wise decision to do just that. But," he smiled evilly, "You see, I can't do that. I want that Bell and your Legends. And like it or not, in one way or another, I'll get all that and more."
"Yeah, sure you will," Luri rolled her eyes, "It surprises me how much of a baka some people can be."
"Well, Mistress Sedna," Giovanni removed his left hand from his pocket, "If I am such a baka, why is it you who has fallen right into a trap?"
Everyone looked at each other with expressions of yeah right, "Sure we did," Vic shook her head.
Mondo, Jen, and Jaz released and dragged the Cadre Rockets out as Giovanni smirked, "Yes. You did. And if you don't mind, I'd like you to fall just a bit more," he flicked what Eevy had thought was a light switch and stepped back, "Have fun. And good luck."
The door slid shut and the crates along the walls started sliding in on their own. Everyone backed together, seeing the crates were on tracks in the floor. The boxes lined up and blocked anyone from moving beyond them. Kayla screamed and latched onto Sooney, who also started screaming. The boxes then started sliding closer as a line on either side.
"We're trapped!" Victor backed away toward the center of the room, "We're gonna get flattened like pancakes!"
Misty screeched and cuddled Pikachu and Togepi, wailing helplessly, "I don't want to die! I'm too young to die! I can't die!"
Morty and Eusine backed in toward Eevy, "This is…Really bad," Eusine shivered.
"We kind of noticed," his cousins sweatdropped.
"What do we do?!" Luri cried, looking frantically around the slowly shrinking space they had.
Lance backed away, shaking uncontrollably, "Small…Space…Small…Space…"
His brother and sister helped him to stay standing as Ash ran toward them to question if Draco and his siblings could help. Will was heading for Eevy, Morty, and Eusine to try something with their psychic abilities. A slight creaking noise caused everyone to stop. The floor opened right up, splitting in half and falling down. Screams echoed throughout the tiny room as everyone dropped straight down. Four tunnels below them open and closed randomly, sending everyone down a different slide. Will fell into one, Luri into three, Lance into two, and Jason into four. Eevy, Morty, and Eusine, who were latched onto each other and screaming, all dropped down one. Vic and V flew down two, Medira and Mizu rolled down three, one right after the other, and Brock, Tracey, Richie and Lisle flew down four. Kayla and Sooney flew down three, and two and four both opened right after. Ash and Misty flailed to go down the same tunnel together, but were pulled apart, Ash heading down two and Misty down four, clutching Pikachu, who was screaming for Pikapi. In his office, Giovanni sat laughing as the boxes returned themselves to their original places along the walls. His Persian purred away, cleaning her ear with her paw.
*^~^*Part 1: End*^~^*
A/N: Look! I live! *wonders around like a zombie* Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. It's been a combination of writer's block and LayOut work and some of life's usual problems. But did you all see?! They're showing a preview of "Pocket Monsters Advance Generation" next weekend! FWEE! *runs around screaming* One full hour of Hoenn! *hops side to side* [Usagi: Wait a second...Isn't that the day your supposed to go to Disney World?] o_o WHAT?! *grabs her* I'm gonna miss it?! [It's called "video tape". You were going to tape it anyway.] O_O It's not the same! *wails and falls over twitching* [I...Think I killed her. o_O Anyways, since she seems to be AWOL or something right about now, this is Usa-chan telling you to head on over and read parts 2 and 3 of "Laborious Labyrinth"! ^_^]
*^~^*Pro_V*^~^*
.:O=Usagi-chan=O:.
-=O~The Other Pokemon~O=-
Next: Special Edition: Laborious Labyrinth: Part 2 of 7.
TAA Pokemon Of The Month: March 2003: The Tree Gecko Pokemon Jupitol