Here it is folks: the last chapter before the Epilogue. Hope you enjoy as much as I enjoyed typing this chapter. I've also started another fic called "A Flame in the Fresh Snow", but it's not up yet. Please look for it soon.
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Incandescence –Chapter 7
Okay. I've never told anyone this before, but I have a very deep, dark secret. Now, you've all got to promise you'll never tell anyone, got it? Alright. I'll admit it. I'm afraid of heights.
Okay, it might sound a little silly to you, and some of you might agree with me. I don't care. As long as you never spill a word of it to anyone, we're okay.
Anyways, the reason I had to share my secret is because that's where we were; very, very high up. Me and my big mouth. Since I had absolutely refused to ride another ferry, that plan was off.They would not get me on that boat. Especially with Ren around. So instead of riding over the ocean, we were up in something Jill and Derek called a helicopter.
Boy, was it loud. It sounded like a thousand Tyranitar, Donphan and whatever other loud Pokémon you can think of all rolled into one gigantic flying thing. I swear my head almost blew up. It was as loud inside as it was outside. I even offered to go into my pokeball for the ride, but Jillian probably couldn't hear me over the racket.
I sat shaking in her lap, watching the blue ocean go by underneath us through the windows. I couldn't keep myself from chattering, but I only told everyone I was cold when they teased me about being scared.
It didn't last long, though. Soon we were back down onto the ground, onto the roof of some large building in some city called Maru City. I could keep still, I tell you, I was so nervous and excited about seeing Amber again and bringing her pitiful little life to a nice slow and painful death. I could tell Jillian was nervous too, but she sure did a better job at hiding it. You should have seen the way she kept a stern face in front of the other Team Rocket members. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.
Jillian released Ren, who I had chosen to tell about our little plan, and he walked beside me down the stairs from the roof. With him next to me, I miraculously stopped shaking.
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Oboeru and Kyuua sat panting in the shade of an Alley in Maru City. They had finally made it, but had met some trouble along the way. Who knew they'd have a stray catcher in Maru City, and even a pound, anyways? They had been chased over half of the city by that guy, but finally had ducked into the alley they were currently sitting in, breathing hard. The catcher had passed the alleyway just a little while after them, and didn't bother to check it. So for now, they were in the clear.
With her pink tongue hanging limply from her mouth, she frowned at her Houndour friend. "What the heck kind of errand do you have in this city anyways? We were almost caught by that guy you know, and then we'd be dead for sure!"
He sighed. "I know, I know, I've never been here either, I didn't know that guy was going to be chasing us!"
"Whaaaat?!" she gaped. "You've never been here before?! Then why are you here?!"
"Because," he said with his tongue also hanging from his muzzle, "A friend of mine told me that this was something only I could do."
She looked scared then. Oboeru nuzzled her cheek before standing up again and checking to make sure that the street was clear. He turned back to her. "I'm sorry I got you into this." He said solemnly.
"Let's just get this over with, alright?"
They headed out of their hiding spot, keeping lower to the ground this time and sticking to the shadows for protection against the strange eyes of the crowds. They crossed many streets, sheltered by many shadows, by the darkness. And then it hit him, how was he supposed to find this building?
As he pondered this, and Kyuua watched him confused, He looked up, and they just so happened to be standing across from the very building that they were looking for.
He knew they couldn't enter through the front door; that would look too suspicious and be too obvious, they'd probably get caught the moment they set foot in that place. Oboeru motioned to Kyuua that they were going to make a dash across the street and head around to the back of the building where they could enter with ease. He also told her that they'd have to be very quiet in there, as their lives might depend on it.
Kyuua looked nervously at the Houndour she loved. She was nervous, very nervous at his intentions. Were they good, were they bad? She didn't know, and she figured she never would because she wasn't about to ask. She didn't want to run away and leave him to do whatever he was doing alone, so she figured she might as well just brave whatever was thrown at her and follow him to the end.
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Oh man, was I nervous. I never thought anyone could be so nervous, but MAN I was wrong. I followed Jillian and walked next to Ren, who was also looking a little nervous. I hoped that we didn't have to face off against any of amber's Pokémon, because they sure were strong and she knew Ren wasn't that strong, even if he did have a type advantage.
We were walking through a hallway, with black tiles everywhere, cold under my feet and covering the walls and ceilings too. Derek was leading us to Giovanni, I knew that much, so that he could meet Jill and make her an official member of Team Rocket. Hopefully though, we'd be rid of Amber before she was bound to anything.
Ren and I looked around for any signs of Amber. I knew her pretty well, and If I was any good at remembering things, she would have a pink door with an 'A' on it, the same one she bragged about to Ailis way back when they were still friends.
Soon we came to another hallway, creating a four way intersection. I looked quickly down each. Derek turned right, with Jillian following, but that large, menacing, evil, ugly, horrid, pink door was down to our left. Ren and I turned down that black tiled hallway, and as we did, I looked back at Jill and wished her good luck.
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They found the back entrance, while Oboeru was wondering why they even had one. That was pretty stupid, but pretty convenient too. He and Kyuua combined successfully pushed the door open and headed into the building, covered in black tiles all around. They gave each other a nervous glance and continued into the building, climbing many sets of stairs and walking through many hallways and passing many doors apprehensively…
"Oboeru…" Kyuua asked while looking around at the smooth ebony tiles, each one the same, and the hallway. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"
"Nope. Not even close. This place is so big I'm not sure where anything is anymore. All I do know is that we're looking for a lab of some sort." He said as they climbed a set of stairs and came upon a four way intersection.
Kyuua looked ahead to see a large white door that said 'Secret Lab' on it.
"Like that one?" She asked pointing to the door.
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There was no one in Amber's room. No one except for her Pokémon, that is.
Ren and I slinked through the door, making sure to stay real quiet, because the moment we opened the door we could see them, all laying about in the middle of the huge room. We hid behind one of Ambers dressers and snuck out farther, hidden in her pokedolls.
I could distinctly hear Udia's voice. I poked my head out from behind a Mareep doll and saw that indeed it was the Camerupt who was speaking.
"I can't wait till the Global Warming Machine is ready." She said happily.
What? Global warming?
Amber's Blaziken, Kaen, nodded and smiled. "Then it will be warm all the time, instead of us having to go through that horrid winter."
Many of the others nodded.
No winter? What were they talking about? What machine could ever warm up the world?
At that moment I started to worry.
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Luckily, the lab was empty. All that was surrounding the pair of dog Pokémon was white, the plainest white either of them had ever seen. Everything in there was white; the machines making electronic blurring noises, the tile on the walls and floors, and just…everything.
Boy, were these Team Rocket people dumb. Well, it wasn't really a surprise that there was a sign right in front of the Machine labeled 'Global Warming Machine', if Amber was a member. Oboeru sighed a sigh of pure relief whilst Kyuua just looked all around her, feeling exposed. He gave her a great smile. "This is what I've been looking for." He explained.
Quickly and lightly he stepped closer to the big machine. It was so huge, in fact, he didn't know where to start. He motioned for Kyuua to come and help him, and he began his assault with an Ember, and Kyuua a Tackle, resulting in the first large dent in the machine.
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Ren and I listened to their conversations for quite a while, it felt like. We soon discovered all about the Global Warming Machine, and I was more frantic than ever. That, and eager to kill Amber and stop her plans to stop all water Pokémon. She was eviler than I thought. Or maybe that was just Giovanni.
The Vaporeon next to me nudged me and tried to make motions to me about what we should do. But I couldn't understand him. What are you waiting for? You and Ren have a type advantage over all five of them, and you can send out a surprise attack! Why do you not strike? I began to get a headache from my returned conscience banging around in my head, telling me to go, attack now! But I couldn't! I didn't know what I was waiting for. My mind was so hazy, I was so confused, devastated, hurt, scared...
What were we waiting for? Surely if we attacked them then, then we wouldn't have to deal with Amber giving them orders if she arrived before we did attack them. If we dealt with them before hand, then we'd only have to take out Amber, and that would be as easy as pie.
But it looked like it wasn't going to turn out that way.
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There was a soft Howl from the Poochyena, raising Kyuua's Attack. The Machine was almost done for, it had been Embered and Bitten and Tackled so many times it almost wasn't recognizable anymore. Oboeru dug his claws into what looked like the on and off switch, and it let out a few electrical sparks. The whole thing made a whirling sound that got deeper and deeper, until it was only a faint grumble, and then it was gone.
After one more Tackle from Kyuua, they both deemed it no longer usable. It was damaged from the inside out. They put their backs up against it and slid down to a sitting position with a smile on each of their faces.
"We did it." Kyuua grinned, and laughed a little, lightening the mood. Oboeru sighed and laughed a little too.
"C'mon, let's get out of here."
The two dog Pokémon headed for the large door, and opened it. With one last look at the machine, Oboeru let out a couple of Smog's, and they shut the door tight.
"Higeki, you're safe."
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Jillian shifted uncomfortable on the chair next to Derek and opposite from Giovanni in his office. Derek had explained to her that he had flown out from his private island to see her, so she should be grateful and polite. She only nodded and tried her best to feign impressing the big boss. They were now on the verge of the end of the meeting, and Jillian was still as nervous as heck. Oh Ama, please hurry…
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At that very moment, Amber walked into the room. I cursed myself inwardly with about every curse word known to Human and Pokémon. I looked over to Ren, who had this stern, angry look on his face, like he was thinking the same thing. Oh well, we would just have to do this the hard way…
Lucky for us, she called her Pokémon back into their pokeballs first thing. As soon as the last one was in, I nudged Ren again and jumped out from behind the dolls.
Boy was she as ugly as ever. She just had this blank, kind of wide-eyed look on her face, something only a stupid person could pull off. I wasted no time waiting for Ren or even for her to call out any of her Pokémon.
"You!" I growled. She just stood there.
"You killed my family!" I could feel the anger bubbling within me.
"You ruined my life, and my home!" My rage was twisting and rising with every word. I could feel it, all the pain, all the anger, all the hurt, just sitting there inside me, starting to flow over. It seemed that once I had said them aloud, I realized even more how much it hurt.
"Now you're going to die!"
The first thing I did was launch a Quick Attack right at her legs, as she reached for one two of the pokeballs around her waist as soon as she saw Ren jump out behind me.
I felt my skull collide with her legs very soon, and felt her buckle down. As she fell she released the two of her Pokémon.
I looked at them with so much anger, so much hurt, and so much longing, longing for this to have never happened. I had once been friends with these Pokémon, and now what was I doing? I was to fight them, even if I didn't want to.
I faced Udia, while Ren faced Agni. Their eyes weren't the same, but I'm sure mine weren't either.
At first I sent an Aqua Jet at her, which hit her straight in her eyes and gave her a burn mark, since she was too slow to dodge it. I felt I had the full advantage, even if I wasn't as strong as her; my Speed was higher and I did have a Type advantage.
She reared up and slammed her hooves into the ground, sending an Earthquake through the room, creating large fissures in the playing field. She caught me in one, and I receive a large gash on my leg. I growled as I struggled to free myself from the crack.
She just stood there, looking sad, like she was about to cry. I didn't care. As I freed myself I let out a Swift, but this time she didn't fight back. I turned my head a minute as she was knocked down to see how Ren was doing. Turns out I picked just the right minute to look because at that moment he was knocked into a wall by Agni's tail, only he didn't look angry or happy, he looked hurt, and sad, just like Udia. Just then I realized Amber was commanding them, and that she had a stronger hold on them than I thought.
There was a loud crack as Ren hit the wall, followed by me shouting his name in an ear-splitting scream. There was blood all around him.
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Just as Kyuua and Oboeru were about to try and find the way they came from, there was a very loud scream. Oboeru froze, and a shiver shook his spine. Kyuua looked back at him uncertainly. "What was that?" she asked.
"Higeki…" he replied quietly and then turned back down the hallway, and down to the large pink door with an 'A' on it. He recognized this room. But he also recognized the scent of a certain Buizel that was leading him to the door. His shiny Poochyena friend followed him tentatively.
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I let out all my anger into one, long Swift, spraying the star shaped ray into any and every direction, knocking Agni, Udia, and Amber all to the ground, and then, as quickly as I could, I ran over to Ren.
"Ren, no…Ren, please wake up…" I shook him as sobs wracked my chest and body. I pulled him close to me, but he was cold. As soon as I flipped him over and stared into his eyes, I knew he was dead. I let him down lightly back into the pool of his own blood, which I was covered in now, and turned to Amber.
"You!" I growled as I dashed to the girl lying on the floor. She whimpered as I climbed up closer to her face, and looked into her eyes.
"You've killed almost everything that's ever been dear to me!!" I screamed so furiously it hurt my throat. "That's it!!"
As I dug my fangs into her wind pipe, I knew she was done for. I came in deeper and deeper, and raked her face with my claws. I couldn't help it, she was in my grasp and she was going to die. Slow and painfully, just as I had promised myself. She was going to pay for everything she had ever done to me, and to the ones I knew and loved, and even those I never did and never will know.
As I watched the life drain from her body, I heard the door open. I must have been such a frightful sight to that one who opened the door, covered in blood and standing over a dead human with fang and claw marks on their face and neck, and blood bubbling from Amber's mouth, but nothing else seemed to matter in that moment.
Because in that moment, the one person I wanted to see the most opened the door and looked at me the way I looked at him.
"Oboeru…" I mumbled, simply stuck for words.
He also whispered my name. "Higeki…"
The next thing I know I've got the biggest smile on my face and tears are tremendously falling down my face, in sorrow and joy all at once. But all that mattered right then was that he was here; not how he got there or why he was there, it was just a miracle that we had met again.
We ran to each other and I did something I had wanted to do for so long; I pushed my nose up against his and licked his muzzle, with him returning the gesture. I rubbed my head along under and along his neck, and he rubbed hid head on mine. I snuggled into his fur, so warm, so welcoming.
The next thing was a white light. I felt my body changing, swerving, twisting, and as it did so, I watched him change as well. He became taller, and lean. His once lovable ears grew into fearsome horns and his short stubby tail grew out long, with an arrow at the end. I couldn't believe what I was seeing; He had evolved.
And as I looked down upon myself when the white light disappeared, I found I too had evolved.
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