Part One: Chapter Nine
Flame tried to shake off his lingering drowsiness as he and Ignus trailed behind the group, casting an occasional glance behind them to ensure they weren't being followed. The action had become an instinct over the last few days that they'd spent wandering and occasionally fighting.
He was surprised how quickly they'd adapted to life in the maze. Now that they knew where to look, finding food wasn't as much of a challenge as it was previously and they soon realised that those rectangular carvings weren't as uncommon as they'd previously thought. They usually came across two to three of them each day, each with a new pokemon-related question that they needed to answer for the door to open.
He wiped sleep from his eyes with the palm of his hands. With no way of knowing night from day, they tended to sleep and travel whenever they felt tired or rested enough. Some 'days' only lasted a few hours while others dragged on for as long as they could walk. Ice still hadn't stopped sending pokemon after them, but fortunately their most recent fights were against lower-level pokemon that never resulted in any serious damage against their own teams. Every now and again, they even found potions and ethers inside one of the rectangle compartments that they gratefully used to heal their pokemon with.
Flame wasn't sure if it was just him, but it felt like the maze was going easy on them all of a sudden. The first few days had been a terrifying challenge, but now their biggest issue was making sure they didn't get attacked while they slept. Either they had gotten stronger or something big was about to happen.
Two sleeps later, he appeared again.
They'd just woken up and finished off what was left of the last meal they'd found (bottled water and pizza) as Leaf complained under hear breath about how dirty she was getting.
"We haven't had a bath in days!" She muttered, looking down at her grubby hands as she walked, "We're covered in sweat, I can almost feel all the grease that must be in my hair and - oh gross, I must smell so bad."
Kojo snorted, 'Deal with it. I've never had a bath before in my life. Ungrateful trainer...'
Rain was luckily too far ahead to hear Leaf's comments about their personal hygiene and Flame was relieved he didn't have to hear his mocking voice taunting the girl. Despite her complaints about almost everything (that were fortunately becoming less frequent) and weak attempts to battle, Flame couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He had no idea what it must be like to transition from an easy life to... Well, whatever they had right now.
Up ahead, Sparky and Rain had stopped to wait for them. They picked up the pace to catch up and Flame soon noticed that they'd stopped by a doorway cut into the stone walls.
"It looks like another room." Sparky remarked and Flame poked his head in. It was almost identical to the one he had woken up in. Were they going around in circles? It had the same dull grey walls and floor; and the ceiling lights still flickered every now and again. But it was considerably bigger than that first room, and more rectangular in shape. They stepped in, pokemon trailing after them as they observed the new area.
And then a voice sounded nearby them.
"I was wondering when you might turn up."
Flame jumped and whirled around. He could have sworn Ice hadn't been there before, but now he was staring right at them, leaning casually against the wall as if he they were some old friends that he'd just bumped into on the street.
"Who's up for a pop quiz?" His voice sounded a lot more cheerful and energetic since the last time Flame had heard it. His red eyes narrowed as he cautiously observed the masked man who stood with his hands resting casually in the pockets of his jacket. There was no way he'd come unarmed, he was definitely holding on to a Poké Ball.
His words seemed to have struck great confusion within the others. "Pop quiz?" Rain echoed, glancing over at the others as if to make sure he wasn't hearing things.
"Yeah, a pop quiz." Ice clapped his hands and eight images appeared on the wall behind him, each depicting another person. Flame recognised him immediately, they were Kanto's Gym Leaders, "You guys know who these people are, right?"
The eight of them stared at him blankly. Ignus cast a confused look up at Flame. 'Why isn't he attacking?' She questioned, 'I don't like this, can you tell him to fight us instead? He's scary when he tries to act nice.'
'Let's just see what he wants.' Flame told her, looking at each of the pictures in turn. His gaze lingered for a while on Sabrina. It had been almost a year since he'd last visited her. How was she reacting to his 'death'? Just thinking about the fact the outside world thought he had passed on made him shiver. It really was an unpleasant thought.
Sparky was the one who answered Ice's question, "Those are the Gym Leaders." She said stiffly, her body tensed up as if she was ready to bolt at any second. Captain was beside her, red cheek pouches crackling with charged electricity.
Ice sounded almost ridiculously impressed with her response. "You're right! These," he waved a gloved hand at the projections, "are the eight Kanto Gym Leaders, elected by the people of Kanto themselves. Who's this woman?" he pointed at Erika.
This time, he was met by silence and stunned stares.
'What's with this guy?' Flame heard Quinn pipe up, 'Why doesn't he know who she is? Who is she, anyway?'
"Come on guys, I need you to answer this." He hadn't expect Ice to sound so whiny saying it, "Come on, who is she?"
Just hours ago, Ice had been their scourge, a dark cloud looming over their heads. Flame's worst fear during his time here was - next to starving to death - having to face this man again. And now he was standing right in front of them and trying to quiz them on the Gym Leaders. The situation suddenly made him so much less intimidating.
Ice huffed out a sigh, closed his eyes and tipped his head back in frustration.
"Nat, snap Flame's neck."
At once, something cold wrapped around Flame's throat and he froze. Leaf shrieked and the others scattered away from him with wide and horrified eyes.
'I heard that you can understand what we're saying.' A feminine voice rasped by his ear, 'It's a pity to make something so valuable go to waste.' The creature's grip tightened around him. He couldn't breathe. His fingers prised at the gooey thing that held him but it was no use. The pressure around his neck didn't disappear.
"Erika!" The rest of the kids shouted in unison.
'Nat's' slimy grip loosened slightly. Flame still didn't dare breathe lest she took it as a sign of resistance. Ignus was crouched a metre in front of him, tail lashing as if she were preparing to launch an attack.
'Ignus, go to the others.' He told her. The last thing he wanted was for the charmander to get hurt, too. She shook her head, blue eyes defiant.
'You heard your trainer.' Nat's gravelly voice rumbled.
Ice watched the scene with what looked like twisted amusement in his eyes. He knew exactly what was happening between Flame and his pokemon. Flame swallowed thickly and met Ignus's gaze.
'Go to the others.' He repeated stubbornly. This was the path of least resistance and he was taking it. It may have not been the nicest path, but it had always been less trouble for him to just do what he was told.
Rain was talking, "Erika, Gym Leader of Celadon City. Her specialty is grass types, trainers usually challenge her fourth if they're taking the classic training route..." he trailed off and shot Flame a nervous look, "Um, her Gym has only female trainers... Ah... She likes flowers?" Any other time, Flame would have been stunned to find Rain showing actual worry for him. However, he had more pressing things to worry about at that moment.
'Ignus.' Flame said one last time, trying his hardest to make his 'voice' as stern as possible. It was agonisingly difficult when it was a challenge to breathe.
He almost sighed in relief when his pokemon finally backed away and hurried over to where Sparky was standing, casting a final glare at Nat and Ice in turn.
"Good, good." Ice said, nodding in approval. Throughout the entire ordeal, his cheerful aura hadn't disappeared at all. After his threat to Flame, it had suddenly become chilling rather than laughable. Now he was as they'd always thought of him as: haunting, imposing and as cold as his namesake. "Nat, you can let him go now."
The pressure was lifted from around his neck and Flame stumbled back, gasping. A muk slid into view in the corner of his eye and lingered nearby him.
Without changing his oddly enthusiastic tone, he surveyed his audience, "Anything else you can tell me about Erika?"
It was a few seconds before Leaf timidly spoke up, "She has that department store."
That response seemed good enough for him, "Yes! She 'has that department store'! She's also the main supplier for most of the Poké Marts across the region as her family are the people who import Poké Balls from Kalos. Fantastic, I knew it wasn't a mistake bringing you here!"
Flame exchanged a look with Rain from across the room. What exactly was going on here? He looked back at Ice who stood authoritative, powerful and quite possibly mad. Just looking at him make Flame's throat feel dry; this man could and would break his neck if he wanted to. Until that very moment, Flame had never felt as if his life was truly at risk. There'd always been some kind of hope that maybe Ice wasn't so bad, maybe this was all just some kind of show he was putting on in order to make the kids obey him and there was no way he'd truly bring them direct harm.
He couldn't recall him ever being so wrong.
He drew in a deep breath. You're going to be alright. He told himself. Just do what he says and you'll be fine.
"What about her? Who's this?" Ice walked over to the projection and tapped on the second image.
"Misty, Cerulean Gym Leader, she trains water types-" Sparky began.
"And what does she do for the region?"
Flame tried to shuffle toward the others but a withering look from Nat made him stop in his tracks. Evidently, she was still happy to break his neck if need be. Ignus stared at him, eyes swimming with worry but didn't say anything. Flame was almost glad, it looked like the muk would take any opportunity to start strangling him again.
Rain seemed to sense that too, as for the first time in years he actually looked concerned for Flame's wellbeing. Without taking his eyes off him, he answered Ice's question. "Bikes. She exports bikes, doesn't she?"
"Good! Looks like you inherited some of your grandfather's smarts after all!" Rain seemed to bristle slightly at Ice's comment but he said nothing more, "Now, how about this man? Tell me about him."
Sparky answered immediately, "Koga, Gym Leader of Fuchsia City. He's responsible for running and maintaining the Safari Zone in his city." Straight to the point. Or more specifically, what the Gym Leader did outside of their duties in their Gym. That seemed to be what Ice was after as he nodded his head approvingly.
"Good, good. And what about this man?"
Flame looked over at the image the man was indicating to and almost automatically filled in what he needed to in his head. Ice was the one in control and - just like in pokemon battling - he was the one that you had to listen to or face the consequences.
Giovanni, Viridian City Gym Leader, trainer of ground types and known for being the most powerful and respected. Most famous for his formation and leading of Team Rocket - who are responsible for national security and law enforcement.
Rain recited what he knew, making sure to only include the information that Ice seemed to want to hear. Name, location of Gym and their specialty in regards to serving the region. The entire time, he was unable to look away from Flame. Just a few minutes ago, Ice was ready to murder him and - judging by the fact that his muk was still lingering nearby - he appeared to be more than ready to deal out more threats if he wanted to.
As far as he could see it, if they did what Ice wanted, he wouldn't hurt them. All they needed to do was obey his every word and they'd be as safe as... Well, as safe as they'd ever be. Which of course wasn't saying much.
It was just too bad that Rain despised people like Ice. People who demanded respect without earning it and who walked all over you if you failed to do as they commanded. They were everywhere: bullies, teachers, grandparents. What gave them the right?
But in this instance, the consequences were considerably more severe than if he were back at school disobeying his teacher. In the maze, defiance may as well be a death wish. So he folded his arms, grit his teeth together and fixed Ice with his most withering glare. He could see the man's frost coloured eyes twitch into a smirk that was covered by his mask.
"And this is common knowledge?" Ice questioned. Rain hated his eyes most of all. Those calculating blue eyes that could see into your soul. If only that mask of his covered his eyes rather than his mouth.
With a scowl, Rain nodded. He caught a glimpse of the girls doing the same.
"Law enforcement, hey?" Ice chuckled coldly, "Is that what they're telling you?" Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. "That was a question." Nat slid a little closer to Flame.
"Yes." Rain managed to force out. What did Ice want? All that he was asking them was common knowledge, if he wanted to test them in some way he wasn't doing a very good job at it.
A pause dragged by and Rain felt his breath catch in his throat. What now? It didn't look like I was going to ask them anything else. Would he challenge them to another battle next? He may have wanted nothing more than to kick that man into the dust, but even he knew that their pokemon would be insanely weaker than Ice's. He just hoped this time around, they'd be shown a little mercy. His eyes widened when he saw Ice retrieve a Poké Ball from his pocket. He was challenging them again!
Without saying anything more, Ice returned Nat and brushed passed them as he wandered out the doorway. Rain darted after him but he'd vanished as soon as he'd left the room.
Sparky's voice broke the silence.
"What."
Well, that summed up what everyone was thinking perfectly. All that had happened was Ice appeared, quizzed them about some of the Gym Leaders and threatened them a little. Well, the latter he understood as it was a way of maintaining control over them through fear. But anything else that had just taken place didn't add up at all in Rain's mind.
Maybe it was a code. Some kind of code that might help them get out of the maze. Something to do with the Gym Leaders. It sounded unlikely to him, but he couldn't think up any other explanation. But then, noting Ice ever did or said seemed to make much sense. Why should he start now?
But there had to be something important about this gathering. Was it just him, or did Ice look strangely satisfied when it was clear they knew about Giovanni and Team Rocket? That made no sense; everybody knew about it. The Viridian City Gym Leader had been running the privately-owned law enforcement company for almost over two decades. Surely Ice must have known that?
Leaf approached Flame cautiously, "Are you alright?" She asked him. He nodded as he wiped purple slime that no doubt had come from Nat off the front his clothes, though he still looked pretty shaken up.
"Oh, wait!" the four of them almost jumped out of their skins as Ice appeared in the doorway. The man payed no heed to their snarling pokemon as he held up a handful of what looked like CDs. Rain recognised them as TMs. "I almost forgot, you guys can have these!"
"We're not touching anything you're giving us." Rain snarled, feeling cruelly satisfied when Ice even looked taken aback by his comment.
"... Alright." He said, sounding strangely hurt, "I'll just..." He crouched down and placed the TMs on the floor, "You can... Use them... I mean, if you want..." Once more, he ducked out of sight in what almost looked like embarrassment.
That guy just kept getting weirder and weirder. Was he trying to make them like him or fear him? Rain had no clue. He cast a glance down at the TMs, torn between eagerly seeing which ones could benefit his pokemon or spitting on them. 'We're not touching anything you're giving us.' He'd said. But since they'd set foot inside the maze, that's all they'd been doing. With a sigh, he stooped down to pick them up. There were four in total, with the names of the moves scribbled onto them in black marker.
Fire Blast
Mega Drain
Skull Bash
Mega Punch
Wow. Rain thought to himself as he read the labels, Looks like we can do some serious damage with these! Of course, he was all too happy to issue some 'serious damage' upon Ice and his cronies. Skull Bash looked like a good start: Quinn was already great at running headfirst into things that using it as an actual attack should be no problem.
Flame looked up at him with a frown on his face as Rain handed his rival the TM for Fire Blast.
"You the only one that's really going to benefit from this." Rain told him bluntly, shaking the TM when he didn't take it, "And it's one of the strongest fire-type moves! If you don't want it, I'll just save it for myself to teach to one of my pokemon once I get one-"
Before he could finish, Flame hastily took the TM and held over Ignus, who squealed in excitement. The charmander bounced up and down like a toddler who'd eaten too much sugar before turning to one side and unleashing a gargantuan fireball at the wall. The stone instantly charred and cracked, chips of rock tumbling to the ground as the smoke dissipated. Ignus turned back to the trainers with a wide grin on her guilty face.
Kojo stepped warily away from the worryingly enthusiastic charmander, taking refuge behind his trainer. Leaf, on the other hand, was staring at the damage with a look of utter wonder on her slim face, "That is so cool."
There was something off about this, though. Rain wasn't entirely sure if the others could sense it judging by their excited expressions, but something was bugging him: yes, these were powerful and incredibly useful moves. They'd no doubt be extremely useful in helping them through the maze and - if it came to it - taking on Ice directly.
So if that was the case, why on Earth would Ice gift them with weapons that could defeat him?
AN: So, this is basically where the real AU kicks in.
I always wondered why nobody ever did anything about Team Rocket in the games despite the fact that they were obviously evil and everybody seemed to know that. So in this AU, they're still a high-profile organisation, their true motives are just unknown. That way, it makes a bit of sense as to why the Elite Four haven't just destroyed them already.
