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Chapter XI

"Wake up," said a near but faint voice, "Hello? Wake up."

Pikachu's eyes fluttered open but saw only blurred objects, he shuts his eyes and goes back to sleep.

"WAKE UP!"

WHACK!

A hard punch strike Pikachu straight in the cheek, this time his eyes shot opened and saw something yellow. At first he thought he was seeing himself in the mirror, until he saw the modified welding goggles. When his vision cleared, he knew who he was looking at, "You gave your friends quite a scare," said Tesla, with actual human words, but sounding slightly hoarse, "It wasn't easy reviving you, but I got it done."

Pikachu saw he was in some sort of cave. It was so small that he had no problem touching the ceiling with his hand, there was enough room to walk on his hind legs but not tall enough to jump. The walls weren't rock or stone, but mud. Just rich brown earth recently exposed, giving off a strong dirt smell. The place was lit up by a few light bulbs, the electric cords to them led outside where the drone of a generator advertised its presence. Somewhere at the wall was a HDTV, a small one that's perfect for a small Pokémon like Pikachu. Next to it was a small portable radio, its cord and the TV's were all connected with the same orange extended cord as the crude lamps. Embedded in the mud wall was a tall box whose design was similar to a gym locker, maybe used for storage.

Still sleepy, Pikachu tried to move. He discovered he was in a solid metal cage, thick 2cm bars and two slabs of heavy metal. Conveniently there was a blanket on the bottom of the cage, which helped served for patting. Despite it being cramped, the cage was tall enough for Pikachu to stand on his hind legs.

Where am I? He thought as he grabbed the metal bars for support, Pikachu could barely stand.

"You're okay ketchup boy," Tesla asked, "I'm sure you're tougher than that, son."

Pikachu recalled he was chasing Tesla, but that was all he could remember, "Pikachu!" he barked at Tesla, asking where was he.

"You're in my safehouse," said Tesla, "I built it overnight, I barely had enough energy to go home," he then sighed and shook his head, "I only wanted to sleep, but you guys showed up. Boy, you made me do so much work today that my joints are acting up."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu screamed at Tesla, he tried to thrash the bars loose with his hands but failed. He took a deep breath and tried to let out a Thundershock, "Pika-"

Tesla quickly reached into the cage and grabbed Pikachu's hand, for a few seconds everything went yellow. Pikachu felt his strength drain from his body as electricity flied all over the place, as if they were trying to escape. When Tesla released his grip, the electric sparks disappeared and Pikachu slumped onto the cage floor exhausted. He laid there for a moment then tried to do the Thundershock again, all he got was tiny sparks, "Don't waste your energy," said Tesla, "I saved your life Pikachu, you nearly died on your own accord."

"Pikachu?" Pikachu asked.

"You ran into my fence when the danger was obvious, you struck one of the wires with your chest and you were out of commission in a split second. Everybody was so heartbroken when they thought you died, Mark's Emolga cried so loud that it pierced my eardrums. But you survived, thanks to me."

Pikachu pulled himself using the cage bars, he was frightened in discovering how weak he was, "Pika, P Pikachu..." he asked what Tesla did to him.

"I just drained some of your energy," said Tesla, "Just enough to prevent you from casting any unnecessary electric attacks."

"Pikachu," Pikachu asked where Ash and his friends are, "Pikachu... Pikachu!"

"Not your concern, but they're not going to look for you right away. The FCPD is breathing down my neck at the moment and I'm running out of options, not to mention I now have to deal with the strain."

Tesla show a bandaged wound on his upper left arm, Pikachu was surprised he didn't see it at first. Looking closely, the bandage appeared to be a used towel. It was brown from soaking up blood, now it was just oozing out the excess, Pikachu felt a shiver down his spine when he remembered Mark's gun. Tesla saw the look in his eyes and calmed down, "May I?"

Before Pikachu can respond, Tesla held out his hand and paced it on the center of Pikachu's chest. He pressed it there for a moment, Pikachu began to feel more scared than angry. Whatever he was doing, he seemed to know how, "Your heart is strong," said Tesla, "Very strong, so tough that it was difficult getting it restarted."

Tesla retracted his hand and stepped away for a moment, Pikachu watched as he pulled open a small wooden box and reached inside. He stepped back when Tesla pulled out a gun.

It was a small handgun, at first glance it almost look like it was made out of straws. On closer inspection, Pikachu saw it was made mostly out of plastic. Tesla cocked the gun and glanced at Pikachu, "You're afraid of firearms, are you?"

"Pika Pika PIKA PIKA!" cried Pikachu as he pressed the back of the cage as far as he can go.

Tesla held it up, pointing it straight at Pikachu's forehead. Pikachu felt himself starting to hyperventilate as his blood pressure hit the roof. Tesla stood unfazed, he held his neutral expression as he pulled back the hammer on the gun with his thumb, "So tell me Pikachu: Are you afraid of the gun, or are you afraid of being shot by it?"

What's your point!? Pikachu thought, he tried to speak but his voice croaked.

He gulped as he gripped the cage bars behind him as tight as possible, Tesla let out a grin as his eyes got more serious, "The faster your heart beats, the faster you bleed. If you have enough adrenaline running through your system, you might not even feel it. I knew that the easy way, but I recently learned that the hard way. This won't hurt you one bit."

POP!

Pikachu gasped as his mouth shot wide open, he felt his blood freeze from the shock. Small fumes were escaping out of the tiny barrel, Tesla definitely pulled the trigger. Pikachu expected the gun to be so loud that it threatened to blow his eardrums, but it only gave off a loud pop that sounded similar to a click. Tesla held the barrel up to the ceiling, Pikachu saw that the magazine chamber was empty, "P-Pika?" Pikachu stammered.

"It's just a blank," said Tesla, "See."

He held up the small casing that he "fired," it was so small that Pikachu didn't actually see it fly out of the chamber, "2mm round," said Tesla, "They don't break the sound barrier, what you just heard was simply expanding gases from the gun. You would know the sound barrier is broken if your ears would deafen, the crack is far louder than the pop," Tesla noticed Pikachu trembling and fear, then frowned, "You expect me to just shoot you, I don't wanna hurt you!"

Pikachu felt his heart rate slow as he slid his back down the bars and sat on the floor of the cage, What was that all about? He thought.

Tesla dropped the gun back into the box and closed it, "If you thought you were alone, you're not. Look to your right."

Pikachu turned and saw Raichu in his own iron cage. The mouse Pokémon laid on his back unconscious, Pikachu wondered how he didn't notice him before. His cage was identical in size and shape as Pikachus, but it seemed too small for him to move as much, "Tubby here was a hard one to fish out of that hole," said Tesla, "Fell right into it, and you simply kept on going. Just ran past him, didn't even stop to help. I suppose we both have similar views on Raichus."

"Pika?" Pikachu asked what did he mean.

Tesla frowned, "Okay, nevermind then."

Raichu moaned and let out a snore, He looks really out of it. Pikachu thought.

"Anyway," said Tesla, "It's becoming night soon, there's something I need to take care of so why not you stay here until I return?"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu insisted on his release.

"Yeah," the old Pikachu said nonchalantly, "That will be soon."

Tesla turned and walked out of the small cave, a few seconds later the lightbulbs went dark and dead as the generator's hum ceased. Pikachu's vision nearly became pitch black as the only source of light now came from the mouth of the cave, which is now fading fast, "See you in a bit, boy." Tesla called from outside.

"Pikachu," cried Pikachu, "Pikachu!"

Pikachu tried to use Thunderbolt, but still got weak sparks around his cheeks. He looked at his hands in the dark, then looked back out the cave entrance. First he screamed at the top of his lungs, hoping for Tesla would come back and free him or Raichu would wake up. He was only answered with silence, Tesla was long gone and Raichu was still asleep. No, that old Pikachu can hear him, he's just ignoring him. Pikachu got up on his hind legs and try to muscle the bars off again. His 2nd attempt was more weaker than the last, Pikachu continued to scream and thrash at the bars until he no voice to scream and stamina to use.

Come back, Pikachu thought as he drop to his knees, Please, come back.

Pikachu slumped on the floor the cage and cried, fresh tears streak down his face and fell on the blanket. Pikachu stared at it for a moment, he grabbed the blanket and wrapped himself with it. He held his breath and listened, just the crickets from outside the cave and the sound of the Raichu snoring was all he heard. Tesla might not be back till daytime, the thought made things worse. The only comforting thing was that Pikachu wasn't alone, but he doesn't know this Raichu even though it had been friendly to him so far. What was Mark thinking on having a Raichu take on Tesla? Pikachu understands that it's difficult to beat a Raichu on its own, but Tesla was no ordinary Pikachu. Well, Mark might have now learned that the hard way.

The only hope now is Ash trying to find him, coming in like a white knight in shinning armor and saved him from this cage. He done that in the past, several times actually. But this was different. Pikachu had no idea where he was, nor he had no idea if he was still within the Faraday City limits. He couldn't have left the island, this is the only piece of land in 500 kilometers, I must be still on the island, Pikachu thought, It makes sense, but where?

Might as well ask Tesla that question tomorrow, Pikachu made himself comfortable in the blanket. It was next to impossible. His heart felt sore and broken from grief and sadness, or maybe that was from the electricity that both stopped and restarted it. Pikachu let out more tears until his eyes can't let out anymore, he wanted someone to hold him. Someone just to wrap their arms around him and make things feel better, but there was no one. No one...

"Pika..." Pikachu sobbed softly in a barely audible volume, so soft that the blanket muffled most of the sound. He shut his eyes and tried to sleep, it was going to be a long.

. . .

"It's midnight," Kissinger said into a radio mic, "The operation is a go."

"Roger K," said Trent, "Mission is a go."

Officer Kissinger put the mic back on its slot, 1,500 men, he thought, Under my watch for one night... Wow.

Kissinger sat behind the wheel of a black SUV, somewhere parked in a shady area of Tesla's forest. Through his night vision gear, he can see white humanoid figures snaked across the ground among the green background, all had their assault rifles out and ready for combat. Kissinger saw the signs his son boldly put up, They look quite good, he thought, If we get Tesla, they may be a waste of time. Who knows? Might be used as a memorial or something. It's appropriate regardless.

His cell phone rang and he answered it, "Kissinger speaking."

"Kissinger, this is Kissinger." It was Mark's voice.

Kissinger chuckled, "How are you doing, son?"

"I just have a bad feeling about all this," said Mark, "Tesla has hostages Dad, hostages. And some of those hostages are my friends' friends."

"We're aware of that, Mark."

"I shot him square in the arm. If it ain't hurting then, it should be hurting now. Tesla has no medical supplies, what if his wound get's infected and-"

"Don't worry about that Mark, you might have just done him a favor."

"I might, I might not. Either way, it's sure is a wake up call. Tesla might be armed, I'm not sure but we've confirmed that he's a crackshot after a quick visit to the library."

"He never used a firearm after Irvin's death."

"But he sure is playing with electricity, remember about that electric fence. If you can bypass the fence, you may be able to nab Tesla, since he has nowhere to go. Though if he figures out his fence is down, he may be able to escape into the night by playing Tarzan."

"We have this place surrounded, he's not going anywhere anyway. How's things at home?"

"The whole place is locked up tight and a weapon within easy reach, Ash is asleep and Emolga is snuggled up right beside me. I managed to get Plusle and Minun back from the Pokémon Center, they're still a little dinged up but they're alright. It will be a while before I call them out for a purpose or something."

"What about Ash's Pokémon?"

"His Oshawott seemed okay, though he's a bit bummed about Pikachu disappearing. Ash's Oshawott is hard to read, he keeps popping out of his Poké ball too many times that it just became ridiculous. He's worried about Ash, I don't think he understands what's at stake here."

"Don't worry about him, let Ash handle Oshawott."

"Okay Dad, I'm going to bed now."

"Alright son, I'll be back before 2AM, hopefully."

Mark paused for a moment, "Oh Dad, Emolga says he loves you."

"Tell him I love him back."

"Okay... Goodnight Dad."

"Goodnight."

Kissinger hanged up the phone and pocketed it, "So far coast is clear," said Trent on the radio, "No sign of the target, things are a little quiet out here."

. . .

"Please keep in mind that the target is behind the electric fence, you'll need to bypass the fence in order to get through."

Trent pressed the talk button to his radio headset, "Copy K."

He signaled the other SWAT team members to move faster and kept a short lookout for anything reflective. Trent never thought he would be leading the assault on Tesla, he had done raids before but not on one at this scale. First it was an idea just 2 days ago, now that idea's in motion. Success or failure will be determined if Tesla is either captured or killed, Trent almost thought that putting Tesla down was the plan. He couldn't live like this forever.

They should have gotten him 20 years ago. Trent thought as he tightened the grip around his M-16's handle.

The SWAT team had all of Tesla's forest surrounded in a 360 degree fashion. No way Tesla will sneaked out of here, they have Swoobats in the sky, pinging away at the ground with their sonar abilities to find Tesla's signature. So far, nothing. Not yet, at least. Trent kept his eyes focused up ahead, searching for anything yellow. So far nothing stood out of the ordinary, after a few more steps Trent spotted a glowing ball of yellow light.

He crouched, his fellow SWAT team members got the message and quickly followed his lead. Trent held still as he looked closely at the ball of light, and discovered it was just a light bulb, and underneath that was a portion of the electric fence Kissinger warned him about. Trent pressed the talk button on his headset, " TL 1, we have visual on the electric fence. TL 2, you're ready?"

"Affirmative." said TL 2

"Are you sure?"

"100%"

"What about you TL 3?"

"We have visual on the fence and are awaiting orders." said TL 3.

"Swoobats, take out the power source or sources of that electric fence. When we see the light bulbs go out, we'll take that as the all clear. You got that?"

"Swoobat." said the Swoobat leader.

The next few minutes were agonizing, Trent held his breath and stared at the glowing light bulb of the electric fence. Waiting for it to burn out. He's surprised that Tesla had this much resources to build such a barrier, let alone spend all his time on it. Since he was on his own, the perimeter of the electric fence must be a small one. This should be easy on sneaking in and bagging Tesla before he have a chance to react.

Tesla's light bulb went dark and the night reassured itself, "Confirm that the fence is offline." Trent said into his mic.

"Confirmed." said TL 2 and TL 3.

"Swoobat." confirmed the Swoobat leader.

"Move in, but keep it quiet."

Trent signaled his team to push through towards the fence, he didn't automatically saw it until the wires were pressing against his forehead, Careful. He said to himself as he pushed the wires aside.

These were the cheap kind, galvanized. These wires had probably had enough amps to stop a human's heart cold, the Swoobats did their job well and managed to destroyed whatever was powering it. Trent got out his multi-tool and clipped a few wires on the fence, then he and his team pushed through. Still, they kept quiet, holding onto the element of surprise. It was all they have, Tesla might be hiding somewhere as he slept. He could be sleeping, so comfortable to be behind his simple barrier. Now that was gone, and they were in his private space, he's going to get a rude awakening.

The unnatural objects began to show up out of the blue, Trent spotted this mound of some sort. When he approached it, he can feel the heat coming off of it. Was Tesla inside? When he pulled off some of the leaves, he saw it was one of the generators that powered the fence. It's main electrical panel was blown out, destroyed by the Swoobats., Maybe they'll get a promotion after this. Trent thought.

With nothing else to see, Trent continued searching the place and found a small fire pit. It looked well used. He touched the blackened ash of the pit, it was cold. It hadn't been lit recently. There was also a small pile of leaves laid out in an oval fashion, Trent pressed down on it and saw how soft it was.

His bed, he thought, This was Tesla's bed, and he's not in it. It's not even warm.

A feeling sank into the pit of his stomach, he pressed the talk button of his headset, "Target is not home. Repeat, target is not home."

"No sign of him anywhere?" TL 2 asked.

"This is definitely his camp, but he's not at home. Signs say he's been gone for hours, well a long time before we even arrived."

"Copy," said Kissinger, "Search the place for anymore clues where Tesla might be."

"Roger K."

Trent searched the place with the rest of the SWAT team, they found more disabled generators and several gallons of bio-diesel fuel. They also found a few containers filled with fresh water, along with a distillation system. Tesla barely had some camping gear to make his while, and the fact that there's no food around here backed up Kissinger's theory that Tesla is dependent on the scrap food Faraday City throws out.

Just when he finally finished searching the place, something caught Trent's eye. It looked like a white round bowl, placed somewhere near a small cavity. Wondering what it was, Trent carefully approached it and used the barrel of his rifle to see what's underneath.

He had no time to react when he heard the click.

TO BE CONTINUED...