Intro: Oh man. Okay, I suck. Seriously hardcore. It's been what...three months now since I last updated? Damn, I suck. Anyone who wants to kick me in the nads can form a line to my left.
Seriously though, I am really sorry for the massive delay. Unemployment really drained me and, with it, my creative impulse. I'm now employed again and beack to writing. I'm finishing this puppy post-haste. No more multi-month hiatisus.
Okay, on to Strand 3. It's a large one, (it did take me a few months to write it) so enjoy. If you need a refresher on what's happening, why not go back and read the previous 19 chapters? C'mon, it'll be fun. Note: In the last 3 months, I still do not own Pokemon or its characters.
Hybrids: Seventh Iteration
Strand 3: Manipulation
From the shadows of the bushes outside the hospital, Misty was sitting down, hiding in the foliage and watching the Pokefinder. Three new dots had appeared on the screen and three of the blips from their side had disappeared in the last few minutes and she was too stunned to say anything. Misty hoped to God one of them wasn't Ash.
Seconds later, Brock snuck back to the bush from behind another tree. He dropped to his knees and tossed the walkie-talkie he was holding into the bushes. "It's no use. No matter where I go, all I get is static." He sighed. "I think we can safely say someone is messing with the airwaves."
"They can do that?" Misty asked worriedly.
"If someone could generate enough of a disturbance voltage to mess with all radio frequencies, it would be pretty easy." Brock sighed. "Any other blips disappear since I left?"
"One more." Misty nodded weakly. Brock closed his eyes and cursed. "So even if we do see some new hybrids appearing we can't warn them."
"Yeah. We're effectively useless." Brock grumbled.
"Ash…" Misty whispered, placing her hand against the screen so her fingers could touch the dot she assumed was him.
"He'll be okay." Brock said, trying to reassure himself as well as her.
"I hope so." She said softly. Suddenly a new blip appeared on the Pokefinder screen. Misty and Brock centered in on it.
"Another hybrid?" Brock asked worriedly. Misty nodded. Then another blip popped up. And another. And another. Within seconds, seven large clusters of multiple dots began to move furiously across the screen.
"Oh my God…" Misty whispered as she watched the first mass of blips head toward the dot she believed to be Ash.
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"I kinda expected more Rockets to be coming our way." Ash said loudly as he and James made their way down one of the long corridors on the first floor of the hospital. His voice carried over the blaring of the alarm, but only barely. He was glancing around nervously. "The fact that we haven't run into any more groups since the lobby isn't as relieving as you would think."
"I know." James said back. "It means they know we're just a distraction. Which means they know there is more of us. Which means they know there are other groups."
"I don't even want to think about that." Ash sighed. "Well, we haven't heard anything from Misty and Brock yet, so there must not be a huge problem or-" Ash was cut off as the alarm immediately stopped going off. Ash and James both froze in place.
"What the hell?" James hissed. "They turned the alarm off?"
"I guess they realized we were trying to instigate panic." Ash growled. "Y'know, just once I'd like a plan to go off without a hitch. This 'one step ahead of us' thing is getting really old."
"Stay sharp." James said suddenly. "I think I hear something." Ash was about to respond, but he wisely shut up and listened. James was right. There was a strange noise. It kind of sounded like footsteps. Ash's eyebrows shot up as a large figure came stalking out from around a corner up ahead. It was tall male wearing only some ripped rags. His body was made of slick brown stone and his arms ended in sharp scythe-like blades rather than hands. He turned to face Ash and snarled menacingly.
"Oh, wonderful." James hissed under his breath.
"Kabu." The man growled in a deep voice. "Kabutops."
"It's another regressed hybrid." Ash spoke up.
"Well, I don't think one mentally unstable weirdo will be any problem for the both of us." James replied, raising his arms into a defensive pose. Ash nodded in agreement, but his expression fell as three more hybrids came around the corner behind the Kabutops. The first one was a short woman with blue skin, webbed feet and hands, a duckbill on her face and a red gem on her forehead. Next was a large bulky man covered in yellow fur with black stripes and a long tail drooping down from his backside. He had small antennae sticking out from his head that sparked as he walked. Finally, a young man with a hard, shell like body came into view, two pincer horns protruding far from his forehead. The horns were covered in thorns and looked able to grip things like a sharp vice.
"This could be considerably more of a problem." Ash said weakly.
"PINSIR!" The young man in the back shouted, pointing at Ash with his long, spindly arms and claws-like fingers. The other three screeched and charged at the duo as fast as they could.
"Shit!" James growled and jumped to the side. Unfortunately, the hallway was rather crowded and there wasn't much room for fighting or running. The hairy yellow man took a swing at James, his massive hand curling into a fist. James deftly dodges the first strike, then caught the second one in his hands. The impact of the punch was still enough to send James stumbling back a few steps, but he managed to hold onto the man's fist.
"Buzz Buzz!" The man growled in a deep voice before sending a large spark through his body and into his fist. The surge of power rushed out into James' body. The jolt managed to make him shake a bit, but it passed through his body harmlessly.
"When will you electric-types learn?" James sighed before yanking on the man's wrist. The Electabuzz hybrid stumbled forward and James drove his knee into the big man's gut. The man doubled over in pain and James let go of his wrist before reaching up, grabbing the back of the hybrid's head, and thrusting him down to the ground. As soon as he did this, though, a concentrated blast of cold water struck him in the chest, lifting him off his feet and sending him sailing down the hallway. He eventually hit the ground with a loud crash, his body soaked. "What the hell was that?" He groaned, trying to sit up. He looked over to the fallen Electabuzz and saw the blue-skinned woman standing behind him, glaring.
"Golduck." She said menacingly. James groaned and stumbled to his feet. It felt like all his strength had just been sapped out of him. He didn't realize a water attack would hit him so hard. His eyes widened as he saw a swirl of water start to encircle the woman's body and he leapt to one side as another blast of water flew by him.
Ash ducked and weaved from side to side as the Kabutops hybrid swung his scythe-like hands at him. The man growled angrily, frustrated at the lack of contact with his hits. For his part, Ash found it easy to maneuver around the attacks; it was very similar to his fights with Klaus and this guy was much more predictable than the Rocket captain was. Ash jumped back, dodging another slash. Two vines burst free from his back and wrapped around the rejected hybrid's wrists. The man grunted questioningly before Ash lifted him off his feet, swung him around and slammed him into the wall. Pieces of rock chipped off his body as he collided with the bricks. Ash swung him around again and the vines unraveled in mid-motion, sending the man flying down the hall and into the far wall with a loud crack.
Ash didn't get much of a reprieve because the Pinsir hybrid took the Kabutops' place quickly. The man lowered his head, the massive pincers opening up. Ash tried to jump to the side, but the horns clamped shut far too quickly. Ash's arms and chest were caught in the powerful grip of the pincers. The sharp barbs pierced his skin as the grip tightened, eliciting pained screams from Ash's throat. He tried to wriggle out of the hybrid's grasp, but it was too strong for him.
With a sudden jerk, the Pinsir opened his horns and chucked Ash into the air. Ash yelled as his body hit the ceiling hard. He came crashing back down to the ground, chunks of the stucco ceiling falling down next to him. With a groan, Ash rolled over onto his back in time to see the hybrid bend over, his horns pointing right at Ash. They opened up and started to glow a faint yellow color. The spines along the horns began to enlarge and get sharper. The yellow glow centralized along the inside of the horns, like a pair of ethereal blades.
"PINSIR!" He shouted and struck out at Ash, trying to catch him between the pincers. Ash quickly rolled backwards onto his feet, the horns just barely missing him. He took a few steps back as the hybrid recuperated from the powerful attack. Over the Pinsir's shoulder, Ash noticed with a grimace that the Kabutops hybrid was getting back up. He took a few more steps back and collided with James. They both flipped around to face one another. James looked past Ash at the Pinsir hybrid.
"I'll take the bug-man if you get the duck-lady." He said.
"Fair enough." Ash nodded. They split up and headed to their respective targets. Ash saw the female hybrid eyeing him angrily as he headed towards her. Then she was suddenly obscured from view as a large, fuzzy man came between the two of them and charged at Ash, screaming at the top of his lungs. Ash narrowed his eyes and lifted his hands up into the air. His wrists split open and two razor leaves shot into the air, flying up and sticking into the ceiling. As the Electabuzz hybrid got close, two vines ripped through Ash's back and shirt, then flew up and wrapped around the razor leaves. With a jump, Ash used the vines to propel himself into the air. The two leaves could not support his weight and quickly popped free from the ceiling they were stuck in, stopping Ash's ascent. He had gained enough air, however, to grab the confused hybrid's head and leapfrog over him. The man stumbled in shock from the sudden force to the back of head and tripped to the ground as Ash sailed over him onto the ground.
The Golduck hybrid glared at Ash as he landed and a swirl of concentrated water began to encircle her body. She thrusted her webbed hands out and the swirl formed into one singular blast and shot at Ash. The boy quickly ducked his head down and the blast passed by overhead, striking the back of the rising Electabuzz and knocking him back down to the ground.
Ash's vines stretched out and wrapped around the woman's wrists. She struggled against Ash's power, but he held strong. He pulled hard with the vines and the woman stumbled forward and into Ash's fist. She doubled over in pain and Ash slammed his elbow into the back of her head, sending her to the ground.
James swiped his claws furiously at the retreating Pinsir hybrid, who snarled and swung his arms about as he tried to ward the attacker off. "What's wrong?" James taunted angrily. "Can't handle the pressure?"
"PINSIR!" The hybrid screeched, and his back hit the far wall. James smiled and drove both of his claws into the man's chest. The hybrid screeched in pain as blood started to run down his body from the two wounds in his torso. It thrashed about wildly as the red rivulets flowed down to his feet.
James grinned darkly, but his expression faded as he saw the Kabutops hybrid jump up from behind the Pinsir and leap over its head at James, scythes in strike position. With a curse, James roughly pulled his claws free from the shelled body of the bug hybrid and jumped back quickly. The Kabutops landed where James used to be, swinging his arm around. The tips of the scythes caught James' body, leaving two long cuts along his chest. James stumbled back and fell to the ground. The Kabutops hybrid charged forward and swung his scythes down at the fallen man. James quickly brought his claws up and blocked the hits as quick as he could.
"Fuck! Ash!" He yelled. Ash turned quickly and saw James' predicament. He held his hands out and a torrent of razor leaves burst free from his wrists striking the Kabutops from the side and sending it stumbling back from the hits. The Pinsir had managed to recover by now and was charging at James, head down and horns split apart, ready to clamp down. They radiated a faint yellow aura, turning into a ghostly blades along the inside of the pincers. James quickly grabbed the dazed Kabutops hybrid by the arm and pulled him out in the way, pushing him into the Pinsir's way. Caught off-guard, the Pinsir hybrid clamped his pincers shut quickly and violently. There was an explosion of blood as the ethereal yellow blades sliced right through the Kabutops' midsection. It screeched for only a second before it died, the top half falling to the ground seconds before the legs gave out and the bottom half crumpled as well. The blood that coated the Pinsir's horns dripped down over the irate hybrid's face.
"One down!" James shouted to Ash. Ash nodded and turned back to the Golduck girl, who was struggling to her feet. Ash's vines came up and prepared to strike at her like whips, until Ash saw something out of the corner of his eyes. With a quick movement, he stepped out of the way as the lumbering Electabuzz hybrid tore by him, lightning-infused fists swinging wildly. It stopped just seconds before colliding with the Golduck hybrid. He turned around quickly and his eyes widened when he saw the bright yellow glow in his eyes.
"You're toast!" Ash yelled and opened his mouth wide. A concentrated beam of light fired out and tore right through both hybrids. The Electabuzz's eyes rolled into his head as the beam died out, leaving a massive cauterized hole through his chest. The large hybrid collapsed to the ground, dead. The Golduck hybrid was already on the ground, the upper part of her chest and neck vaporized. Her head was lying a few feet away, the bottom sections singed and burned. Ash felt some bile and vomit in his throat, but pushed it away easily.
"T-two down!" He shouted back at James.
"Show-off." James growled to himself as he continued to fight with the Pinsir hybrid. The bug man snarled and snapped his pincers at James. James took a step back and held his hands at his sides. A flurry of sand started to build around his feet before flying through the air into the Pinsir's eyes. The hybrid screeched and stood up straight, clawing at his face. James dove forward and drove his right claws deep into the man's skull, right between his eyes. The Pinsir screeched in torturous pain. Spurts of blood shot out against his face, but James didn't care. He quickly twisted his hand ninety degrees, tearing a hole in the creature's face. It's body went stiff and rigid before sliding off the claws and falling backwards onto the cold ground.
James took a few deep breaths before wiping his claws on his pants. "Good fucking riddance." He growled.
"Oh man." Ash sighed, bending over to catch his breath. "Where did those things come from?"
"I don't know, but I bet there's more." He motioned to Ash to stand up. "Come on. We need to hurry."
"Wait a second. Don't you think we should try and figure this shit out?" Ash asked. "What if we run right into another group?"
"We fight it out." James said simply. "Time is running out and I'm not letting Giovanni escape again. The staircase to his office should be close to here. Let's get going."
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Misty sighed in relief as the four new blips disappeared from the screen. The other groups were still running around like mad, but they weren't near any of the teams. At least not yet, anyway. "He's safe." She whispered just loud enough for herself to hear.
"What now?" Brock asked. "Do we just stay here and pray?"
"I don't know. We need to warn the others somehow." Misty groaned. "Is there anyway we can unjam the signal, or something?"
"I don't think it works that way." Brock shook his head. "We'd need to find the source of whatever's creating the disturbance."
"I don't think you'll be doing that." Said a gruff voice from behind them. Misty and Brock quickly flipped around to see a Rocket grunt holding a pistol that was aimed right at them. "I think you'll be coming with me now."
"Oh, shit." Misty said softly, backing up from the gun's barrel. The man motioned with his gun barrel for her to get close together to Brock.
"No funny business, understand?" He said. His eyes caught Brock moving for a rock and he quickly swiveled around to aim his gun. He fired and blasted a hole in the ground where the rock was. Brock recoiled quickly. "Oi! Didn't you hear me? I said no funny bus-" He was cut off as Misty scooped up a stone and chucked it at the Rocket, hitting him in the temple. He yelled out in pain and stumbled back, clutching his forehead. "You bitch!" He snarled angrily, striding up to her. His knuckles went white as he tightly gripped the handle of the pistol. "You're gonna pay for that!" He brought the butt of the gun down in a rapid arc. Misty quickly brought her arm up. It was fast enough to block the strike, but the Rocket grunt was still able to knock her to her back with the force of the hit. The man went in for a second blow, but collapsed to the ground as Brock smashed the Pokefinder over his head. The machine broke in two, parts and chips flying everywhere, and Brock dropped the two halves of the machine on the ground.
"I guess they know we're here." He said unhappily.
"That was close." Misty exhaled sharply. "Thanks Brock."
"No problem." He dusted his hands off. "But we need to get out of here."
"We can't leave Ash behind!" Misty exclaimed.
"Well, what else do you propose we do? They'll send more Rockets out to get us."
"I don't know, Brock. I don't know." She shook her head. "There has to be something we can do…"
"Wait!" Brock hissed suddenly. He crouched down in the grass and Misty quickly followed his lead.
"What is it?" She whispered back. Brock shushed her and pointed over his shoulder. She looked up and saw several light beams penetrating the dark sky. Misty knew they had to be using flashlights. They were looking for them. "Dammit!"
"We have to get somewhere safe." Brock said. "And fast. We're not going to be able to leave the premises fast enough."
"Let's go into the hospital!" Misty exclaimed suddenly.
"Are you insane?" Brock hissed. "That's like hiding from a weedle in a beedrill's nest!"
"It's the only place close enough to hide!" She rationalized. "We might be able to find Ash and he can protect us."
"No, Misty! This is stupid!" He crouched further as a beam of light went over his head.
"We don't have much a choice. Like you said, we need to go soon." She got down on her stomach. "C'mon…we'll go in through the front entrance. Ash and James have probably cleared it out by now."
"This is crazy." Brock grumbled before getting on his stomach and crawling after her. He took a second to stop by the unconscious Rocket and take his gun before following Misty toward the hospital's front doors. "So fucking crazy."
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Endless torrents of water rained down on Beau as she tried in vain to dodge the rapid attacks from Lance, who was swiping his hands at her like a deranged monster. It was almost like a dance; he moved ahead with one foot, she retreated with the other. She was overwrought with fear, but she was almost thankful for it. It was forcing her to rely on instinct rather than thinking, and that was all that was keeping her alive right now.
"I want to crush your head with my bare hands!" Lance said enthusiastically.
"S-stay back!" Beau yelled back, unable to keep her legs from shaking. Her eyes darted over to Laila and Oliver momentarily. Oliver was still out cold and nothing Laila was doing was waking him up. She hoped Oliver would get up soon; he was their only real hope against Lance. Seth had gone for reinforcements, but she didn't know if he would be able to find anyone. Suddenly, it was back to the struggle at hand as Lance made another attempt for her with his hands. She jumped back quickly. She had been able to keep him chasing her for a little while, but she couldn't keep him occupied forever. She was already getting tired and she knew she would collapse soon.
"Oliver!" Laila was screaming at the boy's limp body, her voice filled with fear and worry. "Please get up! We need you!" But the boy didn't respond. "Oliver, please!" She wailed, shaking his shoulders.
"Laila!" Beau screamed suddenly. Laila looked up and saw the goldeen hybrid was backed up against the wall and Lance was right in front of her.
"Hee hee hee…POP!" Lance giggled and thrust his hand out quickly, grabbing Beau by the face. His hands started to shake and the girl let out a muffled cry, struggling against the tightening grip.
"Beau!" Laila exclaimed. She held her hands out and a swirling beam of water formed around her arms. The beams joined together into a large blast of water that shot out at Lance. He turned to face Laila just in time to catch a face full of water. He stumbled back and lost his grip on Beau who dropped to the ground, frantically breathing. Lance hit the ground hard, but wasn't down for long.
"That wasn't nice!" He exclaimed, getting up. "Now I have to take care of you!" Laila steeled herself for Lance's attack, but wasn't expecting two ethereal green dragons to suddenly encircle her body like a coil of rope. Before she knew what was going on, she was bound by the translucent dragons.
"Hey! What gives?" She wailed. Then she screamed in pain as the dragons started to constrict against her body, crushing her. The girl slowly rose into the air.
"Laila!" Beau cried out. She tried to stand up, but soon found a pair of swirling green dragons wrapping around her too. They constricted tightly and lifted her off the ground just like Laila. Lance howled with laughter as the ethereal beasts brought the two close to him. Once they were in range, he grabbed them by the throats. The dragons vanished and the girls started coughing heavily as air returned to their lungs. They tried to fight Lance, but their energy was drained from the twister attack. They didn't have the power to fight back.
"Now it's fun time!" Lance smiled and began to crush their throats with his hands. The girls grunted and cried out until they were unable to make any more noise. Beau's normally pale face started to turn blue and Laila's eyes rolled up into her head. Their twitching body parts started to slow and stop all together. "Pop, pop, POP!"
"STOP IT!" Oliver screamed, running full speed at Lance. The Dragonair hybrid looked down in confusion at the boy who was charging at him, his head down like a ram. He didn't have time to react before Oliver slammed his bone helmet into the man's stomach. The air rushed out of Lance's lungs and his grip on the girls throats lightened. Oliver reached up and cracked his bone weapon against Lance's elbows, causing his hands to open up as a natural reaction. Both girls fell to the ground next to Oliver, choking and coughing to try and catch their breath. Oliver wanted to check on them to make sure they were all right, but he didn't have time. He had to lead Lance away.
"C'mon ugly!" Oliver taunted and slammed his head into Lance again, knocking the big man back. The two girls took the opportunity to move away from the fight so they could regain their strength. "Let's see you do that to someone who can fight back!" He started to hit Lance with his bone. The hybrid didn't so much as flinch from the hits.
"Insolent pest!" Lance yelled, regaining his balance. "You die now!" He drew his arm around and backhanded Oliver across the face. Oliver stumbled back, but managed to keep his equilibrium. He panted wearily, wishing the constant spray of water wasn't draining him of energy.
"Is that all you got, you third-rate?" He taunted between breaths.
"No, I also do this." Lance said, narrowing his eyes. His body started to glow a ghostly white color. Oliver stopped in place and cocked his head to the side. Now what the hell is he doing? Oliver wondered. Suddenly, Lance yelled and the whiteness that covered his body washed off like paint and formed in a singular point in front of him. Then the point exploded into a massive beam of condensed energy that tore ahead right at Oliver.
"Fuck!" Oliver screamed and tried to jump to one side, but he wasn't quick enough. The beam was gone within a second, but the aftermath was readily apparent afterward. Everything in the beam's path had been completely disintegrated, including several chairs, boxes and a chunk of the far wall. Oliver's dormant body was lying face-down on the ground and most of both legs were completely gone. The ends of the small stumps that now jutted from his hips were completely cauterized.
"OLIVER!" Laila wailed, her voice still strained. Tears ran down the side of her face. "Oh, God no! Oliver!"
"Now, where was I?" Lance turned back to Laila and Beau. "Oh, right! Popping heads!"
"You bastard!" Laila screeched.
"You talk too much. Your voice hurts my head." Lance focused on her and the twin ethereal dragons wrapped around her once more. She tried to break free, but while the creatures managed to form a grip on her, her hands went through them like ghosts. Unable to stop the attack, she had no choice but to sit there, immobile. "You stay for now. You get popped next." He turned to Beau. "You first."
"No! Stay away!" Beau held her hands out. "I…I'm warning you!"
"Warning me?" Lance laughed heartily. "You think you can stop me?" He continued to get closer to Beau. The girl closed her eyes opened her mouth and shot a stream of water at Lance. The weak trickle barely slowed him down. Beau opened her eyes and saw the only thing she did was make his chest wetter. She groaned in defeat. She really was worthless.
"Beau! Run!" Laila screamed.
"It's no use." She whispered, closing her eyes again. "It's really no use."
"Good. No more fighting. Just popping." Lance reached for her face. "Let's see some blood."
"Oh, God." Laila whispered, cringing. Beau just bit her lip as she felt Lance's hands on either side of her wet face. His grip began to tighten and she felt the pressure on her head. Her frantic thoughts rushed through her head. I don't want to die…I don't want to die…I don't want to die!
"Eh?" Lance asked, suddenly confused. In a weird turn of events, the girl's horn on her head started to spin. It slowly increased in speed and Lance cocked his head to the side. "What's with the spinning?" He asked her. Then, all of a sudden, a bright orange spinning cone of energy extended out from the horn and pierced Lance's chest. There was a distinct shattering noise and Lance's eyes opened wide. Several pieces of red crystal tumbled down out of Lance's shirt and crashed onto the ground. Lance looked down at where the gem in his chest used to be. Blood started to trickle down out of the corner of his mouth. "Smash?" He asked weakly. Then his eyes rolled into his head and he fell to the ground, dead as a doornail.
The ethereal dragons around Laila vanished and she fell back against the wall. Her eyes were wide at what she had just seen. "Horn drill…" She whispered to herself. Beau opened her eyes slowly and looked down at Lance's dead body. She gasped in complete surprise.
"What…what happened?" She asked.
"You killed him." Laila said in admiration. "Beau! You did it!"
"I did? How?" She asked, confused.
"You used a horn drill attack and got him through his chest! You even shattered that thing on his chest!"
"I didn't even know I could do that!" Beau smiled. Then she laughed out loud and threw her arms around Laila. The other girl responded in kind and hugged her back, savoring the tight embrace. Then she looked past Beau's shoulder and her expression fell as she saw Oliver's mangled body on the floor.
"Oliver!" Laila screamed, quickly pushing Beau away. She got up and ran over to his side. She dropped to her knees and turned him over onto his back. "Oliver! Oh, Oliver! Please don't die on me!" Her eyes trailed to the stumps were his legs used to be. Her eyes filled with tears. "What did he do to you?" She whispered.
"Is he okay?" Beau asked, hurrying over to Oliver.
"I don't know!" Laila cried. "Oliver, if you can hear me, please wake up! I don't want to lose you!" Oliver didn't stir. He remained perfectly still. Worriedly, Laila put her hand on the boy's chest. She couldn't even feel it moving the tiniest bit. "No. No, no, no." She whispered to herself. "Please, no."
"Oh, God." Beau covered her mouth with her hand.
"Oliver!" Laila sobbed, burying her face in his burnt and scarred chest. "I never…I never got to…DAMMIT!" She let out a scream and pounded his chest with her fist in frustration.
"Ugh!" Oliver grunted in pain at the hit. Laila immediately sat up, her eyes stinging with tears. She stared down at Oliver's face. His eyes were opening slowly and his face was screwed up in pain. "What the hell was that for?" He asked. "I'm in a bit of pain here."
"Oliver!" Laila yelled and threw her hands around his neck, hugging him tightly. He wheezed and grunted again.
"Laila! Did you miss the part about the pain?" He asked weakly.
"Sorry." She whispered into his collar. "But I'm not letting go of you yet."
"Beau? Where's Lance?" He asked the other girl. She merely pointed to the body. "He's dead? How?"
"I killed him." Beau said, a little bit of pride showing.
"What? Really?" He asked.
"Yeah." She nodded.
"…Really?"
"YES." Beau said definitively. Oliver decided to drop the matter and return his attention to the girl around his neck.
"Okay, Laila…I need to breathe now." Slowly, she let go of him and sat back on her knees. She wiped the tears from her puffy red eyes and smiled at him.
"I'm just glad you're okay." She said softly.
"Yeah, I'm glad you girls are okay too." Oliver nodded. "But we have to go. Help me up, will you? I can't feel my legs." Both girls fell deathly silent. "What?" Oliver asked. He looked down and his eyes went wide. "Oh my God. My…my…"
"He hit you with some beam." Beau explained. "It disintegrated your legs."
"You are okay, aren't you?" Laila asked worriedly.
"My legs…" Oliver said softly. "This is unreal. I don't even feel pain. They're just…gone." He quickly snapped out of it. There would be time for that later. "Forget about it. Moving on is what's important."
"We'll help you get around." Laila said quickly.
"No, you girls need to go." Oliver shook his head. "This place still isn't safe. Just leave me here."
"No way!" Laila said. "We're not abandoning you now!"
"You damn well are!" Oliver growled, but the girls ignored him.
"Beau…can you find something we can use to carry him around?" Laila asked.
"In a hospital?" Beau responded. "What do you think? This is the emergency ward. There has to be a few stretchers or wheelchairs around."
"Stop it!" Oliver hissed. "As acting commander of this squad, I order you two to GO!"
"What are you going to do? Stop me?" Beau asked him, almost tauntingly. Oliver growled, but said nothing else. Satisfied, she went back to looking for a transport device. Laila turned back to face Oliver.
"Sorry…but we're not going to leave you. You lost your legs to protect us and we are going to return the favor." The boy just sighed and nodded in acknowledgement. Laila bit her lip and squirmed a bit before continuing. "Umm…Oliver?"
"What?"
"When this is all over…if, you know, we both survive and everything…do you want to go out to a movie…or something?"
"Huh?" Oliver turned to face her. "Did you just…did you just ask me out?"
"Errr…kinda." Laila blushed and looked away. Oliver gave her a funny look.
"We're in the middle of a dangerous espionage mission and you ask me on a date?" Laila didn't respond and just averted her eyes shamefully. "You are the strangest girl I've ever met." Laila's face burned bright red in embarrassment. Oliver groaned and set his head back down on the floor. He closed his eyes and let out a slow sigh. "So…what kind of movies do you like?" He asked her.
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When Gene finally stopped running, he was deep in the basement of the hospital. He found himself in a dark supply closet that was full of gurneys and stretchers. He listened intently, but couldn't hear anything outside of the door. Hopefully, Sonny won against Clayton, but he doubted it. Clayton was one sadistic son of a bitch and Giovanni had chosen him for the Project 66 program specifically for those reasons.
He finally felt it was safe and set the mummified girl he was holding down on a gurney. He had made little air holes for Kit, but it was still constricting for her to be wrapped up like that. Careful not to hurt her, he made small tears in the sticky string with his horns before grabbing on and tearing it off. Within a few minutes, he had freed her enough for her to help out. The string piled up on the ground and Kit sat down on the edge of the gurney.
"Are you okay?" Gene asked her. Kit just nodded numbly. "Are you able to continue?"
"I guess so." She squeaked out softly.
"Look, I know you're sad about Archie, but…"
"Please." She held up a hand. "Just don't say anything, okay?"
"Okay." Gene promised. "We'll stick with the task at hand." He stood up and headed to the door. "We'll wait here for a bit, then when we're sure everything's safe, we can-" The door suddenly erupted into flame and Gene jumped back in surprise. As the door crumbled from the intense flames, Gene saw a hybrid standing just beyond the door. He was a nimble boy with red skin and a long tail with a flame on the end of it. His fingers ended in long claws.
"Charmander!" The hybrid yelled at them, then charged into the room through the flames. Gene winded his arm back and punched the hybrid in the face. The impact was enough to send it back through the door and onto the ground. Gene knew this fight was far from over though.
"Kit! Hide under one of the stretchers!" Gene yelled to her. The girl obediently moved under the white cloth of a gurney and watched intently from underneath. Gene cracked his knuckles and jumped though the flaming doorway at the Charmander hybrid. The boy rolled out of the way and jumped to his feet. He took a deep breath and exhaled a mouth full of fire. Gene stepped to one side as the stream of flames shot through the air. He drew back and punched the boy again, slamming his knuckles into the side of his face. The hybrid fell back down onto his back. Gene jumped into the air and tried to land on the hybrid's body, but he rolled out of the way once more and Gene just landed on the floor.
"Stay still!" He hissed and took a swing at his opponent. The Charmander dodged it and scratched Gene's face, leaving long gashes down from cheek to cheek. Gene howled in rage and stumbled back. The boy opened his mouth again to fire out another ball of flame, but Gene jumped back into the fray and belted him in the stomach. The boy back up against the wall next to the burnt doorway and slammed against it hard. Gene took advantage of the moment and punched the boy's gut again. The Charmander hybrid squealed in pain and doubled over. Gene grabbed the hybrid's shoulders and tossed him against an adjacent wall, which he hit hard and slumped to the ground. Gene didn't want to take chances and rushed over to the body, picking it up and throwing it back at the wall with the burnt door. The hybrid's limp body slammed against the wall again and fell to the ground, motionless. Gene took a deep breath and wiped his brow. Then a hand grabbed his shoulder and whipped him around suddenly.
"Boo." Sonny said to him and punched him square in the face. Gene stumbled back, blood shooting from his broken nose. The Mankey hybrid jumped at him again, this time grabbing Gene's two horns, one in each hand. Gene struggled, but Sonny held him tight in place. "My horoscope always did say I was good at grabbing the Tauros by the horns." He smirked and made a quick motion with both hands in opposite directions. He used just enough force too; the horns broke off in Sonny's hands like icicles. Blood gushed out of the Gene's head as he fell to the metal floor, wailing in torturous pain. Sonny dropped the horns to the ground at approached Gene's flailing body. The man was twitching in a pool of his own blood.
"Clayton…" He hissed.
"Very good!" Sonny exclaimed. "You're really catching on!" Sonny's visage vanished into pink goo before becoming Clayton again. "You know, I told boss just to kill you instead of experimenting on you. But he wouldn't listen to me and now look. You just had to go and blab to everyone, didn't you?"
"Go to hell." Gene growled. He swung his leg around to try and trip Clayton. But Clayton was too fast; he jumped into the air and landed on Gene's chest. The Tauros hybrid coughed up some blood from the impact. Clayton stepped off of the man's body lightly and gracefully.
"Tsk tsk." Clayton shook his head. "Whatever will I do with you, you naughty little traitor?" He tapped his chin for a few seconds before seeming to get an idea. "Oh! I know!" His facial features melted into a goop before reforming into that of Voulger. His body soon followed suit. "You know this face?"
"Voulger Heimell." Gene said slowly. "I know the bastard."
"Knew. You knew the bastard." Clayton corrected him. "And that's good. Because I'd like you to be fully aware of what happens next." He lifted his red arm up above his head. The metal ceiling began to shake and waver.
"What are you…" Gene started then his eyes widened. A large chunk of the steel ceiling broke away from the rest of it. Voulger swished his arm down quickly and the chunk of ceiling slammed down onto the ground at a high velocity, crushing Gene beneath it with a sickening crunch of shattered bones and immediately followed by a squishing noise. Then all was silent. The dust that was kicked up from the ceiling chunk finally settled. Blood began to seep out from under the metal slab and run along the creases of the floor.
"Now that felt good." Voulger smiled. He turned back into Clayton before cracking his neck and joints. "Death is such a good way to get the blood pumping." He stepped up onto the slab and walked across it. He stood by the doorway and looked into the storage room. The flames had mostly gone out by this point. "Hello?" Clayton asked. "Little girl? Are you in there?" He was met by just silence. He licked his lips. "I know you're in there. I can see the stringshot residue on the floor. Come out now, and I may not kill you. I happen to like young girls." He grinned evilly. "Don't make me gut you first. I think we'll both enjoy it more if you are in one solid piece, don't you think?" He waited, but still got no response. "Fine. I guess it's the hard way." He began to step into the room when he heard a rustling from beside him. The reject hybrid was getting back up.
"Charmander!" It yelled at Clayton. Clayton just sighed.
"Salazar." He said evenly. The hybrid froze in place, then fainted to the ground, out like a light. "Fucking beasts." Clayton snorted. "Such abominations." He turned back to the room. "Now then, little girl. Let's have some fun, hmm?"
Suddenly, there was a crash from somewhere outside the room. "Oh? What is that?" Clayton asked. He turned back to the room. "You got lucky this time little girl. But I will be back for you. And you will know the true meaning of pain." Then he was gone, running after the source of the disturbance.
From under one of the gurneys, Kit began to cry to herself. First Archie, now Gene. She was truly alone now. She desperately didn't want to be here anymore, but she had no choice. She was stuck here and she would have to deal with what comes. But for now, all she could manage to do was weep for her dead friends.
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Unbeknownst to Kit, less than fifty feet away, Gary Oak was crawling through a small ventilation shaft. He grunted and groaned as he stuffed himself into the tight area, trying to make progress.
"This is ridiculous." He grunted. "It's a good thing I'm not claustrophobic. Are you sure this is the right way?" He asked his companion who was right in front of him. All he got as a response was a quick nod. "You better be right." Gary sighed. His companion shot him an incredulous look. "Yeah, I suppose you would know best, wouldn't you? Fine, fine; lead on." The two continued through the vent in silence and Gary prayed they would reach their destination soon before he has a chance to get stuck.
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Misty and Brock found themselves in the center of the main lobby. There were dead Rockets littering the floor of the room. Brock fingered the handle of the gun he was holding nervously. Misty was covering her mouth to keep from throwing up. The stench of blood was heavy in the air and the gruesome scene only added to her uncomfortable feeling.
"I guess they did make short work of them." Brock said. He turned to Misty. "Are you going to be okay? Do we have to…?"
"No, I'm fine." Misty assured him. She lowered her hand. "I'm fine. I was just caught off guard." She looked around the room. "Where do you suppose Ash is?"
"I have no idea." Brock sighed. "This hospital is huge. He could be anywhere."
"Well, we should get looking." Misty said impatiently. Standing around in plain view is a bad idea and I want to get out of this room as fast as we can."
"Fair enough." Brock said. "Let's go for this hallway here." He pointed to a small branch-off corridor leading down to the center of the hospital. "Damn, I wish I could remember more from our last time here."
"Well, that's as good as any." Misty nodded. "Let's hurry." The duo dashed down the hallway in an attempt to find Ash. Unfortunately, they ran into another problem altogether. And that problem was holding an automatic rifle.
"Oh Shit!" Brock exclaimed as they almost ran right into the Rocket guard, who was pointing his weapon at them menacingly.
"Drop it." He hissed at Brock. The man groaned and opened his hand up, letting the handgun fall to the floor with a harmless clang. The guard scowled and motioned the tip of his gun to the floor. "Down on your knees." He hissed. The duo reluctantly dropped to their knees slowly, frantically trying to figure out how to get out of this predicament. The Rocket's scowl eventually curled up into a smirk. "We're supposed to kill any interlopers, but since you two are unarmed, I think I will take you hostage. We might be able to use you for leverage."
Suddenly, the smirk on his face disappeared as he felt something tear through his back. A large spike drove through his body, protruding out from his chest. Splotches of blood landed on Brock and Misty's shirts, much to their disgust. The Rocket screamed in pain as he was lifted off the ground by the spike. He was quickly chucked against the wall, hitting it with a loud smack, leaving a blood stain on the wall. Both Brock and Misty watch the body flop to the ground in a lifeless heap, and then turned to see the bruised figure in the hallway, blood dripping from the spikes at the end of his arms.
"How's that for leverage, asshole?" Nathan growled at the dead body on the floor. He turned back to the duo on the floor. "Are you guys, okay?" He asked.
"Good timing, Nathan." Brock exhaled sharply. "That was close."
"What are you two doing in here anyway?" He asked. "This isn't exactly safe for non-hybrids. Hell, it's not safe here for us hybrids. You're lucky you've survived this long."
"We got ambushed outside and ran in here." Brock informed him.
"Have you seen Ash?" Misty asked worriedly.
"Not since we split up, no." Nathan shook his head. His wings fluttered a bit due to a muscle spasm. "He's probably still with James."
"I hope he's okay." She sighed.
"We can't stay here for long." Nathan said, changing the subject. "We can try for the secret path that Gene's squad used to get in here. You may be able to leave quietly that way."
"I want to stay and help Ash." Misty spoke up.
"I don't think you'd be any help where he's going." Nathan shook his head. "Sorry, but it's the truth." Misty shuddered at the implications of Nathan's words. Ash's last kiss still lingered on her lips and the foreboding feeling she felt afterward weighed on her mind. "C'mon, you two. Let's get you out of this hellhole." He started to walk down the alley and Brock and Misty followed after him.
"Nathan?" Misty asked eventually. "Why are you by yourself? Where's Amy and rest of your squad?" Nathan faltered for a second, but regained his composition and continued walking.
"I dunno. Yuki, Amy and I got separated." He said simply.
"What about Cole?" Brock asked. Nathan didn't respond. Brock's eyes dropped the ground. "Oh."
"I'm sorry." Misty said softly.
"We're getting close." Nathan said, switching the topic again. "Keep your voices low and maybe we won't-" He stopped suddenly and flipped around. "Get down!" He screamed and Brock and Misty immediately dropped to the ground. A concentrated blast of dark blue energy shot through the air, zooming right over Brock and Misty's heads. Nathan stepped to the side quickly as the beam struck the far wall of the hallway. The area that got hit immediately froze into ice. Nathan turned back around at the short man who was covered head to foot in shaggy, brown hair with two long tusks jutting out from where its mouth is. Nathan's needle like appendages were suddenly illuminated with a bright glow and then a beam of yellow-green light struck the man on the chest. The strike went right through him and blood splashed into the air.
"SWINE!" He howled in agony, struggling to stand. Soon he was joined at his side by a woman with bright blue skin and long leaves jutting from her head where she should have had hair. She glared at Nathan.
"Get up and run!" Nathan yelled.
"What?" Misty asked, her voice full of fear and confusion.
"The halls are filled with hybrids! You have to run!"
"What about you?" Brock asked.
"I'll cover your exit! Get the fuck out of here!" He yelled, then ran past them at the Piloswine and Oddish hybrids. "Come and get some, you rejects!" He shouted, firing sharp beams of light at them from his needles. Brock quickly got to his feet and helped Misty up before running off. He dragged Misty along behind him by the arm, who kept looking back at Nathan fighting before they turned a corner and he was out of sight. They could still hear some shouting and smashing and then, finally, a loud scream from Nathan before they were too far out of range to hear anything else.
"Oh, God. Nathan" Misty cringed, then felt something rise up in her throat. She covered her mouth. "I think I'm going to…going to…"
"Not now." Brock interrupted her. "Swallow it for now. We have to keep running." Misty silently obeyed Brock's instructions and started to fully run on her own. They dashed down the hallway. The hallway ended in a T-intersection with two dark corridors branching off in opposite directions. The duo came to a halt and looked each direction.
"Which way?" Misty asked.
"I don't know." Brock said earnestly. He took a deep breath. "Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo." He pointed to the right. "We go right."
"Good enough for me." Misty agreed.
"Just let me scout ahead a bit and make sure it's clear." Brock said and snuck off into the dark corridor. After a few second, Brock motioned for Misty to hurry up and run to him. Misty started to run forward to Brock when the ground beneath her started to crack and crumble. Misty shrieked and jumped back as the floor of the hallway broke away and tumbled to the floor below.
"Misty!" Brock yelled from the other side of the gap. He started to back up as the ground in front of him broke away. "Maybe we can jump to the floor below and…" His words died out as he looked down. His eye widened in horror. The hallway beneath them was flooded with reject hybrids. The mass of Pokemon-morphed people looked up at the two humans and many of them licked their lips hungrily. "EKANS!" One hissed from below and suddenly the mob began to climb up the walls to the next floor. Misty cried out if terror.
"Run!" Brock screamed to her. "Just go!"
"Be careful!" She yelled to her friend before running down the hallway in the opposite direction. Brock turned and continued down his path as fast as he could. The hybrids poured onto the new level like a horde of insects and chased after their potential prey, filling the corridors like a swarm of locusts.
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Ash was panting by the time James and he got to a service elevator. The toll of non-stop training and the darkness of night was hitting him and he felt drained of energy. "Are we…are we here?" Ash asked as he noticed James come to a stop.
"Yes." James nodded. "This is it. The only way to reach the fifteenth floor. That's Giovanni's base of operations."
"What if he's not there?" Ash asked.
"He's there." James said definitively. He took a deep breath, then hit the call button for the elevator.
"So this is it, huh?" Ash asked, numbly. He wasn't sure how to feel now and settled on an emotionless acceptance of fact.
"Yeah. This is it." James nodded.
"You don't have to do this, you know." Ash said. "We can find another way."
"No, this is how it has to be." James said. "We can't change the plan now."
"I know." Ash admitted. "I just…well, it's been a long and weird trip James. But I'm glad you were with me."
"You know what? Same here." James laughed humorlessly. "I actually mean that." Ash joined in, his laughter as cold and hollow as his partner's. There was nothing funny, but if he didn't laugh, Ash was afraid he might cry. The was a loud dinging sound and the door to the elevator opened.
"Good luck." Ash said softly, extending his hand.
"You too." James nodded, accepting Ash's hand and shaking it lightly. "Take care of your friends, will ya? Especially Misty."
"I will." Ash nodded. "Go give Giovanni what he deserves."
"He'll get double it." James assured him as he walked away into the elevator. "With interest." He pressed the gold button marked '15' on the side panel. "Now go find that virus!" Ash nodded again as the doors to the elevators closed. There was another dinging sound and Ash could hear the squeaking sound of the elevator ascending the shaft.
"Goodbye." Ash said weakly. He watched the closed elevator door for a few more minutes before taking a deep breath, then running off to continue his hunt for the virus.
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When the door to Giovanni's control room burst open, the Team Rocket leader was not the least bit fazed. He knew this was coming and it would only be a matter of time before James found him. When he heard gunshots followed by the screams of the guards stationed outside his room, he knew that time was now. He sat in his chair, smiling with a cigar hanging from his mouth. He relished the dark and primal look of pure rage in James' eyes. This was a beast of his creation and he felt a sense of pride at his handiwork.
"Hello, you son of a bitch." James growled from the doorway.
"Please come in, James." Giovanni said invitingly. "There are some extra chairs to sit in if you-"
"Oh no, you don't." James scowled, stepping into the room and letting the door slam shut behind him. "You are not going to act all nonchalant about this. You may be cocky enough to only post two guards outside your door, but you are not going to get any more chances to be smug." He held his hand up and showed off his bone claws, which were dripping with fresh blood. "From here on out, you know only two things: the pain of what I'm doing to you, and the fear of what I will do to you."
"Well, someone's testy." Giovanni smirked. "I wonder why that is? Is it because you killed someone rather near and dear to you?"
James' eyes narrowed angrily and he picked up a nearby chair with a harsh, unworldly scream before flinging it into a wall, shattering it into hundreds of wooden splinters. "YOU BASTARD!" James screamed at him. "You have no right to talk about her!"
"I'm not the one who killed her, remember?"
"Shut the fuck up." James hissed. "You don't know a goddamn thing."
"I do know that there is someone here that is probably very shocked to here about who killed Jessie." He motioned his head to the side. James slowly followed his gaze. The was a man in the corner of the room, someone he did not originally see. He was old and sitting in a wheelchair. He had grey hair and looked frail and weak. He also was covered in red fish scales and had gills on his neck. Long whiskers trailed down from the side of his face.
"K-Karp?" He asked weakly, barely able to talk. It took James a second to recognize the face, then his eyes widened in recognition. His eyes narrowed into ireful slits once more when he wheeled back around on the Boss of Team Rocket.
"How long?!" He growled. "How long has he been like this?"
"About a year." Giovanni smiled darkly, like the maniacal grin of a serial killer. "It's rather funny when you think about it: things could have turned out much different if Jessie knew her father already was a hybrid when she agreed to turn you over to me."
"You…" James clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white. He clenched his teeth in order to keep from flipping out. "You are digging yourself a deeper grave, asshole."
"Indeed? I shall remember that." Giovanni shrugged and put out his cigar. "Thank you for the generous sampling of blood you left with Cassandra in Emerald Village, by the way. It would have been hard finishing the final stage of the water-borne virus on time without it."
"You're bluffing. It wouldn't have done you any good. My virus was rendered sterile by then."
"Which is what I needed." Giovanni smiled. "The serum used to affect the reproduction of the viruses was very masterfully done and without being able to use it as a base to work off of, I would have taken much longer to engineer a way to protect the viruses from any future antidotes."
"Wait. You knew we were developing a sterility drug?" James asked.
"Of course. I'm not an idiot. Did you think I wouldn't realize why you were at the Topaz Town mill?" Giovanni chortled. "I must remember to thank whoever worked for you. After I kill you, Ketchum, and those other brats, I will reward your scientist friend with a quick death."
"You seem to have one thing mixed-up." James glared at him. "I have the claws, you don't. I'm not the one dying here."
"Oh, you will be." He reached for his belt. "Did you really think I would only have two guards at my disposal?" He detached two Pokeballs and tossed them onto the ground. The popped open and a bright red light filled the air. It dissipated quickly, forming into two vaguely human-like shapes. The light faded into reality with two mostly naked people standing in the center of the room between James and Giovanni. One was an overly-muscular male with thick grey skin and a small black loincloth on. He also had four large, intimidating arms which flexed almost involuntarily, causing the huge biceps to bulge. The woman was more slender and covered everywhere except in her front with a shiny white coast of thing fur. Her spinal cord ended in a long flipper-like fin and she had a long ivory horn protruding from her forehead. Two small tusks hung out form under her upper lip.
"James, meet former Kanto Elite Four members Bruno and Lorelei." Giovanni smiled. They are my true bodyguards."
"Machamp!" Bruno said roughly.
"I'm sure they will take very good care of you." Giovanni smiled.
"You think this is going to scare me? Because it doesn't." A small smile crossed James' lips. "After I tear them apart, you're next."
"We'll see." Giovanni said simply. "Machamp! Dewgong! Attack him!" Bruno and Lorelei each let out a battle cry and charged at James. James held his claws out menacingly as if daring them to come closer. Bruno reached him first, his arms outstretched. James swiped at him with his claws and cut along the first forearm he saw. Blood squirted out into the air, but it didn't seem to faze Bruno. Another arm swung at James and he used his other hand to slice this intruding arm. It was then James saw his disadvantage in this fight when the other two arms came around and pounded him the stomach. He groaned and buckled over from the powerful hit. It felt like he got hit with a cement block. The two injured arms seemed unaffected by the James' attack and grabbed James by the wrists. Bruno lifted James off the ground before proceeding to pummel his sternum like a punching bag. James shouted and coughed in pain, blood flying from his mouth with every hit. Giovanni watched with a grin.
"Nothing is more entertaining than watching someone get their ego beat out of them, huh?" He said to the man next to him.
"Magikarp?" Jessie's father responded.
"Let go of me!" James hissed at Bruno. "Right fucking now!" A whirlwind of sand formed on the floor and quickly encompassed the two hybrids locked in combat. Bruno strained to see through the storm and James used the momentary confusion to swing his feet backwards, then bring them up at a rapid acceleration. His boots came in contact with Bruno's chin and the big man's head snapped back from the impact. His hands loosened around James' wrists and he stumbled back in pain. James dropped to the ground unceremoniously, but was on his feet again instantly. The sandstorm dissipated, leaving James facing Lorelei. The woman howled angrily and held her hands out, palms open. A bright blue ball formed in her hands and then transformed into a concentrated beam of pure cold, firing right at James. James ducked and weaved to the side as the beam struck the wall right behind where he was standing, freezing the immediate area on impact. James dashed at her quickly, ignoring the throbbing pain in his chest. Lorelei shot another beam of ice at James, and this time the ex-Rocket leapt into the air, dodging the icy blast that froze the ground he was just standing on. James descended on the woman, claws drawn. He made for a slash, but she nimbly moved away.
"Dewgong!" She scolded him as he hit the ground where she used to be hard, driving his claw into the floor. James quickly regained his composure and made another run at Lorelei. But he was cut short when two pairs of arms grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him into the air.
"Whoa!" James shouted. "What the fuck is this shit?"
Bruno didn't answer and hoisted the Sandslash hybrid over his head. Then he proceeded to slam James into the ceiling repeatedly, leaving a mess of blood on the tiles. James' body hung from the man's hands limply, each slam causing his arms and legs to flail about wildly. Then, James suddenly lifted his right arm, the claws now glowing crimson, and drove his fist into the cracked ceiling. A rift formed in the already weakening ceiling and a large hole burst in the layer between the fifteenth and sixteenth floors. Bruno stopped his attacks in surprise and that was enough time for a bloody, beaten James to swing his other hand down and swipe his claws along Bruno's face. Bruno roared and dropped James so he could clutch his bleeding face. James fell to the ground a second time, but recovered much slower. His head was bruised horribly; it looked like his face was used to tenderize frozen meat. Blood leaked down in every direction, running over his maligned visage.
He tried to stand up, but was suddenly hit by a ray of rainbow light that seemed to emanate from Lorelei's horn. He felt the energy within him leak away and he crumpled back to the ground as if he didn't even have the strength to stand. He barely managed to stay upright. Bruno, now recovered from his attack, grabbed the back of James' neck with one of his left arms and chucked the weakened body into one of the room's walls. The wall cracked and the paint flaked off as James' body slammed against it.
"Tsk tsk." Giovanni sighed. He held up his hand to hold off his minions. "How pathetic. I thought you'd at least put up a little bit of fight."
"Fuck off.' James growled, forcing himself to a sitting position. He noticed that Bruno and Lorelei were now just watching him. "You're the pathetic one…using a fucking hostage." He motioned his head at Jessie's father. "You know I won't let loose with him in here."
"Oh?" Giovanni asked in mock surprise. "Is that all?" He reached onto his desk, picked up a handgun, pointed it to his side and fired. The top half of Jessie's father's head exploded, scattering brain chunks and blood against the wall behind him. The force of the impact caused his wheelchair to tip over backwards, slamming the corpse onto the ground. His eyes rolled into his head and his tongue hung out of his open mouth, a look of surprise frozen on what was left of his face. Giovanni blew the smoke away from the gun barrel and place it back down on the desk. "By all means; let loose."
James' eyes widened as he watched the old hybrid die on the floor. The dead man spasmed involuntarily a few times before falling still. He seemed to be the only person who even reacted to the man's death and James suddenly saw red.
"BASTARD!" James screamed and got to his feet. "You're dead!" He ran full speed ahead at his target. Giovanni snapped his fingers and his pokemon went back to work, intercepting James on his way to Giovanni. James quickly dropped to his knees, driving a red claw into the floor. The floor cracked, a schism splitting through the ground they stood on. Bruno's immense weight cause extra cracking and the areas hit by Lorelei's additional ice beams shattered instantly. Both Pokemon moved to the side to avoid the spreading rift and James took advantage of that fact. He jumped forward at Giovanni, both claws ready to strike. Giovanni growled and grabbed for his gun. James anticipated the move and reached out as he descended, grabbing Giovanni's wrist and pointing the gun elsewhere. Several bullets ended up embedded in the floor, ceiling or wall. James landed on the ground roughly and jammed his claws into Giovanni's upper right chest. The Team Rocket boss yelled out as the sharp claws entered his skin.
"You're fucked now." James hissed and ripped his claws out of the man's chest before driving them back in and twisting. Giovanni screamed in pain again. In a burst of adrenaline, Giovanni managed to wrench his hand free of James' grip, bringing the gun around. He pressed the barrel into James' hand and shot his last bullet into James' wrist. The bullet fired out and tore open James' skin and shattered the bone connecting his hand. James howled in agony. Giovanni used his free hand to grab a hold of James' shattered wrist and squeeze. James cringed and almost fell to his knees.
"That hand isn't going anywhere. It's staying right here." Giovanni grinned maniacally. "Did you really think that would kill me? Do you really think this is over? Did you really think you could win?"
"You talk too fucking much." James hissed and went for a second attack with his other hand. Giovanni dropped his empty pistol and caught James' arm. Giovanni was stronger then he looked and James was feeling drained from the fight; as such, the Rocket boss managed to stop the hit.
"Valiant effort." Giovanni smirked. "But I'm afraid your attempted takeover ends now." James growled at him, but his expression changed in an instant when he felt an unbelievable cold fill the nerves of his back. Lorelei was hitting him with a condensed ice beam attack and it was turning his body into ice. James could feel his entire back tense up from the cold and the blood in his veins slowed down, pumping slower. James started to feel light-headed and it was getting harder to breathe normally.
"Now, you die." Giovanni said matter-of-factly.
"Not…yet…" James hissed, then, with all his remaining energy, he managed to shout over the commotion. "WEEZING! SMOKESCREEN ATTACK!" On cue, Weezing burst through the door into the room.
"Weezing!" The pokemon agreed and suddenly the room was filled with a thick black smoke. Bruno and Lorelei immediately began hacking and stumbling about and James felt the impeding ice on his back stop. He could still see Giovanni, since they were so close, but that's about it. Giovanni started to hack and cough, as if he swallowed one of his own cigars. James was used to Weezing smoke and barely coughed. Which was fortunate, because he would have given out completely from that alone.
"Weezing…come to me…" James said, trying to leave enough energy in him to stay standing. The pokemon floated through the air to James' side, unhindered by the smog. "Okay Weezing…I want you to use…explosion."
"WHAT?!" Giovanni screamed.
"Weezing?" The pokemon asked, confused.
"Do it." James hissed. "And hurry."
"NO!" Giovanni yelled. "You aren't doing this!" He pulled James' broken hand out of his chest with a grunt, then attempted to push James out of the way. But he noticed that neither he nor James moved. He looked down when he realized his feet weren't moving. Through the clearing smog, he now realized both of them were standing in thick sand that replaced the floor, sunk down to their ankles. Giovanni thrashed around trying to break free, but couldn't escape. "What it this?!"
"Sand Tomb." James said weakly. "Neither of us are going anywhere. Weezing, explosion." The pokemon put on a sour expression, but nodded anyway. Slowly, Weezing began to glow a bright white color.
"No, no, NO!" Giovanni screeched. "It can't end like this!" He turned to his two minions who were just breaking free of the smog's veil. "Help me you idiots!" He screamed. Bruno nodded and ran forward. He drew his arms back and slammed James in his frozen back. The ice shattered and James screamed as a large chunk of his skin broke off like glass and fell to the ground, leaving his frozen muscles and bones exposed. Bruno continued to assail James' weak unprotected back and his vision blurred. The only thing keeping him upright was the sand around his feet.
Then, suddenly, the pain was gone. He could still feel the fists, but not the pain. Everything moved in slow motion, like a dream. He closed his eyes and met the darkness. Then he could see a yellow glow in the distance, piercing the blackness around him. In the center of the light he saw the silhouette of a woman, smiling and waving at him, her long hair flowing behind her. James smiled weakly. He felt a warmth fill his heart. "Jessie…I'm coming Jessie." He said softly. Or maybe it was all in his head. He didn't know any more and it really didn't matter. In the distant part of his mind, he thought he heard Giovanni's tortured screaming one last time. Then he was deafened by the wailing shriek of a massive explosion. A burning heat encircled his body and his vision went bright white. And he knew nothing else.
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From his position several floors below, Captain Avarice stopped in place. His head throbbed with the force of a migraine. He groaned and gripped the sides of his head. The squadron of Rockets following him quickly came to his side. "What is it, Captain?" One of them asked.
"Dead." Avarice said. "Giovanni's dead."
"Dead?" The Rockets gasped and murmured among themselves. "How?"
"One of the interlopers killed him." Avarice said, dropping his hands and straightening up.
"What will we do?" One of the Rockets asked.
"Maybe we should run away!" Another said. He suddenly screamed and dropped to the ground, clutching his head like it was about to explode.
"We will do not such thing." Avarice said cooly. "I am now the acting leader of Team Rocket. And I say we continue as planned. The mission stays the same: find Ash Ketchum and eliminate him. Understood?"
"Yes, Commander Avarice!" The Rockets chanted. The downed one slowly let go of his pounding head and stood back up, rejoining the ranks.
"Then let's get back to work!" He turned back around and marched off again. Once his face was obscured, he grinned darkly to himself. Commander Avarice had a very, very nice ring to it.
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The blackened, burnt room that used to be Giovanni's control central was now deathly silent. The charred bodies of Lorelei and Bruno were lying limply against a broken wall, chunks of metal and other objects sticking out of them. The fallen, fainted husk of Weezing lay unmoving on the ground, patiently waiting for its owner to recall it to its pokeball. But that did not happen. Where its owner once stood, locked in combat with his arch nemesis, there were only indistinct piles of dust and ashes. It was even unclear which piles belonged to which person. Next to the ashes were the very last remains of a small leather pouch, singed and nearly falling apart. Scattered all around it were small specks of purple glass that glittered in the darkness.
To be Continued...
Outro: Well, how was that? Worth the wait? Yeah, probably not. The next one will be out much sooner, I promise.
We see the deaths of many important characters in this chapter. Besides Lance, Bruno, Lorelei and Gene, there's the final climactic battle in which we lose both main character James and main villain Giovanni. That's right, James has had his revenge and the villain has been vaporized. But there's still at least two more Strands left, so it's not mission complete yet. Cassandra and Clayton are both still alive and kicking, as is the new boss of Team Rocket: Commander Avarice. Will we finally get to see the intimidating man in action? How about all those loose rejects? How will the team even last long enough to find the virus? Find out the answer to these questions (well, most of these questions, anyway) in the next exciting chapter of Hybrids: Outbreak!
Oh yes, and lest I forget.
Ash's Move List - Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Leech Seed, Solarbeam
James' Move List - Slash, Earthquake, Sandstorm, Sand Tomb
Lance's Move List - Dragon Rage, Twister, Hyper Beam
Clayton's Move List - Transform
Gene's Move List- Strength
Nathan's Move List- Pin Missle, Twineedle, Agility
Beau's Move List - Water Sport, Rain Dance, Horn Drill
Laila's Move List - Spark
Oliver's Move List - Bone Club, Bonemarang, Bone Rush
Bruno's Move List - Dynamic Punch, Seismic Toss
Lorelei's Move List - Ice Beam, Aurora Beam
See ya all around soon!
- T.E.