Chapter 21 – Final Countdown to a Quest to Save the World

Butch never signed up for this.

When he first signed up for Team Rocket, his reasoning for doing so was largely because of Cassidy. While he had never been the most honest guy in the world, he made a decent living working as an underground bartender in Viridian City. But no, of course he had to just listen to that pigtailed tramp, who baited him with money and hot chicks. If he had known how many times he'd land himself in jail or someone (mostly everyone) would get his name wrong, he would've listened to his mother and got his bartending license instead. Or become a construction worker. He liked bulldozers.

The Boss was right. Team Rocket was a thankless, draining job, and it was nowhere near as glamorous as the awesome ads made it out to be. He was forever dumbstruck as to how Jessie and James and their fleabag friend managed to delude themselves for so many years trying to catch some chaotic rat. Even the rookies knew it was just a wild goose chase because it was the only job they were remotely good at in the past five years, and those words were being generous. Hell, why were they even still allowed in Team Rocket? He knew Wendy tried firing them a couple of years ago...

In a similar thought, he wondered how Mondo lasted this long, either. He was a nice kid, but he didn't bring much to the table, other than his delicious taste in snacks. All Butch hoped with this mission was that if it all came down to Mondo's actions, the kid would buy at least a little time for him to escape.

Little did Butch know, Mondo was thinking the same thing. Since the group found out they needed the passcodes, they decided that it would be best to split into two. He'd be with Butch, and Miss Delia would be with Giovanni, and Miss Delia would run solo with Gloom until she got bored with kicking butt by herself. With Munna and Butch's Mightyena by their side, Mondo felt a little better in the event they actually got involved in a battle. Besides, he had both Miss Domino's and Miss Delia's cell phone numbers in case something went wrong.

His hesitance just lied with Butch, It wasn't like he hated the man. Butch might have been a foul-mouthed, chain-smoking jerk, but he could be less rude when he desired. It was just that Mondo couldn't place all of his trust in him. If they ran into Cassidy, there was always the possibility that Butch would betray them and rejoin his former partner. That idea was definitely not far-fetched.

No, he had to have more faith in his comrade. After they immobilized several unfortunate ladies and gentlemen on the wrong side of the fence, they were finally on the second floor. No one had a passcode yet, but he was hopeful that they would find someone with one soon. They were starting to run out of people who weren't hiding.

So, he decided to make some small talk, confident with Munna floating above his head. Turning to Butch, who had yet another cigarette in his mouth, he forced a smile. "So...Butch."

"Thanks for getting my name right, kid. I'm starting to think most people get it wrong on purpose."

"Well, that's a shame," Mondo agreed, nodding. It was such a simple name, too. "Um, since we're on the same side, do you think you can tell me what Cassidy said to you about working here?"

Butch shrugged. "You do realize that most of any conversation with her is griping, but I'll tell you the important crap she told me. She said she was working her way towards owning massive parts of the world and jumbo diamond rings. Said Namba had some sorta plan to make that happen, which I'm guessing has something to do with those mutant hairballs. Also said that Petrel's dead and that that was Blondie's fault, but it was about Petrel's time. The guy only had a few good jokes."

'Anything else?"

"Nah. Even if they told her more, she's a terrible listener. Good in the sack, though."

Mondo winced. They continued running in silence, avoiding any more lewd or obscene topics. Along the way they met a few more unfortunates, most of whom didn't even know that the passcodes existed. However, they ran across one individual who decided to talk upon the mooching of some nicotine from Butch. "Well, I don't have the passcodes myself," he said, lighting up a cigarette, "but I know someone who does. You guys probably know that bitch executive with the great boobs, Ariana. She's one of the top gals on New Boss's radar, too. Spends a lot of time in the sauna on this floor. Her boobs need pampering."

Finally, they had a lead. Mondo wondered how Namba could install a sauna in an abandoned building within such a short time,but he ignored the trivial detail as they ran towards the room, which was a short distance from where they were. Loading their guns with bullets, the two men looked at each other as they positioned themselves within the sauna.

There was no sign of activity. If Ariana was around the area, she was probably within the sauna itself, but neither of them wanted to go beyond the waiting benches. For someone who enjoyed talking about attractive ladies, Butch wasn't nearly as lewd as his image portrayed. "Look, kid," he said, puffing on another cigarette, "you don't know a lot about chicks yet, but I'll tell you something. Unless you're at a strip club or the bedroom, you never wanna walk in on half-naked chicks. If we went in there right now, our lives could be more at stake than just doing this mission."

So they waited. It seemed like forever when only minutes passed, but eventually a group of ladies emerged from the sauna, wearing nothing but white towels and flip-flops. Mondo and Butch made sure to hide behind some plants while they watched the ladies saunter to the nearby lockers. Neither could tell whether Ariana was among the group, so after a few more minutes of waiting, Butch nudged Mondo in the shoulder. "Hey, kid, this is the part where you take a few punches like a champ," he whispered.

"What? But you said-"

"They might kill you less than me. Besides, you got a gun. They can't be too bad."

Mondo gulped as he felt Butch push him out into the open space. His partner was right, though. Half-naked women couldn't have been all bad, at least not as bad as Miss Domino. (Well, they could still be as temperamental as Miss Jessie, but it wasn't like Miss Jessie ever went on deadly rampages.) Steadying the gun in his hands, he took a sharp breath and leapt forward, drawing the attention of all of the ladies in the room. "Now I don't want to hurt any of you ladies unless necessary," he said, "so if you'll please direct us to Miss Ariana's location, that would be most appreciated."

He thought Miss Domino would be proud of him and his lack of stuttering or heavy sweating. Unfortunately, the ladies weren't impressed on him, kicking him in the stomach and knees, and he felt himself fall to the floor. The gun slipped from his hands and blood squirted from his nose, and he wondered in the back of his head if Miss Domino was seriously holding back her own strength.

Then he felt a foot stamp against his chest. Looking up he saw a pair of violet eyes staring back him with amusement, similar to Miss Domino's, but those belonged to a woman with a heavy amount of lip gloss freshly applied on her lips. "Never thought I'd see you here," she sneered. "So you're looking for Ariana, eh? Well, you've come to the right place, Monroe."

Behind her he saw Butch press a gun behind her back. "Let the kid go, Cass."

Cassidy let him go and rolled her eyes, raising her hands up in the air. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Butch trying to save the day. I'm shaking in my cute towels. If only I had someone to help me...oh, wait."

Suddenly Butch was shoved on top of him, and the breath was knocked out of him again. Both of them groaned as Ariana appeared beside Cassidy, hiding her smirk behind a hand. The other hand held a gun. "Boys, I really don't like being bothered right after a relaxing spa day," she murmured, wiggling the gun, "so I'm gonna be nice this time. If you have any last words, though, I suppose we can entertain them. It's not like anyone else will here them. Cass, who's going first?"

"Let Brad go first. He gave us a little fight."

The blond continued smirking and yanked Butch back to his feet, who looked so indifferent even in the face of death. Well, if they were going to die now, at least they would die with dignity. The older man shrugged, staring up at the ceiling. "I would like to start off by saying that my name is Butch. Let that be known on the record, although you're bound to still screw it up on my headstone. But really, it's not that hard of a name to screw up. Secondly, Cassidy, you're a miserable hag that acts like my grandma, but if we survive this and you go to jail, I'll still be a phone call away, babe. Just note that I'm jacking up my prices. And let me tell you why..."

Mondo rolled to his side. He hoped he wasn't imagining Butch trying to stall for time, though he wasn't sure since there was always tension between the green-haired man and Cassidy. But Munna still floated above him, and Butch's belt was just in his reach, so it wouldn't hurt to fight back. If they didn't try, they'd be killed anyway. Throwing the belt at his partner, Mondo rolled away from flying bullets and pulled him up to his knees. "Think fast, Butch! Munna, use Protect!"

"Now that's a partner that gets it! Go, Mightyena!"

Munna created a protective barrier just as Butch dodged the second round of bullets. He tossed up a poke ball, sending out the growling, black pokemon. Mightyena's head was lowered at first but soon perked up at the sound of the command, "Dark Pulse!" In a flash a dark stream of light bounced off of the floor and nipped at Cassidy's and Ariana's ankles. Both women groaned, but Ariana kept a hold of her gun as she continued shooting.

This time one of the bullets hit Mondo in the arm. He shut his eyes for a few seconds, biting down on his lip to focus on the minimum pain instead of the burning sensation he felt. Since he was a supplier and not a field agent, he never really imagined what a bullet felt like. Whenever he talked to those agents that were unfortunate enough to experience a gunshot wound, they always grinned and were proud of it, practically forgetting what it felt like in the first place.

Well, it hurt like Heck. More than Heck, actually. But he refused to back down now, as that was a sign of oversensitivity, and oversensitivity would end up killing them. For now he would ignore most of the pain, asking Munna to please assist them with a Psychic attack against the ladies. The pink blob obliged, and with a slight strain, she lifted thee ladies in the air.

Judging from the strain, though, the attack wouldn't last for too long, so they had to strike now. Once Ariana and Cassidy were let down, they were sure to strike back, either by shooting or grabbing their own pokemon. And he didn't imagine guns and pokemon were a good combination. Pointing his gun towards the ladies, he gulped but was reassured by Munna and Mightyena standing next to them. "We're not to be taken too lightly, ladies!" he called, avoiding their glares. "Just give up your passcode nice and easy, and no one gets hurt!"

Ariana's gun fired at his wounded arm once more, and he groaned. Beside him Butch signalled over Mightyena with his own gun, and the pokemon let out a long growl. "We're not gonna continue asking nicely," Butch added, narrowing his eyes. "If you don't give us the code right now, our helpful blob's gonna shove you into one of those lockers, but not before Mightyena tears those towels apart. You gals won't get clothes."

There was silence for a few seconds. Mondo held his wounded arm with his free hand, attempting to decrease the bleeding. He wondered if he would pass out from the blood loss or the repressed pain before someone decided to talk. If that were to happen, he was sure to find someone kicking him whenever he regained consciousness.

But then Ariana huffed, tossing out a card from her headtowel. "My passcode's on that card. It won't do you any good without the other one, though."

"You can't just let them have it, Ariana!"

"Let them. They won't get far." Ariana wrinkled her nose at Mondo. "Monroe, Brick, I hope you two become as holey as Swiss cheese. You don't deserve to be part of the new world order."

Mondo bent down and picked up the card, letting out a shaky breath. Women really were terrifying.

"Water Pulse!"

"Dodge, and use Flamethrower!"

Delia watched Giovanni's Cloyster instinctively hop out of the way, missing a large shot of fire. Standing on the other side of the imaginary battle lines, Archer's Houndoom threw its head up in the air and snorted, angry that its proud and mighty self had missed its target. But behind it Archer remained as calm as always, keeping his eyes focused on the enemy. "Don't look down on them too much right now, Houndoom," he chided, frowning, "They'll use that to their advantage. Use Headbutt."

Houndoom lowered its head and headbutted the giant shell pokemon. Cloyster shut his shell and braced himself as he was shoved a few feet from the battle. He was a smart pokemon, but he was definitely a defensive type and a rusty one to boot. Even though he had a type advantage, he wouldn't last much longer in this battle. Delia just hoped that would give them enough time to win, "Go ahead and use Protect!"

A thin barrier popped up between the pokemon, and the woman sighed. If Giovanni had known she was going to bump into and fight one of the former executives, he would've gone berserk at the mere thought of her suggestion. This was supposed to have gone as simple as possible. While the others were searching for the passcodes, she would search for Sebastian and give him safety, taking down any small-fries that posed a threat. Giovanni loaned her a couple of pokemon since Mr. Pinecones, Jr. was always running a little behind and never beside her, but that was only after some serious grumbling.

Well, she could handle herself. That man thought she was a delicate flower that always needed protecting, but as far as she was concerned, that had never been the case. In her younger years, she could be just as reckless as Ash...no, that wasn't true. He was as reckless as both of his parents put together. If only Mr. Ketchum was aware...

Nah, he didn't need to know. Ash was pretty well-adjusted without him.

She shook her head. Cloyster's Protect allowed him to avoid another Headbutt, bringing her back to focus on the battle. Archer seemed to know what she was thinking, though, as he shook his head with a sigh. "You know, your son really was a thorn in our side when we were under old management," he said. "I have to say, though, that I'm glad he's still keeping busy those three goons of Giovanni's. Makes our job easier."

"Yeah, 'cause you know he'd kick your butts just like he does with those three! And if they're more than goons! They're...dutiful assistants!"

"Impertinent. Ariana was right. We should've gotten rid of you the moment you left Team Rocket. Six months later and you had that brat. Only a fool wouldn't put two and two together. Of course, there's no use in a runaway brat, nor is there any use for his runaway wench mother. Besides, Giovanni could always make more if he felt like there was a future in Team Rocket."

"You shut your face!"

"Tsk, tsk. Mrs. Ketchum you are in dire need of manners. Houndoom, finish it off with Crunch."

Houndoom sunk its teeth into Cloyster's shell, and the shell pokemon stood upright for a few more moments before fainting. Delia called him back to his poke balls, returning Archer's smug smirk with a grimace. She couldn't let the enemy get the best of her; quickly her hands brushed over the other poke ball. Archer had to be stopped now. "Please help me out, Machamp! Use Cross-Chop!"

Machamp popped out of his poke ball and flexed his muscles with all four arms, winking at Delia before striking his two lower hands upon Houndoom's back. Since the attack was super-effective, the dog yelped and crouched down on shaky paws. It tried attempting another Flamethrower, but Machamp was quicker, sending it flying into the wall with two swift kicks.

With a grunt Archer called back his fainted pokemon and pulled out his next poke ball. But the smirk remained on his face as he tossed it up in the air, releasing a glowing, green Delcatty. "You might've thought you were lucky, Mrs. Ketchum, but these particular cats don't enjoy being confined to their poke bals. Delcatty, go ahead and start off with a Hyper Beam!"

This was bad. Machamp couldn't dodge the pale beam of light that hit his chest, and he staggered back, clutching the area with a pained look on his face. A Hyper Beam should've left its user vulnerable for several seconds as it regained its strength, but Delcatty acted like none of its energy was zapped as it charged forward towards its opponent. Before Delia had a chance to call out another command, the feline pounced and swiped its paws across Machamp's face.

The pokemon let out an anguished cry, covering his face with his upper hands as Delcatty continued striking him with its claws. Faint lines of blood began running over Machamp's knuckles, and Delia was worried what would happen if the battle dragged on like this. If Delcatty's aim was just a little closer to his eyes, he took the chance of being blinded. She couldn't let that happen. "This isn't a fair fight!" she cried. "This goes beyond the normal brutality of a pokemon battle!"

"Like I'm going to be concerned with your objectives. Delcatty, continue as you please."

Well, it was worth a shot. Delia cupped her hands around her mouth and turned to Machamp. "Don't let that Delcatty get to your face, Machamp! Use your lower hands to attempt a Seismic Toss!"

Machamp nodded and tried to oblige, but the moment his hands wrapped around Delcatty's stomach, the feline sunk its teeth into them. Although he let go immediately, Delcatty kept its mouth clamped over the hands, and soon there was a soft ripping sound from under its teeth. The screams grew louder as blood began dripping from its mouth.

Then there was a final ripping noise, and Delcatty let go with a piece of blue flesh, drenched with blood.

"CHAAAMP!"

Delia couldn't take it anymore. Holding a taser in her skirt pocket, she ran over to Machamp and stepped in front of him, pulling out the weapon. Delcatty growled a her, baring its bloody fangs. Archer raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Really? You're going to end things like this? Well, I suppose it can't be helped. It's just too bad that Giovanni won't get to see his favorite wench die. Delcatty, finish the-"

"DAAAAAAAAASH!"

Mr. Pinecones, Jr. popped out from around the corner and kicked Delcatty with his front legs, sending it flying into Archer. Both human and pokemon fell to the floor, groaning. It was the perfect opportunity to escape. Wrapping one of Archer's arms around her back, Delia walked him over to the Rapidash, who had finally come to a stop.

Helping him onto the horse, she pulled off her blouse and wrapped it around his hands, then patted his head. "You tried your best, Machamp. I'm so sorry," she mumbled, holding back tears. Turning to Mr. Pinecones, Jr. next, she stroked his snout. It felt so warm and fuzzy. "Mr. Pinecones, Jr., I hope you'll be okay with letting Machamp riding you. I'm not sure if he could hold out if I just place him back in his poke ball. Please forgive me."

She began walking, but Mr. Pinecones, Jr. nudged her back with a soft whinny. When she turned around, both he and Machamp stared back at her with teary eyes. There was enough room for her to sit in front of Machamp, so after a moment's hesitation, she helped herself onto Mr. Pinecones, Jr, and wrapped her arms around his neck. His mane stung but did not scorch. "You guys are getting a special meal when we get home. Thank you."

"Dash."

"Champ-champ."

They rode with a gallop. Behind them Delcatty sat on top of Archer's unconscious form and watched with slitted eyes but did nothing to stop them from escaping. Earlier Domino had told Delia that Mr. Pinecones, Jr. took out four of those cats, but now the older woman wasn't sure if he could do much damage with two passengers on his back. At least this particular Delcatty didn't want to pursue them.

She sighed and placed her face beside Mr. Pinecones Jr's neck. IF Archer had a passcode on him, she hoped someone else would find it. Turning around and risk fighting Delcatty for it was not in their greatest favor. Cloyster was already down, and she couldn't risk Machamp taking any more injuries. Nor could she risk injuring Mr. Pinecones, Jr., who gave her unconditional trust even after so many years apart. Her protection was the least she could give them.

But for now they had to focus on finding Sebastian. After a few minutes of riding through empty hallways, they found a lone grunt who was unfortunate enough not to receive the warning regarding incoming intruders. He shook at the sight of the glaring Mr. Pinecones, Jr. but pointed to the left, saying that if the leader held the professor in captivity, he would probably hold him in the dungeon closet.

"Dungeon closet." Delia wanted to shudder at the first part, but the dungeon wasn't really a closet...was it?

When she saw a door with a sign that read, "DUNGEON CLOSET" in big red letters, she couldn't resist the urge to sweatdrop. Hopping off of Mr. Pinecones, Jr., she held out the taser in front of her as she tenatively reached for the doorknob. There were no visible traps upon touching it, so she flung the door open to find Sebastian hanging from the light fixture by his wrists. "Professor?" she called.

The gray-haired man stirred and squinted at Delia through broken glasses. "Delia? Is that you?"

"Yeah. Let me help you down from there."

With Machamp's assistance she undid the chains and sat Sebastian outside of the closet, where he caught his breath and wiped his face with a handkerchief. While his broken arm was still protected by its cast, the rest of him looked awful. The growing stubble above his face did not suit him. "Thank God you're finally here," he said with a soft chuckle, scratching at the stubble "I can tolerate Proton's scratches and his occasional meowing and his frequent listening to heavy metal, but he's only been feeding me graham crackers and cat food for the past week. It's disgusting. I can also do without this five o'clock."

"...occasional meowing?"

"Don't ask."

"Well, let's get you shaved and showered soon."

"Thank you. I appreciate your concern." Wrinkling his nose he sniffed his shirt with disgust, then shook his head. "I don't think I want to see another graham cracker for a long time. But enough about me. Giovanni didn't leave you to stop Namba by yourself, did he?"

"No, he and the others are looking for passcodes to get into Namba's lab. You wouldn't happen to know who might have one, would you?"

"Pretty sure. Proton has one, but we should probably leave that to someone else. He's particularly violent, and he's grown some extra appendages that are a bit pointier than rusty nails. He'd call it an evolution. Also, this isn't coming from a trainer, but even with my impaired vision, I can see that you've already taken a beating. Ariana?"

He gestured to Machamp. Delia shook her head. "Archer."

"Well, we're fortunate enough that Namba's breach of Team Rocket is almost, if not more, as incompetent as Giovanni's. Whoever designed this so-called dungeon closet needs a serious lesson in security measures."

"I'm sorry we couldn't break you out sooner."

"It's fine. I know you wouldn't let me miss the main action."

A couple of minutes later, Delia helped Sebastian onto Mr. Pinecones, Jr.'s back. Machamp reclaimed the seat behind him, and they headed towards the stairs at a slower pace. Delia was glad that nothing horrible happened to Sebastian, but the constant worry that someone would catch them off-guard and take them prisoner still lingered. If they could just make it a little further, the world could be saved and peace could reign.

Or so she hoped.

End

Here's another chapter for all your reading needs. We have three chapters after this, so happy reading~ c:

Also it looks like we're surpassing the 100k mark, so happy 100k words.