Once again, on a roll! Enjoy :)
Silently, we gathered our things. Noises were coming from the strange, glowing tunnel; murmurs of human voices. The words were unclear, but they revealed what awaited us in the depths.
Once everyone was ready, we crept into the tunnel. The silvery glow was bright enough that we could see where our feet should be placed. Man-made stairs began to appear the further down we went. Slowly, we inched towards the light.
The light was curious. My pokell said 3AM, which could mean nothing in the inky darkness of a cave. But why were people off the beaten path of Mt. Moon? And the further down we went, the louder the voices got. And we began to realize that there were lots of them. The further down we went, the more they began to multiply.
Erik led, followed closely behind by myself. We finally reached another cavern, this one tens of times larger than the one we had set up camp in. Rocks were scattered around on the ground, and we hid behind a particularly large formation and watched the beautiful madness in front of us.
Thirty or so Rocket scientists were rushing back and forth between computers and machines. Machines with giant red R's painted on their sides that were silently lazering off sections of the cave wall and analyzing them for Arceus knows what. The walls were glowing silver and white, and this soft glow increased with intensity each time a lazer cut it into sections. The entirety of the cavern was bathed in this eerie light. And the machines were so efficient and quiet, it was almost spooky.
"I knew it," Erik mumbled under his breath. I looked sideways at him, and he explained. "Moon stones. More pokemon evolve using them than any other type of stone. They're really getting power hungry."
I remembered what Erik had said before about the Rocket's using evolution as a power source.
"This is good then," I whispered. "They must not be getting the power that they need from cloning anymore."
"It's not good," interrupted Articuno with a grave whisper. "When they're done with cloning and find a better source, what do you think will happen to those legendaries that they no longer need to clone?"
I swallowed and shuddered. Not something I wanted to think about.
"What should we do?" asked Cali. "We can't let this go on."
"And we won't," said Erik firmly. "If we can capture one of them, we could force them to tell us where the hideout is. This is better than I could have hoped."
"Well, how are we going to do that?" asked Jamie.
"Let's jump out, guns a blazin', and show them what we can do!" whispered Zapdos aggressively.
But Articuno shook her head. "The machines are the priority. If we can shut them down, we can buy our brethren more time before they decide they have no more use for them. We need to shut the operation down."
"Well, let's divide into groups," I said, thinking out loud. "Half of us should create a distraction, while the other half should destroy the silent rock-carving machines. Destroy them to where they cannot be fixed."
"If I can have some time, I can use my power and shock the electrical system beyond repair, which should destroy their collected data as well as the machines," mused Zapdos.
"But to do that, you would have to..." began Articuno.
"Yes I know," he said. He turned towards us. "In order for me to do that, I would have to transform into my natural form. And after that, I could no longer return to human form, and Darkrai will come for me..."
"No!" gasped Cali, covering her mouth with her hand.
Articuno looked down, gravely. "The logic is undeniable, is it not?" she said pointedly towards Erik.
He nodded, just as grim. "I can shield us from detection when he comes, but we should try to incapacitate as many Rocket's as we can before Zapdos is forced to use his power. Or scare them off. But if our cover is blown while Darkrai is here... we will all be doomed."
"So go out, make a show of power, scare them off, and hide while Zapdos..." I couldn't finish. The rest of the group nodded.
"Keep track of your own pokemon, and when you see me transform, return them as fast as possible and hide," Zapdos ordered, resigned. We nodded.
"Meet me at this exact spot as soon as you see the transformation," Erik concluded. We nodded once again.
No one moved yet, we stood in silence, no one wanting to set in motion the beginning of Zapdos' sacrifice. Finally, Articuno threw her arms around Zapdos and gave him a hug.
"I promise I will find you," she said. He nodded, eyes closed, and squeezed her tight.
They broke apart, and Zapdos fished through his pockets. He pulled out one pokeball and handed it to Jamie. "Here is Manectric, make sure he gets out safe as well." Then, without another word, he turned, and began sneaking towards the machines.
"Let's go!" said Erik. We moved out from the rock, and into the open, spreading out.
At first, it was like nothing had happened. The scientists in the cave were so focused on their duties, that they didn't even notice us. I crept along the wall, the dim light making everything appear to be in black and white. I need to make a distraction, I thought.
I didn't want to call out all of my pokemon, for fear that one would be left behind once everything went to hell. I decided on three, and held my breath for just a second before releasing them, knowing that the flash of light would give me away.
Noche, Glitter, and Sunny appeared in front of me, and no sooner than that did someone notice me. "What are you doing here?" he asked. And all hell broke loose.
From across the cavern, an onix roared and smashed the ground. The scientist questioning me turned around, giving me enough time to make a quick decision.
"Sleep powder, Glitter! Protect her!" I yelled towards my pokemon. All around me I could see more and more white flashed as the scientists began to release their pokemon.
"Free!" cried Glitter, and covered the distracted scientist in front of me in a green powder. He slumped to the ground.
"Help me!" I cried, and together we moved his body behind our original hiding rock.
My attack had caused hardly any distraction compared to Erik's onix. All of the scientists were facing away from the rock and towards the opposite side of the domed cavern. I wondered for a split second how he had managed to make it across the cavern without being detected, but then remembered he was Erik and thought nothing of it.
I dragged his body and propped him up against the rock in a sitting position, hidden from anyone not coming from our tunnel. I sprinted out into the fray again to create a distraction.
"Noche, watch my back," I ordered while running along the wall.
"Bre!" he cried from my side. The scientists in front of us had cornered Cali and her pokemon. All three of her fire types were out and in the fray. Flare had distracted a group of zubat with her smokescreen and was breathing a consistent stream of flame into the smoke. I took it that Flare had learned flamethrower.
Sam was maneuvering an orb around in front of a second group of pokemon. This mix of zubat and weezing were staring at the orb and falling into a trance, the confuse ray beginning to take effect.
And Star was just astounding. The other groups of pokemon that were trying to get at Cali were having to go through Star first, and without success. Left and right, extremespeed after extremespeed, she dazzled the attackers, protecting Cali like her life depended on it, which is probably did.
But it wouldn't last forever. The scientists were closing in, and more were joining the battle. Stronger pokemon were popping up; I caught a glimpse of a golbat out of the corner of my eye. "Sunny, flame charge! Noche, return! Clear us a path."
Sunny dove ahead, towards a thinner group of pokemon that had surrounded my friend. She blasted through a group of ekans and ratatta, Noche close behind. They blew the opposition to the side to stand with Cali. Glitter kept them from closing in on me with gust as I made my way to her. Together, we stood and defended ourselves, the wall to our backs, holding out until Zapdos made his move.
But nothing was happening. We defended ourselves from attack after attack. I was beginning to see more arbok and fewer ekans, more raticate and less ratatta. I realized our circle of defense was getting smaller. I tried to think of a solution.
"We have to take out the scientists!" I yelled at Cali over the madness. The scientists were taking out ball after ball from their bags and replenishing their numbers as soon as we depleted them.
"What?" she yelled. "We can't do that! It's illegal to attack humans!"
"Do you think they care about that?" I roared. "Sunny, sand attack!"
"Sam, confuse ray! Get that arbok before it comes any closer!" she turned to me. "What are you thinking."
I thought, and decided on the craziest plan. The only plan I had. "Glitter! Get up high!"
"Butterfree!" she affirmed, and flapped for altitude. This left my right side exposed. Two ekans seemed to appear out of nowhere and were speeding towards me, fangs bared.
"Sunny! Noche!" but they were distracted. I took out another pokeball. "Diamond! Go!" My dragonair appeared on the battlefield, her serpentine body looming over the two ekans and stopping them in their tracks. "Surf! Wash them out of here."
"Nai," she hummed, and flicked her tail over her shoulder. A wave appeared and crested over her head, and washed the two ekans away, knocking the scientists behind them to their knees.
"Amazing, Diamond!" I turned my attention back to the sky. "Butterfree, I need you to spread as much stun spore over this madness as you can! Aim for the people! Go!" She took off over the battlefield, showering not only her glittering sparkles behind her, but also a yellowish powder that dispersed in her wake.
I turned back to Cali, who was double teaming a muk. "We have to find Jamie!"
"Okay! He was using Vuela when I saw him last, she should be in the air!"
"Diamond do you see her? It's a pidgey!" I roared as Diamond flicked away a group of ratatta with her tail. "If you see him, lets clear a path! Surf!"
Her head swiveled around and finally locked onto something towards the center of the battlefield. She took no time and swished a wave over her shoulder, bowling over a group of scientists in the process.
"Let's go!" I screamed, and our pokemon responded. We flowed with the water towards another fight. "Surf again!" Diamond, who was in the lead, swung her tail to the side, knocking over more scientists and throwing over another wave. It broke through the line, swamping Verde, the ivysaur only seeming to grow stronger in the clean, fresh water.
We rallied around Jamie, this time in a complete circle, with no wall to shield our backs. Spike and Star stood on opposite sides, crushing anyone who came into their path. Noche and Sunny fought alongside Verde, and Same and Flare teamed up with Vuela, who had evolved somewhere in this madness into a pidgeotto.
Diamond took center stage, throwing water over her shoulder at stragglers who broke the line. I craned my neck, looking for Glitter. It was impossible to see in the darkness of the cave, through the flashes of light of pokemon attacks.
"Diamond, give me a lift!" I commanded. She lowered her head and i grabbed on tight. She lifted me up, giving me a bird's eye view of what was going on.
I could see another fight closer to the machines. An onix loomed over everyone else, swatting pokemon away again and again. There were flashes of purple and blue and yellow, and I couldn't make out which pokemon were caught in the fray. I thought I caught a glimpse of Articuno's long blue hair, but it was too hard to tell.
I saw Glitter, and she was wondrous. Silently, she would sneak up on unsuspecting scientists and douse them in yellow dust. They would slump to the ground, unnoticed. Slowly, she was thinning their numbers.
I began to realize slowly that what we were doing... it was not enough. I looked around and saw our pokemon were tiring, slowing. Even the speedy Star was loosing her strength. But they were fighting hard to hold the line.
"Zapdos better make his move, fast!" I shouted down to Cali and Jamie. They nodded, too busy shouting commands to respond.
I decided to try something. Erik! I thought with all my might.
The response was immediate. I felt an overwhelming feral connection. The adrenaline and tenseness was almost unbarable. Allora! Speaking like this drains me, but don't worry, he is almost ready.
Then the connection was gone.
I looked down just in time to see something that Cali has still never let me forget. A raticate, unnoticed by all, had slipped behind her and was coming up, claws ready, for the kill. The look in its eyes, feral and consuming.
I did all I could do, I lept from Diamond as she creamed another pokemon with surf, and fell, tacking the raticate to the ground. "Noche!" I roared. I felt something in my leg snap.
I grappled with the pokemon, trying to hold it on the ground. "Cate!" it snarled, and wriggled from my grasp, whipping me with its tail and simultaneously scratching my arm.
"Ah!" I cried, holding my arm and rolling to the side. I could feel my blood oozing between my fingers. I tried to stand, but my left leg refused to hold my weight, and I couldn't remember why.
My arm didn't hurt, and it surprised me. I felt ten times stronger than usual. I stood on my right leg and readied myself for a dodge. The raticate squared up to me, narrowing its eyes.
"Allora!" cried Cali. I stole a glance at her. She was staring at my arm, shocked. I refused to look down. The raticate coiled in preparation for another attack.
A black shadow streaked over my head and slammed into the raticate, sending it flying across the cavern. Noche stood in its place. Only later would I learn the name of that move: payback.
I slumped to the ground, suddenly weak. I didn't want to look at my arm. The world around me seemed to blur together, and I rocked back and forth. Cali was in my face, yelling something. And Noche was beside me, standing guard.
There was a giant flash of yellow light from my left. I turned to watch. It was magnificent. The light overtook everything and cast harsh shadows on the ground. Every human and pokemon stopped to look. All fighting ceased.
A giant yellow and black bird rose over the crowd. "Dos!" it cried, and I heard it even in my dazed state. At its cry, the scientists and pokemon began to scatter. Well, most of them. Eight or so were paralyzed, lying on the ground. Glitter's work.
Zapdos was beautiful. He loomed over the machines, and using the strongest lightning type move I've ever seen, fried them and their circuits. The light was blinding and consuming, and I was entranced.
Jamie was in my face then, and Articuno, yelling at me. She moved her head and I saw Erik, staring at me, shocked. Red lights were flashing all around me, pokemon returning to their pokeballs.
I was lifted then, by Jamie and Erik, and pokeballs were taken out of my belt. Red lights flashed once again, and I felt my pokeballs click back into my belt as I was set down behind our rock. I leaned against the scientist beside me, wishing I could sleep as peacefully as him.
The flickering yellow light cast rapidly altering shadows all along the walls. My friends grouped around me, and Erik closed his eyes. Just then, everything went black. I was still awake, but there was no longer any inkling of light. I felt an ancient evil presence deep within my soul.
Then I blacked out.
That was one of the most intense chapters I have ever written. Please please please review and let me know you care :) I really missed writing for you guys. Has my writing changed? Improved? Worsened? What needs clarification? Your thoughts on the plot are much appreciated :) Thanks!
Silverfield