I wrote this chapter during a bad case of writers block. I ended up deleting it because, it sucked, and Lisa was complaining that what I typed up was not what happened. She set me straight, and now I present chapter 21.
Instant Karma.
Lisa's POV
"So let me get this straight." The Plusle began. They cannot summon any Pokémon, correct?"
"Yes." Digit said.
"So if we were to say, oh, I dunno, get out of line, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it, correct?" The Minun finished with a hopeful grin as both morphs started throwing random sparks off their bodies.
"That is also true." Digit said.
"I have waited so long for this day." DC said as he slowly turned to face his soon to be ex-trainer.
"What are you staring at you rat?" Janice yelled "Attack that Tauros!"
"No."
"Care to rephrase that, little mouse?" Janice scowled while her knuckles turned white as she squeezed the handle of her whip in rage.
"So sorry!" DC quickly said as he held his hands up. "What I meant to say was, No. I'd rather attack you, you sadistic bitch." He calmly explained as he rotated both hands around to display two middle fingers.
"What!?" Janice shouted in disbelief. Her right eye was starting to twitch. I assume that this was the first time any morph dared to talk back to her.
"Are you deaf? He just called you a sadistic bitch, you dumb ass!" The Pachirisu, Douglas, shouted.
"I've had it with you!" Janice screamed as she swung the whip at the pastel Pokémorph.
Bash, who was standing behind Douglas, suddenly leaned forward into the path of the whip. The flogging that was intended for the electric squirrel was intercepted by Bash's right horn. The leather tip wrapped itself around the sharp, and potentially lethal, protrusion sticking out of the bull's head. He quickly jerked his head to the right causing the horn to sharply pull away from the angry trainer as the handle was ripped out of her hand.
"What's the tough little girl going to do without her little toy?" Bash mocked as he stood up straight and unwound the long piece of flexible leather from his horn before tossing the whip over a broad shoulder.
"I don't know about you but, I'm getting out of here." One of the grunts whispered to another before bolting towards the door. When the poor grunt hit the door he actually bounced off of it. As he lay on the floor with a bloody nose, he noticed a Jolteon morph feeding power into a pair of electro magnets. These electrically charged chunks of iron and coiled wire normally kept morphs from sneaking out. I find it funny that they are preventing humans from running away.
"My fellow morphs. The time has come to revolt!" DC shouted as he raised an electrically charged fist into the air as the rest of the electric team was turning around to face their oppressors.
"Hey now, can we talk this over? I'm a victim too." Janice pleaded.
When she said this, the people standing behind her lost any feeling of loyalty they had left for the trainer. I guess I have to take back what I thought about Janice being prejudiced because, she treats everybody like crap.
"You're a victim? Ha! You wouldn't even let us get vaccinations for our Pokémon and our selves. We did it anyway after you went home yesterday." One of the braver grunts complained.
"Any last words?" Douglas maliciously asked as a sharp smell of ozone started to fill the room.
"They're going to kill her!" I exclaimed. Sure she is getting what is coming to her, but no one should lose their life. "Bash, stop them!"
"I can't, the amount of electricity they are producing right now is enough to power my old man's farm for a day. I can't save her." Benny solemnly spoke as he slowly shook his head.
"You're bluffing!" Janice accused as she stared at the Pachirisu.
"Oh really?" Douglas grinned as his teammate began the countdown.
"Six!" DC announced.
"Five!" AC continued as Janice began to tremble.
"Four!" The Electabuzz shouted with glee.
"You guys are crazy! Stop it now!" Janice pleaded.
"Three." Ann cheered.
"Two!" Cathy yelled from her spot by the wall. She didn't contribute to the massive ball of power as she was busy with the electro magnets.
"One!" The Pachirisu hollered as Janice closed her eyes and braced for her last moments on earth.
"ZERO!" Every electric morph shouted as the massive ball of energy violently discharged upon the trainer that was cringing from the pain that was sure to come.
A bright flash!
A loud boom!
The floor shook as we were buffeted by an intense wave of thunder.
Then silence.
We were blinking our eyes, eager, yet dreading to see what became of the human.
Finally, the silence was broken by a single voice.
"What the hell are you waiting for?" Janice screamed. "Quit screwing around and do it already!"
"Uh, what just happened, Lisa?" Dan asked.
"I don't know." I was as perplexed as the next person.
"Are you going to kill me or," Janice began as she opened her eyes in anger, but the rage left her as soon as she saw the perplexed faces of her disobedient morph soldiers, "not?"
"You're still alive? H-how? There should be nothing left of you!" The flabbergasted Minun asked.
"I don't know but, I'm not going to complain." Janice smiled as she stretched her limbs. As she moved around, flakes of burnt flesh and strands of singed hair, started to fall to the ground revealing fresh new skin. The odd thing was that this fresh skin had a blue tint to it.
"I have the solution to this riddle." Digit said. "The solution or problem, depending how you observe it, is Professor Joy. Janice, did you not find it strange that the toxic attack that struck you earlier had no affect? About now, you should be showing symptoms of poisoning, yet you seem to be fine. Poison type Pokémon are immune to poison. Also, a ground type Pokémon is immune to electric type attacks."
"Ha! Looks like you're going to be one of us now." Dan laughed. "It's not too bad though, just pray that you don't get stuck with a trainer that's like, well, you!"
"Actually, Dan, I believe Joy has plans to make morphs out of every person in this facility." Digit said.
"She can't do that!" I exclaimed. "Does she even realize what happens when criminals are given power? They abuse it! We have to stop her, now!"
"According to my calculations, Joy has already injected about ninety-eight percent of the Cypher workforce in this facility. It is pointless to stop her now. The best course of action is to just wait and see what happens next." Digit said.
"Can we go back to our room now?" DC asked. "I would like to go to bed. In fact, we'll even let you folks escort us there without any trouble."
"You're up to something." Janice grumbled while trying to figure out what they were up to. "Fine, but Lisa and her team will come with us. I don't trust you."
"It looks like the only thing left to do is to declare that Janice has been defeated." The ref announced as he waved a flag before letting them both fall to the ground. "The match is over, Lisa wins, yadda yadda, I'm going home." He then returned his two Pokémon and hastily left the way he came in now that the magnets were no longer energized by Cathy.
I woke Kevin up with a revive before we left. His tail was still out of ink. He was also clueless as to what is going on with Joy's plot and I hope to keep it that way as long as possible. The trip to the electric morph's holding cell was rather silent. The humans were actually letting the morphs follow them. I guess they trusted me to protect them. I also think that they are too depressed about what was learned to actually care about the hushed voices behind them.
"So what happened to the other person that was assigned to monitor you?" AC quietly asked.
"We were blessed to get Lisa when our last warden was turned into a Swalot; I wonder what he is doing now." Dan mused.
(Security Camera's POV)
Meanwhile, in the disposal facility on the lower floors:
"One bucket of sludge on the wall, one bucket of sludge, I take one down and gulp it down, one bucket of sludge on the wall. Uh, hey Alvin?"
"Zero."
"Oh yeah! Thanks Alvin. Zero buckets of sludge on the wall, zero buckets of sludge, I take one down and gulp it down, zero buckets of sludge on the wall. Uh."
"What now!" Alvin screamed.
"What comes next? I can't remember."
"Nothing comes next! The song is over! It has been over since you started it, two, days, ago!" The Swalot morph screamed.
"Over?" Muk asked.
"Yes, over, done with, finished."
"Oh." The Muk glumly replied before becoming deep in thought. "I have an idea! Let's sing it again! OHHHH Ninety-nine buckets of sludge on the wall. Ninety-nine buckets of sludge!"
"Arrrgh!" Alvin screamed before punching the Muk in the stomach.
"He he, he he he, BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Alvin, stop it! That tickles" The Muk laughed as Alvin continued to try to pummel the living pile of toxic waste.
"Hey look!" The Muk yelled as Alvin was sent flying. "It's another one of those disks! This one is pink! I never had a pink one before!"
Alvin couldn't believe that the Muk forgot that it was being tickled just because he saw one of those toilet deodorizers it's so fond of.
It's not so much of a problem that the Muk's train of thought is slow; it's the fact that it gets derailed and explodes as soon as it starts.
So how does one go about squeezing the life out of somebody who finds it fun and turns into a giggling puddle of putty every time? One thing is certain though, Alvin has plenty of time to think about it.
(Lisa's POV)
"So are you worried about him?" AC asked.
Dan gave her a look of disbelief that she would ask such a stupid question before responding: "Yeah. I'm worried that he's having fun."
Finally, the two groups arrived at the morph's 'home'. Janice used her key to open the door. As soon as it swung open Janice felt herself get shoved into the room followed by the rest of the surprised grunts. The door was slammed shut and the key was removed from the lock.
"What gives? You said you weren't going to be a problem." Janice accused as she shook the door of the cage.
"I said I'd let you folks escort us without any trouble. Now that you aren't escorting us anymore, well, you know." DC chuckled as he twirled the key around on a blue finger.
"Somebody will let us out," Janice declared "and when they do, watch out."
"I have an idea." Kevin announced.
"I thought I smelled something burning." Dan razzed.
Kevin thankfully ignored Dan while he took a marker off of a clipboard that was hanging from a nail in the wall. He used the marker and wrote a message below the keyed lock to the cell that was located out of reach of its occupants.
-WARNING-
The humans in this cell are new
recruits for the Cypher morphing project.
If you let them out you will be joining them.
-NO EXCUSES-
-Professor Joy-
"That looks awfully authentic. How do you know what her signature looks like, Kevin?" I asked as I studied the message.
"I found this receipt with her autograph on the floor under my cot a while ago. She sure spent a lot of money. I wonder what somebody would do with 900 cheap Pokéballs, tape, and painting supplies." Kevin mused as he held out a piece of paper that he retrieved from the one pocket on his shirt.
"Let me fill you in." Dan started.
"Not now, Dan." I quickly interrupted. "I need to figure out what to do since half of you don't report to me. I can't ask you to go in there with them because they might end up getting hurt."
"You got that right!" Douglas said with a mean look into the cage.
"They could stay in our room with us. If anyone asks why they're in there, you could tell them it's for, um" Dan thought aloud, "a trial breeding program or something."
"Somebody needs a cold shower." Kevin teased.
"I'm trying to be serious here!" Dan responded.
"I know. That's what scares us." Tanya deadpanned as Linda nodded.
"Don't read into it. I just don't want Lisa to get in trouble." Dan stated.
"So Dan," Cathy asked with a wink, a sultry voice, and a couple of errant sparks, "have you ever licked a bug zapper before?"
Dan's eyes went wide and he couldn't speak. Was a girl actually making a move on the Zangoose morph?
"I guess this brings new meaning to the phrase: you're not my type." Ann chuckled.
"He might not be my type but, he's still handsome." The Jolteon morph smiled as she walked over and placed a hand on Dan's shoulder causing him to grin like an idiot.
"Does this mean it's over between you and Lefty?" Kevin asked.
"Shut up, Kevin." Dan quickly replied as he used 'Lefty' to slap Kevin on the back of his head while his right hand was petting Cathy's right shoulder.
I am amazed how love is able to blossom in the darkest of places. I wonder what Kevin thinks about me. I am pretty sure of what he will think of me when I change but, I don't want him to love me for my body. I walked around a corner when Kevin appeared next to me.
"I feel dizzy all of a sudden." I whispered to him.
Kevin's POV
As we were all walking to our quarters, I was keeping myself busy by rubbing my tail on every flat surface I came across. I was frustrated because I still could not make a mark without ink. I even tried to lick my tail like a ballpoint pen and rub it on a rough surface. I eventually gave up and draped my tail over my shoulder so it didn't drag on the ground and I wouldn't have to hold it in my hand. I decided to razz Dan a little to see if being with a girl will mellow him out. Since I was only slapped, I guess it does. When I rounded another corner, I caught a strange scent. It smelled like Lisa's but, it was off. I have noticed that when people or Pokémon get sick their scent changes very subtly. I quickly walked past everybody to get to the only human in our group. When I caught up to her I heard her whisper that she felt dizzy.
"Hey Lisa, are you alright?" I asked.
"It feels cold in here." She sniffled as I took her hand into mine.
It felt warm. I placed my left hand on her forehead. "Oh my God! Benny, Lisa's sick! Help me take her to Joy. She's burning up!"
Benny effortlessly picked her up and cradled her in his strong, thick arms.
"Everybody else go to our room and wait for us there." I ordered as I ran with the bull to Joy's office.
Once we reached the door I opened it and found two morphs sitting around a table drinking a hot beverage. "Where's Joy?" I asked with urgency.
"Joy is not here anymore." A large Mightyena said as he or she (I couldn't tell) placed the cup on a coaster on the table. "What do you need?"
"Lisa's sick and she needs medical attention!" I urgently explained as Benny walked in sideways through the door so he didn't catch his horns, or Lisa's head, on the doorframe.
"Well, I am an apprentice of Joy's. Place her on that bed over there and I'll take a look at her." The Mightyena morph said while standing up. "My name is Leslie, by the way, and the Manectric morph is Dr. Black."
(Joy's POV)
Once I introduced myself as Leslie, which is a nice gender neutral name, I walked over to examine my patient.
"This person has a high fever that is about three degrees away from causing brain damage." I explained as I held a thermometer in her mouth. "We need to lower her temperature quickly. Doctor, get an ice pack while I pull her file."
"Right away Joy."
"Hey!" I quickly shouted so it seemed like I cut him off. "Don't call me 'Joy's apprentice'! It's Leslie."
"Sorry Leslie, I forgot." Dr. Black apologized as he retrieved what I requested and placed it on the human's head.
"What's my patient's name?" I asked.
"Lisa. I don't know her last name. I think it starts with an S." Kevin replied while holding her hand.
"I got her file." I said as I looked through the data.
Her Pokémon was a Seviper, but that name was crossed out and Vulpix was written in with an administrator's signature next to it. With all the people I have seen recently, I can't remember Joe from Jane.
"I think I know how to help her now." I announced as I opened a cabinet and pulled out a tin of finely ground herbs and spices. I opened the container, took a pinch of powder, and placed it under her nose. "I want you to inhale through your nose really quickly."
Lisa did as she was instructed and her eye lids forced themselves shut as she prepared for a really strong sneeze.
Her first one was dry.
Her second sneeze sprayed a little mist.
Her third one seemed like it was going to be a violent one. The Smeargle was still holding her hand as her breathing became irregular. Finally, she turned her head away from me and let out a giant fireball with her final sneeze.
"Wow! I feel a lot better now. Thanks Leslie."
"Bless you?"
"Thanks Kev- Whoa, what happened to you?" The girl innocently asked the puzzled Smeargle with the smoking fur. "And what's so funny?" She asked Benny, who was laughing so hard that he appeared to be in pain.
Dr. Black's laughing turned him into a living Van de Graaff generator. The static electricity he was producing caused my fur to stand on end and vital electronic gadgets to short out.
"Shit! My morphing machine!" I shouted as black smoke started to wisp out of the devices' circuit board vent filling my lab with the foul odor of burning insulation.
"That smells expensive." Kevin remarked. "Wait, YOUR morphing machine?"
"Well yeah, Joy gave it to me with this entire lab." I explained. This was the truth I, Professor Joy, gave this stuff to me, Leslie.
"If that machine was given to me, the first thing I'd do is destroy it. Why do you sound upset over losing a devise that you ran afoul of yourself?"
"I wanted to use it on Joy before I broke it." I explained but, it was starting to get uncomfortable blaming myself for everything.
"If Joy gave you all this stuff and took you under her wing as an apprentice, why do you want to cause her harm?" Kevin asked. "It sounds screwy to me."
"Look at me! Do you see a young lady standing in front of you?" I demanded as I allowed tears to fall down my face. I know Mightyena can't learn fake tears but, young humans that once aspired to become an actress, like me, can.
"No but,"
"Kevin, drop it. I can tell Leslie doesn't want to talk about it right now." Lisa commanded as I mentally thanked her.
"I need to sit down." I sniffled as I handed the tin to my assistant and whispered, "Don't screw this up."
"Lisa, I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but, Joy went on a large morphing spree before up and leaving." Dr. Black explained as he gave the tin to Lisa. "Leslie brought me up to speed so we can better assist everybody with any unforeseen problems. Until you are able to breathe fire on your own you will need to force yourself to sneeze when you start feeling uncomfortably hot. Releasing fire is how most fire type Pokémon lower their body temperature."
"Sorry about that Kevin." Lisa giggled as she rubbed the back of her head.
"No worries; it'll grow back eventually." Kevin sighed. "The important thing is that you are feeling better."
Author's notes:
98 buckets of sludge on the wall! I wonder. Could I call this a song fic now? HA!
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