Once the stream of children had stopped pouring out of the hidden room, Dawn was finally able to get a good look inside. The holding room didn't have any lights, so it was hard to make out what was in the back. But if she squinted her eyes, she could see a taller boy kneeling next to a little girl. It took a few seconds to figure out who they were.

"BROCK! MARY!" Dawn called out, scuttling towards them to wrap them up in a big hug. Brock reciprocated as much as he could, considering the handcuff around his wrist. Mary was too stunned and confused to do much of anything. "I'm so glad you're alright!" She cried.

"Me too, Dawn." Brock agreed, before gently breaking from the embrace to fiddle with the handcuffs. "How about Ash? Is he okay?"

Dawn's smile disappeared. "I thought…I thought he was with you…"

There was a silence as it sunk in that Ash was still unaccounted for. Brock and Dawn felt shivers going down their spines as they imagined what was happening to Ben. Mary didn't have to imagine. She just knew.

Trying not to think about their fears, Dawn and Brock focused their attention on the handcuffs. The handcuffs were too strong for Brock to snap and too tight or him to wriggle his wrist out. Luckily, Jessie and James had provided Dawn with a lockpick, just to be safe. With a little bit of searching she found the keyhole for the handcuffs, and with some effort (Dawn didn't have much experience with lockpicks) the handcuffs clicked open. Brock rubbed his wrist, relieved to be freed.

"So what do we do now?" Brock asked, worry evident in his voice.

Dawn gulped. "I-I don't…"

"Ms. Marge? What are you-"

"Get the HELL out of my way!"

At the sound of Marge's angry voice, Dawn and Brock got to their feet. From the sound of it, that woman was coming their way. She sounded absolutely furious, and she was furious at Dawn. Panicking, Dawn and Brock ran out, thinking she was better off in the hallways where they could run instead of a tiny room where they could be cornered. Almost tripping over countless small Pokemon running about, the two of them tried to make a break for the front door.

Unfortunately, they took a wrong turn and stepped into Marge's line of sight. The light from the windows illuminated the shotgun in her hands, and the two of them froze.

"YOU!" Marge snarled, quivering in rage. "You've undone FIFTEEN YEARS of holy work! You've infested this sanctuary with monsters! You've damned our children when they needed our help most!" Pointing the gun barrel straight at them, Marge lined up the sights.

Dawn screamed inwardly, terrified that she was going to die. Her thoughts flashed back to her mother, her ribbons, her medals, her friends, her Pokemon. All that was going to come to an end, right here and right now.

Team Rocket were still watching everything from the bushes, and from their position they could see Marge confronting Dawn and Brock. Jessie and James' eyes widened. "Is that a…"

"And she's pointing it at…"

"We gotta do something!"

A flash of inspiration struck James, who ripped something out of his bag. Jessie recognized it immediately.

Marge was still quivering, debating whether shooting these two interlopers would be worth it. The barrel of the gun remained pointed straight at the two children, even when one of the officers came onto the scene, drawing his pistol at Marge.

"Ma'am…put down the gun…I don't wanna shoot you…"

Marge scoffed, raising the gun barrel higher. The smile on her face told everyone that she'd made a decision. "It doesn't matter. God will be reborn very soon, and once she has cleansed the world of it's filth and false creatures, I will-"

She didn't get a chance to finish before something smashed through the window right next to her. Before Marge had any chance to react, the barrel of her shotgun was grabbed by a metal claw attached to a blazing rocket.

"GAH!" Marge tried to wrestle the gun back under control, but a Rocket-Powered Rocket Grabber was impossible to stop. She managed to fire a shot that put a huge hole in the ceiling just before the gun was ripped out of her hands. As if it was piloted by remote control, the claw took the gun and flew through the hole, far from Marge's reach.

Marge froze as her situation sunk in, her eyes shifting between the hole in the ceiling, the two children, and the police officer. After a second's hesitation, she made the snap decision to turn around and run for her life.

"HALT!" The officer cried, readying his weapon. But he didn't have to fire it.

Several of the freed Pokemon were scuttling around the hall Marge was running down. Spider webs from a dozen Spinarak wrapped around her legs, and Marge fell face-first to the floor. She desperately tried to push herself back up, but the spider webs wrapped around her arms before she could do anything.

"NO! GET OFF ME! MONSTERS! YOU MON-" Marge's ranting was silenced by even more webs.

Stunned and a little confused by the situation, the officer shook his head clear and called for backup. Marge struggled impotently as several policemen came and brought her to her feet, no doubt to prep her for a long ride in the police car.

Brock and Dawn just stood there, blinking. It was over? Just like that? It seemed too good to be true…then again, it wasn't really over. Their friend was still in big trouble, and they didn't know how to help him or…

Dawn's eyes widened in shock as she realized that in all the confusion, there was something she had completely overlooked.

Where's Pikachu?!

OK, two chapters and an epilogue to go!