Chapter 26: The Price of Freedom

My eyes slowly opened, but quickly shut at the sight of a bright light. I had no idea where I was, or how I got there. All I remembered was fighting against Team Rocket. Speaking of which just how the Hell did I survive that double Explosion. I should be dead… unless I was and this was my trip to the other side.

"Am I… dead?" I wondered out loud.

"No. You survived, but barely." I looked towards the voice and saw a welcome sight.

"Sonya!" I exclaimed. I tried to get up, but the minute I did pain like I've never experienced shot through my body, paralyzing me with pain.

"Ah, shit!" I groaned.

"Whoa, take it easy," Sonya exclaimed. "You're lucky to be alive right now."

"Tell me about it," I groaned. "Just how did I survive? Being sandwiched between two exploding Golem should have killed me."

"Under normal circumstances you'd be right, but when they brought the two Golem in they both were badly burned," Sonya explained. Now it all made sense. A Burn status reduces the physical attack strength of a Pokémon, which meant that when I hit them with Fire Blast I must have burned them and thus weakened their combined Explosion attacks.

"Someone up there must like me. Those Golem getting burned by my Fire Blast was nothing more than pure luck," I laughed, though a sharp pain reminded me of what I had went through.

"Maybe, but you're still nursing some serious injuries. I wouldn't do anything too strenuous for now, like trying to escape," Sonya suggested.

"You know… I'm going to try eventually," I told her.

"I know. Just… don't push yourself too hard," she warned.

"Yes, dear," I joked. We both chuckled at the joke.

"Sonya, report in." Guess it was time to check in. I saw her grab her radio from her belt and reply.

"Sonya here," she replied.

"It's time for your shift. Report to the security room."

"Understood." She clipped her radio back onto her belt.

"Looks like you're on the clock," I commented.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Listen. I don't know what I can do but I'll try to get you an opening to escape. Just try to be a little patient."

"That's never been one of my strong points, but I'll try," I said. Sonya gave me a nod before leaving to start her shift. As I laid back down I began to wonder how the others were doing. Little did I know they were closer than I knew.

Foxy's POV

We landed in Blackthorn City a few days earlier and, after receiving a brief check-up at the local Pokémon Center, made our way east through the Silver Mountain range. Now Scarlet, Poka, Maggie, Shocky and myself were standing about 100 yards away from the main gate at Team Rocket's HQ. The base, as we had predicted, was heavily guarded. At least four guards were posted by the main gate, and we could see numerous security cameras posted along the perimeter. It wasn't going to be easy getting in.

"(Damn. Well, we figured they'd have plenty of eyes watching this place,)" I said.

"Yeah, but how do we get in without those eyes spotting us?" Scarlet questioned. We turned to our Ghost type ally.

"(Do you think you could find us a way inside?)" I asked.

"(Let me give the place the old one-over. I'll be back in a flash.)" With that the Mismagius vanished.

"I hope she finds a way inside," Scarlet said.

"(So do I,)" I added. About a minute later Maggie returned.

"(So, what did you find?)" I inquired.

"(Well, there is a possible way inside,)" she reported. (Only…)"

"Only there are guards and security cameras to deal with, right?" Poka guessed.

"(That's not the problem,)" Maggie corrected. "(The problem is the entrance is an air duct that only a small Pokémon can fit into.)" This did sound like it would be a slight problem.

"(Where is the air duct?)" I asked.

"(Follow me.)" With Maggie in the lead we carefully made our way through the trees, making sure to stay out of sight of the Team Rocket guards and security cameras. She lead us around to the back of the building, where a small air duct entrance was clearly visible.

"(There. That's the way inside,)" she said.

"That is a tight fit," Poka commented. He was right. The entrance was just big enough for a small Pokémon to squeeze inside.

"So, who's going in?" Scarlet questioned. Almost immediately Shocky jumped forward and volunteered.

"You sure about this? This isn't going to be easy," Scarlet warned.

"(I know, but I want to help! Please, let me help,)" the Pichu begged. It was kind of cute to see him acting this way, but deep down I knew he really wanted to help. After a minute or so Scarlet finally agreed to let him handle this.

"(Okay! Leave it to me!)" he boasted.

"I know you'll do your best, but it would make me feel better if someone went with you," Scarlet admitted. Among the Pokémon that came along Ivy and I were the only ones who could fit in there with him, and because Ivy was an important part of our plan that left us with only one option.

"(I'll go with him,)" I announced.

"(Are you sure? Your injuries still haven't completely healed yet,)" Maggie said.

"She's right. It might be a strain on you in your condition," Poka agreed. True, I still wasn't 100%, but there was no way in Hell I was going to let that stop me. We were this close to rescuing Brian and I'll be damned if a few injuries are going to keep me from saving him.

"(I'll be fine as long as we avoid any confrontations with the guards,)" I explained. I'm sure they heard the confidence in my voice because they all agreed to let me go with Shocky.

"(Be careful, you two,)" Maggie said.

"(We will,)" I told her. "(You ready, Shocky?)"

"(Yup!)" the Pichu excitedly replied. The two of us waited until the coast was clear. Then, once we were sure it was safe we sprinted towards the air duct.

"(Time to make an entrance,)" I declared. I charged up an Iron Tail and smashed the grating on the duct, breaking it open and clearing us a path to get in. I let Shocky go in first and followed shortly after. Just like Poka said it was a tight fit. There was barely enough room for me to move.

"(Hey, you okay back there?)" Shocky called.

"(It's a bit tight but I'll manage,)" I told him. "(Can you see a way out?)"

"(Can't see much of anything, to tell you the truth,)" he replied. "(Hold on… I think I see an opening ahead.)" Looking ahead I could make out a bit of light up ahead. This could lead us to wherever they were keeping Brian.

"(Okay. Can you knock it open?)" I asked.

"(I can try.)" I saw him start backing up like he was about to charge the air duct cover. In response I backed up as much as I could to give him some room. Once he was a good distance back he charged the grating. He hit it as hard as he could, but all he did was bounce right off.

"(Are you okay?)" I asked.

"(I'm fine. Just a slightly sore shoulder,)" Shocky replied. "(That grating's on tighter than I thought. It might take more than I can muster to get it off.)"

"(What if we both hit it,)" I suggested. Sure I still wasn't 100% and couldn't move as freely as I'd like, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to do what I could to get Brian out.

"(That might do the trick,)" he said. The two of us stood side-by-side, though as small as the space was it was incredibly tight.

"(Okay. We go on three,)" I said. "(One… two… three!)" On three we ran at the grating as fast as we could, hoping to smash the thing open. What we weren't expecting was for the grating to be removed right before we hit it.

"(Oh crap!)" I shouted right before we went tumbling into the room. I braced myself for the impact with the floor, but that never happened. What did happen was us landing in someone's arms.

"(Hey! Put us down!)" Shocky demanded.

"Foxy? Shocky? What are you two doing here?" Hold on! I know that voice! I glanced up and was met with a nice surprise.

"(Sonya! Man are we glad to see you,)" I exclaimed.

"I can tell, but what are you guys doing here?" she asked us, setting us down.

"(We're here on a rescue mission!)" Shocky declared.

"(We're here to get Brian out. Scarlet, Poka and the others are waiting outside for us,)" I explained. "(I don't suppose you know of a way they can get inside without being detected, do you?)" I saw Sonya begin to think. Hopefully she knew of a way.

"Hmm… maybe… I think that just might work."

"(You thought of something?)" I questioned.

"It's a long shot, but I think it's possible for them to get in here with a bit of help," she announced. "Do any of them have Ghost type Pokémon?"

"(Maggie's with them. Why?)" I wondered.

"Well, the reason I say this is a long shot is because I think she can sneak them in here if she knows the move Shadow Sneak," Sonya said. I wasn't sure if that was something she knew.

"(I'll have to ask her if she knows it. I can't ever remember Brian ever teaching her that move,)" I said.

"It would really help if she did," Sonya said.

Foxy's POV

Once Shocky and I got back outside I explained what Sonya had said to the others.

"(… and that's the idea. She said that if you knew Shadow Sneak you could possibly use it to get everyone inside undetected,)" I finished.

"(Shadow Sneak, huh,)" Maggie pondered.

"(Do you know it?)" I inquired.

"(I do, but it's been years since I've tried it,)" Maggie explained. "(You see, my father was a Gengar who knew the move, so naturally I was born knowing it as well. The only problem was I never could get it to work properly.)"

"Did your father help you?" Scarlet wondered.

"(Oh yes. He and I spent hours a day practicing it, but no matter how much effort I put into the training it never seemed to be enough,)" Maggie explained. "(Eventually he left to become one of the Gym Leader's Pokémon. I still saw him occasionally and we did still practice together, but I still never got Shadow Sneak to work right.)" This created quite the dilemma. If Maggie used the move there was the possibility that something could go wrong, but if we didn't we'd have to find another way inside.

"(So what do we do now?)" Shocky asked. It was a tough call, but if there was one thing Brian taught us it was to have faith in each other.

"(Let's do it,)" I announced.

"You want to go with Sonya's plan and use Shadow Sneak?" Poka questioned.

"(Yeah. I know you said you never got it to work properly, but I know you can do it,)" I declared. Maggie's face went from doubt to confidence.

"(Leave it to me,)" she said. Everyone gathered around her, making sure to remain in the shadows.

"(Okay… here we go.)" She took a deep breath and began concentrating. Moments later the area around us began to grow even darker than it already was.

"What's happening?!" Scarlet asked in a slight panic.

"(I think… I think this is Shadow Sneak,)" I answered. By now it was getting so dark we could barely see. Even I was having trouble seeing and I could easily see in the dark.

"(Okay, let's hope this works!)" Maggie said. Right after that it almost felt as though we were moving, and yet none of us could see where we were going. The sensation lasted only a few seconds before we were brought back into the light.

"Where are we?" Poka asked. Looking around Shocky and I immediately recognized the room.

"(We're in the security room! Maggie, you did it!)" I cheered. Though she, like the rest of us, were happy about the results the effort she put forth must have drained her. She was hovering close to the ground and was breathing heavily.

"Are you okay?" Poka inquired.

"(I'll… be fine… once… I… catch… my breath,)" the Mismagius gasped. Scarlet nodded and returned her to her Poké Ball. After that Sonya addressed us.

"Looks like everyone got in okay," she commented.

"(Yeah. Now comes the second part of the rescue operation,)" I said.

"And that would be?" Sonya wondered. At that point we went over our plan to get Brian out with Sonya, hoping she'd be able to lend a hand.

"Okay, so you want to broadcast Ivy's Grasswhistle over the base's speakers and put the guards to sleep so you can find Brian and get him out. Do I have that right?" she pondered.

"(That's the idea,)" I confirmed.

"Well, I can link the microphones here with the speakers throughout the entire base," Sonya suggested.

"(That's just what we need,)" I said.

"Okay. Give me a few minutes to set the link up." While she got to work on that Scarlet took out Ivy's Poké Ball and called her out.

"(Is it time for my solo?)" she joked.

"(Not yet, but keep that voice warmed up. You'll be on in five,)" I added, continuing the performance.

"(Just make sure the spotlight's ready for a star of my caliber,)" she demanded. Oh, that Ivy. She always did like to put on a performance.

"The stage is ready for you." And speaking of performing it was time for her number. But first I needed to make sure her song didn't affect us too.

"(A little Safeguard will make sure we stay awake for this number,)" I commented. Moments later I flooded the room with a green light, protecting everyone from the sleep-inducing effects of Ivy's Grasswhistle.

"(Okay, girl! Whistle your heart out!)" I cheered. With a flick of her tail she produced a single leaf. She caught it in her paw and brought it to her mouth.

"(I call this one 'Dreamtime Serenade'.)" And with that she began to play. I must admit the song had a beautiful sound. Too bad for the guards they wouldn't be awake long enough to enjoy it. Looking at the monitors we could see them falling asleep one-by-one.

"Look at them all. They're dropping like Venonat," Scarlet commented.

"Now to find out where they're keeping Brian," Poka said.

"No need. I can take you right to him," Sonya told us. Well, that made thing a lot easier for us.

"(Okay. Lead the way,)" I said.

"Follow me." With Sonya guiding us we left the security room and headed towards the room they had Brian in. With any luck we'll all be out of here before the guards wake up.

As you can imagine there wasn't much I could do in my cage. The damn thing was barely big enough for me to stretch in. The one thing I could do was lay down and try to get some sleep. At first that didn't seem like it was going to happen, but then I heard something playing over the speakers.

"Hey… that sounds like…" The more I listened the more familiar it sounded. I also noticed my eyelids were getting a bit heavy. Sleep was slowly taking over, and as I slowly closed my eyes I couldn't help but smile and let one thought go through my mind.

"What took them so long?"

Foxy's POV

As we traversed through the halls we passed plenty of sleeping guards. I had wondered if we should have shut off the security cameras as well, but then I thought about it. With all the guards sleeping who would be left to spot us?

"(Are we almost there?)" Ivy asked.

"Just a bit further," Sonya told us. We had been running for quite a while, or so it seemed. All the hallways looked the same to me. Good thing we had Sonya here to lead the way or we'd have gotten lost for sure.

"It's just around this corner," Sonya announced. With Brian so close we picked up our pace. Soon we were standing in front of a metal door.

"Brian's just beyond here," Sonya said.

"(Well what are we waiting for?! Open it up!)" Ivy demanded. Under normal circumstances I would have scolded Ivy for that, but truthfully I was just as impatient as she was right now. Sonya must have realized this for she had the door open in a matter of seconds. Everyone burst into the room. It was mostly dark, but the part of the room that was lit showed a small cage, and inside that cage was Brian, sound asleep.

"(How could he be sleeping at a time like this?)" Ivy groaned.

"(Because you put him to sleep. He wasn't protected by Safeguard like we were, so it's only natural that Grasswhistle put him to sleep like it did with the guards,)" I pointed out.

"(Oh,)" Ivy groaned after realizing what happened. "(So how do you suppose we wake him up? I doubt if calling him will do the trick.)"

"(Oh, I know,)" I said. I approached the bars, my six tails giving off a white glow.

"(Rise and shine!)" I shouted, striking the bars repeatedly with my Iron Tail.

"Gah! What the…" My surprised yells were brought to an end when I jumped up in surprise and struck the top of my cage with my head.

"Ow, ow, ow!" I groaned, clutching the top of my head in pain. "Don't you think you overdid it a bit?!"

"(Not at all,)" Foxy smirked. "(It woke you up, didn't it?)" I sighed. Though I wished she would have been a bit more delicate I was glad to see them.

"So, you just going to stand there or are you going to get me out of here?" I questioned.

"(A bit impatient, aren't we?)" Foxy teased. I gave her a look that said 'Hurry up and get me out of here', getting a laugh out of my Vulpix.

"(Okay. Let him out, Sonya.)" Reaching into her pocket Sonya took out the key to my cage and opened it up. As I jumped out I stretched, enjoying my new freedom.

"Ah… Now this is much better," I said. I glanced at Foxy, noticing the slight blush on her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" I questioned, knowing exactly what was up.

"(Uh… n-nothing,)" she stuttered. "(I-I just think you should hurry and change so we can get out of here before the guards wake up.)"

"There are some clothes hidden in the back of the room," Sonya said. As much as I loved teasing Foxy I really wanted to get out, so I hurried to the back of the room and changed into my human form. I then quickly put on the clothes before coming back out.

"Okay, let's get the Hell out of here!" I said.

"You don't have to tell us twice," Scarlet commented. All of us left the room and quickly made our way towards the closest exit. As we made our way through the many halls I could see that effects of Ivy's Grasswhistle were lasting much longer.

"I wouldn't have expected Grasswhistle to keep them out this long. You're getting better, Ivy," I complimented.

"(Thanks,)" she said. "(I wouldn't have gotten this good if it weren't for you.)"

"(Let's do less complimenting and more running,)" Foxy suggested. I for one couldn't agree more.

"How much further?" I asked Sonya.

"Not much. We should be just about…" Her sentence, as well as our progress, came to a screeching halt once we rounded the next corner. None of us were ready for what, or who, awaited us.

"How disappointing… to get so close, and still fail."

"Giovanni! How the Hell are you still awake?!" I demanded.

"You assume I was here for that weed's little performance," he sneered. If I knew one thing it was that Ivy hated being insulted.

"(Why you… please tell me I can rip him a new one!)" she begged.

"I don't think you'll be doing anything, especially when I have this." Moments later her took out a handgun and aimed it right at us. Needless to say we were all fearing for our lives.

"Now… who should be the one? Should it be… you?" He pointed the gun at Poka, who didn't even so much as flinch.

"Or maybe you." This time it was Scarlet staring down the barrel. She stood her ground, but she did show a bit of fear.

"Or perhaps I should take care of that thorn in my side once and for all." This time the gun was pointed at me, something that brought back memories of my first encounter with this bastard. Let me tell you, if looks could kill then Giovanni would be six-feet under right now.

"Now that I think about it, the first bullet should go to… you." In a move that surprised us all he pointed the gun at Sonya.

"W-What are you doing?" she asked.

"Come now. You didn't think you kept that little secret hidden from me, did you? I know you're an undercover agent for the Pokémon G-Men," Giovanni revealed. "In fact, I've known all this time." Sonya gasped at the revelation.

"I-If you knew… then why…"

"Didn't I stop you? Simple… I wanted to see how useful you would prove to be before I killed you," Giovanni explained. "And now, you've outlived your usefulness." Right then we all knew what was coming.

"No!" Despite my protests Giovanni pulled the trigger. We all watched as the bullet entered her chest, striking her heart.

"Sonya!" I cried. While we were in shock Giovanni was preparing his next shot.

"Don't worry. You will all be joining her soon," he said. Right before he took aim at one of us Foxy and Ivy went into action, firing off a combination of Energy Ball and Fire Blast. The two attacks struck the ground in front of Giovanni, knocking him off balance and creating a dense smoke cloud.

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" I recalled Ivy and then Poka and I grabbed Sonya as we ran through the smoke cloud. Thankfully it was only a short run to the exit. Once we were outside we knew we had to make a quick getaway. Scarlet and Poka called on Miora and Featherblade while I called on Inferno.

"Let's get out of here!" I shouted. We mounted the Pokémon. Foxy rode with Scarlet on Miora while I managed to get Sonya on Inferno's back with me.

"Head for Kanto, quick!" The Pokémon wasted no time in taking to the skies, quickly flying towards Kanto.

We managed to make it to the Viridian Forest when Sonya's condition took a turn for the worst. We made an emergency landing so we could try and help her. Unfortunately we had no experience in this matter, meaning there wasn't much we could do for her.

"Oh Sonya… I'm sorry," I said, my voice filled with sadness. Though she was in great pain Sonya managed to look at me with a smile.

"It's… okay. I… knew… the… r-risks… going… in," she gasped.

"But if it hadn't been for me you… you could have gotten out alive," I argued.

"I… w-wasn't… going… to… l-leave… you… behind," she gasped, each word sapping more and more of her strength.

"But…" Before I could argue further she handed me two objects. One was a small data disk. The other, Inferno's Poké Ball.

"S-Sonya?"

"T-Tell Michelle… to take… g-good… care… of him," she said. At that moment I knew she only had a few short moments left to live.

"I will," I promised. She flashed one last smile before closing her eyes for the last time. I hung my head and let a few tears fall. Foxy, who was sitting next to me, placed a paw on my leg in support.

"It's my fault… it's all my fault," I wept.

"(No… it wasn't your fault,)" Foxy argued.

"That's right. If anyone's to blame it's Giovanni and Team Rocket," Scarlet added. Giovanni… Team Rocket… I swear they were going to pay for this. If it was the last thing I do they were going to pay.

"Come on. Let's get back to Cerulean. At the very least we should give Sonya a proper burial," I said. No one argued as we headed back to our respective Pokémon. We carefully placed Sonya's body on Inferno and, once I was properly seated on the Charizard's back, slowly flew off towards Cerulean City.

I may have been free, but right now I don't feel free. My freedom came at the cost of Sonya's life, a price that was much greater than I wanted to pay. And speaking of paying Giovanni would pay for this. For now stick around for the next chapter of The Shifter Chronicles.

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