Warning: Rating change! This chapter is definitely PG-13. Heh. I can just see you sitting in front of your computer, rubbing your hands together and going, "Ooh, what's in this chapter that made Negrek do her first rating bump?"
Author's Notes: Well, May is not so free a month as I had hoped. That aside, I had a good time writing this chapter…perhaps altogether too much of a good time, as you'll see towards the end. I'd also like to give credit to Facia, as one of her (much) earlier reviews gave me the inspiration for the fourth floor of the lighthouse. Most of that is actually next chapter, but it begins here, and if you go back and find the old review, you'll be able to debunk the ending a bit.
Wow, it seemed like a lot of people had something going on May 6th. I hope you all got through that okay, and belated good luck, Yellowspottedlizard. I hope you did well.
I'm glad you like my fight scenes, Cedric. I really have fun writing them, so I'm glad that you think they come out well. It is hard to deal with so many Pokemon at once. The initial version of the last chapter accidentally gave the floor master six Pokemon, so I had to go back and rewrite that one a bit.
I'm constantly surprised why people ask why Tobias can never get a break…he survived a Scyther attack, escaped from prison, was rescued by a Slipstri, and got to visit the beautifully scenic Johto. What's bad about that?
I'd love to see your pictures, Mareo and Anime, and I'll work on Spirfargio for you, WindieDragon. I totally forgot about it, sorry.
Interestingly enough, Emerald version adds a phone feature to the Pokenav, so my previous use of it isn't breaking canon anymore. It's neat how these things work out, isn't it?
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Disguises
The creature slowly drew itself up to its full and considerable height, towering over the five humans clinging desperately to their respective rocks in the midst of the swirling rapids. The eddying mist that filled the room hung in a dense cloud about it, almost forming a regal shroud for its menacing draconic form. As its long, slender wings opened, however, the obscuring haze was torn asunder, revealing…
Tobias squeezed his eyes shut, clinging desperately to his boulder. He recognized the Pokemon. No! No, he didn't recognize it. Please, don't let it be what he had thought he'd seen…
Chris, however, had no qualms about uttering the beast's name. "Lugia!" he cried, his voice only barely audible over the roar of the now-agitated water. Tobias reluctantly opened his eyes, unable to block out the terrible creature standing over the group. Chris's shout had seemed both fearful and awed, and a quick glance at the boy, who was clinging to a boulder not far away, confirmed this. He was staring at the magnificent white bird with wide eyes, clutching his boulder tightly and clearly unsure as to whether he should run forward or back the way he had come.
Tobias winced as the massive dragon-bird's head swiveled around to focus on Chris, and an explosive shriek from its cruelly hooked beak confirmed the its identity as it proudly stated its name. He leaned his head against the boulder in front of him, trying to steady his whirling thoughts. Cursed, cursed, cursed, cursed! Most trainers were lucky if they even caught a glimpse of one legendary, much less come too close for comfort to two of them. And there was no doubt that he was in for it now; he doubted that Lugia would be very pleased with their little group for trespassing on its territory, bizarre as it was that it had apparently taken up residence in the lighthouse.
This had apparently occurred to Cass as well. She grimly grabbed her Ultra Ball and, apparently deciding that it would be unwise to lob it directly at Lugia, depressed its front button instead, muttering, "Come on, Kecleon."
Nothing happened. Cass paled and pressed the button again, then again, clicking it frantically as Lugia returned his attention to her, leaning in closer with a mocking grin on his face. Cold terror surged in the pit of Tobias's stomach. There was no way-why wasn't the Ultra Ball working?
A pair of Pokeballs sailed onto the island, apparently thrown by Chris and George, their voices echoing off of the level's walls in a confused jumble of noise. The balls clattered off of the boulder upon which Lugia was perched, dropping back to the rock slab of the island harmlessly, unopened.
At that point, Tobias was positive that hysteria would soon ensue. He felt the urge to scream and flee himself in the face of the powerful legendary bird perched regally over them, smirking down upon the five humans that knew they were utterly at his mercy. In fact, it was only that Lugia grew tired of their antics before they truly began to go mad with terror that prevented the team from dissolving into complete disarray, which would probably have involved at least one of them trying desperately to run against a current, tripping and falling beneath the water only to drown. Not that it really mattered; they were probably going to all die anyway, Tobias thought as the huge white bird gave one experimental flap of his powerful wings, blasting a gale force gust of wind across the room and knocking Team Ghost back into their senses. A second heave of his wings and he was in the air, circling menacingly over the five trainers. His streamlined form cut through the misty air with fluid grace, water droplets condensing on his silvery feathers as he soared through the humid air and glittering in a stunning display as he flew beneath the light streaming in from the lighthouse's windows. He released a couple more triumphant screams, apparently relishing the terror that they instilled in the humans below him as he contemplated which one to deal with first.
Tobias felt his terror slowly displaced by anger as he watched the antics of the powerful legendary. Lugia's absolute arrogance and clear disdain for Tobias and his comrades reminded him all too well of the tales he had heard of the conceited legendaries who had nearly brought the lives of his people to an end long before. Well he, for one, was not going down without a fight. Even if the bird was able to prevent the Pokeballs from functioning somehow, Tobias was fairly sure that he wouldn't expect anyone here to be using a chime. He couldn't remember what types Lugia was, and frankly didn't care. He grabbed Accemenla's chime, figuring that the Tarsix could at least try to redirect the legendary's attacks, even if she didn't have a hope of winning if she actually confronted him head-on.
The clear note of Tobias's chime echoed out across the level, and Lugia abruptly made his choice, banking left and soaring closer to the Waytaran. Accemenla solidified on top of Tobias's boulder, head swiveling left and right even as the last strands of mist from her release were clearing, seeming to catch the tension and desperation in the air. When she spotted Lugia bearing down on herself and her guide, she froze, her eyes narrowing and her ears going back.
"Accemenla, quick!" Tobias shouted desperately as Lugia drew nearer. "Just try to knock it off course or something so we can get away!"
The Tarsix started, ears popping back into their normal upright position in shock. You want me to fight that thing? she asked in consternation.
"It's the only way we're going to have any chance of coming out of this alive. Just do it! Fast!" Tobias choked, overwhelmed as a bird over three times his height dove down towards him. "Just knock him to the side! Blind him! Anything!"
Oh, I'll do more than just that, Accemenla chuckled, recovering quickly. Her eyes glowed as she summoned her psychic powers, and a beam of distortion leapt from her slender frame as she released the most powerful psybeam she could muster.
Lugia, who had pulled up to slow his descent and apparently gather energy for an attack, was caught completely off guard as the rippling bolt of warped reality rushed towards him. It struck the legendary bird squarely in his blue-feathered chest, and to the surprise of perhaps everyone but Accemenla, he didn't simply flinch at the blow, but was blasted backwards by it. His huge frame slammed into the island at the room's center with a deafening crash, repeated a dozen times over by the echoing room, and the whole island shook, one of the two Pokeballs that had been thrown onto it knocked off the edge. It rolled into the churning water and was almost instantly swept away, but not even its owner noticed.
Sixteen pairs of eyes, six real and two sightless, stared at the huge white bird. Accemenla released another devastating beam almost before the first had dissipated and certainly before any of the humans had a chance to comprehend the situation. Where the first psybeam had crushed the legendary bird against the rocky outcropping, narrowly missing Cass's head as he flew past, the second dug a four-inch-deep pit in the center of his chest.
The whirlpools slowly died down as the five humans and one Pokemon stood silently, Accemenla grinning slightly to herself. In the profound silence that ensued as the waters slowly calmed once more, the only sound was the fizzing of sparks and creaks of straining gears as Lugia shuddered. His feathers littered the area before him and his ribs, twisted out of their proper positions, protruded grotesquely from the gaping hole in his synthetic skin, glinting metallically. A crazed tangle of wires, some severed and frayed and some yet whole, sat nestled in his chest cavity, ruptured coolant lines spilling their contents across the mess. The mechanical bird's vocal unit gave one last hiss of static before going silent, the robot giving a final convulsion before lying still, gaping beak locked in a perpetual grimace of pain.
You know, I don't really think it was built for battle, Accemenla mused as she surveyed her handiwork with satisfaction.
"A robot," George chuckled a second later. "It was just a robot. They sent a robot Lugia after us."
The entire team was overcome with a fit of nervous giggles, the tension and fear that had permeated the room minutes before dissipating as their thoughts shied away from the terror they had only just recently felt. Meanwhile, the Chinchou were coming back to life one by one.
"But why?" Chris asked. Tobias was disgusted to note that he was looking on the twisted form of the robot with an almost mournful expression. As if he'd actually prefer that the thing was still active and angry at him.
"Probably for the same reason that they sent us into a spider-infested area on the first level and through a stun spore trap on the second," Jenny growled darkly.
"Well, I think that-" Cass began, but was interrupted by a shout from off to their right.
"Hey! You!" a man yelled, sloshing determinedly through the water. He was a sight to behold, red-faced and furious, waving a clipboard irately as he splashed forward, the rubber overalls that protected his entire lower half contrasting sharply with the smart business suit that he wore under it.
"Oh, shit," George murmured. "I think I know why our Pokeballs didn't work."
The man was at soon within tirade range and began to unload with a vengeance. "Just what the hell did you do to our Lugia!" he howled. From his current angle, he couldn't yet see what remained of the robot as it was shielded by the island's boulder. "I was monitoring its functions and there was suddenly a huge energy surge, and then everything went dead!"
"Hold on a minute," Cass began angrily, "we were just defending ourselves. That thing was trying to kill us!"
"That's ridiculous," the stranger bawled as he sloshed steadily onward. "The Lugia unit had been programmed to take non-lethal actions only."
"Ooh, I'm so reassured," Cass shot back, eyes glittering. Tobias wished she would just shut up, as he had a feeling that she was only making the situation worse. The man drew even with Tobias and was at last able to see his precious robot. He stopped stock-still, mouth open for another bellowed reprimand that died on his lips. His red face executed a color change that would have made Cass's Kecleon envious, shifting from purple to white to a sickly green. Tobias might have been amused by this under ordinary circumstances, but at the moment he was more worried about his current situation. What, exactly, was going to happen now that they-or specifically himself and Accemenla-had taken out the Lugiabot?
"This…this isn't possible," the man squeaked at last, horrified eyes taking in the massive damage to the Lugia's frame. "There's no way that five kids could do this, not without the help of Pokemon…"
You called? Accemenla asked cheekily, clearly highly amused by the situation. She waved jauntily from her perch atop Tobias's boulder. Tobias had a sudden urge to reach out and throttle her, only barely able to restrain himself by virtue of the acute feeling that this would be bad to do in front of some sort of League official who probably had the power to revoke his Johto license and also that Accemenla would make the experience as painful for him as it was for her.
The man spun around to look at the Tarsix and his complexion added an interesting gray to its color palette. "That's a…a…Pokemon," he gulped. "How did you…how did you let it out? The damping field generated by the Lugia unit's scramblers should have prevented any Pokeballs from working.
Oh, I'm sure the damping field was working fine, Accemenla reassured him. I don't live in a Pokeball, you see. I've got a chime. She waved a claw at Tobias, and the man turned to him, hopelessly confused.
Tobias sighed. "I'm from Waytar; we don't use Pokeballs. Instead, we use chimes, like these." He indicated the two chimes hanging from his belt. "I'm truly sorry that my Pokemon destroyed your robot, but what was I supposed to do? I thought it was going to kill us!"
"Not that again!" the man bellowed back. Now covering for his shock with a good dose of outrage, he seemed to swell up with rage as he attempted to tower over Tobias. Having grown considerably during his three years in Johto, however, Tobias was taller, if only by a little, than the somewhat rotund man. "Why on earth would we hold an annual event that killed trainers? It's ridiculous! This competition is very closely monitored, as I'm sure you're now aware."
"All right, I said I was sorry," Tobias growled, his ire beginning to rise. "There's not really much we can do about it now, is there?"
"No, there's not," the man sighed, slightly deflated. He shot another hopeless glance at the ruined Lugia and muttered something under his breath, shaking his head slightly. "I suppose I can't really disqualify you, as you had no idea what you were doing. Still…"
He pondered a fitting punishment as the rest of Team Ghost closed in on the pair, drawn to their conversation by curiosity. Accemenla, sitting quietly on the rock above her guide's head, also attracted considerable attention. A couple of hands reached for nonexistent Pokedexes as the four other trainers approached her.
"I think it only fair that your team provide at least some compensation for the damage that you've caused. The Lugia unit was on loan from Silph of Johto, and I don't doubt that they'll be extremely displeased to hear of the damaged that it sustained."
"Well that's just your fault, isn't it?" Cass snarled. "It was you that decided to use an expensive robot instead of just a regular Pokemon."
"Yeah, why'd you do that?" George said. "Seems like you were taking a big risk from the start. Pokemon are a lot easier to repair if they break, and cheaper, too." Tobias shot an uncomfortable glance at the pudgy boy in response to that particular statement. He didn't much like the notion that Pokemon were just cheaper, easier-to-"fix" machines.
"Pokemon like what?" the man asked exasperatedly. "The water level here is too low to accommodate most water-types, and raising it further would not only endanger tournament participants but would be very expensive to pull off. Not only that, but this is a saltwater pool. Most intimidating Pokemon that live waters this deep are freshwater species. No, the most we could accommodate would be Pokemon along the lines of these Chinchou, which are none too scary or difficult to get past. Lugia is also a particularly special to Olivine, as he is known to live in the Whirl Islands and in the past has risen to protect the city from the disastrous storms caused by squabbles amongst his siblings."
Team Ghost didn't really have anything to say to that, so they merely favored the tournament official with mute glares. "Move along," he said at last. "I'll work out how much you'll owe the tournament organizers and send you a bill after the first segment of the challenge has been completed."
Tobias recalled Accemenla and joined his teammates in stalking forward, the more brazen trainers shooting the occasional venomous glare back at the man. Chris was the only exception. Lagging behind, he cautiously approached the still-fuming official. "Um, sir, I-I lost one of my Pokemon," he explained hesitantly. "It fell in the water and got swept away."
The man grunted and replied, "It probably just got sucked into one of the intake filters, then. I'll check for it at the end of the challenge and send it back to you. Don't worry."
George thanked him profusely and jogged as best he could to reach the rest of the group. The going was once again slow, but Tobias couldn't even try to imagine what it would be like to cross the same distance with what you thought was a legendary Pokemon worrying at your heels. He wondered vaguely what the actual Lugia would think if it knew that scientists had been working to create a robotic version of it. While the legendary creatures were vain and no doubt approved of the constant stream of statues, paintings, and tales churned out in their praise, he wasn't so sure that they would approve of humans trying to create machines to replicate their power. It might seem to them a little…presumptuous.
Another structure soon loomed in the mist ahead, though this one was far, far larger than Lugia's small island. It reared up some ten feet above the water, stretching nearly from wall to wall. As they drew closer, it was possible to discern a narrow metal ladder running up the side of the imposing object, which proved to be constructed of bare concrete. One by one the trainers hauled themselves up the ladder, their clothes seeming all the heavier now that they were out of the water and not aided by its extra buoyancy. Tobias was the third to ascend, water cascading from his soaked body and garments as he clung desperately to the slippery metal rungs.
Once he reached the end of the ladder and scrambled up onto the top of the concrete slab, he found himself to be standing on the narrow deck of an impressively proportioned pool. Seven standard league floats drifted across its surface. Three feet in diameter and able to support nearly five hundred pounds, they could accommodate almost any Pokemon that found itself to be slightly water-shy. Peering down into the depths of the pool, Tobias discovered that the bottom had been designed to mirror the ocean floor. Seaweed obscured most of the sandy surface. Apparently, this tank was saltwater as well. A woman, obviously the floor master for this level, stood across from him, waiting patiently for the rest of the team to appear.
Jenny and Cass made their way up the ladder next, and soon Team Ghost had assembled themselves into a dripping line on their side of the pool. The floor master observed her opponents coolly, absently winding the silver whistle that she wore about her neck around her finger. "So. You are the five that destroyed the Lugia," she said at last.
"How do you know-" Jenny began, surprised.
"I received word from Maurice," the floor master explained, cutting her off. "Resourceful of you. Now, you've made it most of the way through the ocean challenge. In the early days, Olivine was a treacherous port and many a ship met its end on the rocks of the Whirl Islands before the lighthouse was built. If you can defeat me, you will have completed the third challenge." She smiled slightly and, though Tobias couldn't really make out her eyes from such a distance, he could easily imagine them to be an icy blue or stormy gray, remaining untouched by the falsely friendly expression. "Go on, choose your fighters."
It took Team Ghost a couple of minutes to select their Pokemon. Naturally, this arena provided a challenge none of the others did, and apparently no one on the team had brought a Pokemon suited to water with them. They would be at a disadvantage right from the start, then, assuming that the floor master had a roster of mostly water-types. Cass's Kecleon was the first to appear, bursting into being on the platform nearest his trainer. Jenny called out a Furret, which was clearly unnerved by the situation, and George sent out another steel-type. Tobias wasn't familiar with particular specimen; it floated above the water, supported by some force apparently unassociated with the two arms hanging down beneath its one-piece body. These twitched slightly as the creature flexed its three sharp claws, observing the battlefield with cold red eyes.
Tobias decided to use Accemenla for this battle and released her from her chime. She seemed bemused by her situation, rocking her platform back and forth experimentally on the water. "Battle time, Accemenla," Tobias informed her. "It's five-on-five."
Interesting…was her only comment as she sized up her teammates.
"Go, Chris!" Chris cried, tossing a ball of his own into the arena. All five trainers turned to stare at him as a Meganium appeared from the ball, the buoyant material beneath its stocky legs sinking visibly into the water. Feeling the eyes of his teammates upon him, the human Chris gave his comrades a bewildered look. "What?"
"You named your Meganium 'Chris,'" Kass responded.
"Yeah," Chris replied, apparently not catching on. "So?"
There was a collective raising of eyebrows as the four other teens turned away from him again, leaving him to shoot confused looks at them. Their attention was soon diverted to the floor master herself. She tossed five Pokeballs in quick succession, releasing a quintet of aquatically gifted Pokemon. An Omastar sank to the bottom of the pool almost immediately, its heavy shell bearing it downwards. Its comrades remained near the surface, however, apparently awaiting orders to dive. The largest of the group, a decidedly menacing Gyrados, stretched its neck and fins in a disconcerting fashion, looming over all of the other fighters by a considerable amount.
The referee, who had been lurking off to the side, raised his flags resignedly. His black and white-striped attire clung to him damply, and he stayed as close to the outer edge of the concrete slab as possible. Apparently, the previous battles had been rather ferocious, if they had succeeded in flinging water far enough to soak the man. "The battle between Team Ghost and Floor Master Swift will now commence!" he announced.
Almost before the words were out of his mouth, the shrill blast of a whistle pierced the air. The floor master's Pokemon disappeared beneath the surface nearly as fast, leaving the five on the side of Team Ghost to peer into the depths after them in uncertainty. They were distracted by repeated whistle blasts, some sort of code that coordinated the actions of the underwater Pokemon even while they were out of their trainer's sight.
"Kecleon, begin with a Thunderbolt," Cass commanded, smirking slightly at the floor master. With all five of her opponents submerged, she could cause considerable damage to all of them at once. Her Kecleon gladly obliged, scales taking on a yellowish hue as its tongue uncurled, drooping down to touch the water.
A frantic series of shrills came form the floor master's whistle as the chameleon's tongue came alive with electricity, small discharges crackling through the air around the prehensile appendage. The Gyrados reared out of the water nearby, howling with pain as the powerful charge traveled through the pool's water to leap across his armored scales. Accemenla took the opportunity to fire off a psybeam at him, apparently amused by his antics. Meanwhile, Furret, who had been about to reluctantly dive into the water at his trainer's command, balked and scurried back to the center of his float. He didn't want to be fried along with his foes. The psybeam connected with the Gyrados, slamming him up against the side of the pool. Water sloshed out violently, reaching for the judge but falling just short of him.
Though Tobias couldn't see the arena very well, as the sides of the pool were not raised enough to allow a person standing on the deck to see down into it at all, something seemed to be stopping Kecleon's attack from working. A dark stain appeared to be spreading across the water's surface, and Tobias couldn't tell what was causing it-he couldn't see the Pokemon, of course, and had no idea what sort of attacks the floor master was calling as the whistling kept up its rapid tattoo.
Chris appeared to be discussing something with George a couple of feet away, their Pokemon both idling, unsure of what to do. Both were clearly out of their elements, though Tobias doubted that the metal Pokemon needed to breathe, so it could probably go underwater just fine. Their inattention earned Chris the Meganium a nasty surprise as his namesake wasn't watching in order to warn him of the numerous sleek shapes approaching his position. Suddenly, the water around him exploded, two streamlined forms rocketing out of its familiar embrace and into the air. The floor master's Lanturn unleashed a thunderwave attack at point-blank range, the tendrils of electrical energy that radiated from its glowing lure wrapping around the grass-type's form and wreaking havoc on his nervous system. A Vaporeon flew through the air behind the bulky plant, letting out its own attack in the form of a blast of water. The icy jet froze upon impact, riming the hapless Meganium's skin with a layer of frost. More unfortunately, it shoved the grass-type closer to the edge of the platform. His reaction time severely reduced by the paralysis that now gripped him, he was unable to correct the situation in time, and the uneven distribution of weight caused the float to tip, dumping him into the water. Both water-types executed graceful backward somersaults midair, disappearing back into the pool in a perfectly coordinated maneuver, their job done for the moment.
Chris was far from graceful, however. He struggled to keep himself afloat, his four stubby legs definitely unsuited to the task. They proved generally unresponsive, alternately thrashing wildly and locking up for a terrifying second. The Meganium sank quickly, coughing and choking as he went down. "Quick, Metang!" George shouted, "Confusion! Help Chris out."
The floating creature's eyes lit up, glowing a baleful red as it raised its arms, the body of the panicking grass-type following their every move. It gently maneuvered Chris up and onto the platform once more before reverting to its previous idle position, awaiting further orders.
Meanwhile, Gyrados had recovered from the initial barrage that it had sustained. Its fins flaring, it howled with rage and attacked blindly, spewing a cloud of vibrant blue flames at Kelceon. The decidedly smaller lizard responded instinctively with a psybeam of his own, blasting some of the dragon rage attack off course but failing to deflect all of it. He gurgled in pain as the attack struck him, and wherever one of the strange blue flames licked at his skin it instantly changed color to match the hue of the draconic energy. Soon the chameleon was entirely blue. Gyrados, ignoring the commands of his trainer, who was clearly unable to get anything through to him with whistled commands, as she was now gesticulating angrily at him, lunged forward at its prey. Suddenly, Kecleon's platform soared into the air, borne aloft by a geyser of water that had apparently been crafted by some Pokemon lurking beneath it. Caught too close to its edge, the platform only rose about ten feet before it tilted dangerously and slipped from the jet of water, dumping Kecleon into the pool. Gyrados dived for him and he quickly released another thunderbolt, and though the water seemed to have suddenly lost most of its electric conductivity, he succeeded in keeping the massive serpent at bay as he paddled back to the platform and pulled himself on.
The battle rapidly deteriorated, the floor master's Pokemon making use of the advantage they held over their opponents. Vapreon and Lanturn burst from beneath the pool's now-murky depths unexpectedly, perfectly coordinated by the whistle blasts of their trainer. After a quick volley of attacks they melted back into the water once more, giving foes little time to react. The Omastar and the floor master's fifth Pokemon, a Quagsire, did their part by blasting platforms out from underneath Team Ghost's Pokemon at their leisure, never having to leave the pool's protection in order to attack. Gyrados, completely out of control, stormed the length of the pool, unleashing dragon rage attacks with reckless abandon.
Furret was on the verge of a nervous breakdown; he was cowering at the center of his float. When Vaporeon and Lanturn had attacked him, the only thing that had prevented him from being knocked into the pool and probably fainting from shock was that Vaporeon had rammed bodily into him, trying to do just that. Wild with terror, he had clung desperately to the water-type, clawing his way over her in a desperate attempt to remain on the platform and out of the water. The relative of Eevee had extricated herself with some difficulty and limped back into the pool, at trail of red marking her passage through the water.
Metang and Meganium were not particularly helpful, their trainers still locked in some sort of debate. As Tobias watched, a glowing haze surrounded the grass-type, a light screen attack. Giving up on trying to figure out what the other two boys were up to, Tobias turned his attention to Accemenla, who was simply sitting on her platform, eyes closed.
"Accemenla! Hey! What're you doing?" She didn't twitch.
Quiet, you're breaking my concentration.
"What? What are you concentrating on?" Tobias asked. "How about concentrating on that Gyrados that's coming your way?"
Oh, he's coming this way? Accemenla responded, sounding amused. Good. And I'm concentrating on finding that Omastar.
"With your eyes closed?" Tobias said skeptically.
I haven't been able to see anything underwater since that Quagsire used mud sport. I'm looking for it with my mind-ah!
Omastar rose above the surface of the water, thick tentacles flailing as he struggled with the power of Accemenla's confusion attack. He sent a forceful burst of water at the offending Tarsix, but she hardly seemed to notice it. Nor did she seem to notice Gyrados, who was bearing down on her fast from behind. He opened his mouth wide, preparing to unleash a dragon rage at the psychic-type. Instead of filling with flame, he was surprised as his mouth filled with Omastar instead. Gyrados bit down instinctively, rock-crushing jaws fracturing the prehistoric creature's protective armor. In doing so he drove the short spikes that protruded from his teammate's shell deep into his palette. He let out a strangled roar, blood filling his mouth and trickling down the body of the writhing Omastar. He couldn't force his jaws far enough apart to release his teammate, whose every struggle aggravated the deep wounds on the inside of his mouth.
Accemenla was only too happy to help him out in this respect, wrenching the shelled Pokemon out in a spray of blood. Wielding her struggling weapon deftly, she clubbed Gyrados over the head with his teammate. He collapsed limply and was pronounced unable to continue the fight.
Accemenla retained her grasp on the heavily damaged Omastar, apparently considering who she should go after next with her newfound club, but her concentration was broken as Quagsire knocked her platform out from beneath her with a precise burst of water. She tumbled into the pool and Omastar reentered the water with a loud plunk. Scrambling back onto her platform, she growled indignantly. Tobias, astounded by her vicious battle tactics, decided that he was definitely going to have a talk with her after the challenge. He was reminded vividly of how the Girafarig on the first level had used Igneous as a weapon in much the same way that she had taken advantage of Omastar.
George and Chris were at last done strategizing and appeared ready to do something. The Meganium was now surrounded by two bubbles, the light screen that she had initially put up glowing a faint orange in contrast to the layer beneath it, a blue reflect attack. George commanded that Metang use confusion again, but this time he lifted Chris off the platform and lowered him into the water instead of raising him out of it. Tobias stared. What the heck were they doing?
Furret was knocked out by yet another guerilla strike from Vaporeon and Lanturn, Jenny recalling him resignedly. Tobias wondered, slightly irritated, why she had selected the normal-type when he was so obviously afraid of water. It seemed like something that you would know about your Pokemon if you had had them around long enough to evolve them.
"You know what to do, right, Chris?" Chris asked as his Meganium was being lowered into the water. His Pokemon nodded, and Tobias noticed that the water was parting before him. Apparently, the light screen and reflect were watertight, so he could descend into the depths of the pool without drowning, so long as they persisted. He soon disappeared from sight, but Metang continued to make lowering motions with its clawed hands, its eyes glowing, so Tobias guessed that it must still be guiding the Meganium down towards the bottom. But still…why?
Floor Master Swift must have guessed that something was afoot, as she called off Vaporeon and Lanturn, who had attacked Accemenla. At least, Tobias guessed that that was what she had done, as she was blowing her whistle a lot and they suddenly dove back underwater. The submerged Chris no doubt made an excellent target.
Suddenly, Metang's eyes reverted to their normal shade, and it let its metal arms droop lifelessly once more. Chris must have reached the bottom of the pool. Almost immediately after, light suddenly blossomed in the room. It was as though a miniature sun had appeared near the ceiling, the whole arena bathed in a blinding curtain of radiance. Accemenla screamed, clutching her face, and Tobias recalled her immediately. The sunlight only intensified, the temperature in the large room creeping up several degrees. Tobias felt ready to kick himself; this was what had happened at the last tournament. He only wished that he could have had some sort of notice that Chris was about to use sunny day. It was unlikely that Accemenla would be unable to battle on any of the later floors, as she had almost surely been temporarily blinded by the attack.
As the sunlight intensified, Metang sprang to life once more, zooming across the arena to scoop a surprised Kecleon up in its arms. The chameleon struggled in the mechanical Pokemon's grasp, his scales slowly turning a metallic hue as a result of his close contact with the steel-type. Metang did not relinquish its firm grasp, floating over to the very corner of the arena, nearly as far as it was possible to get to the edge without incurring a ring out.
Floor Master Swift had apparently changed her mind about what she wanted her Pokemon to do; her whistle shrilled frantically and she swept her arms outward. She was too late.
The water in the pool was lit from within, a sphere of light appearing in its depths. The water near the surface bubbled and hissed as the brilliance expanded. A massive column of light roared up through the water's surface, carrying a huge plume of liquid with it. Tobias shut his eyes, but found that he could see the attack even through his eyelids. Its heat seared his face, the huge solarbeam traveling nearly as high as the ceiling before finally dissipating, leaving Tobias to try to blink away the afterimage floating before his eyes. A light drizzle accompanied the beam's demise. Most of the water that it had picked up and hurled aside had evaporated almost instantly, but the rest was now making the return journey to earth, along with the floor master's Pokemon. None of them made any move to fight as they splashed down in the shallow water left at the bottom of the pool, and the floor master returned them all. One of the floats, likewise liberated from its place in the pool, bounced off Metang, but the steel-type barely noticed it. His metal body had shielded Kecleon from most of the attack, the fact that he had been fairly far away from the beam helping as well.
"All of Floor Master Swift's Pokemon have been eliminated. Team Ghost is the winner!" the judge announced unnecessarily.
"You are indeed very resourceful," the floor master admitted grudgingly. "Congratulations, you have completed your journey through the ocean."
The remaining Pokemon were recalled. The team congratulated Chris and George on their idea; who knew if they would have managed to scrape a win if they hadn't thought of it? Walking carefully around the edge of the pool, wary of slipping on the wet surface, they discovered that they would have to take another ladder back down to floor level before they could take the next staircase up.
Floor Master Swift glowered after the teenagers as they disappeared up the winding staircase one by one. They were clever enough, she'd give them that, but they clearly weren't learning much from the lighthouse challenge. The whole point of the five-on-five battles were to promote teamwork and cooperation. This team battled as a group of individuals working towards a common goal rather than a single unit, and only the collaboration of the boy with the Metang and the one with the Meganium had saved them in the end. What was worse, they obviously expected to continue winning on the same terms. She smirked. The next level would knock a lot of the arrogance out of them, that was for sure.
Meanwhile, the next group making the journey through the third level were very surprised to find an irate Snorlax lurking on a small rocky island. Fortunately, they were already too terrified to notice that it was actually just a very irate tournament staffer in a great deal too much padding.
If Team Ghost had found the previous three levels of the challenge surprising, they were completely floored by the fourth.
"There's nothing here," Jenny observed. And indeed, there wasn't. An empty room stretched before them, lit by the warm glow of sunlight steaming in through the windows and filled only with the sound of water droplets falling from Team Ghost's still sodden clothes. The tiled floor ran perfectly smooth all the way to the other side of the room, where Tobias could just make out the door and an arena marked out by white lines. No one appeared on duty there yet, however; they were seemingly the only humans on the level. Nothing particularly disturbing about it, really, except perhaps for the fact that it was completely wrong.
"Err, you think the floor master went out for coffee?" Chris suggested. He had released Chris and Beth, the Blissey releasing a softboiled to ease her teammate's paralysis. The spicy scent wafted through the area, replacing the odd scent of bleach that seemed to hang in the air.
"Oh, come on, there's got to be more to it than that," Cass snapped. "Nothing could ever be this easy.
"You're right," George agreed.
"Nothing we can do about it," Tobias observed resignedly. All that they could do was take a shot at walking across and hope that nothing appeared out of nowhere and attacked them.
"Right, then let's get going," Cass said briskly. She began marching forward, the rest of the team following her lead. Their footsteps rang on the cold tiles, echoing eerily in the emptiness.
"So, err, Thomas, was it?" Jenny asked, trying to make conversation to fill up the void. Tobias nodded in response. "Right. Well, what was that Pokemon that you were using earlier? You know, the one that got rid of that Lugia robot."
"Oh, that was Accemenla," Tobias replied. "She's a Tarsix; that's a Pokemon that lives only in Waytar, so far as I know. She's a psychic-type."
"Yeah, I guessed," Jenny said. Apparently not as interested as she made out to be, she moved on to chat with someone else. "Say, Chris, why'd you name your Meganium after yourself?"
No one answered.
The group slowly came to a halt, everyone craning their necks and peering in all directions.
Chris was nowhere to be seen. His two Pokemon had vanished as well. The level was as empty as before, and deathly quiet now that their footsteps had ceased and most excess water run off of them.
"Come on, Chris, this isn't funny!" Cass yelled, voice quavering. George shook visibly, Metang's Pokeball in his hand as he apparently contemplated sending out his companion to aid him.
Still nothing. Chris had vanished without a trace. The group stood silently for a few more seconds, before Cass squeaked, "Well, there's no point waiting around for him. Wherever he's gone, he'll just have to catch up with everybody later."
Shaken, the rest of the group continued on. Tobias wished that he could pretend that Chris had only just had to go to the bathroom really badly and had darted back down the steps to ask Floor Master Swift if there was any way that he could get a pass to go. Somehow, he knew that it was otherwise.
George's death made that clear. He had begun forging out a bit ahead of the group, clearly unwilling to look like a chicken in front of the rest of his teammates. Cass was apparently only too willing to allow him to take the lead. As he stepped onto a tile, a distinct click was heard. He spun around on the spot, looking for what had made it.
He never knew what hit him. A huge light attached to one of the rafters high above plunged through the air, crushing him beneath its weight. Tobias hadn't even noticed the large hanging lamps; they had been turned off in every level that they'd gone to. Jenny and Cass screamed, but Tobias kept his mouth firmly shut, and his eyes as well. He fought to keep down his meager breakfast, trying not to relive the terrible moment as the lamp struck George, the horrible wet noise that it had made as it pulverized him…
Bleach. The floor smelled like bleach. I bet tile isn't that hard to clean… But why? How could the tournament organizers do this? Surely they couldn't have meant…unless…
"Team Rocket!" Jenny shrieked hysterically. Tears streamed down her face as she clutched at Cass, who stood shakily in exactly the same spot she had stopped at when George had taken that fateful step forward. A mere two feet behind what was left of their comrade, she apparently couldn't register his death, staring blankly at the scene before her as the slowly expanding pool of blood began to lap at her sneakers. "Team Rocket! Team Rocket!" Jenny wailed, throttling her.
Suddenly, Cass seemed to come to herself, doubling over and vomiting. Tobias closed his eyes again, desperately trying to keep himself from following suit. Jenny took no notice of them, having let go of Cass just in time. She waved he arms around, sobbing incoherently. Cass backed away from the gruesome sight, shivering uncontrollably.
The three remaining members of Team Ghost stood, taking a few minutes to work through what had happened. Tobias pointedly kept his eye anywhere but pointed at skeleton of the lamp, remaining partially intact in its heavy metal frame, the bloody shards of glass littering the floor. Even Jenny calmed down to some extent, babbling wildly.
"I should have known! Oh, why didn't I think of it! Team Rocket! They took our Pokemon and items at the door…they have everything. Oh, no, Rapidash…they have Rapidash!" She broke off, sobbing once more, and her words slowly began to penetrate Tobias's shell-shocked consciousness. Was it possible? But no, the Lighthouse Challenge was an annual event. People would notice if the trainers who went in didn't come out.
"Who else would have Lugia robots?" Jenny howled, trying to rebut some invisible skeptic. "Who else would have damper fields to stop Pokeballs from working? Who else would have lights that-that…"
"Shut up, you idiot!" Cass burst out at last. She was crying, too, Tobias noticed. With a sudden shock, he realized that he was crying. This wasn't supposed to happen. Something had gone terribly, terribly wrong…a tiny voice somewhere in the back of his mind whined, Why does this always happen to me!
"Team Rocket doesn't control this competition! I participated last year, remember? Nothing like…like this ever happened!"
"So they took over the competition this time," Jenny snarled back, slowly becoming more rational. "They knew all kinds of trainers were going to be coming here, checking their Pokemon at the door and then entering the lighthouse, where none of the public would be able to see them. They spirit our belongings away to "safekeeping," then let us stumble to our deaths in here. They make their getaway while the rest of the world believes the tournament is still going on. By the time they discover whatever happens to be left of us, Team Rocket is-"
"I said, shut up!" Cass roared, advancing on Jenny, who quailed, whimpering. "This was just an accident. The light was just loose and happened to fall on him, that's all. That's all!"
"I don't think so," Tobias replied grimly, wiping his face. "I think she's right. It makes sense, doesn't it? And that tile was definitely booby-trapped."
"You're crazy, the both of you!" Cass yelled. "We've got to get help!"
"Back that way!" Jenny encouraged, pointing the way they had come. "We know it's safe that way! Maybe we can sneak back down a couple of floors and make it out!"
"I don't think so," Tobias growled. The door to the level had mysteriously shut behind them. "How much you want to bet the door's locked?"
"We have to try!" Cass argued back.
Tobias shook his head. "The only way that we can go is forward. If we can just make it to the top, then we've won. If we head back, they're bound to catch us."
"Fuck you," Cass snarled. Tobias was too mad, at the tournament for doing this to him, at Jenny for her sniveling and for bringing the Team Rocket idea into play, and at Cass for her blunt refusal to acknowledge reality, for the outburst to surprise him.
"Don't do it!" he shouted, stepping forward. "You don't know what it's like to have people after you! You can't go back!"
Cass wasn't listening to him. She was already running back towards the door. Tobias swore underneath his breath, following reluctantly. If she stepped on any tile that someone hadn't walked over already, there was the potential that-
Cass screamed as the tile that she had stepped on gave way beneath her, a surrounding section of floor following suit. She flailed, grabbing the edge of the hole as she dropped through. Tobias approached with caution. This made absolutely no sense! On the floor before he hadn't seen anyone come dropping through the sky! It was full of water, too, which might cushion someone's fall enough for them to survive. Unless…
There were boulders lining the room. If someone fell on one of those, from this height, they'd be dead. And if they timed the passage of groups through the challenge right, they wouldn't have to worry about people below seeing. They could just retrieve the body and clean up the rock, and voila! Ready to trap another innocent victim.
"Go, Nidoqueen!" Tobias was jerked out of his contemplation by the appearance of a brawny Pokemon next to him. For a terrible instant, Tobias thought that it was a Pokemon called forth to attack him by some Team Rocket member who had appeared out of nowhere. But no, it was Jenny, coming up level to him. He guiltily realized that he had been spacing out while Cass desperately tried to claw her way back up. Well, Nidoqueen was a strong Pokemon. Surely it could pull Cass out of the hole.
Surprisingly, the Pokemon just stood there, for some reason appearing unsure of what to do. "Nidoqueen!" Jenny said. The blue-scaled Pokemon's head turned, and Tobias's did as well. Jenny's tearstained face was oddly set, grim and determined. It was an expression that seemed completely alien on her normally cheerful face. She nodded once, very slowly and distinctly.
The Nidoqueen lumbered forward towards the helpless Cass. She stepped right up to the edge of the hole-and onto Cass's fingers.
Cass screamed again as the Nidoqueen slammed her foot down on Cass's hands, a distinct crunch accompanying the action. She contemptuously ground her foot on the tile, blood flooding out from beneath her heavy foot. She then released her weight, stepping back. Cass made one desperate attempt to grab the edge with her broken, mangled digits, but slid from sight and was gone, a terrified shriek that ended abruptly the last that Tobias heard of her.
He was frozen in place, unable to believe his eyes. He hadn't thought that it was possible to be more terrified than he had been a mere minute before, but apparently he had been wrong. Had Jenny gone mad?
He spun around to find her advancing on him, a horrible smirk plastered across her features. He stumbled back, trying to rally his muscles to run, but wasn't fast enough. Jenny grabbed him by the shoulder, and he gasped as her fingers dug into his flesh with a surprising amount of force.
"You, my friend, are not going anywhere," she announced.
"Jenny! You're…you're not thinking straight! Let go of me!" Tobias struggled wildly, but to no avail. "How could you do that to Cass?" he asked at last, when it became apparent that there was no escape. Maybe by keeping his cool he could count on Jenny to slip up, giving him the chance to escape. If he could get Igneous out, maybe he could fry her and he could make his getaway. He felt that he should be appalled to be planning such a thing, but self-preservation is a surprisingly powerful urge.
"What do I care for another piece of Johtoan filth?" Jenny snorted. "Although you must admit, my acting is superb, isn't it?"
"Johtoan filth? What do you mean? You're from…Johto…" Tobias's face would probably have been comical, had he been able to see himself and not distracted by the thought that his life was in peril.
Jenny…she had red hair and, as Tobias saw now, staring directly into her face, green eyes. Why hadn't he noticed before? Johtoan filth…
Oh, Sol…
