Dakos' office building should have been destroyed. Ever since the fog first descended, the place had been under attack by the monsters and manifestations of the town. Abominations resembling Machamp, Absol, Marowak and Dustox were slashing and snarling at the skyscraper.

But their fangs, blades and bludgeons kept stopping short of the walls and windows. The barrier around the building prevented the monsters from so much as scratching the paint. Ash and Misty watched the frustrated and futile efforts of the creatures to breach the evil king's stronghold. The twisted Pokemon snarled and screeched inhuman declarations of rage at Dakos. Several of the creatures had given up and settled for ripping apart the campaign posters and flyers scattered about.

Misty turned to Ash. "It's like you knew it was him all along."

Ash didn't disagree with Misty. He watched his manifestation hack at Dakos' image, expressing the rage and hatred he himself wouldn't at the murderer and psychopath. If it hadn't been for Dakos' actions, none of this would've happened. That thought kept his creatures going.

Ash took a deep breath, stroking Pikachu's head for luck. "Let's just do this." He stated. Misty and Pikachu didn't argue.

This was dangerous, to say the very least. Dakos was incredibly powerful and dangerous. He was somewhere inside that building, and they were going inside to confront him. Once they were inside, Ash's 'children' wouldn't be able to aid them in any way. Dakos could easily kill them. But they had to do this.

They were still smart about it. Rather than go through the front door (which would be secured and was currently blocked by the creatures) the two children walked around to the back of the building. A back entrance would be a little bit safer. Their best bet was to sneak into the building and get to Dakos before he could detect them. After that…

There was something even better. At the back of the building was a parking garage, and the door was wide open. The garage itself was empty. Any cars or trucks that had been parked inside were gone, taken in a hurry to escape. Misty hoped that they had gotten away. An Absol and Machamp were throwing themselves at the barrier, completely enraged by the apparent easy access they were denied.

A terrible thought came to Misty. "Do you think Dakos…"

"No. If he was bold enough to get out, he would've gone after Alessa right away. Besides, these things knew where Team Rocket and Alessa were before I did. They would've followed him. He's inside." Ash sighed.

The two creatures turned around and snarled at the two children. Misty worried for a second that Ash still couldn't control these things, but they didn't attack.

"Move." Ash commanded. The creatures growled and stayed put.

"MOVE!" The tone of Ash's voice made Misty jump. She had never heard him like this before.

The creatures grudgingly obeyed their 'emperor', walking out of the children's way. Ash took Misty's hand and led her past the creatures, into the garage. The barrier didn't stop them, and they were quickly inside…

And Ash suddenly doubled over, exclaiming in pain. Misty quickly kneeled down in concern. "What's wrong?"

Ash looked up, his hand over his left eye. Blood was trickling out between his fingers and onto his face. "I'm fine. Just…my eye…"

There was a minute of silence as wheels turned in the two children's heads. Eventually, they both had a realization that made them gasp.

"Oh my god…" Misty gulped.

Ash simply got up and groaned, clutching his eye to prevent more blood from dripping out. "I'm gonna kill her next time." He muttered under his breath.

"May, you REALLY don't need to come."

This wasn't the first time Max had said that, and it definitely wouldn't be the last. "I'm not letting you out of my sight again, Max. And I'm not sitting around in the hospital, I'm sick of that place."

Brock tried to dissuade her. "But May, you're still hurt. If something happens…"

"Brock, stop it. Let's just go." May was in no mood to argue. Brock and Max sighed and kept walking.

The three had left the hospital, and were walking to the building they recognized as Dakos'. It was still a small distance away, but the tall building – as well as the creatures desperately attacking it – was visible through the fog.

They had to get to Ash. Lisa had told them about Alessa's plan and where Ash would be going. He'd need help. They had no idea how to help when they got there, but they'd think of something, hopefully. They couldn't sit around and wait any longer.

May's leg seemed to be a lot better. She was barely using her crutch, although she held on to it just in case. Lisa's bandaging job – and that drink she had given them just before they left – had done wonders. Still, she walked fairly slowly, as some of the pain was still there. The group also had to be cautious, in case of another attack.

May felt a small hand tug at her skirt.

"Max, I told you…" the girl started until she realized Max was still in front of her. May quickly spun around, brandishing her crutch like a club.

It was one of the skull children, but it didn't have a knife in hand. It was holding the rusted brown pyramid 'Alyx' had given Ash in the restaurant. The demon cage she'd said would bring luck. The tiny creature stood on it's tiptoes, holding up the strange artifact.

"Daddy dropped this." It explained. "Can you bring it to him? He might need it."

May hesitated for a second, still ready to bring the crutch crashing down on this thing's skull. Max and Brock didn't move for a few seconds, as if waiting for May to make up her mind what to do.

Eventually May took a deep breath and took the pyramid from the creature's hands. The object seemed to buzz in her grip. The creature, pleased that it had accomplished what it needed to do, scuttled back into the fog. May caught herself wondering what would happen to these creatures when this was all over.

She shook her head clear, placing the pyramid into her backpack. "C'mon. We can get there in a few minutes."

Ash and Misty crept through the lit hallways of Dakos' building. If it wasn't for the dead silence and the occasional bloodstain, this would've resembled a typical office building. Misty guessed that Dakos was a businessman or financier of some sort before he decided to run for mayor. Before he decided he could take the power of Silent Hill for himself.

The two children stayed wary of any guards. Misty would've thought that any guards would have escaped, but she kept hearing the noises of people inside. Scared whimpering and heavy breathing came from locked rooms in the hallways. Employees of Dakos who were too scared to go outside but were well aware of how dangerous their employer had become.

Ash and Misty were walking through one of the hallways, Ash still holding his bleeding eye. A red stream was starting to trickle down his shirt and vest. Misty and Pikachu kept looking around, keeping an eye open for anything dangerous. There seemed to be something further down the hall…Pikachu began to spark his cheeks in preparation.

"Wh-what are you kids doing here?" A hushed voice scared them, and they whirled around to see two scared eyes peeping out from a mail slot. "Nobody brings their kids to work. Especially not on a day like this…"

Misty gulped. "We're…we're looking for Dakos."

"Are you insane? You saw him didn't you? Down the hall? He did that without even looking at the guy!"

Misty and Ash looked where the scared eyes darted to. The thing at the end of the hallway was a human. A man in a business suit, carrying a briefcase. A red splatter on the wall colored the place where his head should've been. Written in blood next to him were the words 'I HAVE THE POWER NOW', no doubt written by a power-crazed Dakos.

"Oh man…" Ash gulped. He then shook his head clear. "We still need to find him. Do you know where his…office is?"

"He won't be in there…I guess it'll be okay then…take a left at the end of the hall and…just…follow the blood. It'll be marked. I can't talk anymore…he might hear me…" And with that, the scared eyes were gone.

Ash and Misty both took a deep breath and kept walking. They tried to walk even quieter than before, if it was even possible. Approaching the worker's corpse was anything but pleasant. Misty had to shut her eyes and have Ash guide her until they were away from the callously murdered man.

It only got worse. The eye's words 'follow the blood' made very vivid sense. The hallways leading to Dakos' office had corpses and crazed scrawlings on the walls, marking the way to the maniac's office. 'Long live the emporer! It's not fair! No one defies me! What happened?', among others. Alessa hadn't been kidding when she said Dakos had gone mad with power. Misty guessed Dakos had made this blood trail coming back after finding out he wasn't in control of the monsters outside. It seemed there were more dead bodies in this building than they had seen in the town.

Dakos' office door was unmistakable. The blood trail led there, and the door itself had a plaque reading 'N. Dakos, supervisor'. Ash could barely read it under the blood reading 'THE EMPOURER OF SILENT HILL'. The boy groaned and opened the door.

Dakos' office would have to look respectable, as a mayoral candidate who'd be visited by the press. A large formal desk to sit behind, a big bookcase to look cultured and intelligent, and pictures of Pokemon to look like he had a heart. Now the desk had been ripped apart, the books were strewn around the room and the pictures were all bloodstained. The man must've thrown the mother of all tantrums when he got back to his room.

Misty nearly stumbled over a thick book. What exactly would they hope to find here? The eyes had told them Dakos wouldn't be here. What would be, except more blood and destruction? The residue of a madman's despair and rage at being cheated of his prize.

Only one book was left on the shelf. It stuck out like a sore thumb, and Ash couldn't resist the urge to touch it. Every other book had been torn out of the shelf. What was special about this one?

He got his answer when pulling the book out produced a dull click.

The bookshelf shifted, causing Ash to step back in surprise. Like a scene out of an old detective movie, the entire shelf shifted to the side, opening the way to a secret passageway. The very first thing they saw made them gasp.

Dakos had gathered multiple records and pictures of Alessa Gillespie and Silent Hill, and had hung them on a wall in a room directly across from his office. String had been tied around them, likely representing connections. Ash saw his picture there, and a chill went down his spine. A folder marked 'Team Rocket Confidential: Project Gemini' hung nearby, empty.

Intersperced with the pictures were drawings of hideous abominations and cities, with memos describing in manic detail what Dakos would do with his power. Images of Dakos' statue scrawled over recognizable landmarks sat beside laws detailing the legal power Dakos would wrest for himself. Monsters that Dakos would customize were shown tearing through the streets of towns, ravaging anyone who opposed Dakos' new rule.

"I'm suddenly not so angry at Alessa." Ash remarked.

Misty shook her head numbly. Dakos clearly had big plans for domination when he got the empress' power. No wonder Alessa had made it a priority to keep her greatest power away from him.

Misty gulped hard. "So what now?"

"Nothing." A menacing voice behind them answered, cocking a shotgun at their heads. The children heard the gun and became paralyzed with fear.

"Don't turn around. And don't use that Pikachu. One zap and… bang." The voice chuckled. "Your little adventure is over."

The man was suddenly cut off by a loud alarm.

The other group quickly noticed the wide open garage, but they also noticed the monstrous Absol and Machamp slamming themselves at the force field. Not wanting to get anywhere near these dangerous creatures – especially when they were so angry – May and Brock began looking for an alternate way in.

At first glance, it seemed that there wasn't any other entrances, aside from the front door and the garage. As they circled the building they were nearly stepped on by some of the larger creatures. Thankfully, the monsters seemed to be ignoring them. Nevertheless, nobody said a word, not wanting to draw their attention. Manifestations under Ash's control or not, these creatures were incredibly dangerous.

Eventually, May noticed something. He pointed out a doorway that had nearly been concealed by paint, an emergency exit on the side of the building. The monsters hadn't noticed it, and weren't charging at it. Cautiously and quickly, they ran to the entrance and opened the door. It opened to a slightly dark hallway with plenty of wires and pipes on the ceiling.

Unfortunately, emergency exits set off an alarm when they're used improperly.

The entire building was filled with noise, deafening the children for a second. When they uncovered their ears, they could hear footsteps.

"Oh great." May groaned.

"RUN!" Brock yelled, and the three began to run. Not outside, for then they'd be back at square one. Instead, they ran into the hallway, desperately hoping they could find some place to hide or something to do.

Max noticed the wires had arrows on the tubing, to assist engineers in finding the generator room. He quickly got an idea. Nudging Brock to follow, he ran in the direction of the arrows, down several stairs and through several doors. Nobody stopped to question him…at this point, anything resembling a plan was a good plan.

Max kept his eye on the wiring, and didn't see the man standing ahead. The boy ran into the scientist, and toppled onto his back. The scientist looked down furiously at the child. "What the hell are you – "

CLUNK!

May's crutch came down hard on his head, knocking him unconscious. May was personally relieved to hear the scientist groan in his sleep. Max turned to his sister. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." May sighed.

Max noticed the keycard on the doctors shirt and grabbed it without a second thought. The wires all led and pointed to a door nearby, marked 'Authorized Personnel Only; Generator Room'.

May blinked. "Max, what are you doing?"

Max went to access the room with the stolen keycard. "If we cut off the power, we can shut off the alarm. And it might help if the security is in the dark."

May sighed. "Turn off all the lights? That's…not a good plan."

"Got any better ones?" Max ruefully retorted as the door opened and the boy stepped inside. Groaning with resignation, May and Brock followed him.

There were three generators inside. Two of them were plain grey turbines, humming with a noise that almost drowned out the alarm. The other was a larger turbine with several cords, junction boxes and antennas attached. It looked like something out of a spy movie, with electricity running between the antennae and large spherical things on top. Max quickly guessed it was the main generator.

"So how do we stop these things?" May was looking around for a switch to flip, a cord to kick out, a button to press. It didn't look like there was anything readily available.

Using the security keycard, Max opened one of the junction boxes on the larger turbine. To his surprise, there was a single large switch, labelled 'Emergency Deactivation'. Max would've thought there would be a more complicated system in order to cut off the power, but then again, in an emergency you'd need something fast.

And they needed something fast, too. Heavy footsteps were getting closer and closer to the room. Brock tried to barricade the door with a nearby toolbox and some crates. Whoever was on the other side of the door began to bang. Without thinking, Max pulled the switch.

The large generator began to fizzle, the electric arcs disappearing with a low crackle. The turbine itself buzzed slower and slower, and the hum this particular turbine was producing died out. Lights on the machine dimmed and shut down, and the entire became quiet.

"Yes!" Max exclaimed in small triumph.

BOOM

May noticed something strange. "But…the lights are still on and the alarm's still going."

BOOM

Max blinked. "What?"

BOOM

The banging at the door suddenly stopped.

BOOM

Max scratched his head, turning back to the defunct generator. "Then…what did this do?"

BOOM

"Did you hear that?" May gasped.

BOOM

"What the hell…" A voice behind the door remarked.

BOOM

"It's coming from behind the generator…" Brock gulped.

BOOM

The wall behind the generator buckled inward.

BOOM

Max suddenly realized what that machine had been doing.

BOOM

"MOVE!" May grabbed Max and they quickly pressed themselves against the walls

CRASSHSHSHSHH!

A horrific worm burst through the wall and crushed the Force Field Generator, reducing the machine to scraps of worthless, powerless metal. Huge fleshy jaws devoured whatever remained of the turbine, it's huge teeth slicing the antennae and junction boxes. Once it had consumed it's 'meal', the colossal worm quickly slithered forward, thankfully sliding past the three children jamming themselves into the wall.

"Onix." Brock breathed.

The mutilated, dirt-covered Silent Hill version of Onix smashed through the door opposite. The guards on the other side barely had time to scream. The worm's long tail vanished through the shattered doorway, the creature itself vanishing into the ground underneath the basement.

The alarm continued, but something else could be heard. Screams. Human and monster alike.

"EAAAAAAUGH!"

"THEY'RE INSIDE!"

"SHREEEEEAUGHHH!"

"RUN! FORGET THE TRUCKS, JUST RUN!"

"GRARRRRRRRRRR!"

"AUUGHHHHH!"

All Max could mumble was "Oops."

Ash and Misty heard the screaming. So did the shotgun wielding security officer behind them. "What the hell…"

Misty and Ash still hadn't turned around, but the next thing they heard was their captor shrieking in absolute pain and fear, and the squishing sounds of blades cutting through flesh. A shot was fired, but it richoched harmlessly off another wall. The squishing and slashing noises drowned out the man's screams. And then…silence.

Ash's eye had stopped bleeding.

Eventually, the two got the nerve to turn around and look. Pikachu sparked his cheeks, ready for an attack. Misty took a moment to look at Ash as it sunk in what had happened.

The guard was dead, his body sprawled onto the floor. His head had been hacked to pieces, resulting in an unrecognizable mash of flesh and bone. And dangling over the body was…a doll, of sorts. The thing was hanging by it's neck, and seemed to be a patchwork of grey cloth and sharp objects. The blades in it's 'hands' hung limply down, splattered in blood. A zipper gave the creature a demented dead smile.

Ash's head fell into his hands, and he gave a long, sad, disgusted sigh. Now that the force field around the building was gone, these monsters were now free to get inside and hunt Dakos. He didn't know if this would be easier or harder, better or worse, with this development. One thing was certain.

This was going to be a lot messier than he had hoped it would be.