Chapter Twenty-Eight: Metal Gear
It has been said that you only appreciate what you've got once it has been lost. In the case of Alpha team, they certainly appreciated the smell of clean, unimpeded air that Beta and Gamma team enjoyed throughout the first phase of the mission.
That's not to say that Beta and Gamma were wasting their precious privileges. Beta was hard at work identifying targets that could later become crucial for success.
[05:59 A.M.] Celestic Town (400 Main Street NW | Rooftop), Sinnoh Region — β, γ Teams
Lucian continued to wave his arms methodically throughout the space in front of him, constantly searching through the mental projection that Alakazam displayed for him. Nevertheless, he could still audibly converse with his understudy beside him.
"Alpha team status update, Brock?" Lucian inquired softly. "How are they doing?"
"Hmm…" Brock pondered while making a sweeping motion to locate the other team. "I'd say they're about a minute away from the Poké Ball stash… and they've just passed under the Cafeteria through the vents. There's not much guard presence, so I think they're in the clear for now."
"For now?" the psychic trainer asked. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, looking ahead of their position, I see three guards stationed in the room where the Poké Balls are," Brock replied whilst flicking his hand across an imaginary window. "The problem is they're going to have to distract all three guards at the same time in order to grab the Poké Balls."
"Alright, in that case, I'll do a more thorough investigation and try to find something of use to us," Lucian resolved to himself.
"OR…! We could straight up start Phase Three and worry about the details later!" Flint enthusiastically chimed in.
All three trainers simultaneously sent Flint a glare of loathing.
"Hey, hey!" Flint chuckled, throwing his hands into the air. "Just a suggestion!"
[06:07 A.M.] Celestic Town (Historical Research Center | Floor 1, Attic), Sinnoh Region — α Team
"Ow…"
Silence.
"Ow…"
More silence.
"Ow…"
Some silence and a half.
"Ow…!"
More silence.
"Ow…"
"Ash, are you alright?" Cynthia asked in a tentative whisper. "You've got to stop bumping into stuff! Someone might hear us!"
"Yeah!" May agreed in a hushed voice. "People are depending on us! Aren't you looking straight ahead?"
"See that's the thing!" Ash retorted in a sort of shout that could only be heard by mice. "I… uh…"
"What?!" May shot back, stopping in place.
Cynthia, noticing May's lack of movement, turned her head back to see what the heck was going up with her male counterpart.
Ash replied by covering his face as best as he could with his right hand, and then pointing to May's body and back to his covered face with his left.
It only took Cynthia a few seconds to realize what was going on.
You see, navigating the air conditioning ducts solo is one thing, but that was not what Ash was doing. He just so happened to be on the tail end of May's rear. This meant that for Ash, looking ahead meant looking directly into a shapely pair of athletic shorts, stretched alluringly too tightly. It didn't exactly sit well with him as he crawled.
"Oh, that's cute!" Cynthia chuckle-whispered. "He's trying to be polite! My, what a gentleman!"
"Ash, it's not that big of a deal," May cooed, waving the whole thing off. "It's not like we've got a choice here. This vent is only suited for one at a time."
"I just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable!" Ash hushed his voice again, all the while refusing to look at May's pants.
"Not at all Ash! We've got a job to do and besides, it's not like you're intentionally starring."
"Fine, fine…" Ash reluctantly took his and away from his eyes and resolved to stare at May's shoes and ignore the periphery.
"You know, you should be very, very glad that I picked Ash to be on this team instead of Flint or Brock," Cynthia scoffed as she began to return to their previous pace. "I'm sure they would've loved to assist us on this particular leg of the mission."
"Oh, I am glad," May agreed wholeheartedly. "Very, very glad"
A few tense seconds passed and Cynthia stopped her slow crawl to position herself over an item of interest. The way that the Historical Research Center was set up, the air ducts were merely part of a much more complicated system in the attic. In addition to the air ducts, there was a fully elaborate rat race of wires, insulation, wood reinforcements, and the steel cage of pylons on which the ceiling tiles rested.
At this point, Cynthia withdrew a utility switchblade from her outfit and began cutting away at the air duct foil to create a makeshift hatch. While yes, this would cause a decrease in positive cooling pressure in the short term, it was an easy sacrifice for Cynthia to make. Make one room improperly cooled in order to gain access to the imprisoned staff.
Indeed, a worthy trade.
Without even descending from the air vents to the floor below, Alpha team crawled through the makeshift panel cut open by Cynthia and found themselves able to stand upright in the attic amongst the fiberglass insulation and miles of elaborately wired circuits.
"Okay, stay quiet, and stand only on the long steel rods that connect together in the grid," Cynthia instructed. "One wrong move and you'll fall through to the floor."
"Got it," May nodded.
Ash nodded as well, and gestured to his partner to jump on his shoulder. Pikachu quickly complied, not desiring to complicate the intrusion any further.
Thus the party of four traversed silently through the attic, minding their step all the way. Ash was particularly grateful for leaving the vents, and made a note to check his heart rate by bringing his hand over his chest. It was surprisingly warm—and his heart was racing.
He gasped for air, realizing he'd been holding his breath for quite some time.
Ash looked down to his feet, then back up to the silhouette of May in front of him and chalked the sensations to nerves.
"Yeah," Ash whispered to himself as he marched forward. "Just nerves."
[06:13 A.M.] Celestic Town (400 Main Street NW | Rooftop), Sinnoh Region — β, γ Teams
While Alpha may have had the greater concern of keeping their balance like a gymnast going for the Gold medal, Beta was continually concerned for the next round in the tournament like the coach.
"Any luck, Lucian?" Brock asked, relaxing his arms and rubbing his eyes for a slight moment of rest.
"I think we've got a lead," Lucian replied, not taking his concentration off of Alakazam. "On the other hand, there's no guarantee it will work."
"What is it?"
"I've found a weak fluorescent light bulb, in the room," Lucian replied, as if the answer was obvious.
"A light bulb?" Brock asked, completely unprepared for such an answer. He asked again whilst rubbing his eyes, "How something like that going to help us?"
"Sorry, I'll explain," Lucian offered, while taking the opportunity to withdraw from Alakazam's psychic hold and blinking rapidly to reset himself. "Modern fluorescent lights do not actually produce a steady stream of light, they actually flicker on and off at a rate of sixty times per second—which is pretty much imperceptible to the human eye."
"Alright, I'm with you so far."
"The bulb for the entire room is flickering slowly enough that I can notice it, so that means it either has a weak connection or it is about to expire," Lucian explained. "If we can somehow overload the bulb and disable it, we can plunge the room into darkness. Best yet, the wire connected to the light fixture is on the ceiling, exposed to any external breach. Maybe even a tiny spark would be enough."
"How is Alpha going to breach the wiring and overload the bulb?" Brock asked, physically looking down at the museum with his own eyes.
"Pikachu," Lucian replied.
"You mean—!" Brock turned back in understanding.
"Yes. Levitate Pikachu near enough to the bulb and then let him use a small electric attack," Lucian suggested, talking more quickly through than usual out of excitement.
"That way, when the room turns pitch black, the guards will be thrown into confusion long enough for Alpha to grab the staff's Pokémon."
"But even then they may be spotted!" Brock countered for the safety of Alpha Team's sake. "Even if the guards are busy, they're bound to spot a floating electric mouse—"
"Meaning that Cynthia and the others will have to use force early and potentially complicate this whole operation," Lucian shrugged, rubbing his chin in thought. "I'm sorry Brock, this is the best I can offer at the moment."
Brock turned to Bronzong once again, extended his palms, and let his mind fall onto the connection stream that Bronzong left unclosed. Reconnecting to the virtual map of the museum, Brock quickly made a few adjustments using his hands.
"It's not the best yet," Brock said, holding onto Lucian's thought. "I've got an idea."
[06:22 A.M.] Celestic Town (Historical Research Center | Floor 1, Attic), Sinnoh Region — α Team
"Alright, got it. Going dark, over and out."
Watching Cynthia verbalize her affirmation and withdraw her hand from her ear, May couldn't help but shiver in anticipation. It felt like the next few moments would be especially critical.
"So?" May asked, trying to keep calm. "What's the plan?"
"Here's the plan. Spiritomb, to me," Cynthia called out in a whisper, lightly massaging the innocent looking keystone as it emerged. "Ash, do you mind if we get Pikachu to levitate into the room for a bit?"
Ash motioned to his partner with a shrug.
"If that's alright with you, buddy?"
"Pi, pika," the little mouse replied with no hesitation.
"Alright May, when I give the signal, you're going to lift the ceiling tile and let Pikachu jump through. When that happens, Spiritomb will use a mild Psychic to levitate Pikachu onto the roof where the light bulb is."
Ash and May's eyes widened in realization. The thrust of the plan was going to be a major distraction.
"From there, Pikachu is going to overload the circuitry with a small Thundershock," Cynthia continued. "Once the room is pitch black, Ash will jump through the ceiling, grab those Poké Balls, and get out. May will lower the tile after you've been levitated back."
Cynthia paused, gauging the look on her partners' faces.
"Everybody got it?"
"Got it," May sounded off immediately.
"I think so," Ash replied slowly, not wanting to mess up for lack of hearing. "What's the signal?
Cynthia couldn't help but smirk playfully at the train of thoughts creeping across her imagination.
"When that guard goes to sleep after Spiritomb uses Hypnosis," Cynthia said. "That'll distract the other guards long enough for Pikachu to swoop in there."
"This is all so brilliant!" May jittered in place with excitement. "Who came up with that?"
"Our good friend Brock-o!" Cynthia replied happily.
"Nice one, Brock!" Ash pumped his fist in solidarity for his friend's idea. "I'm ready, and Pikachu's ready. Let's do this!"
"That's what I want to hear. Alright Spiritomb, use Hypnosis on the guard by the workstation as soon as May opens the tile. Just…"
Cynthia paused.
"Tomb?" the eager Forbidden species queried.
"Make it convincing," Cynthia added with a wink.
At that, Spiritomb smiled in the way only a several hundred-year-old spirit Pokémon could possibly smile. Had Ash and May not already been somewhat acquainted with the Dark and Ghost type, they may have shivered themselves into a comma.
"Tomb… tooomb…"
At that, May lifted the sheet rock material just a smidgeon for Spiritomb's physical keystone to fit through. Once in the vicinity, Spiritomb breathed in and exhaled, preparing to prank the living daylights out of these poor guards.
The room was apparently the security footage room, a dedicated space for employees to monitor the live cameras all over the museum. Currently there were three men sitting at a very wide desk, monitoring any screens of their choosing out of a dozen. Spiritomb didn't have time to play 'eny, meeny, miny, moe' on the guards, so he simply tormented the one closest to him which was all the way on the right of the screens, facing away from him and the humans in the ceiling.
Spiritomb's eyes became outlined in a sinister aqua blue.
"I feel…"
The rightmost guard's own eye color slowly matched Spiritomb's.
"Yo. Yo, man!" the guard to his left called out loudly. "You alright?"
"I'm… I'm…"
*Thunk*
"Dude!" the guard all the way to the left exclaimed. "He's having another episode!"
Inaudible snickers from a floating stone ensued.
"God damnit!" the middle guard protested. This was the final straw for him. "What is up with this organization and mentally unstable co-workers?"
Up above, Cynthia made the motion to proceed.
"Pikachu!" Ash whispered excitedly.
With abandon, Pikachu jumped towards the floor.
"You think he's actually having a fit?"
Without breaking eye contact with the wavering light, Pikachu felt himself slowly rise, then become oriented with his belly to the ceiling.
"I don't know man, I watch cameras for a living. I'm no medical professional! How am I supposed to know what a seizure looks like?"
As if it were perfectly normal, Pikachu planted himself upside down on the tile next to the light, firmly anchored in place.
"Wait dude, I think he just fell asleep…"
"He's definitely got the right idea!" the middle guard jovially jostled. "Get paid for eight hours shifts but sleep through 'em! I feel about as overworked as a college student."
*zzzzzzzt!*
And all was darkness.
"Damnit man! Now our lights blew out!" the same guard shouted to the heavens, as if they could help. "I told the bosses we were working in hazardous conditions, but this is ridiculous. This is insane!
"Dude, too soon."
"Ah, sorry… no pun intended."
"Way to save face," the left guard conceded. "Just great … look, I'm all for shirking work here, but we can't even work here if we can't see anything."
"You gonna submit a support ticket?"
"Dude… I can't even see where my hands are! Naw, I'm going to our electric department personally and getting a fix for this."
"Fine," the middle guard conceded. "I'll try getting this guy outside where I can see him. You wouldn't happen to have a sledgehammer I can borrow, would you?"
"What?"
"Bro, a sledgehammer!"
"People don't carry sledgehammers around anymore, at least not since ten seasons ago!"
"Well what else can I use to wake him up? That's the only guaranteed method out there!"
"Oh shut up," the leftmost guard spat in frustration. He opened the door and practically shoved the others outside with him. "Just get him outside and I'll be back soon."
And with that, a satisfying click snapped the door close and the coast was clear.
"Lucian, tell Brock that he is a genius… and we're continuing the operation."
"He's already aware. Once he's breathing properly again I'll pass the message along in full. Now if you please, finish the job and let's go home."
"Sounds good. Going dark, out."
Tapping one hand to her ear and grabbing her flashlight with the other, Cynthia quickly surveyed the room and motioned for Ash to make his move.
"On it."
Just as Pikachu jumped with abandon, the trainer too jumped down without regard for safety or personal fear. He landed on his two feet and bent his knees in time with the jump until his fingertips just grazed the ground. Getting up, he too pulled out his flashlight and looked around as quickly as he could.
"Hurry Ash!" May exclaimed, still trying to keep her voice down. "They may be back any second!"
"I know, I know!" Ash waved his team away, knowing that time was short. "Hold on…"
Not wasting any time, Cynthia already motioned for Spiritomb to direct its psychic faculties in Pikachu's direction. The thin light-blue outline that surrounded Pikachu's frame began moving him towards the open panel in the ceiling. Once Pikachu was an arm's length away, May graciously scooped up the electric mouse and gave him a quick pet on the head.
"There!"
A few more sweeps of his flashlight had revealed the shining red and white orbs that he'd become so familiar with across his journey. A few specialty capture balls like Great Balls and Net Balls were in the mix as well—they'd been encased in a foam shell briefcase, apparently prepped for transport.
"I've got the Poké Balls!" Ash called out, almost a little bit too loudly.
"Okay, shhhhhhh," Cynthia shushed. "Great, good for you Ash. Spiritomb, use Psychic on him!"
"We're all set," Ash apologetically whispered as he was raised through the open hole in the ceiling.
"May, close the ceiling tile!" Cynthia instructed.
"Alright…!" May whispered, struggling to fit the ceiling tile in.
"Do you have th—?" Ash asked as he attempted to balance his own body and the newly acquired weight of the briefcase. "Do you feel that?"
"You got it, May?" Cynthia asked again.
"What the…" May continued to struggle putting the ceiling tile in. It was suddenly as if the tile was too small to fit in the slot. "Why won't it go back in?"
"Seriously, do you guys feel that?"
Cynthia angled her head and noticed something odd. She was leaning at an angle.
"Shoot!" Cynthia cursed in a hushed whisper. "Our weight is creasing the ceiling!"
"Hold on, I think I can set it just right—"
It slipped.
"No—!"
"The tile!" Ash yelped.
To the party of four barely hovering above the ceiling in the Celestic town museum, it was like the hammer of uncertainty had suddenly come and smashed into their once sturdy foundation. A practically deafening thud and splintering sound went off as the tile shattered into all manner of pieces, and each of the four cringed as if that would've slowed its descent.
The sheet rock lay in pieces along with their spotless infiltration.
"Can we fix it?" Ash whispered in an even tone, as if saying another word would suddenly cause more tiles to fall and shatter. "I can seal it back. Should I go down?"
"No," Cynthia whispered with an even more measured tempo, so as not to upset the delicate balance. "Don't worry about it. We don't have time. Just leave it and hurry…"
By the time Ash and Cynthia cleared the scene, May was just coming to what had just happened.
"Oh no," May sat still cringing, barely beginning to move in the party's direction. "I'm so sorry!"
"Leave it!" Cynthia urged as quietly as she could. "I'd hate to do this but we've got to keep moving. Ash, on me. May, on Ash's back. We need to pick up the pace before Team Galactic gets on to us."
"Okay," May reluctantly started using her muscles. "Okay, okay…"
"Get behind Ash!" Cynthia urged once again. "Let's move!"
And good thing they moved indeed. Had they stayed half a moment later, they would've been converged upon by several voices conversing amongst each other as if nothing was wrong with their situation. Just outside the security footage room, the main operator was raptly explaining his daily work condition to a superior who was simply having a terrible day.
"This had better not turn out to be the emergency shutoff button again," the irate lady spat as if saying it would make it a reality. "You idiots better not be wasting my time again!"
"Oh, we're the idiots?" the main guard complained. "Then how do you explain a sudden loss of power in the one room that shouldn't lose power?"
A deafening boom resounded as the door was slammed open, allowing ambient light from the hallway pour into the cramped space.
"Bronzor, use Flash!"
The new Team Galactic member on the scene took her time examining the room. She noted the console was still operational—the security footage rolling correctly as it should. Nothing had occurred with the breakers or fuse box. She noted the seats where the guards should have been posted, noting how some of the knobs had been knocked away, probably by someone's falling face.
"You see?" the main footage surveyor pointed out. "A dead light! It blew out on us right in the middle of the day! I swear there will be hell to pay if someone doesn't come fix this!"
It was at that moment that the newcomer happened to step on something that truly shouldn't have been there. Beneath her extraordinarily tall white boots, custom tailored to match her solid white dress frills, she felt the odd sensation of something granular underneath. Something almost rocky.
"Are you even listening to me? Hey! HEY!"
She bent down to the ground, picking the smallest shattered piece of sheet rock off the ground, and traced it to the hole where it had been moments before. Following that, she traced the tile grid all the way to the broken light in question, Bronzor's flash illuminating even the soot of the explosion in ways that would've been impossible under normal conditions.
The administrator nodded to her Pokémon, who nodded back in turn. Within a split second, there was a terrible splintering sound as glass and plastic shattered after being torn from the socket.
"What the hell are you doing woman? Jeez… you admin types are so wound up."
Bronzor lifted the broken debris with its mind and carefully maneuvered it into its master's palms. Upon examining the burnt plastic and charred glass housing further, the red-haired Team Galactic administrator threw the garbage off to the side and pressed a small button on her earpiece.
"This is G2, Mars."
"G actual receiving. Go ahead, G2."
"There has been a security breach at the Celestic museum outpost. We've been compromised."
Dear Readers,
Well, well, well! One and all thank you for coming and reading to this point! If you're here, then that means roughly three days from now, you'll be getting another chapter. This will continue every three days up until the final chapter is released for this arc! Since we're in Arc 2, that means we've got a little over a handful of chapters left to go.
Although this particular chapter is just over thirty-five hundred words, do not fret. The All following chapters after this cross the sixty-nine hundred word threshold, with some room to spare. That's a… personal gold standard I have for chapter length, wink-wink.
As always, please leave me a review, or leave me a review and a PM and we'll talk even more about what just happened!
-TestSubject069
Story Notes:
Sources:
~60 Hz for light - wiki/Mains_electricity
Author's Notes:
Completed, 05/12/16
| draft 1/rough edits |
Completed, 05/14/16
| draft 2/changed dialogues/updated explanations |
Completed, 06/29/16
Uploaded, 06/29/16
| draft 3/adjusted times |