Chapter 36: The Way To The Top
Team Tempest and Team Salvation kept climbing the skyscraper, which the Pokémon decided to call it the tower. The real name was just too strange as it was underground and couldn't reach the sky. Angel didn't argue with that and let it go. It was less of a mouthful to say tower compared to skyscraper anyway.
The climbed each floor one at the time. After each floor, Dusknoir used his antenna, in search of any spirits who might want to target them. Each time, there was nothing going on, so they kept climbing to the next floor.
After reaching the floor 24, Scyther grunted, "Is there an end to this? It's so long to climb everything."
"This place isn't small Scyther," Ariados replied.
"I can guess that were around the halfway now," the ghost type replied.
"Maybe the elevators can tell us which floor is the top," the child suggested.
"Eleva-what?" the Pokémons asked.
The girl was surprised that even the ghost type asked what it was, "It's used to climb up without using stairs, but it can't work."
"It needs electricity," the ghost type guessed.
They searched for the so-called elevator. It wasn't long before the girl found it. She checked on the silver board, near the door. Angel counted the numbers, "There is 55 floors in total. Unless there is something else."
"That's more than thirty to go," the green bug said as he grumbled. He raised his head and saw the ghost Pokémon crossing his arms, "But I won't try to make haste Dusknoir. I am not crazy and pull this off after those spirits came."
"Good. We still have a long way to go," Dusknoir said.
Heracross stomach grumbled. The blue beetle nervously chuckled, "Didn't eat for a long time."
The ghost type sighed, but agreed, "I am also hungry. We are currently safe, so we should take this chance."
"Then let's take a short break," Scyther concluded.
They ate a few berries and waited a little. The ghost type made sure that no spirit attempted anything. They were lucky that nothing happened. After this, they kept going. They climbed a few more floors, but when they reached floor 31, they had a hang up.
Heracross was almost reaching the next floor when a loud sound was made. He suddenly felt the grasp of gravity pulling him down. He passed through the stairs and began to fall. He opened his wings and flew back to the previous floor.
"Come here quickly!" Scyther ordered as he looked below.
The sound of his wings was loud, and spirits would quickly find them. He landed as quickly as he could and panting, "Ouf! That was a close one."
"You're okay?" Angel asked.
The blue beetle Pokémon smiled, "I'm fine. It was more scary than dangerous. I can fly. I forget it sometimes thought."
"Of course, you would," the green bug type said.
Ariados came back and said, "I don't think we can reach the few-" they heard a loud sound and a big part of the stairs broke down, "We won't reach the top that way anymore."
The sound of the impact of the stairs resonated to their own floor.
The ghost type quickly scanned their surrounding. He searched for spirits for a few minutes, as the other team was ready for anything to attack. Dusknoir grunted, "Nothing. The spirits aren't coming."
"I'm getting worried about that," the child commented.
"Me too," the red spider agreed in deep thought.
"Those spirits are waiting to ambush us somewhere," Scyther added as he looked around.
"We have to expect an ambush," the ghost type concluded.
"How to we climb them? Do we fly to the top?" Heracross asked curiously.
The Pokémons looked at each other's uncertain. They knew that the enemies were waiting.
"I think we could use another way," the child replied as she pointed a hole to the next floor. They turned around and saw that hole leading to the next floor, "Maybe they will grow impatient if we make them wait."
"I bet they are thinking that we would rush things now that we made this bang," the leader of Team Tempest nodded to himself.
"Let's go," the young human said.
Dusknoir grabbed his partner and flew to the next floor. Ariados used her web to easily achieve the same thing. As for Scyther and Heracross, it was a little more difficult, but quite simple. Scyther simply climb on the shoulders of his partner and went to the next floor. After this, Ariados and Dusknoir pulled the other Pokémon until he was with them.
"I wish I had hands for this," the green bug type commented as he gazed at his blades. He had to let all the work to his comrades.
After this, the ghost type searched around, just in case the spirits were attempting something against them. Just like before, no reactions from them.
They proceeded with their new methods if they could. They searched for a hold that could lead them to the next floor and climbed the same way. Sometimes, it was easier when the blue beetle and his leader could just jump to the next floor without making too much noise that could agitated their enemies. Once they were in the next floor, the ghost Pokémon searched for spirits, just in case something changed.
When they were at the floor forty, the found no holes to guide them to the next floor.
"Looks like nothing has been broken here," Angel commented as she looked around for another time.
"Should we try the stairs again?" Heracross asked.
"Let's check it out," Dusknoir took the lead.
The group followed him and they reached the stairs. They were there, but the feeling they got wasn't a good one. With the stairs missing below, it felt like it would break at nothing.
"So?" the child asked her partner.
"I… Well…" he had no idea.
"We should do the same than with the holes. You take Angel to the next floor and we pulled each of them with my web," Ariados suggested.
They thought about it and agreed with her plan.
They proceed as she suggested. Dusknoir took his partner to the next floor and Ariados followed them by walking on the wall. She used her web to grab Heracross and with the ghost type help, they pulled the big blue beetle to their floor. After this, they pulled the green bug type and rested a little. The ghost Pokémon searched for spirits, but nothing came towards them.
They continued to climb the skyscraper that way. There wasn't any trouble on their way and grew worried. They were expecting something since it took so long to climb at the top. Eventually, they reached the last floor of the skyscraper.
The two teams wanted to go to the ceiling, but there were no stairs to guide them there. The Pokémons looked around and found nothing to keep climbing.
"No stairs? What do we do now?" Scyther asked as he walked deeper in the room.
The ghost type searched around with his antenna and gasped, "Careful. There're many spirits above us. They could try anything."
The five were on alert. Their breathing accelerated as they searched for a way to the roof. The walked slowly, ears opened to any suspicious sounds that weren't their footsteps. Nothing resonated around them so far. They searched in a room and a broken door stood in their way. Dusknoir raised his big gray hand and went inside to check. He quickly came out and nodded negatively. There was nothing to guide them to the top there.
They went to another room. That one was different from the others before. It was a larger room with many damaged shelves that contained many damaged metallics object. Angel could guess they were some electronic stuff before of the wires that came out of them.
Nothing else stood out in the room. There was a large hole on the wall at the end of the room. Dusknoir looked outside and saw the roof near them, but nothing to help them climb, "We have to do as usual, but with the spirits around… It's dangerous."
"We can fly and they know we are here," Scyther replied.
The others thought about it and the blue beetle nodded, "What do we do then?"
"Why are you nodding?" his leader asked.
"Because you are right, but now what?" his partner replied.
Angel said, "We have to quickly climb there and act. They will surely see us, and they are above."
Dusknoir grabbed his partner and replied, "Agreed. They are waiting to attack us and might even been planning an ambush."
Team Tempest also prepared themselves.
"At three, we are going," the child said, "One-"
"When you say three or when you say go?" Heracross asked.
There was a long silence as they looked at the Pokémon in question.
"What?"
"When I'll say three," the girl answered.
"That was obvious," the ghost type grumbled.
"One. Two. Three!" she said.
The four passed by the hole where a window should be and flew to the roof. Only Ariados quickly went on the wall and climbed, before joining the others.
They saw many spirits in the air, floating under the black orb. The orb emanated a dark and violent aura and it felt through the very spirits of the Pokémons themselves. Their intentions were violent and fearful. They could feel in their very being the hatred nurtured against them. One that wouldn't calm down by their simple death.
The spirits under it were black. Completely corrupted by their most violent part of themselves. All that remained in them was their hatred of the Pokémons. They were dead and trapped among the living for far too long.
They are finally here! The spirits chanted together. Their voices were cold and cruel. They were rejoicing what would soon come.
"If you think you are going to kill us all! Think again!" Scyther yelled.
"The Pokémons aren't the one responsible for your death!" Angel yelled.
The worlds that came out of your mouth are lies! You are the one who did it! You are the one who remains alive! You are the one who can leave this place!
"They don't know what's holding them here," the ghost type whispered. He hoped that one of the sources of it wasn't Stephen. If it was the case, that would finish him, I'm sure it won't be him. He is like Heaven. He wouldn't not be the source of everything. He also hoped he didn't jinx himself by thinking that.
Angel wanted to speak with the spirits, but it was clear that they wouldn't listen to anything. The girl knew she had to stop them with the power given by Arceus. She raised her hand.
"Wait!" the ghost type said, "Can you hit it from here?"
"Yes."
She is the one! A voice suddenly yelled. She is the one who we had a part off.
That was clear for the ghost type. Somehow, those spirits got the part of the girl that was missing. It didn't make sense. He remembered they met far from here. The how was impossible to find out.
The spirts chanted something mysterious.
The first one never came!
The seconds died before reaching our world!
The third one refused to come!
The fourth one tried to escape, and his spirit crumbled on itself!
The fifth was saved from the one who can eat anything!
The voice of the spirit who first noticed hear spoke again, And the last one. The last human from outside is finally here. That spirit was clearly the one dominating the others. The ghost type guessed it was the source of it, we will finally have your entire spirit. Then, your powers shall be ours!
The Pokémons with her heard it and knew it was bad. They pushed aside the mysterious words of those who came to their world.
"Those powers are given by the Legendries Pokémons! Arceus himself was one of them. I will not let you use them for your evil deeds!"
"You are ready to insult Arceus himself by hurting Pokémons with his powers!"
He is a Pokémon. He is the one who made everything! He is the one who decided to end us with the rest of your kind! He is the one who decided that a human shall be the one to destroy us! To finally erase all of us!
"That is not true!" Angel yelled. She remembered the spirit of the manor. She knew he didn't die.
Dusknoir knew it too but let her talk. He could feel her fear, but she tried not to show it, you are trying to sound brave Angel. Please. Hold on until the end.
The girl continued, "Because I know what this power does! I will use it to break the chains that prevents you from leaving this world!"
Lies! We will not leave this world! The world is ours! We will restore it the way we want! We will erase all Pokémons! They all deserve to die! Then! We will live once again!
"This is insane," Scyther whispered.
"Nothing is holding up," Ariados commented.
Heracross didn't really get but knew that it was bad.
The ghost Pokémons knew it would be about the strange place they went. The place between the Spirit world and the Real World. He knew they would destroy the distortion and everything separating those two worlds. It would be catastrophic. It wouldn't be literally. The distortion will be in the real world instead than between. It was the only thing he could see. "We have to stop those mad spirits," the Pokémon said.
"They are obviously mad!" Scyther grunted as he prepared himself.
You will not survive all of us!
The spirits began to agitate. They were all flying in the air erratically. Up and down. Left and Right. They were clearly showing their superiority in numbers.
"Should I do it now?" Angel asked.
"Dusknoir! This is the time, right?" the leader of Team Tempest asked, getting afraid by the spirits. They were too numerous for their team.
The ghost type frowned, "Wait. They are preparing something. If you use it now, they'll use their trick to stop you."
"What?" Scyther yelled.
"I hate to say this Scyther! But they are expecting it!" Dusknoir yelled back.
The other members of Team Tempest observed the enrage spirits as they kept flying erratically. However, Ariados noticed that they were slowly approaching them.
"They are coming closer!" The red spider Pokémon warned them.
The five tensed up and waited. They were ready to strike at the perfect time.
Suddenly, the spirit split around them and the dark globe emitted something out of it. It quickly went towards them. The moment they were hit, it was only but a blank that remained. For a second, they felt out of their own world.
Angel painfully grumbled as she put her hands on her forehead. She pulled her hair away from her face and looked down. The girl realised that the ground was grey and soft. She put two and two together and realised she was resting on the gut of her partner.
"You came back quickly Angel," the ghost type commented as she climbed off.
"What happen?" the child asked.
"She's right. But first. Get them off me!" Scyther yelled while Heracross and Ariados were on his back.
"That will flatten your abdomen at least," the ghost type chuckled.
"Shut up," he grunted when the other Pokémon took away the weight on his body. His partners woke up while the other three looked around.
They were on a small white island like thing. There was a white road connecting it and guiding it to another location, outside of their limited view. What limited everything was black flame coming from the ground, around the white island and the white road.
"It feels hot, but not really," the blue beetle Pokémon commented as he joined them.
"This is strange," she said.
They were clearly not in the real world anymore.
"We are in the distortion plane this time. We are in the between. We cannot go out by opening a door this time," the ghost Pokémon warned them.
"They imprisoned us," the young girl realised.
"Right inside the glob," Dusknoir said.
The spirits sang together one small sentence. One that made them shivered.
Welcome To Hell.
AC: This is the end of this chapter. We are getting close to the finish line.
Next Chapter: The Long Road Of Hell.
The one after this will be: The Final Struggles (Maybe in two parts. Depends of the lengths)