Chapter 52: Chaos Around Every Corner
"No way! He can't be serious!" Unfortunately for Ole and the others he was dead serious, a fact both Firefly and Indigo pointed out.
"If he says it then he means it," Indigo declared.
"This will make things a lot harder," Firefly said.
"What should we do now?" Ryley inquired. Firefly paused to think for a bit. She knew they still had to get all the Pokémon out, but if Giovanni had his guards out for blood then she knew there was a chance some wouldn't survive the attempt. With this in mind she turned and faced the group.
"Listen… this task was already a dangerous one, but now it's borderline suicide. There is a very real chance that some of the Pokémon here will be killed trying to escape, and that includes all of us as well," she explained. "I'll understand if you want to save yourselves, but I am determined to save as many as I can before destroying this place."
"Not a chance," Houkai declared. "We're sticking this out until the end!"
"With a task as dangerous as this we cannot allow you to shoulder the burden alone," Ephriam declared. "That would be going against your creed, wouldn't it?"
"If you care enough to get everyone out then we're going to do all we can to help you achieve that goal," Summer stated. The rest of the group voiced their support of Firefly's decision as well, filling the Vulpix with a warm sense of pride.
"Thanks, everyone," she said. "Now, everyone knows what they need to do, right?" Everyone nodded.
"Okay. Stay safe."
"You too, Firefly," Ole replied.
"I'll see you all on the outside." With those parting words Firefly took off towards the generator room, leaving the rest of the group to carry out their objectives.
"Okay, in order to help things go smoothly we should split up and hit each of the enclosures," Indigo suggested. "Also, each group should have someone that can communicate with the others." After some deliberation the groups were decided upon. Summer, Ole and Inferno would be the first group, Kaiser, Faber and Houkai would be the second group, Tsunami, Sabre and Ryley would be the third and Indigo and Ephriam would be the fourth.
"Okay, now that that's been taken care of we need to determine a rally point," Ryley said.
"How about where we came in at," Tsunami suggested.
"You mean the main entrance?" Summer questioned. "Isn't that a bit risky?"
"Giovanni's already out for blood so I don't know how it can get any riskier," the Marshtomp replied.
"Tsunami's right. At this point there's no need in trying to sneak out. Giovanni will have his guards everywhere trying to stop us. Our only chance is to plow right through them and hope for the best," Indigo announced.
"We should also prepare for the worst," Inferno suggested. "Despite what we want we won't be able to get everyone out alive." This was an unfortunate truth everyone was aware of.
"Even so we should try and get as many as we can out," Indigo said, getting nods from everyone.
"Okay. Let's get going. Stay safe, everyone," Ephriam said. With that each group headed off for a different enclosure. They could only hope there wouldn't be too many casualties.
Despite having never been in this part of the base Firefly was making surprisingly good progress towards the generator room. She didn't know, or what was guiding her, but she did know she was heading in the right direction.
"Maybe my Psychic abilities are leading me on," she guessed. In any case she knew she would eventually reach the generator room and that was all that mattered. As she traveled she began to hear the hum of the generator, signaling she was getting close.
"Almost there. I hope the evacuations are coming along well," she said. She rounded one final corner, leaving her right outside the generator room. But standing in her way was the last person she expected to see.
"Y-You! How did you beat me here?" she gasped.
"Did you really think I wouldn't have a faster way down here?" Giovanni sneered. Firefly took a few steps back, unsure of what the evil tyrant would do next.
"Now, you are going to come with me and put an end to this ridiculous rebellion," he demanded. After hearing his demand Firefly stopped backing away and bravely stood her ground.
"Never! Pokémon have suffered here long enough!" she barked. Giovanni glared at her, his eyes filled with anger and hate.
"If you refuse to do this the easy way…" He then snapped his fingers. From behind him his Persian appeared, his claws extended as he glared at Firefly as well.
"If that's supposed to scare me then you're wasting your time," Firefly growled, taking a defensive stance.
"Believe me… you have yet to experience true fear… but you will soon." With a quick motion of his hand his Persian pounced on Firefly, initiating the battle.
The evacuations were going smoothly. The guards posed little resistance so the casualties were at a minimum, something each group was thankful for.
"You know, I thought we'd have more problems than this," Sabre commented.
"Let's be glad we haven't," Ryley suggested.
"Agreed. We all know Giovanni could make this Hell for us," Tsunami said. As this trio continued to herd Pokémon towards the front entrance Summer's group was in the middle of a small battle pitting the Bayleef and Ole against a Rocket guard's Magcargo and Gliscor. The battle had been going for nearly five minutes, and the team of Summer and Ole were showing a bit of exhaustion.
"I… don't know… how much longer… I can go," Summer panted.
"Me… neither," Ole agreed.
"Ha! If this is all you've got then there's no need to stretch this any further!" the guard taunted. "Magcargo, end this with Heat Wave!" The Fire/Rock type squirmed forward and snarled at the two females. He then took a deep breath and spewed his deadly flame at them. Summer and Ole tried to dodge, but in their exhausted state there was no way the would be able to. Just when it seemed like they would be cooked alive Inferno jumped in between them and the Fire attack.
"Not on my watch, you don't!" he barked. He took the brunt of the Heat Wave, the Fire attack activating his Flash Fire ability. With his own Fire attacks getting a power boost he smirked at the Rocket guard and his Pokémon.
"Let me show you what a real Fire attack looks like!" He inhaled deeply and then spat out a massive Fire Blast.
"Shit! Counter that, Magcargo!" the guard panicked. Just like his trainer the Magcargo panicked and couldn't get his attack off. He was hit by the full force of Inferno's attack, knocking him out cold.
"Care to try again?" he taunted. After recovering from his earlier shock the guard grew quite agitated.
"Gliscor, drop that Flareon with Guillotine!" he ordered. With a shrill cry the Gliscor flew forward, his claw opened and glowing white. His flight path was soon interrupted when Ole jumped in front of him.
"Nighty-night, bozo," she cooed. She then swung with all her might, bringing her two Steel-powered tails down into the Gliscor's head. Just like the Magcargo he was left out cold.
"Damn! You two are useless!" the guard complained. He grabbed their Poké Balls and was about to return them when Summer used her Vine Whip to grab the guard around his waist.
"Hey! Let me go!" he shouted.
"Whatever you say," Summer replied. She quickly hoisted him into the air, slamming his head into the ceiling. The impact knocked him out, letting her release him without the threat of him fighting back.
"Whew… glad that's over," Ole sighed. "I wonder if the others are having any troubles."
"We should contact them and check on their progress," Inferno suggested.
"Good idea," Summer agreed. Using her amulet she checked in on the other groups.
"Hey, guys. How is everything going?" she wondered.
"So far, so good," Indigo reported. "How about you, Kaiser?"
"No problems yet," the Charmeleon replied. "Everything good on your end, Tsunami?"
"They were, but now we've run into some guards that don't know the meaning of the words 'give it up'," Tsunami said.
"Do you need some back-up?" Summer offered.
"Hopefully not," Tsunami replied.
"Does anyone know how Mother is doing?" Summer questioned.
"I've got it rough here too," she reported. "Giovanni was waiting here, and now I'm going one-on-one with his Persian."
"Do you need one of us to come help you?" Summer asked.
"No. You need to focus on getting as many Pokémon out as you can. I'll deal with Giovanni and his Persian," Firefly replied.
"Okay. Just… please, be careful. We can't lose you again," Indigo said.
"You won't," Firefly replied. The mental link was dissolved, letting each group focus on their appointed tasks. For Firefly this meant defeating Giovanni's Persian.
"Is dodging all you can do?" the Persian hissed, slashing at Firefly with his claws.
"Don't you worry about me! I'll have this battle turned around before you know it!" Firefly warned. In her mind, though, she knew he had her on the ropes.
"I've got to find an opening soon or else I'm going to get creamed," she said.
The guards that Tsunami's group encountered were proving to be a bit more capable than they anticipated. Tsunami and Sabre were squaring off against a pair of Mightyena while Ryley took it upon himself to ensure the safety of the Pokémon they were leading.
"These guys are pretty good," Tsunami commented.
"Yeah, but they're not good enough!" Sabre replied. He fired a Flamethrower at the Mightyena, the blue flame dancing scorching their fur.
"A… blue flame?" Tsunami asked, a bit dumbfounded.
"Yeah. The experiments they did on me gave me Fire and Ice attacks, but they come out looking strange. My Fire attacks come out blue and my Ice attacks come out red," the Quilava explained.
"That's messed up," Tsunami commented.
"Maybe, but I don't let it bother me," Sabre said. By now the Mightyena had recovered from the Flamethrower and were getting ready to strike back.
"Shadow Ball!" the Rocket ordered. Both Mightyena opened their mouths and fired a pair of Shadow Ball attacks at the group.
"Oh no you don't" Tsunami roared. He spat out a Mud Shot, intercepting one of the Shadow Balls while Sabre blasted the other with a red Ice Beam.
"Nice try, but not good enough!" Tsunami shouted.
"We'd love to stay and play, but we've got things to do!" With that they took the Mightyena down, Tsunami with Hydro Pump and Sabre with Fire Blast. The explosions from both attacks sent the Mightyena hurtling into the Rocket, rendering all three unconscious.
"Okay, Ryley! Lead them through!" Tsunami shouted once the danger was subdued.
"You heard him! Let's get moving!" the Dragonair roared. The group of Pokémon quickly made their way past the down Rocket and his Pokémon.
"Looks like things are going smoothly," Sabre commented.
"For us, yeah. I just hope the others are doing okay, too," Tsunami said.
Kaiser's group hadn't encountered any resistance so far, leaving everyone optimistic about their chances. Despite this many of the elder members of the group were still wary.
"Looks like we'll get out of here easily," Houkai bragged.
"I wouldn't say that too loud. That's when things go wrong," Faber warned.
"But we haven't run into a single guard since we started this breakout," the Jolteon argued. "I'm telling you we're in the clear."
"I wouldn't have minded busting some heads along the way," Kaiser stated. As they continued to lead their group then came across a closed door. Kaiser walked up to it and tapped on it a few times.
"This thing's pretty thick. I might be able to burn through it with my Flamethrower, though," he said. Before he could try, a rather large Machoke walked next to him and gently moved him to the side.
"Let me have a shot at this. I've been wanting a chance to flex my muscles for a while now," he requested. One glance at him told Kaiser that this guy could cause some serious damage. With a smirk he motioned for the Machoke to take his best shot.
"Let's see what you got, big fella," he said. The Superpower Pokémon cracked his knuckles and went to work on the door, pounding it with repeated Focus Punches. Each hit sent a loud 'clang' through the hall they were standing in.
"Holy… you're not a Superpower Pokémon for nothing!" Houkai commented. With each Focus Punch the door buckled a bit more until finally, with one last Focus Punch, the door was torn off its hinges.
"Alright! Way to go!" Kaiser cheered. The Machoke turned around, a smirk on his face.
"Heh, piece of ca…" He never got a chance to finish speaking, for moments later he felt a sharp pain tear through his midsection. He, along with everyone else, looked in horror as a large horn protruded from his stomach. Gasping for air he was lifted off the ground and tossed to the side.
"Damn… it would have to be a Rhyperior," Kaiser groaned as their opponent stepped into view. Many of the younger members of the group were screaming in panic as they gazed at the Rhyperior standing over the Machoke's carcass. Seconds later a Rocket guard stepped into view.
"This is as far as you go," he declared. His Rhyperior growled in agreement.
"I don't think this guy is here to screw around," Faber commented.
"No kidding," Kaiser agreed. "We have to find a safe way around him."
"What if one of us charges him while the other two get the Pokémon while he's distracted," Faber suggested.
"I'm game. Just let me hit him a few times and he won't be in any condition to stop us," Houkai bragged.
"Have you forgotten that you're an Electric type? He'll unplug you in a matter of seconds!" Faber argued. "If anyone's a good match for him it's me!"
"You? He'll stomp you out in nothing flat, and I do mean flat!" Houkai retorted. "I'm a better match-up strength-wise!"
"But I have the type advantage!" Faber countered. This went back-and-fourth for a while before Kaiser finally put an end to the arguing.
"None of us can take him one-on-one!" he said.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Faber questioned.
"We hit him together. Only with our combined strength do we have a chance at defeating him," the Charmeleon explained.
"And here I thought you were the type that hit first and thought second," Houkai commented.
"I am, but sometimes I like to think about what I'm doing, especially when my life is on the line like it is now," Kaiser countered.
"Well I say we do it Kaiser's way. If we manage to hit him hard enough we may be able to take him out," Faber said. It took a bit of convincing, but Houkai eventually agreed to Kaiser's plan.
"Okay, on three let's hit him with our best shots," Kaiser instructed. "One… two… three!" As soon as Kaiser said three all of them launched their best attacks. Kaiser fired his Fire Blast, Houkai avoided Electric attacks and used Hyper Beam while Faber took advantage of his type advantage and fired a Solarbeam.
"Use Protect!" the guard ordered. A green barrier formed around Rhyperior moments before the attacks made contact. Under normal circumstances this would have been sufficient, but with three attacks it was too much of a strain for the Protect barrier. Within seconds it cracked and shattered.
"Alright!" Kaiser cheered. It looked as though they had managed to fell the massive Pokémon, but after a few moments it became clear that all they did was anger him.
"Great! Now what do we do?" Houkai growled.
"Simple… you die! Rock Wrecker!" the guard ordered. The Rhyperior raised his arms over his head. Then, small rocks began shooting out of the holes in his hands, collecting to form a larger rock. Once it was big enough the Rhyperior threw it at Kaiser and the others.
"Scramble!" Faber shouted. The three of them just barely managed to jump out of the way as the massive rock came crashing down. The impact shook the hallway, knocking more than a few Pokémon off their feet. One Pokémon, a young Squirtle, stumbled out of the group and fell right in front of the Rhyperior. He glanced up and the menacing Drill Pokémon before him, his eyes filled with fear.
"Rhyperior, make an example of that soft-shell," the guard demanded. With an evil snarl the Rhyperior kicked the Squirtle away from him, the small turtle landing on his back.
"Hey, leave him alone!" Kaiser demanded.
"Make us!" the guard challenged. "Use Thunder!" The Rhyperior's horn began to crackle and spark with electricity as he prepared to unleash his Thunder on the Squirtle. Because he was on his back the Tiny Turtle Pokémon was helpless as he rocked back and forth, trying desperately to get to his feet.
"He can't defend himself!" Kaiser shouted.
"No, but I can defend him!" With lightning speed Houkai jumped in front of the Squirtle.
"Get him out of the way!" the guard ordered. While still maintaining his charge the Drill Pokémon fired a rock from his hand, blasting Houkai out of the way.
"Houkai!" Kaiser yelled.
"Now… FIRE!" Kaiser spun back around just in time to see the Rhyperior unleash he Electric attack. At that moment everything appeared to be moving in slow motion.
"No!" the Charmeleon shouted. It appeared as though nothing could save the Squirtle, but right at the last minute Faber jumped between the frightened Water type and the incoming Electric attack.
"I will not let you harm him!" the Oddish declared.
"Faber, move!" Kaiser shouted. He was about to charge over to them when something unexpected happened. Faber's body gave off a slight yellow glow, and the next thing anyone knew the Thunder attack was halted in mid-air.
"W-What the… How the Hell are you doing that?" Houkai barked. Faber didn't answer. He was too focused on his current task to answer him.
"Here… you… go!" Faber shouted. He redirected the Thunder right back at the Rhyperior, the powerful Electric attack striking the ground at the Drill Pokémon's feet and knocking him over. The others were about to praise Faber when the Oddish began to glow white.
"No way! Is he…"
"He's evolving!" Kaiser gasped. They all watched as Faber grew bigger, the three leaves on his head taking on a mushroom shape. Two thorn-covered arms sprouted from his sides. When the light finally faded Faber had evolved into a Gloom.
"Whoa! I didn't know you were close to evolving!" Houkai gasped.
"Neither did I," Faber said. "I didn't think it was possible after those experiments Team Rocket did on me."
"Well if you ask me your evolution came at just the right time," Kaiser said. "What I want to know is how were you able to control that Rhyperior's Thunder like that."
"Honestly, your guess is as good as mine," Faber admitted. "I didn't even know I could do something like that."
"I think we should do something about big boy over there. He's starting to get up," Houkai pointed out. During Faber's evolution and the following conversation the Rhyperior had gained his strength back and was ready to continue the battle.
"It's going to take more than that to bring down my Rhyperior!" the guard bragged. "Now, destroy them!" With a loud roar the guard's Rhyperior charged the group, his head lowered so that his horns were aimed right at them.
"If that boulder-brain wants to scrap then let's scrap!" Houkai declared.
"Hold on. I want him to myself," Faber requested. Both Houkai and Kaiser looked at him like he had two heads.
"Are you nuts?" the Jolteon protested. But his protests fell on deaf ears, for seconds after he requested to take the Rhyperior on alone Faber went into action, charging head-on at the Drill Pokémon.
"No! Faber, don't do it!" Kaiser screamed.
"Looks like someone has a death wish," the guard commented. "Grant it, Rhyperior! Horn Drill!" The large horn on the Rhyperior's head began to spin as he aimed the fatal attack at the charging Gloom. At the same time, not noticed by anyone else, Faber was powering up an attack of his own, the bulb on the top of his head giving off a slight glow. As the two Pokémon got closer to one another the Rhyperior lunged forward, intent on driving the point of his horn straight through Faber.
"Look out!" Kaiser warned. Right before the Horn Drill hit home Faber ducked to the side, letting the horn plow right into the floor. It was then the Rhyperior noticed the Gloom powering up an attack of his own.
"Time to shed some light on this battle… Solarbeam style!" With that he unleashed the powerful Grass attack at point blank range. Unable to dodge in time the Rhyperior took the full force of the attack, the Solarbeam blasting him backwards a few yards before he came crashing to the ground.
"N-No way… T-That's impossible!" the guard stuttered.
"Not when you're dealing with us!" Houkai declared. Right as the guard was reaching for a second Poké Ball Houkai fired a Charge Beam at him. Thousands of volts of electricity flooded his body, rendering him unconscious in a matter of seconds.
"And that's one downed dumbass," Houkai said.
"Okay, everyone, the coast is clear! Let's blow this popsicle stand!" Kaiser then took the lead as the group continued on towards the exit, and beyond that… freedom.
"Shit! I should have known they'd place sentries here." The group Indigo and Ephriam were leading had made it to the exit, but upon arriving they discovered a pair of armed sentries had been posted. Indigo then glanced over at Ephriam.
"So, got any idea on how to get past them?" he asked.
"One," the winged Charmeleon replied. He whispered his plan in the Growlithe's ear. As he listened Indigo's facial expression went from thoughtful to concerned.
"Are you sure you can pull it off?" Indigo asked.
"As long as you keep their attention I can," he replied. With the plan clear Indigo got ready to carry out his part. He took a deep breath and stepped out into the open.
"Hey, dimwits!" he barked. The guards looked his way and gasped.
"It's 02!" one of them shouted.
"Glad to see you still remember me," Indigo said. The next thing he knew both guards pulled out their guns and aimed at him.
"Come on, is that any way to welcome me back?" Indigo questioned.
"We know you're behind this, 02, so just drop the act," the first guard ordered.
"Now, call off this rebellion or we'll be forced to shoot," the second demanded.
"Oh come on now. What makes you think I have anything to do with this?" Indigo asked.
"Do we look stupid?" the first guards replied.
"Actually… yes." Before the guards could react they were both knocked unconscious. As they slumped to the ground Ephriam was revealed hovering right behind them.
"That went better than I thought," Indigo commented.
"Yes. We were very fortunate," Ephriam agreed. "I hope the others were as fortunate." As if on cue the rest of the groups appeared.
"Father!" Summer shouted.
"Everyone! You're okay!" Indigo exclaimed.
"So this is all that's standing between us and freedom, huh," Houkai commented. "Well I say let's bust on out of here!"
"Hold on! We can't leave without Firefly!" Ole argued.
"We've got to get while the getting is good!" Houkai retorted.
"But what about her? Are you really willing to abandon her after everything she's done for us?" the Riolu barked.
"Look, I want to get her out of here as much as you do, but there are a lot of Pokémon here that want out in a bad way! Are you really saying we should make them wait for just one Pokémon?" Houkai barked. Before the argument could escalate any further Indigo interrupted them.
"Both of you, chill!" he barked. "We are not leaving Firefly behind. I'll go back and look for her while the rest of you get these Pokémon out of here."
"No you're not. You're getting out of here with everyone else," Firefly protested.
"You know I'm not going to do that, Firefly! I've come too far just to lose you again!" Indigo argued.
"That's not going to happen. As soon as I get this generator going I'm getting out," Firefly replied.
"But how are you sure you'll get out in time?" Indigo questioned.
"Do you trust me?" Firefly replied. This was a question that took Indigo completely by surprise.
"Of course I do. You know that," Indigo replied.
"Then trust me when I say I'll get out of here alive," she requested. Under normal circumstances he'd have no problem believing her, but these circumstances were far from normal. Even so he still gave her the benefit of the doubt.
"Okay… but I'll only go as far as the main entrance, no further," he declared.
"Fair enough. I'll meet up with you there," Firefly said. The communication was ended, letting both of them focus on their appointed tasks.
"So… what's the word?" Kaiser asked.
"We get everyone out of here as planned, but I'm not leaving the grounds until Firefly is safely out," Indigo informed them.
"Are you sure that's wise?" Ephriam questioned.
"Wise or not I refuse to leave without her," Indigo declared. The look in his eyes let the others know he would not change his mind, so they decided to et it drop.
"So, anyone know how to get this door open?" Summer asked.
"Leave that to me," Ephriam stated. He hovered up to the control panel next to the door and pressed a few buttons. Seconds later the door slid open.
"So that's what the outside world looks like?" Houkai joked.
"We'll have time for jokes later, Houkai. Right now let's get moving," Inferno said. As quickly as they could everyone ran outside, making a beeline for the front gate. As the Pokémon all filed out Indigo stopped and stood next to the gate. Summer paused before leaving.
"Are you sure you won't come with us, Father?" she asked.
"I'm not leaving without your mother. Once she's out we'll join the rest of you," he explained. Summer didn't think it was a good idea, but she knew Indigo could take care of himself.
"Stay safe… both of you," she requested. Indigo nodded as she continued through the gate. With the evacuations going smoothly he glanced back at the door leading inside.
"Firefly… please hurry…"
The battle against Giovanni's Persian was turning out to be a much more difficult affair than Firefly had planned. While both of them had landed some good shots Firefly was starting to get fatigued.
"Wearing down already?" Giovanni taunted.
"You… wish!" she panted. "As long… as there's… life… in me… I… will… never… give up!"
"Then I shall have to take the life from you!" Giovanni declared. "Finish her, Persian!" With a vicious snarl his Persian lunged for Firefly. She jumped to the side and dodged, but the Persian reacted quickly and slashed at her again, catching her in her side. She was flung against a wall, three bleeding gashes in her side. As she laid there the Persian advanced on her.
"You may have been our best shot at gaining world domination, but 02 is still alive, and we can always find others to take your place," Giovanni said. Firefly's blood began to boil, threatening to reach dangerous levels.
"I am so tempted to let Saturnine tear this bastard limb from damn limb," she growled.
"And now… to put an end to your existence," Giovanni declared. With a motion of his hand he commanded his Persian to attack. Obeying his master the Pokémon lunged for Firefly.
"As long as I draw breath, no one shall take what's mine!" Before anyone could determine who had said that a yellow blur slammed into the Persian, sending him sliding back towards Giovanni.
"What the… who did that?" Giovanni demanded. Firefly was busy looking at the yellow blur, which was now a crackling ball of electric energy. When the electricity faded she and Giovanni were shocked by who they saw.
"S-Shin!" Firefly stuttered. "What are you doing here?"
"Your end will come at my hands and no one else's, Firefly!" Shin declared. He then glared up at Giovanni, their eyes meeting in a hate-filled stare down.
"And you…"
"How DARE you interfere in my affairs!" Giovanni interrupted. "Persian! Teach that rat a lesson!" His Persian let out a loud screech before lunging at Shin, his claws extended. Shin managed to sidestep, but the Persian's claws still grazed his shoulder, leaving three parallel cuts on his shoulder. The Persian landed behind him, but before he could go into another attack Shin struck him with a Focus Punch, the super-effective attack sending the feline crashing into a wall. With the Persian out of the way Shin turned his attention to Giovanni.
"Now you…" he growled, taking a few steps towards the corrupt leader of Team Rocket. Before he got too far the Persian sprang back into action and wrapped his paws around Shin's neck, fangs bared as he prepared to sink his teeth into the Raichu's neck. However, Shin's reaction time was much faster as he plunged his tail into the Persian's side, the tip emerging out the other side of the Pokémon. The Persian gave one last agonizing screech as he fell limply to the ground, his blood pooling around him. With the feline now permanently disposed of Shin pulled his blood-soaked tail from his carcass.
"My Persian! How dare you kill him, you filthy rat!" Giovanni roared, to which Shin snarled.
"I appreciate the help Shin, but this time you took it too far! There was no need to kill his Persian!" Firefly scolded. The Raichu then cast his eyes towards her.
"I suggest you keep your mouth shut and be thankful that this isn't your blood," Shin growled. He then turned his glare to Giovanni.
"I'll make you pay for everything you've done," he hissed, tasking a few steps towards him.
"I understand your need to seek vengeance, but right now we have bigger things to worry about!" Firefly barked.
"You know nothing!" he roared, casting his rage-filled eyes on her. "And you'd do well to know your place, shut your mouth and go before I finish what I started in the arena!"
"So you'd kill yourself just to get revenge? Do you know how pointless that sounds?" Firefly argued.
"What I do with my life and my motives does not and WILL not ever concern you unless you keep trying my patience!" he fired back. By now it was clear that nothing Firefly said would get through to Shin, so rather than argue with the stubborn Raichu she decided to take care of what she came to take care of. Turning to the generator room she quickly entered and began searching for the generator's weak point.
"Come on… where is it?" After searching for a bit she found a place that didn't appear as sturdy as the rest of the machine.
"Bingo," she said. Taking careful aim she struck the weak point with a Flamethrower, the fire stream easily cutting through the weak metal.
"There! That should have… whoa!" Before she could finish her statement the entire base began to shake, indicating that its destruction had begun.
"Come on, Shin! We have to get out of here!" she yelled.
"You… Thanks to your insistent whining, he's gone!" Shin yelled, gritting his teeth in anger.
"What are you talk…" It was at that moment that Firefly realized Giovanni was no longer there, the carcass of his Persian the only indication he was ever there to begin with.
"Where the Hell did he go?" she barked.
"You're lucky that it wasn't you that killed my brother in the arena, because right now it's the only thing keeping me from finishing you off," Shin growled. That one comment caught Firefly by surprise.
"Hold on a second… I was fighting his brother in the arena, yet Shin says I wasn't the one who killed him. If that's true then…" The more she thought about it the less sense it made. Finally she decided to ask Shin what he meant.
"What did you mean when you said… Shin?" Looking around she saw that Shin had now gone missing just as Giovanni had earlier.
"Damnit! Not him too!" she groaned. With the base coming down around her she knew she had to find Shin and get him out of there. She ran out of the generator room and looked to see which way the Raichu went, but her search was cut short when the wall exploded, cutting off one of the paths.
"Gah!" Firefly screamed. She covered her face to keep the dust and debris out of her eyes. When she uncovered her face she saw that the path was not only blocked but it would have been too great a risk for her to try and clear it, leaving her with only one option.
"I hope Shin finds his way out on his own," she said. With that she took to the air and flew down the only remaining path, hoping that both she and Shin would be able to escape before the entire facility blew.
Indigo was still standing outside waiting for Firefly when he felt the first tremor. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was strong enough to knock him off his feet for a moment. Once he got back to his feet he looked at the base, knowing exactly what caused the brief tremor.
"Firefly must have blasted the generator," he said. He knew that meant she was on her way out, but the fact that she was still inside left him concerned. He decided to try and contact her.
"Firefly, can you hear me? How's it going in there?" he asked.
"The generator's been taken care of. I'm on my way out right now," Firefly reported.
"Please hurry. I don't know how much longer this place will stay standing," Indigo urged.
"I'm moving as fast as I can, but with everything coming down around me it's hard to tell what's what," Firefly said. "Just sit tight. I should be out soon." The link was broken right after that. Though she sounded confident Indigo was left more nervous than before. At that moment he made a decision.
"I'm not going to wait. Hang on, Firefly! I'm coming!" He flapped his wings and sped back inside the base. He only hoped he'd run across Firefly before it was too late.
Minutes felt like hours as Firefly continued to try and find her way out. Normally it would be easy for her to find her way out, but with the base falling down around her Firefly was finding it difficult to recognize where she was.
"I've got to hurry! There's no telling when this place will go up in one big bang!" she said. She continued flying, and though she couldn't tell where she was going something was telling her that she was nearing the exit.
"Help! If anyone can hear me please help! My sister is trapped!" Those frantic pleas for help stopped Firefly in her tracks.
"That voice… it can't be!" Putting her escape on hold she sped off towards the distressed cries for help. When she arrived at the source Firefly was shocked by what she saw. Standing before her were the two Azurill sisters. One of them had her tail trapped beneath some debris while the other was trying to pull her free with little success.
"Hey, you two alright?" Firefly asked, causing the two Azurill sisters to look up at her.
"Oh, Firefly! We thought you'd escaped already!" the older of the two said.
"I had some unfinished business to attend to," Firefly explained. After replying she examined the younger of the Azurill sisters. The debris had fallen all around her with her tail trapped beneath a rather large pile. After examining the debris pile Firefly approached it.
"Okay… I'm going to try and lift it. When I do get out of the way," Firefly explained.
"How will you do that? You're strong, but there's no way you can lift that," the elder sister said.
"Not in my current form I can't, but watch this." As the Azurill watched Firefly's body began to glow and change shaped. When the glow faded Firefly had transformed into a Machamp.
"F-Firefly… you just… h-how did you…"
"Long story. Right now we have to get your sister free and get out," Firefly interrupted. "Now, are you ready?"
"Y-Yeah," the younger Azurill replied. Reaching down Firefly began to lift the debris from off the Azurill's tail. The debris itself wasn't heavy, but it was difficult to keep under control. Even with four hands some of the debris was slipping through and falling back to the floor.
"Okay… you've got to go now!" Firefly grunted. With a nod the younger Azurill went to work, attempting to dislodge her tail. After a few seconds she was able to free herself and scurry out of danger.
"Okay, you can let it drop now!" the elder Azurill shouted. As soon as Firefly heard that she dropped the debris and quickly jumped away. When it fell the debris kicked up a large dust cloud, obscuring the vision of Firefly and the two Azurill. Firefly, still a Machamp, used her body to shield the two smaller Pokémon from the dust cloud. When everything settled down she transformed back to her Vulpix form.
"Are you two okay?" she asked.
"We're fine thanks to you," the younger sister answered.
"Good. Now, let's…" Before she could finish the ceiling above them began to collapse.
"Oh no!" Firefly gasped. The three of them were frozen in place. All they could do was watch as the ceiling began to collapse.
As chaos ensues all around them the Pokémon in the base are lead to safety, but as the base begins to come down Firefly, Indigo, Shin and the Azurill sisters are among those still inside. Will they make it out in time, or will this be their final resting place? Find out in the next chapter of Firefly: Queen of the New Breed!
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