So here we are! I'm starting this up again, and I'm not finishing it until the first book of this series is finished. Hopefully, I'll be able to release chapters on Wednesdays and Sundays, but I'm not entirely sure how well that will work out. At the very least, however, you'll be getting one chapter a week, if not two. There are fourteen chapters left and then an epilogue.
Anyway, here's part three. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD or Pokemon.
Part Three:
Avengers
Chapter Fifty-One:
Phoenix
Lyndrich, New Hampshire
A chill winter breeze rolled through the cold morning air on top of Rockrimmon Hill. The group was all gathered together in front of the memorial they had built in Trent's honor. It was a large, metal cross with his name etched into it. When they had returned from Boston the previous day, Ben had immediately gotten to work on it with the help of Shade. He was determined to leave something behind, even though they couldn't get a body.
Now, the memorial service had started. Each of them had tried to find either a flower or something else that reminded them of Trent to place at the base of the cross. They had placed the artifacts underneath the monument, and were now standing in a circle around it.
It was Ben's turn to talk.
He stepped up to the cross and looked down at it. A single tear formed in his eye, as he searched for the words to say.
"I'm not really sure what to say," he began. "This really just sucks." His voice cracked, and he stopped to regain his composure. "Trent, you were the first friend I made after Z-Day. I never thought I'd ever have another one, but you proved me wrong. I never told you how much meeting you meant to me; you've always been my idol. And then, suddenly, you were my best friend, too.
"But now you're gone. And the pain is just too much." Ben sniffed, and wiped the tears from his eyes with a sleeve. "You were a good person, Trent. Even though towards the end you were obsessed, you always meant well. And I'm gonna find this Machine. For you. Because you were more than just a friend to me. You were a brother."
He stood there, shuddering as he tried to hold back the tears. He didn't want his friends seeing him like this. Alena walked over to him and wrapper her arms comfortably around his waist. And there they stood for a long time, staring at the memorial and silently crying. Even as the others left, they stayed.
When they finally left, Ben returned to his house with Anthony and Alena. The three of them sat on his basement couch in silence, drinking vodka. It continued like that for what felt like hours. Not one of them said a word, until finally, Ben broke the silence.
"The house feels empty," he said. "Knowing he'll never be back." Yet another tear rolled down his face.
"I know," said Alena.
Suddenly, Ben remembered the flash drive Trent had given him. Or, rather, the flash drives.
He stood up. "Hold on a minute," he excused himself. "I'll be right back."
He walked upstairs to his bedroom and opened the top drawer of his dresser, where he had been keeping the flash drives. They were hidden underneath his clothes, and he dug through the mess until he found them. Then, on his way back downstairs, he picked up his laptop and brought it along with him.
As he descended the steps once again, the others looked up at him. "Before Trent died… he gave me something," he said, as he walked over to his two friends sitting on the couch and showed them the flash drives. "These," he said. "Just before Trent died, he gave me a new one. It belonged to Dr. Shaw before she died. There was something on it she wanted us to see, and too many people have died to get the message to us for us to just ignore it."
Ben opened his laptop and powered it on. Once it had booted up, he inserted the flash drive and opened the folder it contained. Inside was one single video file named, "The Truth."
Ben took a deep breath and said, "Here goes nothing." He double-clicked the file. It was a video file, and it opened in Windows Media Player. The first thing they saw was Dr. Shaw's face staring at the camera. She typed a few words on the keyboard, and then started to talk.
"Hello," she began. "My name is Doctor Emily Shaw. I am a former member of the U.S. Secret Department of Science. I am currently being held prisoner by the Phoenix Army in Boston, Massachusetts. I know the likelihood that anyone is watching this is incredibly low, and virtually nonexistent, but if you are watching this, it means I am dead, and there are things you need to know.
"To understand the Phoenix Initiative, you must first understand the Department of Science. It was formed in the late 70's as a means to further the advancement of our species. The government had advanced technology beyond what anyone believed, but they kept it hidden; strewn across labs all over the world. Now, they had a place to put them all.
"At first, wonderful things happened. But by the late 80's, it had become corrupt. They began creating new creatures- playing God if you will- simply because they could. And all that would have been okay if it wasn't for the cruel, inhumane experiments they performed on them.
"The zombie pathogen was created in the year 2001. Soon after, a nameless man approached the leaders of the Department. I know neither the name of the man, nor the leaders; only that the man is now in charge of the entire Phoenix Initiative. He is known only as the Boss.
"I do not know the names of those involved, but I do know what followed. A plan, known as the Phoenix Initiative, was put into place. It was a plan to rebuild the world, should the pathogen escape their containment and control. Nobody thought it would actually happen, but they had to play it safe. And so, everything was planned out. The army was trained, the walls were designed; everything.
"And now, they have put their plan in motion. They have taken over Boston and New York, and are trying to set up a safe haven for survivors. At the same time, they have been recruiting said survivors into their army to help their cause. But the final phase of their plan won't come until they activate the Machine. The Machine is a device that will wipe out all the zombies in the country. Once activated, it will send out a wave of destruction that will target the zombies, destroying them. Once it reaches the edge of its range, other Machines will pick up the wave and strengthen it.
"Once the zombies are dead, the Phoenix army will comb the country, searching for survivors to bring to their safe zones. On the way, they will expand, until all of America is under their control. Then, they will move to other countries, slowly but steadily saving the world. Or so they would have you believe.
"The original intent of the Initiative was for the Phoenix army to reinstate to Constitution. But things have changed. The Initiative has become corrupt. The cancer of greed and power has spread through its ranks, and they no longer wish to help us. They desire only power.
"If they succeed, we will all become their slaves. They would have everything to use against us, and we would have nothing to fight back with. But there might still be hope left! If their headquarters is destroyed before the Machine is activated, it would scatter them. It might give you just the right distraction to try to hit their cities.
"But above all this, remember one thing: the Machine must not be activated! Not until the Initiative is destroyed. The zombies, believe it or not, are the only things standing between them and their goal. Alone, we're hopeless. But with the zombies attacking them at the same time, well… we might have a chance.
"I know how much I'm asking of you. I know that you might not even really exist, and I might be making this for nothing. I know it's unfair. I'd do it myself if I could, but I can't. Not alone. And like it or not, you're a part of this too. If you do get this… Please. Do what has to be done."
Dr. Shaw looked away from the camera suddenly, as if she had heard a noise. She looked back, an expression of urgency plastered on her face, and continued.
"I have to go. They're coming. Go to Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Their headquarters is at the base of the mountain and the Machine is at the peak. Hopefully there's still time. Both entrances will be hidden. I don't know how to get into the Machine, but the entrance to the base is disguised as a mountain shack. Please. You have to do this. For all of us."
And then the screen went black.
The three of them sat there, gaping, completely and utterly dumbfounded.
"Wow," said Ben. "I'm not sure whether I should be happy or terrified."
"What the hell was in there to be happy about?" asked Anthony.
Ben stood up. "We finally know where the Machine is."
Anthony stood up after him. "Whoa," he said. "Hold up just a second. Do you not remember what happened yesterday?"
"Anthony's right," said Alena, after standing up after them. "You're sounding exactly like Trent did! You're going to get yourself killed!"
Ben rounded on her. "I made a promise! I swore I would avenge him!"
"Trent is gone! And getting yourself killed won't change that!"
"I don't care! And besides, did you even hear what she said? This is our last chance!"
"Do you really think we can trust her?" asked Alena. "Lucas was our friend, and we still couldn't trust him! What makes you think we can trust-"
"Shut up!" Ben yelled. "Not one more goddamn word!"
Alena stared at him in shock. All three of them were silent.
"Don't you ever, ever refer to Lucas as a friend again!" Ben commanded. Never!"
He turned away and stormed up the staircase. "Douche," Anthony muttered under his breath.
Ben heard him. He paused at the top of the stairs. "Get fucked!" he yelled. He slammed the door shut.
Alena and Anthony ran up the stairs after Ben. They ran to the front door and opened it just as Ben turned the ignition key in the Mazda. He pulled out of the driveway and drove away.
"Shit," said Anthony.
Ben drove through the streets of Lyndrich furiously. His rage was white hot. His fists were clenched around the steering wheel so tightly that the knuckles turned pale.
When he arrived at Sam's house, he parked the car in his driveway and switched the engine off. He sat there, took a deep breath, and then got out of the car.
He walked to the front door and knocked. Moments later, Sam opened the door. "Hey," he said. "Everything alright?"
Ben shook his head. "Not really," he said.
Sam hesitated, as if debating what to say, and then opened the door further. "Come in," he invited.
Ben stepped inside and slipped off his shoes. "Can I get you anything?" Sam asked.
"Call everyone" said Ben. "I need to talk to you all together. Now."
Sam hesitantly went to his walkie and did as he was asked. Then, they waited.
When everyone was gathered, Ben explained to them about the flash drive Dr. Shaw had given to them. Then, he explained everything he had learned.
"We need to go there!" Ben finished. "We can't let them get away with this!"
The room was silent. Finally, Brian spoke up. "Are you insane?" he asked.
Ben sighed and brought his palm to his face.
"We lost Trent last time we tried something like this!" Brian exclaimed. "That was just yesterday! And you want to run off on another suicide mission already? Come on!"
"What choice do we have?" Ben asked. "What other choice? Huh? Because I'll tell you right now, there's no way I'm running. Not with so much at stake!"
"This isn't our fight!" Brian yelled. "Survival is our fight now!"
"And you don't think they'll track us down?" Ben asked. "After what we did to them, you think they'll just forgive and forget? And how can you say this isn't our fight? Do you not remember what they did to Shade and Ashmore? To Trent? Do you not remember what they're planning? Have you forgotten already?"
Brian was silent. "I'm sorry," he finally said. "You're right."
"How can we be sure about this?" asked Samantha.
Ben's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Lucas had our- well, your- trust. If he couldn't really be trusted, how can someone we just met?"
Ben sighed. "You've been talking to Alena, haven't you?" he asked sarcastically.
"Actually, I have," she said. "I know she has trust issues, but she has a point."
"I don't believe this," Ben muttered. He tried to think of a way to convince his friends of what had to be done. And then he had an idea.
"We have to leave anyway," he said. "So why not at least scout it out?"
"Whoa, whoa, hold on," said Nick. "We have to do what now?"
"We have to leave," Ben repeated. "They know where we are, I'm sure of it. And as soon as they regroup from Boston, they'll be coming here, I guarantee it."
A silence passed through the room as everyone realized he was right.
"Crap…" said Sam.
"Yeah!" Ben exclaimed. "We need to leave as soon as possible! I'd say right now if we didn't need to pack!"
"How about dawn?" Alex suggested.
"As much as I hate waking up early, that's a good idea," Matt agreed.
"Does anyone disagree?" asked Joey.
Nobody did.
"Where are we going?" asked Jeremy.
"North," Ben stated. "If we're leaving, we might as well scout it out."
"Fine," said Nick. "To be honest, if what you're saying is true, we'd have to be the biggest cowards in the world to just sit here and do nothing."
"Thank you," said Ben.
After the meeting was adjourned, the dragons and Pokémon had their own meeting upstairs in the security room.
"Well," Swampert began. "What do you think?"
"I think this long, awful week is just getting started," Shade stated. "But I also think it's for the best."
"Maybe this will finally be the end of it," Ashmore suggested.
"Maybe," said Lily. "But then again, we said that last time, too. Knowing our luck…"
Elizabeth watched and listened quietly. She just wanted this whole ordeal to be over, and even though she was reluctant to follow Ben's lead, she would suck it up if it meant the end of all the violence and bloodshed that had plagued them.
"What do you think, Elizabeth?" asked Reuniclus.
She shrugged. "I think all this just needs to be over. I'm done."
"This is how that'll happened," Swampert explained.
"I know," Elizabeth replied. "That's why I'm in."
"You guys," said Gengar. "There's an easy way to do this. Me and Jack can go in!"
A spark of anger ignited in Elizabeth's chest.
"Jeez, Gengar, not this again," said Reuniclus.
"He did handle things very well back there," said Shade.
"You're not helping," Ashmore snapped. He turned to Gengar. "Absolutely not. You heard what they did to Reuniclus. It's only a matter of time before they come up with a weapon that can kill you as well."
"Overnight?" Gengar asked skeptically. "I don't think even they are that smart."
"We're not having this argument again," said Swampert. "You'll die if you try this, I know it. They've had more than just overnight, remember. I know you're trying to help, but getting yourself killed isn't going to help anything."
Elizabeth couldn't believe how arrogant Gengar could be sometimes. She knew he wasn't done arguing, and she was infuriated by it.
"You guys don't understand," said Gengar. "You think I'm vulnerable just because of what happened in Gunnerville that one time. But I've learned from that, and I've gotten stronger! If you'll just let me-"
"No," said Elizabeth with finality. "Forget it. It's not happening."
"Oh here we go again," Swampert muttered.
"You're not intimidating me, if that's what you're trying to do," said Gengar.
"I'm not trying to intimidate anyone," said Elizabeth. "I'm just letting you know that if you think you can get our permission to commit suicide, you're wrong."
"You know, I don't remember ever saying I cared about your opinion," Gengar retorted.
"You think you're so tough?" asked Elizabeth. "You think you can kill a whole army by yourself?" She stood up. "Then let's see if you can start with me!"
"Don't start this again…" said Lily. "Please! We've got enough on our minds!"
"No," said Elizabeth. "Someone needs to teach this prick a lesson."
Gengar smiled, and levitated off of the ground. "Let's go then," he said. "Or are you too scared?"
That did it. White hot rage flooded through Elizabeth's mind. She ran forward and jumped into the air at Gengar, reaching out her leg in an attempt to kick him. But she sailed right through him, and almost hit Ashmore. The dragon ducked out of the way just in time, and Elizabeth crumpled to the floor in a heap.
Gengar's laugh echoed through the room. He appeared right behind Elizabeth, and conjured a ball of ghostly energy in his hands. "You're forgetting something," he said. "Ghost is immune to fighting."
He flung the ball at her. As it impacted, pain spread through her. But not much.
"You're forgetting something as well," she said. "Ghost is weak to Dark."
She reached inside herself and found her source of dark energy. As it flowed through her, she began to glow slightly. The glow was a dark, purplish-red color. Gengar nervously disappeared, but it was too late. The Scrafty shot her jaws forward and bit Gengar's leg. Her dark energy allowed her to grip it and bite down hard. Her sharp teeth pierced his skin and made him shriek in pain.
"Elizabeth, stop it!" Ashmore commanded. She reluctantly let go, and Gengar shot away. He disappeared, but Elizabeth knew it wasn't the end of it.
"This is gonna be a long night," she head Ashmore say to Shade. She couldn't help but agree.
