Team Dominion
As always, people will take great gifts and use them as a means to satisfy their greed.
I cannot do anything about it.
I cannot leave my sanctuary, for it would unleash evil upon the world.
I can only hope that the ones of righteousness can solve this issue on their own.
"What's your status?" a voice in Dream Eater's earpiece asked.
Dream Eater waited for someone else to respond. He heard Extrasensory, his squad's leader, speak from behind him.
"We're in position," she said. "Waiting for the signal."
"Very well," the reply came. "Stand by."
Dream Eater leaned against the side of a window in a dark, empty apartment, gazing out to the tall building across the street. Empty, of course, save for his strike team, called Sleep Squad. It consisted of six operatives, including himself, all with Pokemon. They were storing their Pokemon in their Poke balls, for now, but they would be needed soon.
The street was emptier than usual, as it should be at this time of night, giving a better outlook for Sleep Squad's success. Less potential for collateral damage.
Dream Eater was a man in his early thirties who'd lived a life of crime since he was twenty. Back then, he'd mostly been stealing cars, purses, and store items. Before long, however, the crimes became greater. Armed robbery was his specialty. Then, soon after Pokemon had become a part of the world, he'd been approached by a man who'd said he needed his skill. He had been recruited into the criminal group known as Team Dominion
The goal of Team Dominion — on the surface, anyways — was to find a way to turn Pokemon into the most powerful weapons in the world. Sure, a Pokemon could punch or scratch someone just like any human could, but they couldn't effectively hurt other creatures besides Pokemon with their special attacks. The attacks might cause some pain and pressure, as well as other sensations, such as heat from a Flamethrower attack, but they ultimately caused little visible damage to the body. Pokemon were also unable to affect other creatures with any status-effect moves. The professors at CPP had determined these facts early in their research.
However, the scientists who worked for Team Dominion had invented a device they called the Trans-attack. It allowed Pokemon to affect other creatures with their attacks to the same degree that other Pokemon were affected. The device didn't allow Pokemon to kill anyone, yet. It only allowed Pokemon to harm humans, which was all that Team Dominion needed, for now. They equipped their Pokemon with Trans-attacks to pull off heists on CPP research buildings.
Sleep Squad was preparing for one of those heists right at that moment. They were simply waiting for their eyes to give them a signal.
They were after research that their hackers had gotten a glimpse of a few days prior. When Dream Eater saw the idea that the stolen research portrayed, he knew it would be a game-changer for Team Dominion.
The professor who'd developed the idea worked for the CPP in the very building Sleep Squad was about to infiltrate. The very building that Dream Eater examined now. The building was like most corporation buildings: glass windows on all sides and twice as tall as the structures around it, including the tenement Sleep Squad waited in.
The building was intended to give CPP professors a location with resources to research Pokemon and other things related to Pokemon. The professor they were looking for had looked into a rather immoral idea that was abandoned soon after its conception. However, Team Dominion had received intelligence that the professor had made a solid foundation for the idea, one that would allow the scientists of Team Dominion to complete the concept and use it for their benefit.
The problem was that Sleep Squad would have to break into this building, find the correct professor, and force them to give them the information they needed. This would not be an easy task.
Team Dominion had begun invading CPP buildings very frequently, so many places had begun to take caution by adding and reinforcing security. Armed guards roamed the floors of the building. One slip and a member of Sleep Squad could find themselves dead.
Although, this heist would be easier than it had been before, now that they had Trans-attacks. The devices allowed Sleep Squad to exploit their signature moves. As the name suggested, the Pokemon of all six members of the squad knew Hypnosis. They would be able to put the guards and professors to sleep while they took what they needed.
Of course, Dream Eater thought with a wicked grin, that doesn't mean we can't do a little damage before then.
"Alright," came the voice in the earpiece again, "Everyone, position yourselves."
All six members of the squad walked to the center of the apartment, forming a circle. They all wore earpieces, so they could all hear the same voice Dream Eater heard. Four were male, and two were female. They wore black, with bulletproof vests in case they were shot at, and had backpacks to store anything useful they might find. None of them held weapons; they had specific orders not to kill unless they needed to. This was a heist, not a terrorist attack. The latter would get the entire nation involved with them.
One of the males, Confusion, withdrew a Poke ball and opened it. A flash of light illuminated the dim room for a moment before it settled back into darkness. A Gallade straightened in the center of the circle the squad members had formed. However, unlike most Gallade, it had a device in the shape of a metal bracelet around its right arm. A Trans-attack. The device had a shining blue light on it, indicating that it was active. Gallade would be essential to get inside the building.
The squad waited only a moment longer before the signal came.
"Go!" the voice in the earpiece said.
"Alright, you know where to take us," Confusion told Gallade. "Teleport!"
The Gallade crouched down before Dream Eater was disoriented for a moment as his eyes were blinded by light. Then it was over, and he was inside the building he had looking at from across the street a moment before. The five others and the Gallade were with him, too, all in the same position they had been in before they had teleported. They stood in a stairwell in the building.
Dream Eater heard running footsteps coming from above. The guards must have heard the sound of the Teleport. He turned, looking for a door. There wasn't one. To reach the next door, he would've had to go up a set of stairs or down a set of stairs.
"Everyone, get ready!" one of the squad members said. He was called Submission. "We've got company!"
Everyone else sent out their Pokemon. Like Gallade, they all had a Trans-attack placed somewhere on their body. Their full team consisted of a Noctowl, a Hypno, a Stantler, a Poliwrath, a Gallade, and Dream Eater's Pokemon, a Gengar named Midnight. Midnight had its Trans-attack wrapped around its ankle.
Two guards armed with rifles came into view as they descended. They had apparently heard about the Trans-attacks; they didn't hesitate to fire their weapons down on Sleep Squad. But the guards had been too slow. Gallade swiftly jumped in front of everyone else, held out its arms, and used Protect, preventing anyone else from being hit. The bullets harmlessly bounced off its body, then rang as they hit the concrete floor. As soon as the guards needed to reload, the other five Pokemon stood in front and all used Hypnosis. The guards' eyelids fluttered, and they collapsed as they fell into a deep sleep.
"Are you going to drain them?" Extrasensory asked Dream Eater.
Dream Eater shook his head. "Better if I save the Power Points for when Midnight takes some damage."
Extrasensory nodded. "Alright, guys," she said. "Let's find this professor. We're directly in the middle between the top and bottom floors. I'll take Confusion and Submission down to search the lower floors. Dream Eater, I want you to take Psybeam and Astonish and look through the upper levels.
Everyone nodded, and they ran their separate ways to carry out the heist. One team went up, and the other down. Dream Eater had Psybeam and his Hypno with him, as well as Astonish and her Stantler.
Psybeam was the second youngest member of Sleep Squad, at 26 years of age. He had joined only a few weeks ago and been assigned to Sleep Squad. He had the talent in crime, and his Hypno was fairly powerful, but he was inexperienced.
Astonish was similar. She was a year younger than Psybeam, and she was even more of an amateur. She was assigned to Sleep Squad less than a week ago. This was her first mission.
Extrasensory had given Dream Eater the duty of looking after both of them, as he was one of the most experienced out of all of not just Sleep Squad, but all of Team Dominion. It was an annoying responsibility to have, but the two had fairly decent Pokemon with them, so he could tolerate it.
Dream Eater opened a door to the first floor the three of them were supposed to search and found three guards waiting behind it, all pointing their guns at him. Dream Eater frantically closed the door and backed away as a rain of bullets sounded from the other side. The dents appeared in the steel door as the bullets made their impact.
Psybeam snickered. "Careful, there," he said. "You almost got an ass full of bullets."
Dream Eater scowled. Had it been you who'd opened the door, Psybeam, he thought, you would've been gunned down in seconds after failing to react quickly enough.
"What do we do?" Astonish asked. "None of our Pokemon know Protect."
"Astonish, open the door when I tell you to," Dream Eater said.
"Okay," she said, standing in front of the door and wrapping her fingers around the handle.
"What do you need me to do?" Psybeam asked.
"Nothing," Dream Eater said. "Leave this one to me."
It was Psybeam's turn to scowl. Dream Eater forced himself not to smile. He turned to Midnight. As always, the Gengar had a sinister smile on its face. Its eyes were a menacing red that tormented the soul. It looked ready. Ready for blood.
"Midnight," Dream Eater said. "As soon as she opens that door, use Thunderbolt."
Midnight's smile grew. It placed itself a few feet from Astonish and the door and held out his hands. Yellow electricity began to crackle between its fingertips. It waited for the door to open.
Bullets were still hitting the door. Dream Eater waited until there was a pause. The guns stopped firing for a moment.
"Now," Dream Eater said calmly.
Astonish yanked the door open. From where Dream Eater was, he couldn't see the guards. He could only imagine their looks of horror as Midnight released his attack. A large, yellow Thunderbolt shot through the open doorway. What followed was a mighty boom and shouts from the guards.
Astonish peeked out into the hallway from behind the door. Dream Eater looked beyond the doorway as well.
Two guards were still conscious. They were trying to stand slowly; the impact from the thunderbolt had weakened them. The third guard laid motionless on the floor, a burn mark on his uniform in the chest area.
Dream Eater turned to Psybeam. "Finish them off," he said. "Make sure they won't be getting up for a while. Then search this floor yourself. If you don't find the professor, come find us. Astonish comes with me."
Psybeam grinned. "Sure. Leave it to me." With that, he and his Hypno went through the doorway. Astonish closed the metal door behind them.
"Are you sure they'll be alright?" Astonish asked. "I thought he was new here, like me."
"He'll be fine," Dream Eater said. " But you need to stop worrying about anyone else on the squad. The only one that should matter to you is yourself. If you spend your time concerned about someone else, you'll find yourself dead."
"I didn't-" She looked down. "Sorry."
"Don't apologize. It's annoying."
Dream Eater and Midnight began ascending the steps again, Astonish and her Stantler close behind. When they reached the next floor, they ran into more guards behind the door they tried to enter.
"Ready?" Dream Eater asked. "I'll need you to open the door again."
Astonish nodded and grabbed the handle.
It went on like this for the next half-hour. They would reach a floor, Astonish would provide assistance, and Midnight would clean out the resistance. They searched each floor and came up with nothing every time, so they continued. Extrasensory didn't check in on Dream Eater or say that she had found the professor. She was probably too busy fighting.
Dream Eater was starting to get annoyed. Psybeam hadn't caught up yet, which was surprising. Psybeam seemed like the kind of person who didn't like to delay, preferring to get the job done as quickly as possible. That was just about the only thing he and Dream Eater had in common.
What if he was captured? Dream Eater considered. No, that's not likely. Dead? Maybe.
Before he had too much time to think, he reached the eleventh floor he'd been to since he arrived. Astonish prepared to open the door once more, and Midnight got into position. However, when she threw open the door, no guards were there.
Trap. It's definitely a trap.
Regardless, Dream Eater walked through the doorway, his feet beginning to meet smooth marble instead of cement. If it was a trap, he would gladly trigger it. He doubted he could be stopped with a simple ambush. Astonish stayed behind, waiting in the stairwell.
"What if it's a trap?" she asked.
"I know it's a trap," Dream Eater said. "I just don't care."
Midnight followed Dream Eater into the hallway of floor twenty-six. As soon as both were through, the door slammed shut behind them. Dream Eater snapped around and pressed himself against the door before starting to pound his fist against it.
Damn! An electronic door!
Dream Eater heard the sounds of footsteps from the other side of the door. He then heard voices, not Astonish's voices, but the voices of guards. Dream Eater heard Astonish shout a command to her Stantler before a commotion began inside the stairwell. After a moment, he heard two thumps hit the floor, then voices he didn't recognize. Guards' voices.
Dream Eater backed away from the door and pointed at it.
"Midnight, Shadow Ball!" he said.
Midnight formed a small ball of dark energy before launching it at the door. It made a small dent in it, but the door remained closed.
Dammit! Dream Eater gritted his teeth.
"Quite unfortunate, isn't it?"
Dream Eater turned to his right. Down the hallway stood a woman in a white lab coat and glasses. She had short hair that had been dyed purple, and she looked to be about the same age as Dream Eater himself. Midnight went on guard.
"Who are you?" Dream Eater asked.
The woman adjusted her glasses. "I am Professor Holly." She said. I work in this building, and I don't like to see it infiltrated. Therefore, I'll be assisting in disposing of you." She took a Poke ball from her coat and threw it down the hall. As soon as it hit the ground, there was a flash of light as a Lopunny appeared. The rabbit Pokemon stood confidently, its long, fluffy ears twitching slightly.
Dream Eater smirked. "Thunderbolt," he told Midnight. "But not on the Lopunny. Use it on the woman."
His Gengar created a bolt of lightning and launched it at the professor, who stood calmly, hands concealed in her coat pockets. Her Lopunny reacted quickly, jumping in front of the bolt and hitting it with her palm. The bolt changed course and began streaking right towards Dream Eater, who was barely able to get out of the way before the bolt could strike his face. A crash came from the end of the hall as the bolt shattered the glass window behind him. He turned back to face Professor Holly.
"That's right," she said. "I noticed how your devices work. They enable Pokemon to damage humans. It's a rather fine idea, one I'm sad I wasn't able to come up with. But any move you throw at me, I can simply tell Fluff here to return it to the sender, and it'll harm you instead." She smirked for a moment before her face became serious again. "But I have to say, I'm surprised. I thought the first thing you would do is ask about your friends."
Dream Eater's eyes narrowed.
"Ah, yes," the professor continued. "The boy was rather easy to disable. One of my colleagues handled him with his Onix. Knocked both him and his Hypno out. He'll be taken in for questioning by the police, as well as the other one you were with."
They got Psybeam, too? Dream Eater thought. But what about the other squad members?
He didn't have to wait long before Holly answered that question in her monologue. "The other three you were with are turning out to be quite difficult, quite difficult indeed," she said. "They're staying together a lot better than you did, and they've been able to fend us off so far. But everything cracks under pressure, eventually."
Dream Eater gave a small sigh of relief. So, I still have a chance of escaping. I just have to deal with this bitch.
He readied himself and planned out his strategy. He wouldn't want to worry about Lopunny. If he wanted to get this done quickly, he would have to get around her Pokemon and use an attack on her.
"Ready to fight, are we?" Holly giggled. The sound made Dream Eater cringe in annoyance. "The thing is, this doesn't seem very fair, seeing how you're able to attack my body, but I can't attack yours. Oh, I know! Come to me, Fluff!"
Lopunny bounded back to where Holly stood. The professor held up a bracelet. Dream Eater squinted, and a cold realization came over him. It was a Trans-attack. Holly placed it on her Pokemon's arm.
"My colleague noticed this on Hypno," she explained. "He took it off and had his Onix bring it to me. Am I correct in assuming that this device is what allows you to harm people?"
Dream Eater grimaced, but despite this horrid turn of events, he was confident in his matchup. Lopunny knew mostly normal-type and Fighting-type moves, which wouldn't affect Midnight's ghost-type body. In addition, while Shadow Ball wouldn't affect Lopunny, it could still be affected by all of the Gengar's other attacks. They would just have to watch out for Mirror Coat.
"Now," Holly said when she finished attaching the Trans-attack. "Let's begin! It's a fair fight now, especially now that you don't have your friends to use as shields."
Dream Eater smiled wickedly. "I wouldn't be so sure. I think I'm better off without them."
"Really?" Holly asked. "How is that?"
"I don't have to worry about hitting them when they get in my way."
Holly grinned. "Interesting. Well, then, Fluff, use Ice Punch!"
Wait, what?!
Midnight had no time to react. It was socked directly in its teeth and was blown backward by the force of the punch. Icicles formed on its body that Midnight tried to remove.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Holly said. "I used a Technical Machine to teach Fluff that move since all of its other attacks were so boring."
Dream Eater was familiar with Technical Machines. He had used three on Midnight, teaching it Shadow Ball, Dream Eater, and Thunderbolt. While Lopunny's TMs complicated things, Dream Eater still thought he'd be able to pull through.
"Hypnosis!" Dream Eater said.
"Look away, Fluff!" Holly said. Lopunny placed its ears on its eyes as the Hypnosis waves drifted ineffectively over it.
"Now, Thunderbolt!"
Midnight took advantage of Lopunny's temporary blindness and launched a bolt of lightning at Lopunny. It hit the rabbit Pokemon in the stomach and forced it backward. Lopunny still held its ground, its feet sliding across the floor.
"Stay mobile!" Dream Eater said. "Don't let it hit you with another attack!"
Holly kept commanding Lopunny to attack until Dream Eater became familiar with its full moveset. He found that this woman had taught her Pokemon Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, and Mirror Coat. A rather strange moveset, but it didn't matter. All of these damaging attacks were physical, and since Midnight was faster, it would only have to evade while it searched for openings.
"Fire Punch, again!" Holly ordered.
Lopunny's fist was engulfed in flames as it tried to strike Midnight once more. It missed again, its attack smashing the ground where Midnight had been a moment before.
"Now, Hypnosis, while there's a window!" Dream Eater said.
Midnight stared into Lopunny's open eyes and sent her into sleep. It dropped to the ground and began to snooze.
"No!" Holly screamed.
"Now then," Dream Eater muttered. It was time for his signature move, the one he used as his name.
"Eat its dream."
Midnight opened its mouth. The two humans watched, one smiling, the other shaking, as silver threads began flowing out of Lopunny's ears, mouth, eyes, and nostrils and into Midnight's grinning maw. Lopunny began to thrash on the ground.
Not only did this move deal a lot of damage, but Lopunny would stay asleep for a while, most likely for enough time so that Midnight could completely drain it of its HP. It would also heal the wound the Gengar had sustained from the first Ice Punch.
Holly screamed and started running towards Midnight as if to try and stop it, but she had reacted too late. Midnight finished its meal and had enough time to launch a Thunderbolt into the Professor's gut.
Normally, the attack would've simply made the professor stagger a bit, causing pain comparable to a small static shock. However, with the Trans-attack, she was blown backward, screaming in pain. A hole appeared in her lab coat, black and smoking at the edges. The skin revealed by the ruined clothing was seared black by the bolt as well.
Dream Eater and his Gengar approached the professor while she coughed, cried in pain, and laid on the floor, defeated. Dream Eater grabbed her by her white lab coat and held her up. She began shaking as she struggled, but Dream Eater held her firmly in place.
"Now, where could I find your research?" he asked.
"My research?" she asked while wincing in pain, confused. "Why would you want-"
"You used a Trans-attack against me." Dream Eater said. "While a lot of other people would think that it would help, it's deemed illegal by the CPP to use one at all. You don't go by the book. The exact type of person who would make that special Poke ball."
Holly's eyes widened. "You know about that?"
"I do," he said. "And if you give it to me now, I won't ask Midnight to eat your dream, too."
Holly looked past Dream Eater and Midnight to where her Lopunny was sprawled on the floor. Dream Eater smiled.
"Alright," she said nervously. "I'll give you the research. Let me take you to my office."
Dream Eater jerked the woman to her feet and followed her as she limped down the hallway. She tried to place her hand on her stomach, where Midnight's Thunderbolt had struck her, but yanked her hand away when she made contact, cringing at the pain. When they reached her office, she sat down at a PC and began booting up the system.
"Oh, and deactivate the thing that's preventing our comms from working," Dream Eater said.
Holly hesitated for a moment, and Dream Eater almost had Midnight use Shadow Ball to motivate her. But it wasn't necessary. The professor began tapping keys and clicking the mouse a few times.
"It's done," she said. "You'll just have to wait a little bit while I save the research to a flash drive."
Dream Eater pressed a finger against his ear. "Extrasensory, are you there?" he asked.
There was a moment of static before Dream Eater heard the squad leader's voice.
"Dream Eater?" she asked, sounding exhausted. There was a loud noise coming from the other end. Sounds of battle. "What happened? Is everyone with you okay?"
"Doesn't matter," he responded. "I found the professor. She's giving me the information now."
Holly weakly snapped her fingers to get his attention and pointed at the monitor. Dream Eater leaned over her chair and looked it over. He confirmed it was what Team Dominion was looking for before nodding. Holly plugged in a flash drive and began saving the files.
"You found the professor?" Extrasensory asked. "Finally! We can get out of here."
"Do you still had Confusion with you?" Dream Eater asked.
"Yeah, everyone's here except you, Psybeam, and Astonish. Did something happen to them? Are they-"
"Good," Dream Eater interrupted. "Let me talk to him."
Confusion came on a second later. "Dream?"
"Is your Gallade still in good shape, Confusion?" Dream Eater asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"Good. We need to get out of here. I want you to meet me by one of the windows on your floor on the south side of the building."
"Okay, how are you going to get down here?"
"I'll jump."
Holly unplugged the flash drive and handed it to Dream Eater, who placed it in one of his pockets. Midnight used Hypnosis on her a moment later, and the professor slumped in her office chair. Dream Eater returned his Gengar to its Poke ball and left the office, heading in the direction where the battle with Holly had taken place.
"You're going to jump?!" Extrasensory asked. "Are you insane?!"
"Yes, actually," Dream Eater said. "Every psychologist my parents took me to see determined that I was mentally unstable. Do you see what I'm trying to do, Confusion?"
"Uh, yeah," Confusion said while Extrasensory yelled in the background. "Give us some time to get over to the south side. Any particular place you want?"
"It'll be a little to the right," Dream Eater said as he stepped over Lopunny's limp body. He approached the window that the reflected Thunderbolt had shattered. He stuck his head out and looked to the ground below. Another window, about twenty floors below him and a little to the left, shattered, the glass pieces falling through the air. A head poked out of the window and faced upward until it found Dream Eater.
"Oh, crap," Confusion said in Dream Eater's earpiece. "You actually want to do this."
"Why wouldn't I?" Dream Eater asked. "It's our most optimal getaway option. Are you ready?"
"Give us a second," Confusion said. There was a small pause. "Okay, ready," he said.
"Just wait until I'm right next to you, then go," Dream Eater said. Then he jumped.
He plummeted toward the ground, reaching the other floor in a matter of moments. When he reached his squadmates, they all jumped out with him. Gallade jumped out, too. Confusion shouted one word as they fell together.
"Teleport!"
The four members of Team Dominion disappeared from the night in a flash of light.