Chapter 38: Mental Contact
Whilst Zamenza and Moody were accompanied by Unhaus, Mr. P and Tanner in Block X, Happy and Charles were able to get their way thanks to Metalchemist, who broke free from his control and sent Doctor Sorbet on his way to…somewhere. At the same time, Baye managed to free herself from Klepto's capture, and is dead set on finding her parents. However, thanks to Klepto, the only one who knows of her parents whereabouts is Sid Seudo, one of the Sergeants of the Dirty Delinquents.
Meanwhile in the Genetics Lab, Happy, Charles and Metalchemist were now figuring out their next move, which was to at least find their friends. But first, they had to address the elephant…or rather "elephants" in the room.
Happy: Mr. Red…Do you think those Pokemon over there are going to harm us?
Metalchemist: Not likely, as they only obey orders from Doctor Sorbet. At this point, we can communicate with them.
Unbeknownst to Happy and Charles, Metalchemist sent a signal that drew Project Program closer to them, not showing any signs of a fight.
Happy: Cool…
Metalchemist: Project Program is created only for tracking movement. It does have some defensive capabilities, but it doesn't carry a function to speak. However, I can communicate with it since I was designed with that instinct in mind. It wishes to accompany us.
Charles: Hey, Happy! I know! Why don't we use that Pokemon to track where Mr. Moody is?
Happy: Good idea!
Metalchemist: That isn't likely possible.
Happy: W-Why not…?
Metalchemist: Project Program is constructed with restricted access only to the owner. Doctor Sorbet perhaps wouldn't share it with just anybody.
Charles: Darn.
Metalchemist: But…I can indeed try to bypass it if I have all three Porygon.
Charles: So, if we got the other one, then you'll be able to get this Pokemon to track Mr. Moody?
Metalchemist: Precisely. Whilst we have two of them, only one is missing. Project P-2.0.
Charles: Where's it at?
Metalchemist: …Unfortunately, that is a mystery to my knowledge, as Project P-2.0 uses psychic energy that transcends my realm. It converts its psychic power into digital energy. Alas, I was not made with that purpose.
Charles: So…We need to find it…But that's going to be impossible!
Happy: Maybe we can stroll around and-
Metalchemist: Then again, it is possible to track it down. Project PZ is capable of that more than I can.
Charles: It is? That yellow bird thing over there?
Metalchemist: Project PZ and I are Electric types. The only difference is that it can convert electric energy into digital energy, which is a greater wavelength than P-2.0's. It would track it down. The only problem is P-2.0's means to teleport. PZ can teleport as well, but its methods are…erratic. It could randomly go elsewhere in this facility unconsciously.
Charles: …Darn.
Happy: I know! Let's go find it!
Charles: Are you kidding?! There are stronger Dirty Delinquent officers out there! We'll get killed!
Happy: We can handle it.
Metalchemist: I must agree with the Charmander named "Charles". There are stronger members of the Dirty Delinquents roaming around here. They can prove to be too much for you both.
Happy: We were beaten last time because we didn't use our full potential. This time, we can let loose! No officer can defeat us!
Charles: …If you say so.
Metalchemist: As much as I'd like to follow you, I cannot, for I'll arouse suspicion. But Project PZ can be of assistance.
Happy: How?
Metalchemist: It can track movement like Program and P-2.0 can. Right now, it cannot battle, but it can track movement. For starters, I'll help it back up.
He walked towards Project PZ, who was still lying unconscious and placed his left leg on his face, transmitting electricity from himself to PZ. Within seconds, it woke up but seemed somewhat confused as it surveyed its surroundings until it looked at Metalchemist and Happy, not even showing signs of hostility.
Metalchemist: Project PZ. I am Project Meta. I have given you some of the electricity I collected earlier.
When Project PZ began to speak, it was…erratic, to say the least.
PZ: W̸͚̊h̷͓̔a̵̛̦t̶̳͠ ṗ̷̨u̸̳̐r̴͍̓ṗ̷̨o̸̙͛s̷͕͘e̴͆ͅ d̵̗̐o̸̙͛ y̵̨̎o̸̙͛u̸̳̐ h̷͓̔a̵̛̦v̷̮͠e̴͆ͅ f̵̼̽o̸̙͛r̴͍̓ r̴͍̓e̴͆ͅ-r̴͍̓e̴͆ͅ-r̴͍̓e̴͆ͅ-r̴͍̓e̴͆ͅ-r̴͍̓e̴͆ͅ-I̷̹͑n̸̦̈́v̷̮͠i̴̳͋g̷̻̀o̸̙͛r̴͍̓a̵̛̦t̶̳͠i̴̳͋n̸̦̈́g̷̻̀ m̸̼̏e̴͆ͅ?
Charles: …What did he say?
Between Happy, Charles and Metalchemist, only Metalchemist could understand what he said.
Metalchemist: …It seems that you are rusty in the speech department. Unfortunately, I cannot fix that.
PZ: D̷̡͛o̸̙͛c̸͉̓t̶̳͠o̸̙͛r̴͍̓ S̵̢̽o̸̙͛r̴͍̓b̴̤̓e̴͆ͅt̶̳͠ f̵̼̽o̸̙͛r̴͍̓g̷̻̀o̸̙͛t̶̳͠ t̶̳͠o̸̙͛ g̷̻̀i̴̳͋v̷̮͠e̴͆ͅ m̸̼̏e̴͆ͅ ṗ̷̨r̴͍̓o̸̙͛ṗ̷̨e̴͆ͅr̴͍̓ s̷͕͘ṗ̷̨e̴͆ͅe̴͆ͅc̸͉̓h̷͓̔!
Metalchemist: Never mind that. Can you accompany Happy and Charles here? We need you to track down Project P-2.0.
PZ: I̷̹͑ c̸͉̓a̵̛̦n̸̦̈́ d̵̗̐o̸̙͛ t̶̳͠h̷͓̔a̵̛̦t̶̳͠. B̷̠͘u̸̳̐t̶̳͠ I̷̹͑ d̵̗̐o̸̙͛n̸̦̈́'t̶̳͠ k̸̫͘n̸̦̈́o̸̙͛w̷̞̌ i̴̳͋f̵̼̽ I̷̹͑ c̸͉̓a̵̛̦n̸̦̈́ c̸͉̓a̵̛̦t̶̳͠c̸͉̓h̷͓̔ i̴̳͋t̶̳͠.
Metalchemist: True. But time is of the virtue.
PZ: ...I̷̹͑'l̷̙̓l̷̙̓ s̷͕͘e̴͆ͅe̴͆ͅ i̴̳͋f̵̼̽ I̷̹͑ c̸͉̓a̵̛̦n̸̦̈́ l̷̙̓u̸̳̐r̴͍̓e̴͆ͅ i̴̳͋t̶̳͠ u̸̳̐s̷͕͘i̴̳͋n̸̦̈́g̷̻̀ d̵̗̐i̴̳͋g̷̻̀i̴̳͋t̶̳͠a̵̛̦l̷̙̓ e̴͆ͅn̸̦̈́e̴͆ͅr̴͍̓g̷̻̀y̵̨̎. B̷̠͘u̸̳̐t̶̳͠ I̷̹͑ c̸͉̓a̵̛̦n̸̦̈́'t̶̳͠ g̷̻̀u̸̳̐a̵̛̦r̴͍̓a̵̛̦n̸̦̈́t̶̳͠e̴͆ͅe̴͆ͅ t̶̳͠h̷͓̔a̵̛̦t̶̳͠ I̷̹͑'l̷̙̓l̷̙̓ b̴̤̓e̴͆ͅ a̵̛̦b̴̤̓l̷̙̓e̴͆ͅ t̶̳͠o̸̙͛ e̴͆ͅn̸̦̈́s̷͕͘n̸̦̈́a̵̛̦r̴͍̓e̴͆ͅ i̴̳͋t̶̳͠.
Metalchemist: It can't teleport forever. By now, it should be running out of fuel.
Happy: Please? We have to find it.
PZ: …V̷̰̒e̴͆ͅr̴͍̓y̵̨̎ w̷̞̌e̴͆ͅl̷̙̓l̷̙̓. I̷̹͑ s̷͕͘h̷͓̔a̵̛̦l̷̙̓l̷̙̓ a̵̛̦c̸͉̓c̸͉̓o̸̙͛m̸̼̏ṗ̷̨a̵̛̦n̸̦̈́y̵̨̎ y̵̨̎o̸̙͛u̸̳̐ t̶̳͠w̷̞̌o̸̙͛. L̵̼̎e̴͆ͅa̵̛̦d̵̗̐ t̶̳͠h̷͓̔e̴͆ͅ w̷̞̌a̵̛̦y̵̨̎.
...
Back in Block X where Zamenza, Moody, Tanner, Unhaus and Mr. P were, they sat in complete silence as they were trying to figure out their next move. However, their thoughts were interrupted when two cloaked members walked into the room carrying what appeared to be a somewhat yellow coated Seviper before dropping the Pokemon down in front of them and leaving it to go back to their duty.
The Seviper in question appeared female, having brown markings that covered its entire face to resemble an armor-like helmet and six single dreads that peaked from the back of her armor-like head. Her fangs were also shorter, and armor lined on her back to her dagger-like tail, a red blade on the end that could stab a Pokemon with lethal poison. Her body appeared beaten and bruised, with blood from her mouth and parts of her lower side. Only Zamenza could recognize this Pokemon, as she seemed familiar to him.
Zamenza: …I know her.
The others turned to Zamenza for his answer on the mysterious Pokemon.
Zamenza: …She's uh…something. Can't remember her name, but she's actually a Pokken Arts competitor and a good one at that.
Moody: Really?
Zamenza: Yeah…Also, her goal is admirable.
Unhaus: She has a goal in mind for winning?
Zamenza: She may not look like it, but she's wanting to open an orphanage for children to live in. She wants to use that money for that purpose.
Mr. P: …Wow. I thought my ambition was something, but hers…Hers is more remarkable than ever.
Unhaus: …I wonder what the other fighters' ambition is like…
Sounds of groaning could be heard, to which was the female Seviper waking up. She took one good look at her surroundings and decided to calmly assess the situation. Her accent was…interesting to say as if she was from a different country.
Seviper: …Who a' you people?
Zamenza: *nods* Hm. Hm. I see your accent portrays you well. You must be from the Turf Kingdom.
Seviper: ...You could tell fwom my accent?
Moody: Amazing…
Unhaus: To be honest, I thought hearing the red crab Pokemon was weird, but hearing that…Well, I don't know. I don't have any knowledge on that.
Mr. P: Certain snake Pokemon speak with accents. There's some with snobby accents, and others more…posh.
Seviper: *chuckles* Well, I know some snake Pokemon like that. I'm Suhi, by the way.
Zamenza: But Miss Suhi…why are you here?
Suhi: If anything, I was twying to save the childwen being eld a' until I wan into that Sa'geant Sozhi guy. I was unable to beat im, and next thing I knew, I blaged out...and a' I am…
Unhaus: …Sushi…I can't believe a sea urchin Pokemon like him exists.
Zamenza: We're still trying to figure a way out of here, but the only ones who can manage to get us out of here are Happy and Charles.
Suhi: …H…Happy…? Charles…? Awe they those two…childwen fwom the Pokken Awts Toa'nament…?
Zamenza: Yes they are. They are also my students.
Suhi had a puzzled expression, with Moody giving him an "I knew it" look.
Suhi: I...ave no wo'ds to say.
Moody: …Anyways, want to know why we're here?
Suhi: I do.
Zamenza: …Well…According to Unhaus here, this is the "Xectution" Block. So, judging by our death date since it's night out…we should die in about…6 hours from now.
Suhi: So, this is wha' we wait fo' oa' deaths…
Zamenza: By the way…I find it remarkable what you intend to use the prize money for…seeing as to how the war 20 years ago left many children homeless without parents.
Suhi: Oh, I wish I can go save those childwen wight now…
Zamenza: …Wait a minute…! I remember something…! I think I can contact Happy and Charles via telepathy!
Moody: …Gee, that was reeeeal handy there…You had that under your belt, didn't you?
Zamenza: Don't mock me. I need to get in touch with them.
He placed his fingers on the sides of his head and closed his eyes, focusing really deep to send out a telepathic message to Happy and Charles.
Zamenza: (...Happy…Charles…This is Zamenza…Can you hear me…?)
For a moment, silence ruptured his mind until he got a response. Charles was the one to receive the call, although he didn't know what to make of it as he spoke loudly.
Charles: O-Old man?!
Happy: Master Zamenza! Where are you?!
Zamenza: (…I wish I could tell you, but as for our location, I don't really know except Block X…Wherever that is…Where are you two as of right now…?)
Happy: We're uh…
Happy and Charles took a moment to look around, to which they only saw the letter "M" plastered on a wall.
Happy: We're in "M"!
Zamenza: (...I see…In that case, what are you doing right now…?)
Charles: We're trying to find this Pokemon called "P-2.0". Say, old man…Can you do us a favor?
Zamenza: (...Anything to help…)
Charles: Could you use your psychic energy to sense where it is? We need it to find you.
Zamenza: (...Oh, I see…! I can do that…)
He then tuned in his energy to feel out some psychic wavelengths, to which he could find a signal. To him, however, the Pokemon's wavelength was strange, as if it was somewhat a mix between being real and fake at the same time.
Zamenza: (...I found it…It's not far from where you two are…Judging by the wavelength of it and where you two are, it's perhaps two or four blocks ahead…)
Charles: Alright! Thanks, old man!
Zamenza: (...No problem…However, if you're wanting to know where Unhaus, Mr. P and Tanner are, they're with us…)
Charles: W-What?!
Happy: They've been captured too?!
Zamenza: (...The only one left out there is Miss Baye…Find her and make sure to stay out of trouble…Be safe out there…)
Charles: We will!
Happy: Goodbye, Master Zamenza!
Zamenza then cut the communication, with all eyes on him.
Tanner: Well? Did you get them?
Zamenza: I did. They're in Block M, trying to find a Pokemon called "P-2.0".
Tanner: P-2.0?
Zamenza: …I did find what they were looking for, but…I noticed that as I felt its energy, it didn't seem like it was real or imaginary…Kinda strange, really.
Mr. P: Whatever it is, it must be a bizarre creature. Why are they hunting it down?
Zamenza: It's so that they can find us.
Suhi: I wish those little dawlings luck…
...
In Block K, Baye was running away from the pursuit of the Dirty Delinquent members, who were chasing after her with weapons in hand…or shoulder, whichever one it was. Honori was flying with her, as they had reunited somehow, somewhere. One member shouted…
?: Stop, escapee!
One of the members pointed a gun and started shooting at her, scaring her even more as the bullets struck the ground around her feet as she shouted...
Baye: Somebody! HEEEEEEELP!
She headed towards Block L, which was where Happy and Charles once were, along with Project PZ. As she and Honori continued speeding down the hall, they managed to catch up with them, who saw them being pursued.
Happy: Hey, Charles! It's Baye! And that pet bird of hers!
Charles: They look like they need help! Those guys are chasing after them!
Happy: Let's kick their butts!
They charged in without any hesitation, with Baye glad to see them whilst leaving Project PZ behind. Honori cawed in glee as he saw them come to their aid. The Dirty Delinquent members couldn't believe what was coming their way.
?: What the…?!
?: Are those kids?!
They started firing at them, only to miss as they were too fast to even hit. Happy and Charles swiftly punched and kicked their way through the members, knocking each and every one of them to the ground in an unconscious state.
Baye: *sighs* Oh, Happy! Charles! I'm so glad to see you!
However, Project PZ joined them, which caught Baye's attention as it made sudden, erratic movements with its head.
Baye: …Who or "what" is that?
Happy: This is PZ! He's going to help us find a Pokemon called "P-2.0"!
Baye: …Okay. *gasps* Happy! Charles! Where's Mr. P?
Happy: …He's been captured and placed where Master Zamenza and Grandpa are…Even Tanner and Unhaus are there…
Baye: …Oh…But, why do you need to find that…P-2.0 thing for?
Charles: We need to catch it so that we can figure out where Master Zamenza and Moody are. Fortunately, it's probably not too far from us.
PZ then spazzed out uncontrollably before pointing ahead, confusing the trio.
Happy: What's wrong, PZ?
Charles: I think he might've found something.
Baye: Hmm…I know! Honori, why don't you go on ahead? See if you can find whatever it is that PZ is reacting to.
Honori cawed in response and flew ahead, taking no less than two minutes, avoiding incoming members of the Dirty Delinquents running down the halls with weapons in tow. He passed Blocks O and P until he reached Block Q, to which he saw a Pokemon who seemed to resemble a Porygon, only it was different as it had a purple body with a pink belly, beak, tail and feet. It also had two ear-like antennae on its head, with dulux Australian psychic colored markings on both of them, including the top of its feet and its tail.
It appeared to be exhausted as the blue energy around it appeared to flicker and fizzle out. He then flew back to where Baye, Happy, Charles and PZ were, in which they were in Block M, which was the empty Mess Hall riddled with tables and seats meant for eating. He was able to find them due to Baye's scent, and knowing that they used this place to hide from the Dirty Delinquents. As he cawed, Baye knew it was him and he had found something.
Baye: Honori! Did you find the Pokemon?
He cawed in response and turned in the direction of where he saw it, giving an answer to them.
Baye: Alright! We can go find it! I hope there's no Dirty Delinquent Pokemon around…
Unbeknownst to them, Sergeant Olive, also known as Sid Seudo, was hiding nearby, eavesdropping on their conversation. One Pokemon in particular caught his attention, in which he pressed the emblem on his cloak to speak to Brigadier Chan Way.
Sid: Sergeant Olive to Brigadier Salt. I've located three targets, along with their pet and a project that belonged to Doctor Sorbet. It's Project PZ. It appears that they are attempting to locate Project P-2.0. Two of the Pokemon appeared to be children.
Chan Way: Impossible! Sergeant, kill them all! We can't risk such things like that wandering about! I don't care if they're children! Either kill them, or subdue them into Block X's holding facility!
Sid: Understand, sir. Sergeant Olive out.