Chapter 6
End Game
I woke up, figured that I should do whatever I had to save whoever it was that was going to get killed, and eased myself out of bed, careful not to wake Sab. I made my way to the rec room, where we always were. Megan, and of course, Kim, were there drinking coffee. I poured myself a cup and sat down, explaining the situation. The more of them I could warn, the better chance we had of getting out.
"Punk Bitch, can't touch my cornbread!" Snowflake, entered, laughing as he said his little phrase. I wondered here in the hell he heard that. The others filtered in, including my fiancé, and we sat down at the table. I explained the situation.
"What the hell!" yelled Russel, I turned to look, and suddenly all the doors closed, locked and air tightened, metal plating sliding down behind them. Spouts came up from the floor. And then a small bomb dropped from hidden latches in the ceiling. Gas poured from the spouts, and I held my breath. The others fainted, Sabrina and my psychic power helping keep us awake. I tried to crush the bomb, or teleport it, but couldn't. the plating must have been resistant to my power. The bomb blew, and I dove, Sabrina followed suit. I took a breath, and then realized I shouldn't have.
"Oh, shi..." I passed out, and Sabrina soon after that.
I awoke in a strange room. A guy about my age sat in the corner, typing on computer. He had blondish orange hair and sharp features.
"Thought you'd wake up eventually."
"Who in the hell are you?" I looked around the room. Sabrina was asleep on another cot, just down from mine.
"Casey Adkisson, Pokemon League backup plan."
"Back up for what?" I asked, rubbing my head. Headache!
"You, J, and the others."
"Hey, you got any aspirin?"
"Sure, hold on," he said. He went into the next room. Thank Goddish I was alive, and Sabrina. David hadn't been there, so he was all right too. That was good. But there was something missing. My head hurt too much to think clearly. Oh Goddish, the Mercs!
"Hey, Casey, what about the other people in the room with us?"
"You were the only ones there," he said, handing me the aspirin.
"No, what about the mercs?"
"Mercs?"
"Oh, Goddish, not all of them!" I put my hands over my face, and cried. Every sob hurt my head. Sabrina stirred, and she woke up. Casey took the aspirin to her as well. She downed two pills, and sat up.
"Uhhh," she groaned, holding her head.
"Now you know how Psyduck feels," Casey said, putting his arm around her shoulders. She shrugged it off, shoving the hand her ring was on into his face, he backed off.
"The Mercs..." I said.
"What?" Sabrina asked, shakily standing.
"Dead. Megan, Snowflake, Brian, and Kim. Russel too."
"Ohhh! That's terrible, who did it?" Her gaze became steely, and she picked Casey up by his collar.
"Who did this?" He looked down at her, mumbling something about needing to change his shorts now.
"The BioGen agents. When Megan refused to kill James, Sugar and Robert reported them and got orders to have them destroyed," I theorized. She placed Casey roughly on the bed. I called a pad and paper to me and wrote a list of equipment down. I handed it to Casey. He was dripping now.
"Dry yourself off and pick this stuff up for me. We'll wait here." He left ten minutes later, wearing new pants. Sabrina sat beside me.
"I know what they meant to you, James. I've lost people I cared for too," she said, putting a delicate hand on my shoulder. I put my hand up on hers.
"But so many, and I barely knew Russel. Snowflake was so funny, and he saved my life so many times. Kim and Brian were just so innocent. They came from troubled families and ended up as mercenaries because they couldn't do anything else. They found comfort in each other. That's all they had, each other. And Megan, she helped me through the times when I thought I couldn't go on. I remember once we ended up eating thanksgiving dinner in the basement of the Smithsonian Institution on assignment." I laughed nervously. I realized I could use Mew to go back, but there was nothing I could have done. I would just relive the terror again and again and again. Once was enough. I crossed my legs and meditated. Sabrina did too.
"I'm back!" Casey yelled. I grabbed the bags he had, dumping them out on the table.
"What do you need all this stuff for?"
"Psyblade."
"What?"
"Ever see Star Wars?"
"Yeah, but.." I cut him off.
"It's like a lightsabre. It's a new weapon I can't afford to do without. I could have destroyed the bomb with this. Instead, my friends are dead." A tear came to my eye, one, but it was for all of them, Megan, Russel, Snowflake, Brian, Kim, and all of their pokemon. Snowflake had been a good leader, Brian and Kim good people, and Megan, a good friend. Russel, I had just met, but he was an important and good person too. Now they had all died, because of me. Me and the League. And now Robert was going to have his hands full. I spent the rest of the day assembling the Psyblade. The main focusing gem was the thirteenth birthday present Sabrina had given me. I snapped the assembly shut. It was done. I hooked it at my belt. Now I was ready for the End Game.
"Robert!"
"Where is he?" Sabrina asked. We were in Robert's living room in his frighteningly large suite. Sugar's stuff was all over, bras, pantyhose, and several other unidentifiable things. Roberts half was clean and well kept.
"My Goddish, we walked into The Odd Couple!"
"Make that The Ambigously Gay Couple." The door slammed shut behind us.
"Robert?" I asked, a challenge in my voice.
"No, guess again, Kojiro." Sabrina gasped. My nemesis stepped into the light. Darien Kuntz stood six feet tall, and was powerfully built, not only this, but he was a formidable psychic, and there was a psyblade on his belt too.
"Robert called for some backup. Pity about the Mercs. I enjoyed their deaths. Especially Snowflake... And the others, Russel put up quite a fight. Kim and Brian died slowly, and Megan..." He stopped as I ignited the Psyblade. His was out a half second later. My blade glowed silver in the dark of the empty room, his blood red. He attacked with a sweeping cut to my right flank; I blocked, easily, and somersaulted backwards. He ran at me again. Blade held low and horizontal towards me. I flung a dresser at him psychically. He was caught off guard and fell over. His blade flew from his hand. I caught it, hooked it to my belt. He stood, shook himself and flung a psychic fireball. I reflected it at him with the Psyblade. Then my blade sputtered and died.
"Shit. OK, scuzzball, eat Elemental Blast." I called out my Lugia. It filled the room, its giant wings sweeping down at Darien.
"Oh, Goddish, it's Lugia!"
"And it's mine!" He teleported. He wouldn't be back for a while. If you count three minutes a while. I called Lugia back. And then Dave ran through the door.
"James, look out!" he yelled. Darien was behind me, and he had his Psyblade off my belt, I spun, he ignited his blade and slashed. At that second Dave flew through, taking the hit. I kicked Darien's hand, flipping his blade into the air. I caught it, slashed at Darien, and caught his hand, burning the top half of one finger off. He shrieked. Sabrina pinned him down, and I teleported him to Ash, and let them deal with him. I fell to one knee, next to Dave. He coughed, his lips stained red with blood.
"Dave, it'll be all right, I'll call a Chansey in, just a second."
"No, it's alright, there's no way you can save me. He lifted his hand, revealing a two-inch hole in his chest.
"Holy Mew, mother of Mewtwo!" David exclaimed, running through the door.
"I told him not to come back." David said, looking down at the thirteen year old.
"He hadn't started living, really, and now, he's dying."
"James. I sacrificed myself so you could save your friends, the Mercs. They need you..." he trailed off, his eyes closed. He was dead. I teleported this to Ash, also, giving telepathic instructions to give him a good burial, and notify his family. Dave Hubbard, Charmeleon Trainer, was gone. I had saved his life once, but couldn't a second time. No time for mourning one death when another was looming ominous above me.
"The Mercs, where are they?" I thought that Robert would be useful right about then. As if in answer to my thoughts Robert walked in, and saw the congregation.
"Oh shit," he turned to run. Sabrina lifted him off the ground psychically, and pulled him to us, still running.
"Where are the Mercs?"
"I'm not telling!"
"How does a whole lot of pain sound to you?" I said, making certain parts of his body burn very badly.
"Ok, Ok, they're in the basement, room 2D."
"Got that Casey, 2D."
"Yeah, let's go."
2D was a giant iron door. There was a musty smell to the basement. I tried the door. It wouldn't budge. I melted it down in a second, psychically.
"I was going to say, maybe you should use the handle," Sabrina said as the 'door' hardened. I stepped over the hot 'door' and into the room beyond. The Mercs sat, playing cards.
"Deal me in," I said, sitting next to my buddies. The rest of the group joined us, as we went to the rec room down the hall from the old one, and played cards. Little did I know that tomorrow would bring some interesting surprises.
End Game
I woke up, figured that I should do whatever I had to save whoever it was that was going to get killed, and eased myself out of bed, careful not to wake Sab. I made my way to the rec room, where we always were. Megan, and of course, Kim, were there drinking coffee. I poured myself a cup and sat down, explaining the situation. The more of them I could warn, the better chance we had of getting out.
"Punk Bitch, can't touch my cornbread!" Snowflake, entered, laughing as he said his little phrase. I wondered here in the hell he heard that. The others filtered in, including my fiancé, and we sat down at the table. I explained the situation.
"What the hell!" yelled Russel, I turned to look, and suddenly all the doors closed, locked and air tightened, metal plating sliding down behind them. Spouts came up from the floor. And then a small bomb dropped from hidden latches in the ceiling. Gas poured from the spouts, and I held my breath. The others fainted, Sabrina and my psychic power helping keep us awake. I tried to crush the bomb, or teleport it, but couldn't. the plating must have been resistant to my power. The bomb blew, and I dove, Sabrina followed suit. I took a breath, and then realized I shouldn't have.
"Oh, shi..." I passed out, and Sabrina soon after that.
I awoke in a strange room. A guy about my age sat in the corner, typing on computer. He had blondish orange hair and sharp features.
"Thought you'd wake up eventually."
"Who in the hell are you?" I looked around the room. Sabrina was asleep on another cot, just down from mine.
"Casey Adkisson, Pokemon League backup plan."
"Back up for what?" I asked, rubbing my head. Headache!
"You, J, and the others."
"Hey, you got any aspirin?"
"Sure, hold on," he said. He went into the next room. Thank Goddish I was alive, and Sabrina. David hadn't been there, so he was all right too. That was good. But there was something missing. My head hurt too much to think clearly. Oh Goddish, the Mercs!
"Hey, Casey, what about the other people in the room with us?"
"You were the only ones there," he said, handing me the aspirin.
"No, what about the mercs?"
"Mercs?"
"Oh, Goddish, not all of them!" I put my hands over my face, and cried. Every sob hurt my head. Sabrina stirred, and she woke up. Casey took the aspirin to her as well. She downed two pills, and sat up.
"Uhhh," she groaned, holding her head.
"Now you know how Psyduck feels," Casey said, putting his arm around her shoulders. She shrugged it off, shoving the hand her ring was on into his face, he backed off.
"The Mercs..." I said.
"What?" Sabrina asked, shakily standing.
"Dead. Megan, Snowflake, Brian, and Kim. Russel too."
"Ohhh! That's terrible, who did it?" Her gaze became steely, and she picked Casey up by his collar.
"Who did this?" He looked down at her, mumbling something about needing to change his shorts now.
"The BioGen agents. When Megan refused to kill James, Sugar and Robert reported them and got orders to have them destroyed," I theorized. She placed Casey roughly on the bed. I called a pad and paper to me and wrote a list of equipment down. I handed it to Casey. He was dripping now.
"Dry yourself off and pick this stuff up for me. We'll wait here." He left ten minutes later, wearing new pants. Sabrina sat beside me.
"I know what they meant to you, James. I've lost people I cared for too," she said, putting a delicate hand on my shoulder. I put my hand up on hers.
"But so many, and I barely knew Russel. Snowflake was so funny, and he saved my life so many times. Kim and Brian were just so innocent. They came from troubled families and ended up as mercenaries because they couldn't do anything else. They found comfort in each other. That's all they had, each other. And Megan, she helped me through the times when I thought I couldn't go on. I remember once we ended up eating thanksgiving dinner in the basement of the Smithsonian Institution on assignment." I laughed nervously. I realized I could use Mew to go back, but there was nothing I could have done. I would just relive the terror again and again and again. Once was enough. I crossed my legs and meditated. Sabrina did too.
"I'm back!" Casey yelled. I grabbed the bags he had, dumping them out on the table.
"What do you need all this stuff for?"
"Psyblade."
"What?"
"Ever see Star Wars?"
"Yeah, but.." I cut him off.
"It's like a lightsabre. It's a new weapon I can't afford to do without. I could have destroyed the bomb with this. Instead, my friends are dead." A tear came to my eye, one, but it was for all of them, Megan, Russel, Snowflake, Brian, Kim, and all of their pokemon. Snowflake had been a good leader, Brian and Kim good people, and Megan, a good friend. Russel, I had just met, but he was an important and good person too. Now they had all died, because of me. Me and the League. And now Robert was going to have his hands full. I spent the rest of the day assembling the Psyblade. The main focusing gem was the thirteenth birthday present Sabrina had given me. I snapped the assembly shut. It was done. I hooked it at my belt. Now I was ready for the End Game.
"Robert!"
"Where is he?" Sabrina asked. We were in Robert's living room in his frighteningly large suite. Sugar's stuff was all over, bras, pantyhose, and several other unidentifiable things. Roberts half was clean and well kept.
"My Goddish, we walked into The Odd Couple!"
"Make that The Ambigously Gay Couple." The door slammed shut behind us.
"Robert?" I asked, a challenge in my voice.
"No, guess again, Kojiro." Sabrina gasped. My nemesis stepped into the light. Darien Kuntz stood six feet tall, and was powerfully built, not only this, but he was a formidable psychic, and there was a psyblade on his belt too.
"Robert called for some backup. Pity about the Mercs. I enjoyed their deaths. Especially Snowflake... And the others, Russel put up quite a fight. Kim and Brian died slowly, and Megan..." He stopped as I ignited the Psyblade. His was out a half second later. My blade glowed silver in the dark of the empty room, his blood red. He attacked with a sweeping cut to my right flank; I blocked, easily, and somersaulted backwards. He ran at me again. Blade held low and horizontal towards me. I flung a dresser at him psychically. He was caught off guard and fell over. His blade flew from his hand. I caught it, hooked it to my belt. He stood, shook himself and flung a psychic fireball. I reflected it at him with the Psyblade. Then my blade sputtered and died.
"Shit. OK, scuzzball, eat Elemental Blast." I called out my Lugia. It filled the room, its giant wings sweeping down at Darien.
"Oh, Goddish, it's Lugia!"
"And it's mine!" He teleported. He wouldn't be back for a while. If you count three minutes a while. I called Lugia back. And then Dave ran through the door.
"James, look out!" he yelled. Darien was behind me, and he had his Psyblade off my belt, I spun, he ignited his blade and slashed. At that second Dave flew through, taking the hit. I kicked Darien's hand, flipping his blade into the air. I caught it, slashed at Darien, and caught his hand, burning the top half of one finger off. He shrieked. Sabrina pinned him down, and I teleported him to Ash, and let them deal with him. I fell to one knee, next to Dave. He coughed, his lips stained red with blood.
"Dave, it'll be all right, I'll call a Chansey in, just a second."
"No, it's alright, there's no way you can save me. He lifted his hand, revealing a two-inch hole in his chest.
"Holy Mew, mother of Mewtwo!" David exclaimed, running through the door.
"I told him not to come back." David said, looking down at the thirteen year old.
"He hadn't started living, really, and now, he's dying."
"James. I sacrificed myself so you could save your friends, the Mercs. They need you..." he trailed off, his eyes closed. He was dead. I teleported this to Ash, also, giving telepathic instructions to give him a good burial, and notify his family. Dave Hubbard, Charmeleon Trainer, was gone. I had saved his life once, but couldn't a second time. No time for mourning one death when another was looming ominous above me.
"The Mercs, where are they?" I thought that Robert would be useful right about then. As if in answer to my thoughts Robert walked in, and saw the congregation.
"Oh shit," he turned to run. Sabrina lifted him off the ground psychically, and pulled him to us, still running.
"Where are the Mercs?"
"I'm not telling!"
"How does a whole lot of pain sound to you?" I said, making certain parts of his body burn very badly.
"Ok, Ok, they're in the basement, room 2D."
"Got that Casey, 2D."
"Yeah, let's go."
2D was a giant iron door. There was a musty smell to the basement. I tried the door. It wouldn't budge. I melted it down in a second, psychically.
"I was going to say, maybe you should use the handle," Sabrina said as the 'door' hardened. I stepped over the hot 'door' and into the room beyond. The Mercs sat, playing cards.
"Deal me in," I said, sitting next to my buddies. The rest of the group joined us, as we went to the rec room down the hall from the old one, and played cards. Little did I know that tomorrow would bring some interesting surprises.