Yup. Despite virtually no critical response whatsoever, I've decided to finally go ahead and work on the rest o' this monster. Had a major case of hack's block, lo, these past few months. But today I felt inspired to inflict further pain on my audience.

Well... here ya go. Standard caveats and apologies apply. Void where prohibited.

-- Lathi

In Which A Nasty Turn is Taken

The sun beat down mercilessly upon the backs of the busy archeologists, but few stopped to take notice. Though the Pokemopolis dig had been going on for several months now, new items were uncovered almost daily, urging the scientists to keep up their meticulous exploration of the crumbling ruins. The abundance of artifacts and twisted, huddled skeletons, both human and pokemon, bore silent witness to the swiftness with which The Great Powers of Destruction had laid waste to the once-magnificent city. Often, the researchers would find the human remains piled close to what remained of the walls of a collapsed building with the skeleton of one or more pokemon scattered some distance away, evidence that the city's pokemon had attempted to defend their masters from the giants' onslaught.

It was over one such tableau, the bones of young girl and her growlithe, that Alex found himself this afternoon. As detached as he would have liked to have been, these scenes never failed to move him. Such loyalty in the face of overwhelming odds spoke well of the connection the Ancients shared with their pokemon allies. He said a prayer for the spirits of the girl and her companion and moved on.

In the weeks that he'd been at the dig, Alex had come to know the ruins quite well. In its prime, this Pokemopolitan city must have been awe-inspiring. Initial surveys showed that the city proper had covered well over two square miles. Five, if you counted the agricultural lands that surrounded it. A minor feat in the modern era, to be sure, but outstanding by the standards of the day. It was little wonder that this city once stood proudly as the capital of the Pokemopolitan civilization.

Though he usually enjoyed exploring the works of the Ancients, Alex was anxious to continue with his own research rather than watching the University team work on theirs. The site manager, Dr. Eve, was as interested as he in studying the item that she'd dubbed the vortex artifact, but her on-site resources were limited to works related to this site. However, she had promised to devote time to the mystery as soon as she returned to the University of Kanto. Meanwhile Alex had to content himself with poking around the site on his own why trying to stay out of the way of the official archeologists.

As he rounded the corner on the overgrown roadway, Alex spied a pair of figures heading towards him: a tall, bookish young man and a machoke hauling a pack of equipment. The researcher stopped as Alex walked past.

"Put the instruments down here, Sun. It's as good a place to start as any," he said and turned, "Good afternoon, Mr. Crowley. Destroy any other priceless treasures today?"

The story of how Alex had come across the vortex artifact had quickly spread throughout the archeologists' camp, and it had endeared him to none. Most of them made a point to needle him about it at every opportunity. He'd long since given up getting mad over it all and usually ignored the jibes.

Alex scowls as he notices the scientist's pokeball-laden trainer's belt, but spares him a tirade. "No. Just bones n' boulders as far as the eye can see. What're you up to, then, Mallon?"

"The professor believes this might be the old market district. Sun and I are surveying the area and noting the sites that look promising. I'm hoping to find the remains of the Artisans guildhouse around here somewhere."

"Ah. Well good luck with that. I'm going to see if the good Doctor is ready to go back to the University yet. Later."

Mallon watches Alex intently as he walks away, then turns back to his assistant. "Right, Sun. I think we're done here. Pack up. We're heading back to camp."

An hour or so later, back in the makeshift library, Alex was once again trying to convince Dr. Eve that the research on the vortex artifact should take precedence. Unfortunately, she didn't see things that way.

"I'm so sorry, Monsieur Crowley, but I simply cannot return to the University at this time. There is still much work to be done here and I cannot spare even one day, let alone however many it would take to complete your research. I can appreciate your wish to move things along, but you must understand that there is nothing I can do."

"Oh," he sneered, "I suppose your team is too incompetent to work this site without you, then? If you have such little faith in your staff, I wonder how you justifying hiring them in the first place."

"That is not it at all!" Eve huffed. "This dig is my life's work! Since I was a little girl I've dreamed of seeing Pokemopolis... and now I am here. And I will not just ignore that because you believe your work is more important! Now I ask again that you please remain patient until I can spare the time for you, or take your leave of us. As you've said before, we all have choices. And this time, it is yours."

"Fine then. I'm gone. Give me the artifacts and I'll be on my way. Perhaps I can find someone else who will be more accommodating."

Any further arguments were abruptly cut off by the sound of an explosion from somewhere on the outskirts of the campsite. The pair rushes out of the tent and into a dense smoke cloud. Confused voices call out from all around as the other archeologists try to sort out exactly what is going on. Crowley and the Professor are buffeted by a strong wind which also pushes the smoke away.

Mallon stands in the clearing before them, his worn and dirty work clothes replaced by a starched white Team Rocket uniform; a venomoth hovers over his left shoulder. The erstwhile researcher sneers, then looks somewhat embarrassed. He clears his throat and begins to recite:

"To dissect the world for information
To give all things an explanation
To pronounce the virtues of the knowledge I love
To expound on my wisdom to the stars above

Mallon!

Team Rocket blasting off at the speed of thought!
Resistance is futile, it'll come to naught."

Eve breathes in sharply, "Team Rocket? Not again!"

"Yes, again, dear Doctor. But those three idiots wouldn't know trash from treasure if it had a sign pointing it out... with pictures. No, you'll find that I, at least, know what I'm doing. And I'll be taking the vortex artifact now."

"Somehow, I doubt that," interrupted Alex, "for one thing, we're not going to just give it to you. For another, you'd have to get behind us to get it yourself."

Mallon laughs, "Already taken care of... Bacon! Return!"

A sandslash clutching a bag in his right claw comes charging out of the tent and slams into Alex, knocking him to the ground. It hands the sack over to Mallon who holds the artifacts aloft in triumph.

"Excellent work, Bacon," He returns the sandslash to its pokeball and grins smugly. "See! I told you I knew what was what. I'm certain to get a promotion out of this. No more fieldwork for me!" he gloats.

Alex pushes himself up onto his knees. "Again, I doubt it. Anubis, flamethrower!"

An eerie howl pierces the din and Alex's houndour bounds out of the wall of smoke surrounding the battle zone It stalks towards Mallon with tongues of fire flickering out from between its bared fangs.

"Torch the bag and retrieve the artifacts. Burn him, too, if necessary."

Without hesitation, the dark pokemon looses a burst of fire towards the TR scientist. Mallon leaps away, but the flamethrower strikes the bag as Alex commanded and burns a hole in the bottom. Mallon spins around and holds out a pokeball in his other hand. He triggers the release and his machoke materializes between Anubis and himself.

"Sun Tzu, Cross Chop!" With blinding speed, the fighter rushes forward and catches the houndour across the throat with the deadly double attack. Anubis collapses with a startled whuff and Mallon dashes off into the artificial smokescreen with the venomoth close behind.

Alex rushes to the side of his fallen pokemon and checks its pulse. "Right! That's it... Baku, Zap Cannon!"

His haunter fades into view before the machoke. Blue sparks begin to dance between its fingers as Baku starts a guttural chanting. Sun Tzu immediately strikes out after his master. The chanting comes to an end and Baku slams the heels of his hands together. A massive bolt of brilliant blue electricity arcs out of his cupped fingers and slams into the retreating pokemon. The machoke is blasted forward several feet and falls smoking to the ground with small arcs of energy playing along his body.

While the fallen pokemon is still sizzling, a motor roars to life within the gloom. It grows louder and Mallon breaks through the smoke cloud astride a motorcycle. He stops just long enough to retrieve Lao Tzu and speeds off waving his loot in the air. Dr. Eve activates her pokeball and calls forth her lone pokemon, a dugtrio. "Carver, don't let him get away. Dig a hole in his path."

The lightning-fast burrower dives underground and easily outpaces the fleeing motorcyclist. A quick loop, and a massive hole opens up in the road. Mallon swerves sharply and just barely misses falling in. However, the g-forces turn out to be too much for the weakened bag and the vortex artifact works its way out of the hole in the bottom. Intent on avoiding a wipeout, Mallon doesn't notice the lightening of his load and continues off into the growing darkness.