Part Twelve: The Demon's Darkness
Even from afar, the crew of the Euphrates could tell that there was something amiss in the land of Fuchsia. An unusual cloud of darkness covered the entire territory, even though the sun was up and high in the sky. It was hard to see anything below, because even the land itself had been covered by the strange darkness. Ash gawked at the sight of it; Butch and Cassidy attested the situation to the arrival of the Dark-elemental machine, a Ghost-type that resembled a fierce demon.
"It's one of the strongest machines of the bunch," warned Cassidy as the Dreadnaught landed. "We should beware of it. It's already cast its influence over the entire area, so there's no telling what else it can do."
"So is this fight going to be harder?" asked Misty. The older redhead affirmed the question.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. And we still have one more after that, the strongest out of all of them."
"Which one is that?"
"The Light-elemental machine," muttered Butch warily. "A Psychic-type creature resembling an angel. I don't even want to know what it's done to the land. We'll have enough problems here." Brock agreed but tried to add a ray of hope.
"Fuchsia city is guarded by Koga's ninjas, but since they're used to being in the dark, I think they must've gotten everyone to safety. I'm sure they did. I hope they did." Everyone kept their silence as the ship passed into the murky air and landed on the surface, diving into the thick fog of darkness. It was nearly impossible to see, and it felt cold and foreboding, like a cemetery. Thatcher tossed everyone a flashlight as he and everyone else came out of the safety of the ship.
"Be careful, mateys," he warned them. "Ain't no tellin' what sorta abomination's out there." Gary scoffed.
"Thanks for the warning, but I think I can take care of myself! I don't know about the rest of these people, though!"
"HEY!"
"This is no time to be fighting!" said Officer Jennifer sternly. "Now come on! Be quiet and help everyone look for that machine!" Ash grumbled but obeyed the older woman, and carefully searched the haunting landscape for a monstrous creature, definitely not something he would've normally done. He thought himself crazy for actually wanting to lurk around a place like that, in search of a being that was ten times more frightening and dangerous than anything else he had seen.
Fuchsia City, especially, was a labyrinth of inky confusion, resembling a long-ruined civilization more than a town that had been populated by people not too long ago. Brock hoped that his theory was true; he couldn't imagine anyone wanting to hang out in such a place. The sky was as dark as obsidian, and haunting shadows danced around every corner and inside every building, watching and laughing softly.
It reminded a few of them of Zero City, the metropolis from the distant future that had arrived through a wormhole in time--except, of course, there were no other living beings around, and the group that was exploring the empty, black city was larger. It was still a frightening experience to walk through the entire town in almost complete darkness, especially since everyone knew that there was something much more sinister lurking within.
James and Jessie, almost too petrified to move, carefully stepped through the city, their groaning and shivering not helping the situation at all. They clutched onto each other in fright; Butch and Cassidy sneered at their cowardice. It was not the darkness they needed to fear, but the beast that lurked within, stalking them behind the shadows and watching with cold, dead, merciless eyes. James shrieked as a gust of sudden wind blew at his back, and Jessie let out a yelp as she felt a cold hand touch her shoulder.
"EEP!!"
"Aah, relax! It's just me, Lenneth! Are you two okay?" The loveable duo sighed in relief, their lives having been shortened by the experience.
"No… Actually, we're not…"
"I almost wish that monster was here already so we could get this over with!" wailed James. The misty darkness around them suddenly shifted, and almost as if fate had a twisted sense of humor, a creature emerged from the black shadows, the only light coming from two semi-circular eyes that glowed red. Jessie and James screamed out loud as they saw the figure, clinging onto each other for dear life as they froze in terror.
"It's the monster!" shouted Thatcher. The brave Captain quickly threw a large light on the beast, forcing it to fly away. He swore and searched for it again, but its speed was too great for the heavy light to follow. "Blast! That sucker's a quick one! Hey, see if any of you can't find him!" The others quickly joined in the search, and Misty screamed as she spotted the demonic-looking machine rush towards them. Thatcher turned the light on it as quickly as he could, but it scattered again and became lost in the dark town.
"Blast! Where'd it go now?"
"Captain, we've got it!" Butch and Cassidy waved their lights in the monster's eyes, blinding it as they ran towards the machine bravely with their Pokemon ready for battle. Ever resourceful, they each brought out an Alakazam and ordered it to unleash its strongest psychic wave upon the beast. The machine was knocked back as the preemptive blast shocked its sensors, and flew away again to start its offensive.
"It's in the air again!" shouted Cassidy. "Scramble!! We'll try to find it and draw its fire! When you see it, hit it with everything you've got!" She quickly jumped over a fence in her way as she desperately raced to keep up with the Demon, her breath and pulse throbbing rapidly and her face set in a snarl of concentration.
James and Jessie, not wanting to appear useless, waved their lights in the air and searched for the monster. A sudden blast erupted from behind them, knocking them forward and against a house they had not noticed. A second blast destroyed the house, sending shards of wood and glass spewing out everywhere. Flames erupted as a third and fourth blast impacted on the ground, barely missing the two panicking people as the flying menace shot at them from above. Ash had Pikachu firing its thunderbolts up in the air every time another blast came down, but the creature was far too fast and swerved away from every attack.
Officer Jennifer, meanwhile, helped Nurse Joyleen and Captain Thatcher haul out a gigantic search light, which had been kept in the ship for special emergencies. Once it was on the ground and hooked up, Jennifer stayed behind and operated the machine, keeping close tabs on the monster as it flew. Joyleen began to haul several smaller lamps out of the ship, and placed them in key locations so that in time, the monster would be trapped in a cloud of light and would no longer be able to hide.
"It's working!" shouted Gary. He quickly summoned a Charizard, which flew up and battled the Demon right in the air, claws versus claws and ferocity against ferocity. The Demon wrestled with the powerful dragon with all its strength, wounding it severely with a ghastly power. It caught Charizard in its arms and crushed the dragon, emitting a roar that was even louder than the creature's screaming howl. A blast from behind forced it to drop the dragon, and a bolt of lightning crashed into it as it was still reeling.
"Ash???" Gary gawked at his unlikely savior, who was so focused in destroying the demon that he didn't even look back. He saw that there was no child there standing up against a powerful monster, but a young man who was very proficient in Pokemon tactics, and who kept his senses even in the most difficult battles. Gary slowly began to understand his rival a little bit in that short time, just a bit.
Quickly, the demon broke free of the electrical charge and launched a powerful wave of destruction on the surface, blasting away blindly at anything that moved. The group below scattered, shielding themselves from the scorching shots and the erupting debris that followed them. It was chaos below, caused by a monster above, an unstoppable force of raw power and cruelty. It quickly dove down and flattened one of the searchlights with a stomp, then blasted at four others while still on the surface. It was not just a brainless drone; the Demonic creature knew how to fight.
Angry but still in control, Butch and Cassidy ordered their Pokemon to fire again. The Demon monster wheeled around and just barely leaped out of the way of the blast, dodging by a hair. Enraged, it flew off towards its attackers, who desperately cried out for their Pokemon the fire. The machine was unflinching in the storm of psychic waves, and with a mighty boom, it smashed the two Alakazam and blasted the two former Rockets to the ground.
With one slap, it knocked James away as he ran to help, and with another, it completely destroyed a nearby house, sending it crashing towards the flattened young man. He screamed in terror, but was saved by Brock's Onyx before he could be buried. Poor James wailed out a thanks, but screamed yet again as he was tossed aside. The Onyx collided into the Demon, ramming it with a powerful blow and sending it reeling backwards. The Demon quickly latched its claws around Onyx's head, and used a terrific seismic toss to send it flying away.
"This is nuts!" shouted Brock. "We've never had this much trouble before! AAHH!!!! James!!!" Temporarily having forgotten about the plight of his friend, Brock ran through the black city in search of the young man, who had been thrown onto a roof of one of the houses. He was okay, though overwhelmed from the trip.
"Better look out, kid!!!!" screamed Thatcher suddenly. Brock froze in horror as he saw a ball of the demon's energy sailing towards him, but could do nothing except brace himself. Suddenly, before he could be turned into a charred boy, Brock was saved by a surprise jolt from Psyduck, whose headache had inflated to a severe degree in the fight.
"Oh, wow!" he gushed. "Psyduck! You saved me! Misty, Psyduck saved my life!"
"He does come in handy every now and then!" smiled Misty, giving "her" Pokemon a rare hug. Psyduck merely quacked.
Elsewhere, Jennifer and Joyleen were running through the town, trying to assess the damage and pick up any wounded. They found Gary lying on the floor, grunting in pain as he tried to pull himself from one oh the collapsed houses that the Demon had knocked over. Reacting quickly, the Officer and the Nurse combined their strength and gradually lifted part of the house up, just enough for Gary to scoot out under.
"Thanks!" he wheezed, his face covered in fearful perspiration. "I owe you two one!"
"Let's get you back to the ship!" said Joyleen, and she and Jennifer hoisted the wounded young man to the ship. Gary wiggled in protest, and finally wrenched his way out of their grasp. He grimaced horribly as his wounded leg screamed out at him, so he leaned up against a railing as he looked back at the battle scene.
"No…… I can still fight. I may be injured, by my Pokemon are just fine! Hey, where's Jolteon and Growlithe?" Two howling yips came out of nowhere, one from each of the Pokemon, and Gary smiled with relief. "Good, they're still there. Jolteon, Growlithe! Blast that creature to kingdom come! And why don't you give us a few lights while you're at it?" The two Pokemon obeyed, and a resulting blast of lightning and fire shot out of the darkness and struck the flying Demon. A few fires began to burn here and there, slowly lighting the town back up and eliminating the darkness.
"That won't do any good!" said Jennifer as she joined the young man. "That demon will still try and put those fires out! The only way to extinguish this cloud is to destroy that machine!"
"And do you have any ideas?" he asked of her. She nodded her head.
"Yes! Venusaur, I choose you!" A Venusaur emerged from Jennifer's Pokeball, ready to work at her bidding. "Venusaur! Solar Rays!!!" The large plant-creature roared and shot out a ray of blinding light, sending the darkness shattering as a pillar of bright illumination split the dark heavens. The Demon screamed as its cloud was destroyed, but even this was put to shame when a yell of unimaginable torture came from the very core of the machine as the Solar Ray struck it. Jennifer clenched her fist victoriously, and shouted for everyone else to help.
"Now, everyone! Concentrate your firepower on that monster!" Quickly, the entire cast of Pokemon shot, shocked, blasted, fired, burned, and pummeled the Demon as it hovered in the air, defenseless against the blinding light and the dozens of attacks. It let out a final guttural groan before crumbling to the ground in defeat. A cloud of dust erupted from where it landed, and for awhile, all was silent.
When the dust settled, the crew of twelve slowly stood in anticipation for the lights to return. The sky and earth were still dark even in the midst of all the silence, so nobody was really sure if they were successful. But gradually, a dim light came back to the world, and then another, and then another, until the sky was being filled with them, like stars coming out at night. Eventually, the clouds of ink were swept away, and strong beams of light poured back in, blinding everyone at first. It was a welcome light, a warm feeling of rejuvenation and purity, and it cleansed the world free from all obscurity.
In time, all remnants of the Demon's darkness had been removed, and the light of day came back to Fuchsia city once again. Now that the town was visible again, everyone could see just how much it had been ruined. Houses had been torn apart and smashed in, the grass was burned and blasted, its streets were cracked and ruined, and many buildings looked like they were ready to join the ruination. But even then, it felt like a proud victory had just been won by everybody.
"Ah… what a sight!" sighed Ash in wonder. After slowly scanning over the entire city, he noticed that Gary had been wounded in the battle, and actually rushed over to help. Misty, Brock, and Lenneth smiled at each other, and all four of the former members of Team Rocket gave each other a congratulatory nod. Captain Thatcher laughed out loud, and burst into an old sea shanty that he had been saving for that moment.
O hail ere the morning, it comes o'er yonder,
It sings a glorious song of beauty and wonder,
I roam the world, looking for its golden shine
And when I find it ere, I claim it as mine!
O the morning, o the morning, what a beautiful sight to see!
O the morning, o the morning, rejuvenating me!
Its golden fingers caress a face so weary
It comfort broken hearts and dries the faces teary
O beautiful morning, shining over the sea
Bringing light to the blinded and wonder to me!!
"What a guy," smiled Jessie. "He may be a barbarian sometimes, but you just can't hate him. You could certainly learn a lot from him, James."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Jessie smiled, clasping her hands as she sighed dreamily, her eyes brimming with awe.
"Oh… nothing. It's just that… well… when you look at the old scoundrel, you just know that he's a real man!"
"And I'm not?" he pointed. Jessie's admiration quickly turned to disbelief.
"To put it bluntly, no."
"WHAT?? Jessie!"
"She's got ya there, Jimmy!" taunted Butch. James growled at his archrival.
"You stay out of this, Barry!"
"Butch!!"
"I said that! I said your name! It is Bernstein, isn't it?"
"No, Butch!!! You're not even close!!"
"Futch?"
"No, Butch!"
"Botch?"
"Augh! Wrong!!!"
"Brelman? Breinholdt? Brice? Baxter?"
"No, no, no!!!" A pause.
"……Susan?"
"Now you're just doing it on purpose!!!" James shirked away with a mischievous chuckle, and both Jessie and Cassidy laughed at him. They stopped briefly as they both realized they were laughing at the same time and scowled at each other, but even this enmity didn't last. It was replaced with a smile.
"Ahh, that's our boys…"
"Always causing trouble…"
"Or perhaps… double!" Jessie and Cassidy laughed again; poor James, meanwhile, was completely lost. The lighthearted moment did not last very long, however, as another figure emerged from the recently-brightened city. Coming through the remains of a house that still stood was a tall womanly figure, standing out amidst the ruin with a snowy-white cloak over her body, a blue fighting suit underneath, and a shimmering head of cascading blonde hair. She had icy-blue eyes, a scar running across her face, and a scowl curling on her lip.
"I don't believe what I'm seeing," she snarled bitterly. "Frankly, I'm shocked. I never expected that it would be you all who were involved in this rebellion! We had thought you dead, back in that cesspool of a city!"
It was Marion.
"It's you!" Ash nearly screamed in surprise as he bolted upright, clenching both fists as the woman slowly walked towards their group. Misty and Brock gasped in surprise and stood with their friend, Jessie and James gawked in horror, and Butch and Cassidy growled like cornered dogs as their former superior officer and boss approached them. She looked over at them first, giving them a smile that would frighten a lion away.
"Well, well… Agents Butch and Cassidy! I never thought that you two would betray Team Rocket! What made you want to join this team of losers?"
"You killed the man whom we respected and admired!" snarled the younger woman. "You had him murdered! It's you who betrayed Team Rocket, not us!"
"It is for his honor and glory that we fight to reclaim the throne that you stole!" added Butch bitterly. "How dare you call yourselves members of Team Rocket?! You're not fit to clean the bathrooms, let alone run the whole organization!" Marion kept her grin, ignoring their remarks coolly. She tossed her head back and let out a piercing laughter, shaking the white cloak around her and making a few people nervous. She was more devil than human, that woman.
"That was a beautiful but pathetic speech!" she sang. "A speech made by two fools! But what can I expect: the fools who follow a fool are even worse! Your beloved boss was a shortsighted man whose goal was so miniscule and insignificant that he would never have advanced anywhere were it not for us! His was the simple, mere desire to monopolize the Pokemon of the world, and to have all say over them. Why, he even sold himself shorter when he sent our predecessors out on those missions! He 'only' wanted Pikachu, or this one rare Pokemon, or a certain special kind. Bah! What a waste!!
"But us… Morrison and myself… Our goal was much broader, much more intricate, much more ambitious and pure! We didn't seek Pokemon, as good of a revenue that was! No! It was always our goal to have total dominion over the entire world! His was a world at war, constantly disorganized and always in a continual state of anarchy and chaos, without a single leader to guide the stupid sheep! Do you understand?? We had to kill him! A man that does not even realize the potential that's right in front of him is far too foolish to stain this world! He had to be eliminated!
"Our reign of power went unquestioned and unchallenged. We had to enforce fear and power as examples of those who wished to keep the confusion of the old ways alive, but I think we pulled off our coup successfully--that is, until this sorry band of rebels interfered!! What makes you think that this world of cold and strict order that we've constructed will ever really accept your hypocritical ideas of 'freedom', which I know you believe you are fighting for??!!"
"What you have done is wrong," stated James clearly. "You have killed people. You have kidnapped Pokemon, and spread terror across the world. You have forced people to subjugate into an autonomous lifestyle, where their only will is your will, and where they live in constant terror of being destroyed. What sort of a world is that? You are simply nothing more than puppeteers, commanding the people of the world on your sick, twisted little strings!"
"You would say that!" countered Marion with a snap. "But we have brought order, have we not? There is truly no more chaos to be said of this world, except that which was caused by dissents, and we, as all exterminators must do when faced with a pest, eliminated them. Yes, people live in fear, but it is a clean and organized fear that keeps them from entering into rebellion. The days of lawlessness are over; it is time for you to accept this fate!"
"You really are full of yourself!" shouted Jessie angrily. "Do you call enslaving people to your will and exercising force and terrorism an example of peace? You really are stupid, you know! The world was never in such a disarray before, not even during the last great war! People are rebelling because there is no peace, no personal freedom--only a dictatorship where free thought is punished, where questions are beaten, and where two people command the thoughts and lives of millions! You are an abomination!!!"
Silence.
"Sometimes, the progress of the world cannot be coddled or asked nicely to move forward," replied Marion, her face dangerously calm and her voice matching. "Sometimes, it takes a willing individual the strength and the knowledge to force it along, sometimes violently. This world has progressed from confusion, and from not realizing what it can truly do, and from far too many meddlesome forms of government, and it has united into one. I realize our methods may seem violent, but sometimes blood is better for washing than water."
"People will still want diversity long after you and your ideals have been rejected," stated Captain Thatcher. "You cannot suppress a person's inner desire to be free. A caged bird will fight to release itself; an animal in captivity will want to return to the open fields; a man in a cell will pray for freedom. You don't have the strength to keep the fire of hope down--not you, nor those robots, nor any power under the sun, or any sun of any world. You can't do it."
"I think it's time I finally prove to you what I can do," she snarled. Marion stood in a fighting pose, retracting the claws from the tips of her fighting gauntlets, and donning the look of a devilish killer. The crew watched her transform in awe, and stomachs knotted up as a second fight seemed inevitable. Many were still exhausted from the previous battle; Marion seemed like she could fight a hundred people and never get tired.
"Well, bring it on!" shouted James. Everyone suddenly stared at him as if he had suddenly gone insane--again--but there was no madness in James' eyes. He was determined not to be beaten. "We can take you! We outnumber you! And we've gotten a lot stronger since our last encounter!"
"Spare me," moaned the blonde. "What could you possibly do? You are a failure, and you'll always be a failure!"
"Not anymore!!" he replied boldly. He gave Jessie a smile, and she joined him in the stand against their most powerful enemy ever. "I think it's time you felt the TRUE power of the unstoppable duo of Jessie and James! And just in time, too! I just now remembered out motto!!"
"You did?" questioned his partner. "But James, what good will that do?"
"You'll see!" he smiled, his face glowing with pride. Jessie smiled back, and gave Marion a challenging glare.
"Ah, yes! Our motto! We can't just enter into the battle of our lives without declaring it first! So, little miss Marion! You had better prepare for trouble!!!"
"And while you're at it, make it double!" exclaimed James. The two former Rockets stood up proudly against their enemy, and belted out their beloved motto with pride and heart, more so than any other time they had ever said it.
"This is our mission statement, our solemn oath of devotion!"
"We are protectors of the world, and swear to set peace in motion!"
"SO LISTEN UP! HERE IT IS!!!"
"To protect this world from devastation!!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!!"
"MY NAME IS JESSIE!!!"
"MY NAME IS JAMES!!!"
"No longer with Team Rocket, but still blasting off at the speed of light!!"
"So you'd better surrender to us now, or else prepare for a fight!!"
"Meowth, that's right!!!" A pause.
"Ash, what in the world are you doing?" asked a puzzled James. Ash froze and smiled sheepishly.
"Uh, well, um, you know… There was a void, and… uh… I wanted to fill it." James smiled lovingly, and teared up at Ash's display.
"Ahh! You're such a good friend!!!"
"Uhh, excuse me…" Everyone glanced over at the bemused Marion, who looked about as impatient and irritated as anyone could get. Are these really the people who have been stopping us so far? she had to wonder. They're a bunch of buffoons!
"Oh, right!" Everyone braced themselves, fueled by the power of James' and Jessie's declaration, and stood to defend themselves against their merciless enemy. She puffed out an angry breath, and stood ready to attack them once again, unfazed by their speech.
"Well… it's been a fun run," she growled, "but now it must come to an end. This time, I will make sure that each of you dies!" With that, the woman tore off after the group, her claws shredding the very heavens apart and her feet blasting the dirt into smithereens as she galloped towards them like a horse from Hell.
Nothing that any of them could do was able to withstand the fury of the enraged fighter. It felt as if a tornado had suddenly been freed from a cage and was allowed to exercise destructive rights upon an unsuspecting world. The woman mercilessly plowed through the meager opposition, slashing at everyone with deadly claws and holding no mercy back in her assault. She ripped, shredded, clawed, and nearly mutilated everyone in her mad quest, dealing long, jagged, gashing scars on their bodies and spurting out trickles of red goo everywhere.
The woman roared, slamming her powerful body into the nearly-helpless group with an unseen power; a force that was unstoppable and wild, like a stampede of insane animals starving for meat. The woman relentlessly beat everyone she came in contact with, shredding clothes and skin, flesh and muscle, hair and body alike, until they had been sent to the floor in defeat, slashed apart like wrapping paper on Christmas. There was nobody that stood up to her, not anybody; they had all been beaten severely in that single lightning thrust.
Slowly, hissing out loud from his library of injuries, Ash stood up first and croaked for Pikachu to fire. A bolt of lightning leaped after Marion, but the woman quickly sped to the side, jumping away from the blast and many others after it, laughing cruelly. She gave Pikachu a kick before he could shoot off another spark, sending the little rodent flying far away with a scream. Ash cried out for his friend, and glared back at Marion in fear and loathing. She gave him a cruel smile, and then a powerful slap in the face, dragging the tip of her claws over his cheeks and nose.
She suddenly felt somebody ramming their foot into her back in a vain effort to topple her. She rammed her elbow behind her, smacking the attacker before they could even react. She turned around, seeing Jessie hunched over in pain, and slammed her elbow on the woman's exposed backside, sending her to the floor again. Suddenly, James leaped up onto her back and wrapped his arms around her neck, pulling and squeezing as hard as he could. Marion growled, clenching her teeth as she fought to keep herself from choking, and clawed at his arms until he was forced to let go. Mercilessly, she turned around and gave him a sharp kick.
A sudden blast of psychic power slammed into her exposed side, and with a snarl, she turned to see a breathless Butch barely standing up, his Alakazam defiant. The woman chuckled darkly, and waved the golden hair from her face before charging towards him. She hurled her claws upward lazily, giving him false hope that he could avoid her touch of death, then suddenly shattered his dreams and his face with a crash. Once she had slammed him against the floor, she dove down and buried her fist into his stomach, forcing him to cough up several things that he shouldn't have coughed up.
Cassidy ran in to save her partner and decked Marion good in the face. The woman fell back a little, but slowly turned her head around again, revealing a face barely bruised and looking as sadistic and cruel as ever. Cassidy gasped, and launched another punch, but Marion easily caught her fist and slowly crushed it in her grip, making the redhead scream.
BLAM!
A sudden wave of unexpected pain dug into her shoulder, forcing Marion to grimace wildly. She threw Cassidy away and wheeled around, sending scalding-hot knives directed towards Officer Jennifer, who had fired her gun. Jennifer remained calm even in the face of the monstrous Marion, and fired another shot. The older blonde swerved to the side quickly, and dashed in a weaving pattern to avoid any other shots. She quickly grabbed Jennifer's gun in one hand, and slammed her in the jaw with the other.
Nurse Joyleen suddenly charged in as her counterpart was being beaten, slamming a large bag of heavy medical supplies at her enemy. Marion growled and buckled under the sudden attack, and was quickly consumed as Brock, Lenneth, Misty, and Gary tackled her. They randomly beat her with all their might, but the enraged woman was far too powerful and wild to be held down for long, and shook them off with a powerful thrust.
She first aimed her rage at Joyleen, who easily fell with a single push. Brock bravely charged in to avenge the injury, but a sudden backhand from a whirling Marion stopped him in his tracks. The cold-hearted woman rammed her foot into his backside, grinding him into the ground as she clenched her teeth, her pulse pounding with an unknown anger and an animalistic fury.
A sudden wave of power blasted her away as Lenneth saved the poor boy. The silvery-haired young girl no longer appeared to be gentle or warm anymore; a look of ferocity was on her face, something even colder and more determined than Marion's, yet without the uncontrolled fury or the berserk expression. Marion struggled to stand up, but a second blast from Lenneth kept her down.
"Your sins lay heavy upon you, defiler of souls!" she shouted in a very powerful voice. "By the holy laws, you shall be obliterated!!!"
"Oh, goodness!" exclaimed Jessie, her eyes fixated on the younger girl in awe. "What just happened? Did Lenneth really do and say all that?"
"Somehow, I got the feeling that she would!" exclaimed Misty, struggling to stand. Ash joined her, not looking quite as bruised or as surprised.
"I know… it's strange. Ever since she saved us in that cave…I thought there was just something different about her! Look!" As the younger ones gasped, Lenneth approached Marion with fire in her silvery eyes, and lifted the woman with an invisible power. Marion struggled against it, snarling like a trapped animal, but Lenneth seemed to be in control.
"It shall be engraved upon your soul!" declared the young girl, holding Marion up without ever touching her. The blonde actually looked afraid as a ball of white-hot light grew around her, and as it got bigger and bigger, she began to scream. A mighty explosion erupted, sending a gust of wind screaming in every direction and their foe flying off into the distance, burned and destroyed beyond all comprehension. Just as quickly, Lenneth slumped to the ground, her body crumbling under some enormous pressure. Brock was the first to her side.
"Lenneth! Lenneth, are you okay?! Speak to me! Lenneth!!!" The young woman moaned softly, stirring gently as she was being held. Her eyes fluttered to life again, and she smiled weakly as she saw Brock's desperate look.
"Oh… Brock? What… just happened?"
"You mean you don't know?" She shook her head.
"I don't… remember anything… Not a thing…" His mouth immediately hung open in awe. Brock had just witnessed a transformation of Lenneth, from the sweet woman he was growing to love into a totally different person--the kind of person who had saved them from the collapsing cave, and from a deadly machine in the Team Rocket base, and who always had a mysterious look inside her beautiful crystal eyes…
"…That's okay," he said, trying to smile. He gave her a loving hug, which she returned willingly and with much delight. Slowly, as the two of them held each other, everyone else rose to their feet, groaning and hissing in pain but otherwise looking victorious.
"W… wow," grunted Butch. "That was… really… painful. Ugh… now I know why the boss liked them so much."
"Yeah…" agreed his partner. "But… hey… she's totally blown away. Hey kid, you're not half bad! That thing you did really hit the spot! That woman is vaporized! You just saved our little campaign a few months of trouble!!" Lenneth smiled and blushed humbly as everyone praised her for her works, and as usual, Captain Thatcher summed it all up.
"Well, this does indeed call for a celebration, and one that's been too long in the making! Lenneth, you did well, but I think everyone deserves this! We never could have accomplished so much without your help!"
"Aw, it was nothing!" chuckled Ash, rubbing his head softly. Everyone joined him in laughter, but it ended abruptly as the sound of shuffling rubble could be hear. Everyone became silent and looked to see what the disturbance was. Several pieces of board, brick, and plaster were thrown away and plowed through as something forced itself through their ruins, and what came out astonished everyone. It was scarred, scorched, bleeding, and wheezing, but it still looked as dangerous and strong as ever.
"I… am not… done yet!!!"
"Oh no! It's her again!" Everyone froze in fear as Marion emerged from the debris, a look of hatred burning even stronger in her icy eyes. The woman had indeed received a lot of punishment from the last attack, but it didn't look like she was stopping anytime soon.
"It… will take more than that… to defeat me!" she swore. Her limp slowly turned into a stride, which evolved into an attack run. The shock had not worn off just yet, so she was easily able to punish those who had thought themselves so victorious. Lenneth sneered angrily at the woman, but Marion was not about to submit to the same attack.
"Oh no you don't! You suffer first!" She quickly raked her claws across poor Lenneth's body, and kicked her away into the dirt, where she skidded to an unresponsive halt. Brock limped over to her and tried to shake her awake again, but he found to his dread that there was no response.
"Lenneth? Lenneth, are you okay? Lenneth, say something!!!! …No! NO!! Please don't do this, Lenneth! Please don't die on me--NOO!!!" The poor young man, his heart wrenched from the apparent loss of the only woman he ever really and truly loved, wailed out miserably and laid prostrate over her unmoving body. Everyone else, stricken bitter from the loss, turned and glared hatefully at their enemy.
"You…! How could you be so cruel?!" demanded Ash. Shockingly, Marion laughed at him.
"It's just who I am, kid. I took great pleasure in ripping that little girl apart."
"YOU MANIAC!!!!!!" Ash screamed towards the woman in a desperate, grieving assault, but was easily slapped away. Misty cried out to him, but it was Gary who was brave (or foolish) enough to follow his example and attempt to defeat the woman. She gave him a powerful kick, knocking him into the air and onto the ground, where he rolled and remained still.
"You… you heartless fiend!" Jessie gawked at the woman, shivering in her boots at just how cold the inhuman beast was, and slowly backed away in terror. Even James, steaming with anger, dared not to fight her, leaving Marion to purr in sick pleasure.
"So is that it? Is that all you have to give me? Come on, now! I was hoping that all those speeches and all those silly experiences would give you power! Or maybe it's because you're finally realizing that you're way in over your head! I am powerful! I am strong! I am an unstoppable force, an invincible warrior, and there is no way you could ever defeat me!"
"Aw, SHADDAP!!!" screamed Captain Thatcher, who had quickly gotten tired of her selfish gloating. He flew towards Marion with his own brand of rage and power, slugging her good in the cheek and smashing his large boot in her abdomen. Marion lurched backwards under the surprising power, but regained her wind quickly, giving the Captain a dark snarl.
"You have done inexcusable crimes towards my crew, and that's something I can't tolerate!" stated Thatcher furiously. "And what's more, this whole crappy idea of you using war to obtain peace is nonsense! I wonder if you even know what freedom means!! Have you ever experienced it yourself, or have you just been an oppressed slave all your life, Miss Assassin for Hire?"
"Be silent, old fool!" she snapped. "What do you know about any of that!? You're just a mindless, rotting, stinking, stupid old boatman who doesn't have the capability to steer a boat in his bathtub!!"
"Oh, I didn't hear that comin' from your mouth, devil!" snarled a very incensed Captain. "You'll pay fer insultin' me so thoughtlessly!!" The big burly barbaric brigand dashed towards Marion with an uncontrollable fury throbbing in his veins, controlling his enraged actions and guiding his body and soul into a fierce battle. Marion was overwhelmed briefly, and received quite a punishment before she gave him a fierce slash. Thatcher careened backwards in pain, his clothes torn and his adventurous face scarred, leaving Marion to stand undefeated.
"Captain!!" Jennifer and Joyleen were immediately at his side despite their wounds, and cradled him until he had the strength to sit up. Ever stubborn, he dismissed them with a wave and assured them that he was fine.
"By the briny waves, it be only a scratch, lasses! I got worse when I fell into the grotto of man-eating sharks! Now lemme be so I can finish me duty!"
"But sir, you're really injured!" insisted Joyleen. "It's a miracle she didn't hit an artery!" The Nurse's words were lost, though, and Thatcher wriggled free and stood up again, expressing his protest.
"By the faith of Poseidon, lass, I told ya I'm fine! Now… to take care of this sick animal…" Thatcher snarled at Marion, but before he could go in and fight again, the earth trembled and a fog of darkness took over the world once again as a frightening and familiar sentinel emerged from out of nowhere. Even Marion expressed surprise as she saw the halfway-destroyed Demon machine rise from the dead and fly overhead.
"There's no way!" screamed Butch. "I saw that thing get annihilated! It can't possibly be operational!"
"Just face the truth, Butch!" argued his partner. "It's alive and well! But you're right; I don't possibly know how!! Maybe we've just been underestimating their true power all this time!" Butch clenched his teeth in fear, and watched helplessly as the monster slowly descended down to their level again. Captain Thatcher, not to be outdone by the arrival, signaled his ship to perform some kind of prearranged action.
"Fire now! Fire now!" The Dreadnaught obeyed, and launched a gigantic shot at the beast, recoiling so much that the very ground shuddered. Everyone flew to the ground hastily and covered themselves as the main cannon belched out its fury, and a colossal explosion in the heavens told that it had struck its mark.
"Now why didn't you do that before!!!!!" screamed Gary. Thatcher shrugged.
"The blasted thing was movin' around too much, and besides, I couldn't hit it in the dark. It ain't like the main cannon can be used over and over!" Gary moaned in disbelief, and decided to keep silent. The Demon machine, however, was indeed destroyed, as several minor explosions were still erupting as it fell to the ground. Flames burned all around it, and a black pillar of smoke drifted out of its circuits as it plummeted towards the ground.
"Ah! Look!" yelled Ash. Everyone screamed and ran for cover as they watched the machine fell, leaving Marion confused and irked. She glowered up, and shrieked out loud as she saw that the machine was headed straight towards her!! She tried to run from it, but it was too close and falling fast, and even as she tried to leap away, the proverbial sword of Damocles fell upon her, smashing into the ground and crumbling on impact. Flames and smoke continued to shoot out of it, and the sound of groaning machine parts and shattering metal echoed across the land.
Silence.
Like pedestrians drawn towards a gruesome car crash, the team of twelve inched closer to the wreckage, wondering if their unstoppable foe had finally been eliminated. They all held their breaths, wondering and hoping but secretly doubting, as they drew closer and closer. Suddenly they stopped, as a section of the destroyed wreckage began to move.
"It can't be!" shrieked Gary. "Nobody could have survived that!!!" But before he could finish his sentence, the movement stopped, and all was silent. Everyone let out a sigh of relief.
"Not even Marion Jane Burke…" murmured Cassidy. Silence once again dominated, but was broken by the steadfast voice of Captain Thatcher.
"Come on, everybody. Let's go. We've earned a rest."
To be continued…
