Ch 5
The guards at the Power Center blinked as Red, disguised as the Rocket member, walked up to them with his friends tied to each other with ropes. He held up the card and they looked at it, then at him, then at each other.
"Eh, looks good to me. The boss'll quit hassling us now, I guess." one of the guards remarked and let him pass. Pikachu hid within the backpack, curled up in a ball and muttering to himself about the situation. "Any luck of us having some fun with the girlies?" the guard added with a leer, reaching up to stroke May's chin. She recoiled in disgust, holding her bound hands closer to her. Rui squealed in fright and whimpered as Silver snapped her teeth at the second guard, who made a pass at her skirt.
"After the boss has his way first. You know the rules." Red answered in a harsh voice, "Get back to your posts and make sure the Snagger doesn't show up. It was a bitch gettin' these punks while he was out."
"Right, right. I want the silvery one, though. I like 'em with sass!" the second grunt laughed and gave her a quick pat on the rear as they hurried into the building.
"I'm personally gonna wring his you-know-what off with my Scizor!" Silver hissed as they rushed down a hallway and paused to release the bindings. Red glared back down the hall as he untied them.
"Get in line. I'm killing him first." he muttered and glanced coldly back at the group's smirks, "Why are you smiling? I wasn't joking." Rui checked the PDA a second time and blinked.
"E-mail from Nett! Let's see. 'Dear Wes and Rui, I got some more out of the files. It's all really weird, but it involves a projected success and failure scenario. The success pictures a barrier of wind circling the globe and sealing the weather shifts from the planet. The failure scenario involves a mega-cell, a storm bigger than a normal super-cell thundercloud. If it is created, it will generate storms and natural disasters that humanity would be unable to avoid or survive. Both scenarios are based on figures that appear to be percentages of genetic code in Wes. If he doesn't have the right combination of Pokémon DNA when the Earth Seal absorbs him, the failure scenario becomes more probable. Good luck!'" she read aloud.
"Doesn't sound good." Brendan muttered, "A mega-cell. Now we have to worry about Seth whether or not he gets the last piece of DNA, 'cause either way, he's gonna destroy the world!"
"Then let's hurry and get the power back on." Silver told the group and they raced after her towards the main control center.
Seth rested on one knee as he let his mind drift and pull up a map of the building. It hurt less when he wasn't focused on it, but the information he would find was less clear. It was a compromise he had to make and the rough idea that he was now directly over Ein's lab seemed a good enough estimate. Unloading his ropes, he tied one around a nearby antenna and began repelling down the side of the building to the window of the lab. Cautiously, he peeked in and noted the absence of the scientist. Pluto was nuzzling his brother, trying to comfort him. The Blaziken was hugging the Gardevoir as they looked resigned to their fate. Plucking his glass-cutting tool from his belt, Seth carefully opened a hole in the window and unlocked it, then slid the pane up to allow himself entry.
"Hey, guys. Here to bail you out." he whispered to his loyal twins and opened the barrier that kept them trapped. He removed the devices on the Psychics and gave each Pokémon a PokéBlock treat.
"I knew you wouldn't turn on us! Now let's go find Rui and the others!" Jupiter exclaimed happily, hopping around Seth. The Snagger shook his head.
"I'm not going anywhere." he told them and picked up the Poké Balls that held them, sliding them into pouches that he hung around each one's necks, "Gardevoir, do you have Teleport? Do you remember that move?"
"Teleport? Yes... I remember it. It's been so long..." the female murmured, touching her hand to her face.
"Good. I want you to Teleport everyone to wherever Rui is. You can find her in the Power Center." Seth ordered her, "All of you will obey her commands now, okay? She's as much your trainer as I was."
"Why aren't you coming with us, Seth?!" Pluto cried, "You can't abandon us! We need you to help us and save the other Shadow Pokémon!"
"Because I'm not needed over there anymore." Seth replied darkly, "And the Snag Machine was destroyed. I can't snag Pokémon without it." The four looked at him worriedly, "I have things to finish up here. Just go already! I'll make it look like you escaped on your own!"
"Please come back to us." Jupiter whispered as the Gardevoir focused her power and they all vanished in a flash of light. Seth sighed and picked up a small camera from his supplies, wiring it in a safe place to watch Ein's keyboard when he typed. Once the bug was in place, he searched the the lab for anything else of value. He found his PDA in a drawer and pocketed it, then picked up a chair and held it firmly as he glared at the Shadow Machine.
"No more." he hissed and threw it at the device, shattering the glass that held his friends in place. He picked it up and continued to ram it against the piece of machinery, rendering it useless. Alarms sounded at the first sign of destruction and Seth quickly threw the chair at the window, shattering the glass and covering up the neat hole that he had cut. Looking around briefly, he ran for the windowsill and grabbed the rope, swinging out to begin climbing back up the side of the building to return to his room.
With no time to collect the ropes, Seth tossed them away from the roof edge and darted back to the second rope leading to his room. He slid down it quickly and shut the windows to the balcony, throwing the curtains closed. Footsteps were clattering towards his room, growing ever louder as he stripped the gear from his clothes and threw them under the bed, then collected the tray of food.
The door flew open as he sat on his bed and picked up a sheet of data, one burger poised before his mouth. Sera looked in, furious, then spotted him glaring back at her.
"Do you mind?! I'm trying to study up on the Earth Seal! What the hell's going on?!" he snapped.
"We had a breakout! Get to the lab!" the woman demanded and whisked away, yelling for the other peons to start looking for the people responsible. Seth set the paper and food aside and hurried out, looking as angry as Sera.
Ein scratched his head in confusion at the mess in the lab, glass all over the floor and the Shadow Machine in ruins. Seth leaned against the wall as Gonzap poked at the wreckage. No one could understand what had happened.
"How could they have escaped? The Psychics were immobilized by my devices!" the scientist exclaimed and looked over at Seth.
"You should have made them Shadow Pokémon when you had the chance, Ein." Seth merely replied, "The Blaziken might have decided to use Fighting-type moves to break out. No matter, we have Rayquaza and it's more than enough to overcome whatever Pokémon are sent to stop us."
"Get Dakim on the phone and ask him why the hell he hasn't reported in!" Gonzap snapped, glaring with suspicion at the Snagger.
"I already talked to him after Seth told me about the rest of his former friends." Ein grumbled, "He's preparing a trap for the trainers and any contact now will undoubtedly make things go awry." Seth made a note of that and shrugged.
"Why? What kind of Pokémon can stand for very long against Dakim's Ground and Rock team?" he asked, "Let him know that we've had a breakout and to keep his eyes open for my old pals."
"The Shadow Jolteon Dakim is using now is still having some obedience issues. We were lucky it obeyed long enough for us to take the Plant, but calling it out in battle too much may enable it to break free of our control." Ein replied, "It shouldn't be a bother. Without you there to aid them, the trainers of the Johto and Hoenn regions won't be able to stop Dakim."
"Good. I just don't want them harmed. I plan on delivering the punishment myself." Seth pointed out coolly as Ein shook his head at the wreckage and ordered a few peons to start clean up.
"I'd be more upset about the Shadow Machine, but with the blueprints in the database, I can easily build another." he remarked. The Snagger blinked and held up a hand as Ein began to leave.
"Wait, Ein, do you have the blueprints to the Snag Machine as well? The portable one?" he asked. The scientist nodded slowly. "Those were stored in my mind as well? Could you use it to build me another?"
"Why?"
"May and Brendan of the Hoenn region both have legendary Pokémon, rare and powerful. I want to snag them and use them against the group." Seth told him with a cruel smile, "Think of it as the ultimate pay-back, using their own Pokémon against them to get revenge! Besides, after the Earth Seal is activated and I finish my job, won't you need to start snagging Pokémon again, anyway?"
"You have a point there. All right." Ein replied carefully, wary of the request, "I'll get started on it as soon as this lab is cleaned." With that, he left the room to get some rest. Gonzap followed Seth out, grumbling under his breath. The Snagger looked back at him in irritation.
"What the hell do you want? Get lost." he growled.
"I don't trust you one bit, Seth. You double crossed us once before, what makes you think I'm gonna sit back and watch you ruin a good thing for me?" the Snagem head sneered.
"I have my reasons for doing this. Now go jack off in a corner or something. I have work to do." Seth hissed and continued on for another few steps before a fierce blow to his back stunned and threw him to the floor. He struggled to get up as Gonzap's boot came down on him, pinning him to the cool white tile.
"I told you already, brat. We have catching up to do. You gotta make up for all the crap you put me through ever since I laid eyes on you. Stuck up, whiney little rugrat." the boss snarled. Seth gasped for air, the heavy combat boot pressing down on his back making it difficult to breathe. "Now, where to start? Any preferences for your beating today, kid?" Gonzap snickered, "C'mon, runt, I ain't got all night. I got a woman ready for me at my place, so let's get this done with!" The Snagger didn't answer. "Fine, then. I'll pick it out myself." With that, he lifted his foot away and brought it down with all his weight on the back of Seth's still injured left shoulder. He shrieked in pain, jerking up and collapsing as his arm went numb from the blow.
"Aw, poor wittle Snagger got hurt?" Gonzap laughed and kicked him hard in the side, shoving Seth aside like so much old trash. The collision with the wall dealt a second blow to his shoulder and he cried again. "Heh, yeah, just like the good old days, eh, Seth?" the Snagem boss remarked with a grin as he grabbed the younger man by the collar and lifted him up off the floor. With only one arm struggling against the grip of the bigger man's fist, Seth kicked feebly, then cried again as he was slammed back against the wall. The scenario was all too familiar, Gonzap had done the same thing to him in the Shadow Pokémon Lab in Orre. But back then, Rui was there to heap abuse back on the Snagem leader, an action that had surprised Seth and made him look at her with additional respect.
"No!" Seth cried weakly, twisting under the hand that held him suspended by his neck. There was no one around to help him, Rui was gone, the twin Eons were gone, not even Sera was around to scratch and claw at the hulking man that held him captive.
"What should happen to you next, old pal?" Gonzap sneered, squeezing his hand tighter around the Snagger's neck.
'Come on, Seth! You've got the powers of the legendary Pokémon in you! Use them!' his thoughts yelled through his mind. Hoping that it would work again, Seth pulled his hand away from the huge fist and thrust it forward, channeling all the energy of his anger and desperation into it. Like before in Hoenn, waves of pale blue flew forward from his hand, slamming into Gonzap and hurling him away with a huge force. Seth dropped to the floor, gasping as he put the hand to his neck.
"What the hell was that?!" the boss shrieked from where he lay in pain across the hallway. The Snagger retched once, coughed, then got to his feet and stumbled quickly for his room. "You're not getting away! Get back here!" Gonzap yelled, scrambling after him. Seth half turned back to him and threw out his hand again, repeating the attack. Gonzap tumbled backwards onto the floor once more, cursing loudly as Seth ducked into his room and slammed the door shut, locking it before allowing himself the luxury to sink to the lush carpet.
Pulling his knees closer, Seth dropped his head onto his arms and sobbed. He berated himself for the weakness of 'crying', but after all that had happened, after all that he knew was going to happen, it seemed to be the only thing he could do right. Short of killing himself right away, at least.
"Rui..." he murmured under his breath, "Please help me..."
Celebi returned to the group of legendaries with a smile. They looked up at her expectantly, wondering why she was in such a happy mood. Giggling, she flew around each Pokémon in joy.
"Bi bi bi! I found it! I found the best future Seth could have as a normal human person!" she declared, spinning enthusiastically through the air. The group brightened a bit.
"Really? And how does that take place?" Latios asked, cocking his head. Celebi paused and scratched her head.
"Uh... something about rain. I didn't take notes on it." she replied in an unsure voice. The legendaries groaned in unison. "But I'm sure it'll come up again when we get to Indigo Plateau, so let's get going!" she declared.
"Great. At last, we get to do something." Mewtwo grumbled as he sat up and popped his spine, "So who's teleporting the royal trio over there?" The group looked over at the Regis, all of who stared back at them blankly.
"We..." Registeel began to say. The legendaries waited. "Can..." A few Yanma buzzed by as they continued to wait. "Walk..."
"Hell no!" Raikou demanded, "They ain't walkin' themselves to Indigo Plateau! We'll be dead by the time they get halfway over!" A few others began to agree with him.
"That's okay! We can teleport them ourselves! Can't we, Mewtwo?" Mew remarked brightly, looking down at her clone from her perch on his head. He pouted.
"Wait a second. Do I look like I run a delivery service here?" he grumbled, "All right! But only because I want to get this over and done before that one dude comes after my ass again!"
"What did you do to Ash this time?" Celebi demanded.
"Heh, lemme just say the man doesn't know where to hide his fermented Berry Juice stash from me and leave it at that."
"I don't like this. It's too quiet. We haven't had run ins with the grunts and the place feels deserted." Pikachu griped as the heroes raced to the central control room. Red and the gang stopped at the door and pressed themselves to the wall as he slowly opened the door with the Card Key.
"Don't have much time to think about it, but you do have a point there. What's going on?" he muttered as he peeked into the room. He could see the maintenance crew tied up and set aside against walls. No sign of the ringleader, though.
"Come on! Let's free them! It's clear!" Silver exclaimed as she scanned the room herself. She rushed in with the others before Red could utter a warning. "Hey, everyone! You're gonna be okay now!"
"That's what you want to believe! I'll crush your chances of stopping us as easily as I'll crush your body!" Dakim's voice boomed as he leaped down from above and slammed into the floor. The resulting earthquake knocked the group to the floor as Red raced in to help them.
"What has your boss done to Seth?! What are you doing to him right now?!" Rui demanded, still clutching the wrecked Snag Machine in her arms.
"More importantly, how did you get the jump on us?" Red hissed, the Pikachu on his shoulder growling fiercely. Dakim laughed as he slammed his feet into the tile, preparing himself for battle.
"Funny thing, the two of you asking about the same guy!" he crowed, "Seth told me all about you guys coming to the rescue of these pathetic weaklings!" The heroes glared up at him. "Don't believe me, eh? He mentioned wanting me to roughen you up some, to get you ready for his revenge, seeing as how you guys went and threw him to the curb for no reason." He grinned and cracked his knuckles. "He's decided to join our cause, and his personal order to me was to make sure you all know that Seth Evice is in town!"
"Red, we'll free the people and get them clear. Can you do something about this guy? You know Kanto Pokémon better than any of us." Brendan whispered to the newly appointed leader of the group.
"Yeah, get these guys out of here. I know an old fashioned way of stealing Pokémon." Red replied under his breath and held up a Poké Ball. "Dakim! For the privilege of beating the holy hell out of us, you must defeat me in a Pokémon battle!"
"You got guts, kid, for someone that wussed out on the Indigo League years ago!" the Admin declared as Silver, Brendan, May and Rui ran to untie the crew of the Power Plant. Red clenched his teeth angrily. "Hit a sore spot, didn't I? Come on, kid, what's a punk like you doin' out in the woods?"
"Getting stronger." the trainer replied hotly as Dakim laughed and sent out his Solrock to start the battle, adding in a Claydol for good measure. "Two on two? I can handle that." Red threw down the Poké Ball and released Blastoise once again. "Pikachu! Get in and help him out!" The mouse leaped from his shoulder and landed in a perfect flip on his feet.
"Pika!" he declared and electricity crackled from his cheeks.
"Looks like you've forgotten the basics of battle, kid! Ground- and Rock-types always pulverize Electrics!" Dakim howled and threw out a hand, "Solrock and Claydol! Earthquake!" The heroes scrambled to get away with the freed hostages as Red stood his ground. Both opponent Pokémon spun and slammed the ground, shaking the building to its foundation. Red leaped up onto the Blastoise's shell as it withdrew into it for safety, the Pikachu hopping on with him. They grinned at the Admin.
"Maybe you should read up more on my life before making stupid assumptions like that." Red remarked, "Blastoise! Hydro Pump!" The turtle fired water from the two cannons on its back, slamming the two Rock-types head on with the full force of the twin geysers. Pikachu grinned and cut loose with a Thunderbolt, doubling its effectiveness on the normally unaffected Pokémon because of their prior soaking. Dakim recalled them both and glared at him.
"Boy, you just made a mistake." he growled and pulled out the Poké Ball containing the Jolteon. He was told not to use it after taking over the center, but what harm was there in unleashing it on a Water-type and another Electric? They would be taken out quickly in one blow from the Shadow Rush and he could start in on using the punks as punching bags. He let the Jolteon out onto the battlefield. "Go! Use your Shadow Rush!"
The Jolteon flashed onto the scene and glared around itself hatefully. Red blinked and cocked his head, watching it quiver with barely contained fury. Pikachu looked confused and then glanced back at his friend.
"He looks kinda stoned to me." he remarked.
"Getouttamyheadgetouttamyhead." the Jolteon muttered rapidly. Red frowned and studied it carefully. This Pokémon was acting incredibly strangely, could it be a Shadow Pokémon, like Rui had talked about? "Getouttamyhead!"
"Jolteon, listen to me. Can you understand me?" Red called out to it. It jumped and gathered dark energy into itself before slamming its body against the Blastoise. "Jolteon! Snap out of it! I can get you out of here, but you must get your Poké Ball away from Dakim!" he yelled.
"Hey! Talk normally and fight me!" Dakim bellowed, "I'll deliver your bodies to Ms. Sera and she'll reward me with the most powerful Pokémon in your team!"
"Over my dead ass." Red grumbled as the Jolteon shook its head and suddenly went wild, turning on its master and slamming his head into his legs. "Pikachu! The ball!" The mouse darted in and grabbed the Poké Ball as Dakim roared in pain and kicked at the Jolteon, a bad idea as he was barefoot and the Electric-type was covered in spiky fur.
"Red! Catch!" Pikachu yelled, hurling the ball his way. Red snatched it out of the air and recalled both of the Pokémon as the lights suddenly came on.
"The gang must have powered up the plant manually!" he exclaimed, "Pikachu! End this with Lightning Storm!" The mouse charged up all the electricity in his body and unleashed it into the air, forming a small hurricane of raw electric power that spun towards Dakim and struck with dozens of bolts of lightning. The two friends raced out of the room, leaving the Admin to shriek in pain from the uncharted attack that would leave him dead at the worst.
Red and Pikachu met with Silver and their friends as they raced through the Power Plant to the exit. The group looked somewhat frazzled and Brendan quickly explained what had happened.
"By the time we got to the generator, we'd clobbered about thirty grunts and peons! Man, it was havoc! I've never seen so many guys run off at the sight of my Altaria!" Brendan declared, "I basically used Perish Song and Sing to keep knocking them out left and right!"
"My Blaziken got rid of the Magnetons that were sapping power from the generator. That's what was keeping it from working properly. Now that it's clear, all the power should return to Kanto!" May added.
"All that's left to do now is get to the Silph Co. building and free it from that siege! If they get Master Ball technology and make dozens of them for their other Snag Machines, or Seth, we're all in trouble!" Silver cried.
"But Seth would never snag Pokémon for Cipher!" Rui wailed, "Why do you think that he's a bad guy?!"
"Didn't you hear what that guy said?!" Brendan shot back, "Seth told him we were coming and gave them the order to ambush us! That's proof enough that he's one of them now! We don't have a choice now!"
"Nooo!" Rui cried, unwilling to accept the words.
"We have to kill Seth to stop this takeover! We can't let him live!"