AN – first of all, I want to thank you Foxyjosh for being the awesome reviewer that you are! I really appreciate it. Second, I'm aiming to finish this story by mid-February, before I leave for Reading Break. I wouldn't mind a few more reviews. According to the hit count, there have been over 300 views of this story, and yet I haven't even gotten one review per chapter. So all of you who are reading this, I'd just like to know if I'm doing alright or whatever. Thanks.
Warning: this chapter has a couple of battle sequences, and a somewhat rough fight scene between humans.
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Black
Chapter 8: Madhouse
When the smoke had cleared, two things became apparent: one that Bernard and Black were gone and the other that there was a presence at the door behind them (since they had inched towards the center of the room during Bernard's escape act). They turned around to face the opening through which they came and gasped at who stood before them. Brock gave no indication of recognition; in fact, it didn't take him long before he'd released a Pokemon and was ordering an attack.
"Houndoom!" it howled and spit fire from its mouth to Pikachu, the only other pokemon in sight at the moment. Pikachu dodged it by reflex, though the flames only narrowly missed as Pikachu had been taken by surprise. The bottom drawers in the counter had their outsides charred a little. The others stared, their minds racing. Brock was holding a black pokeball and he didn't own a houndoom. That could mean only one thing – he was using Team Rocket pokemon (probably stolen) and they didn't know what else could come from him.
"Pikachu! Counter its attack with a quick attack of your own!" cried Ash, jumping into battle mode.
Pikachu complied immediately and went hurtling into the dog type pokemon, sending it back against the wall.
"Officer! Please end this quickly and get Haunter to use hypnosis!" one of the townsfolk begged.
"I can't!" replied Jenny. "Houndoom's a dark type, hypnosis won't work on it. In fact, sending Haunter to battle it at all is a bad idea since most of its attacks won't hit and those that can will have little effect against it."
Houndoom had gotten back up and surged forward to bite Pikachu, who in return shocked it with a thunderbolt attack. Pikachu continued even after Houndoom had released it and succeeded in paralyzing it with electricity. Brock recalled Houndoom and sent out Sneazel instead. But before either Pikachu or Sneazel so much as growled at one another, the door burst open again.
Cassidy strode across the room, muttering "Come" to Brock, snatched the cage with Meowth inside, pulled back a cabinet which squeaked on rusty hinges, then disappeared down a secret passage behind it. Brock followed before any one else reacted, Sneazel already recalled to the unnatural pokeball.
Ash, Misty, Jenny and the others hurried forwards into the dimly lit passage and were faced with a long stairway. They could hear footsteps echoing from below and rushed to the downwards staircase. The ceilings were low, the walls were white, and the steps themselves hard grey concrete. Ash with Pikachu on his shoulder raced along ahead of the others, desperately trying to catch the two, and to save Meowth. Every couple of landings or so, there'd be a tight hallway or door leading to some other part of the complex. A few floors down from where they had started, a hand came out of nowhere and pulled Ash in through a door, shutting it quietly behind him. The others continued to follow the sound of Cassidy and Brock's footsteps, having been too far behind to notice that Ash was no longer with them.
"I think they're leaving this stairwell," Misty said to Jenny. "Hear that?"
The footsteps from below had died away, leaving only theirs and the sound of their heaving breathing. A door had been opened violently and slammed against a wall, and no noise indicating it being shut again was heard. They just had to get to the open door.
"Yes, we're not that far behind! They're not going to get away from us that easily!" Jenny exclaimed.
As Misty was turning around another bend, Jenny yelled out, "Wait! This way!" and took off along a crowded hallway towards the open door. The others followed with Misty at the back. She had to squint her eyes a few moments when they'd made it through the doorway for the light of the room they'd entered was bright compared to the secret passage. And when her sight finally focused, she uttered a little "Uh, oh" and began to back up towards the passage again.
"Thought that was funny, didn't you?"
Mark was lifting Ash up by the front of his collar, their two faces only inches apart. His hair looked fried and his clothes a little burnt from the earlier douse of premium Pikachu electricity. He threw Ash down onto the floor giving him a death-glare.
"You're going to pay for that," Mark said and kicked Ash in the stomach.
Ash rolled over gripping his sides and tried to get up. Mark decided to help him to his feet, only to begin a boxing round, punching Ash on his head, chest, stomach, any available flesh. Ash covered his face with his arms and tried to dodge the attacks, or at least back away to make them less painful.
"No!" Ash managed to bellow before Mark got him back down onto the ground.
"Pika!" Pikachu squeaked in sympathy for its master. Unfortunately for the mouse, it was preoccupied in a battle of its own, and couldn't help Ash out. That moment of condolence for Ash was all Pikachu could afford as the Onix it was battling tried another slam attack. Pikachu scurried to the other side of the room in attempt to escape. The room they were in was one of the training battle arenas, and suited the match perfectly. Onix came charging at Pikachu again, and this time caught it in a wrap attack. Pikachu used a thundershock out of habit, though realizing long before it even started to send out the power that it was pointless.
Ash was getting beaten up pretty badly. He was developing bruises everywhere (especially on his protective arms), the right side of his stomach particularly hurt, and his lower lip was cut and bleeding. Being much smaller than the guy who was assaulting him, acting in defense was all he could do. There was no time to think of a way out of this or a strategy for fighting back. The only thing left was to gut it out on instinct.
The room Misty and the others had entered was the largest one in the building. It was the room that held all the cages, had a high ceiling, and had balconies from different levels looking into it. In fact, they were on the second level of this room, a ladder down to the lowest level near the balcony ahead of them. But between them and the balcony stood Brock and Cassidy and several other Rockets and townspeople. They were surrounded. Jessie, James and Butch were standing behind them, blocking the way back into the secret passage.
"Bad luck," mumbled Meowth to himself from his cage on the floor next to Cassidy as he stared at the group that he hoped could save him.
None of the minions spoke. They could almost pass for statues the way they stood, perfectly still and solid. Their expressions were blank, but their threat was obvious in their numbers.
Misty glanced sideways at the others with her and noticed immediately that one was missing.
"Where's Ash?" she whispered to Jenny, almost inaudibly.
Jenny stole a look around the circle and their tight-knit group, and muttered back, "I don't know, but I don't think we can worry about him now. It's probably the only thing we've got going for us, that he isn't here."
Then they stood silent, waiting for the verdict. They couldn't battle their way out of this one.
"Well, well, well. What uninvited guests do we have visiting today?" the sea of minions parted for the Boss Rocket, who was accompanied by the scientist Sherman and his assistant Charlie. Misty and Jenny shot him a defiant look, but kept their mouths shut.
"Welcome," Giovanni continued with a smirk. "Ah, I see we missed an Officer. I'm glad you could join us. This is a rather unexpected surprise, but no matter, I am willing to play host and entertain. For now."
He walked towards them, but the scientists stayed behind, closing the ring around the group again.
"Welcome to our humble abode. Well, I guess it isn't exactly all that humble – this large room, the many labs and offices, holding cells, processing rooms, training arenas, etc, etc. The entire concept of this complex, and everything that went into it should be praised for its magnificent magnitude and secrecy. Ah, but I suppose we aren't quite as secret as we'd hoped to be, since you have found your way into out deepest bowels to join us here where we stand. You know what they say? Curiosity killed the cat. You shouldn't have come. You'd have been much happier not to have crossed me and involved yourselves in things that are beyond you! Now you must pay the consequences. You must have known once we'd surrounded you that you wouldn't be allowed to leave. I think we'll find some good uses for you." Giovanni turned to the side and faced one of the slaves. "Officer Michael, would you do the honours of injecting our 'potion' into these soon-to-be minions?"
The blank-eyed policeman stepped forward, a needle handed to him from Charlie, and he began to walk in that mechanical way towards the group in the center. What do we do now? thought Misty desperately. We can't attack him, and there's nowhere else to go! I don't want to become a drone!