"Give me another five minutes." Riker said to Stotler as the three wondered the halls back the way they came. "Where is Arlia?" He mumbled this to himself.
Flying above, Nibs was a little bit ahead with Pecks near by.
"This is a big mess." Breccia said out loud, nursing the swelling in her bottom lip. Her entire face was throbbing. It was a hassle just to swallow.
Riker must've noticed her struggling, because he put an arm around her shoulders to help prop her up when she stumbled.
Truth be told, Breccia was miserable. The bottoms of her feet were raw and she had this constant, looming fear that they weren't going to make it out of this situation alive.
"Arlia!" Riker called for his Pokemon, growing worried when she hadn't appeared.
I shouldn't have left her alone.
He stopped, taking notice of the Blaziken standing towards the end of the hall. "Arlia!" Before he could go to her though, Breccia grabbed his arm and held him back.
There was a stillness to Arlia's posture, she didn't respond when her trainer called out. She stood there, stationary and cold.
"Riker wait." Breccia begged. "Something's wrong."
Clearly scattered and confused, Arlia took a couple steps in their direction before focusing her on them.
Her eyes were red...
Backpedaling, Riker pushed Breccia in the direction they came. "Run."
All three of them took off as Arlia charged in their direction.
She caught up quickly, one swipe of her arm knocking Pecks out when she attempted to protect the others. Jumping, she was in the air when Nibs charged, smashing his head into her. This received little response.
Arlia tossed him away with a ignition of flames, not only burning Nibs but lighting a nearby window of curtains. They must've been combustible because the flames spread up onto the ceiling, inflaming a hanging chandelier and traveling down to the red carpet.
The three were trapped between fast spreading flames and an enraged, rampaging Pokemon.
With a swift punch, Arlia aimed her power towards Riker. Morice shoved him out of the way, taking the full brunt of the blow to the stomach. The Blaziken then went to swing her arm down upon his head. Breccia, without thinking, grabbed ahold, clinging tight in an attempt to divert her.
Arlia's response was to secure her fist around Breccia's throat. She picked her up, then slammed her into the ground like a toddler to a rag doll.
The moment Breccia touched the sweltering carpet, her world swirled white. She heard an uncomfortable crack from her rib cage, the pain numbed as she went into shock.
"Arlia!" Riker called out to her, trying to pull her attention to him as Morice picked Breccia off the floor.
Turning to the device sewn into his cuff, he pressed it.
No response.
He pressed it again. Receiving the same answer. "It isn't working!"
Outside, the other Executives, along with the officers, took notice of the smoke radiating from the backside of the mansion.
"Call the fire department." Laurent said, ordering to another officer. "This place is old, it won't take long for it to go up in flames."
"Where's Riker?" Kelly asked.
"Hang on." Stotler called into the mic clipped to his collar. "Riker, are you near by?" He heard a breaking of static and muffled voices, but nothing more. "Riker?" There was, what he assumed to be, a frightened scream from Breccia. "They're still inside."
The flames were spreading up onto the floor and ceiling boards, crackling the wood and shattering the windows.
A single flaming beam broke free, tossing one of the chandelier's to a shattering end. The beam swung, slamming into Morice, who was still trying to recover from his most recent beating. It hit his shoulder, slashing a severe, long burn across his upper arm.
Her vision blurring, Breccia tried to take in air and wheezed, the soot and smoke making it impossible to breath. When Arlia turned in Riker's direction, Breccia took notice of a chip, lodged at the base of her skull.
"Riker, Morice, keep her attention!"
As Arlia cornered Riker, she throttled him about the throat, smashing him into the nearby wall and picking him off the ground.
"Arlia..." Riker choked, gagging and desperately trying to free himself as she gripped tighter.
The Pokemon bore her glowing, pungent eyes down upon him, squeezing as if she wanted nothing more than to see her trainer perish.
Breccia attempted to jump on Arlia's back, grabbing at the microchip. This proved fruitless, as she was tossed aside.
"Listen to me." Riker said. He figured, at this point, they hadn't much to lose. If his Pokemon didn't kill them, the spreading flames would instead. "You have to fight it..." He gasped, thinking of something to bring her mind back to the present. He was a dead man if he couldn't reach her. They all were. "R-Remember when we were kids, we broke into the mart and flooded the bathrooms."
Breccia watched as Arlia flinched, the light in her pupils flickering as sanity came back to her.
Riker continued. "We locked ourselves in my room when Donna found out. Then we crawled out the window, I fell two stories and twisted my leg." This was only temporary, but it bought enough time for Breccia to make another attempt. She struggled up and managed to tare the chip free, falling back first onto the floor.
With the device dislodged, Arlia came back to her senses. It took a second to realize what was going on before she let Riker go.
"We have to get out of here." Morice said, putting Pecks back in her ball. "The flames are spreading too fast."
"There should be a stairwell further down the hall." Riker gave Arlia a pat on the back. "Are you alright?" The Pokemon nodded, rubbing her temples. "I'd have a headache too. C'mon, we'll chat later."
Fleeing to freedom, the group was followed by the fire, almost as if it were a villain, constantly on their tail.
There was another stair well, but when they reached it, it too was engulfed. In front and behind, the flames surrounded them, leaving no where to turn.
"We have to jump." Morice exclaimed, glancing towards the windows that lined the hall.
"We can't break a window, it'll cause a flashover-" Breccia's argument was interrupted.
"There isn't much of a choice Breccia." Morice wrapped an arm around her waist. "I've got you, follow me."
Arlia did the honors and shattered a nearby sill. As to be expected, there was an updraft and the heat swelled upon them quickly.
Morice dove out the two story window first, aiming for shrubbery down below. The last thing Breccia remembered was the rush of the fresh open air on her face. The ground came in an instant and brought darkness.