Chapter Twenty Seven: Why Can't the Lights Be On?
"Does this really seem like a good idea?" Sandy whispered, though her voice echoed all around them.
"It's our only option, so it's going to be a good idea," Alaska replied irritably, though she was remaining by Sandy's side now and they were both walking nervously as if trying to walk around a sleeping giant. For all they knew, there could be a giant down there where the walls were meant to be, the lights above them only providing a dim yellow glow for the middle of the Underground Path they were in.
Alaska and Sandy had stayed behind to watch more news, but nothing new was coming in about the nuclear bombing and it was too depressing to stay around. After insisting on paying for their time together, feeling guilty for the small existence they had, Alaska bade farewell Andy and Judy as Sandy wept alongside. Nadia's Great Ball was alongside the others, and Sandy's new egg rested, well wrapped, in her green satchel. Alaska stuck by her as Sandy let her tears out, not for personal loss over the attack but simple shock and sadness that something like this could have happened. Alaska simply didn't say anything, her own feelings about what had happened consuming her thoughts: she was constantly asking herself why Gideon, the only person she could see doing this, had done it, what the purpose of these hundreds of murders had been, and what was she meant to do from here. Was Alaska just meant to walk on and ignore what was happening around her and focus on her journey like she wanted to, or try and find Gideon and put a stop to whatever his plans were?
It seemed the fates didn't want Alaska to proceed with her gym journey, at least not in the way she wanted: Alaska and Sandy arrived at a large gatehouse leading into Saffron City, only to be told by a guard it was locked. Saffron City, apparently, was a regular target of terrorists due to the Magnet Train, Silph Co. and its powerful Psychic gym, and until the source of the nuclear bomb was confirmed, they had locked down the city as a precaution. Alaska shared several colourful words with the guard that shocked Sandy right out of crying, but the guard must be used to it and directed them towards a path the went underneath the city for situations like this. It wasn't ideal, but it would take them to Vermilion City, and Alaska was happy for that.
Entering through a small area the size of a public bathroom with a smell similar to three of them, Alaska and Sandy embarked down a large staircase and entered a long tunnel of almost complete darkness. Sandy was so stunned that her tears stopped instantly and she clung to Alaska's arm, and Alaska felt too uneasy about being here to care. There was no sign of the opposite end or even of the walls on either side, and the two were forced to walk side by side along the middle where the yellow lights flicked ominously above them, almost as if they were about to die.
"Can we possibly move faster?" Sandy whimpered as sounds echoed all around them that they weren't making.
"I think that would be smart," Alaska said, not entirely willing to admit she was scared but would feel more reassured as they moved down these hallways. She came to a sudden pause and swung her bag around. "I think we should send our Pokemon out and I'll get that bloody gun out." She looked to Sandy for confirmation and was surprised to see a pout on her face.
"Why don't I get a weapon?" Sandy whinged. "I didn't even get to try the gun yesterday, and I can't just walk around here with no defence? What if some leapt up and grabbed me and teleported away?" Alaska turned at her, rather amused at her little cry, and smiled as she reached into her bag.
"You can have these," she said with a beam. Sandy stared excitedly, but her excitement turned to an annoyed glare as Alaska pulled out the tray of brownies with the knife embedded in its hard surface.
"No thanks," she replied as Alaska began to laugh and quickly passed the tray back inside. The two girls moved quickly, and a few seconds later Paige and Butterfree were fluttering under the lights, while Bellsprout rested on Sandy's shoulder as Nadia formed beneath Alaska's feet.
"Ran Ran Nido Nido!" Nadia said, pawing at the ground and glaring at the Pokemon around her. Paige looked down at her and then up at Alaska, pulling a rather confused look as the trainer grabbed the metal box.
"I don't have time to tell you everything I do," Alaska replied indignantly as she clicked open the metal box and pulled the small rocket launcher-like device out. Paige gave a shrug of agreement and fluttered down to greet Nadia, but was only met with an angry growl as the Nidoran leapt forwards. "Nadia, don't hurt Paige: she is one of your friends now, so be nice!" Nadia looked up at her new trainer as if the idea of being nice was the stupidest idea she had ever heard, but gave an obedient nod anyway. "Alright then troops, let's just move forwards and keep a look out for anything dodgy: if something moves, attack first and ask questions later."
"Alaska!" Sandy gasped. "What if an elderly woman is having a lovely stroll through here and we attack her?"
"Than we'd better move around her then, won't we?" Alaska suggested with a smile, and she took off at her usual stroll once more, feeling more confident now that she had the gun at her side and four Pokemon with them. Sandy moved quickly, not wanting to be caught behind if someone was around them. Their footsteps and the movement of Paige and Butterfree's wings echoed around them, but Alaska was focused on getting out of there and didn't want to worry about things. However, Sandy suddenly gasped behind and she turned around, wondering if something was wrong.
"I think I heard something," Sandy whispered, quivering with fear and clutching Bellsprout. "It sounded like something was rolling." Alaska paused for a second and tried to listen, but all she could hear was a slightly creeping dripping sound from a leaking pipe, and became less afraid unless the plumbing was going to strangle them.
"I can't hear anything, let's keep moving," Alaska said, giving Sandy a reassuring smile before setting off once more. Nadia had moved on ahead, clearly eager to find whatever might be there, and Paige gave Alaska a judging look. "I was put on the spot, alright!" Alaska hissed back. "Nadia has potential, just give her time!" Paige gave her another look before flying back to be with Butterfree, leaving Alaska to sigh and roll her eyes.
"Hey Alaska," Sandy called out, the echoes of her voice cancelling any chance of silence allowing them to hear anyone, but Alaska enjoyed hearing someone familiar speak in this dark environment and could tell from her voice that Sandy wanted to be talking. "Why do you think that nuclear explosion happened?" Alaska was unsure about sharing her theories, but thought it might be good to voice them aloud.
"I have a feeling Gideon may be behind it," she replied. "After what Bill said about him being a Team Rocket scientist, he must have had access to technology of the sort, and he has had a long time to make a bomb."
"But why would he do it?" Sandy said in a shocked voice. "I thought he was looking for fossils. Maybe he was trying to resurrect them or something, like they do in museums." Alaska came to an abrupt halt and turned around, not sure whether to gasp or smile.
"Sandy, you're brilliant!" She cried, happy now to have voiced her theories. "Remember how he was trying to steal those plans from the Pewter Museum? What if he is trying to bring fossilized Pokemon back to life? I don't think that will be why the bomb went off, as it is probably some sort of strategic move, but this could be his master plan, or at least part of it!"
"You mean the mad scientist just wants to bring some fossils back to life?" Sandy said, clearly not as excited as Alaska was. "If he wants to bring fossils back, why can't he just teleport into a facility and use a machine that is already there? Besides, I read on your blog that you didn't want to stay involved in all of this drama anyway, so why are you putting these pieces together?"
"When did you read that? I only posted it last night," Alaska said curiously.
"You left the page open and I had a quick read when I found your charger," Sandy explained. "Why don't you just tell that Surge guy or whoever the gym leader is your theories, get them to pass it on and Bob's your uncle!"
"Fair point," Alaska said with a nod. "Thanks for that," she added with a smile. "It is nice to have someone to remind me to be sane – looks like I'll be keeping you after all!" The two began to laugh as Alaska turned back around, ready to continue on her journey. She was glad for the reminder to stay out of things, but didn't dare mention one thing Sandy's last words had put in her mind: if Gideon was bringing fossils to life, why wasn't he using the machines already available?
However, just as Alaska turned back around, she could tell something was wrong: though Paige and Butterfree were chatting to themselves just above them all, Nadia had paused up ahead, looking around in confusion. Now that they weren't talking, Alaska could hear a noise: listening carefully, it sounded like something rolling, exactly what Sandy had pointed out before. A glance around showed the blonde was stunned, confirming she had heard it as well, and Alaska grasped firmly onto the gun.
"Everyone, focus!" Alaska cried, and Paige and Butterfree stopped talking and turned around, wondering what was going on. The rolling sounded once again, and Alaska felt crept out as she spun around, trying to find this mysterious foe but getting nothing. The rolling continued to get closer, and it was beginning to sound strange, almost metallic, with a sparking noise every few seconds. Alaska was spinning around, her finger ready on the trigger for whatever was coming her way, getting concerned about what was coming her way. There was a momvent behind her, and Alaska turned around and raised the weapon, but it was barely above her chest when a hand shot out and grasped onto it.
"Run, this isn't a fight you can win," the person said, and Alaska gasped as she recognised the voice: it was the same strange almost robotic voice that had whispered to her in the Beedrill's nest and had helped them escape, the same person she had tried to chase after yesterday in Cerulean City. She wanted to drag the person into the light and reveal their identity, but they let go of the weapon and pushed her backwards. "Go, this is all too dangerous!"
"Who is this?" Sandy suddenly shrieked, running forward and clinging to Alaska for support, but she pushed her away and aimed the rocket launcher at where the hands had come from.
"Why on earth should I trust you?" Alaska hissed. "You could be luring us into some false sense of needing to rely on you, when you could be behind all of this yourself!" But before the person got a chance to answer, there was a rolling nearby and Alaska, Sandy and their Pokemon all turned around. Something had appeared back the way they had come: it was perfectly round, explaining the rolling, and was half white and half red. The large ball spun around, and Sandy gasped dramatically when she saw a face.
"It's an Electrode, Gideon is here!" She screamed and began to run. However, Alaska stared more closely, taking a short step forwards and gripping the gun tighter: there was something about the eyes that just didn't look right. There were red, and were glancing around in a rather unnatural way…
"Oh crap, it's another fucking robot!" Alaska yelled furiously and pulled the trigger of the gun: she had no idea what was going to happen, but just wanted to get rid of the bloody robots once and for all. However, as the ElecBot began to roll forwards, all that came out of the launcher were three large spikes on wire. They hit the robot and bounced right off before reeling back in. Alaska looked down at the weapon as if she had a piece of crap in her hands and decided to run, not knowing how to properly work the gun as she had ignored Bill out of annoyance yesterday, and didn't have time to work it.
"NIDOOOO!" Nadia yelled, running past Alaska and heading straight for the ElecBot. Alaska turned around in shock as Nadia's head glowed white, a Skull Bash being initiated. For a moment it looked like it could be effective as Nadia yelled and charged forwards, but the hope was dashed as once the Nidoran struck Electrode. A slight yellow glow surrounded the ElecBot, and Alaska had only a seconds warning as Nadia was blasted towards her like a cannonball. She dived, but the spiked body managed to hit her hips and sent them both sprawling, the gun and Alaska's bag sliding into the darkness.
"Free Free," Butterfree cried and dived into the black, Alaska realising her Compoundeyes were going to help her find them, but a glance down at her hip showed a five centimetre long bleeding cut caused by Nadia's spikes.
"I told you to run!" The robotic voice yelled, and a foot aimed a kick at the ElecBot. It was powerfully enough and unexpected to send the Pokemon rolling away, but it bounced back a second later glowing yellow all over. Alaska knew what was coming, but only had time to cover her own head before the electricity was fired.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Sandy screamed as the lights above them all exploded, sending hot glass showering down and turning the tunnel into complete darkness. Pain shot through Alaska's legs as a fleeing Sandy tripped over them, and Alaska knew they had to act. Looking around showed the darkness could work in their favour in one way: ElecBot's eyes shone a deadly red and sparks constantly flew from it, giving them an idea of where they were.
"PAIGE!" Alaska cried.
"Pidgeotto Pidge!" The Flying type called back, though Alaska had no idea where she was.
"You're able to fly at night, so use your eyes and try and find the exit!" Alaska called back, and her faithful companion squawked back, a flash of wings signalling that she had taken off. Sandy stirred around Alaska's feet as the ElecBot stayed a few metres away. The invisible figure was no where to be seen, and Alaska wondered if this was some ruse or if the electricity had knocked him out, but thoughts of them left her mind as a figure moved nearby.
"Free Butterfree Erfree," Butterfree said, her eyes glowing a slight pink to provide extra light, though Alaska saw it was actually a Psybeam holding the metallic weapon and her bag up.
"Excellent!" Alaska said with a smile, rather relieved to have them back. "Thanks a lot," she added, and Butterfree nodded as Sandy got to her feet, both her and Bellsprout rubbing their heads.
"Oh my god, the egg, is it alright?" Sandy gasped, reaching into her satchel but Alaska snatched her hands away and passed her bag over.
"Grab the brownies and use the tray as a shield if Electrode attacks," Alaska said seriously. "You lot start running and grab Nadia, follow Paige. I am going to hold off the ElecBot and follow after."
"Good plan," Sandy said, staring nervously across at the ElecBot before starting to run. Alaska smiled as they ran, glad they were out of the way, and turned around to face the robot with the weapon in her hands. It provided a dim glow as she turned a circular part that was meant to change settings and pointed it at Electrode: it was like an old fashioned stand off, Alaska with the weapon and the robot with its electricity. They were both staring intensely at each other, both wishing to eliminate the other.
"I would love to stay and chat, maybe find out who sent you, but I really need to get to Vermilion so I'll just kill you and get going," Alaska said with a smile and pulled the trigger. There was a sound like a firework shooting into the sky, and for a shocking second Alaska thought the cylinder shaped thing that had been fired was a firework. But as it landed on the ground and broke apart, she realised it was something similar: a flare.
Within seconds, a giant shooting tower of fire was lighting up the tunnel, and Alaska suddenly caught sight of the figure: long black coat, hat covering their face, leather boots underneath long pants. The figure appeared to be running, and Alaska wanted to call out and ask what they were doing when she heard a rolling: the ElecBot was rolling around the flare and the orange and red sparks coming off from it, and was heading straight for Alaska. She cried out and began running backwards, trying to change the settings but knew that she wasn't going to make it…
"BEEEEEELLLL!" Alaska turned in shock, which turned out to be good as she knew to dodge the large metal tray flying her way. The brownie tray smashed into the ElecBot, enough force generated from Bellsprout swinging it with Vine Whip to blast it backwards. A Signal Beam crashed into the ground nearby as well, tearing through the concrete ground and pushing Electrode back further, while several purple stings were released that fell short. Alaska turned around with a bright smile to see Sandy standing with Butterfree, Bellsprout and Nadia as they all shot their attacks. They added to the light created by the flare, and Alaska had a clear path to run ahead. Once they saw she was coming, Sandy led them off in a sprint down the corridor towards a flight of stairs in the distance.
"Cheers for that!" Alaska called out with a wide smile, stunned that her friend and Pokemon had managed to pull that off. "That electricity would have blown me up if it wasn't for you lot!"
"Well, next time you pass me a tray of brownies, I'll make sure I use them," Sandy replied, and Alaska was so relieved they were escaping unharmed that she allowed herself to laugh. Nadia looked pleased as they ran alongside each other, and Alaska scooped her up.
"That was a great first job," Alaska told her, and Nadia smiled mischievously. "If I can just control your eagerness to battle, than you'll be a real force!"
"Nido Ran Ran," Nadia said with a smile, and Alaska laughed again. By this time they had reached the stairs, and she and Sandy pounded up them. Paige was waiting overhead, and Butterfree shot up to join her. Noises echoed behind them, and Alaska spared a second to glance back, watching as sparks flew bigger and faster from the ElecBot as it continued to glow a furious yellow.
"We bettet get out of here, I think our friend is having a fit," Alaska cried. They quickly spread through another bathroom sized and smelling building and poured through the door onto Route 6. Alaska wanted to keep running, but the sudden sunlight after being inside was blinding and she had to shield her eyes, placing Nadia to the ground in order to use both hands. She had only gotten a brief glimpse of the tall trees blowing in the wind around them before forcing herself to stare down at the ground, where Sandy had collapsed from exhaustion, Bellsprout lying alongside and resting on the brownies.
"Well," Alaska said with a puff, "I think that tunnel went better than it could have." Sandy opened her mouth to respond, but Alaska didn't hear as something loud thudded behind her. Curious and cautiously, she opened the door behind her to see what was going on.
She closed it a second later as an orange fist of fire rose from the stairs, but Alaska didn't have time to run before the door was blown off its hinges.
