Merry Christmas to all my readers! Thanks for sticking with the fic this year, even though it has been rather slow on the update front, but hopefully things can move along soon! I hope you enjoy this Christmas treat.
Chapter Sixty One: Shock in the City
It was lunchtime on what was meant to be an ordinary day for the people of Saffron City. As many of those working in the heart of the city were business people, this was the time when the street was lined with men in smart suits and women in sensible heels, evacuating their respective office buildings and suddenly crowding the sidewalks as they rushed to the nearest, and usually cheapest, eatery within the vicinity of their workplace. It was a methodical and repetitive experience, a daily ritual that all office workers of Saffron went through: work till noon, eat and shop for an hour, return to the office, work till five, leave work, walk or drive home, arrive home, eat dinner, watch television, sleep and prepare for the next day. No one ever expected anything grand to happen when they went to work, and the highlight of their rushed lunch hour was usually a new soup of the day at the local café or bumping into a friend as you tried to make your way down dirty, litter strewn concrete catwalks. It was fair to say that the life of a Saffron City office worker was not an exciting one, one that the workers begrudgingly accepted, and they went on with their days simply hoping for it to be over.
So the appearance of Zapdos was definitely an improvement.
Workers stopped eating, they halted conversations and their heads turned to the skies as a massive shadow was cast across the street. Jaws dropped, eyes bulged, phones were whipped out to record this monumental occasion; a legendary Pokemon, one belonging to their Champion, had flown into their city and was hovering above them. The workers turned to each other, to colleagues and friends and strangers, they exchanged excitement, they debated why Zapdos was here and was hovering before Silph Co. They all knew this could be a moment to recount for years to come, something to tell their wives, husbands, children, families!
Everything changed when Zapdos attacked. At first, people were further impressed by the sudden display of electricity as the flying Pokemon turned bright yellow and unleashed a fearsome bolt. It took a few moments before people realised that there was now a gaping hole in the side of the tallest building in Saffron, and that many of the windows were now cracked and broken.
Within a minute of Zapdos' appearance, people had gone from bored to excited and now frightened; workers on the street abandoned conversations, they abandoned food and shopping bags, they simply fled as glass rained down upon them all. Screams turned from thrilled to frightened, and even people sitting comfortably inside became scared as they watched metre high shards of glass bombard the street. Food carts were obliterated, trees and rubbish bins annihilated cars and buses torn apart. Most manage to escape, but some were not as luck, yelling as shards cut their faces and necks, larger pieces getting them in the arms and legs. Victims collapsed to the street and people rushed to their rescue, but at the same time trying to protect themselves as glass rained down on them all. Those that remained indoors wearily watched Zapdos, who was now shrouded in smoke, and wondered why it had attacked, what was going on inside Silph right now, and many wished that their day had just remained boring.
Alaska woke up against the back wall of Buzz's office, unaware of the chaos below her, more concerned of the nightmare she was still trapped within in.
Zapdos had blown apart the office. The force of the electricity had shattered the window, firing glass into the enclosed space and tearing it apart; the couches were torn to shreds, there were deep groves in the wall, and Buzz's desk was shattered and marked with shards. The explosion from the Thunder had set the pot plant on fire, whilst cracking the wall and separating the metal Persian rug from the pit it protected. All the photos and degrees had fallen from the wall, and smoke floated around the room, a grey veil that Alaska struggled to see through.
At least I'm not dead, she thought wearily, and quickly checked her body to make sure flying glass had not impaled her. It took her several moments to realise that her hands were free, and Alaska looked excitedly around, finding that the chair had broken apart. It seemed the Thunder had thrown her across the room and into the wall, with the force of the collision breaking her chair apart. Her back and legs felt bruised and her head throbbed, but Alaska was simply relieved she had not yet been shot, and hell, she had had a headache since the moment she left Viridian – this was hardly going to slow her down.
"Sandy, Sandy where are you?" She hissed into the smog. There was no sign of either her friend or Buzz, and Alaska simply hoped that Buzz had been knocked out and she would get a chance to find Sandy before their captor awoke. A growling noise echoed throughout the room, and in the distance, Alaska could hear a whining siren, either coming from the streets below or on the other side of the wall. The door was to her left, and Alaska was tempted to make for it and get some help, but after all her experiences these past few weeks, she doubted Buzz would have begun torturing them without having someone outside to stop him getting interrupted.
Hell, there is probably a robot guard dog, Alaska thought bitterly. She freed herself from the remnants of the shattered chair, flexing and massaging her hands and legs for a few moments, but it was clear that she had not found freedom just yet. There was no still no sign of either friend or foe, and not willing to abandon Sandy to risk finding help, Alaska abandoned any idea of leaving the office right now and instead set out to arm herself and find her friend.
Alaska went to stand, but she knew that would expose to Buzz should he be conscious; instead, she sunk down to hands and knees, and, mindful of the shattered glass across the floor, crawled around the desk and into the open part of the office.
Now that Alaska concentrated, she was certain the alarm was coming from within the building, whining in the background of her latest nightmare. She tried to ignore it as she crunched over broken glass, doing her best not to cut herself, but the siren was on her mind now and Alaska found herself wondering what was going on in the rest of the building; where people fleeing from the rampaging Legendary, or was it a an alarm alerting Buzz's henchmen to the attack and sending them to their battle stations? It did strike Alaska as strange that no one else had come into the office; where was Buzz's back up? She thought surely someone else would be aware of his plan to torture and murder two girls in this office space, but not even his receptionist he come to check on him.
It was confusing, but Alaska forced herself to focus on the task at hand. The smoke was getting thicker as the fires continued to burn, Alaska noticing for the first time that the couches were both burning as well; orange and yellow light flickered in the heart of the room, flames growing as more of the leather was consumed. Alaska didn't find the extra threat helpful, but the light did highlight the pit in between the two, loaded with things she had been unable to spot before. She glanced around, making sure Buzz was not stirring, and she crawled rapidly forwards, barely registering as slammed her hand down a shard, slicing her palm open.
Alaska made it to the pit, but before she looked inside something else caught her attention; the 'whoosh' sound of flapping wings, a similar noise to what Paige sometimes made but much grander, sounded nearby, along with a deep, crackling groan that came from the back of someone's throat. Zapdos, Alaska thought, and she stared fearfully through the smog, seeing only the briefest hint of yellow; what if the bird was to attack again, would she survive a second blast of Thunder?
Just what I need; to be killed by something that is meant to protect me, Alaska mentally groaned, and she hurried along with her investigation of the pit. The screen had been blasted off its arm and now lay sparking alongside, its image now blank. Alaska had hoped to find out the fate of her Pokemon, but instead she fought back her fear and peered through what had survived; it was mostly uninteresting, a stack of discs in one corner, an array of multi coloured key cards in the other, but several hand guns and what looked like grenades made things more dangerous. She saw a metal sign to one side, half of which was melted and burnt black, and grabbed it to examine; only the letters AND were unmarked, but as Buzz had kept it, Alaska decided to pocket it, figuring it might be worth deciphering later. Satisfied, she glanced around but the only other thing of note was several rolled up blueprints placed to one side.
So, you didn't want to tell me your grand plan in case I survived? Alaska thought with a smirk, grabbing the top most one. Well, maybe you shouldn't leave evidence lying around then! She smiled to herself, despite the fact she was between two burning couches and had the pleasant stench of smoke creeping into her nostrils, and she unfurled the blueprint across the pit. The flickering light and grey smoke cast annoying shadows across the paper, so all Alaska could make out was the layout of a large, oval shaped floor building, which was crawling with official labels and scrawled, handwritten footnotes.
Is this a stadium? She thought, trying to furl down all sides and searching for a name, but it appeared to have been crossed out with black ink. This definitely looks like a stadium… could it be… not Champion's Stadium? Are they… are they going after Red?
"HOUNDOOM, WEEZING, CROBAT, GO!" Someone roared behind her, and Alaska jumped and turned; Buzz stood on the other side of the couch to her right, briefly being illuminated by three red flashes. The businessman looked demented, his face blackened by ash but his eyes shining white against the dark backdrop. His fine suit was in tatters on his muscular frame, and Alaska could see a piece of glass embedded in his left arm, but Buzz did not seem to care as he began to walk around the couch. Stunned, Alaska looked at the blueprints in her hands and, without thinking, tore the paper in two and threw it onto the couch. She then dived into the pit and managed to get one hand on a gun and the other on the remaining blueprints, but before she could turn around she was grabbed by the back of her neck, and Alaska gasped for breath as thick, hairy fingers began to squeeze her throat.
"YOU BITCH!" Buzz screamed as he heaved her upwards. "YOU HAVE RUINED EVERYTHING!" Alaska could see dots in her vision now, but she still tried to bring the gun around, her finger poised on the trigger. Buzz seemed to notice and grabbed onto it, and while Alaska held tight he was too strong and easily pulled it free. However, she was not going down without a fight, or at least without harming his cause further; Alaska threw the remaining blue prints onto the burning sofa, not knowing what was on them and now never being able too, but it was worth being ignorant to stop the madman
"NOOO!" Buzz roared, and he threw her forwards; Alaska gasped for breathe before landing on the other side of the pit, rolling over glass that attacked her skin before stopping just short of the edge. She was beginning to feel sick, her lungs desperate for air but the oxygen around her was being stifled by the ever thickening smoke. Wheezing, she could see Buzz trying to save his blueprints, but Alaska knew his attempts were fruitless and managed a smile.
"DOOOOM!" An angry roar sounded next to her, and Alaska suddenly scrambled backwards, turning to find a large Houndoom next to her. She had never seen one up close before, but the Pokemon had a reputation for being fearsome and violent; briefly, Alaska remembered how a girl at her school had been badly bitten by one and required extensive surgery. It was the most random memory to have in a situation like this, but it was all Alaska knew of Houndoom, and she slid across the floor to away from it.
However, Houndoom was not attacking her, and Alaska's attention turned to see what t was firing flame at; she looked around just as Zapdos soared past, screaming at the top of its voice, sparks flying from its body like yellow streamers. It was an angry but majestic beast, and Alaska would be forever grateful to the Pokemon for saving her, well aware its appearance was no coincidence. In hot pursuit of her saviour was a Weezing and a Crobat, two poisonous Pokemon spewing attacks left right and center; Zapdos fought back with powerful bursts of electricity, firing bolts across the skyline and shattering windows with each blast. Alaska could feel the heat of the attacks from here, could sense the electricity that filled the air; she wanted to sit and watch the fight all day, knowing it would be a truly epic battle to witness, and for a brief moment she forgot where she was, her mind drifting off as she remembered why she had left home, to see clashes like this…
"WHORE!" Buzz yelled, pulling Alaska back into reality, and she turned just as his meaty hands slammed into her, winding her with a single strike before heaving her by the shoulders and throwing her against the wall. He stared directly into her eyes, his face more enraged and deranged up close; Buzz held her tight, pressing his large body against and keeping her pinned against the wall. "I SPENT YEARS COLLECTING THOSE BLUEPRINTS, I HAD TO PAY PEOPLE, I HAD TO KILL PEOPLE, I HAD TO DO THINGS YOU WOULDN'T EVEN DREAM OF! AND IT TAKES YOU A MINUTE TO RUIN THEM JUST LIKE YOU HAVE RUINED EVERYTHING ELSE!"
"In my defence," Alaska wheezed, struggling to breathe as Buzz's massive body slowly squeezed the air out of her, "I wouldn't have been able to set them on fire if it wasn't for Zapdos, so really you should blame –"
"SHUT UP!" Buzz screamed, and he slapped her hard across the face before banging her head against the wall. Alaska could only see stars now, her head spinning and stinging and ringing. She tried to draw breathe but only got smoke, and coughed as Buzz continued to crush her. "I no longer have the pleasure of time or secrecy on my hands to properly ruin you, but there is still one particular way in which I can destroy you, one that will stay between you and me. And when I am finished, I will throw your useless body from my office as a message for Red so he knows what happens when people try to stop me! But…, of course, you really shouldn't blame me; I wouldn't be able to do so if Zapdos hadn't shattered the window." Buzz began to laugh manically, sadistically, evilly, right into her ear. Alaska was choking on smoke and her head felt cleaved in two, and her delirium was not helped by the blood pouring out of her body. She tried to break free, but she felt weak, unresponsive, phasing in and out of conscious; one second she could feel Buzz squeezing her shoulders, the next sounds of Zapdos screeching and sparking became crackling background noise.
"Relax Alaska, there is no point fighting anymore," Buzz hissed, and his massive hands moved away from her shoulders and slid down her sides; Alaska shivered in repulsion, but found there was nothing else she could do…
"Oh no you don't!" someone suddenly shouted. Alaska half opened her eyes, and for a moment she could see Sandy's shining blonde hair in the distance; but then Buzz was roaring in her ear, and Alaska cried out as she fell to the side, landing in a heap on carpet. Her head was spinning, but she saw Buzz collapse to his knees, his face red as he grappled at something that appeared to be jammed in a leg, but when he rolled onto his side Alaska could see it was really stuck in between.
"Come on Alaska, we need to go, now!" Sandy exclaimed, but Alaska did not have the energy to move or respond. She felt herself raise though, a softer arm around her middle, and soon Alaska was being half dragged towards the door, trying to make sense of what was going on as smoke turned the room grey.
"Did you… did you stab him in the balls?" Alaska asked.
"Well, I woke up and saw Buzz harassing you and I wanted to help but the only thing near me was the broken pieces of my chair. So I just figured a pointy bit of wood in the testicles was the least he deserved," Sandy replied, and she looked at Alaska and smiled. "It did seem like a good idea at the time." Alaska managed a laugh, but she still felt dizzy and barely registered as Sandy helped her through the office door and towards a cluttered desk. She was deposited onto a cushioned office chair, and Alaska sat there clueless for a what felt like minutes until Sandy forced it a polystyrene cup into her hands
"Drink up; I am going to need you focussed!" She said, and Alaska greedily downed the water in one long gulp. It was a few minutes before she could do anything else, but now that she sitting down and breathing clean air, Alaska could settle and refocus, letting her battered body rest for a moment, and began to think logically about the situation at hand.
"We have no idea who or what else is out there, so we are going to need weapons. Back in that pit Buzz had –" she began, but paused, stunned to see Sandy had a handgun tucking out of her pocket.
"Grabbed some after I stabbed him," Sandy said, smiling as she caught Alaska's eye. "I got a few grenades as well; they might just come in handy! Now, we need to get you back to reality and find out where the hell we are!" Alaska smiled into her empty cup, pleased to see that, despite their current situation, Sandy was still riding high on their earlier conversation. She suddenly realised that the siren had gotten louder, and she looked up to find a speaker in the ceiling right above her. Alaska went to comment on how irritating it was, but with a sudden jolt something else dawned on her.
"Where is his back up?" Alaska asked cautiously, recalling her theories about the alarm. "He must have had someone looking out for him, don't tell me they scampered the second that began to sound!"
"I have no idea, I can't see anyone around," Sandy said. "But to be honest, this doesn't seem like the lair for a criminal organisation. It just looks like… an office," she finished meekly. Puzzled, Alaska spun around in her chair, her head throbbing less now, and she was able to digest the scene before her; the floor was mostly open planned, cubicles spread out in the middle with printers, photocopiers, decorative pot plants and art work and water coolers scattered about. There were several closed off offices, but the doors were open and there were no sounds or signs of anyone else being there. Upturned chairs and dropped papers made it seem as though everyone had scampered the second they heard the alarms, and not a single person had stayed behind to check on Buzz. However, as far as Alaska could see, she had to agree wit Sandy; it did simply look like a random office. No machine guns lining the cupboards, no henchmen preparing to kill them, not even a pentagram painted in blood. It was simply an office.
"Maybe he was acting alone after all," Sandy whispered, staring towards Buzz's office as smoke began to seep through the open doorway, "but why bring us here of all places? We seriously need to get out of here and find some help!" She said determinedly. Alaska nodded, and she carefully rose to her feet, placing her hands on the desk to steady herself. She began to turn to Sandy when something suddenly caught her eye; pausing, Alaska grabbed an envelope lying by the keyboard, staring at the two words she had recognised, and her jaw dropped as she read what else was there.
"Come on Alaska, we need to move before anyone else shows up!" Sandy wailed as smoke began to fill the floor. "Buzz won't stay down forever, and we don't have any idea where we are, so –"
"We're in Saffron City," Alaska hissed, turning and passing the envelope across. "Level 87 of the Silph Company Building, to be precise – the television production department." Sandy was confused, and she stared at the envelope and the letter inside, her face quickly filling with shock while Alaska stood silently, struggling to stifle her own surprise.
"Buzz Bolton, executive producer for… Indigo Dreams?!" She whispered, and Alaska gave a curt nod. For a moment the two simply stared at each other, alone in the massive, empty floor, the siren screaming all around, neither sure quite what to do now.
Buzz crawled across to the pit. He was weak, he was in pain, but he was burning with rage and nothing would stop him now. He could feel warm, wet blood around his thighs, and Buzz recoiled at the thought of the injury Sandy had imparted on him – but then, it only made him want to kill them more.
Ignoring his Pokemon as they continued to rage against Zapdos, Buzz reached his pit, nestled between the two burning couches, and he pressed a button near the sparking remains of the hydraulic arm. There was a whirr and a groan, and the rectangular box slid aside, revealing a narrow passageway under the floor.
He had known it would be a risk to bring Alaska here; his workplace, the disguise that he had built up for the past five years, one that was so good and he played so convincingly that sometimes Buzz thought television was the place for him. There had been other options; disused warehouses, abandoned houses, dark forests, islands in the middle of the ocean, dozens of perfect locations for committing murder. However, the one thing those places didn't have was technology, and Buzz knew that was where he could win.
The Silph Company Building was the most state of the art, advanced tower in Saffron, most likely Kanto and potentially the world. After an attack by Team Rocket, one which Buzz had been apart of, Mr Silph had rebuilt his families legacy with security in mind. Part of that had been the ability to shut down every floor, elevator and stair well with the push of one button, and secret passageways and rooms had been built so people could hide should they require it.
Buzz knew every inch of these passageways, and knew of some that very few other people did. He had been building a criminal empire inside these glass infused walls for five years now, and that was the one true advantage he had over Alaska Acevedo. If they had been out in the open, Alaska had the opportunity of running away, something she was quite capable of. But here, there was no place to run and there was nowhere to hide.
"The bitch is loose on my floor," Buzz growled into his a radio he clasped firmly in his hands, trying his best to disguise the high pitched tone he had now had. "She is unarmed and she is injured; find her, find her and kill her, and bring me back her corpse: I want to see the great Alaska Acevedo silenced forever." Buzz threw the radio aside and silently slid through the escape chute, trying to forget his pain and thinking instead of the great pleasure he would feel when he finally saw Alaska's cold, lifeless, unmoving body. Smiling, Buzz disappeared into the darkness, leaving his office to burn.
So there we go; ending the year with a threat for the new year, and Alaska and Sandy finally learn some more information. You will have to tune in next year to see what the revelations about the reality show and the robots will do to their cause, and hopefully I will have the Saffron Arc done by February. Until then, Happy New Year!
