Another long delay, but I have plans to aim for a once a fortnight update schedule which hopefully will come to fruition. Last chapter of this arc next.

Chapter Sixty Five: Saving Private Acevedo

It was not a good day to be Mr Samson Silph the Sixth.

Most days, it was great to be him; Mr Silph was worth around five hundred billion dollars, and went to sleep every night in a rooftop apartment, where his bedroom was roughly the same size as most peoples houses. He was always confident that the next day would be just as great as the one before, and he had little reason to worry that anything would go wrong.

But today, Mr Silph was worried. He stood on the ground floor of the building that would be his family's legacy, a neat, tidy and colourful reception area that usually was bustling with life and excitement. Now though, only he, his assistant Leanne and several security guards filled the empty floor; everyone else had been evacuated to avoid Zapdos as it tore the Silph Co. headquarters apart.

"There are news teams at both ends of the road and in helicopters," Leanne chirped, gazing rapidly between the abandoned reception computers and her Silph-brand phone and tablet. Mr Silph turned and watched fearfully as electricity turned the outside yellow and more glass fell. This was the worst thing to happen to the company since the previous headquarters had been destroyed five years earlier, and Mr Silph was not going to let the same thing happen again; already he could feel himself slipping back into the immature, inexperienced boy who had to be saved by children, and he tried to gain control of himself.

"We need to get in contact with all the major trainers; Sabrina, Alexis, Misty and Surge are closest, they should be able to help us, and I want the bloody Champion here NOW!" Samson boomed to his staff. "We lost our last building because of that damn overcharged bird, and I will not lose this one over the same Pokemon!"

"Right away sir!" Leanne replied, and she began dialling four numbers at once.

"Do you want to go down into the basement sir?" A tall, brooding security guard boomed, but Silph shook his head.

"No, I need to see this out!" He replied sharply. "I am CEO, I run the biggest company in the world, and I will not be seen hiding away and leaving everyone else to sort out this problem!" He felt that saying that made him seem cool and smart, and Samson imagined that the passive looks on his staff's faces were ones of admiration at his calm and controlled demeanour.

"Sir, Zapdos appears to be moving away from the building," a shorter guard said, and Silph frantically rushed around the desk to watch; a screen showed the Legendary Pokemon flying backwards away from the building, no longer attacking.

"It looks likes it's leaving; maybe it defeated those Pokemon it was fighting and has gotten bored?" The security guard suggested, but Mr Silph did not care for the reason; the chaos was over, the beast was leaving! He breathed a sigh of relief and looked at his watch; this chaos would have started and finished just within an hour, and now they could put the mess behind them and move on.

"Let's go outside and take a look at the damage, then we can talk to the press," Mr Silph said eagerly, and he briskly marched towards the glass doors. There was already one reporter rushing towards the building now that all appeared safe, and Mr Silph put his most serious face on whilst smiling childishly on the inside; Zapdos was no longer a threat, everything would be fine now…

Suddenly, Mr Silph heard a distant rumbling noise, and he paused as the floor beneath his feet shook. He turned and looked curiously at his staff, wondering if he had just imagined it, but they seemed to have not noticed so Samson kept on walking, certain that his day couldn't get any worse.

That was when the Onix appeared beneath his feet.

Mr Silph emitted a high pitched scream as the tiled floor exploded, and a large, grey, boulder-shaped head burst into his building. Leanne squealed, dust filled the air, and Mr Silph leapt fearfully onto a nearby sofa as a huge section of his ground floor sunk into a hole. He stared frightfully at the writhing Pokemon that now took up half his lobby, briefly seeing several figures clinging onto the creatures head, but then the Onix roared so loudly Samson nearly wet himself. Mr Silph looked between the Pokemon, the broken glass both outside and the cracked, irreparable floor, and he fainted into a heap on the sofa, unable to take any more drama.

Two minutes earlier…

Fear; that was all that went through Sandy's mind as she scrambled across the floor. Fear for herself, fear for her Pokemon, but ultimately fear for Alaska, who she had just witnessed getting attacked by a man twice her size, and had been helpless to do anything.

Please be alright, please be alright, please be alright,Sandy thought as she grabbed her friends discarded bag, shoving the tray of brownies inside, picking up Eevee and getting to her feet. She nearly fell back over, her own blood loss from her torn up arms making her dizzy, but Sandy was able to stumble towards her friend, who now lay in a heap against the wall. She could not be sure if Alaska was still alive, but as the ceiling was now collapsing on top of them, Sandy knew there was no time to waste.

"Weepinbell, hold her with Vine Whip, and Butterfree you hold onto Weepinbell!" She cried hoarsely at her team, who had barely been out thirty seconds but were already in the middle of a war. Butterfree and Weepinbell nodded at their orders, and Sandy left them to rescue her friend, casting Alaska one last look before turning towards the chaos that surrounded her, clutching the unconscious Eevee tightly against her heaving chest.

Buzz's soldiers lay all around the rapidly shrinking room, many lying in a pool of their own blood, bullet wounds all across their chests. Only a few were still standing, and they were now fighting hand-to-hand with Looker, their guns cast aside as knives and fists ended the battle. Sandy could see Mitchell's father scrambling across the room, the computer he had thrown himself at now a smoking mess, and the scientist was cautiously watching Onix's tail; the Rock Snake was not happy with his enclosed environment, and Sandy watched in horror as Onix continued to ram his head spike into the ceiling, strong enough that it was tearing massive holes in the concrete and showering them all.

I need you to get us out, but could you kindly not kill us in the process? Sandy thought, knowing she needed to train Onix more, though her current top priority was making sure they escaped. She looked around to make sure there were no surprises; the scarred man was slumped against the wall, while Gallade was fending off the last of the Houndoom. Now was as good of a chance as any to leave, Sandy thought, before any reinforcements arrived, such as the nightmare army waiting in the next room…

"LOOKER, WE NEED TO GO!" She screamed, and the spy briefly looked at her and nodded; then, fast as lightning, he slammed his palm into the nose of one of his assailants before punching him in the throat, grabbing the man's knife and stabbing a second henchman with it. Sandy watched the two men fall, but Looker had already moved, grabbing hold of the third and smashing him into the wall and giving him a solid few kicks before leaving him to fall. The spy jumped across his victims, ran towards Mr Melton and grabbed hold of the scientist before rushing him past Onix's flailing tail.

"I suppose this is our way out of here?" Looker asked normally, as if he had not just beaten up three men.

"Well yes, I was hoping Onix would be able to protect us and get us through the robots if they attacked, but he seems a bit… violent?" Sandy said meekly.

"No… need," Mr Melton suddenly said in a hoarse voice, and Sandy was shocked to see how pale he was. "I disabled the security systems… we should be able to get into the pipes… and get… out…." He stopped speaking and began to cough violently into his hand, and when it came away it was red. Sandy was stunned by the sight of blood, but Looker seemed unfazed and placed Alistair at the end of Onix's tail. At the weight of a person Onix stopped writhing and looked curiously down, his massive eyes meeting Sandy's, and she quickly snapped out of her shock; both Alistair and Alaska could be saved, as long as they got out.

"Onix, we need you to drag us all through the ceiling and keep going until we tell you to stop… is that alright?" She asked, trying to sound confident but her voice shook. Onix watched her unblinkingly for a moment, but then he nodded with his great big head, and Sandy nearly squealed in a brief moment of delight.

"Gallade, we're going!" Looker yelled, and his Psychic type nodded, casually slamming his large green arms into Houndoom and quickly appearing beside them. Sandy climbed onto her Pokemon, wrapping one arm around the thin part of his tail while holding tightly onto Eevee with the other. Butterfree fluttered over, clutching Weepinbell in her hands, and the … Pokemon had her brown vine wrapped around Alaska. Sandy looked at her friend and felt sick; Alaska was nearly unrecognisable, her jaw swollen and her face smeared with blood.

Please be alright… you have to be, you can't die now… please be safe! Sandy thought sadly. However, her thoughts left her as she felt pressure on her back, as if something was forcing her up against Onix; she looked around and saw Gallade climbing onto the Rock Snake, his eyes glowing pink, and Sandy realised they were being psychically bound together.

"We need to go Sandy – NOW!" Looker yelled, and Sandy understood why; the door had been blown off its hinges, and now all manner of creatures were coming in; a massive metal Kingler, a pair of Growlithe bound in realistic fur, flapping Zubat that shone as they moved; the army had finally been brought into the fight.

"GO ONIX, GO!" Sandy yelled.

"ONNNNNNN!" Onix roared, and he stretched up to full height, his head entering the hole he had made, and Sandy yelped as her stomach gave an almighty jolt, and she was suddenly heaved rapidly into darkness.

All sounds of battle and gunfire disappeared, replaced by a heavy silence that pressed down on Sandy as much as Gallade's Psychic did. Despite her protection, Sandy still clung as tightly as possible to Onix, keeping her body low as they were pulled through piping. She had no idea where they were going or how Onix was able to move his large body so smoothly, but she ignored the sickly sensation in her stomach and the jolt she got when Onix turned and looked ahead to their escape.

Get us out; I don't care how, just get us out of here and away from those people, just let me take Alaska to a doctor, just let me save her… Sandy thought, her eyes shut tight against the darkness. Something soft brushed against her hand and Sandy nearly jumped, fearful of the robots that had begun to attack. Slowly, she half opened her eyes, squinting through blackness to see what was touching her; Butterfree's outline was clear even in the dark, the silver of her wings still managing to shine, and Sandy smiled tearfully and lightly grabbed hold of the Pokemon's outstretched hand, it only hitting her now how close they had come to nearly being separated forever…

Onix suddenly slowed, and metallic clangs and grunts filled the silence; Sandy looked cautiously upwards, feeling Butterfree's hand tighten around her fingers, and fear cascaded through her mind as Onix slid backwards; was the path ahead blocked, would they need to go back?

But then, with a tremendous roar, Onix shot forwards, and Sandy could not help but scream as light exploded into her view, and her stomach lurched so violently she thought she'd be sick; Onix seemed to jump out of the pipes, lunging upwards like some graceful ballerina, all while what seemed to be rocks bombarded his passengers, only Gallade and Psychic saving them.

The sudden light and Onix's speed made for a disorientating combination, but as the Rock Snake came to a stop, Sandy began to take stock of their surroundings. They were still inside but now in a cavernous room, roughly twice the size of her childhood home. It was very white, with colour interjected in the form of rugs, sofas, tables and plants. Her eyes were attracted towards the largest thing in the room that wasn't her Pokemon, a huge waterfall built into one of the walls, cool water rapidly tinkling down a metallic surface into a large pool, the Silph Co. logo emblazoned behind the stream.

"We need to keep moving, we can't stay here," Looker yelled.

"Where are we meant to go though?" Sandy cried. "We won't be able to move fast on foot, and Onix can't exactly hide behind buildings – though there are a lot of skyscrapers in Saffron, aren't there?"

"Gallade knows where we need to go, he can relay the directions, we just have to go!" Looker yelled back. The angry spy was beginning to annoy Sandy, but she gave Onix a gentle kick all the same; the Rock type roared and slid forwards out of the building. Glass rained down on them as they crashed through the shattered sliding doors, and then sunlight hit Sandy's face for the first time all day; the day was bright and hot, and she had to shield her eyes as Onix swerved to the right and rocketed down a crowded street. With her hands blocking the light, Sandy was able to make out some of the street; huge shards of glass, some as tall as her, lay across the street and footpath, many having crushed cars and flattened trees and plant boxes. Sandy could see terrified faces watching them from inside cafes and shops, and she felt unsettled as her attention turned eighty floors upwards, finding the smoking hole that marked where she and Alaska had been an hour before.

Did Zapdos cause all this damage just to save us? She asked herself as Onix turned down an alleyway. What if people had been hurt, or killed, just so we could be saved? And Zapdos didn't even get us out unharmed, Sandy thought as she stared down at Alaska, her neck and the collar of her shirt now stained with blood.

"Are we being followed?" She called back to Looker, looking around as Onix entered a smaller street, his large body sending people scattering and stopping a bus in its path.

"Doesn't appear to be, but I doubt they will send anything out, not with our flying guardian watching over us," Looker said, and Sandy looked up; the yellow and black Legendary that had shattered Silph's windows was now circling above them, occasionally sounding her cry. Sandy knew she should be grateful to Zapdos, as this was now the second time the Electric type had saved them, but her experiences inside the building had made her a tad bitter, and she wanted to know why she had known to rescue them in the first place.

"A robotic army, a bloody robot army… if I had suspected anything like that for a second, I would have come here with my own damn army," Looker grumbled audibly. Sandy was trying to stay focussed on the path ahead, not wanting to think back to the horrors they had just witness, not wanting to dwell on Alaska's limp body nor the blood seeping from her arms, but she knew that if her friend was awake then she would be demanding answers, and Sandy had to keep up with their bargain.

"Why were you there anyway? He… Buzz, he said something about forcing his enemies to come to him; why couldn't you have found this all out without coming here?" She called back.

"Silph Co. is one of the biggest companies in our world, but that didn't stop Team Rocket destroying them five years back," Looker explained. "I didn't work on that case, but I heard that Silph was nearly killed and every floor was damaged. As a result, when Mr Silph had his headquarters rebuilt, he installed a number of advanced computer security protocols that prevents anyone from hacking into his system."

"The only reason I could hack the system back there," Alistair interjected between coughs, "is because those computers are archaic compared to what Silph has us working with normally, and the security was not as modern."

"Silph had the basements put in as a precaution, but I suspect he has forgotten about updating them as there have been no threats to his livelihood for years," Looker added. "But regardless of that oversight, the main software that Buzz uses as part of his front is completely protected from outside attacks, so I had to come here in order to try and find out what he was doing. Zapdos attacked before I could get further than the security cameras, but I guess that little debacle back there had its benefits; I now know how he plans on attacking, and his little joke about the league partially proves the rumours."

"Rumours, what rumours?" Sandy asked, vague memories from her discussions with Alaska stirring in the back of her head, but her loss of blood was making her woozy and she could not place a finger on anything.

"Several months ago, the International Police received a tip off a few days after the reality show was announced that the show was a cover for something far more dangerous. We investigated and used old security footage and face recognition software to identify Bolton as being an ex-Team Rocket member, one of the last that our champion ever defeated in 2008. We raised our suspicions with the Indigo League superiors and several key people who make up the backbone of Kanto, but most of them have refused to accept anything is wrong, not until there is legitimate evidence of Red being under threat."

Sandy did not inquire any further, silent dwelling on what Looker had said. Why was the League ignoring the information before them, why was no one coming to help them fight Buzz and Gideon, and how many other people had they met on their journey, from gym leaders to Bill, known this information and not bothered to warn or help them? Sandy knew Alaska would be enraged once she knew about this, and the blonde knew she had a right to be annoyed that they were being left on their own like this, but she could only feel saddened by the news; even if some of them had not been very nice, it had been an incredible experience meeting all the gym leaders and the influential trainers, scientists and celebrities that Sandy had watched on TV or read about as a child, and she had hoped to hold onto those memories. But how could she be happy about meeting Steven Stone or encountering all those gym leaders, when surely they all knew the threats she and Alaska faced and none had properly told her what to expect?

"We're here," Looker said, and Sandy looked around as Onix came to a sudden halt. They had left the skyscrapers behind, and were now surrounded by smaller buildings, the tallest being about four storeys. They were at the edge of the city, with tall trees behind the nearest buildings leading to forests and the surrounding routes. Sandy saw one building she recognized from TV as being the terminus for the Magnet Train, but it was further down the road from them so she presumed they were not going there. However, Sandy saw no other buildings of note; the only other one that stood out was a dull single storey wooden building, most of its tiled roof missing, surrounded by a courtyard of cracked concrete slabs.

"Are we going there?" Sandy asked incredulously as she slid down Onix's tail. "That place just looks… serial killer-y."

"It's different on the inside," Looker replied. "Now withdraw Onix and let's get moving. Gallade can carry Alaska, let's just go before anyone sees us." Sandy nodded and grabbed the Great Ball from her pocket. Onix turned his massive head, which could barely fit in the alleyway they were in, and Sandy froze, arm half raised, as the Rock type stared down at her. She thought back to the fearsome beast she had caught in Mt Moon all those weeks ago, the massive creature that had destroyed a bar within seconds, but right now Sandy could not see rage; Onix looked at her with an expression that has hard to read in a face that carved from stone, but his wide, staring eyes looked as mournful, concerned and depressed as Sandy felt, and the blonde stifled a soft gasp of realisation.

"We'll be alright, don't worry about us," she whispered, and Onix gave a short, reluctant nod, and Sandy's mind raced as he disappeared inside his Great Ball. She had never thought Onix cared for her, but it was clear the Rock Snake was concerned about leaving his trainer unprotected, and now Sandy was not sure what to think.

"We need to go, now!" Looker hissed, and Sandy snapped out of her thoughts and nodded. She set off across the road, Butterfree flying beside her still holding Weepinbell. Sandy could feel Eevee stirring in her arms, and she hoped the furry little Pokemon was alright, but her attention was wavering between Onix's brief show of caring to the fate of her friend. Looker and Gallade ran on her other side, both Alaska and Mr Melton floating alongside, and Sandy felt a pang of guilt, having put little thought into the scientist's clearly deteriorating health; he had saved them, creating that passage for Onix…

"Head straight through the doors," Looker called, and Sandy turned back around; they had left the smooth road behind and had stepped through a dilapidated fence into the broken up courtyard. Sandy ran cautiously over cracked paving slabs, and her eyes cast wearingly over a dead tree covered in bird crap to piles of rubbish that seemed blown in from the street. The building looked worse up close, with missing window panes, mould and mildew in the wood, and the half open door seemed to barely be standing up. A faded sign above the door read 'Saffron Fighting Dojo', and Sandy could not help but wonder why they had come here.

"Are you sure this is –"

"Yes!" Looker snapped, and Sandy obediently nodded, trying to be optimistic that Alaska would find proper medical treatment inside a building that screamed 'crack house'. She had just stepped inside, thinking that if that was the case then at least there'd be hypodermic needles around, when a new voice sounded around her.

"Oh lord, what's happen to the bitch this time?" The voice scoffed, and Sandy's whole world changed. Her view of a long, dark and empty room began to change, and all Sandy could see was a harsh purple light that seemed to bore into her brain. She nearly collapsed, feeling Eevee squirming in her arms, her vision now so neon she thought she was on drugs, and then suddenly things became clear.

Sandy, Looker and their Pokemon were now standing in what seemed to be the reception area for a futuristic space ship. The mouldy wooden floor and hole-strewn walls had been replaced with tiles that seemed to be moving slowly between purple and blue as Sandy stared at them, creating a confusing cube of a room where the corners all seemed to blend into one another. People sat in desks that blended into the walls, a bizarre group of strangers that had not been there when Sandy had entered; it would have been hard to miss their rich maroon uniforms or their large black wristbands. More people were rushing towards them, emerging from what Sandy presumed was a back wall where a large green light on the floor seemed to be letting off sparks, but Looker seemed to be expecting this strange wine-coloured army.

"Where the hell are we?" Sandy cried, holding Eevee tightly. The voice began to laugh, and Sandy suddenly realised she knew who it belonged to.

"Come on now, I thought you were the smart one," Clyde sneered. "Haven't you done your local area history yet? I guess dropping out of school to train a Bug to fight criminals is a much better life choice than getting an education..."

"This is the Saffron City Gym," Looker interrupted as Gallade lowered their charges towards the approaching staff. "It specializes in Psychic types, and they created this hidden gym inside their rival's old base after their old one got destroyed –"

"Let me guess, five years ago?" Sandy asked, and Looker smirked.

"The doors have shut behind us, but even if Buzz got inside he would never be able to find us, we are completely hidden by their unique security methods. It is safer than taking them to a hospital at any rate," he finished before turning to the gym staff; their wrist bands glowed pink, and Alaska and Alistair were both floating between them.

"We will take the male to our medical wing," one of them explained. "Sabrina wants to treat the girl personally, if you approve."

"Of course," Looker said, and the staff walked back towards the green light, their patients moving with them. Sandy made to follow after, but Looker grabbed her shoulder. "No, you can't go with her – Sabrina will want to see her alone."

"What?! I have to go with her, I can't leave her alone!" Sandy cried, wheeling around to face the spy. "What if something happens to her?"

"She will be fine, Sabrina's staff is perfectly capable of treating both of them, I have heard great things –"

"I don't care, Alaska is my friend and I need to be there with her! What if she is dying Looker, I can't let her die alone!" Sandy yelled; she could tell she was on the verge of tears but did not care, too frustrated with her situation to give a damn about her emotions. She expected Looker to say something in response, but he merely sighed and moved towards one of the desks, a stool suddenly appearing behind him.

"I am getting too old for this," he groaned and collapsed into his seat. Sandy couldn't bear to look at him any more, and instead turned to see where Alaska had gone. However, she and the staff had disappeared, the green square suddenly still and dim. Anxious, hurt and ultimately confused, Sandy wheeled around, ignoring Gallade's intruding stare, and focussed on her Pokemon, trying to rein her thoughts in. Butterfree and Weepinbell were watching her worryingly, and after a few moments of watching them, Sandy sighed and put everything else aside. For a little while she had thought her Pokemon were lost to her, but now she, Butterfree, Onix, Weepinbell and Pichu were all back together; all the questions and lies could wait for later, they had escaped with their lives and Sandy couldn't be more thankful.

"Vee… Eevee Vee," a timid voice muttered, and Sandy looked down at the brown ball stirring in her arms, big black eyes gazing fearfully up at her.

"Ssssh, it's alright, we're safe, we're all safe now, that's what matters,"Sandy whispered, cradling Eevee in her arms, and as she smiled down at the Normal type, part of her actually believed it was the truth.