Pokémon Police Force Chapter 26: Nightmares and Exile
I was standing in the middle of a grassy field, wildflowers blooming all around. A lone Sneasel surrounded by a world of peace. Things were finally starting to look up. Then, all at once, the scene changed.
I was suddenly in the ruins of some metropolis; bodies of various Pokémon littered the debris.
(Oh no.)
I wandered the ruins of that forgotten city until I found a body I recognized. It was Sheriashuu, still frozen in death.
"This isn't real! It can't be real!"
I spun on the spot and instantly found Jessie's body.
"Jessie, no!"
Then I found Slowbro's body, then Emerald and Sal.
"Everyone? What happened?"
"Argyle. What did you do?"
I spun on the spot again and found Snow, still alive and well.
"Snow? You're alive!"
"No thanks to you."
"Snow… what are you talking about?"
"Everyone. Their blood is on your hands!"
I was then aware of something warm on my claws. On my claws, was blood. There was way too much blood on them to be my own.
"Why did you kill them?"
"I didn't!"
A loud roar sounded. Over the ruined building, I'd seen a large black and green dragon. The biggest Pokémon I'd ever seen.
"Why did you kill Slowbro and Sal? You even killed Emerald and your own girlfriend."
I cast my head down in shame.
"Why did you kill… me?"
My head shot up with a start. I was treated with a zombified version of Snow. Her eyes were gone, leaving empty eye sockets. Her fur and skin had fallen off on most of her body, leaving exposed muscle and bone. Her head was mostly bone and all her piercings looked like they had been ripped out of her ears all at the same time. Fresh blood was flowing out of her empty eye sockets.
"GACK!" I yelled, falling over in surprise.
"Why did you kill… us?"
All the bodies became animated all at once. Shortly, I was surrounded by the living dead.
"Why did you kill us?"
"Why did you kill us?"
"Why did you kill us?"
"Why did you kill us?"
"Why did you kill us?"
"Why did you kill us?"
I awoke with a start.
"Thank Arceus, it was just a nightmare."
Blinking the sleepiness out of my eyes, I crawled out of my ice-cold bed and walked to the bathroom. The tight stone corridors were quiet, as usual. The bathroom was lonely as the rest of the place, composed of a mirror, sink and something I assumed was a toilet. I turned on the faucet and fresh water flowed out.
(It's a surprise the pipes never froze solid here.)
The water was freezing, of course, but I still washed my hands the best I could, as well as my face. I scraped some of the frost off the mirror. What I'd seen was a placid Sneasel with a patch of green on the left side of his face and a cobweb of green lines extending from there.
"How long has it been? These nightmares just keep getting worse."
I left the bathroom and walked down the stairway to a lower level. Reaching an old armory, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.
(What was that?)
I peered out of a nearby window. What lie beyond was a vast snowfield of the purest white. The cloud overhead darkened, heralding the start of yet another snowstorm. It was what I seen on the face of the snow that drew my attention. About fifty shapes, heading towards the tower.
"Time to go to work."
Three months ago.
There I sat, behind my desk, in my office at the Mystery City 46th precinct. Sal was going through paperwork and I was looking at a map of the world. Even though she was an ex-drug dealer, she's become quite the competent assistant.
"The Kecleon brothers send their regards and thank you for, once again, catching the thieves," said Sal.
I muttered a response and went back to looking at the map. After Sheriashuu's death, we buried her and I went back to the MCPF with Danté and Pyra in tow.
I went back to old job of hunting outlaws, though most of my time was devoted to hunting down Argyle, who had disappeared after killing my former partner. Most everyone who was with us has been trying to find Argyle, except for Slowbro.
He disappeared off the face of the earth. Knowing him, he's probably launched his own investigation into Argyle's whereabouts. Snow and Jessie were out looking for new leads.
"Where haven't we looked?" I asked, "we tried all the places that had meaning for him."
"There are officers all over the world looking for him," said Sal, "when that guy wants to disappear, he does a darn good job."
"We've got a new lead!"
The door opens and Snow runs in, followed by Jessie.
"You know where he is!?" I ask in surprise.
"Maybe," said Jessie, "I have someone planted inside Team PWNK. They're getting ready to make a big move."
"Well, Team PWNK definitely count as outlaws," said Sal, "but how does that link to Argyle?"
"Fifty Pokémon!" Shouts Snow, "they are sending at least fifty Pokémon to Blizzard Island!"
"What's at Blizzard Island?" I ask.
"Nothing at all! It's just a frozen wasteland!" Said Snow.
"Sounds like the perfect place for a Sneasel that doesn't wish to be found," said Jessie.
"Either way, if Team PWNK think it's important enough to send fifty Pokémon, we cannot ignore it," I said.
"I already took the initiative to prepare a ship," said Snow, "it will be ready for us at the Coral Cove."
After a three month boat ride, we had made it to the southern-most landmass in the world, Blizzard Island. It was desolate, blinding white snow as far as the eye could see. The wind blew through and sent a chill up my spine.
"That's cold," I said.
"Can we just do this quickly?" Asked Jessie, "some of us aren't Ice types."
I took the stick from my tail, igniting it and handed it to Jessie.
"It's not a bonfire, but it may help," I said.
"Thank you," said Jessie, "let's go before I catch a cold."
"You could stay on the boat," said Snow.
"Argyle is still my boyfriend," said Jessie, "I'm going."
"Snow, why don't you take the lead?" Asked Sal, "you stand the best chance in this weather."
"Right," said Snow, "if Team PWNK is here already, we should be able to find footprints. Unless… snow had fallen."
"Don't," Snow warned as Sal approached her from behind.
All that silliness settled, we marched into the snowfields. As it turns out, Blizzard Island turned out to be one big Mystery Dungeon. We lost track of time as we ventured through the Dungeon, but eventually, Jessie collapsed in the snow.
"Jessie!" Yelled Snow.
"Over there! Take her in that cave!" Shouted Sal.
We carried Jessie into a nearby ice cave. There, Sal and I made a fire and began warming up Jessie.
"She's coming back to us," I said, "just give her a while to rest."
"Oh. I was not expecting visitors."
The voice that spake turned out to be a lone Froslass. Her white dress and demure attitude kind of fit in the icy cave.
"A Froslass?" Asked Snow.
"What happened?" Asked Froslass.
"Passed out from the cold, we think," said Sal.
"Let me see."
We parted way for Froslass, who immediately ran her chilly hands over Jessie.
"Frostbite," said Froslass, "not a severe case, thankfully."
"What can we do?" I asked.
"Not much you can do except keep her warm," said Froslass, "Braixen, give your torch to Salazzle."
I handed Sal my stick.
"Salazzle, your job will be to keep the flame as close to Mawile as possible without burning her," explained Froslass, "you two, follow me. I have some blankets in the back."
As we followed Froslass through the caves, Snow decided to ask.
"Froslass? Why are you in these caves? Don't like company?" Asked Snow.
"No, it's not that. The polar air is quite pleasant for Pokémon who are made of ice. Like me."
She led us into a massive chamber with impressive-looking ice sculptures lining the walls. They were modeled off about twelve different species of Pokémon.
"Froslass, what is this?" I asked.
"Life here can be lonely," said Froslass, "so I make ice sculptures here of any man that catches my eye. This is my most recent one."
Froslass hovered to a beautiful Scizor sculpture. The craftsmanship was just exquisite. Every curve, every crevice was just perfect. Scizor looked almost… alive.
"Oh! I got distracted! The blanket!" Said Froslass in surprise, "wait here."
Froslass hovered out of the cavern, leaving us alone with the sculptures. Snow waited until Froslass was out of sight before speaking.
"Emerald. We should get out of here. Now," whispered Snow.
"Why? Froslass seems nice," I responded.
"I don't think these are sculptures," said Snow, "the craftsmanship is too flawless."
I touched Scizor's leg. It felt warm. Like it was…
(Frozen in time!)
"Snow, you don't think-!" I whispered.
"That is exactly what I think," whispered Snow, "what should we do? We can't ignore this."
"There is no law here, nor do we have time to worry about this," I whispered, "we'll give this info to HAPPI. They'll find a Team to handle this."
Froslass came back with several blankets draped over her arms.
"Here," she said, handing us a few, "your friend doesn't have a lot of time."
We hurried back to the cave entrance and began wrapping Jessie up with the blankets. A couple of hours later, Jessie woke up.
"Jessie!" Snow squealed in glee.
"Snow? Is this a cave?" Asked Jessie, "what happened?"
"You collapsed out there in the snow," said Sal.
"We brought you here and Froslass helped you recover," Snow explained.
"Sorry to worry you," said Jessie, shrugging off the blankets, "I think I'm fine now. Thanks for the hospitality, Froslass."
"Happy to help," replied Froslass, "what were you all doing out here anyway? You look out of place here. No offense."
"We're looking for a friend who may have come through here," I explained.
"I saw a horde of Pokémon pass by a couple of days ago," said Froslass, "but I assume you don't mean them."
"We're looking for a Sneasel," said Jessie.
"No Sneasel recently, I'm afraid."
"It would've been about three years ago," I replied, "with a huge patch of green on his face."
"Oh! Him!" Said Froslass in realization, "yeah, he passed through here a long time ago. Maybe three years. I wanted to add him to my collection, but he had a real dangerous look to him. When he saw me, he took off."
"Where did he go?" Asked Sal.
"There is an old tower some distance to the southwest," explained Froslass, "he made a beeline right there."
"Well, we have to go!" Said Snow.
"Wait!" Shouted Froslass, "the snowfields beyond are a frozen wasteland. Even I have trouble with the cold there!"
"Then how did-?" Began Jessie.
"No clue! I tried to warn him, but he ignored me! He may have died out there."
We all looked at each other. Yes, this freezing cold may kill other Pokémon, but Argyle would've made it.
"We have to go," I said, "he's alive. I just know it."
"If I can't dissuade you, take the blankets with you," said Froslass, "you'll need every edge to survive out there."
We were about to leave, but Froslass stopped us once more.
"If you find him out there," said Froslass, "tell him that I'll be ready to give him a warm bed and warmer company."
I firmly grasped Jessie's shoulder.
"Don't," I warned, "I'll explain later."
We marched out of the cave and into a place I shall call the Frozen Expanse. We moved as fast as we could, blankets wrapped tightly around us. Sal clung onto Jessie as the latter held my fiery stick. The deeper we went, the colder it got and eventually we got caught in a blizzard.
"Gaagh! Can't see!" Shouted Snow.
"Huddle!" I commanded.
We hugged and tried to wait out the storm. Then, a brilliant flash of green light drew my attention.
"That light! Argyle is just ahead!" I shouted.
"ARGYLE!?" Shouted all three.
I snatched the stick back from Jessie.
"Why didn't I think of doing this earlier? Sunny Day!"
I blasted an orb of flame straight up into the sky. The clouds parted at once, the snowflakes disappeared and the sun shone through.
"Much better!" Said Jessie eagerly throwing off the blanket.
"Wait. Do those two look familiar?" Asked Sal, pointing at two shapes in the snow.
I ran to the two shapes. As I approached, I'd seen two distinct Zoroark forms.
"It's Donny! And Biff!" I shouted.
"I'm like, Dave man!" Shouted Dave as he leapt to his feet, "ow! That smarts, dude!"
"That guy really roughed us up," said Don, sitting up, "no one told us about a Sneasel with that kind of power!"
"A Sneasel! Argyle!" Shouted Snow.
"That's not your friend," said Don, "if he was, he's been possessed by something not of this world."
"We were like, sent to recruit a certain Pokémon known as the Spectre for Team PWNK, man. But if he's that strong-!" Said Dave.
Don and Dave finally stood up.
"This mission is a bust," said Dave, "we're out, dog."
The two threw smoke bombs on the ground and disappeared out of our sight.
"Okay, exactly what was that guy trying to do?" Asked Jessie.
"Who cares?" I replied, "our priority is Argyle."
We continued on ahead for a few minutes before we heard the unmistakable sounds of battle. We ran until we found what we sought, a field of unconscious bodies. With a cloaked figure standing in the middle.
"Argyle! We found you!" I yelled.
The cloaked figure whipped around, left claw raised in a threatening stance. The cloak obscured its face, but we beheld the unmistakable green pattern shining underneath.
"Brother! It's us!" Said Snow.
Argyle removed his hood. Now we could see him entirely. He looked dead. His skin was sunken in and the outline of his skeleton was showing through his black fur. It was as if he was dying of starvation and yet the energy he displayed made it seem as though he could wrestle a Snorlax.
"What happened to you?" Asked Jessie.
"Jessie?" Asked Argyle in barely hidden surprise, "everyone? What are you doing here?"
"We've come to take you home," said Sal.
"Home? But I don't-! Wait."
"What?" I asked.
"This is another nightmare. You're not real!" Shouted Argyle.
As soon as he had spake these words, the green patches on his body flared to life, igniting in emerald green flame.
"Argyle! Snap out of it! It's us, your friends!"
"No! GET AWAY FROM ME!"
Argyle's right eye turned green with a flash. Then, he was gone.
"Where?"
"Gaaa!" Screamed Sal in pain.
Argyle was standing behind her, claw outstretched.
"Argyle!" Yelled Jessie, "what was that for!?"
All that Argyle gave her in reply was a pained scream.
"He's too far gone," I said, pulling Jessie behind me, "we have to knock the sanity back into him!"
"I don't like this," replied Snow, "but I love the way you phrased that."
Sal didn't waste any time.
"Flame Lash!"
Her tail ignited in flame and plowed Argyle into the snow.
Argyle was on his feet immediately, and countered Sal's attack with a Brick Break.
"Flamethrower!" I yelled.
"Iron Tail!" Yelled Snow.
Our attacks had completely missed. Argyle is much faster than I remember, but Jessie was quick on the uptake, plowing Argyle with Play Rough.
"Snap out of it!" Shouted Snow.
"Emerald, reach into my horns," said Jessie, "hurry."
Jessie's maw-shaped horns were quite the intimidating accessory, but I thrust my paws inside until I grasped something that didn't feel like it belonged. From her maw, I pulled out a familiar, leather half-mask.
"Jessie, where did you-?"
"Doesn't matter. Hurry."
As I pulled out the mask, I had to quickly duck to dodge another attack.
"Argyle! Do you recognize this?" I said, holding out the mask.
"That mask… MY mask!"
"Argyle! Remember who you are!"
"You are my savior!" Said Sal, "you saved me from prison!"
"You are my man!" Said Jessie, "I couldn't imagine life without you!"
"You are my brother!" Said Snow, "and the only family I have!"
"And above all," I said, "you are our friend!"
"Friend? How can I be-?" Asked Argyle, "you're trying to trick me!"
"Okay, time for plan C," said Sal."
"Plan C?" Asked Snow, "did we make a plan C?"
"Uhh…," said Jessie, shrugging.
Sal slowly approached Argyle. Argyle took a defensive stance, expecting another attack. Needless to say, Sal surprised us all when she kicked Argyle's feet out, caught him and then pulled him into a kiss.
Argyle's eyes got wide and he pushed her away.
"Even you, Sal!?" Said Argyle, "why does every woman fall for me!?"
"I think you are the only man to ever complain about that," I replied.
"Glad to have you back," said Sal.
Jessie marched right up to Sal and planted a finger right on her breast.
"You keep your hands off my boyfriend, Lizzie."
"Forgive my rudeness," said Argyle, "but why are you all here?"
"I'll do you one better," I retorted, "why did you think we were nightmares? Why did you attack us?"
"For the past few months, I've been having horrible nightmares. Nightmares about-"
"It doesn't matter," interrupted Jessie, "we're here. No more nightmares."
"This, I cannot allow."
Argyle suddenly grabbed his head and screamed in pain.
"Argyle!" Yelled Snow.
"No. No! NO!" Shouted Argyle, "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
Then, if the day couldn't get any stranger, Argyle somehow reached into his own head and pulled out a monstrous black shape. He then flung it away from him.
"Um, what just happened?" Asked Sal in confusion.
Then, the shape twisted and contorted, becoming something else altogether. A head began forming, then shoulders and arms. The body became cloaked in a dark robe, the shoulders became ignited in a dark flame. The top of the head became a long plume of white hair and a ring of red spikes formed around the neck. Then, a single blue eye appeared on the head.
"Who are you?" Asked Jessie, "why were you in Argyle?"
"I am Darkrai," it replied in a shallow, grave voice, "it is my power to cause and manipulate nightmares."
"What were you doing leeching off of my dreams!?" Snapped Argyle.
"I gain energy from the nightmares I cause," explains Darkrai, "the darker the nightmares, the better."
Darkrai hovered away a bit.
"I have one desire, to cloak the entire world in an unending nightmare."
"Not on our watch!" I shouted, "Argyle! Get him!"
Nothing happened. I looked at Argyle and found him slowly backing away.
"Argyle?"
"The Sneasel is scared," said Darkrai, "scared of his own power. He won't stop me."
Darkrai began glowing with an otherworldly energy.
"I've wasted enough time here. Time to check on my pet project."
With a quick motion of his arms, Darkrai vanished into thin air. Argyle dropped to the snow-capped ground, shaking.
"Argyle?"
"Zygarde… I will never use that power again."
