~ Chapter 85 ~
Infiltration, Cyrus's Plan
"When we met Looker, we were shocked. He was indisguishable from a Team Galactic grunt. He allowed us to infiltrate the Headquarters using an underground connection between the warehouse and their HQ. Once inside, we saw many of the horrors Charon worked on in his laboratories. There were frozen and broken Chimera hybrids of Pokémon and humans, Pokémon dissected and strewn about a lab to try and understand how they work and how to prevent Pokerus. It was sickening. Looker told us that it would be impossible to stop Cyrus—he was too close to making the Red Chain—but they would be able to stop Team Galactic in Veilstone City and prevent any reinforcements joining the main group at Mt. Coronet and to save our friends so they could join us. Even Looker had no hope we could stop Cyrus before he reached the Summit."
They were travelling through the recesses of the Research and Development floor of the Galactic HQ. They had seen horrifying things…even the room where Alexios had developed the Galactic Bomb—his own personal laboratory.
Apparently, from the research papers, the explosives within the Galactic Bomb used a type of energy known as Infinity Energy. It was dependant on old, shuttered research from the Devon Corporation. Hidden and locked away for the cruel ways it was obtained.
Apparently, Infinity Energy was a type of energy given off by certain Pokémon. Nobody knew what it did, or how only certain Pokémon possessed it, or even why, just that it could be harnessesd in cruel ways to power things like power plants, energy cells, batteries and even explosives.
From the page Sam read, it "was derived from an old Hoenn legend about a King in a far off kingdom, thousands of years ago, developed a devastating weapon that could take away life, as well as grant immortality using the life it gave away. He had created it to end the war with another kingdom, and to bring back his Pokémon who died in the fighting. The machine ran on the power of Pokémon, strapped to receptor units. These Pokémon gave their energy to the machine to power it, dying and becoming petrified in stone forever for it. According to some legends from this foreign kingdom, some Pokémon could utilize this Infinity Energy to achieve a new, higher evolution."
Attempts to find this region or kingdom ended poorly, and many believe the kingdom to be a myth—though the Infinity Energy seemed to exist regardless.
Even Devon and Alexios didn't understand it—though Alexios clearly understood how to weaponize it.
They quickly moved on, after promptly destroying the research Alexios had compiled on the Galactic Bomb and Infinity Energy, so no one else—Team Galactic or otherwise—could create another Galactic Bomb, or something worse.
Sam was concerened that by destroying this research, they'd be destroying evidence to link Team Galactic to the bomb.
Looker reassured him that they didn't need proof as to how they created the bomb, and there was no doubt as to who was responsible. As long as no one else could replicate this reprehensible weapon, the world would be better off already.
Even if they couldn't charge them for the explosion at the Great Marsh, there was plent of other things they could charge Team Galactic with.
The group moved on quickly. They couldn't take too long, or people would get suspicious.
"I'm sorry I took so long to respond," apologized Looker, "I was deep undercover. It's not easy to receive messages and communication from even my organization, let alone you guys."
Sam shook his head. "We understand," he replied calmly, "We knew you would've responded eventually. I'm glad you came through when you did, people were getting antsy."
They tried to avoid Team Galactic grunts where they could—it was easier now that they were preoccupied with the attack on the city, but if they couldn't avoid people, Looker would slap a pair of cuffs on each of Sam and Alyssandra and pretend they were prisoners off for interrogating.
His stolen security clearance was enough to avoid questions from anyone but Cyrus or the Commanders themselves.
The rooms where the statis and cryo-frozen chimeras were probably the most horrifying rooms to go into.
But they didn't stay long there—it was a quick pass through on the way to where Nilama and Professor Yarrow were being kept.
That was Looker's primary goal, to get there, and get the two high security prisoners out of their captivity and to safety—then he'd take Sam to deal with Cyrus, his Red Chain, and free his other friends.
It wasn't long before they reached the room where Nilama and Professor Yarrow were being kept. It took them a few moments to incapacitate the guards and open the door to the small holding cell.
Nilama was not harmed, but Professor Yarrow looked roughed up—though he also looked as if at one point his wounds were worse.
"Are you okay?" asked Sam.
"You took too long," croned Nilama jokingly, "And you missed one."
"This is Looker, Mama Lama," explained Alyssandra, "He's undercover, but he's here to help."
"This old woman doesn't die, does she?" asked Aurelio, speaking for the first time since the siege began.
He had been there to give Sam advice about how to lead people and plan a battle strategy—Sam had to question how his grandfather knew so much about military strategy, though he supposed, like Sam, he had taken most of it from his knowledge of Pokémon battles and simply changed a few concepts.
Professor Yarrow held out his hand. "Sam, I assume?" he asked, "I'm Professor Yarrow, Cyrus was my grandson. He's captured me for my information—Nilama here as well. Thank you for your assistance in breaking me out."
Sam shook his hand. "A pleasure to finally meet you. Professor Rowan told me much."
"How is the old dog?" laughed Yarrow.
"He's out there fighting Team Galactic right now," explained Sam.
"He gets to have all the fun," muttered Aurelio, clearly desiring to be in the thick of battle again.
"We can't be long," warned Looker, "We need to get moving. We need to stop Cyrus's reinforcements, he's leaving soon. He's almost completed the Red Chain."
Nilama sighed. "We were forced to tell him everything we knew…it was because of our failure that he's completed it so fast," she stated.
"I'm sorry," added Yarrow.
Sam smiled. "You did the right thing. You're alive, that's all that matters. Besides, if I know you Mama Lama, Yarrow doesn't know about the relics, or whose hands their in."
Nilama laughed. "How true!"
"We need to move, now," stressed Looker, as a siren blared somewhere in the distance.
Sam nodded. "Can you two get out of here by yourselves?"
Yarrow and Nilama nodded. "We might be slow, but we can get out of here. We'll collect our Pokémon and get going—they're just in the storage locker over there."
"Looker go with them," instructed Sam, "Get them out of here."
"But my directions!" he cried.
Sam shook his head. "Lucario can find the Pokémon and our friends. Give me the access codes and key card and we can do the rest."
"But," started Looker. He looked at Nilama and Yarrow and sighed. His faced turned resolute, "I'll take them to safety. You're in charge of this siege, so for now, I'll take orders from you. Is there anything else you want me to do?"
Sam nodded. "Once you get them to safety, scrambled as many of Galactic's plans as you can. Sabotage as much of this place as you can. Sound like something you can handle?"
Looker smirked. "With absolute pleasure."
With that, the two groups bid farewell, and Sam took the access codes and key card from Looker and released their two Lucario.
Wordlessly, the two instructed their Pokémon to take them to their next goal.
The Galactic Storage room.
There they would get their friends' Pokémon, and then head to save them and the Lake Guardians.
The speakers blared to life again as they took a corner, running towards the Storage Room as to avoid any grunts that still patrolled the area.
The faster they moved, the faster they could leave.
"This way!" cried Alyssandra's Lucario.
They turned another corner, in a smaller, darker, more sparse area of the HQ. Steel walls and floors made up most of the décor. The ceilings were high too, higher than normal.
This seemed like the right place to keep and store stuff right to the roof.
They came to the door they were supposed to enter, input the proper codes, and found themselves in a small balcony alcove above a massive hangar.
Hundreds of grunts swarmed below, boarding themselves and supplies onto a massive airship below.
They were getting ready to leave.
They were too late to stop Cyrus.
"Here," called Alyssandra as she crept low to the ground towards several crates.
Several were labelled as the captured Pokémon from Lake Acuity.
Their friends' bags were there as well.
Using the two Lucario, Sam and Alyssandra were able to sift between whose Pokémon were whose and placed them in the proper bags.
Sam stored the extra Pokémon who didn't have a bag to return to in a small cloth sack he found, before placing it in his bag as well.
"Over here," called Alyssandra with a hiss, as she opened the lid off a small wooden crate.
Sam snuck over and peered inside.
"What are these?" asked Sam.
Aurelio shrugged as if his answer would be seen by any but Sam.
"I don't know," replied Alyssandra, "But the crate says 'Property of Silph Co.'"
"Silph Co.?" asked Sam, "That's in Kanto. Saffron City if I'm not mistaken. They make all the Poké Balls for Johto, Kanto and Sinnoh. Devon takes Hoenn, and Unova's got the Unova Corp."
"Why are they helping Team Galactic?" asked Alyssandra.
Sam shrugged. "Could have been stolen. Does it say what they are?"
Alyssandra picked up a small packing slip stuck inside the crate. "Master Balls," she half stated, half asked, "What are those? Never heard of them before."
"Might be a new type of Poké Ball?" suggested Sam.
"Wait!" cried Alyssandra, "There's an instruction sheet…oh no."
"What's wrong?" asked Sam, hurriedly, worried by Alyssandra's tone.
She looked up from the small instruction sheet. "These Poké Balls…they're designed to never fail."
"What do you mean?" asked Sam, in disbelief.
"It means this Poké Ball won't ever fail to catch a Pokémon, regardless of the Pokémon's own will," explained Aurelio, "And it probably means—"
Sam finished his grandfather's sentence. "These are here in case the Red Chain fails."
"There are already some missing," stated Alyssandra.
"Take it with us," demanded Sam, "Give it to your Lucario, evacuate this crate to our camp. We're taking it with us. Team Galactic can't have more of these—these are dangerous in the wrong hands."
Alyssandra didn't disagree and gave her Lucario the crate to take back to the encampment and guard it until they returned.
Sam took a few and placed them in his bag before Lucario left.
"Why did you take some?" asked Alyssandra.
"In case these relics fail," admitted Sam.
"This is horrible," muttered Sam's Lucario, "To take a Pokémon's will away from it. When you capture a Pokémon, it's a test of strength and dominance. Strong trainers can catch stronger Pokémon by displaying their strength, and whether or not a Pokémon submits to their would-be captor's will is a matter of how strong the captors are. But to take that away…anyone could catch any Pokémon and practically enslave them. To think a human would come up with this."
"We're not all like this," Sam reassured his Pokémon, "I promise. We won't let these fall into the wrong hands again."
"And we will only use these on the Legendary Pokémon as an absolute last resort," added Alyssandra, "But when dealing with Pokémon that could destroy the universe as we know it…it doesn't hurt to have a back up."
Lucario nodded. "It is appreciated."
"We should keep going," started Sam.
Everyone agreed—but were stopped by the sudden appearance of Cyrus before his grunts.
They stopped to hear the words he spoke to his grunts to inspire them before the long trip to Mt. Coronet.
"Fellow members of Team Galactic!" cried Cyrus before the assemebled crowd, "My name, as I appear before you today, is Cyrus! You know me as your boss, but I come to you now as one of you, as your friend, who will walk with you to the top of the Great Coronet! This world of ours is a crude one. In a word, it is incomplete…it has been, and always will be, a struggle to survive in this world. We humans and Pokémon are likewise incomplete. Because we are all so lacking, we fight, we maim…"
Cyrus paused for affect.
"It is ugly! I hate this incompleteness! That we are all incomplete, I hate it with my entire body and being. And I know you do too, as it is why you've taken up the mantle of Team Galactic as your own! The world should be completed, you feel the same! The wordl must change!"
The crowd roared their agreement.
"But, who will change it?" he asked.
The crowd cheered the answer.
"Yes! I! Cyrus," he cried, "But not just I alone! Team Galactic! All of you, yes! Together we pored over myths and exposed their secrets! Together we captured Legendary Pokémon and defeated our enemies with swiftness! I could not have done any of this without you…and now, Team Galactic has obtained the power to change the world!"
Cyrus raised the Red Chain high above his head.
The crowd roared louder.
It was a crude thing, carved by machines, as the red gems that formed the five-foot-long chain seemed to be too perfect to have been carved by anything but a laser.
"With this! The Red Chain! With this, we hold the power of dreams within our grasp! Understand it, fellow members…our long held dreamworld is on the horizon, on the verge of becoming a reality. All those headed to Mt. Coronet, and those who remain here…our missions may differ, but our hearts beat as one. Whether there is defeat or victory within this city is irrelevant! The victory on Mt. Coronet is our top priority, and all who dedicate themselves to your tasks today contribute to that victory! Let there be glory for Team Galactic!"
The crowd roared the loudest they had yet, echoing off the walls and massive piles of crates around them.
"No one can say he isn't good with words," added Aurelio.
"Come on," said Sam, "We need to get going. We can't get distracted!"
Lucario and Alyssandra agreed and the three followed Lucario from the room, down several flights of stairs, to the area known as the Lower Labs.
Most of these labs were off limits to anyone but Charon, Cyrus, and the other Commanders.
They kept running, they could see the door to the Lower Labs—until a Croagunk appeared out of nowhere, scattering everyone to the sides.
Sam and Alyssandra looked at each other, and then to Commander Saturn who stepped from the shadows and into their way, a Poké Ball in his hand.
It seemed he was the owner of this Croagunk.
"Well, well, well," smiled Saturn, "The Boss was correct. It was merely a distraction, this attack, to get you two in here and to your friends."
"And it worked," smirked Sam, "To a point."
Saturn blinked. "So, it would seem," he said curtly, "But this is the point where that stops. Your adventures in the Galactic HQ end here, with me."
"You wish," smirked Alyssandra.
She released her Piplup and Lucario.
"Go, Sam!" she cried, "Get to our friends! I'll hold Saturn off!"
Sam didn't think twice.
He was stopped only by a Golbat and Bronzor, though Lucario stopped following Sam, and stayed behind to decimate the Bronzor and turn its attention to the Gobalt.
"Go!" cried Lucario.
Again, Sam didn't think twice, and ran towards the door.
He jammed the code into the console, then smashed it with a rock he kept in his bag, jamming the door shut behind him.
He'd have to smash his way out afterwards, but that was a minor thing.
Sam entered the room to find his friends staring, dumbstruck, but proud, to see Sam finally.
Niya and Jeremy were pressed up against the bars, cheering.
Lou and Palmer cheered from behind them.
Barry shrieked with glee at his impending freedom while Gardenia wiped away a tear.
Even the ranch hands seemed ecstatic at their coming freedom.
Sam looked past the central cell to the three machines that kept the Lake Guardians trapped and in pain.
Their breathing seemed laboured and troubled.
Their gems were in the midst of growing back—that was a plus at least.
"How do I free you and the guardians?" asked Sam.
Niya pointed to the control panel before a massive screen. "There are two buttons on that panel," explained Niya, "Large red ones. One opens the cell; one opens the contraptions holding the Lake Guardians."
Sam didn't waste time in slamming his fist into both buttons.
The cell door slid open and his friends came pouring out.
The Lake Guardians were released from their restraints.
They stopped for a moment, looking at Sam and his friends. They blinked as if this was a dream, the sudden end to their suffering.
Then, with a cry, they vanished into thin air—Sam could've sworn he saw them give a smile before disappearing.
"Where did they go?" asked Barry in amazement.
Sam shrugged. "Far away from humans, I hope."
No one disagreed.
"Where's Lyss?" asked Jeremy.
Sam pointed to the door. "Out there with Lucario, beating up Saturn."
Niya smirked. "Good. He's a right asshole," she growled, "I hope she hits him."
"Like you punched Mars?" laughed Sam.
Niya just shrugged with a smile.
"Attention all Galactic members!" roared a voice over the loud speaker, it sounded like Charon, "Cyrus and the Galactic One are away! They've departed for Mt. Coronet! You are to continue the defence of the HQ until we have one, or there are no one left! Let us pray Cyrus and our brothers and sisters atop the mountain are victorious! For the glory of Galactic!"
Everyone's tone shrunk slightly.
Sam wasn't going to tell them he never would have made it in time to stop Cyrus.
Niya and Jeremy seemed to understand more than anyone else, but they too had hoped Cyrus would have gotten his just desserts for everything he had put them and the Lake Guardians through.
"Did you find Nilama and Professor Yarrow?" asked Palmer.
"And our Pokémon?" demanded Barry.
"This one is loud," stated Aurelio plainly, "He was always loud. I remember him because he was loud."
Sam smiled. His grandfather wasn't wrong.
Sam tossed the bags he had tied to himself like a pack-mule before their owners, and then laid the cloth sack on the ground for those who didn't have bags to return.
"Your Pokémon are here," explained Sam, "And Nilama and Yarrow are safe. Looker got us in and got them out."
"I'm glad he's okay," noted Lou, "He was able to sneak us bits of information from the outside. That's how we knew you were coming."
"No blind faith?" smirked Sam.
"We'd better get going," added Gardenia with haste, "If Cyrus is on his way to Mt. Coronet, we should be going after him."
"The girl is right," nodded Aurelio, "You've got one last task before you: find Cyrus, stop him, and get those Legendary Pokémon under your control with those reilcs."
Sam's faith in his abilities to do just that was low, but he had no choice now.
It had come down to that, and there would be nothing else that could have a chance of stopping Cyrus.
Everyone made towards the door as it blew open.
The door clanged hard against the ground as Alyssandra, Lucario, and her Pokémon walked through the door.
"As soon as the announcement went up, all the fight went out of Saturn," stated Alyssandra, "A shame, because I was winning too. He fled towards what I assume was the command centre to take control of the battle outside."
"What a spitfire," roared Aurelio with laughter, "You chose a firecracker, my boy!"
"It would make sense, with that directive," stated Niya, harkening back to what Charon had said over the loud speaker.
"Come on, let's get back," stated Sam, "We'll regroup outside, the front of the building and see what progress everyone has made."
Everyone agreed and they began their mad dash to the action of the battle around them.
As they went towards the upper levels, Sam whispered to Jeremy and Niya that they had found something troubling but didn't mention what.
They couldn't infront of everyone else.
This would be their secret—their secret and Professor Rowan's once they told him about it.
