Sabrina and Misty quickly stood up and hid either side of the lift doors as more and more shards of ice smashed into the back wall and stuck there. Raichu was raring to go, but Misty knew she'd be pulverised as soon as she set foot out the door. She looked across at Sabrina, whose expression was completely devoid of emotion as was usual for her.
"Isn't there something you can do?" she half asked, half demanded.
"Maybe," Sabrina shrugged. "I haven't tried it before, but I'll give it a go."
Suddenly a blue-white bubble shaped shield appeared around them, and the shards of ice bounced right off of it. Raichu immediately stepped into the doorway, cheeks sparking and a grin on her little face.
"Go Raichu, Thunderbolt whatever's there!"
Raichu stepped outside of Sabrina's shield and let loose a terrific amount of energy, blasting a Glaceon across the room and rendering it unconscious. Misty looked around, seeing three Rocket United grunts, an Electivire, and another Machoke.
I wish I had my Starmie right now…
"Raichu, Thunderbolt that Machoke!"
Raichu unleashed another blast of electricity, this time sending the Machoke through the opposite wall. It got up for a moment, climbed back through the wall, then promptly passed out.
"Electivire, Thunderpunch!"
The Electivire charged across the room so quickly that Misty barely had time to register it. Raichu was much quicker though, and dodged the attack like it had come from a Slowpoke.
"Raichu, Mega Punch!"
Raichu hurled a fist into the Electivire's jaw, leaping into the air and sending it crashing through the ceiling before it came back down a few feet away.
"Now Body Slam!"
Electivire wasn't even in the same league as Raichu, and after being body slammed, it too was out cold. The three Rocket United grunts looked at each other, then moved to surround the two girls. Sabrina smirked at them, daring them to try something.
"Go on, let's see what you've got," she taunted them.
Two of the grunts leapt forward and grabbed the two girls from behind, wrapping an arm around their necks, while the third grunt tried to secure Raichu with a rubber net. Raichu used Agility, and easily escaped, then used Volt Tackle to subdue the grunt, who was now completely paralysed. Sabrina simply used her psychic abilities to wrench the grunt's arm away, then float him in the air across the room, slamming him into a wall. He struggled, but Sabrina's psychic grip was like a giant hand pinning him against the wall, and there was nothing he could do.
Misty deftly spun out of the choke hold, then smashed an elbow into the grunt's face, surprising him with the ferocity of her attack. She swept the grunt's feet out from under him, then stepped on his throat. He tried to roll away and push her foot off of his neck, but Misty countered by putting her full weight on him, and using her other foot to stomp on his belly.
"Talk," Sabrina demanded.
"We'll tell you nothing!" spat the grunt that Sabrina was holding up in the air.
"That's not how this works!" Misty shouted, then knelt down on her grunt's throat and punched him hard in the face. "Tell us everything, or this gets uncomfortable. And I'm not in a good mood, so do it quickly before my demeanour gets ugly."
"Go to hell…you little bitch," the grunt wheezed.
"Wrong answer," Sabrina smirked again, knowing what was coming.
Misty got to her feet, then stood either side of her grunt's neck before placing the block heels of her boots on the sides of his neck. The grunt struggled, trying to dislodge her, but he was out cold before he could put up a proper fight.
"Your turn," she said, stomping her way over to the grunt that Sabrina was holding in the air. "How badly do you wanna get hurt?"
"Do your worst," he taunted her, then spat in her face.
Misty wiped the gob of saliva off with her hand, then smeared it on the grunt's own face before heaving a fist into his belly. The grunt's eyes bulged, and he struggled to breathe for a few moments, but still remained silent.
"I'm sick of this," Misty told Sabrina. "Let's go. If they won't talk, maybe their friends will."
"I agree," Sabrina answered, before putting the grunt to sleep without so much as a glance in his direction. He crumpled to the floor, completely unconscious.
They left the lift lobby they were in, following signs that read 'Hub Manager'. To Sabrina's surprise, they saw no staff at all on this floor.
"Misty, something's wrong here."
"I know, it's a trap."
"If you know it's a trap, then why are we walking into it?"
"Because I wanna find out what's going on here."
"Well, just be prepared," Sabrina told her. "There's only one person in the Hub Manager's office, so it's almost certainly going to be booby trapped. Wait…one person, and a Pokémon."
It was too late. Misty and Raichu strolled straight into the office, and were immediately brought to their knees. Sabrina's eyes went wide as she sensed what was happening, and stayed outside, trying to think of a plan.
"Alakazam, bring the other one in here."
Sabrina felt herself being pulled into the office by an invisible force of incredible power. She tried to counter it with her own abilities, but it wasn't enough. After a few seconds of protest, she gave up and was forced to her knees alongside Misty and Raichu.
"You put up a bigger fight than I anticipated," came the voice of a woman who was clearly an officer in Rocket United. None of them could actually see her, as the Alakazam had them frozen on their knees, with their heads facing down.
"You were expecting us to just roll over and die?" Misty yelled at her.
"Maybe not roll over, although I could make you do that if I really wanted to, but certainly die," the officer replied in amusement.
She stepped towards them, her heavy boots clopping and squeaking noisily on the floor until they were in view, inches from Misty's face. She tried to lift her head to get a better look at her, but all she could move were her eyes. The officer stepped even closer, until her shiny vinyl boots were actually touching Misty's forehead, then she crouched down in front of her. She was dressed entirely in tight black vinyl, in a uniquely styled outfit still reminiscent of Rocket United's signature look, but with the officer's own dangerous and sexy edge. It struck Misty as something that Sabrina might wear if she were a Rocket officer.
She cupped Misty's face and lifted it slightly, until her face was barely an inch from her ample chest. Misty could see the bright red letter 'R' emblazoned on the officer's top, before her eyes were drawn upwards to her cleavage. When she realised what she was doing, she immediately closed her eyes.
"What are you doing?" Misty asked, attempting to get her to talk instead of what she was expecting to happen.
"Having some fun," she replied as she gently pressed Misty's face into her chest. "I figure if Amber could seduce you with her plain, boring looks, then I'll have no problem."
"Mention her name again and I'll kill you. Slowly," Misty seethed, her voice muffled as her face was squished against the officer's shiny plastic top. "Now tell us what's going on here."
"Aw, I don't think you're really in a position to be making demands now, are you sweetie?" the officer mocked as she gently lifted Misty's face until they were barely an inch away from each other, then shrugged. "Well, can't blame a girl for trying the nice way first. Guess you're just not as into girls as much as you thought. So here's what's going to happen. Raichu is coming with me, and you two will die. Orders, babe, gotta follow them. I'd love to stay and play with you both – believe me, I really would – but I can't."
"There's no way I'm letting that happen," Sabrina told the officer in an even more menacing tone than was usual for her.
"Alakazam, turn her head so she can see this," the officer smiled wryly.
Sabrina's head involuntarily turned to her right, giving her a clear view of Misty and the officer.
"Touch her and you will live in excruciating pain for the rest of your life. I won't even let you die," Sabrina warned her.
"I'm not gonna hurt her," the officer replied coyly, then kissed Misty roughly. Misty moaned in protest, but being able to move little more than her eyelids and mouth, there was little she could do. The kiss lasted for at least fifteen seconds by Sabrina's count.
"See? Wasn't that nice?" she grinned at Sabrina as Misty panted heavily, trying to regain her breath and her composure.
"I can see why Amber liked you so much. You've got a ton of spunk. She always had a thing for feisty, pretty little things like you. She was a good friend of mine, until you corrupted her," the officer said, this time much more coldly. "My orders might be to kill you, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy every second of it. Time to die, gorgeous."
She grabbed Misty by the throat, and with Alakazam's help, lifted her to her feet. She brought her over to a table and held her to the corner.
"I hope you enjoyed all that as much as I did, but it's time to get serious now. I tried the fun way, where everybody gets along willingly, and you weren't interested. Your loss, babe. But I have to end this quickly, so this table looks pretty good. If this doesn't kill you instantly, it's probably gonna hurt a lot. You ready?"
"CHUUUUUUU!"
The office filled with electricity, shocking everyone including Misty and Sabrina. The sudden attack distracted the Alakazam, who immediately released its psychic hold on them.
"Misty, quickly!" Sabrina urged.
"Raichu! Sabrina, grab her! I'm not leaving her behind!"
Sabrina reached over to grab Misty's little friend, but she was nowhere to be seen. As the smoke settled in the room and the sprinkler system turned on, the two girls could see that Raichu was held immobile by the Alakazam, who'd diverted all its efforts to suppressing the immensely powerful electric attack.
"Chu…" Raichu said sadly, and Misty understood this as 'go'.
"No way! I'm not leaving you!"
"You're not going anywhere!" the officer roared. "Alakazam, kill that pathetic little mouse!"
"NO!" Misty squealed. "Please don't!"
Sabrina used her telekinetic abilities to shove Alakazam, distracting it for just long enough to allow Misty time to scoop Raichu up and bolt out the door. The officer screeched in anger, chasing after them as the two girls raced back towards the lift.
"You'll never escape Team Rocket!" she shouted. "We'll own this world, and no one, not even the Elite Four will stop us!"
Sabrina telekinetically shoved the officer, sending her flying backwards and giving them just enough time to get back into the lift and escape.
"I don't like this," Misty sighed, hunching over as she caught her breath, as herself, Raichu and Sabrina materialised in the Cerulean City Gym.
"That officer, she said 'Team' Rocket, not Rocket United," Sabrina mused. "How interesting."
"That's what I don't like," Misty frowned as she straightened her posture.
"What don't you like?" Daisy asked as she stepped into the room. "And like, how did you get here? I didn't see you two come in."
"That was me," Sabrina smirked. "I don't like using doors."
"Oh, that's right, like, your psychic powers and stuff," Daisy laughed. "So, like, what don't you like, Misty?"
"We found a Rocket United officer," Misty explained. "She knew about Amber, said she was friends with her, and then she almost killed us. Then she said Team Rocket instead of Rocket United, and claimed that the Elite Four can't stop them."
"Maybe she like, forgot that it's Rocket United now?" Daisy shrugged.
"I doubt it," Sabrina frowned. "She knew way too much for that to be a slip of the tongue. Besides, she already had a slip of the tongue, into Misty's mouth."
"Sabrina!" Misty scowled angrily.
"You kissed a Rocket officer?" Daisy exclaimed, then howled with laughter. "So not okay, Mist."
"She forced herself on me, okay?" Misty growled. "It wasn't a nice experience. Besides, you're forgetting that she tried to kill us!"
"You're right," Daisy sighed as she calmed down. "I'm sorry, baby sis. You know what I just thought of though? What if it was totally Team Rocket from the start?"
Sabrina and Misty looked at each other, stunned.
"Why the fuck didn't I think of that?" Misty groaned at herself, putting her hands on her hips. "Of course it's been Team Rocket from the start!"
"Are you sure?" Sabrina countered. "I mean, Giovanni's gone legitimate, James and Meowth are spearheading a special unit of the federal police, and Jessie's hardly capable of a conspiracy this elaborate. Even those other two – was it Cassidy and Butch? – even if they had the resources, I doubt they'd have the brains to pull off something like this."
"Also true," Misty admitted. "I just have a feeling that Daisy's right, though. I think I'm gonna find out some more. We need to go back to Professor Oak's lab. We need Gary's help with this. We didn't exactly get what we were looking for at the Cerulean Communications Hub."
"Let's go," Sabrina frowned with seriousness, then placed her hand on Misty's shoulder. In the blink of an eye, both girls were gone again, leaving a bewildered Daisy looking into thin air, wondering if she'd dreamt the entire thing.
"Daisy, like, what are you doing just standing there?" Violet asked as she rounded a corner and noticed her.
"I was talking to Misty and Sabrina," Daisy told her, cocking her head to one side in utter confusion. "But now they're just gone. I totally didn't know Sabrina could do that!"
"You're crazy, sis," Violet rolled her eyes. "Sabrina's in Saffron City, and Misty went to Bill's house, remember? I'm staying away from you."
"No way! They were so right here!"
"Ya, of course they were, sis," Violet nodded sarcastically. "I'm just going, like, as far away from you as I can? You go have a lie down, okay? You'll totally feel better. I'm so gonna book you into a day spa, too. You must be, like, stressed out or something. Or maybe you're just getting old."
She walked off down the gym's outer corridor, then progressed into a run while Daisy stood there flabbergasted, her jaw dropped and her index finger raised as if she meant to say something else.
"Hey Lily!" Violet shouted as she ran. "Daisy's totally turning into a freak!"
"Whoa!" Ash cried out as he fell backwards, surprised by Sabrina and Misty, who'd materialised barely a foot away from him as he walked down a corridor in Professor Oak's house.
"Sorry," Sabrina grinned as she helped him to his feet. "It's good to see you too."
"It's always good to see you, Sabrina, but a little warning never hurts."
"Unlike falling on your ass, which clearly does hurt," Sabrina giggled.
Misty walked off towards the lab, not wanting to talk to Ash, and clearly upset at having had to see him at all.
"Good to see you too, Mist," Ash said under his breath.
"Bite me, you piece of shit!" Misty yelled back at him.
She entered the lab and found Gary and Erika hard at work, sitting at a pair of computers. Erika turned around as Misty entered the room, and her big, dark eyes lit up when she saw her.
"I'm so happy to see you!" she squealed, her chair rolling away as she stood up and ran over to her. She wrapped her arms around Misty's neck and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Misty smiled warmly. "I was worried about you."
"I'm fine," Erika smiled back. "I just stayed quiet for a few days while I made my way back here. I just can't be too careful anymore."
"I know. Doesn't stop me from worrying though."
"Speaking of worrying," Erika continued as she pulled away from the hug and sat back down, "I heard you went to Bill's place to investigate this pokéball crisis. You shouldn't run off like that. At least take me with you, next time."
"Misty can take care of herself," Sabrina interrupted. "She's fine. Besides, I joined her after she left Bill's house."
"Sabrina!" Erika got back up, sending the chair rolling backward again, straight into Gary, who grumbled under his breath. The two girls embraced and gave each other a kiss on the cheek before Erika sat back down a second time.
"You found something, didn't you?" Gary enquired to Misty. "I can tell when you have something to say."
"There's a signal being broadcast from the Communications Hubs," Misty explained. "It's the same frequency that Pokémon emit when they're inside a pokéball, but since it comes from the outside as well, the pokéball gets confused and stays shut."
"Hmm, that's pretty clever," Gary admitted. "I wonder how they figured that out?"
"Who cares?" Erika frowned at him. "What matters is who's broadcasting the signal."
"That's not as easy to figure out," Gary explained. "I don't know the exact frequencies pokéballs use to detect the Pokémon inside them. And without being able to open one, it's gonna take me a long time to figure that out. I'm gonna need help from our friends at Silph Co. Then I have to trace the signal to the hubs, then try and bypass the security the hubs have and trace the signal past them as well. It could take months. Maybe years."
"Can't you ask Ritchie for help?" Ash suggested as he walked into the lab. Misty didn't even bother turning around. "He's good at that stuff, right?"
"Yeah, I hadn't thought of that," Gary grinned. "I'll give him a call. Good thinking, buddy."
He got up and walked out of the lab to find a quiet place to call Ritchie, while Erika offered Sabrina a chair to sit on, noting that she looked tired.
"There's something else," Misty continued. "We ran into a Rocket officer at the Cerulean Hub, and she called Rocket United 'Team Rocket'. It may be nothing, but it seems odd that after all this time, and all the things that have happened, that it would be a slip up."
"She also claimed to know Amber, and blamed Misty for 'corrupting' her," Sabrina added.
"Misty didn't corrupt anyone!" Ash exclaimed, his voice slightly raised. Misty rolled her eyes, knowing he was sucking up.
"It's probably nothing, she was probably just trying to get under my skin," she ignored him, "but still…"
"I wouldn't worry about it," Erika smiled reassuringly. "Perhaps you and Sabrina should get some rest. You both look exhausted, and it's getting late. Come, I'll get you a nice coffee. We can continue all this tomorrow."
"But you just got here!" Ash blurted angrily. "I was trying to be nice to you, but if you're gonna just sit on your ass while I do all the work, then fuck you!"
That was all Misty could take. She stopped dead in her tracks, visibly fuming, her shoulders heaving as she struggled to contain her rage. She spun on her heels, then took three long strides towards Ash and punched him hard in the face with a vicious right hook. He spun with the force of the impact, stumbling to his right several steps before crashing into one of the Professor's many machines and crumpling to the floor with a terrific noise.
"Now why would you go and say something like that," Sabrina muttered as she helped Ash up.
"Because she's skimping out on doing any work yet again!" he growled as he adjusted his jaw, wincing in pain.
"And I suppose I am too, am I?" Sabrina frowned.
"Well, no –"
"She's been to Bill's house today, found out what the problem was, went to the Cerulean Hub to investigate it, almost got killed by a Rocket officer who brought up her murdered girlfriend, and almost lost her Raichu in the process. What exactly have you done today?"
Ash stood dumbfounded, bright red with embarrassment.
"That's what I thought," Sabrina scowled as she turned to leave as well.
Just after Sabrina left, Gary strolled back in with a grin on his face.
"Good news, guys!" he said with excitement. "Ritchie's gonna leave before dawn tomorrow, and he's hitching a ride with the Pallet Pidgeots. He says he can definitely help us! Isn't that great?"
He looked around, wondering why nobody was as excited as he was.
"What the hell, guys? This is great news! What's the matter with you both? Ash, you look like you've just taken a smack to the face! This is good news! Ritchie's coming!"
Erika quietly walked towards Gary, then took his hand and led him out of the room.
"Babe, some things happened while you were talking to Ritchie," she laughed nervously. "Let's just leave Ash in peace for a bit, okay?"
"Okay?" Gary shrugged. "But –"
"Don't argue with me, Gary."