Locked Away, Chapter 43
"You mean to tell me they sent you here because they knew you would destroy everything?" Misty questioned while she watched Ash scamper about, checking each plate, each engraving, and search for a way to unlock them. His hands glided across every surface, against every rung as he ran back and forth down the long, open room. Aside from the darkness, the light monferno cast off illuminated the area well enough for Ash to see; while Misty's eyes slowly became accustom to the darkness.
While she muttered under her breath, Ash wouldn't answer her again; the answer was yes. Jessie and James were so insanely specific with orders that were completely wrong, that it must have been their intention for things to go wrong from the start—and Ash, being who he is—who they know him to be, knew he would be fine. It was a bit unorthodox, and he still felt like punching them in the face; but Ash would handle one situation at a time. He was meant to be here—it was the same reason he felt so strongly about going to Unova in the first place. Ash knew there was something here; now he finally had the opportunity to make something of it—what information was more important than simply releasing the legendary pokemon?
With the power out, unlocking them technologically seemed out of the question—but more than that, the steel was something stronger than Ash ever witnessed before. When he touched it, it didn't ring like normal steel frames. Whatever was inside, it wasn't hollow.
"It sounds like a tank full of water." Misty muttered as he drew near once more. Having spent her entire life around them at the Cerulean City gym, she would be the one to know. Ash looked back at her with wide eyes.
"I thought you didn't want to help?" He pursed his lips unhappily staring at her with a mock tone, causing Misty to sigh.
"Well, I can't leave without you." She approached him, placed a hand on his shoulder, while knocking against the capsule, he listened while she ran her nails across the surface and took a few knowing steps away.
"That thumping sound; it's the sound of fluid inside the tank." She elaborated, checking the sign at the bottom; then looking up. If the legendary pokemon were as large as their tanks; she would feel much safer miles away. Yet, excitement drilled into her chest where fear rooted itself previously. Misty had never seen a legendary pokemon before! At least, not in person; she saw a plethora of different pictures, unlike Ash, who apparently came into contact with nearly every legendary in existence.
"Fluid?" Ash questioned. "What good would that do? Drowning them?"
"Maybe it's a holding fluid? I don't know." Misty stammered, checking each sign. They stood at the front of Moltres, where monferno sat, staring at the tank with a questioning gaze. The pokemon was adamant that the fire bird was inside; and as a fire type pokemon, it was drawn to the birds power. Hands on her hips, Misty kicked out the heel of her foot and cocked her jaw to one side.
"Well, Ash; how do you suggest opening them?" She questioned, crossing her arms with a strong exhale. Ash's mind shook; they didn't have long to begin with. The situation with the dragon pokemon wouldn't last forever, and surely they would send someone after them before long. The time frame for such curiosity was dwindling, and he was pressed to use his fall back quota.
"Well. We have one of two options..." He cleared his throat. "We break it...oooorrr we break it." She nodded, then exhaled.
"Yep. Two options." She mocked him with a coy grin and nudged his shoulder. "I'm sure these won't be easy to break into. Maybe we should find a switch or something... There might be some kind of emergency evacuation in case of a power outage...or something."
"That's a long shot., and sounds insanely convenient." Ash chuckled while scratching the back of his head. Misty shrugged her shoulders and offered a weak smile—she was only thinking; though based on Ash's observations previously, there was no such button.
"We do need to hurry though." Misty pressed her fingers together, cracking them.
"Then the first plan is the best plan."
"It'll make too much noise..." the tone of her voice echoed her concerns. "and besides, what if the legendary comes out, is super pissed off and chases us like goodra did? Also, we could be wasting time on empty capsules; we have no evidence that there are real pokemon inside of these." She offered a reasonable, logical explanation while monferno glared over his shoulders and then heaved a heavy sigh while glaring up at the tank once more.
"Monferno is sure that there's a pokemon inside; so...even if its not a legendary, maybe it's still worth releasing? It does say Moltres on there, after all." Ash gestured to the plate as a reminder and then took a few breaths wile Misty rolled her eyes.
"What about the rest of what I said? We don't even know how long until we're chased down and shot at again—not to mention, we still don't have a clear escape route." She grumbled and Ash gnawed on his bottom lip.
"Well, hopefully that won't be the case this time." He countered, then bravely shot her an optimistic smile. "So, are you going to help out?"
Misty looked around them, reassessing the situation they were in, glancing at the exit which was only a few feet away and sighed. "Alright, but I can't use gyarados."
"That's alright."
"Well decide on a point to hit it; probably at the base. If it's full of water, the pressure will be the strongest at the bottom—so we'll aim there." Misty pointed to the base of the metal, recounting how long it would take to break through the metal, if they even could. Water pokemon were at a clear type disadvantage-they were brute damage, not slashing damage, and steel was impervious to blasting attacks—at least, it should have been.
She clicked the buttons of three of her pokeballs and inhaled.
"Well, ladies first." Ash nudged, looking at her silently while she tossed out three of her pokemon: poliwrath, golduck, and quagsire. Ash stared on at the team of pokemon, mentally impressed, but given no time to make a statement.
"Hopefully we just need to dent it enough that the internal pressure will do the rest of the work." Misty observed, eyebrows raised; for a glimmer, a second; Misty disappeared, replaced with the gym leader that he came to adore from afar and Ash exhaled.
"Alright." Ash grimaced, tossing greninja out of his pokeball. When the ninja frog emerged, he looked up at Misty's assortment of pokemon; poliwrath stood at Misty's height easily, golduck ended at her waist, and quagsire was big, goofy, nearly as tall as Misty, but lean and wobbly.
Greninja looked away from them, at first believing he was in a battling situation until Ash pointed at the tank. "We're going to break that."
If possible, the pokemon's eyes twitched, and he released a sigh through its nose, and placed a paw on its head. He stole a glance at monferno, who jumped away from the tank, away from the water pokemon and used his tail to light up the area.
Both trainers inhaled simultaneously, and then threw their hands forward.
XOX
Brock dropped the anchor, using togepi and pikachu as his guides, he followed after James, who tore through old machinery on the boat, forming what Brock would lovingly call: explosives.
"How did you learn to make those?" Brock wondered aloud while he and pikachu tucked the items into a bag. They were ten miles off the coast, idling in a blind spot, thankfully ignored by the massive break-down of the prison. The spotlights were still awry, red flickers of lights traced the outer rim of the facility and Brock moved with harrowing speed.
Time was short, especially if Ash and Misty were caught; they couldn't get to the island—they didn't have the water pokemon, or the swimming gear, but they could still help. Thanks to James knack for creating something out of nothing, they pulled together just enough to equipment to create a single line explosive that could take out the heavy equipment on the shore.
The launching part was up to Brock, however. As he arrived back on the deck; Jessie and meowth sprung to their feet.
"How can we help?" Jessie finally managed, biting her own stubborn tongue; Brock watched her, then shooed the two of them.
"Make some room." Brock said confidently. Togepi and pikachu jumped from his shoulders, onto the railing of the boat and inhaled deep while Brock prepared for the assault.
"For...?" Jessie questioned, watching Brock pull a pokeball from his belt, and in preparation to throw it, she freaked out, and grabbed his arm with the help of meowth.
"What are you doing!? You're a rock type trainer, any pokemon you summon will weigh the boat down!" She yelped, though Brock gave her an insidious look and jerked his hand away from her while meowth mumbled in pokemon talk.
"I'm not stupid, you know." Brock rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to launch this at the island." Brock wiggled the back and grinned.
Jessie and meowth looked at one another while James poked his head out of the observation deck's door.
"Alright, whenever you're ready." James called down to the gym leader who pursed his lips and finished throwing his pokeball.
Ash and Misty weren't the only trainers to have exceptional skill; and the very moment red lightning cracked from the pokeball to reveal a squealing aerodactyl, Jessie and meowth reeled backwards.
"No way, that's a fossil pokemon!"
"One of the first; as a rock type trainer who did reinvent how we look at pokemon food, I was awarded by the league some years ago." Brock grinned, stroking his chin while the pokemon above circled the boat.
"Aerodactyl, come down here. I have a job for you!" Brock shouted to the pokemon who looked down with red eyes and landed very gently on the deck of the boat. Unlike other rock pokemon, the flying type was not as heavy as its type proclaimed. He held the bag out for the pokemon who scooped it into his large jaws and flapped his wings.
"I need you to drop these on those balistas protecting the shore; can you do that?" Brock questioned, though the pokemon nodded immediately. Of course he could. Without a spare thought, aerodactyl kicked off from the deck, and soared quickly into the sky before setting off for the coast.
"You think they won't see him?" Jessie translated for meowth, crossing her arms while she watched the lavender pokemon zip through the sky.
"No. Aerodactyl is twice as fast as a charizard; even if they do see him coming, it's not likely they will hit him." Not only that, but while Brock explained his reasoning, above them, two fire works were set off; drawing the balistas to the sudden change in the sky, and released looming harpoons that cut through the night air. James emerged from the observation deck carrying another bag and watching with wide eyes as aerodactyl reached the shore with no problems, then dropped the first bag of bombs onto an unsuspecting target; erupting it in a basket of flames.
"Perfect!" Brock exclaimed.
"Pika!" The mouse squeaked, though it wasn't from excitement; while they celebrated a single victory, something much worse was happening at the facility—all the lights went out; and from the roof of the very eerie facility, fire and lightning crossed at the heavens from the crevice of the detention facility; and barreling from the rubble emerged two large, very angry pokemon.
Brock's naturally narrowed eyes grew wide at the sudden changes and he cupped his hands.
"Aerodactyl, come back!" He called, though the rock type pokemon veered heavily away from the attacks, it didn't take long before the rest of the released pokemon poured from the facility in leaps. They weren't friendly, they were attacking anything that moved; mostly each other.
"Was this apart of the plan, too!?" Brock screamed, looking up at James who shook his head.
"No!" His face paled and his guts hurt. "This is worse than I imagined. Maybe we should go to shore?" he suggested, but as the words left his mouth, a destructive, red hyper beam cut through the shore, and ripped through one of the active, defensive balistas. Shortly after, a large, shadowed creature perched itself on top of the broken machinery, and then began ripping out it's metal parts.
"...or not." James uttered quietly, a bit scared, Brock thought.
"What can we do? We have to do something!" Brock tried as aerodactyl managed a fleeing escape from a rather persistent dragon by diving below water, and emerging at the boat while the dragon took its pent up frustration out on the next moving creature; a smaller dragon.
"Anything..." Brock added weakly while pikachu's ears lowered, and his shoulders slumped sadly, crying out to the pokemon on the island; for Ash, and Misty, and the rest of his friends. What could they do? Going to shore while such violence reigned above was suicidal; but sitting on his hands was out of the question. He looked over at Jessie, James, and meowth whose guilt ridden faces stared back at the island.
"I don't remember this many pokemon being here, James..." Jessie finally cracked, looking down and stroking her hair with a shaking hand. James pat her shoulder comfortingly; but had no advice to give her.
Throwing two inexperienced children at this might not have been such a grand plan after all.
XOXs
Misty placed her hand on her knees, watching as poliwrath slammed a heavy fist into the tank after another subsequent arsenal of hydro pumps. Their pokemon were weakening with each powerful attack, and there wasn't even a dent in the metal.
"This isn't working." Misty proclaimed, wiping her brow and exhaling. Ash looked to her, then back at greninja.
"Maybe we should change tactics?" He thought aloud while watching poliwrath slump his shoulders. At this point, it wasn't just a repetitive use of hydropump; they tried special attacks; physical attacks, ground, electric, fire. Nothing could dent this thing. Whatever material it was of, it was clearly impervious to natural attacks and Misty shook her head. The air conditioning was turned off, and so far being under ground meant that the natural oxygen reserves were short, so breathing was becoming a problem. Even a few hints of smoke rolled in from the ventilation and Misty shook her head.
"Ash." She urged him. "I don't think we can do it this time." She wasn't being pessimistic, or irrational; it was the truth; they did everything but throw themselves, gyarados or snorlax at the tank and nothing happened!
"That can't be it!" Ash pressed, throwing his fist into the tank. A loud crack surfaced and he remained there for a second, then slowly peeled his hand away, trying to hide his pain by biting down on the inside of his cheek and turning away from Misty in a fit of depression. He looked at greninja and monferno who watched Ash respectfully and sat with their trainer. Looking at their tired, long faces; he wished pikachu was here.
Misty sighed, waving goodbye to her pokemon, thanking them; and then returning them before pressing onward to face Ash.
"C'mon, Ash." Misty nudged him. "Maybe we can come back, or get the power turned back on."
He didn't move. Instead, he squat low with his right hand tucked between his legs and his stomach and gripped his shoulder with the other. Ash couldn't give up; if they left, who knew when they would be here next. Yet, he wasn't willing to risk going back up into the main floor to turn the power back on, either. He wanted to save the world as much as anyone did; if not more, but he wasn't going to get himself, or Misty shot in the process. The idea made his hairs stand on end.
"Misty I..." He grunted, trying to collect his thoughts.
Back and forth he reminded himself that he couldn't leave, not yet, but an even greater part of him wanted Misty and his pokemon far, far away from here while he figured a way around the invincible tank! It was almost like he needed some kind of corrosive material, a giant, angry...
Misty placed her hand on Ash's, having long discarded her ruined gloves. Once more, he saw the scorch marks decorating her sleeves, and he looked up at her with a slow drawl, then launched to his feet; forgetting the pain on his bruised knuckles while he grabbed her shoulders.
"That's it!" He exclaimed and Misty reeled backwards, narrowing her eyes.
"...What's it?" She questioned while Ash motioned for greninja and monferno to follow him back to the destroyed elevator shaft.
"If we can get goodra down here, we can get that tank open." Ash exclaimed, barreling at high speends.
Misty's face drew to a flat line and she ran after him. "No!" She yelled, grabbing his arm and jerking him back. He pulled away from her angrily.
Ash snapped; "Well do you have any better ideas?"
"Power. Switch; safety! Anything else!" She pleaded with a strained voice.
"At least if we face goodra we can battle her! I can't battle a bullet Misty!" Ash yelled back at her, his voice echoing off the walls. Misty took a step back, watching intense fear wash through his eyes while he turned from her and ran back to the elevator. So Ash didn't like guns, but really, who did? While her gut feeling told her she needed to beat sense into Ash and drag him from the facility kicking and screaming, another part of her wanted to help: see this mission through until the end. In the end, the urge to help overcame the mind numbing fear; and she nodded slowly.
"What do we do?" Misty asked while Ash peered back up the elevator shaft where he could still hear the distant cry of the dragon's battling above them.
"Greninja is going to lure her down here; where monferno and I will be standing at that tank. More than likely it will attack us, so I'll return greninja, and we'll run away."
"Okay, and what am I doing?"
"Standing at the exit, as far away as possible." Misty's face fell and she blinked unpleasantly at him while greninja already started up the elevator shaft.
"No way!" She gasped. "What if something goes wrong?"
Ash's face flushed. "Well...then you can use one of your pokemon to attack goodra if we're put into a sticky situation. Water seems to neutralize that acid she puts out so..."
Misty nodded, agreeing with that plan much more while she listened to the clanking and clamoring of greninja breaking the door down upstairs.
Ash pushed Misty gently into position and took off down the isle of heavy capsules. "Get ready!" He shouted at her, turning to the elevator that provided temporary safety that they were intentionally blowing up for the sake of releasing one pokemon. He only hoped this was worth it, and maybe that garchomp was with goodra still.
Glancing over at Misty who inhaled and called out kingdra—her fall back pokemon next to gyarados—Ash steeled his expression. Ash prayedthat if a pokemon could break open a legendary holding fish tank; it would be goodra.
An uncomfortable silence sprayed while he listened for greninja upstairs; faint echoes bounced from the steel walls occasionally, forcing labored breaths from Ash's lungs. Should he have said something? Told Misty that it would be okay? Brought up the predicament they were in earlier before they made this life threatening decision? Instead, his tongue curled and he swore to himself that he couldn't and wouldn't do that. Where Misty's philosophy on confessions made little sense when she told him before; he understood now. Even the thought of not going back made his chest hurt; pikachu and togepi were depending on him—he promised that he would return. Then there was Brock; and now this thing with Misty. He had no time to fret over if they would make it or not. He could only focus on the current, mind-numbing task.
Greninja ripped out of the elevator shaft with its long, scarfed tongue flapping behind him, burning from the same acid that sprayed gyarados earlier.
"Kingdra, spray a mist over greninja!" Misty shouted as the sea dragon jumped upwards and glistened water over greninja, who thankfully applauded the pokemon for putting out the flame on his tongue.
From the elevator, following a loud thump and yawn from the metal breaking above, a shrill cry, and vapid aggression bellowed loudly into the room while a much too large goodra forced itself down the hatch—only upon realizing that it wouldn't fit, a large, searing red hole formed at the center of the wall, and the dragon burst from the wall enraged. It's skin was tainted with crimson from the battle above, its body was adorned with red lines; open wounds, and more power than Ash or Misty could have ever imagined.
More importantly, the yellow bile it protruded from its skin splashed from the hole in the wall.
"Kindgra use waterfall!" Misty shouted as the pokemon spun dangerously, and with one rippling wave of water, knocked the dangerous acid from the sky, and replaced it with a shower of water; only further angering the dragon that tore into the room at a blazing speed.
Not at Ash though; its new challenger was Misty, not greninja, or Ash, or monferno, and for a second his heart stopped. Goodra was supposed to attack him and he was supposed to move away so its attack would hit the tank their pokemon reefed on the last few minutes, not Misty. Yet, Misty bravely held her ground, this time clenching her fists and gritting her teeth. She stared down goodra's evil eyes, and exhaled.
"Kingdra, use dragon pulse!" Misty shouted at the large sea dragon. The poemon which stood easily at a quarter of Misty's height, and only a fraction of goodra's, bounced forward, and a large, purple, fiery beam shot from its snout, landing at the center of goodra's torso. Goodra flew backwards into the wall and Misty's fuzzy mind cleared while she chanted inwardly to herself.
"It's still a pokemon, Ash." Misty cited, "It may be a dragon type, but it can be defeated!" She added rushing to Ash's side to keep with the plan as much as possible. Again, admiration formed where fear had been and he silently reminded himself that against the notion of fear and running; they were still trainers.
New determination filled Ash's eyes. "New plan then." Ash inhaled as goodra rose angrily from the slump it was forced into and screeched a deafening roar that left Ash's hands trembling with excitement.
"Monferno," Ash called to his pokemon while they took point at the front of kingdra. "Use flare blitz!" Ash cried throwing his hand up while the ape wheeled forward. Fire engulfed its entire body as it swung a lethal attack against the scalp of the dragon, and Ash stepped forward confidently. Misty watched him, then stared up at the tank while monferno bounced back with the grace of a ballerina.
"Kingdra, use dragon rage!" She shouted suddenly, while the pokemon's aura oozed a dark purple. From the depths of its lungs, the pokemon screamed loudly, mirroring the same cr as the dragons above and Ash almost covered his ears. Dragon rage's cry effected all dragons in the area, and so after the attack was called; Ash returned monferno back to the safety of its pokeball, followed closely by greninja while taking Misty's hand in preparation.
Like clock work, goodra rose from its daze with a snarl, its eyes flashed red once more and while Ash wanted to question the pokemon, defend her; beg it to stop; he needed one good dragon's breath before that. A red beam charged at the base of goodra's mouth, and while it aimed for the two of them, Misty returned kingdra.
The blast was fired, leaving Ash only seconds to yank a stunned Misty behind the large tank. As they imagined, the pulse had the same corrosive effect as in the room above. When the attack first landed; they were both sure luring the crazed pokemon down was for naught until they looked up from their flinched positions to see a staggering seepage of yellowish fluid leaking from the bottom of the tank.
"It wasn't enough." Misty pressed, staring at the bottom of the tank while goodra let out another cry of frustration.
"Then plan B!" Ash shouted, running out in front of the angered pokemon and leaving Misty behind. "We capture goodra!" Ash shouted at the dragon, extending a confident finger while he listened above to the cry of the dragons ripping the facility apart piece by piece.
The crack in the metal tank ticked more as goodra stared down Ash. It was blind with rage, but its body was exhausted, its limbs were weak and even its breath was labored as it shrieked at Ash. With dragon's rage ending once more, its eyes returned to their comfortable lime green. And while anger still existed there, harbored deep where trust and good faith should have been, Ash thought he saw a glimmer of something good. Goodra's gimped tail swished against the ground, reminding itself of the pain it was caused, and it yelled again. The vibrations echoed through the ground, but unlike last time; Ash didn't lose his balance, he didn't fall to his knees. He stood rooted glaring, at his pokemon.
"I'm not leaving without you and garchomp!" Ash yelled back at the pokemon which breathed smoke from its nose in direct defiance.
Misty's eyebrows knit together uncomfortably while she forced herself from her hiding corner, to Ash's side. She knew there was more to his plan than breaking out the legendary pokemon; Ash wanted two birds with one stone.
Before Misty had time to speak, to interrupt the battle of glares, the crack at the surface of the metal tank increased, crawling up the tank to the very top; and she grabbed Ash's arm so they wouldn't get separated. Ash's eyes darted from the pseudo-legendary before him, and to the ruptured capsule beside him which demanded their attention.
Off-white water burst from the bottom of the container, flooding Ash and Misty to the waist with fluid, as well as goodra who jumped up in attempt to stay clear of the water. With each crack growing, the wash grew stronger, and eventually pushed them from their feet, and down the steam while the area filled with water. They rolled over one another, limbs sprayed in every directions as their bodies mangled to the exit door. Ash was up first, his head bumped several times against the metal surfaces of the facility, and he struggling to his feet, soaked in some kind of chemical.
Misty was on her feet a second later, using the wall for support while she coughed up the liquid.
In the clearing created by the broken tank, what looked like the skeleton of a massive bird, three times the size of goodra spanned the distance of the floor. Limp and unconscious. Even goodra, the panicked dragon froze at the realization of what it was looking down upon. Slowly its eyes turned a painful color of green as it let out a frustrated cry, and retreated with one strong jump, back the way it came.
"Wait, goodra!" Ash called after it, listening to the whine of the pokemon as it fled.
"Ash." Misty called to him, directing his attention back to the decaying bird. Its red eyes moved back and forth, while the rest of its damp body remained stoic and limp. Huge, terrifying and dying. It was defeated before it was imprisoned; or perhaps, it was dying because it was imprisoned. Ash shook his hands down, calling after goodra once more; and the red eyes of Moltres finally penetrated the surface of the stilling water to glare daggers at Ash.
"Shh!" Misty clasped her hand over his mouth, earning a look of deep frustration while he glared at lifeless bird.
It wasn't anger, or rage reflected in its dying red eyes; but something else. Pride? Shame? When it looked to Ash and Misty, he looked less like a legendary, and more like a giant, weeping carcass.
"...that isn't...This can't be right." A shocked Ash mouthed. He was under the belief that the legendary pokemon were invincible, how could this happen?
Slowly, with one bent wing and a small, attacked reptilian claw at the base, Moltress lifted its body one inch at a time until it sat upright. It's claws tapped against the water while the span of his wings stretched all the way to Ash and Misty, who both shrunk backwards while the bird groomed itself. With a sharp, black beak, it pecked at its wings, then its torso, and finally as its red eyes fell back on the Team Rocket members who captured it.
A moment passed as it gazed upon the weary infiltrators, then a second moment, and as the cogs turned in its brain; fire returned to the majestic bird's eyes.
Dragon's were loud. Combined, their roars were deafening; however, Moltress's cry was somewhere in between deafening, and demanding respect. As the battle cry faded, Ash and Misty couldn't look away from the bird as its burnt body ignited under heavy, molten hot flames, and an unearthed yellow glow formed around the rest of its body.
"I don't think its dead." Ash squeaked, drawing the pokemon's attention to him once more.
At first, it didn't react, Instead, Moltress twitched its bird head side to side, adjusting to the weight of the air once more before it finally drew back a sudden breath, and with one cry; a dazzling, bright flamethrower danced from its mouth, hitting the observation deck window, the tops of the remaining eleven capsules. Dread filled Ash and Misty's chests as they gazed on at the fire that melted the very metal they couldn't put a dent in. A metal that a pseudo-legendary, dragon pokemon could only manage a crack; crumbled under the heat of the massive bird. Having displayed its absolute power, it inched mockingly at Ash and Misty stooping low to twitch its pristine head to one side while glaring down at Ash and Misty.
"Err..." Ash started, swallowing down the all encapsulating fear. "Hi, Moltress..?" He offered though an evil looked turned through the creatures eye, and Misty shoved him.
"Run!" Misty yelped pushing Ash through the exit doors while Moltress' beak opened up, and fire reigned. They turned a corner as the blaze tunneled down the hallway, scorching the clean metals.
"Still think it was a good idea?!" Misty chanted, turning sharp corner into another room.
To catch a break would have been too much to ask, because as they turned, Ash grabbed her waist into a screeching halt as the metal door swung closed behind them. Below ground, hiding from the same dragons they were originally, was a platoon of soldiers, guards, anyone available who were willing to prepare a counter strike when Ash and Misty burst through a set of metal doors at the tip of a bridge connecting the underground with the laboratory. They were in a sewer system much like the one below Saffron City, only the area was wider, and open with them standing over rushing sludge of water.
Surprised, even Team Rocket hesitated while they looked at the beaten and bruised trainers.
"That's them! The intruders!" Someone finally shouted and Misty's heart stopped in her lungs. Behind them, they had an angry, legendary pokemon on the loose; more than likely releasing the rest of even more pissed of legendary pokemon, and now they faced immediate death.
It was quite a drop from the bridge they were standing on to the stream of water below—but the alternatives were... She could hear Moltress cry behind them, earning a shudder around the room while their active leader raised his arm. Ash's body froze at the sight of the many weapons pointed at him, and so when Misty grabbed him and jumped over the ledge of the bridge with one heavy thrust; he screamed much louder than he should have.
XOX
She was bleeding, grazed by a stray bullet; she had no idea how bad the injury was, but it stund below the surface of the water. If she thought they it was possible to smell worse than they had a few days ago, she was mistaken, and so very wrong. Ash kept his head above water against the rush of the stench and clung to Misty for dear life. His right shoulder ached where he landed against the concrete at the bottom of the stream. Where they fell into the system wasn't nearly as deep or rapid as where they washed out, and he struggled for footing, and refused to open his mouth. The water was a sludgy mixture of browns and he fought the urge to vomit while Misty prayed that it was dirt from the structure of a new facility; not remains.
Misty was the one who grabbed a hold of one of the ladders, primarily because she was the stronger swimmer. Her hand clasped the bottom rung, but struggled to remain there while holding Ash. He wrapped around, using her body as leverage to fling himself against the wall to make it easier to hold onto the ladder. Then, with what little strength they had left, they struggled through the rapid water, and climbed to the top of the concrete.
When they were upstairs, their minds were enveloped by the constant buzzing of warefare, the reminder they were on enemy territory, but now it was quiet, too, quiet.
They didn't speak to each other for the first few moments. Once they were out of the water, Ash could clearly feel that his shoulder was out of place from their obscure landing, but they were alive; hopefully not being chased, and on their way out. Safety, at last. Then, the harboring guilt.
"Gible-" Ash gasped. "And goodra, they're still in there."
Misty couldn't express how insane Ash was being; how she wanted to both slap him silly and applaud him for his astounding devotion when she turned to him and ripped off her tattered long sleeved shirt, leaving only her crop-top. The less she had to smell from the sewer, the better.
"And they will find you. They saw you; they know you're here." Misty assured him, grabbing his shoulder and fighting the puke at the back of her throat. "But we need to leave now. No more plans, no more missions." She shook her head, silencing his immediate questions with a glare.
"No more, Ash." She added, swallowing down her bile and climbing to her feet. Ash followed her slowly, limping slightly while he walked beside her, and wrapped an arm up and around her shoulder and back.
It was a long night, and neither could stand on their own two feet anymore as they traveled down the winding sewer system. After the excitement that was had between them, they thought for sure they would be chased, or attacked—but perhaps Moltress put an end to that platoon beneath the facility. The legendary bird of fire was terrifying, flames that could melt through nearly indestructible steel, she couldn't imagine what the rest of them were like, or which ones were released. What they would do during their escape. Chills ran down her spine for more reasons than one, so when she put her head against Ash's and exhaled as the darkness of the island and fresh air breathed life into the tunnel; Ash wasn't surprised.
"We made it." He muttered quietly, pulling her along with a bit more invigoration.
They arrived at the end of the sewer pipe, where the drain released the less toxic water back into the ocean, and Ash and Misty shambled to the forest floor, collapsing in exhaustion. They had no idea how far away they were now; where they were, and for a few painful moments; neither one of them cared.
"We made it." Misty echoed, breathing while she sat up on her knees to look up at the dark sky. Her fears amplified when she saw the sight above her—pokemon of all sizes circled the island and she put her head back down and groaned.
"Wow..." Ash mused. "I guess...that means we win?" Ash questioned aloud and Misty stared at him with puffy eyes and shook her head before climbing back to her feet.
"Let's get back to our boat, then we'll decide if we won or not." Misty urged, helping Ash to his feet with his good arm. Her thigh still leaked small red lines, but she ignored it until they reached the edge of the coast, where a strangled noise escaped Misty's lips.
The balistas they watched in fear only a few hours ago were all destroyed, smaller dragon pokemon gnawed on the wooden legs, ripped apart the metal rafters and ran up and down the shore. Misty shook her head, she was too tired to deal with this, her feet barely moved on their own anymore, so Ash pulled her.
"If those balistas are gone; we don't need that stuff for diving, we can swim back to the boat...c'mon, Misty." His words fit the night sky while they slipped onto the shore, the cold wind fleshing goosebumps against their skin the very moment their tired feet touched the waves.
Misty muttered under her breath while she summoned kingdra and starmie; the two looked at the reeking, destroyed trainers before them and kept their comments to themselves before turning away and sinking into the water. Ash and Misty both collapsed onto their selected pokemon, Misty with kingdra, Ash with starmie, and exhaled.
Over their shoulders, they could see the burning fire mixed with crazed roars and lightning. The facility was done for—while Team Rocket might have eventually regained control over the dragon pokemon...recapturing the legendaries would be a harrowing task: impossible. As their eyes turned back to the ocean and the pokemon turned to find the boat located east of the shore where they were previously; Ash watched her while she dipped under water several times to wash the filth of whatever was in the sewer system from her body; traces of her red hair flaking out of the black hair dye, and Ash did the same before resting his head against starmie, and ignoring the pain in his arm.
He tried to speak on occasion, but no words formed. An apology for almost getting her killed several times felt right, but his brain couldn't find the words to express his gratitude for her coming with him in the first place. Surely, he could have managed on his own, but Misty was a wonderful crutch; she and her pokemon were amazing assets to any team, and he smiled.
"I think if the whole league wasn't corrupted, you could have been named an Elite Four member years ago." Ash murmured against the ocean tide, facing her in the darkness. She couldn't return the glance since kingdra moved through the water a bit faster than starmie, but he could see the fragment of a smile at the corners of her lips.
"Thanks, Ash." She mused pleasantly, glancing over her shoulder to see him. "Also." Misty started, offering him a sweet, motherly smile.
"Happy birthday."
XOX
Landing wasn't as enjoyable as the ride through the ocean, they struggled during a small fit of waves, but her pokemon carried them the rest of the way. The boat was in a different position, closer than when they left; but when Ash and Misty pulled themselves onto the emergency ladder undetected, they thought nothing but the worst.
"What if something happened?" Misty breathed, returning kingdra and starmie once she was sure that Ash had a grasp on the ladder below her. "With all those pokemon around—and Team Rocket..." said Misty quietly while her weak arms struggled up the ladder. Every muscle ached, every nerve burned, but still she pressed on.
Only now that they were out of the water, he could see the occasional line of blood ooze from her torn, upper thigh; where she was grazed during their escape, and he would have said something, but he could only imagine her reaction at this angle. He looked away from her and kept his eyes glued to the ladder, and his focus on the lack of feeling he had in his right arm while they emerged at the top deck. Misty ducked under the bar before helping Ash up, brushing her fingers against his right shoulder that erupted in a fit of shudders.
"Sorry..." She grimaced, patting his opposite shoulder while he laughed nervously.
"It's okay." He said quietly, looking around the darkened upper deck. It was well past midnight, and their friends were no where to be seen. The boat was near the shore line, the fewer dragons circled the perimeter of the facility, and both Misty and Ash knew it was only a matter of time before the situation escalated into something much worse. If the dragons didn't notice them right away, they would.
"That's it, we're going in after them!" Brock's voice carried over the night sky while he emerged from the upper deck, pulling on a backpack while pikachu and togepi followed loyally after him. Jessie, James, and meowth followed with determination in their eyes while Brock rattled off a plan. "I can fight my way through at least a few members; rock pokemon are immune to bullets; and I'm sure if I can find them I can-"
He passed them not once, but twice before realization sunk in and their beaten and battered bodies registered.
"You're okay!" He whined launching himself forward alongside pikachu and togepi and hugging the two of them tightly.
"I thought you two were goners." Brock mused with stray tears pooling in his eye. Misty accepted the warm embrace between the five of them with open, welcoming arms. Her head hurt, her legs hurt; everything hurt, but with Ash, Brock, togepi and pikachu at her side, the pain faded and she, herself fought the tears that formed at the corners of her eyes while they squeezed into a group hug. Being that Ash's arm was being crushed, and dislocated, he was less happy to be hugged; but the feeling was mutual.
"Don't scare me like that again! Would it kill you two to leave a place without it blowing up!?" Brock questioned ripping away from the both of them to get a good look. Even though salt water traded the smell of sewer; the fragrance was still there while he ran his hand against both of their cheeks and Misty sniveled along side Ash.
"It was Ash's fault." Misty sniffed while togepi pressed tightly into her arms.
Ash didn't rectify such an accusation with an answer, instead, he looked at pikachu who hadn't left Brock's shoulder; whose dark eyes were fitted and scorched with betrayal, and Ash poked his arms out.
"...Buddy?" Ash questioned aloud, and then pikachu's quivering snout over took his scolding expression; and he leaped from Brock's shoulders directly into Ash's arms and collapsed in a mountain of worried tears.
The strength to stand left Ash, and he collapsed onto his knees at the deck of the boat and squeezed pikachu tightly.
"I'm okay." He promised the small mouse, stroking his fur from head to tail to calm its shaking body. "I'm okay." Ash assured him once more, though the ripples of distress only ceased a tiny bit. Togepi looked down to Ash from Misty's arms, but the Elite Four member stumbled backwards, and glared at the former Team Rocket trio with dangerous eyes. While Ash was forgiving by nature; Brock was accepting, Misty was determining how she would tear them from this world.
"Explain yourselves." She demanded, slipping togepi back on the ground and finding her balance with a new force of rage that pumped fresh adrenaline through her veins. "Now!" She shouted, causing them to jump.
"Toge." The egg whined to Ash who stood up, collecting the egg into his arms beside pikachu as the five of them turned on Jessie, James, and meowth. Ash was accepting, not stupid. He wanted answers as much as Misty did.
In unison, their mouths opened, then closed and they gawked at one another.
"It's...we're sorry..."
"Sorry?! You're sorry!?" Misty shrieked, eyes wild while she approached them with the full intention to attack them; had Ash not grabbed her, she might have thrown her fists out. Though, Ash winced, holding her with his right arm was no good because he had no grip and she flew forward regardless. Misty shoved both members hard, forcing them backwards, and Brock did nothing to prevent it. To make matters worse, she drew a pokeball from her belt and screamed at them. Sudden rage replaced what was exhaustion and she seethed.
"You threw us into a trap! There was nothing there to find but carnage! Do you know what was waiting there for us!? Did you!?" She inhaled. "Did you know what we were walking into!?" Her voice carried past them, to Unova in the distance, where the moment Ash and Misty were waiting for emerged; and blazing, white fire poured from the ruins of the prison as large, monstrous birds that made the dragonite look like an ant. Brock stumbled backwards, nearly tripping, but the trio, though they looked guilty, didn't appear surprised.
"We did lie to you. We didn't think...we thought it was the right thing to do." James tried, the clear moral compass of their group, but Misty wasn't hearing him. She raised her hand, enlarging the pokeball there.
"So you thought telling us some bullshit plan was a better idea? We almost died! We were shot at; attacked by hundreds of dragons and don't get me started on what we found in there!"
"We know what you found." Jessie quipped. "The legendaries." She looked over her shoulder temporarily, but Misty's rage brought her bright back.
"Good job!" She shouted in a condescending voice. "Is there anything else you'd like to add; like why you couldn't go yourselves?!" She screamed threw her arms up and Ash finally stood up and shouted.
"Enough!" Ash yelled. "No more yelling!" He shouted, contrary to his demands. Ash looked at Brock, who looked away with his arms crossed—for once, he wasn't against Misty's anger. She had every right to be upset with Team Rocket. Even if they were quick to help, Ash and Misty wouldn't have been needed if they were honest from the start. They could have planned everything from the start, created a cohesive, reasonable plan.
Misty turned at Ash slowly, the fire behind her eyes cracking pridefully, though he didn't back down from her anger, instead, he turned at Jessie, James, and meowth; and looked each one of them in the eye before he spoke.
"Why?"
"Because we knew you could." James started, swallowed down his guilt and fear. It wasn't fear of the elite four member, they were more than capable of dealing with the three of them—they knew that; it was fear of rejection; of this all meaning nothing. "If Jessie and I entered that facility, Giovanni would never come out of his prison cell. If he thinks you of all people got around his security, he will without a doubt come out of hiding to face the damages and act. He would have known Jessie and I were after a reaction if we went... he would have..."
"That doesn't explain why you lied." Misty choked on her words.
Put on the spot, they couldn't answer, so meowth did; and as per usual, James translated. "According to what w—meowth recalled from his time in Ash's dreams; he always rose to a challenge without a well hatched plan...we thought if we told you what you'd really find, you would over compensate." James flinched, but no one could object to such a correlation;
"B-besides, we didn't think it was going to be that bad. The last time Jessie and I were there, Unova was a prison for legendary and human prisoners...the dragons; they were new." James voice cracked, displaying virtue and honesty.
"Human prisoners?" Misty echoed, remembering that list they found in the overseers office. "Where would they keep them?"
The trio shrugged. "If they weren't on the main floor, we don't know anymore." They glazed over the subject. "We're sorry for lying to you, but we need to move forward with the next step."
"The next step?" Misty echoed. "We didn't learn anything!"
"We didn't have to." Jessie spoke quickly. "We tracked down which pokemon Giovanni already took, all we needed was to be sure he couldn't find anymore. While he is busy cleaning up this mess that gives us the chance to work under the radar—to the find the last of the legendary pokemon he hasn't captured."
Brock, Misty and Ash's head spun. But Brock didn't appear fazed by the news; while Misty and Ash were playing destruction on the island, he was filled in on Jessie and James plans.
"In due time we'll be able to find Giovanni and take him down." James assured the former redhead, hoping his response was strong enough, but it only provided whiplash.
"How do you know that?" Brock asked, eyes wide an alert. The trio shared a look, then glanced down at meowth.
"...We know." Jessie said weakly. "Once he thinks he's being challenged, his pride won't let him sit idly. He'll slip up, and when he does; we'll be ready."
Misty didn't want to trust them; at all, they sent her and Ash into a death trap, but if anyone knew what Giovanni would react to, it was them; they worked along side the crazed man for years, and aside from a few bruises, scratches, and accidents; they were still alive. Breathing. Mobile.
Misty looked to her companions, the fire dying in her eyes while Brock smiled weakly at her, and draped a comforting arm around her shoulder and hugged her sideways.
"We will fill you in with the rest of the information tomorrow... for now, you two should get some rest." James urged, gesturing for them to move inside of the cabin.
Misty limped for a second, breaking away from Brock and maneuvering past the trip and Ash to be the first to enter the dining area where they gathered only a few days prior for the largest revelations of their life.
"He'll patch you up in the first aid room." Jessie added while the group stepped into the area. Meowth and Jessie nodded to their companion before scampering off to start the ship and get out of there before they were noticed by enraged legendary pokemon. While they walked Misty sighed.
"Why dragon pokemon?" Misty asked in place of Ash, who was still trying to wrap his head around the information he was given. While they veered into the clean room where Ash slumped into a chair and Misty collapsed onto the medical bed, James breathed.
"Well... you've probably seen it. Their rage is unfathomable. It was the reason Giovanni targeted Unova to begin with. They aren't unbeatable, but typically people are so scared of their initial arrival, they aren't given the time to respond properly in battle. Only the best trainers can control dragon pokemon." With a sigh James paused and removed a first aid kit from the counter and Brock removed some packing to help Misty while James approached Ash. She didn't look at him, which shouldn't have bothered him as much as it did, but now that they were in safety, he expected something. Ash bit down hard while James' heavy hand fell on his tender shoulder.
"If we knew they combined the prison sector with dragon pokemon...we might have... well, you know."
"It's fine." Ash growled finally, staring mockingly at James.
"It's good to know that in every world you're absolutely horrible at creating decent plans." Ash mocked laughingly, while James gripped Ash's shoulder, then with one twist and a pop, jerked the ligament back into place, and Ash screamed murder under the dark sky.
XOX
Bandaged and tired, when they split off to venture to their own rooms, Misty tossed a passive good night to Ash and Brock and sulked down the hallway to her room, leaving Ash watching her with a dopey, confused expression. When he turned from her with a sigh, both Brock and James shared a knowing glance, but didn't say anything.
"So, did you find goodra?" James questioned and Ash peered up at James.
"How did you know about goodra?" Ash questioned, and James blinked
"Oh, well, you know, it was a dragon pokemon; wasn't it?" He asked clearing his throat and Ash pursed his lips, and titled his head.
"Yeah, did meowth tell you about her, though?" Ash mumbled quietly recalling the violent tendencies. "They had gible...well, garchomp, too."
"Oh." James mumbled, clearing his throat awkwardly once more. His eyes shifted, feeling a bit nervous under the collar. "Did you release them?"
Ash fumbled,"Yes."
"Then they should find their way back here, right?" Brock quizzed, a hopeful tone in his voice, but Ash didn't seem as confident while he recalled the battle between his two pokemon, and then goodra fleeing from Moltress. However, Brock and James didn't understand the events, and Ash didn't feel like explaining them; not yet. He mostly fell like falling asleep.
"...Maybe." Ash grimaced, hit by a wave of exhaustion. Togepi and pikachu still clung to him, refusing to leave his side. Pikachu tossed a pathetic sound at the mention of seeing goodra again, and only slumped against Ash's arms.
"I think I'm just going to go to bed for now. We'll talk more in the morning." Ash flashed Brock a half smile before fleeing down the hallway. Brock watched quietly for a short time, then passed a conversational look at James, who exhaled.
When Ash found his room, he collapsed against his bed. He laid there for a time, stiff as a board while he recalled what happened. What they witnessed in Unova; the unexplained paperwork—a prison complex.
Did that mean that Iris and Cilan were there? Ash's face scrunched up while he curled. At the urgency of pikachu and togepi, he sprung to life, and moved to gather his old clothes for a quick shower; thoughts fell on Misty absentmindedly, and he groaned. The place was destroyed, and he already wanted to go back. He still had so many unanswered questions; more now that he knew what the place really was.
Jessie, James and meowth had a reason; of course they did. James was more than helpful upon returning... but he was still unsettled. If they knew Ash, they should have known he would go regardless—so while he pulled rubble from his scalp. There was another reason Jessie and James more than likely didn't harbor the truth: if Team Rocket indicated that there was a chance Ash's friends and pokemone were in the facility prior to leaving, Ash would have stopped at nothing to find them. Lying was the right call, and somehow they knew that.
Ash's eyes narrowed; and for the first time since arriving, he fell under the impression that they weren't telling him everything.
Author's Note:
Don't you love how bad Team Rocket is at making plans? Yes, it was intentional. (was that to far? I thought about it for a long time, and in the end, I wanted their actions to be reflective of their personalities in the series; bad at being bad.) In my brain, it made sense to me that Ash wouldn't like guns (they were dominantly missing in his dreams) and Misty wouldn't like big, scary dragons. I hope I played that into the story well. The whole team work thing. -shot-
Again, as always, thank you for the reviews; they mean a lot. I am so amazed and honored that this has over 500 reviews, 300 follows, and 250 favorites and just wanted to say thank you all, so much. C: