-Route 18 Camp (Zeke Walker's Division), 11:30 PM, Alex's POV-
I stare at the red and white sphere for a moment, cursing myself for this chain of events. Athena, the Riolu I saved in the Castelia Sewers, has been healing well under Nicky's care. She's still terrified of most humans, but she gets along alright with me. The problem is that with everything going on, I have neglected to talk or care for her as much as I should have.
After a moment I steel my nerves and press the button. In a flash of light, Athena appears. The scarring on her skin is hard to see in the dim light through her white and black fur, but it's still there. She takes a moment to check her surroundings, before climbing onto my lap. We sit together silently on the log that I've been waiting on for Zeke, embraced.
After a moment I speak up. "I'm sorry that I haven't been there for you. I promised I would be, and the fact that I didn't fulfill that promise is unacceptable. As soon as this is over, I'll be there for you a hundred percent."
She just nods her head, pressing her forehead into my chest and sighing slightly. Just then I hear a set of footsteps approaching from behind me. I return Athena to her pokeball with one last, reassuring smile, before exchanging her pokeball for another. I stand and press the button, allowing Nicky to join me as Zeke appears.
He nods to the pair of us. "You ready?"
I choke on my reply and have to nod, but Zeke gets the message.
"Alright." He says. A group of about ten people come up behind him, all in WCR uniforms. He turns to them as Nicky and I line up next to them. "Listen up. Our job is not to break in through the main gate, but I think something can and should be arranged."
He grins slightly and pulls out a map of the entrances to Terminus Cave. "Now, the main entrance is here, across a wooden bridge with railways on it. Now, Derek Taylor here is a superb aerial combatant on his partner Salamence." He points out a thin guy with pale blue eyes and several thin scars on his face and arms, as if he'd been clawed. He nods slightly and grins. "My idea is to send he and Alex Gates to secure the doors and rig them to explode. Since most of their forces are currently outside the entrance, we can burn down the bridge with flamethrowers or similar. That way, the entrance is suddenly 30 feet off the ground, which cuts off the Plasma troops from their base. After that, we can capture the grunts and use dead trees to make a ramp up to the doors, which by then should be blown wide open."
Zeke takes a look around the faces of his troops, a grim expression plastered on his face. "I can't promise that all of you will make it. But this is bigger than us. That being said, let's give them hell!"
A cheer rises up from our team, and a few minutes later we're jogging through the woods. I nod to Nicky and return him to his pokeball. As I do, Derek Taylor slides up next to me.
"Hey, kid. Ready to whip some ass?" He quips.
I laugh nervously. "Sure, I suppose."
He laughs heartily, but his smile makes the scars on his face distort, turning his complexion even creepier. "That'll do, kid. You ever ride a Salamence before?" At the shake of my head, he continues. "No worries. You'll sit behind me, either on your knees or criss-cross. Hold onto my waist to stay on, and lean on my back if you feel yourself sliding off."
I nod, and we pull away from the team, who continue through the treeline towards Terminus Cave. Taylor releases his Salamence, who nuzzles him quickly before crouching and allowing him to climb on, hooking his legs in front of his wings. I climb on behind, nervously clinging to Jordan's waist.
"Alright, buddy." Derek says quietly. "Get us up quick, but stay near the trees. We'll dive from above."
For a split second, nothing happens. Then Salamence jumps, flaps his giant sturdy wings, and in moments we're gliding at a steep angle skywards, heading towards the cave entrance. I take a moment to secure myself before I gaze out around the clearing. Miniature fires are ablaze all around, with the majority of enemy pokemon and humans taking shelter in the cave entrance.
Here we come, Ghetsis. I think to myself.
-Experimentation Room 32, 11:45, Ghetsis's POV-
My cape flutters slightly as I enter the white room, where surgical equipment hangs around the walls in orderly fashion. A man in a white lab coat stands at a monitor, while two more stand over a gurney at the back of the room. On the gurney, a purple Braixen struggles fruitlessly, trapped in metal binds. The men attach electrodes to the girl's face, arms, and chest. I address the man at the monitor.
"Gordon." I state. He looks up at me and nods. I like him. He has enough will to try and piss me off, but he has yet to fail an instruction I give him. "How is it going?"
"Well enough." Gordon responds, his eyes back on the monitor. "She's terrified, obviously, so we're attaching extra electrodes to make sure we do everything right. We'll open her up in a few minutes."
At this, the Braixen screeches once and becomes silent, her eyes wide.
"And the other one?" I ask.
Gordon grimaces. "Ahh… A bit more of a problem. Despite the amount of energy we drain from her, she is still able to resist our attacks with psychic. Forgive me, Lord Ghetsis." He says.
I wave the matter off, as I was expecting this. "No problem, Gordon, you've succeeded so far. I'll get her started for you."
Gordon looks up, a spec of uncertainty lacing his voice. "My Lord, she's still extremely strong. If that room wasn't outlined in Houndoom skin, she would snap the necks of everyone in the building."
I nod, a hint of a smile being allowed to cross my face. "No problem, Gordon. I think she'll find my appearance… Interesting." With that, I open the side door and step into another room.
The lights are still on, but the room is completely bare. The only thing in there is a single gurney in the middle of the room, similar to the one encasing the Braixen. On it lays that blasted Shiny Gardevoir. She's completely silent as I enter, but I can feel the atmosphere in the room change. Despite the tubes running through the metal and draining her energy, she is still extremely on edge and alert. I have to admire her stamina.
Though her head is locked down, after I take a few steps closer, her orange eyes lock onto mine. And the look in them turns from murderous to utter shock.
"That's right," I say softly. "You remember now, don't you?" I put a single hand on her cheek, and she flinches away.
"I raised this team from below the ground up, Angel." I whisper. Her eyes widen, and there's no mistaking the despair and shock in them. It makes me smile. "Soon enough, he will understand. Arceus wasn't meant to rule. My friends around the world support me. We will bring the gods to their knees. And you, my dear, will be the key to our victory."
I turn and walk out of the room. As I close the door, I hear crying coming from the gurney. I turn around to see the scientists staring at me.
Gordon speaks up. "I heard rumors, but I didn't think they were true."
I simply nod. "She won't struggle now. Her spirit is broken."
Gordon nods assent. "Alright, then. I'll get st-"
BOOM!
Alarms start blaring through the base as the speaker on my walkie talkie squawks to life. Zinzolin shouts through it, his voice ragged and wet. "THEY BROKE THROUGH! THE DOORS HAVE BEEN BREACHED! GET TO THE-" The rest is cut off in another explosion and the speaker goes silent.
"Get them to the ship and get ready to take off," I say heatedly. "I will not lose."
With that I stride from the room and head for the hangar.
-Plasma Base Kitchens, 11:44 PM, Terry's POV-
We appear in a flash of light, the energy use giving me a moment of nausea at the end of it. It only takes a moment, but by the time it subsides I see over thirty grunts cowering near a back wall, most wearing chef's hats and wielding cooking utensils.
There's a weird buzzing in my head, too, and it takes a moment for me to realize what it is. I can sense Angel again. Her mind is weak, but the feeling is so magnificent to me that I get light headed. I lean against a wall myself and would have slid to the ground, had Scott not caught me.
"Woah, Terry. You ok?" He asks. I shake my head and stand up.
"Yeah. Just a lot to take in. For some reason, I wasn't able to sense everything from outside the base." I state. "It was a bit much. I'm fine now."
This being true, there was so much besides just Angel that I couldn't sense that once I got in it was an overwhelming tidal wave. The thought makes me nervous. I speak up.
"Be careful. Whatever is going on here makes it tough for me to sense things with my mind. I cannot honestly say that I think I have a lock on every living thing in this base." I say. The group nods.
As we're heading out of the Kitchens, having thrown a grenade of Butterfree's Sleep Powder into the room behind us, an explosion rocks the mountain and one of the WCR members stylers crackles. I found it cool that the WCR hires Pokemon Rangers as well as trainers.
"We've secured the main entrance. If you all need an evac, that's the spot." Benjamin's voice sounds.
A small, quiet cheer sounds from our group, before we continue on. I can tell Angel is being moved, and I try to lead us in the direction of her mind.
As we round a corner, however, a shot rings out. The Ranger falls, a bullet in her leg. She screeches in pain as Scott grabs her by the armpits and drags her back around the corner while the others raise their M16s. One peeks around the corner and blind fires, earning a return spray of gunfire. I take a deep breath and reach out with my mind. I can sense over twenty grunts blocking a doorway, which leads to a giant room. I can tell Angel is inside.
Before I can think about what I'm doing, I teleport myself behind the grunts, fighting my way through the nausea and wrestling their guns from their hands. I fling the rifles unceremoniously down the hall, pushing the grunts off the floor and against the walls as I do so.
"Nice job," Scott praises as his team binds the grunts in ropes we found in a nearby room. The Pokemon Ranger has composed herself now as well, leaning against the wall. Her leg is still bleeding badly, though the other WCR members seem to be having success with their treatment.
The roar of a plane engine cuts off the next thing he was going to say, so I rip open the door to see a giant cargo plane taking off through a hidden runway.
"NO!" I scream, tossing a burst of energy at the craft. The plane rocks violently as it speeds down the tunnel, but by some impossible luck doesn't crash. Moments later it's out of sight.
Angel was on that plane. And Tana. I turn as another explosion rocks the room, and the WCR start firing at the door. Scott screams at me.
"Go! We'll hold them here. That plane is headed towards the main entrance. If you're quick, you can grab Zeke and Alex and teleport them on board with you! Zeke is an ok pilot, you can take control and land the bird! GO!"
He doesn't wait for an answer and I don't give him one, instead focusing my energy for a third time, fighting to stay upright as I teleport away once again.
-Plasma Base Main Entrance, Midnight, Alex's POV-
Well, that happened.
Derek and I went into a steep dive on Salamence's back, swooping right into the cave. I thought we would be flattened by the landing, but Salamence handled it easily. Before the dozens of grunts knew what hit them, Salamence had blown the door to smoking bits with an impressive Hyper Beam. I had let Nicky out of his pokeball as we landed, and the mere presence of the Gallade caused the grunts to lay down their arms in terror.
Now we sat in a forward base, right next to the entrance, waiting for word from Scott and Terry.
I'm polishing Nicky's pokeball, having allowed the nervous Gallade to remain out of the sphere to watch the operation from the branches of a nearby tree. I can't say I blame him for being a bit freaked out. Arceus knows I am, too.
After a few minutes Zeke appears and sits down next to me.
"How you doing?" He asks casually.
I snort. "Have you taken a look around recently?" I respond, only half joking. I sigh. "Mainly nervous, though that could be Nicky. We tend to share each other's emotions."
Zeke nods and stays silent for a few minutes. As he's about to speak again, however, a small tremor shivers the ground. The entire camp goes silent almost instantly. The tremor stays, almost nonexistent, but after a moment starts growing in size until the ground is shaking wildly. Had I not been sitting, I would have been thrown to the ground.
Suddenly, a patch of vines and overgrowth above the main entrance to the base is blown apart, spraying our small army with bits of leaf and grass. Out of the green explosion comes a giant cargo plane, which quickly picks up speed. A few of the WCR and Sinnoh Company soldiers immediately prime several RPGs, taking aim. Their fingers are on the trigger when out of nowhere, Terry's voice rings out over the crowd: "DON'T SHOOT!"
His body comes into view a moment later, landing in a heap at my feet. He shakes his head furiously and repeats the command: "DON'T SHOOT! ANGEL AND TANA ARE ON BOARD!"
The word gets spread in time and the soldiers lower their weapons. Terry gets shakily to his feet and looks at me and Zeke. I take a glance at Zeke as well, noting the terror and despair in them.
Terry shakes his head at Zeke. "There's still a chance. We need to teleport on board."
My eyes widen, and I was about to call for Nicky when he lands smoothly at my feet. He must've been listening through my ears. I nod to him once and return him to his pokeball. "Alright," I said. "We're with you."
Terry nods at this, then grips Zeke on the shoulder with one hand. His other grips the crown of my head. "This is going to feel a bit weird, but I don't have another choice. I won't make it on my own."
Suddenly I feel a weird sensation in my head, as if a vacuum had been attached to my crown. Using some of my borrowed telekinetic power, and his accuracy and experience, Terry teleports us away. In a flash of light, the scene changes.
It changes to a dark green interior of the cargo belly of an aircraft, including over twenty people with guns raised, all pointed at us. In the middle of them stands Ghetsis, a sneer on his face.
I wish we could have had a more heroic entrance, but both Terry and I fall to the ground, spots in our vision as we take the hit from the teleportation. I wonder how much power Terry used during that raid, and just how much he used to teleport us onto a moving aircraft. He wouldn't be able to do anything for a good few minutes.
Zeke stands tall, moving to stand in front of Terry and I. As he does, he speaks. "Ghetsis. Finally come out of your damned hole? It took you long enough." He spits a wad of saliva to the ground between the guards and he.
Ghetsis laughs slightly. "Zeke Walker. I didn't know you were much of a trash talker. Last time I heard of you, you joined the White Coat Rangers. Do they know what you were before then? A petty little Pokemon Hunter." Zeke seems about to retort, but Ghetsis yells, "Shut up! I don't deal with lowlifes like you."
As he says this I stand, pulling Terry to his feet as well. Terry eyes the Plasma leader, but the look in his face isn't what I expected. It's a hint of… recognition.
Ghetsis nods. "Take a good, long look at me, Terry. We've more in common than you think."
Terry stares for another few seconds, then his eyes widen. He backs up so fast he trips over his own feet, crashing back on to the floor of the craft. "That's impossible…" He mutters.
Ghetsis shakes his head, still smiling. "No, it's not."
"Yes it is!" Terry retorts. "The bodies were burned! The Rangers found them!"
I have no idea what he's talking about, but Ghetsis just laughs. "What they found were the burned bodies of my old partner and a man that had been captured by Team Plasma. He had outlived his usefulness until then."
Terry practically stops breathing, and my eyes widen as well. The last time I had heard talk of this was the night before the tournament, seemingly ages ago in the Snorlax Lounge.
Ghetsis nods once again. "Hello, Terry, my son."
At our silent shock, Ghetsis chuckles. "Perhaps I should enlighten you." He says. "Long before I met your mother, I was fighting in a war up on Mount Coronet. The bad guys meant to release Dialga and Palkia into the world, and attempting to control them. As my fellow troops and I forged up the mountain, I begun to realize. These… 'Gods,' they allowed this. They allowed the enemy to get so close to victory. They allowed dozens of our men to die FOR THEM, because they wouldn't help defend themselves. Does it sound like they deserve limitless power?"
Ghetsis shakes his head sadly. "They don't. So I started searching for others who had similar thoughts. To my delight, there were hundreds, thousands who agreed that something should be done. I met with the leaders of some other organizations that you may have heard of. The Society of the Shattered Moon, Team Galactic, and Team Flare. It turns out, while they had been each doing it differently, they all were fighting for the same goal: Command over Arceus and his most powerful subjects. In return for helping the teams come to an alliance, I was given just as much power as they, along with a team to use to work toward that goal: Team Plasma."
Ghetsis laughs a bit as he continues. "Now, I needed a place to live outside of the base, to assume a normal identity. That's pretty hard for a psychic, as you all know. It just so happened that I had fallen in love with a lady in Nimbasa City named Michelle Collins. Soon enough, I settled down with her and begun my half life; raising you and making a local name for myself, someone that no one would suspect would be involved with anything. Then came the day I had to devote all my time to completing this wonderful project! I had my team start the fire that would have burned Nimbasa City, than when Blade and I went into the forest, I revealed my true intentions to him, which I had kept from him since day one. When he refused to join me, I killed him. I burned his body and that of the captured man and left them for the Pokemon Rangers to find."
Terry shakes his head slightly but says nothing. Ghetsis continues, spreading his arms as he does so. "Now, victory is within my grasp! Our teams will come together to destroy the godly pokemon and assume the power that should have been ours in the first place! You could help, son." He adds. He holds out a hand to Terry, beckoning for him to come forward. "With you at our side, victory would be assured! I would spare Angel, of course. The two of you could have a life together, anything you could possibly want! Join me, my boy."
I look at Terry. His face holds a stone mask, impossible to read. I almost think he's considering the offer when he slowly looks up at Ghetsis. Suddenly Terry flexes his hand and Ghetsis screams as bones crack in the older man's arms. He pushes out a shock of energy of his own, but Terry easily deflects it, causing the mounds of supplies around us to rattle.
He stares angrily into the face of Ghetsis, whose holding his arm gently but unwavering. When Terry speaks, his voice is so venomous that I get nervous myself. "I will never, ever betray my friends. And you're no father of mine." He proceeds to rip off the golden necklace from around his neck, taking a moment to pocket the Luxury ball that had been resting in the center. Then he levitates the necklace into the air and forces it to crumple into a tiny metal bit, bent beyond repair. He releases his hold and the ball of twisted scrap drops to the floor, unrecognizable.
Ghetsis stares at Terry for a split second. "Well, in that case."
He takes a pokeball in his unbroken hand and tosses it into the air.
-Cargo Plane, Present Time, Terry's POV-
I'm sure I looked pissed off, judging by the look on Alex's face, but in fact I'm more stunned than anything. My father is alive. He's alive, and he is a terrorist. Only one thought flows surely through my head.
This man isn't my father. He's a monster.
The pokeball he tossed into the air is mimicked by Alex, and Nicky joins us in the cargo hold. Ghetsis's pokemon appears beside him, it's dark purple body and large red eyes staring hungrily at us. The Gengar laughs mischievously and takes a fighting stance. The Gallade does so as well, and I feel the hatred flowing between the two pokemon. Just as Nicky is about to attack, however, Ghetsis shakes his head.
"Leave them, Gengar. Go get the carts."
Gengar laughs maniacally and runs over to one of the crates. He taps the box with his hand, and with a small burst of psychic power, the side of the box comes loose. The nails fall out of place on their own accord, revealing a gurney with the purple Braixen, Tana, strapped to it. Gengar steps out of the way to allow a grunt access to the gurney, and disappears around a corner with another.
Seconds later Angel and Tana are wheeled into full view, and the sight devastates me.
Both are unmoving, and it's almost impossible to tell if they're breathing. The color has drained from Angel's face, so white it's almost translucent.
"Push Ghetsis away and cause a commotion, Terry. Give Nicky a chance to get to the carts." I hear the thought that wasn't my own and take a sideways glance at Alex. He doesn't look any different, but I can tell he directed the thought at me. Not bad for a non telepath.
He wants a diversion? I'll be happy to oblige.
Without moving a muscle, I send an enormous burst of energy at Ghetsis, sending him flying into one of the crates. Before he can move an inch, I slam the opened panel shut and force the nails back into their spaces, locking the box. Nicky spins into the crowd, blades slicing left and right. In seconds all the grunts are unconscious, though their injuries are limited to heavy bruises. I turn my gaze to Alex.
He shrugs. "I didn't want them to be killed."
I nod, before dashing over to the gurneys. I place a hand on Tana's bar, getting a feel for the material. Then I take my hands off and rip the bars from the gurney with telekinesis, sending them flying across the room. Zeke runs over and hugs Tana's unconscious form while I rip Angel's beams off. I take a moment to hug her, before returning her to her pokeball.
Zeke stands, having returned Tana as well. He nods at me, than starts walking to the aircraft's cockpit. As he passes Ghetsis's wooden cage, however, the material explodes, nearly impaling Zeke with shrapnel. I quickly pulled him out of the way as Ghetsis appeared, looking enraged.
"You'll pay for that. Enjoy the rest of your miserable life."
Suddenly Alex screeches. I whip around to see the Gengar grab a hold of him, it's shadowy claws digging deep cuts into the boy's arm. Gengar laughs insanely as he slashes Alex's pocket, dumping his pokeballs to the ground. Then he flings Alex toward the cargo bay door.
Time slows down. I watch in horror as Alex smashes into the door, but instead of hitting it, a dark aura of energy pulses out from where he hit. Alex phases straight through the door.
And into open air, over two thousand feet up.
I stare at the door, silent with shock. I'm shaking. The silence is broken by a scream.
I turn to see Nicky dash past me, his long arms turned into deadly swords. Gengar only has a moment to grunt before Nicky is on him, slicing into his dark body. Blood pours out of the enemy pokemon as it's screams of torture and pain are mixed with those of Nicky's heartbreak, despair, and anger. In seconds the Gengar is reduced to a pile of blood and guts.
Nicky stands, his arms dripping crimson, He turns and looks at Ghetsis, a look of pure hatred in his eyes. Then he stoops, grabs Alex's pokeballs, and disappears in a flash of light.
Ghetsis laughs heartily. "That stupid kid was annoying anyway. As for Gengar… a waste."
He turns to me, cruel laughter and insanity dancing like fire in his eyes. "This isn't over, boy. You will kneel, and the gods shall do the same."
In that instant, an Espeon jumps onto Ghetsis's shoulders. Two grunts in pilot uniforms appear out of thin air next to him, then the three of them disappear in a flash of bright, white light.
Zeke turns to look at me, and I see my shock and hopelessness mirrored in his face. I wipe my eyes.
"We need to land the plane," I say, my voice breaking. "Get the cockpit."
(Author's Note: There was a review posted on this story's Chapter I (1) last night. The writer's name was "Disappointed" and he states, and I quote: "...You're late"
That pretty much sums up my thoughts about the last two days. I have absolutely no excuse for this, and it has become clear that I cannot hold an update schedule. I apologize.
That being said, the final chapter for 'Gardevoir, My Angel' is coming up soon in the form of an epilogue. The story will be continued soon after, however. Keep a lookout on my profile for the next page in the adventure.
I may update this chapter again, just to revise it and make it better. I do not believe this is my best work. Talk to you all soon, Good Luck, and Happy Reading/Writing! -Orthros)
