Leo glared at the locked door, pounding it again with his fists. If looks alone could kill, his eyes would have been 9mm pistols. He shifted his weight and cursed at his luck.
"Stand back!" Shawn said, turning sideways at the door, "I'm gonna break this thing down!" Leo was only just able to yank a stunned Amber aside as Shawn charged the door. He collided with a loud thud, and he bounced back a few steps. He shook his head and bull-rushed it again. Still no luck; he ricocheted off again, bumping right into Gloria. "Its just glass! It'll break!"
When Shawn backed up for yet another go, Sarah padded in front of his way. "Let me do this." Spinning around, she let out a double-barreled kick. The glass shattered, and Shawn seemed just a little disappointed. If Sarah noticed him pouting, she ignored him. "Let's get away from here!"
As if he needed prompting!
He followed Gloria, Shawn, and Sarah down the hallway, struggling to keep up with a nearly inept Amber on his shoulder. Sarah was running with a slight limp in her left hind leg, leaving a trail of bloody paw prints behind.
Still can't catch a damn break. Now Sarah's cut her foot. Great.
The group got further and further ahead of him as Leo rushed on. That bright light made finding his way a little easier, but it also revealed a roadblock ahead.
A human roadblock.
There were three people standing in the hallway, blocking the exit to the stairs back up. Leo recognized the two men: Ferrous and Jet. Ferrous was dressed in a lab coat and scowling at them. Jet was still wearing that scarf and uniform, which made reading his reaction impossible. The lab coat-wearing woman was new to him, but the predatory grin on her face made him uneasy. Were they waiting there for them?!
"Well, well," The woman said mockingly, "Look who fell for the bait. Two Team Night punks, and the girl's boyfriend." She smile broadened and she looked at Ferrous, "How sweet. I had no idea she was so popular!"
Ferrous shook his head. "This is no time to be cute, Sapphire! We can't let them get away! Solstice's gonna kill us if we let them do that!"
"Not on my watch," Sapphire drew out a Pokéball and smirked yet again, "Tropius! Stop them!" She readied the ball, "Remember him? He's still pissed about last time when Sarah got away. I think I'll let him kick you idiots around for a while."
"Now, wait a second!" Jet blared, holding an arm out in front of Sapphire's aim, "If you do that, that oversized lizard'll break this place apart! Use Haunter or something!"
"Ugh, fine. Just don't screw up my moment of glory!" Sapphire pulled out a second Pokéball and threw it out. At first it looked like nothing came out. Then, it looked like something rose up out of the darkness: a dark purple shape with long, claw-like hands and an eerie set of eyes.
Sarah jumped forward, fangs bared in anger. A barking Flare joined her side. Gloria's Bulbasaur waddled over beside the two dogs and snapped a vine in mid-air.
"Er, guys...?" Shawn said, "I don't think I can fight here. My Pokémon are all too big! Its gonna be all up to you and Sar- er, Singe!"
"That's fine," Leo replied, "Its a three on one! We can't lose!"
"Three on one? I don't think so. C'mon, Nosepass!" Ferrous unleashed his Pokémon, who just stared ahead in its usual deadpan.
So much for that plan.
"Hmph, I see how it goes. I'll deal with the garbage first!" Jet released his Magcargo.
Leo quickly went over his target choices. Magcargo: a fire/rock type. Flare couldn't do so good against that snail. Nosepass: rock-type. No dice. Maybe Haunter. Yes. Bite should work well.
"Okay, Singe, it's go-time!" Shawn said, "Ready?" She barked and readied her stance. Sarah was doing a surprisingly good job at pretending to be Shawn's Pokémon. Leo had no idea she could act that well. "Now do it! Extremespeed!" Sarah, or "Singe" as Shawn had cleverly called her, suddenly charged Magcargo, a blur of orange and black. The snail was thrown back several feet, and it bounced off the wall, rolling to a dizzy stop nearby.
"Flare, bite that ghost!" The hound sprung up and lunged at Haunter.
"Move, damn you! Don't let that happen!" Sapphire commanded. Haunter sunk through the floor, cackling as the hapless dog hit the floor. "Now, Disable!" The ghost popped up behind Flare and shot a purple beam at the dog. Flare's reaction was simply a head-tilt and a stare, but Leo knew what it would do. She wouldn't be able to bite anymore for a while.
"Nosepass, Earth Power! Focus on the dinosaur!" Ferrous ordered. Nosepass just sat there, staring off into space. Ferrous was clearly furious, and he kicked the Pokémon. "Don't do this shit again! Obey your master!" Nosepass started glowing, and a plume of rocks shot out from below Bulbasaur, leaving a deep chasm behind and sending the poor Pokémon bouncing off the ceiling. Crackling sounds echoed from all around and several rather large cracks spiraled out from the hole like a spider web. Leo backed up several steps in alarm. Was the floor glass too?
"Watch what you're doing, you dumb shit!" Jet barked, hitting Ferrous with a fist, "If you keep that up, the damn floor'll break up! Don't forget: this entire place is made of reinforced glass! One more move like that and I'll personally kick your stupid ass down that hole you made!" He punched Ferrous several more times.
The whole place was glass!? Great, just super. Leo made a mental note to watch out for his own moves so as not to break things like that.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, quit it!" Ferrous pulled away, glaring at Jet, "I'm sorry already!"
"Will you two knock if off!? This is no time to act like a pair of Sawks!" Sapphire groaned.
Leo thought quickly. A traditional fight would only cause more damage. Not that he cared what happened to this hellhole, but he knew if the place collapsed he was a goner.
Sapphire shook her head and pulled out a gun from a pocket. She glowered at Leo and company, the silver weapon glinting in the flickering lights. "Enough. I've grown bored playing with you. I think it's time we end the game." She flicked the gun carelessly, sweeping it between Gloria and Shawn.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Shawn blurted, backing up a few steps, "D-don't shoot! You'll break the glass!"
"That's not important," Sapphire continued, aiming her weapon at Leo and Amber, "If you don't call off your Pokémon, this is gonna drag on. Now that's just boring. I don't think I need to explain what will happen if you don't listen." She cocked the hammer of the gun with a click.
"Stop," Gloria recalled Bulbasaur, "Don't be rash. I surrender."
"What!?" Shawn yelled, "Gloria!" Gloria shot a look over her shoulder. It wasn't the angry look Leo had expected her to give him, but a pained, resigned expression. Shawn sighed and clapped once. Sarah/Singe slunk over and sat by his side, head down and ears low. She whined and laid down, putting her head between her paws.
Gloria shook her head again. "Amber's not doing so well, and this place is too fragile. I don't think we can make it through this fight..." She lowered her head, "Surrender is the best choice for Amber's sake."
Sure enough, Amber was getting worse. She was weaving back and forth on Leo's arm, and he had to lean against the wall to keep both of them from falling. He was starting to panic a little. If they couldn't help Amber soon... He reluctantly recalled Flare. As he thought about what to do next, he saw Shadow start to glow a deep, black color.
"M-mama!" He said.
"W...what are you doing...?" Amber asked, her voice almost inaudible, "Shadow..."
Shadow's dark aura grew blacker and blacker and his little red eyes flashed. The Absol took a step forward, a deep purple aura forming around that sickle-like horn as he squared off at Silicon. "Go away!" He shouted, his usually shrill voice now a booming roar.
"Sh-sh-shuuu!" Fang squealed and clawed up a stunned Shawn's back, clinging to his head and shaking like a leaf.
"Ah, Absol." Sapphire's voice was like poisoned silk. She smiled and beckoned. "You're angry? How wonderful. Come! Let's see your power!" She grinned and put a finger to her lip, "Of course, that depends on if he'll actually do what he was born to. How exciting!"
Power? What he was born to do? Leo did not like the way she said that.
"Whoa." Jet started backing up, away from Shadow. Even from behind that scarf, it was clear that Jet was intimidated by the furious Absol.
"Behold, insects! Behold the power you're witnessing!" Sapphire was starting to sound more than a little crazy, "Wahaha! It's incredible! You'll see!"
"The fuck?" Ferrous' eyes were wide in...fear? He glared over at Sapphire, clearly just as scared as Jet, "Don't encourage him, you twisted bitch! He's gonna-!"
"Bad humans, Shadow mad! MAD!" The black oval-shaped patch on his head started to shine and the Absol threw back his head. "NO! HURT! MAMA!" A pitch-black energy shot out of his horn, lashing out like a whip and snagging a terrified Jet by a leg like he was a rag doll. Shadow threw his head back, flinging Jet down the hallway.
"Aaaah!" Ferrous spun on his heel and flung the door open, flying down the stairs with startling speed, "Boss! Boss! BOSS!"
That just left Sapphire. She chuckled and spread her arms wide, a huge smile on her face. "Yes, oh yes! Feel it, dear! FEEL IT!" She burst out into a maniacal cackle.
What a creep!
The merciless Shadow slammed her into the wall with a lash from the energy, knocking her out instantly. Then, he turned back around to face Leo. He stood stock-still, shocked by Shadow's sudden actions. What the hell did he just do, anyway?! Shadow was usually such a timid, shy Pokémon. Seeing this side of him was shocking, and more than a little disturbing. Leo could only hope Shadow could calm down.
The dark glow surrounding his body quickly subsided, and the aura around his horn vanished. Shadow walked over to Leo and he looked at him, half-expecting to get thrown away like Jet earlier.
"Mama okay? Shadow help?"
Leo sighed in relief. Shadow was back to normal. For several long moments, he just stared at Shadow, trying to get his thoughts back together.
Gloria was the first to break their silence, "We can't stick around. Now's our chance to run before anyone else arrives." Leo nodded in return. The flashing lights and blaring warnings indicated they were still rallying their security.
"Can somebody get this Axew off my face!?" Shawn protested, "I can't see!"
Sarah barked something at Fang. He whimpered a little and climbed down on Sarah's back, burrowing his face in her fur.
Leo shook his head and tried to focus. He looked over at Amber, who had slumped over on his shoulder. "Amber, can you stand?" When she didn't respond, Leo gently picked her up. As he followed Gloria, Sarah, and Shawn, he thought he heard her say something faintly.
It sounded like, "Thank you."