Chapter Six

Megatron

Barricade saw the trouble that Ash was having with breathing, and loosened its grip just a fraction. "No, you don't die-yet." it said. "You haven't suffered for my humiliation at your hands back in the other city. Now, where have you got the Allspark?"

Ash felt Barricade's hand squeezing him, feeling for the shape of the AllSpark. It hurt, and Ash was sure he felt something in his lower body crack. He cried out as pain shot through his lower abdomen.

"I feel it in the bag in your back!" Barricade said. It loosened its grip, to transfer Ash into a better position to where it could get at his bag, and it was then that Ash acted.

He grabbed the nearest poke ball and released the occupant. It was Grovyle.

"Grovyle, help me!" cried Ash. Grovyle saw Barricade's other hand closing to grab it, and leaped to the ground.

'Well, so much for that,' Ash thought, as Barricade tightened its grip again. 'Grovyle obviously doesn't know what to do either.'

He felt Barricade moving its fingers, trying to pinion Ash but get the backpack into a position to be accessed. Again, Ash could barely breathe, and the pain in one side was joined by a pain in the other as a second rib snapped under the pressure. Ash couldn't bite back the cry of pain that escaped his lips. Barricade didn't change its grip although Ash had the feeling that his cries pleased Barricade.

It was at that moment that Barricade felt something pulling on its feet. Looking down, it saw that the green creature the human had released earlier had wound vines around Barricade's feet, and was pulling them taut. Barricade moved its feet, trying to pull loose but it only tightened the vines. Then the tiny electric creature that had shocked it earlier was running up the length of Barricade's body, leaping from limb to limb, heading straight for its head. Pikachu then launched itself straight towards Barricade's optics, sparking as mich as it could.

Barricade's reaction was that of countless other creatures across the Universe when faced with something going for its eyes. It tried to pull back.

Already off-balance from Grovyle's activities, Barricade was forced to obey one law it couldn't break-gravity. As it fell, it loosened its grip on Ash, enough that Ash could pull out another poke ball. As it hit the floor, Barricade's hand opened enough for Ash to roll out of the metal giant's grasp. Pikachu leaped off and landed next to Ash. Ash recalled Grovyle, fearful that Barricade in its fury would rip the brave little Pokemon apart.

The only thing keeping Ash from collapsing from his injuries was adrenaline, fear, and a strong desire to live. He staggered to his feet, throwing the other poke ball he was holding towards Bonecrusher, who was reaching for him. Out came Corphish.

Corphish, vicegrip!" Ash said. Corphish gripped one of Bonecrusher's legs in both claws, and the big Decepticon found itself unable to move as Corphish dug its feet in and took the strain. Its claws bit into Bonecrusher's leg, beginning to dent the metal.

Unfortunately, this didn't last long, as Bonecrusher reached down and pulled Corphish, who had to relax the Vicegrip or have its limb ripped off. Bonecrusher contemptuously threw Corphish away from it, as Ash hurriedly recalled it into its poke ball.

Ash was badly outnumbered. He decided that as the only thing in the air-the only thing that didn't look like a human vehicle-was quite high up, he'd take the risk of flying. Hopefully he could slip out below it before it had a chance to give chase. Calling out Swellow, he jumped on its back and it headed for the skies.

He heard clunking and whirring from below, but he had other problems. Whatever that flying thing in the air was, it was fast, and highly manouverable. Despite its greater size, it did not seem to have Blackout's inertia problems. In the time it had taken him to get airborne, it had dropped its altitude and was now stopping him from getting high enough to get over Blackthorn's mountains. Then he saw a jet and a helicopter rising up to meet him from below, and knew that he was in very deep trouble. He had been from the moment he took off with the other airborne creature, but with Blackout and Starscream joining in, this fight was about to end very soon, with him on the loser's side.

Ash saw a possible opening to one side of the unknown aircraft, and he got Swellow to feint to the other side. The unknown craft moved to block him, as he'd hoped. Then he got Swellow to do a tight turn, and managed just to squeeze past the unknown, and he headed straight up. If he could get enough altitude, gravity and acceleration might help him escape long enough to find somewhere to hide.

He had underestimated the craft, for it too turned and was immediately on his tail. As he climbed higher and higher, the craft stayed with him but did not fire, which Ash found strange, but he wasn't about to complain.

Bolts shot past him-not from the craft, but from Starscream, who was following. One of them seared Swellow's wing, and with a screech, it disappeared back into its poke ball. The craft behind him clipped him a little as he began falling, making him tumble over and over as he dropped.

"Starscream, you FOOL!" came a new, angry voice. "If the AllSpark is damaged, I'll have YOUR Spark!" As he tumbled, he caught a glimpse of the craft turning and following.

Ash actually bounced off Starscream as the latter tried to halt his fall. "I didn't want him to get away, Lord Megatron." it said "I'm sure the AllSpark won't be damaged." Starscream actually sounded frightened, which did not give Ash any confidence that this Megatron was any better than the others.

"It had better not be!" said the new voice, who Ash presumed was Megatron."For your sake!"

Blackout did not try to break Ash's fall, and Ash was sure his bones would shatter from the impact when he landed. Again, he got nudged from behind-for some reason Megatron WAS trying to get beneath him. 'Probably just to stop this dratted cube getting damaged, never mind me.' Ash thought resentfully. The nudge only served to push him further away from the craft, and Ash saw the ground getting closer and closer...