Here's part two. This one is probably the shortest chapter, and the next few of these are going to be much longer. But without further ado, here's part 2.
"Ash! Ash, please! Please save me, Ash!"
Those words were still ringing in his ears as Ash and Clemont watched Team Rocket escape with Serena and Bonnie as their captives.
Ash quickly tossed a Poké Ball into the air. "Fletchling, I choose you!"
The Poké Ball opened, and in a flash, Ash's Robin Pokémon appeared in the air. "Fletchling!" the Pokémon said.
"Keep an eye on Team Rocket's balloon for us and lead us to them!" Ah said. Fletchling gave his trainer a nod and flew off after the balloon.
Clemont dropped to his hands and knees. "Bonnie! Bonnie, no!" he screamed. Tears began streaming down his face. "This is all my fault," he said while sobbing softly. "If Bonnie didn't have to save me, she'd still be safe. If I could just run faster, or if I was stronger, or something... I failed her, Ash. I failed my little sister, and now she's in Team Rocket's hands."
Ash put his hands on Clemont's shoulders. "Don't worry, Clemont," he said. "We'll work together and save Serena and Bonnie, I promise. They don't stand a chance against our teamwork."
Clemont took off his glasses and wiped them off on his work suit. He wiped his face on his sleeve before putting his glasses back on. "You're right, Ash," he said, confidence returning to his eyes. "Thanks. Now let's follow Fletchling and save our friends."
"Fletchling went this way!" Ash said, pointing down what seemed to be an ancient road that hadn't been used for centuries. Ash and Clemont nodded to each other, and started running down the path.
Team Rocket's balloon had landed, and Serena and Bonnie were each restrained by one of the ring-cube devices.
Meowth was ecstatic. "I can't believe dat worked!" he said with a grin.
"And now," Jessie said with utmost confidence, "the Boss's plan will help us finally catch Pikachu."
"Why do you meanies want Pikachu so bad anyway?" Bonnie said with a pout.
"I doubt twerps like you would understand the inner workings of an international criminal syndicate like Team Rocket," James said, pushing them along.
Serena looked at the castle. It looked ancient, like it had been thousands of years since it was built. The stones that comprised the structure were covered in moss, and it looked like the forest was finally beginning to reclaim it. There was one detail, however, that looked oddly modern; across the castle walls were small, angular nodes that seemed to be placed at regular intervals. "What is this place?" she asked.
"It looks scary," Bonnie added.
"Da Boss told us to come here and get some back up fer gettin' Pikachu away from you tweips," Meowth said.
The five of them entered through the castle's gate and into the courtyard. It looked like it had been recently cleared of all flora and fauna, the ground brown and muddy. More of those nodes were all over the ground, and on the castle's walls. These nodes were lit up, unlike the ones outside, and there were Pokémon skittering around them. They looked like Bug-types with red eyes and grey bodies. Serena struggled a bit and wished she could use her Pokédex, but she sighed. They seemed to be watching Serena and Bonnie very closely.
Team Rocket led Serena and Bonnie further into the castle. It was dark and cold inside the walls, but it seemed oddly fresh. Serena expected it to smell like a dank cave, but it was actually not so bad. There were more of those strange, lit-up nodes, and some Magnemite floating about, which Serena recognized from the Lumiose Gym, when Ash saved her from an attack.
Her mind drifted. Ash must be coming for her. He and Clemont were probably already on their way, coming to save them. She smiled to herself, thinking about how handsome Ash would look bursting into the room to save her from Team Rocket.
"I agree with the mini-twerpette," James said. "This place is a bit eerie."
"The Pokémon are probably just sentrys," Jessie said. "We need to find the boss."
As if responding to Jessie, one of the Magnemite floated over. It hovered close to her face, then turned and began leading them up some stairs in the middle of the room. Bonnie whimpered gently as they walked further into castle.
"Fletchling, return!"
Ash recalled Fletchling into his ball. He looked at the building that his Pokémon had led Clemont and himself to. It was an ancient looking castle, covered in small nodes that Ash thought looked kinda familiar.
"No doubt that Team Rocket was here, Clemont said, pointing to the deflated Meowth-head balloon. "But where's here?"
"They're probably waiting inside for us," Ash said, looking through the opened gate into the courtyard. "I think they're leading us into a trap." He pulled the rim of his cap down. "But it doesn't matter. We have to go in there to save Serena and Bonnie."
Clemont nodded and the two of them started into the courtyard. The two boys looked around the corner saw a lot of Pokémon, patrolling. "What are those?" Clemont asked.
Ash opened his Pokédex and pointed it toward the Pokémon milling about. "Durant, the Iron Ant Pokémon," it said, displaying an image of Durant. "Durant dig nests in mountains. They build their complicated, interconnected tunnels in mazes."
Clemont frowned. "This is far from a mountain," he said. "What are they doing here?"
Ash looked across the courtyard. All the nodes that were inside were on. Something clicked in his head, and he gasped. "No way..." he said. "They can't be... Mirage Pokémon, can they?"
Clemont gasped and took a step back. "Ash, you know about Mirage Pokémon?"
Ash nodded. "Wait, how do you know about them?"
"Scientists always hear about the horror stories perpetrated by other scientists," Clemont explained. "About how there are some people who go too far with experiments. Everyone in the scientific community has at least heard of Doctor Yung and his Mirage Pokémon system." He pushed up his glasses. "But how do you know about it?"
"Pikachu and I had a run in with Doctor Yung a long time ago in Kanto," Ash explained. "We defeated him, but his lab exploded and Officer Jenny never found him." Ash looked back toward the Durant. "But what are Mirage Pokémon doing with Team Rocket?"
Clemont stroked his chin. "Maybe Team Rocket salvaged the destroyed system and reinstalled it here?"
"More importantly, how do we get past them?" Ash said.
"Leave that to me," he said with a grin. He took off his large, mechanical backpack and started to hit buttons. The backpack sprang to live and sputtered for a bit before producing what looked like an aluminum umbrella hat. Clemont grinned as he put it on. "The future is now, thanks to science! Behold, my Mirage Cancel Hat!"
Ash's eyes lit up. "Man, technology is incredible!" he shouted.
Clemont beamed. "This hat projects a field that disrupts the electromagnetic waves that comprise a Mirage Pokémon, preventing it or its attacks from harming the wearer or anyone in close proximity."
"Awesome!" Ash said. "Let's use that to bust in and save Serena and Bonnie."
"Right," Clemont said with a nod. "Clemontic gear, on!" He tapped the top of the hat with his hand and it sprang to life. Ash felt a pulse shoot by him that made his hair stand on end. Pikachu's cheeks sparked in response to the electromagnetic pulse. Around the group, the air looked like it shimmered. "Now, let's go."
Clemont boldly began walking into the courtyard with Ash close behind. The Durant immediately began to react. They began swarming toward the two boys, but just when one reached the edge of the field, it vanished. Ash jumped a little in surprise, but was even more surprised when the Durant appeared behind them as they continued to move forward. "It doesn't destroy the Mirage Pokémon," Clemont explained. "It just disrupts the light that makes up their bodies."
"That's really cool," Ash said. The two of them walked through all the Durant and into the castles' open door.
Inside, the castle was dark, except for more mirage nodes and the glowing eyes of Magnemite patrolling. Ash smirked. "As long as we have that hat, Mirage Pokémon can't even touch us!"
"Uh..." Clemont stammered as the hat began to sputter. The shimmering air around them stopped. "My hat's solar powered... It doesn't have the energy to cancel Mirage Pokémon right now."
All of the Magnemite floating around began to buzz and started heading towards Ash and Clemont. Some of them began sparking, readying electric attacks.
"Pikachu, give Clemont's hat a charge!" Ash said to his buddy. Pikachu nodded and jumped from Ash's shoulder to Clemont's. His cheeks sparked and the hat was reactivated by Pikachu's electricity. The Magnemite began launching their attacks, but they vanished into the Mirage Cancel Hat's field and reappeared behind them.
"That was close," Clemont said with a sigh.
The Magnemite started swarming around in the air. They seemed to be panicking.
"I wonder what they're so worried about?" Ash asked, thinking out loud.
He didn't have long to wonder. The floor beneath him opened up and he fell down a chute. He heard Clemont and Pikachu scream in surprise as well but their cries faded in the distance as Ash slid further and further into the darkness.
Team Rocket opened the door and pushed Serena and Bonnie inside before slipping in themselves. The room was dark, with only a large, dimly glowing lamp installed in the room's ceiling providing light.
Standing before Serena looked to be a man in his 40's, starting to bald in his purple suit. "That must be..."
"Boss," the three Rockets kneeled before him, with Jessie speaking, "We have done as you commanded. We have brought the twerp's friends here to act as bait so that we can capture his Pikachu."
"You meanies'll never get Pikachu!" Bonnie shouted, squirming defiantly. "My big brother and Ash'll stop you!"
The Rocket's Boss smirked. "So the boy and his Pikachu are coming," he said to himself. "Perfect."
"What's the next step, boss?" James asked, still kneeling.
The old man grinned. "It is for you to leave. Now."
The Rockets looked up in confusion as their boss snapped his fingers. From the dim light on the ceiling, what looked like lots of little lights came down and started to take a shape. The shape was angular, insect-like. It took a color, purple, with huge, red eyes. On its back was some sort of weapon.
"No way," Meowth said with a gasp. "Dat's dat Pokémon from da Decolore Islands!"
"How did you get that Pokémon, Boss?" Jessie asked, backing up slowly from it.
Their boss silently pointed at the three of them. "I don't think he's in the mood to share his secrets," James said, swallowing the fear building inside of him.
The insect Pokémon began charging the cannon on its back. Team Rocket's mouths were hanging in horror when the blast was fired, shooting a hole in the ceiling and launching Jessie, James, and Meowth away. Serena thought she heard them say that "we're blasting off again", but wasn't sure.
She turned to their boss. "What did you do that for?" She asked.
"When something has outlived its purpose, you dispose of it," the Boss said dismissively. "Those fools have served their purpose."
"Weren't they your friends?" Bonnie asked, shocked.
"My dears," he said, "you clearly have no idea who I am..." With that he grinned and puffed out a green cloud into Serena and Bonnie's faces.
Serena suddenly felt very tired, and passed out.
To be continued...