PokeStones of the Dead – Chapter Fifteen
The heat was strong enough to scorch the hair from Temperance's eyebrows. As if his bloodied arm wasn't bad enough, his knees were so badly cut that he had to bite his lip about ten times trying to bend it. Not that those were the important things right now. Agatha was kicking Temperance towards the Fire Spin created by his own Houndoom, and he was in no shape to retaliate. Lillette… still searching for the secret room that I TOLD HER TO FIND. Even if Temperance decided to break the rules at this point, his Poke Balls were far out of reach. Not a chance. The whirlwind of fire got nearer and nearer, and blisters were forming on Temperance's back.
Then, Lance's three Pokemon emerged from the water.
Temperance forced himself not to rejoice yet. They could be aiming for anyone, could be aiming for him and blast him into the fire for a horrible double death –
Three Hyper Beams formed, and struck Agatha in a blink of an eye. The fate that Temperance had been thinking would be his had changed its target. Pulverised and incinerated, not a good combination. Temperance finally dove into the water and recalled his own Gyarados. Nice one. It was the activation of the Zubats at Mt. Moon that gave me the idea of trying this… I had nothing to lose at any rate. All natural Pokemon will rebel against the rise of the dark power – that's what the book said. All Dragonair and Gyarados needed were some information and some convincing.
Temperance retook all his Poke Balls, and returned to the Champion's rooms. This place is a madhouse. I have to find Lillette…
Lillette watched painfully as the PC slowly booted up, getting shamed by the speed of the PCs at the Pokemon Centres. Time was running out, and Temperance's absence didn't help matters. Lillette took a walk around the room while the PC loaded its internal memory, whirring like a decade-old machine… which it probably was. For the first time, Lillette noticed a blank slab of wall facing the place where the billiard table landed. Every other place was lined with shelves, tables, and stacks of videos, but only that one place was clear. It could be just that Lance hadn't got around to putting his stuff there yet, or… its purpose could be more sinister.
The PC beeped, signalling its readiness for use, and Lillette's thoughts stopped at that point, as she ran to the PC to try and find the three sources of the potions, so she could destroy them and free the three legendary birds from the control of Lance. The ancient mechanism seemed simple enough to operate, and Lillette had no difficulty entering the proper keystrokes to get her to the "My Documents" folder, then entered dir. What followed was a scrolling of files, lasting fully half a minute at blinding speeds before it stopped.
680 Files – 1,982,512,524 bytes
Lillette stared in disbelief, then slammed the desk with a roar of rage. More detailed searching and frustration. Where the hell was Temperance?
Temperance could not find Lillette. Then again, he wasn't really trying, just shouting her name at every doorway, for goodness' sake. After the battle with Agatha, he still had a useless right arm that caused him to wince in pain whenever it hit something or moved too fast. Also, he was completely exhausted. Only desperation was keeping him going now, searching for her. Temperance knew that her disappearance meant she had found the secret room, but annoyance at his inability to find any sign of where she had gone rather removed any pride in her discovery. Temperance, after a few minutes of searching through silent rooms devoid of life, finally hit jackpot with the entertainment room. To be fair, he had none of the detailed searching that Lillette had to do – the note was obvious pinned to the dartboard.
Reading it, Temperance immediately went to the billiard table, where the balls had magically reappeared at the exact same position despite Lillette's entering of the room just now. Taking a cue stick, Temperance steadied his shaking right arm, grimaced away the pain that followed, and hit the cue ball at the black.
The white ball bounced up, over the black ball, and out of the table. Temperance groaned and swore, remembering that he hadn't played billiards since his departure for Hoenn. And it was clearly showing. Retrieving the white ball, Temperance put it at its original position and prepared for another shot.
Lillette had searched through countless text files, finding nothing but backups of the notes scattered all over in hard copy. If she saw one more note announcing Zapdos' ability to control the thunderclouds from 200 miles away, and bring it to a specific spot in an instant, Articuno's power to summon a hailstorm and a blizzard that chilled the bones of all, and Moltres' ultimate skill of creating a burning fire inside its enemies, she would put a fist through the computer. How many times could Lance document the same thing, anyway? And she also saw things that made her skin crawl – Lance's eventual ultimate masterplan. Hopefully, they would never have to get to that stage, but she still made a mental note of what had to be done if Lance's plans really went that far. The details of Lance's notes far exceeded those of the library earlier, and Lillette was able to understand much more about the history of the conflict. However, she put that all aside, as she continued searching for the sources.
Sound is very different underground. The hollow sounds coming from the empty slab of wall sounded merely like the thumping of construction far away at Vermillion, where rebuilding was going on. Then Lillette realised that the sounds were getting closer, were far too loud for underground work being carried out a hundred miles away, and were accompanied by the hollow rattling breath that always followed a mass invasion of the Dead. And then she knew the purpose of the empty wall, why it was not obstructed by any objects. The entrance to the network of tunnels connecting the cities was right here. And of course, the entrance could be broken into. Poke Balls out in an instant, Rhydon and Scizor guarded the entrance against the Dead, while Lillette redoubled her efforts to find the three sources of the potion's power.
Temperance finally sunk the black ball into the pocket, after a dozen failed attempts. His thirteenth looked to be going way off as well, before the black ball bounced off three walls and went into the opposite pocket, not the one he was aiming for. Oh well. Never mind. The billiard table instantly sunk beneath the earth, and Temperance threw himself onto the table for his ride down below the earth, where the Dead were hammering away at the secret wall. Where Lillette's back was to the entrance to the secret room, only protected against a sudden backstab by the Dead by her vigilant Pokemon.
Lillette was barely half done with the list of files when the billiard table descended once more, carrying a very exhausted and bloody Temperance. Sliding off the table, Temperance could have lay on the ground and slept the night away – it was already dark outside, if Temperance and Lillette had bothered to take note of the time. However, the banging on the walls and Lillette's voice roused him from his slumber, and he reluctantly opened his eyes to take note of his surroundings. Lillette was furiously tapping on the keyboard, searching through text files and pictures with the utmost care. However, that did not stop her from shouting at Temperance at the same time about his prior absence, the Dead trying to get in from the underground tunnels, the lack of time, the host of files on the computer, and to Temperance, about life in general. Shut up. I don't even have the strength to stand up, much less get into a shouting match with you.
Then the wall cracked right down the middle, the jagged crack splitting the rock into two halves. It would clearly not stand up to any more hardcore banging by the Dead outside. The sight and the sound infused more vitality in Temperance than if Lillette had been shouting at him for two hours continuously, and he summoned his inner reserves of stamina once more, preparing to fend off the attacking Dead. Pokemon out, he stood at the utmost attention, waiting for a hole in the wall to unleash his attack. Meanwhile, the tapping of the keyboard signalled the desperate search at the PC.
Dragonair and Gyarados signalled to Aerodactyl and Dragonite outside the Plateau about the information they had just gotten. The five Pokemon, once under Lance, serving him faithfully, now split up, going to the five remaining Gym Leaders, informing them of the venue where the final battle would soon take place. The power of the Gym Leaders had been obviously weakened with three of their deaths, but united, and with the three legendary birds on their side, there was still hope. Meanwhile, Poke Balls at the fourth arena released their Pokemon on their own, revealing five ghosts whose previous master was now turned to ash. They floated to the entertainment room and through the floor, lending their strength to the two fighters, standing very exposed against an even bigger host of Dead.
Dragonite was about to fly towards Cerulean, when it remembered that Lance had another Pokemon lying dormant – the reserve. It would do the job nicely, helping against the Dead at Indigo. Every little bit of help would be useful now. Yet that Pokemon was as powerful as Dragonite, and no little help against the Dead. From a nearby forest rose Salamence, previously unseen, now playing a vital role against the invaders. The backup of Pokemon, unlooked-for, would be a great help against the Dead, but against the new power that Lance now was – no one could say.
Banette, Dusclops, Sableye, and two Gengars appeared from the ceiling, unknown to Temperance and Lillette – the former fixated on the wall, the latter on the PC. Only when the ghosts started floating towards the wall did Temperance notice them. His first instinct was to attack, but Temperance remembered the betrayal of Lance's Pokemon, and assumed that Agatha's would do the same. The ghosts floated through the cracked wall, and from the new sounds outside, Temperance assumed they were totally beating up the surprised Dead. Temperance gave his silent thanks that there were no Ghost Pokemon in the ranks of the Dead, Lavender having not been taken, and Ghost Pokemon rarely ventured out of the cemetery.
Lillette saw what was happening out of the corner of her eye, but did not make any reaction save to welcome the extra time she had gained to search through the PC. Fingers still flying across the keyboard, the number of commands she entered would have put many typists to shame. File after file opened, not a single one escaping her gaze. Lillette cursed the fact that the files were all named randomly, meaning that there was no file helpfully named "SOURCES FOR LEGENDARY BIRD CONTROL" in big letters. Then, just as the ghosts were overwhelmed by the Dead across the wall, the element of surprise having been lost, and retreated bruised back into the safety of the room, Lillette struck gold.
Lance's diary entries, kept on disk. Lillette scrolled through the wall of text, hitting Ctrl-F, faltering for a while on finding there was no Apple key. Lamenting the usage of Windows over the Mac that was used in all Pokemon Centres and by the bulk of the population, Lillette nevertheless searched for the word "sources", returning one entry where the word had been used.
My plan goes well. Two of the potions have already been created, and the third will soon be finished after the two people fighting outside reach my arena. They are stronger than I expected, but no matter – I have confidence in my ability to defeat them. And if they cannot beat me in fair battle, I will be totally safe when I have received the power that I seek. The Dead are surrounding Seafoam, and Articuno will soon be drawn out for the other two birds to weaken it for the third potion to take effect.
Yet sometimes I feel guilty about what I am going to do. The four of us stuck together through thick and thin – I have known them since I started out as a Pokemon trainer, and we have shared weal and woe, surviving only through each other's comfort and encouragement. And we all know that Kanto is mired in bureaucracy. Nothing ever gets done. When was the last time the Gym Leaders made a decision? Since the PokeStones, about one initiative has been made – something about taxing the citizens for training use. Badges have not been given out in two years, because of all the policies preventing the people from training their Pokemon, while the Gym Leaders get steadily stronger. Yet the Elite Four, strongest trainers in Kanto, remain as figureheads according to the Constitution.
But enough of that. I have offered Lorelei and Bruno the chance to give me their blood willingly. I explained the entire scheme to them, why it was necessary, and why their donation would save Kanto. They refused to listen; they would have no part in asking ancient evil to end the problem once and for all. Now comes the decision: do I simply make them captive and remove some of their blood, or kill them? Kill, says my brain – they know too many of my secrets and might even fight against me after I have become what I want to become. My heart tells me that I should take the more humane route.
What shall I do – but time is running out, I have to be at my arena. My Dead captains – hardy as a normal Pokemon, with the power and will of the Dead – shall lead the attack on Seafoam, from the back. They cannot fall, lest my potions go awry. As sources, they MUST survive. They will lend their strength and vigour to the other Dead, but they cannot take the frontlines despite their strength.
And here the two come. I shall be there to crush them in battle.
Lillette turned from the PC to warn Temperance – just as a fist-sized hole formed in the wall, and Dead hands reached inside, clawing at the inside to enlarge it for their final victory – the defeat of the last hope for the living.
A quick glance around the room from Lillette confirmed her fears – this room was no natural defence against the attackers. It was wide open, with no hope of erecting any barricades to hold the Dead off. Too wide, too many paths for the Dead to go, once they breached the doorway. They had to stop the Dead from even entering the room, lest they fail utterly. Lillette still had no idea how to get back up to the Champion's quarters – she spied no switch that would bring the billiard table down again, and there seemed to be no stairway that would bring her up manually. There probably was another exit, but at the moment there was no time to search for it…
The door fell, revealing the same mass of numbers that was the Dead's main hope of any victory in battle. Most were, after all, just flesh and bone, held together by strands of sinew. In other words, they were easy pickings for any multi-targeting attack, but even the mightiest Earthquake or Silver Wind could be overcome by the hundreds of Dead that usually attacked. And there seemed to be even more here. All of Celadon and Fuchsia had been emptied, all for this final assault against Temperance and Lillette. Dead men did not tell tales, and whatever information they had obtained would be lost forever.