Chapter VII: Chills in the Dark
October 1, 2061 1:01 a.m.
The air was heavy with heat and humidity. A disgusting stench flooded the area while dim lights lined the walls. Murky water floated stagnant in the center of the passage like a frozen, dark green river. Along the sides were pipes that jutted out from the walls to hang directly over the water, some spewing out water and its contents every now and then into the disgusting stream…
A few Grimer sank into the water as two men came walking by on the metal platforms that lined the walls, both carrying flashlights in one hand while the other held a pistol. The first had a more modern pistol, with the energy box jutting out of the bottom of the handle and glowing dimly. Its entire finish was dusty chrome.
Meanwhile the other carried a smaller pistol, ancient by the time's standards. Its wooden furniture one the grip was scratched up, and rust had started to accumulate on the edges of the barrel. Overall, it was still in good condition for use.
"It's pretty damn strange that you picked up a frickin' 1911 off a Rocket, Sentinel. I'd think these bastards would at least TRY using something more…recent."
"You can't say that it doesn't work Archer."
"No, I can't say that. It did kill that guard back there. I guess if it isn't broken, it's good. But it must be hell tryin' to find ammo for that thing though."
"Yeah…" Sentinel responded as they splashed through a murky puddle near the railing. Looking up ahead, Sentinel noticed a lamp that had a string tied in a bow knot around it, along with a large, grated drainage pipe.
"There."
"I see it, I see it. Hopefully that woman made it too…"
Archer shut his eyes tightly, coughing. "Damn, I can't wait to get the hell out of here. I knew sewers smelled like shit, but this is flat out disgustin'."
"Urgh, what do you expect when the Rockets have been dumping bodies in here."
They stepped directly underneath the lamp, Sentinel shining his light back to see if they had been followed while Archer looked ahead down the sewer. "All clear."
"Same here. Let's go in then." Archer responded, his flashlight swinging to view the dirty brick wall they stood next to, coated with a strange film of fluid…
"Yuck...the stench makes me wanna puke…" Archer mumbled to himself before tapping the a brick above him that was gray three times, then a red one jutting from the wall at his right foot once, and finally he pounded against a dull red one in front of his face twice.
The grate on the drainage pipe nearby swung open with a noticeable squeaking sound while a green light beeped dimly on the side of it. Motioning his head to follow, Archer walked quickly to the pipe, waving his hand in front of his nose while looking inside the pipe with his flashlight. "Authentic smell in here too, dammit. Well, it is good to keep hidden…"
Archer got down on his chest and crawled into the pipe, his flashlight held in front of him to light the way. Following suit, Sentinel quickly looked around first with his flashlight before going in after Archer. With another squeak, the grate closed behind them.
…
"Here we are…" Archer said, reaching a corner of the pipe with a flat wall. Reaching forward with his free hand, he gave the wall two knocks, this time making the metal slide down to reveal what looked like a dimly-lit basement with many crates stacked on the sides. A woman with long blue hair sat at a table, looking over several papers that were there.
Crawling out of the pipe and into the room, Archer stood up and turned off his flashlight while Sentinel came out of the pipe after him. As soon as he was out, the small section of the wall that had gone up to allow them entrance slid back into place, revealing its outside texture of a stone that fit back in with other large, square stones.
"You're here a little early."
Archer checked his watch quickly, putting his flashlight into his pouch. "1:26 a.m. There's nothing wrong with being four minutes early, Jenny."
"Agreed. Let's begin here." She said as both snipers walked to the table and sat in the chairs there, Sentinel eyeing the supply data while Archer looked over the map.
Jenny motioned her head back towards three bottles that sat atop a box behind her. Looking past her, Sentinel didn't even need to read the label to recognize the ruby-red liquid inside.
"Do you men want a drink?"
The older sniper's head snapped up, shaking back and forth. "No thanks, ma'am. You won't believe what kind of trouble I got into because of that shit before."
"Fine."
"…How many guys are willin' to help us here?"
"So far I've counted out that about five hundred people are going to help us out. Including this place there's five hidden armories around the city, and we should have workable amounts of firepower." She explained, pointing out the locations on the map of Viridian in front of her.
"As soon as the army attacks we're planning to have a revolt occur from within that should allow enough confusion to erupt that we'll be able to get the armories, arm ourselves, and fight the Rockets from inside the city."
She crossed her arms on the table, waiting for their response. Archer looked away from her, his vision stopping on each individual box that he could see inside the room.
"Damn, you people must've lost a lot of guys trying to smuggle in these weapons."
"We've lost plenty to the Rockets. They just killed about seventy in the line-up today when they thought those people were trying to help us. Almost all of those people were innocent of any of those accusations…it just makes me sick. Along with me, many of the people here are willing to die fighting than waiting here for them to starve and break us."
"You better be sure as hell that you're holding to that. I can tell you right now a lot of people are going to die. Rockets, armymen, the volunteers, and bystanders are going to get killed. We can no more absolutely assure you that our attack will kick out these bastards. Understand?"
She held her fist to her chest, head bowed. "As a police officer I stood to uphold justice and law. I was going to give my life in the name of the people. I'm willing to do that more than ever now."
Archer coughed, tired old eyes shutting for a moment. Taking in a sharp breath, he nodded. "Good. It's like my ol' grandpa used to say when I was a boy:.."
"You can't win something without sacrificing something in exchange."
…
Team Rocket will destroy everything if they have that weapon.
They would never stop with just the Army. Maybe ten years ago, but not now. The moment that they control that power, all could very well be lost.
I don't truly know if what Shadow and Light said could be true, but it's not a good thought. I've read and thought on what the Masters who came before me left behind, and they did leave behind the story of the weapon.
Death's Hand…
The weapon which, over a millennia ago, nearly destroyed everything.
I don't know just how much I'll be needed in the Army's attack, but this is far more important. Losing a command is much better than losing the rest of Kanto and all the people in it.
…
"Searching Viridian is the best way to go right now. Considering how stubborn they've been trying to defend it, they must be hiding something."
"Viridian isn't much of a city anymore…from what I've seen, Team Rocket has made it more like a massive death camp."
(And who would put it past them…)
(I wouldn't think anyone would, Light.)
Light rushed to the next bush, looking ahead from behind its side. Though the light provided by the crescent above was miniscule, it was enough for all of them to see.
Bolt crouched on the rough bark of a tree limb. Shifting his view to the right of him, he could see Shadow standing cautiously on a branch from another tree.
Ash's untamed hair bent with the breeze pushing through, carrying the distant roar of a fighter jet's engines somewhere in the sky to the east. The tufts of black that grew from the back of his head lay on the thick, navy blue vest he wore as armor.
He closed his eyes and breathed out, focusing quietly. Inhaling, he opened his eyes, transformed from their natural brown to a glowing, jemlike blue.
The auras of several creatures came to his view. He could see waves of energy emanating from the shrubs and trees, even the grass. Above him and somewhat in front, Bolt's aura stood a magnificent sapphire like his own, while Shadow's looked like a dark yellow that rapidly intensified into bright gold at the center.
But the one things that caught his attention most was Light's; Light's aura was bright gold already near the edge of its flare, while pure, crystallized white stood out in the center. It felt blinding, actually making Ash grunt as he averted his view away.
He looked ahead now, concentrating to zoom in farther away into the forest. Different energies shimmered all around like in a massive, surreal painting. Near a large rock and a cluster of bushes, three human-shaped energies and one shaped like a Golem stood, two of the humans looking back in his general direction, though not directly at him.
Of course, as far away as they were, they probably weren't able to see Ash anyway.
"…Okay. Everyone, move east so we can go around them. There's no one in that direction."
Let's get going, then.
Paw marks were crunched into the wood where Shadow stood before. Sighing, Bolt jumped across the branches after him, followed by Light and Ash below. Each moment Bolt could hear a small cracking sound every time Shadow rushed off another branch in front of him.
I wouldn't be surprised if the force he's putting on these branches will make one snap off. His heart's in the right place, but he doesn't seem to think about consequences sometimes.
Light sprinted underneath them, doing her best to keeps each, quick step silent. More chills rose in the air, followed by leaves blowing off their branches.
Ash looked left, breathing efficiently with his run. Again, none of the Rockets he had spotted were paying any attention to them. Instead, the two that had been looking around were now having some sort of argument, while the third human had taken to talking to the Golem via its translator collar.
Nodding to himself, he kept going at a constant, high pace to keep up with the naturally faster 'Chus.
Criss-crossing wires in square patterns sawed through the forest in front of them. Beyond the wall of metal, one could see a few buildings that were dimly lit, along with about two gun turrets that had four Rockets each manning them.
Light slid to a stop at the fence, taking note of the barbed wire that sprawled on the top of it. Blue sparks could be seen discharging from the iron wall every few seconds. Above her, Shadow stared to have his first sight of occupied Viridian.
People were being lined up on the street that bordered many small houses, each with some form of damage. One was burnt out from the inside, two of them had their roofs collapsed, and a third barely had a mere section of a bedroom standing amongst jumbled timber and brick.
The state of the people shocked Shadow; their clothing was mostly torn and burnt, while many only had a loosely stitched pair of pants to go in. Only one of the fifteen people that were there actually had shoes, and all of them looked like they hadn't eaten in weeks. Every single person had iron cuffs that brought their arms together in front of them.
"…Damn. Haven't they killed enough innocent people already?" Ash murmured spitefully below, cracking the joints in his right hand. Growls could be heard from Bolt across from Shadow. Shadow himself was gripping into the bark of the tree with his short claws, jaw tightened under his lips.
Again, cold swam across his body, like a strange energy running through him. It felt like he had just barely experienced his dark aura charging over him before instantly disappearing. He could even see Bolt shivering a little, along with Light below, almost flinching with a fearful look on her face. Ash was the only one that stood calm, though sweat appeared on his forehead. "Did you all feel that?"
(Yes.) (Yeah.) Light and Shadow said respectively, while Bolt nodded. (That was a small wave of dark energy…)
"Which means…the generator you two told me about is very real, and it's here, somewhere in Viridian."
Light focused back on the group, seeing more Rockets leading another in to the line. Her eyes softened with sadness at the sight: it was just a young boy, who could've very well only have been ten. Splotches of black and gray dirtied his face, along with the tattered clothing he wore. A greasy reflection cast off his medium-length brown hair.
A bigger Rocket grunt stepped in front of the group while another four stood by, watching with apparent anticipation. The bigger grunt looked back to them, sliding his heavy laser pistol out of a large holster at his thigh. He pointed at the group of captives in front of him, followed by one of the four grunts pointing towards a younger woman and laughing with the rest of the four.
Rage rose sharply within Shadow as one of the men walked over to her and yanked her from the group, despite her pleas. Another of the group, a young man that wore a torn leather jacket and jeans, took a step forward and protested to this.
"You can't do this! That's my sister you Rocket piece of shit!"
The bigger grunt shrugged uncaringly and leveled his pistol at the teenager. The teen stood in shock as a loud crack sounded, followed by a laser tearing a hole through his left pectoral muscle milliseconds later.
The girl screamed as her brother fell to his knees with blood flooding he ground beneath him. Again, the large grunt leveled his pistol at the teen, this time blasting chunks of skull of his head from point-blank range.
"Fuck this! Are we just going to stay here and do NOTHING?" Shadow yelled angrily, his voice almost rising high enough to where those grunts could've heard. Ash cast a warning look at him, conflicted. "We can't help them without compromising…!"
He looked back to the group, seeing the man aim at an old man before firing again, the two remaining grunts behind him talking amongst themselves while smirking with rifles in hand.
Above him, Bolt nodded in agreement with Shadow. (Ash, those people need our help!)
"…Keep it quiet."
His pistol spun in his hand as he walked to the end of the line-up, in front of the boy. Streaks cut through the grime on his face where his tears had begun to trail down, leading into small, blackish puddles on the ground. Murmurs went through the line as they watched fearfully, the grunt pointing his gun at the boy…
(Not this time!)
The grunt looked up in confusion just as Shadow lunged up from behind the boy and smashed a Thunderpunch into the man's brains, making him throw up his pistol as fragments of bloody skull were thrown to the sides and onto Shadow.
Behind him the other two Rockets jumped from the surprise. Regaining composure, one of them aimed for Shadow. "You little-!"
Light had sliced an Iron Tail through his neck, sawing it halfway open as he stumbled back, clutching for the body part that was now spewing blood from its jugular. From out of nowhere near the gunners near the fence, a short stroke of electricity came down like lightning from the trees, instantly incinerating the poor Rocket that was directly under it. From out of the lightning, dashing out towards the other three, stunned gunners was Bolt.
Ash danced with his electrical saber, cutting down one Rocket with three rapid slashes that tore open his chest before twisting over his falling body to bring down his Lightning Blade on another's head.
Shadow picked up the pistol that the grunt had been using and ran over to one of the prisoners. Though confused and panicked at first along with everyone else, a man with a great white beard took the gun between his hands, carefully kneeling down to shoot the chain that held together another's binds. Seconds later that man shot through a girl's next to him, all while the short skirmish finished with Light tripping up a Rocket for Bolt to get under and stab through his chest with Lightning Blade.
Ash inhaled as he looked over the corpses, his aura sight detecting no aura coming from the Rockets on the ground. He rushed over to the group in front of Shadow and pointed to the fence. "I'll cut a hole through the fence so you all can get through. Grab some of these guy's weapons, and run like there's no tomorrow. Got it?"
Many of the people nodded simply, most running towards the Rocket's corpses to quickly grab what they could. Some grabbed rifles, others their pistols, and some even simply took a knife.
Shadow followed them to the fence, looking around for any more Rockets. At that moment, Ash summoned the electrical beam to his side again and swung his arm, creating a shower of sparks as the Lightning Blade sliced a massive hole into the fence, leaving its halves to sag down as the space of tangled metal in-between the slashes fell.
All of them ran through the opening like stampeding bulls, disappearing into the forest as all of them looked on. Turning back toward the 'Chus, Ash sighed. "We need to get low, and find the generator. It's definitely somewhere here and as soon as we find it…"
The rest of his words were lost in the midst of a sharp, agonized cry that blasted through Shadow's head, followed by another wave of cold. No, he did not hear it...rather, it was in his mind.
And he could see that the other three had heard it. For one, Ash had suddenly frozen, looking at the rest of the city with anxiety evident on his face. To the right of him, Bolt shifted uneasily with his gritted teeth showing from under his frown.
Light went pale under her fur, shivering as her eyes dilated a bit. She looked down to her hind legs, shuffling her feet nervously. (Did…did anyone else hear that?)
"Loud and horrifyingly clear. It sounds like something needs our help…and desperately…"
…
Sentinel combed back his sleek brown hair with his hand, feeling the sweat attach itself to his palm. Meanwhile, Misty's voice came through his radio once more:
"All I know is that he's left me with direct command for now. He left here just about two hours ago with his Pikachu, Light and Shadow."
"Heh, so when did he tell YOU about Shadow? I just learned a couple days ago."
"I've known for about a week now. If Ash trusts him, then I'm sure we can."
"I figured that part out. So what's he doing here then?"
She paused on the other side of the radio, leaving Sentinel to watch Archer put on a more urban ghillie suit in shades of gray and black. While the old sniper slid some magazines into his pocket, Misty's voice came over the radio again.
"He said…that they're looking for some sort of weapon."
Sentinel looked over at Jenny, who was busy inspecting some of the laser rifles that was inside a box next to several others. "What kind of weapon?"
"All I know is that he said this thing 'just had to be destroyed'…in other words whatever he's looking for is very dangerous at the least…"
"…so is the uprising ready to start?"
"Hold on."
Sentinel took the speaker clip from his mouth. "Jenny, about how prepared is the revolt?"
"The five hundred that will help lead it are spreading it through the people right now. The revolt should be ready for the signal at any time by now. They'll lead whoever's willing to fight to these caches, and as they kill Rocket's they'll pick up their weapons and keep going."
"…Ready then? Misty here is wondering whether we should get on with it."
The officer put a finger to her mouth, tapping it lightly in a rhythm upon her lips as her eyes wondered, thinking. "We can send out the signal when they do the line-ups tomorrow…or, later today…at six."
Archer snickered beneath his bushy, gray mustache. "What do you know, Sentinel. We're only hours away from either kickin' ass…or gettin' kicked in the ass. Maybe I should take some of Jenny's vodka with me for a boost, eh?"
"No sir…you might shoot one of us."
"You're right about that…an' that's why I shouldn't get drunk when I have a gun on me."
Archer adjusted the nylon strap on his rifle, patting it. "I'm going out to start a little diversion then…"
"Careful. These Rocket's are everywhere around the city."
Archer hit his fist on his right magazine bag, and then slid his ghillie hood over his head. "I've got twenty rounds per clip here. I'm carrying five clips in two bags each, plus the one clip in the rifle already, so that's 220 rounds. I think I'll make due. I'll start the little rampage around four to get some of the Rockets away from the line ups. That should give the rest of you less resistance to get through."
Jenny rubbed her neck, dropping one of the rifles she ahd back into a weapon box. "Good luck sir."
"And you too, woman. I'm sure this would've been harder to do without you."
Sentinel took a sip from the small shot glass he had gotten, savoring the taste of the vodka in his mouth. The next moment the sound of the fake metal wall behind him rising sounded, followed by the sound of Archer crawling back into the pipes and the metal grinding back into place.
"Good luck old man."
…
"Our spies, sir…"
"*cough!* I already know that we have certain *cough!* guests in the city. That little…*cough!*…Pikachu is with the famed…*cough!*…Master. So is his own Pikachu and the Raichu."
"…Hmm…what is the scientific method to*cough!* solve your problem?"
"To form a hypothesis, sir."
"*cough!*…Ah, correct. Our dilemma is*cough!*…Shadow and his friends are in the city. No doubt that*cough!**cough!*…they have others somewhere in the city. My first…heh…'hypothesis' is that they're here*cough!*…to destroy the Machine. It's already being tested…our answer will come when they eventually make it*cough!*…here or not."
"Second…how to stop them if they do seek it?"
AAAIIIEEE!
"It's awake, sir! Should I put it back to sleep?"
"…no…it has just*cough!*…"
"…given me an idea of how to deal with Shadow and the rest of them."
"…Perhaps…we can*cough!*…"
"…Use them as a field test."
…
The concrete beneath Shadow's paws felt cold no matter where he ran or jumped; each rooftop was the same in this block of former businesses.
In front of the group, Light slid to a stop next to a ventilation unit, crouching behind it. As soon as Shadow made contact with the hard roof, he ran to the edge of the building, hiding in the silhouette of the concrete barriers surrounding the roof. Bolt joined him in mere seconds as Ash moved in a crouched position to an air conditioner unit opposite Light's. Looking back over his shoulder to the next rooftop, he pointed up towards several creatures flying in the sky.
"They've got flying types and a UAV up in the air. I'll take that out. Meanwhile you three keep going on. You two let Light lead on."
(Got it.) Both Pikachu said at the same time. Nodding, Light ran out from behind the unit and jumped to the next building. As she went by, Shadow could see a streak of white flash from her eyes.
…Okay. She knows what she's doing.
Bolt dashed out from his hiding place by Shadow and jumped to the next roof, close by Light. Moments later, Shadow grunted as he landed on the next roof and dashed after them.
As soon as he saw Light suddenly lead them down below the rooftops, Ash looked up to the sky and carefully looked over each thing in the sky. There were about twelve in the sky at the moment, and he immediately ruled out the ones he saw with a rider.
The other six all flew in random directions everywhere. However, he spotted one that was just too straight-winged to be a Pokémon. He pointed his finger at the object as a bright flame appeared in front of it…
Flare Cannon.
A Fearow in the sky roared as it was forced to veer up when a streak of red flame shot up from the darkened city below and smashed into the Recon glider in front of it, causing a massive explosion that stuck several shards of metal into its body.
Chunks of metal fell from the sky, covered in flames. Meanwhile, Ash could hear the sounds of many Rockets coming towards him from the ground. Some of the Pokémon in the air turned and begun to dive in as well. Sighing, his eyes blued over with his aura while flame overtook his left hand and electricity took his right…
…I better hide…if not, this'll definitely be a test for me…
…
"This is KAM-TS Sniper Unit 3-Actual, codename 'Archer', number 10073206; Somebody just took out the UAV Recon glider."
"Got it. That should make it easier to go about, Archer. Proceed with your part."
Archer smirked under his gray balaclava, looking down at the two Rocket grunts he had already killed at his feet near the windows he was looking out of. "Already in progress."
The radio beeped out as Archer ran through the office cubicles, looking everywhere around him for any hidden grunts. Water splashed under his feet from a section of carpet that had become bogged in water leaking from the ceiling. Papers and folders littered the ground all around, with many of the computers in their cubicles covered with dust from disuse.
"Now, which way to the roo-woah!" He grunted as he saw a Rocket grunt suddenly swing around from a cubicle and fire his gun from afar, uttering a battle cry. Cursing to himself, Archer ducked behind a wall, watching a trail of lasers pass by him. Nodding, he took his pistol from its holster and simply fired it around the corner without even looking.
The sound of blood splattering graced his ears, followed by a thumb on the ground. The old sniper got up on his feet and turned the corner, walking down the hallway to the dead Rocket.
Archer shook his head and sighed, eyeing the young features of the Rocket. He had to have been only seventeen or so. Blood began to seep down from the hole between his forehead, with his eyes eerily staring off into the ceiling above. "Boy, I've been doing this for years and I can't believe I've had shoot down another misguided dumbass like you. You've got to be the fourth kid I've had to kill in this war."
Archer shook his head and stepped over the boy, continuing into a hallway while holstering his gun. A few lights flickered dimly overhead, buzzing with wasted electricity. Taking as light steps as possible, Archer went through the hall without making any noticeable sound at all. He kept his sniper rifle pointed out in front of him with his finger always on the trigger.
Soon he came upon a stairwell that led up, with a sign that simply read 'roof access' hanging above a traffic sign-like picture of a staircase. Peering up, Archer let his rifle fall to his side and instead drew his pistol again, aiming it up towards the rest of the stairs while keeping a gloved hand on the railing.
He went over the details in his head as he put down a motion sensor from his bag and onto a corner of the stairs. Ash was somewhere in the city, likely staging a diversion from the revolt. It was now 4:24 a.m., meaning the revolt was to start in about one and a half hours. In other words, the army was probably just a half mile from here by now. A weak light began to rise from the east, meaning sniping should be a little easier with time.
Most of all, he was outgunned right now. A very good challenge like him who could not be beaten when it came to accuracy
He contemplated more as he quietly stepped out into the night air. Air conditioner units topped the ceiling, with vents lining out from them before diving into the building. Creeping to the edge, he observed his surrounding area
"This office is pretty damn high up…which means an ol' sniper like me is in heaven."
Placing the sensor's tracker to the side of his view, he took his sniper rifle and dusted off the top of the scope before looking through. One hand stayed on its top, adjusting every so often for range.
Those flying types are gettin' low. Good thing I can stay still.
The thin black crosshairs of his scope wandered over the flying Pokémon that were diving down towards one location. Spotting one that was diving into a straight line within his sights, he gave the trigger a quick press. In the moment he could see the shadow of blood spray out of a Pokémon's head before it stopped flapping it wings and fell straight down.
"Exported a Staraptor from Sinnoh for this fate, huh? Fuckers." Archer whispered as he slid his crosshairs over a line of people with their hands cuffed behind them. A single grunt led them, while two more were at the sides of the line and another corralled them from the back, with help from a rather bloodthirsty-looking Houndoom.
It looks prisoner of war doesn't apply to just army personnel for them.
…
(It's close! We're almost there!) Light shouted to them, stopping in the shadow of an overgrown bush by a rotted, wooden fence. Through the holes in the fence, Shadow could see that a large, rectangular building rested at the corner of a large intersection. Despite the heavy damage to its façade, he could see that a hollowed-out Pokéball symbol adorned the front while four Rocket grunts with gas masks guarded it.
Viridian Gym.
Bolt's right paw was held to the side of his head. His eyes were closed, as if he were concentrating on something…
(Is the gym the place, Light?)
(It has to be. I'm getting chills from that place…and the feeling won't go away. The weapon has to be in there.)
Shadow peered through the fence, grimacing. (…Here comes Ash…)
Seconds later the Master jumped over another side of the fence, expertly rolling to a stop and kneeling by them. He wiped glistening sweat from his face. "Do any of you feel that?"
Shadow tensed up, sighing. (If you mean a sinking feeling, yeah, I feel it.)
"Hey you!"
Shadow needed no signal to send electricity in the direction of the voices as lasers already sliced into the air towards them. The sound of electricity zapping behind him heralded a massive Thunderbolt from Bolt that nearly threw him off balance.
A small team of Rockets ran at them with a Raticate and a Charmeleon. One of them quickly ripped a grenade from his side and pulled the pin out with his teeth before lobbing it towards Ash.
Light dashed around the fence as quickly as she could, ignoring the terrible sounds of lasers smashing into the ground just a foot or so from her each time she dodged. The feeling was getting stronger and stronger; chilling, and burning as well. Despair that was heavy in the air like a poisonous gas, sapping away any kind of happiness she may have had at the moment.
Shadow ducked under the white hot jet of flame expelled from the Charmeleon's mouth, taking off after his friend. (Light! Are you crazy?)
Beams shot right over her head. Sharp twinges exploded from one of her ears as a laser burned through the soft tissue on the top of one. Nearby blood exploded from a grunt's head…
…
"Ooh boy, just like hunting Stantler." Archer whispered to himself with another successful headshot. His mustache twitched with his lip as he refocused his sights over a gas-masked soldier and fired again, then again and again at two more. Though he was able to restrain himself from laughing, a smile still formed from his mouth.
Yep. Just like huntin' Stantler…
The watch on his arm continued to tick, this time reading 5:21 a.m. Below many lights were starting to come on from buildings that had barbed wire around them.
"A lot of Rockets are gonna be out…I better switch to…'anti-personel' rounds…"
Archer took out his backpack from under his ghillie suit, quickly unzipping the bag.
He seized a medium sized cardboard box that read '.300 WinMag HE' and ripped open its outside, grabbing the large, nickel colored round from inside and ripping out the magazine he had in his rifle already. The bullets he had left out of the magazine clicked on the cement as they dropped out, replaced by the special, high explosive rounds he was loading instead.
He pulled the bolt back on his rifle to eject the bullet that was in there to load a HE round instead.
"I bet they won't like high explosive bullets…eh, HE rounds…ah, fuck it."
…
"Hmph…their*cough!* army is at our doorstep…"
AAAIIIIEEEE!
"*cough!*…are you ready…my pet?"
BAAAAH!
"Oh, you would*cough* like to join them? Fine. *cough!*…A crazed creature…*cough!*…like yourself would certainly…*cough!*…be a handful for them…"
"Open the top hatch…"
"Sir?"
"You may retreat if you*cough!* want. I believe I must explain some things to these fools."
…
The Rockets on the street suddenly turned tail and began to run away from the gym, including the gas-masked men. Shadow stopped on the lawn of the gym, somewhat confused as Light made her way up the steps of the entrance.
Ash looked around at the retreating grunts before calmly absorbing the electricity from his Lightning blade back into his body. Bolt stood at his back, looking back at him. (what do you think is going on?)
"Something bad, I'm sure."
As soon as he said this, the ground beneath Shadow began to shake, separating from a crevice that began to split from the earth.
Light spun around towards the hole opening up, her white aura suddenly flaring. Cursing, Shadow backed away from it as Ash and Bolt ran to his side.
"*cough!*…Greetings…one and all!"
Short, orange hair grew from the rising head of a man in a wheelchair, suspended by a platform that rose from the ten yard hole. A green liquid was contained in a plastic pack that was suspended on a small hook by the man's head. The man himself wore a gray, button-down business suit that was underneath a plain white lab coat. Plain khaki pants extended down his legs.
Namba grinned while pushing up his plastic-framed glasses. His otherwise young face showed signs of fatigue, such as a noticeable line of wrinkles on his forehead. Despite the fact that Shadow was alight with static just fifteen yards away, he seemed relaxed with his arms on the wheelchair's rests.
"If it isn't…*cough!* my 'killer's' creation…and the Pokémon Master himself. You're just in time to be the one to test…my two newest creations…"
"For being a scientist, crazy as you are, you're a fool for showing your face to me." Ash said coldly. Namba shrugged in his seat and raised a small remote. "Am I?"
The glass on the gym doors shattered all over Light as a loud rumble came from within. Taking a peek in, her face showed visible alarm.
(!) Light ran from the front doors as a large Pokemon smashed through the doors, ripping them right of their hinges and into twisted heaps as it slid to a stop on the grass by Namba, slamming its front feet hard into the ground.
What the…
Shadow was instantly puzzled by its appearance; its body was dinosaur-like in appearance, with three broad, sharp toenails on each of its feet. Large, spiny black leaves ringed the bottom of its long neck, which faded from the greenish-yellow of the rest of its body to dull, grayish yellow. A black leather collar with a crimson 'R' was seated above the leaves. Two, overlapping leaves sprouted from the top of its head, spiny and black like the leaves on its neck. Curved fangs stuck out from its upper jaw past its lower lip, while its jet-black eyes reflected the lights in the street.
"It's not difficult to tell, but I gave this Bayleef some…'enhancements'. The Machine was able to give it far more dangerous powers than it had before. Sad to say, it lost its mind just recently, otherwise I wouldn't have to keep it restrained by the collar you see on its neck."
"…This is…" Ash whispered to himself, his jaw dropping slightly. Bolt was silent with his own look of shock, wide-eyed next to Shadow.
Namba coughed heavily as the mutant Bayleef ground the soil under its right front foot. "That's right…*cough!*…when you won the League championship years ago you had a Bayleef among your team, didn't you, Ketchum? Considering that we *cough!* captured this one during the attack on Pallet…I'd say she's yours, isn't she? If she still had her mind intact she might've been happy to see you…oh well."
Another large explosion sounded from the gym as several cracks ran through its concrete. Then another…
Light clutched Shadow's left paw tightly, looking to the gym as another rumble came from it. (…the gym…!)
AAAIIIIEEEE!
…
"…What the fuckin' hell is that?" Archer said as he adjusted his scope to zoom in on the monstrous bird that exploded from the top of the gym, destroying the entire building in the process. Waves of dust and concrete rained down from all around the area, shrouding all below the debris.
"…Did he…"
"…did he fuse the legendary birds?"
…
Dust covered them, still floating in the air as a fine shade of gray. Meanwhile, the sounds of gunfire could be heard from afar. Powerful gusts of wind fanned from overhead, nearly blowing all of them off their feet. Ash ducked, gritting his teeth while the 'Chus all fell to all fours, grasping at the ground. Shadow could feel heat and cold come in waves through the air, all while his ears flapped violently through the gust. With another scream, the creature landed to the left of Namba.
"*cough!*…Impressed? This is…a little creation of mine I'd like to dub…Zapmolcuno."
It was the torso and head of Moltres, with the body, head and supersized right wing of Zapdos fused to its right while on its left Articuno's torso, head and magnified left wing stood out. Static, icy mist and flame ran all over their combined bodies. Articuno's eyes emanated a light blue, like the frost around its remaining wing; Zapdos's were deep yellow like the static on its own wing; and in Moltres's eyes was a bright red.
Dark energy flared around Shadow's paws. "You're insane! First you've twisted normal Pokémon, and now you've corrupted the legendary birds?"
"Of course. I'm the first to do it…thus I need to test whether such a combination would be*cough!*…successful in the future…and I think I'll test their combined form on*cough!*"
"…Kanto Army. Beast! You know what to do! DESTROY the Kanto Army!"
The separate heads of Zapmolcuno screeched as one before raising its wings and pushing down with a powerful wave of its combined elemental power. The ground under it froze and burned as it hovered in the air for a moment, then soared high into the air with a trail of ice shards, static and flame.
"*cough!*…just so you know, this isn't the real me." Namba said before reaching up to his face seizing it, peeling away his face to reveal a small screen in the middle of a tangle of chips and wires, with the real Namba onscreen. Wherever he was, he was likely far away.
"Damn you! Your tests were always fucked up when I was in Team Rocket, and coming near death just made you crazier!" Shadow yelled. Onscreen, Namba simply wagged his finger. "I doubt you'll find me soon…*cough!* …I have other plans. This is the day you might've just come too far, Shadow. Even with the Master, do you really think you can defeat LEGENDS?"
"When I find you…!" Shadow growled as the Bayleef mutant stepped in front of the fake Namba. The Namba in the screen laughed. "I dare you…until then…"
"Bayleef…KILL THEM!"
…
…
Things are going to get bad, real soon…
R&R, everyone! What do YOU think is going to happen next?