(A/N: Okay, I forget if I said before whether I was done doing these or not, but if I did, I was mistaken. I have two more songs, and they are the last, that are part of the soundtrack. The first one is "Hardly Breath" by Linkin Park featuring Hydroponikz and the other is "In The Shadows" by The Rasmus. Now that is the last of them. By the way, Fun Fact: You know why Chris' father is named James. Well, that's actually my dad's name as well, although he goes by Jim. Yeah, real original I know.)

Chapter 16: Friends Torn Apart

"Ugh, where is he?" Pikette said. "It's been almost an hour and he still hasn't come back yet."

"Calm down Pikette," Sadie said. "I'm sure he has everything under control."

Pikette sighed. "I guess so," she said. She was silent for a couple moments. "Maybe I should check and see if everything is alright."

"Oh no you don't," Sadie said, getting in front of her. "You can't go out there by yourself. Besides, don't you trust your friend?"

Pikette drooped her ears in defeat. "I do," she said. "I'm just worried what he might get himself into."

"I'm worried too," Sadie said, picking her up. "But right now, Chris has to do what needs to be done." She then winced in pain as she placed a hand up to her forehead.

"Are you alright?" Pikette said quickly, concerned.

"Yeah," Sadie said. "Just need some rest, that's all."

Pikette was worried about her. She hadn't looked well all day. "Maybe you should go talk to one of the doctors, and then get some rest."

"Yeah, I think I'll do that," Sadie said as she left the room, leaving Pikette by herself.

Pikette then went up to the window, and looked outside as the sun was starting to set. Of course she was worried, and it wasn't that she didn't trust Chris, but he had been fooled once. How easy would it be to fool him again?

(A/N: Okay, this is where the fun part starts. I've decided to put a song to all this that is about to happen. The name of the song is "As I Am" by Dream Theater. I know, it's a really long song, but its good.)

*If Chris either a week or perhaps three years ago saw where he was now, the past Chris might have felt disgraced. And yet, there he was, riding in a stolen APC, right next to soldiers who brethren he had killed many times before. But then again, he was undercover, stealing something from his own side. Was it possible after this that the war will ultimately end?

"The objective is stored in an underground lab at the base in Jubilife City," James told him.

"Jubilife huh?" Chris said. "It was there the entire time."

"I instructed the men not to kill, but only to disarm if they can," James said. "I'm going to try to end this war in a somewhat peaceful manner."

After about half an hour, the vehicle finally came to a close, meaning they were there. Of course, SIP wouldn't know if it was them. He then put on his helmet, now looking like them, with the orange glowing goggles. The door opened and Chris, with his P90, quickly moved out with the other troops. Of course, they were quickly met with gunfire.

Chris, knowing the situation he was in, was forced to fire on his own troops, but aimed for the legs as opposed to the head in short bursts. The outside guard was quickly overwhelmed and were knocked out, a bit more brutal than intended, but they would live. They then moved forward, heading right into the base.

As it turned out, the base was almost completely empty. Apparently the rest of the troops went to give aid to those in Sunyshore, which made the mission much more easier. However, there was still some resistance, and the base was rather large. Even so, Chris and the troops made their way to the large elevator in the middle of the base. The others decided to stay on the floor to keep guard while Chris went down.

Chris knew about the lab, but never bothered to ask or even go down there, until now. Once he got out of the elevator, he explored the area. Seems like SIP had its own share of chemicals here as well. However, none of these were the one Chris was looking for. Then, Chris saw a large door in front of him that appeared to be locked by a small number pad. Not even bothering to try decoding it, Chris took out his pistol and shot the number pad, causing the door to open up automatically.

Going inside, he saw a large vial in front of him being held in place. This had to be it. However, before he went to it, he felt his body cramp out and was soon on his knees. Acting quickly, he ended up taking off his helmet and took out one of the syringes he took with him and stabbed it right into his neck, injecting what was in it. In a matter of seconds, he started feeling control of his body again.

Breathing heavily, he got to his feet again and once he felt back to normal, he took the vial and pocketed it gently to keep it safe. After that, he headed back towards the elevator. Going back, he looked to the other troops. "Alright, we got what we want," he said. "Let's head back."

By now, Pikette was starting to grow restless. It had been over an hour and still Chris wasn't back. She was in the same room as before and if she had to wait any longer, she was gonna go crazy. Soon, Sadie came back, not surprised at all that Pikette was still there. "Oh, hey Sadie," Pikette then said. "Feeling better?"

"Um, yeah," Sadie said. "Yeah, it's all taken of."

Pikette then noticed Sadie seemed a bit... uncomfortable. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all," Sadie said quickly, and was now blushing. "You know, just had one of those "girl moments.""

"Okay..." Pikette said. Sooner or later she was gonna have to hear about this one.

Then, the doors opened again and a man dressed in uniform came through. "General Ortiz!" Sadie said, surprised and then gave a quick salute.

Ortiz gave a salute back. "Good to see both of you," he said. "I apologize for the abrupt entrance, but I needed to speak with you. In private."

"Oh?" Pikette said. "What for, sir?"

"There was a recent attack at the base in Jubilife City," Ortiz explained. "Of course, most of the men had pulled out of there, but there were some still stationed there, but surprisingly no casualties. Anyway, they came and went, but not before they went down in the labs and got an important chemical."

"Chemical? What one? And for what use?" Sadie asked.

"We don't know, and it would be best we don't discuss about it right now," Ortiz said. "Anyway, there's a reason I came to you two." He then pulled out a tape. "We got some recordings of the actions that took place, and you might want to see this." He went over to the VCR, put in the tape and turned on the TV. The tape began to play, showing the enemy soldiers coming through the base and then one of them going into the elevator. "Now, this part will be a bit hard to accept." The video then switched to another camera, this one in the underground lab. The lone soldier made his way to the other side, manually opening the door in that area and going inside. Once again, the video changed to another camera, with the soldier in better view. The soldier made a move towards the vial in the center of the picture but then stopped, and he was then on his knees. He then took off his helmet, and it was here where both Sadie and Pikette let out a gasp of shock as the soldier turned out to be none other than Chris itself. The video then ended after that. "This is why I came to you both," Ortiz then said, taking the tape out again.

Neither of them knew what to say. Was Chris now with the enemy? It seemed impossible, and neither of them could possibly accept it. "Sir," Sadie then said. "I'm sure it's not what it looks like. I know for sure Chris wouldn't betray us." Pikette, however, was still silent.

"Hence why I came to you," Ortiz said. "No one else has seen this. I don't know what Johnson is up to, but if he wants to get out of this mess, he's gonna have to explain himself. I'm sorry that I had to bring this to you both at such a rough time." He then gave a final salute and then left the room.

"Alright, that does it!" Pikette then said. "I'm going out there."

"I don't know about this," Sadie said hesitantly.

"Sadie, we have to figure this out!" Pikette said, looking at her. "Our buddy Chris right now could be facing treason if we don't know figure what the hell is going on! I'm going to go after him."

"By yourself?" Sadie said. "I should come as well."

"No," Pikette said. "It's probably better off this way. Besides, I'm small and fast enough that they won't notice me. I'm sure of this."

"Alright," Sadie said. "But just be careful."

"I will," Pikette said. She headed towards the door but then stopped and looked back to her. "I'm going to make sure to bring both of us back." And with that, she quickly left the room.

"This is all they managed to have," Chris said.

"It will do," James said, looking at the vial. "Now, follow me." They then walked to another part of the room. James turned on the light and there was a somewhat large lab in front of them. There was a similar vial being held in place next to one of the computers with a light green colored substance. James then took an eye-dropper and, taking some of the phenylacetic acid from the one vial and put some of the chemical into the mixture, which then changed into a slight violet color. "There," James then said. "That should do it. The result isn't instant, and it will take some time before it will be fully ready to be used."

"And you have tested this before?" Chris asked.

"Yes," James said. "Of course, it won't destroy the nanomachines quickly, but more over a matter of time, which is probably best for the body."

"So what do we do in the mean time?" Chris asked.

"I have what I need," James said. "If I could, I would try to get SIP to agree to an armistice, but I doubt SIP will be quite so willing to do that without getting a bit more than their share. I will be arrested and put on trial most likely and then put into jail. But, I guess I had that coming for some time."

"And will you go in quietly?" Chris asked. Would he, of all people, have to do the job?

Pikette made her way through the darkened alleyways of Sunyshore. It was a long journey and she wasn't particularly in the best of moods. Soon, she had Vista Lighthouse in her sights. She then saw the building was guarded, mostly in the front. Deciding to take a more quiet approach, she then started to crawl silently in the shadows.

"And just where do you think you're going?" a voice then said.

Pikette looked behind her and out of the darkness came a Bagon. "Who's asking?" Pikette asked.

"Me, because you're obviously not one of us," Bagon said. "And I would certainly recommend you leave before you end up getting hurt." Of course, he didn't know who Pikette was and what she was capable of. She proved that to him instantly.

She quickly threw him against the wall and grabbed him by the throat, holding him in place. "Look, you stupid piece of filth," she said angrily. "I am not in the mood for annoying Pokemon like you and unless you want to end up dead, you better answer me this one question: was there a human that passed by here recently?"

"Human?" the Bagon croaked, barely able to speak. "What are you-?"

"The human in SIP uniform!" Pikette yelled. "Where is he!?"

"Alright, alright!" the Bagon quickly said. "He's probably in the lighthouse, that's where the boss is."

"Good," Pikette said, letting him go. She then punched him in the face, knocking him out. "Now clean yourself up," she added as she went on. "You're a mess."

"I will call off the attacks from the east coast," James explained. "And soon, once that is cleared up, I will then turn myself in."

"You do realize that SIP may soon launch a counter-attack?" Chris said. "If they do so, surrendering may be out of the picture."

"Yes," James said. "Then I will have no choice, but to engage." Something then caught his eye on one of the video cameras. "What is this? Well, looks like we have an unexpected guest."

Chris looked to where James was looking. On the video cameras, there was a figure, moving carefully across the streets. Chris recognized her immediately. "Pikette?" he thought. He then sighed. "I told you to wait at the hospital."

"You know that Pokemon?" James asked.

"Yes," Chris admitted.

"Well, I think it would be best if you get her out of here," James said. "She can't know what it is going on." Chris then nodded and went out quickly towards the elevator.

(A/N: Okay, here's the first of four songs I'm going to have for this final scene in the chapter. The first one is called "The Crossing" by Two Steps From Hell. The others I will explain in due time.)

Pikette continued her way. She decided to see if she could enter through the backside of the lighthouse. She was near the lighthouse, using one of the nearby buildings as cover. But then-

*"Pikette!" a voice cried out. She looked over and saw Chris running over to her. Breathing a sigh of relief, she went over to him. "Pikette, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"What am I doing?" Pikette asked. "What the hell are you doing? I saw the tape Chris. Please don't tell me you're with them now?"

Chris flinched a bit. He had been hoping no one would notice him there, but apparently they had. "Pikette, you don't understand," he said. "It's not what it looks like."

"What? What don't I understand!?" Pikette yelled angrily. "That you're working for a man now who is the root of all this!?"

"That man happens to be my father!" Chris yelled back.

Pikette gasped. "Your... father?"

"Yes," Chris said.

"But... it doesn't matter!" Pikette said. "Because of him, all of this has happened. Because of him, you lost Dex, Rick, and Emily-!"

"Don't you bring them into this!" Chris snapped. The look on his face almost made Pikette shudder. "Don't you dare bring them into this!" He then felt a familiar feeling throughout his body and he soon fell to his knees, the side effects acting up once again. He then quickly took out one of the syringes and injected it into his neck.

Pikette was surprised by what just happened. "Chris?" she said quietly. "What is happening to you?"

Chris hesitated. He was hoping Pikette would never see that, but now it was too late. He then got up to his feet again. "I did what I did so that we could come up with a cure for these nanomachines. That's why I had to break into that lab. To save all those who had been affected by nanomachines."

Pikette didn't expect that. "Chris..." she then said. "Look, I know you're trying to do the right thing, but your father is a wanted man. You have to turn him in."

Chris then clenched his fist in anger. Why wasn't she understanding this? "And you think I can do that!? You think I want to!? He's all the family I have left and you think I can just turn him in!? What would you do if you had to do the same for one of your parents!?"

"For your information, I grew up as a orphan, meaning I didn't have any parents!" Pikette said angrily.

Chris stopped before he could say anymore. "I'm sorry," he said, turning around. He then changed into a Pikachu. "Look, it's best if you go back with everyone else. I have all of this taken care of." He went along on his way but it wasn't long before he was tackled to the ground. Pikette had him pinned down and had her fangs clamped on his one ear. "Pikette! What the hell are you doing!"

"Trying to knock some sense into you before you end up doing something you'll regret!" Pikette said through clenched teeth.

(A/N: Okay, here's song #2. The name of this song is "Anakin vs. Obi-wan" by John Williams. Yes, I'm using this song but it's because it's epic and dramatic at the same time. And don't criticize me that it's Star Wars music.)

"Pikette, knock it off!" Chris said, knocking her off of him. "Why are you being like this? Stop being such a brat!"

Pikette, who had her head down, began shaking. Chris then realized she was now officially pissed, but never like this. "You've gone too far," she said, in a voice Chris did not like one bit. She then looked at him with a burning fury in her eyes. "I've forgiven you before, but not this time. NO MORE!" *She then launched herself forward and hit Chris straight in the face, knocking him to the ground. "If this is how it's going to end, then so be it."

Chris then got up, his lip now bleeding. He then narrowed his eyes while baring his fangs in anger. Now he was pissed. "You fucking bitch!" He then ran at her and knocked her across into the other building with his tail and then followed suit. She quickly got up and had to dodge another attack by Chris, missing her by inches. She tried to fight back by using Thunderbolt but Chris dodged it and knocked her down again. "Are you done yet?" he said. "Or are we gonna have to keep doing this?"

Pikette, feeling that he was taunting her, got to her feet and quickly tackled him to the ground and they started rolling around until Chris finally kicked her off again. Pikette, in need of a plan, quickly headed towards the center of the room while Chris tried hitting her with Thunderbolt attacks. Once she got to the center, which had large balconies, she turned around to face Chris. "Pikette please, just stop all of this," Chris said, breathing heavily.

"Not until you stop doing what you're doing here and come back with me," Pikette said. "I told Sadie that we would both come back together."

"I can't do that right now, Pikette," Chris said. "Not yet."

"Well, then I guess I haven't quite convinced you yet!" Pikette said, as she charged at him.

Chris sighed. "Goddamnit Pikette," he said. Pikette tried to land another attack on him and he then grabbed her by the throat to ultimately calm her down. She looked at Chris, surprised as he held her down. "Just stop Pikette," he said. "Don't make me hurt you." But that wouldn't stop her as she would then kick him off of her. Chris was now getting fed up, and didn't even care what he did now.

Chris got to his feet and saw Pikette going up the large spiral staircase. He then followed her up until both of them were on the top floor. "I don't believe you," Pikette then said. "You would go behind your friends and aid someone who has destroyed your entire life."

"I told you Pikette," Chris said. "He's my father!"

"I don't care!" Pikette yelled. "Whether he is or not, he's the reason you've lost the ones you care for so much!"

Chris let out a sigh of frustration while clenching his fists. "I gave you a chance to leave and let everything be." He then looked to Pikette with a look of anger. "But you're just too damn stubborn to understand and if I have to beat you relentlessly to get it through, then I will!"

James was still working on the "antidote" he was creating. So far, he had made about six syringes full of the chemical. Then, a beeping came from where his desk was. He stopped what he was doing and went out towards his desk, where a small speaker was installed. He then pushed the red button next to the speaker. "Yes?" he said.

"Sir, we have incoming reports of enemy artillery heading this way," one of the soldiers on the other line said.

"I see," James replied. He had a feeling this would happen. "Have all available units engage them at once."

"Yes sir," the soldier said before closing the connection.

(A/N: Okay, now here's song #3. Actually, this one won't be too long, and the chapter is almost done anyway. The name of this song is "Fallout" by Two Steps From Hell.)

*Meanwhile, the fight between Chris and Pikette continued on. Both were tired, but a rage in both of them fueled them enough to keep fighting. Chris jumped into the air and attacked with Iron Tail, but Pikette dodged it with ease. The fighting continued from room to room, and there didn't seem an end in sight.

They then both used Volt Tackle and collided with one another, hoping to knock the other way. But, both attacks appeared to be equal and both were sent back. Sliding in his tracks, Chris wasn't stopping and pushed forward as Pikette did the same. They met once again, but this time used both ended up using Iron Tail.

But then, out of nowhere, the building began shaking. Both of them stopped and wondered what was going on. There was a small explosion and the building began to rock more and started tilting. The building was being bombarded with something, most likely artillery. Chris and Pikette held onto something as the building crashed into one of it's neighbors. Chris looked down and then let go, crashing through the one window into the next building.

Pikette tried holding on but couldn't keep a good grip and slipped, falling into the other building. As she went through the window, she felt herself get nicked in the shoulder with a piece of glass, causing a somewhat large wound. She then hit the ground hard, the wound starting to bleed. Before she could get up, she then got kicked in the stomach, sent flying backwards by Chris who appeared out of nowhere. She struggled to get up, but was then pinned down as a Thunderbolt attack hit her, causing her to cry out in pain. "You should've turned back when you had the chance," Chris said, coming up to her. "Now I have to do this to you. You think I want to?"

Pikette then got to her paws and feet. Glaring at him, she said, "Chris, if there's one thing I know about you, you tend to get overconfident in winning situations."

He then noticed she seemed to be storing up energy. Chris' eyes widened in shock. "Is that-?" But before he could finish, Pikette unleashed a powerful Charge Beam, sending him backwards. Unfortunately, Chris was next to a window, causing him to be sent out it. Even more unfortunate, they were about four stories up.

(A/N: Okay, last song of the chapter. The name of this song is "The Immolation Scene" by John Williams.)

Chris fell to the ground, and once he hit it, he felt multiple areas of his body crack, and he then let out a cry of pain, true pain he had not felt in a long time. *His agonizing screams could be heard for miles. Pikette looked out the window and saw him writhing in pain. She jumped from floor to floor until she was on the ground near him. Chris looked bad. He had to have broken at least a couple bones. Pikette didn't even know what to feel for him.

"Why Chris!?" she yelled at him, the tears coming to her eyes. "After all we've been through, and you're just going to throw it away like this!?" Chris looked to her, pain in his eyes as he tried to get to his feet. "We made a promise that we would finish Zena once and for all, and now you've joined them!? You were my friend Chris! You were practically a brother to me! I loved you! And now..." She then looked away as the tears came streaming down her eyes. "I don't know what to say... I just feel sorry for you now." She then walked away from him, sobbing quietly.

Chris tried to get to his feet once more, but the pain made him fall down again. The tears were in his eyes, not from the pain in hos body, but the pain in his heart. "Pikette..." he then said. He then broke down crying. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

It was going to be a long way back for Pikette now. She had lost Chris for good, and for her, it was heart-breaking. All of a sudden, she felt something hit her neck. Giving a gasp of shock, she quickly pulled the object out, and saw that it was a tranquilizer dart. But it was too late, as the drugs were causing her to become groggy. Before she blacked out, she heard footsteps and saw men coming towards her. Then, she saw in front of her the same Bagon she encountered before. "Payback's a bitch, ain't it?" he said before kicking her in the face, ultimately knocking her out.

(A/N: Oh no! Everything is just wrong! WRONG! Well, you might think so, but I intended it this way. Both Pikette and Chris are in really bad shape. This was practically supposed to be the most emotional part of the story, other than the ending. Speaking of endings, this is actually the second to last chapter of the story, or well, I guess I should say third in a sense. But don't worry, the ending will be most epic, because I have to close this entire series with a huge bang! Oh man, and to think once this is all over, I'll be starting all new again practically. I know it's real early to say this, but in case I forget, I hope you all enjoyed this series I made, and that's including all of them. But once this is over, I have to take everything to the next level, to make myself a better writer. Anyway, enough ranting from me, hope you enjoyed the chapter.)

FoxMcCloud7921