Chapter 9: Fight Or Flight
Pandabot: Alright, so here is another chapter for you. This is another one that got re-written a few times, I think we ended up writing this chapter and the next couple about three times before figuring out what we wanted from this. So here it is, your long-awaited next installment of Pokemon: Soul Of Steel! Oh yeah, you should review and stuff
A light breeze rustled through the treetops, setting the reaching branches swaying lightly. Silver frowned from where he sat perched on his tree branch, situated on the edge of a large meadow, silently observing his newly-evolved Croconaw battling the various species of wild pokemon in the surrounding area.
On the branches directly above him lay his Sneasel; it had been sulking for the past week because of all the training that Croconaw had been getting. Amazingly, Silver had actually been feeling a little guilty about his one-sided attention.
Finally, Silver broke the odd silence with a muted snarl. He dropped to the ground and stalked over to where his Croconaw had just knocked out a Rattata with a single swipe. He glared at the water-type.
"Not fast enough Croconaw" he snapped. The Croconaw looked at him quizzically.
"Sneasel!" Silver shouted. He locked eyes with his faithful companion, who now stood, perfectly balanced in the swaying treetop. "Show him how it's done."
His Sneasel gave him a smirk and leapt gracefully from the tree, landing smoothly in a puff of dirt. Almost instantly he shot forward, sprinting at the Croconaw, claws spread wide. It was too late, but Silver's Croconaw tried to react to his blinding speed.
Sneasel slid under Croconaw's clumsy lunge, coming to its feet in a smooth movement just behind the off-balance water-type. With a swift kick to the legs, Croconaw was suddenly sprawled out on the ground.
Silver stepped up next to the fallen pokemon and spoke again.
"Like I said. Not fast enough".
JT sat on the soft mattress, staring down at the Pokeball he was rolling around in his hands; the halogen light on the wall next to the bed set the contours of the rough cave into shadow. Across the opposite side of the room, Lyra shifted on her bed, her back to JT as she lay curled up under her covers. Their room was shared by two other dozing rank 1s on the top two bunk beds.
Their mission that night had dragged into seemingly (JT and Lyra could only judge by the dinners they'd received and their twice daily shifts guarding the door) its third day. The Rank 1s were kept to their rooms until it was time for either a meal, when the group were herded into a stark dining hall and treated to hearty slabs of Grimer Gruel ("They just call it that because it looks like a Grimer" Lyra told herself to JT's continuing unease). The several Rockets assigned to keep them under their guard seemed fair enough and, unlike those in Violet City, didn't keep their pokemon out and at the ready; Lyra had quashed JT's hopes of fighting back however, by pointing out that the contents of each of their pokeball belts likely gave them plenty of reason to obey them.
The muffled sound of footsteps in the outside corridor was followed by a clank as the steel door to the dorm swung open and Cale marched in.
"Brooks, Treya. You're up."
JT turned his head, following Lyra's lead, and pretended to sleep as Cale leaned against the doorway and the two other Rank 1s in their dorm scrambled down from their beds. In a second they were gone, and the dorm was silent once more.
"Lyra…Lyra!"
JT flipped over and leaped across the room to stir his sleeping companion.
"Easy Jordy!" she complained, throwing his hand from her shoulder, "you're not the only one struggling to get sleep down here…"
"Sorry..." said JT sheepishly, "but Brooks and Treya are out and I think we've got another fifteen minutes or so before Cale checks in again."
"Fifteen minutes to do what exactly?"
"To think of a way out of here."
He slung himself onto Lyra's bed and hunched into his most thoughtful pose. "They've said nothing about how long they plan to keep us here and I'd rather not stick around to find out. Look…we get checked on irregularly enough for us to make a bid for the elevator, but regularly enough that we'll have to plan our movements carefully. The Rockets don't keep their Pokemon out but they do have them on the -"
"- you're assuming the elevator will take us of course," perked up Lyra doubtfully. JT sighed in reply.
"Yes, assuming…that…but we aren't watched while we watch the door, which means I could sneak off and try to case out another exit."
"We should take turns snooping…its fairer that way."
"Lyra no, I don't want you to get caught! We don't even know what they do to people who step out of line."
"I'll be able handle it," cut Lyra snappily. "Look, I think you're forgetting something anyway. We have a belt full of pokeballs," JT raised a hand but Lyra continued, "and we won the Zephyr Badge! We can fight!"
"No Lyra, I won the Zephyr Badge!" said JT forcefully.
Lyra's hopeful eyes sunk. JT rushed to talk but Lyra got there first.
"Oh I see! You want to get us outta here sneakily because you don't think I'll last in a fight!"
"Have you forgotten what happened in Violet?" flailed JT, "I couldn't live with myself if I dragged you into something like that again!"
"Well I wouldn't want to weigh you down Jordan!" Lyra withdrew with her pillow against the wall and turned away from her flustered companion. "We'll go with your plan ok? Now just go away please…" JT shot to his feet.
"I'll just go to the other side of the room then shall I?" he snapped back. Lyra turned to face him ruddy faced.
"Yes I think that would be for the best!"
Silver and Sneasel were back in the tree, watching Croconaw practice again. This time they shared a branch. Silver crossed his arms with a 'hmph!' causing Sneasel to open an eye at his master from the end of the branch.
Silver glanced at his pokemon and caught its questioning eye.
"You're faster than I remember," he said brusquely.
Sneasel closed his eye with a smirk; that was the highest praise he had ever received from Silver.
Silver watched, disinterested, as an Ekans launched itself at Croconaw. With barely any reaction time, Croconaw managed to sweep it aside, sending it tumbling into the open area underneath Silver's tree. He watched as the Ekans struggled to move and Croconaw lumbered over. Suddenly, the Ekans launched forward, slamming into the surprised Croconaw with considerable force.
Silver sat forward, suddenly interested, as the Ekans followed up it's attack with a Poison Sting, firing dozens of purple pin-shaped missiles at the angered crocodile pokemon. His sudden movement alerted Sneasel who quickly sat up, just as interested as the red-haired teen.
Croconaw barrelled through the poisoned needles, slamming the wild Ekans into Silver's tree, causing the perched pair to brace themselves as the branches rocked unsteadily. As it raised a claw to finish the Ekans off, the snake managed to quickly dodge, climbing the crocodile's body and wrapping itself around its neck.
With a roar, Croconaw managed to get hold of it and again throw it against the tree. This time when it collapsed to the ground it stayed down, shuddering in pain, and glaring angrily at the Croconaw.
Suddenly, a burst of white light emanated from the fallen Ekans. Silver strained as he leant forward to see the dark silhouette of Ekans begin to grow and change, gaining a hood and several feet in height. As the light died, a proud Arbok reared up, tired but poised for combat. Silver's eyes lit up; Oh, I want this one!
Silver looked across at the poised Sneasel, giving him a silent nod. Sneasel clung to the branch and swung around, ending up below it. In an incredible act of agility, it used it's momentum to flip, planting its feet on the underside of the branch. Then it leapt straight down, arrowing at the back of the exhausted Arbok's head.
A flash of claws and the Arbok slammed down into the dirt, clearly unconcious. Sneasel landed in a cloud of dust, forced to one knee by the speed of his landing. A pokeball dropped from high above, landing on the unconscious Arbok and sucking it into it's centre. Soon Sneasel had scaled the tree with the pokeball and was again lying next to his master.
With a smirk, Silver continued to watch Croconaw's training.
JT fidgeted with a Pokeball in hands while Lyra faced away from him, barely stirring. His thoughts raced; why can't she understand I'm just looking out for her? He barely acknowledged the prying visits of the stony faced Cale as he juggled his anger at Lyra's hostility and trying to think of a way out of the well.
Brooks and Treya's shift ended but they didn't return to the room. JT didn't have long to ponder the mystery however; a grim-faced Cale arrived shortly after they were due back to summon them to the dining hall. The stony expression of the Rocket was reflected by that of his Machoke flanking him as he passed the dorms.
As JT threw his sheets aside, Lyra turned and spoke for the first time since the argument.
"Machokes patrolling the corridors…what does that do for our plan then?"
JT clipped the Pokeball he had been handling back onto his belt.
"We better go," he mumbled, making for the door.
JT and Lyra made their way to the dining hall in silence, passing through the stares of a couple of Rockets and twin Graveller as they entered. There were no Rockets inside and so, after the two tables had been filled, hushed gossip began to circulate about the increase in security. At their table, only JT, Lyra, and a blank-faced, grey-eyed, boy with jet black hair at the end of the table were eating in silence.
"…and then there's what happened with Brooks and Treya…"
JT and Lyra snapped to attention.
"What about Brooks and Treya?" Lyra asked the red-haired boy across the table who had mentioned the pair.
"Got caught snoopin' around during their shift," he answered smoothly, swirling his slab of gruel into a small puddle, "word is they got taken to The Grill." JT piped up anxiously.
"The Grill?"
The red-haired boy narrowed his eyes and leant on his spoon.
"I have no idea," he answered matter-of-factly, "and I plan on keeping it that way."
An uncomfortable silence fell on the table as its inhabitants took to awkwardly shifting their lunch round their plates. JT had finished his and, feeling that getting up for seconds was better than stirring at the table, made for the large serving pot at the rear of the room. Lyra remained seated.
The pot was still half-clogged with the grey, un-appetising gunk. As JT reached in to dig some out, a voice chimed from behind.
"I see you're keeping you're energy levels up comrade."
JT wheeled around in a start (sending a pile of gruel sliding off his plate and across the floor); the gaunt faced boy behind him just gave a slight smirk and started loading up his plate. It was the grey-eyed boy who had been sitting in silence.
"Name's Sazo. And you?"
"Jordan...friends call me JT." Sazo begun scraping and banging his ladle against the sides of the pot as he reached in – he spoke quietly under the racket.
"JT…listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you," JT leaned in. Sazo spoke blankly, with a strict, straight expression. "I have a feeling we are all in grave danger. We may be test subjects or we may be human bait, and we need to find out what's behind that door and escape. If there's something strange going on here, we have to get it out to the world. I've already informed a small group of us; we'll be mobilising at 12am tonight. At that time, I'll make my way down the dorm corridor, gathering the best among us-"
"Wait, so why do you want me?" JT cut in, hissing to keep his voice down.
"I was impressed with the way in which you briefly stood up to the oafish blonde one on the train ride here."
"He's not in on your plan is he?"
"He is. I was impressed with the way he pushed you around on the train ride here."
JT blinked in disbelief – Sazo's straight face didn't falter. He peered into the pot and continued.
"There's a good chance we'll encounter opposition. You can bet that the Rockets down here will be alerted when we open the door, and if not then, when we make for an escape. There will be a fight…and that's not even taking into account what could be behind that door." JT's mind raced back to Violet City, snapping back as Sazo spoke again. "Do you want to bring your girlfriend?"
"She's not my girlfri-"
"Shhhh…" Sazo cooed, raising his ladle to JT's eyes. "Its up to you. If all goes to plan, we'll be able to come back for the others before we escape. Expect me at your dorm door at three minutes past the hour. You'll have time to think and discuss until then. If you're in, come out when I knock. Shall we synchronise watches?"
"I don't have one…"
"Have mine…I have four." Sazo whipped the watch off his wrist and cupped it into JT's left hand.
"Uhh…thanks…" JT stammered, somewhat taken aback by everything Sazo had told him. "Is…that all?"
"One more thing; don't do anything stupid until then. I've already seen two of my men succumb to their own curiosities. This means, of course, don't use any of your Pokeballs. We have no idea what they contain and we don't want to let our supervisors know anything's afoot. Or their pokemon," the grey eyed boy added grimly, his strict face framed by his lank, black hair.
"And that JT," Sazo stepped in and handed the overwhelmed teen his spatula, "is all."
The unrest JT had suffered in his time down the well paled in comparison to the hours he spent tossing and turning in the dark of the dorm that night; his flustered attentions repeatedly turned to the faint illumination of Sazo's watch sitting next to his pillow.
22:26
He and Lyra had spoken only a few cold words since lunch. She lay asleep on the other side of the room, her back turned to the wall. JT hadn't told her of the plan yet. If she knew, she'd want to come. A part of him didn't want to leave her; another part couldn't let go of her encounter with the thief they'd been pursuing. It seemed an age ago that they'd set out from Newbark.
22:51
JT's restless thoughts drifted from Lyra to his mother and he felt a sharp pang of guilt.
She's fine. Elm will make sure she's ok. Guy will make sure she's ok. She's fine.
23:28
JT had dozed off for a minute and woke with a start. The persistent glow of the watch reminded him to stay alert. In a worry, he'd thought about the 'opposition' Sazo had warned of. The cavernous path to the door would be pitch black at this time, save for the weak lanterns sparsely strung along it. They could stay hidden if there were guards about…and so could Rockets. But we have pokemon.
I have Zero. I can fight.
23:57
…but she can't.
JT was teetering on the edge of his bunk, running his hands through his hair furiously as Lyra lay as still and silent as ever. His frustrated thoughts from earlier came back.
Why can't she understand I'm just looking out for her…
As the watch ticked over into the new day, JT rose to his feet, tightening his belt of pokeballs and gloves. A minute went by. For a split second he was struck with the reckless urge to stir Lyra and hurriedly explain everything.
No! We can come back for her when we know what's going on out there.
Two more minutes went by. JT screwed his eyes shut and waited for the knock. He didn't have to wait long – although it was so slight he could easily have missed it.
"Ready comrade?" Sazo peered through the open doorway with two others already collected behind him.
"Yes. Let's get moving," replied JT shortly.
"And the girl?"
"...We don't leave without her."
JT couldn't bring himself to glance back as he slunk out of the room, gently clicking the door behind him.
A slight click at the door stirred Lyra from her restless sleep. She had been festering upon the argument earlier but had managed to drift off eventually. She knew, however, that they had bigger problems to address. She hissed across the room.
"JT…JT…"
She heard no response. She felt her way to her feet and made her way through the dark to his bunk. She reached for his shoulder and stirred.
"What…" she breathed.
Lyra tugged the bed coverings off to find only a pillow case stuffed under the sheets. She exclaimed but was silenced by a sharp knock at the door. She snapped to the sound, forcing her hand over her mouth. Another knock came.
"JT?" she hissed at the door.
She began to creep through the shadowy dorm towards the knocking. She hesitantly reached for the knob as she drew closer. As she finally grasped it, however, it swung open, nearly knocking her back. Stumbling, she looked up at the open doorway. Half-illuminated by pale lamp light was the stony-faced Cale, eyes narrowed intensely, making for Lyra. His gravelled voice rose as she gasped, frozen to the spot.
"Don't speak. Come with me."