Inferno, Chapter 15
Hello everybody, I'm back once again! Now, you've all probably been waiting on this cliffhanger, so we'll just get right into it. Story Spotlight; Blackthorn Hall, by Cyanide the Sneasel. Ratings; 1st) United States 2nd) Australia 3rd) Canada 4th) United Kingdom 5th) Barbados.
An Unexpected Ally
Blaze was woken by the severe rocking of the truck, coupled with the discomfort of sleeping against steel bars. He groaned and stretched as far as he could, waking up Lora in the process. She rose wearily and asked
"How do you feel?" Blaze's brows met together as he retorted
"I should be asking you that. Do you have your energy back?" She shifted against him and replied blearily
"A bit, but not by much. I think it has something to do with this cage, or that net earlier. I'm sorry I got us into this, Blaze. I thought I was helping a pokemon in distress. But it turns out I led us into a trap." Blaze rubbed her arm and told her
"Don't worry about it. We'll get out of here… somehow." He looked at the pokemon assorted randomly in their cages, many having succumbed to sleep as a result of their efforts. Some still struggled, but more weakly than before. The strange Lucario in the corner was still asleep, looking as if he didn't have a care in the world. Blaze growled inwardly as he tried to think of a strategy to get out.
After a moment, he leaned forward and brought forth his flame, trying to bend the metal of the bars so he could deform them enough to get out. Unfortunately, the cage sapped the energy out of his efforts, and he quickly stopped before it completely drained him. He needed his wits about him today, of all days. He grabbed one of the bars and yanked gently on it. It seemed to give slightly. Emboldened, Blaze yanked as hard as he could on it.
The result left him breathless and slightly paralyzed, as the bars had just sent a large current of electricity through his body, courtesy of his actions. Fortunately for him, he had long ago been accustomed to excess amounts of electricity. Such a current he had just experienced would have easily left larger creatures numbed, paralyzed medium-sized creatures, and killed smaller ones. Blaze shook the feeling off, and Lora said
"We should have guessed something like that would have occurred. Team Rocket isn't one to let its prey easily escape." Blaze frowned and asked aloud
"Where's Loki when you need him?"
Loki's POV
Loki was pacing the path directly in the area where Lora and Blaze had disappeared. He was bordering on a mix of irritation, frustration, and panic. After ten minutes, Loki became suspicious, so he followed the trail Lora and Blaze had cut through the forest. Upon arriving in a clearing, however, he noticed signs of a recent scuffle.
After looking over the area for five minutes, he rushed back out to the path and released his Gliscor. It looked up at him in curiosity, whereupon Loki told it
"I need you to fetch Nicholai Faddei. Give him this note." He handed a quickly scrawled letter, which the Fang Scorp pokemon placed within its hollow pincher.
"You'll find him in Striaton City. Bring him back here as fast as you possibly can. Understand?" The Gliscor saluted him, then jumped into the air and flew off at breakneck speed. Loki sighed as he knew the only thing he could do now was wait.
So he paced back and forth, not caring that he was hurting his feet. He waited for several hours, and when the tree leaves rustled more than usual, he looked up. It almost always was some bird or a particularly strong gust of wind, which only exacerbated Loki's stress.
At last, with a cry of
"Loki, what has happened?" Nicholai Faddei came crashing through the leafy canopy on Gliscor's back, who was currently panting from exertion. Nicholai clambered off its back, and Loki said
"Thanks. Now get a good rest." He returned it, then faced Nicholai. He was wearing a black trench coat, covering plain dark jeans and a black shirt. He also wore aviator goggles and a dark look in his eye. He asked
"Why have you summoned me here? Further, why did you request I come armed?" Loki hushed him with his hands, looking around covertly, then motioned for him to follow. He led Nicholai through the forest until he reached the clearing, then pointed the general area out and said
"I believe the friends I helped get over here have been kidnapped." Nicholai's gaze became disengaged, as if he had something else on his mind.
"Why do they call it 'kid'napping, even if the victim is not a child and is clearly not napping?" Loki rolled his eyes and said
"Nicholai, this is not the time for jokes. We've got a real situation on our hands here!" Nicholai growled in irritation, then pushed past Loki and inspected the torn ground himself. He followed a series of footprints behind a pair of trees covered by large bushes. He stepped behind and said to himself
"This is very good place for hiding. And footprints lead here…" He unclipped a pokeball from his belt and held it up, releasing his chosen pokemon. A female Lucario came out, looking upon her master and wagging her tail. Nicholai acknowledged her, then said
"Anna, I need for you to observe this area for any aura that is at least a day old. Can you do that for me?" She nodded and closed her eyes, her aura sensing organs lifting into the air. After a brief period of time, she moved in the same path as the footprints. Nicholai followed her and watched as she followed the trail. Loki came up and asked somewhat loudly
"What are you do-" Nicholai had clamped a hand over his mouth and said in a hushed voice
"Quiet, durachit'! She is looking at trail, and if all goes well, we will be in hot pursuit of your captive friends. Do not, however, ruin her concentration. Understand?" Loki nodded and Nicholai removed his hand. Together they watched the Lucario as she meandered slightly, then tilted her head before running in a certain direction, still with her eyes closed. Nicholai gave out a quiet cheer and said
"She has trail now! Come, we must follow!" He and Loki followed closely behind her, observing how she often paused, then rushed forward again. She came close to hitting trees but always managed to veer off at the last second. Loki was curious and Nicholai was frowning. Then Loki asked
"Why is she doing that? It makes no sense." Nicholai's frown evolved into a scowl and he replied
"The trail she follows is either that of a blind man or a drunk. In order to effectively trail our foes, she must follow steps exactly. Otherwise she could lose it, and we would have to start all over. That is why I urged you not to break her concentration." Loki nodded his understanding and continued to watch the Jackal-like pokemon. Eventually she stopped for a prolonged period of time, and her aura sensing organs dropped. She turned to Nicholai, whereupon he asked
"Anna, what happened?" She lifted her wrist and clicked a device that translated her words so both Nicholai and Loki could understand her.
"The trail ends here. It has dimmed severely, and I cannot proceed without assistance." Nicholai nodded and unclipped his second pokeball, releasing his second pokemon. It resolved in the form of a Gallade who had strange green swords tied to his back. He looked at Nicholai and he said
"Anna is following a trail to find Loki's missing friends. The trail has diminished, and she needs your help to pick it back up." The Gallade nodded and walked over to Anna, who hopped onto his back. The blades on the Gallade's back gave extra space between each species respective spikes, and the Gallade supported Anna under her legs. She rested her arms over his shoulders and placed her hands on his temples. She activated the aura sensing organs again and the Gallade began sprinting forward. Loki and Nicholai quickly followed, Loki asking
"What's going on now? And what are those blades on your Gallade's back?" Nicholai took a deep breath and began to explain.
"They are using a special method I developed years ago to enhance Anna's ability to track aura trails that have long since been cold. She connects her mind to Victory, and she activates her abilities. Victory can see what she sees but is not limited the way she is. When this method is used, she exerts much aura, but is incapable of moving. So Victory transports her." Loki eyed Nicholai skeptically and asked sardonically
"You named your Gallade Victory?" Nicholai briefly glared at Loki and pointed an accusing finger at him, saying
"I do not tell you how to lead your life!" Loki sweatdropped and said
"O…kay. So, what about the green blades on his back?" Nicholai huffed briefly, then shook his head and replied sadly
"Those are the blades of his father." Loki frowned and asked
"What do you mean?" Nicholai sighed and said
"It is tragic story. I found him as a Ralts one day in a bush. I fed and sheltered him, and he looked upon me as a father. It was touching, but in time he wondered where his real parents were. So we began to search for them. Unfortunately, we only found his mother still alive." Loki blanched for a moment and said
"What exactly happened to his father?" Nicholai shrugged and replied
"I am not sure, but I know that his blades, for he was a Gallade himself, were removed from his body and wielded as weapons for his enemy, a great disrespect. Victory was understandably angry, and by this time he was a Gallade. He challenged the opponent for his father's swords. The battle was harsh, but he would not be denied. He defeated and killed his enemy and lay claim to his rightful inheritance, the blades of his father. And now he is a master of four-blade style. Trust me, it is a sight to behold."
Loki paused mentally to process all of this, then asked
"Does Anna have as tragic a story as you and Victory?" Nicholai shrugged and replied
"I do not believe so. I found her as Riolu among my line of work. I brought her with me, she latched onto Victory, and the two have been very close since." Loki stopped asking questions now, but he still wondered how far Blaze and Lora would be.
Blaze's POV
Lora had tried putting some energy into the crystal, but the cage wound up sucking that out of her. Extremely irritated by this point, Blaze had resorted to kicking the bars of the cage with all his might, trying to knock them out. Some of the other pokemon saw what he was doing and tried to emulate him, but many went back down due to the electric shocks. Blaze, however, refused to give up, despite the pain.
After a half hour of the din, however, the Lucario woke up finally, only to shout out
"Would you all just shut the hell up already?! You're not getting anywhere with all your screaming and whining, so just give it a rest!" He laid back down, ignoring the curses and jeers aimed at him. He repositioned his scarf and promptly went back to sleep.
Blaze rolled his eyes and thought
"Damn, why is he so calm? I guess he doesn't know where he's headed."
Blaze shook his head and resumed his efforts for another ten minutes before his legs couldn't take anymore abuse. He leaned back, panting. Then he asked Lora
"Were you able to come up with a plan?" She slowly shook her head and replied
"Unless we get out of this cage, our chances of escape are very, very slim." She hesitated, then asked
"Is brute force always necessary?" Pausing at her words for a moment, Blaze inspected one of his claws, then said
"Alright, I think I get what you mean. Give me a sec." He scooted forward and pushed his arm through the bars, then attempted to pick the lock with his talons. Unfortunately, just as he nearly had it, the cage shocked him again, and this time was worse since he was effectively stuck.
"Blaze!" cried Lora, and she quickly helped pull his arm back in, leaving him panting heavily.
"Damn… it…" He faced Lora and asked
"What now?" She cast her teary eyes down and said
"We pray to Arceus that help will arrive in time for us to avoid a grim fate." Blaze scoffed and leaned back to rest, saying
"If Arceus really cared, he wouldn't have allowed Team Rocket to exist in the first place."
Loki's POV
The team had just found the tracks of a large truck, and Anna and Victory picked up the pace. Loki and Nicholai were fairly breathless by this point, but they persisted regardless. Loki especially pressed himself, hoping to save the pair he had spent many weeks helping. It would be poor for his self-image indeed if he allowed them to be returned to Team Rocket, where sure death awaited Lora and absolute, utter agony for Blaze.
After another couple of hours, Victory stopped because he needed a reprieve. Nicholai and Loki barely caught up to him, grateful he had finally stopped. Loki dared to ask
"How close are we to finding them?" Anna hopped off Victory and activated her translating device, responding
"The trail is still cold, but it can be followed. My guess is that we are still many miles away from your friends." Loki cursed and punched a tree, unable to reconcile all that was occurring now. Then he asked
"What are the chances we'll catch up with them?"
"Lesser if we stop for breaks like this. Part of it depends where the trial leads. Because it is a vehicle, it must follow a more or less established road, which makes our efforts easier. Moreover, every time it stops, which it does every now and then, it gives us a better opportunity to catch up." Loki frowned and asked
"How do you know it stops?"
"There is a collection of various auras in one location that is stronger than the current trail. That suggests that more than one living creature is confined in one space for an extended period of time. It also helps me locate the continuing path of the trail, though it dims after a certain length. But it can still be followed." Loki nodded his head and asked
"Are we in such an area now?" Anna nodded and replied
"Yes. That is why we take a brief reprieve now, but we should get moving again soon if we wish to catch up." Loki nodded once more, and Anna resumed her position on Victory's back. They quickly sped off again, ignoring the slight weariness in their limbs, and Loki began to pray that they could catch up.
Blaze's POV
At this point, everyone was resigned to their fate, even Blaze and Lora accepted that there was probably no chance of getting away. So for the moment, they were trying to enjoy their last days together, as they thought.
However, the pervaded silence was broken with a loud beeping. Everyone in the truck looked around, trying to locate it, and eventually turned to the Lucario with the scarf. He woke up and pulled a small device from under his scarf. He looked at something, then promptly shut it off. He returned it to his scarf and pulled out a small key. He unlocked his cage and stretched once he stepped out. All at once, the other pokemon began shouting for him to free them as well, all except for Lora and Blaze. They knew it would make no difference if they added their voices to the din.
The Lucario ignored them all and took a wide stance. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, and the dangling receptors on the back of his head lifted into the air. He worked something out in his mind, then reopened his eyes, the aura receptors dropping, and he shouted
"Everybody SHUT UP!" Silence once again filled the truck, and after a moment he said
"Alright, now if you want me to free you and save your lives, you're all going to have to do what I say." Automatically some of the more prideful pokemon, such as Luxray, Empoleon, and Charizard began to protest loudly.
"Why should we follow you?!"
"How can we trust what you say?!"
It went on like this for another minute before the Lucario roared out
"SHUT UP!" After things died down a bit, the Lucario stated
"You are all trapped in cages you cannot escape. We have a guard around us that won't hesitate to make some cadavers. After all, they fight less." That really shut everybody in the truck up, and he continued
"We are in a moving diesel, and we're nearly at a Team Rocket base, where you will all be subjected to tortures you cannot imagine. Although," he turned to Lora and Blaze, then said "I don't think some of us have to imagine it." Turning back to address the rest, he said
"If you think you can make it out without my help, then go ahead and prove me wrong. Otherwise, you'll have to do as I say to get out of this and live." After a brief debate, everyone began to acknowledge him as the leader. Lora turned to Blaze and asked
"What do you think? Can we trust him?" Blaze smiled grimly and asked back
"Do we have a choice?" The Lucario heard and frowned in Blaze's direction briefly, then shook his head and began to unlock the cages, one by one. After he unlocked them all and had everyone under his command, he looked around at them and walked over to a young Bulbasaur. He pulled out a white cloth and asked it
"Can you use Sleep Powder?" The young plant dinosaur-looking pokemon nervously nodded, and the Lucario placed the cloth in front of its mouth and asked
"Can you embed this with that, please?" The Bulbasaur was confused but complied. After that was done, the Lucario folded the cloth up and tucked it away under his scarf. Then he used his aura receptors again, and once he finished he shouted for all to hear
"Brace for impact!" Everyone rushed to grab the bars of the cages and hold onto each other, especially the children. Not more than half a minute after they had done so, a massive explosion could be heard outside the truck, and whatever it was had sent the truck over on its side, tumbling down into a ditch. The back doors flew open after the Lucario blasted them open with an Aura Sphere, and he shouted
"Take down the Rockets!" Blaze told Lora to stay behind with some of the other pokemon who were watching over the children and rushed out to join the fray. Once there, he began taking down the Rocket grunt's pokemon, one by one. On occasion, he also beat down a grunt, but never went for the kill. He had already done it once; he would not do so again. However, one Rocket grunt he had just knocked to the ground returned to his feet, only for his head to be brutally twisted to the side. He fell to the ground, never to get up again. Replacing him was the Lucario from before. Blaze stared at him with horror and anger, but the Lucario interrupted before he could object.
"I want a word with you and your companion once this is finished." He then dashed off to take down another opponent, and Blaze shook his head furiously. Right now, he had to finish this.
Half an hour later, most of the Rocket grunts lay either unconscious or dead, courtesy of the Lucario. Blaze was absolutely horrified by his actions and planned to demand an explanation from him. The remainder who had stuck behind peered out, checking for safety. Once it had been assured, they all hopped out, passing the children down, them running to find their parents among the group, or if they didn't have any, simply stood around.
"Alright," the Lucario called out, "you're all free to go. Enjoy your freedom." The rest of the pokemon cheered and quickly dashed off to the forests, leaving him, Blaze and Lora behind. Lora wanted to thank him, but Blaze wanted an explanation from him. They approached him, and he turned to them with the small device from before in his paw. He grunted and turned back around, saying
"You'd better make yourselves scarce better more Rockets get here. They will come, you know." Lora hesitated before replying
"Actually, we just came here to thank you. Right, Blaze?" Blaze's eyes flashed dangerously, and he growled
"No. I want an explanation from him." Lora and the Lucario turned to him, but before anything else could be said, the scientist emerged from the passenger side of the cab of the truck, and the Lucario dashed toward him. He used a choke hold on him, knocking his glasses askew, before taking out the cloth imbibed with Sleep Powder and forced the scientist to breathe it. Once the scientist was knocked out, the Lucario allowed him to drop to the ground. Another grunt, presumably the driver, fired a gun at him but missed due to his nerves. The Lucario's eyes flashed and he dashed forward. He promptly lifted the grunt by his throat, constricting his airways. Not more than a minute later, the grunt lay dead at his feet.
Lora was now as horrified as Blaze had been during the battle, but Blaze was just downright furious.
"Why are you killing them? Don't you have any empathy?" The Lucario eyed him strangely, then said
"You sure are weird." Blaze was very irritated now, and about to retaliate, but the Lucario's voice beat him to the punch.
"I ain't talkin' about the way you look; I mean that you're bottling all that up inside you." Blaze hesitated, then asked
"What do you mean?" The Lucario scoffed, then turned to Lora and said
"You know what I'm talkin' about, right?" Lora nervously and slowly shook her head, and the Lucario looked upon her with dismay.
"You mean even with all the emotion sensing abilities you have, you can't sense what this guy is holding back?" Lora shook her head again, and the Lucario threw his hands into the air in despair and hopelessness. Lora, curious now, began to probe his mind. What flashed by were disturbing images of his past, things that would have been better left unsaid and undone. The Lucario's eyes flashed angrily and he lashed back with Psychic. Lora gasped and stepped back at the lash back, and Blaze moved in front of her, charging a Fire Blast. He stopped though, when the Lucario said grimly
"Oh, so that's how it is." The Lucario looked upon Blaze with more pity now, which insulted Blaze's pride. Then he said
"Look buddy, I know how it is. But you shouldn't hold all of that in. It will take some time, but you'll move past what you did faster if you let her help you." Blaze stiffened and asked suspiciously
"Why would you say something like that?" The Lucario sighed and responded
"Don't try to hide it; you killed a Rocket grunt and now feel extremely guilty about it. Despite the fact that he would have led you back to your ultimate doom, you feel guilty about defending yourself." Blaze flinched at the statement, but didn't deny the words. How could he? After all, he was right. The Lucario turned a dark eye to Lora and asked spitefully
"What kind of mother are you? Adopted or not, he was still a child placed under your care. You should never have left him, no matter the reason." Lora tried to explain, but he cut her off, slashing the air with his arm and shouting
"NO MATTER THE REASON! I don't care what you say; there was no excuse to leave him alone, despite what you think! Don't you care?" Lora hung her head, shamefaced, and replied softly
"Of course I do, but-"
"But nothing! If you really care, then don't make excuses. Do better in the future." He paused for a moment, then said
"Your friends are coming for you. Go ahead and meet them down the road, that way." He pointed back in the direction the truck had been driving from. He walked over to the scientist and picked him up, hefting him on his shoulder. He brought out a small cube from underneath his scarf, pressed a button, then tossed it to the ground. He looked back at Blaze and Lora and told them
"Team Rocket won't be in Unova anymore, I promise you that. Don't ask me how I can, it just is. Good luck." A purple and blue portal sprang up out of the cube and the Lucario stepped through it. After he did, the cube short-circuited and broke, destroying the portal as a result. Blaze and Lora were just staring at the area until they heard a familiar voice shout
"There you guys are!" They looked back and spotted Loki running toward them, accompanied by a Gallade giving a piggy-back ride to another Lucario, and a dark-looking man with a black trench coat, shirt and dark jeans. They were panting as they stopped, but Loki threw his arms around Blaze and Lora, pulling them together and saying
"I'm glad we made it, but it seems you had this under control." Blaze shook his head and said
"Not quite, but I'll explain later. For now, let's just get out of here." The dark man beside Loki nodded his head and replied with his Russian accent
"Yes, let us be off. Victory, take us home, please." The Gallade nodded at him, then up to the Lucario he bore. She nodded back and the two began glowing with a bright white light. Soon they all disappeared from the road, leaving nothing but the carnage behind.
Okay, I think that made a good chapter. What do you guys think? Let me know soon, okay?