Trapped in the Darkness – Chapter 17

A Pokemon Fanfiction

I forgot to elaborate on something in past chapters . Ruby and Sapphire are the ones figuring out all the tricks because of the Trick House in the Hoenn region. Remember that guy?

Anyway, just enjoy this next chapter!

Pearl: The author owns nothing!

~000~

There was absolute silence as the clicking began. Green turned to face the group again, a hand still clutched around the door handle.

"What was that . . . ?" White wondered aloud. Green pursed his lips, looking towards the ceiling above the group. The sounds grew to a chorus of clicks, getting louder and louder by the second before they ceased again for the moment.

"Something's not right," someone whispered. Green didn't bother seeing who it was.

A faint chuckling filled the growing silence of the room, and Green turned his head to see the chest of Petrel completely still. The Viridian leader's eye widened. He turned back to the group, his jade eyes frantic and searching.

"Guys, that's not-" Green was interrupted by a snap. The spear was sent speeding down. A flash of silver was all he saw before it lodged itself in his chest with a sickening sound.

The scream, shrill and ear-splitting, came from Platinum as Green fell to his knees, coughing out more red to add to the gathering puddle underneath him.

Laughter filled the room faster and Petrel's body disappeared in a puff of smoke. Cynthia had rushed to Green's aid just as the gym leader fell over on his side, crying out in pain as the metal tip of the obtrusive item trapped in his chest cavity clanged on the ground behind him.

Green's vision was getting fuzzier by the second, and blinking it away wasn't helping. The pain was getting in the way of everything: it hurt to breathe, it hurt to talk, it hurt to cough. Cynthia was yelling something to him but he couldn't hear her; the red-hot searing in his chest was making a high pitched ringing in his ears. He thought to himself bitterly that he would have preferred Venonat venom rather than this.

Reaching up to the pole, he wrapped his trembling fingers around the cool metal and grit his teeth as he pulled weakly on it in an attempt to pull it out. Pain exploded behind his eyelids in flashes of red, orange, and pink and he cried out, his arm dropping to the ground.

Panting, he opened his jade eyes again to try and focus on the things around him to fight the blackness that was growing slowly around the edges of his line of sight. Around him, the fear was almost as choking as the metal. Since all the colors of the room were blurring into one big, dull rainbow, he shut his eyes and fought the panic that was slowly growing in him.

Gold was somewhat right about the Pokemon. They must have been somewhere through the doorway that had caused this horrifying injury, or else the enemy wouldn't have tried so hard to kill whomever was trying to enter, right? If that much was true, then there must have been some way to disable the spear from falling and stabbing anyone in the chest. But where was it?

Green opened his eyes and tried turning his head to look around, but the pain in his chest was holding him back from any further movement. He managed to get a glimpse of the wall to his backside, but it was smooth and clear of any switches or security devices. There was no way that anyone would have been able to avoid the pole from spearing through their body like a piece of meat.

Green wrinkled his nose in disgust. That would mean whoever tried to go in there would end up dead, no matter whom it was. Be it a Rocket, a leader, or an imprisoned trainer, they would have been in Green's place, bleeding out in the floor.

Then Green realized something.

He was going to die in here.

There was no way anyone could help him. A spear through the chest wasn't just a flesh-wound. It wasn't something he could just walk off. Despite his pain and terror, Green smiled humorlessly to himself.

He had broken his promise.

He had broken his arm.

If it didn't hurt so much, Green would have laughed. He had that promise barely an hour ago, and he had just shattered it with the force of a Donphan breaking glass. He had to see Red's reaction to his dilemma, no matter what expression surfaced on that pale, expressionless face.

He strained his aching muscles and fought against the blackness in the edges of his vision to look for his friend, struggling to breathe against the heavy weight on his chest.

It wasn't hard to find him. Red hadn't moved a muscle, and Green wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even blink. He was standing completely still in the spot he had been standing in when Green pulled on the door. His poker-face had been shattered, horror replacing the normally blank mask. His eyes showed terror, pain, and grief. But worst of all, Green saw betrayal and anger.

Green, even though he was expecting it, felt hurt bubble up in his stomach, adding to the fear and pain that was already there, churning uncomfortably. He felt nauseous, he hurt all over, and now he felt tears stinging his eyes. He tried not top let them fall from his eyes, but a single, rebellious tear rolled down slowly across his face before he could stop it.

The blackness was growing stronger than he was. Sensing defeat, he closed his eyes and relaxed as much as he could despite the fire in his chest, gritting his teeth as he took in a shaky, shallow breath. His cheek met the cold ground, a small relief to his hot face.

"I'm sorry," he croaked.

Something inside Red snapped, like a cable that held all of his muscles in place as he saw his friend's eyes slide close and his lips formed those forbidden words. Green was not allowed to say those words. Not yet. He ran to his friend's side immediately, dropping to kneel beside his head.

"Green," he said urgently, trying desperately to see if his friend was still alive. Relief flooded his senses as Green gave a soft grunt in recognition.

"This isn't real. This can't be real."

Green cracked an eye open and took in a shallow breath. "This feel's like it's pretty real," he rasped, his voice forced and scratchy. "Reality sucks, huh?"

Red's poker-face returned, his eyes annoyed but slightly terrified. "Dumbass," he hissed around clenched teeth. "Do you even see where that pole hit you?"

Green opened both of his eyes to glare at his rival tiredly. "Oh, yeah," he said sarcastically. "I was really paying attention to where the fucking spear hit me in the chest, Red." He cringed before coughing up more blood. He spat, grimacing at the rusty tang.

Red flinched away from the blood despite his earlier accusations. He shook his head then, as if to clear his head before looking back to his rival. "Move your left foot."

Green made a face. "What the hell is that gonna-"

"Just do it!" Red ordered, hissing again. Green widened his eyes and did obediently, wincing slightly at the effort. Red smirked, convinced.

"It hit you straight in the exact center of your chest. If that's true, then it should have severed your spinal cord, paralyzing you from your neck down. Since you can move your foot..." he trailed off, trying to let Green figure out the rest.

A slow smile spread on Green's face.

Cynthia blew a few stray hairs out of her face. "Now that's a thought process." She stood, looking around the room with a serious expression. The faint sounds of battle in the other rooms seemed to heighten, and Cynthia motioned for her Garchomp to move closer to her.

"Petrel," she called out, her voice clear and hard. "We know you're just playing your mind games. Green's perfectly fine."

Laughter echoed. "Oh really? You guys are pretty observant. I thought it was pretty realistic." There was another chuckle. "Even thought it's not real, it still feels like it. Right, Green?"

Green raised his middle finger at the air and there was more laughter. "Fine, fine," Petrel's voice said calmly. "I'll take it out now if it's really that uncomfortable." There was the sound of snapping fingers and Green shouted in pain. The spear disappeared, the blood fading away like it was never there. Green hissed out a breath as Red put an arm around him to help him up.

"You're sick," he muttered, standing up on shaky legs. He hung his head as it cleared, an aching sensation in his chest where the pole was. He felt a familiar pair of eyes make it's way over his entire being worriedly. "I'm alright," he answered quietly to Red's probing gaze beside him.

Red frowned, but struggled to get a better hold on his friend as Cynthia continued speaking.

"Come out and face my in a battle," she said. "Or continue hiding like the coward you are."

There was a snort. "What are you talking about? I've been here the entire time."

Green felt a presence behind him and Red went rigid as a pair of hands went to their shoulders, squeezing gently. Green yelped, jerking his head around uncomfortably to put the enemy in his line of sight. Red helped his turn around to see without discomfort. Petrel stood there, a Drowzee by his side and a smirk on his face.

"So sorry to startle you," he said, pursing his lips. He crossed his arms, and took a step forward, but Green and Red took a step back. He smirked again.

"Petrel," Gold said, his voice low. Petrel moved his gaze to look at the raven, his smirk turning into a sincere smile. Gold looked determined, his head bowed somewhat, and he kept his fists at his sides. He looked less like the Gold that many got to know in the cell. "What do you want with us?"

Gold's voice was hard, his anger uncharacteristically contained so it was only lightly found in his voice. Petrel raised an eyebrow, his smile still tugging on his lips.

"I have to keep you from retrieving your Pokemon and items," he said simply. "Also, the boss want me to take out the leader of this little revolution."

Crystal took a step forward. "And who would that be?" she asked sternly.

Petrel dropped his smile, his eyes widening. "Are you guys really that dense? Wow."

Pearl stood, an arm around Platinum as she stifled sobs. "I know who it is," he muttered darkly. He raised a hand to point toward Green. "He is."

Green blinked, raising his head and the ache began to fade. "What are you talking about?"

Red sighed irritably at his friend's density. "I'll tell you once we get out of this mess, moron," he murmured, rolling his eyes.

Petrel laughed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He searched through them for a moment before pulling something out, jingling as he shook them. All eyes shifted to them, a few of them tensing to leap toward them.

"Yup," he affirmed, "The keys to your Pokemon and the door."

Green narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Wait. The door doesn't have a lock."

Petrel chuckled. "Another illusion." He snapped his fingers again, and suddenly the door had a lock on it.

Green's expression swapped from curious to unamused.

"Petrel," Cynthia repeated. The magenta haired man turned his head to look at the black-clad woman, showing he was listening. Her lips were in a tight line. "I will battle you for those keys."

Petrel rose an eyebrow before looking at the ceiling, making a humming noise of thought. There was a minute of silence before he answered. "Nope."

Cynthia's expression exchanged to flabbergasted for a split second before she balled her hands into fists. "Why not?" she asked incredulously, a bit louder than she expected.

Petrel threw his hands up in the air, spinning the keys on his finger like the answer was obvious. "I have no chance of winning."

There was silence, Cynthia not sure how to respond as she fumbled for words.

Then there was a battle cry.

Sapphire screeched, running toward Petrel and leaping on him before beginning to pummel him with her fists. "Give us the fucking keys!" she screamed, punching harder.

Petrel, who was surprised by the unexpected attack, snapped his fingers before disappearing. Sapphire stood up and looked around, enraged. "Where did he go?"

He appeared beside Diamond, Platinum, and Pearl nursing a swollen cheek. Platinum screamed, startled. "Shoot," he said. "You know how to throw a punch!"

Diamond took this opportunity to grab the keys from his hand when he wasn't looking and Pearl jerked his head forward. His skull made a audible cracking noise as it collided with Petrel's, and the Rocket sunk to the floor after the headbutt. Pearl shook his head, hissing in pain.

"Ow, ow, ow," he said, rubbing his forehead. "He has a really hard head."

Gold grumbled. "Tell me about it."

Diamond threw the keys to Sapphire, who caught them skillfully with one hand before trudging to the door and putting the key in, twisting hard. The doors creaked open and Sapphire sighed shrilly in exhaustion and irritation.

"Finally!" she said. Sapphire waved for people to follow her. "Come on!"

The people scattered around hesitated for a second before following after the blue-eyed wild-girl, Green and Red staying behind for a second with Cynthia.

"Are you coming?" Green asked her, struggling to stand by himself as his legs were still weak. Red got a stronger grip on his friend when he noticed this.

Cynthia smiled, shaking her head before pointing to Petrel. "I will battle him, whether he thinks he has a chance or not." Her smile turned mischievous. "After all, he was pretty right about that, and he deserves a prize."

Green grinned, giving her a thumbs up. "Awesome. Good luck!"

Cynthia nodded. "You too," she said before walking toward the now truly conscience Rocket.

"Come on," Red breathed. "We need to catch up." Green nodded, looking in the way of the door's dark hallway.

"You lead," he said. Red chuckled and Green looked over at him curiously. "What?"

Red's crimson eyes returned to him, and his smile was soft. "I've been waiting a lifetime for you to say that." Green rolled his eyes, looking back at the door.

"Well, come on. Let's go."

~000~

Arceus, I love these two with so much of my being.

Sinnoh swag. Aww yeah.

Reviews are lovely~

Thank you!