The Year of Rocket's Revenge
Session: May, Part 3 (05.09.06/05.01.10)
An EKG machine sat connected to a body lying in a hospital bed, but it was reading that the patient's heart wasn't beating. It was flat-lining.
But then, all of a sudden, it started registering heartbeat after heartbeat in succession. As it did, Pikachu walked into the room, saw this, and reacted...
"Pika... pika piKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
[Translation: "Alive... it's alivEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" As in this story.]
Friday, May 9th, Saffron City Medical Center Psychiatric Ward
"He's nonresponsive, I'm going in," Yagami said as he reached for his radio. "Yagami opening 12C for medical emergency."
"Copy that," replied the in-house dispatcher.
Having been given the go-ahead, Officer Yagami inserted his key and unlocked the door. After opening it, he, the orderly, and the doctor slowly stepped into the padded room. They walked over to the unconscious inmate and started to examine him.
As they did, they were unaware that the door had been closed and locked behind them. The three were trying to help an illusion, convinced that he was an actual person. The inmate himself was looking on through the window, his eyes glowing red as he watched the scene unfold. He smiled, then started to slip out of the white strait-jacket he was in - one he had unloosened some time ago. Underneath it was a complete guard's uniform. He completed the ensemble by attaching a fake mustache to his face and then placing a guard's cap on his head. He then proceeded to walk towards the exit, eyes still glowing as he did.
"We'll be reunited soon, my brother..." he cackled.
Cerulean City Gym
Daisy was watching the news on TV from the main lobby as Violet and Lily ran about, trying to feed the Pokémon while continuing to prepare the gym for any mass-scale attack.
"All continues to be quiet in Vermilion City for the third straight day," the news reporter on TV stated. "After five days of non-stop fighting between Team Rocket and the forces of Vermilion City, things have quieted to a standstill. Neither side has moved in over 50 hours. Team Rocket's forces remain based within a five-mile radius of the city limits, both on land and at sea. But the militia in Vermilion has done nothing either, only fortifying weak positions, taking stock of damage, and trying to heal the sick and injured. Lieutenant Surge has refused to talk to the media since the unofficial cease-fire began, and has continued to deny reports that the leader of the Rocket Invasion Force is former Junior Master Marco Pereira..."
Saffron City Medical Center, 17th Floor Lobby
Cassie was sitting by the nurses' station, watching the same news report Daisy was. Or half-watching, as she had a small open folder on her lap, and she was sifting through it. After all, she was still the Pokémon Junior Master, and despite the ongoing crisis across the region, there was some work that couldn't be put off.
Nearby, Ivysaur was patrolling the hallway, particular paying close attention to the door into Room 1705 every time she walked by.
"I hope I'm making the right decision by doing this," Cassie said aloud.
Meanwhile, down at ground level, Arius and AJ were at the in-patient front desk, trying to visit someone. Unfortunately...
"I'm sorry," the nurse told them after searching the database. "There's no patient by the name."
"How can that be?" AJ asked. "We've been searching high and low in this city for a week, find out she's here, and you're telling us she's not?"
"Once again, I'm sorry," the nurse apologized again.
AJ was about to explode, but Arius put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head, telling him such an act wasn't necessary.
"We must have the wrong hospital," Arius said to the nurse. "Thanks for looking."
With that, Arius headed for the exit. AJ grumbled as he followed. But as they reached the automatic sliding doors...
"What's wrong with you? You know she's here! She's lying to us!"
"She's telling the truth, AJ."
"What?"
"I should've figured this from the start," Arius mumbled. "Our target is in the hospital, but she wouldn't know because she doesn't have the security clearance. Remember whom we're trying to get, after all."
"Then why don't we get..." AJ was about to argue before realizing where Arius was going. "If we did that, that would draw suspicion to us!"
"Exactly. And then we'd never get through without having to go through a slew of security guards. We'll have to figure out another way to get her."
Back on the 17th floor, Cassie heard a familiar dinging sound fill the air. It was the sound of the elevator arriving. She usually ignored it, as it was usually one of the nurses coming up to start her shift. But she paid much more attention today, as she was expecting someone.
And sure enough, that someone stepped through the doors after they had opened. It was a blonde-haired girl, maybe a year or two older than Cassie, dressed in a button-laden orange jacket and a pair of khaki dress pants. She wore glasses over her eyes and had a white beanie hat plopped on top of her head.
And she was pleased to be up on the 17th floor.
"Ah, you must be the new afternoon security," Cassie said with a smile. "My name's Cassie..."
"Oh my stars, you're Cassie Banks?" the blonde squealed. "The Pokémon League Junior Master! It's so great to be in the presence of such a talented trainer! Especially one that's a girl!"
"Well, thanks! It's always nice to meet a fan."
"I'm willing to do anything to assist you in your work!"
"Good, because this is a very important job. I hope you realize that everything you do while here is top secret. Anything you do up here must stay confined to this floor! No one, absolutely, no one, can know why you're here or what this job entails."
"Don't worry... I won't say a word!"
As Cassie flipped through the folder, which was apparently the new girl's security clearance paperwork, the new girl turned away and made a remark under her breath.
"And soon enough, she won't be saying a word either!"
"Before I show what you're exactly doing," Cassie told her, "I need you to fill out a few final forms. I hope you understand... this is very high clearance, and I have to absolutely make sure you're on the level."
The girl nodded. "I understand."
"Very well... let's go find a room where we can have some privacy, Dominique."
Cassie led the way, while Dominique quickly took stock of the surroundings, noting the one nurse at the station and the Ivysaur on patrol.
"Heh..." Dominique snickered. "This'll be TOO easy."
Arius and AJ were on their way back inside, this time disguised as hospital janitors with mustaches.
"This is going to work, right?" AJ asked, fiddling with his fake mustache.
"Just act natural. Trust me... I've had plenty of training in mastering the art of disguise."
"An alarm?" Cassie wondered out loud as she heard it ringing in the hall.
"Oh my gosh!" Dominique gasped. "Should we be worried?"
"Maybe it's a false alarm," Cassie guessed as she got up from her seat and headed for the door. "Let me go check the nurses' station."
Dominique growled under her breath over things not falling the way she had hoped.
"No way anyone knew I was coming here! That is, unless..."
She quickly turned to Cassie, who had just put her right hand on the doorknob. Suspecting she had already been found out, Dominique reached into her jacket and flung something thorny from it, right at Cassie's head.
It was a black tulip.
And Cassie knew it was coming the whole time.
With one swift motion, she ducked just underneath the tulip, which inserted itself in the wall next to the light switch.
"I knew there was something off about you!" Cassie exclaimed.
"But not quick enough to save your life!" Dominique yelled, whipping off her clothes to reveal her black and white Team Rocket Secret Ops uniform.
Cassie sensed the Rocket operative pulling a trio of tulips out and throwing them at her. She leaped out into the hall to avoid them and managed to dodge two of them. Not the third, though, which grazed the back of her leg, causing her to wince in pain as she landed face first on the floor. Cassie got to one knee as the Team Rocket operative slowly trotted over to her.
Then, all of a sudden, Ivysaur appeared, jumping up and ramming the Rocket operative in the back. She stumbled forward two steps, at which point Cassie reached out with her right arm in such a way that resulted in the operative losing her balance and falling forward onto the floor. The impact knocked both her beanie hat and glasses off.
"If you thought it was going to be that easy, you thought wrong!" gritted Cassie through her teeth, as she was now up on both knees.
The Rocket operative didn't seem to be pleased with being rammed in the back, as she did her best to mask her pain as she attempted to lift herself up off the floor. All while doing so, she smirked as she noticed a small trickle of blood coming from where the tulip had gotten Cassie's right leg.
"If it's a fight you want... then it's a fight you'll get..."
Back in the stairwell, Arius and AJ had reached the access door to the hospital's 17th floor. Both teens took out a Pok ball and had them at the ready, based on whatever might be waiting for them on the other side. Arius reached for the doorknob and was about to turn when he suddenly froze. AJ was not happy with Arius' hesitation.
"What are you doing? Open the blasted door already!"
Arius quickly snapped out of it. "Oh, right."
He turned the knob and opened the door slowly. After taking a quick peek down the hall and seeing it empty, Arius went through the doorway, with AJ right behind. The door swung closed behind them.
Arius and AJ made their way down the hall stealthily, slowly making their way to the center of the floor, where the nurses' station was. AJ peered around the corner as Arius pulled out a miniature copy of the floor plans from his pants pocket.
"Okay, according to our intelligence, the target is in 1705, just a couple of doors down."
"We've got trouble."
"What, AJ? Security guards at the station?"
"I don't see anyone, but I certainly hear someone. Two people, in fact."
"Saur! Ivysaur, saur!"
"And... an Ivysaur?"
Arius joined AJ in looking around the corner. It was at that point that they saw a visible sight of a battle taking place, as the remnants of Razor Leaf fluttered out from the far side.
"Is that all you've got?" shouted a female voice. "Take this!"
More sounds of fighting filled the air. Then, a white-gloved hand popped out, reaching for the top of the nurses' station counter as if to pull the hand's owner up. Shortly thereafter, a blonde-haired girl walked out into view. Her right hand was holding her up, using the counter as a support, while her left hand was placed on her aching back. The young woman was flustered by the circumstances that had led to this point, but she was still focused, as if she was still determined to complete the job she was here to do.
And it didn't take long for Arius and AJ to figure out why she was here, given the Team Rocket uniform she had on.
"She's part of Team Rocket!" AJ exclaimed.
"We have to stop her," Arius said, tossing out his Pok ball. "Let's go, Magmar!"
AJ tossed out his as well. "Go get her, Sandslash!"
The operative was surprised, to say the least, when Magmar and Sandslash materialized before her, blocking her path. Arius and AJ stepped out from behind the corner, intent on keeping her from completing her mission.
"How could I have underestimated..." she murmured to herself.
Ivysaur then trotted out, ending any thoughts of the operative turning around and going back the way she came.
"Saur," Ivysaur said defiantly, immediately getting into a defensive position with vines ready."
"No way..." Arius suddenly remarked, sensing a familiarity about the grass-type. "Could it be..."
Cassie limped around the corner, still wincing in pain from the cut to her right leg... and also now to a matching one on the inside of her right arm.
"Cassie!"
"Wha... Arius?"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" the two shouted in unison.
"I could ask you all the same thing," stated the female Rocket. "It seems the Junior Master had security to keep an eye on her security."
"You're on official Pokémon League business, Cass? And what did she do to you?"
"Yes, and none of your business, Arius! Especially if you're here for what I think you're here for!"
"So I see..." the operative realized. "The PTA got wind of it as well. Very well, then. I guess there's no use denying my intentions. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Agent Double-Oh-Nine of Team Rocket's Special Operations force. But it's simpler to just refer to me as Domino."
"The Special Ops, eh?" AJ smirked. "You rotten Rockets must really want that girl as much as we do if the heavy-hitters are coming out. That's fine, because you're not laying one finger on her as long as I'm standing in the way!"
"Stand down!" Cassie shouted at AJ. "None of you should be up here! This is a restricted area, and I'll have no one get in the way of my mission! To protect the patient in Room 1705! That's my goal, and neither Team Rocket or the Pok mon Trainers' Association will get their hands on her!"
Cassie then glared at her ex, Arius, shooting virtual daggers from her eyes at him.
"And that especially means YOU!"
But Arius didn't seem phased in the least bit.
"I'm sorry, Cassie, but we must do what we came here to do. I would explain my reasons, but since you no longer care what I have to say, it's pointless to debate the issue."
Arius then snapped his fingers, and Magmar quickly spewed out a Smokescreen. The area quickly filled with black smoke, instantly making it difficult for Cassie, Domino, or Ivysaur to see or breathe. Domino quickly threw a black tulip in the direction of where Arius had been standing, but the sharpened flower ended up hitting nothing but drywall.
Arius and AJ quickly ran to the door into Room 1705, then were dismayed to find it locked. But they weren't gonna let that deter them.
"Sandslash, use Slash to slice through the door!"
"Sandslash, slash!"
Within a matter of moments, Sandslash had ripped the door into several pieces, which all promptly fell to the floor. AJ stepped over the remnants and into the room. Once inside, his attention immediately turned to the lone bed. Lying unconscious in it with only her head not buried by the thin light blue bed sheets, AJ could already tell this was the girl that they were sent to retrieve.
"Beautiful brown hair, a gorgeous face... I can't believe she's this great trainer Miss Masters says she is!"
He then quickly eyed all of the medical equipment she was hooked up to, and started to grow some concern.
"Hey, Arius, are you sure about this? I'm no medical expert, but how do we know that all this stuff hooked up to her is keeping her alive or not?"
"They wouldn't send simple freelancers like us if that were the case!" Arius yelled from out in the hall. "Now, hurry up!"
Finding the response acceptable, AJ whipped off the bed sheets. He could see that her entire body, as well as most of both of her arms, were wrapped in bandages, and both of her legs were encased in individual plaster casts from the knees down. The bandages on her body were covered by the hospital gown she had been dressed with. AJ quickly went to work disconnecting all the wires attached to her. Moments later, Arius and Magmar ran into the room. Magmar and Sandslash kept an eye on the open doorway while Arius ran over to the window and tried to get it unlocked.
"You never told me how we're going to get her out of here, especially given that your ex, a high-level Team Rocket operative, and security are all standing in our way!"
"Already on it! Just get her ready for transport!"
Arius pulled as hard as he could and finally got the window to start sliding open to his left. Once the window was ajar as far as it could go, he went to work kicking at the protective screen. Meanwhile, AJ had removed the last of the wiring and had gotten the girl to an upright sitting position.
But before they could proceed any further, both felt themselves nearly frozen in place telekinetically. Arius managed to turn his head just enough to see Kadabra using Psychic on them, with Ivysaur standing in front of him, preventing Magmar or Sandslash from making a direct attack. Cassie was standing in the doorway, bracing herself by leaning on the left side of the frame, in order to take all of the weight off of her injured limbs.
"I already know how you're going to get out of here," she said aloud, "and I'm telling you right now, it won't work."
"Nothing personal," stated AJ, "but I don't see you stopping us in your condition."
"I'm stopping you from making a mistake that's going to kill you all! Arius, I already know what you're thinking, and I'll tell you right now, it's not going to work! We're too high up!"
"I can do it! Hypno and I are strong enough!"
"No, you're not! Even as strong as Kadabra and I are, there's no way we'd have enough strength to levitate someone to the ground from 17 floors up!"
"What?" AJ freaked, "That was your plan?"
"Hey, I was improvising!" Arius exclaimed. "Unless you wanted to try and fight your way all the way back down?"
"It would've been possible!"
"So... you're planning an escape, huh?" asked a sinister voice.
Two black tulips were thrown from behind and passed Cassie, and they both struck Kadabra on the arms. The sensation of painful thorns having pierced his skin, Kadabra stopped using Psychic, allowing AJ and Arius to move again. Both of them saw Domino now standing behind Cassie, holding a third tulip to Cassie's neck, essentially taking her captive.
"You don't mind if I help, do you?" Domino asked. "Why don't you start by recalling all your Pokémon?"
Arius and AJ both seemed reluctant, but they pulled out their Pokéballs and recalled Magmar and Sandslash, respectively.
"That includes you too, little girl!" she barked at Cassie.
"Fine," Cassie replied, as she took out Kadabra and Ivysaur's Pokéballs and had them recalled.
"You, on the bed! Move over by the other one, now!"
AJ grumbled as he gently lowered the unconscious girl back onto the bed, then got up and walked over towards Arius. Domino then pushed Cassie forward, and she stumbled right into AJ, who caught her with his arms.
"Now, weren't you doing something a second ago... like, say, trying to kick the screen off over there?" Domino asked, with a sly smirk on her face. "Allow me to help you with that..."
She threw two tulips at the screen's edges, dislodging it from the windowsill and sending it flying away. Domino kept her eyes on the three teens as she slowly limped her way over to the bed. She then took a seat on it, close enough to the unconscious girl's head so that she could easily reach down and play with a lock of her brown hair.
"You know, you could use your psychic powers on her!" Arius reminded his ex.
"Well, don't you think I would've already done that if I could!" she shouted back at him.
"Why are we letting her push us around, anyway?" AJ asked the both of them. "It's three-on-one, plus we have our Pokémon!"
"Because they know what I'm capable of," Domino answered for them. "The psychic, especially, knows that I took it easy on her and her Kadabra. For the moment, anyway."
She reached for the chart on the side of the bed and read the name that was scribed on it aloud.
"Giselle Gravelpot. Hmmm... not exactly a great name for a future Team Rocket operative..."
"If you think you're gonna take her..." Cassie threatened.
"But I am, because you won't be around to stop me. Now, back up towards the window!"
Arius, Cassie, and AJ slowly stepped backwards towards the open window, as Domino got up and mimicked their steps. She drew another tulip from out of her uniform and held it out menacingly.
"Now, turn around and..."
Domino was interrupted when she heard the sound of two hands clapping slowly behind her, from the doorway. Arius peered around Domino and was awestruck at who standing at the door.
"Finally, someone in Team Rocket that's menacingly evil... and she's got the whole package too."
"What are you blathering about?" Domino asked before glaring at Cassie. "And do you have every guy within 15 miles in your employ? Even ones twice your age?"
"Hey!" Cassie objected.
"It must be Giselle!" deduced AJ, before looking slyly at Giselle's unconscious form. "Man, if she can attract this many people when she's in a coma, imagine what it's like when she's awa..."
AJ never finished his sentence, as Cassie elbowed him in the chest.
"Why couldn't you stay locked up, Pauly?" Arius asked. "Last I heard, you were on the road to recovery!"
"Authorities will say anything to hide the truth, dear little brother," Pauly responded. "Besides, there'll be plenty of time to 'recover'... after I get rid of you!"
"Settle your sibling rivalries on your own time!" Domino yelled, throwing a tulip in Pauly's direction.
Pauly's eyes glowed dark red as he stuck his left hand out and used his psychic ability to stop the tulip in mid-air. It then fell unassisted to the ground. His whole body then glowed red, and then, to everyone's surprise save for Arius, the same glow enveloped Domino. With a flick of the wrist, Pauly used telekinesis to fling her to the wall opposite of the bed. The hit didn't knock her out, but she found herself in a state of temporary paralysis, unable to move any of her limbs to pick herself up. Satisfied with his work, Pauly powered down.
"You could've made a beautiful partner," Pauly noted. "Unfortunately, I can't be associated with anyone in an organization. Because evil is much more satisfying when you can call your own shots."
"Why didn't you tell me about your evil brother?" Cassie yelled at Arius.
"And how about anyone else you've severed ties with?" AJ asked. "You know, anyone else who hates you enough to want to kill you? Because if we're gonna be partners..."
"Now's not the time, AJ."
"But if not now, when? I don't want to be looking over my shoulder for danger every time I'm with you!"
"Three years of my life I'll never get back," recalled Cassie.
"My evil brother is right in front of us, and you're commenting on how it's my fault we're not together anymore?"
"Not to wanna repeat the words of a Rocket... but settle your relationship blunders on your own time!" AJ shouted at the ex-couple.
"Why don't I just kill you all so that none of you have to worry about settling things?" Pauly asked, angrily and impatiently.
Arius' older brother then began to glow red all over again, but this time red bolts of electricity appeared, surrounding a small radius around him that was rapidly expanding. Seconds later, a white light began to engulf the room...
The streets were packed with cars and pedestrians just outside the Medical Center, all heading to or from their lunch breaks. But the normality of the day stopped when an explosion rocked the area. Everyone's eyes turned skywards, expecting to see debris plummeting to the ground. But to their surprise, all they saw was a large blue field of energy containing the entire explosion to the 17th floor of the building. After about a minute or two, the resulting smoke started to die down. At that point, the energy field disappeared, with the only sign of only visible trouble on that floor was the leftover smoke that was still being funneled out of what was left of the window of Room 1705.
Inside the room, a burned and scarred Pauly laid on the floor unconscious. Two men in purple robes were using their psychic abilities to keep his vitals stabilized, while a woman and a third man used theirs to subdue any remnants of psychic energy in his body.
AJ was stunned by all that had transpired in the past few minutes, as he stood in the middle of the room, dumbfounded. Arius had managed to get Cassie over to a chair so she could sit down. He had already ripped off several pieces of his shirt and were using them as tourniquets to stem the flow of blood coming out of her right arm and leg. She didn't seem to be happy about it, but she didn't resist his treatment. In not fighting her ex's desires, she looked over at the bed. To her relief, Giselle was still there, no worse for the wear and unaware of what had just happened. Cassie then gazed over to the other side of the bed, where Pauly had Domino pinned telekinetically.
But Domino was no longer there.
Cassie turned her attention to the doorway, where she could see the back of the Saffron gym leader, Sabrina, who was in the midst of shouting out orders to several other robed men and women in the hallway. Once she was done and they all were dispersed, the psychic master entered the room.
Arius and Cassie watched as Sabrina immediately turned her attention to Pauly. She motioned for the two monitoring his psychic energy to step aside. They watched as Sabrina placed two fingers upon Pauly's forehead and observed as she absorbed what remaining psychic energy Pauly's body was still outputting.
"That ought to do it," Sabrina said, then turning towards the duo she had motioned aside. "Go and help the others."
The man and the woman nodded, and left the room. Sabrina then glanced around and saw that Giselle was safe and sound. As was Cassie, as she noted that Arius was next to her. AJ, meanwhile, had come out of his state of shock when he realized whom he was standing next to.
"So, you're the gym leader of Saffron City? If you're really as powerful as what you just did to stop that psychopath, then I definitely need to challenge you to a battle!"
"Maybe some other time," Sabrina responded, emotionless.
Four security guards walked into the room, including the one that Arius and AJ had gotten by on the 13th floor.
"That's him!" exclaimed the aforementioned guard, pointing at AJ, then at Arius. "And that one too!"
The guards then stepped out of the way as Officer Jenny and two fellow officers walked in to make the arrest.
"You're under arrest for trespassing in a restricted area!" Jenny declared as the two officers headed over to AJ.
AJ wasn't pleased with being handcuffed, and he initially tried to resist. But Arius saw this and immediately shook his head, signaling him to stop. AJ complied and let the officers do their job. The one who snapped the handcuffs on then began to lead AJ out, while the other headed for Arius. He stood up, holding his hands up high in the air to signify he wasn't going to resist.
"Wait a minute!"
Cassie got to her feet, but let out another wince of pain as she spread her arms out and blocked the officer's path. Everyone gasped at her rash decision to defend Arius... except Sabrina, who didn't react at all.
"Cassie," Jenny asked her, "do you know this person?"
Cassie looked up at Arius, as if to determine from his face if she should let him off the hook. But when he didn't seem to give him any signs, she started to wonder if he wanted to be let off at all.
After a few seconds of deciding, but as she opened her mouth to answer...
"No."
Arius made the decision for her, nudging Cassie aside and extending her arms forward, towards the officer.
"I've never seen this girl before in my life."
Cassie couldn't utter a response to that claim as the officer handcuffed Arius' left arm, then motioned for him to turn around and put his arms behind his back. Arius and Cassie were, for a second or two, facing each other, yet neither of them actually looked at the other. Once the handcuffs were on, the officer motioned Arius to head for the door. Only then did Cassie look in Arius' direction, as Jenny and Sabrina headed over to her to see if she was okay.
"Are you okay?" Jenny asked her. "We'd better get a doctor up here to check on your wounds."
"We're going to have to move her as well," Sabrina said, pointing at Giselle. "I'm not sure how structurally sound this room is right now."
"Speaking of which... great job on stopping Pauly and preventing anyone else from getting hurt..."
As Jenny continued to admonish Sabrina for her great save, Cassie shot one last glance at Arius as he exited.
And Arius gave a quick glance back in return.
To be continued in Part 4!
