Chapter 6

The air seemed to vibrate as Spike tore through pokémon after pokémon. There were almost no breaks in between take downs and Sam was quite certain that Sector Seven was learning a very good lesson about screwing with him and what happened when you did it. Spike was one of the oldest pokémon on the preserve that was still battle worthy and he would be battle worthy for a very long time yet. That was one of the many good things about the Nidoking species.

There was a reason why Sam had chosen him to battle instead of Mojo because while he loved the big mutt to pieces Spike had almost twenty years of battle experience on his Arcanine. Spike had at one time belonged to his father much like Clover had once belonged to him mother. Unlike Clover however Spike had been raised for battle and to protect. In fact Sam was quite sure that the old Nidoking lived for battle and it was something that he wasn't going to argue with.

Not when Spike's love for battle was one of the only things keeping Simmons and his men from taking Bumblebee away from them. He knew that the old Nidoking would fight until he could no longer stand if it meant keeping him safe. The old Nidoking had always been protective of him, even more so since his parents and grandfather had died.

Sam winced as a sharp pain ran through his mind. Spike had just knocked out an enemy pokémon and was already moving towards the next pokémon. Sam was grateful that he could hardly see what was going on through the mist that still lingered between him and the battle. He was also thankful that he didn't need to call out any commands. Spike knew what he was doing and didn't need Sam to direct him. Unlike Cupid who was battling to Mikaela's commands.

It was sad that for intents and purposes Mikaela was more or less invisible to him at that moment. Oh, he knew that she was still there he just hadn't paid the girl any mind since the battle had started. She didn't seem to mind all that much seeing how she had her own battle to focus on. The last thing she needed was for Cupid to get caught by the swarm of pokémon that were after him.

He was doing fairly well from what Sam could tell, which wasn't much considering how high up they were. That however didn't matter because it wasn't Cupid's battle that he needed to focus on but Spike's. Spike was what was important to him because Spike was what was keeping them safe on the ground.

"Witwicky! How about we settle this the proper way?" Simmons voice called from the other side of the mist. Sam winced again as another sharp pain tore through his head as yet another pokémon was taken down. His head was beginning to pound and he was certain that he was headed past a regular headache and towards a full blown migraine. The pain was enough to make him wonder about the number of enemy pokémon on the other side.

"What did you have in mind Simmons?" Sam called back. If there was a way to end this without anymore battling he was all for it. Even if he didn't completely trust Simmons to keep his word no matter what the man suggested. He wanted this battle to end as soon as possible and if it meant what he thought it meant then he was willing to do it. No matter how much it went against his nature.

Ooo

Bumblebee wasn't too sure about what he should be feeling about the battles that were raging above and in front of him. He'd come across pokémon battles while he was learning about Earth and its customs but he'd never seen one before. Well he'd never seen one like this before. The few battles he'd seen since he'd arrived on Earth had been between children and had been nothing more than two pokémon ramming into each other two or three times before they were worn out and the battle ended.

He'd understood that they were merely for practice and exercise and no real harm had been intended. Besides he'd always been to busy looking for clues about Megatron and the Allspark to pay attention to the battles that were held by the older and more experienced trainers. He knew however that the creatures humans had dubbed pokémon could be dangerous to humans and the other creatures that roamed the planet, he had no desire to find out how vulnerable he and his fellows were to the creatures. Primus, that was one of the main reasons that humans caught and trained the creatures. They did it to protect themselves from wild pokémon.

It made sense to him in a way though he'd seen it mostly as slavery at first. The humans had seen the potential in pokémon and turned them into slaves for their own selfish purposes had been what he'd first thought. He hadn't cared to see the truth then. It had taken more time than he cared to admit for him to see the bonds of love and friendship that tended to grow between most people and their monsters. There were even pokémon that only evolved if they were loved enough or so he'd read though he didn't quite understand how that worked.

He hadn't truly come to understand the bonds however until he'd met Sam. Sam who was an oddity even to him because he wasn't like other humans. No, Sam wasn't like other humans at all. Sam healed instead of hurt. Sam raised and nurtured and cared and loved. Sam was a healer if he'd ever seen one. Sam healed physical wounds as well as wounds of the heart and soul. Or at least that's what the words engraved on the wood above the front porch to Sam's home said.

"To heal body, heart, and soul." Sam wasn't a soldier in any way or at least he hadn't been until now. Until Sam had decided that he was worth fighting for and protecting. Watching Sam send one of his pokémon into a fight was like watching Ratchet run headlong into battle and kill Cons instead of healing his comrades. It was wrong because unlike the two humans trying to protect him he could see through the mist that surrounded them like it wasn't even there. He could see the fight that was going on between the pokémon that Sam had released and the others. It wasn't really something that he was enjoying watching.

It didn't matter that the fight was fairly one sided and that Sam's beast seemed to be winning. He didn't want the Sam that battled. He wanted the Sam that healed back. He didn't like the Sam that sent his pokémon out into battles where the odds were stacked against them and the chances of loosing were greater than that of victory, no matter how the battle was going at the moment because he knew that the other side hadn't gotten serious yet.

He didn't want to see the creatures that Sam and Mikaela had sent out to protect him hurt. He wanted them to call them back and to make the fighting stop. This wasn't the friendly fighting he'd seen in some battle or the battles for sport that were meant to find out who the strongest was. This was a battle for him and he hated it. Bumblebee fought the urge to close his optic's as he watched the battle but couldn't bring himself to.

There was nothing else he could do while he was pinned to the ground and to close his optic's to the fighting wouldn't mean that it had stopped. He'd still be able to hear the battles and pick them up on scans and for all he knew that might be even worse. Sam and Mikaela were doing this for him and it'd be like a betrayal to try and block it out. He'd be denying the sacrifices that they were making for him and he couldn't bring himself to do that. Bumblebee did however have to fight back the urge to whine when Sam's shoulders jerked.

Bumblebee had noticed the teenager making that motion before and had assumed that it was some sort of tick that showed when the boy was battling. He was sure now that it wasn't because Sam winced whenever one of the battlers was injured and it almost seemed like Sam could feel their pain as if it was his own. Bumblebee was too sure if he liked that thought or not. The idea that there was something that could hurt Sam that neither he nor the boys pokémon could protect him from made his spark hurt.

The idea that Sam might just be hurting himself in some way to protect him made the pain even worse. He was Sam's guardian. He was supposed to protect the human that their fates rested upon and it wasn't supposed to be this way. Everything had been turned around and was backwards. He wanted things to go back to the way they were supposed to be. He knew that they wouldn't and he found that he hated himself for what he was forcing Sam and Mikaela to do. He wished that they weren't trying to protect him because he was sure that things would go wrong if things continued going the way they were.

Ooo

The world around Mikaela didn't exist. There was no Sam and Bumblebee next to her. There were no government agents on the other side of the white mist that surrounded them and separated them from the rest of the world. All there was to her at that moment in time was the battle being fought between Cupid and his pursuers. It was the battle that she was focused on. She was a coordinator after all and her battles were works of art. This battle would be no different. It didn't matter that Cupid was at a disadvantage when fighting the swarm of electric and steel type pokémon that were after him.

They'd taken down tough opponents before and this battle would be no different. She'd prove to Simmons that she wasn't the delinquent that he thought she was. She'd prove herself no matter what it took. No one was going to look down on her if she had her way. She'd show the world that they were wrong about her and then she'd laugh. Mikaela had every intention of proving that she could take care of herself and while she was still slightly unnerved by the alien robot that they were trying to protect she had no intentions of letting Sector 7 get their grubby little hands on him.

She didn't know what would happen if they did manage to capture Bumblebee but she was sure that it wouldn't be pleasant.

"Cupid use Dragon Breath." Mikaela ordered as she watched her Altaria turn in the air so that he was facing the pokémon chasing him. There was the slightest pause as Cupid inhaled. A moment later the sky was lit up with violet flames.

The high heat of the attack had two of the more battered Magneton falling from the sky and towards the earth below. Mikaela smirked in silent satisfaction as she watched the pokémon fall. Now all she really needed to do was get rid of the rest of them and they'd be good. She knew the odd of that happening however and they weren't as good as she would have liked. Steel types had high defense and were weak against very few types.

There was also the fact that it was completely possible that the Sector 7 goons had flying types that simply hadn't been released yet. If that was the case then she knew that their attempt to keep Bumblebee safe would fail. She wasn't going to let that stop her. Blue eyes widened slightly as Mikaela took in the sight of the Magnezone that had just gotten behind Cupid and was about to launch an attack.

"Dragon Dance!" Mikaela all but shouted as she watched a bolt of electricity launch itself at her pokémon. Cupid was quick to answer her command. Cupid twisted quickly in the air only to have a stray bolt strike the cloud like feathers of one wing. Flight feathers had just been clipped. The soft humming that had filed the air before quickly turned into a loud cry of pain as Cupid plummeted towards the ground spinning wildly.

"Shit!" Mikaela cried as she pulled out Cupid's pokéball and called the dragon back. Mikaela took only a moment to offer Cupid a silent apology before she replaced his pokéball and reached for Adair's. It was time to fight with fire. It was only Sam's hand on hers that stopped her from succeeding.

"Sam let my hand go." she growled,

"I'm going to take them down." Sam merely looked at her for a moment before shaking his head.

"No, let me handle this Mikaela. Simmons and I are going to have a proper battle and I need you to stay here with Bumblebee so that way they don't try anything." Mikaela wasn't sure if she should smack Sam or yell at him. Did he really think that Simmons was going to keep any sort deal?

"Do you really think that you can trust him?" Mikaela hissed. Sam turned to look across the field of thinning fog and at the figure that Mikaela had to assume was Simmons before turning to look at her again.

"No, I don't think he can be trusted but this is the fastest way to end this. If I do this right we might be able to fee Bumblebee and get out of here."

"And how are we going to do that?" Sam, shook his head before answering.

"I'm not sure yet."

"Oh, well that's just great Sam."

Ooo

Simmons smirked as he watched the two teens that were becoming easier to see with each passing second. Some part of him wasn't at all surprised by the fact that they were arguing. The two of them were teenagers after all and no matter how they were raised they were going to clash in some way eventually. It just happened that now was apparently their time to clash.

"What are we going to do sir?" Simmons turned his head and looked at one of the agents that had showed up in order to help capture the NBE's.

"For the moment you're going to wait. I know what I'm doing. I've handled a psychic or two before and Witwicky won't be any different." The younger agent blinked.

"So you have a plan, Sir?" Simmons smirked and nodded.

"I have a plan that you wouldn't believe." He hadn't been joking when he'd said he'd handled psychic's before. In fact he liked to thin that other than intimidation that taking down annoying psychic's was his specialty. Not many people understood how to get around the humans that were gifted with mental powers beyond understanding but he did know and he was planning on putting that knowledge to use.

It'd be tricky. There was no doubt in his mind that it would be anywhere near easy especially with an empath of Witwicky caliber. He did however have an advantage or two working for him and he planned on using them. All he had to do was take his time and be sure that he made very few mistakes and by the time he was through with Witwicky and his little girlfriend they wouldn't know what had hit them.

Ooo

Sam's whole body was tense. He knew what was about to happen and no matter how much he didn't want to do it he knew that he had too. If he didn't things might just go on forever and they didn't have time to drag things out anymore. What needed to be done had to be done and he was going to be the one to do it no matter how much he didn't really want too. He wouldn't let anyone else bear the blame of what was to come.

Mikaela could protest and cuss at him all she wanted and it wasn't going to do a thing to change his mind. Sam knew that she didn't trust Simmons to keep his word. Sam didn't trust him either but that didn't matter anymore. He was doing this to keep pokémon from getting hurt in the battles that could still be raging around them. If doing this meant that the battles and pain would stop then it's what he would do.

He wasn't meant for battles especially long drawn out battles. If he had to battle he preferred to make them quick and as painless as possible. Winning wasn't worth the pain that both he and his pokémon endured. No victory was worth the pain. Or at least it hadn't been before now. Now winning was all that mattered and the pain would be worth it.

Sam wasn't stupid he knew the battle that was about to happen between him and Simmons probably wouldn't be very quick at all. Sam wasn't even really sure if he could make it through the entire battle without his brain turning to goo inside of his skull but he was going to try. Because Bumblebee was worth it. The protection that Bumblebee and the other Autobots stood for was worth it. There was no doubt in Sam's mind that had the Decepticons decided to attack and the Autobots not been there that the people and pokémon of the planet would have been able to defeat them eventually.

There would have been many deaths along the way but victory would eventually come. The Autobots were a form a hope. A hope that when the Decepticons did attack that they would be there to fight them off and prevents millions of deaths. With the Autobots by their side, even temporally, the chances of ending the battle before it reached the point that the Legendaries noticed was great. The last thing that the world needed was for the Legendaries to get involved. He didn't want to think about how the planet would suffer between a Legendary dieing and being reborn and Arceus forbid a major power like Kyogre or Groudon should die. He didn't want to think about that.

No, at the moment he couldn't think about that he had other things to do. A soft nudge to one of Sam's hands drew him out of his inner ramblings. He looked up and into Spike's dark eyes. The battle scarred Nidoking was giving him a calm and steady look. Sam offered the old warrior a half smile and placed his hand on Spike's head.

"Are you ready?" he asked. Spike snorted and nodded before giving Sam a look that seemed to say "I was born ready".

"Good because I'm sure that this battle won't be easy." Spike snorted and turned so that he was facing the approaching Simmons. The Nidoking took a few steps forward placing itself between Simmons and its trainer. Spike eyed the man that dared to put his masters child in danger and roared the sound loud enough to rattle the glass in the windows of various government vehicles. Spike was ready to continue fighting no matter what.

The old Nidoking didn't seem to care that he had just been in a battle and was already sporting wounds from it. Sam watched as Simmons smirked and took his place on the other side of the battlefield. The man had a single Great Ball clutched in his hand. Sam tensed as Simmons emotions brushed against his mind.

The man before him was annoying in a way. He was very good at hiding what he was feeling which meant that unless Sam was next to him he wasn't going to get much of a read on the man. That suited him just fine at the moment however because it meant that he had one less thing for the empathic part of his brain to focus on.

The downside was that he was going to feel every single blow that the pokémon dealt to each other with more clarity.

"What do you say we get started kid?" Sam didn't offer Simmons an answer and he doubted that the man was actually expecting one. Simmons lobbed a not so nice smile in Sam's direction before throwing his Great Ball into the air. There was the usual red flash that heralded the release of the captured pokémon. Sam winced slightly as his eyes landed on the pokémon that Simmons had released. A Sneasel. It was an almost utterly brilliant move.

Not only did the smaller pokémon have a type advantage but it would be hard to hit due to its size. Not only that but Sneasel were amazingly fast and fierce. It was the perfect strategy to use against Spike's size. There was a single moment of tension is the air before both pokémon lunged at one another neither waiting for their trainers commands.

Ooo

"Snip use Ice Beam." Simmons called as he watched his Sneasel take on Witwicky's Nidoking. There was no doubt in his mind that he could succeed in taking the bipedal tank down. Snip had been well trained and had gone up against many opponents larger than himself. Snip didn't hesitate at all when it came to launching the frozen beam of air at his current opponent. Spike however wasn't going to let himself get frozen solid.

He'd faced many a foe that had had an advantage in type and they didn't scar him. He took the attack head on swinging his massive tail around to meat the icy blue mean. Spike's tail froze solid but it didn't seem to bother him. A few slams against the ground had the frozen appendage freed with only lingering cold.

"Spike use Earthquake." Sam called from his side of the battle field. Spike charged forward a few steps before jumping into the air and slamming back down onto the ground. The ground beneath his feet shivered and then seemed to roll outwards from his point of impact. It was with satisfied eyes that Spike watched as his smaller opponent was thrown to the ground. Snip didn't stay down long however. It took only a second for the Sneasel to regain its feet and lung at spike claws bared and ready to attack.

"Use Metal Claw." Simmons called.

"Dodge it Spike." Both pokémon acted on their trainers orders only there was no dodging the incoming attack. Sharp claws tore into Spike's side leaving long scratches that wept blood. Spike roared in pain and swung his tail at his opponent again. It missed.

"Spike Fissure." The command hung in the air for half a second before Spike slammed a massive foot into the ground. A single ray of light raced outwards and towards snip who jumped just as the attack would have struck him. It had been a risky move. One that would cost Spike a great deal. Simmons smirked.

"Dark Pulse and aim it at the ground." Snip wasted no time. One second everything was visible and the next dust and dirt was filling the air effectively blocking much of the battle from view.

Ooo

Sam shuddered and tried to fight of the sudden urge to take his attention off of the battle. His head was pounding and he was quite certain that he was either going to be sick or pass out completely if things continued on the way they were. He had to end the battle and he had to do it soon.

The days stress was beginning to take its toll. Brown eyes focused of the dusty air before him. He could make out Spike's hulking figure but he couldn't see Simmons Sneasel. He could feel it but he couldn't tell if it was going to attack or not. Sam caught Mikaela moving out of the corner of his eye but ignored her. She hadn't said a word since his battle had started and Bumblebee had gone quiet when the battles had first started. That was good because he didn't have time to focus on them. All his attention needed to be on the battle before him.

"Use Icy Wind then Ice Beam Snip." For half a second Sam didn't comprehend what Simmons had ordered. His brain didn't want to acknowledge what he'd heard and he knew why.

"Spike use Thrash!" Sam called. He was desperate and he knew it. Thrash was a last ditch effort to wind the battle that was being fought. Spike was at his limit and the two ice attacks the he was facing would more than likely take him down. Sam could hear the thuds as Spike's tail and feet slammed into the ground. A sharp pain ran through his head followed quickly by another. For half a second Sam's vision blurred. He didn't know which one had been hurt but one of them had.

"Sam?" Mikaela asked her voice worried, "Are you okay?" Sam shook his head in an attempt to clear it and ignored Mikaela's question. He had to keep focused on the battle at hand. Well on the battle and on not passing out.

"Sam, answer me damnit!" Mikaela's voice seemed to echo in his ears. "Mikaela, shut up." Sam growled his voice low. "I need to focus and you aren't helping."

"Well, then answer my question instead of ignoring me." she hissed. Sam opened his mouth to reply biting words on the tip of his tongue.

"Mikaela if you can't keep…" The words died as utter agony tore through Sam's senses. Sam swayed for a moment before his knees hit the ground. Sam blinked and was sure that Mikaela was calling out to him in panic.

Bumblebee might have joined her but he couldn't tell if the noise he was hearing was from his ears or from the robot. Sam forced his head up in time to see Spike crash to the ground in front of him. He had to force his hand to reach for Spike's ball so that he could recall the downed pokémon to safety.

"You loose Witwicky." There was a split second for Sam to become aware of the pokémon in front of him. All he saw however were a pair of red eyes before everything went dark.

Ooo

I think I might just go and give myself a swirly or something now. Sorry it took me so long to update but the battle scene in this chapter kicked my ass. I'm not very happy with it but I doubt that I could do better. I'll try to update soon though I think it may be at the beginning of next month. I have three other stories to worry about and plan on updating one a week.

I hope you guys review. Now I'm off to watch the MTV Movie Awards.

Simmons

Snip - Sneasel