Chapter 33
Ominous, black storm clouds approached the untainted serenity of Mount Quena, driven before a southerly wind, bringing tropical moisture up from faraway Hoenn. The humidity increased dramatically as the storm cell approached. The dead silence of all living creatures in the forest as the sky darkened only added to how foreboding this particular storm looked. Mewtwo had gone to the closest human town the previous night to read the minds of everyone to make sure that when Joasia and Mateusz had gone outside the boundaries of Mount Quena they hadn't been seen.
As Mewtwo had begun to leave the town, he had looked at a television in an electronics store, and the late night news was on, predicting that the coming storm would be a 'once in a century' event in terms of severity. Mateusz and Joasia's ban from leaving their set boundaries had been lifted that day, but it was unfortunately looking like they weren't going to be able to get out much that day. A loud roll of thunder signalled that the storm was now really close as the wind began to pick up, causing the branches of the trees to gently sway.
The sky was beginning to get dark as the clouds eclipsed the midday sun. Large raindrops began to fall from the now overhead cumulonimbus clouds with their towering storm heads reaching thousands of metres into the air. The wind intensified as the rain began to fall harder and faster than before. A lightning bolt crackled through the air above the mountain and a loud boom of thunder rolled across the sky with enough intensity to make the ground vibrate.
The mewtwos and the others were hiding below ground in the cave complex near the lake as Mewtwo had said they would be safer there than in the cave that was in the forest. Joasia and Mateusz sat by the entrance of the cave along with Mewtwo, watching the storm as it blew in and intensified. The rain began to bucket down and very quickly puddles of water began to form in the forest outside the entrance of the cave system. It was quite fortunate that the way in to the cave was elevated slightly so that the water did not flood into the cave.
"How long do you think this deluge will continue?" Mateusz asked Mewtwo.
"Human meteorologists think it will last for today and tomorrow, and they expect flooding in low lying areas," Mewtwo informed Mateusz with information he had seen on that television screen the previous night.
"Huh, sounds kinda serious," Joasia said with a nod as the rain continued to pour down.
A flash of lightning that appeared to be nearby and a loud clap of thunder caused Joasia to squeal and cover her ears. This made Mateusz chuckle, but that quickly earnt him a sharp glare and a hit to the back of the head from Joasia.
"Owwwww… That actually hurt you know…" Mateusz said as he rubbed the back of his now sore head.
"That's what you get for laughing…" Joasia replied.
"But it was funny, am I not allowed to laugh when I find that something is amusing?" Mateusz asked.
"It was slightly amusing, Joasia," Mewtwo confirmed.
"No, it wasn't funny!" Joasia responded angrily.
Another flash of lightning accompanied by an even louder and more sudden clap of thunder caused Joasia to yelp for a second time. Mateusz emitted a loud burst of laughter and received another sharp glare from Joasia, which caused him to stop laughing abruptly. But soon, Joasia's glare softened, and gave way to a smile.
"I suppose it is a little funny," Joasia finally agreed as she started to laugh after realising the context of why Mateusz found her yelping amusing.
Mateusz began to laugh again after realising he wasn't going to be hit in the back of the head again. The comical laughter soon died down as it began to hail outside the cave. This hail wasn't just your usual, pea-sized hail, this hail was golf ball sized and very quickly the hail began to cover the ground outside and make it as white as snow.
"Geez, it's as if the very sky is falling upon us," Mateusz commented at the intensity of the storm.
The sky outside was now entirely filled with a blanket of black storm clouds, and the wind blew like a hurricane, breaking branches of trees and sending them hurtling through the air as if they were mere toys to be tossed about by a child throwing a tantrum…
Rain pattered on the window of an office in the tallest high rise building in the city. The rest of the city was shrouded in a heavy rain that severely limited visibility. Strong winds caused the skyscraper to sway ever so slightly, but it was built to withstand this kind of battering from the elements. The large metropolis consisted mostly of modern high rises and skyscrapers as there was only limited space available for building due to surrounding forest covered mountains.
The weather had done something rather odd; it had caused the entire city to go silent. There were no cars driving on the streets of the metropolis and no pedestrians dared to venture outside for fear of being bowled over by the strong winds and soaked to the bone by the driving rain. A man in an orange suit casually observed the unusually severe storm from the highest office in the tallest skyscraper. A well looked after persian sat by his side, preening itself in a delicate manner.
"It seems to be fortunate that you got here before the storm hit, Giovanni. Even better is the fact that we are unlikely to be interrupted since no one is coming in to work today," a man who sat in a tall black leather chair spoke.
"Yes, it is rather fortunate that we could conduct our business under these specific circumstances," Giovanni replied as he turned to face the man who sat at a large wooden desk on the other side of the office.
"I suppose you have come to ask for more assistance, what can I do for you?" the important looking man asked.
"I need more money, 500 million pokedollars would be sufficient," Giovanni said as he took a seat at the opposite side of the desk.
"Oh, well, I've already siphoned as much money from the pokémon league as I could without looking suspicious over this past year, and I already gave it to you. If you had come to ask for resources apart from money, that would be a different story and I'd be able to help you out," the man replied as he sharply inhaled.
"As CEO of the Johto pokémon league you have access to all the funds of the company, including profit made from selling products in pokemarts. You should be able to take a little more, after all, you shouldn't forget who helped you get this far in your career," Giovanni told the CEO.
"I'm telling you that I can't, they'll start to suspect me, and I'll lose my job, and probably even end up in jail!" the CEO responded, appearing to be flustered.
Giovanni clicked his fingers and two Team Rocket grunts entered the top floor office. They each had a pokeball in hand and threw them into the middle of the office floor. Two houndoom burst out of the pokeballs and began to growl as they glared at the CEO.
"We can do this the messy way, where you get burnt to a cinder and this lovely, luxurious office of yours gets ruined, or we can do it the risky way where you transfer the funds and make up an elaborate excuse for why 500 million pokedollars have vanished. It's your choice," Giovanni threatened the CEO of the Johto pokémon league as he smirked.
The man's face was plastered with shock as what had just happened registered in his mind. Within a few seconds the man regained his composure and hardened his face.
"It cannot be done, I am telling you! I'll probably be flagged immediately by the processing system and it may even stop the transaction!" the man continued to protest.
"Houndooms, ember attack!" Giovanni commanded the two pokémon that stood before him.
The houndooms both let loose with simultaneous ember attacks which collided with the wooden desk, causing it to go up in flames. The smoke from the flames set off the sprinkler system and soon the flames were put out. The CEO had been cowering throughout this and his expensive suit was drenched and covered in soot from the burning desk.
"That- was your only warning shot, now go and transfer the money," Giovanni warned the frightened man.
"No! I have told you twice now, it cannot be done! It is a sheer impossibility!" the CEO yelled angrily after standing up.
"Fine, now you burn," Giovanni darkly stated before commanding the houndooms, "Flamethrower attack!"
The two houndooms each unleashed a powerful flamethrower attack, rapidly heating up the water that had soaked into the CEO's suit, thus effectively boiling the man alive. The screams of agony pleased Giovanni as the man began to turn red like a cooked lobster; it was always pleasing to know you could swat away those who opposed you like a fly. All the water had now boiled out of the man's suit, which was instantly set ablaze as the houndooms continued their relentless flamethrower attack. The houndooms soon ceased the attack but the man continued to burn, flailing about wildly and screaming. His skin began to make crackling noises as all the moisture was sucked out of it by the heat. Smoke set off the sprinkler system for the second time, but it was not enough to put out the huge flames that engulfed the man.
"We are leaving now, but on the way out, find the accounting office and hack into the fund accounts for the pokémon league. If you manage to get in, send 500 million pokedollars to Team Rocket's account," Giovanni ordered the grunts as they withdrew the houndooms into their pokeballs.
They all exited the luxurious office and left the CEO to burn. Giovanni proceeded to exit the high rise after a long elevator ride down the tall building and enter a heavily armoured black limousine. The grunts however, did as Giovanni said and searched for the accounting office of the building. The two grunts soon found it on the 38th floor of the skyscraper and began to hack into the computer systems there. The sophisticated hack soon did its job and got past all the security systems that were in place to access the accounts.
"Giovanni's been in a bit of a bad mood lately, what do you think caused it?" one grunt asked the other as they started to send the funds to Team Rocket's account.
"I don't know for sure, but there's been rumours going around that the main headquarters has been severely damaged," the other one replied.
"Oh wow, no wonder he's easily angered at the moment," the first grunt responded.
"Yeah, and apparently some device he's been developing for months was destroyed in the incident," the second grunt continued.
The first grunt sighed before saying, "I can't help but wonder am I really in the right place, I mean, I don't see how Team Rocket will make the world a better, more organised place if we take it over. I think the whole idea of Team Rocket is just a cover up for a massive criminal empire with power over everything. Maybe I shouldn't have joined in the first place…"
"You better watch what you say, believe me, you don't want to be considered disloyal… You could end up in serious trouble. Don't speak about the matter again, or I shall report you. Team Rocket is strong!" the second grunt said as he performed a roman salute.
"Alright then, let's just get this transaction over and done with so we can leave…" the second grunt replied with a sigh…
