The key stung Blanche's hand as Dr. Dillinger pressed it into their palm. They could feel a buzzing energy flowing out of it and up their arm, and though their impulse was to drop it, they couldn't make their fingers release. It was like the strange, shard-like key had become an extension of themself. Their hand lifted on its own accord until the key pointed at the glowing, elemental orb above them.
"Blanche, what are you doing?" Spark reached for Blanche's arm, but suddenly flinched back, presumably as Dr. Dillinger activated the band around his head.
Candela watched over her shoulder, eyes darting. "They're opening the cages. Blanche! You can't do this. You're playing right into her hand!"
"I… I don't want to do this! I can't stop it!" Blanche said, but even speaking had become difficult. The sphere pulled at their arm and they couldn't look away as it began to lose its integrity. Lightning flashed away from it, and a cold wind flowed over them. Though they couldn't see what was happening behind them, they heard a clatter of metal and the heavy thrum of huge wings beating the air.
"Don't lie to your friends, Blanche," Dr. Dillinger said, her lips centimeters from their ear. They wanted to knock her away, but they couldn't move. "I think you do want to do this. You were practically drooling when I told you about the lost civilization. This is the kind of discovery that will put your name in the history books. Even if the notoriety doesn't appeal to a person as private as you, I'm sure you're still burning with curiosity. Your analytical mind won't let you walk away from a mystery like this."
"Don't listen to her!" Spark shouted, clutching at his circlet and trying lucklessly to remove it. "You can't let her through that door!"
"Sit down, Spark," Dr. Dillinger ordered as she tapped her communicator.
Spark cried out and fell to his knees. Candela took advantage of the distraction and latched onto Blanche's extended arm. She'd nearly managed to wrench the key away before Dillinger sent a pulse through her head as well, causing her to shriek and double over. The birds screeched as well, shaking the hall, but they continued flying over Blanche's head. They formed a halo above the orb, perfectly spaced, held aloft by the pumping of their massive wings.
Dr. Dillinger sighed contentedly. "Can you believe this is the part I was worried about? I thought you might not know what to do, or that the birds would refuse to fly, or a million other things would go wrong! But it was in your blood after all. You were born to do this. You can't even resist."
Electricity crackled between the tip of the key and the increasingly active orb. It seemed to be calling out to Blanche's soul, drawing them in. Though they couldn't avert their gaze, they could sense Spark and Candela easing up on either side of them, no longer fighting Dr. Dillinger's "crowns." As much as Blanche wanted to deny Dillinger's assertion, they truly couldn't resist the pull of the sphere, and it seemed their friends couldn't either.
The birds broke formation and, defying physics, hovered around the orb with their wings extended, echoing the design at the top of the stone door that Blanche and Spark had encountered. This was it. Blanche knew it was too late to stop, even if they could figure out how to. Lightning flashed between Zapdos and the sphere, and then a column of fire formed between Moltres' talons, and finally, a whirlwind of ice poured from Articuno in the center. In the corners of their eyes, Blanche watched arcs of electricity zip around Spark's body and a wreath of flame enshroud Candela, and yet they weren't alarmed. Ice crystals sprouted up Blanche's forearms, and it felt perfectly natural.
The bottom of the orb ruptured and expanded toward the floor, creating a wide pillar of ice and fire and lightning behind the thrones. Once it touched down, its center turned dark, reminding Blanche of a black hole. An icy wind blasted from the pillar, knocking Blanche back a step. The key fell from their hand, but it didn't matter.
The door had been opened.
Dr. Dillinger's laugh started low and subtle beneath the roar of wind and thunder, but it built quickly, until she was clutching her stomach and gasping for air. Blanche couldn't miss the opportunity to act, but when they tried to move toward the doctor, their legs failed them. Before they could crack their knees against the ground, Spark and Candela caught them under their arms and guided them back up. Blanche struggled to move their legs again, but discovered their feet had been encased in ice. Using Candela and Spark as support, they kicked against the ground until the ice shattered. Astoundingly, Blanche didn't feel cold.
"Beautifully done! Oh, isn't it incredible? Have you ever seen such a wonder?" Dr. Dillinger spouted, gesturing grandly at the doorway. "Years and years of scavenging for meaning among broken stone murals and half-eroded tablets, and we've finally done it! I could just kiss you! But I can see you're all in a bad mood at the moment. Why don't you take a nap until you feel better? Hypno, a hand here?"
Her hypno, who had been obediently standing on the sidelines, stepped forward.
"Close your eyes!" Blanche said. Just before they closed them, they caught the hypno's gaze lingering on Candela.
"Go ahead, use… what? Hypno, what are you…?" Dillinger's voice trailed off, followed by a soft thump.
Blanche opened their eyes and took a moment to assess the scene. Dillinger sprawled on the stone before them, her chest rising and falling peacefully, her eyes closed, mouth loose. Her hypno closed his hand around his pendulum to stop it from swinging, but it had clearly been aimed at his master. The scientists by the empty cages stared in shock, but the calm didn't last long. It took only a couple seconds for the first Team Rocket grunt to pull out a pokéball and call forth a victreebel. A dozen more scientists followed her lead, releasing a wave of golbats, raticates, rhyhorns, primeapes… Blanche couldn't keep up with them.
Spark launched forward, and Blanche tried to snag his sleeve as he ran past. Candela followed him and, not being hindered by an injured leg, beat him to the hypno. She spread her arms, as if that would be enough to protect the hypno from the oncoming surge of pokémon.
"Candela!" Blanche screamed, but she didn't flinch.
Spark caught up with her and stood by her side, mimicking her posture, forming a flimsy human barrier with her in front of the hypno. Dillinger's hypno. An enemy pokémon that had rooted around in their dreams and betrayed them to Team Rocket. An act of treason against his master did not absolve him. In fact, it just proved that this pokémon was not to be trusted, and certainly not defended! Even now, rather than trying to protect himself, the hypno was rummaging in Dillinger's coat, oblivious to the approaching army. Blanche couldn't avoid the memory of Spark huddled over the meowth in the storm a month before, risking his life for a child's pet. Blanche had wanted to understand why he'd done that, and had started to get there. But this? They couldn't comprehend it.
A magmar issued forth a bout of flame at Spark and Candela. Before it could reach them, a shadow passed overhead, and Moltres descended to take the brunt of the attack. It landed heavily, and the magmar's fire rolled harmlessly off of its chest. Zapdos soared past Moltres and unleashed an electric storm on the pokémon still charging toward the them. As it pulled up and prepared for another flyby, Blanche turned to find Articuno still in position above the pillar.
But something was wrong. The sides of the doorway flickered and distorted as the fire and lightning dissipated from it. Articuno pounded its wings against the air, fighting to stay in place. Once again, Blanche felt themself being tugged toward the anomaly, only something was different this time. They struggled to keep from tipping toward the unstable portal as a powerful wind pushed against their back.
Perhaps the comparison to a black hole had been more accurate than Blanche had intended. Without Zapdos and Moltres, Articuno was struggling to keep the door stable, and it seemed to be collapsing in on itself, sucking in everything around it like a dying star. Blanche protected their face with their arm as several stray papers blustered by and vanished into the dark, fluctuating pillar. If they could open the door, maybe they could close it, but only if the other two birds participated. But if they rejoined Articuno, Spark and Candela would be defenseless against the barrage of Team Rocket pokémon.
Blanche wracked their brain for a solution, but being sucked into a black hole proved to be a bit of a distraction. They lowered themself as much as they could to resist the pull and watched as Zapdos rained down lightning and Moltres spewed flame at any pokémon that dared approach. However, even the legendary birds strained against the increasing gravity of the collapsing portal. Zapdos dove for the ground and gripped the stone with its talons while Moltres tucked its head low to avoid flying debris.
Candela grabbed Spark's shoulder for stability and looked back at Blanche. "What's going on?" she shouted.
Blanche shook their head and planted a hand on the ground for extra resistance. "The portal is collapsing! Try to get Moltres and Zapdos back in place!"
"How are we supposed to do that?" Candela demanded, and ducked to avoid a clipboard as it was sucked into the portal.
Spark cupped his hand by his mouth as a makeshift megaphone. "Hey! Guys! Moltres and Zapdos!"
Candela shook him. "Do you seriously think two super-powerful legendary pokémon are going to respond to that?!"
Despite Candela's disbelief, the birds turned their heads. Spark pointed at the portal and the birds appeared to consider it, but then turned back to the few remaining conscious Team Rocket pokémon. They still seemed devoted to the task of defending Candela and Spark, even though the few pokémon that hadn't fainted were now falling back, fearful of the birds and of the portal's draw. A few of the knocked-out pokémon slid along the floor toward the portal and were saved by their trainers, who recalled them to their pokéballs in the nick of time.
"Forget it!" Blanche yelled, though their voice was carried away from them and they feared Spark and Candela wouldn't hear it. "Grab onto something! Don't get pulled in!"
Candela crouched low and took hold of the hypno's arm while Spark caught Dr. Dillinger's wrist as she started to slide away. They couldn't believe their eyes. Blanche was totally prepared to let Dillinger and her traitorous pokémon fly into the portal, but Spark and Candela had other ideas. They pushed away the creeping sensation of guilt and redirected their attention to finding a foothold.
But the stone was too slick, and there was no foothold to be found. Blanche's nails tore against the ground as they were hauled backwards, toward the doorway. They twisted around and managed to catch themself on the center throne's base. How long could this last? If Articuno released its hold, would the orb return to its previous state? Or would everything just get worse?
"What are you all standing around for? The door's open! Get your asses in gear!"
A lanky young man with a long, dark face and shaggy hair pushed his way past a clump of scientists who were clinging to their machines to resist the portal's pull. He was dressed differently than the other grunts and wore an old-fashioned black and red military doublet that reminded Blanche of a marching band uniform. It was a quirky contrast to the drab coats and uniforms of the other Rockets.
He pointed past Blanche as he shouted again. "Get moving! That's an order!"
The grunts reluctantly started toward the portal, slipping and gliding, their coats snapping in the wind that drew them in. Moltres spread its wings, preparing to attack, but was caught by the wind and dragged backwards, nearly hitting Candela and Spark. Above Blanche, Articuno shrieked with that glass-and-windstorm voice. Its wings flapped wildly, releasing silken blue plumage that was immediately sucked into the door. It couldn't stay airborne, and inch by inch, it was being pulled in.
The grunts filed up the shallow steps to the plateau on which the thrones perched, and Moltres and Zapdos were too distracted by the wind and Articuno's distress to stop them. The first brave soul staggered ahead of the group and, with his arms wrapped tightly around a petrified golbat, let the door suck him into the blackness. Blanche's heart beat in their throat as they watched one Rocket after another vanish into the dark, their frightened voices swallowed up by the wind and the anguished screams of Articuno as it lost its battle with the portal.
"I'll take her off your hands."
Blanche looked away from the horrible scene to see the lanky man in the doublet kneeling next to Spark, who continued to hold Dillinger down. Spark tried to reply, but the man ignored him and pulled the doctor out of his grasp. The sudden move caused Spark to lose his footing, and he slipped several feet as the man dragged Dr. Dillinger toward the line of grunts.
Spark stopped his momentum by grabbing a raised piece of stone, but it only held his weight for a few seconds. When it broke, Spark fell back once more, his hands scrabbling for any kind of purchase. The portal's suction was too strong; there was no chance he could stop himself now.
Blanche braced against the throne and reached for Spark as he tumbled into range. They clamped their hand around his wrist and he reflexively grabbed theirs, creating a sturdy trapeze hold. Blanche grunted as Spark's weight jerked their shoulder, but didn't dare release their grip. The portal pulled Spark from the ground, and it was all Blanche could do to keep themself from being sucked out from behind the throne with him.
Blanche craned their neck to see if Candela was still secure. She huddled close to the ground, her arm over the hypno. They were slowly sliding backwards, but weren't in immediate danger. One catastrophe at a time.
By the portal, the Rockets continued to be sucked into the depths, even the ones who tried to scramble away. The lanky man and Dillinger had disappeared, presumably having already gone through. The darkness climbed Articuno's body almost to the wings, but the legendary pokémon wasn't quite done fighting.
"Hold on, Spark," Blanche said through gritted teeth as they strained to pull him toward the throne.
The fingers of Spark's free hand reached for the corner of the throne but came up short, even with Blanche's help. Blanche's hold on him slipped, unable to compete with the door's gravity. Spark's eyes widened as he felt it, but for some reason, he forced a smile. After a moment of confusion, Blanche realized what he was thinking.
"Don't you dare!" they wheezed, tugging him closer again.
"I have to, Blanche," Spark said. "It's going to be OK. Trust me."
"Spark, don't-!"
But he'd already let go. Blanche held as tightly as they could, but his limp hand slid through theirs. Spark fell through the door, and the darkness closed around him like a black ocean, and he was gone.
§
AN: Hey! I've just realized I'm NOT losing my mind (to everyone's surprise) and some of the recent reviews on this and other stories have not been showing up. I kept seeing the number of reviews increase, but couldn't find them, and thought that I was going batty. Lo and behold, this is a site-wide issue (as of 9/27/16) and it's (theoretically) being worked on. However, your reviews come to my email, so I've been able to read them! Maybe they'll show up on the story proper someday, haha. Until then, know that I'm getting your feedback, even if it doesn't appear on the site. I just wanted to let you know in case you thought I was blocking or hiding them!