Not too far away from the town, a large hill with a well that overlooked the village. The well was empty and led down to a long wood and glass table with two chairs on either end. There was also a picture of an old Hydreigon. Pangoro was sitting in his office alone, looking through papers as he glanced at an extra room. Its stone walls bulged outwards into a chamber. Although covered in shadow, barrels and red sticks were visible, albeit barely. He smiled as he turned back to his work. The door opened and a small figure entered the room. He was a very small, purple figure with gemstones for eyes, following were some of Pangoros' men. The purple goblin jumped up onto a chair opposite Pangoro, noting the distance between the two before speaking,
"Now, do you have the gem?"
"I do indeed. Hand it to him." Pangoro demanded as Gallade gave Sableye a suitcase. Upon opening it, Sableye was met with a glowing black orb with a red dot in the middle. Sableye smiled and reached out to grab it, "There it is the Eclipse Gem." but was cut short by the suitcase suddenly closing, pinching his fingers.
"OW!" Sableye yelped, "What the hell?"
"Well, it looks like someone's impatient. Sorry but I need something else. You see one of my associates is now dancin' with angels and I want to give his family something. Basically, I want more money." Pangoro explained
"WHAT?!" Sableye yelled, "How much?" Pangoro smirked at the dark type,
"Double what we agreed upon." He said bluntly. Sableyes fist slammed into the table in frustration. He seethed in anger at the daunting Pokémon, who seemed to be annoyed at the outburst.
"What the hell is he playing at here?! Double the price, are you kidding me?! Who gives a shit about some random goon! ...Calm down Sableye, think rationally, he has a lot of power in this town, besides, I don't want to get on Bisharp's bad side."
Sableye took a breath and reluctantly paid the money. He gave Pangoro a glare before taking the suitcase and walking out of the office. Pangoro looked at the Poken notes and started laughing,
"I-I can't believe he fell for that shit. Thinking I wanted to help his family." He wheezed, much to the shock of one of the guards, a Zangoose.
"Boss, I thought that you were going to help them." He remarked. The other two guards turned in shock, the Ursaring putting his fingers to his forehead, chest, and shoulders while the Gallade mouthed,
"You fucked up." Pangoros' laughter had stopped and he gestured for the Zangoose to come closer. Zangoose nervously approached the panda.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear you, what did you just say?" Pangoro demanded. Zangoose gulped and barely managed to utter,
"I-I thought y-you'd help Barbaracles f-family, sir."
Suddenly, Pangoro's expression lighted,
"Oh, I thought you said something else, my bad." He chuckled. Zangoose, albeit reluctantly, began to snicker with the dark type. The Ursaring turned his head away, using his hands to block his peripheral vision. The Gallade solemnly stared at the Zangoose. Pangoro and Zangoose continued to laugh. Pangoros' hand then grabbed Zangoose's head and crushed his skull before he could react. Blood gushed from Pangoros hand as he turned to the remaining two guards
"Clean this shit up." he demanded as he dropped the body, "I'm the strongest here." The two didn't hesitate to comply as Ursaring picked up the body, and Gallade used his psychic powers to clean up the blood.
Ursaring and Gallade dragged the body out of the room into the cobweb that was the underground facility. As Ursaring struggled to carry the corpse, another Pokémon appeared from the seemingly infinite halls, a Hippowdon.
"Hey... oh, let me guess, pissed off Pangoro?" He asked. Ursaring rolled his eyes and exasperatedly explained,
"You think? Motherfucker will kill you if you breathe on him too hard. Also, did you have to make this place a maze?"
"That's what he requested. Besides we can plant the bombs below the town undetected" Hippowdon answered as he helped guide the guards.
"He did not deserve that, he didn't know." Gallade mourned, staring at the dead corpse of a former ally.
"I'm starting to get sick of him. Eight years to grow up and he is insufferable." Ursaring groaned, "The old boss was so much better. You know, Nobunaga?" Hippodown nodded,
"Yeah, plus he was actually strong, at least enough to hold him off." Gallade looked back before speaking his mind,
"He had better get over himself and fast. He is probably planning something as we speak.."
Aggron and Gardevoir were now trapped in a cell. Sitting in silence across from each other. Aggron looked over at Gardevoir, who stared into the floor in shame.
"You couldn't control yourself, could you?" Aggron asked spitefully, before relenting and sighing to himself, "Who am I to talk to? I was too weak."
"I couldn't just let him die." Gardevoir explained, "But you're right, we're here because of me. We're gonna die because of me." Aggron looked at her in pity. She must've been beating herself up for this. There was also something he was curious about.
"Why is Infernape mad at you?" Gardevoir hesitated to answer but decided to, since she might not live to tell him later.
She told him Infernape's story, how he was sent to prison, and how his school turned on him with some additional insight. Particularly about her involvement. Aggron was shocked at what he had heard. She…She really did that to him. It would be completely unbelievable if she weren't the one telling him this. However, he was more than willing to cut her some slack. She made a horrible mistake, yes, but that was eight years ago. She was a teenager, most teenagers make stupid decisions at some point.
Gardevoir lowered her head, not wanting to look Aggron in his eyes, "I just wanted to be like the Senshi I saw on tv. Sceptile, Blastoise, and others but I was selfish. Now I've gotten someone killed because I was an idiot." Gardevoir whimpered as she began to weep. Aggron looked on in pity. He could tell that she really regretted her past actions. He walked over to Gardevoir and went down on one knee.
"Even if it all ends today, you were a hero. You saved a life." Gardevoir grinned lightly. She wiped her eyes and thanked him.
Infernape, Gengar and Ampharos began by going into the upper floor of the factory and watched for the Black Masks. They wanted to try and find the facility where the Black Masks were hiding. After a few minutes, they saw one guard start heading towards the hill. He pulled on a specific part of the grass, revealing a secret hatch,
"Bingo." Gengar remarked. Infernape nodded and gestured for Ampharos to come,
"Alright, go Team Will-O-Wisp!" Ampharos cheered. The other two looked at Ampharos with a confused stare.
"I thought it would be cool if we had a team name." Ampharos muttered nervously, "Because me and Infernape can create light and Gengar is a ghost." Infernape and Gengar looked at each other and shrugged.
"I like the name." said Infernape.
"Just don't come outta nowhere with that." They moved on from the brief distraction and traveled down into Boltien
They snuck through the city, doing their best to avoid detection. They arrived at the hill and pulled on the grass, revealing a trap door. Gengar and Ampharos entered the facility but Infernape stayed behind.
"You aren't coming in?" Ampharos asked,
"This facility is on the hill right, then why is there a well?" pointed out Infernape. The two were puzzled but left Infernape to his devices. Infernape walked up to the top of the hill and looked into the well. He saw that the bottom of the well was not water but a wood and glass table, like he suspected. Infernape put one leg over the edge and tried his best to climb down
As Ampharos and Gengar entered the underground facility, they were faced with their next challenge: it was a giant maze. Ampharos gulped before they began to traverse the cobweb of a base. Gengar smirked as he disappeared into the floor, the shadows were perfect for him. Gengar then disappeared into the darkness of the base. Leaving Ampharos alone. Ampharos took a step forward before freezing in pre-emptive fear. He shook his head defiantly,
"No, don't be afraid, coward." he said to himself before walking further into the base. The endless hallways were proving to be a major problem. He had no clue where he was going and he was worried about guards finding him. His only light, the glow coming from the gem on his forehead, would also potentially rat him out. After a lot of exploration, he finally came across a door and he rushed toward it and opened it.
Two Black Masks, Gallade, and Ursaring were inside what appeared to be a locker room. The two noticed him and began to chase him. Ampharos ran as fast as he could from the two. He tripped and fell into the ground. The two guards caught up with him quickly. Ampharos watched in horror as Gallade charged up a psycho cut. Ampharos was on the verge of a panic attack. However, despite his fear, he would not go down without a fight. His electricity began to spark throughout his fur. A bolt of electricity burst forth and the yellow glow from the bolt lit up the dark tunnel. Gallade and Ursaring jumped to the side to avoid the attack Ampharos used the distraction to run from the two. Ursaring tore a huge chunk of rock from the tunnel wall and threw it at the escaping electric type. The stone flew through the air at great speed. Ampharos saw it coming and tried to jump away. The boulder exploded into large chunks, one of which slammed into his back, knocking him down. Gallade and Ursaring ran toward the downed Ampharos. Ampharos could do nothing but watched. Again, fear took over,
"I-I-I'm too weak! I can't win against them!" he panicked in his head that the two guards charged at him.
A dark purple orb flew into Gallade, blasting him looked over to see who attacked but was strictly by a purple fist.
"Good Lord, Ampharos. I leave you for two minutes and you find yourself in a fight." Gengar chuckled as he took a battle stance. "Go ahead and find the others, I'll hold these buffoons off," he ordered. Ampharos nodded and ran as fast he could. Ursaring cracked his knuckles,
"Oh, you're cocky. Let's see if you live up to your own hype."
"All I care about is having some fun." Gengar said as he suddenly disappeared into the ground. Gallade slashed at the ground where Gengar once was to no effect. The two guards stood back to back, waiting to see where Gengar would come from. They kept looking around for the ghost but they couldn't find him.
"Where is he?!" Ursaring yelled with a hint of fear in his voice. Gallade defiantly shook his head.
"Don't panic! If we lose focus for even a second, he could ambush us."
"You're right." joshed Gengar. The two looked, trying to find where he was. "Although, you should follow your own advice. Gallade looked behind him and, to his shock, Gengar was behind him. Gengar's fist was enveloped in a ghostly aura as he struck Gallade. As the psychic type was thrust forward, Gengar traveled through him and punched him again, sending him upward. Gengar jumped through Gallade, into the ceiling, and jumped out. He grabbed Gallade and slammed him full speed into the ground. A sickening crack tore through the tunnel as blood shot out of Gallades mouth.
Ursaring looked at his comrade in horror,
"MUSASHI!" he yelled. He roared as he pulled a boulder from the wall and threw at the ghost. Gengar jumped through it and dashed towards Ursaring. Gallade looked up and his eyes widened in recognition at Gengar. Gengar grabbed Ursaring by the throat. Ursaring's fist ignited and struck Gengar away. He charged at Gengar, who smirked and reached his hand through Ursaring's chest. Ursaring froze in place as Gengar literally grabbed his heart and squeezed it. He fell to the ground lifelessly, unconscious. Gengar looked back at the two and smiled, flipping the bird as he did so.
Ampharos ran as fast as he could from the fight, he was mad at himself for running. But he couldn't afford to waste any time.
"They are probably going to tell everyone I'm here. I have to hurry." he thought. Eventually, he noticed a door made of steel in front of him. "Why is there a door here? Oh! It must be the prison. Why else would they have a steel door?" He forced open the door and ran inside.
There he froze in terror, Pangoro was standing in front of him with his arms crossed. He had entered Pangoros office.
"Hey there loser, been waiting for ya." Ampharos was horrified "What's the matter? Realized that the situation is completely hopeless? About fucking time." He threw an overhead punch at Ampharos, who rolled out of the way. He stood back up and unleashed a powerful discharge of electricity at Pangoro. Pangoro charged through the electric attack and grabbed Ampharos by the neck. The light Pokémon gasped for breath as the grip on his neck got tighter and tighter.
"You have not idea how long I have been waitin' for this." Ampharos shut his eyes, apologizing to everyone. Gardevoir, Aggron, the town, everyone that he had let down.
"Oh, oh SHIT!"
The crack of someone hitting a table echoed throughout the room. Pangoro turned his head to the source without letting go of Ampharos, although his grip loosened. Ampharos turned to see the noise and gasped,
"INFERNAPE!" The flame Pokémon rolled off of the table, groaning in pain,
"Fuck me, my grip slipped." He briefly stumbled before standing proud in front of his opponent. Pangoro laughed at the fire type,
"Oh, you're one of the cowards who ran away." He insulted.
"No no no, It was a strategic retreat. I know that three syllables is a lot for you but keep up." Infernape remarked, Ampharos noted that this cocky attitude was out of character for Infernape.
"Wow, it looks like someone grew a pair. Shame that you won't live long enough to brag."
"How about we cut the chit-chat, you overgrown fur coat!" Infernape yelled as flame enveloped his hand. He threw the fireball at Pangoro's head, forcing him to let go of Ampharos to block the attack. As Pangoro moved his hand to see, another fireball slammed into him, making him take a step back. Pangoro charged through the flame and ran towards Infernape. The fire type ran as he threw a third fireball.
"Ampharos, Find the others and get out! I'll deal with him!" He directed at the electric type.
"I can't just leave you here!"
"GO!" Infernape yelled, throwing more fireballs at Pangoro. Ampharos reluctantly ran out of the office to save his friends.
Infernape kept up the assault until Pangoro picked up a chair and threw it at Infernape. Infernape dodged the chair but was hit by an uppercut by Pangoro, sending him up in the air. Pangoro jumped up to axehandle the fire type. In response, Infernape threw three fireballs at Pangoro who dodged and laughed,
"You missed!"
"Did I?" Infernape smirked as the flames crashed into the rocky ceiling, causing some boulders to drop. As he landed Infernape ran out of the way. Pangoro tried to but a boulder hit him right in the back, knocking him to the ground. As he stood up, Infernape jumped up and kicked Pangoro, his tail also slamming into Pangoro. Pangoros quickly got up on his feet and grabbed Infernape, throwing him into a wall. Infernape looked up and, inspired by Ampharos, quickly hatched an idea. He looked around for something and smirked when he found it. Placing his hand against the wall, he quickly unleashed a burst of flame that caused the wall to burst into bright light.
Pangoro was blinded by the gunpowder and he crashed to the ground. Infernape gained some confidence and smirked,
"8th most common element in the world. It is famous for it's blinding effects. Magnesium." Infernape then surrounded his hands with fighting spirit and charged at the dark type. Infernape landed blow after blow on the dark type. Infernape then leaped back and raised his right hand behind him. In his palm, a fireball began to grow, overflowing with heat. Infernape roared as he shot a huge beam of fire into the dark type, completely enveloping Pangoro. The latter was shot back into the wall. Once the dust settled, Infernape simply stood still. He stared at the smoke and waited. This victory wouldn't last, and he knew it.
Pangoro suddenly grabbed the fire type and threw Infernape into the ground. His fists were then enveloped in dark purple energy as he tried to beat up his opponent. Infernape caught Pangoros fists, pain shooting through his arms. He was unable to hold his opponent's fists in place, he was simply too weak. The dark type then whaled on Infernape. For the first time in the battle, fear appeared in the latter's eyes but he shook it off. However, Pangoro lifted his fist for one final attack and struck the fire type in the head. Pangoro then grabbed Infernape and slammed him into a wall. He jabbed Infernape repeatedly in his stomach and then slammed him back into the ground. Blood shot from Infernape's mouth as he felt unrivaled pain.
Ampharos ran until he found the prison chambers. He rushed into the room and immediately saw Furret's cell.
"AMPHAROS!" she yelled in delight as the electric type started messing with the password. However, hedidn't have the faintest idea what the password could be. With no other choice, he decided to brute force it and sent electricity into the device. The circuit was overloaded and the cell door opened. Ampharos ran into the cell. Furret yelped as Ampharos picked her up, bridal style. She blushed at her current predicament.
"Where are the others?" Ampharos asked. Furret shook off the embarrassment and answered,
"Y-Y-You mean the Gardevoir and the Aggron? They're down the hall." Ampharos ran down the corridor with Furret in tow. He rushed over to Gardevoir and Aggrons cell and opened it. Gardevoir stood up in surprise,
"Ampharos?! What are you doing here?"
"We need to hurry, Infernape is fighting Pangoro." Ampharos rushed. Gardevoir and Aggron were surprised but couldn't afford to dawdle so they followed Ampharos to Pangoro's office.
Infernape struggled to stand and shot a huge blast of fire to separate him from Pangoro. The force of the attack sent Infernape toward the opposite wall. Once he got his bearings, Infernape wiped his fingers on his head and saw blood on them. Infernape fell into a brief moment of despair, Horrified that he was seemingly right. He looked to his left to see the explosives and near his foot was some wooden debris. Infernape picked it up.
Pangoro emerged from the smoke, smiling,
"It's been a long fucking time since someone managed to hurt me. But now it's no longer entertaining and just plain frustrating. So could you do me a favor and JUST FUCKING DIE!"
"Don't worry." Infernape confessed somberly, "You've already won, this fight is ultimately fruitless. But I'm not gonna give up! Even if I die here, I will have accomplished something in my life!" Infernape regained his composure and charged at Pangoro as his fist was enveloped in flame. Pangoro prepared to punish the fire type but Infernape jumped over him and turned to attack. However, Pangoro responded by grabbing debris from the table and stabbing Infernape's right hand. The flame Pokémon screamed in pain as he stumbled back. Pangoro triumphantly walked towards his foe,
"Well, well, well, looks like Mr. Hero didn't live up to expectations. Shame, real shame." He mocked as he stomped on Infernape, causing him to cough up blood. Pangoro continued to gloat,
"Any last words before I turn you into a bloody paste!" Infernape struggled to get a word out as he threw the piece of wood over Pangoro,
"It's a question, actually." Infernape gasped, barely able to breathe, "How are you gonna, destroy the town?" Pangoro was confused,
"...With gunpowder and dynamite, what did you think I was gonna do?"
"Oh," Infernape smirked,
"You mean like the explosives over there."
Pangoro quickly turned around and his heart stopped, the piece of wood that Infernape had slid under him had ignited and was within arms reach of the gunpowder and TNT. One of the sticks of dynamite had ignited. Pangoros' eyes widened in shock and he rushed to put out the fire. Infernape stood up, closed his eyes, and took a breath. He lifted his good hand and an orange sphere of energy appeared in it. With a roar, he threw the orb with as much power as he could. The blast landed on Pangoros' back, launching him into the center of the explosives. Infernape's legs buckled and he fell back onto the ground. He stared up at the ceiling in a rare moment of genuine happiness.
"Heaven, Hell, I don't care where I go. I'm just glad to be free. Gengar, Ampharos, Aggron, I wish we could've spent more time together. Torterra, Empoleon, thanks, thanks for being there for me. Gardevoir…I wish I wasn't a coward." For a moment, sadness took over. He couldn't bring himself to forgive her. Not if there was even a chance of it happening again, now that his death was inevitable. If he were a better person, he would, and he knew he wasn't that better person, and he hated it. He closed his eyes as he embraced his death
"INFERNAPE!" Infernapes eyes widened in fear as he turned towards the door. He could make out the shape of Aggron, Ampharos, Gengar, and Gardevoir all running towards the office.
"RUN, LEAVE ME, YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!" He yelled in fear. Aggron was confused but he stopped as soon as he heard the fizzle of TNT.
"Guys we need to run now! There's dynamite in that room!" Aggron panicked. Gengar turned around almost immediately after hearing that. Gardevoir was still determined to save her friend. She ran into the office to help Infernape to his feet.
"Please run, you're gonna die if you stay!"
"I can't just leave you behind!"
"Why not? All I've been is some deadbeat piece of shit who's destined for failure. You should be glad I'm gone." Infernape frowned as he stared into the dirt beneath him. A soft, gentle hand forced him to look back into Gardevoirs eyes, a warm smile greeting him.
"Infernape, it's okay. It's my fault. It's my fault you're like this. You needed a friend and I used you. I know you still hate me for that but let me apologize. At the very least, let me save you." she offered kindly. Infernape after some hesitation smiled back at the embrace Pokémon.
However, out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the fuse about to blow. In a split second, he put his good hand on Gardevoirs chest before saying,
"Goodbye." and he fired one last focus blast into Gardevoir. Gardevoir was sent flying toward the group. She yelled,
"NO!" before getting caught by Aggron. Infernape managed to stagger onto one knee. He put his index and middle finger to his forehead, before pointing them at the group. As a loud boom echoed throughout the room. A massive glowing red and orange plume of fire erupted from the hill. An invisible fist plowing through the village windows and throwing things off of their shelves. The hill collapsed in on itself, leaving only stone and dirt.
Firefighters, police, and EMTs were all gathering at the site of the explosion. From what they determined, most of the shockwave was contained inside the hill or sent upwards, and as such, there wasn't too much damage to the town. The police had identified that this was the Black Mask headquarters and started to arrest the criminals that were rescued from the rubble. Paramedics and rescue workers were going as fast as they could to save anyone inside the remains of the facility. The medics found Aggron, Gengar, Ampharos, Furret, and Gardevoir in the rubble. Out of the group, Aggron and Ampharos had the worst injuries. Aggrons back was covered in second-degree burns and his lungs received damage. Ampharos was protecting Furret from the explosion and as such, suffered similar injuries but with the addition of debris slamming into him, which broke his shoulder and one of his ribs. As Ampharos and Aggron were carted off to receive treatment, Gardevoir and Gengar were sitting in an ambulance for minor wounds outside the crater.
Gardevoirs' head was buried in her hands, mourning the loss of her friend. Gengar's smile had faded away into a frown as he patted Gardevoirs back. Gardevoir then stood up and ran into the blast zone. She started using her telekinesis to lift up debris, desperately searching for her comrade. Leaving as many stones unturned as she reasonably could. Try as she might, he was nowhere to be found. She fell onto her knees, whispering to herself,
"No, No he can't be gone. I never got to make it up to him. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Gengar was silent, he was mad at himself. Gardevoir stood back up as Gengar gestured to the ambulance.
"THERE'S SOMEONE HERE!" A paramedic yelled at the top of his lungs. Gardevoir turned to see where the voice came from and her heart stopped. She ran towards the medic as fast as she could. Relief swelled into a symphony of happiness as her hopes were confirmed.
"INFERNAPE!" She yelled, overjoyed to see her friend once again. Infernape was sitting up criss-cross as the medic started dressing his wounds. Gardevoir finally reached him and hugged him. At that moment, it felt like everything would be okay.
"What the fuck?" Infernape questioned out loud, much to the confusion of Gardevoir,
"What are you talking about?"
"I should be dead right now, why am I still alive?"
"Why are you questioning it? You're alive, that's all that matters, right?"
"It doesn't make any sense. We-We should be dead, the-the-town should be gone!" he sputtered out loud.
"Infernape, can't you see?" Gardevoir questioned, "Xatu was wrong." Infernape looked at Gardevoir in confusion but there was hope in his eyes. Something Gardevoir had wanted to see for a while.
"H-Hey!" The group turned to see Furret, walking towards them. "I-I just wanted to say t-that our town I-is forever in your d-debt." She stuttered, clearly shaken by the events. Infernape just smiled back at her,
"You should be thanking Ampharos, it was him that came up with the plan and saved everyone. I just followed instructions." Gardevoir and Gengar turned to Infernape in confusion.
"Don't worry, h-he will receive a fitting r-r-reward for his heroic deeds."
Infernape, Gardevoir and Furret looked up from the crater and saw an Electivire, who looked stunned at what happened. He saw the three and gave them a thumbs up, which they returned. He then pressed some buttons on a device on his wrist and a holographic projection of a black screen appeared before him,
"You might wanna take a look at this." the Electivire said.
The group spent a few weeks in recovery, Infernape had several broken ribs, a broken hip bone, broken bones in his arms and shoulder, and the wound on his hand needed surgery. However, thanks to modern medicine, the group made a full recovery.