Chapter 43 – The Laboratory Car
"Ugh! How long is this fucking train," Ashachu whined as he and Charizard burst through yet another door into yet another empty carriage. They had been walking down the train for about ten minutes or so and where still yet to find Ash and Pikachu.
"Zard!" Charizard grunted as he forced open yet another set of doors separating the carriages.
The next car appeared to be some type of executive car. There were five compartments, with a corridor down the right-hand side. As they wandered down, they saw each of the compartments contained offices, each furnished with a compact desk, armchair, computer screen, telephone and filing cabinet.
"I mean, what on earth does Team Rocket need all this crap for," Ashachu continued, gesturing to the empty rooms.
Charizard shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't care," he grunted. "I feel the less I know about what these bastards are planning, the better."
"Teh…Real heroic, you're boyfriend here," came an annoying voice from behind.
Charizard looked over his shoulder and saw to his chagrin, Blade trailing behind him. He glowered at the Sneasel and snapped, "are you still here?"
Ashachu, from his position on Charizard's shoulder, turned his head to glance at Blade but didn't say anything.
Blade shrugged. "Well, where else am I going to go. Besides I can't keep away from a bright flame like you," he said sarcastically.
Charizard's eyes narrowed. "Say that again, I burn you to char…Ahhhh." Mid-sentence he was struck by a pain in his abdomen. He winced, doubling over and gripping his stomach with his claws.
"Are you okay," asked a worried Ashachu.
"Yeah…It's just," Charizard replied.
"Is it the egg?"
"I think so…."
Blade coxed his head curiously. "Egg? No way!"
Charizard straighten up a moment later. "I'm fine. It's passed."
Ashachu pressed his face against his neck. "Just, take it easy okay."
"Seriously Ashachu, I'm okay," Charizard grunted back. "Let's just keep going. I want to get away from here!"
They kept moving through the carriages. The next couple of cars were open saloon cars, containing two rows of seats facing the direction of travel with luggage racks at each end of the car.
"Why on earth does Team Rocket need all this space," Ashachu again found himself wondering aloud, eliciting only a grunt from Charizard and no response from Blade…
"Oh shit! How did we end up back here?"
Ashachu felt his heart sink as Charizard broke through yet another interconnecting door to reveal a windowless carriage containing computer consoles, projected monitors, laboratory equipment and a long cold metal table. It was Namba's laboratory car…
"Doctor nutjob's creepy lab!" grumbled Charizard.
Ashachu shook his head vigorously. "This isn't right. Where the heck are my parents anyway."
"Let's just keep going," said Charizard. "I don't want to stay in here too long in case the good doctor comes back." He kept walking, moving through the car briskly.
They were about halfway across when something caught Ashachu's eye. One of the monitors had started flashing. "Hmmm…"
"Ashachu?" Charizard felt a thrill in his stomach as felt Ashachu's paws leave his shoulder. He spun around and looked down, to see his mate scurrying across the floor, and climbing up onto one of the tables to look at something on one of the monitors. "What are you doing?"
"I'm just…" Ashachu started before Blade cut him off.
"No!"
Charizard examined the screen Ashachu was looking at. It showed the outline image of a familiar looking Darkrai. A complex series of numbers flashed across the screen around it.
"Zard…What does it mean?"
"Shadow," whispered Blade.
The Sneasel's cocky demeanour had vanished, replaced by something Ashachu hadn't heard in him before. Worry and fear. A deep concern. The same kind Ashachu felt when his loved ones were in danger.
"I think so," Ashachu murmured. "Does this mean they caught him."
"Wh-what are they doing to him?" gasped Blade.
Charizard looked at it and snorted. "Who cares. C'mon Ashachu, let's go."
"I wonder." Ashachu reached his paw out to the screen.
He jumped as the images changed. Three blue bars across the figure of the Darkrai, and little blue charts appeared around the edges.
"Ashachu," said Charizard seriously. "We don't understand any of this. C'mon let's go."
Ashachu's remained fixed on the screen. "There's obviously some kind of containment system holding Shadow. Perhaps…"
He reached out his paw again and the image of two triangular shapes connected by a blue beam flashed across Darkrai.
Blade felt his heart race in his chest. If this console controlled the system containing Shadow, then perhaps there was a way to free him. Or….
"Ashachu," said Charizard again a little more forcefully, reaching out to pick him up.
As Ashachu felt the claw against his fur, he snapped around, "Charizard, if this." He waved at the screen with his paw, "can hold Shadow. Perhaps there's a way to use it to end this once and for all."
Charizard's eyes widened. "You mean to…"
"Yes!"
Blade felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. Hikari…err Ashachu, couldn't mean to…could he?
"N-no," he shouted, making both Charizard and Ashachu look down at him. "You can't…You can't kill Shadow."
Ashachu's eyes narrowed. "Why not. He tried to kill me. He threatened to kill my mate. He's killed dozens of other Pokémon in brutal fashion. He deserves to die. And that way Team Rocket won't be able to use him for evil."
Blade glared back at him. The fear in his heart slowly begun to turn to rage. He couldn't let this Pikachu harm Shadow. He wouldn't let this Pikachu anything more from him!
"I won't let you harm him rodent," he snarled raising his claws. "I'll stop you."
Ashachu raised his eyebrows then dropped to his paws, raising his tail. "I'd like to see you try!" Ashachu's cheeks sparked dangerously.
Charizard took a step forward. "You try to put one claw on him Sneasel and I'll bite your head off. Understood!"
Blade gritted his teeth and grunted, not lowering his claws. He was under no pretence that Charizard meant exactly what he said. Those green eyes were telling him enough. And Charizard was a lot strong than he was, even without the type advantage.
For a moment the three Pokémon stared daggers at each other. Then Ashachu's face softened and he asked, "You seriously care about that stupid Darkrai. Even after everything he's done."
Blade bit his lip then shot back, "You don't understand. What I've been through. What we've been through. If you take him…I've got nobody."
"He doesn't care about you Blade," said Ashachu. "He only wants to use you. To control you! If you stay with him you'll be killed."
Blade puffed out his cheeks in annoyance. "You don't know what you're talking about!"
"He's brainwashed you Blade! He doesn't really love you. You'd be far better off with him gone."
"DON'T SAY THAT!" It was taking all of Blade's inner strength and resolve not to throw himself at Ashachu. Not to tear his lying tongue from his mouth.
Ashachu for his part couldn't help but feel pity for the angry Sneasel glowering at him from the floor. After what had happened he hadn't wanted anything more to do with Blade. The memories of their friendship and intimacy felt sour now.
But now he could see it. Beneath that hard, cocky and flirty exterior was a vulnerable side to Blade. Deep down, the poor Sneasel was desperately lonely, longing for companionship and understanding. Perhaps that was why he had bonded so quickly with Ashachu.
Charizard snorted. "If you want to keep on being that psycho's little bitch then fine. No scales off my tail or fur off Ashachu's muzzle. But there's no way in the distortion world I'm going to let that fucker threaten my mate, my trainer or my family."
"Fine," spat Blade, folding his arms. "Not that you fucknuts know how to work any of this equipment. And when Shadow does free you'll be dead. Man, he's killed so many of you in so many ways, honestly I'm surprised he hasn't run out of ways to brutalize Charizard's yet."
"We'll see," replied Charizard, his tone icy.
Ashachu touched the screen again. This time the picture of the Darkrai was replaced by a cardiogram – a squiggly line running across the page moving up and down in irregularly pattern.
"Is that" asked Charizard.
"Shadow's heartbeat," answered Ashachu. "And look."
Below the cardiogram were too bar chart. One read energy output, 62%, while the other said HP, 74%.
"What do you suppose that is?"
Charizard shrugged. "No idea. Ashachu, I really don't know if we should be messing with this."
Ashachu stared intently at it. "When we was trapped in Realgem Tower, I met this evil scientist. He was doing experiments on monitoring Pokémon stamina. He was using something he called hit points to measure it. What if doctor numbnuts is doing the same thing with Shadow."
Charizard coxed his head. "I don't follow."
"See this." Ashachu pointed to the HP bar. "I think monitors how healthy Shadow is."
"So, when it gets to zero he faints," suggested Charizard.
"Or dies, hopefully…" Ashachu moved his paw up to the bar labelled energy output. "Maybe this bar is used to control whatever energy Team Rocket are using to restrain him. So, if we."
He stretched out further to his paw was nearly touching the bar. The reading level changed from 62% to 65%...
At once the line on the cardiogram became increasingly erratic and the HP bar decreased from to 69%.
"NOOOO…." Blade couldn't help himself. He couldn't let Ashachu harm Shadow. Even if he didn't stand a chance against Charizard he couldn't do nothing. He launched himself at Ashachu, his claws raised. "I'll kill you, you little…."
TWACK…
Charizard struck out with his tail, catching Blade in the torso and neck, and batting him away like a baseball. The Sneasel was sent flying across the carriage until he crashed hard into the opposite wall.
"Ahhhh…"
He pushed himself up, feeling dizzy, "No…Won't let you!"
"ZARD!" Charizard opened his mouth and spat a white-hot jet of flame at Blade.
The fire engulfed his body rendering the poor guy unconscious in a flash…
[Pokémon]
Meanwhile…
The arrival at the Crown Tundra station marked the first time in several hours it was possible to see out of the windows. The train had been travelling through darkness for some time now, the sudden appearance of the station lights, however dim was almost a surprise.
Butch, Cassidy and Dr. Namba had gathered in one the lounge cars, waiting to greet the new passengers… the three figures standing on the platform outside.
Namba was in a foul mood – fouler than usual. His lips were pursed, his arms folded and his brow troughed in a scowl. He mumbled angrily to himself, supposedly under his breath, but it was more than audible to the other two.
"Lousy spoilt little Pokémon brats. Fornicating in my compartment. I'll neuter them myself when I get my hands on them…."
"Don't worry professor," said Cassidy. She was holding in her arms, a tablet computer showing a schematic of every carriage of the train and the location of everyone onboard. "We're tracking them. They won't get far."
"Not that they have anywhere to go," added Butch.
"Hmmm Looks like there in the laboratory."
"What," Namba snapped, a little colour rising in his cheeks. "Give me that!"
"Professor…"
He reached over and snatched the tablet off Cassidy. "Ohhh. I've they've touched anything, I'm going to…."
"Doctor Number!"
The train had jolted to a holt and the three figures boarded, marching up the corridor of the lounge car. In the warmth of the train there was little need for the thick coats and scarves, so they were quickly discarded, finally revealing the people's faces and features.
The first was a short petite woman with shoulder length hair, deep purple in colour. She wore glasses and a steely expression. The all figure was that of an older man, broad shoulder and muscular with a hard face and patch over one eye.
Finally, there was the Pokémon, who unlike the humans remained hidden in his suit of armour. Whatever this creature was, it was human shaped with a long thick tail. But everything else about it was hidden behind steel and plastic.
Namba glared at the woman. "You know perfectly well that it's NAMBA!"
"Matori," said Cassidy cheerfully, noticing the displeasure on Matroi's face. "Welcome aboard the Shadowpericer. And who is your new partner?"
"Cassidy, Biff," Matori replied, acknowledging the greeting. "A pleasure. I don't believe you've met our new recruit Gozu." She gestured to the buff man standing beside her. "Gozu here is a world class wrangler," she explained turning to look at the man. "Now, isn't that right Gozu."
"That's right," he replied. "There isn't a Pokémon alive I can't capture."
"I didn't realise we were meeting the Matori Matrix," barked Namba, annoyed. "I would have thought this assignment too inferior for the likes of you!"
"Giovanni sent me personally," said Matori. "The boss has taken a personal interest in this particular asset acquisition." She put her hands together, an evil grin spreading across her face. "So then. Where is the Darkrai."
"Restrained. Carriage ninety-eight…"
"And the containment system is holding."
"Of course, it's holding. I designed it."
"It fell right for the trap," said Cassidy.
"Turns out it does have feelings for that runt," added Butch.
"Love and affection. Using them against a Pokémon never fails," commented Matori. "Now, what have you managed to learn about this Darkrai…"
"Please…Come with me…"