Pokemon (Detective Pikachu)

A Legendary Search

14. Desperate Chase

Tim's consciousness returned slowly. The pain came first, a horrible ache in every part of his body. His head throbbed. When he tried to take a breath, his chest was in agony. He wanted to pass out again, and get away from the hurting, but he couldn't as he became aware first of a voice calling his name, loudly and frantically, and then of the fact that he was being gently shaken. He wasn't able to get himself to move, though, trying to piece together what had happened as awareness came back to him piece by piece. He had realized he was lying on his stomach, and that the paw on the middle of his back that was shaking him was far too large to be Pikachu's, when at last he was able to open his eyes and lift his head.

The first thing in his vision was an extremely sharp looking face, and Tim flinched away, causing his pain to increase, before he realized that the one in front of him, looking at him from a nest made of a mix of twigs and steel feathers, was a Skarmory. That was when the crash came rushing back.

Then he heard the voice that had been calling his name again, and it sounded like it had been speaking to him from the moment he raised his head. The voice, he realized, was Pikachu, and he turned his head to face him slowly.

"-on, we have to go! Now you're awake, we don't have much time! He'll be there already!" Pikachu pleaded.

Tim was still not too sure exactly what he was talking about, even though he did remember the crash now. And, remembering the massive paw that had been on his back, Tim looked behind him, doing his best to ignore the throbbing in his head that seemed centered just above his right eyebrow.

The Pokemon was unfamiliar, but as Tim looked at it for a moment, and it looked solemnly back, he then remembered that he and Pikachu had seen this Absol before Keith had come hurtling at them.

"Come on, get up!" Cried Pikachu.

Tim looked back at him, confused. "Huh? Why?"

"You're not his only target, Tim!"

Tim felt like his brain was dragging through mud. Why was that important?

"What happened?"

"I'll explain on the way, Tim, but we have to get going! I heard him yelling at you, Tim, even if you didn't. Keith is going to attack the people who helped you catch him! He's going after our friends at GNN!"

GNN. Keith. Meiko. Emilia. Tim's brain finally caught up.

"What?"

"He thinks he's gotten rid of you, and he plans to go after the people who helped you- he's going to GNN for Emilia! He'll already be there by now- you were unconscious all night! It's morning! We have to get there now!

"What?"

Tim began pushing himself to his feet as quickly as he could, but pain lanced through his body and he collapsed with a groan.

"Come on, Tim, you can do it!" Pikachu cried. Tim looked at him. Pikachu was dragging a book- the notebook- over to Skarmory. "Listen, Skarmory, we need to you look after this for us. Keep it safe until either Tim or myself come to get it. Do that for us, and we'll bring you a week's worth of bread crumbs as soon as we're able to. Can you do that for us?"

"Skarrr…"

"Thank you. It's really important to us." Pikachu held out the book, which Skarmory very carefully grabbed in its beak and placed in its nest.

Tim blinked and tried to refocus on getting up. It was when his eyes slid down the nest onto the ground next to it, however, that he noticed something. Underneath a small green leafy plant growing right up against the nest was a small, shiny rectangular something.

Everything else slipping out of his still confused mind for the moment, Tim managed to reach a hand forward. It was close enough for him to grasp. Once his hand closed over it, he knew it was a card of some kind- a credit card, or maybe a pass for something? Tim pulled it back.

"Tim, you have to get up! Try again!" Pikachu cried, turning back to him.

The important matter at hand rushed back. Emilia.

"Pikachu, how are we going to get there?" Tim asked, pushing with his hands again. This time, he managed to get onto his hands and knees. He did not, however, think he would be able to get himself to GNN- and certainly not in time. Tim wished he had his cell phone so he could call Emilia and warn her, but his phone had been in his car, now at the bottom of the cliff. Smoke was still rising, a small trickle, but now that his brain was finally starting to get back up to speed, Tim figured that over the night had been when most of the burning of the crashed car had occurred, making the smoke much harder to see. It wasn't likely that someone would be coming by in the next few minutes and see him if Tim's plight had not been noticed by now.

And, while he grabbed the face of the cliff and used it to help himself stand, he was certain he wasn't going to get very far by walking.

"Absol. Ab sol."

Pikachu had looked a little stricken at Tim's question, but when Absol spoke, he brightened. "You will? Oh, thank you! Tim, Absol says he'll take us. He's large enough for you to ride. Think you can get on?"

Tim looked over at the Absol, who promptly trotted over next to him and crouched down, so it would be simple for Tim to get on. He looked awfully large; certainly, he was large enough to carry Tim around, and Pikachu.

"If he can really take us to GNN, then yeah, I can get on." Tim took his hands off the face of the cliff and put them on Absol's head and neck instead. Still having to move slowly, he swung his leg over Absol's back until he was able to sit on him comfortably, then moved both hands to Absol's neck and carefully gripped the surprisingly long fur in his fingers.

Pikachu hopped up and arranged himself on Absol's neck, then instructed Tim to lean over him. Tim did so, making it so that his own body should keep Pikachu in place on Absol.

Absol spoke again, and Pikachu translated. "He says he's used to mountain trails, so his footing will be sure, but he goes fast, so hold on, Tim."

"Got it. I'm ready."

At Tim's words, Absol's muscles bunched underneath him, and suddenly they were off, Absol sprinting down the cliffside, leaping from ledge to ledge. Tim's heart leapt into his throat several times, but he had no energy to do any more than hold on. Absol, though, did indeed know what he was doing, and never missed a step.

"Ok, Tim, you wanted to know what happened?"

"Yeah. What's going on? How did I land on Skarmory's ledge… and how do you know Keith is going after Emilia?"

"Well, after the first time Keith hit us and punched us through the guardrail, he needed to back up a little to get some speed so he could push us off. In that time, I grabbed the notebook, and you grabbed me and threw me out of the car- which was terrifying, by the way. Those few seconds before Skarmory flew under me and caught me had my life flashing before my eyes. Then, as Skarmory was turning around, Keith hit your car a second time, and you went over the cliff. I thought that maybe that was it, that time, but then Absol appeared. Seemed like he started running the moment Keith hit us the first time. Absol leaped onto the car and cut your seatbelt, then dragged you out by your sweater and jumped onto Skarmory's ledge as the car went past it."

"Oh, man- Skarmory's nest! It wasn't hurt or anything in all that, was it?" Tim's panic rose, pushing the pain away with adrenaline. Tim couldn't feel the injuries nearly as much now, though he wasn't sure about how he would feel when it wore off.

"No, Skarmory's nest is fine. I'm fine, too, thanks for asking. But the car wasn't so lucky- hit a couple ledges on the way down, burst into flames when it hit the bottom. The impact was too much for the gas tank, and it blew- car vanished in a fireball. Thank goodness Absol got you out when he did.

"Skarmory flew me down to the ledge, where Absol was standing over you- literally. I couldn't see you until I got off Skarmory's back and was on the ground. Then I heard Keith yelling and I looked up. He was saying, 'How do you like that, Detective! Looks like I win this time, and don't worry, I'll make sure your girlfriend joins you!', and I knew he had to mean Emilia. He used to work with her; he'll know her usual schedule. My guess is he'll hide somewhere near GNN until she's in there, and then go after her. He'll be able to get around, too- stations for TV and radio are deliberately built to be confusing to prevent takeovers by criminal organizations, but he used to work there so he will know his way around. Our only stroke of luck so far has been Absol. He rescued you, and he stopped Keith from seeing you, too- Keith had gotten out of his car and stood at the edge to do his yelling. Most likely he was trying to bask in the glory or something. He thinks you were in the car when it exploded. But, seeing as we've got no time and your phone was in the car, we need to get there now, and stop him before it's too late."

"Right."

Tim suddenly felt hard plastic digging into his hand- had he kept hold of that card thing somehow? It seemed so. Tim rapidly jammed it into a pants pocket and gripped the Absol's neck fur again.

"How long do you think it will take to get there?"

"At this speed?" Pikachu looked down at Absol. "Not too long. He wasn't lying when he said he was fast, that's for sure. But I'm worried about how much of a head start Keith has. I'm not sure what time it is, but he's definitely there by now. If Emilia has arrived at GNN already… well, I just hope we're not too late."

Fear pulsed through Tim at a steady rate. He didn't even feel his pain at all now; he just wanted to reach Emilia before Keith did.

Questions pricked at his mind. Where had Keith come from? How had he escaped? He seemed to have just come out of nowhere. How had he found Tim here?

Tim wasn't going to get any of those answers, he knew, until after Keith had been caught again. He was going to have to start figuring out how to do that, and fast.

The land disappeared under Absol. Rather than taking the road, it was able to cut straight across, on the fastest path to Rhyme City and GNN.

That caused another question to come up, and with nothing to do but hold on until they got there, he couldn't help but ask it.

"How does Absol know where we need to go?"

"Huh." Pikachu muttered, but before he could say anything else, Absol began speaking. It would pause every so often, allowing Pikachu to translate, as if it knew Tim needed it to do just that.

"He says he's an… unusual Absol. He's always been different from the others. Absol can sense natural disasters, right? With their horns, like you said. But this guy says he's been able to sense not just natural disasters, but almost everything, and has ever since he can remember. He's not sure why. But natural disasters, man-made ones… he can sense all of it, and he can sense each and every time something bad is about to happen. He can't always tell what, especially if the disaster is man- made, but sometimes it draws him there.

"That's why he was watching you; he could sense something bad going to happen and he felt drawn to come. He thinks that something is calling him to stop certain events. And he can feel another one, very soon. He feels that it's related to you, Tim. And he thinks that must be Keith's next attack, so he's heading towards it.

"And… he says he doesn't like battling, but he'll help us. He won't stand by if people are in trouble."

"Oh… thank you so much, Absol!"

"Ab. Absol."

"He says it's not a problem. It's… what he's meant to do?"

"Absol, sol."

"Oh… he says he's pretty sure he's supposed to watch over humans. Not only is his ability to sense disasters and his kind supposed to appear to warn others, he says he can understand humans perfectly, better than other Absol. That's unusual; Absol are one of the Pokemon on the more intelligent side when it comes to human speech; they can understand more than several hundred other Pokemon species can, though they aren't ranked at the top of the list by any means. But to have one understand it perfectly is very strange."

"Absol."

"Oh… you've always been able to understand? You didn't even need to spend any time with humans, you just knew what they said as soon as you heard them speak? You are definitely not the average Absol, my friend. I guess there's something special about you."

"Sol."

"What do you mean, maybe? I don't give compliments lightly, you know. You should enjoy being special."

"Sol."

"Oh, fine then. Eesh, some Pokemon- and people- just don't know how to enjoy it when they get the attention they deserve." Pikachu elbowed Tim, who yelped- a spear of pain drove its way through the adrenaline-induced numbness before disappearing. "Oh- sorry, Tim."

Once he opened his eyes again- he'd shut them when the pain lanced through him- Tim realized that Absol was running down city streets. He was impressed; it had taken him a little more than ten minutes longer by car on the road.

Absol leapt onto a parked van, then a shed roof, then a house rooftop, and Tim and Pikachu found themselves practically soaring from building to building. Absol could really do this… with a person and another Pokemon on their back?

Tim could see the tall, unmistakable building of GNN ahead in the distance. "We're almost there!"

Absol ran steadily, then jumped back to the ground for the last half mile. Tim wondered briefly what all the cars traveling by thought of this, but cast the thoughts aside as they really weren't important right now (and besides, Absol had been careful to stay off of and jump over the roads, so they hadn't been any sort of hinderance.

At last the entrance to GNN came into view, and Tim's heart sank.

In front of GNN was the security guard and his Herdier. Both were unconscious; a crater lay near both of them. Tim was pretty sure of what caused it; he's seen one exactly like it in a wall at Fine Park, where his father had been attacked. Anyone else that might have been nearby had fled.

"He's already inside!"

"Oh, no…"

The second Absol came to a halt, Pikachu jumped off and stepped over to examine the crater on the ground. "Yep, no doubt about it… this was from Skorupi."

Tim scrambled of Absol too, only to feel a shooting pain in his left leg when he started trying to walk.

"Huh?"

He looked down at it. A steel feather as long as his forearm was embedded in the side of his calf, stuck there as though someone had used it like a sword to slash at his leg and then left it there. He supposed it must have happened when Absol dragged him to safety.

"How did I miss that?" Gritting his teeth, Tim yanked it out. His leg began to bleed profusely, and Tim cursed- not something he did often. He yanked off his belt and put it around his leg just above his knee, pulling. Absol came up behind him, grabbed the end of the belt, and gave it a harder yank; Tim yelped, but used the opportunity to force the metal prong through the leather of his belt and hold it there. He sucked in a breath.

"You gonna make it, Tim?" Pikachu asked, concerned. Tim figured he must look pretty bad, if even Pikachu was worried enough to ask.

"I have to, now don't I?"

Anything Pikachu might have said in reply was cut off by a couple of other voices.

"My?"

"Pla?"

Startled, Pikachu and Tim looked over to see two familiar Pokemon.

"Pikachu, are they-?"

"Yeah, those are the same Plusle and Minun from before, at the Hi-Hat Café."

The two Pokemon scrambled over, chattering.

"Woah, woah, slow down! Look, I'm sorry, but we can't explain anything right now. Someone dangerous is inside this building, trying to attack our friends, and we need to try to get in there before it's too late. If it's not already…"

The two Cheering Pokemon looked at each other, then back at Pikachu and chattered some more.

"Wai- what? You do? Alright, then, come with us and be quick. We don't have much time left, if we have any at all. Let's go. Tim, they're coming with us- they want to help, too."

"Alright, let's go. Too much time has passed already."

With the shooting pain in his leg that didn't seem to be affected by the adrenaline that had currently reduced the pain in his chest and head to small throbs that he could ignore, Tim was forced to limp, unable to put weight on his injured leg for long. Still, he moved as fast as he could, and Absol stayed next to him, fur nearly brushing against Tim, offering support to stand should Tim need it.

Pikachu headed in right behind him, Plusle and Minun both racing in just ahead to look around.

Inside, the two receptionists were both unconscious on the ground behind the desk, the desk and wall bearing more marks of Skorupi's attacks. A couple other people also lay knocked out; Keith had spared no one on his way through. Tim realized that with GNN as busy a building as it was, it was impossible for someone not to notice Keith going through and get away to call the police. Since the police hadn't arrived yet, and Tim hadn't even heard any sirens on his way in, perhaps all this had only just happened.

The thought gave Tim some hope, though it still sickened him to see that he had attacked so many innocent people in a bid to buy enough time to do something even worse.

"Where could he have gone from here?" Tim cried, trying not to panic. Maybe it had only just happened, but if they couldn't find Keith fast enough in the large building, that wouldn't mean anything, and Keith knew his way around better than they did.

The Pokemon he was with frantically looked around, until Plusle cried out and pointed a paw.

"Huh? Oh, there's a Pokemon under that sofa!" Pikachu waddled over as quickly as he could. Tim found himself wishing that Pikachu would just break down and run on all fours in an emergency; it was much faster.

"Excuse me, but the man that came through here with a Skorupi- where did he go? Quickly, please!"

"Wim. Wimp wim, Wimpod."

"Well, do you know where Emilia would be working today?"

"Wim wim."

"Alright, thank you! Tim, he doesn't know where Keith went, but Emilia works on the twenty- third floor at this time of the day. That's where we were taken last time, I think."

"Alright, let's go then!" The group rushed toward the elevator, and Absol pulled a turnstile forcefully out of the way for Tim to pass. Tim assumed that Kieth had probably jumped one, or perhaps stole someone else's access card.

Pikachu eyed the trail of blood drops Tim's injuries were leaving behind, but said nothing more as the elevator doors closed and began to rise.

When the doors opened at last, Tim and the others scrambled out. This time, it was easy to see where to look first for Keith; even from the elevator, Tim could see the door to the studio had been blasted open. Apparently he hadn't wanted to take the time to open it like a normal person just now.

Before Tim could start towards the door, Pikachu hissed,

"Tim, no matter what, it's a bad idea to burst in without knowing the condition of things in there! If we go in now, he might be able to take someone hostage, or something worse. We need to see what things look like first- I know how you feel, but you won't help anyone if Keith gets startled at your seemingly rising from the dead and attacks."

Tim's heart was somewhere under the floor by now, thumping rapidly with the panic he was barely holding back. "What now, then? We can't just wait here either!"

"Sneak past that open door, Tim, and we'll go backstage first. We'll be able to see the situation from there and make a plan. Now let's go! Plusle, Minun, Keith will be the least suspicious of you two if he happens to see you- get over to that door, and let us know when no one is looking and it's safe to go by!"

Plusle and Minun scrambled to do as Pikachu said. Both of them watched at the door as Tim hobbled over, starting to lean a little against Absol, with Pikachu right behind them.

Tim could hear Keith from next to the door. It sounded like he had already cornered everyone there.

"You know, I came for a certain one of you, but the more the merrier, really. I'll start with who I came for, then move on to who's caused me the most trouble." He said.

His heart leapt from the floor into his mouth. He hadn't hurt anyone yet- but Tim had no more time.

It was then that Plusle and Minun signaled they could go. The whole group scrambled past the door, racing through the door past that to get backstage. All of them made as little noise as they could while still going as fast as they could to a vantage point they could see through; at the first curtain for the closest stage, Tim carefully pulled the heavy curtain back just a little to see the room beyond.

Keith had everyone there backed into a corner, literally. Poison sprayed by Skorupi surrounded them save for one safe path through it, blocked now by Keith and the Skorupi itself. Tim recognized several faces and felt for a second almost as though he had come back to the set exactly the way he had left it in terms of people, minus only Max, Roger, and Carina. Pokemon were missing as well, he realized after a moment; only humans were present. Olga was there, as was Hiro, Meiko, Emilia, and Mr. Graham. Several of the AD's that he vaguely recognized were there, as well as a woman Tim was certain he did not know.

"What do you want with us?" the unfamiliar woman demanded.

"What do I want? Revenge, of course. Not just because of how I was treated working here, obviously, but because several of you helped that blasted boy detective ruin all of my plans."

Tim's attention was suddenly diverted when something brushed his back; turning, he realized it had been air from the wings of a Yanma. Three of them had hidden back here.

"You were doing terrible things! Of course we helped him stop you. How could you hurt so many people and Pokemon?" Emilia's voice was easily recognizable.

Tim glanced around backstage, seeing what they could use. Rope was curled around spools; they had a lot of it back here. His eyes darted from the Yanma, to the Pusle and Minun, to the rope, to Absol.

"I was being paid well. Far better than I was working here, for sure. And now, the money I made is gone, and I got locked up. Everything is ruined, and that is exactly why I wanted to ruin everything for that detective." Keith spat the last word as if it was poison.

Tim looked back at Keith, and everyone he had trapped. His Skorupi stood at the ready, stinger raised to deliver poison that could potentially be fatal. Tim's gaze was drawn up, to the rafters that crisscrossed the entire room. There was a system up there, Tim knew, to allow props to be raised, lowered, and dangled from those rafters. An idea began to form in his head.

"That's why I'm here. I'm going to destroy everything that damn kid cared about, starting with you!"

"Pikachu, will the Yanma help us?" Tim asked urgently. "I have an idea, but I need them to help."

Pikachu had barely turned around before the Yanma replied something and hovered around Tim.

"Yeah, they'll help."

"Oh, you're so upset that you got beat by Tim that you're going to resort to this?" Meiko's voice rang clearly through the studio. "Just face it, Keith, Tim is better than you by far- you lost!"

Keith's laughter rang through the studio. "Sure, maybe he won last time, but this time was different, now wasn't it? Or did you think I hadn't already looked after him?"

"Alright." Said Tim. "This is what we're going to do."

A/N: Well, he's alive. But can he take Keith down in his condition? Maybe with the right plan...

By the way, if anyone was curious, I did not get the game sequel for Christmas. It's coming for my birthday instead. So I still don't know how the official sequel goes. XD

Still no spoilers.