Pokemon (Detective Pikachu)

A Legendary Search

23. One Last Shot

For a few moments, all Tim could do was stare. He didn't know why Mewtwo was here, or why it had saved them. Part of him also wanted to immediately demand that Mewtwo tell him where his father was, given that that was why he'd searched for Mewtwo in the first place. The other part of him was just held in place, with no idea what to do next.

Mewtwo looked at him solemnly, then turned its attention to the raging Lugia. Moving the hand it had held outstretched towards the humans, the barrier surrounding Tim and the rest dissolved, and a large one instead formed around the rampaging legendary, keeping Lugia and its wild attacks inside. Mewtwo was forced to enlarge its barrier further as Lugia thrashed, trying to contain its strength but unable to keep it to a small area.

Tim looked around, trying to think. They still needed to get out of there. Unfortunately, given that the building had collapsed around them, they were all fairly trapped. The only clear way was straight into Mewtwo's barrier, towards Lugia.

Tim. Mewtwo's voice rang through the area where the six people, and three small electric Pokemon, huddled.

Tim heard Emilia gasp and a stunned whisper from Meiko: "He knows your name!"

Tim looked back at him. "Mewtwo. Would you be able to help us out of here?"

No. I am sorry. Lugia is a legendary like myself, and the stone on its head has increased its power. It takes too much of my concentration to contain it to shift my barrier to let you out. I believe I will be able only to let one person through it. Do you understand?

He could let one person through it, but not shift it… one person could go inside. Tim did understand what Mewtwo was telling him.

Tim… I cannot hold it for long.

"What's he talking about, Tim?" Emilia whispered.

"How does he know you?" Was Meiko's question, given in the same stunned whisper as before.

Tim looked at the raging Lugia. The stone, he assumed, was on its forehead again. But how was he going to get up to it? He glanced around again, frantically looking for something- anything- that he could use. Turning, his eyes fell on the remains of the GNN tower. Most of it was gone. What was left, however, had one area that stood taller than Lugia. It was his only shot.

"Mewtwo?" he called. Mewtwo glanced at him, then the building.

I see. I could try it.

Tim looked at Inspector Holiday and Brad, who mostly just seemed to be stunned into silence. He grabbed Holiday by the shoulder, giving a small shake to get the man's attention. When Holiday looked at him, Tim said, "Listen. You have to find the person who was going to control Lugia here. The one who brought Lugia here. I don't know where they are or what they look like, but I'm sure they didn't go far- they're probably still trying to figure out why their control isn't working. Here," Tim dug into his pocket, pulled out his notebook and his father's locket camera, and shoved them into the man's hands. "I've written down everything I could find there. Directions to the lab I came from are written in there, too. You have to find them- don't let them get away, alright?"

On the last sentence, he looked at Pikachu and gave him a meaningful look. Pikachu would be able to navigate the area and get out through the debris better than anyone- he needed to start looking now. Pikachu nodded.

"We'll look for them, Tim, but… how do we get out of here?" Holiday asked.

Tim, however, turned back to Mewtwo.

"I've got an idea. Mewtwo?"

Are you ready yet, Tim?

Tim looked at Emilia and Meiko. "As I'll ever be. Be careful, both of you- stay safe."

Emilia's eyes widened and she started reaching toward him. "Tim, wait, what are you-"

Tim didn't let her finish, but instead turned and raced away, ignoring her calls. When he ran into the barrier, he felt resistance from it, but it didn't seem solid- Mewtwo was weakening it for him, in just that area, as much as he could without losing concentration. Tim forced his way through and ran around the debris on the ground, jumping over it when he had to, sometime ducking behind it to avoid a blast from Lugia. Lugia didn't seem to be aiming at Tim; it seemed more like it was just attacking in general.

Tim kept running as Lugia spun and flailed. Mewtwo moved the barrier along the ground, trying to herd Lugia in the direction of the ruined building. The back of the barrier bumped Lugia, and Lugia spun, lashing out at it. As it turned, its tail whipped along the ground, sending debris flying. One sizable chunk came loose from the ground. Tim, keeping one eye on Lugia in order to avoid its thrashing, saw it come towards him.

At the same time, not paying enough attention to where he was trying to go, Tim stumbled over a small piece embedded in the ground. He caught himself, but lost the time he needed to get out of the way of the larger one. He looked up, terrified that he'd just lost any chance he had, and was just in time to see a beam of darkness shoot out from somewhere among the nearby debris and turn the chunk headed for Tim into dust.

Absol bounded out after it, looking at Tim, and roared. Tim didn't need Pikachu to translate this time: Go.

Tim sprinted forward, no longer watching Lugia. Absol would watch Lugia for him, he was sure.

Reaching what was left of the building, getting to the floor he would need would not be easy- that much was clear the moment he arrived. Tim wasn't sure if he had time to go inside and find any stairs that might still be useable. He could see a way up to the second floor from where he was, though; enough debris was piled on the ground that the climb would be dangerous, but doable, as long as nothing collapsed. Tim raced over to it and began the climb, grabbing protruding rebars for balance, moving as quickly as he could on places that wobbled under his feet. Getting to the second floor, the building gaped open. The rest of the climb would be inside. For one heart-stopping moment, Tim thought he was going to fall back down; pulling his shoulders onto the second floor, part of what he was standing on crumbled and gave way. Tim held himself up with his arms, his jaw clenched at the effort. Pulling, he managed to get his torso, then stomach onto the floor; after that, pulling his legs on was like crawling through the vents earlier. Tim panted, but had no time to stop; he made to push himself up, putting his hands on either side, and yelped as something cut his palm.

Then he shook his head; of course there was going to be sharp objects on the ground. He couldn't stop just for that. But out of curiousity, he glanced at what had cut him.

It was a Skarmory feather. Tim couldn't believe it. He did remember Mr. Graham saying that he'd kept it, but just couldn't believe that it had gotten knocked here, of all places, when the building came down. Was the damn thing following him?

He got up, avoiding it carefully. A small crash that shook the building and a furious screech from Lugia had Tim glancing out at them. It seemed like Mewtwo was successful so far in using his barrier to bring Lugia into range for Tim; slowly, it was coming this way. A white shape caught the attention of both Lugia and Tim, and Tim realized that Absol was also trying to bring Lugia that way. Lugia shot a massive jet of water at Absol, but the Pokemon was nimble enough to avoid it.

It was then that Tim saw the stone strapped to its forehead. He'd known it was there, but hadn't seen it until just now, and it made Tim remember his struggle to undo the band on a Feraligatr that had been stunned. He wouldn't have time to undo the clasps on Lugia, assuming that the fasteners were even the same type and not more complicated ones. How was he going to get it off Lugia, even if he was able to get himself there?

A small sting in his hand suddenly brought an idea that felt like a lightning strike. If he had something sharp enough, he could cut it off quickly. And he did have something sharp enough, now didn't he?

Bending down, Tim scooped up the Skarmory feather and carefully stuck it through his belt. He knew he was taking a risk that the feather would cut his belt, and/or Tim himself, but he needed his hands free. Now he needed to get up one more floor. He figured he was probably over Lugia's head now, but not by much; to make the jump, he needed to be on the third floor.

Looking around, he couldn't see anything that would help him get up to the next floor. There was a lot less of the third floor left than there was of the floor he was on, and now that he was inside, wires that still sparked dangled here and there. If he touched those, he would be toast.

Another crash shook the building, far harder than the first one. Tim staggered a moment, trying to keep his balance, but failed and fell. Rolling to try to find a way to get up that wouldn't push the feather though his belt and into his skin, Tim realized he had no more time. Lugia had arrived, hitting the building with a wing.

Absol had arrived too, however, bounding up onto the second floor with ease. As Tim got up, Absol raced over to him, pushing against his legs. Tim swung a leg over Absol immediately, and Absol made the leap to the third floor.

Tim rolled off as soon as they were there, and Absol was off again, blasting Lugia with a Dark Pulse, then bounding back to the floor below. From there, Tim saw a purple sickle-shape slash towards Lugia. He was later fairly sure this must have been a Psycho Cut.

Tim scrambled again to his feet and, seeing that Lugia was lowering its head towards Absol to retaliate, realized that Absol was giving him the perfect opportunity. He couldn't waste it. Bolting towards where Lugia's head was visible beyond the ripped-away wall, he got to the edge and leaped.

He made the jump, but Lugia's head was very smooth; he began slipping off of it immediately. Heart in his mouth, Tim seized the first thing he could to anchor himself- the strap of the stone he needed to remove.

Lugia lost interest in Absol, rearing its head back in rage, turning around, intent on removing the person on its head. Holding on as hard as he could, Tim realized that he was going to need a free hand to grab the metal feather on his belt- which was thankfully still there- and thought fast. With Lugia now thrashing and trying to get him off, he couldn't keep himself there long enough if he could only use one hand. Then, he looked at the strap he was gripping and did the only thing he could think of; he worked his fingers further underneath it, and jammed his hand through until the strap bound his wrist to Lugia's head.

That was a mistake. Immediately after Tim secured his hand to Lugia, Lugia began shaking its head, hard, which tore Tim's other hand away and whipped him around like a rag doll. His arm, not able to take abuse of that strength, began tearing at his wrist. As Tim felt his skin tear and his bones snap, he screamed.

As the shriek of agony left his mouth, Lugia suddenly froze, head up in the air, mouth wide open. To those who could see, its eyes seemed crazed, yet it didn't move a single muscle.

Tim had only thought he was in pain after Keith had pushed him off the cliff. This was much, much worse, a pain so fierce he could feel it with all five of his senses- his ears roared, there was a metallic taste and smell in his mouth and nose, ripples of crimson washed over his vision, and above all, the agony made him wish he'd died.

Then, he heard something else through the roaring in his ears. Faint, but he could swear that he heard it, someone calling his name. Someone whose voice he knew well.

It occurred to Tim that if he gave up here, she would not make it out alive either. And with Lugia frozen all of a sudden, his body rested still against the legendary, and with whatever was left of his arm still holding him in place, now was his only chance.

He seized the feather in his left hand, not really feeling it much when the blind, careless grasp put another small cut on his palm. Pulling out the feather cut his belt as well, though it was something else Tim didn't really notice.

Reaching up with the feather, he used the gap his hand was forcefully creating and slid it under that strap, then the one next to it in the crisscrossed bands that held the stone to Lugia's head in an X shape. He slid it slightly further away from his hand, then twisted the feather as hard as he could manage.

The feather was still as sharp as it had been when it had lodged in Tim's leg. It cut the strap with ease, and it sprang apart with a snap, the breaking tension sending the stone soaring off Lugia's head with the cut straps flying behind it.

And without that, Tim slid down Lugia's head and, reaching nothing but open air, began to free fall.

Absol called out and bounded toward him. Mewtwo dropped the barrier it had been holding and reached its hand toward Tim, instead, intending to catch him.

Both of them, however, were too slow as Lugia's massive, snakelike silver head shot towards Tim, lunging at him with its mouth gaping wide open.

Tim had pulled his mangled arm in close to his chest as he fell, and closed his eyes, hoping that he'd done enough as Lugia's jaws closed around his torso.

A/N: Thanks to Mewtwo and Absol, and that Skarmory feather that gave him so much trouble before, Tim was able to cut the R stone off of Lugia pretty quickly... but kind of at the cost of his right hand, which is barely still attached to his body. Poor Tim. Also, even with the R stone gone, Lugia... is still going after him? Hmm...

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