Chapter 42: In Space, No-one Can Hear You…
It was an odd sensation being put in stasis. Shadow's mind was active though his body was unconscious. And he could feel quite a lot. Fear, pain, and so much hatred. And a familiar feeling, a warmth and love that only came from his best friend.
Despite not being able to move or see properly, Shadow could tell Pyre was right in front of him. The little Charmander was about to free him, but he stopped. And he could hear the desperate pleas from Ashachu. Begging Pyre not to free Shadow. And Pyre, with his overly good natured self, didn't release Shadow.
It would have angered Shadow, if he didn't know Pyre as well as he did. The Charmander was too good to simply let Shadow kill him.
"What's hyper sleep?" Ashachu asked.
"Wouldn't have a fucking clue," Pyre replied as he trotted up to Ashachu to examine it for himself. "Mmmm. Maybe we shouldn't try anything. Given we don't actually know what this thing is."
"But you managed to free yourself. Maybe if we break the glass. Stand back."
Pyre watched as Ashachu attempted an Iron Tail on the container before them. And Pyre winced quietly, Ashachu's tail had been cut off only minutes ago. And the Charmander knew that as cruel as it was, he was happy Shadow hadn't been the one to finish that bit of torture. He glanced over to the table he'd rescued Ashachu from. There was a body laying beside it. It wasn't the first time Pyre took a life, but he hated doing it.
"Ahhh…"
"Here let me." Pyre gently pushed Ashachu aside before punching the glass hard with his right paw. It shattered allowing Pyre to reach inside and force the two-door open.
"Riolu…" The moment the capsule was open Hunter opened his eyes.
"Hunter," Ashachu cried.
"Ashachu?" Hunter tried to sit up but found he couldn't. "Ugh. I'm struck."
Pyre climbed onto the capsule and broke the restrains around his paws and foot paws with his claws, as he had for Ashachu a short time ago.
Hunter slid out of the capsule, onto the floor and gave Ashachu a hug.
"Ashachu. You're okay." His paw trailed down Ashachu's back until it brushed the nub that had once been his tail.
"Ow ow ow…" Ashachu squeaked as a jolt pain shot from the wound up his spine.
Hunter released him immediately. "Ah. Sorry sorry, I'm sorry.…Ah. Oh Arceus. Ashachu what in the distortion world happened to you."
Having to see it, was painful for Pyre, two people so in love, having to see such hurt afflicting their partner.
"Oh Hunter…My tail." Ashachu burst into tears.
"Ashachu. Aww come here, buddy."
The riolu hugged his boyfriend as Ashachu sobbed into his chest, his eyes met Pyre's. "Hey," he said. "It's Pyre isn't it."
The Charmander nodded. "Hey yourself…"
Hunter looked around the room once again, his eyes falling on the corpse across the room. He bit his lip before asking, "What's going on here. Where are we?"
Pyre filled Hunter in on everything that had happened before he woke up. And a little about himself, as he was consoling Ashachu.
"You see, I'm an aura Pokémon you see. Just like Ashachu. That's why I was able to sense that he was in distress. One heart calling out for another." The Charmander smiled sadly. "It's a gift I've had my whole life."
Hunter raised his eyebrows. "No kidding. You're an aura Pokémon! Was one of your parents a guardian like Ash?"
Pyre frowned slightly. "I-I never knew my parents. They abandoned me when I was an egg. I was all alone when I hatched…"
"Oh." Hunter's face fell. "I'm sorry."
Pyre shook his head and waved his paw. "Ah don't be. I've put all that behind me. Family's in your heart not your blood. That's what I say." He looks to Shadow in his stasis capsule. "Hmmm…"
"Hmm."
Ashachu hiccupped and Hunter hugged him a little tighter. "How did you find out you were an aura Charmander?"
A decent question, one Pyre had never bothered to ask himself. "I've always known. Kind of an instinct thing. I can't remember a time I didn't use my aura. In battle." He looked to Ashachu's tail. "Or to heal."
"So how did you get here in the first place," Hunter asked. "Where'd they find you."
Pyre opened his maw to answer, but before he'd formed the first vowel Hunter remember.
"Oh yeah! You were in that truck with us. Did they get you on the? Hang on!" A confused expression came over his face. "What where you doing on that beach."
A large sweat bead appeared on the side of Pyre's forehead and a little color rose in his cheeks. He rubbed the back of his head and said awkwardly, "ahh. You see. The thing about that is…" he was cut off as a door opened.
"Oruo…"
"Char char."
Hunter looked up and gripped Ashachu closer, while Pyre leapt in front of him to confront the intruder. Even Ashachu looked up from Hunter's chest to see what was going on.
"Pika?"
Standing in the threshold of the doorway was a human and…something else.
A human bearing the Team Flare insignia.
But the other thing, It looked like a trash can. It was cylindrical with a doomed shape top, sitting on three wheels like a tricycle. One set of wheels was directly underneath it's base, while the remaining two sat and the end of arms that were attached just below the dome. It looked like something out of a science fiction movie.
For a split second there was silence as Pyre and the grunt sized each other up. Then they attacked simultaneously. Pyre opened his mouth to use flamethrower while the grunt shouted "R2!"
A beam of red light shot from the eye on the mobile trash can thing – R2 apparently – and struck Pyre's forehead.
"Charmander…" He gave a cry of pain and the flames disappeared from his mouth. Slowly his eyes begun to turn red. He felt, angry, like he wanted to….kill.
"Pyre!" Hunter reacted immediately. He shoved Ashachu off him and leapt to his feet, raised his paws and fired focus blast at the machine.
There was a bang and it disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. The redness in Pyre's eyes disappeared and he fired his flamethrower at the grunt. The rage and bloodlust faded shortly after. "CHARMANDER!"
"Come on we gotta go!" Hunter grabbed Ashachu by the paw and tried pulled him.
There was a sputtering cough from the doorway and the grunt shouted, "Why you little!"
"Char Char!" Pyre gave another cry as he threw himself at the man and punched him in the jaw with his claw.
Hunter ran for it, carrying. Ashachu on his back. He pushed through the door and past the man who was desperately trying to throw Pyre off him. The Charmander was clinging to his face, punching the side of his head. He made it a little way down the corridor before he stopped and turned back.
"Pyre!"
Pyre knocked the man in unconscious and leapt off him and came running after Hunter. As it turned out the machine, R2, was still functional. It was turning around to face them. Pyre turned on his heels and throwing an aura sphere, directly hitting the machine, and his spin finished as he turned back, not breaking in his stride.
They were done for, disappearing in a puff of smoke.
"COME ON!" Pyre and Hunter turned and ran down the corridor, not daring to look back.
They reached a room that was virtually just a large glass container.
The wall space that was not occupied by the window was filled with complex looking computer equipment and various screens. In the very middle of the room was an enormous chair with little screens attached to the arms. Like a higher tech version of something you might see in the first-class section of an airplane.
Then there was a cockpit like console at the very front of the room, in front of the giant window. Three chairs behind a complex panel of dials, switches and yet more screens…
"Ashachu," said Hunter in a horse whisper. "I don't think we're in Hoenn anymore…"
"See I told ya," he said dryly. "We're in outer space. They took us away on the space shuttle."
"This is the space shuttle?" Said Hunter. "Don't remember it being this big."
"And how are we standing," added Pyre. "I thought there wasn't any gravity in space. Meh." He shrugged before sidling over to the large chair. Admittedly, Pyre could not deny that it was rather amazing to be in space. "Now let's see what's really going on here."
"Ummm. I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Ashachu nervously. "You don't know what any of this equipment is for."
Pyre shrugged before climbing into the chair. "Oh, how hard can it be. Humans built it after all. Ohh comfy. Now let's see." He tapped one of the screens with his claw.
At once an image appeared on all of the computer screens. It was of a series of pink and blue shapes that together roughly looked like a duck. A duck with a pink polyhedral body with a blue front, blue triangular prism feet, a blue rectangular prism tail and a pink, polyhedral head that ended in a blue beak and hexagonal eyes.
At the same time a voice filled the room, coming over some sort of P.A. Or intercom.
"Greetings guardians. Welcome aboard the Centurion…"
Pyre coxed his head. "Huh. Are you talking to me?"
"You are the guardians are you not," replied the thing on the screen. "The aura Pokémon. The Pokémon of deliverance."
Pyre frowned. Oh boy, one of these types! "Umm…I guess. Who are you?"
"Who am I. I am Porygon. The controller of the Centurion. I am this vessels eyes, ears, mouth and nerves. And you are my heart. I am at your service."
"Okay," said Pyre uneasily. "This is starting to get creepy."
"Where are we," asked Hunter. "What is this place."
The Porygon on the screen frowned. "I just told you. This is the interstellar vessel the Centurion. But surely you must know this? And for that matter how did you awakened this early."
"Awakened," Pyre repeated. He had thought it was a cool idea, but the actual discovery that they are in fact, on a space ship, was unsettling. "What on earth are you talking about? What do you mean vessel? Wait, you don't mean…you don't mean to tell me this is actually outer space?"
*With Shadow*
The Darkrai had freed himself, despite the stasis keeping his body asleep. Shadow had his ways, and despite only having his mind at work, he was able to do many things. He could be considered a lucid dreamer, or if one was so inclined, a sleep walker, but in all honesty, he had managed to wake himself up. And through sheer strength, tore his restraints off and shattering the chamber. He hovered out for a few moments, before heading toward the door. Shadow stopped beside the unconscious human and the destroyed machine.
He lowered himself to the human and pressed his claw to their head pushing and pushing until his head caved and the bone gave under the pressure. Shadow turned following Pyre's trail. Shadow couldn't use aura like Pyre, but he could certainly feel ones he'd spent time with. And he made his way through the corridors.
*With Pyre*
"Told you," muttered Ashachu.
"I see your mind is still as sharp as ever Pyre," Shadow called from behind them. "What gave it away."
Ashachu and Hunter gasped and slowly turned on the spot as Pyre stuck his head out from round the side of the chair. Floating down the corridor was Shadow…
"Was it the blackness, the stars, or the set from Star Trek…" Shadow, despite his lack of interest in human entertainment, was basically forced to know it because of Pyre.
"Shadow," said Pyre, his voice an odd combination of nervousness and apparent happiness. "I see you've still got the sarcasm." He then frowned and added, "How did you get out of…"
"No cage can hold me," said Shadow coldly. "At least. Not for long. I have my ways." His red eye did a cursory sweep of the room before settling on Ashachu. "…And what do we have here. Young Hikari." Shadow used the name, both out of reflex and as a cruel proclamation of his lies.
Hunter moved protectively in front of Ashachu, though the Riolu was visibly shaking. "You stay away from him," he half growled, half whimpered. "Don't you touch him."
"I see you are no longer in full possession of your tail master Hikari. Though I know that to not be your real name. I don't remember removing it entirely from your body. Who finished the job?" Shadow was none too pleased that someone else had taken his trophy from him.
"Shadow. Come on man," said Pyre holding up his claws. "Leave the kid alone."
Shadow ignored him. "It seems you have other enemies who are desirous to make you suffer. Why don't I kill you now to spare you the pain they intend to inflict upon you?" The Darkrai raised it's paws, a black orb forming between them. He was preparing to use shadow ball.
Ashachu and Hunter ran for it.
Even so, Shadow followed them, having let his attack dissipate in his hands.
He followed them through several rooms and down a corridor, which sadly came to an end at a dead end.
"No…NO," Ashachu squeaked as he and Hunter came skidding to a halt.
The corridor ended in another set of doors leading to an extremely small room, which containing nothing more than a couple of chairs and a small computer monitor.
"Oh fuck…fuck," moaned Hunter.
"Looks like you've got nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Why don't you face me like a real Pokémon Hikari? Show a small amount of courage at the end of your life."
Ashachu swallowed as he and Hunter gradually turned around to find Shadow floating slowly down the corridor. Slowly, taking his time, which Ashachu just knew was to intimidate and frighten him further. Of course, there was nowhere for him to go, so no need to rush.
The two boys backed into the room. "What do we do. What do we do," Ashachu whimpered desperately? His breathing was become in so erratic, short and sharp breaths, that his small lungs weren't taking in enough oxygen, and he was starting to feel lightheaded.
"I'll think of something," Hunter replied sounding just as desperate.
Shadow was taking a great deal of pleasure in the panic they both shared.
"Though," Shadow continued. "Had you shown courage when it mattered, you would not be in this situation. And dear Blade would not be in the clutches of humans."
"Get behind me," Hunter whispered to Ashachu as he raised his paws and spread his legs apart.
"Hunter no," Ashachu hissed back. "You stand no chance against him."
"What sort of Riolu would I be if I just let my mate be killed without fighting for him."
"Oh Hunter." Ashachu felt so much in that moment, though it was cut short as Hunter pushed him back forcing him to bump into a console.
The door suddenly closed, sealing Ashachu and Hunter inside.
"Dam…You can't evade me forever Hikari. Soon I will kill you and your little friend too." Shadow cursed at them as the elevator closed and departed.