Chapter 44 – Shadow unleased
"The data I have managed to collect thus far, combined with that which we gathered from bodies of Shadow's victims, I believe explains why it's so vicious," said Namba to the group of Rockets gathered around the table; Butch, Cassidy, Matroi and her colleagues.
They were gathered an executive carriage – a car that resembled office space comprising a boardroom at the far end, complete with a table, around which the five were sitting. There was a large projector screen on one wall, with a large rotating picture of Shadow on it.
"The analysis of the biopsy taken by the machines indicates a high presence of the chemical known as R in Shadow's blood."
Matori raised her eyebrows. "The compound produced by the Pokémon Comprehensive Laboratory?"
"Precisely."
"So, that would mean…" Matori started before Namba completed her sentence.
"That Shadow's been continuously exposed to the substance for a prolonged period of time, yes."
"Ordinarily when a Pokémon ingests R the effects are temporary," said Matori. "The affected Pokémon becomes enraged and will attack anything or anyone in its vicinity. It has a side effect of causing the Pokémon's eyes to turn red. After the substance clears its system the Pokémon is left weak and tired and unable to remember what happened in its berserk state. But there aren't usually long term affects."
"There aren't long term affects that we're aware of," Namba corrected her. "The substance hasn't in any detailed way that we have access to. But it's possible that repeat exposures might have long term affects. I suspect the effects are similar to use of amphetamines on humans. A dulling of the nerves, and the simulation of a manic state. It would explain the presence of R his blood, his resistance to the pantographs, the viciousness of the attacks, and the red eye."
"Red eye?"
"Shadow's eyes are blood red, the same as Pokémon affected by R," explained Namba. "Ordinarily Darkrai have blue eyes."
Matori pursed her lips and snorted. "Far from conclusive doctor."
"More experiments will need to be run," said Namba nonchalantly. "For now, I suggest we take the opportunity to observe what Shadow is capable of."
"What are you suggesting," Gozu enquired, speaking up for the first time.
"How about a little demonstration battle," suggested Butch, with Cassidy adding, "We've got just the Pokémon lined up."
It was as if on cue at that moment, that Ash and Pikachu came thundering up the corridor and into the board room. They came to a halt, their eyes widened and jaws dropping.
"Ummmm," Ash mumbled.
"Uh-oh," Pikachu squeaked.
"Ash. Pikachu. You can't…damn it." Zacian followed just behind them, her face falling as they saw where they were.
Cassidy gave them an evil grin and trilled, "Ah twerp you're just in time. We were just about to have a little demonstration battle with Shadow…"
[Pokémon]
Ashachu held his paws above holographic screen. His heart felt like it had moved out of his chest and was beating somewhere in his throat. His breath came short and sharp and his fur was drenched in sweat, despite the coolness of the carriage…
All Ashachu had to do was reach out with his paw and slide the power across to 100 percent. That was all it would take to end this madness. To rid the world of Shadow once and for all. To get their Darkrai out of their lives. To prevent him brutalising his boyfriend. To avenge his tail.
And yet…something was holding him back. Right now, moving his paw the short distance forward was the hardest thing in the world. Like he was trying to push through a brick wall. If he did this…If he Ashachu did this, what would it make him?
"Good riddance," Charizard roared from behind him, his attention still focused on the now unconscious Blade. "You threaten my mate again, it'll be the last thing you do! Darkrai's bitch!"
"Charizard," said Ashachu, his voice higher and wavering more than he had intended.
"Babe…" Charizard turned back to Ashachu, a look of concern falling across his face. "What is it."
"I…I…" Ashachu stuttered, his maw going a little. "Should…Should I do it," he managed to get out.
Charizard coxed his head. "Should you?"
"Should I…You know?" He couldn't quite finish the sentence.
A dark look crossed Charizard's face. "Should you put that psycho of a Darkrai out of its misery before it harms any of us. I don't think there's even a question baby, of course you should. That bastard mutilated your tail. He snapped that Charizard's neck. He threatened Ash and he murdered Zacian's mate."
His voice lowered to a snarl. "I'd like to rip him apart myself and set his remains on fire…"
"But" whispered Ashachu. "W-what will that make us?"
"Bringers of justice," roared Charizard. "We'd be giving him exactly what he deserves, and we'd be doing a lot of Pokémon a favour."
"So…You think I should do it."
Charizard examined the screen and pulled a face. "I don't know. If we could guarantee that this would kill him, I'd say do it. But we don't know how any of this technology works. If we were to accidently set him free or something…."
In the corner of the carriage, Blade slowly started to stir. His eyes flickered opened. He could hear Ashachu and Charizard talking as if from far away and caught the last few words of their sentence. "Cowards," he mumbled, though inaudibly. "You won't face Shadow in a fair fight…"
"So, you think it's the right think its the right thing to do, but you don't think I should because we know about the equipment." Ashachu didn't sound convinced.
"Oh it's the right thing to do. It's far more than Shadow deserves," Charizard grumbled. "But, since we don't know what we're doing. Maybe play it safe."
"Listen to you being sensible," said Ashachu, his muzzle twisting into the briefest of grins. "And Pikachu, Bulbasaur and the other said you were a hot head!"
Charizard snorted.
"But Chari, if you think it's the right thing to do. If we have a chance to get rid of Shadow once and for all? Then, isn't it worth taking the risk?"
Charizard grimaced. "I don't know. If we accidently free him, or just cause him more pain or something, then aren't we just putting ourselves in more danger. He'll come and kill us."
"If we leave him, he'll kill us anyway," said Ashachu. "At least this way…"
"Won't Team Rocket take are of him?"
"He could escape. Team Rocket have never managed to hold Pikachu for long."
"Yeah," said Charizard with another snort. "But that's messy and lames. Team Rocket losers. They've never had a set up like this." He waved an arm gesturing to their surroundings. "Seriously Ashachu, I want to find Ash and Pikachu and get the distortion world out of here."
Ashachu bowed his head and took a deep breath. "Okay, I've decided." His paw remained in the air right above the power bar. He neither pressed forward nor put it down, it just however, as the decision teetered on his mind. "I'll…."
SCHREECHHHH….
The train breaks, the screech of its wheels grinding on the rails audible to the passengers aboard. There was a violent jolt, knocking Ashachu from his perch.
"Whoa!"
The mouse lost his balance and toppled off the table. Luckily for him, Charizard managed to catch him before he could hit the hard steel floor. "Thanks'," he sighed.
"Don't mention," said Charizard with a smile before raising his head and looking around concernedly. "What's going on. Have we stopped again? I seriously don't like this…."
Behind them Blade was just managing to get up off the ground. He winced as he did so, feeling a burning sensation in his stomach. He glanced down to notice the large burn across his stomach and waste. "Fuck," he grumbled to himself.
He noticed Ashachu being held in Charizard's arms, away from the screen. Maybe, if he acted now he could something to stop them. Though, what exactly could he do. Ashachu he knew he could beat. Charizard…Definitely not. He felt helpless.
Ashachu pulled himself out of Charizard's arms and climbed onto his shoulder. He looked up at the screen.
"Come on," said Charizard. "Let's go find A…What the!"
What happened next was bizarre. Everything around them, the walls, the computer screens, the entire carriage seemed to just…Disappear. Vanished to be replaced by inky darkness. More than that, it had suddenly turned very cold.
The carriage had been chilly – enough to make Ashachu shiver, but it was nothing compared to know. Ashachu felt as though he'd just been hit with a blizzard attack. A cold wind battered his body, and he drew closer to Charizard for warmth.
"Pika chu…"
"Zard." Charizard's eyes slowly adjusted to the dark and, in the dim light, provided by the flame on his tail, he was able to take in his surroundings.
The ground beneath his claws was metallic, smooth, and slightly curved. It was also narrow; a long thin strip dropping away suddenly to either side of them into a gaping abyss. It didn't take him long to work out where they were.
"What the fuck…How on earth did we get up here."
"Where?" asked a still disoriented Ashachu.
"On top of the train…"
"Pika…" Ashachu's eye widened. Charizard was right. Somehow, they had been transported on top of the carriage. The train had stopped in the middle of nowhere, and by the temperature and the way the wind was buffeting them, in the middle of a snowstorm too. "PIKACHU!"
And to make matters worse, just a little ahead in the distance, Ashachu spotted a bring blue light, and in amongst it, a gleaming red eye!
[Pokémon]
Ash's heart thumped in his chest, while Pikachu trembled on his shoulder. They were watching an exterior shot of the train on the television screen, which hung on the wall above the boardroom table.
Where the footage was coming from was unclear, but given it was an ariel shot seemingly taken from overhead, probably a drone. It was dark. It would almost have been too dark to see but for the lights from the train's windows and a series of LEDs mounted on the roofs of the carriages.
The train was standing on what appeared to be long stone viaduct spanning the length of... some gaping abysses. Neither the bottom nor the sides were visible in the dark. It was like the train was travelling through space, or a dark void as opposed to the Galar region.
"You may be interested to know, young man," Namba barked. "That the floors of the carriages are comprised of warp panels. Ingenious devices, developed by the Mossdeep Space Centre. Simply step on one and be transported to another part of the building. Useful if we need to escape the train. Or offload unnecessary passengers."
A twisted grin crossed his face, and Ash felt his heart sink. Surely nothing that made Doctor Namba smile like that was going to be good. And sure enough.
"PIKAKA!"
Pikachu let out a little squeal pointing at the screen. As Ash's eyes darted back to it, he experienced a hot pang of panic. The figures of three Pokémon; one tall orange and a much smaller yellow and black had appeared on the roof of one of the carriages.
"Ashachu! Charizard!"
"I found your little pets in my compartment," snapped Namba. "Fornicating with each other like a pair of common Bunneary. Then they went running through the train, and nearly ruined the entire operation. No matter, they'll prove useful for the little experiment I have in mind."
Ash felt as if a large claw were squeezing on his chest. It was suddenly hard to breath. "Wh-what…Experiment."
"Pikachu Pika!"
The drone camera panned further down the train, where Shadow as caught between the strange blue electric beams from two of the train's pantographs. Cold sweat started to build on Ash's forehead. He could feel it dripping down his back, and Pikachu was shaking violently.
"No," said Zacian loudly and defiantly. "You can't."
So unexpected had her outburst been that it made Ash raise his eyebrows at her and Pikachu stop shaking. Her hackles were raised, and she was glaring at Namba, her mouth slightly open revealing long fangs and sharp teeth.
"You can't release Shadow onto poor Ashachu and Charizard. He'll slaughter them. He'll torture and kill them like he did all the others. You can't do this."
Butch glared at her and snapped angrily, "Stay out of this Zacian! This doesn't concern you." Namba and the rest of the Team Rocket members present ignored her.
"Raise the pantographs," the scientist barked.
Ash wasn't sure who Namba was talking to, but it had to be someone, as at once the triangular objects stood up on the tops of each of the carriages.
"Power up."
At his words, the pantographs started buzzing with that strange blue electricity. As Ash watched the sparks got larger and larger until they engulfed the whole train.
"You may be interested to know that the pantographs project a form of proton energy, for which the core elements that comprise a Pokémon's cells act as a conductor for," said Namba. "It can be used to ensnare a Pokémon, as we did with Shadow. And it can be used as a cage to prevent escape as we are doing here. I'm afraid your little pets won't be able to get more than a few meters or so away from the train. Now…Let's see what they make of Darkrai."
"You're a monster," Ash breathed. So overwhelmed with fear was he, that he wasn't capable of more than a whisper. "I don't know who's worse. You or Shadow."
"Your traitors," snarled Zacian. "I trusted you. Butch, Cassidy. You promised me no harm would come to them if I helped you."
Cassidy swivelled around in her chair to grin nastily at Zacian. "That was before we caught Darkrai. Now that we know this technology works, we won't need you anymore." She laughed. "On this mission."
"Not like you're going anywhere," added Butch.
Zacian growled and shook her head but couldn't think of a reply.
"I won't let this happen," Ash declared, a little more resolve coming back to him. "I won't let you kill my kit and one of my oldest friends like this. I'll stop Shadow."
"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu growled approvingly of his words.
And with that, Ash made a Beedrill line for the door…
[Pokémon]
"What in the world." Charizard frowned. The carriages had become surrounded by an eerie blue aura. "What is this!"
"I don't like it," whispered Ashachu, terror rising in his chest like an ice beam directly to his heart, threatening to encase him. "That looks like the same energy they used to trap Shadow."
"Which means they must be trying to keep us in," mused Charizard. "And I know enough to know that if Team Rocket wants me kept in something, I'm better off out."
"PIKA." Ashachu suddenly let out a squeal of fright. His stomach churned, his ears quivered, and his heart felt like it might leap up his throat and out of his mouth it was thumping so hard.
A gleaming red eye and billowing dark figure was approaching them…
From behind, Blade raised himself a little off the ground, the sight giving him the opposite effect to Ashachu. His heart filled with joy, and he felt as though he were floating on a cloud. He opened his maw and started to laugh.
Ashachu glanced over his shoulder, the Sneasel's laugher temporarily distracting him from the appearance of Shadow.
"Blade?"
"Hehehe. You're done for now kiddo. I was an idiot for even trusting you in the first place! Look kid, when you live like me, you die if you trust the wrong person! Or a lot worse can happen. Forgiving you after what you did, it goes against every instinct in my body! It's kind of funny... I loved you just a few days ago. now I'd happily watch Shadow pull your limbs off one by one while your lizard lover and your shitty parents watched! Hey Shadow. I want his ears as a trophy!"