Science and religion 9: WHY IS THE FAILSAFE DOWNSTAIRS?!?!
COMBAT HEAVY CHAPTER!
enjoy.
"Jason, I have to ask you something." Jason lifted his ear from the doorway to turn to Ben who was standing behind him. Ben's face was blank in a new way- wholly deplete of any emotion. Cold and stony. "Jason... if you die today..." Ben's lips sealed for a moment, unsure of how to continue. "If you die today... can I have your glasses?"
"What?" Jason whispered back loudly, stepping away from the door and towards Ben.
"Your glasses." Ben shrugged, still equally expressionless. He spoke with not a fraction of the cautious whisper Jason's words came as. "They're cool. If you die can I have them?"
"Um... okay." Jason shrugged and turned back to the door. He kneeled and pressed his ear against the metal, listening intently.
"You... have aura vision."
"Right." Jason nodded slowly, something clicking. He stood up again, feeling a little stupid, and lit his eyes blue.
"So what's out there?" Ben asked and walked to Jason's side.
Jason's brow furrowed as he stared, scrutinising every aura signature he could find, and tracking their approximate locations. "A whole damn siege party..."
"A siege party?" Ben asked. Cheri whined with concern and rubbed against Ben's ankle.
"I've never seen anything like it." Jason growled. Behind him Ben watched him warily as he stooped to pet Cheri and calm her.
"Settle, Cheri. Settle girl..."
"They're collecting people." Jason stepped back a little and removed his shades. He wiped his glowing eyes with his wrist and stared, mouth warping into a smile. "Four trainers all gathered in the reception lounge... they're capturing people... why...?"
"Doesn't matter why." Ben stepped forwards to come to Jason's side. "But it can't be good. We have to stop it."
"They don't just round people up..." Jason seemed to be speaking to himself. "Why?"
"You're... Jason?" Jason looked over his shoulder as Ben spoke his name.
"Yeah..." He nodded with a grimace. "I'm in the mood to fight. Let's not waste this."
"Looks like it's going to come to that." Ben nodded. "But it doesn't matter who you are. You can both fight, right? You can't desert on me now. You, Jason, I don't care which- one of you has to help me. Neither of us can do this alone."
"Agreed." Jason nodded sharply.
"I sense you have a plan." Sumieri spoke up finally, joining the rest of the room's conversation.
"I do." Ben nodded and turned to Jason. "Jason. You said there are four trainers rounded up?"
"Yes. Four, but they're searching for more."
"Then we have to find them first." Ben decided. "Jason, can you break through walls?"
"No problem." Jason nodded slowly, coming to terms with what Ben was getting at.
"All right. First thing- we smash a path through to Dev and Amy next door. Next thing, we use your aura vision to identify a path through walls and the roof to the second floor to round up the other trainers for ourselves. We hole them all up in one room which we will fortify heavily, then we head out to deal with the shadow Pokémon." He paused, "What can we expect?"
"Like I said. A whole siege party." Jason turned his attention back to the room's door and activated his aura vision again. "A Bastiodon, a Metagross, a Scyther-"
"Of course..." Ben muttered.
"-a Houndoom, a Gallade, an Alakazam... and something else I can't identify."
"Shit." Ben groaned.
"The last one. It seems to be a Vaporeon... but it's different."
"Different?" Sumieri suddenly took an interest. "Different how?"
"It contains one aura- that of a Vaporeon." Jason explained to her as Ben was preoccupied with swearing and punching the wall. "But it also contains sub-auras of a Flareon, a Jolteon, a Glace-"
"I understand..." Sumieri nodded and turned away. As she did, her head bowed with a mumble. "Could it be...?" She whispered dryly. Her tails flicked a little faster and more aggressively.
"That's one bitch of a siege party..." Ben decided gravely. Though, for all the dread he felt, he masked it all behind a cocky smirk. "All heavies...
"There's a dozen Wigglytuff, too."
"Fuuuuuck..." Ben facepalmed.
"Looks like the shadow Pokémon are playing "teamwork" today."
"And it's my first day." Ben moaned, and facepalmed again.
"The Wigglytuff are moving." Jason said suddenly, staring hard at the door. "They're entering the corridors... they're coming our way-" He stopped. No sooner had he stopped speaking, he was off his back foot, and charging for nothing in particular.
He drew his fist back, clenched his teeth and charged for the wall. Ben swore time stopped for a moment before impact as Jason's fist fired like a rocket- nek minnit, all he could see was dust. The wall exploded, rubble blasting everywhere and the wall surrounding the impact crumbling and shattering under the massive force. When the dust cleared, ben saw Dev and Amy already rushing through the makeshift gateway, coughing and spluttering as the dust clogged their throats. Dev held a kitchen knife in his clenched fist- Amy had a gat.
"Arceus... Amy..." Ben backed away a little as she emerged- wide eyed and on edge. "Don't point that thing at me."
"Sorry." She muttered half-heartedly as her eyes darted about.
"All right, here's the deal." Jason clapped for everybody's attention. "Amy, Cheri and Dev- you three will occupy this room. Move beds, bunks, furniture, whatever. Block the door and windows; this is our base of operations. Ben, Sumieri and I are going room to room gathering trainers holed up in their rooms, and we're sending them back to you here."
"So... we're just on guard duty?" Amy scoffed.
"Amy, have you ever fired that thing?" Ben asked pointedly.
"Well... not at anyone..."
"Exactly."
"Hey-" Dev stepped between. "Amy may not be able to do anything, but I sure as hell can!"
"Which is why you're staying with Amy." Ben explained slowly, using his hands to accentuate his words. "If they get in here, we need somebody who can hold them off. That would be you and Cheri. If necessary- Amy has her gun, but we need you and Cheri to hold this position. We'll send back more trainers to reinforce this position when we find them."
"Lux-lux!" Ben sighed as he felt Cheri tug on his ankle. He had expected her to protest. As he looked down, he found the leg of his trousers gripped in Cheri's teeth and her paws wrapped around his ankle; her eyes were wide and shone with a sad glimmer. She didn't want to leave him.
"Cheri..." He sighed as he crouched in front of her, speaking in that mother-to-daughter way. "I don't want you to get hurt, okay girl?" He stroked just above her eye as she whimpered in protest. "If I brought you with us and you got hurt, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Please- for the love of Arceus stay here, and stay safe. If not for Arceus... for me... stay safe for me, okay?" He scratched under her chin as her mewling died out. She licked his finger as it drew away, and looked up at him with a frightened expression. "I'll be alright. Don't worry." He reassured her as he stood. "I'll be fine."
"Ben, the Wigglytuff are moving upstairs." Jason relayed as he stared at the ceiling with his aura vision. "There are two trainers and a Blaziken in the room directly above room 13- that's where they are heading. Three Wigglytuff and a Machoke."
"How long before they get there?"
"They're at the door."
"Fuck! What are we waiting for?"
"Sssh..." Jason silenced Ben, stepping back towards their own doorway and looking upwards. "The upstairs door is directly above ours."
*
"Jeremy, what is going on?"
"Sssh..." Jeremy placed his hand on the woman's thigh as she hid behind him. His eyes held fast on his doorway- shaking and rattling rhythmically as something struck it. "Just stay behind me, Sue."
"Blaze-Blaze." The Blaziken reassured, standing ahead of Jeremy with fists ablaze.
"Who's out there, Jeremy? Is it the police? Is-"
"Sue-" He tapped her leg. "I don't know. If I knew I would tell you- I have no idea who this is." They watched the door like caged Pokémon, backing off slightly, inch by inch as it shook. "This isn't looking good."
The door rang with an especially shaking crash, ripping loose of its binds, and fell into the room forwards to land with an almighty clang. "Machoke!" The Pokémon roared and beat its black chest with both arms, making a heavy step into the room and buckling the doorway with a stomp. "MAAA-CHOOOKE!" It roared and punched the air as its Wigglytuff cronies, also black, swarmed from the doorway behind it.
"What the hell?" Jeremy staggered backwards, pushing his girlfriend backwards behind his arm. His Blaziken stomped one foot forwards like the Machoke, issuing a challenge as the Pokémon lined across the room like a troop.
"Maaaaaaaa...." With a zombie-like drone, the Machoke lifted one arm to point, issuing his attack order. "Choke."
Jason was ready. The floor beneath the Machoke suddenly burst- shards of metal and wood exploded upwards as a mummified hand ripped tore through a small fracture from the floor below. The Machoke roared and lifted its leg to stomp it, but the arm was a step ahead and grabbed the ankle before it left the ground. The room was paralyzed for moment.
Underneath, Jason held the Pokémon's ankle tight as he placed his feet on the ceiling, hanging only by the upstairs Pokémon. He kicked up at the roof with full strength, pulling down on the Pokémon simultaneously. The roof crumbled under the force, cracking and falling around the Machoke. Jason pulled the Machoke down as they fell and raised an elbow high. The Machoke hit the ground first- then Jason's elbow landed on its neck as he landed with a vicious shoulder-slam. The Pokémon's neck was snapped instantly.
Ben was off his back foot and running up the wall as soon as Jason landed. He flipped off the wall and sailed through the hole in the ceiling, landing on the edge of the hole as he drew both swords.
"What the fuck?" Jeremy stepped around his Pokémon, staring across the forces line up in front of him. Ben ignored him and leapt across the gap towards the Wigglytuff. The Pokémon swarmed him with mega punches as he landed.
Ben feinted left as the closest approached- ducking around its side and slicing across its thigh with one sword and stabbing at the next with his free blade He kicked out backwards and knocked the first down the hole as he dislodged his second sword and decapitated the already impaled Pokémon
Dev intercepted the falling Pokémon with a jump kick, landing a crushing blow in the stomach and then following it up with a mid-air spin and another kick to the face, sending it spiralling into the downstairs wall. Jason followed up with a brick-break to the neck, finishing it off.
Upstairs, another half-dozen Wigglytuff came charging. Ben sidestepped out of the way, and a water pulse fired from the floor below, flying just past him and slamming the first Wigglytuff back through the upstairs doorway. Jeremy's Blaziken finally identified its allegiance, and came rushing to the aid with a quick double kick, dispatching two Wigglytuff charging from Ben's right. The next two's deaths came as surprise attacks- two beams of pale-azure light sliced through the floor from below, slicing through the two remaining Wigglytuff and killing them instantly. Jason appeared through the hole from downstairs, and turned to the unconscious two the Blaziken had hit. He pointed his fingers at them like a child would when imitating a gun, and fired two searing white lasers to finish them.
"Shit, what's that?" Ben asked, quite curious of the attack.
"Focus blast." Jason said. "A very focussed focus blast. I can identify enemies through the ceiling and fire through. Like armour piercing bullets."
"Hey- what the hell's going on here?" Jeremy demanded as he strode towards the two. He recoiled a little as Sumieri leapt through the hole to join the group.
"Shadow Pokémon are attacking the centre." Ben explained as he met Jeremy on the other side. "Head downstairs and you'll meet our buddies. Hold out that room- we're rounding people up in there."
"Dude- shadow Pokémon?"
"Evil black Pokémon." Jason pointed over his shoulder with a thumb to where the Pokémon lay dead, strewn across the floor. "So unless you want them to devour your soul or whatever the fuck scares kids these days, I suggest you head down there."
/Ben/
(Hey, I forgot I can change perspectives! Cue hotswapping...)
"So... where to now?" I ask with a shrug. Jason turns around with a murmur- I don't like that murmur.
"We might need to change our approach. The shadow Pokémon are working quickly. They already have rounded up another three trainers."
"What?" My heart leaps- more than that, I feel a well of anger. These bastards are still rounding people up, and they're most likely just going to kill them right afterwards in some mass-slaughter ritual. "We have to move! There are more people, right?"
"I'm..." Jason goes silent. Knowing him, that's not a good sign. "The shadow Pokémon are at their doors already. I think we have to get into the reception, then we can wait for the people to be brought to us." I throw Jeremy a glance as I notice he's listening in- but it doesn't matter. We're all in this for the moment.
"And...?" I have a sinking feeling there's a "but" or something similar.
"And- that's where the concentration of shadows are."
"Brilliant." I fall onto a bed and slap my knees. "What kind of concentration?"
"All those Pokémon I mentioned before."
"Shit." Not good. Jason's good. I'm pretty deec with my blades, but against that many we'd be hard pressed.
"I have an idea!" Jason and I both turn around, searching for the source of the noise. "Down here!" We both spin towards the hole as Amy appears, flying through the air and screaming as she falls to the floor.
"Amy?" I shake my head, stunned. "How did you-"
"Dev threw me." She says as she stands and brushes herself off. She looks over her shoulder: "Too far." She calls, not quite off-hand.
"I don't know..." I murmur. "I didn't think you were qualified to think for yourself..." She fixes me a venomous look as I grin.
"Fine then." She shrugs complacently and turns around, crossing her arms. "I won't tell you about the failsafe."
"Failsafe?"
"Failsafe?" Jason and I speak nearly simultaneously.
"The failsafe." Amy turns around; her eyes glitter with a certain satisfaction.
"What kind of failsafe are we talking about?" I ask. Amy plus failsafe equals... well, it'll be interesting.
"The kind that returns every Pokémon in the centre to a pokéball." She says with a sly grin. "In the basement is an array of special pokéballs. These are connected to sensors situated all through the centre. When the failsafe is activated, a massive electrical surge pulses throughout the entire centre, briefly incapacitating everybody inside. While everybody is incapacitated, these sensors identify wild Pokémon and fire capture lasers at them. Wild Pokémon are captured, and owned Pokémon are held in temporary cell balls- locked away."
"A failsafe that neutralizes all forms of Pokémon..." Jason gasps- clearly he's switched to Keiomi somewhere. From what I've learned so far, nothing amazes or astonishes the "real" Jason. "Wow, that's... incredible..."
"So how does it work?" I ask.
"We need to get to the basement." Amy says, staring at the roof as she thinks back. "There's the machine down there. Get me there and I can input the code."
"Can't you just tell me the code?" I ask. It has to be safer than dragging Amy into the line of fire.
"A-H-6-S-6-6-1-2-T-R-A-N-S-P-4-2-W-1-3-6-8-Y-U-I-O-5-C-V-9-N-A-4-W-B-Q-4-H-W-J-7-V-0-"
"All right- all right." I sigh. "You can put the code in. We just have to get you down there, right?"
"No problem." Jason walks towards the hole. Jeremy steps aside, but Jason stops. "Down."
Jeremy crosses his arms. "Make me." Jason kicks Jeremy in the ass, sending him tumbling and flailing to the floor below. His Blaziken laughs a little, and scoops up his girlfriend before jumping down after him. Jason follows after.
"Hold on!" Amy calls as she runs for the hole. I cringe as there is a loud thud from downstairs.
"FUCK!"
"The basement is contained in a bunker." Amy advises Jason as he shakes his throbbing hand, still cursing quietly. Beneath him the linoleum is cracked and shattered from the punch.
"Now you tell me..."
"You can't just break through. The only way in is a trapdoor under the reception desk." Jason swings his head up to glare at Amy.
"Fucking brilliant." He mutters, and turns away to curse under his breath.
"So we're going to need... a new plan..." I grin a little. Yay, plans.
"I have one." Jason looks up at us. "Shock and awe. We kick down the door and kill the crap out of everyone while Amy sneaks into the basement." And still he insists on changing back and forth between personalities.
"That would eliminate the whole point of the failsafe..." I sigh and facepalm. "We need a real plan."
"Okay- here's one." Jason rips the bandage off his palm and pulls a chain from his skin.
"Dude..." I hear Jeremy- dumbstruck.
Jason pulls a short length of chain from his skin and puts his hands behind his back. The ends of the chain come to life. They float up and wrap around his wrists, tying them. He crouches beside the dead Machoke, facing away, and lowers his hands to its hand.
I've seen Jason do a lot of weird shit, but this really takes the cake. The Machoke's hand clenches shut on the chain. Then, the Machoke leans forwards and begins to stand up.
"Holy... shit..." I mouth, unable to believe this. I wipe my eyes and stare a little longer... What can't this guy do?
"Hows about this?" He asks cheerfully, smiling up at me. Keiomi again. Dammit- all these changes are hurting my head. "Jason's aura is in control of the Machoke. As long as we stay in contact he can control this body."
"Shit... that's incredible..."
"Amy, down here." Jason instructs. Dev walks into view on the floor below and holds his arms up to catch Amy. "Here's the deal- Jason takes Amy and I into the reception. He passes the reception counter and drops Amy off behind it." Amy gingerly steps off the edge of the hole and falls to Dev, where he catches her and sets her down. "Amy activates the failsafe- everything is better."
"Infiltration, huh?" I nod slowly, running through my head how the situation will play out. "That's... genius!" I grin stupidly and jump down the hole. I barely feel the impact- I'm light as a freakin' feather and my legs just bend to absorb the impact naturally. Fuck, I love this body. As long as I don't grow tits and "female bits", I'm happy with it.
"Alright- Amy." Jason unwraps the chain tying his wrists. The Machoke behind him collapses as he breaks contact. He hands the chain to Amy, who takes it and eyes it for a moment.
"You just... pull these out of your skin?" She asks with a twitch of disgust as she scrutinises the length.
"Yes." Jason answeres with a nod, still in Keiomi mind-set. He reaches for his palm and draws out another starting link to illustrate. "Lucarios are steel-type Pokémon. With the right training we can create metals from nothing- all steel types have this ability. Larger, slower steel-types are trained to mass-produce metal. They create large chunks that act as barriers in battle, or in industry they are simply melted down or crafted into smaller objects. We Lucarios are trained to create smaller, more complex objects- like swords, chains and other weapons." He looped his chain around his wrists and tied them using his aura. Seeing Amy's trouble, I step in behind her and give her a hand to tie her wrists.
"In any other situation, this would be kinky." I laugh as Amy drives her heel into my shin. She doesn't kick hard enough for it to hurt significantly.
"Ben! Stay on task."
"Just trying to lighten the mood." I step back and take a moment to admire my handiwork. It looks like it's tight, but it's deceptively tied. "Can you slip out?" Amy wriggles her wrists a bit.
"Yeah. No trouble." She confirms. Beside me I notice Jason shedding his coat. He removes his shades and places them on his coat.
"All right, Amy." Jason starts as he crouches in front of the Machoke corpse again. The corpse lurches to life again, grabbing Jason's chain. "We don't want you to be identified as a threat, so act docile. Be obedient, be quiet, act a little sluggish and beat-up. We don't want to draw attention to you." Amy turns around with a nod and legs the Machoke grab her binds. "Just don't feel nervous, kay? I'll constantly relay you information the whole time with my telepathy, so you'll know exactly what to do." Jason turns to me now. "Ben, put on my coat and shades."
"What?" I know I asked for them earlier- but why is this important?
"It will increase your presence." Jason explains. "If the shit hits the fan, we want all the hostility directed towards you. The more threatening you look, and the less threatening I look, the better."
"So I draw all the big, evil Pokémon's attention while you two play it safe?"
"That's the plan. You think you can do that?"
I take a moment to think. "Yep." I nod. "I can do that."
"Dev, you stay here and keep everyone safe. And make sure this guy doesn't do anything stupid." He points at Jeremy with his thumb.
"Hey- what?" Jeremy steps forwards. "You don't even know who I am! Why do you think-"
"You look like the kind who might do something stupid." Jason interrupts. "So Dev, keep everyone in check. Let Cheri have the bathroom- she'll probably want someplace to herself."
"Lux?" Cheri pokes her head around Sumieri's head, hearing her name mentioned.
"Cheri." I say with a grin. She smirks and her tail begins wagging. Those two- since when did they become such good friends? I blink a few times, something finally surfacing. The three of us... Cheri seems to have this weird distrust of anyone who isn't me or Sumieri. Sumieri speaks so rarely, and when she does it's only to me or Cheri... we've got this little triangle thing going on. We really need to speak more- the three of us. We need some moment to sit down and just chill out.
"Ben?"
"Yo?"
"You follow me on Sumieri, but hang back. We'll need you if things go to hell. Dev, communicate with Ben as he waits. Use your aura vision; if anybody's coming give him a heads up so he can prepare."
"Got it."
"Sounds like a plan." I agree. "So, a Metagross, a Scyther..."
"A Bastiodon, a Houndoom, a Gallade, an Alakazam, a few Machokes and whatever that Vaporeon is."
"Right." I nod a little as I run type matches through my head. "That Metagross can probably do some damage."
"Agreed." Jason nods. "Sumieri, take out that Metagross quickly. I'll take a shot at the Bastiodon if I can manage it. Ben, you take the Scyther and Houndoom if you think you can manage. We'll see what happens with the Alakazam and Vaporeon. Worse case scenario,-evasive manoeuvres until Amy activates the failsafe."
"Got it." I nod.
"Understood." Sumieri nods too.
"Alright then." The Machoke turns Jason and Amy toward the doorway. "Take a deep breath- here we go."
/Keiomi/
"I sure hope this works." Amy gulps quite audibly, shivering a little as she paces ahead of the Machoke and on my left.
"It'll work." I reassure her with a nod and fix my attention on the corner ahead. The last corner... I think as Jason, as a Machoke, ushers us towards it. I check over my shoulder and am relieved to see Ben and Sumieri slide from the doorway behind us. He gives a thumbs up as he rides into the corridor, lifting my confidence a little. Have to be confident. I tell myself. Amy's nervous enough- one of us has to know what we're doing.
The corner comes so slowly. Time seems to slow as we round it, walking into the jaws of death and hoping they stay open. In the reception area, I spot the Alakazam first. It stands just in front of the counter where nurse joy usually stands, arms crossed and watching something I can't see. I don't dare activate my aura vision- they'd see my eyes light up.
The Alakazam finally notices us. It's a horrifyingly slow moment as his black head turns to set his gaze on us- but his eyes remain dead. They don't budge in the slightest as he checks the three of us. He turns towards us as we enter the clearing- and it's all downhill from there.
"(You're new.)" He says. "(You're not the one I sent out earlier.)" My heart leaps. Arceus, Jason! Say something, please!
"(I'm better than the one you sent out earlier.)" The Machoke states calmly. "(The other died- I did not. The other failed to capture these. I succeeded.)" He yanks a little on our chains to illustrate. "(I am better.)"
"(Hmm.)" The Alakazam cocks his head. "(Good...)" He grins, and my heart settles again.
"(What is this?)" Jason grunts as he scans across the room. "(Captives? What stupidity.)"
"(Oh? How so?)" This is so weird. The first shadow Pokémon I've ever seen that's capable of speaking coherently... then again, most of the other ones weren't in speaking moods when they fought Jason. Still- it's unnerving to see them communicating so... civilly.
"(Why not kill them? Why the games?)"
"(Ha!)" The Alakazam laughs it off, shaking his head pityingly. "(Humans are good for more than their blood...)" He turns his gaze to Amy now. A truly unnerving stare. I feel her shaking. I hear her chains rattle a little. "(They are great sources of... entertainment.)"
"Oh shit!" Amy turns her head to me quickly, begging with her eyes for me to explain. "I... I think..." This doesn't make sense! Shadow Pokémon have never... "Amy, look at the captives." Amy looks. On the other side of the room, A Metagross patrols back and forth in front of the captives, all lined up along the wall. "They're all female. All these shadow Pokémon are male..."
"(I see...)" I feel Jason's aura fluctuate disturbingly as he smirks. The next fluctuation is from Amy- I turn my head to see her.
That's the point I realise something is seriously wrong. Amy shivers and shakes, pleading me to do something as Jason's finger rubs gently against her ass. Oh, shit. He's lost it. I realise in horror. Jason's mind has broken free of mine- and now all he wants to do is kill, fuck, and kill- that's his instinct. "Amy! Jason's out of control! I have to break contact with him! Run for the desk when I let go!"
I tug forwards suddenly, kicking backwards at Jason. He doesn't release. Instead, he hauls Amy backwards and throws her away. I hear her scream as she falls and hits the floor beside the counter. Then it's me. Jason shoves me from behind, pushing me straight down into the floor.
"Hey!" I yell at the top of my lungs as I feel him pin me.
"(Settle, Keiomi...)" He croons with a vile hiss, rubbing my neck softly with his free hand. "(We haven't done this for ages... now we have an opportunity...)"
"(Up!)" Jason looks up as the Alakazam yells at him.
"(I'm sorry?)"
"(I don't care whether you want to fuck a guy or a girl or a Ditto- but not yet.)" The Alakazam hisses. "(We wait, then we do what we want.)"
"(Want now.)" Jason states, growling. The Alakazam growls and backs away a little, crouching low. Shadow versus shadow- the tension between them is positively volatile.
Fast as the wind- there's Ben.
/Ben/
I dash from my overwatch position with way more speed than I thought I had- and I'm behind the Alakazam as it's occupied with Jason. I toss my arms around its neck and wrench sideways, snapping it in one sharp movement.
"Jason!"
"Ben!" Keiomi/Jason cries, struggling away from his/her other body on top of him/her. I run in from the side and send a boot into the Machoke's side, kicking it onto its back. Keiomi yells as the Machoke's grip holds tight, pulling her into a roll with him. He won't let go.
"(You're not stopping me, Ben!)" He roars and grips his arms around... Keiomi? And hauls him/her to his/her feet as she/he- fuck it, she screams and kicks.
"He's lost it!" She yells, still kicking at Jason's shin.
"Jason! Let-"
"Meeeeetaaaaa..." I groan. My "Hero" stance crumbles and my composure drops. Shiiiiiiiit.... I turn on the spot and check behind me. "Metagross..." It takes another step towards me. The floor shakes as its foot stamps down with colossal force, smashing its weight into it and cracking the vinyl covering it. It takes another heavy step towards me, glaring at me with those burning red eyes like smouldering coals.
"Shit..." I chance a glimpse over my shoulder as I hear something. Keiomi drives her heel hard into the Machoke's balls. The Pokémon's eyes fly open wide as he doubles over, and Keiomi breaks away. As soon as contact breaks, the Machoke just collapses; it's dead again.
"Groooooosss!" Oh, yeah. That's right. I spin around and take a few steps away as the half-ton monster advances agonisingly slowly. It's huge, its black, it's kinda scary as fuck. Jason steps to my side as I back away, giving me just a little more confidence with his presence.
It stops. The Metagross' stops as Jason joins me, and stares at us. I gulp as I edge back a little. The strange thing is- I would have preferred if it kept coming towards us. This goes against everything Jason's told me about shadow Pokémon- it's not attacking.
"It stopped..." I point out, hoping for some explanation that will boost my confidence.
"I can see that..." Jason grunts as his eyes focus on the Pokémon, fixing it in an intense stare-down.
At the back of the room, the rest appear from nowhere. The front door bursts open, and they explode into the room like a torrential flood. A Houndoom shoots to the left of the Metagross and skids to a stop, the Scyther on the right, a Bastiodon and a Gallade split off to one side with a Machoke tagging along each- then the Vaporeon comes in from behind. They all line across the floor before us, separating us from the exit.
I don't know why it is- but my gaze is drawn primarily towards the Vaporeon. It wears a disturbing grin spread across its muzzle as it climbs onto the body of the Metagross and sits- content on its podium.
"(Now who is these?)" He laughs a little- no, more like a cackle. Something tugs at the back of my mind, and I spin around. Sumieri. She slinks into the room from the corridor she is supposed to be hiding in, and her eyes are staring intently at the Vaporeon.
"You." Her face warps into a snarl as she growls, sliding to my side. Her eyes are thin and appear as slits, hatefully tight and sharp.
"(Fancy meeting you here...)" The Vaporeon cocks his head with an even wider, even maniacal grin at Sumieri. Wait- they know each other? I realise. How? How do they know each other? Sumieri's spent all her time with me... hasn't she?
"(What are you doing here, chimera?)" She barks in Pokémon so I can't understand her. she doesn't want me hearing this. "(Does mother know what you are doing?)"
Chimera laughs. His laugh is ridiculously high-pitched, and extremely irritating. "(Oh, no. She doesn't. She has no power over me now. I only serve the lord...)"
"(Chimera!)" The Houndoom barks and drawls off into a growl. "(I'm sick of waiting! I want to kill them!)" A chorus of agreement rises from the troop lined across the centre's floor as the shadow Pokémon all nod.
"(Kill them all?)" He chuckles, "(Kill them all?)" Even the shadow Pokémon back away a little at a psychotic giggle of glee. The Metagross shuffles about uncomfortably. There's just something really, really scary about this Vaporeon. Not menacing, but scary and creepy as hell. "(My friends have I taught you nothing?)" He shouts quickly- still in a crazy high pitch as he looks across the ranks of his comrades. He checks them again, then returns his stare to Sumieri. Much more calmly now: "(We must enjoy ourselves before we kill them...)" His pale blue tongue slides over a razor fang as he licks his lips, directing the gesture straight at Sumieri to provoke her further. She nearly leaps forwards as her growling grows louder, but retrains herself. "(Suicune here... she is very good at being enjoyed...)"
"(YOU RAT!)" Sumieri dives forwards. My reflexes kick me, and I dive on her as she takes off. I grab her mane and wrap my legs around her torso as she makes a wild charge at the Vaporeon. I can't stop her- I have to roll with it.
/3rd/
And the shit hit the fan.
Chimera cackled as Sumieri charged, and leapt backwards off the Metagross as his force converged on the maddened legend. Ben released his grip on Sumieri's mane and drew both swords at the ready.
As the Houndoom leapt in first with a bite, Jason shot around Sumieri's side and landed a solid Mach punch to the canine's gut, sending it barrelling towards the wall where it landed on a table, smashing the surface into hundreds of fragments.
Sumieri noticed the stupidity of her attack soon enough. Instead of continuing her headlong charge into the centre of the Pokémon mass, she made a swift sidestep and dodged through the gap left in the wall where the Houndoom had been. Ben made a lash to his left as they passed, slicing a gash in the arm of one Machoke. Sumieri slid on the smooth floor and spun around to face the horde, then fired a water pulse into the centre, striking the Metagross at the top of one armoured leg. It barely made a dent- only provoking the Pokémon as it turned on her and roared.
Having heard the commotion, Dev appeared from the same corridor as Sumieri had. His aura vision identified everything as being in the reception, so he took a chance and left the defensive role to Jeremy and his Blaziken. He sprung into the action with a manic grin, drawing aura into each palm as he ran for the centre of the shadow Pokémon. As a Machoke sent a fire punch his way, he dodged around the fist with a quick spin to position himself behind the Pokémon and struck out backwards with a force palm. The attack landed in the square of the Pokémon's back, paralyzing it and dropping it to the floor behind Dev.
Sumieri and Ben had split up to spread thin the shadow Pokémon- as one they were a big target. Sumieri dashed around the reception as the battle raged, firing water pulses through the centre and confusing the shadows with her erratic fire, while Ben had both blades free and was duelling with the shadow Gallade.
"I'm warning you-" Ben made a nimble step backwards as the Gallade swung wide- missing him by a mile. He grinned patronisingly at the miss and shrugged. "-I'm better than I look."
"Gall!" The Pokémon burst forwards with a frenzy of slashes. Ben grinned and placed one hand behind his back, lashing out with only one blade. He met, parried and riposted every strike made by both the Pokémon's blades with only one of his own. Suddenly the moment had worn off on him, and all that occupied his mind was a surge of joy and confidence, accompanied by an even greater surge of adrenaline. Every swing at him seemed to move in slow motion. He identified where and when each attack would arrive, and deflected accordingly without trouble. Finding a brief opening, he dived forwards between the Pokémon's wide arms, and made a light slash at the Pokémon's neck. He ducked back out of reach as the Pokémon stopped short in its onslaught to choke and stumble forwards, clutching its throat.
Dev came in from behind just as the Pokémon righted itself again and gave it a light force palm to the back of the head. As the Gallade was paralyzed, Ben whipped both his rapiers up and crossed them, then swung both forwards at once like a bug-type would use X-scissor. The blades glowed and flashed as a spark leapt between them as they grated against each other, then hewed cleanly through the pale white neck. Ben flicked both blades with a flourish as the Pokémon's head fell, discarding any accumulated blood in a light showering of droplets.
"HEY!" He jerked his head up as Jason yelled. Jason leapt aside as the Bastiodon came barrelling towards him. The Pokémon missed him narrowly and smashed into the wall, buckling it with a metallic screech. "STOP PUSSYING AND HELP ME!" He dived aside into a roll as the Metagross unleashed a hyper beam at him. The beam hit the wall and followed behind Jason as he ran, streaking a scorched path where it hit.
"Dev!" Ben called to his side. "Go-" He caught a glimpse of movement in the corner of his eye. He swung his left sword up at the blur and leapt back a step. The blur jolted to a stop in front of him, suddenly appearing as a green shape.
"Scyther!" It screamed and spun in a 360 degree arc, swinging its second blade at Ben. Ben swung his blades to meet the attack, blocking it in the nick of time.
"Dev!" He called as he leapt back. "This one's mine! Go help Jason out!"
"Right!" Dev saluted and ran for the Metagross as it charged another beam.
"All right you bastard..." Ben twirled his blades as he and the Scyther circled one another- each with their own unique, crazy grin.
"Scyther." The Pokémon hissed, making a false jump forwards. Ben didn't fall for it, and shook his head pityingly.
"Pfft. Amateur." The Scyther lunged forwards. Ben stepped back once as the Scyther landed so it wouldn't get the benefit of momentum behind its swings. He swung both swords to meet the very tip of the Scyther's blades, where it carried the least force (I think). They clashed with a dull thwack, and Ben leapt back again, disengaging for a moment. The Scyther leapt forwards once again, swinging only one blade this time. Ben blocked it easily, then swung to meet the second swing. His reflexes barely alerted him as the blades met with an odd sound, and he dived away the split-second before his second sword shattered at the Scyther's swing.
"Fuck!" He muttered as he observed his broken blade. Barely three inches long now.
"Scy-Scyther." The Pokémon taunted with a growing grin. Ben looked up, face reddening. He dropped the broken blade at his side. It bounced once, then landed with a faint clink.
"You son of a bitch!" He roared and leapt forwards, taking the attack this time. As the Scyther lifted one blade, he stepped forwards even faster and into the Scyther's space. He swung his free hand up and caught the Scyther's arm just below the blade, before it could swing. He ducked low under the Scyther's second arm as it too swung at him, and slashed upwards with his last sword as the blade swung overhead. His sword hit the Scyther's arm just below the blade, shearing through the weak flesh and making a clean cut.
"SCYTHER!" The Pokémon screamed. Ben caught the amputated limb in his free hand as he leapt aside, and held it and his blade at the ready.
"Now that-" His lips wrinkled into a sadistic grin, "is how we disarm a Scyther." With that final insult, he dived towards the bleeding bug-type and made the final slash with its own blade. It sliced cleanly through its neck with little resistance- cutting short its horrid squealing. The body dropped with a hollow thump at Ben's feet, and lay there bleeding. Even dead, sickly yellow oozed from the Scyther's neck and arm and pooled on the floor.
"Ben! Help dammit!" He jerked his head towards Jason. The Metagross huddled its legs together and remained still for a moment, then lifted into the air by some psychic force. Its four clawed legs outstretched wide, and it began spinning. "Gyro ball!" Jason shouted as he ran- a Bastiodon close on his heels and charging after him. The Metagross took off, propelled by some unknown force. Jason leapt forwards into a flip and sailed over the Pokémon as it smashed into the wall just beneath him, ripping the panel free with the colossal force of the impact. Jason landed on one foot and spun, then fired two focus blasts into the Pokémon as it landed again.
"Water pulse!" Ben instructed, pointing for the Bastiodon first. Sumieri shot across the room from the other side after having dispatched the last Machoke, and unleashed another water pulse at the charging Pokémon. It hit it side-on with enough force to throw it sideways, breaking its momentum forwards.
"Perfect!" Jason shouted and ran for the Bastiodon as the Metagross set its sights on Dev, charging yet another hyper beam. He leapt over the Bastiodon's shield head as it regained its balance, and landed on its neck. He ripped a chain quickly from his palm and looped it around the Bastiodon's neck, tying a knot. He leapt off as it threw its head sideways, and landed a few feet away, still holding the chain. The Bastiodon didn't think properly, and immediately set to charging for Jason. Jason's attention however, was set on the other Pokémon. "Hey, asshole!" The Metagross shut off its hyper beam and spun around to stare at Jason.
"Meta!" It threw open its mouth again. Fast as anything, Jason grabbed something in his palm and pulled some metal object. He twirled it in his hand, and held it up in the air for all to see. It was a harpoon. He had used his metal abilities to fashion it attached to the end of his chain. Just as the hyper beam lit up bright, Jason tossed the harpoon. It speared straight through the centre of the hyper beam, detonating it in the Metagross' mouth. He broke into a dash away as the Bastiodon neared him, running in the opposite direction.
The chain around the Bastiodon's neck pulled taught. The Metagross barely made out an agonising roar of pain before the harpoon's barbs hooked the inside of it, and wrenched it out. Its eyes glazed over as its entire body was jerked forwards, and the harpoon ripped its insides out through its mouth, killing it instantly. The Bastiodon didn't even falter- it continued its charge even as it dragged half a ton of dead weight behind it.
Jason spun around as he reached the wall, charging a focus blast in each hand. He eyed the Pokémon and lined up his aim with its eyes as it approached, levelling his breathing even as his heart raced. He stayed calm, perfecting his aim as it came closer and closer still... waiting for the perfect killshot. His arms ceased jittering and his hands went rigid for the moment before he fired. His lips parted slightly as he spoke:
"Yippy kai-aye, motherfucker."
Suddenly, Jason's arms felt like they were wrenched from their sockets. He yelled as his body shot backwards suddenly, and smashed into the wall behind him. His head collided painfully with the wall, and then fell limp. His body held to the wall, gripped by a psychic force.
"How-dee-ho!" Ben spun around and glared- an Espeon. An Espeon stood just outside the door of the centre with glowing blue eyes and a massive smirk.
"(Chimera!)" Sumieri barked.
"Jason!" Ben roared and ran for the Bastiodon as it continued on its slow charge. It was barely running, but it would still kill Jason with a headbutt against that wall. Ben ran alongside and swung the Scyther's blade, stabbing it deep into the Pokémon's eye. Incredibly, it grunted and continued. It was like it had a death wish- kill Jason at any cost. He leapt aside as his heart thumped in his chest at a breakneck speed- he had only moments to do something. "Water pulse!" Sumieri glanced over her shoulder. She appeared conflicted for a moment- obey Ben or attack her rival outside. She bit her lip, and spun toward the Bastiodon. She fired another water pulse, aiming for its side. The pulse exploded just as it left her mouth- erupting at a few feet's distance and splattering harmlessly against a sudden protect field.
"(Uh-uh)" Chimera taunted as he maintained his field. "(We don't want to ruin the fun...)"
Ben threw a quick, distressed look over his shoulder at Ben. "Dev! Kill it!" At the same time as Dev charged an aura sphere; in some crazed, desperate attack, Ben charged at the Bastiodon and swung a leg at full strength.
...
...
/Ben/
"What?" I shake my head quickly. A sudden pain erupts throughout. "Aa- fuck!" I grab my aching head and drop it back onto the floor, biting my lip.
"Settle down, Ben." I hear Amy's voice. Soft and pleasant... Am I dead? Heaven? No- I can't be dead. Amy's here. Fuck. "Everyone else's still out."
"Out?" I groan as I sit upright, gradually opening my eyes. There's Jeremy standing against the counter, leaning back on it with his girlfriend at his side. "Out from what?"
"The failsafe..." She hints, holding me a hand. I take it and let her pull me to my feet- my head's still spinning.
"The failsafe?"
"Yeah. You know?" She shrugs. "Where did you think I went when the Mach- Jason threw me down? I crawled through the trapdoor and activated the failsafe. The failsafe knocked you out."
"Oh." I realise, brightening up a little. Everything's okay... everything's better. Then- something clicks. "You took your sweet fucking time!"
"It's a really long code!" She shouts back, going red-faced. "It takes ages to put in, especially if you get it wrong a few times..." She goes silent and looks at the floor.
"So.... Where is everybody?"
"Here." Amy grins again and holds up a handful of pokéballs. "The white ones contain Dev, Cheri, Jeremy's Blaziken, Sumieri and, I presume, Jason. The blue one has the Bastiodon."
"Can I have my-"
"Yeah, yeah." Amy sighs and throws a white ball over her shoulder. Jeremy leans forwards to catch it, then releases his Blaziken.
I take a couple of white balls from Amy and weigh them in my hands. Both weigh the same, so there's no way to tell who's in which. I flick both balls and toss them out, watching curiously to see who emerges. The left ball pops open, and a large red form surges from within. The right one is smaller, and materialises quickly.
"Lux!" I dash forwards as I recognise Cheri, and sweep under her, catching her in my arms as she falls down. She yells and struggles against me for a moment before she opens her eyes and sees me. "Lux?"
"Heya Cheri." I smile at her and ruffle her fur a bit, and draw a smile out of her too. I place her at my feet with another scratch, and turn to find Sumieri approaching from behind. "Hey Sumi. Y'all right?"
She shudders a little with a backwards glance at the pokéball resting next to her hind leg, but she nods. "I am, but I've been better. One of those Machokes hit me."
"What?"
Amy step sin quickly. "Where?"
"Do not worry about it." Sumieri sighs and shuffles about a bit. "Where is Chimera?"
"Who?" I ask. "Who's Chimera?" Her face pales for a moment and she goes totally rigid, staring at me. After a moment of silence I furrow my brow and take a few steps towards her. "Sumi. Who's Chimera? What's this about?"
She looks down quickly as I approach, sealing her lips and shuddering a little. "I... I know him. The Vaporeon-Espeon... I know him."
"What? How?" This doesn't make sense. I've had possession of Sumieri most of her life- how can she know Chimera? I've been careful. I'm sure nobody but me, my family and these guys know of her existence.
"I'd rather not speak about it." She murmurs. "If that's okay with you..." She lifts her head to look at me. I'm about to ask her again, but seeing her eyes waver nervously, I stop myself. She really doesn't want to talk about this.
"If you'd rather not." I say and kneel in front of her. I place my hand under her muzzle and scratch her chin softly. "I'm sorry for pressing you."
"Forget about it." She sighs and lets her head rest in my hand, closing her eyes and melting into my touch.
Beside me, I hear the flash of another two pokéballs opening and their contents bursting free. I don't even have to look behind me- it's not long before I recognize the inhabitants.
"If you ever, ever put me in one of those again-" Jason begins, "I'm gonna put you in one. And not by the conventional means."
"You'll get used to it." Dev yawns as he stretches out habitually.
"Like hell." Jason grunts, his hands sliding down his sides. He blinks twice, suddenly appearing confused. He looks down and notices he's standing in his singlet, then swings his glare back to me. His creepy red eyes fix on mine, growing narrow as his brow furrows. I get the message quickly and shrug off his coat, then toss it to him with his shades. He catches both and replaces them without a word, then shoves his hands into his newly reacquired pockets. He stares at me for a moment more before the situation registers with him. "The fuck?"
"Dunno." I shrug, and pass his stare to Amy.
"Don't ask me, I just hit the failsafe button." She lifts the blue ball, holding it for us all to see. "The Bastiodon's in here... so I presume the rest are dead."
"Dead?" Sumieri steps around my leg quickly, her eyes widening. "All of them?" Jason walks towards a dead Machoke lying a few metres away. He prods it in the stomach with a boot, then steps back and waits. Nothing happens. Without provocation, Jason lifts one leg high up and makes a step towards the Machoke, and then stomps down. We all glance away, but I feel a splash of blood slap my face as the crack of a skull breaks the silence.
"He's dead." Jason says as he returns. Behind him, the Machoke's head is little more than a bloody, gritty-looking pulp with a few fragments of bone spread throughout. The blood smears across the floor behind Jason in a trail, still soaking the sole of his boot.
He comes to a stop and folds his arms, glancing about us as we glance at each other. "What?" He grunts.
"Was that necessary?" I ask.
"No-" He shakes his head, "but it was fun."
"Fair enough."
"Are you sure they are all dead?" Sumieri asks once more.
"They're dead." Jason finalises.
"Then where is Chimera?" Our gazes all hold on Sumieri for a moment- frozen as we all try to recall.
"He wasn't in the Pokémon centre..." I recall slowly, picturing the scene in my head as a horrifying realisation creeps up on me. "He was standing... just out the doorway there..." As I turn to the door way and point- as everybody follows my finger- we all suddenly freeze.
He's there. A Jolteon standing right in the doorway and bearing the hugest, craziest grin I've ever seen. A sickly purple ooze foams between his fangs, dripping to the linoleum below as he stands perfectly still. His black eyes are nearly invisible against his black fur- highlighted purple in patches- but I can feel them staring at me.
"Holey shit..." I gasp. How long has he been standing there?
Jason and Sumieri explode into action simultaneously, charging headlong for the door. I dive after them an instant after they move, yelling after them. Chimera's grin lifts even higher and wider, and he spins around and shoots away towards the mountain.
"Sumieri! Jason!" I yell as I charge after them. "Wait up!" I'm too slow, though. Driven by some single-minded desire to kill Chimera, both Jason and Sumieri ignore me completely and disappear into the layer of trees separating us from the mountainside.
"Lux!" Still running, I throw a glance over my shoulder. Cheri rushes after, following at my heel in a sprint. Way back behind, Dev and Amy both run after us, Amy yelling something incomprehensible.
"Ben, slow down!" Dev calls through telepathy.
"I'm not letting Sumieri get away from me!" I yell back, but I fear my words are lost in the panic. I dive sideways around the first tree as I break the treeline and glance sideways. Cheri follows suit, diving around the opposite side. We run at similar speeds, chasing Sumieri at our quickest. I don't want to slow down- I can't or she'll get away. Stupid, stupid!I curse at her and grit my teeth, pressing harder through the forest. "What's she thinking?"
High above and far in the distance to the north, the sun's last light shimmers at the top of mount moon. As Dev and Amy hit the forest and disappear into the foliage, the sun dips under the horizon, and a blanketing shadow sweeps across the land behind them. The bright green leaves and crisp brown branches wither under the shade cast across, and turn to dull blues and greys.
The shadow overtakes me as I break free of the treeline again, and it sweeps quickly across my feet and to the foot of mount moon up ahead. The shadows then stretch high up the side of the mountain and delve deeper into the bowels through a cave at ground level. A cavernous opening in the side of the mountain, angling suddenly downwards.
I bite my lip as I approach, and turn over my shoulder to Cheri. "Cheri?"
"Lux?"
"You aren't scared of the dark, are you?"
btw, now i'm Terraphage.
TERRAPHAGE!