FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Hey there! This is a new series that I'll be writing, called "Armageddon"! It's a Pokémon story; some scenes in this story may be slightly disturbing to some readers. There will also be a few 'suggestive' scenes as well. However, those will be very few and far between. For a lot of reasons, this story is going to be focused on plot development for the most part. Also, keep in mind that I am not the most knowledgeable about Pokémon, so excuse any spelling errors or mistakes in the naming of certain places, items, etc.

Pokémon™ is intellectual property of Nintendo© and Game Freak, Inc. respectively.

Here is some information about the story format:

'Character Thought' (Not projected to other characters)

---

^^^Story break or a switch between character scenes/perspectives ^^^

~XXXXX~ Represents a lapse in time. But not a character perspective switch.

'Character Thought' (Projected to other characters)

(Pokémon Speech)

"Character Dialogue"

I think that's about it. Enjoy the story!

Armageddon: Chapter 7 - "Show Time"

" Sir, we are scheduled to go on the air in 30 minutes!"

"Excellent. Meowth, I need you to tell the guards to escort all of the prisoners into center field, for the... introduction."

"Introduction?"

"Heheh. Well... we are starting a new 'season' of the 'show' after all."

"R-right sir. I'll i-inform the guards right away, sir!"

"Oh, and before I forget..."

"?"

"Here are the keys to the torture cell 254B. I'm sure your family would appreciate you visiting them every once in a while. You've earned yourself that privilege."

"..."

"Thank you...sir. Much...appreciated."

---

'Knock, knock.' An all too familiar voice resounded while two light taps on the iron bars accented the words as they were spoken; penetrating Richard and Mia's dreams and awakening them from their slumber.

Richard groggily rose into a sitting position with his good arm, as did Mia, before he opened his eyes and his face contorted into frustration. "Oh, Arceus, not you again." He groaned as he heaved a long sigh and pressed his back against the nearest wall.

'What? Am I really that much of an annoyance?" The Mismagius quipped while feigning an insulted expression.

"Well, you certainly aren't the most... pleasant. To have around." Mia mumbled while rubbing her forehead with the backside of her left claws. The Mismagius sardonically chuckled and shook her head from side to side.

'The feeling is mutual.' She stated flatly. The 'W' shaped grin formed into an 'M' as she glanced sideways; her ghastly voice loudly echoing through Richard and Mia's heads once more, making them cringe.

"Gah! Could you stop doing that?!" Richard exclaimed as he struggled to stand up from the loudness of her voice.

'What's the matter, can't handle a little noise?' She asked innocently while her mouth reformed into its normal 'W' shaped grin.

Richard gave a sharp glare to the Mismagius. "You enjoy tormenting other prisoners, don't you?"

'Only the new ones.' She replied in a weirdly happy tone.

Richard sighed. This was going to be a long day... Or, it would be, if he could tell what time of day it even was.

'Anyway. Small talk aside, its show time!' The Mismagius exclaimed while happily twirling in the air.

Richard was contemplating about not asking anymore questions, but decided it would be in both his and Mia's best interests. "Show time?" He meekly asked.

'Well, as I've said before, Victor controls this 'reality show' and-"

"I remember." Richard suddenly cut her off; wincing from crossing his arms, and then rolled his eyes. "Just tell me why you woke us up."

'Some guards are going to show up and will escort you to the center of the arena. Apparently, this is the start of another 'season'; due to the high amount of fresh prisoners. Therefore, there has to be an entirely new introduction.' The Mismagius elaborated.

"...This is really fucked up." Richard mumbled while pinching the bridge of his nose.

'Psh. I think it's fucked up and I'm a god damned ghost!' She exclaimed in a tone way too upbeat for what she was referring to.

"No one asked." Richard replied bluntly.

'No one had to.' The Mismagius chided while turning her attention to a leaking pipe in the ceiling.

A few tense moments of silence passed between the three of them.

"Is that all we need to know?" Mia quietly asked, trying to break the uncomfortable stillness in the air.

The Mismagius returned her gaze back to Mia. 'Pretty much. The guards should be here to escort you to the arena any minute!'

"Can't wait." Richard sarcastically murmured.

~XXXXX~

---

"Welcome one and all, to the second season of 'Fight for Freedom'!" A dark voice emanated from multiple well hidden speakers at all sides of the arena. "Today, we have many new pri- I mean... contestants to introduce!"

"... Could someone edit that out before it goes live? ...Thanks, remind me to give you a pay raise." The voice spoke in a hushed tone.

"Anyway, let's see the new contestants!" The voice echoed animatedly throughout the area once more.

A whirring sound of a large machine could be heard as four large, stainless steel doors began to rise into slots embedded into the ceilings above them; revealing many Humans and Pokémon of all shapes and sizes standing in the now uncovered doorways. Several seconds passed without movement, until they all began marching single file to the center of the massive, circular, and surprisingly well lit arena. The walls seemed to be made out of reinforced concrete, and the floor was some sort of clay-sand mixture. It also seemed to have been spruced up for the new 'season'.

"You know, this arena looks quite clean for what it's used for." Richard whispered while walking behind Mia.

Mia glanced behind herself at Richard and shrugged her shoulders, then returned to facing the center of the arena as the four lines from each side of the arena converged around the center, and then slowly dispersed into a crowd around a spherical indentation in the ground.

Suddenly, a large hatch in the center of the arena opened; revealing a large circular pit and a platform rising from the depths of said pit. A human wearing a tuxedo, with a microphone in one hand and a chrome plated revolver in the other; stood confidently at the very center of said platform; his seemingly stoic nature making half of the crowd shiver.

The large, concrete platform stopped rising once it was elevated several feet from the ground, and the whirring sounds of many machines suddenly ceased. Leaving the crowd in pure silence with the exception of the occasional whisper. The human turned a full three hundred and sixty degrees; analyzing the 'contestants' with his regular as well as his cybernetic eye. A small, glowing red circle moved around in the reflective black lens of the artificial eye; presumably representing the pupil.

A few moments of silence followed, until the human raised the microphone to his mouth, his voice permeated the air more so than it did when projected through the speakers just moments before.

"Greetings, contestants!" He spoke enthusiastically while subtly waving his revolver in the air. "I assume you all know why you are here?"

Many of those in the crowd shook their heads. The only ones not doing so being the seasoned veterans and those who had probably heard a conversation or two.

"Well, then I shall explain it as straightforwardly as possible..." He began, making a dramatic pause in between to build suspense. "... You either kill... or die trying."

'Okay, this is obviously scripted.' Richard thought to himself, while trying to stifle a laugh. He peered at Mia who was also trying to hold in a giggle of her own.

Apparently, they weren't the only ones thinking the same thing.

A loud laugh belonging to a Wobbuffet emanated from the other side of the crowd. The crowd that surrounded the Wobbuffet slowly stepped away from it, leaving the still laughing Pokémon to be singled out among the rest of the group. Once it's laughter subsided, the human standing on the stage gave it a menacing glare while cocking back the hammer of the revolver with his thumb. The blue Pokémon slowly shrunk down, trying to hide itself from the glare that seemed to pierce straight through it.

"Is there a problem?" The human spoke with a sinister expression.

The Wobbuffet wildly shook its head from side to side.

"Oh, I think there is..." The human continued, a slight grin appearing on his face. "Guards, throw that Wobbuffet into the torture chambers, we'll see how much he will be laughing after that."

Several Unown materialized out of thin air above the Wobbuffet, each one grabbing hold of an arm or leg, then slowly dragged the Pokémon back through one of the large doorways. The whirring sound of the doors closing filled the air once more as the Unown dragged the Wobbuffet back into the darkness; only to be replaced by dead silence once they were closed. The human standing on the stage continued to stare at the closed door for a few seconds, before looking towards the ground and sucking in a deep breath, then re-establishing eye contact with the rest of the crowd.

"I do not believe I've properly introduced myself." He began as the pupils of both his normal and cybernetic eye rapidly flicked from side to side. "My name is Victor, and I will be your host." His voice was no longer loud and animated, but quiet and menacing.

"If anyone else would like an all-expense paid trip to an agonizing torture session, feel free to laugh."

Everyone in the crowd glanced at each other awkwardly, silence still permeating the air.

"No more volunteers?" Vincent asked sardonically while a mischievous smile formed on his face.

The crowd continued staring in silence.

"Good. Let me explain a few more things, and then you all will be free to return to your cells." He said, clearing his throat afterwards. "This competition will be operating tournament style, and whomever wins gets to be set free." He paused, grinning at the hopeful gazes coming from many of those in the crowed.

"There are exactly two hundred and fifty-seven of you... well... two hundred and fifty-six now, excluding the Wobbuffet. Which actually works out quite nicely. Therefore, we will be conducting this tournament in the classic one versus one style. One hundred and twenty-eight. Versus one hundred and twenty-eight. All leading up to the final battle between the victors of each 'side' of the tournament bracket. " He paused again, analyzing the now fearful expressions coming from the crowd. Victor raised his hand that held the microphone, and gingerly flicked the switch of a small device attached to his ear.

Most of the Pokémon in the audience in turn let out an involuntary shiver.

"I've implanted a chip in those of you that...volunteered... to be here. Therefore, any words you say in your native tongues will now be converted into English." He stared into the audience, many of whom wore a fierce gaze back onto him.

"Do not fret, it is only temporary. It can be activated and de-activated at the flick of a switch." He said, pointing to his right ear. "I've activated them simply because I wanted to ask if any of you had questions." He continued, outstretching his arms to his sides.

An Ekans meekly raised its tail high in the air.

"Yes, the Ekans in the back."

"Ssso. What doess the winner resseive bessidess 'freedom'? I mean, thisss isss a competition...right?" It asked in a raspy voice.

"Ah yes, I do believe I was just getting to that!" He exclaimed, wearing a mischievous smile. "The winner of the tournament earns their freedom... and a one-hundred thousand Poke dollar cash prize!"

A collective round of gasps was heard throughout the crowd.

"Unfortunately, we had to cut the last tournament short, due to so many new arrivals. Meaning, that are still many contestants from the last tournament making a reappearance, although, we are making sure that does not happen this time around. Any more questions?"

"Over here, over here!" An Oddish exclaimed while excitedly jumping up and down in the air.

"Yes, the Oddish to the left!"

"Do... people actually die?" It asked while its enthusiasm immediately turned somber.

Victor visibly flinched at the question, if only for a moment. "That's... for me to know, and for you to find out." He murmured coldly.

Many of those in the crowed raised their eyebrows and began frantically looking at one another.

"I think that is all the time we have for questions!" Victor suddenly exclaimed while raising his hands in the air. "The guards will now escort you back to your cells!"

Hundreds of Unown appeared; guiding the crowd into four single file lines, and ushered them back into the dark hallways as the stainless steel doors opened.

A few moments had passed after the last of the humans and Pokémon passed through the now closing doors; the miscellaneous clanking and grinding sounds from the gears behind the walls coming to a halt once they shut.

Victor still stood in the middle of the platform, heaving a sigh as he placed his revolver back into its holster. A serious expression was plastered onto his face as he raised his head to meet one of the many cameras still focused on him.

"... and now for a commercial break." He said in a monotone fashion, staring into the camera's lens.

~XXXXX~

---

"I can't believe people think this isn't anything more than a 'reality' show!" Richard exclaimed while clenching his fists. "It should be obvious!"

'Well, you must remember that a show which claims to be 'live', is really around five minutes ahead of what an audience watching said show on their televisions sees. That leaves plenty of time to edit certain aspects that would raise suspicion.' The Mismagius pointed out.

Richard gazed at the empty hallway outside of their cell. "When I get my hands on that motherfu-"

'Unlikely.' She cut Richard off. 'He has hundreds of thousands of Unown at his disposal. You would have to tear through every single one of them first.' She continued while outstretching an arm towards him.

"Well... Mia is a dark type." He said as he shrugged, glancing at the sleeping Sneasel.

The Mismagius' pupils briefly shifted towards Mia, and then back to Richard. 'That won't do you much good when you are so heavily outnumbered. Albeit weaker, Unown can use physical attacks as well.'

Richard slid down the wall he was leaning against, and lowered into a sitting position on the ground. "How many of us are there?" He asked, while looking up at the Mismagius with a hopeful expression.

'You weren't paying attention were you?' She said as she closed her eyes and shook her head. 'Two hundred and fifty-six.' She continued as she opened her eyes again.

"Shit." Richard murmured while clutching his forehead with his left arm.

'Even if there were enough of us to go against him, what makes you think that everyone would cooperate? She asked in a skeptical tone.

Richard sighed. "Not dying, perhaps?" He replied frivolously.

The Mismagius chuckled. 'Fair enough, I suppose. Still, we wouldn't stand a chance.'

Richard slumped down even further. "Yeah, I know... It's just... I'd rather die trying to make an escape than actually participating in this so-called 'tournament'."

'You are not alone in that regard.' She said sympathetically, while floating closer to him. 'But what can we do? Blindly throw ourselves at brainwashed hordes of Unown?'

There were a few tense moments of silence; both of them knowing the answer. Richard once again glanced at Mia, but held his gaze for a few seconds, before looking back down at the ground.

"You know... I'm not really concerned as much about my well-being, as I am of hers. Mia has been through so much in the past few months, I can't even imagine what kind of toll this is taking on her." He said solemnly.

The Mismagius stared at Mia for a few moments, as if analyzing something. Then silently nodded.

'I can tell. She doesn't act like a normal Sneasel should.' She said with a hint of sorrow. 'If you don't mind me asking... what exactly did cause her to act the way she does? Do you even know how old she is?'

Richard was caught off guard by both questions, but decided to start with the easiest one to answer. "You know, her age never really crossed my mind..." He said with a slightly embarrassed tone.

'If you'd like, I can find out.'

"Well, I don't want to wake her up for such a simple question. She needs all the rest she can get." He said in a concerned tone.

The Mismagius rolled her eyes. 'What I meant to say was that I can find out without waking her up.'

Richard raised a brow at the Mismagius. "You won't hurt her... right?" He cautiously asked.

'Of course not.'

"Well... I guess." His voice trailed off.

The ghost Pokémon nodded as she turned to face Mia. A red-tinted aura expanded from her, then quickly receded.

'Sixteen in Sneasel and Weavile years. Eight in human. Kind of a shame really, her best years have been taken away from her.' The Mismagius flatly stated.

Richard solemnly nodded. "That was a quick assessment, though." He pointed out.

She shrugged her shoulders. 'It's a common trait shared amongst my kind.' She explained nonchalantly. 'Now, do you mind telling what is causing her to act the way she does?'

Richard looked at the Mismagius with a troubled expression. "It's... a lot of things... actually."

'Like?' The Mismagius coerced.

"I don't think she'd like me telling you this, but... her parents were killed by poachers, while they were running away from...something. She never told me what they were running away from in the first place."

'I see.' She said in an interested tone. 'How exactly did you two meet each other, anyway?'

"Well, I found her in a shallow cave embedded into a steep hill. She was... a mess; to put it lightly. I saw her on the ground, crying about something. I was actually scared at first; knowing how clever Sneasel can be, so I stopped at the cave entrance. I wasn't sure how to approach a situation like that." Richard explained while nervously glancing at Mia.

The Mismagius only nodded, while making a circular motion with one of her wrists, trying to make Richard continue.

Richard sucked in a shaky breath. "It seemed like she was making some sort of decision while she was curled up into a ball on the ground. She suddenly stood up and turned to face me not only a few moments afterwards." He paused to take in another breath, and rubbed his chin while trying to recall the memory. "Most of the small details are a little fuzzy at this point, but I do remember comforting her after she had told me what happened to her parents. I was actually kind of surprised that she knew how to speak English... and surprised that she actually trusted me."

"Hm? She knew how to speak fluent English?" The Mismagius asked as her eyes went wide.

He nodded. "Yeah, her father was the one that taught her, if I recall correctly. Anyway, I offered to take her to a Pokémon Center so she could be healed, and she accepted my offer. After she had been healed, I asked her if she wanted to stay, which at that point she was unsure about." Richard continued, a slight grin forming from the memory.

"So, I let her decide on her own if she wanted to stay or not. Which, she obviously decided on staying." He said while pointing to Mia.

'Has anything else happened?' She curiously asked while slightly cocking her head to the side.

Richard shifted uncomfortably at the question. "Well... she was almost raped by another trainer's Bulbasuar the day afterwards."

The 'W' shaped grin on the Mismagius' face transformed into what looked like a sideways 'S' as she floated away slightly in surprise from the response. 'Wait... you said almost?' She continued, raising an eyebrow.

"She let out a scream the pierced through the entire Pokémon Center. Once I had heard it, I ran down into the lobby as fast as I could with my trusty katana. I barged into the cafeteria, and saw many disgusted and surprised expressions coming from the other trainers. When I saw what they were gawking at, I immediately charged forward and hit the Bulbasuar straight in the forehead with the blunt side of the blade." He elaborated with a slight shake of his head.

"Mia was traumatized from the experience from what I could gather. Afterwards, I proceeded to yell at the trainer who owned that Bulbasaur. Admittedly, I did act a little irrationally, but my anger got the better of me."

'Why were the others in the cafeteria so hesitant about helping?'

Richard could feel his blood begin to boil at the thought. "The fucking C.R.S. rates Sneasel as D class Pokémon. Apparently, she wasn't 'important' enough to be helped." He sneered through gritted teeth.

The Mismagius nodded. 'I can relate.'

Richard nodded back in acknowledgement. "Afterwards, I took her back up to the room I had rented to make sure she was alright. She managed to get out of that situation with only a couple of bruises." He sighed, the worry he felt then could still be sensed through the memory as he recalled it. "That was also the first night we slept with each other."

The Mismagius' eyes narrowed. 'Don't tell me... you...'

Her fierce gaze that she was giving him gave away what she thought he had implied.

"What?! NO! No...no." He yelled in shock. "What I mean to say, was that was our first night sleeping next to each other, not with each other!" Richard continued while waving his hands in front of his chest.

The Mismagius let out a relieved sigh. She floated a little higher in the air and rapidly shook her head a few times, as if trying to clear a disturbing image from her mind. 'You two are awfully close to each other aren't you?'

"When you go through a near death situation with someone; that tends to happen. However, we are not close in... that...way." He spoke the last bit of the sentence very slowly.

'...Anything else?' She asked slowly and a little more timid this time.

Richard furrowed his brow in thought, until another memory popped into his head. The expression on his face suddenly became wistful when he remembered what had happened that night.

"This one is a bit harder to explain." He said in a monotone voice.

'If you don't feel comfortable explai-'

He raised his hand in the air to interrupt her. "It's fine." Richard insisted.

Several seconds of silence passed between the two of them while Richard tried to formulate the words he was going to say.

"Okay..." he started. "Victor had been searching high and low for Mia ever since I met her; wanting to exact some sort of 'revenge' for getting him demoted in whatever twisted poaching group he was a part of when she escaped the first time. We encountered him in the forest in between Cerulean and Fuchsia City several nights ago. At first, he pretended wanting to buy Mia from me, which I wouldn't agree to at any price. This raised my suspicion, but then I recognized him from the stories she had told me. I felt a massive surge of rage well up inside of me like I had never felt before." He stopped for a moment to take a quick breath. "I drew my katana, and he drew his revolver. He didn't aim that revolver at me though... he aimed it at Mia. She was already in the air and slashed him across his face before he could even react." Richard's expression then became even more troubled; fearful, even.

"I'd rather skip the part about how he got his cybernetic eye."

'Why is that?' The Mismagius asked, showing a slightly skeptical look as she raised a brow at him.

"Let's just say that Mia showed a little of her dark side..." He trailed off, looking back at the Sneasel in question.

He then refocused his attention to the Mismagius idly floating in front of him. "Anyway, when the slash connected, Victor fired a few blind shots as he fell to the ground. One of them managed to embed itself into my chest." Richard snickered to himself darkly. "Would be just my luck, too." He commented while brushing some dust off of his jeans; continuing his explanation thereafter. "Once Mia had... taken care of him. She noticed the pool of blood that soaked into my t-shirt. She ran to me as I lost consciousness. The last thing I remember from that moment is a droplet of water hitting my face, one that most definitely was not rain." He spoke gloomily.

"I woke up in a hospital bed, my chest burning as if I had a piece of hell surgically inserted. But the most striking moment about that entire ordeal... was how she reacted."

The ghost Pokémon tilted her head to the side slightly at his implication.

"To say she was a complete wreck would be an understatement." He continued. "She immediately jumped into the bed and hugged me so tightly I could feel my bones cracking in my back." Richard chuckled as he recalled the moment. "She eventually released her grip slightly, but when she did, she stared directly into my eyes. Not to sound weird or anything... but something about them were...mesmerizing, to say the least. The way the light from the window refracted off of the steel bars mounted onto the side of the bed and into her eyes made them give off an almost... surreal glow." He continued, trying to piece together the words as best as he could.

"...and then... I felt something... something I can't quite put my finger on."

The Mismagius seemed to become even more curious at his words. 'You mean, physically?'

"No. Emotionally, I guess..."

Her 'W' shaped grin grew exponentially as soon as he said that. 'I think I know what that "something" was.' She chuckled.

Richard looked up at her with the same level of curiosity the Mismagius had shown only moments before. "You do?" He asked sheepishly.

She slowly nodded, her grin growing even wider.

'... Love.'

Richard felt his heart skip a beat at what the Mismagius was suggesting. He furiously shook his head from side to side. "Impossible!"

'Impossible, you say?' She asked in an amused manner. 'Care to elaborate?'

"I care for her, but I could never love a Pokémon. Just thinking about it makes it seem preposterous. I'm also certain that she doesn't feel that way towards me, either, and that is how it should be. Humans and Pokémon were never meant to share that kind of bond!" Richard quickly blurted.

"You are so sure of that... aren't you?" A bitter voice, not belonging to the Mismagius, asked from behind him.

'...Ooooh no.'