Armageddon: Chapter 11 - "Master of Illusions"
#13 of Armageddon [Abandoned, superseded by Acolytes of the Apocalypse]
A new Pokemon series I've decided to write, depicting a human named Richard, who finds a Sneasel that agrees to be his Pokemon. This is a story about their survival in a series of devastating natural disasters, as well as other crazy events. Will they have the courage and strength to survive the impending Armageddon? Only time will tell.
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 11 - "Master of Ill** usions"**
"You know, I really enjoy the conversations we have together."
"..."
"You are such a great listener!"
"..."
"Although, I will say, something about you feels a bit...off."
"..."
"Could you tell me what that might be?"
"..."
"...A-am I seriously talking to a corpse?! Ew, ew, ew! W-what the hell is wrong with me?!"
"Just keep it together, Zoey. Just k-keep it together. You'll get out of here eventually."
"...Eventually."
Meowth sprinted down the tight, dimly lit hallway as fast as his legs could take him. The violent shaking and sounds of a massive explosion were still fresh in his mind. When he finally arrived at his destination, he barged into the control room with a panicked expression. "Sir, are you alright?! I heard an-"
"If you are looking for Victor; he is downstairs in the arena." The Espeon interrupted in a dismissive tone as she briefly glanced in his general direction, then accompanied it with a roll of her eyes.
"Why is he downsta-?" He stopped himself, as he shifted his attention from the Espeon to the rest of the wreckage laid out before him.
"...Oh." The Meowth whispered as he froze in place, ceasing nearly all natural movement.
"Yeah." The Espeon replied in a condescending tone, while turning the rest of her body to face the surprised bipedal cat.
"I...I'm going to go see if he's alright." He stuttered as he brought himself back into motion, and gingerly tip-toed over the pieces of glass that were scattered on the posh, carpeted floor towards another steel door at the other side of the room that was slightly ajar.
"That would be best." The Espeon replied in a monotone voice as she gazed at the door where the Meowth was headed. After he exited the room, she slowly curled herself up into a ball on the metal surface of the table positioned at the center of the room, and fell into the tight grasp of sleep.
Victor hastily walked towards the large crater at the other side of the arena, stepping around many different piles of dead Unown along the way, with revolver in hand. He opened the drum and lifted the backside of the gun to his face; carefully analyzing the antimatter-grade rounds loaded within the steel confines. Satisfied, he closed the drum of the revolver as he reached the edge of the several meter deep crater formed by the explosion.
Both his cybernetic and natural eye scanned the immediate area for any signs of movement. Victor gave off an irate sigh as he reached up to the protective plating around his cybernetic eye, and pressed a small button mounted onto the plating. His vision transformed into a thermal and electromagnetic wave signature scanner; specifically designed to find lost, or escaped prisoners of any species. He then craned his neck around the entire scene once more in an attempt to find the escaped Mismagius.
As he kept surveying the area; analyzing the same locations over, and over again. The realization became all too clear.
Someone has escaped the complex.
Victor felt his pulse quicken, the pounding of his own heart dominating his sense of hearing. The pulsing sensation coursing through his head dulled for a moment, as he heard a voice calling out to him.
"Sir, what happened?!" The Meowth shouted from the other side of the vast expanses in the partially destroyed arena, while running towards him.
"What in Arceus' name are you doing here, Meowth?!" Victor sneered as he snapped around to face the bipedal feline in question.
"I-I heard an explosion. I wanted to see what was going on." The Meowth said with a worried tone with eyes downcast to the ground below him.
Victor was about to scold the Meowth for entering the arena without receiving explicit permission to do so, but immediately stopped himself as he slapped the palm of his right hand to his forehead.
"Meowth, I need you to go on a mission for me." He said with a strained voice, while he lowered his hand back down to his side.
The Meowth met Victor's gaze, and tilted his head to the side slightly. "What do you need, sir?"
"Damage control, lots of it." Victor responded with gritted teeth. "A Mismagius managed to escape my grasp. I need you to downplay the situation as much as possible, and if any rumors start going around, report them to me immediately."
The Meowth enthusiastically nodded his head, and gave a mock salute. "Sure thing, sir!" He exclaimed as he ran back to the stairwell that led to the arena floor.
Victor kept his gaze fixated in the general direction of the quickly shrinking figure in the distance, until the echoes of a slam from the metal doors reached his ears. Rage began to fill his mind as he thought of the possibility of this operation being shut down by the authorities, him being executed for conducting this in the first place, or worse.
"Damnit!" Victor yelled as he raised his left arm above his head and threw the revolver to the ground, resulting in a hollow metallic sound much to the likes of a steel pipe hitting concrete.
~XXXXX~
'Five, horrific, days._' _Mia dismally thought to herself as her vision began to grow hazy from dehydration. Her tongue felt like a solid rock, and the golden feathers on her body were much less radiant than usual. She laid sprawled out in the center of her claustrophobic prison cell; while in addition to dehydration, starvation also began to consume her mind, like a raging wildfire through a massive and dry forest.
Mia clumsily raised a claw to her forehead in an attempt dull the unbearable headache that suppressed any significant movement. The room around her was spinning in circles every time she opened her eyes; her sanity was slipping, she felt like she was about to break under all of the immense pressure pounding her head into a hypothetical bloody pulp. Although, the 'hypothetical' part would soon become reality if she didn't find any sustenance soon.
'Arceus...just kill me now. Relieve me from this torture _.__'_Mia thought to herself as her demeanor hit an all-time low. At this point, she just wanted to give up and die on the cold, hard, concrete floor where she lay.
'What am I even doing _, anyway?_ I've been keeping myself alive, just to grasp at the threads of a fantasy that will never become a reality. I give up. I'm done._'_Mia squeezed her eyes shut in agony, as a precious drop of moisture escaped from one of her eyes, and trailed down the side of her face; temporarily staining the concrete below her a darker shade of gray as it hit the floor.
Mia's thoughts then immediately turned to Richard, and what they could have become. Should she have done something different? If so, where did she go wrong?
'I guess Im going to end up dying alone..._'_She concluded in her mind, while her body shuddered at the realization of what she was theorizing was indeed, fact.
"I just desperately wanted someone to share my pain with, my memories with..."
"...my heart with."
' Miiiiaaaaaa...' A voice whispered in her mind.
She gently opened her eyes; a translucent, purple figure floating above her was sliding in and out of focus. She narrowed her eyes, and tried to concentrate on the being that was consuming all peripherals of her vision. "W-wha, who's there?"
' Who do you think?' The voice quipped, as it became louder and more recognizable.
"R-Richard?" Mia questioned with a confused tone.
' I'm fairly confident that Richard isn't a ghost. Well, last time I checked, anyway.' The voice responded with nonchalance.
Mia raised herself onto her elbows with a pained grunt as she tried to focus more intently on the hazy apparition. "...Mismagius?"
' Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!' Amethyst exclaimed in a sarcastic tone. 'But seriously, call me Amethyst.'
"Your name is Amethyst?" Mia rhetorically asked.
Amethyst crossed her arms, and narrowed her eyes in a menacing fashion. 'Show even a hint of contempt towards my name, and I will finish you off; right here, right now.'
Mia felt herself beginning to lose consciousness; she shook her head rapidly from side-to-side in an attempt to stay awake, before refocusing her attention to the Mismagius floating in front of her that was staring back with an inquisitive expression.
"No, no, that's... a nice name." Mia said in earnest, while her speech started to become slurred.
' I WILL HAVE YOU KNOW THA-...' Amethyst started with a ferocious tone, before suddenly interrupting herself. 'Wait. You're serious?' She asked with disbelief.
Mia numbly nodded her head as she gingerly lowered herself back onto the coarse floor. "...Yeeaaahhh..." She spoke out in a hushed tone as her eyes snapped shut, and she felt herself be cast into a realm of nothingness.
Mia awoke with a start. She rubbed her eyes with her claws as they adjusted to the darkness. The room she was in wasn't the prison cell she had lived for several treacherous days in. Instead, it was... a bedroom inside of a Pokemon Center?!
Once the realization had sunk in, she immediately rolled out of the soft bed she laid in, and b-lined it towards the door on the opposite end of the room. Mia grabbed the doorknob and turned in with all her might, but to no avail.
"W-what's going on? Why can't I open, this, door?!" She yelled with a panicked expression, as she feverishly pulled, pushed, and rammed her shoulder into the stubborn, oversized rectangle of wood. Her efforts ceased, though, as she heard another door opening to the right of her.
"Mia, what are you doing?" Richard asked while stifling laugh as he nonchalantly walked out of the bathroom, and flicked a light switch on the wall. Thereby illuminating the room in a soft, yellow glow.
"Richard!" Mia exclaimed as she leapt at him, and locked him in a tight embrace. "I-I'm so glad to see you, you have no idea what kind of nightmare I-"
"Shhhh." Richard interjected, then gently placed a hand on her upper-back. "It doesn't make sense to reflect on something unpleasant for longer than you have to." He said in a warm, and reassuring tone.
Mia raised her head to meet his gaze; a subtle smirk forming on her features as Richard gently set her back down on the carpeted floor. Before he could stand up from his kneeling position, Mia raised a claw at him, as if telling him to stay put. Richard gave her a questioning look, but complied nonetheless. She then took a few sultry steps away from him, and looked over her right shoulder at him with a provocative smile. "Well, what do you think of my new form?" She asked excitedly while turning around, and stretching her arms out above her head.
Richard raised an eyebrow at her. "...New form?"
"Yeah!" Mia exclaimed.
He scratched his head in confusion. "Uh... unless there is a secret third evolutionary form that looks mind-blowingly similar to your first form... I don't really see anything that has changed."
Mia's eyes went wide as she jerked one of her claws into her field of vision; and noticed that she now had only two, sharp, knife-like fingers instead of three. "I...I'm still a Sneasel?" She rhetorically asked in a disappointed manner.
Richard gave off a light chuckle. "Mia, are you sure that T.M. isn't still messing with you?"
"I-I..." She stuttered, as she struggled to form more words, while still staring at her left claw.
Richard lightly shook his head with a smirk, as he stood up from his kneeling position and playfully patted her on her right shoulder. "What do you say we get something to eat?" He asked while walking over to the door and opening it with ease.
Mia jumped in surprise, but quickly regained her composure. "...Sure." She uttered apprehensively.
"After you." He said as he stood with his back against the door, and made a circular motion with one of his arms, while the other held the door open.
Mia slowly took a few steps towards the door, and peeked into the hallway; same reflective tile floor, same stairway leading downstairs, same doors lining each wall, same Pokemon Center. Mia let out a small sigh of relief as she took a couple of steps outside of the room, with Richard closing the door, and following closely behind.
Everything seemed to be normal. Was that entire ordeal, just a dream?
As they progressed further down the hallway, Mia noticed that the entrance leading into the stairway seemed to move further away with every step. "Richard, is it just me, or is that flight of stairs... moving?" She worriedly spoke as she turned her head to him.
They continued walking down the hallway; Richard gave her a suspicious glare. "What are you talking about? The stairway is just a little ways further." He replied with a bewildered expression.
Mia turned her head back around, only to realize that the flight of stairs in question was now suddenly right in front of them.
"See? Nothing to worry about." Richard said with a light chuckle, as he started down the stairwell.
Mia gazed at the stairs with curiosity. _'Something is wrong here...'_She mused as she scratched her chin with a claw.
"You coming?" Richard's voice echoed from the bottom of the stairway.
Mia immediately snapped herself out of her thoughts, and rushed down the stairs in order to meet him in a timely fashion. Once she made it to the bottom; she found Richard to be leaning on the wall adjacent to the open doorway. "What was the hold up?" He asked as he reinstated a standing position from the smooth, polished granite wall.
Mia gave an embarrassed expression as she glanced at the tiled floor at her feet. "N-nothing."
Richard shook his head and heaved a long sigh as he stood in front of the doorway with his arms crossed. "Okay, Mia, this is too much. What has gotten into you?"
With his question met by a flinch and a guilty expression from Mia, Richard hesitantly pulled out her Pokeball from his belt.
"Do you need some time in here? It'll probably help you calm down."
Mia's eyes went wide. "No, no, no. I'm okay!" She exclaimed while waving her claws in front of her chest. "It's just... the whole thing with being captured by Victor, and the murder, and the starvation, and the hopelessness, and..."
"Alright, now I'm_positive_those T.M.'s are messing with your head." Richard flatly stated, as he reluctantly attached the golden and liquid black Pokeball back onto one of the strong magnets mounted inside of the belt.
He uncrossed his arms and turned towards the large doorway. "Mia, I can guarantee you that none of what you described happened. It was all just a nightmare, don't let it get to you." He assured, while walking through the doorway, and into the lobby.
Mia meekly nodded; as if he could see her do so, and nervously trailed behind. She observed the lobby as they walked through it, not a single person could be found. Not even Nurse Joy. The atmosphere the large room created was eerie, at best. As the large windows that touched the floor and reached all the way to the ceiling cast several large rectangles of sunlight onto the carefully laid out tiles inset into the floor.
Empty, all of it. The only exception being the light hum from the air vents that provided cool, refreshing air.
"Here we are." Richard suddenly articulated while reaching for the handles on both doors. As the large doors opened with a strange creaking noise; the voices of tens, if not, hundreds of people filled the air as they both entered. Mia scanned the room for a moment, before recognizing the same Bulbasaur that attacked her in the past; eating from a tray while sitting next to his trainer.
"Um, Richard..." She trailed off as she realized he was nowhere to be found. "R-Richard?!" She yelled out as her voice was barely loud enough to hear above the constant conversation that was going on within the room.
"What's wrong?" Richard inquired as he suddenly appeared with two trays of food; one in each hand.
Mia jumped in surprise, and almost lost balance, but caught herself on a nearby trash can. "Nev-nevermind."
Richard stifled a laugh."Here, this is yours." He said warmly while stretching his left arm out towards her with tray in hand. She carefully took the tray out of his grasp, and analyzed the contents; an assorted bowl of berries, two chicken eggs, and water.
"Dejavu." Mia quietly whispered to herself.
"Come on, let's find a couple of seats." He said as he coerced her to follow him.
They both made their way down several aisle-ways until they finally found a pair of seats; strangely enough, at an empty table.
Mia quickly set down the food on the table, then grasped both sides of her head with her claws. "Okay, this is just too weird!" She exclaimed while shaking profusely.
"What's so strange?" Richard asked with a tinge of worry in his voice, as he picked up a fork to dig into his meal.
"Just... everything!" She yelled, as she leaned over the table with one claw, and clenched her forehead with another. The other patrons kept on chatting at the same volume and frequency, as if she and Richard didn't exist. Her breath became labored, and she found herself to be shaking even more so than before.
Richard set down his fork back onto the table, and gingerly placed a hand on her left shoulder. "Mia, you are working yourself up over nothing. Please relax." He urged with an almost desperate tone of voice. Mia turned her head towards him, and subtly nodded with an assured smile before finally sitting down. Richard gave her a reassuring rub on the shoulder, and returned his attention to the tray in front of him.
Mia glanced at the assorted berries in her bowl. She grabbed an Oran berry from the small pile within the confines of the ceramic bowl, and studied it intently. Her gaze then returned to Richard; who was peacefully eating, then back to the berry. A flurry of thoughts raced through her mind.
'If we have never gotten imprisoned. Does that mean he... doesn't know?' She pondered as she looked up to the ceiling for a couple of moments. Her attention then refocused onto the Oran berry in her grasp. For some reason, it felt like it was developing a mind of its own; mocking her with every second that passed by.
'_ What's the matter, Mia? Can't deal with the fact that he doesn't want you?' _It scorned.
'No, I know that it's possible!'
'_ Can't you just accept that Richard is just acting out of sympathy? He doesn't really care, he just feels bad.' _ A Grepa berry articulated from within the bowl.
'Wha-what? No, he said...'
'_ Sure he may SAY that, but what makes you so sure that he isn't lying?' _ The Oran berry responded.
'We've been through a lot... we both have saved each other's lives.'
'_ Oh, how cute. Just because his life was in danger, she thinks that he'll become infatuated with her.' _ An Apicot harshly remarked.
'
I-it's much more than tha-'
'_ Give it up already! We can see right through you.' _ The Oran berry in her hand taunted.
'I...'
'_ He has denied you before, he will deny you again!' _ All of them shouted in unison.
Laughter. Incessant, mocking, laughter echoed within her mind; refusing to cease. With a furious glare at the fruit in her clutches; she shakily picked up her other set of claws, and pointed the sharp edges of the reflective, steel-like surfaces towards the offending berry. Her arm thrusted forward with a startling amount of force; a grin spreading across her face. When her claws pierced the soft, malleable flesh of the Oran berry; the laughter finally broke into a dead silence.
Mia heaved a sigh of relief, and awkwardly pushed the bowl of berries a safe distance away from her seated position.
Richard casually glanced at the ceramic bowl that was now across the table. "Not in the mood for berries?" He asked with a raise of an eyebrow.
"I... guess you could say that." She meekly responded, while proceeding to pick up one of the chicken eggs.
The constant background noise in the room suddenly became non-existent, as a young boy with the classic Pokemon trainer outfit, complete with camouflage backpack; stood up on one of the circular tables, and called everyone to attention. "EVERYONE!, EVERYONE! 'V' is here!" He excitedly shouted, as dozens of other kids followed him while he rushed out of the door.
Mia looked at Richard with a puzzled expression. "Who's 'V'?" She asked out of genuine curiosity.
"You don't know?" Richard replied with a tinge of surprise. "Well, I suppose you are going to find out any moment now. 'V' is a great man." He continued in a tone of admiration, then pointed his fork towards the door leading into the cafeteria.
As if on cue, a man with a stoic presence entered the spacious room. His tan trench coat emanated a hint of ferocity, along with authority. A menacing, chrome revolver lightly clinked and clanked within its holster as he walked down the aisle. Both of his sharp, blue eyes were cold and calculating; analyzing every little detail of his surroundings with a scrupulous stare.
The man stopped in his tracks about a third of the way into the room, raised his posture slightly, and tipped a fedora the same color as his trench coat to the crowd. "Hello, everyone!" His animated voice reverberated throughout the entire area. "For those of you who don't know, my name is Victor; also known as 'V'. I have been traveling around the entire Johto region, putting forth and pushing policies that will one day allow Pokemon to walk among us as equals, without discrimination!" He proclaimed with confidence, while resting a single hand against his chest.
"Furthermore, in order to allow these policies to come to fruition, I am calling upon you; the community. If you support these new revolutionary ideas, it will bring prosperity to our future generations. Both man and Pokemon!" Victor exclaimed with a sense of authenticity, while outstretching both of his arms into the air. "This is why I stand before you today. I am simply here to ask for your support. Without it, there will forever be a rift between us, and the Pokemon that we hold dear to our hearts."
Mia's eyes widened at the sight of the very person who had caused her so much pain. She let go of the egg that was within her grasp; resulting in it falling to the ground, and splattering when it connected to the floor.
Many flashbacks flew through her mind at incomprehensible speeds; just a fraction of a second of exposure to these memories was enough for her to lose her grip on sanity.
Her blood began to boil with anger, and utter spite. A hostile expression formed onto her features; so venomous that not even the most lethal poison could top it. She reflexively clenched her claws; minute grinding noises emanating from them as she did so.
Richard took notice of this, and before he could react, it was already too late.
Without further premonition, Mia hurled herself towards the very person she had despised for the longest time. For so long, she wanted to pierce his flesh with the greatest feeling of satisfaction. For so long, she wanted to make his blood flow, and watch as his body turned into a lifeless husk. For so long, she _needed_to hear his screams of anguish, to force him to beg for her mercy.
Mercy that she would not give.
She had done this once before, but this time... it would be all the more gratifying.
Just before their bodies collided, Mia reached out with both arms, and quickly pulled them in a backwards-circular motion; then thrusted them forward as she made contact. She smiled with glee at the feeling of her claws impaling his chest; sweet, sweet, blood immediately vacating from the wounds. She then planted her feet onto his gut in order to lose momentum, and pulled her claws back out of him as quickly as they went in, in order to perform a backflip with a disgustingly graceful arc.
Landing without a sound, she looked up at her target; who staring back with an expression full of surprise, and monumental pain. With only muffled gargles resounding from Victor to break the silence that was now cast throughout the entire room, he fell to the floor with a thud. A puddle of deep red then slowly surrounded his body, and the liquid leaked from his open mouth with no signs of stopping anytime soon.
She had finally gotten what she wanted all this time, to see his corpse at rest on the cold floor.
Collective gasps echoed through the dense and unforgiving atmosphere. Stares of utter shock and hatred burrowed through the back of Mia's skull. In response, she nonchalantly turned around to face the crowd with a grin of impunity.
Her gaze then focused onto where Richard was seated; an expression of pure terror written all over his face. Her demeanor shifted into one of curiosity.
'Why is he giving me that look? Didn't he want this to happen...? What changed his opinion of-'
An acute prick of pain suddenly made itself known in the side of her neck; interrupting her train of thought. All feeling in her limbs was lost in a matter of seconds. She collapsed to the ground; paralyzed. Her vision became blotted in darkness, and then all of reality ceased to exist.
~XXXXX~
Sounds of small, creaking wheels rolling against the ground became present within her senses; along with the systematic clicking of footsteps on a tile floor.
"You do not understand the urgency of this situation, she must be put down at once!" A voice with a strange accent echoed in her mind.
"Don't you think this is a bit much?!" Another voice, this one more familiar, responded with what seemed to be a tinge of desperation.
"Your Sneasel KILLED one of the most important men in all of Johto!" The unfamiliar voice fiercely exclaimed. "There is nothing else we can do!"
A silence that radiated with uneasiness could be felt; even in her semi-conscious state.
"F-fine, just... let me do it." The familiar voice stuttered.
The creaking of the wheels and clicking of footsteps suddenly stopped in perfect unison.
"No. Absolutely not!"
"...And why not?! You don't have the heart to let someone talk to one of his closest friends for the last time?!"
"...You don't - it - that's not..." The other voice stuttered.
"...Very well,"_The unfamiliar voice resounded with an irate sigh."Take this cart into that room a few doors down. You have five minutes. If you are not back within that time; you will be arrested, and we will put her down ourselves. Do I make myself clear?"_
"Crystal." The familiar voice replied with a sigh of relief.
Mia could feel herself losing control of her senses. The creaking of the wheels and clicking footsteps that soon permeated the air once again quickly faded into pure silence.
~XXXXX~
"Uuuugh..." Mia groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Taking a quick glance at her surroundings, she found herself to be in what looked to be a room typically used for surgical procedures. She attempted to sit up from her resting position, but winced in pain as the leather straps wrapped around her appendages dug into her flesh with even the slightest movement.
"W-where am I?" She worriedly whispered to herself as her pupils rapidly flicked from side to side; taking in every last crevice of the unsettling room that she now inhabited.
A large robotic arm with several exuberantly bright lights attached to disc suddenly lowered into her peripheral vision. Mia reflexively tilted her head away from the nearly-blinding lights, as the sound of foot steps reached her senses once more.
A shadowy figure stood at the right side of the operating table; just beyond the reach of the light. It carried a foreboding, and unfamiliar atmosphere with it, but at the same time, a strangely familiar substance. "Hey... Mia." It spoke out in a solemn and grave manner.
Mia raised an eyebrow, and intently analyzed the morose figure. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here... to do something I will regret for the rest of my life. I-I have no options left." Richard murmured with discontent, and stepped into the soft glow indirectly cast by the lights shining into Mia's face. "Are those too bright?" He questioned while pointing an index finger at the radiant fixture.
Mia slowly nodded; trying her best not to move. Lest the leather straps restricting all motion dig into her skin even further.
Richard took a few paces towards the other side of the room, and flicked two switches near the door frame. "Sorry about the straps. I'm not the one who insisted on those." He articulated with a tinge of irritation, as the light flooded the room; casting the darkness back into the depths of which it came. Glancing over his right shoulder with a troubled expression back at where Mia lay, he slowly drew a syringe from one of the front pockets of his jeans.
"We have five minutes..." He trailed off with a slight shake of his head. Richard stared at the syringe in his open palm with a burning hatred. A moment of silence followed, until he looked back up at her again from his affixed stare. "You killed one of the most important men in Johto. Why?"
"Victor claimed so many lives, he had caused us unsurpassed amounts of pain! Have you honestly forgotten?!" She inquired with a shocked expression.
"Have I forgotten?" Richard rhetorically asked. "...Or have you just gone insane?"
Mia's surprised stare quickly turned into a hostile one. "He imprisoned us, remember?! He made you kill a child!" She yelled with pure vehemence, while struggling to not wince from the straps forcefully holding her limbs in place.
Richard sighed as he approached the side of the operating table once more. He carefully rested the syringe on top of a small stand directly next to said table. "There are better ways to acquire revenge, than to just blindly take someone's life."
"Tell that to Victor!" Mia shouted with anger.
"You are missing the point. There is a limit to how much empathy I can give, and killing someone in a fit of rage grasps at those limits." He said with minute condescension. "You know just how unhealthily forgiving I can be, but this...? I simply cannot defend your behavior this time. It would be wrong for me to do."
Mia's angered expression slowly became softer as the realization hit her like a sack of bricks. Did she really just kill someone without warning? Without true justifiability?
"I... I've become the very the thing that I despise." She muttered with disbelief.
"It would appear so." Richard unapologetically reaffirmed as he shifted his attention towards the syringe rested on the stand next to the operating table. "If there is anything you have to tell me, now is the time." He continued with a dismal tone, while gingerly taking hold of the syringe in his left hand.
Mia's eyes widened as they fixed their gazes on to the instrument in his hands. "W-what i-is that?" She stuttered with a sudden wave of fear.
"I... volunteered to put you down. I wanted to talk with you before I did." He blurted with a look of guilt and regret in his eyes.
An expression of disparity formed onto her features, as the single golden feather on her head flattened against her scalp. "Y-you did that? How come?" She asked with a slightly insulted tone.
Silence permeated the air for a few moments, as they both stared at each other with an entirely different perspective than before. "To give you a chance to speak your mind, to say anything that you couldn't say otherwise." He responded as he broke his stare and glanced at the tiled floor. "Do you have anything to say?" Richard questioned, reaffirming his attention back onto the Pokemon he had befriended and had gotten to know oh, so, very well in the short time they had been traveling together.
Mia flinched as her thoughts fixated on the phrase that had doomed any possibility of a relationship in the past of what she thought was reality.
"N-no, y-you al-lready know-w everything."
"Are you sure? You won't get another opportunity again."
"P-positive."
A beeping noise filled the nearly suffocating atmosphere around them. Richard fished out a familiar device that was resting inside of his backpack at the foot of the operating table. He stared at the Pokedex with an utter look of terror.
"Our time is up..." He trailed off he said as his vision became obfuscated from the tears that began to fill his eyes. He pinched his index finger and thumb together, then pulled the tab of the syringe all the way back, and pointed it in Mia's general direction. "I'm sorry." He whispered.
"I... u-understand." She whimpered as a tear rolled down her face.
Richard pressed the needle against the side of her neck in the same area where the tranquilizer dart had penetrated only hours before. "... Last chance." He whispered; several sobs accentuating the simple phrase.
Mia slightly shook her head back and forth. "I have nothing more to say." She said with a pained tone of voice.
Richard hesitantly pressed the syringe into Mia's neck, and injected the serum. Mia clenched her claws together as tightly as she could, and gritted her teeth in pain. Out of desperation, she finally let loose the final words she had wanted to say for so long. "Richard. Wait. I..." Her voice cracked as the highly lethal serum already began to take its toll on her body. "L...Lo-"
"Y..."
Her eyes gently closed, and her limbs lost all resistance to the straps that held her down. Mia's very last breath escaped her mouth in broken gasps, until she became completely silent for all of eternity, before she could finish her final words.
"I know, Mia..." Richard whispered.
"I know."
~XXXXX~
Mia jumped awake from her unconscious state, and choked out a scream full of pure fear. She immediately looked at her claws, as a slight tinge of relief managed to surface through her panicked state at the sight of three lethal blades, instead of two.
' Whoah, I must say I hadn't seen anxiety of that caliber in a very long time!' Amethyst teased with a hum of satisfaction while the jewels around her neck glowed an intense shade of red.
Mia coughed violently from the abuse on her vocal cords for a few moments, and gave the Mismagius an intense glare.
"You were feeding off of my dream?!" She questioned with a venomous tone after her coughing fit was done, while still shaking with unease.
Amethyst chuckled. 'My apologies, I admit it is a... guilty pleasure.' She paused for a moment, and raised a sleeve to rub her chin in thought.Her easy-going demeanor then suddenly turned very serious. 'I hope you realize that if you keep insisting on doing that; I will leave you behind.' She warned.
Mia sluggishly affirmed herself into a standing position from the ache-inducing floor she had been resting on, and narrowed her eyes at the ghost floating in front of her. "GIVE ME ONE REASON WH-... wait. Leave me behind?" She inquired with genuine curiosity.
' Oh, right, I must've unwittingly told you this while you were unconscious. The electromagnetic field generator was disabled in that massive blast, allowing me to use my abilities once more!' Amethyst exclaimed excitedly, while twirling in the air.
"Massive blast..." Mia mumbled to herself, as she pondered what exactly Amethyst was talking about. "So, that's what the rumbling was?" She asked while scratching her golden head dress with a single claw.
' Yes. The 'rumbling', that almost leveled the entire complex.' Amethyst responded in a condescending tone.
Mia ignored the bluntness of her comment. "That doesn't mean we can escape though. The walls are embedded with silver, and I can't bust through massive steel doors." Mia replied with a dismissive tone while leaning onto an adjacent wall with her shoulder.
' Actually, the walls aren't embedded with silver at all. Trust me, I should know.' Amethyst said with nonchalance, while pointing both of her sleeves back at herself.
Mia gave her a look of skepticism. "If we can use our abilities again, why isn't everyone else escaping?"
' Unfortunately, the majority of Pokemon within this complex wear those collars that allow humans to understand them. At the same time, they also act as another means of restricting their abilities. The only exceptions to this rule are ghosts like myself, psychics, and Pokemon who can speak and understand English; like you.' Amethyst explained with a roll of her eyes. 'Even so, I honestly don't think most of them realize that they can use their abilities again, anyway.' She continued, while crossing her arms over her chest.
"So... that still doesn't solve our steel door problem." Mia pointed out, as she outstretched one of her arms towards the general direction of where the exit would be.
Amethyst gave a mischievous chuckle. 'Oh, on the contrary m'dear.' She remarked as a pair of keys on a chain suddenly materialized in the air. Mia looked on in awe and disbelief.
' I found these in Victor's private quarters. Apparently, everything outside of the arena and prison blocks are simply left out in the open.' She spoke while twirling the keys around a tip of a sleeve. 'Come on, let's go.'
"Wait, why are you going out of your way to help me?" Mia asked with suspicion.
' You honestly believe the authorities are going to trust a ghost?' Amethyst rhetorically questioned with a slight shake of her head.
Mia took a few steps towards the Mismagius idly floating in front of her. "Why do you even care?" She asked bluntly.
Amethyst glanced back at Mia over her left shoulder. She paused in thought for a moment, before lowering her gaze to the ground beneath her. An ominous silence permeated the air around them, light creaking noises from the walls that imprisoned them being the only respite.
' I want to be... better.' She responded solemnly.
Mia raised an eyebrow at her, as if asking Amethyst to explain herself.
Amethyst gazed back at Mia, and shook her head. 'I'd rather not talk about it...' She whispered into her mind as a loud clicking noise filled their senses, and the door to the cell was opened.
~XXXXX~
"How are we going to open this? I don't see a keyhole anywhere." Mia asked Amethyst, who was carefully studying the door.
' AHA!' Amethyst exclaimed as a sudden realization overcame her; causing Mia to cringe from the loudness of her voice. A hatch disguised to look like concrete right in front of the door suddenly popped open, as Amethyst quickly approached the exposed keyhole within it.
' Let's see... which one is it?' Amethyst mumbled to herself, while sticking several different keys of all shapes and sizes into the slot, but to no avail, until she reached the last key on the chain. She stared at it with an anxious expression. 'I think this is the one.' She articulated to Mia, who numbly nodded.
Without much time to waste, Amethyst stuck the key into the keyhole and turned it in a counter-clockwise motion. A loud buzzing noise echoed throughout the hallway, and the door opened with loud scraping noises accentuating the buzzing.
' Follow me!' She shouted into Mia's mind.
They both bolted down the slightly claustrophobic and dimly lit hallways, a surprisingly large amount of water leaked from the exposed pipes mounted all through the passageways; causing the floor to shine a dim sheen in the near-darkness.
~XXXXX~
"Are you sure you know the way out?" Mia breathily asked the ghost flying along side of her as they traveled down the corridor.
Amethyst looked at Mia with an offended expression. 'You're questioning the navigational prowess of a ghost?'
Mia slowed down to a complete stop, with Amethyst doing the same. "No, no. It just seems like it's taking an awfully long time to get out of here."
' Would you lik** e to take the lead?' Amethyst questioned with a sarcastic tone, and crossed her sleeves over her chest. She then pointed one of her sleeves in front of herself.'Well?'**
Mia brought covered her face with her left hand, and subtly shook her head, then brought her gaze back up to Amethyst. "I wasn't questioning your abilities! I was just sayi-"
' Whatever. Continue to follow me if you want, or find your own way out. It doesn't matter to me.' Amethyst interjected with an angry glare directed towards her.
Without another word, Amethyst began to float away from where Mia stood. It was then that she heard a muffled humming sound, as if someone was singing a song underwater.
"Do you hear that?" Mia quietly asked Amethyst as she brought herself to a stop once more.
' Yeah... I do.' Amethyst responded, while directing her gaze down a neighboring corridor that was part of an intersection they were in. 'It is originating from this direction.' She pointed out, while the pupils of her eyes followed the direction she was talking about.
"Want to check it out?" Mia nervously asked.
Amethyst looked at Mia with an expression as if she were insane. 'It would be foolish of us to waste our time on something so trivial. Especially if there are Unown after us.' Amethyst responded with a shake of her head.
Mia brought a claw up to her chin, and scratched it in thought. The muffled voice reverberated down the corridor in a very unsettling fashion, as if one thousand apparitions were all singing in unison. Their current environment didn't help much at all either; concrete walls with rust stains from water running down the smooth, and cold surface. To the bowl-shaped ceiling lamps with thin, metal bars protecting the precious light sources within them. It definitely looked like something you'd see from a prison in an old movie.
"Something tells me this might be worth the trouble." Mia finally spoke out after a few minutes in thought, as she began to progress down the corridor to her right.
Amethyst stared in the general direction of where Mia was going, and hesitantly decided to follow her out of pure curiosity. 'You know, if we run into trouble, you are completely on your own.'
Mia glanced behind herself as she walked. "Yeah, I know." She replied while raising one of her claws to shoulder level, causing the metal-like blades to shimmer in the dim light.
As they got closer to their destination, the ominous voice grew louder, and easier to understand.
"Nin...bod...the...wall."
' Hear anything?' Amethyst unneededly asked in a whisper from behind Mia.
"Something about... a wall." Mia replied with a shrug as she continued to gaze down the long corridor.
' I'm starting to think this was a waste of time.' Amethyst said with an annoyed huff.
Mia ignored the snappy ghost behind her, and focused on listening to the distant voice once more.
"Ta...down...pass...arou."
Mia picked up her pace. She needed to know what the source of this voice was. Amethyst picked up her pace as well, not wanting to fall behind.
"Ninety...lifeless...bodies...the...wall."
' Lifeless bodies?' Amethyst rhetorically asked with a genuine mix of curiosity with a tinge of worry.
Mia glanced behind herself at Amethyst. "We should move faster." She said in an urgent tone.
Amethyst nodded in agreement, as they both picked up the pace even further.
~XXXXX~
After several minutes of running, Mia and Amethyst reached a dead-end accented with a large, steel door embedded into the surrounding concrete wall that lead into another room. A sign above it, read: 'Highly dangerous convicts. Exercise extreme caution.'
"Well, that doesn't sound good." Mia articulated, as she pointed to the sign with her right hand.
' Indeed.' Amethyst agreed. 'I just hope for your sake that this was worthwhile.'
Mia rolled her eyes and extended her open palm out to Amethyst; who was floating next to her. "Hand me the keys." She commanded in an authoritative tone as she noticed a keyhole mounted onto the side of the door.
With a sigh, Amethyst materialized the keychain within her grasp, and firmly planted them into Mia's hand.
"Ninety-nine l-lifeless bodies on the wall..."
Mia gave Amethyst a nod of acknowledgment, and then cautiously walked a few paces towards the door separating them from whatever horrors awaited them on the other side.
"Ninety-nine lifeless b-bodieeeees..."
She shakily bought the keys up to the same level as the keyhole. She could feel anxiety begin to build-up within her like a balloon filling with air.
"T-take one d-dooown..."
Mia found the right key, pressed it into the slot, and turned it in a counter-clockwise motion. The indicator light located above the door was now giving off a soft, yellow glow; instead of red.
"Pass it a-aroouuund..."
With a loud click, the indicator light turned green in coloration, and the grinding of many gears and belts resounded throughout the area, as thin beams of light leaked through the opening door as it receded into the walls.
"Ninety-eight lifeless bodies on the wall."