Inyssa could only stare in horror, any other form of communication being impossible for her at the moment. She could make up the outlines of many different Pokemon behind those cages, and with every one she identified the flame in her stomach grew, swallowing her whole. A Clefairy was holding tight to the metal trapping her, meekly attempting to shake it open; a pale Growlithe laid on his stomach, his weeping cries turning her veins to ice. Gloom, Vulpix, Pikachu and even a couple Eevee all adorned the back of the machine like a twisted painting, it's canvas that of the sinister machine which was glowing menacingly, pulsing with energy. Strange cables were attached to different parts of the Pokemon's bodies, siphoning that light.
Just when anger was about to take her over and force her to say some less than flattering things to Jupiter, all the Pokemon in the cages started glowing. Their bodies hemmed themselves with a blinding white light, their forms expanding. Inyssa couldn't help but form a minuscule smile at the sight of that. They were evolving, they were going to escape and...!
An electric buzz resounded through the room and the Pokemon started screaming. A debilitating, screeching sound which stabbed into her ears like needles of ice, forcing her to wince and try to cover them with her palms. Thankfully it didn't take long for the sound to cease, as the bodies of all the Pokemon stopped glowing, stopped changing, and they collapsed inside their cages once more, panting and shuddering with pain. Their evolution had... stopped? Inyssa's stomach dropped.
"Oh I do not like the looks I'm being given," Jupiter muttered nervously under her breath. "Charon? How long until we can teleport out?"
The old man behind her stopped operating the machine for a moment, glaring at her over his shoulder, his thick half moon glasses covering part of his eyes.
"A couple more minutes," he stated, voice low and raspy. "Stop interrupting me, this is extremely delicate equipment!"
What took Inyssa out of her stupor was a slight movement at the side of her hip. One of her Pokeballs attached to her belt shook strongly, as if what was inside were attempting to escape. A simple glance told her that said Pokeball belonged to that strange ghost Pokemon she'd caught recently. But she had no time to worry about that; without missing a beat she looked once more towards the Galactic commanders.
"What are you doing to them!?" the scream came out of her mouth without her realizing, her throat hurting from the effort.
"They're... forcing them to evolve with evolutionary stones." Metchi's voice carried a sort of sad acceptance, as if that answer didn't surprise her at all. "And they're stopping the process by hurting them. They want... the energy..."
Inyssa's stomach revolted at the sound of that, making her want to vomit. But in the back of her mind something came to light; a memory, something she'd heard from those Galactic idiots just when she had started her journey. Back in Jubilife, those documents that they'd tried to steal from Rowan, didn't they entail something about this? The energy that Pokemon released when they evolved... She started connecting the dots in her head, and the picture she drew wasn't a very pretty one.
"Disgusting..." Sarah's voice took her out of her thoughts, her tone that of disbelief. "Listen to me! Release those Pokemon immediately and give yourselves up! This is your last chance before I open fire!" she yelled with enough force to make even Inyssa scared, although from Jupiter's expression she wasn't as intimidated as nervous.
"Yeah! Let them go if you know what's good for you!" Barry took a Pokeball out of his pocket.
Inyssa took a deep breath, trying to contain the fire inside her body. She was trying with all her might not to run directly towards that Jupiter woman and punch her in the face, which wouldn't have worked for a variety of reasons. She had to be pragmatic, she'd get her chance eventually. Her hands went to her oldest Pokeball and she held it in front of her, clenching her hand around it strongly.
"Return those Pokemon to the people they belong to!" she yelled. "And also tell me where that bitch Mars is!"
"Inyssa!" Sarah turned her head towards her, a horrified look on her face. "Language!"
"What!?" She protested. "Am I being too rude to the fucking terrorists!?"
Jupiter tapped a finger against her temple, biting her lip and moving her gaze across everyone. She looked jittery, her eyelid twitching ever so slightly.
"Hey... Listen. We're just about done here, okay? So how about you just... wait a sec, let us leave and you can take the Pokemon back to their owners. Pretend we never even saw each other." She said that with a lopsided smile, trying to sound reasonable. Which didn't last long."Oh, and as for Mars? I have no idea where she is, which I am grateful for. Trust me, if I knew I'd tell you immediately, that way either you or her would die and I'm honestly fine with both those options."
Inyssa's jaw was completely clenched, her teeth hurting from the pressure. How could someone speak so casually about something so horrible? Those Pokemon... Were they missing their trainers? Were their trainers even alive? She didn't doubt Team Galactic would be willing to kill someone to take their Pokemon, not after meeting their commanders. The thought almost made her choke from rage, and without hesitation she threw her Pokeball into the air, the light coming out of it quickly materializing into Enma. Barry quickly did the same and released Pedri from his, the penguin Pokemon appearing in front of him ready to fight. Enma shot her a glare full of disdain.
"Look, I know you're an idiot and you're mad about not getting to fight the Gym Leader, but this is really not the time!" She pointed with one hand towards the machine. "I need you to help me with that!"
Enma lazily turned his body until he could see what was behind those cages, and once he realized it his cocky smiled completely disappeared, being replaced with a mix of surprise and rage.
"Exactly," she nodded, sharing the fire's Pokemon anger. "Use Ember on that barrier, we have to get to those two!"
"Pedri, Bubble Beam!" Barry ordered next to her, Metchi's arm still around his body.
Both Pokemon attacked together, fire and water mixing into a torrent of hot, bursting steam and slamming onto the barrier. The impact shook the basement they were in and part of the barrier seemed to pale for a second, but it immediately returned to its full strength. Inyssa frowned, they would need more power than that.
Sarah's scream rung through the room. "Everyone, shoot at the same time!"
The four agents nodded energetically, raising their guns in unison and following their leader's example, now five guns aimed directly at the barrier separating them from the two Galactic commanders.
"Keep attacking!" Inyssa and Barry ordered at the same time.
Pedri and Enma spat torrents of fire and water once again , converging together at their target's location. Around them five shots were heard, slightly hurting Inyssa's ears, but she didn't care. The immense power of their assault almost dissipated the barrier, but the Alakazam managed to keep it up. The psychic Pokemon's face was twisted into an expression of pain as he desperately tried to keep them out. Behind him she could see Jupiter's breathing become heavy, and her eyes widen.
"Charon! I'm not fucking joking!" her voice was tinted with desperation as she put a hand on the old man's shoulder, "just get the energy we have now and let's get out!"
"Agh, insolent child!" she heard his raspy, nasal voice through the noise of the gunshots and Pokemon attacks. "We can't until the vessel is completely filled. I already told you, I only need one more minute!"
"We might not have a minute you old fuck!" she complained, both hands clenched into fists.
Inyssa felt that strange shake in her belt once again, and when she looked down it was still that one Pokeball. Did that ghost Pokemon want to come out? She could certainly use the power, but she wasn't sure it would obey her at all. What if it made everything worse? She looked again towards the barrier, where Alakazam was still holding his own against the barrage of attacks they were throwing at him. She didn't have a choice, if they didn't hurry those two would escape, and she wouldn't let that happen. With fierce determination she took the Pokeball from her belt and threw it into the air, only then realizing she hadn't given that thing a name.
"Attack that Alakazam... uhh... Hao!" She decided it instantly, she would have time to regret that name later. "Use some... electric attack, I guess!"
The ghost Pokemon's strange form appeared in mid air, stray bolts of electricity arching off his body at random. For the first time since they arrived the old man operating the machine stopped, his hands frozen over the keyboard as he heard that unique clicking sound emanating from the Pokemon. He turned around slowly, eyes wide, and when he set eyes on that thing Inyssa could swear he almost had a heart attack. There was a clear recognition and a hint of pain in the man's face.
"W-wh-!?" His voice lost all semblance of indifference it previously had. "M... Mikh... Rotom!?"
She couldn't help but be confused at the man's words, and everyone else stopped for a moment too, their gazes switching between the ghost Pokemon and him. Hao simply opened his mouth, and from it came a horrible, screeching sound that one could hardly qualify as a roar. Pulses of electricity filled the room as the Pokemon yelled with all its might, forcing everyone to back away from it.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"What the hell!?" Jupiter yelled, high pitched. "Is that your...!?
"Curses! Jupiter, quickly, help me seal the vessel!" With a jerk of his body he turned around towards the machine once more, his arms shaking. "We have to secure it and then get Rotom back, or-!"
His words were interrupted by a loud crackling sound as the ghost Pokemon began buzzing, his body vibrating as the air around him turned into electricity. With another astounding roar he fired a bolt of lightning at the barrier, the light from the impact momentarily blinding Inyssa. By the time she was able to open them again her vision was slightly blurry, but even then she saw Hao wasn't there anymore. She turned her head around, everyone close to her still getting their bearings, and when she looked towards Jupiter she noticed the psychic barrier was still there.
It happened gradually. First one of the cables under the bridge exploded, sending sparks everywhere and forcing Inyssa and Sarah to back up. Soon followed another and another until the floor under the metal bridge was sending electricity everywhere, making it impossible to pass through. Then the lights started flickering above, as if the power were about to go off. And then he appeared.
The main screen at the front of the machine changed. From a myriad of numbers and grids which she couldn't possibly hope to understand it changed to a single, still image. The ghost Pokemon's eyes appeared on the other side of that screen, that piercing blue staring down everyone in the room. For a single, still moment the image didn't move, until Hao blinked, and a huge, white smile formed beneath his eyes.
Then the screen exploded.
"Shit!" Jupiter jumped back from the machine, glass falling around her. "What's going on!?"
A simple blip sound resonated through room as all the cages behind the machine opened up, releasing its prisoners. With desperation a wave of Pokemon started flowing from it, screeching and running towards the exit as they tried to avoid the electrified bridge. She saw a couple Eevee and a Pikachu run past her and toward the staircases.
"No! Not now!" Charon's face was red, his lips trembling and his hands in his hair. "Jupiter, seal the vessel! Maybe it'll be enough to keep it full!"
"Uh... yeah, about that..." Jupiter's eyes were fixed in the machine. "The vessel is..."
Inyssa's eyes set on the machine's core, that strange metallic ball which was glowing with a blinding white energy. She couldn't see what was different until she realized it was much brighter than before, to the point where she could barely see the people in front of it. She could feel it too, almost taste it. A powerful, oppressive force flowing from the machine towards her, its intensity growing with every second that passed.
"Something is overflowing the vessel's capacity!" Jupiter rushed towards the machine's controls, desperately hitting the keys. "I can't shut it off! It's going to melt down!"
"Take the core off! Quickly!" Charon tried to help his partner, but a jolt of electricity sent him backwards as soon as he approached the machine. "Agh! I can't get close to it, you have to retrieve the vessel before it's too late!"
"I can't, all the controls are locked! That stupid Pokemon is inside the machine!" Jupiter lifted one of her legs and started kicking the panel in front of it. "Stop! Exploding! You! Fuck!"
Inyssa couldn't move. She simply witnessed as those strange events happened in front of her, no idea how to react to them. Should she attack them? Help them? What did she mean the core was locked? She looked down at Enma, who was as dumbfounded as she was, and then to Barry and Metchi, the latter of which was barely conscious.
"Charon, this thing is going to explode any second now!" Jupiter said, her voice filled with a grim realization. "We have to teleport away now!"
"We can't! We have to...!"
"Shut up!" yelled Jupiter. "I didn't bust my ass getting two degrees in physics to die in a dump like this! Alakazam, teleport us to the base!"
Inyssa's body reacted at the sight of Jupiter dragging Charon towards the psychic Pokemon, ready to escape. Her legs moved once again on their own, but this time she was stopped before her stupidity could take off. Sarah's hand gripped hers and stopped her on her tracks.
"We have to clear this place!" She yelled, not only to her but to everyone else. "If that thing is really about to blow-"
"NO!" The scream made everyone jump, and made Inyssa momentarily forget about her rage. Metchi took a step forward, a strange strength imbuing her as her eyes were set on the Galactic commanders. "I'm not letting you go again!"
"Wait you can't...!" Barry tried to grab her once again but the girl slapped his hand away, a terrifying expression on her face.
"Don't touch me!" she snarled. "I'm not gonna wait here for those two to escape, not after what I went through to find them!"
She ran forward, her feet moving swiftly considering the wound on her stomach. Inyssa wasn't sure if it was her imagination but she could swear there was some sort of golden glow surrounding her, and when she looked up at her eyes her heart froze. That yellow, that exact same color she'd seen back then, and recently behind Barry's eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she had the chance Metchi jumped onto the bridge.
She wanted to scream at her, call her an idiot for heading to an electrified path even though she'd tried the same only seconds ago. But to her amazement Metchi simply ran through the bridge, the electricity bouncing off her as if she were wearing a rubber suit. She reached Jupiter and Charon the moment they grabbed onto the Alakazam; they both put their hands on the Pokemon's shoulders, and a purple glow surrounded them as they started to dissipate. But the pink haired girl was determined, and her hand managed to grab on to his mustache just in time. All four of them vanished into thin air.
She wanted to do something, but once again she felt Sarah's grip on her, the woman's face filled with worry. She looked up and witnessed as the core's light grew more and more powerful, until it was painful to look at it. Inyssa could feel disaster in it.
"Everyone, run towards the exit!" Sarah commanded, her voice filled with desperation and her eyes set on her and Barry. "Quick, before...!"
The entire world shook. Darkness swallowed everything.
Inyssa's breath escaped her lungs, her body paralyzed and her limbs unable to move. It felt like a light vacuum, as if the opposite of thunder had struck the room. Time had stopped, she could not feel the beating of her heart or the sound of everyone in her ears. Only shadows covering her eyes, and death's hand closing around her neck.
And then she heard it. The voice, shapeless, toneless, not a sound but simply words being implanted in her mind. She felt them clearly as crystal, her brain deciphering the soundless meaning behind it.
Only this time. Try to stay out of trouble, will you, Niss?
Her mind turned off, and her body fell into nothingness.
----------------------------------------
When her consciousness came back it felt like she woke up from among the dead. Her muscles jolted awake, her eyes opening quickly and her lungs filling with air. Her body was cold, or at least half of it. More specifically the half that she now realized was laying on the cement floor under her. She moved her fingers first, making sure she was indeed alive, and a pint of joy sparked inside her as she felt the twitch of her muscles in her hand. Her back hurt a bit and the arm she was resting on was asleep, but other than that she felt fine. Definitely not burnt like she expected from that imminent explosion.
Her eyes moved in the small cone in front of her. Her vision was blurry, but it was slowly focusing. A shape was in front of her, tall and imposing. Behind her she could hear the crackling of fire and smoke. Almost a minute passed before she could see clearly again.
The shape had moved back, now barely at the edge of her vision. And yet she could make up her details clearly, not believing what she was currently seeing. The woman on the other side of the street was at least six feet tall, slim and graceful, wearing a black winter coat, a belt full of Pokeballs tied around her waist. Her gaze moved up slowly and she set her eyes on the woman's face, entranced by it. She was beautiful; even in her strange mental state that was the only word she could think to describe her. Her hair was long, reaching towards her knees and making it look like a drape of pure sunshine. A flowing tuft covered her right eye, her left one staring directly at her, pale lips curved into a simple smile. Inyssa wanted to speak to her, reach her and meet her, but before she could say anything she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey kid! You awake?"
Gardenia's voice shock her back into reality. She blinked slowly, and when she opened her eyes again the strange woman had disappeared. She felt her body being dragged upwards by the Gym Leader's arms, until she was now sitting on the floor, her head spinning.
"Ugh... what... happened?" she grabbed her head with one of her hands.
"No clue, bud. I came back from leading my students to safety and I find... Well, this." Gardenia tilted her head to the side.
Inyssa looked the way she was pointing to, and what she saw behind her would have shocked her if she weren't so confused already. The building they were previously in had completely collapsed, now only a mountain of rubble and dust. Before she could process the sight, she heard steps behind her, and turned to find Sarah and Barry running toward her.
"Niss, you're okay!" he got on his knees and grabbed onto her shoulders with almost enough force to topple her over.
"H...hey Barry." she returned his hug, in no condition to be embarrassed at the moment. "And... Sarah. What happened?"
"I'm... not sure," the woman whispered, her usually firm voice pale and weak. "We were there and then... we were not. We all woke up outside the building after that machine leveled the place."
She could tell there was something more to it, Sarah's breathing was heavy and she noted that her hands were slightly shaking.
"What else happened?" She asked, no time to be courteous.
Sarah took her time to respond, and Inyssa could see both Barry and Gardenia bite their lips.
"We were the only ones who were teleported out."
She didn't understand what was wrong with that, that was a good thing, right? Sure, it was confusing but it was better than...
She opened her eyes wide, realization coming to her.
"What about those Galactic grunts? The ones who were there when we entered."
"They... were there when it happened," Sarah looked down. "They're trying to uncover their bodies from the rubble now, but they only found two, and they were both..."
Inyssa didn't need to hear the rest of it. Dead. That was the word Sarah tried to avoid, even though there was really no way around it. Death wasn't polite after all, it took and took and took without feeling an ounce of remorse.
"Listen... Barry, Inyssa," Sarah whispered. "I talked with my superiors a few minutes ago. There's going to be a full force investigation around this town, they said they're even sending one of the Elite Four to help..."
Inyssa couldn't help but gasp at the sound of that. A member of the Elite Four? Even after all the strange stuff that had happened, it still surprised her. One of the four strongest trainers in the region, bar the Champion of course, and all because of those clowns from Team Galactic.
"If you don't want to be stuck here, I'd recommend you get all your belongings and head towards the next route as soon as possible. I'd love to have you around here, but as soon as the investigation starts the town will be locked down for at least two weeks."
"We can't wait that long," Barry nodded, putting his hand on Inyssa's shoulders. "Um... Niss, you okay? Should we..."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her mind was a mess, millions of thoughts buzzing around in her head, making her dizzy. But there was no time for that right now.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she helped herself to her feet with difficulty. "Where should we go next?"
"Hearthome is the next city with a Gym Leader in it," Sarah explained. "And a very good friend of mine lives there, I'll make sure to tell her that you'll be coming. She'll be able to keep you both safe as long as you're there."
Inyssa nodded, trying to push the her confusion and exhaustion to the back of her mind. "Sounds good."
"I'll make sure you get all the equipment you need before you head out," Sarah shone them a tired smile. "You'll have to cross part of Mount Coronet, after all."
Mount Coronet. The word formed an image in her mind, one that gave her vertigo just thinking about it. The tallest mountain in Sinnoh, dividing the entire region in half. She knew they wouldn't have to cross the thick of it, but it was still going to be a challenge.
She guessed she would have a couple of intense days in front of her. Perfect for distracting her.
"Awesome," she spoke, voice emotionless. "Let's get going then."