Remember when I said I would have a chapter up before the end of 2009? Well here it is a week later. Even though I finished this yesterday, I decided to wait until today to post it for the simple fact that one year ago today I gave you the Prologue of Rise of Team Neos. That's right people, today, January 8th, is the one year aniversary and I have given you an epic piece of shit to celebrate!
While I prefer to keep my rants short, I just wanted to say that I finished my AA degree at Community College so tomorrow I move out for my new college out of state. All that really means is that I won't be online for about a week or so until I reestablish my interwebz. So ya, enjoy this chapter that took one year in the making (honestly it isn't as special as some of the others but I digress. ^^)
Chapter 25: Reckless Behavior
Chane sat at the bar staring nervously at a martini glass filled with a mysterious pink liquid. Zack and Eve sat on her right watching her intently like a pair of Staraptors eyeing up a bewildered Bidoof.
"Whatcha got there Chane?" I inquired passively while I squeezed in between her and her tormentors taking a seat on a stool.
"Strawberry dacari." she answered distantly not looking away from the drink. It was pretty apparent that she wanted no parts of it.
"Why are you guys doing this, hm?" I asked in complete seriousness turning to Eve and Zack. "It's obvious the lady's not interested, so why pick on her?"
"For fun mostly." Eve admit shamelessly without a second thought or remorse.
"Hey I'm not picking on her." Zack said defensively. "It's a party so I just want everyone to relax and unwind a bit."
"You just want to get in her pants." I concluded bitterly. Hearing that only made Chane more fearful about taking that first sip.
"Hey I take offence to that!" he retorted "I'm a chivalrous pervert. I have a moral code that prevents me from taking advantage of drunk girls." Eve got one of her trademark crouching-innocence-hidden-motive faces at Zack's statement.
"I'm feelin' a li'l tipsy Zacky. You wanna fool around?" she asked jadedly, putting her hands on her lap and sliding her dress up her legs.
"Well as I know you're still sober, hell yea I do!" the red head accepted. The duo started laughing together.
"Hahaha… I'll castrate you." Eve said scornfully. That instantly silenced Zack while giving him a halfhearted grin. I shook my head in displeasure at how lightly they were taking the situation.
"Chane, you know you don't have… to…" I trailed when I saw her looking a bit sickly and the glass half empty. She didn't! "Chane. Why did you do it?" I asked concernedly.
"W-we're all p-part of the same squad s-so I took one for the team." she replied timidly.
"You're not getting off that easily Cutie." declared Eve spitefully. "I didn't see you drink that, so finish it." she coaxed.
"Wh-what!?" Chane questioned in a panic.
"You heard me. Why waste a good dacari. Finish it." the sociopath ordered unsympathetically. I couldn't believe this! Wasn't it enough for her that Chane drank half of it?
"I… I don't want too…" protested Chane.
"Eve, don't you think you're taking this too far?" Zack asked. "The goal was to have fun, and Chane does not look like she's enjoying this." Eve ignored him as she got out of her chair and pushed me out of mine so she could get closer to her prey. I landed with a thud having been caught of guard.
"Finish it!" Eve persisted getting aggressive.
"NO!" Chane shouted, reflexively grabbing the glass and splashing its contents in Eve's face. Zack, Axel, and I were awed by such an unexpected response. I had only just gotten back to my feet to help Chane, but I guess she didn't need me after all. Eve had instinctively closed her eyes to shield them from the liquid so that now her green makeup ran down her cheeks which made her eyes look even fiercer when she opened them.
"You little bitch!" yelled Eve furiously as she back handed Chane across the face, knocking the poor girl out of her stool to the floor.
"Chane!" I cried. Had I stayed down a few seconds longer, I could have probably caught her or at least broken her fall. I reached down and grabbed Chane's arm to help her back up. "Are you okay?" I questioned. Chane responded by smacking my arm away.
"W-why d-do you think th-that I always n-need y-your help?" she slurred standing up, though a bit wobblely. "I… I'm not s-some baby th-that always needs r-rescuing you jackass." I was completely taken back by what she said. It was so out of character!
"Damn! Chane just cursed!" Zack shouted in shock.
"B-be quiet you s-stupid s-sex offender!" Chane ordered swaying back and forth like she would fall any second.
"Are you feeling okay Chane?" I asked worriedly. I stood close enough to her that if she did fall, I could catch her.
"Isn't it obvious? The little girl can't hold her liquor. It was barely a sip and she's already smashed. A weak little lightweight." mocked Eve. "I mean look at her. She can barely stand!"
"S-shut up bitch! I… I can k-kick your ass!" Chane babbled. She swatted her arm at Eve to slap her but missed completely by a whole arm's length. The momentum spun Chane around and falling into my arms with her face buried in my chest.
"Nice catch." Axel complemented over Eve's condescending laughter.
"Silence!" I roared. Not only did Eve obey my command, but she did so with an expression of primal fear.
"When did you put in those creepy red contacts?" she asked nervously. Contacts? Does she mean for corrective vision? I don't wear those. That's when I realized a correlating trend starting from the incident on the Whirl Islands up until to now. Those who fear me always comment on my eyes. On this latest occasion Eve mentioned that they were red. I've never seen myself in a mirror when in Dragon forme, but I can't imagine that claws would be my only change. There must be other alterations as well like to my face. To my eyes.
"I'm not wearing contacts. These are the eyes of a demon." I answered cryptically. "Axel. Grab her legs." I instructed. Chane's body had recently gone limp meaning she just passed out, and while I could easily carry Chane by myself, I was less likely to bump her head into any walls if I had help in carrying her linearly.
After the two of us organized our position so that Axel held Chane's ankles while I had my arms wrapped under her arms, I gave Zack and Eve one more hateful glance. "I hope you're both satisfied." I hissed.
"I'll apologize as soon as she wakes up." Zack promised regretfully. At least he has a conscience. As it would turn out, we had drawn quite a bit of attention. From what I gather, people had been staring ever since Eve slapped Chane.
"What's going on here?" demanded Raiden pushing through the crowd to join us. "What happened to Chane?"
"Those two got her drunk." I said tilting my head to the culprits.
"Tattletale." Eve snipped crossing her arms.
"For the love of Arceus, are you people trying to sabotage this mission?" interrogated Raiden in a hushed voice so onlookers wouldn't hear. He put the tips of his left hand over his forehead and cheek in disappointment. "Brian, take her back to the suite please, and take the long way. Lt. Deter is watching the south hall and if he finds out about this there will be no end to his furry." Raiden instructed.
"On it." I complied leaving the scene with Axel and our precious cargo. I was glad to be departing too, because I could tell Raiden was about to give those two a lecture that I would rather not be a part of.
I heard Chane moan as she slowly came to once we entered the elevator. "Mmm… Brian…" she said in a daze. "I don't feel so good." Aw crap.
"Just hang in there Chane. We're in an elevator right now so I'm begging you not to throw up yet. I really don't want to be puked on tonight." I told her.
"Don't throw up on me either. If that stuff gets in my fur I'm doomed as I also hate the water that would wash it all out." my monkey partner added. Chane groaned again at the sound of the elevator's dinged for our floor. I felt so bad for her. At any rate, we were almost back to the room.
Axel and I arrived back to the suite just in time to run Chane to the bathroom for a not so pretty sight. I was thankful that she had her hair already tied back so that I could turn away as I was getting nauseous by just being nearby.
"I-I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused and all of the mean things I said." apologized Chane as I escorted her to her room.
"Don't be. You did nothing wrong." I consoled laying her in her bed. "It's Eve and Zack who should, and will, be sorry. You just rest." I may not have an experience with hangovers, but from what I understand things won't be so pleasant for Chane when she wakes up so I went to my room to get her some aspirin.
"Brian." she whispered when I came back to put the orange pills on her nightstand. "You and Axel need to get back to work, b-but I d-don't want to be alone. C-can you send out m-my Pokémon?" Unlike all of our other rooms we've stayed in lately, the bedrooms in this suite were large enough to accommodate all six of her Pokémon at once with room to spare. They were about as mad as I was, if not more, when I told them why their trainer was in bed in a half state of consciousness.
"Lucy. See what you can do about healing her." I told Chane's Chansey as I left the room. I really hated seeing good people suffering like this because of someone else's selfishness.
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Just as I had decided earlier, once I got back to the ballroom I began eating as much shrimp as my stomach could hold. I was starting to get jittery by this point. I had taken Chane to bed some 90minutes ago and even now there was no sign of Team Rocket.
"I'm starting to think that this mission was pointless." Axel mused. "I mean, didn't they say that they thought Johan was a target. What if they were wrong?"
"No argument there." I said taking a drink of water. It was as if we had set ourselves up for it as suddenly the doors leading to the garden burst open and dozens of people dressed in black uniforms with white boots and gloves came flooding into the dance floor. While the rich people screamed in surprise and terror, I laughed at the irony. Show time.
"Good evening everyone." greeted a thin sickly man with a slight wobble to his step. He had short purple hair with a mohawk in the middle of his head, a purple goatee, and lazy grey eyes. His long face resembled a bobble head that if tapped the right way would bounce all over the place. His uniform differed from the others in that he wasn't wearing a black beret, his boots and gloves had a single red stripe lining their rims, the middle torso of his shirt was trimmed with gold, and he wore a white belt with three strange vials on it.
"My name is Lambda." the Rocket introduced. "Do as we say, and no one will be harmed in any way. Just line up and hand over all of your valuables. Cash, jewelry, any Pokémon you may have with you, and the like." He had particularly eyed Axel when he said Pokémon. I think I'll kill him for that.
The Rocket Grunts went from person to person with bags to collect their loot. I watched as the rich people reluctantly parted with their expensive belongings, biding my time until one of them was unfortunate to come to me, Eve, or Zack. While his minions stole, Lambda walked through the room with two guards looking side to side, most likely seeking out Johan.
"Hey you! Hand over your valuables and your Infernape!" demanded a pre-mortem grunt. I began laughing mockingly at him. "What's so funny?"
"Why don't you die?" I ordered calmly. I snatched a nearby glass of red wine and splashed it in the Rocket's face. "Ember!" I called. Axel spit a small fireball at the man which was enough to ignite his head in a burst of flame. The criminal screamed in agony as he clutched his burning face and ran in circles.
"What the hell!?" shouted another Rocket in alarm. I unbuttoned my suit jacket.
"Brian Xelbu of Team Neos says this!" I announced crossing my arms over my waist to grab my Pokéballs. "Fight!" I rapidly uncrossed my arms sending five spheres flying into the air. In an explosion of white lights Riolu, Beldum, Piloswine, Snorlax, and Aerodactyl emerged sending panic throughout the room.
"Did he say Team Neos?" cried Lambda wide eyed and worried.
"You couldn't wait, could you?" Eve asked sarcastically with a sadistic grin. By this point she had cleaned herself up and fixed her eyeliner. "Time to play darlings!" From Eve's Pokéballs came Diva, Luxray, Rosarade, Steelix, who towered over the entire ballroom with a murderous look in his eyes, and the other two I had yet to meet until now. The first was a plump blue Pokémon with flippers for limbs, a shaggy white head and two massive tusks coming from its mouth. The second was a blue bipedal creature with a tan belly, rabbit ears, a small horn on her nose, and spikes running from the top of her head to the tip of her powerful tail.
"Let's party Lloyd!" Zack called summoning his Golduck to join the fray.
"Much better!" Axel cheered gladly after stripping off his clothes so they wouldn't get destroyed or restrict him in battle.
"Don't sweat it! There are only three of them and over twenty of us! We got them out numbered!" proclaimed a Rocket arrogantly. The moron was swiftly electrocuted, not by Eve's Luxray, but by Raiden's Raichu. The Mouse Pokémon's long black lightning bolt tipped tail wagged proudly as its yellow cheeks still sparked with electricity.
"That's five of us." corrected the third seat standing with Lt. Deter.
"It should be six. Where's the brunette?" Charles questioned irritably scanning the room.
"She was feeling ill so I gave her permission to take a leave of absence to rest." Raiden covered for us. Eve grumpily averted her eyes.
"Well don't just stand there like idiots! Attack!" ordered Lambda. Within seconds, the room was filled with dozens of Pokémon representing just about every type and evolutionary stage.
"Rich bastards! If you don't want to die, then I suggest you get the hell out of our way!" I threatened. "Snorlax! Body Slam!" The Sleeping Pokémon got up on his legless feet and slowly trudged through the crowd to the nearest enemy Pokémon which happened to be a Murkrow. The civilians who had nothing to do with this fight scattered in screams of fear; pushing eachother out of the way to escape. I love inducing chaos and panic among the masses. Snorlax then belly flopped on top of the pitiful Murkrow smashing it to the floor.
Aside from the orange mouse by his side, Raiden also called forth his Magnezone, an Electrode, a Manectric, his Jolteon, and finally Electabuzz. Lt. Deter summoned six large and intimidating Pokémon. My guess is for compensation. The first was an Arbok with a pattern of an open smiling mouth that was red with a black outline making the impression that there were teeth on the inside, and eyes similar to the mouth in that they were outlined black, had red inside, yellow irises, and black pupils. The rest were a Milotic, a Tyranitar, a Hariyama, an Ursaring, and a Dusknoir.
"Your orders are simple: Eliminate Team Rocket!" commanded Lt. Deter. "Hariyama! Go after one of those Raticate with Force Palm! Tyranitar! Eliminate the Xatu with Stone Edge! Arbok! Crush that Gliscor with Wrap! Ursaring! Use Slash on the Tentacruel! Dusknoir! Curse one of the Houndour! And Milotic! Cover the rest of the party, including my men, with Safeguard!" the midget systematically ordered.
The Tender Pokémon began singing as it surrounded every Pokémon owned by a member of Team Neos in a white barrier. What I want to know is how an angry little man like Charles owns such a calm and soothing creature as a Milotic. At the same time, the Lieutenant's other Pokémon went on the offensive.
The Cobra Pokémon lunged at a purple Flying-type Pokémon that looked like it was a cross between a bat and a scorpion as it had large black wings, big ears, and long fangs like a bat, along with large purple claws at the end of slender red arms and a long segmented tail tipped with two deadly stingers like a scorpion, entangling the creature in its coils.
Dusknoir impaled itself with a ghostly knife it created then threw the knife into a nearby Houndour. The Requiem Pokémon's pain will be that Fire-type's eternal suffering. Meanwhile, the other three were having their way with their respective opponents.
"All six of you, use Charge Beam on the Golbat swarm!" Raiden told his Pokémon. Magnezone and Electrode began gathering bright blue electricity in front of their faces while Jolteon and Manectric did so in their mouths and Raichu and Electabuzz charged the energy in their cupped palms. Then all at once the six Electric-types released their attacks at six different Golbats, two of which were fainted by the attacks.
"Hey Lloyd! I think I see a dehydrated Typhlosion over there! Give it a drink will ya?" Zack said courteously. Per his trainer's request, the Golduck sprayed the Volcano Pokémon with a gushing river of Hydro Pump much to the latter's dislike.
"Diva! Use Shadow Ball on Haunter! Luxray! Put that Rivalry Ability of yours to good use and take a Bite out of Jynx! Rosarade! I want you to make a Raticate suffer with Toxic! Steelix! Take out on of those filthy Grimers with Dragnbreath! Walrein! Take care of another one with Sheer Cold! And Nidoqueen! Earthqu- well maybe that isn't the best idea. Earth Power the Hypno instead!" commanded Eve. It's a good thing she cancelled that Earthquake order because otherwise everyone's Pokémon, even her own, would be screwed.
The Banette gathered a swirling mass of black and deep purple shadows between her hands and threw it at a large transparent purple demonic face with two floating hands. The Haunter screeched an otherworldly cry of pain from the attack. Nidoqueen tore up the floor in a single stomp that sent dirt and mud flying at a human shaped Pokémon with yellow fur, a fluffy white collar, and a long nose holding a pendulum. One Grimer was instantly frozen solid while a second was engulfed in a powerful beam of green energy. Elsewhere, Eve's Luxray clamped her jaws around a Pokémon that could easily be confused with a blond haired woman with a dark face and big lips wearing a red dress. Meanwhile, the Rosarade sprayed an unfortunate Rat Pokémon with a thick purple toxin.
"Piloswine! Use Dig on the Weepinbell! Aerodactyl! Get that Skarmory with Rock Slide! Beldum! Hit a Rattata with Iron Head! Riolu! Take out another Rattata with Cross Chop! We can't keep going after the bigger prey while leaving the small ones around to run wild! That is why Snorlax is going to flatten everything within range with Rollout! And Axel! I think that Primeape looked at you wrong. Close Combat!" I called out to them.
Axel ran madly to engage the enemy monkey in hand to hand combat at the same time that Riolu and Beldum went on an exterminating mission of the pest population. While that was going on, Piloswine tore up the floor by burrowing underground for a sneak attack against a yellow Grass-type Pokémon with green leaves for arms. Aerodactyl further destroyed the ballroom floor with a loud screech that summoned dozens of rocks hurdling at the Armored Bird Pokémon. Snorlax did a summersault to get his Rollout started that not only finished off the Murkrow from before, but also rampaged through members of Team Rocket and their Pokémon.
Naturally the Rockets fought back hollering out commands for Weepinbell to Razor Leaf, Hypno to use Psychic, Grimers, Muks, Koffings, and Weezings were to use Sludge, Poison Gas, Tackle, and Pound, Tentacruel to Wrap Ursaring, Skarmory to use Steel Wing on Aerodactyl, Primape to retaliate with its own Close Combat, and Haunter to use Shadow Punch. There were the commands for Jynx to use Ice Beam, Houndours and Houndooms to use Crunch or Flamethrower, Golbats and Zubats were told to use Supersonic, Confuse Ray, Wing Attack, Air Cutter, and Leech Life, while the Rattatas and Raticates were mostly told to use Hyper Fang, Tackle, and Quick Attack. Voltorbs and Rocket owned Electrodes were ordered to use Thunderbolts, Tackles, and one even called for a Self Destruct sending even more chaos through the battleground.
All of this occurred in less than two minutes.
"Man, oh man! If you wanted all out war, I think this might be it!" Zack shouted ducking out of the way of a Geodude's Rock Throw. "Lloyd! You mind teaching that Geodude a lesson for me?" Lloyd answered the call by surrounding his tail with water and smacking Geodude unconscious. "Thanks Buddy!" said Zack giving a thumbs-up to the Duck Pokémon.
"I'll get that Golduck! Shoot it with Bullet Seed Exeggutor!" ordered a Rocket. A walking palm tree began firing off multiple rounds of brown balls from its three heads.
"Axel! Destroy those seeds with Ember!" I called. The Infernape momentarily kicked his Primeape opponent away in time to shot down each projectile in a flurry of small flames. No sooner had the seeds been destroyed did the Pig Monkey Pokémon jump on Axel in an angry rage. My monkey responded by kicking Primeape off and finishing it with a Fire Punch.
"Thanks Brian! We owe ya one." said Zack appreciatively with Lloyd nodding in agreement.
"Don't mention it." I said with a smile. "Just helping a teammate out."
"In that case… Lloyd! Finish that damn Exeggutor with Ice Beam!" my partner commanded. Lloyd opened his beak releasing a pale blue beam of frost at the Coconut Pokémon. The Grass-type cried in pain but wasn't beaten yet.
"You call that an Ice Beam?" mocked Eve. "Walrein! Show these children a real Ice Beam!" At once her Walrus Pokémon launched an even larger ray than Lloyd had which succeeded in knocking out the Exeggutor. "How was that?" she taunted.
"Hey now, you're Pokémon is Ice-type, you have STAB bonus." Zack defended. While Eve laughed at him, an Arbok that wasn't Deter's loomed up behind her without warning. Eve turned around just in time for it to sink its fangs into her face. At least it would have had it not been consumed by a pink aura and thrown into a wall at the last second. Zack and I looked at eachother in confusion as neither of us had ordered any of our Pokémon to use Psychic.
"A-are you okay Eve?" asked a certain team member flying over head on her Pidgeot with a Lunatone by her side.
"Chane… you saved me. Why?" Eve questioned in wonder as Jace landed with us.
"B-because we need to w-work together." Chane said cheerfully. "I s-still haven't forgiven you for this t-terrible headache I have now, b-but we have to beat Team Rocket first." Because Chane was still a bit hungover, Zack and I helped her off of her bird so he could fight without worry about his trainer's safety.
"Ya know, if I wasn't such a sadist I'd feel bad about what I did to you." Eve confessed shallowly. At least she was honest about it.
"But I feel bad. I'm sorry Chane." Zack apologized keeping his word. Chane nodded in understanding as she sent out the rest of her Pokémon.
"Fuck! Shit! Another one just showed up!" screamed various grunts at once.
"Yeah, but look! She has a Chansey! Let's steal it!" announced another one foolishly. "Go get her Ariados!" A large spider crawled its way through the crowd in a futile attempt to attack.
"Please keep Ariados away with Gust, Jace!" Chane called. The mighty Bird Pokémon flapped his powerful wings several times to kick up a wind strong enough to knock back the Long Leg Pokémon.
"Hey! Get your hands off me!" demanded a voice that sounded like it belonged to a young man. I turned to see Lambda standing with his two goons who had a man with neatly combed blonde hair wearing a grey suit in their arms. If logic serves, that must be Johan. After Lambda slapped a piece of tape over his captive's mouth, he pulled a Pokéball from his belt. From it came a Pokémon made up of two purple spheres fused together and covered with numerous vents emitting toxic fumes.
"I want the rest of you to finish off Team Neos and meet at the rendezvous point as soon as you do!" he ordered his troops. "I'm sorry to say, but I will now be taking my leave ladies and gentlemen." said the Rocket Executive apologetically to everyone else. With that, his Weezing let out a Smokescreen covering the entire ballroom in a thick haze. Everybody remaining in the room, the rich people, my squad and I, and even the remaining members of Team Rocket, not to mention our Pokémon coughed asthmatically as the smoke filled our lungs.
"Ce- *cough* Celia! De- *hack* Defog!" Chane gagged.
"Do *gasp* the same *cough* Aerodactyl!" I wheezed. Even though I couldn't see them through the smog, I heard the manic flapping of wings and felt the wind produced by it. Gradually the smoke dispersed from the room through the door to the garden and the door to the hallway. It was then we noticed that Lambda and Johan were missing.
"Dammit! They're getting away!" shouted Lt. Deter furiously. "Arka! Take the exit into the garden! I'll go through the hall! The rest of you are to cover us!" he commanded returning his Pokémon leaving only Tyranitar out. Raiden did the same with only his Electabuzz remaining before running to the garden.
"Where do you think you're going small fry?" questioned a most unfortunate Rocket getting between Charles and the doorway. The midget yelled out angrily before kicking the dumbass in the kneecap then punching him in the stomach.
"The only thing small here is your IQ." he retorted. "Tyranitar! Scatter these lowlifes with Hyper Beam!" The dinosaur esque Pokémon opened its mouth wide blasting a devastating yellowish orange beam that sent the Rockets and their Pokémon fleeing for their miserable lives.
"Use Discharge Electabuzz!" commanded Raiden. The Electric-type roared as it sent lightning shooting off indiscriminately in every direction. Luckily, the only two Pokémon that were hit on our side were Piloswine and Nidoqueen who felt none of the effects. All at once the members of Team Rocket and there Pokémon that were nearest to the garden door were covered in a purple glow and pushed to their knees, or in the case of some Pokémon, their bellies.
"Diva, I did not tell you to use Psychic!" Eve scolded uncaringly. The Marionette Pokémon rolled her demonic eyes at her trainer as she released her unwary prey. It just seemed too perfect as it had given enough time for Raiden to escape. Unfortunately, that also meant the four of us had to face down about twenty Rockets and roughly four times that number in Pokémon.
Chane, Zack, Eve, and I stood back to back to cover eachother's blind spots as Team Rocket encircled us, determined to finish us off for good. Naturally they were mistaken, but even so, we needed a strategy if we wanted to get out of this in one piece.
"All we gotta do is finish these guys off and then meet back at Tin Tower right?" questioned a particularly brainless grunt for just giving away their location.
"You moron! You weren't supposed to say that out loud!" reprimanded another one.
"Doesn't matter. These guys won't live long enough to use that information anyway!" assured a third. "Take ‘em Down Rhyhorn!" A large rhino like Pokémon covered in plated grey armor let out a low bellow as it charged at the group.
"Don't be so sure!" I warned as I felt my Dragon blood rise. "Hit it with Iron Tail Axel!" I called. The monkey's golden tail changed to a metallic silver color as it hardened. He held out his arms to catch Rhyhorn as it charged then started whipping the Spikes Pokémon across the face and in its eyes. Rhyhorn roared in pain until Axel took it out with a swift punch to its jaw.
"That's how it's done bitches!" taunted Axel giving our enemies the finger on both hands while sticking out his tongue.
"Sorry everyone, but play time is over." Eve alerted. She turned to her Luxray with a bored look. "I don't care who, but use Thunder Fang on someone that isn't on our side." The lioness complied, teeth crackling with electricity, as she took a bite out of a female Grunt's leg causing her to scream in anguish. "I should warn you all, Luxray is very territorial. If you're a woman, get away from her now." she notified.
I suddenly heard the cracking sound of gunfire and Axel cry out hardly half a second later. I quickly turned to my partner who was gripping his left arm.
"Axel! Are you alright!?" I asked fearfully. The Infernape moved his hand to investigate himself, but there was no visible scratch on him.
"Yeah. I'm missing some hair so I think the bullet just grazed me." he said with as much relief as I felt that he was alright. We both then started looking around to see who or what got shot and who ever fired because one person may need medical attention while the other would need a body bag. I noticed a flattened piece of metal on the floor under Steelix meaning no one was hurt but that wouldn't save Team Rocket.
"Guys, I think we need to get out of this predicament." Zack advised warily. I think we all felt the same, but there was something that needed to be done first.
Draconic energy coursed through my body into my hand the moment I set my sights in the direction the gun was shot from. An inhuman growl came from my vocal cords as I pulled back my arm, then in the blink of an eye the blue burst of energy was launched when I thrust my arm forward. My Dragon Pulse crashed into the Rocket standing closest to me destroying the criminal's uniform and knocking him back into the Jynx behind him sending both to the floor. And standing behind them was a Rocket with a look of terror on his face and a gun holster on his chest.
"It was you!" I screamed like a madman, jumping over my previous victims with my claws pulled back. My prey had absolutely no time to aim his weapon before a Dragon Claw tore through his eyes, skull, and brain. When I pulled my fingers out, they were covered in blood down to my knuckles with splashes of blood on the back of my hand and wrist.
With them out of the way, my squad had room enough to get out of the fray with the chance of getting the high ground. Including me, only Axel, Eve, Diva, Rosarade, Lucy, and Zack were able to get out of the circle before our adversaries closed in again and began attacking those still trapped with some going after us. Zack flipped over one of the buffet tables for us to take refuge behind.
"Piloswine! Beldum! Take Down! Snorlax! Body Slam!" I called. That should open another path for Chane and the rest of our Pokémon to get free. Rockets jumped out of the way of the charging Pokémon letting their own monsters take the hits. This time everyone got out and joined us behind the table.
"Listen, I've got a plan!" proclaimed Zack. "You guys see that chandelier up there? Steelix can reach it, so what we need is for Axel and Kermit to stand on his head. Axel will melt the chain with Flamethrower and Kermit is too cool it with Water Gun." he elaborated.
"What good will that do?" Eve criticized, unimpressed by his idea.
"I'm getting there! That will warp the metal while keeping the chandelier in place. While they do that, we will have the rest of our Pokémon go after Team Rocket to get them under the chandelier. Once that's done, Steelix will use Crunch on the weakened chain and Boom! Down it comes crashing on the Rockets." he finished.
"I like it!" I agreed whole heartedly.
"Whatever." sighed Eve probably mad that she didn't come up with the idea first. "Lower your head Steelix." The Iron Snake Pokémon grunted irritably at the thought of having other creatures stand on his head, but he did as instructed allowing the Infernape and Azumarill on.
"Be strong." encouraged Chane as Steelix rose again. I took the initiative to jump out from behind the table with a deranged battle cry.
"Rollout around the Rockets Snorlax! Confuse the fuck out of them with Supersonic Aerodactyl" I commanded. "The rest of you just make sure that no one goes where they shouldn't be!"
"Keep them off balance with Whirlwind Jace! Do the same with Gust Celia! Use Psychic on them as well Luna!" Chane told her friends.
"Play with Team Rocket anyway you want my little terrors!" shouted Eve lightheartedly.
"Put them in place with your Psychic too Lloyd!" called Zack.
Aerodactyl's loud screech echoed throughout the ballroom as the gale force cyclones created by the Pidgeot and Beautifly sent everything that wasn't pinned down flying. Meanwhile people and Pokémon were being forced around not just by the raging indoor tempest, but also pink and blue auras of psychic energy. Piloswine, Luxray, Nidoqueen, and Walrein used intimidation tactics by pushing, biting, or jabbing at anyone who dared to get away from the crowd while Snorlax rolled around forcing those who weren't already into the cluster. Diva used Night Shade to increase her pressence forcing the criminals together. Riolu and Beldum did what they could to keep everyone under control as those above blasted the chain with an unending stream of fire and water.
"That's it! They're all under!" Zack cried looking up and down just to make sure that the alignment was correct. "Alright! Have Izzy and Rosarade use Stun Spore now!" he told the girls.
"Your heard the man Rosarade." Eve said victoriously.
"Do your best Izzy!" said Chane supportively. The two Grass-types unleashed a cloud of yellow power over the Rockets, Rosarade from her flowers and Izzy from under her mushroom cap. The Rockets and their Pokémon screamed as their muscles stiffened making them immobile.
"Bring that thing down with Crunch Steelx!" Eve shouted up to her metal serpent. First Steelix violently shook his head to throw off Axel and Kermit who were caught midair by Jace, then the Iron Snake Pokémon turned his massive head to chomp the chandelier chain sending it falling on the heads of Team Rocket.
"Now to make sure they don't escape, freeze them! Use Ice Beam Lloyd!" Zack commanded.
"Ice Beam Walrein!" called Eve pointing to the pile.
"Piloswine! Ice Beam!" I added. All three of our Pokémon shot cold beams of pale blue at the creatures under the chandelier creating a massive wall of ice encasing our captives. The moment we ceased our attack, the civilians still in the room that had to endure all of this craziness began clapping and cheering for our wonderful job.
"Well done! Well done!" praised a rich woman. "Thank you for all of your hard work, you saved us all. We can take it from here, I'll call the police to have those scoundrels arrested at once." she offered.
"No need. Aerodactyl and Snorlax! Destroy them all with Hyper Beam!" I commanded maliciously pointing to the frozen pile of evil. Aerodactyl opened his great maw and blasted a yellowish orange beam of raw energy from the sky at the captured Team Rocket members. Snorlax did the same from the ground creating a massive explosion of frozen body parts of all kinds of different species. Those that weren't incinerated that is.
"All criminals should be executed. Why waste the space in prison or risk them going free because of some flaw in the legal system?" I posed answering the horrified looks I was getting from everyone.
"H-how? How c-could you be s-so c-cruel?" questioned a frightened Chane.
"Because he's a demon." Eve replied. "Isn't that what you told us earlier?" she asked me. "Unlike me who would rather not kill, he seems to have no issue with it. It's actually kind of scary."
"Regardless, I just did the world a favor by eliminating its vermin. Now let's go! Master Raiden and Short Fuck are waiting for us." I said returning all of my Pokémon except for Axel and Aerodactyl. I took them with me outside to the garden which was a pretty nice place. There was a stone fountain in the middle of the walkway, tall but thin trees lining said walkway, and various types of flowers, berry producing trees, and apricorn baring trees about. However this was no time to admire the scenery.
"To Tin Tower!" I told Aerodactyl jumping on his back.
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Well I wanted to finish the Johan Saga this chapter, but after hitting the fourteen page mark (making this chapter the longest one yet!), I decided that now was a good stopping point. Let me know what you guys think, esspecially about the battle scene.
Thanks for sticking with me for a whole year everyone! ^_^
Well, it depends on how the Contests are designed, I guess. Interesting opinions Axel has.
To cover my tracks, the ballroom was on the first floor and there is a large crater at its center. The hotel didn't collapse, but it will need some serious renovations.
