Pokemon Umbral Pierce's Sidequest: Revenge and Retribution

[Astral Harmony]

Before Encountering Pierce

Whitney was shivering when Renny approached her. She couldn't even bring herself to face him.
"Hey. Whitney, are you feeling ok? I didn't expect to see you here, since we are going to hopefully put an end to Faynoc. It's going to be intense..."
Whitney straightened up and turned around to face Renny. Renny was a little disturbed by her expression. It was like she was in some kind of trance. She was staring directly at him, but her eyes weren't focusing on him, like she was somehow able to see right through him.
"I'm fine," Whitney said with an edge in her voice, then walked over to check on Mirror. Renny turned around and saw that Whitney was actually looking at Lola.
Mirror stepped away as Whitney approached, but it wasn't because of her. Slowly and steadily, the door slid open. "And boom goes the dynamite," Mirror exhaled. There was more gore on the other side of the door and wreckage, but nothing else. Impact unsheathed his Dragon Slave and took point. "C'mon, we're going."
Renny probably wanted more time to talk with Whitney, but she was already leaving. It seemed like it might have to wait until this mission was done.

-----

After Reuniting With Pierce

"Another fuckin' locked door?" Impact swore, then turned to Mirror.
She, frustrated as well, fished for her electronic equipment. "This shouldn't take as long. I think I've figured out the trick with unlocking these things."
"Faynoc's kinda scared of us, huh?" Lola said, trying to sound more chipper than she felt. "We're trying to get this over and done with, and he just keeps putting locked doors between us and him."
"He's not scared of us," Impact said.
"Huh?"
"If Faynoc was a cowardly wuss, he wouldn't have done what he did over in Prime Square, especially with so many Prideguard units in that area. He was prepared for this shit to happen all along."
"He's buying time," Violet twittled her thumbs. "He's completed objective A, but he needed time to complete objective B before he's stopped permanently."
"Isn't it a little cold in here?" Kirie asked the others.
"Kurika thinks it is all the air conditioning," Kurika said, observing one of no less than four rotating fans connecting to ventilation shafts.
"Maybe they have electronics that generate a lot of heat in here somewhere," Lola guessed.

"Or it could be that you just casually strolled into yet another trap."

The door that Mirror was hacking suddenly started to open, but not like Mirror had planned. The door and adjoining wall were actually sliding up into the ceiling. Impact turned around sharply to see that the door they had just entered in from had closed and locked.
"Absolute! Door!" Impact shouted.
But before Mirror could reach it, a glob of acidic bile splashed onto the door control and ate it away. "I think not."
The room on the other side didn't have much in the way of furniture or anything. But there were four more ventilation shafts with working fans, which were visibly drinking up the toxic miasma of-
"Normally, I'd be cordial enough to offer you some tea and cake," Gransrax apologized. "But only for those who are cordial enough to make appointments."
"Eh," Violet shrugged. "The cake would've been a lie, anyways."

Gransrax wasn't looking so hot. Several bullet holes, not a few gash wounds, and the telltale pool of sickly yellow blood on the floor below him clearly told them that he had not escaped from his skirmish with the Prideguard unscathed.
There were four Wretches patiently waiting on the floor in front of him, and two Ruin Pokemon that nobody had seen up to this point. Judging from their hideous appearance and the miasma coming off of them, these had to be Poison type Ruin Pokemon that may or may not have evolved from the Wretches.

In the other corner, they saw a machine that they had not seen before, but they recognized the Ricewood Masterworks logo on several parts of its body. So this is where all those stolen parts had gone.
"Ginnungagap," Jeanette pronounced, looking at the caligraphy writting on the machine's side.
"It's been a little while, Gransrax," Impact said. "By now I'm sure you realize that you aren't leaving this place alive."
"Oh, I'm very well aware of that fact."
"You are?" Lola asked him.
"Naturally. And if Idolus and the other Ruin Generals were smart, they'd know that each of their days spent alive is a blessing as well. We're old hat. Phased out. Obsolete. Sure, we were the most fearsome creatures to have existed on this world some sixteen-hundred years ago, but look at the world of today. Mister Impact, if you weren't there to divert some of the Prideguard off of myself, I imagine I would not be gracing you with my toxic presense right now."
"How lucky we are," Impact rolled his eyes.
"So, Miss Kazetsubaki, could you please explain why it is that you and perhaps those other ladies have turned against Mister Faynoc?"
Mio folded her arms. "I can't vouch for the others but my mother still has plans for me and my powers, and they don't include dying in the bowels of this cold, morbid facility. Incidentally, I've heard that the good professor has done some very naughty things."
"Ah, the Shadolox that Team Rocket captured for him? Normally, he would have been against the idea. It's a suicidal fools errand to capture one. As effective in rapid mobilizations and surprise attacks as Team Rocket appears to be, it is nearly impossible to capture a Shadolox. The only reason Faynoc decided to go for it was because Nosferatu allowed it."
"This is new," Impact observed. "Are you saying that Nosferatu actually allowed Team Rocket to steal a Shadolox?"
Gransrax coughed up a gout of his yellow blood. "Shadow Pokemon have existed in Honmyr for almost as long as us Ruin Generals have, Impact. I imagine it was our hostile takeover over nearly the entire world that brought about their existence. There's no telling how old Nosferatu really is, but we cannot begin to fathom the extent of his wisdom. If you should ever have the opportunity to venture into the Corpsemire, I suggest paying a visit to him."
"We pretty much don't have a choice," Impact said. "Irene is going to have to know all about this, of course."

"Enough of this shit!" Jeanette stepped forth. "Where the hell is my daughter?!"
Gransrax gave a simple nod to the door behind us. "Myrie Ricewood and Reynold Faynoc are both right on the other side of this door here. And while I do like touching mother-daughter reunions, I'm afraid I must use my life to block your progress...at least for as long as my remaining life is capable."
"Hang on, sweetie," Jeanette said to herself, preparing for battle. "Mommy's comin'."
"Prepare to die, Gransrax." Impact said, drawing his sword. "You don't stand a chance against our combined might."
"Indeed I don't. I honestly wouldn't last two turns against the whole lot of you. However-"
Gransrax pulled out a small black box and pressed one of the buttons on it.

Faynoc's Voice: "Activate Ginnungagap. Primary objective is to remove all intruders. Begin sortie."

And with that, the large machine instantly came to life. Gransrax and his Ruin Pokemon assumed their battle stances. Two large pods on Ginnungagap's large back opened up and two naked Pokebrid women fell out onto the cold, hard floor. They struggled to their feet and prepared to fight as well.
"That son of a bitch!" Jeanette recoiled in disgust at the sight.
"Faynoc is prepared to cross the barriers of ethics to bring out the true potential of Honmyr's pioneered technologies," Gransrax said. "And that, worthy adversaries, is why fools like Idolus are simply no longer major players in this game of life and death."
But that wasn't entirely why Jeanette was so pissed. The Pokebrids, aside from the characteristics of their Pokebrid forms, were entirely identical. They looked exactly like Jeanette Ricewood.
"Wow, Professor! I didn't know you were so stacked!" Violet said. "I bet you have to special order your lingerie."
"Quiet, you." Jeanette said. "I'm a mother. I'm supposed to have large breasts."
"But isn't your daughter, like, nine or ten years old? I don't think she needs your milk anymore...unless you're kinda...y'know, weird like that."
"Can we focus?"
"Right, we've got bigger problems," Mirror said.
The eight ventilation shafts were now covered by electronic panels. With no way to escape, Gransrax's toxic miasma was starting to fill the room.

-----
Let's Get Ready To Rumbleeeeeee!

Enemy Formation
[Wretch A (200%)] [Toxique A (600%)] [Wretch B (200%)] [Gransrax (2500%)] [Wretch C (200%)] [Toxique B (600%)] [Wretch D (200%)] [Ricewood Clone A (800%)] [Ginnungagap (5000%)] [Ricewood Clone B (800%)]
BGM: "Primal Eyes" by Parasite Eve OST

"Masks?" Impact asked without looking at Mirror.
"Gransrax melted them with his spittle," Mirror said, showing him one of her gasmasks with a molten hole through the center of it. "We'll have to think of a different way to avoid all that poison. Maybe Defog?"
"Excellent idea!" Impact approved. "We don't need those ventilation shafts if we can just make our own."

Scanning enemies...

Boss Gransrax (Ruin/Poison)
- Scanner Entry: The Ruin General of the Poison type. An immense threat to anyone foolish enough to attack it with close combat techniques. Its toxic miasma can eat someone from the inside out while its acidic saliva can eat someone from the outside in.
- Attacks: Raking Claws (Steel/Single/50Pwr/70Acc/3-4Hits/HiCrit), Saliva Shot (Poison/Single/120Pwr/80Acc/BadPois100%), Mucus Spray (Poison/All/100Acc/BadPois100%), Desolation Ray (Ruin/250Pwr/100Acc/AllStat-1 50%), Regurgitate (CreateWretch)
- Defenses: Ruin100%, Poison100%, ImmPois, ImmBadPois, BadPois Revenge/Melee
- Ability 1: Toxic Aura - Poison on all enemies each turn when enemies are immersed in the miasma.
- Ability 2: Puking Fetish - Creates a Wretch each turn. Can be compounded with Regurgitate move to create a total of two Wretches each turn.
- Ability 3: Boss Power - Can act twice each turn.

Wretch (Ruin/Poison)
- Scanner Entry: Horrible creatures regurgitated from within Gransrax's body. They cry like babies but kill like the little terrors they really are.
- Attacks: Toxic Rake (Poison/Single/100Pwr/100Acc/Pois100%), Toxic Spittle (Poison/100Acc/BadPois100%), Coil (50%DamGuard on 1stTurn, 200%OutDam on 2ndTurn)
- Defenses: Poison100%, ImmPois, ImmBadPois, ImmMorale, Evade50%, Evade/Poison

Toxique (Ruin/Poison)
- Scanner Entry: A Ruin Pokemon of the Poison type. These aren't nearly as poisonous as the general, but they still smell quite a bit and are generally violent towards all walks of life.
- Attacks: Neuro Stinger (Electric/Single/100Pwr/80Acc/Paralyze100%), Wild Beast (Steel/Single/50Pwr/2-3Hits/HiCit/Bleeding50%), Toxic Slice (Poison/Single/120Pwr/80Acc/BadPois100%)
- Defenses: Poison100%, ImmPois, ImmBadPois, ImmMorale, Counter/Poison100%

Ginnungagap (Unknown Type)
- Scanner Entry: A mechanical nightmare frankensteined by Reynold Faynoc's unethical machines and various prototype machinery stolen from Ricewood Masterworks.
- Attacks: Unknown
- Defenses: Unknown
- Ability: Rapid Cloning - Creates one Ricewood Clone each turn.

Ricewood Clone (Varies by Pokebrid)
- Scanner Entry: Clones of Jeanette Ricewood created from blood samples. If it wasn't for the Pokebrid features or the face masks that protect them from Gransrax's miasma, they would be functionally indistinguishable from the good professor herself. Attacks, defenses, weaknesses, and abilities all depend on the Pokemon DNA used to produce the clone.
- Clone A Form: Kyogre
- Clone A Ability: Drizzle
- Clone B Form: Groudon
- Clone B Ability: Drought

"Looks like Faynoc has a lot more Legendary Pokemon DNA than he's let on," Impact observed. "...shouldn't the weather be changing? Oh, wait, Drought and Drizzle cancel each other out, I guess."

[Dracorion]

RIP Pierce, We Hardly Knew Ye

-------------------------

"So that's it?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"What's the point in trying again when you already know what's going to happen."

"Dying's easy, you know. Living's hard."

"Didn't feel easy from where I was standing."

"Aren't there still things you need to do?"

"..."

"Well?"

"Other people will take care of that. I'm just going to screw up again."

"Maybe they will. Even so, don't you feel as if you have to do it, for yourself?"

"A bit. But like I already told you, I'm just going to screw it up."

"So, you failed a few times, rather stupidly I might add, and you're just going to give up?"

"Yep."

"You're entirely justified."

"Sarcasm? Really? Fine. What do you think I should do? If past experience is any indication-"

"It isn't. You try and you fail, and try again and fail again, over and over. That's why living's hard. But sometimes, just sometimes, you don't fail. Sometimes you actually win. And when you do, that's what makes life worth it. Because those victories matter. Not just to you, but they'll affect and help those around you as well. Not in ways easily percieved, but they always matter. Always."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Try again."

"And if I fail?"

"Try again."

"And if people are hurt because of me?"

"Try to make amends. And then fail and try again."

"Smartass."

"There's one more thing you have to do."

"Always one more."

"Want my advice?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself with your petty little issues that aren't that big a deal at all. Stop trying to help yourself and see if others need help. Real help."

"Did you run out of wise lines?"

"Smartass."

"So. Who are you?"

"I'm God."

"No, really."

"Well, some people call me Glenn."

"Right, okay. I'm going. Don't take this the wrong way, but I hope never to see you again."

"Oh, you will."

"Everything dies, right?"

"Right."

-------------------------

"Pierce!"

What?

"Pierce!"

Who...

He opened his eyes, and the world was a blur of shapes, shadows and bright lights, and there was a sweet taste in his mouth. But the moment he became aware, he was bombarded by the scent. White roses and rainfall. And he knew who was calling for him.

Then the rush came. Pure euphoria. That feeling like he could take on the world and win, smiling all the while. The world swam into focus and he saw Chizuru's face. Instantly, he rose, and the world spun from how fast he moved. Chizuru's soft hand held his arm and Pierce turned to her. "Take it easy. How do you feel?" She asked, a worried look on her face. Her eyes were watery. Pierce clutched his side as a sharp pain erupted there.

"I'm... fineish. Was that, um... demon god blood, was it?"

"Yeah." She replied, looking relieved and more than a little nervous.

"Thanks." He mumbled, well aware of the fact that he was blushing. He looked away to let her wipe her eyes.

"You're a moron." Said a familiar voice, but not the one he was expecting. It brought him back to reality, and Pierce instantly took stock of his surroundings. The speaker had been Violet, who was looking downright pissed. Behind her stood Professor Ricewood, still decked out in her armor, who at least appeared neutral. Nearby, Shizuka, Ho-oh and Allegion were mopping the floor with Horace's pokemon.

"You shouldn't be here!" He exclaimed incredulously as he backed away. "I made sure we wouldn't be disturbed!"
"So you're the one responsible for all those roadblocks. It looks like you underestimated us."

And he was probably too focused on me to pay attention to them. Pierce thought.

"Who are you?"

As Chizuru tended to Pierce's pokemon, the rest of them closed in on Horace as he backed away toward the large doors. As soon as Pierce was close enough, though, Shizuka's katana was suddenly pointing at his neck, without any of them having seen anything more than a blur. He had expected something like this. "Shizuka-sama!"

"Are you working for him or Faynoc or Burkmont?" She asked harshly, a determined look on her face.
Pierce matched her stare, looking her straight in the eyes as he responded, "No."
Her expression slackened, just a bit. "Prove it." She said, pointing her sword at Horace now.
"You didn't really leave much for me to do."

"You all think I'm beaten?! I have one more trick up my sleeve!" Angrily, he slammed his fist into a panel to the side, and the doors began to open.

"Balls." Pierce quickly went around retrieving his weapons, as Chizuru returned his pokeballs. Just in time, too, as the terrors moved out of the shadows.

Hydrados (Water/Dragon/L-Type/1200%HP) ~ A PokeWeapon based on a Gyarados that resembles eight Gyarados bodies that meet at the tails. A true terror that could rule the seas if ever introduced to the ocean.
- Attacks: Aqua Sunder (100 Pwr, 2 hits to 4 random targets, Water Spec) / Hyper Sunder (200 Pwr, 2 hits to 4 random targets, Normal Spec, 1 Turn Cooldown) / Raging Twister (250 Pwr, 3 targets, Dragon Spec) / Octo Bite (50 Pwr, 5-8 Hits, IgDef, Dark Phys, 20% Flinch per hit)
- Ability: Persistant Intimidation ~ Att -1 for formation per turn.

Sandslaughter (Ground/Steel/L-Type/1200%HP) ~ A PokeWeapon based on a Sandslash. It's a whirling nightmare of claws protected by solid armor spines as thick as young trees.
- Attacks: Reaper Swipe (300 Pwr, 100% Bleed, Steel Phys) / Rolling Disaster (200 Pwr, 2 foes, Ground Phys) / Sand Tsunami (50 Pwr, Formation, Acc -1 100%, Flinch 30%, Ground Spec) / Bowling Berserker (300 Pwr, 2 Turn Launch, Steel Phys)
- Ability: One With the Desert ~ AllStat +3 in Sandstorm / Adamantistorm. Does not suffer ill effects of Adamantistorm.

Staraider (Flying/Dark/L-Type/1200%HP) ~ A PokeWeapon based on a Staraptor. Extremely dangerous in the skies, but fortunately you're encountering it within a closed space.
- Attacks: Windblade Swarm (150 Pwr, HiCrit, 4 random targets, Flying Spec) / Peck Burst (80 Pwr, 3-5 Hits, IgDef, Flying Phys, 50% Bleed per Hit) / Air Crush (250 Pwr, 100% Flinch, 100% Exhaustion, Flying Phys) / Abyssal Breath (150 Pwr, 3 Targets, Acc -1 100%)
- Ability: Air Superiority ~ Negates a Flying types ability to avoid ground attacks and negates the Levitate ability.

Impenetrable (Bug/Steel/L-Type/1200%HP) ~ A PokeWeapon based on a Forretress. A hovering monstrosity bristling with deadly cannons turning it into a testament to the destructive force of artillery.
- Attacks: Impact Shell (300 Pwr, 3 Target Splash, 50% Burn, Fire Spec) / Hive Bomb (150 Pwr, 3 Targets, 50% Flinch, Bug Spec) / Spinning Fortress (500 Pwr, 2 Turn Launch, Steel Phys) / Shrapnel Raid (120 Pwr, 4 Random Targets, 50% Bleed, Steel Spec) / Obliterate (5000 Pwr, All Formations, 1-turn charge, Normal Phys)
- Ability: Interceptor Shot ~ Evade & Counter 100% versus melee against self. 250 Pwr, Steel Spec.

They quickly took up positions, but one of them moved in a way that was less than reassuring. "Wait, what are you doing?" Hydrados was looking at Horace like a tasty snack instead of his master. "Faynoc, you bastard!" Horace let out a blood-curling scream as he tried to run, but it was cut short as one of the creature's heads lunged down, maw wide open. Once it engulfed all of Pierce's former employer, it clamped down and swallowed.

"Balls."
"I'm surprised it took this long for Faynoc to betray him."
"You're in no condition to fight." Shizuka stated. Pierce didn't argue: his ribs were still screaming from pain. Crystallized demon god blood wasn't a perfect cure, apparently, and he had been dead for a second there.

Pierce, deployed Aria and Blaziken, Chizuru sent out Giratina, Shizuka sent Ho-Oh and Allegion and Jeanette released Groudon and Pachirisu. Violet shifted to her Corsola form. "All right... we need to focus fire. Take Staraider out of the skies. But Impenetrable is first priority. If it explodes, we're done. Shizuka, can you hold off Hydrados if Giratina backs you up?" Shizuka nodded.

Shizuka moved first. One moment she was with them and the next she was slicing into one Hydrados' necks, eliciting an angry roar from the beast. Giratina followed by clawing into it. Allegion's Thunder Crush gave Staraider a nasty shock as Aria took to the skies, carrying Pachirisu. Both of them combined their powers to give the bird another jolt.

Impenetrable took aim, and fired an artillery shell with a noise to match at Groudon. The legendary fell backwards from the force of the shot, a testament to the PokeWeapons' power. This didn't dissuade Blaziken or Ho-oh, whose blasts of fire scorched the floating fortress. Chizuru, Jeanette and Violet scrambled around desperately as Sandslaughter spun rapidly, trying to impale one of them on its mass of spikes and claws.

Staraider was unable to retaliate as the enclosed space hindered its movement, and the three electric pokemon didn't let up their barrage for a second. Giratina found itself in trouble as five of Hydrados' heads decided to sink their teeth into it, damaging it greatly. Shizuka nimbly evaded the remaining three heads as they tried to attack her. Sandslaughter finally clipped Jeanette's armor on the shoulder, but this opened it up for a blast of water, courtesy of Violet. Unfortunately, its many spikes didn't allow Chizuru to serve any purpose other than a distraction.

Under Pierce's orders, Blaziken, Ho-oh and Groudon had taken up position surrounding Impenetrable. One of them would hit it with a blast of fire, causing the PokeWeapon to spin and aim at that pokemon, before being hit by someone else's blast, causing it to turn to the new offender, and so on. This tactic made the beast look somewhat like a spinning top.

Shizuka had managed to attract all of Hydrados' attention, and was skillfully dodging blasts of water, twisters and teeth that came at her. She'd just jumped to avoid a twister when one of the heads painfully clamped down on her leg, swinging her around and throwing her hard against a wall. Things weren't looking well for Giratina.

With a combined bolt of electricity, Aria, Allegion and Pachirisu finished off Staraider. The large bird crashed hard on the ground, smoking and smelling of burnt chicken. Pierce quickly sent Aria and Allegion to fight Hydrados, while Jeanette recalled Pachirisu.

After a quick recovery, Professor Ricewood sent out Kyogre, the large Legendary a welcome addition to the effort against Sandslaughter. The hedgehog PokeWeapon, clearly recognizing the new threat, quickly slammed itself into Kyogre, its many spikes burying itself in the Legendary pokemon's scales, but Kyogre stood strong, holding onto Sandslaughter firmly and giving Chizuru, Jeanette and Violet a shot at its underside, an opportunity they didn't waste.

Impenetrable quickly got tired of being screwed with, instead choosing to spin even faster in a circle, smashing into Blaziken, Groudon and Ho-Oh. Then, it started glowing slightly. The glow slowly became brighter, giving the impression that it was charging something. Like an explosion, perhaps. Shit. Seeing this, the three pokemon instant rose and unleashed their strongest attacks. Blaziken's Overheat, Ho-oh's Sacred Fire and Groudon's Eruption struct Impenetrable and didn't let up for a second. The PokeWeapon didn't react and just kept growing brighter, even as the pokemon desperately doubled their efforts. Then, suddenly, the cocoon monster gave out, stopped glowing and crashed on the ground, and the three pokemon and Pierce all let out sighs of relief.

With Shizuka temporarily out of the way, Hydrados turned its attention to its only remaining adversary. All eight of its heads tore into a helpless Giratina, and soon the pokemon returned to its pokeball. Before the hydra PokeWeapon could do anything else, though, it was struck by Aria's Dragon Pulse and Allegion's Thunder Crush. With eight angry roars, it unleashed a twister of draconic energy at both pokemon.

Groudon and Ho-Oh quickly joined the effort to take down Sandslaughter. Under the combined assault of Chizuru, Violet, Professor Ricewood and three Legendaries, the PokeWeapon quickly went down.

"Aaaaahhhh!!" Came a scream from the direction of Hydrados. One of its heads was attempting to eat Aria, only stopped by the lady dragon's holding its maw open, but her strength wasn't enough it was quickly closing down. Pierce didn't think. He recalled Blaziken and sent out Adamantitar. Pierce quickly jumped onto the pokemon's arm, and with a mighty throw, he was launched at Hydrados and past it, given the angle he had been thrown at, the ceiling. He was flying upside down, and he raised his Dragon Slave below his head, slashing a good chunk of the neck that had Aria.

He flew past the many-headed serpent, planting his feet firmly on the ceiling and launching himself downward toward the same head. With another strike, he completely separated the head from the rest of the body, freeing Aria, and the massive thing fell to the ground with a large thud, completely lifeless. Pierce landed hard, falling to his knees, his ribs screaming bloody murder. To say Hydrados was pissed would've been an understatement. It was beyond enraged, and all of it turned toward the tiny human that had dared to hurt it. All the seven remaining heads lunged for Pierce at the same time, and he had no idea how he was going to get out of this one.

And then he was out of it. Shizuka appeared out of nowhere and pulled him away before the heads could get to him. From that point, the battle was pretty much decided. Pierce released Dialga, Chizuru revived Giratina, and all the trainers and their pokemon attacked the last remaining PokeWeapons. But Hydrados wasn't going to give up without a fight.

When at last it went down, five more heads had been completely cut off. One of the remaining ones, though, regurgitated something as it died. Out of it fell Horace, his clothes scorched and his skin burnt from the creature's gastric acid that still covered his body. Even so, the slight rise and fall of his stomach indicated that he was breathing.

Chizuru knelt down beside him, looking him up. "He's in pretty bad shape."

"Can you save him?" Pierce asked.
"I... think so."
"Please, do it."

Then, Shizuka moved in front of Pierce, standing between him and Horace. "You want to save him?"
"Death is too good for him. He should rot in jail for the rest of his life, maybe without a leg or two."

Pierce saw it over her shoulder. His eyes widened and he reacted out of instinct at seeing Horace move, move at Chizuru. Shizuka saw Pierce's eyes and then her katana was in her hand, and she was turning-

A loud sound rang throughout the room. The lifeless body of Horace Mugworth fell over. Chizuru had risen out of surprise, and Shizuka stood stock still. Next to her, Pierce dropped the smoking revolver that had been in his hand. "I- I-"

-------------------------

Elizabeth strode calmly, smiling, as she neared the unmarked door that she knew led to the control room. From there she could override the lockdown on Millenium House.

There was a panel next to the door, asking for a master key. Piece of cake.

...

Inside, a lone cultist nervously monitored the deteriorating situation of Millenium House. He was going to have to run for it soon, the moment the way was clear. Then, the door opened. That wasn't supposed to happen.

"Hey there." Said an alluring voice.

-------------------------

"So..." Pierce said, as they walked through the hallway. "None of you wants to know what all that was about?"
"We don't have to know." Shizuka replied simply.
"Actually, I'm curious."
"Yeah, me too."

Pierce sighed, as they entered another lounge. On the other end of the room was a door with a control panel that kept it firmly locked. Chizuru hugged him warmly, assaulting him with her scent once again and whispered "Thank you" presumably for him saving her life back there, then sat on a chair, and the others stood.

Pierce scratched his head. "Eeehh, aahhh..." He had no idea where to start, so he just blurted out whatever. "After I ran away from home, I travelled around Honmyr a bit. But you know, that doesn't pay. I ended up back home in Wintervale, broke as balls and starving."

After this statement, Violet moved ahead to work on the control panel that lead ahead.
Chizuru shot Violet an angry glance, but Shizuka placed a hand on Chizuru's left shoulder. Chizuru thought about commenting on Violet's rudeness, but kept quiet and listened carefully as Pierce continued.

Violet had whipped out a miniature computer and wired it into the control panel.

"I didn't want to see Sam again. I guess I was afraid she wouldn't take me back. The jobs in town were, well... boring. I was kid, only, not really. I was just stupid. Something honest and proper just held no appeal to me. So I took to less noble practices. I stole. Started out robbing stores."

The door ahead unlocked with a satisfying ping song. The red LED changed to a green one. "Booya," Violet whistled.
Chizuru frowned. It seemed that the two of them weren't going to get along very well.

"But I moved up. High enough to get noticed. That's how I ended up joining Horace's organization. He was pretty much in charge of all 'acquisitions' that went down in Wintervale. I climbed up the ranks there too. A few years later, I was doing pretty good, I thought. I was answering to the big man himself. There was this one job. A string of jobs. Stealing equipment from Ricewood Masterworks facilities." He chanced a nervous glance at Professor Ricewood, who looked completely neutral.

Then, his headache started again. Like before, with Sam, he experienced that weird case of double vision. He rubbed his temple, trying to shake it off.

-------------------------

Pierce Granger sat handcuffed to an uncomfortable chair. He had been sitting there for five minutes so far, his only companion the camera high up in the corner of the room near the door. He had said very little since his arrest, and ever since being brought in here he simply sat in complete silence staring at the wall opposite him. It was then that the door opened and two women stepped in.
One of them was a decidedly chiseled veteran who had seen a few too many battlefields and too much weather that was bad for her complexion. She was pretty, but clearly her post of duty had chipped away the rest of her youthful beauty and-holy shit, was that a harpoon cannon?! Those things were usually only seen on some fishing vessels but this woman was holding it with just one arm.
The other woman was a tall, thin woman who was really, really white. White hair, white pupils, white skin, white clothes and white daggers, and what a bunch of daggers she had. Her clothing and extremities were covered in them. Her hair was so long that it touched the ground.

The thin woman closed the door while the big woman set her harpoon cannon on the ground. "Before I go into anything," the big woman said with a thick Russian accent. "I vill observe common courtesy and introduce the both of us to you first. I am Natalya Baskinova, Branch Chief for the Vintervale Pokemon Advanced Tactics and Counterterrorism Agency. This is Ciel, Captain of the strongest squad in my branch, the Cloystrike." Ciel bowed her head politely.

Pierce did not acknowledge their entrance, or look as if he heard their introduction. He simply kept staring at the wall.

-------------------------

"The last job went... bad..."

-------------------------

Natalya went on."You are probably vondering vhy you're in that chair and not in a prison cell already. It's mainly because you have something many of the prisoners do not. Potential. And I vould rather see that potential blossom for the right reasons than degenerate for all the vrong vones."
"Police Chief Jenny has shown me the report on you, Mr. Granger, and I have decided to make a judgment call. You see, there's this program that Jenny herself created call TCIC, or Turning Criminals Into Comrades."

Though he still didn't look at them, Pierce gave a hoarse laugh. "You want me to be a cop? That's hilarious." He said, with a small mocking smile.

-------------------------

"I screwed up. I was in charge and my subordinate, Elan... A woman, a scientist, died. I tried to save her."

-------------------------

"This is a golden opportunity, Mr. Granger. The punishment for your crimes are rather severe. Your Pokemon License could easily be revoked if the judge so desires, your Pokemon sold as prizes at the Game Corner, and you can sit in a federal pounding-in-the-ass prison. Or you could keep your license, your Pokemon, and your freedom as vell so long as you work for PATCA until such a time as Regional Chief Shevenston feels that your debt has been paid in full."

Pierce's face hardened again. "So that's it, huh? That simple?"
"That simple."
"I just sign up for PATCA for as long some pencil-pushing asshole wants me to, which could very easily be the rest of my life, at which point he could decide that I still haven't paid my debt and toss me in the joint anyway?"

Natalya suddenly made sure that he was looking at her by bringing her face rather close to his. Pierce could easily lean in and kiss her if he wanted, though he consented only to make eye contact. "PATCA is by no means an easy career. Missions assigned to us are far too dangerous for the police force to handle, but require rapid response and super-talented men and women that the military usually cannot provide. But I can see something in you. You tried to save someone's life vhose death vasn't even a direct involvement of your actions and failed to do so, but I think you're the type of individual who vould like to seek some kind of redemption, even though ve both know it vas clearly not your fault. And vhether you like it or not, PATCA is the only means by which you can possibly hope for redemption, because you can only pass through that door behind us in vone of two vays: as an agent of PATCA or as a prisoner in chains."

Natalya gave Pierce a quizzical stare. Ciel showed no hint of emotion.

She had a point. She said something Pierce already knew himself, but having someone say it out loud somehow made it real. If she was legit, he didn't have much of a choice.

-------------------------

"And I got arrested."

-------------------------

"When do I start?"

-------------------------

"I ended up with PATCA because of a program for rehabiliting criminals. Horace... he found out I joined PATCA. He didn't take it well. As far as he was concerned, I was his. Creepy, I know. And he was petty. He set this whole thing up, just to get back at me. He had been working with Faynoc the whole time. Horace stole the parts for Faynoc in exchange for money and favors, like Pokebridization operations, and probably other things. The result is Ginnungagap. This machine... it can crank out Legendary Pokebrids faster than any other. I mean, in a matter of minutes. As you can imagine, that isn't good. He gloated about it to me, and I came here to stop him and rescue Sam. And then... well, all this happened. I didn't share it with my team because I was ashamed. I didn't want them to know who I'd been. But I guess there's no avoiding that now."

Pierce removed a crumpled-up folder from his jacket, the one that contained the information Horace gave him about Ginnungagap, and handed it to Professor Ricewood.

"Meh. I'll give that story a six...well, seven for effort."
"Violet!" Chizuru shouted. "A man is pouring his heart out!"
"Well, I'm sorry but I left my violin in my other lab coat. Big deal, he has a sob story to tell. Get in line. I bet even the goody little two shoes who farts kittens and shits rainbows has her own little fucking tearjerker to spew forth."
Chizuru was quite taken back by Violet's sudden attitude.

"That's right. Spew. Because for me, recalling painful memories is just like regurgitating vomit. You can't swallow it, so you puke it up, hoping someone else will take their share of it so you can take it better."
"I take it you don't like this kind of thing," Shizuka monotoned.
"Why talk about something you can't change?" Violet shrugged. "Waste of time you could be using to make up for your mistakes. Now can we get moving, or were you perhaps waiting for Faynoc to expire from old age?"

Pierce shook his head. "It's not about pity. I dragged you all here, put you in danger. I thought you deserved to know why."

Violet turned around and left them all behind. "What a horrible person," Chizuru said.
"But you can understand where she's coming from," Shizuka said, starting to move towards the door herself. "Demons like us can be just as impatient. I won't live forever, but I've still got quite a few centuries to go. And yet, I never look back on my mistakes in the past. Just gotta proceed forward, hoping to make it up now that you're a little older and hopefully a lot wiser."

Chizuru couldn't say anything.
"The world only progresses forward because we do. Hell, I'm so damn busy all the time that I'm surprised I found the time to rescue my own daughter. I couldn't possibly make time to reflect on my own past faults."
"But shouldn't this concern you the most, Professor Ricewood?" Chizuru asked her. "After all, he's confessed to doing wrong unto you."
Pierce looked right into the Professor's eyes, now. "I'm sorry."
"I already knew about all that," Jeanette said. "Listen, Granger. Help me rescue my daughter and all is forgiven. At least, in my case."
"In your case?"
"As for the woman who died, it was just bad luck, and while I'm certain you agree, Granger, I can imagine you'll never stop attempting to repent for that, regardless of the fact that you know it wasn't your fault."

Shizuka was already gone from sight. Chizuru, not sure of what to say, stood up and left. Jeanette waited until Pierce looked like he was ready to go. "I have to apologize to Violet, but there's a stronger reason behind her anger. That woman who died...was Violet's lover."
A piece of some huge puzzle fell into place with a solid clunk. Violet probably hated herself for making love to the man who couldn't save her deceased lover. And God only knew how much she hated Pierce. Him rekindling a hard memory must have brought all those locked away feelings within Violet boiling to the surface. "It's hard for Violet to deal with her emotions. Elan, the real murderer, is taken care of, but she can't help but direct some of the blame at you. And I think you feel the same, right? Anyways, let's get going, shall we? It's time to put this part of our past traumas behind us."
"Right."

As they walked through the door, it seemed Jeanette had more to say. "You wouldn't happen to be related to Tim and Iridica Granger, would you?"
Pierce blinked in surprise. "They're my parents."
Jeanette nodded. "They were good people."
"I'm surprised you know them. I don't think they made any discoveries that could compare to yours."
"Well, they were more theoretical researchers than me. They confirmed that in Honmyr pokemon that aren't fully evolved or don't evolve at all are very rare. I believe they were investigating the reason why before they died."
"Sounds about right."
"You're a good kid. You had good parents. You'll do the right thing."
"... Thanks."

..............

Through hallways and rooms they went, trying to make it to Faynoc and put an end to it. Soon after their talk, Pierce and Jeanette caught up with Shizuka and Chizuru, until the two Kimonos were taking up the rearguard. "Shizuka?" Pierce asked, remembering something she said before. "What did you mean when you told Mika you would be hungry?"

No response.

"Chizuru?" Pierce turned around and saw that both were gone. He and Jeanette decided to catch up with Violet, to make sure she hadn't dissappeared too. They found her standing in a doorway, and when they passed through it...

"Oh... hi." He said to the Watchmen.

-------------------------
After Gransranx appears

"We need to go through that door." Pierce said to the team at large. "Gransranx is just stalling us, and he intends to die to do so, so it's in our best interests not to stay here any longer than we have to. I think we should send some of us through that door as soon as we get a clear shot, while the rest stay and clean up."

Then, he addressed the Ruin General. "What's your angle, huh? You say you're going to die to stop us, but what exactly do you get out of all of this? Certainly not your life."

[DanteFalcon]

"We need to go through that door." Pierce said to the team at large. "Gransranx is just stalling us, and he intends to die to do so, so it's in our best interests not to stay here any longer than we have to. I think we should send some of us through that door as soon as we get a clear shot, while the rest stay and clean up."

Then, he addressed the Ruin General. "What's your angle, huh? You say you're going to die to stop us, but what exactly do you get out of all of this? Certainly not your life."

Well it seemed he had managed to survive. An interesting turn of events and quite useful for this fight. Even so Pierce and he would need to talk later about this whole situation. His strategy of charging in, regardless of reason was exceptionally risky and monumentally stupid. Really he only expected that kind of stupidity from Charlotte when innocents were dangled from a rope at the other end. And a "kill me" sign was pointing to them.

And then the she-devil kicked Arceus. Matt caught himself praying that the deity would smite her on the spot. Sadly it didn't. This was expected but still sad. However he did manage to get that picture on his scouter. He wasn't sure why. He just felt he should have that picture.

Now there was a fight at hand and some pesky enemies who were sleeping. They just didn't know it yet. His wings beat rapidly, sending forth his chosen poison towards the given targets.

"Sleep Powder."

[Dracorion]

Oh for God's sakes. Charlotte had decided to berate him, which he had expected, even though she was the last person who should be telling someone off. But then, Renny had decided to take her side, expressing his disagreement with Pierce's idea to split up as soon as possible.

"Honest to God." He addressed Charlotte. "I couldn't care less if you were named President of Honmyr, I'm simply not going to recognize any authority you have. So I'm going to do what I'm going to do."

Then he turned to Renny. "Look, me running off on my own before was stupid, but now? We have this battle in the bag. But their objective is only to stall us for as long as possible. Because of that, they have us at a disadvantage. If we want to neutralize their advantage, we need to get through that door as soon as possible. I'm not saying it should be me that goes through. And you can get on board with me or not, but if I have to go through that door alone, I will."

Having said his piece, Pierce released Aria and Metagross, who proceeded to attack one of the Ricewood clones and Gransranx.

[Astral Harmony]

Before Player Phase

"Purpose is sufficient reward enough," Gransrax said to Pierce. "Ruin Generals were born to unite the world under one order. Malcolm Elliot's order. For whatever reason, we were not supposed to know and we were not supposed to care. Ultimately, that was the problem with serving Idolus, especially after Gaea destroyed Chroma. The Ruin Generals had power, but power without direction, without purpose, is meaningless. It's a like having a giant laser that could go off in any direction regardless of what it destroyed."

Somewhere in some dimension, Dinner sneezed. "I must be coming down with AIDS or something."

"There is purpose here. It does indeed lead to my destruction, but still there is purpose. Hell, if I still worked for Idolus, I'd have just died without accomplishing anything. Death stalks the Ruin Generals and the Ruin Pokemon, more of less the fault of you than anything else. Might as well die fighting for something I truely believe in."

-----

Player Phase
- Charlotte: Charlotte's Arceus SpAtt +3.
- Charlotte's Mightyena: Ricewood Clone B -400% [400%]. Wretch C / Toxique B Att -1. Charlotte's Rage +5 [55].
- Mirror: Construct Attack Booster. All Units Att+2. Toxique B -240% [350%]. Mirror's Rage -40 [10].
- Lola: Renny Crit+3. Lola's Rage -25 [25]. Lola is Protected.
- Renny's Magnezone: Jeanette's Kyogre Acc+100% / EfctDoub.
- Jeanette's Kyogre: Toxique A and Wretch B Death. Jeanette's Rage -25 [25].
- Jeanette's Pachirisu: Renny is being helped.
- Impact: Renny's Rage +25 [75].
- Gallade Renny: Paradigm Shift. Granxsrax -2160% [340%]. Renny's Rage -70 [5].
- Charlotte's Arceus: Gransrax -190% [110%]. Charlotte's Rage +5 [60].
- Jeanette: Wretch D Death. Jeanette's Rage +10 [35].
- Pierce's Metagross: Gransrax -110%. Gransrax Death. Pierce's Rage +5 [55].
- Matthias: Jeanette Clone A / Toxique B are asleep. Matthias's Rage -25 [25].
- Impact: Ricewood Clone B -290% [110%]. Ricewood Clone B is frozen.
- Pierce's Nagarai: Ricewood Clone B -110%. Ricewood Clone B Death. Pierce's Rage +5 [60].

"That easy, eh?" Jeanette marveled as Gransrax roared and crashed to the floor in a lifeless heap, infected blood pooling on the floor around his corpse. "Does PATCA really need all of its members if Ruin Generals are that easy to kill?"
"Gransrax had a bad day," Whitney said. "All we got were leftovers."

The battle unfolded pretty much as Renny predicted. While there was still something of a thread from the other enemies, they could nearly turn their undivided attention on the mysterious Ginnungagap.

-----
Enemy Phase
- Wretch A: Wretch A is coiling up for a powerful attack.
- Wretch C: Wretch B is coiling up for a powerful attack.
- Toxique B: Toxique B is still asleep.
- Ricewood Clone A: Ricewood Clone A is still asleep.
- Ginnungagap (Turn 1): Signature Technique "Godslayer". Three...
- Ginnungagap (Turn 2): Bug-Type Mandible Crush. Renny -87% [13%]. Renny Eva-5.
- Ginnungagap Ability: Ricewood Clone B is generated.
- Ricewood Clone B: Mirror and Matthias are asleep. Mirror and Matthias -5%.

"Organic unit Gransrax life signs terminated. Enemy unit power is considerable." Ginnungagap spoke. "Shifting to Strategy Bravo. Removing limiters on the Godslayer Weapon. Firing in three..."

Without giving the team time to think about just what a Godslayer Weapon would be, Ginnungagap opened up with an interesting attack. Using some much larger version of Pokeball technology, the machine opened wide and four massive mandibles erupted from a vortex of light in Ginnungagap's "maw". Renny was roughly seized in them and violently torn into, then slung against the wall.

To add insult to injury, he smelled like some kind of bug saliva, which wasn't particularly fragrant.

Ginnungagap's left pod opened up and out came a Darkrai Pokebrid clone of Jeanette. "Faynoc had better already have taken a cyanide pill by the time I get my hands on him."
"Seriously," Violet agreed. "Even Victoria had her secrets. You don't have any now. He's copied you perfectly right down to the cute little mole you have right next to your-"
"Stop looking at our enemies' vaginas and focus on the battle," Jeanette urged, then frowned. "Ever since I banded with you guys, I find myself saying the weirded things."
"Welcome to PATCA," Kirie laughed.

Scanning New Enemy...
- Clone B Form: Darkrai
- Clone B Ability: Bad Dreams

-----
Update Phase

Player Formation: [Arceus (100%/Att+2)] [Mightyena (100%/Att+2)] [Attack Booster] [Mirror (95%/Sleep/Att+2)] [Matthias (95%/Sleep/Att+2)] [Impact (100%/Att+2)] [Metagross (100%/Att+2)] [Nagarai (100%/Att+2)] [Pacharisu (100%/Att+2)] [Jeanette (100%/Att+2)] [Kyogre (100%/Att+2)] [Renny (13%/Att+2/Crit+3/Eva-5)] [Magnezone (100%/Att+2)] [Lola (100%/Att2)]
Enemy Formation: [Wretch A (200%)] [Gransrax's Corpse (Object)] [Wretch C (200%/Att-1)] [Toxique B (350%/Sleep/Att-1)] [Ricewood Clone A (800%/Sleep)] [Ginnungagap (5000%)] [Ricewood Clone B (800%)]
Weather: Rain, Water Pool, Creeping Miasma (50%)

"Well, that's not good," Mirror observed. "Gransrax may be down, but not entirely neutralized. There's still miasma coming out of his body."
Impact frowned. "Well, if killing Gransrax doesn't stop the miasma, we can still force it back with Defog. Or maybe we can mess with the carcass somehow. Make it stop giving off miasma or something."
"Roger that. Gransrax's Corpse is set as an object. We can target it with various things and see what works if we don't want to put up with Defogging. Additionally, watch your feet, everyone. This room is watertight and Kyogre's rain is starting to make it dangerous to use Electric type attacks in here."

True enough, Kyogre's Ability had built up water to their ankles. Ginnungagap didn't seem to have any trouble functioning in the rain.

[Dracorion]

"Right, now it's Dragon/Ground." Elizabeth told Impact. "So you want to hit it with Ice attacks, but remember that that laser grid will block any physical hits on Ginnungagap."

-----------------------

"What the fuck?"

Seriously. Shannon was apparently possessed by a giant winged sword? Shizuka brought Dinner? Myrie Ricewood was turned into a something, and two new people were apparently on his side?

"I quit. This is bullshit. I don't fuckin' believe this. Today is the worst day ever for the rest of you too, right? It's not just me? Because for God's sakes, I can't take any more of this shit." Pierce exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. Then, he folded his arms and continued his tirade, his voice dripping with pent-up frustration. "I mean it starts with my past catching up with me in the form of one of the most dangerous machines ever built, getting my ass kicked by my ex-employer, my sister brainwashed to all hell and running away before I can talk some sense into her, a little girl kidnapped and having God knows what done to her, Pokemon-stealing ex-girlfriends, and now two people I don't know and someone who is, from what I hear, a walking WMD showing up, a teammate who is apparently being controlled by a sword, and I still hate Pokegeddon. On top of that, this whole place is going to blow any minute, and since I've officially gone as deep into this fuckin' base as possible, that means now I have to comb through every goddamn inch of this base before the bomb goes off to make sure my sister isn't here. And I can't even take any of this out on anyone, because the only available meatbag is a teammate, even though she's apparently invincible!"

Then he took a long, deep breath. "But fine. I won't worry about the details, even though I can't see why Shizuka couldn't have just said from the start that she was bringing Dinner. And using Dinner to get rid of the sword, by the way, strikes me as using a nuke to kill an elephant." He continued.

"Shannon can apparently regenerate, but I dunno, maybe we could overwhelm it now. Even so, we're not doing that because that wouldn't be cool. Let's just concentrate on the stupid swords until Dinner charges up."

He released Dialga and Adamantitar and had them do whatever. He was too pissed to care.

-----------------------
Adamantitar uses Stone Edge and Dialga uses Dragon Pulse, both on Gaeasaber A.

-----------------------

"Come on, hurry!"

Sam pulled the cultist to his feet when he fell, and he quickly ran past her toward the surface. Sam stayed behind, checking as many rooms as she could, trying to evacuate everyone she could before the base exploded. When she thought there was no one left on her floor, she ran in the direction of the elevator, so as to go up and check the next one.

Even so, she still checked hallways as she ran past them looking for any stragglers. Distracted as she was, she didn't notice something standing in her way until she crashed into them.

Falling hard on her behind, she quickly looked up. "Who... who are you?"

[Dracorion]

Elizabeth sighed as she neared PATCA headquarters. What was she even doing? It's not too late to back out, you know. This thing is too messy. Best to get out before you get burnt.
Shut up.

Touching down quietly on the parking lot near the police barricade, she recalled Palkia and released Sceptile and Cloyster in its stead, as Riolu hopped down to the ground. A quick look at the bullet casings on the ground told her a great deal. She kissed both her pokemon good luck for what they were about to do, and quietly began sneaking around the incredibly hot crazy bitch toward Irene at the same time as Renny made his move.

Liz didn't think any of her usual tricks would work on this enemy, so she defaulted to her backup plan whenever forced into a physical confrontation: overkill.

As soon as Togekiss' Hyper Beam concluded, an electric blue-colored Sceptile clad in armor that looked a smidgin less futuristic than the sexy attacker's flew into her out of nowhere, green glowing leaves growing from the pokemon's arms clashed against her armor again and again as she easily parried Sceptile's strikes in midair, and swatted him away like a bug. Even so, she got no rest as a flurry of ice shards came upon her from Cloyster's direction, and from one of the places where Sceptile's blade had struck, small vines emerged and grew quickly, the Leech Seed beginning to cover more and more.

Sceptile swiftly landed on his hands and feet and opened his maw as the bulbs on his back glowed, charging an attack and, as Cloyster closed its shell and glowed with energy from strengthening its defenses, the plant lizard pokemon released a beam of glowing green energy in Sexy's direction.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Riolu reached Irene and helped her up, and she spoke quickly. "I'll cut to the chase. Where do you keep your rocket launchers and the like?"

-------------------

Pierce didn't say anything upon Jeanette's notice. He simply rose unsupported from the stretcher, ignoring the jolts of pain that even the morphine couldn't numb. He pulled the IV from his arm and gathered his pokeballs, including Enmakki, placing them on his belt. He found his Dragon Slave and Phantomere's staff had been placed inside the ambulance too, to his luck.

He took a deep, calming breath, preparing himself for whatever, as they neared their destination.