The Story of Silver Ketchum

Chapter 10-Stolen Soul Pt. 2

Silver shivered. The room was cold, impersonal, mechanic. The cylindrical walls a metallic grey-blue. Electronic gadgets were scattered over the modern furnishings.

Skye yawned. "I'm so sleepy. Can I go back to my room?"

"Okay."

"Will you come and tuck me in?"

"Sure! Jacen, see if there's anything interesting in here. I'll be right back."

The little girl fell asleep almost instantly. Silver shut off the light and jogged back down the hall.

"I'm back. What is all this stuff, anyway?"

Jacen pointed to a pile of circuit boards and various electrical components. "I think that's a Pokedex…or at least what's left of it."

Silver inspected some of the more complete gadgets on the desk while Jacen moved to the bedside table. Mew scooted under the bed.

"Mew! Mew-me-mew-mew!" Mew squeaked excitedly, pushing her find out from under the bed.

"Oh my god. I thought these were illegal…" Jacen stared at the little machine.

"What is it?"

"A memory cache. They used to be used to obliterate painful memories from people who had experienced horrible tragedies. The technology was copied and used to make people forget who they were and make them into brainless slaves…people said the memory erasures were addictive, like a drug. And they banned them. But people still used them. Every once in awhile, they would totally erase a big part of their life. The machines became more like humans than the humans who used them…"

"Creepy…"

"Yeah. Look at this, the thing is almost full…"

"He erased himself…"

"It looks like it, but why?"

Wanting to see what the big deal was about her discovery, Mew hopped forward and began nosing at the gadget.

"Mew, don't!"

It was too late. The device had already slipped off the edge, crashing to the ground and sliding across the floor.

"I hope it isn't broken…aa!" Jacen jerked his hand back just as the machine exploded into light. The light became a whirling vacuum above the device, creating a howling wind within the tiny room.

Silver's hair whipped around her face as she backed up against the wall, holding Mew tightly. Jacen joined her, feeling her hand clutch his, more for support than anything else. Even though this probably wasn't the best time for it to be doing so, his heart did a little flip.

But now the whirlwind's glow was changing. The once yellow-white light was becoming dark, not light in the best sense of the word, but some kind of dark matter with a bluish glow. And then the machine exploded again, sending shrapnel in every direction. Jacen and Silver hit the deck.

Eerie laughter filled the room. The dark matter had formed a shape both human and inhuman, like the ghost of a shadow. Not thinking of anything but getting away from the monster, the three fled, darting down this passageway and that, following the circular halls blindly. Silver turned suddenly, pushing through a swinging door. "In here!"

The door slammed behind them, and the three were faced with complete silence and bright light, in contrast with the stark lighting of the rooms they had come from, which blinded them temporarily. The soft splash of water met their ears as their eyes adjusted to the light.

An Olympic-sized swimming pool dominated the room, its crystal-blue water lapping gently against the edges. The bleachers, once filled with fans, now stood empty, silent.

A sudden noise made the intruders look toward the ceiling. Twenty feet above, a figure catapulted off the high dive, doing a perfect backflip into the pool, making barely a splash. It swam swiftly to the side opposite them , climbing out and wrapping a towel around its waist.

It was the figure of a man. Tall, muscular with shoulder-length, wavy cobalt blue hair and a goatee to match. He seemed to be in some sort of trance, his eyes unrecognizing, unseeing, his manner detached from the world around him.

A sudden rush of air stirred through the room. The ground trembled ominously. Silver grabbed Mew instinctively just as the wall behind them exploded. Silver dove sideways, rolling into a corner to break her fall. Jacen hit hard beside her, clutching his shoulder in pain.

"You okay?" She gently touched the injured shoulder, looking to see if anything was amiss.

"Yeah, it's just a bruise…" Jacen turned his head suddenly, trying to see what had caused the explosion.

The thing that had chased them here, the dark inhuman form of surpressed memories, was floating over the water towards the man who had remained indifferent throughout the whole incident. When it had reached him, it extended a hand slowly, ominously…

Silver yelped in surprise. A bolt of energy crashed through the room as the darkness was sucked inside the human form.

The man instantly turned, suddenly alert, his eyes focusing on them. A twisted sneer broke out across his face. "So…you've discovered me…no matter. You won't live long enough to tell anybody. I suppose I'll allow you an explanation before I destroy you."

"This piffling human form I exist in is no more than a puppet…I take his voice, I use him to communicate. The fool…I tricked him in to using the machine I was trapped in, to feed me thoughts, memories…to give me life. He used me…I will use him…to rejoin my master…"

"And now you three will be the first casualties of my rise to power…I suppose this is goodbye, then." The form raised a hand, gathering dark energy…

"Wait! You can't kill us! At least give us a chance to fight…" Jacen's voice broke the figure's concentration, allowing the gathering energy to dispel.

"Foolish humans…what could you do to fight against me? Would you use your little pets…those…Pokemon? They have no effect on me."

Now it was Silver's turn to speak. "The human you inhabit has Pokemon…if we defeat them…?"

"Very well, it will be entertaining to watch you pitiful efforts…go ahead."

"Mew, Clemyth, Pikablu, Doduo, go!"

"Arbok, Raticate, Poliwhirl, go!"

There was another flash, and six Pokemon appeared before them. Before they could get a sense of who they were facing, the dark energy mutated the Pokemon to horrid forms that no one could describe. Fangs and claws glistened under matted fur. Sonorous breathing broke the stillness. Hisses and growls reverberated inside the room.

"Raticate, you go first." Jacen's voice sounded like a prophecy of doom. The brave Pokemon stepped up, ready to fight for its masters life.

The battle was quick. Jacen had trained Raticate to use its Quick Attacks well. The galumphing mutant it took on was no match for the razor sharp teeth that assaulted it. Within minutes, the thing fainted and faded back to its original form- a Lapras. Raticate, tired from the battle, was retired to a Pokeball.

Clemyth was next. Its opponent was waterborne, sliding through the water of the pool, spitting poisonous goo at the flitting butterfly-like form above it. A well-placed Psychic attack nearly defeated the mutant, but in its pain it thrashed its long tail from the water, knocking Clemyth into the element it was weakest in. Silver fished her fainted Pokemon out and had Doduo finish the opponent with a Swift. The mutant faded back into the form of a Dewgong.

With four opponents left and five Pokemon to fight them, Jacen called out Poliwhirl. Poliwhirl and its opponent both fired the same attack at the same time, knocking out both. The mutant actually turned out to be another Poliwhirl.

Doduo was K.O.'ed almost immediately by a water-blasting serpent mutant, but Pikablu came in just in time to Electroshock the opponent back to it original Dragonair form.

It was about then that the figure began to get angry. With an inhuman roar, Pikablu's strength was zapped, sending it into a peaceful sleep. "Hey! What the heck do you think you're doing? That's not fair!"

"What is? And, for that matter, how do you know that I won't just kill you anyway?"

Silver gaped. "Oh my god. We've been idiots."

"Daddy?"

The little girl had somehow sensed that something was wrong and had appeared in her wraithlike way, almost from nowhere. Silver and Jacen glanced between the two, gaping in fear, surprise, shock…whatever.

The expression of evil contempt and annoyance on the former gym leader's face dissolved, leaving one of confusion, as if the man were waking up from a bad dream. "Skye…"

Ooh, I just looove toying with you people….

TO BE CONTINUED!!!

Hehe…

I know, I haven't posted in months, but a little inspiration is a beautiful thing!