Kogl dooper.
Time for a new chapter guys! This one's even longer than the previous chapter! Plus it has cool action scenes in it. And, um, I won't tell you what else, so enjoy.
Chapter 5
Chaos in the Sewers
The mood of the Underground members was somber as they returned to their base. The incident involving Vyle has soured Spike’s mood especially. And this, in turn, had dragged down the mood of everyone else. The only words spoken on their trip home were between Blaze and Shade. Still, even they did not speak much.
As Spike opened the door to their sleeping quarters, he turned to Vyle. In a disappointed tone, he said to Vyle, “Vyle, man, what happened? I can’t be around to stand up for you. You gotta learn how to fight sooner or later. More like, sooner. I can’t keep ya on this team if ya can’t pull your own weight.” Spike paused, contemplating what he had just said. His gut told him that Vyle was not too keen on being part of the team anyways. He then added, “No, even if you’re not on this team, ya still gotta learn how to fight.”
The team went straight to bed, and just threw their trench coats on the floor. Everyone except Vyle fell asleep within minutes. Instead, Vyle lay awake, troubled by his thoughts. He used to be able to fend for himself on the streets. There was always somewhere to run. Vyle could hide easily in his former above ground world. Now Vyle had nowhere to run. He stood little chance of escape from the Underground, since he would get lost in the dark corridors of the sewer system. And even if he did escape, he knew he could not return to his former life. He had witnessed a crime, from the perspective of the victim. He now knew what it was like to be the person getting attacked. The experience had unlocked the feeling of empathy in the heart of a hardened denizen of the streets. Vyle was now trapped in a figurative prison. His ability to sustain himself had been taken away, and he was imprisoned, figuratively stuck within the confines being The Underground, and the guards being its members. Vyle was now ruled by the very fear which he had inflicted upon others before.
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Several white vans all pulled up to the curb of a deserted street in the twilight hours of the morning. The vans all had red circular logos with cross shapes inscribed in the middle. The words “Team Judgment” were wrapped around the cross. On the front and back of the vans, the words “The day of Judgment shall be upon us” appeared in bold, red letters.
The doors of the vans all opened, and several white cloaked people wearing pointed hoods hopped out, relatively in unison. The people all wielded flashlights and had one or two Pokémon on their belts. A few of them had some net launchers, which looked like rifles, only with a net folded up tightly attached to it that was designed to be fired off into a crowd and to ensnare that crowd.
A white car with the same logos then sped down the street and stopped in the middle, where the Judgment members were gathering. Out of the driver’s side door, a figure with a more elaborate robe stepped out. Gold bordered the edges of the robe he wore, and the Team Judgment logo appeared on the hood and on each side of the robe.
The elaborately cloaked figure began to speak. He seemed to be a high ranking official of the team; an administrator. “Crusaders of Light, line up in your ranks!” The Judgment members instantly cooperated. “Battalion A shall lift the manhole cover and proceed first,” the administrator pointed out toward a group of seven men and women as they were lining up. “B, C, and D shall follow A, and proceed to the right. E, F, and G battalions shall follow me to the left. Those rats shall be captured, and the evil shall be purged. We move at sunrise. Everyone clear on the plans?”
“Yes,” the members all spoke in unison.
“Good,” the admin added. “May the light of Team Judgment shine upon us!” The crowd of Judgment members cheered in response.
As the sun came up, the members stood perfectly still, poised and ready for action. As soon as the first ray of sunlight struck the administrator from behind the building, he shouted, “Now MOVE!”
One member turned to the administrator. “But sir, what if…” he was harshly interjected.
“Silence! To question your orders is to go against the will of the Lord! Any more lip out of you and I shall have you sent to the Purgatory!”
The figures all began to mobilize. The manhole cover was lifted off, and one by one the members descended. They lined up according to ranks as best they could. A few muttered complaints about the smell of the sewer, but they dared not speak within earshot of their leader. They switched on their flashlights, and slowly proceeded forward according to their copies of the floor plan of the sewer. Their assigned routes were drawn on the plans, as well as possible places to ambush.
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It was about an hour after sunrise. This was unknown to Vyle, however, since no windows were present in the sleeping quarters. Vyle had been awake all this time, tormented by fear and guilt. The other Underground members were sound asleep. Vyle tossed and turned in his bed, unable to shake off the dark cloud that had settled over his mind.
But Vyle then suddenly heard a noise echoing from the hall- footsteps. He also heard what sounded like voices coming from a distance. Vyle sat up quickly, ready to run. As he sat up, the mattress creaked loudly. This sudden movement woke Shade up. Spike called out, “Vyle, need anythin’?” However, Shade picked up on the fact that Vyle had heard something, which had caused him to spring up from the bed.
The footsteps began to echo louder, and light began to pour from the underneath the door. Shade’s suspicions had been confirmed. “Everyone, wake up!” Shade whispered harshly. “Someone’s here!” Shade got up, and woke Blaze and Kyra, who were both dreaming contently. Spike then woke up as well.
The words, “I think we’ve found them,” spoken into a communicator could be heard. The team, who had just thrown their trench coats on the floor in laziness, picked them up and slipped them on. Vyle had worn his cloak to bed.
Spike then announced to his team in a hushed voice, “You all know the drill.” Spike got in front of the door, with Blaze and Shade on each side. Kyra and Vyle stood behind Spike.
“We know you’re in there. Come on out with your hands up, and surrender to the divine will of Team Judgment!” could be heard from behind the door.
“Fat chance,” Spike muttered to himself. The door flew open as a Team Judgment member and his Machop stood in front. Spike sprung into action, and rammed both of them. As the Underground members emerged from the door, in the moment that the Judgment member in front was caught off balance, they saw several more members in the hallway, releasing their Pokémon. “Oh ****,” Spike remarked.
“Back up!” Blaze shouted to her teammates. They backed up quickly. “Hellhound, Shadember, Flamethrower!” She released her Houndour, and another, more unfamiliar Pokémon. It looked like a levitating ball of fire. Two small fireballs rotated around it, which served as its arms. As commanded, the two immediately released a stream of fire down the hallway, which singed everyone and their Pokémon in front. Some of them pressed to the wall to avoid the direct impact of the flames, but others fell to the floor, rolling to get the flames off their badly charred clothes in pain and futility. Their Pokémon, which comprised of floating Sharine that were shaped like a four-pointed star, with mystical energy sparkling out of the front, Fairon that looked like floating fairies with wings and a glowing body, along with the familiar Sparquartz and Machop. The Underground then quickly ran by the singed and burning members. As they passed, several voices could be heard.
“We… need… backup… sector… 3…ugh…” “Sparquartz, Cleansing Light… “Sharine, Recover… ugh….” “Heal Magic, Fairon…”
As they ran up the stairs and outside of their secret base, they had a feeling that there would be more of them. They stopped and crouched against the wall, when they saw a flashlight beam coming from a divergent path.
Shade whispered, “I know what to do.” She called out one of her Pokémon. “Spook, sneak behind them and use Night Shade, but watch out for their lights!” Her purple Sableye, with sparkling diamonds for eyes, and a thin, translucent body vanished into the darkness.
“You hear that?” one of the white-cloaked members asked.
“Naah, but we still better be careful.”
At that moment, Spook reappeared behind the Judgment members, grinning evilly and showing its pointed fangs. Beams of dark energy shot out of its hands, incapacitating two of the members. The rest of them turned around, and impulsively released their Sharines, Sparquartzes, and Fairons. “Light Arrow!” they commanded.
With their attention diverted, Spike released his Sandslash. “Rollout, Punk!” he commanded. Punk curled into a ball, then rolled right into the feet of the Judgment members. Their Pokémon were distracted with hitting the highly elusive Spook with Light Arrow attacks. The white robed members fell to the floor, but their Pokémon kept attacking.
Blaze then sprung into action. “Hellhound, use Feint Attack on the Pokémon!” Hellhound leapt at the nearest Pokémon, a Sharine, and knocked it to the floor. Some of the Pokémon’s attention was now diverted to hitting Hellhound and Punk. However, one of the Light Arrows managed to hit Spook, who clutched its belly in pain. A bright spot glowed where it was hit.
“Dammit!” Spike growled. “Finish ‘em off with Crush Claw!”
“Hellhound, let’s take ‘em out! Flamethrower!” shouted Blaze.
“Battalion C requesting backup in Corridor 7,” one of the white-cloaked members yelled through his communicator.
“C’mon Sharine, finish ‘em off! For the light of Team Judgment!”
“Fairon! Use Gust and blow them away!”
But before they could attack, Punk and Hellhound had both fainted every single Pokémon on the opposing side. Spook, despite being highly sensitive to Miracle attacks, being a Dark and Ghost type, managed to stay conscious and use the move Recover instinctively. The Judgment members got up, but as another beam of light could be seen further down the corridor, the five Underground members made a run for it, their Pokémon running, rolling, or floating behind them as appropriate. They hopped over a couple of streams of dirty, greenish water as they ran.
Spike, Blaze, and Shade all seemed to know where they were going. They knew of a nice escape route, since they knew the sewer system pretty well. But on the other hand, Team Judgment also seemed to know the sewer. They planned their attack very carefully, as it seemed. What these people wanted was still unclear to The Underground, but they knew that either way it could not have been good, at least for them anyway.
“They went off towards Sector 7,” a Judgment member spoke into their communicator. I think that’s your area, Smith.”
The Judgment member known as Smith among their ranks, responded back. “I gotcha. Wait, I think I hear some footsteps…” then he cut off his communicator and commanded the rest of the battalion to lie in ambush. The battalion was assembled along two walls of a crossroads in the sewer, behind some large pipes that ran from the ceiling to the floor.
The footsteps got louder as the unsuspecting Underground members approached the point of ambush. Then, right as they passed the intersection, with Spike in the lead, the members were assaulted with barrages of Light Arrows from yet more Fairons, Sparquartzes, and Sharines. Three arrows passed through Spike, and a couple also hit Blaze and Shade. They collapsed onto the floor, clutching their chests in pain, despite there being no physical wounds. Their Pokémon, however, were ready to instinctively attacked, and Vyle and Kyra stopped, just short of being found. They hid behind the wall in fear.
“Sparquartz, Sacred Power!” one of the members of Smith’s battalion commanded. A blinding light emanated from the Sparquartz. Hellhound, Punk, Spook, and Shadember were damaged, and reeled back in pain.
“Now, everyone, fire more Light Arrows!” Smith commanded. Barrages of Light Arrows, like bullets, struck the four Pokémon, who collapsed in pain next to their trainers.
“Fire capture nets!” Smith then yelled.
A voice echoed behind from behind the wall, interrupting them. “Eevee, Quick Attack!” Kyra could not just sit there and watch. Her Eevee might not have been at a high enough experience level to fight them, but she had the element of surprise on her side. Eevee shot out from the ball at its top speed, and knocked the Judgment members with the net launchers onto the floor. They hit their heads and were knocked out.
“Get that Eevee!” several of the battalion members shouted at once. Their Pokémon shot Light Arrows at the swiftly moving Eevee. Eevee escaped by running between the legs of the Judgment members. As a result, a couple of them were hit. They also collapsed on the floor, clutching their chests.
As these members fell to the floor, Smith spoke to them. “You’re not pure enough. The truly pure of hear are not affected by Miracle-based attacks. You’re a disgrace to the almighty Lord. Sharine, show that Eevee a Sacred Power!” Smith’s Sharine, who was stronger, since he was the leader of their battalion, began to glow. A blinding light once again filled the corridor. Kyra’s Eevee clung to the floor with its paws tenaciously, as if trying to hang on under a storm of fierce winds and blinding light. When the light stopped, Sharine was still glowing. The surface of its four-pointed body shimmered like polished steel. Eevee lurched back, and then collapsed. The attack was powerful enough to knock it out with one hit.
“Somebody fire the capture nets, NOW!” Smith demanded. He picked up one of the capture nets launchers from one of the fallen battalion members. Another member on the other side of the path did the same thing. They then fired the nets. One of them wrapped completely around the Eevee and the other fallen Pokémon, and the other ensnared the bodies of Blaze, Shade, and Spike.
Kyra yelled out, “Eevee, NO!” and ran towards the net. She crouched over it, and stared at the Judgment members. “Back away, you bad people! Don’t take my Eevee away!” She futilely tried to protect the Pokémon.
“Step aside, little girl. You’re coming with us!” Smith snapped back. Battalion, grab them, and let’s get them to the temple.”
“What about Kearney and Bullock?” one of the members inquired in an unsure tone.
“…Carry them if you can. They can sit in the Purgatory for a while, to be purified.”
Kyra struggled in vain to free Eevee from the net. The five remaining members in the battalion advanced toward her. One of them took the net with the Pokémon, and two of them took the net with Shade, Blaze, and Spike. They groaned under its weight. A third member took the brunt of the load to assist them. Smith advanced toward Kyra, and grabbed her as she tried to run. He hoisted her over his shoulders as she struggled to get free, flailing her legs wildly.
Smith pulled out his communicator. “Smith here, requesting backup. We’ve captured the-“
“NOOO!!! Quick Attack!” Vyle yelled out, interrupting Smith. Vyle, inspired by Kyra’s bravery, was struck with a heroic feeling, the same feeling as on that night when he first saw her. Instinct took over. Squeak rammed Smith in the back. Smith lost his balance and fell over. The communicator rolled off to the wall. Kyra fell, using her hands to brace her fall.
“Smith, are you OK?” a voice from the communicator sounded.
“Squeak, scratch!!!” Squeak ran quickly beneath the feet of everyone cutting through their clothes and slashing their skin. The Sharines, Fairons, and Sparquartzes all instinctively began trying to hit Squeak with Light Arrows. It was not easy, since Squeak was a small target. Vyle himself then leapt into action, drawing his knife, and slashing one of the members. Blood trickled from the wound in the member’s chest.
The members all tried to tackle Vyle, and the Pokémon were focused on Squeak. But both of them were too fast, and evaded well. Vyle cut open the net containing his new associates with a clean sweep of his knife. Spike, Blaze, and Shade were still unconscious. Kyra was on the floor, trying to get up. The fall had injured her arms, and she groaned in pain.
They could not evade forever. Vyle tried to slice one of the members, but Smith threw a punch, which connected with Vyle’s cheek. Vyle was stunned by the impact and dropped his knife. The four other members surrounded Vyle and started to beat him repeatedly. Vyle had made a heroic stance, and did not fall without injuring several of them. Blood flowed from different places on several of the members, staining their white uniforms with streaks of crimson. They did not heed their wounds, as they were charged with adrenaline.
Meanwhile, Squeak was also getting tired, as dodging seven different Light Arrows was exhausting. Just as one of them was about to hit, Kyra had gotten up and leapt in front of it, intercepting the blow. Kyra reeled in pain, but did not collapse. The situation did not look good for the Underground. Vyle was being kicked and punched by the Judgment members, Squeak was dodging Light Arrows left and right and the rest were either in pain or unconscious.
As this was all going on, Shade managed to regain consciousness. She crawled out of the incision made in the net by Vyle. She then pulled the other Poké Ball out of her belt. As she got to her feet, one of the Judgment members looked over her shoulder and saw Shade.
“Gravecall, NIGHTMARE SEAL!” She called out as she released her other Pokémon. A floating human-like skull with fierce red glowing eyeballs and eight blue will-o-wisps orbiting it came out. It released one of the flames from orbit, which drifted to the center of the room. The other members notice, but before anyone could react, the flaming sphere in the center dissipated, and streaks of blue light shot from where it was. They hit each Judgment member and each of their Pokémon. They all collapsed suddenly, moaning in pain and fear. Blue light shone from their eyes and mouths, which were twisted in an expression of pure horror.
This gave everyone else a chance to recover. Blaze and Spike slowly regained consciousness. Vyle, who was bruised and bloodied, and with his clothes torn up, staggered to his feet. Kyra, who had reeled in pain but had not lost consciousness, ran toward everyone. “Those awful men- they… they tried to take us away! But… Vyle saved us…” She gasped as she spoke. Everyone looked at Vyle, who can barely stand with his wounds that he took-for the team. He could have run away, but instead was heroically driven to fight.
Spike picked up the knife and cut the Pokémon free from the other net. They all called back their fainted Pokémon. Squeak was too tired to run to Vyle, so Vyle just called him back. “We ain't out of the woods yet!" Spike said to the group. “More of ‘em are coming soon, probably. We gotta move!” Everyone then began to run again, but they were weary and in pain. As they ran, the moans of the Judgment members afflicted by the Nightmare Seal echoed through the hallway in a haunting tone, their bodies writhing in agony.
“Since when was that an attack?” Blaze asked Shade as they ran.
“It isn’t really. Gravecall carries eight powerful curses around it, which sustain its life in this realm. I had to use one just now, but I’d rather not have to use them. Now those creeps will be cursed for a long, long time. But, if I use them all, Gravecall will vanish. And it is said that it takes its trainer with it when all of them are used. I also have to wait a while before fighting with Gravecall, since it is destabilized and needs to regain its balance.”
“Ooh, scary,” Blaze commented, huffing and puffing as they ran. “Only you would use a Pokémon like that.”
It wasn’t long before they met with another Team Judgment battalion. This one was coming at them head on. There were no other paths to take, as this was a long and narrow corridor. The Judgment battalion saw them as they got close, and proceeded to release their Pokémon, but the Underground members all got an additional boost of adrenaline, and just rushed them.
“Light Arrow, everyone!” was the command from the fresh battalion of members. They release their Pokémon, which were nothing different from what they have encountered earlier.
Before they could execute their attacks, however, Blaze, Shade, and Spike rammed them. Spike threw a punch which sent one of the white-robed members flying into all of the Pokémon, preventing them from attacking. Shade delivered a roundhouse kick to another member as he instantly collapsed. And Blaze punched a third member, and then kneed him in the groin. The member also collapsed in pain, clutching his groin.
The Pokémon began to charge their attacks again, but Spike sensed this. He picked up another Judgment member, who was flailing wildly in the air, and used him as a shield to block the Light Arrows. The attack went through the hapless victim, and hit Spike in the chest, but they were lessened by the body and simply dissipated on Spike’s chest. He then hurled the now unconscious member into the Pokémon, knocking several of them out. Some were buried under the dead weight of the member’s body.
Two female members advanced on Blaze and Shade. One of them struck Shade with a blow to the face. The other one Kicked at Blaze, but she caught the kick and flipped the white robed member over. The last member, another male, advanced at Spike, but Vyle leapt from behind Spike and slashed with his knife across the member’s side. He collapsed in pain, clutching the wound, which bled and stained his white robe a dark crimson. Vyle then stopped, clutching his chest and panting for breath.
Shade and Blaze were exchanging blows with the two female Judgment members. Spike made sure none of the other members or Pokémon were still conscious, smacking one in the head as he tried to get up. But a couple of Pokémon, a Sparquartz and a Fairon, got up and got ready to attack. Spike called out his second Pokémon, Nightclaw. Nightclaw was a Sneasel, with two, long sharp claws which glistened in the dim light. Its head was decorated with a long red ornament shaped like a feather. Its head was a little large, but it still managed to have speed and power on its side.
“Nightclaw, Slash!” Spike commanded. Nightclaw rushed through the air and hacked at both the opposing Pokémon with its claws. The Pokémon then prepared to counter attack. The Sparquartz charged a Light Arrow, and the Fairon used Gust by flapping its wings. Despite the wings being small, they still were able to kick up a powerful gust of wind, which blew Spike and Nightclaw back a distance. Nightclaw braced itself by digging a claw into the ground. \
“Nightclaw, Beat Up!” Nightclaw rushed at the Sparquartz, and delivered a rapid flurry of blows. Sparquartz began to glow with light, however, and somehow appeared to restore its health. Its beat up surface was restored to a glistening shine. Fairon attacked with Light Arrow, and Nightclaw was hit. It clutched its chest in pain.
“Slash that flyin’ thing!” The Sneasel leapt into the air with a back flip, and slashed Fairon with its right claw. Fairon fell to the floor, its wings lying limply on the ground, and its furry body no longer glowing. However, the Sparquartz was glowing with a bright light, ready to unleash Sacred Power.
“Ice Beam!” Spike yelled. From its mouth, an orb of blue appeared, and it turned into a beam of bluish white energy. The beam hit Sparquartz, instantly freezing it in a block of ice. It also became unable to attack.
As Spike’s battle ended, he looked over at Blaze and Shade. They had been victorious over their female assailants. Shade had a bloody lip, and Blaze had a bruise on her cheek which was swollen and red. Nevertheless, they had triumphed. But they could not celebrate. Soon they ran on, breathing heavily with each step.
The corridor seemed to stretch on forever. The Underground members all slowed down, weary with exhaustion. They passed a branching tunnel. Spike knew something was wrong when he looked and saw light at the end of one of the tunnels, as opposed to the usual darkness. He desperately pushed his team to go faster; he himself panting and gasping for breath.
The corridor eventually led into a large room. The sounds of running water could be heard. As they entered the room, the concrete floor was replaced by metal. They were on a catwalk overlooking a water filtration plant. A stairway led from the catwalk to the floor. Control panels, computer screens, and various LED lights lined the wall. Turbines could be heard nearby, humming as they sucked in dirty sewer water to be purified through the filters. The group hurried down the stairs, their footsteps clanging on metal.
“We’re almost there! This way!” Spike commanded to his group while pointing toward another corridor. But before they could advance down that path, they were struck with a beam of light. They all knew exactly what was waiting for them, and did not want to leap into Team Judgment’s waiting arms.
“Crap! Let’s go this way!” Spike commanded once again, pointing to another corridor on the opposite wall. But no sooner had Spike spoken then did several more Judgment members shine light on them from the darkness. They proceeded to climb back up the staircase, but another battalion descended from the catwalk and landed on the floor. Spike and the others were all boxed in. The battalions advanced into the room, surrounding them in a circle.
“Hands up!” one of the battalion leaders ordered. No one complied. The Judgment members all got ready to draw their Pokémon, and some prepared their net launchers.
“Aah, how appropriate. Just as the filters in this room purify the water, so shall the holy Team Judgment purify you!” A more elaborately cloaked person spoke. He was their administrator, and the one who coordinated the attack. “Yes… the Lord will be most pleased. This band of dangerous criminals shall be purged from the streets…”
The Underground members were in a panic. They desperately looked around them for a possible way out, but there was none. They were surrounded, and ready to surrender. But Spike looked like he had an idea. “Not if I have anything to say about it!” he replied. To the admin boldly. “Punk, Earthquake!” He called out his battle-weary Sandslash. It could barely stand, but its claws began to radiate light. All the Judgment members drew their Poké Balls. Punk then slammed its glowing claws into the floor. At that instant, the ground split open, and the Underground members fell through the cracks. Several Judgment members lost their balance and fell. Net launchers were fired at that moment, but they missed their targets and instead ensnared fellow Judgment members. Spike and the others landed on their feet, in what seemed to be a hole a few feet deep. As the Underground members got a better look, they discovered they were actually in some sort of long, dark tunnel.
“After them!” was yelled from above. But Spike was not about to let them follow in pursuit. He had a daring and risky plan.
“Punk, Rock Slide!” He called out. Punk slammed the floor with glowing claws again, but this time, at a more sideways angle. This caused chunks from the ceiling above to fall. The Underground members adroitly leapt out of the way, despite being exhausted and badly injured. A large piece of the ceiling collapsed, filling the hole which the Earthquake created. After performing two of its strongest attacks, Punk collapsed with exhaustion. But The Underground was sealed away safely from Team Judgment. A long, pitch black tunnel greeted them with uncertainty as they began to press ahead.
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