Chapter Twenty-Three: Rebirth
Rebirth Hospital, Dallas, Texas
A human female in a light pink nurse's uniform and an egg-shaped, fluffy-looking pink Pokemon exited the hospital room. Three generations of the Ritter family and their two Japanese house guests stood, sat, or layed in various locations in the relatively cramped hospital room. All of them except the eldest man sat near plates of breakfast food. As usual, hardly any food remained on Gousuke's plate; slightly more remained on Hayato's; and virtually no food had been taken from Paige or Uriel's. It had been a long night, and the mother and son had stayed sleeplessly by their family elder's bedside. The doctor had been in earlier that morning with a page of test results, and had confirmed, much to the American family's dismay, that the man lying unconscious in the bed had at most a five percent chance of waking up.
"I hadn't talked to him in so long..." Paige sobbed, "I thought he was doing fine. I had no idea that this would..."
"Paige," Hayato placed his hand on her shoulder, "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known." As Hayato continued to try comforting his old friend by the side of the bed, Gousuke was having a conversation of his own with her son in the corner of the room. Uriel was obviously hurting, but he did a better job of restraining his emotions than his mother.
"I didn't even know him that well," Uriel said solemnly, "I only saw him once, maybe twice in my whole life. Mom didn't have that great of a relationship with him, so we didn't see him for holidays or anything like that."
"I'm sorry," Even Gousuke, who was normally fairly oblivious, showed sorrow for the grieving family, "I didn't get a chance to know my grandpa, either. He died before I was born."
"There's one thing I wish I could've asked him, though." Uriel said thoughtfully.
"What's that?"
"I would've liked to know..." The boy's voice lowered to a whisper, so that it would be inaudible to his mother, "If he was a Demi-Pokemon or not."
"He mighta been," An unknown voice came from behind the almost-closed door, "And if he was, it was probably our fault. My apologies." The door swung open, and into the room stepped two Asian men in psychedelic robes, another Asian in less bizarre clothing, a curly-haired teenage boy slightly older than Uriel, and a well-dressed Italian man. Some of the newcomers had to wait in the doorway, as the room was surely at its maximum capacity now.
"Who are you?" Paige asked, alarmed, "You can't be doctors."
"Well one of you should know who the two of us are," The younger of the purple-robed men pointed to himself and then to his fellow, "Right?" There was silence.
"We haven't seen him in a decade, at least," The older of the robed men pointed out, "He probably doesn't recognize our faces."
"Good point, good point," The junior robe-wearer nodded his head in an exaggerated up-and-down fashion, "My name's Ash Ketchum, and this here's Gary Oak." Again there was silence.
"What the heck are you talking about?" His senior gave him a very puzzled look.
"They're characters from the Pokemon Anime." The curly-haired teenager spoke up.
"An Anime. That he knows about." The older robed man gave his partner a dry look, "You realize that would've been from at least seventy years ago, right?"
"So that reference might've been a little before their times, my bad."
"Why do you even watch seventy year old Anime?"
"Hey, don't you talk, I know you listen to that American band that sings all those old songs... Rentalduck, or whatever it's called."
"Uh... excuse me?" Uriel interrupted, "Hello? Who are you guys, and why are you in our room?"
"Ah yes, where are my manners?" The younger robed man said sarcastically, putting emphasis on the word 'are', "I let my cousin here get me all side tracked and I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. My real name is Kitano Yasuhiro. And this guy's Sugimori Nendomaru." Hayato's eyes grew wide.
"Yasuhiro? Nendomaru?" The leaner Japanese man asked in surprise, "Is that really you?"
"Ah, good, now he remembers." Yasuhiro rolled his eyes.
"It's been a while, cousin." Nendomaru smiled faintly.
"You know them, Hayato?" Gousuke asked.
"They're my little cousins," Hayato replied, "I haven't seen them in over ten years!"
"Do you recognize this guy?" Nendomaru pointed to the third Asian that had entered the hospital room in his group.
"No, I..." Suddenly, Hayato remembered something, "Wait a minute. He looks like... he looks like some of the pictures we used to have around the house. But he couldn't be..."
"Tsuguyoshi Yamato," Yasuhiro replied, "Our grandfather."
"What on earth is going on?" Paige was thoroughly confused, and the confusion seemed to be stressing her out, "He can't be your grandfather, he's younger than Hayato!"
"But... don't you recognize this boy?" Yasuhiro asked slyly as he pushed Bobby to the front of the group standing near the doorway. It took Paige a few seconds of thinking, but when she realized that she did, in fact, recognize the boy, her face turned ghostly white.
"That's... impossible..." Her gaze darted to the bed in which her father lie, then to the boy, then back to the bed.
"What is it, mom?" Uriel asked, concerned about his mother's reaction.
"That boy... he looks exactly like your grandfather did when he was your age."
"What?" Bobby was shocked as well, "Seriously?"
"Welcome to the paradoxical wonder that is time travel," Yasuhiro remarked, "And for making both of these great family reunions possible, give it up for the final member of our time traveling circus, Cecil Gambino!" He stepped aside so that the room could see Cecil and clapped his hands rapidly.
"Time travel?" Uriel was amazed, "No way! Is that really possible?"
"It is for Cecil," Nendomaru replied, "Just as I suspected... he's one of the twelve Super Demi-Pokemon. The being of time." He smiled a rather wide smile.
"You knew?" Cecil realized that he hadn't actually gotten a chance to explain his recent discovery to Nendomaru yet.
"I always knew, Cecil. I didn't know the specifics... but I told you, I knew you were destined for something important."
"He's a Super Demi-Pokemon?!" Meanwhile, Paige was becoming even more alarmed than she was when the group of men entered the hospital room, "We have to turn him in! He..."
"I don't know who you're planning on turning him in to," Yasuhiro interrupted, "That cardinal you religious fanatics put so much faith into is one of 'em, too."
"What?" In an instant, Paige lost all of the momentum of her outrage and alarm, "Don't... don't lie like that..."
"Honey, I work for the International Federation. I know these things," The robed psychic had no intention of dealing with the woman's disbelief.
"You work for the International Federation?"
"My badge." Yasuhiro held out his right arm, and a deep violet-colored badge with words engraved in it appeared in his palm.
"But... Cardinal Aquae wouldn't have lied to us like that! Not for all of those years!"
"Oh, like heck he wouldn't have," The robed psychic scowled, "That's all those catholic priests do is lie. Lie, and do things with little boys... but that's another story. Aquae didn't know that he was a Demi-Pokemon. None of the Super Demi did. He just awakened yesterday, and was kidnapped by one of the high-ups in the federation. The Vatican has been up all night working on alibis for why he isn't there to do his usual Sunday TV program, but even they don't know where he really is."
"I... don't believe it..." Despite what she said, the tone of Paige's voice indicated that Yasuhiro had given enough evidence to all but convince her that he was speaking the truth.
"I also know that there's one more person you know who's a Demi-Pokemon... someone else who you'd never expect."
"Who?" Paige was surprised yet again.
"Tsuguyoshi Yamato bore three Demi-Pokemon daughters, each of whom bore one Demi-Pokemon son," Nendomaru answered the question before Yasuhiro could, "Yasuhiro and I are two of those three grandsons... and Hayato is the third."
"What?" Paige looked at Hayato in shock.
"I'm sorry, Paige," Hayato apologized sincerely, "I would've told you, but... after seeing how you felt about Demi-Pokemon..."
"You... you..." It seemed as if the woman was on the verge of hyperventilating.
"Mom. Calm down. Mom!" Uriel ran over to where his mom stood, took her by the shoulders, and shook her vigorously.
"I'm sorry," Paige said as she snapped out of her trance, "I have a medical condition that causes me to tense up like that. I don't have much control over it."
"I'm sorry." Hayato apologized, fearing that he had caused the attack.
"It's starting," Nendomaru had made his way to the only window in the room and had parted the blinds slightly so that he could see outside, "The streets are full of Demi-Pokemon. I knew this was going to happen soon, but today?" He seemed slightly perturbed.
"What's starting?" Gousuke asked out of his natural curiousity.
"The National Anti-Trainer's Union is moving against the International Federation. They probably aim to take down the headquarters building."
"What do we do?" Yamato questioned eagerly.
"We have bigger problems to worry about than NATU," Nendomaru said solemnly, "We have to get back to Rebirth Tower."
"Why?" Hayato asked.
"You don't know?" Yasuhiro seemed somewhat surprised, "Shouldn't you know?"
"He didn't inherit the psychic gene. He's a different type of Demi," Nendomaru explained, "But we don't have time for this. We need to go. Everyone who isn't a Demi-Pokemon, stay here."
"What about me?" Bobby asked, thinking that perhaps he was an exception to the rule.
"No. Only the Demi-Pokemon... that's me, Yasuhiro, Hayato, Cecil, and Yamato."
"Me?" Yamato was surprised to hear his name mentioned, "I'm not a Demi-Pokemon. They don't exist yet in my time."
"Tch, that's right," Nendomaru realized, "Cecil brought you back from a time before Pokemon. Dang... my plan relied on your combat expertise."
"I've got another plan." Yasuhiro smirked and withdrew from his robe pocket a small, plain-looking tan leather pouch tied closed by a brown string.
"That isn't..." Nendomaru was the only one that had the faintest idea what Yasuhiro was scheming.
"Oh yeah. It is."
"What? What is it?" Yamato was slightly concerned about what his two future grandsons might be plotting.
"Demi-Dust," Yasuhiro replied proudly, "A special, super concentrated batch that I stole from the federation. It's still in the early stages of testing... so, naturally, giving it to an IF recruit is totally against the rules. But rumor has it that if it works, it'll make you as strong as the federation's leader himself."
"As strong as Metagross?" Nendomaru was shocked, "That's impossible! He's stronger than a thousand Demi-Pokemon combined... he's probably even stronger than the Super Demi!"
"Well there's only one way to find out if it works, am I right?" As unserious as ever, Yasuhiro slurred the last three words together, imitating the dialect of a trendy teen girl. Without warning and in a single fluid motion, he untied the bag, stepped directly in front of Yamato, and poured the bag's contents down the timetraveling Asian's throat.
"Hack!" Yamato coughed violently.
"You're not supposed to ingest Demi-Dust!" Nendomaru exclaimed, appauled, "That could kill him!"
"Relax," Yasuhiro replied, "You've been away from the federation for too long. We don't actually use dust anymore... it's refined into a liquid now. Takes effect quicker this way."
"That tasted awful." Yamato stuck out his tongue and squinted his eyes to emphasize his opinion of the liquid.
"Well, did it work?" Nendomaru was getting impatient.
"Hey, what do you expect from me, I'm not god or Chuck Norris," Yasuhiro replied, "Even the most refined stuff takes a while to work."
"We don't have a while!"
"Then we'll just have to take him with us and hope it kicks in before we all get killed."
"Tch... fine. We need to go," Nendomaru was hesitant to agree with his cousin's point of view, but his impatience got the better of him, "If we're taking Yamato, I guess we should bring the boy, too. We don't know how Cecil's time travel works... we shouldn't separate them."
"What about us? What are we supposed to do?" Paige asked, distressed.
"You'll be safest here." Nendomaru replied.
"I'll be back for you. Just stay here." Hayato promised the woman.
"Alright." She nodded her head.
"Now, are we all finally ready to go?" Nendomaru asked.
"Hey, I'm ready when you are. I've been ready for hours." Yasuhiro joked, trying to aggravate his cousin further.
"Shut up," Nendomaru replied, "Let's go." The two psychic cousins snapped their fingers, and everyone but Paige, Uriel, and the old, comatose Bobby disappeared from the room.
Outside Rebirth Tower
Hundreds of Demi-Pokemon, some in their Pokemon forms and some in their human forms, stood in the streets of downtown Dallas. Rebirth Tower was surrounded on all sides, but none of the Demi-Pokemon dared go within a tenth of a mile of the tower until they were ordered to do so.
Mikayla, Lucas, Victoria, and NATU's presidential inner circle stood alongside Percy and the members of Retrodark on flat roof of a building that stood about a tenth of a mile away from the International Federation's US headquarters, and was roughly half of its height.
"There aren't any pedestrians in the streets," Wes remarked, "I don't like the looks of this."
"Isn't it a good thing? We don't want to hurt any innocent people." Howard replied.
"He means it's suspicious, and he's right." For once, NATU's president agreed with one of Retrodark's guitarists.
"So what are we going to do?" Caroline queried, "Are we going to attack, or are we just going to stand here?"
"We need to wait for the other Super Demi-Pokemon," Victoria answered, "Flint and his brother aren't even here yet, and we still don't know who the two other Super Demi that Vice President Lucas was talking about are."
"President Mikayla, the union members have been standing in place for nearly half an hour," One of Mikayla's inner circle members reminded her, "The federation has surely noticed by now."
"If they noticed us, they would've attacked." Mikayla retorted.
"Unless they just don't think we're a threat." Percy suggested an alternative explanation.
"It's the second one." A thick Italian accented voice replied from behind. The group turned around to see a three foot tall crow-like Pokemon with pitch-black feathers; save for some red feathers on the undersides of its wings and the tip of its tail and some white feathers below its face that resembled a flowing beard. The top of its head was shaped to resembled a fedora hat, adding to the crow's stereotypical mafia member-like appearance.
"A Honchkrow Demi?" Mikayla snarled, "Who the heck are you?"
"Horazio Crodione, Don of the only remaining mafia family in the world," The crow replied, "And faithful agent of the International Federation."
"I believe you've all already been acquainted with me." Another voice called out from the hole in the roof that housed the stairway that allowed roof access. Out crawled Marcus, still in his human form and wearing his usual futuristic gray and red federation-issued suit.
"You!" Mikayla shouted.
"We never did finish that encounter we had in the forest, did we, Mrs. President?" Marcus replied calmly and coolly, "And we have some unfinished business as well, Damian Spiner."
"You ain't gonna take me alive." A fierce glare was present in Damian's eyes, and it looked as though he was about to transform.
"Always make sure the sgarrista are doing well before the capo goes out to fight." Horazio extended one of his wings, pointing behind the group of people he was facing. Mikayla turned around, and her expression immediately changed from one of anger and fight-readiness to one of horror. In the streets below, unbeknownst to her, agents of the International Federation had descended upon her ranks and taken them by surprise. Members of the National Anti-Trainer's Union were being slaughtered left and right. Because their ranks had been split up so that the tenth-mile distance could be kept between them and Rebirth Tower, they were too scattered to organize any real resistance against the attack. It was clear that they were going to be massacred by the much more powerful federation agents.
"You..." Mikayla turned her head back around slowly and closed her eyes, "I'll kill you!" Black and gray fur erupted from her skin as claws grew rapidly from her hands and feet. In a matter of seconds, she was fully transformed into her wolf-like form and was dashing across the roof towards the mafia don and his associate.
"Mikayla!" Lucas called out in an order to try to stop his wife's rash action, but she was beyond hearing him. Unable to stop her, he took on his own Pokemon form, but he waited back for the rest of the group on the roof to do the same. As the NATU council members and Retrodark's members transformed, so, too, did Marcus, who changed shape slightly and became much more buffed-up and rounded-out. His body was red and yellow and looked like fire, two rows pink spikes extended from his back, and a flaming tail shot out from lower down his back. Red flame-like protrusions extended from his shoulders, and his head took the shape of a red and yellow flame. His arms became yellow cannons, which he extended and prepared to fire.
Horazio flew several yards into the air, but did not anticipate how high Mikayla would be able to jump. She leaped up and caught his tail in her mouth. He shook wildly, but she refused to let go, and, her Pokemon form being slightly heavier than his, dragged him to the ground. Meanwhile, Lucas had summoned up a ball of glowing blue energy between his hands, and shot it towards Marcus. A large fireball shot from one of Marcus' cannon-arms, hit Lucas's energy ball in midair, and caused a small explosion. Upon completing his transformation, Damian prepared to conjure a darkness-based attack, but was interrupted by Mikayla as she was finally flung off of Horazio's tail.
"Get the heck out of here," She snarled, "This is my fight! I've been waiting years for this day... you're not going to screw it up!"
"We have reason to be mad at the federation, too!" Wes exclaimed, angered by Mikayla's apparent selfishness.
"All of you, go help the Demi-Pokemon in the streets. Let the two of us handle this," Lucario said in a forewarning and commanding tone, "Mikayla won't hesitate to fight you, too, if you get in her way."
"Vice President, in a two-on-two fight, you'll..." Several of the NATU council members voiced concern, as did Victoria.
"We'll be fine..." The Vice President assured them, "Go!" Despite their skepticism of the Lucario Demi's plan, the other Demi-Pokemon had no time to think. They leaped from the roof and landed in the streets below, between a group of fleeing NATU members and a pair of untransformed government agents.
"Alright, you heard Vice President Lucas!" Victoria shouted, "Let's do this!" They rushed forward, quickly overtook the pair of low-ranking federation agents, easily overpowered them, and continued inward towards the tower, where many more agents lied in wait.
Inside Rebirth Tower
Cristal's eyes opened wearily. She was lying in a large white room with heavily padded walls. There were no doors or windows, and overall, it strongly resembled one of the rooms in which the criminally insane were once housed. Much to her surprise, she was not bound in any way; she was free to move about the room as she pleased. This was not the first thing on her mind, however.
"This room... it must belong to the International Federation," She deduced, "I remember... Iñigo attacked me... I went to save Gaspar, and then..." She gasped in horror as she remembered the events that had taken place. She had been hit by an explosion attack at point-black range. Her eyes quickly jolted around their sockets, shifting her gaze from the immaculate ceiling above to her own frail body. There wasn't a scratch on her.
"Wondering how you're alive?" An androgynous voice asked. She looked up from her peculiarly unharmed body to see a quadrupedal turquoise Pokemon with a shining steel body. Four arachnid-like legs arched out from its discus-shaped body. A silver 'X' adorned its body, and a pair of black eyes with red irises sat in the horizontal gaps of the cross.
"It's because of what you are," It answered Cristal's presumptive question before letting her ask it, "You were able to recover from even the gravest of wounds thanks to your power."
"Because of my power..." As the princess considered the answer, a new question surfaced in her mind: "But what about... what about Gaspar?"
"It is my regret to inform you... that your bodyguard has deceased." The metallic voice somehow managed to pull of a solemn and earnest tone.
"What?" The Spaniard's eyes grew wider, "No!"
"I apologize, princess." After a few moments of silent weeping, another question came to Cristal's mind.
"Who... who are you?" She asked, trying to regain her composure in the face of the unknown creature that stood before her.
"A Pokemon." It replied in a wise and somehow omniscient-sounding tone.
"You're talking," Cristal said pointedly, "And you're a member of the International Federation. Surely you mean that you are a Demi-Pokemon."
"I am speaking to you through telekinesis," The Pokemon easily refuted Cristal's first conjecture, but was more interested in her second, "Why do you assume that I am a member of the International Federation?"
"I am being held captive within one of the federation's facilities, am I not?"
"You are."
"Then, because you have come to visit me but not to rescue me, you are a member of the International Federation."
"How do you know that I am not rescuing you?"
"You would have spoken up about that matter by now."
"I am a member of the International Federation," The Pokemon admitted, "But returning to your original point, why must I then be a Demi-Pokemon?"
"All of the federation's members are Demi-Pokemon." Cristal answered, doubtless of her claim.
"Surely, as the crown princess of Spain, your education in world history was more expansive than that. You must know how the International Federation came to be."
"It was founded by a group of Demi-Pokemon in two thousand and twenty eight."
"The International Federation as you know it, yes," The Pokemon closed its eyes contemplatively, "But that International Federation is merely a front. The Demi-Pokemon that lead each country... they are merely the figureheads of the federation. The real power lies within the federation's worldwide headquarters building."
"It is located within the Pacific Ocean. The temporary government set up by Monplanian officials used it as a fortress, but relinquished power to the International Federation when peace was achieved."
"No," The Pokemon said bluntly, "That is not the case. The International Federation... is still run by the representatives of the high council of Monplan."
"So then..." As the fog of recent slumber in Cristal's mind cleared, the princess was able to connect the dots in her head, "You... are of the high council of Monplan?"
"My name is Metagross. I am the leader of the International Federation."
"The leader?" Cristal shifted from her lying position to one of sitting that, if need be, could quickly change to one of standing, "What do you want with me?"
"There is nothing you can do for me that you have not already done," Metagross answered, "I have come to give rather than to receive."
"To give? What do you want to give me?"
"The greatest gift in the universe," Metagross replied grandly, "The gift of information. Surely you would like to know the current state of affairs in Spain."
"That's right!" Cristal realized, "I've been gone for... I don't know how long it's been."
"You have been absent for nearly five days now."
"Five days..." It didn't take long for the Pokemon's words to sink in, "My father must be worried sick."
"Actually, it is with great regret that I inform you that that is not the case," Metagross spoke in as sincere of a tone as its metallic voice could produce, "Your father was aware of what you were."
"He was?!" Cristal was shocked.
"He had suspected it for some time. The International Federation's Chief of Security in Spain, Iñigo Fernández, had been looking for you. Your father aided him in that search. Working together, they tortured countless innocents, trying in vain to find the great Demi-Pokemon hidden in Spain... but all along, it was you."
"My father... worked with Iñigo?" Cristal couldn't believe what she was hearing, "No... that isn't true! My father was a kind man! His top priority was always..."
"... The interests of the people?" The Monplanian finished her sentence, but without the expected accompanying malicious tone, "I apologize, princess, but that was a lie."
"No... no!" Tears fell from Cristal's face, and she began to glow with a faint pink energy.
"I do not wish to fight you, princess," Metagross cautioned, "I would prefer that you be conscious for the events that are to transpire."
"You..." Cristal was becoming enraged, "My father was... my father was a good man! I'll..." Suddenly and unexpectedly, a young biracial boy appeared out of thin air between the princess and the Pokemon.
"Don't lose your temper," He said sternly, "It's the biggest mistake you can make. Calm down, Cristal."
"The being of space?" Metagross asked, puzzled, "How did you escape?"
"You'd better prepare yourself, Metagross," Jinn said confidently and fearlessly, "You made a huge mistake gathering us all here. All of us Super Demi-Pokemon are gonna team up... and we're gonna take you down." In a flash, both the young boy and the princess disappeared from the room.
"Interesting," The steel-bodied psychic Pokemon began to chuckle in its metallic voice, "This... is going to be interesting!"
Outside the Entrance to Rebirth Tower
Jimmy, Rose, and Dart hastily ran across the battle-ravaged street and approached the tall, ornate double doors of Rebirth Tower. Surprisingly, the guard force immediately outside of the door consisted of only two people.
"Get out of my way!" Rose shouted in a very determined voice. She twisted her midsection slightly, and a mighty gust of wind slammed the agents into the doors behind them, causing them to fall to the ground unconscious. The female teen ran up to the doors and pulled their golden handles with all her might, but they would not budge.
"Let me give it a shot." Jimmy suggested. He extended one of his arms so that his palm faced the doors and closed his eyes briefly. An invisible wave of energy radiated from his palm, and the doors flung open as if by magic. The three friends dashed into the building. As was expected, the first-floor lobby was presently empty but otherwise completely ordinary; in fact, the first hundred and fifty floors of the two-hundred and fifty-one story tower were open to the public and were leased by various companies.
"They wouldn't be holding him on a floor that's open to the public," Rose thought, maintaining rationality even amid the chaos, "It'll take way too long to take the elevator or stairs up to the off-limits floors. I've got wings, let's just fly!"
"They're looking for us, remember?" Jimmy reminded his friend, "We'd be way too obvious of a target if we flew up outside."
"Then why don't we fly inside?" Dart suggested. He pointed to the closed elevator doors on the wall nearby. "Jimmy, if you can pull the elevator out of there like you opened the doors, Rose can fly us up through the elevator shaft."
"He's right!" Rose realized, "Good thinking, Dart!"
"Alright," Jimmy walked over to a spot about four yards away from and facing the elevator doors, "Stand back." He closed both of his eyes and extended both of his arms. Almost immediately, faint rumbling sounds could be heard from behind the pastel pink doors. The noises rapidly became louder and louder, and in a matter of moments, the the doors burst open and the elevator car came flying out, tearing through the wall on its way to its resting place beside Jimmy.
"Let's go!" Wasting no time, Rose quickly took on her avian Pokemon form and dove into the unusually wide elevator shaft. As she hovered in place, Jimmy and Dart unhesitantly jumped onto her back and clutched the feathers below her neck tightly.
"Hang on!" She exclaimed, as if they needed instruction. With a flap of her mighty white wings, she rocketed up the shaft, flying faster than any electrically-powered elevator car ever could. She was passing nearly ten floors a second; it did not take her long to reach the first of the off-limits floors. She reared her head and let loose a beam of white-hot energy from her mouth, melting the hundred and fifty-first floor elevator doors instantly. The room she entered looked like something directly out of an old science fiction movie; bizzare machinery and human-sized test tubes full of oddly colored liquid lined the walls. Most of the test tubes were empty, but amorphous clumps of some white substance floated in a few. On the side of the room opposite the elevators was a single dull gray door.
"Woah," Dart said as he and Jimmy deboarded Rose, "What's this place for?"
"They probably don't use it at all," Rose replied as she reverted to her human form, "The designs of these machines are inefficient. It's probably just something to scare off people who manage to break into the off-limits floors. She walked over to the plain-looking door and twisted the equally average doorknob; much to her surprise, the door opened with ease. Beyond the door was nothing but a small, empty white room.
"What is this?" She wondered aloud. Suddenly, the blank white wall opposite where she stood transformed into a more stylized wall on which a glass windowpane was mounted. Behind the pane of glass was a chamber filled with oddly colored liquid similar to the contents of the test tubes in the previous room. There, suspended in the liquid, was an unconscious Holden.
"Holden!" The younger sister exclaimed. Without thinking, she ran into the room, and the door slammed closed behind her. Shocked by the abrupt noise, Jimmy and Dart ran over and tried to open the door, but it was no use. Jimmy then attempted to remove the door by the same means with which he had disposed of the elevator car, but much to his surprise, that, too, failed to work.
"What the...?" Rose turned after hearing the noise of the closing door, but by the same power that caused the chamber containing Holden to appear, the wall with the door on it had disappeared into empty whiteness.
"I was afraid that you wouldn't show up." A metallic, androgynous voice echoed through the room.
"Who said that?" Rose asked apprehensively.
"My name is Metagross," The turquoise steel arachnid appeared between the sister and brother, "I am the head of the International Federation. Pleased to make your acquaintance, being of yin."
"You? You're the head of the International Federation?" Rose had no room for surprise or befuddlement; all of her emotional energy was concentrated on her desire to rescue her brother, "What do you want with us?!"
"You have already become everything that I want from you," Metagross answered somewhat cryptically, "All I ask now is that you stay put."
"I don't think so..." Rose clenched her fists, "Give Holden back!" Unexpectedly, she opened her mouth, and another beam of white-hot energy spewed forth from it. Needing naught but an instant to react, the steel-plated Pokemon disappeared in a flash; Rose's attack kept going, hit the glass window that encased Holden, and was seemingly absorbed into a void of nothingness without doing any damage to the glass. Metagross reappeared less than a second later.
"Why must you all be so hostile? Can't even one of you be respectful and peaceful?" The androgynous Pokemon seemed somewhat annoyed, as if by a pet peeve, "Fine. I'll just put you to sleep until it's time." Suddenly, a splitting pain ran through Rose's head.
"Agh!" She clutched the sides of her head and fell to her knees, "What are you... what are you doing?"
"I was going to try to just put you to sleep," Metagross replied, "But you're a psychic type Demi-Pokemon. That won't do. I'm going to have to knock you out." The intensity of pain Rose felt in her head surged dramatically.
"Stop!" She cried in pain, "Stop!"
"I really do apologize for this," The Pokemon's voice seemed to hint at sincerity, but it was hard to tell due to its nature, "I don't enjoy causing others pain."
"Leave her alone!" Suddenly, the glass behind Metagross burst open, and neon green fluid flooded the floor. A jet of flame struck the steel-type Pokemon in the back, resulting in a noticeably pained look.
"Ow! That's hot!" Metagross' pained exclamation almost sounded comical because of its voice. Holden relentlessly followed up his attack by another, then another, then another. After the fifth attack, Metagross had reached its limit.
"Fine!" For the first time, the Pokemon's voice sounded quite agitated, "I'll leave you two alone. You won't be able to escape." In a flash, it teleported away.
"Holden!" Rose got to her feet, ran over to her brother, and hugged him tight.
"Luna," He reciprocated the hug, "I'm so glad to see you."
"I'm sorry," The sister immediately apologized, "I should've known better than to leave you alone. I should've known that..."
"Hey, hey," He put a finger to her lips in order to quiet her, "It's not your fault."
"I'm just glad you're safe," She turned and took in her disappointingly bleak surroundings, "Now... how are we going to get out of here?"
Outside Rebirth Tower
A mighty flap of Don Horazio's wings sent Mikayla flying across the concrete roof. Lucas narrowly dodged a fiery projectile from Marcus' arm, only to have his side singed by another. The NATU leaders were running out of breath, whereas the agents of the International Federation weren't even breaking a sweat.
"Maybe we should have let them help us..." Lucas suggested between heavy breaths as Mikayla got to her feet.
"No way," She replied, "This is our fight." The vice president cast a glance at his wife, and was met by something he did not expect - the look she wore on her lupine face was not one of exhaustion or frustration; somehow, despite their eminent defeat, Mikayla was smiling.
"This is taking longer than I would've hoped," Horazio said condescendingly, "Time is money."
"Indeed," Marcus nodded his head in agreement, "And we still have the matter of the Super Demi-Pokemon to attend to."
"Let's wrap this up, then." With a wave of one wing, Horazio disappeared into thin air. Before his enemies had time to react, he reappeared over Mikayla and put his wing to her neck, as if he held a knife. "Sorry, honey. It's just business." In a quick, discreet slicing motion, the tip of his wing sliced through flesh and fur like a razor blade. Mikayla's lupine head rolled onto the ground, and her body toppled over.
"Mikayla!" Lucas screamed.
"You will be with her soon." Marcus snapped his fingers, and a ring of fire appeared on the ground around Lucas, giving him nowhere to move. The fire grew until it stood at least ten feet tall, putting jumping out of the question as a means for escape.
Suddenly, a torrent of water fell from the sky as if from an incredibly small and fortunately placed raincloud, and as soon as it had appeared, Marcus' ring of fire was extinguished. The government agents looked up to see the massive figure of Kayden's orca-like body descending upon them. Horazio flew into the air in order to avoid the falling water-type, but Marcus, lacking wings, could only brace himself for the impact. As Horazio tried to flee the scene, however, he was intercepted by yet another Super Demi-Pokemon: one of Rachel's claws enveloped him and squeezed around his midsection as she slithered through the air above the battlefield. The fedora-wearing bird Pokemon struggled to break free of the dragon's grasp, but it was in vain. Rachel squeezed tighter, and the bird's lungs collapsed: Horazio instantly died by suffocation.
Marcus was confident that he would be able to withstand the brute force of a full-body slam from Kayden, but he was caught completely off guard when the orca flapped its fins like wings and flew over his head. He turned to see where Kayden was going, leaving an opening for Grayson, whose gargantuan form had somehow climbed onto the roof, to attack him from behind. One of the ruby behemoth's claws slammed into the concrete mere inches from his face, causing that section of the roof to crumble and causing the fiery agent to fall onto a copy machine on the floor below. Controlled by the Super Demi-Pokemon's will, the loosened slabs of concrete slammed into Marcus with incredible force, bruising and cutting him irreparably, crushing his internal organs, and killing him. Kayden and Grayson reverted to their original forms, and ran over to where Lucas and Mikayla were.
"Oh my god," Kayden gasped in horror upon seeing Mikayla, "Rachel! Get down here!" Rachel dropped the corpse of Don Horazio and slithered down to the roof, where she changed back into her human form and landed.
"Can you heal her?" Grayson asked, "Like you healed us when you transformed for the first time?"
"No, I can't," Rachel shook her head apologetically, "I can't... bring back the dead."
"Mi... Mikayla..." Lucas was sobbing for his wife. Flint, in his Pokemon form and carrying Michelle on his back, appeared over the edge of the roof and landed nearby his brother and the others. Michelle got off of his back, and he quickly changed into his human form. Curious about the commotion, they ran over to to their fellow Demi-Pokemon, and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw what was being crowded around.
"Oh my god," Flint gasped, "The president is..."
"They..." Lucas' tears of sorrow quickly turned to tears of rage, "I'll kill them!" He let out a fierce howl as he stood up and look around, as if looking for a living agent to kill.
"Vice President, calm down!" Flint didn't have time to try and calm him down, however, as a scream from the streets below attracted his attention.
"Flint! Help!" The boy ran to the edge of the building to see Victoria and some of the members of Mikayla's inner circle running from a gang of government agents.
"Dangit," He cursed as wings shot out of his back once more, "I told you guys to wait for us... Michelle, you coming?"
"Coming!" Michelle ran straight off of the edge of the roof, conjuring watery projectiles to launch from midair as she fell.
"I can handle this," Rachel, who had immediately taken on the task of calming Lucas down even though she didn't know him, assured her friends, "It sounds like they need all the help they can get. Go fight!"
"Alright, if you're sure." Grayson said. He and Kayden nodded their heads at one another, and leaped off of the roof in a fashion similar to Michelle. The streets of downtown Dallas were filled with the sound of battle as the Super Demi-Pokemon remaining outside of the tower and their allies fought the plethora of government agents who aimed to capture them.
Inside Rebirth Tower
In a bright flash of light, the four Asians, the Italian Super Demi-Pokemon, and the American teenager appeared in the middle of a wide corridor. The walls and ceiling were a dull gray, but the floor was covered by majestic red carpet, and novel decorations like flowerpots and china cabinets lined the walls.
"So here we are, inside the dreaded US headquarters of the International Federation" Yasuhiro cupped his hands over his mouth to imitate speaking into a megaphone, "On your right, you'll see the evil brainwashing flowerpots of doom, and on your left, the four vases of the apocalypse..."
"Be quiet," Nendomaru slapped his cousin's hands down, "He'll know we're here."
"Who?" Hayato asked.
"Look how clueless he is," Yasuhiro made a hand gesture in Hayato's direction as he turned to speak to Nendomaru, "Now are you regretting keeping him out of the loop?" Despite the seemingly private nature of the conversation, Yasuhiro spoke in a slightly elevated voice.
"What are you talking about?" Hayato asked persistently, "I haven't seen you guys since Yasuhiro was in elementary school. I want to know what's been going on."
"Dang it, Yasuhiro, if you were capable of being quiet for one minute..."
"Oh, come on, even he's got a right to know what's been going on."
"Fine," Nendomaru sighed, "Alright, Hayato. You were living in Hiroshima with us while I was growing up... so that's probably where you discovered your Demi-Pokemon powers, right?"
"Y-Yeah." Hayato seemed almost ashamed of the powers that were being discussed.
"Well, being the upstanding citizen that you are, you tried to hide all evidence of those powers, and did a good job of it. You were never caught, because you never transformed at all after the initial transformation. Excluding your awakening, you never used your powers at all while you lived with us, and I'm guessing the same held true after you moved to Osaka."
"Right."
"You moved to Osaka about a decade ago. A few years after you left, Yasuhiro awakened to his powers. He wasn't exactly... as conservative about using them as you or I."
"Oh, forgive me for taking advantage of the ability to move stuff with my mind." Yasuhiro interjected sarcastically.
"Because of his childish antics," Nendomaru ignored the interruption, "The International Federation soon discovered us. They were intrigued by the fact that we were Yamato's grandsons, so they wasted no time inducting us into their ranks."
"Wait a minute," Yamato said thoughtfully, "If they were able to see that I was your grandfather, wouldn't they have discovered Hayato, too?"
"About that..." Nendomaru cast his gaze at the ground, "I foresaw our impending arrest, and I knew that the federation would look into our full lineage. Our parents were all dead... so our only living relative was you, Hayato. In case something happened to us... I wanted to make sure that they couldn't find you. So I asked one of my friends for a favor. He was a computer genius, and a Demi-Pokemon with a mastery over all technology... he was able to erase your existence from all of the federation's databases. Locally, in Osaka, you still existed; you were still had a valid birth certificate and passport... but to the federation's eyes, Tsuguyoshi Yamato had only two grandsons."
"You were able to do something like that?" Hayato was amazed.
"Yes. Unfortunately... my friend paid a price. Accessing the federation's databases was the most challenging hacking operation he'd ever attempted... and there was a backlash of viral data. Being a data-based Demi-Pokemon, the computer virus he caught was transformed in his body into a deadly biological virus... he was dead in a matter of days."
"I'm so sorry." Hayato bowed his head to give his condolences.
"What's done is done," Nendomaru shook off his emotions, "As I was saying... the government found Yasuhiro and I, and promptly recruited us. They gave us Demi-Dust, just like they give every one of their recruits. They said it was just to make us more powerful, but... as we discovered, there's a side effect to it. We suspect that pure Demi-Dust does not have this effect; rather, the federation has added something to the dust in order to produce this side effect."
"What effect?" Hayato asked, curious.
"It attacks the emotion centers of the brain. It rewires the neurons in order to destroy individuality and make every agent fit one of two personality archetypes: a work-lover with unquestionable loyalty to the federation, or a battle-lover with unquestionable loyalty to the federation."
"Basically, it turns you into a zombie." Yasuhiro added.
"Wait a minute," Yamato immediately realized, "You gave me a high dosage of this stuff! What's this going to do to me?!"
"Gramps," Yasuhiro replied casually and coloquially, "If the government's stuff could do jack to us, you guys wouldn't be free right now."
"What Yasuhiro's trying to say is this," Nendomaru explained, "Somehow, we have an immunity to the personality distorting effects of the tainted dust. We don't know why, but it is highly likely that it has something to do with our lineage. You should be fine, grandfather."
"You are partially correct," A voice came from down the hallway, "Unfortunately, the crucial part is the part about which you are incorrect." A pair of ornate, Chinese style doors at the end of the hall opened, revealing a bright white room. Out of the emptiness stepped a solitary cloak-wearing figure.
"I wondered when you'd show up." Yasuhiro chuckled.
"It is true that the pair of you are immune to the effects of our Demi-Dust," The cloaked figure continued, "If you were not, agent four-seven-one-six's escape and agent four-seven-one-seven's espionage would not have been possible. However... your grandfather has no such immunity."
"What?" Nendomaru was caught completely off guard. Yasuhiro wasn't as blatantly shocked as his cousin, but he did seem intrigued and puzzled.
"It's actually quite ironic," The cloaked man mused, "That Demi-Dust you gave your grandfather in hopes of destroying the federation in the present... in effect, it helped found the federation in the past."
"What?!"
"You will return Tsuguyoshi Yamato to the past... and at first, he will not feel the personality altering effects of the Demi-Dust. The true reason that we have never administered that concentration of Demi-Dust to our agents is not for fear of making them too powerful... but rather, because it has an unacceptably long incubation period. That period is no less than fifteen and one half years. It will not be until the year two thousand and twenty seven that its effects finally begin to take hold of Tsuguyoshi Yamato's brain... and that will be the first to fall in a long line of dominoes that will lead to the formation of the International Federation."
"So I... caused this?" Cecil realized in shock.
"Time travel is a peculiar thing... regardless of whatever efforts you make, you can have no effect on the past. What has happened has happened. The flow of time is predestined and absolute."
"Who is this guy?" Bobby asked.
"Oh, you know, just your typical clichéd, powerful, mysterious cloaked stranger-type character. Every good movie's got one." Yasuhiro answered in his usual fashion.
"He was our boss in the federation." Nendomaru gave a more straightforward answer.
"So would he know where Murray is?"
"The bait with which you and agent four-seven-one-six were drawn into the mafia's trap?" The cloaked man replied, "He was executed immediately upon capture."
"No!"
"Anyone that stands in the way of the International Federation's goals will be crushed. Anyone that associates themselves with our targets is at risk of losing their life. Those that you instructed to wait at Rebirth Hospital are no exception."
"What?!" Hayato shouted, "What did you do?"
"Your associates in the hospital... have been eliminated."
"What?!" Hayato was becoming uncharacteristically angry, "You hurt Gousuke and Paige... I'll never forgive you!" Despite keeping his Demi-Pokemon nature a secret for years, the jujitsu practitioner was unhesitant to transform now. He took the form of a tall, humanoid praying mantis with a hard red exoskeleton. Black designs adorned its abdomen and neck, and its feet each had two claws. At the ends of its lean arms were heavy-looking crab claws with yellow and black designs resembling eyes. A pair of two-lobed wings, vaguely resembling those of a butterfly, extended from its back. The man's hair became three spikes at the top of the Pokemon's head. Hayato dashed towards the cloaked man, but with a wave of the latter's arm, the former was flung into the wall as if he was paper.
Prompted by his cousin's defeat, Nendomaru quickly took on his own Pokemon form. His skin took on a black clay-like texture, and his body began underwent a great change in shape. His torso became spherical, his legs shortened to small nubs, and his arms detached and became cannon-like in shape. His head turned into a pointed hat with pink designs resembling eyes going all around it. His real face, which now consisted of round yellow eyes surrounded by white markings, reappeared on his torso.
Yasuhiro began transforming at the same time as his cousin. His body did not undergo as dramatic of a change as Nendomaru's, but his skin did become smooth and completely pink, save for a tan underbelly and muzzle. His hair disappeared and his ears, which became small and curled, moved to the top of his head. A plump pink tail grew out of his backside, but most of it was invisible, as a large gray spiral conch shell with eyes and teeth appeared to be eating it.
"Do you believe that you will be any more successful in attacking me than your cousin was?" The cloaked man asked condescendingly, completely unfazed by the transformations.
"You knew?" Nendomaru was greatly surprised by the cloaked man's knowledge of his relation to Hayato.
"You may hide all physical and electronic proof of someone's existence, but you can never hide the proof that exists within your head."
"You read my mind."
"But of course. I knew of Hayato's existence from the day that you and agent four-seven-one-seven entered the federation's ranks," The cloaked man replied triumphantly, "I merely saw no need to take any action based upon that information. The two of you proved to be useful enough to the federation. Agent four-seven-one-six, for his top-class Demi-Pokemon capturing ability before his escape... and agent four-seven-one-seven, for some more recent work."
"More recent work?" Nendomaru turned to Yasuhiro, "What is he talking about?"
"What is destined to happen today would not be possible if not for agent four-seven-one-seven. He... manipulated certain events in order to further some things along. He took control of the minds of a herd of Tauros in order to trigger the first of the twelve destined awakenings... he mailed a shipment of Demi-Dust disguised as Hypercaffeine to the band Retrograde Darkness in order to trigger another... he even installed a listening device in the the analog clock you gave to your Italian friend, agent four-seven-one-six. Yes... I suspect that the being of time would have had no need to come to America if not for that particular order."
"You did what?!" Nendomaru was furious, "You spied on Niccolo?"
"So it was you that turned him in to the mafia!" Cecil realized, "It's your fault that he's dead!"
"I did what had to be done to keep the federation's trust." Yasuhiro replied in an uncharacteristically serious and cold tone.
"Wait..." Hayato, who had gotten up from the floor and was now standing once again, thought aloud, "If you did all of that in order to bring people here... were you the one instructing Ito to pester me and Gousuke? Were you the one that told the Sumo Association to announce that we were Demi-Pokemon, even though Gousuke isn't?! Is it your fault that Gousuke's dead?!"
"No," The cloaked man answered, "That was not one of the tasks to which he was assigned."
"Yeah, I did," Yasuhiro answered contradictory to the cloaked man, "But not 'cause the federation told me to. That was part of me and Nendo-kun's little plot."
"Oh?" The cloaked man asked, slightly amused, "And what plot would this be?"
"We were going to gather together the three grandsons of Yamato... and take you down." Nendomaru answered.
"You should know that an attempt to do so will be futile. I am the third in command of the International Federation; I am stronger than one hundred government agents combined! I am stronger even than the destined twelve! You stand no chance against me!"
"Maybe we don't," Yasuhiro replied, "But I betcha' gramps can kick your butt any day of the week. That Dust should be settlin' in right about now."
"Don't ignore me!" Hayato shouted, "You admitted that you forced us to come here, and you did it of your own accord! You're responsible for Gousuke's death!"
"Hey!" Bobby exclaimed, "Can't you see that he's just trying to turn you guys against each other?" Despite the teenager's warning, Yamato's grandsons continued to squabble.
"Enough of this." The cloaked man said in a commanding voice. He waved his arms once, and three bursts of violet energy shot out of his cloak. Each one hit one of Yamato's grandsons and knocked him onto the ground.
"Tch," Nendomaru cursed, "I'm paralyzed. I can't move."
"Hey, come on, Doctor Who, now would be a great time for you to step in and do something." Yasuhiro said to Cecil.
"But... he said that he's even stronger than I am," Cecil replied, "He'll just beat me, too!"
"Then step aside," Yamato walked up beside Cecil and stepped out in front of the Italian Super Demi-Pokemon, "I'll handle this." While the others had not been paying attention, he, too, had undergone a transformation. He strongly resembled Yasuhiro, with a few key differences. A red and white ruff adorned his neck, and his tail was uncovered. Instead, a gray shell resembling a horned crown with a red gemstone on its front and eyes on its rear sat upon his head.
"Ah, how nostalgic. I haven't seen you in nearly fifty years, Mr. Yamato. It's somewhat refreshing to see you in that form once more, even if this is technically the first time you've taken it."
"I assume you know me some time in the past that I haven't experienced yet."
"Indeed. You will come to know me shortly after the first Demi-Pokemon begin appearing in your time. We will be partners."
"Partners, huh? I don't believe you. I would never be partners with someone who kills the innocent and defenseless."
"Hah, hah. That's a somewhat ironic statement, coming from you," The cloaked man chuckled, "But you will come to see that in time. I suppose that, for now, you intend to fight me."
"That's right."
"Very well then. I will do you the common courtesy of introducing myself. I am the man that you will come to respect and put all of your faith in. I am the man with whom you will work side by side in founding the International Federation. I am the one that has been known since the twentieth century as the PokeProphet." In a sudden motion, the man's cloak was flung from his body. He was a humanoid Pokemon with golden skin, a long flowing mustache, and pointy fox-like ears. He wore brown pauldrons, torso armor, gauntlets, bracers, and knee pads. In each of his hands he held a shining silver spoon.
"An Alakazam?" Cecil wondered, "So he's a Demi-Pokemon?"
"No," Nendomaru replied from his groundbound position, "He's just a Pokemon. But make no mistake, he's still one of the strongest beings on this planet."
"Come now, Tsuguyoshi Yamato," The PokeProphet beckoned, "Let us fight. But I should warn you... the last time we fought, you had years of experience under your belt, and still lost. You cannot hope to win."
"We'll see about that." Yamato stepped forward, and psychic energy rippled forth from his body. The energy slammed into the PokeProphet and sent him flying backwards, though it did not knock him off of his feet.
"Now, now, let's not be hasty. Perhaps we should fight somewhere where your allies will not be in danger?"
"Oh, trust me. They aren't." Yamato obviously had the utmost confidence in his ability to protect his allies while battling his opponent.
"Very well then." With a wave of the Alakazam's arms, a dozen glowing purple spoons composed of psychic energy appeared above the head of each of the men not directly involved with the fight.
"That's a pretty cowardly move from someone that talks as big as you do." Yamato seemed completely unfazed by the PokeProphet's readied attack.
"I prefer to think of it as superior tactical planning."
"I don't know, I think the word 'superior' might be a bit of an exaggeration." Yamato snapped his fingers, and a pulse of dark violet energy emitted in all directions from his collar. The energy had no effect on the PokeProphet himself, but all of the psychic spoons disappeared upon contact with the wave.
"You appear to be quite confident about your ability." Alakazam remarked.
"I feel so powerful right now," Yamato replied, "Like I could take on the entire world." He extended his arms, and a tall wave of pink water that spanned the width of the hallway rose from the floor beneath him. His allies behind him were untouched and in fact protected by the wave, but as the wave grew, his opponent knew to brace for impact. The wave came crashing down on the PokeProphet, and despite the fact that he had conjured a circular psychic shield to protect himself, he was washed back towards the open door from which he had entered. The doors slammed closed just in time for him to hit them with great force and fall onto the floor.
"You are stronger than I expected you to be, I will grant you that," Alakazam said as he got to his feet, "However, you are still centuries away from defeating me!" Suddenly, the rectangular pillars scattered throughout the hall that were clearly responsible for supporting the ceiling began to crumble. Within a matter of seconds, the ceiling gave in, and metal debris began to fall from above. In addition to the steel bars that supported the floor above, the contents of the floor itself; chairs, desks, and other pieces of standard office equipment suddenly threatened to crush the combatants and Yamato's allies.
"Is that all you've got?" Yamato smirked. He clapped his hands, and moments before he and his friends could be crushed, the barrage was halted in mid air. The debris above the PokeProphet was not halted, but the wise Alakazam quickly dispatched everything aimed at him with a round of psychic projectiles. With a nod of Yamato's head, all that he had stopped from falling was redirected at the PokeProphet, who struggled but barely managed to destroy it all. Due to his concentration on the falling objects, he was unable to stop the time traveling Asian man from teleporting behind him and delivering a powerful punch to his back. Despite his reputation and vast psychic ability, the PokeProphet was not exempt from a weakness shared by all Alakazam: fragile defenses and a susceptibility to physical attacks.
"Game over." The red gemstone on Yamato's crown shone brightly, and stylized rings of ruby energy appeared around each of the PokeProphet's joints and his head. As Yamato's opponent's shackles appeared, his grandsons' disappeared, and the three groundbound Demi-Pokemon stood up and returned to their human forms.
"It appears as though my calculations were wrong," The PokeProphet spoke in a tone that was not disappointed nor angry in the least, "You are indeed more powerful than you were before. Our last fight raged on from midnight until noon... then, we were an even match. But now... perhaps I have become decrepit, or perhaps... perhaps, despite your tactical genius in the founding days of the federation, you are even smarter and stronger in your youth."
"I fought you before?"
"Yes. It is ironic for you to kill me here... time travel is truly a wondrous cornucopia of paradoxes."
"What do you mean?"
"You will come to know in time. Speaking of which... it is nearly time. It would not be wise to waste yours here."
"He's right," Nendomaru agreed, "It's nearly noon. Grandfather... finish him off."
"Alright." Yamato hesitated for several seconds, but after head nods of confirmation from each of his grandsons and the victim himself, he closed his eyes. The glowing red rings that trapped the PokeProphet closed in, and he was sliced into dozens of pieces.
"Cecil," Nendomaru turned to face the Italian Super Demi-Pokemon, "You need to return Yamato and Bobby to the past now."
"What?" Cecil asked, surprised by the command, "Why?"
"The upcoming battle will be much too dangerous. Their lives will be at great risk. If they are killed here... the flow of time will be damaged beyond repair. Yasuhiro will accompany you in order to teleport you back to the place where you found them and to erase their memories."
"Erase our memories?" Bobby spoke up out of concern, "Dude, that's really lame. Why do you have to do that?"
"I believe that the reason should be obvious."
"Yeah, it is, I understand, but... man. This was the craziest thing that's happened in my whole life, and now I'm going to forget it."
"Hey, don't worry about it," Yasuhiro whispered to Bobby in a voice that was intentionally just barely loud enough for Nendomaru to hear, "I'll make sure you remember it as a dream, sound good?" Nendomaru sighed; he had no problem with Yasuhiro's suggested course of action, but he was more than tired of his cousin's childish and unprofessional antics.
"Hayato," He then turned to his other cousin, "You're coming with me. We have to gather the key players that remain outside. We will meet Cecil and Yasuhiro on the rooftop."
"O-okay." Hayato reluctantly agreed. Yasuhiro, Yamato, and Bobby put their hands on Cecil's back, and Nendomaru placed his hand on Hayato's shoulder. In a bright flash of light, all six of them disappeared from the battle-stained room, leaving only the deceased PokeProphet behind.
Rebirth Tower's Rooftop
An powerful and chill wind, unusually cold for May in Dallas, blew across the roof of Rebirth Tower. The synthetic rock spire in the center of the roof stood strong, unable to be worn down and therefore unable to be threatened by the wind. The federation standard robes of the dozens of men and women who stood at its base flapped in the wind, but their faces remained as stoic as the pillar's. To those viewing the pillar from a distance, its face appeared to be unmarked, but upon closer examination, it became clear that near its base, it bore the same pattern as Daieoskail. The stone tablet was presently situated just below the matching pattern on the spire, and in front of it stood Metagross. Beside him was a member of the small-winged, tan-scaled draconic Pokemon species known as Dragonite.
"The time?" Metagross asked to noone in particular.
"Eleven fifty-six." A faceless cloaked federation soldier replied.
"Then let us begin." The steel-bodied psychic Pokemon blinked, and two relatively small glass cases appeared before him. In one was the still unconscious Manuel; in the other, Holden and Rose. The siblings immediately took in the change in scenery and began to look around them to see who was on the roof with them.
"Hey! It's you!" Rose's exclamation upon spotting Metagross could be deciphered by the way her lips moved, but no sound escaped her prison. Realizing this, she launched a blast of wind from her palms in order to try to break the glass, but it had no effect on the surprisingly sturdy walls of the prison.
"Hello again, beings of yin and yang," Metagross greeted the siblings with a smirk, "I hope you have found your temporary lodging to be quite accomo-" Suddenly, Cecil and Yasuhiro, both in their Pokemon forms, appeared in midair above Daieoskail and behind Metagross. They launched a joint attack consisting of highly pressurized water and large thorny vines, but all of their projectiles were absorbed by a mysterious force guarding the federation leader's back.
"Back from your time traveling trip, I see. Excellent." Metagross nodded its head slightly, and the pair were launched forward, landing just in front of Manuel's case. A similar case materialized around them, capturing the two newcomers within its walls. Upon being enclosed in the glass-like substance, they were instantly forced to revert to their human forms.
"Those are made of something called Captricite, earthlings. It lined the insides of old-fashioned Pokeballs... they don't use it any more, because of its rarity here on earth, but it remains the most effective Pokeball lining in the universe. Nothing can penetrate it, and normal Pokemon are converted from mass to energy inside of it. Demi-Pokemon are unresistably compelled to stay in their human forms while within its confines, for their bodies know that they will decompose if they attempt to transform."
"Dang, how the heck'd we fall for that?" Yasuhiro was clearly angered, "I freakin' watched them test the prototypes of these cases..."
"Now then..." Metagross cleared its throat with a metallic screeching sound, "The rest should be arriving in a large group in three... two... one..." On cue, Rachel's emerald-scaled Pokemon form shot up alongside the edge of the rooftop. Grayson, Kayden, and Lucas, in their human forms, leaped off of her back, landing on the roof opposite the federation army. A transformed Damian, Cristal, and Flint emerged from below after Rachel; the Flygon Demi carried the untransformed Michelle and Victoria on his back. The final wave of untransformed Demi-Pokemon appeared in a flash of light; Jinn, Hayato, Nendomaru, Percy, Caroline, Wes, and Howard teleported in alongside their comrades. All of the new arrivals wore angered and battle-ready looks on their faces; not a one of them was without reason to be angry with the International Federation and its leader. Shortly after the large group arrived, a trapdoor-style steel panel opened up in the midst of the newcomers, and out climbed Dart and Jimmy.
"Rose!" Jimmy exclaimed upon spotting his friend encased in Captricite.
"Woah, who are all of these people?" Dart wondered, amazed by the sheer number of allies that surrounded him. Not knowing who many of them were, he did not know for sure that they were allies, but it wasn't hard to figure out after seeing who their opponents were.
"The rest of us have met, for the most part," Explained Howard, who stood closest to Dart, "Who're you?"
"Dart," The boy with the bandanna around his arm replied, "And that's Jimmy."
"Either of you a Demi-Pokemon?" Wes asked, wanting to know if the newcomers could be of any practical use in the upcoming fight.
"Not me, I could only wish," Dart replied, "But Jimmy is. He's one of those really powerful ones, like Rose."
"Looks like you were wrong about your prediction, vice president," Victoria commented without regard for the fact that Lucas was still hurting from his recent loss, "We don't have six of the Super Demi on our side, we have eight."
"Sorry, but you don't really have any." The Dragonite that stood beside Metagross responded in a kiddish voice, "None of you's gonna get to fight." In an instant, an incredibly large Captricite case sprung up from below, encasing the half of the roof on which all of the Super Demi-Pokemon and their allies - including those already in smaller cases - stood.
"I apologize if this doesn't seem like fair," Metagross said snidely, speaking through telepathy so that his adversaries could hear him, "But we are the International Federation, after all. Fairness is not one of our concerns. Power, on the other hand, is."
"Eleven fifty-nine and thirty seconds, sir." A federation underling reported diligently.
"Then let us bring in our final guest." Metagross stomped one of its feet on the ground, and a crystalline case shot up from the floor between Daieoskail and the pillar behind it. Within the rainbow-colored crystal was a young blonde-haired girl, frozen in place with her arms outstretched.
"I just thought of something," Metagross remarked quizzically, "In that pose, she sort of resembles your religious figure Christ, doesn't she? Fitting, if you ask me. For she will now signal the second coming of a deity that is as real as you or I... she will now awaken, and complete the cycle of the twelve!" Suddenly, the crystal and the girl within it began to shine with a radiant white light. Her body transformed, taking on the form of a small, pink furred feline fairy with a long tail. As its resident transformed, the crystal instantly shattered.
"I am the great one's rebirth." Megan's eyes opened, and she spoke as one would in a deep trance, "I am the being of life. I am Mew!" The final stone sphere imbedded on Daieoskail began to glow. Next to the dark, fiery sphere that represented Jirae, Mew's sphere now glowed a soft pink and white. With the final sphere lit up, Daieoskail began to shake and hum at a high frequency, as did the spire behind it. Lightning struck the tip of the spire, and a bright, otherworldly vortex of light opened up above.
"Now, by the power of the twelve divine Pokemon and the tablet that prophecized their awakenings," Metagross announced commandingly, "I call upon the power of the heavens above! Strike our Spear Pillar, and open the gate to the Hall of Origin! As a descendant of your Monplanian lineage, and he who has brought together the twelve phases of the cycle of your rebirth... I summon you, Arceus!" White lightning shot from the vortex above the spire rapidly, striking at random throughout the city surrounding Rebirth Tower. A bolt of lightning struck the cage containing the Super Demi-Pokemon and their allies, and it shattered into invisibly small pieces.
"No!" Nendomaru shouted.
"What's going on?" and similar cries echoed throughout the crowd that had formerly been encased in Captricite.
"This is what we've been trying to stop for decades..." Nendomaru replied as he fell to his knees, "This was the federation's ultimate goal before they even contacted Satoshi Tajiri... this is why they came to Earth. They came to summon the creator of Monplan, a true and living deity... the Pokemon's god, Arceus."
"This... is what the International Federation has been trying to do?" Michelle was shocked and instantly ashamed to have worked for the federation, "But why...? Why are they doing this?"
"Arceus will rain a doomsday upon Earth." Nendomaru replied, "With a single bellow, it will negate all of human existance. It will bring about a new world order... where Pokemon are the only beings that inhabit this planet."
"So all along, the Pokemon were just classic horror movie aliens," Dart thought aloud, "Who came to Earth to destroy all humans and take the planet for their own."
"There must be something we can do!" Jimmy exclaimed.
"There is nothing." Nendomaru replied, having already long given up hope.
"That isn't true and you know it, Nendo-kun," Yasuhiro said confidently, "There is something. Remember that clock that grandpa left to us in his will?"
"The one with the ancient-looking Pokemon drawings on it?" Hayato asked, "I remember that."
"I'm only remembering this because I'm so good when it comes to nostalgia," Yasuhiro explained, "But those drawings strongly resembled the twelve Super Demi-Pokemon. When it struck noon, the clockface would glow, and another drawing - a drawing of Arceus - would be visible in the center. That clock was a prophecy of this event, just as much as Daieoskail is."
"Whether or not that clock was actually telling the story about what's happening right now, I don't see how it's nearly as much a part of the prophecy as the tablet that was used to summon Arceus." Nendomaru retorted. He was still frightened, but despite not showing it, he was now more willing than before to listen to what his cousin had to say.
"There was an inscription on the back of the clock... remember? I remember exactly what it said, 'cause it was about us. It didn't make sense then, but it makes perfect sense now."
"What did it say?"
Yasuhiro smirked. "It said...
As they have summoned him, so too can they banish him. Their power is your power. You are my grandsons. You are my destiny. I am gone, but my spirit lives on within you. Use that spirit. Together with the twelve, live up to the destiny of every man. The spirits of knowledge, emotion, and willpower are yours. When the time comes, you will know what to do.
That's what it said... and you do know what to do, don't you?" His smirk turned to a childish grin.
"Yeah." Hayato nodded his head.
"It's that simple?" Nendomaru was surprised, but glad, "I wouldn't have guessed that it would be up to us."
"Why not?" Yasuhiro shrugged, "You know how important granddad was in all of this. It's only fitting that we be important too."
"Alright," Nendomaru got up off of his knees, and the three grandsons of Yamato took hold of eachother's hands and closed their eyes, "Let's go." The trio began to levitate off the ground, and floated slowly up towards the light-spewing vortex in the sky.
"Hey! What's going on? Nendomaru!" Cecil was very confused.
"It's been nice knowing you, Cecil, but my time's up, I'm afraid. Just lend us your power... all of you."
"But..."
"I'll say hi to Niccolo and Murray for you." Nendomaru smiled warmheartedly.
"Right," Cecil wiped away his tears and nodded his head, "Everyone! You heard what Nendomaru said! Lend them your power!" Each of the Super Demi-Pokemon began to glow with a light matching the color of their spheres on Daieoskail, and they all took on their Pokemon forms. The energy emitted from them encircled Yamato's grandsons, and they began to float faster towards the vortex.
"What?!" Metagross was caught completely off guard, "Yamato... I should've known he'd try to stop this. Even in death... but I won't let him! Arceus will be reborn!" All of the federation agents on the rooftop launched elemental attacks at the flying trio, but the attacks were absorbed and reflected by the multicolored energy barrier that now surrounded the three Asians.
"This is our planet!" Jimmy shouted, "We trusted the Monplanians... and you betrayed that trust! We won't let you have Earth!"
"Metagross..." Michelle gritted her teeth, "For all of the Demi-Pokemon you corrupted..."
"... For all of the members of NATU who died trying to stop you..." Lucas added.
"And for everyone whose lives you ruined or ended for your cause," Cecil finished, "We're going to stop you!"
Finally, Yamato's grandsons entered the vortex, and it seemed as though the entire earth began to shake. Lightningbolts flew from the portal with much greater frequency than before, and Metagross, along with all of the agents beside him, were struck and vaporized. Daieoskail and the pillar behind it were struck and crumbled into rubble. The twelve Super Demi-Pokemon were struck and knocked off of their feet. With a loud boom, the vortex vanished into thin air, and the skies cleared.
"Grayson!" Flint ran to his brother's body, and the rest of the humans and Demi-Pokemon remaning on the roof followed, running over to the bodies of the Super Demi-Pokemon that concerned them most.
"They're sleeping," Michelle announced with a sigh of relief, "Probably worn out from the trauma of... whatever they just did."
"So... is all of this over?" Caroline asked, "Will they be back to normal when they wake up?"
"I suppose we'll know when they wake up." Howard shrugged.
"The International Federation..." Lucas thought aloud, "There's barely anything left of it now. I think... they've all but disbanded. Once word gets out of what happened here, there's no way that they'll still be able to function the way they did."
"Yeah," Victoria agreed, "But what does that mean for us? What does that mean for humans? For Pokemon?"
"And what does it mean," Flint finished, "For Demi-Pokemon?"
Note: Reference timeline: All sunday
Note: Sgarrista is the low ranking foot soldier in the mafia, capo is the head (aka don)
Note: While the term "awakening" has been used exclusively in relation to the Super Demi Pokemon up until this point, it actually refers to the first transformation of any Demi-Pokemon (As mentioned earlier, this usually occurs during puberty). The Super Demi are the only ones that get the whole speech about the great one, though.
Note: Doctor Who is a really long running and popular science fiction series that I'd never heard of till I wikipedia'd it. But basically, it's about a time traveller, hence Yasuhiro referencing it when referring to Cecil.
Note: So here's the deal with Yamato. Yamato is his last name and Tsuguyoshi is his first, so by the conventional standard, his Demi-Pokemon form should be a Pokemon whose Japanese name starts with the Japanese letter Tsu. Shuckle is the only existing Pokemon that fits this criteria, and frankly, I wasn't going to make him a Shuckle morph. Instead, I decided to go by his last name, and chose Slowking (Yadoking) as his Demi-Pokemon form. A possible canonical explanation for this is that because of the bizarre circumstances of his transformation, the typical transformation-naming conventions don't apply to him.
Note: Bet you can't guess where Yamato's grandsons having the spirits of "knowledge, emotion, and willpower" came from...
New Banner:
http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/4686/meganbannerhy3.png
So... yeah. It's over. If any of your questions were left unanswered, ask them. I'll either answer them or tell you to wait until season 2.
And now... a preview of season 2.
Dallas, Texas
The pungent odor of spilled chemicals wafted through the air of the dark, damp laboratory. Almost all of the machines and man-sized test tubes lining the walls of the room were intact, but none of them showed any signs of activity. Large amounts of cobwebs and dust had gathered in every corner and on every surface. It was clear that the lab had been undisturbed for several years.
All of the tall test tubes were filled with oddly colored fluid, and most were empty. Some sort of white sediment had gathered at the bottom of a good few of them, but it, like the machines attached to the fluid-filled chambers, bore no sign of life or activity. One tube in the back of the room, however, contained more life than the rest of the room combined: in it floated a white humanoid creature with remotely feline features and a long purple tail. Its arms were crossed over its chest, and its eyes were closed. It did not appear to be dead or unconscious; rather, it looked as if it was in a state of restful sleep.
Suddenly, a computer screen attached to the creature's chamber flickered on. Lines of white text began to scroll rapidly across the eerie green screen. After several minutes of credit-like scrolling, the text ceased its movement. At the bottom of the screen, the last line read "All Systems Activated. Initiating Birth Sequence."
The creature's eyes jolted open, revealing its piercing purple irises. It uncrossed its arms and lowered them to their resting positions by its sides.
"This place..." It looked back and forth, surveying the abandoned laboratory, "I know this place. This is... Rebirth Tower. The one hundred and fifty first floor laboratory. There were once people here... scientists. And... a girl." The creature looked over to the test tube directly to its right. Empty.
"She is gone," It concluded, "How long ago did she leave? How long have I been asleep?" It shook its head, "No. I was not asleep, because I was never awake. I know what I know because I sensed it with my unconscious mind... but that means that it could have been a dream. No... I know that it was not a dream. So... what happened to the people? Why did they... abandon me?" It closed and opened its hands, and the glass of the tube surrounding it shattered. Green liquid spilled out onto the floor, and the creature landed on the pedestal that was the bottom of the broken chamber.
"I do not truly remember anything. I do not know the circumstances of my birth... or my creation. All I know is that they abandoned me... and that I have a name. My name... is Mewtwo."
