//------------------------------// // Chapter 31 // Story: Starlight: Redshift // by the-pieman //------------------------------// I try to calm down. Need to think straight... First thing’s first, call for help. I hold my éTech at my side, and do my best to inconspicuously dial an emergency number. If I can get the cops in on this, this might go down better than my last encounter. The Chainers stepping in are all the black-and-gray grunts, the stylized circle-A signs on their shoulders the simple red the majority I’d seen so far have. Then, one with a blue undershirt and circle-A steps into the room, and looks at me and the researcher. A group of pokémon lumber into the room shortly behind. A Gurdurr, a Houndoom, and a Baltoy with chains branded into their skin, the ‘chains’ made of interlocking C’s. The blue-shirted Chainer points at me. He has a gun in hand. “Drop what you’re carrying, and put your hands up. You get real lucky, and I won’t shoot to kill ya.” He gestures with his other hand. The researcher has stood as well, slowly putting his own hands up. “Easy there man, we’re cool.” I say, trying to stay calm. I hit the speaker button on my éTech as I drop it. If it doesn’t break when it clatters to the floor, whoever’s on the other end will hear every word... I just hope the cops here aren’t stupid... “And we’ll stay cool if you don’t do anything. Hey, grunts! Grab the server racks, and set up the EMP bomb.” My eyes widen, and I hear the researcher inhale sharply. The guy looks at us. “What, you got a problem? Can’t have these little digi-pokers go squealing to the authorities.” After a minute or two of standing and waiting, I see that the server room is connected to the UHT Beam Cannon chamber, and that a bunch of grunts are already loading the cannon into the back of a truck backed up to a hole in the chamber wall. I decide to play stupid, see if I can get the guy to spill the plan. “So what do you want? Money? I- I got money.” “Nah. We got the laser thingy, and we’ve almost got those unknown things too. We’ll be able to release his majesty soon.” The Chainer smiles at the words, but his grin is eerie and disquieting. I gotta stall him, keep him talking. “Majesty? Who’s that? Sounds important.” The Chainer looks straight at me, his eyes wide, manic, and his grin showing more teeth than a  grin should be able to. With a slight turn of my stomach, I realize his mouth was cut so it opens farther. “His Majesty will dance from the stars as he unslumbers. And with his waking, the dream shall break, and the dreamed shall break with it.” I come up with a stupid response to stall some more, ignoring the creepy face the guy has. “So... like the Wind Fish? How do you wake him up?” “The unknown components are the words of a sleeping god. Words loud enough to be heard by anything. They are written in the world itself, free to dance amongst themselves. They whisper intent.” “So why do you need a giant laser, then?” “Idunno. To blow up the moon? Maybe it’s in his way. I’m just following orders, here.” Okay, this guy is clearly nuts. When are the goddamn police gonna show up!? I dialed 911, and I set the speaker mode on so whoever’s on the other end has just heard people being threatened and a giant Doom Laser is being stolen! Where are the authorities? The UHT Beam device is loaded up, and is driven away. I’m a bit unsure if I’ve actually called anyone, given how long it’s been. The grunts are clustered up in the now-empty UHT Beam chamber, and are talking. The overseer-guy is looking towards the researcher when a thunderous CRASH! echoes through the building, and an immense shape comes through the ceiling. A Metagross, easily a story and a half tall, minimum, crashes through the roof, and lands on the grunts. With a metallic roar, the Metagross opens the massive, plated jaws on its underside, whirring teeth and a minor vacuum effect pulling in dozens of Grunts in a  single action. Their screams alone are terrible, but the way the Metagross is looking around... geez, I’ve never imagined one so huge! And it seems so deadly serious. But, given that it’s targeting the Chainers, I assume it’s friendly... to a degree. I try to think of what I can do with the distraction before the leader-guy remembers he has a gun and shoots me through the head. I could try and grab my éTech and send out another emergency message. Or I could try and bolt. But I doubt I could outrun their pokémon, much less a bullet. And I’d be leaving the researcher behind. Out of options, I reach down and grab my éTech as fast as I can and try to figure out what I can do. My brain tells me I’m taking too long and so I just shove it in my pocket and return my hands to the air and wait for the Metagross to be... finished. I don’t get the time, however, when the Chainer leader grabs me by the shoulder and slams me into the side of a server cabinet, one of the few still here. I freeze as a cold metal muzzle presses painfully against my head. I don’t want to die... The cold metal suddenly disappears with the sound of an angry chicken drop-kicking something to death. I look up, and see the Chainer leader, stuck up to the hips in the ceiling, twitch once. A few drops of blood drip down off the leg above me. Looking slowly back, I’m face-to-face with an inordinately female Blaziken, who is helping the researcher to his feet. Why do birds even need breasts? Either way, I look around at the chaos and think of what to do. The Metagross is slowly, carefully turning in place, giant legs knocking huge chunks of roof and walls down in the process. It’s almost comical, given that the pokémon looks insanely guilty about messing up the lab so much. The Blaziken steps next to me, looking me over with quick, sharp movements. The moment the ‘examination’ is over, though, she inexplicably hugs me. Whoo, real soft there... Her feathers are like down. “I uh, I’m happy I’m alive too?” She grives me what can only be a sultry grin, and I feel a  creeping unease. Slowly, she strokes my chest, and I’m beginning to feel distinctly uncomfortable. “Uh... uh...” Is she feeling me up!? Oh god what the hell? Suddenly, another Chainer grunt comes through a wall at us. Not like he was doing under his own power, but rather like he was thrown. Given the huffing, puffing figure on the other side of the new doorway, I’d believe it. I recognize that long coat and silvery glove easily. “Xavius? Oh man am I glad to see you! We gotta stop meeting like this... could you uh, take care of this Blaziken before she starts ripping my clothes off?” “What? Oh, Elise, cut that out!” He snaps, and the Blaziken sheepishly walks away. She’s definitely sashaying, and stops once she’s behind Xavius to blow a kiss at me. I have no idea how to feel about this. “Huh, hey Anthony. What are you doing here?” He looks at me with minor confusion. “And Dr. Halsey, how are you?” “I’ve told you before, call me Richard. Mother always prefered to be called ‘doctor’ Halsey.” I stand up and try to clear my head of the last few confusing minutes. “Uh, I was here on a tour, but I stopped to chat with, uh, Richard, about Corta and such. The Chainers just broke in and... Wait, their EMP didn’t go off, did it?” “We found it one of the other labs, it wasn’t activated by the time we got there. Hard to make an EMP with a slagged bomb. Anyways, what were they after? I can see there’s no UHT Beam, but did they want anything else?” “Not that they said. I tried to keep their leader-guy talking, but he just started spouting crazy stuff about a dreamer. Didn’t even know why they wanted the beam. But if it can take out a Zubzilla or the moon as he guessed, we’re in trouble.” “A... dreamer? Huh. Did he say anything else that stood out?” “Don’t know, they guy was a nutter, couldn’t tell what he was even talking about. He did say something about some unknown parts or something, though.” “Hmm... unknown parts, unknown parts...” He starts pacing, and I can see that his silver glove is slicked with red blood. Yeesh, how hard did he hit that guy? Hard enough to send him through a wall at least, but he doesn’t look that strong... maybe he’s tougher than he looks. “So anyway-” “Wait, did he say ‘Unknown parts’, or ‘Unknown components?” “Components. He was kinda freaking me out. Now that the danger is relatively over, I think I should make sure my friends are alright. Twilight left with the tour group, so she may still be in the building” “Unknown components... Did he mention anything about the words of a god?” “Yeah, wouldn’t say who the god was though. Kept calling him Majesty.” “Shit. I need to go check on something. Take care, Dr. Halsey, you too, Anthony. Elise, top of Peanuts, let’s go!” Xavius gets a hug from Elise, who leaps, taking the two of them to the top of the titanic steel-type. Shit, I forgot to get his number... oh well, that can wait for another time. I pull out my éTech and, thankfully able to do a three-way conference, call up both Twilight and Rarity, opening with ‘are you okay,’ and ‘where are you?’ “Anthony, dear, they’re telling us that there’s been another Chainer attack!” Rarity says, looking both dismayed and scared at the same time. Twilight looks relieved though. “I’m assuming you got away before they showed up then? The tour kept going, but I didn’t see you when it ended.” I answer both of them. “I stayed behind to talk with someone. The Chainers broke in and made off with the UHT laser, saying they were going to blow something up. Tried to call for help but they had a gun. Xavius came by and just left after asking a few questions. Let’s meet up at the Rest Center, I’ll explain more when we’re together. For now, the Chainers are gone.” The two nod, and I disconnect the call. Jeez, today has been one hell of a day...