The Trial of Juno Saga [PG-13]

[Neo Emolga]

Chapter 20
Hostile Conflict

Recommended Listening: Metal Gear Solid 4 - Infinite Loop

Everywhere, the room was a mess, with cans laying all over the floor, as well as the three metal chairs that had been knocked over and the two pieces of what as left of the metal table. I had looked over to the shelf unit and saw it was still smoking from my own lightning blast.

Ampharos charged at me in a berserker fury, and lunged toward me, and I jumped into the air to avoid his grasp, sailing right over his body and landed right behind him as he slid through the slick of whatever dark-colored liquid on the floor. Ampharos had realized he had missed me, and after he got up, and turned around, I jumped into the air, turned myself in the air and smacked him right in the face with my sharp, jagged tail, again, going for a part of his body that wasn't armored. Ampharos was sent stumbling backward, trying to grab on to something before he fell on his back.

Ampharos quickly got back up again and gave me a nasty glare. He began to sway his tail back and forward, quickly gathering up a harsh amount of electricity. Then, he released it, and I was surprised when practically the whole room lit up with an intense electrical power. Everything in the room except for the two of us had been struck hard with his electrical power. Behind me, the two vending machines had exploded, and a barrage of what seemed to be soda cans had blasted right out and went rolling onto the floor. The floor was suddenly dripping wet with mixing beverages and what seemed to be some kind of soda. A can that hadn’t been destroyed had rolled right next to me, and I thought of an idea.

The Ampharos was trying to get a hold of his rifle, but bending over to pick it up would leave him vulnerable. However, I knew getting shot with that thing would be fatal.

"You Silver Rebellion bastards are all the same," He snarled at me, frustrated his electrical attacks were doing next to nothing to solve his situation. "Can't even fight without cheeky, infantile tactics."

At this point, I stopped caring if he thought I was part of whatever rebel group he was talking about. I was not going to mix myself into this whole war or whatever they had going on here.

Ampharos came rushing toward me, and I quickly grabbed the nearby soda can and shook it as hard as I could, hoping this actually was a carbonated beverage and would do what I thought it would do. I then pointed the mouth of the can at Ampharos and pulled the tab, spraying him with a cloud of amber-colored root beer, blinding him for an instant. I tossed aside the half-filled can and struck Ampharos with the hardest punch I could muster, right between the eyes. Ampharos was sent flying backward, and then violently hit the back wall with his head, which thankfully did most of the damage.

I wasn't sure how much of that commotion was heard by anyone else in this place, but I wasn't about to take chances. I quickly grabbed the Ampharos's belongings and tried to find whatever useful things I could use. I wasn't sure about these Silver Rebellion Inferno grenades, but they were the only weapon I had. I had no clue what the rest of this equipment was about. I found a metallic-gray and white armored uniform, which was definitely not meant for a Pikachu and I figured probably belonged to some unfortunate soldier that was either killed or imprisoned here.

So, it was just two Inferno Grenades, myself, and Latias's Poké Ball, all strapped to an improvised belt made of worn chain links. I was going to have to work with this the best I could.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" The Ampharos snarled as he crawled on the floor toward me, trying to get back up on his feet. "I'm not done pulling your head off!"

He killed my four Pokémon and almost killed Latias. I figured there was no time like the present. I looked at one of the Inferno Grenades, and found that triggering it involved yanking out a T-shaped metallic bolt. I pulled it out, and then tossed it right next to him and his snarling face. I then rushed out of there, thrashed my way out the scratched and beaten metallic door, and tried to clear as much distance away from the room as possible.

"YOU TWISTED-" The Ampharos screamed loudly before he was cut off.

I turned around to see the break room had instantly turned into an incinerator out of control. Ravaging, consuming fire was even leaking out of the door and into the hallway I was in. I was surprised some kind of alarm hadn't gone off, but then again, I wasn't even sure if this place or even this world had such a thing in existence.

I had no idea where Alex and Randy were being held, and I still needed to find a way out of here. I was still in dismay at the thought these maniacs had killed four of my Pokémon, but I knew if I didn't get out of here, I was probably going to get killed also. Meanwhile, there could be other guards or more of these Crimson Stars soldiers. I doubted anyone would notice I escaped the jail cell considering no one even bothered to look at me in there, but the break room being on fire with the two burnt corpses of a Skarmory and a Ampharos was not going to go unnoticed. Plus I wasn't sure if anyone heard those loud gun shots either.

I then moved my way into the dimly lit hallway. Like the prison cell and the break room itself, the hallways were completely metal, as if this was a submarine. Pipes and wires ran across the ceiling, while metal panels similar to the ones in the cells covered the floor. It was reminding me a lot of that dream, and it was unnerving.

My first objective was to find Alex and Randy, and hopefully get out of here. I headed to the right, knowing I would be heading back in the same direction that my cell was. I had made my way down, knowing if anyone were to come down this hallway, there was no way for me to hide, and I would have no choice but to fight. I had come across another rusty, metal door that had a pull latch for a handle. I jumped, grabbed the metal latch, and kicked back to open the door.

My assumption was correct. I had seen rows upon rows of heavy steel, circular vault doors. The room was much larger than the hallway, but I saw something that made me jump. A Primeape, Beartic, and Seviper had been on patrol, and when I opened the door, they spotted me.

The Beartic was the easiest one to notice, as the giant, white polar bear with his night-black claws and razor-sharp teeth could only be made worse by covering him with black and red plated armor. Even for a Beartic, he was burlier and angrier than usual. He too, was holding a gun, only this one looked like a combat-worn heavy machine gun that looked like it would usually be mounted on a tank.

His Primeape companion was a fuzz-ball pig monkey with brown arms and legs with shackles. He was wearing custom-fit Crimsons Stars armor as well, but his face was scarred and it looked like he had been in several close-combat fights before. He was also holding a dirty sub-machine gun of sorts.

As for the Seviper, he was mostly a scarred black and violet snake with yellow hexagons on his back. He was without armor, although he did have a black and red bracer around his neck.

But in the end, all three of them were filthy. When they saw me, I couldn't help but feel small and overwhelmed at that moment.

“Butt-naked and helpless... well, it looks like we have an escapee,” The Primeape laughed, looking at me. “Decision time... strangle him with his own colon or play seconds of life countdown after we rip off his head?"

“Let me handle him, Captain,” The Beartic snarled with a wicked smile as he gently put his massive machine gun aside to use his massive fists instead. “The damned janitor never cleaned our bunk this morning, so I'm making sure this one's remains are especially hard to mop up."

I wasn't sure about these Silver Rebellion guys, but I was already beyond sick of these Crimson Stars and their barbaric pleasures. I really didn’t need this, and all I wanted was to find Randy and Alex and figure out what we needed to do to get out of here. The Beartic looked me over as he took his sharp-clawed fists and punched them together, illustrating what would happen if I got between then.

The giant, white polar bear with his night-black claws and razor-sharp teeth had growled at me. The Primeape had rubbed his fists together, thinking this was going to be an easy picking.

“Don't stop until he's nothing but goo, Slenx,” The Primeape captain grinned in sadistic pleasure. "I want to count the seconds he's still twitching before he dies."

The Beartic named Slenx came stomping toward me, and outstretched his arm. While he was a hulking beast of a Pokémon, he was still held down by his slowness and his heavy armor did nothing to help his finesse and dexterity. I needed to make that something I could use. He threw his clawed fist down powerfully, and I quickly leapt out of the way just a split-second before his claw ripped into the metal floor, nearly ripping his nails off in the process. He charged again, but thankfully, being a light-weight Pikachu made it easy to leap several feet into the air and dodge the shambling giant's attacks. As his hand smashed and clawed nothing but the walls and floor, he was doing more harm to himself than to me. However, if I messed up just one evasive maneuver, it would probably mean getting half the bones in my body smashed to pieces.

"Fight me, you worm!" He shouted, thrashing angrily.

I focused my attention, and began charging electricity. I then sent the massive wave of electricity right at Beartic, and struck him in the chest, knowing his armor would only provide some protection against the electric blast. The giant polar bear Pokémon staggered back, grasping his torso and moaning in pain as forks of electricity coursed around him. Oddly enough, it seemed to hurt him more than the average Thunderbolt. Again, I wondered... was it because I was Juno and not just an ordinary Pikachu? I seriously had to keep practicing at this.

Then, I had crouched down and lowered my head. Slenx wasn’t going to move now that he was paralyzed. After he had shook off the pain and began to approach me, I blasted right off the ground and everything around me became a white blaze of electric fury. I slammed right into Beartic’s chest once again, sending him staggering backwards. He fell over and the back of his head powerfully struck one of the larger pipes leading up from the floor into the wall. After he had hit the metal floor and landed on his back, he appeared too weak to get back up and the powerful blow to his head had to have resulted in major blunt force trauma.

“Lucky little bastard,” The Primeape spat at his fallen comrade before looking at me. "How does a guy like him get so pummeled over by a Pikachu of all things?"

Maybe not just an ordinary Pikachu. I was Juno, after all. A Pikachu born from a kid's dreams and imagination. I figured maybe the signs weren't so obvious on the outside, but I knew I was doing things a normal Pikachu couldn't.

He gave me a glare, and then he looked over to the Seviper waiting impatiently besides him. When the Primeape Captain gave a nod, the Seviper grinned wickedly, licking his lips.

“Yessss…” The Seviper hissed with sadistic glee. “I ssshall make ssshort work of him…”

The black snake with a yellow diamond pattern running along his body slithered his way across the floor, moving with an unpredictable advance. Seviper had one hell of a face, with long fangs and menacing eyes, along with a tail end that looked like a knife.

“You are finisssshed!” The Seviper hissed at me, just before blasting toward me like a bullet.

I couldn’t even see Seviper it was so fast. For a moment, it seemed like it just disappeared, and then a split second later, I felt an intense spark of pain suddenly slide down my back. Only then could I see Seviper, only it was too late. I felt so much pain coming from all directions. And then, I started feeling terribly sick and nauseous, and it only got worse every passing moment. I was too weak to continue fighting, and I could barely move.

Maybe it was luck with the Beartic. I still wasn't used to fighting as a Pikachu and I certainly was no soldier like these guys were.

“Get me the chains, I want the little maggot wrapped in them until he chokes,” The Primeape captain grunted.

“Yesss.” The Seviper began to obey.

I tried to focus, doing my best to ignore the pain that was beating all around my body. After managing to get back on my feet, I looked back at him, letting him know I wasn’t about to give up yet. I gave him a dark stare, and then Seviper looked back at me, ready to start fighting again. Yet, despite what had happened, again the Primeape had just snickered and was ready to start again.

“Forget that,” He said, shaking off his anger. “Put the maggot back on the ground!”

Seviper had lunged toward me like a bullet, and then I had remembered something. Even with Seviper dashing toward me with its mouth open as it readied its fangs, I concentrated and began to focus. I remembered I managed to pull off this feat back in Randy's world as Juno. It hadn't been that long, I figured I could give it another shot. With some concentration, I grew faster and faster as the rest of the world around me just suddenly slowed down.

Suddenly, Seviper’s speed had slowed to crawl, and then I dashed toward him, still rushing at my normal speed. Seviper moved around like it was crawling through tar, so it made it easy for me to get right on its back. I then charged my electricity, and sent the forking thunder and lightning right into the back of Seviper’s head, and kept it tearing through him, coursing through all his nerves until I figured he couldn’t stand having his brain continuously electrocuted.

Then, everything had returned to normal speed, and I jumped off of the collapsing Seviper, and faced the Primeape, who just stood there in disbelief.

“What the hell...!?” The Primeape asked in shock. “I've never seen a Pikachu pull that off! What kind of damned drugs do they have you on!?”

Drugs. This was definitely nothing like drugs, but I could tell he didn't want to give me credit for anything. Still, it was something far more powerful than any kind of performance enhancers. Without a doubt, Randy definitely had given Juno an arsenal of some pretty powerful attributes and moves. I figured I might as well use everything he gave me and try to learn as much as I could.

He had ignored the fallen body of his comrade, and prepared to attack with his sub-machine gun. I figured all the evisceration and butchery games these three had thought up were no longer being considered.

"To hell with you!" The Primeape shouted. "Eat lead and die, you god-forsaken, drugged-up lab rat!"

He opened fire, and I absolutely had to focus to avoid getting shot. Like before, he slowed down, and I could actually make out every bullet coursing its way toward me. I leapt out of the way, and then I focused my energy. My red cheeks flared up with crackling electricity again, and as he tried to reposition his aim to compensate for my blinding speed, I focused on his head, directing the blazing bolt of thunder to strike him right between the eyes. It hit him hard, and I made sure his brain was so thoroughly damaged by the thunderous attack that it would practically render him in a permanent vegetative state.

He was thrown back and his firearm went sailing out of his hands before he landed on his back, still sizzling from the attack. He lay there, completely still and unable to fight back. Really, a normal Pikachu's Thunderbolt attack wouldn't have hurt a Primeape that badly, but Juno's... definitely seemed to be a heck of a lot more effective.

I had approached his fallen body, and found a cloth bag he had been carrying. Since I couldn’t pull it off with him lying on the floor, I opened the flap and looked inside.

Inside was a stockpile of healing items, antidotes, potions, and loads of other stuff. Right now, I had no choice but to use them, or otherwise I was going to collapse because of the harsh poison that Seviper injected into me. They seemed to be a little different from the medicines that I typically gave to my own Pokémon, but they were simple enough to figure out how to use them.

I hated using antidotes on my Pokémon, just because the things look so darn painful. It was a hypodermic with scarlet liquid it, not the most comforting of things to see. All I could do was expose the needle, prick myself with it, and inject the scarlet liquid by pressing down on the plunger. Never once did I ever imagine I was going to have to one day use this on myself. Despite that, I had to hurry, or I wasn’t going to make it…

I removed the plastic covering on the needle, tossed it aside, and pricked myself with the sharp needle right in my side. Well, without a doubt, it sure was painful. Next, I put my tiny yellow hand on the release button on the top of the hypodermic, and pressed down. I didn’t want to watch as the scarlet liquid left the hypodermic’s container and entered into me.

But, amazingly, the sting from the poison was quickly flushed out and gone within only a few seconds. I pulled the hypo’s needle out from my side, and tossed it away. After quickly taking a glance at the empty hypodermic, I was not looking forward toward ever doing something like that again.

I had gone back to the bag and looked around for something to heal the cuts with. After digging around for it, I found a medical spray that looked easy and simple enough to use. Mostly similar to the potions back home, but with a differently shaped bottle and a clear liquid. I removed the cap that stopped the potion from accidentally releasing the spray within the bag. I then pointed the nozzle at myself and pressed down on the spray lever, showering myself with tiny, revitalizing droplets. I was amazed how this stuff worked, it healed cuts and bruises within seconds, though there was still some scarring and damage that would take a little longer to fully and naturally heal over time. When it was finished, I felt completely refreshed, almost as if nothing had happened, though there was still some aching. Still, I couldn’t always rely on these things. I was definitely going to have to be more careful about it.

For the Primeape's submachine gun, while it was a bigger and definitely oversized, I could actually use it. Trying to figure out how to eject the used magazine to replace it with a fresh one took me a while, and I realized these firearms used a trigger that was a straight rod instead of a curve. Meanwhile, their bullets were also a dark silver color, which was unusual.

Next, I found the Primeape’s belt along with the ring of metallic alloy keys he had been carrying. Keys here were also very different, and instead were T-shaped and used an array of metal imprinted bar codes. I almost didn't recognize them as keys until I took a glance at some of the locks on the prison doors and made the connection.

I unloosened his belt, slid the metal key ring along his belt and removed them.

Now I just needed to find Alex and Randy…