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denkoarts · 18 days

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Visitor: 8

good lord finally-

(chapter under cut)

A handful of guards, each with a full belt of capture balls on their belts, AND in a relatively small corridor, all combine into not a pleasant sight. With both hands full, Denko couldn't make quick work of the trainers, either.

It's only a matter of time before internal security gets ramped up to the max; There was no time to waste, he had to reach Jake and the Ion as soon as possible! Denko had to find a way to minimize the time burnt humoring these guards.

Taking a deep breath, Denko glared through the Ultra Balls opening before him as the Zeraora Battle Flow™ came into effect.

Leavanny and Sandslash…both Pokemon strong against Electric attacks. Ground moves are the one weakness of electric types, so Sandslash must be the primary attacker. Leavanny is more difficult to discern, though Denko had two ideas: Status effects or stat changes.

Whichever job the bug nanny may fill, Denko must be prepared for anything, even WITH an alien Carnivine on his side. George stood protectively in front of Denko, snarling, drooling, and staring at the bug hungrily.

"String shot!" Shoot…! Denko was too absorbed in figuring out a plan for the Sandslash. The feline leapt into the air, trying to avoid the oncoming white string, though to no avail. One of his hind paws got caught, yanking it - and him - to the cold steel floor and gluing him in place.

Before long, his entire body was covered with the substance, restricting movement to an uncomfortable degree. He stumbled and hit the ground hard, getting a glimpse of George swatting at its own bindings as he fell. While he struggled, the Sandslash screamed and swiped its claws, stirring up a thick sandstorm, hurtling straight at Denko! Sand Tomb, shit…!

He braced, but the rough sting never came. A second later, his cocoon loosened enough he could burst clean out of it thanks to a purple acidic substance.

...George-?!

He thanked his lucky star that this little monster was on his side, then stood up. George was spinning his leaves like a propeller blade, blowing the sand tomb straight back at the trainers and pokemon. They cried out, rubbing their eyes in a vain attempt to clear them.

Sandslash remained unaffected, but thorny vines from George tied it down for a moment. He looked back at Denko, grunting and indicating for him to go on ahead. He hesitates, but returns a nod. George should be able to handle himself; The guards will be more concerned with Denko, anyways.

The plant lowers his head, though maintaining a horizontal angle. One may assume he was just leaning forward in focus as if he was engaged in a difficult challenge, though his subtle jolts up told Denko everything he needed to know.

He jumps up into the air, onto George's squishy head, before being thrust onwards and upwards, over the recovering group of guards.

"Thank you..." While he hated leaving George to deal with all that on his own, this at least allowed him to find and save Jake faster.

Plus, he was allowed time to potentially figure Jake's device out.

"Uh, Haywire!"

An irritated and confused BWOOP?! issued forth.

"Got any info about this place, where Jake and his ship are?"

Much to his dismay, the machine returned a droning couple of beeps. No good.

All Denko could really do is explore untouched territory and follow any clues, which isn't going to be very fast. Not to mention, the facility was on full alert…The feline heaved a sigh, shifting his focus to the winding path ahead.

Oh, there's a map just ahead, Score! "Hmm...Cafeteria, Reception, Barracks...ooh. Armory?? Oh that doesn't bode well at all…" He was looking for any kind of holding cell or lab, but was getting nowhere fast.

A curt whistle draws his attention to Haywire. The tool head extruded a small radar dish that jerked forward like it was pointing. Following the point led to the side of the map's screen. There was a series of elevator buttons, which changed the map when pressed...Talk about an obtuse UI, almost reminded him of a game he used to play-

No time to waste. He scans each floor, being sure to occasionally check the hallways for any oncoming guards. To his surprise, there were never any.

...He wasn't sure if he should be thankful or nervous.

The minutes crawled, until…Aha, the prison!

If his intuition is correct, Jake is there. Fist pumping the air, just about to rocket off before Haywire vibrates in his paw. He was forgetting something…The Ion's location was still a mystery. He grunts in irritation, but gets back to looking.

Searching for a holding compartment for a large ship was surprisingly difficult. There didn't seem to be many mapped areas large enough to house such a contraption. Shoot...

"Hey!"

Double shoot, A guard spotted him!! The Taka,Taka, Taka of multiple rapid footsteps approached their position. Dammit...he had to hope that Jake could find it once they'd reunited. He had the route, he just needed to get there. Stealth was out the window; time to go fast. "Brace yourself, Haywire."

He sprinted down the hall with the boom of a thunderclap, barreling past the guards as he rushed through the path he mapped in his head. Down a few flights of stairs, through the halls (weaving around more than a couple other humans on the way), up another flight of stairs, then a final leap over a deep pit to the cells.

"...What an inconvenient floor plan."

It didn't matter, he had arrived. Hopefully Haywire was okay. Disoriented, judging by the slightly rattling panels, but alright nonetheless. Denko presses himself up against the wall, sneaking just beyond the doorway. A small two-way peephole was the only thing granting a view within, so he takes a chance to peer within.

X.x.X

"Hey, who's there?"

The voice of the guard, seldom used, yanked Jake's mind out of sulking. He hadn't really moved for a good while, his mind elsewhere and elsewhen, thinking and overthinking, ears primed but not much else.

Stiff all over, he tried to stand up to press his ear against the wall, but tripped, faceplanting. "Mrrrrrrg....!" He felt his fur flare up, and his frustrations arced out of him like lightning, decorating the sterile walls with bitter purple scorch marks.

Low speech was uttered by the human, though it was too quiet for the fox to hear clearly. Only one word was able to register in his mind, that being 'intruder.' Yeah, of course they'd be wary of intruders. It's not often that an otherworldly spaceship drops into your lap; Of course they'd want to protect it.

The sound of the electronic door sliding open was faint, making Jake fear the stress was fucking up his hearing, and the lack of much action afterwards seemed to cement the fact.

Suddenly, there was a thud of someone collapsing onto the floor. Then a voice.

"Jake, you there?"

No way.

's1R?' AND he found Haywire?! He scrambled to his paws, a surge of energy momentarily pushing aside his fatigue as he rushed towards the voices, accidentally knocking his head against the wall in his haste.

Footsteps approached the locked door of the cell, followed by the sounds of electrical sparks. Shortly after, the door lifts up to reveal the muscular Zeraora he had accompanied up till a few hours ago.

"Jake! Thank Arceus you're okay, I was so worried!"

Oh, Denko wrapped both arms around him in an embrace. Jake's... oddly comforted by it...?

"Uh- I mean-"

The hug's brief, Denko breaking contact and backing away out of slight embarrassment.

"...I'm glad you're... okay?"

It's only now when Denko notices his appearance differing from the last time they'd seen each other. Jake's not fond of it, shaking his head and averting his gaze when the feline displayed his curiosity. A silent 'don't ask,' a memo that Denko seemed to catch, prying no further.

He raises an arm, upward palm opening to reveal... shattered amber shards?

...Wait, that's...! "...we found it pretty beat, and it gave up within my grasp."

Jake snatched the bits of his charm out of the giant's paw, muscle memory trying to activate it in vain but only breaking it down more. "No, no, nononono no!" It crumbled into dust in his paws, and his heart followed. "No....!"

Crumpling to the floor with stinging eyes and ringing ears, Jake never felt more…lost. A fog overtook his senses. His chest tightened like a vise.

"Hey..." Denko crouches down to be level with the vulpes. "I'll get you out of here."

"...That thing was how I hid." The words spilled out, Thick tears rolling down his muzzle. "It let me be someone different. Now it's…it's gone, and…no matter where I go for 10 star systems, this face is on missing posters with a 50 million reward."

X.x.X

"That..."

There weren't many words he could find to respond with. "I…I'm sorry..."

Denko wasn't responsible for the gem breaking, but he sure as hell was responsible for getting him into this situation in the first place. "Jake, I'll do anything I can to help. I promise."

Denko slightly extends a paw for Jake to grab, both to help him up and rekindle their partnership at the same time. After a moment, Jake raised his hand, but then planted it on the ground to rise on his own.

"...Well, I guess this primitive place isn't Starbound yet, so nobody will look for me here." He was trying to sound chipper, but his expression was unreadable behind his glasses and his fur twitched erratically. "Just gotta get my ship back before they figure it out."

He must be itching to get the hell off this planet…He couldn't help a tinge of sadness at how badly things had gone to get to this point.

"Eurgh..." A groan not belonging to Denko nor Jake befouled their ears. The guard Denko knocked out was just coming to, seconds from noticing the pair and calling for maximum security. Not if Denko had anything to say about it. He dashed behind and kept the guard pinned with a foot, covering their mouth with a paw.

...An idea comes to mind, seeing the firearm dropped nearby.

"Jake, you can speak English, right? Interrogate this guy!" Almost instantly, the weapon was snatched up and pressed to the poor fool's forehead. "...Where's. My. Ship." It was less a question and more a threat.

"I…I don't-" the guard yelped as Jake whipped the gun upwards and fired a shot. "Don't fuck with me," his fur flared and eyes turned solid yellow. "You work here. You guarded a high security prisoner like me. You know where important shit goes." The barrel swung around and fired again, the shot missing the demihuman's head by centimeters.

"Now I'll make this real simple. Where did. The rest. Of my shit. Go?"

Denko briefly tightened the hold, the bare strength nearly enough to snap bones. "Spit. It. Out." The cat didn't care that they couldn't understand him, he wanted the information squeezed out of the human like they were a sponge.

"It's... ack- C-Contraband Research!"

Bingo!

"Good boy." With a CRACK, Jake pistol-whipped the guard, sending them back out cold.

Breathing a subtle sigh, Denko rests them back onto the ground. "I saw a map on the way here, but I don't remember it well enough to know where to go." He presumes they'll need to find another map or rush back to the first one, though the current security level already made that quite tricky.

He's about to speak another thought when the electronic beeping of Haywire interrupts the cat. "Hm?"

X.x.X

Denko didn't understand it, but Jake had designed Haywire's code, so he knew what it said. '4ctua7ly, 1 have it pr33ty m4ch m3m0rized.' "Thank The Eye-

Haywire's got it, actually."

"Oh, thank goodness. What's the best route, then?"

The device then displayed a hologram, showing one of the floorplans of the map Denko had discovered. It's quickly identified as their current floor, as a green dot appears inside one of the room outlines marked 'prison.' That must be their current location.

Jake scanned the map for their target, though with no luck. "Haywire, run text recognition and search for 'contraband research,' English please."

'Y3s s1r.'

The hologram began swapping through the various floors, scouring each piece of text for a match. Eventually, a yellow point appears on the last floor detailed on the map.

'M4tch f0und.'

"That it?" Denko inquired, approaching the hologram to have a closer look.

"Yep. Could you identify the best route to take?"

Flipping back to the floor they're on, Haywire begins to draw a continuous line through the corridors to a flight of stairs, then all the way down to the floor of their destination.

"Got it. Jake, we're gonna have to move fast. Hop on my back." Denko turns to offer Jake the chance to climb up his back, though... Wouldn't it feel a little uncomfortable? His tail extruded from near the top of his spine, it didn't extend from the bottom like most felines.

"What about your tail?...Scarf?...T-Thing?" It was odd that he never noticed it until now. Still, he stashed haywire and the guard's gun in his vest pocket and tried to climb on. Time was of the essence after all.

"It'll be fine. Hang on tight!" Jake manages to wrap his arms around Denko's torso as he squatted. Once he got a good grip, the vulpes nodded his head, giving the green light. Just like that, they were off at lightning speed.

The feeling of static amplified tenfold came roaring back, just like it had when they first embarked on this journey. Despite the familiar uncomfortableness, Jake... was confident he could power through. Denko's set aside his own comfort to accommodate the fox throughout the past few days, it's only fair he does the same.

When they came to a stop, it took longer than last time for the haze to fade. "Guh…Okay." Jake didn't want to risk anything by letting go right now, so he remained clung to the feline as he scoured for their destination. Denko approached one of the nearby doors, placed a palm flat against the metal, and exerted some electricity to trigger its opening.

"Score," he muttered under his breath, before walking in with Jake still recovering.

"Hey, we're here."

The fox glanced up to see most of the rest of his gear, stored in transparent containers save for his Oppressor, a jet bike he'd constructed a while back for fun. At that point, the vulpes was good to go, the mere sight of his equipment boosting his energy to full.

He wastes no time smashing all the containers apart and taking back his Shine-n-Spark Reflector, Infini³, Assassin's Dagger, and Ol' Reliable. "...You guys don't have electric guns, do you?"

"...Tasers, though I imagine they're nothing like that beaut of a revolver." "Ah. Yeah, that ain't nothing compared to this. Fires metal shavings at mach speeds. Effectively infinite ammo, since it's so common and uses so little at once."

Denko eyes the remaining shelves for anything that might benefit him, but decides against taking anything. It seems he's been trying to maintain a zero-kill infiltration, and it's something the cat would probably wish to uphold.

"Remember: Shoot to stun, not to kill."

Knew it-

Jake, after some hesitation to think, gave a nod and sealed off the ammo chamber, turning the lethal weapon to more of an overcharged taser. Won't be able to shoot as fast, though it was enough to remain nonlethal.

Scattered footsteps could be heard outside, prompting the both of them to enter combat ready stances. Jake spares a glance at Denko, who swiftly mirrors his gaze.

"I'll take the range, you handle the swarm," Jake spoke, sharing his plan to the cat. A nod is returned, before Denko begins to approach the shut doorway.

X.x.X

Three guards waited just outside their exit, whether their goal to restrain or kill the pair of Pokemon mattered not. Denko expects more to join the struggle either up close or from a distance, so he has to make quick work of these grunts.

Jake, hopefully, would be able to find a corner or an indentation to find cover behind. For now, though, Denko ushers the vulpes off to the side, out of view from the other side of the door..

Breathe in, breathe out.

It's showtime.

The moment the steel door slid open, Denko leapt towards his first victim. Oddly enough, missing. That's fine, that's fair, he'll just rebound and recalibrate and...

Oh shit.

The three were armed to the teeth with an element each. Electric crackles leapt from the plates of one, fiery smoke rose up from another, and the third had sandy skin and left a short trail of it.

One more heavily armored guard from behind wasted no time lunging, ice crystalizing into spikes all over their arms and shoulders. This must be the 'Elite Four' of the place. The icicle spear brushing past his side catches him off guard, allowing another to thrust a handful of sand into his face. The perpetrator then slams him onto the wall, pinning him against the cold steel.

Despite Denko's best efforts, he proved unable to escape. The realization strikes him as suddenly as the past few seconds; The one keeping him against the wall harnessed the Ground typing, rendering any powerful attack against them worthless.

"Tell us where it is!"

Before Denko could even be given a chance to answer, an electrified gunshot rings out and the guard holding onto the cat collapses onto him. Whilst everyone is stunned, 'it' takes the opportunity to reveal himself.

Slinking out from beneath the door, twirling the firearm with the stench of ozone. "Change of plans, let's Smash these guys up."

"Jake!"

Denko beamed with awe as the vulpes mirrored a determined grin back. Briefly checking the collapsed guard's pulse (they were still alive), he stances up, head down and paws raised, ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

"Out of my way." Came Jake's voice, before another blast rang out and grazed the Flame Guard, ricocheting off the wall and straight into the arm of the Ice Guard. Denko shot out a punch at the Flame Guard, then another, before finishing the brief combo with a sharp knee to their stomach, knocking them a distance away.

"Behind you!" The cat yelled out to Jake, prompting him to turn to the Electric Guard throwing a ball of electricity right at him. Without skipping a beat, he grabbed out his Reflector, held it in front, and activated it. A flickering shield of blue energy formed between Jake and the attack.

The ball of electricity rebounded off and back quickly towards the attacker, knocking them down upon hitting its mark. A brief wave of icy air sprayed at his back, nearly freezing him if it weren't for Denko interrupting, sweeping the Ice Guard's legs before sending them into the air with an electrified uppercut.

Oh, but that wasn't all. Denko then leapt up and delivered a powerful arced punch that sent them back into the ground, shattering their icicle spikes.

"Focus the fire guy!"

Jake didn't need to be told twice, ducking into their shadow to avoid a searing stream of flames and jumping out of the floor. A rending attack with both claws sent the pyromancer back into Denko's waiting fist.

One solid punch to the stomach, and they're down for the count. Denko lets their limp body fall to the side, before shaking off any flames he may have caught by committing to the blow. Afterwards, his gaze then snaps to the last elite guard, the electromancer getting back up from the reflected shock from earlier.

Seeing their powerful comrades defeated by these creatures, one wouldn't blame them for being nervous. From the look of it, they were; Shaking the instant they got back up to their feet. Both Jake and Denko stared them down, waiting for their first move.

Electro took a deep breath and charged at the feline, attempting to ram into him. Denko, instead, caught the attack and held onto their forearms with an iron grip. A growl snapped out, as his grip adjusted to wrap around his upper arms.

The guard panicked as their specialized armor began to short out, the electricity being absorbed by Denko. Perhaps he not only had an immunity, but also a harsh thirst. It wasn't long before the illuminated displays on the armguards dimmed to black.

"Now, Jake." Narrowing his eyes, Denko let go of one arm only to grab it again from behind following a quick turn. "Interrogate them."

The spectre let out a low growl, and it may have been Denko's mind playing tricks, but he swore his glasses became less transparent with every step. "Alright, wiseass." There was a click and a hum as he pressed the barrel to the soldier's neck. "'It' would like to know where 'its' ship is…" He leaned in uncomfortably close, fur flaring. "And 'its' patience has long passed zero."

Intense yellow light poured out of Jake's lenses. "Start talking."

X.x.X

The guard's blue eyes shook from his penetrating stare. Dread filled their entire being, warning of a fate worse than death if they were to not comply. "It's, uh..." They struggled to articulate, feeling the cool end of the gun's barrel pushing against their neck. Denko strengthened his grip, trying to squeeze the answer out.

"The ship... It's in the lab on the secret floor..."

The... secret floor? "Tell us how to get there," Jake growled.

"Urk-

Find the... hidden elevator where you... ah, ack! Started."

The cat strengthened his hold even more, threatening to crush the guard's bones. Denko, despite knowing a human wouldn't be able to understand him, hissed into their ear in vain. "We're not too interested in cryptic clues, just give us what we want and we'll be on our way."

As expected, the guard hadn't understood, only sparing a confused glance at the feline.

"Specifics, Asshole." Jake rumbled, in a voice thrice his size.

"The... the freight elevator! It'll take you all the way down!"

"George and I entered going down a freight elevator, it's got to be that," Denko chimed in. "I couldn't see any floor options, though."

"How do we take it down?"

"That's... urk-

That's outside my power..."

Jake huffs. "Outside your power, OUTSIDE YOUR POWER?!" He mocked. "Somehow, I find that bullshit." They were part of the strongest squad they'd faced so far, the vulpes found it hard to believe that they wouldn't have access.

"Jake," Denko spoke. Seemed he had an idea. "I could override the mechanism and get us down that way." Override... Could he do that?

Well, it's not like they had any faster options.

Jake slowly backed away, still pointing his revolver at the guard. This allowed Denko to grip around their neck and strangle them. Within a matter of seconds, they pass out, prompting the feline to lay them flat onto the floor.

"Right. Let's go, then. Haywire could probably help a bit as well…"

'1t M4y take m3 a b1t…'

Anything is better than just standing around here. Wordlessly, Jake remounts his friend and prepares for the impending minor electrocution.

"Brace yourself." Clutching Jake close, Denko stances to take off. With a deep breath, the two vanish, leaving behind electric residue, the stench of ozone, and message to the rest of the complex.

That they messed with the wrong fox.

#denko.arts #ao3 #pokemon #story #screenreader unsafe

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