Dimensions of Darkness Book 3: The Explorers of the Beyond

[~Silver Aura~]

Another great chapter. Piplup qouting Grovyle made me smile. Grovyle would be proud.

[scizorstrike]

okay... "A shining life" makes me feel that you're going to kill off one of the characters. possibly Dragonite, possibly Piplup and Chimchar, but it really could be anyone.

[Mudkip8003]

Great quoting. And if you are going to use Gochiruzeru, you will probably have enough info about it before you use it. Great chapter! (And what was I thinking about with Pikachu and Dragonite...)

[Mi10ticFan]

Hey, that's Grovyle's quote, Piplup! btw how does he even know that line? They talked about it a long time ago?

Anyway, the harmonica part is really ridiculous. And what's with Dragonite's betrayal? My bet is that he/she (oh no, I forgot his/her gender! ) is sick of Darkrai...

...Froslass and Mismagius huh? Hmm... I haven't thought of a name for the villain's group in my PMD fic... And oddly enough, I made those two the leaders of it xD

[Torpoleon]

Thanks, Gallade! What about my idea for the execution.....if it happens?

[Stryder]

/Drinks Coffee

Hmm Maybe they all get ambushed by Deoxy's Army... AN ARMY of GOLEMS

And - And There is some type of resistance group waging war in ... this place.

Coffee rant/

[hailflameblast]

No guys, I haven't died.

I'm loving the story so far, and the Beyond seems a pretty great idea! I went through all the chapters I missed, and they're all great.

The plot seems to be shaping up pretty well, and the harmonicas are great!

P.S: If anybody here is on Smogon, I'd appreciate if they would inform me there when the chapters went online here. I don't visit Serebii that often, but I don't wanna miss this either!
So yeah guys, I'd appreciate if youhelped(since Serebii lag makes it hell to try and even log on repeatedly )

[GalladeRocks]

I have returned!

...Briefly.

I plan to have the next chapter up at some point in the next two or three days. However, once I've got that chapter posted, I will be taking a hiatus for somewhere between two weeks and a month. I have another short fic that I want to get posted, and I don't believe that it will take long to complete. However, if it does begin to stretch out longer and it seems unlikely to be finished within a month, I will begin posting in this fic again, too.

For those who want to know, the new fic will be about the seven ancient beings of the Pokemon world, and it will be called Order and Chaos. The main character will be Arceus, with multiple Fakemon appearing throughout it.

[GalladeRocks]

Here it is!

Chapter 2
Jailbreak

Piplup and Chimchar could only stare in amazement as Dragonite stuck a key into the lock on the cell door. With a single flourish, the door swung open. Dragonite smiled and twirled the key ring on his finger. "You're welcome."

"What...why...you..." Piplup sputtered, waving his arms about in confusion.

"Don't ask right now," Dragonite assured.

"But we have to-" Chimchar began.

Dragonite cut him off. "No, there's no time." He quickly tossed the ring of keys to Piplup, who fumbled them in his attempt to catch them. "We've got to hurry."

"What am I supposed to do with these?" Piplup asked.

Dragonite pointed down the hallway in the direction he had come. "Follow the hall that way," he instructed. "It goes in a circle all the way around the building. The cell with your friends in it isn't far away."

"Friends?" Chimchar gasped. "There are others here with us?"

"Yeah, there are two other fellows who got captured by Darkrai as well," Dragonite nodded.

"Friends!" Piplup squeaked. "And here I thought we were alone! Who is it? Grovyle and Dusknoir? Lucario and Mew? Wigglytuff?"

Dragonite scratched his chin. "I don't know their names. They've both got kinda shiny heads. One's blue, and one's yellow, and kinda gray."

Piplup smacked his forehead and groaned. "You've got to be kidding me."

"The chowderheads," Chimchar sighed. "Out of all of our friends, we just have to get stuck with the chowderheads."

"Well, you could always just leave them there and escape on your own," Dragonite offered.

"No no, we'll save them," Piplup sighed. "We can't just leave them here."

"I beg to differ," Chimchar argued, but a glare from Piplup shut him up.

Dragonite nodded. "Alright then. You two go and get your friends. I'll keep Garchomp busy." With that, he flew off in the opposite direction. "I'll meet you at the front entrance!"

"We'd better get going," Piplup said and began running down the hall.

Chimchar hurried to catch up. "Think about it, Piplup. This is 88 and 89 we're talking about. They'll be burdens to have following us around."

"Yes, but they saved us from Sceptile once in the Core," Piplup pointed out. "We've got to return the favor."

"Oh, come on!" Chimchar begged. "They're maniacs! Just do Darkrai the favor and kill me now! Just kill me now!"

"Shut up!" Piplup hissed. "We've got to keep quiet!"

Chimchar frowned. "But why do we have to worry about Garchomp hearing us? Between you, me, and Dragonite, I'm sure we could take him down."

"Just be quiet!" Piplup growled. "The principles of stealthiness demand that we do this stealthily! With stealth! We've had plenty of battles in our time, but not enough stealth! I want the stealth!"

"Okay, fine, you can have the stealth!" Chimchar grumbled. "Geesh, I was just asking a question!"

"Hello? Who's there?"

"Is it the pizza delivery guy?"

Piplup and Chimchar caught sight of a barred door in the wall ahead. It was clear who was inside.

"88! 89!" Piplup called. He ran to the door and peered into the darkness. Sure enough, the Shieldon and Cranidos duo was sitting on the floor, staring out at him.

"About time you got here!" the Cranidos growled. "It's been three days! That means the pizza is free!"

The Shieldon gasped. "89, that's not the pizzaman! It's Piplup!"

89 frowned. "Oh. Did you at least bring a pizza?"

"No, there is no pizza," Piplup snapped.

"Darn."

Chimchar stepped up beside Piplup. "We're here to bust you out, apparently." He recieved an elbow to the ribs from Piplup.

Piplup stuck one of the keys in the lock and turned. Nothing happened. "Wrong key," he frowned. He slid another key around and tried again. Nothing happened. Another key. Nothing happened.

"Aren't you supposed to be busting us out?" 88 grumbled.

"I'm trying!" Piplup growled. "Don't rush me!" Another key failed.

"Didn't Dragonite tell you which key to use?" Chimchar griped.

"You were there!" Piplup snapped. "He didn't say a thing about that!" Another key failed.

And another.

And another.

*****

"Did I tell Piplup which key to use?"

Dragonite shrugged off the question and tore open the door. "Garchomp!" he gasped, appearing breathless. "We've got trouble!"

Garchomp was lying asleep in his recliner when Dragonite burst in. The purple dragon snorted and sat up straight, attempting to look awake. "Shnorr...wha?"

"The prisoners!" Dragonite explained. "Piplup and Chimchar! They escaped!"

Garchomp was on his feet in an instant, moving surprisingly fast for having just been awakened. "What? How did they get out?"

"I have no idea!" Dragonite gulped. "But they managed to steal my keys! They'll probably be trying to break out the other two!"

"This is terrible!" Garchomp howled. "We've got to stop them! Master Darkrai will be furious if we let them escape!"

Dragonite paused, apparently lost in thought. "Well, the entire building is just one big hallway. If you go one way and I go the other, we should be able to trap them in between!"

"Of course!" Garchomp beamed. "I'm proud to call you my friend, good Dragonite!"

"I feel the same," Dragonite smiled. Garchomp thought he detected a bit of sadness in his accomplice, but he shrugged it off. There were more urgent things to attend to.

The jailers hurried out of the central room and back into the hallway. Garchomp pointed in the direction that would lead to 88 and 89's cell. "You go that way and chase them towards me. I can take them by surprise and knock them out."

"Remember, you can't kill Piplup and Chimchar," Dragonite pointed out. "Master Darkrai's orders."

"I know, I know," Garchomp sighed. "But the other two are all mine."

"If you insist," Dragonite sighed dramatically. "Now let's go."

*****

The door swung open and the two soldiers rushed out. "Finally!" 88 grumbled. "It only took you 38 tries!"

"My apologies," Piplup growled. "You know, we could have just escaped on our own and left you here to rot."

"Please, don't think of 88 here as ungrateful," 89 assured. "He's just grumpy because he didn't get his pizza."

"This is jail!" 88 roared. "Just because you asked Dragonite for a pizza does not mean you're going to get one!"

"Order up!"

Dragonite suddenly appeared from around the bend. A square cardboard box was in his hand. He handed it to 89. "Pizza delivery."

89 beamed and threw open the box. A simmering pizza was inside, with cheese, pepperoni, and Shroomish. "Hey!" he snapped. "I ordered vegetarian!"

"I'm pretty sure that Shroomish is considered a plant," Dragonite pointed out.

89 pondered the statement, then shrugged. "Good point." He upended the pizza into his mouth and swallowed it whole. There was a scream from his throat and three Shroomish squirmed their way out of his mouth. They glared up at him and muttered to themselves as they waddled away.

"That was interesting," Chimchar commented.

"Okay, no more messing around," Dragonite said. "We've got to get out of here. Garchomp's speedy."

"He can't be that fast," Piplup scoffed.

With a roar, Garchomp charged around the bend.

"Kratz," Piplup gulped.

"Gotcha now!" Garchomp cackled. Piplup, Chimchar, 88, and 89 all stepped back. "Now, Dragonite! Let's teach them a lesson!"

"Gladly," Dragonite smirked. A Hyper Beam formed in his mouth.

Piplup turned back to Dragonite. "What are you doing?" he hissed. "I thought you were on our side!"

"If you trust me, duck in three seconds," Dragonite whispered. On the other side of the passageway, Garchomp's claw glowed green as he prepared for Dragon Claw.

Chimchar, 88, and 89 all turned to Piplup. He nodded.

They ducked.

Dragonite fired off the Hyper Beam at full blast. It whizzed through the air above Piplup and the others, missing them by mere inches. Garchomp's eyes opened wide as he saw what was coming.

Kaboom!

The explosion rocked the entire building and Garchomp was sent reeling. He slammed hard against the wall, then fell forward to land on his face. Piplup, Chimchar, 88, and 89 took off at a run in the opposite direction. Dragonite stood over Garchomp, staring down at him. "Sorry."

"D-Dragonite!" Garchomp gasped, attempting to stand up. "Y-you traitor! I thought we were friends!"

"We are," Dragonite assured. "I've known you for years, Garchomp. If we're not friends, then what are we?"

"Enemies," Garchomp spat. "You're a filthy traitor. What will Master Darkrai say?"

"I have no master," Dragonite said evenly. "Come with me, and you won't have one either. Come on, Garchomp. We can keep this friendship alive. I know you have good in you."

Garchomp coughed and pushed himself up on his elbows. "Good? I am good. You are the one who has taken a turn for the worse."

"I was afraid you would feel that way," Dragonite sighed sadly. "In that case, this is goodbye." He turned and began to walk away.

"No," Garchomp growled. "This is not goodbye. We will meet again."

Dragonite turned back to face his old friend, but kept walking. "Are you coming after all?"

"Of course not," Garchomp spat. "I will hunt you down. And when I find you...Then, it will be goodbye." Then, he slumped into unconsciousness.

A single tear slipped out of Dragonite's eye as he hurried to the front of the building. The four escapees were waiting for him by the large stone door. "About time you got here!" Piplup grumbled. "What took you so long?"

"I had some unfinished business," Dragonite explained. He grabbed the doorknob. "Come on, let's get out of here."

He opened the door and stepped outside into the world beyond. Piplup and Chimchar gasped at the sight. A long, dark path stretched out before them, cutting through enormous black cliffs. The ground was gray, and in some places purple. But worst of all was the sky. There were no clouds, no sun, no moon, no stars, no nothing. The entire sky was completely black.

"What is this place?" Piplup gulped.

"Of course, you haven't seen the outside here yet," Dragonite nodded. "Well, things aren't going to look much better. This, Piplup, is the Beyond."

*****

Darkrai was living the life of luxury. He had decided to "borrow" the key to one of Deoxys's many mansions, and was having the day of his life. He'd already enjoyed the many exotic foods. He'd relaxed for a while in the hot tub. He's surfed the net on the laptop, although he was clueless where the wireless connection came from. And now, he was kicking back for a nap in the comfy velvet recliner.

There was a knock at the door.

"Oh, come on!" Darkrai roared. He sat up in the chair. "Enter!"

The door swung open and Golduck entered. "Hello, Master Darkrai."

"Golduck?" Darkrai frowned. "What are you doing here? I thought you were back at Deoxys's main mansion."

"Master Deoxys told me that you would be here," Golduck explained. "He recieved some news that he thought you should hear."

Darkrai sighed. "Let me hear it."

"He recieved a message from Garchomp."

Darkrai froze and turned his icy blue gaze back to Darkrai. "Don't tell me..."

"Piplup and Chimchar escaped," Golduck said, surprisingly calm. He knew that Darkrai had a temper, but he also knew that Darkai was smart enough not to kill the messenger. "Their two allies escaped as well."

"How did this happen?" Darkrai asked, exasperated.

"Garchomp says that Dragonite allowed them to escape," Golduck continued. "He let them out of their cells and attacked Garchomp."

"Not Dragonite," Darkrai growled. "He was a good Pokemon. I really liked him."

"Pardon me for saying, Master Darkrai," Golduck cut in. "But you don't like anybody. You've said so yourself."

Darkrai glared at the servant. "Oh yeah?" He paused, then shrugged. "Well, I guess you're right. So I didn't like Dragonite, but I trusted him. He was a good guard. And now I'll have to kill him." He sighed. "I'll have to hunt down the whole lot now. But who for the job?"

"Master Darkrai, I think you know who," Golduck said softly.

Darkrai was silent for a long time. He simply stared off into space. Finally, after a few minutes, he spoke again. "Go. Deliver the message to them."

Golduck nodded. "Of course. I will find Combusken immediately." He turned and exited the room.

Darkrai leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. "Why don't things ever go right for me?" he sighed. "Oh well. Perhaps they'll go better for Combusken." His eye narrowed. "It would be a brilliant change of pace."


Hope you all like it! As I said, this will be the last chapter at least two weeks.

[~Silver Aura~]

lol 88 and 89 sure love their pizzas can't wait til the next chapter (Even though it's at least 2 weeks from now)

[hailflameblast]

Good chapter. The reaction to teh presence of the chowderheads was priceless.

[JD]

"The chowderheads," Chimchar sighed. "Out of all of our friends, we just have to get stuck with the chowderheads."



"Is it the pizza delivery guy?"

Piplup and Chimchar caught sight of a barred door in the wall ahead. It was clear who was inside.

"88! 89!" Piplup called. He ran to the door and peered into the darkness. Sure enough, the Shieldon and Cranidos duo was sitting on the floor, staring out at him.

"About time you got here!" the Cranidos growled. "It's been three days! That means the pizza is free!"

The Shieldon gasped. "89, that's not the pizzaman! It's Piplup!"

89 frowned. "Oh. Did you at least bring a pizza?"

"No, there is no pizza," Piplup snapped.

"Darn."



.

Those parts made me laugh a bit haha, Dragonite seem's like a pretty cool character it would be interesting if Garchomp changed to the good side later on in the story.

[Torpoleon]

I liked this chapter too. It looks like Dragonite is a good guy and Garchomp is not and now Darkrai has summoned Gochiruzeru, Mismagius & Froslass!

[GalladeRocks]

I liked this chapter too. It looks like Dragonite is a good guy and Garchomp is not and now Darkrai has summoned Gochiruzeru, Mismagius & Froslass!

Dragonite is a good guy, and Garchomp is a bad guy, that is correct. However, Gochiruzeru and her gang are not ready for their appearance yet. No, as Darkrai said, there is another who will make his appearance known first...Combusken.

[Mi10ticFan]

Loled at the Pizza part. And the Shroomish in the pizza. Besides, where can we find a mushroom? xD

So the chowderheads 88 and 89 are here already at Chapter 2? I'm starting to wonder about Combusken. Hopefully in the next chapter they can escape that. And yay for my favorite non-legend Dragon-type on their team <3

[Torpoleon]

Dragonite is a good guy, and Garchomp is a bad guy, that is correct. However, Gochiruzeru and her gang are not ready for their appearance yet. No, as Darkrai said, there is another who will make his appearance known first...Combusken.

Yep. Did you think of Combusken because of Combustion Man in Avatar: The Last Airbender?

[GalladeRocks]

Yep. Did you think of Combusken because of Combustion Man in Avatar: The Last Airbender?

Not exactly, but you're getting warm, or rather, hot. Oh dear. I seem to have punned.

Also, due to my other fic running into the ground, the two week hiatus on this book will probably be cut down to two or three days.

[Torpoleon]

Ah, so I guess Combusken is based off of a certain fire bender?

[GalladeRocks]

You're getting hotter still!

...

Oy. That joke wasn't even funny the first time.

[Shadow XD001]

Hey, GalladeRocks! Sorry for not reviewing the rest of Book 2, it's just that my computer was broken and it's hard to type on the Wii. I'll only review Chapter 2.

I liked the nice twist of having Dragonite being good and Garchomp being bad as it sort of reminds me of the Grvoyle-Sceptile relationship. Funny how you had the Chowderheads appear because they allows make everything funny. I like how Deoxys owns a Mansion because I could visualize the two sitting down in a chair, like their actual humans in a mansion.

Aw, too bad the next chapter won't be out for awhile, but that's because you're working on a new fic, so that's nice.

As always, keep up the good work!