When Taka reached the top, he could see some of the floor tiles moving in 1 direction. Some of the other panels looked like the ones he had seen earlier with Arclight and Victoria.
But now that Victoria was being tortured and Arclight was still missing, there was no 1 to be able to switch the floor panels electrocution on or off. Taka decided to press the button on the radio transceiver just for the hell of it. Before his eyes, the panels changed color which meant that someone pressed the button to change them. Taka pressed the button again and the floor panels once again changed colors.This didn’t make any sense to him. Why would 1 of the Team Meteor members be helping him get through this puzzle room? Then he thought that maybe someone was able to get free and got to that room somehow and was helping him. But then he realized that that was just wishful thinking. Taka took a look around the room again. He could see some of the tiles on the floor moving. He could tell this was gonna be an annoying puzzle but he had to get through it if he wanted to not only find his friends but also defeat Team Meteor. He started to go through the room. A couple of times, the moving tiles would lead him to the electrifying floor panels and shock him when he landed on it. While this only happened a couple of times, it was more painful thanks to the injury he had on his shoulder. After an hour of traversing through the hell that was that room, he finally made it to the end, entered the next room and took a moment to take a break. He took a look around the little room he was in now. While there was nothing in there to help him, it reminded him of the room he had woken up in earlier. And that made him worried what he would would find on the other side of the door in front of him. He slowly clutched the handle of the door and opened it. His fear became reality when he saw 2 cages. 1 near him and 1 near the other side of the room. In the other cage, he could see Arclight. Taka ran forward, without thinking, into the cage in front of him. The door behind him closed and locked tight. He was trapped again. Arclight turned around when he heard the noise.
Arclight: Huh? Taka? Is that you Taka?!
Taka: It is! Ohh man. This is bad.
Arclight: Fuck… Not again.
Taka: Not again? What are you talking about?
Arclight: Listen. I found Adrienn.
Taka: You did?! Is xe ok?
Arclight: Xe’s on the level below. It was a set-up like this 1.
Taka: I know. Before this room, I was with Victoria.
Arclight: Then you know what’s gonna happen right?
Taka: Yea. She forced me and Victoria to battle. I won but Victoria… her cage started to surge with electricity. I know she’s tough but… I just hope she’s ok.
Arclight: Victoria’s a tough chick. I’m sure she’ll get out of this. But Arceus damnit!
Taka: Did you see her on the tv screen before as well? -points to the screen-
Arclight: Yea… That bitch. That was Lin right?
Taka: It was.
Arclight: Just like with you and Victoria, she told us that we would battle each other as well. But Adrienn… xe refused.
Taka: He… did?
Arclight: …Damnit… Xe said xe wouldn’t fight and that I should just go on.
Taka: He forfeited?!
Arclight: Yes.
Taka: Wait. What was his penalty?
Arclight: The floor… It started searing… It wasn’t pretty.
Just then, the tv on the room started to static. Arclight and Taka looked over at the screen. In a couple of seconds, Lin appeared on the screen once again. Arclight was pissed while Taka looked on in horror. Lin looked at the 2 of them with a blank expression. And then she started to speak.
Lin: Do you understand yet? You have no control. You never did. Even if your glass-spun egos depend on convincing yourselves otherwise. You are pigs to be herded. You are pigs to be hurt. Sputter, shiver and squeal. It changes nothing. You know what to do. -screen shuts off-
Arclight: Tch. This is insane.
Taka: I can’t believe this is happening.
Arclight: Let me tell you. She’s gonna eat those words when 1 of us “little piggies” catches up to her. But right now…
Taka: Right now, we gotta battle each other.
Arclight: Hold on. I just realized something. How are the floor panels being electrified and being turned on if I’m not there at the control panel?
Taka: I’m not sure. I was trying to figure that out when I was going through the other room to get here.
Arclight: Well… thinking about that isn’t gonna help us get out of here. And for all of my tough talk, I don’t have a way out of this.
Taka: Neither do I.
Arclight: It pisses me off to admit this but… she’s right. We got cocky. And now we’re trapped. Taka, let me ask you something. Are you going to fight or will you choose Adrienn’s path and forfeit as well?
Taka: Trust me. I would rather not battle you at all. But… I must do this. I must battle you so I can get to the heart of Team Meteor and destroy them. Plus… I’m doing this for Victoria as well. I can’t give up and I can’t lose.
Arclight: -chuckles- Good. I’m fighting for Adrienn’s sake too. You get that right?
Taka: I do. Let’s not wait any further then.
Taka & Arclight: Let’s do this!
The 2 of them grabbed their PokeBalls and threw them out to the arena. This battle felt different from the other 1 before. Yes everything was the same as when he fought Victoria but that was also the difference. He was fighting for Victoria’s sake as well. She wanted to defeat Team Meteor so bad but she wasn’t able to get through Taka. If Arclight defeated Taka, he’d feel worse than if he was just battling for himself. With this in mind, Taka was in a more serious mood when commanding his Pokemon and thanks to that, he was able to defeat Arclight and avoid a penalty. The same couldn’t be said for Arclight however.
Arclight: Nice job dude.
Taka: Thank you…
Arclight: At least this way, winner and loser alike, we can both take pride in knowing that we did everything we could. Go get ‘em bro.
Taka: I will Arclight. I promise.
Just then, the tv raised up into the ceiling and a set of stairs appeared. Just as that happened, the floor where Arclight was standing on propped open and he fell down to wherever it lead to. Taka ran over as fast as he could but there wasn’t anything he could do except stare at the dark abyss that was staring back at him.
Arclight’s scream was getting softer and softer and pretty soon, there was nothing. Silence. Taka hoped that he survived that fall. He couldn’t do anything else except walk up the stairs. He was now more determined than ever to stop Team Meteor and end this whole thing.