TheoLeung@Sprint.ca

I quickly attached the beacon to the CPU. I knew Ignite would be covering my tail. He always did. Small, nimble, and packs one hell of a punch. Working with Ignite always guaranteed some sort of protection. If he says he’ll cover your back, he will cover your back. I would trust him with my life, if not anything else.

"Start hacking at your leisure, Angel," I spoke to Alex, making one last modification to the beacon before it became active and transferring data to the truck below. Without wait for a response, I ran to our exit point, another vent that took us all the way down to the ground floor. Of course falling that kind of distance would be fatal. Too make sure against such a thing, I attached my two magnetic hooks to the side and top of the vent. Quickly, I tied one end of the wire to the side hook, ran it through the top hook.

"Hacking…hacking…hacking…done!" Alex exclaimed through the link. Happy with the mission, I tied up the wire around the waist of my Vulpix friend. This was going to be another simple mission, in-and-out. No problem.

"Um…guys…we got a problem!!" Skymin shouted through his comlink. If something could panic our scout so fast, then something had to be up.

"Skymin? What’s going on?" Ignite asked, obviously worried about coming events. Of course, when the Pidgeot cried out in sheer pain a matter of seconds later, anyone would be worried.

"Skymin?! SKYMIN?!" I shouted out, unable to believe anything bad would happened to our aerial expert. The burst of static that followed sunk my spirits. "Skymin?!" I yelled out one last time.

"Skymin is gone. You’re next," a new voice told us, obviously taking the headset from our comrade. As if on cue, large banging on the door notified us of a new intrusion. I was grateful that Alex hacked the lock codes for the door, but that door won’t hold for long. Damnit…there’s no way both of us can escape. Not enough time. Only one thing to do now…

"GO!" I yelled out at Ignite, pushing him over the edge of the vent and down towards the ground floor. I couldn’t let him protest. One of us had to survive this encounter. No good comes out if we are all corpses at the end of this mission.

"Styx, get down here!" Ignite shouted out to me. I could hear him clearly over the comlink, despite the increased noise of the banging door.

"Ignite…don’t worry…everything is okay," I tried to consolidate, attempting to sound as calm as possible. I wasn’t even sure if I could fool myself with that tone. Quickly, I removed the magnetic hooks from the vent and let them drop. Give Ignite a few extra seconds of escape. It would take them a little time to set up their own magnetic hooks for pursuit.

"Styx?! How are you going to get down?!" Ignite yelled out, desperate to have me come along. I couldn’t come down, not anymore. Even if I wanted to, that option is beyond my control. I tried to remain as calm as possible, setting our little beacon on self-destruct. It went up in a small puff of smoke.

"Alex, I’ve destroyed the beacon. Retrieve Ignite and return home," I told the Angel, ignoring Ignite at the moment. I moved closer to the door, seeing the impression in its center. It won’t be long now…

"STYX?! Just get down here!" Ignite shouted out again. I didn’t know how to break it to him. There was no way down. I’m stuck now.

"I…can’t… The only way out was through that vent. Once I dropped the hooks, there was no way I could get down. Still, they can’t pursue you now through the vent. Just make your way out," I finally admitted. I wonder how Ignite felt at that moment. Devastated? Broken? I hate to do this to my friends…but…it’s for the better.

"NO!" was all he could respond with. I knew how he felt. We’ve been through heaven and hell together. We should be going through this together too, but all the odds were stacked against us now. I don’t want to take this chance with his life.

"Ignite, move it. That’s an order!" I commanded, raising my voice. Still, I knew he wouldn’t listen. He was stubborn. Nevertheless, what’s done is done. He can’t change my decision now. I can only pray he is smart enough to retreat while he still can.

"Not without your DAMN ASS WITH ME!" he yelled out, frustrated with my stubbornness.

"Ignite, if you die here to, then this will all be for nothing," I tired to reason. "I’ll survive, you have my word. I’ll come back, against all the odds, I will come back." I knew that was a blatant lie, but I was desperate. I needed to try something to get him away from here.

The door bent inwards. The hinges were cracking. The door was going to blow soon…

"Do you promise?" he asked. I clearly heard him sniff. He was crying…

"I promise," I answered after a long period of silence. I knew it was a lie, but I needed him out of the building, now.

Then, all hell broke loose. The metal door fell over, leaving me in partial shock with the wave. Soldiers poured into the room, opening fire with their guns out right. In desperation, I ran for the window, most of them blown out already. I rather die then let them take me alive, if they ever intended to. I jumped out of the window, dropping my headset. Any bit of weight I can get off made me a little faster.

Then, I jumped. Wind blew harshly against my face as I fell. It was over. Sorry Ignite, guess I can’t keep my promise.

"Need a lift?!" he shouted, catching me on his back. I opened my eyes, seeing Skymin catch me.

"Skymin!" I exclaimed, seeing that he was still alive. I was surprised, but also overjoyed to see him as well.

"Get them!" I heard then the rings of more gunfire.

"Hang on!" the Sky Knight yelled out, diving down and away from the tower. Still, it didn’t help us. One of bullet slammed into his left wing, causing him to cry in pain and lose his balance. His left wing was now disabled. There was no way to fly. Only fall, or glide as best as he could. Now I did hang on, hoping Skymin’s aerial skills can pull us through this spiral dive to ground zero…

* * * * * *

I blinked, weak and tired, someone was dragging me along. My arm was over whoever’s shoulder. I tried to open my eyes, but my weakened state prevented me from doing so.

"Hey, don’t try to do anything strenuous," she told me. If my instincts could snap back to reality, it would have, but I was so tired… "I’ll take care of you." I slowly nodded, unable to do anything else as my savior helped me along.

From what I could hear and feel, we were at a beachhead. The sand I was walked/limping over was one sign. The splashes of wave is what finished the puzzle. As best as I figure, we’re probably on the beachhead. The tower we were at was quite close to the edge of this island.

Still, no time to really think. I just need to get some sleep…

* * * * * *

Again I blinked weakly, however, I did feel better then I was feeling the time before. Slowly, but surely, I got to my feet, glancing around. My inference was right, we were on a beach. I easily recognized the tower I leaped from the other night.

The sun was rising, making me wonder how much time did pass since I fell unconscious.

"Well, I see your up…" the familiar voice rasped. I turned my head quickly, noticing my female savior finally. She was…a Pikachu?

"I guess I owe you a bit…" I stammered, unable to think of anything else to say. I decided to examine my surroundings, get the feel for the terrain. The soft splashing of waves was quite settling. Maybe I needed something calming after all this time.

I glanced over to where Skymin lay, whom I guess my Pikachu companion also rescued. In the middle of the triangle we made, lay some burnt kindle, obviously used to start a fire which has extinguished only recently. The use of the blanket that lay decide the burnt out flame was a mystery to me.

"Hey…don’t worry about it…" she replied, smiling weakly. Her left hand clutched her right arm, as if trying to hold something.

"Are you hurt?" I asked, concerned now. She shook her head, sitting down on the sand. Even if I was concerned, I couldn’t interfere with her decision. "What’s your name then?" I asked. It would be nice if we could get some introductions out.

"Hey, Styx!" another voice shouted out, completely blowing the moment. I glanced over towards the sea, seeing my rescue team has arrived, much to my surprise. I wasn’t even sure if there was going to be a rescue team, let alone one arriving so quickly. What surprised me even more was who showed up…

"Harmony?!" I exclaimed, the Jigglypuff bowing her head as she came over. Well, she came over on top of her companion, a Lapras. The two Valkyries were never separate, wherever Harmony went, Melody, the Lapras’ name went too.

"We saw smoke coming from this location," Harmony reported, the Jigglypuff bowing her head. "I guess it was a good idea we investigated." I nodded, happy that these two took the time to come and investigate.

"Who’s your friend?" Melody asked, implying the other Pikachu. I glanced over at my savior, who only shook her head. I wondered why, until she just collapsed. Her left hand dropped, revealing a large gash on her right arm.

"Hey?! You okay?!" I shouted, but to no avail, she didn’t wake. My turn to help out… "Melody, get Skymin on. We got to get medical attention for these two, fast!" With those words, I lifted the Pikachu’s body with as much strength as I can muster. Thankfully, it was enough to get onto the Lapras, with a little help from my Jigglypuff friend. I thanked Harmony, as I sat down, exhausted again. Skymin was on, thanks to the Psychic ability of the Lapras.

"Hang on!" Melody shouted, then pushed off from the shore as hard as she could. With the wind blowing in my face, we headed for home base.

* * * * * *

I wasn’t sure why I was so worried. Pacing back and forth in front of the medical lab, I was anxious to see the turn of events, but I don’t know why. It was just something about that other Pikachu that interested me.

Still, I must’ve given everyone quite a shock…Harmony told me how worried Ignite was when he lost contact with me, but once we got back together at HQ, well, it was pretty much a time to celebrate, if there wasn’t some dire circumstances to get to.

Skymin was pronounced stable, which was a sign of relief for Ignite Harmony Melody, Alex, and me. What concerned me more now was that female Pikachu…so young…yet…so familiar…

"Styx, you can come in now…" the reception told me. I glanced up at the human. If this were anywhere else, everyone would’ve thought it was weird to tell a Pokémon he can go in, but on this ship, anything goes.

I walked into the doctor’s office and leapt onto the table. Dr. Sapphire glanced up from her folder, noticing me.

"Styx’s, it’s nice to see you again," she started, placing her folder flat on the table. "I guess I should get right to the point, correct?" she asked. I nodded my answer. There was no time for small talk. "Very well."

"To be all honest she was lucky to get as far as she did," Sapphire continued. "When she got to the lab, she was on the brink of death. It was miracle that we were able to revive her at all."

"What was the cause of her condition?" I asked.

"As best as we can figure…she had no ailments or sicknesses. She just took a beating and never got healed. From analysis, she was like that for at least 3 days."

"Three days…" I muttered. Even I wouldn’t be able to go through three days of roughing it after getting beaten by a ground type.

"As I said, she was revived, but not without cost…" When the doctor trailed off at the end of the sentence, I was afraid to ask what she did. Still, I did anyway…

"Do you really want to know?" she asked, probably wondering if I was able to stomach it or not. Slowly, I nodded. I was ready for the worst. She heaved a sigh, dropping a x-ray of her internals for me.

"Her electric sacs were beyond recoverable," she started. "Even if she survived, she’ll never be able to do an electrical attacks. The only way to give her back any sort of electric ability was to install artificial electric sacs to compensate." I gulped, seeing this was worst then I thought. It was horrid…

"Also, her left eye was blind. To counter the effect, we grafted a bionic eye to it. Of course, due to the way it is integrated with the nerves, it will still act as a regular eye. However, if needed be, the eye can also act as an infrared eyepiece, as well as heat sensor."

"Something gives me the idea that we’re not going to let her go…" I spoke out. With what they just gave that wounded Pikachu, she was now more of a soldier then anything else. "Lightning Valkyrie?" I didn’t need an answer, it was obvious.

"They want you to take her around, since you seem to be the closest to her right now," Dr. Sapphire continued. I nodded, leaping down from the table. "Room 113. Oh, and before you leave, I guess you must know. She has amnesia." I nodded again, sighing at how much harder my job has become. I have to help an amnesiac integrate into a place like this. I left the office, thoughts about how to approach this was limited. It wasn’t long until I hit room 113, and when I entered, she was there, standing on the operation table. She didn’t look so good, but at least she was alive.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, leaping onto the table. She was surprised at first, but I guess she must have been happy to see me more then anyone else.

"I feel…different…" she whispered, stretching her right arm out to see if it was still functional. "I guess…I should thank you for helping me…"

"You saved me before. It was the least I could do." I tried to sound as nice as possible, but in my line of work, nice is kind of hard to come by…

"Still, thank you," she persisted. I didn’t bother fighting it, I just nodded.

"What’s your name?" I asked. I might as well start off with what we finished on the beach.

"I don’t know…" she whispered, lowering her head. I should’ve known, she had amnesia. "But I think…" she continued, getting my attention. "They called me…Nil?"

<Fin>