Wild Fire

By: Theodore 'Blitz' Leung

theoleung@sprint.ca

"Rocky, Rock Throw," Tim ordered, a pair of PT SRP 'Striker' 9mm Pistols in his hands. They were short, stubby little pistols, though they were only 9mm rounds after all, and only 14 bullets per clip, though a pair and their high rate of fire made them particularly deadly.

The Graveler acknowledged, throwing the rock high into the air, as high as possible. Tracking the rock's movement, Tim began to unload round after round in the hard surface that was flung into the air. Some shot ricocheted off the rocks, others penetrated, but all around, Tim kept perforating the rock material until his clips were emptied. The soldier ejected the clips, just as the rock hit the ground. Tim felt the clips made the massive tremble in the ground, but no, it was the rock.

The soldier kept his hands extended, the 'Striker' unloaded, hungrily waiting for another clip of ammunition. He blinked once, then took a pair of clips from his belt, inserting them and then replacing the pistols into the belt holsters. His 'Heartbeat' was in the shoulder holster, 17 rounds left, the 7 round clip still in the gun, the fresh ten round one on his belt. He had 4 extra clips to the 'Striker', and each clip was 14 long. He had enough ammunition to last for a bit.

The trio were on Professor Oak's field, 'training' so to say. They were planning to depart for the west tomorrow morning, a rescue mission. It took a while for Tim to comfort Ryna's mother, but he did in the end, though it was only more of a burden on him now. The pressure was on, he had to rescue Ryna, or else he would just fail her again, and that would be too many failures.

"Come on," Tim spoke softly, heading towards the Professor's abode. He was allowed to stay there, since he did not wish to disturb Ryna's mother more. The neighbours and such tried to comfort her, but it didn't bode well. They shunned Tim away now, for his 'methods', mainly, killing the intruders instead of just disabling them. He didn't mind though, he got a decent pair of pistols from them. It didn't bother him he was stealing from the dead. It bothered him more who he was…

* * * * * *

Tim lay on the couch, arms crossed behind the back of his head, as he started blankly at the ceiling of the laboratory and home of the professor. His Pokémon were sleeping peacefully on the floor below, though the trainer himself could hardly get a wink of sleep. He turned his head towards the coffee table, were his holsters with guns lay, as well as his jacket. Silently, he removed an item from the pocket of his jacket: a wallet. He flipped it open, taking a look at the picture inside the flap: himself with Ryna, hugging tightly, smiling for the camera.

"Who am I?" he thought, closing the flap and sighing softly, gently placing the wallet onto the night table. He knew what he was: a Chimera. That much was simple, especially when he could start using Earthquake and the like from his fist. He could feel the soul of something else within him as well.

"Burner, where are you?" the soldier asked softly, under his breath, and closing his eyes. He remembered the Moltres, or better said, Phoenix. They grew up together, when he found the baby Moltres wounded near Cinnabar Island. "I miss you, old friend…" he continued, glancing at his wallet, remembering the picture, remembering Ryna. "And I need your help for this…"

The Chimera sighed softly, knowing he wouldn't get his wish, he knew Burner was gone now, gone for a bit. The only memory he'll have is with that picture of Burner that hung in his house at Celestial City, assuming it wasn't ransacked and razed by Rocket operatives. The thought made him sigh again, as he slowly began to doze off into darkness.

* * * * * *

A small crowd was boarding the ship docked near Pallet Town. More were getting off, departing for more badges up north in various cities such as Pewter. Tim had a different objective in mind, his bag slung over his shoulder, flanked by his two Pokémon. He got a few odd looks from trainers, wondering if his Pokémon were rowdy or not, but the soldier just ignored them. Of course, he made sure he kept his weapons hidden under his jacket. With his unoccupied hand, he raised it to his heart, feeling for a 'heartbeat', in both senses.

"Remember Tim, 7 rounds left..." the soldier thought, hoping he wouldn't have to use the weapon aboard the ship. He knew he was heading west, but he wasn't sure how far west. He decided that a stop at Cianwood would be most appropriate, and he hoped he was lucky enough to find some information regarding the situation.

Tim pressed his sunglasses closer to his eyes, preparing his ticket to be the next to board the ship. It would be a four day cruise, assuming nothing horrible went wrong on the way. Somehow, he knew something would. They were watching him, and they would not make it easy for him and his companions. In fact, Tim was counting on this.

"Thank you very much and have a nice trip," the smiling staff member told Tim, returning the ticket stub to him. The Chimera smiled in return, before heading up the ramp and to finding his room onboard the ship. Through that, he didn't realized he was being watched already.

* * * * * *

"He's on board," the operative told his companions littered throughout the ship. The person held the sniper rifle to his eye, the scope on top of Tim, watching him board the ship, where he was protected from the range of the rifle. The person slid the rifle over his shoulder, silent. His comlink buzzed to life as acknowledgments came through, and then leaving the sniper to his own devices on board the ship.

"Long time no see, Tim…" the sniper whispered, shutting his communicator off. He began to pack up the weapon before deciding to haul back down to the main deck. It wouldn't do any good if he was trotting around the ship with a rifle on his back, no, only an idiot would do that. He would sit and wait for the opportunity to arise to use the rifle.

* * * * * *

Tim and company strolled across the deck of the ship, trying to draw as little attention to themselves as possible. The Chimera leaned against the railing, staring out blankly into the distance, thinking about a certain female. Rocky and Slasher on the other hand kept sentry, trying to find anyone suspicious approaching. Everyone in the vicinity seemed to be minding their business.

"Hey…" Slasher muttered, seeing a Flareon staring at him in return. Upon being detected, the Flareon leaped away. The Sandslash needed no more encouragement, giving chase and leaving Tim and Rocky in confusion as he departed from their group momentarily.

Slasher turned the corner, seeing the bushy tail of the Flareon leap into the ship interior. The Ground type continued to give chase, despite the fact running wasn't his forte. He slid to a halt, seeing the Flareon disappear down one of the corridors that lead to the living quarters of the passengers. Upon turning the next corridor, the Flareon was gone, much to the confusion of the Sandslash. He scratched his head lightly, wondering where the Flareon could have disappeared in such a long hallway.

"Wha?" Slasher asked aloud, blinking as his companions caught up with him, wondering what all the fuss was all about, though was silenced before he could answer.

"Wait until we're at our room first," Tim whispered, not wanting to take any chances now. He glanced around nervously, before heading down that same hallway, where his room was located. He slowly flipped his card through the reader, unlocking the door as he entered. The trainer let his Pokémon in first, then himself.

"Alright, what happened?" Tim asked, softly still, the door closed behind him. He headed deeper into the 'safe haven'.

"A Flareon is tagging us," Slasher answered, wondering if the room was bugged now. Tim responded silently, glancing back towards the Ground type, then back forward, surprised at what was on his bed now.

"From a friend, use it well," the note read, on top of a Kevlar vest. Tim hefted the item, discarding the note and examining it forward and backwards, expecting a bomb or something. Nothing appeared wrong though, and this was the second time this 'friend' helped him. Whoever he or she was, they were on this ship, it was clear. Now who, that bothered the Chimera deeply.

"Who are you, 'friend'?" Tim questioned aloud, donning the piece of armour after taking off his jacket and the shoulder holster. The Kevlar vest fit perfectly on his body, it was even adjusted to fit snugly against his body, which frightened the trainer. He didn't complain though, he felt safer with something like this on. He replaced the shoulder holster with the 'Heartbeat' and then his jacket, pounding his chest, feeling the armour. Tim was silently grateful.

* * * * * *

"They spotted me, sorry…" the Flareon apologised to his trainer, breathing deeply, trying to regain his breath. The trainer was silent, glancing back at his Flareon, then shrugging.

"It's alright, we got what we need, and so does he," the trainer answered, stroking the mane of the Flareon gently. He purred softly, not wanting to draw their attention to their hiding spot on the ship. It was a good hiding spot, away from everyone, and the trainer enjoyed it there. "Be prepared Tim…we'll strike at any moment…" the trainer muttered.

* * * * * *

Slasher raised a claw, blocking the blow of Rocky's Mega Punch, though not before making his claw numb temporarily. The Sandslash retaliated with a Slash attack from his other claw, though it didn't phase the skin of the Rock type.

The final day of travel arrived, and the pair of Pokémon were preparing for any surprises that may come. They didn't see the Flareon tagging them anymore, though they still remained vigilant in their senses.

Slasher lunged at Rocky, one claw forward, the other claw pulled back, preparing to strike. Rocky entered a defensive pose, awaiting anxiously for more then one attack to come.

A green glint caught the attention of their eye, and Slasher knew the time had come. Rocky didn't defend at all, letting Slasher connect with his body. And that the Ground type did, rolling and kicking off the hard shell of the Rock type, slashing the pair of Razor Leaf attacks into the ground with his claws. The Sandslash landed, claws forward, seeing a Meganium and Ivysaur before them, on the other side of the deck. The crowd that paid attention to their training in awe slowly thinned out, preparing a battle arena between for a somewhat inferred two on two combat.

The pair knew it was more, considering the circumstances of the duel, they knew it was more then that. An unexpected attack with type advantages, in conjunction with certain hints of spying. It led to something, and now they were going to find out what.

* * * * * *

Tim leaned his back to the wall, arms cross, one leg perched up against the wall, head down, waiting for something to happen. He was in the mess hall of the ship, cafeteria, dinning room, whatever, it didn't matter to Tim at the moment. Silently, he dropped to his knee, tying his shoelace up. He was onto the second shoe when he heard the clicking of a pistol by his head. He knew someone approached him when he was tying his shoes, he knew that person was looming over him, he also knew that this person held a pistol to his head, the person's body concealing the weapon from view. Nevertheless, Tim continued to tie the shoe without a care at the moment.

"Up, now," the person ordered once Tim finished his shoe. The soldier obliged with the order, placing a hand on the floor to help him get up. He curled his other hand into a fist, pressing it against the ground lightly.

A mini earthquake startling everyone, including the gunner at Tim's head. With that distraction, he lunged forward, taking the Rocket operative down and punching him in the face. Dazed, Tim stole the fire arm from the Rocket, also a 'Striker', and obviously fully loaded. He pumped one round into the head of the Rocket, and thus starting a panic. Screams of fleeing patrons rippled across the hall as the Rockets began to reveal their weapons, preparing to take down the soldier.

Tim quickly hauled up to his feet, snapping three rounds off with the pistol at the closest of the open operatives, knowing he won't hit any innocent bystanders. In the mean time, he dived behind one of the support pillars, as submachine gun fire ripped through the air. The soldier pressed his back against the pillar, looking up at the second floor of the hall, knowing there were probably Rocket's up there as well. Tim placed his hand against the pillar, then revealed himself, unloading the whole clip of the pistol before hiding again. He took down two, and he saw another five, though they were making sure to lay down suppression fire now as Tim's quick moves dispatched two of them.

"Fryn LMG01201 'Halter' Submachine Guns and Damium OHSMG Feza 'Gangster' Submachine Guns," he identified from sight as well as hearing the rounds. Shrapnel from the pillar flew around him, though not hitting him directly. Tim was sure Rockets were approaching as they continued to perforate his cover. The soldier threw away the empty 'Striker', taking his own pair into hands and keeping an eye for approaching enemies. It was going to be a long fight…

* * * * * *

* * * * * *

Rocky took a full Solar Beam to his chest, throwing him far back into the railing, nearly snapping it and sending him into the watery depths below. He groaned, but didn't give up, quickly rolling back to his feet and confronting the Ivysaur once more.

Slasher, on the other hand, slashed another pair of Vine Whip attacks into the ground, unable to get close enough to chop into the Meganium. Various Vine Whips and Razor Leaf attacks plus the odd Solar Beam kept him at bay. Another Vine Whip came, and Slasher struck at it, though the attack weaved out of the way just in time and then wrapped around the claw. The Sandslash was thrown off balance, but before he could fall, another Vine Whip entangled his other arm, thus incapacitating him. He struggled as he saw the Grass type charging for a Solar Beam.

"Die…" the Meganium muttered, about to release the Solar Beam. He was cut short when a Flamethrower incinerated his vines, causing him to cry in pain and cringe as everyone exclaimed in surprise at the attack. Next came a Fire Blast that torched the Ivysaur, followed by a Tackle attack that sent the Ivysaur flying into the Meganium, both collapsing onto each other.

"No, you die," the Flareon remarked, eyes narrowed. The pair of Grass type watched with wide eyes as the Flareon approached them.

"Traitor!" both exclaimed, only getting a smirk from the Flareon. He silently agreed, before beginning to charbroil the pair of Grass types.

* * * * * *

Tim held the 'Heartbeat' in his hands, dispatching another two advancing Rockets with the combined might of his 'Strikers', which left three approaching and his 7 rounds clip against them. He could take them, but he didn't know who else was on the second floor, watching.

"Tim, get up here, now!" a voice screamed out from the second floor, followed by a loud 'bang' from a weapon. This was prior to the clinking and bouncing of a grenade onto the first floor. In the next moment, smoke blasted outwards, the smoke grenade spewing out its dark cover throughout. Tim needed no more incentive, remembering where the stairs were of the hall and quickly made a dash for it, snapping two rounds into the smoke where he thought he saw a Rocket. No such luck, though he was out of danger for now. His gaze fell onto the dead sniper towards his left, as well as a more Rocket's rushing into the room, armed. "Here!" the voice ordered from Tim's right, and the soldier followed. He leaped behind a table turned onto its side as cover, before gun fire was thrown into it, sending wood splinters everywhere, but leaving Tim and his companion unharmed - and what a companion Tim was surprised to see.

"Des?!" he exclaimed, ducking his head down as more shots sailed past. The ex-Rocket grinned, a Fryn SASR01 'Zombie' Semi-Auto Sniper Rifle over his shoulder. The stock was retracted, since the sniper didn't really need accuracy at this kind of range.

"You're Pokémon are fine, Klik is helping them out," he informed his companion, placing a hand into the bag by his side, digging for something. At this time, Tim emptied the clips to his weapons, reloading them with fresh ones. "Here," Des spoke next, passing Tim another two 'Heartbeat' clips.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Tim asked, though the answer was clear. He clipped the cartridges to his belt, and then was surprised when Des gave him another present - a Tyrian PAS 12 'Wild Fire' Pump Action Shotgun in a holster.

"Let's just say Carter knocked some sense into me a while back," Des answered, looking over his shoulder and above the table, only to be greeted by a hail of ammunition. "I stayed with the Team Rocket to get some information. Have to admit, I had to pull a few strings to get into this mission, and I don't think those strings I pulled would like the result of it." Tim silently agreed, strapping the Shotgun over his right shoulder. "Ah well, how have you been?"

"Just peachy, since your friends kidnapped Ryna," Tim muttered, taking the Shotgun from its holster and preparing for the next run at them. Des nodded gravely, dumping his hand into his vest pocket.

"Yeah, so I've heard," Des answered, taking what he needed and revealing it to Tim: a Flash Bang. He pulled the pin and lobbed it over the table. "Wish I could've helped, I didn't hear about it until after the fact. Figured they were getting suspicious of me, decided it was the best time to meet up with you and leave." Their heard the 'pop' of the Flash Bang, and both soldiers leaped from their cover onto the blinded enemies. Tim fired his shotgun into the closest targets, while Des sniped off the ones far away. In total, they dispatched 5 before ducking behind cover.

"Shells," Tim asked, opening the bottom of his shotgun while outstretching his hand. Des deposited four shotgun rounds for Tim, though he only used two. Tim replenished his Shotgun and then deposited the rest of the rounds into his jacket pocket.

"11 rounds left," Des reported his sniper rifle's state. "And there's still about ten of them out there. I packed light, no more Flash Bangs, though that won't be a problem." Tim wondered what his partner meant, when cries of panic followed by splashes of water erupted from behind them. Both of them took it as a cue to leap out and begin to fire again, catching the Rocket's in a deadly crossfire of shells and Hydro Pumps. At the other end of a Blastoise stood, firing Hydro Pumps from his pair of cannons - his name: Blaster. The Rocket's fell, those that remained surrendered, throwing down their weapons. Tim was tempted to kill them, but he didn't, only asked for more Shotgun rounds from Des. The ex-Rocket gave him 20, 4 placed into the 'Wild Fire' shotgun, the others into his pocket. He holstered the Shotgun. It would be a pain to explain this mess.

Fin