Flood Tide, Part 1 of the Third War of Land & Sea Trilogy

A Pokémon tale by Legend 22

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, nor do I own the names of any of the places
mentioned)

Chapter Three: The Reservoir Fills

    “It’s late,” said the man in the brown trench coat.  His companion merely
grunted in reply.  Neither of them wanted to be out this late, but no one dared
refuse an order given by the Executive Council.
    He was not referring to the time of night (it was being past one in the
morning), but rather the arrival of the expected jet.  They had been waiting on
this landing strip outside Goldenrod for over an hour.  He wanted this to be a
quick pick-up so he could head back to his apartment & get some much needed rest.
    The man’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of approaching jet engines.
He & his companion looked up to see the Johto Airways jet coming in for a landing.
    “Finally,” said the other one as the first man pulled a piece of cardboard out
of his trench coat.
    After the plane came to a stop on the runway, the exit ramp was lowered.  Out
walked about seventy individuals carrying an assortment of carry-on baggage.  But
only two walked toward them: a woman in a gray business jacket & skirt & a man in
a maroon suit.  Team Magma officers Gwen Bardo & Jeff Harland.
    “Mr. Harland, I assume?” said the man in the trench coat.
    “Yes, that would be me.”
    “I am Agent Ender, & this is my partner, Agent Tornaut.  We are here to take
you to headquarters were you will be able to recover from the trip.”
    Both of the passengers were tired from jet lag & were only too eager to lie
down on something more comfortable than the coarse jet seats.
    Following the two men off the runway, Gwen & Harland exchanged glances of
relief.  They had made it, & Team Rocket was willing to hear them out.  Harland
was beginning to think that coming here wasn’t such a lost cause after all.

    ><><><><

    Sootopolis was now an Aqua stronghold.  Their grip over the city was absolute.
Any person who owned a gun or a Pokémon was identified & detained, but not before
their weapons & Pokémon were confiscated.  No one in the city could oppose them
now.
    Of course, that did not mean that there was any slack for the Aqua members.
Aqua Admiral Seth Waters had not slept for almost two days.  He remained bent over
the map table coordinating the fleets into an effective attack plan.  So far,
troops have just begun to march into Victory Road over on Ever Grande Island.  Up
north, an invasion force was having trouble seizing on Mossdeep.  Apparently, the
greatest threat over there was not neutralized before the invasion had begun.
    Waters sighed as he leaned back in his chair.  Oh, how he wanted to go to
sleep.  Only one hour, & he would be back...
    *Beep-beep... Beep-beep... Beep-beep.*
    'Finally,' thought the admiral.  He pulled himself out of his chair & walked
over to the video-phone, which was ringing.  Picking up the receiver, he pressed
the “on” button.  Immediately, the image of a large man in a black leather jacket
appeared on the screen.  He was the leader of Team Aqua, Davie Jones.
    “Sir,” Waters said.
    “Admiral, you look like hell,” came the reply.
    “Thank you, sir.”
    “I did not mean that as a compliment.”
    “No sir.”
    “What is the situation down at Sootopolis?”
    “Everything is under control, sir.  Anyone & everyone who owned a weapon or
Pokémon has been apprehended & is under close surveillance.”
    “Good, very good.  How is the invasion of Ever Grande?  The sooner the League
is out of the way, the better.”
    “The invasion is on schedule, sir.  Our troops have already taken the southern
half & have begun the march north through Victory Road.  It is only a matter of
time before General Chan reaches the city.”
    “Good, & how are things up at Mossdeep?”
    “The city will soon be ours, sir.  There is some heavy resistance coming from
the Pokémon Gym, but that will cease to be a problem soon.”
    “All right.  & now I suspect you want me to give you the go-ahead for the
operation?”
    “That is correct, sir.”
    Davie just nodded.  Waters had put forth his proposal to him a long time ago.
Now, they had the means & the technology to launch it.
    “Very well.  Locker 53 on the Battleship Gyarados.  You need another Aqua
member of Admin rank to open it.”
    “Thank you, sir.”
    “Power to Aqua!” cried Davie.
    “Long last the sea!” said Waters, completing the goodbye ritual among Aqua
Admins before he turned off the video-phone.  Leaning back in his chair, Waters
thought about whom best to take with him to open the operation locker.  Finally,
he settled on the captain of the battleship, Captain Admin Bane Formosa.
    Picking up the receiver to the video-phone, Waters punched in a few numbers
to call the proper destination.  He was rewarded by the voice of a relatively high-
ranked grunt in charge of the ship’s communications.  After identifying himself as
Admiral Admin Waters, he managed to get a hold of Captain Formosa.
    After explaining the situation, Formosa agreed to meet him on the Gyarados in
less than an hour’s time.  They repeated the ritual for ending conversations between
high-ranked Aqua officers & hung up on each other.
    'Soon,' thought Waters, 'the world of water we have dreamed of will come true!'
    
    ><><><><
    
    It was just after three in the morning, & Ben was already up.  As usual, he
grumbled & used passive-resistance in fighting off his sleep-time invaders.  
Surprisingly, he was winning, at least, until Harriet came in & showed them how to
wake him.  A minute later Ben was changing out of his wet pajamas & into his trainer
outfit.  Half-an-hour later, he was waiting in the main battle arena, fully armed &
ready.
    Ben was anxious.  Of course, you would probably be too if you were about to march
out to your first battle with little combat training & only the slightest idea of how
to work the weapon you were holding.  It was a Winchester Model 70 Hunting Rifle,
loaned to him by some old man.  Oddly enough, it was fairly new.  Fortunately, he had
all day yesterday to practice with it.  He also had a .45 Colt handgun that was also
loaned to him, only this time by Officer Jenny.
    The two dozen or so individuals assembled in the arena were divided into four
groups, headed by either Officer Jenny, Champion David Umbrum, Elite 4 Eric, or Elite
4 Valterra.
    He was in a group of a bout half-a-dozen or so, led by David Umbrum, the Hoenn
League Champion.  Of each of the individual members in the group, only he, David, &
another actually had any Pokémon.  The rest were just Ever Grande citizens who
answered David’s request for experienced hunters &/or soldiers who either owned
weapons or knew how to use them.
    He looked over at the other trainer.  He was about sixteen or so, just slightly
younger than him.  He, too, looked nervous.
    Sighing, Ben regretted not asking Harriet to stay with their group, but David &
Officer Jenny both agreed to spread the trainers about as evenly as possible.  She
seemed just as concerned as he did to stay together, but Jenny had personally asked
her to go with her group.  At first, she was reluctant, but she eventually agreed.
    Finally, David came into the arena to announce the plan.
    “Alright.  Now, I believe you have all been briefed on what has happened, but
here is a reminder.  Team Aqua has attacked Ever Grande City.”  There were some
murmurings amongst the small crowd, but they soon hushed & allowed David to continue.
    “By now they probably have already captured the southern half of this city &
have moved into Victory Road.  They are on their way even as I speak.”
    Again, more murmurings.  David continued once again as soon as the crowd became
quiet.  “Well, I, for one, am not going to let them take this city without a fight!
I thank each & every one of you for coming tonight.  You’re contributions to this
will not got unnoticed, & hopefully will not be in vain.”
    He waited for his words to sink in.  Then, he lowered his head a bit as he
delivered his final words.
    “Of course, do not expect to come out of this unscathed.  If there are any among
you who have wives, husbands, or children to look after, I suggest you leave now.  
Once inside the Road, there may be no going back, no return.  If you must leave,
then leave now.”
    Unlike before, there was silence.  Each person bent their heads down in thought,
even Ben.  Were their efforts going to be wasted against the larger Aqua Army?  Is
this city really worth their lives?
    After a minute of silence, a grizzled man with a black beard & a shotgun spoke
up.  “Aye, I have a wife an’ kid, an’ so does most of yas here.  Ask ya selves, 
‘could I live wid da thought dat I just stood by an’ did nothin’ whiles they was
murdered by dose Aqua scum?  Dat I coulduv done sumthin’ ta prevent dis but didn’t?’
I don’t knows ‘bout yous all, but I fight fa ma family, no matta da odds!”
    This man’s speech was greeted by nodding of heads.  No, they each had things to
fight for, whether for this city, this nation, or their families.  They will fight.
    Smiling, David shouldered his Ruger assault rifle & shouted loud enough to be
heard across the stadium.  “Alright!  Let’s get this party started!  My group,
follow me!”
    With an almost full-heart yell, the resistance fighters began following their
respective leaders.  It was almost full-hearted because, let’s face it, not every-
body is thrilled about going into a battle.  But then, they had spirit, & the will
to do what they knew was right.
    'Life is full of miracles, people just never see them.'  Ben remembered what
his father used to say.  He had not figured it out just yet, but he believed he
had just witnessed one.
    
    ><><><><

    Ryan had decided to stop for a water break.  He had been traveling north up
Route 110 since sunset of yesterday, when he tied up that Aqua member & began
following this mysterious character to Mauville.
    As he sat down on a large rock & put his backpack down, he pulled out a Fresh
Water bottle & took a long drink.  He had considered using his Pokémon to get him
there faster, but he did not know what to expect & did not want them to be
exhausted by the time he got there.  Besides, at the present rate, Ryan would
probably get to his destination by nightfall.
    Putting away his Fresh Water bottle, he shouldered his pack & continued his
hike north.  
    'Who knows, maybe there will be some answers in Mauville after all,' he
thought.

    ><><><><

    “Alright, we’re here.”
    Harland awoke to the sound of a gruff voice & a hand on his shoulder trying
to shake him into wakefulness.  His first reaction was to sit up & examine his
surroundings.  He was in a car, a car with tinted windows & leather seats.  He
also noticed that, when he moved, a warm mass slid down his body.  It was Sub-
Admin Gwen Bardo, his secretary, asleep in her gray secretary suit.
    He sighed.  It looked too drab on her.  'I’ll have to get her a better one
on the next Administrative Professional’s Day,' he thought.  Grabbing her
shoulder, he tried to wake her.
    “Miss Bardo... Wake up...,” he whispered.
    Slowly, Gwen’s eyes opened.  “Good morning, sir,” she said.
    Harland looked out the door &, sure enough, the sun was just beginning to
peek over the forest.  I must’ve been asleep longer than I thought, he concluded
as he got up & out of the car.  He saw that the door was held open by the man in
the brown trench coat he had met earlier at the Goldenrod airport.
    “Mr. Ender, I believe.”
    “You believe correct, Mr. Harland,” answered the Rocket Agent.  Turning his
head, he motioned for the Sub-Admin to get out of the vehicle as well.  “I was
told to apologize, but the Executive meeting will be held in less than half-an-
hour.  Your baggage will be carried directly to your rooms.”  Beneath his breath,
so the others could not hear him, he muttered, “Welcome to Hotel Rocket.”
    “It’s alright, we had a brief rest on the car ride,” Harland said, looking
down at his watch: 4:27am.  It had taken them nearly four hours to arrive here.
Harland swore, silently.  'What kind of organization holds an Executive meeting
at five in the freaking morning?'
    “If you’ll follow my partner, he’ll take you to the Executive conference
chamber,” Agent Ender said.  This remark earned a nasty look from his colleague,
but he complied, nonetheless.  Ender just smiled, got back in the car, & drove
away.
    Harland & Gwen gathered their carry-on & followed Special Agent Tornaut to a
metal door in the side of a large, windowless concrete building, somewhere out in
the forests of Johto.  Harland noticed satellite dishes & sniper guards placed
upon the roof of the building.  Turning his head around, he saw a chain link fence
down the road.  In the dim light, he saw several black figures connected to a
couple of four-foot-tall quadrupedal Pokémon that looked canine in nature.
    Guarding the door was a man dressed all in black with an AK-47 strapped around
his shoulder.  Agent Tornaut held up some sort of card for the guard to see.  
After a brief examination, the guard let them pass.  Tornaut then walked up to the
door & inserted the same card into a slot in the wall.  A keypad came out, which
the Rocket Agent began typing in some symbols.  When he was done, the keypad
returned to the wall, the card was returned out the same slot, & the door slid up.
    The Rocket Agent then proceeded through the entrance, followed by Harland &
Gwen.  Inside was another Rocket Grunt who requested to examine the briefcase that
was their carry-on from the flight.  
    “Sorry, no.  These contain important documents for the Executives,” Harland
answered for Gwen.  Of course, Harland was not about to trust top secret Magma
plans with a grunt, especially not a grunt of a rival organization.
    Fortunately, Agent Tornaut intervened by pulling rank on the grunt.  
Apparently, he was a second lieutenant.  The grunt apologized, mumbled something
about regulations, & allowed them to pass.
    Next came the metal detector, which each of them had to pass through.  This
time there was no way to avoid having the Rockets take their briefcase.  
Fortunately, they only needed to send it through the X-ray, but Harland was still
suspicious.  He did not trust these guys, these crooks, these criminals.  He
could not believe that Team Magma was asking help from them.
    As he stepped across the metal detector, he still could not help but admire
their organization.  They were so well coordinated, which was probably the reason
it had lasted for almost a century.
    After they had each successfully passed the metal detectors, Tornaut led them
down a well-lit hallway.  There were no doors along the walls, but plenty of
security cameras.  There was probably one every dozen or so feet.  Finally, they
came to a pair of double-doors at the end of the hallway.
    “Here is the conference chamber, & where I leave you,” said Tornaut as he
turned around & walked away.  The two Team Magma members were left alone.
    Harland looked at Gwen for a moment, took a deep breath, & pushed open the
door.

    ><><><><
    
    “Welcome aboard, Admiral,” the captain of the Aqua battleship Gyarados greeted
his superior officer.
    “Thank you, Captain.  How is life commanding one of the greatest of Aqua ships
ever to sail this great life-giving source humanity calls the ocean.”  Despite
difference in ranks & responsibilities, Waters & Formosa were old friends.  They
had known each other through the vigorous training in officers’ school.  In fact,
Formosa would have been admiral in his place, save for a little mishap on Epoch
Isle a few years ago.  Even still, Formosa was a brilliant tactician, & his friend-
ship with Waters helped his rebuild his reputation & gain him the privilege to
captain the Gyarados.
    “It goes well, sir.  Shall we go see what lies in locker 53?”
    “Yes, let’s,” the admiral replied.
    They were escorted by two grunts to the interior of the ship.  Finally, they
came to a door guarded by a single grunt with a loaded Uzi.  Formosa waved the two
escorts away & motioned for the guard to stand down.  He then pressed his thumb on
the console next to the door.  Immediately, the door slid to the right, allowing
the two Admins to enter.
    The room was around twelve by fourteen feet big.  All along the walls were gray
lockers, numbered 1-192.  They were each a foot wide & stacked in columns of four.
These were Team Aqua’s special plan-lock lockers, where operations were kept safe
(& waterproof if the ship should ever sink) until Davie Jones wanted to put them
into action.  & somewhere on the right was locker 53 & the plans to Operation Flood
Tide.
    Waters started scanning the rows of lockers until he found locker 53 on the
second row from the bottom.  Pulling out a pass card, he typed in his pass code
on the keypad.  After the pass code was acknowledged, he moved aside to allow his
comrade, Captain Formosa, to enter his own pass code.  Finally, the light on the
locker door turned green, signifying that it was unlocked.
    Formosa tried to reach down to open it, but Waters roughly pushed him out of
the way.  The admiral proceeded to open the locker & remove the paperwork inside.
Ignoring the captain, who was trying to infer that he wanted to look through the
documents as well, Waters flipped through the plans.  When he was done, Waters
turned to face his comrade.
    “Well, captain, I’ve been waiting for this day ever since I showed these plans
to Master Davie.  Now, it has finally happened,” the admiral said, smiling.  He
then pulled out a section of the plans & handed them to Formosa.  “Here, since you
are my second-in-command here in Sootopolis, this will be your project.  It is
fairly simple & you can use whatever manpower you need to accomplish it.”
    When Admiral Waters finished his orders he tucked the operation papers beneath
his arm & walked out the door, but not before yelling back, “You start immediately.”
    Formosa was shocked.  He was used to being treated better.
    'Oh well,' he thought, 'I better get started.'
    He then proceeded to go through his four pieces of paper, the title of which
said: ‘Phase One: Global Flood Tide.’  Inside were plans of Sootopolis.  Not the
city, but the island & its foundations, even the seabed around it.  There was one
spot in particular that he was interested in.  That was a cavern beneath the city
that was identified with a large arrow connected to a long list of machines.  The
name read: ‘The Cave of Origin.’
    
    ><><><><

    Eddie was exhausted.  He had been up all night manning the machinegun up on
the cliff overlooking the small harbor.  Fortunately, Greer, a fellow officer,
had relieved him a few minutes ago.  He did not know how long he would be able
to sleep, but he was grateful for the opportunity anyways.
    The tired law enforcer worked his way steadily toward what was left of the
police station.  He noted that Officer Jenny & a few others had up-righted a 
couple of tables, some of which were covered with blankets so casualties could
rest easier.  Eddie was hoping to find one to sleep on, but they were all
occupied.  In the end he settled on a scorched couch cushion from the remains
of the station’s lounge to use as a pillow.  The ground was fine enough for him.
    Making himself as comfortable as possible, Eddie tried to get some sleep.  
Looking over across the room, he noticed Officer Jenny conversing with he woman
in a white skirt & shawl.  Eddie knew her; she was the Mossdeep Gym Leader.  
'What was her name again?' he wondered.  He searched his memory, but could not
find an answer.  All he could bring up was their first meeting, or, at least,
what she looked like.  Everything else about that memory was vague.
     Strange, Eddie thought as he started to lose consciousness.  Although
haunted by the fact that he could not remember this woman’s name, he slept
peacefully, like a baby who knows nothing of the world but is somehow reassured
that his mother is near...
    
    Across the room from where Eddie slept, Officer Jenny & Gym Leader Hilda
were trying to figure a way out of this stalemate.  Hilda & her Psychic Pokémon
& Gym trainers could prevent any more cruise missile attacks on the island by
creating Barriers, but if the Aqua Grunts, with their guns & heavy weapons got
ashore, these defenses would be powerless.  To make matters worse, Jenny’s 
resistance fighters were running low on ammunition while Team Aqua seemed to
have an unlimited supply of soldiers.  Simply put, they could not risk a counter-
attack when they barely had enough weapons & ammunition to defend.  But they had
to do something.
    “This is impossible!” Jenny cried as she slammed her fist on the table.  “Our
communications have been disrupted, so we can’t call out for help, but without
help we’ll run out of ammunition!  & when we do, they’ll just roll right over us.”
    They had thought of sending a boat out to Lilycove, but the Aquas had created
a blockade.  Hilda flat out refused to have someone Teleport out on one of her
Pokémon because none of them had the energy to travel that far.  Collectively,
they could do it, but most of their energy already went to holding up the force
field.  This same reason also prevented sending out a Flyer like Skyamsen; he just
would not get there in time.
    Together they pondered, officer & Gym Leader.  They both knew that they were
responsible for protecting Mossdeep, & protect it they shall, even to their deaths.
    
    Onboard the Aqua CVN Tsunami, Aqua Captain Admin Dakotah Hale was waiting in
his ready room for the next status report.  It had been a long night; the
resistance on the island was strong, repulsing all of their landings.
    A knock on the door announced the next report.  He admitted the grunt in long
enough to snatch the papers he was holding, then booted him back out.  It was
probably better this way; no one wanted the wrath of Hale’s tongue, something
that would follow them further than a swift kick in the rear.
    Eagerly, Hale thumbed through the reports.  There were three of them.
    First was the status of the landing groups.  All have sustained heavy
casualties, but that did not matter much; Hale could always get more.
    Second was the status of the fleet.  All ships were holding position.  None
were damaged enough to prevent they from continuing the attack.  All in all,
there was nothing really interesting.
    The final page contained the report from the Aqua scientists in the science
lab, who were analyzing the Barrier surrounding the island.  'Now this is
interesting,' thought Captain Hale.  The scientists had found a weakness in the
way the shield was projected.  It covered the top & sides, but it was weak on
the surface & did not continue under the water.
    The Aqua captain leaned back in his chair to ponder this new information.
'The SS Sharpedo carries two Boeing AGM-86 cruise missiles.  If I can slip her
in under their shield... but where?  The area around the island is too shallow.
She would never get close enough to pass under...'
    Hale moved from his chair over to the map table.  There had to be a way to
get the Sharpedo close enough to launch a surprise cruise missile attack on the
island’s defenders, & he intended to find it.

    ><><><><
    
    It was a massive audience chamber, where the Executive Council of Team Rocket
would hear reports from high-level agents & spies.  In front of Harland & Gwen
was a curved table, elevated to past head height.  Behind the table, appearing
like judges in a court case, were the six Rocket Executives.
    The doors slammed shut behind them with a loud slam.  The table on the
elevated platform was curved so as to give the illusion of surrounding the
visitor, & it certainly made Harland feel trapped.  He looked around as a Vulpix
caught in a cunning trap, forced to face the Houndooms in front or risk the hunter
with the gun behind.
    It was now that he noticed the empty seat, a seventh seat, which was positioned
in the center of the table & different from the other Executive chairs.  It was
bigger, adorned with a gold rocket model with a large letter ‘R’ etched onto the
funnel.  It looked comfortable & intimidating.
    “Speak.”  The voice came from the woman to the left of the chair.  Harland
looked up to get a better view of her.  He saw that she had long, dark hair, but
her face was obscured in shadow, but she looked almost to be in her early twenties.
“I said speak.  The Council of Executives will hear the representative from Team
Magma now.  If you have anything to say, say it now.  Otherwise you are wasting our
time,” the woman continued.
    Swallowing visibly, Harland stepped forward.  Summoning up his courage, he
addressed the woman who spoke to him.  “I am Admiral Admin Jeff Harland of Team
Magma.  I have come from the island nation of Hoenn with this plea.  Team Aqua,
our greatest nemesis, has returned to cause chaos & death in our land.  Ordinarily,
we of Team Magma would have mobilized & pushed them back, but present circumstances
have prevented us from doing so, namely, the size of the Aqua invasion force.  
Their fleet consists of over twenty-five warships, including attack submarines &
CVNs.  Their manpower is much greater than our own, & their command structure is
better organized than when they were last in Hoenn waters.”
    Harland stopped for a moment to gather the nerve to make Moxie’s proposal
before continuing, “It is because of this threat that my leader, Moxie of Team
Magma, has brought me to suggest a cooperative alliance.  With your help, we stand
a better chance of repelling Team Aqua once again.”
    Once again, he waited.  Only this time he waited for his proposal to sink in.
He just stood there, staring at the only Executive to have spoken.  At the same
time, the Executive continued to stare at him, seeming to expect something else.
    In the end, it was the Executive who broke the silence.  “Admiral Harland, the
council has heard your plea.  However, there is still one matter that you seemed
to have left out.”
    Harland saw this coming, he was expecting it.  He remained still as the
Executive spoke.
    “What is in it for us?”
    “Madam Executive, my leader Moxie suggests a trade.  Your organization has
always sought out rare & valuable Pokémon, & we are willing to offer some of the
rarest & most sought-after Pokémon on our side of the ocean.  Such as-”
    “Such as what!?”
    It was an Executive on his right this time, a man who looked to be in his early
thirties.  He has short brown hair, but his face was also obscured in shadow.  His
demeanor was harsher than the female Executive he had addressed all this time.  In
fact, Harland had almost forgotten that there were other people inside this room
than him & the woman.
    “Well, such as Chimecho, which set a high price, even on Mt. Pyre.  There are
Ghost Pokémon there that are never found anywhere else.  & I know Mightyena are
asked for by security guards all around the world-“
    “Enough!” the male Executive’s yell cut Harland’s speech off.  “We have no need
for any Chimecho, rare as they are, & we have ways of obtaining Mightyena from right
under Team Magma’s nose,” the man continued, rising out of his seat.  His face
coming out of the shadows, “Why should we agree to a proposal that will weaken our
assets?”
    Harland was surprised.  If this man was telling the truth, Team Rocket’s reach
had gotten further than anyone at Team Magma would have guessed.
    “Mr. Hunter, sit down!”
    The male Executive, whose name was Hunter, simply turned to the speaker, the
female Executive who had addressed Harland at the start of the meeting.  Hunter’s
eyes glowed red will anger.  He obviously did not like the woman near the center of
the table.
    “No, Ms. Nadian, I will not.  How come we agreed to even let that poor excuse
for an archetypical crime organization muddy our doorstep with their ‘love the land’
philosophy & ask for our help?”
    Ms. Nadian stood up from her seat near the center of the table.  Once she did so,
her face was clearly illuminated.  Her dark eyes radiated defiance & intelligence,
characteristics of a true crime lord.
    “Because, Mr. Hunter, they have something we want.  Now, they have a problem
that they will pay almost any price to solve.  They are now so desperate that they
have turned to the greatest crime organization with the greatest record of thefts,
house invasions, destruction of property, & kidnappings in history: Team Rocket; us.”
Hunter appeared to back off a bit from Nadian’s words, but he did not sit down.
Instead, he decided to glare at Harland & Gwen.
    Harland could not believe what he was hearing.  These two Executives were arguing
about the status of his society as if a representative of them was not even here!
    Executive Nadian turned toward him.  “I have my own proposition for you, Admiral
Admin Harland of Team Magma.  Hoenn has always been just beyond our reach.  Sure, we
may be able to import a couple of Pokémon directly from the nation’s ports, but we
were never able to establish a firm foothold in the area.  Give us space to establish
our own recruiting offices & bases in the area & we will certainly agree to your
proposal.”
    If Harland was angry before, he was furious now.  These people had the balls to
let him come & represent his crisis just to tell him that, if they helped defeat Team
Aqua, then they can have the land Team Magma has defended for almost a century!  He
was sure his teeth were grinding loud enough for any one of the Executives to hear,
but they did not seem to notice.
    Executive Nadian continued, “Better to cut off the infected leg before it consumes
the body, Admiral Admin Harland.  You have our proposal, & we shall give a few hours
to relay it back to your headquarters.”  She got up & every one of the Executives
followed suite.  All except Hunter, who was already standing.  
    She Harland & Gwen motioned to the door.  “Go, there will be an Agent waiting for
you on the other side to take you to your rooms.  We will notify you of the next
meeting in a few hours.”  Then she left through a door behind the big chair in the
center.  All the others followed her, except Hunter, who stayed behind long enough to
give Harland a sneer before exiting through the same door.
    
    ><><><><
    
    Emma & Lex had left the S.S. Cactus & Capt. Doyle as soon as they docked & had
all their gear together.  Lex first wanted to go to the Pokémon Center to have Nurse
Joy check on here Quilava, but had to put priorities first.  Fortunately, Emma, her
trainer friend, came up with a solution.
    “Listen, there are two of us, so how about I go find Officer Jenny while you go
take care of your Quilava.  Sound good?” she asked.
    Lex was, of course, torn.  Two people would find Officer Jenny faster than just
one.  But, in the end, her concern for her Pokémon’s well-being got the better of
Lex & she agreed to Emma’s proposal.
    “Good, now, hurry over to the center & have Nurse Joy check on your Quilava.  
Don’t worry, I’ll find Jenny!” Emma yelled as she disappeared through the crowd.  
Lex did not even wave as her friend left, but watched her vanish into the busy
streets of Lilycove.  Then, she turned around & walked west to the Pokémon Center.
    The crowds were thicker than usual today, probably because it was a Saturday.  
But these people did not look like shoppers.  They all looked grim, unfocused, &
pale.  They seemed to almost not to care about the merchandise in the shop windows
or strange objects on venders’ carts.  For some reason, there was an air of sadness
hanging over Lilycove.
    Coming through a large crowd that seemed to mindlessly conjugate in front of a
clothing store, Lex found herself at the entrance to the Pokémon Center.  Walking
through the sliding glass double doors, Lex noticed a familiar figure in a royal
blue uniform with turquoise hair next to the counter...
    “Officer Jenny!” Lex cried out.
    The officer immediately turned around with a look of disgust on her face.  She
looked just like every other Jenny Lex had seen, but, somehow, different.
    “My name is NOT Jenny!”
    Lex stopped in her track, amazed at what she was hearing.  Of course she was
Officer Jenny.  She had to be.
    “For the hundredth time today & the millionth this year, my name is NOT Jenny!”
    Another familiar figure, this time in a white & pink nurse’s outfit, reached
across the counter & grab the officer by the shoulder.  “Jean, please, calm down.
She didn’t know; she’s just arrived.  I know it is hard for you to take, but please,
calm down.”
    The officer balled her fists & took a few deep breathes.  Now that Lex looked
over her more closely, she did look different.  Her hair was in one, long Ponyta-
tail, for starters, her face was narrower, & her eyes were a bright green, rather
than brown.  After Lex got over these differences, the officer had calmed down
enough to introduce herself.
    “Sorry, my name is Jean, not Jenny.  I’m the black sheep of the family.  My
mother noticed the differences when I was born, & felt that I deserved a different
name.  But, if she knew what I would have to put up with going through police
academy, I swear...”
    “Um, Officer Jean?” Lex asked cautiously.  She did not want another outburst
like that.  A lot of people in the Center were staring at her, especially Officer
Jean.  “Um... I apologize for my mistake.  Understand, I was expecting–”
    “Oh, that’s always the excuse!  ‘I didn’t know.’  Well, ignorance is no excuse,
missy!  Lilycove is the safest city in Hoenn, & probably in the world, thanks to
me!  I should have made a name for myself by now, but noooooo.  Everyone just
assumes that it was a Jenny who caught all the thieves, a Jenny who kept order
through the sailors’ riots, a Jenny who set up the greatest criminal investigation
squad in Hoenn, but never me!”
    Lex was sure that the woman would have continued on berating her if she did
not stop to take a breath.  Nurse Joy – at least that’s who Lex hoped she was – 
grabbed Jean’s shoulder again & managed to calm her down once more.  Lex looked 
around the room again, hoping to find a hole to dive into, because everybody was 
staring at her.
    After a few more breathes, Officer Jean turned toward her again.  “Sorry, but
it gets so aggravating after a while.  I mean, if you had a family name to live
up to, you would probably understand.”
    “Actually, I do.”
    This caused Jean to raise an inquisitive eyebrow, but Lex shook her head.
    “I really don’t want to talk about it.”
    Jean nodded understandingly, but Lex did not think that she did.  She could
remember the first day she told her parents that she was going on a Pokémon
journey.  Of course, they were not very happy.  They each had doctorates in some
field of medicine.  Her father was a surgeon & her mother was a nurse.  She was
expected to follow them through medical school, but Lex was stubborn.  They even
tried to send her to a Pokémon veterinary school, in an attempt to merge her
passion with their standards, but she turned that down too.  In the end, they
reluctantly let her go.  They did not even come to see her battle in the Indigo
Tournament, when she made it all the way to the final four!
    Though she did not win the tournament, she was awarded the rank of Fire
Master, a gold ring studded with a flame-shaped ruby with twin Charizards
engraved into the sides, for her performance.  She wore that ring now, on her
left hand, as a reminder that she had come this far not to be discouraged.
    Snapping out of her reminiscence, Lex remembered what she was supposed to do.
“Officer Jen– Jean, I mean, the ship I was sailing on was attacked!”
    She instantly realized that she said this out loud, but no one seemed
surprised.  Except Officer Jean, whose other eyebrow rose in surprise.  She
grabbed Lex by the shoulder & maneuvered her to an empty room.  She shut the door
& sat down on a bunk, gesturing for Lex to do likewise.  After Lex sat down, 
Jenny asked to hear her story.
    Lex began her tale, starting with the change in the course of the ship, &
working her way up to the landing in Lilycove.  She put great detail in
explaining everything the Aqua Grunt had told her.  When she was done, Jean told
her to take her to the ship.
    Lex left the room with the officer trailing behind her, when she remembered
she had to do something else.  She turned toward Officer Jean & said, “Wait,
there is something I have to do before we leave.”  Officer Jean just nodded &
told her to hurry.
    Lex nodded & hurried over to the counter.  The Nurse Joy (She really was a
Nurse Joy) greeted her.
    “Hello, and welcome to the Lilycove Pokémon Center.  We restore your tired
Pokémon to full health.  Would you like to rest you Pokémon?”
    “Yes,” Lex said, annoyed by the nurse’s almost mechanical drone.
    “Okay, I’ll take your Pokémon for a few seconds.”
    Lex handed her Quilava’s Pokéball & placed it onto a tray with six spherical
indents.  The ball flashed once, twice, thrice, four times, & stopped.  The nurse
then picked it up & handed it to Lex.
    “Thank you for waiting.  We’ve restored your Pokémon to full health.”
    “Thank you,” Lex said.
    “We hope to see you again!”
    “Hopefully not too soon,” was her dry reply.
    “What was that?”
    “Nothing!”
    With the Pokéball firmly in her grip, Lex sprinted out the Pokémon Center
before Nurse Joy could figure out what she meant, Officer Jean hot on her heels.
    
    ><><><><
    
    It was not midday yet, & David still had not called a break.  From Ben’s
perspective, the champion did seem to realize that none of them had the unique
night vision he processed.  It was just that he did not care.  If he, the
champion & leader of this motley team, wanted to press onward, then they would
press on.
    Ben was getting tired of lugging around his rifle; it was heavy & dragging
him down.  The only reason he kept it was because he might have to fight Team
Aqua under war conditions & did not want to risk the lives of his Pokémon team-
mates.
    Unintentionally, he looked down at his Pokébelt.  His full league team was
there: Sceptile, Hariyama, Chinchou, Sandslash, Mightyena, & Skarmory.  He had
kept absentmindedly glancing at them as if to assure himself that they were still
there.
    He shook his head.  No, I will not put them through this.  It was enough
that we fought in some sort of sport, but this… I cannot, I will not! he thought.
That was the reason he borrowed the rifle – to keep from using them.
    “Halt!” came a command from up front.  Ben recognized the voice: David.
“Break, five minutes.  Lector & Ben, I need to see you upfront.”
    With a look of surprise on his face, Ben careful stepped over the men who
had lied down & made his way to the front.  There was David with the grizzled
man with the black beard.  David did not look up to address him.  “Do you
recognize this place, Ben?”
    Actually, Ben had not been paying attention to where they were going.  He
tried to scan the area around him, but his eyes could not penetrate the darkness.
He shrugged his shoulders.  “No.”
    David got down as if to examine the ground.  He stood back up with a small
rock, which he threw into the darkness.  The sound of the rock hitting water
resounded around the cave.
    “This is were I found you & that girl, Harriet.  You could still see the
footprints if you had good enough vision.  I can.  Just yours, hers, mine, &
Sableye’s.”
    Ben tried to understand what he was hinting at, but Lector told him first.
    “Et means yous was da only ones do pass through here.  Yous an’ nobody
else’s.”
    “That’s a good thing, right?” asked Ben.
    David sighed.  “Well, if Team Aqua has invaded Victory Road, then yes, it
could be a good sign.  This is one of three ways out, & the trickiest.”
    Lector spoke up, “But if dey didn’t, den we’s just wasting our time.”
    David nodded, but continued.  “But there’s only yours, mine, Harriet’s, &
Sableye’s.  That means that not a single Pokémon has walked through here.  &
listen.  There’s no rustle on the water of Seaking checking out the rock I threw
in, or the flaps of Zubat & Golbat who usually swarm on large groups of people
passing through.  Something’s happened in here, something bad to have driven off
the Pokémon.”
    “But what?”
    David opened his mouth to answer, they stopped.  He turned around to face
down the tunnel they were traveling through.
    Ben was disturbed.  “What is it?” he asked; his voice barely above a whisper.
    “Quiet!” David responded with equal softness.  He continued to stare.
    Ben turned his head & cupped his hand to his ear so he could hear better.
After less than a minute of listening, he heard what David was listening to.
    “You fool!  I don’t know where you learned to scout, but you sent us down the
wrong way!”
    “Sorry sir, but I was sure that way led to the sea, I heard water–”
    “Water!?  You nitwit, half-brained, son of a Feebas!  Running water will lead
us out of this Kyogre-forsaken cave!”
    “But, sir, water runs downhill, out to the ocean.  Besides, I’m telling you
that that way is west.”
    “& I’m telling you that the squad will go in that direction.  Unless you want
me to report you to General Chan, you will scout in that direction.  Have I made
myself clear?”
    “Yes sir.”
    “Good.  Now for the rest of you, I’m in charge here & you will follow my
orders.  Is that clear?”
    “Sir, yes sir,” responded a multitude of voices, which echoed around the cave,
loud enough to be heard by every single man & woman of David’s small force.  
Expressions of fear & surprise appeared on their faces.  Mostly fear, though.
    “Then march, you bottom kissing Barboach!  March!  Chan wants us to be in
northern Ever Grande yesterday!  Now march, I say!”
    David got belly-down, readying his Ruger assault rifle.  Lector did the same,
crouching behind a boulder while inserting a cartridge into his shotgun.  Ben had
started to aim his Winchester Hunting Rifle, but brought it back, embarrassed that
he forgot to load it.  Behind him, the other men started to prepare for conflict.
The sound of feet grew loader, echoing all around them.  Conflict would not be
long in coming.
    
    ><><><><
    
    Harland was in his room, establishing a link-up with the Main Team Magma
Operations base in Hoenn.  It was a direct feed via satellite to Moxie’s office.
After a setting up the antenna & logging on his computer, Moxie’s face success-
fully appeared on the screen.
    “Madam Moxie,” said Harland.
    “Admiral,” was her reply.
    “I have successfully gained access into Team Rocket’s base.”
    “Very good, Admiral.  Did you present our case to the Council?”
    Harland swallowed.  “Yes, madam.”
    “Well?  What have they said?”
    Harland took a deep breath & told her what they wanted.  Moxie looked at him
understandingly, but he knew that, inside, she was swearing.  They had both
expected this, but had hoped for the best.  But this time, luck was not with them.
    “What do we do, madam?”
    Moxie glanced away from the screen obviously in thought.  After a minute of
waiting, Harland heard his new orders.
    “We’ll have to agree, for now.  We need them now, because without their help,
we cannot repel the Aqua forces.  Hoenn is big, but not big enough for two teams.
Tell them we’ll agree, but you know what to do.”
    Indeed he did.  First allies, then enemies.  Let them help Team Magma now,
then cut them off while they’re setting up.
    “Understood, Madam Moxie.”
    & the connection was terminated.
    
    “Interesting.”
    In her apartment on the top floor, Executive Karen Nadian was watching the
transmission between Magma Admiral Harland & his superior.  Team Rocket did not
survive this long without being cautious.  Ruthless too, but that will come later.
    'So, they are planning to double–cross us,' she thought.  'They want us to
fight their war for them, and then smash us when we are weakened.  With both teams
gone, the only victors will be them.'
    This was serious; team Rocket was on the brink of open war, something unheard
of for a people without a nation.  Even revolutionaries fought on their own land.
But Karen was torn.  Team Aqua was a rising threat that must be dealt with, but
she would not sacrifice Team Rocket in order to do it.  
    She smiled. Then again, it is not my organization to throw away now, is it?
At least, not yet.
    She had a plan – a crafty plan – a plan that would take her to the top; above
the top, even.  She only had one obstacle, & Admiral Harland could help her with
that.  Pressing a com button on her desk, she sent out her call.
    
    ><><><><
    
    “Emma!  Emma!  Over here!”
    The blonde girl immediately heard Lex call out for her amongst the crowd, &
started moving toward her as soon as she spotted her.  Meanwhile, Lex explained
to Officer Jean Emma’s importance on the boat.  Before Lex introduced them, she
pulled Emma to the side to explain something.
    “Her name is what?” said Emma in a volume slightly above a whisper.
    “Officer Jean.  & don’t mention the other ‘J’ word around her.  It gets her
mad.”
    Emma looked up at the officer’s cold face (she knew what they were talking
about) & decided to agree.  Lex sighed.  Hopefully, with that settled, there
would be no outbursts on this trip.
    So the trio moved toward the harbor.  When they arrived onboard the S.S.
Cactus, Captain Doyle greeted the officer wholeheartedly.  The fat old man
managed to pull an elegant bow accompanied by a flourish of his hat.
    “Welcome aboard the Cactus, madam, where no bed is too prickly.”
    “Thank you, Capt. Doyle.  Now, I must see to this villain.  Where is he?”
    “Right this way, madam.”
    The captain led the way through the ship to the bridge.  On the starboard
side was a metal locker, which he opened to reveal a man, bound by rope & gagged
by a dirty shirt.  It looked like it tasted awful.
    Officer Jean removed the gag & started to drill him.  It was not necessary
as the man was already broken, but it set the mood for the interrogation.
    Lex & Emma had already seen it, & had no desire to stay & watch it again.  
So they set off for the shopping center on the northern outskirts of the city.
They needed to stock up if they wanted to make it all the way to Fortree & the
next badge.  After that, they would head back to the Pokémon Center to book a
room for the night.
    
    ><><><><
    
    “Welcome back, 002.”
    Agent Ender has returned to base after getting a few hours of sleep.  He
had been called back personally by one of the Executives, Nadian, to be exact.
    He searched his memory for any information about her, & remembered that
she was the strongest member of the council.  Strongest in Pokémon & strongest
in support.  She had risen quickly through the ranks, & became 001 after little
more than six months of working for the team.  She was also fairly beautiful.
    He almost kicked himself because of that last thought.  Such actions were
discouraged in Team Rocket.  & to think so of a superior officer… that was a
sure way to disaster.
    Emptying his mind, he traveled up the stairs to the third floor; the
Executive apartments.  He was looking for room number 06, which was on the
right-hand side.  There was no knob, only a touch pad.  He pressed the “ring”
button, & a pleasant chime came from the touchpad.
    “Enter,” said a voice as the door slid open.  Once Ender had proceeded
through, the door slid shut behind him.  He was in a wide room, with a small
kitchen in one corner & a canopy queen-sized bed in the other.  But in front of
him was the woman who called him: Karen Nadian, the most powerful Executive on
the Council of Executives of Team Rocket.
    Swallowing & standing up straight, Ender awaited her orders.  “Yes, madam?”
    “At ease, Agent 002.  Now you will know why I’ve brought you here,” she said
from behind her desk.
    'About bloody time,' he thought.
    Spreading out her arms, she asked him, “Do you like this?”
    'Why, have you done some redecorating?' he thought sarcastically, but he knew
better than to say something like that to the most powerful person in Team Rocket.
All he could do was be truthful.  “Yes, madam.”
    She brought her arms back in front of her, her hands forming a steeple.  “&
what would you do to gain all of this?”
    'An odd question.  What are you playing at?'
    “Almost anything, miss.”
    “Good.  Because very shortly one or, hopefully, two seats will need to be
filled on the Council, & you are a likely candidate.”
    Ender tensed visibly.  'What did she mean by ‘hopefully two’?'
    “Agent Ender, you are aware of the crisis in Hoenn, correct?”
    “Yes, madam, I was briefed.”
    “Do you know what we intend to do?”
    Ender bit his lip.  “No, miss.”
    Karen smiled.  “Of course you do, you just do not approve.  Why not?”
    Ender could not believe it.  It was as if she had read his mind.  “Well...
uh... why?  Well, um, if we fought Team Aqua in an all-out war, then we would
be severely weakened.”
    Karen nodded & motioned him to continue.
    “& even if we did win, then we would probably have to fight Team Magma for
our share of Hoenn.”
    “But if we do nothing, Team Aqua will rollover Hoenn.  When they’re done
there, they will make us the next target, correct?”
    Ender shuddered.  'Since when did you learn to read minds?'
    “Uh... correct, miss.”
    “That makes it a lose-lose scenario, right?”
    “...Yes.”
    Karen stood out of the chair & walked over to the small apartment kitchen,
where some coffee was being brewed.
    'Damn, she even walks sensually.'  Shaking his head to get rid of that
thought, he almost did not hear her next question.
    “So, what do you propose?”
    “Er… What?  Oh, yes, um… well… I don’t know, miss.  That is a question for
the Executive Council, not a field agent.  You are asking the wrong guy.”
    To his surprise, Karen laughed.  It was a charming laugh.  & her smile! 'She
should do that more often...'  Ender shook his head again to get rid of that
thought.  Now was not the time to go admiring the physical characteristics of a
superior, especially this one.  He had seen her in action, & the thought of what
happened down in Vermillion still caused him to shudder.
    “Back to my second question, Agent Ender: what would you do to gain all of
this?”
    Once again, she made the sweeping motion around the room.  Ender gulped at
watching her spin.  “Everything in this room, miss Nadian?”
    She laughed at that remark, using that nice, joyful laugh he liked...
    This time he brought his fist up to strike his head a few times.  'Stop that!
I don’t believe this!  All those undercover missions with more attractive woman,
& he couldn’t even think straight in this one out of them all!'
    'Granted, they probably weren’t as beautiful as this one in front of me.'
    'Shut up!'
    '& certainly none of them had the power to kill me on the spot...  Except for
that one redhead I kidnapped outside Viridian.  Boy, did she put up a fight, &
all for her Pokémon.  I would have subdued her if those two boys hadn’t decided
to interfere.'
    “Well, Agent Ender?”
    He suddenly remembered how stupid he looked, banging his balled fist against
his head.  He immediately came to attention.  Looking at her, he realized that
she was smiling.
    “As before, almost anything, miss.”
    “Good.  I have a way to fight Team Aqua & get you a seat on the council.  But
I require a little help, from you & from a friend.  Here’s what you are going to
do...”
    
    ><><><><
    
    Eddie awoke to a nightmare.  Fires roared from the remains of the Pokémon
Gym, & people & Pokémon were running everywhere.  Above him, half-a-dozen Boeing
AGM-86 cruise missiles streaked across the sky.  Below him, the sounds of auto-
matic rifles
& machinegun fire clashed with the explosions of RPGs.
    'That’s odd,' he thought, 'I thought the Barrier protected us from them.'  
The missiles landed in the residential district, wrecking buildings & lives alike.  
Fires blazed, but they would have to wait.  There was fighting going on down at
the jetty.  That’s where he was needed.  That’s where he could be put to the most
use.
    Grabbing his Ruger, Eddie began the trip down the slope at breakneck speed.
Only death would keep him from protecting his city.
    
    Aqua Captain Admin Hale was pleased with himself.  Mossdeep was surrounded by
mangrove marshes on both its western & southern sides, too shallow for a submarine
to enter under the Barrier.  The northern side was flanked by a giant cave, the
Shoal Cave, which was also too shallow for the attack submarine Sharpedo to perform
its operation.  But the eastern side was a sheer drop to the ocean floor, a good
forty feet down, just enough room for an attack submarine to travel submerged.
    As soon as it was ready, the SS Sharpedo launched its two Boeing AGM-86 cruise
missiles on the Pokémon Gym.  The explosions had killed or knocked out enough
Psychic Pokémon to shatter the Barrier, allowing the DDG (Guided Missile Destroyer)
Archie to launch the remainder of its missile inventory on the defenseless island.
    Soon, Mossdeep would be theirs.  Already, AALCs (Amphibious Assault Landing
Craft) bearing heavily armed Aqua Grunts had landed among the mangroves.  It was
the largest force he had ever committed to a landing.  There was no way the few
defenders could stand up to them long.  It was only a matter of time.
    
    Eddie never made it to the jetty.  Instead, the attack came to him.  Those
wearing the black & white striped shirt with the blue bandanas had already
advanced halfway up the slope.  Seaking escape, Eddie dove into the first thing
that offered cover: a bramble bush.
    'Damn it!' he thought.  The bush had thorns.
    Feeling a sense of déjà vu, he realized that it was the same bramble bush he
had tripped into when this whole crisis had begun.  
    Sounds of battle grew louder as the Aqua Grunts got further up the hill.  
Knowing he would be unable to shoot from inside the bush, Eddie decided to take
a desperate gamble.  He figured that anyone coming up the slope was trying to
attack Mossdeep, & therefore a bad guy.  So, he stood up, set his assault rifle
on full automatic, & started spraying the guys trying to come towards him.
    From behind the muzzle, he saw bodies collapse to the ground, some rolling
back down into the ranks of men behind them.  More & more fell to his wild
shooting, until his clip ran out.  It was then that he realized that he was
screaming.  He had not heard it earlier over the sound of the gun, but now he
could.  He just stood there, viewing his work.
    Shouts from down the ridge caused him to reach for another clip.  He felt
his pockets, none.  He felt around his belt, none.  He searched about his person,
searching desperately for a magazine clip.
    His search was interrupted by a brutal force which hit him in the chest.  
Surprisingly, he felt more shock than pain.  He dropped down to his knees, then
fell on his back; his head turned to his side.  There, he saw several figures
moving up the slope.
    He had failed, but he had tried.  Darkness consumed him, & his eyes filmed
over in death.
    
    All around the slope, the moans of the dying filled the air.  The bodies of
the already dead littered the slope, defenders & Aqua Grunts alike.
    It was clear who had won.  Some of the Aqua Grunts started to roundup
survivors, while others moved about among the dead, collecting weapons, ammunition,
& the Pokéballs from the trainers.  One such scout kneeled over the dead form of a
woman, dressed completely in white.  Reaching into one of her skirt pockets, the
grunts pulled out one, two, no three Pokéballs.  On his analyzer, he realized that
only two of them were full.
    He looked across the body at a crumpled pile of green-&-cream-colored feathers.
Figuring that that was her Pokémon, the grunt tossed the empty Pokéball to the side.
After dropping the remaining two in his sack, he proceeded to search the other skirt
pocket.  Inside was a pink case with a picture of a heart with a hole in it.  He
recognized the symbol.
    It was the Mind Badge of Mossdeep.
    
    ><><><><
    
    Harland was lying back on the bed when someone knocked on his door.  He checked
his bedside clock.  3:36 in the afternoon.
    'To Hell with this,' he thought, pushing his body into a sitting position.  The
knocking continued with earnest.
    “Hold on!” he yelled, grabbing a shirt off his bedside table & putting it on.
He also took a swig of a few-hours-old coffee that he was drinking before he went
to sleep.  It tasted awful, but it wasn’t very good hot either, he remembered.
    Fully dressed, he stood up, walked to the door, & opened it to little more than
a crack, just enough to see who was outside.  Unfortunately, the hallway lights
were a sharp contrast to his darkened room, so his eyes had trouble adjusting.
    “Hello, Mr. Harland.  So, we meet again.”
    He recognized that voice, & when his eyes had adjusted to the lights, he
recognized the face as well.  He opened the door wider.
    “Yes we do, Mr. Ender.  Now, what the hell are you doing here?”  Ender must
have forgotten that Harland had been up since one in the morning & had only got a
few hours of sleep.
    “I’ve been told to escort you to a meeting with Executive Nadian, Mr. 
Harland.”
    'Nadian... Nadian... Yeah, she was that Executive who spoke for the rest of
the Council,' Harland thought.  'What does she want me for?  Why now?'
    “Perhaps you would like a few minutes to change into something more present-
able.”
    Harland looked across himself.  He was wearing his underclothes, not the best
thing to be in while appearing before a Team Rocket Executive.  Telling Ender to
wait outside while he got ready, Harland shut the door & grabbed his maroon pants
off the back of one of the chairs.  He then walked into the separate bathroom.
    Using the small mirror above the sink, he shaved & washed his face.  After
placing his hand to his mouth & breathing, Harland believed that he could get
away without brushing.  Besides, it was not like he was going to get close to
her, right?
    Grabbing his maroon jacket on the way out, Harland hesitated long enough to
grab the small pocketknife he had snuck past the Rocket metal detectors.  'Praise
Groudon for giving us lead.'  Whatever this Nadian wanted him for, he would be
ready.  Then, cautiously, he followed Ender down the second floor hallway.  
    
    ><><><><
    
    They came around the bend completely unawares.  First their flashlight beams,
then their front rank.  They did not even have their rifles at ready.
    Those in the front row were instantly cut down by rifle fire.  Ben, who had
only shot at a paper figure yesterday in training, was a little late in firing
off his shot.  The sounds of gunfire reverberated around the tunnel, making every-
one’s ears hurt, but it had the desired effect.  The Aqua Grunts, not expecting
such a confrontation until they were out of the Road, dropped their weapons &
tried to flee back down the tunnel.
    “Go back you fools!  There aren’t that many!  Stop!  Halt!  Turn around you
good for nothing – agh!”
    Ben looked up from his rifle sights to see scatterings of black & white
striped bodies littering the floor.  Dropped flashlights shone on the bodies of
the fallen, defining every feature of their dead faces.  All Ben saw was red.  His
stomach churned, so he dropped to his knees & he threw up.  David got up to pat
him on the back.
    “It’s okay, Ben.  It’s never easy the first time, but you’ll get used to it.”
    “You’ll neva git used ta et, sonny, take ma word fa et,” Lector said, shotgun
leaning against his shoulder.
    Slowly, Ben managed to stand.  He was shaking, but standing.  & alive.  His
face was red with embarrassment.  No one else in the group had lost their lunch,
though a few were pale or slightly green.  “I… I didn’t mean… I… Why?”  He lowered
his head & began to cry.
    David nodded sympathetically.  “Yeah, it’s not easy to kill.  But it was you
or them Ben.  Would you expect any mercy from them if they got you first?”
    Ben had his arms on his knees for support, but his head was clearly shaking
from side to side.  No, he did not expect any mercy from Team Aqua.  But then
again, he did not expect them to run.
    Forcing a smile, Ben made himself stand up, which was not easy considering that
his stomach was still churning.  “They’re not so tough…,” he managed weakly.
    To his surprise, David smiled too.  “No, they’re nothing more than bullies who
like to pick on those too weak to defend themselves.  But they’re really just
cowards, who don’t know how to face up to real fighters.”
    “Aye, ya be right dere, David,” added Lector.  Nods & murmurs of agreement
rippled through their group.  They all agreed.
    Picking his rifle up from where he dropped it, Ben turned to face David.  
Plastering that fake smile on his face, he looked the champion in the eye.
    “So, where to next?”
    
    ><><><><

    Aqua Captain Admin Bane Formosa was in the dark, literally. He would have
preferred not be down in this murky, water-filled dungeon, except that it was
orders.  He was supposed to start setting up the project equipment tomorrow, &
the cave was still not cleared out.  All he had to go by were the few plans Admin
Waters had given him & the list of machinery necessary to complete the project.  
    Except for the portable electric lanterns & helmet lights of the workers,
there was supposed to be a network of lighting running the length of the tunnel,
but pumping was behind schedule.  No one had anticipated that the second basement
would be filled with seawater, so their timetables had to be pushed back.  Way
back.
    “Okay!  Ready to activate the lighting!  Keep clear of the circuits!”
    Suddenly there was light, & Bane could see the progress they had accomplished
so far.  All around him, men were either carting wheelbarrows of earth up to the
surface or carrying machinery & computers down to the next basement level.  One
particular piece of equipment caught his eye; it appeared to be a giant engine of
some sort, only huge, over a dozen feet long.  It explained why they were using
an earthmover to pull it.  Of course, they had been told that it was a very
valuable piece of machinery, so they were handling it with care one would expect
for a porcelain vase.  Unfortunately for someone, they were not careful enough.
    “Careful, you clumsy oafs!  You break it, & I’ll break you!  Then I’ll feed
you to the Sharpedo & use your privates as bait for Huntail!”
    That commanding voice sent new spirit through the workers, as they began to
move at an even surer pace.  It had not come from Captain Formosa, but Admiral
Waters, who had taken to surprise visits to check on Bane’s work.
    “Well Bane, you really need to get these landlubbers fixed right, or I’ll
have to find a replacement for the Gyarados.  If you cannot handle a simple
operation like this, who knows what catastrophe you will cause in command of a
battleship.”
    Yes sir.  Don’t worry, I’ll straighten them out.  These land-softened sons-
of-a-bitches need to learn that this city isn’t theirs anymore, & they don’t make
the calls.  We do.”
    But Waters raised his hand to silence him.
    “No, captain, I make the calls.  You just follow them.”
    “Yes sir,” he responded.  'Six years I’ve been your friend & closest ally,
always watching your back while you watched mine.  Times sure do change, don’t
they, Seth?'
    “Good.  Now make sure that they be extra careful with that.” He gestured
toward the engine.  “If it falls, or is damaged in anyway, I will hold you
responsible, captain.  If that happens, you better slit your own throat before
I get to you, because otherwise, your death will be a whole lot more painful.”
    With that said, the admiral turned for the exit to the tunnel, leaving a
very bewildered Bane rubbing his neck.  He had guessed the price of failure, but
it was far below what he thought.
    
    It was going too slowly.  Waters had not anticipated the flooding in the
second basement, & it was slowing him down.  Even after the leak is found &
sealed, it would take at least a few days to pump out the water.  & if there was
more than one leak, then this project could take months.  
    But Waters did not have months.  Soon, a coalition of forces from the other
three Great Leagues & numerous smaller Leagues would fall down upon them.  If
Team Aqua wanted to hold on to this stretch of water, then something drastic
would have to be done.
    'Phase two.  There’s nothing else for it.'
    Once alone in his office, Waters was at ease.  It was swept twice daily for 
ugs, once by a specialist & once by Waters himself.  Two times already he had
two sweepers shot on deck in front of the crew because he found a listening
device.  Whether they had placed those bugs there or simply overlooked them, he
did not care.  That was almost a year ago, & he has not found another bug yet,
including today.
    When he was sure that he was alone, he ran his hand through his hair.  His
fingers brushed over a piece of stainless steel metal, about a square inch in
size; his backup.  Gingerly, he depressed the release buttons on the sides to
allow a small compact disk to come out.  He then inserted the disk into his
computer.  The word “Downloading” flashed across the screen.
    Also on his desk was a briefcase, a “present” from the resident sleeper
agent.  Inside were plans & schematics of what appeared to be a large diesel
engine.  Above it were the etched words “Cavitation Generator”.  They were the
keys to his grand scheme, the devices that would make his dream of a water world.
    Grimacing, he pushed those pages aside to reveal more designs, only these
were in pencil, & were covered in numerous physics equations relating to wave
mechanics & explosions in a high-density atmosphere.  Above were written the
words “Phase Two: Mobile Flood Tide”.
    'We’ll have to do a little dovetailing, but it could just pay off...'
    With that thought, he set to work.

    ><><><><
    
    The sun was beginning to set over his left shoulder as Ryan arrived at the
end of Route 110.  In front of him was sprawled the spectacular skyline of
Mauville, perhaps the most modern of all the cities in Hoenn, after La Rouse City,
of course.  But something was wrong.
    Most of the lights in the buildings were out, & the usual sounds of traffic &
people were gone.  It was as if the whole town had gone to sleep.  As he walked
down the streets to the center of the city, he did not see a single living being.
None of the shops were open, & no one was selling fruits or pages of the “Mauville
Media”, the city’s personal newspaper.  Not even a Shuppet, for that matter, or a
Duskull.  The city was truly abandoned.
    A loose page of newspaper crossed his path, heading left.  Instinctively,
Ryan’s head turned to follow it.  Ahead was the Game Corner, ironically located in
the center of town, right next to City Hall.  Its door was open.  Swinging open.
On impulse, Ryan started toward the building.  Something was in there, he could
feel it.
    Climbing up the steps, Ryan reached the entrance.  With his hand, he stopped
the door on its outward swing then, by placing one foot in front of the other,
stepped in.
    His first impression was that it was dark.  The lights of the gambling floor,
neon, flashing, & other, were all off.  Even the slot machines were off.  It felt
cold, but Ryan was not sure if that feeling came from his imagination or from the
air conditioning vent, which hummed at its low tune.
    'Air conditioning...'
    The city had been abandoned for more than a single day.  Based upon the headings
of a “Mauville Media” newspaper stand, the inhabitants were gone for more than a
week.  If the power was out, why was the air conditioning running?  Who would operate
it?
    'Who had turned it on?'
    Instinctively, Ryan turned around & scanned the room, but all he saw were the
tops of the slot machines.  Cautiously, he weaved in & around the machines, making
no more sound than a Pumana hunting in the mountains of Taohu.  That Fry Daye
character from back in Slateport had told him that Team Aqua would pick him up here.
Ryan had hoped that he would arrive before them, but he may have not.
    Pausing from his search beneath the service counter, Ryan pulled a Pokéball out
from a hidden pocket on the inside of his jacket.  It was where he kept all of his
Pokémon so he could reach them without much hassle, & right now, he needed a good
pair of night-trained eyes.  Fortunately, this one came with a sharp nose, good
enough to pick up human scent.
    “Mightyena,” he whispered to the ball, “I need your help.”  He knew that a
Pokéball flash would announce to anyone in the building that he was here, but they
probably already knew that.  With that done he lifted the ball into a casting
position.  That was as far as he got.
    A large form leapt out of nowhere & tackled him in the side, catching him
completely off-guard.  The ball flew out of his hands, where it rolled out of his
sight.  He had no room to reach in for another one, so he resolved to fight with
his fists.
    The man – that was what Ryan figured it to be – had him with his back on the
floor.  Balling his right fist, Ryan swung up, feeling the pain & satisfaction
that told him that it had connected with the stooping enemy’s face.  The man
stepped back, one hand clutching his face, the other tight & ready to strike.  He
was obviously in pain, but was determined to fight regardless.
    Ryan was in the process of pushing himself up with his hand when the man struck
again.  This time, Ryan lost his balance & fell on his back, causing his attacker
to stumble over him.
    Both recovered quickly, each standing up with arms in a boxing position.  From
his position, Ryan saw that the man was only about five-&-a-half feet tall, shorter
than what he had guessed earlier.
    Ryan was just about ready to move in & show the attacker his right hook, when
the man dropped his arms & took a step back.
    “Ryan?”
    Ryan stood still, wondering how the man knew his name.  That voice certainly
sounded familiar, but how far could he trust it?  Without lowering his guard, Ryan
tried to get a better look at the man, but his face was shrouded in shadow.  The
only characteristic that he recognized was the blue vest he wore; the same blue
vest that the man he saw back in Slateport wore.
    “Chinchou, Flash please.”
    Immediately, the area was illuminated by the eerie glow of the deep-sea angler
Pokémon, & Ryan could see who his assailant was.
    “Chaz?”
    “Long time no see, champ.”
    
    
    End of Chapter Three