Warning: This exciting story contains violence...
By: Deus Ex
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" asked Draigen worriedly.
"Of course," confirmed Jade. "Besides, I'll have you there with me. And my pokémon..." added Jade. Draigen only looked at her, then looked forward as they were reaching their destination.
"We're here," announced Draigen. They both stepped of the boat, which was conveniently labeled as a police boat; this seemed to be just a precaution SMF took in remaining secretive. Anna was there, and it looked like she wanted to have a final confab with Draigen before the operation.
"Draigen, me and my troops will be at the front gate. Now, there are two basic approaches you could take. The front way, in which you'll burst in the front door, guns blazing, or you can find the 'bolt-hole' and sneak in from the back." Draigen thought about this.
"Hmmm...both seem to have their ups and downs. The frontal assault will put us through a tough fight early on, but we'll have your support along with your troops. The rear approach will allow us to work our way through the defenders with maximum discretion, but possibly avoid or destroy any automatic security..." said Draigen.
"If I were you, baby, I'd take the front entrance, shoot down everyone. Besides, I am the best this agency's got, so they couldn't touch me." Jade only looked at the agent glaringly. She felt that Anna had possibly liked Draigen also.
Draigen, angry at what Anna was implying, spoke, "We'll take the back way."
"Fine whatever suits you, but remember, the best will be at the front gate, ready to back you up." Anna left and Draigen took out his pistol.
" Lock and load," Draigen said with a prepared tone. Jade then spoke.
"That was a good choice, going through the back," Jade remarked. "We're going to have the fun of showing up agent Navarre," Jade determinedly added.
"Yeah, I'll show her..."
Jade smiled and followed Draigen as they begun going around back to look for that bolt-hole. After a minute or so, they found that it was behind a soda machine next to where they had landed. There was a locked box on the wall that concealed the keypad to get in. Jade took out a multitool and begun to decode the lock. Just then an urchin came up to them.
"You got any food for me and my pokémon here? I know the code to that," he said pointing towards Jade.
"Yeah, here, take this candy bar," Draigen gave the man a candy bar he had purchased from the vending machines back at HQ. "The code?"
"Yes, yes...it's 55063-70. I've seen the people come in this way use it; they gave me food to keep my mouth shut. Some good that did, bastards took my pokéballs and threw'em out to sea."
"Thanks," Draigen used the code and Jade glared at him, putting away her almost used multitool. They proceeded inside and they came to a room with water, which was safe. There were some stairs leading down, in which Draigen crouched and started to sneak. At the bottom there was a camera and turret, but since Draigen was careful it did not see them, yet. Aiming at the camera he was about to fire when Jade tapped his shoulder.
"Here, use this," she said giving Draigen a silencer which fitted the standard issue weapon, she apparently had the same weapon. She watched as Draigen screwed it on, and fired a muffled shot at the camera. The camera/turret let out a few sparks and that short-circuiting sound, Zzzzttt, zztt. Draigen continued to lead as they advanced through the place. They came to two terrorists guarding a room entrance, with their backs fortunately turned. Jade and Draigen looked at each other, nodded and each eliminated one of them. Jade fired one careful shot to the heart, while Draigen shot three into the other's chest. Draigen only looked at Jade in astonishment.
"I'm advanced in all weapon skills," was the only thing Jade said, and smiled. 'Wow...' thought Draigen. They proceeded on through the tunnels, until Jade noticed a ventilation duct big enough for a human to climb through.
"We should take the ducts to avoid security cameras and other terrorists," Jade said to Draigen.
"Alright, lets go," Draigen acknowledged as he proceeded to open the duct, and climb through. Jade followed. They came across several vents and through one of them, Draigen saw a terrorist. He shot him from inside the duct; the terrorist turned and looked around, only to find nothing. Another shot was fired and the man fell to his death. They got to a small office and emerged from the duct. Draigen went to the door and opened it slightly. He peered through the opened door, and noticed a terrorist coming his way.
"Shit, there's a terrorist coming this way, get to that side of the room, quick." Draigen pointed to the wall.
"Alright, I'm ready," Jade said, stationing herself.
The door turned and opened, the terrorist came in and let the door close.
"FREEZE!!" commanded both Draigen and Jade, raising their pistols to aim at their current target. The man froze suddenly and turned his head to observe the situation on both sides.
"Where's the room to the Ambrosia?!" asked Draigen, pistol still in hand.
"Why should I tell you?" remarked the terrorist.
"Or else, tell me or else," answered Draigen.
"I think you should tell him," added Jade.
"Or else what?" demanded the man. Draigen lowered his pistol, and the man began to smirk. Little did he know that Draigen just fired a shot into his foot, and when it hit there the man heard a cry, only to notice it was himself.
"Tell me or the other foot goes," implied Draigen.
"Down this hall, left at the second door. Here's the key," cried the now bewildered terrorist. Draigen signaled Jade to take the key, and stepped up behind the guy and snapped his neck.
"Ouch," stated Jade.
"Lets go," Draigen said as they made a dash for the Ambrosia. As the terrorist had said, it was two doors down. While checking the merchandise, both received a call on their infolink.
"I see that you have succeeded in retrieving the Ambrosia. Well-done team. If this continues, we'll have to give you two a team name rank. You first mission is completed, but now, clear out the remaining terrorists and meet up with Anna. This is Manderley, out."
Jade smiled at Draigen and he smiled back.
"Come on, we still have to finish it," stated Draigen vaguely. "Control room?" he asked as he read a sign next to some stairs. They went upstairs to the control room.
"Do you have any computer experience?" asked Draigen.
"Yes, trained," replied Jade.
"Good, you unlock all doors, and I'll turn off security cameras." They immediately got to work. Both finished their duties two minutes later and went back down to proceed. Jade also opened the doors to the Ambrosia room, to create some ambush potential for Anna's troops when they scout the place. They proceeded up to the surface, Draigen leading. After a few minutes they emerged into a medium-sized hut at the top of the stairs. There was a man there with no weapons, he stopped them.
"Where do you think you are going," the man said in a mean voice.
"Out of our way man, or I'll eliminate you." Draigen stated.
"I'll tell you what, let's have a pokémon battle, two each. If you win, I'll happily get out of your way and keep quiet." Jade stepped forward.
"Lets go then," she took out a pokéball. "Cyndaquil!" The fiery pokémon appeared and flared it's back. "I healed him while waiting on Scyther," she said to Draigen.
"Growlithe, go!" the man let out the fire puppy. Ready, they began to battle. "Growlithe, use a Flamethrower!" The Growlithe opened its mouth and fired up
"Cyndaquil, watch out, use an Ember!" Cyndaquil barely dodged the Flamethrower, touching it slightly. It then used its hot Ember attack and hit the Growlithe dead on. The Growlithe stumbled back, and waited for its next command. "Cyndaquil, use a Tackle!"
"Hurry, use a bite attack Growlithe," the man commanded. Cyndaquil managed to avoid the attack and ram into the Growlithe.
"Cynda, cyndaquil!" the pokémon cheered. Growlithe got up and tried its Bite, only to miss once more. It tripped and fell into Cyndaquil's fiery back. The Growlithe burned its face and was knocked out. The man recalled his downed pokémon and continued to bring out another.
"Flareon! Go!" another fire pokémon took his side of the match. "Use your quick attack!" With that, Cyndaquil was caught by Flareon's quick, quick attack. Jade recalled her pokémon, and sent out Wartortle.
"Wartortle, go, use your Bubblebeam!" A swift stream of blue bubbles was fired from the water pokémon.
"Flareon, dodge and go for a Tackle!"
The fire pokémon was unable to follow command as it was hit by Wartortle's beam. Flareon got up, and begun its tackle attack.
"Hurry before he reaches, use your Watergun!!" a gush of water came from Wartortle, hitting the fire pokémon dead center. Flareon was pushed back and the match was over.
"Slaggit! Fine I'll let you through," said the man recalling his pokémon.
Jade recalled hers, and joined Draigen as walked out into the courtyard. Many terrorists were in the courtyard, and the front gate, where agent Navarre and her troops were.
"Let's make a run to the front gate, shoot as you go," Draigen told Jade. They reloaded their guns, and ran. *RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!* The terrorist begun shooting, and the two agents returned fire. They shot down a few, but there were still too many. They arrived at the front gate and Draigen opened it. There stood Anna, waiting for action.
"Attack! Go, go, go!" she ordered her troops in. The battle waged on, and SMF won this one. The troops went into the base and cleaned out any remaining foes. They also brought out the shipment of Ambrosia. The mission was over.
"Hmmm, I didn't expect such a good job from you," stated Anna.
"Yeah, well I'm learning as I go..." was Draigen's reply, only to be humble and friendly. Jade looked at him and smiled. She thought: 'Why is he being so humble? Heh, I like that...'
"Time to go back huh?" asked Jade.
"Yeah, lets go. Do you want your silencer back?"
"No, you can keep it."
They made their way back to the boat, and headed for HQ.
----
"Another good job," stated Manderley. "Keep it up." Joseph gave them a cash bonus for this mission, and dismissed them.
"I'm going to go check on Scyther. You don't have to come if you don't want to," mentioned Draigen.
"No, I'll go. Besides I need to heal my own pokémon," Jade replied in a bright tone.
They headed down to the Third floor pokémon center.
When they got there, Draigen entered Scyther's room while Jade gave her pokémon for treatment. Dr. Carter was still there, observing the now sitting Scyther.
"Is he fully recovered?" asked Draigen.
Scyther looked at him. "Yes, I am, thank you for asking. And, uh, could you tell Dr. Carter here to stop trying to stare me down? It's getting annoying."
Draigen chuckled and advised the doctor to stop. "So then I can really understand you, huh? Am, I the only one?"
"What are you talking about Draigen?" the doctor asked curiously.
"Yes, you are. No one else is able to understand me, except you," stated Scyther.
"Does this mean I can understand other pokémon as well?" continued Draigen.
"Wait, did you say understand? Don't tell me you know what this Scyther is saying!" exclaimed the doctor. "This is remarkable!"
"No, I think not, only me, it's pretty cool, I think," Scyther said, answering Draigen's question.
"Yes, it is," confirmed Draigen. Scyther stood from his bed and looked into Draigen's eyes once more.
"Catch me," he stated. "I wanna be part of your team. Come on let's battle."
"I'm sorry, but, I have no current pokémon," replied Draigen.
"Well," Scyther pondered for a moment. "You saved me from the military. If I stay with you, will you promise to protect me?"
"Yes," replied Draigen with no thought.
"Then get a pokéball and at least catch me," responded Scyther.
"Walk with me to A-5. I'll buy a pokéball there and catch you."
Scyther and Draigen walked out, and to A-5. Jade stayed in the pokémon center waiting for her pokémon, which were given to her minutes later. She left and went about her own business.
----
In A-5, Kenji greeted Draigen, and introduced himself to Scyther.
"Hey man, how's it going? I heard the news, you're great."
"Thank you," replied Draigen. Kenji had a worried look on his face. "Something wrong, Kenji?"
"I'm not sure, but I can't talk about it right now, but I will tell you, when I have more clues. But for now, don't worry about anything. So, what brings you here?"
"I need a pokéball to capture this Scyther here," Draigen says as he points to Scyther.
"Oooo, come with me, I just developed a new pokéball, just for you. I was gonna give it to you later, but since you're here now, I'll give it to ya." Draigen follows Kusama as he leads the way to the new pokéball reserved for Draigen. Kenji hands over 6 of the same pokéballs to Draigen. Draigen puts all of them away, except one, which he examines. It was all black. There were three golden stripes that streaked the center of the bottom, coming up to before the middle of the ball. Four stripes on top, two on each side, which were like eagle claws clamping the ball. And above the center circle, was Draigen's name engraved in gold lettering.
"The ball is a special metal, it can't be detected. These are the most powerful ones yet, so take care of them. These six are free, but anymore will cost ya."
"Thanks," replied Draigen. "Are you ready Scyther?"
"Yes," replied the bug pokémon. With that, Draigen threw his ball and Scyther was encompassed with energy and into the ball. There was no struggle, since Scyther had volunteered. A smile came across Draigen's face, and he thought for a moment.
"Nice catch, Draigen. Although I do inform you that you're very lucky. The Scyther species are close to extinction do to some unknown purpose. Talk to it, maybe you'll learn something," stated Kenji.
Draigen nodded. Draigen went to the weapons area and looked around. He then left and came to his office. He sat down in front of his computer and logged in. Checking his e-mail he found one from Manderley, asking him to come to his office. Just then Scyther spoke.
"Are you going to give me a nickname? I'd like one other than Scyther."
"You know, I was just thinking the same thing," acknowledged Draigen. "Yeah, I will."
"What is it?" the pokémon in the ball asked.
"G-o-n, Gon, pronounced like 'gun'," replied Draigen.
"Hey, that's nice! I like it." Draigen stood up and headed for Manderley's office after closing out of his computer.
----
"Hello, Draigen. Here, take this," It was a nano-key, and some paperwork. "That's your new home, it's safe, and no one will know you're there. Have a good night, Draigen."
"What? What about that oth--"
"That was only temporary, besides, I know you'll like this one a lot more. Jade has a room across from you."
"Thank you, sir." Little did Draigen know that Manderley did this in his own intentions. He didn't have to go out and give him a place to live, but that's just Joseph for you.
Draigen left, and took to the surface. Jock was up there, and Draigen decided to use the air taxi. Jade had apparently thought the same thing, for she was there talking to Jock.
"Hey Draigen. I can airlift you two, to the helipad on your building's roof. Hop in."
Draigen got in after Jade, and Jock took off. Moments later, Jock landed on the helipad and the two agents left, said there goodbyes and made their way down to their apartments.
"I'll be here at 6:00 okay, guys?" Jock added.
In the hallway Jade and Draigen found their rooms.
"Goodnight, Draigen," Jade said with a beautiful smile. Draigen looked at her, smiled and said goodnight also. They each entered their own apartment, and went to bed. "Goodnight," Jade said to herself, imagining the scene which just took place.
----
"Page, the Ambrosia's been recovered sir," a deep voice said.
"Good, who was it? Draigen and Jade?"
"Yes sir."
"Heh heh, good. Keep me informed. Continue to monitor their status, and SMF, and watch Manderley."
"Yes sir, will do."
"Thank you Simons."
"It's my duty, Page."
To Be Continued...