Blade of Destiny

Chapter 7: The Battle of Viridian, Part 1



	"Team Ultima?" The Chief eased into a seat across the group of thieves who had 
just walked into his headquarters. "What are you talking about?"
	The raven haired one smirked and folded his arms. "Your little elite police force 
is nowhere as good as you think, old man. The old Teams are back, and with a 
vengeance."
	The brown haired one turned and grinned. "Way to quote crappy movie trailers 
there, Ash." Ash ignored him and nudged the one wearing glasses, who pulled out a 
laptop from his backpack.
	"This computer contains all of the information on Team Ultima's operations from 
its conception all the way up to now. We were hired by a woman named Roxanne to steal 
the sword from the museum, and they tried to kill us after we handed it over to them." he 
explained. 
	"Now, we've come to make a deal with you. Their entire organization is after us, 
and as good as we are, we can't take on an army and hope to win. We'll turn over the 
sword, shield, and all the information on Team Ultima; in exchange, you give us 
protection." Azusa snorted. 
	"Why the hell should we deal with you? You're standing in the middle of our 
headquarters; all we have to do is capture you and read that computer on our own." The 
young man opened the laptop and clicked a few random keys. 
	"Tell me, have you ever heard of the Omega Code?" he asked. The Chief nodded; 
he had heard of it before. It was a type of encryption that was created by the top minds at 
Pokemon Tech; it was famous for its almost impassable security measures. The entire 
hard drive was locked down with an incredibly complicated encryption code, and you 
only had one chance to decode it; if you made one mistake, the entire hard drive would 
fry. 
	That in turn released a massive virus throughout the entire network, which 
completely destroyed any hard drive it came across. It was the most devastating security 
measure ever created, and it had only been used once; ironically in the campaign against 
Team Rocket. 
	"Well, I just hacked into your mainframe and connected my computer to your 
network. The last time I checked, your computers are plugged into every network in 
Johto, Kanto, and Hoenn.  Something like this would pretty much shut down all 
computers in the world. You don't want to be responsible for that, now do you?" 
	Azusa growled, wanting to wipe that smug look from his face. They had 
obviously come prepared, and he played straight into their hands. "Fine," he spat. 
"You've got your little deal."


***


	Doctor Leto sat in the back of the van as it traveled to its destination, the radio 
blaring about the recent news. But the Doctor hadn't been paying attention to it; he was 
in his own little world, contemplating how much longer it would take before his plot was 
complete. Unfortunately, those thieves had thrown a serious roadblock to overcome; they 
had stolen the Legacy Weapons and there was no way he could complete his plans 
without them.
	But he was not worried. He had four Guardians in his hand, and recovering the 
weapons would be a simple task. It would not be long before all of the Guardians would 
awaken, and then all would be his. 
	"Doctor?" the driver asked, interrupting the Doctor's thoughts. "We're arriving at 
HQ. Do you want me to call ahead and alert the others that you've arrived?" The doctor 
shook his head.
	"No, that's quite alright. I prefer not to have all of that pomp and ceremony at 
arrivals. It takes up too much time and it annoys me," he answered as the van cruised 
through some woods and slowed to a stop in front of a massive stone wall. The driver 
pulled down the window, and stuck his head outside.
	"This is Agent Vick, reporting in. Request entrance to HQ," he said calmly. A 
short beep was heard followed by a feminine voice. "Permission granted, Agent Vick. 
Please park in the southern lot." The stone wall shuddered and slowly rose, revealing a 
long steel road that was carved into the wall. 
	The car drove through and pulled into a small parking lot, the driver stepping out 
and opening the door for the Doctor. "Where are the Guardians located?" Vick pointed 
him to a large door. 
	"They're in the Coliseum right now. I've never seen anything like them before 
sir," Vick said with awe as they walked through the massive compound, passing various 
rooms filled with pokemon and human alike. "Just around this corner."
	Nearing the Coliseum, he could hear loud booms and thumps echoing throughout 
out the hall. All was quiet, and then the whole hallway shuddered from an enormous 
explosion; dust flew from the walls and swirled in the air. "Here we are, sir," Vick stated 
as he opened the door.
	Doctor Leto stepped through into the huge Coliseum, which was essentially a 
monstrous pokemon stadium, outlined by files of stands which were packed with Team 
Ultima agents. This was previously an area where many Ultima members had come to 
relax and enjoy pokemon battles; now it was the exclusive training area for the Guardian 
Spirits, and almost every agent had clamored to get a better look at the now transformed 
Directors of the Goldenrod City outpost.
	Centered in the middle of the battlefield were Jessie and James, robed in black 
combat uniforms as they stood back to back, surveying the field. A maroon colored blur 
flashed across the field and smacked into James, sending him flying into a wall, dust and 
debris flying into the air. 
	A huge icicle streaked across the field, barely missing Jessie as she turned and 
back flipped, the icicle shattering onto the ground. She landed and flung her hands out, 
sending a stream of purple sludge at her target. 
	Roxanne collapsed, retching and gagging from the polluted substance. A smirk 
appeared on Jessie's face before the maroon blur appeared behind her. Steadman smiled 
as he flung her across the stadium, her screams echoing before she smacked into the hard 
ground. Grinning, Steadman raised his hands in victory. Suddenly, a gray beam shot 
across the field, striking Steadman in the back, knocking him onto the floor. 
	James crawled out the small crater his body had made, entering his second wind. 
The Guardian of Power growled and rushed James, launching a dizzying assault of 
punches and kicks, intent on knocking the Ghost Guardian into next week. James dodged 
the attacks almost lazily as he swiftly evaded, parried and blocked each strike. Steadman 
roared and hurled a crushing right cross that would have easily taken the smaller man's 
head off. 
	James smiled as his eyes flashed and his body glowed a brilliant gray. He simply 
stood there as Steadman's hand passed through his body. In a flash, he streaked through 
his opponent's body, materialized and grabbed Steadman's skull, sending a surge of 
energy through his mind. 
	Steadman screamed in agony and promptly fell to the ground, unconscious. A 
wave of silence passed over the spectators before they erupted into pandemonium, the 
crowd going insane over the victor. James simply flicked his hair back and grinned at the 
crowd, reveling in his win. 
	"See what I meant, sir? These guys are simply amazing," Vick commented as he 
applauded. The Doctor nodded slowly; it was amazing. The legends had described 
massive power, but this was something that was far past his expectations. "Tell them all 
to meet me in the briefing room," he ordered.


***


	Steadman groaned as he entered the briefing room with the other Guardians; that 
last attack that James had performed made his head feel like it was going to explode. He 
glared at the Guardian of Ghost as he settled into a seat. 
	"Hey, Steadman, you said no holding back, right? I was expecting you to do the 
same thing, man. Don't be a sore loser," James taunted. Steadman growled at him 
menacingly. James looked at him and started laughing at him.
	"You were serious, weren't you? You threw everything you had at me, and I still 
beat you, huh?" James started laughing harder, enraging Steadman even more. He 
smashed his fist through the table, sending splinters flying everywhere. 
	"Shut up!! I'm tired of your mouth, James!!" he exclaimed. Jessie snorted as she 
leaned against the wall. 
	"I think you hurt his precious ego more than anything, James. He was boasting 
about how he was going to pound us in the arena, and he just got his ass handed to him 
by a guy half his size," she remarked.
 	"He has nothing to be ashamed of," said the Doctor as he walked into the room 
and glanced at the now shattered table. "Honestly, Steadman, you can't go smashing 
everything in sight every time you get upset. Now, I trust the training has been going 
well? I quite enjoyed that battle you just had."
	Roxanne smiled as she lifted her hand, creating a small icicle in her palm. "Yes, 
that training has helped, Doctor. But something has been bothering me; one time while 
fighting James, I was losing badly. I suddenly blacked out, and when I came to, and 
James was lying on the floor knocked out."
	The Doctor shook his head. "I expected this to happen. From what I can tell, the 
spirits have a defense mechanism. When the host is in danger, the spirit's consciousness 
takes over. To reach the highest level of mastery over your abilities, you and the spirit 
must work together." 
	James looked at the doctor with a puzzled look on his face. "What do you mean; 
we have to give our bodies up to them or something?"
	"No, it's not that at all. The ancient texts seem to suggest that you and the spirit 
now share a symbiotic relationship. Right now in your present state, you're only tapping 
a fraction of the spirit's powers because it is simply residing in you. But as your skills 
increase, you and the spirit will begin to fuse; it will become a part of you as you will 
become a part of it."
	Steadman nodded, understanding what he meant. The doors behind them slid 
open, and an agent walked into the room, holding a small folder. "What are you doing 
here? This meeting is for high ranking officials only," Jessie said.
	The agent snapped to a salute. "I'm sorry ma'am, but we have news. The strike 
team that we sent out to retrieve Professor Birch has been defeated. Some individuals 
arrived before them and escaped with the Professor, leaving the team paralyzed from a 
gigantic Thunder Wave."
	"What?!" James hopped to his feet and snatched the folder from the agent. 
	"Three cars pursued them, but unfortunately they were also destroyed. But the 
good news is that our undercover agent in the League Special Forces has just informed us 
that the very same people have arrived at their headquarters in Viridian City, with the 
Legacy Weapons and the Professor with them."
	"Perfect," Steadman replied. "Ready all of our active agents and prepare them for 
battle immediately. I want all available vehicles mobilized; tanks, choppers, everything 
we have. We're going to storm their headquarters and take back what's ours. All I want 
left in this base are research personnel, along with a small defensive force. Our automated 
defenses can take care of any possible intruders."
	The agent came to attention and saluted. "Yes sir, all agents will prepare for 
battle!" he said, leaving the room. 
	"I don't believe those Weapons will be lightly guarded, Steadman," the Doctor 
advised. The Guardian of Power grunted.
	"That's why I just sent almost every person in this base to attack them, Doctor!!"
	"No, that's not what I meant. I'll bet that same Guardian that attacked our facility 
will be there to guard those weapons. No matter how many armies you send out there, 
they won't be able to stop a Guardian." He glanced at each of them. "I suggest that all of 
you go as well. We cannot take any chances."


***


	
	"Now, Professor Birch, what kind of information do you have on these legends?" 
Brendan ran a hand through his hair as he loaded up the files on his computer. 
	"Well, I have tons of text that still needs to be translated first. All of the artifacts 
are written in some kind of ancient language, and so far I can only make out bits and 
pieces of it. From what I've got, it goes like this: a couple thousand years ago, pokemon 
and humans were just being created. Some spirits roamed the earth, each in charge of 
their own elements. 
	All was good, until something happened. Unfortunately, from all my research, I 
can't tell what it was; all of the pages from the books were ripped out, and all of the 
myths were stricken from every record. There was something about Dark Ones and the 
Controller, but the story jumps around so much due to the missing parts that I can't 
actually figure what's going on. All I know is that something bad happened, and the 
Guardians, who never really interacted with any life before were forced into fighting 
whatever it was in order to protect life on the planet. Around the same time, civil war 
broke out and all of the tribes separated from each other, each of the three tribes taking 
some kind of treasure from the Shadow Wars with them."
	"What were the Shadow Wars?" Max asked. Ritchie and Duplica were quiet in 
their seats, listening intently to the young professor's story. 
	"The Shadow Wars are what the old tribes called this conflict that involved the 
Guardians. That's all I can make out right now. Some tidbits popped up about a Betrayal, 
a Second Coming, and some other stuff. But one passage did seem to be repeated over 
and over during the parts that I've translated. There was always some kind of mention of 
shadows, covering the earth. Amo a redundo, Umbra mos infundo orbis terrarum, perussi 
panton in suus semita."
	The others blinked, as if something clicked in their minds. "Like a flood, the 
Shadows will pour over the earth, consuming everything in their path," Duplica said 
slowly.
	Brendan turned, surprised at the exact translation. "Have you studied the ancients 
before?" 
	Duplica shook her head. "No, this is the first time I've even heard of this."
	Brendan gave her a confused look. "Then how did you know what it meant and 
translate it exactly?"
	She shook her again, barely believing what she just said. 
       "I have no idea." 


***


	News of the arrival of Ash and the others spread throughout the headquarters like 
wildfire, as everyone speculated as to what they were doing there, or better yet, why they 
weren't heading for the Cinnabar Penitentiary. 
	"Looks our case just got thrown out the window," Harrison said as he stretched. 
Misty and Harrison had still been searching on the mainframe for a match to Ritchie's 
picture when they received the news. 
	"Yeah, well I saw the Chief as he left that room, and he was pissed. The last thing 
I wanna do is remind him of our part in this case. He'll bite our heads off.  Remember 
last time, when Tracey tried to go in there after the press found out about the escape   
from the police station? I swear I could have heard the walls start to crack." 
	Harrison turned as the door opened, and burst out laughing. "Well, well, speak of 
the Devil. What are you doing here, Sketchit?" he chuckled. Tracey grinned. He had 
grown since he had returned from traveling abroad, his skin tanned from exposure to the 
sun. He wasn't much taller than Gary, and had even traded in his old red headband for a 
stylish green bandanna that covered his black hair, leaving a few bangs to hang over his 
forehead. 
	"I came up here looking for Gary. Either of you seen him?" Misty and Harrison 
shook their heads. 
	"We had left with Jenkins to go on a break, and Gary stayed here to look after the 
computer. When we came back, he was gone. What did you need with him?" Misty 
asked.
	"Well, one of the thieves had asked to see him specifically, so the Chief sent me 
to go looking for him. The guy said he had something important to tell him, but he didn't 
say what."
	"Which one was it?" 
	He shrugged. "It was the one with black hair. I never got his name."
	Misty was sure it was Ash. This was her chance to find what exactly happened 
since they had all split up. "Where is he? I'll go talk to him."
	"He's in the conference room down the hall," he replied, pointing his thumb over 
his shoulder towards the open door. She nodded and walked out to the room before 
stopping at the door, almost afraid to talk to him. 
	What if he's still angry at me? Misty was usually a very strong woman, but it 
seemed as if Ash was always her weakness. Every time he used to smile that lopsided 
smile of his, any anger or grudges she harbored against him would just melt away. If it 
wasn't for her sisters and their vacation, she was sure her and Ash would have been 
together by now.
	But when she returned, she found him with May; a younger, prettier girl he had 
met during his travels in Hoenn. She didn't stay long after that; it hurt too much to see 
him with this other girl. So she left, and happened to run into Gary. Soon, she found 
herself falling for him, but even now with the arrival of Ash, she was starting to become 
unsure of the feelings she had for Gary. She was definitely attracted to Gary also, and this 
new surge of emotions just confused her.
	Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the handle and opened the door. As she walked 
in, she saw Ash standing in front of the window, just staring out at the city of Viridian. 
His black suit was all disheveled, and his hair looked like he had just taken a stroll 
through a wind tunnel.
	The sunlight streamed through and fell on his face, almost giving a majestic glow 
to him. He turned and stopped, almost startled at her. "Where's Gary?" he asked. 
	"We don't know. He disappeared a few hours ago; Tracy and Harrison are 
looking for him now."
	He raised an eyebrow and turned back to the window. "These people wouldn't 
happen to be the Tracy and Harrison we used to hang with we were younger, would 
they?"
	"Yeah, they are. They joined shortly after Gary and I did."
	He chuckled. "Geez, seems like everyone I knew when I was traveling are 
popping up everywhere. Tracy, Harrison, Gary....you." His voice almost became a 
whisper as he mentioned her. 
	"Ash, what happened to you? You've changed so much; I can barely recognize 
you anymore."
	He simply shrugged, and shook his head. "You know how the old saying goes, 
Misty. Shit happens. People change."
	"No, Ash, shit doesn't just happen. Why can't you just tell me, Ash?" She placed 
her hand gingerly on his shoulder. "I thought we were best friends. We shared all of our 
secrets together when we younger."
	He brushed her hand off. "That was then, Misty. I'm not some naive kid with 
unrealistic dreams. You should stop dwelling on the past, Misty. Those times are long 
gone. I've got more important things to worry about now."
	The anger inside of her bubbled up swiftly. "Like what, Ash?! What the hell do 
you have to do that's so goddamn important?!" she exclaimed. "Is it your ego that's 
keeping you from telling me?! I swear, I thought this would have changed in eight years, 
but I was wrong. You're still just some stupid boy who thinks he's the greatest and has to 
do everything on his own!!"
	Ash whirled around, and gave her the iciest stare she had ever seen. "You have no 
clue, do you, Misty?! You're always so quick to judge, so quick to condemn when you 
haven't the slightest idea of what's going on!!"
	"Then tell me, Ash!! What's going on!! What am I missing?!" she had raised her 
voice, literally screaming at the top of her lungs. He fell silent, and turned back to the 
window, and stared out into the sky. "God, Ash. You wanna talk to me about being quick 
to judge, and yet when I ask what the problem is, you clam up. I cannot read your mind, 
Ash, so don't preach to me when I assume something. Maybe if you actually talked to 
people for once instead of trying to take care of everything yourself, you wouldn't be in 
whatever predicament you're in now!"
	The room fell silent, only the loud breathing of Misty could be heard as Ash kept 
staring out of the large window.
	"I need to take a walk," he said through clenched teeth. He turned and stormed 
out of the room, slamming the door fiercely behind him. He plowed through the building 
heading for the exit, before he was stopped by Brock.
	"Yo Ash, what's the deal? You seem upset about something." 
	"I just need some fresh air. I'll be back in a few minutes." He walked out of the 
building and wandered the streets, still fuming at what Misty said. The afternoon sun 
glared on him as he aimlessly walked through the enormous city. How can she sit there 
and say that? She has no idea what's going on, he thought angrily to himself. 
	Stopping at an intersection, he glanced at the numerous faces in the crowd and his 
heart leapt into his throat. A young man with silver hair was standing across the street, 
staring dead at him, clad in a jeans and a black T-shirt. It was the man from his dreams 
that had been plaguing his sleep for the past two weeks. He was positive of it.
	"Hey, you!!" he yelled as he sprinted across the street. The man smirked and 
turned, dashing off into the crowd. Ash plowed through the crowd, shoving people out of 
the way as he gave chase, intent on catching him. He knew it was the man from his 
dreams, that face was burned into his memories as the dreams came every night, 
promising that he would not sleep easily.
	He followed the man as he ran through the crowd, and turned into in alley. Ash 
trailed him into the small dank alley, before stopping to catch his breath for a moment. 
He ventured farther and rounded the back of a building, coming to a dead end. He 
examined his surroundings, searching for any possible escape he could have taken. The 
man had vanished into thin air. Ash cursed and viciously kicked a nearby trash can, its 
contents spilling onto the concrete.
	"Hello, Ash." He whirled around and found himself face to face with him, the 
man from his dreams. He was shorter than Ash, only coming up to his chin.
	"Who are you?! And how do you know my name?!" he demanded, grabbing the 
man's collar. He merely smirked and brought his hands down on Ash's arms, breaking 
the hold he had on him. The man grabbed Ash's arm, and flipped him onto the pavement. 
	"I know an awful lot about you, Ash Ketchum. About that little heist you pulled a 
few weeks ago, and about this new development in your life, Team Ultima. I even know 
about that spirit you've got living in that weak little body of yours." Ash sent his leg 
flying, kicking the man off of him before he rolled back and sprung to his feet. He 
attacked, throwing a feint to the left; then struck him with a crushing uppercut. 
	His fist hit nothing but air as the man dodged at an inhuman speed before sending 
a fist to Ash's gut, causing him to collapse onto the ground, gasping for air. The man 
shook his head, sighing. "Geez, for someone who's supposed to be the host of a 
Guardian, you sure are a punk."
	Ash struggled to his feet and took a deep breath. That last hit was brutal, he could 
scarcely breathe. He took a fighting stance and shook his head to regain his composure. 
"Ok, then let's go for real!!" Swiftly, he threw an open palmed strike, and followed up 
with a left hook, ending the combo with another uppercut, which connected and sent the 
man flying into the air before crashing into the ground. 
	Surprisingly, the man hopped into the air as if nothing had happened, and grabbed 
Ash, locking his arms behind his back, preventing him from moving. "Kiddo, I don't 
wanna hurt you. But you surprised me with that little combo you pulled. Looks like you 
just might have the talent after all."
	"What the hell are you talking about? How do you know about the Guardians? 
Who are you?" he demanded as he struggled to escape the hold. The man chuckled. 
	"So many questions. I would love to answer them but unfortunately now is not the 
time. But don't worry; soon you'll get the answers. That is, if you survive today's 
events."
	Almost on cue, a loud boom echoed through the city. "Oh, looks like I'm right on 
time. Don't worry kid, I'm not a bad guy," he said as he shoved Ash into a nearby wall. 
"If anything, I'm helping you prepare for the journey ahead. But, now's not the time to 
talk about this. Your friends and the Legacy Weapons are in danger. You should go help 
them. We'll be seeing each other very soon," he said as he crouched and hopped onto the 
roof of the building. 
	"Who the hell are you?" Ash asked. The man grinned as the winds began to pick 
up, whipping his hair across his face. Another explosion shook the city as he reached in 
his pocket and pulled out a small yellow crystal and tossed it to Ash.
	"If you survive through today, put that in the sword's hilt. With all of its 
Guardian's awoken, it'll show you what to do next."
	"You still haven't told me your name!!" he exclaimed.
	The young smirked. "Name's Stryker. Now I suggest you haul ass to the Special 
Forces headquarters, before your friends are destroyed." With that, he turned and leapt 
from rooftop to rooftop, disappearing into the horizon. Ash stared for a moment before 
dropping the stone into his pocket and taking off for the Special Forces building. 
	Stryker stopped and observed the smoke that was steadily rising above the city's 
skyline. "May Majores servo vos, Curator Ashura."




Next Chapter: The Battle of Viridian, Part 2