The Dragon Master IV: Chapter Seven

	As the bullets pounded against the back wall, I knew that I could not stay 
here forever. Soon enough, they would try to bust down the door. Suddenly, 
the shooting stopped. I could hear the marching of boots again. Some of the 
soldiers were pounding on the door, trying to get in.
	"They want in," I said. "Let's open the door." I ran to the door, and 
pulled the shaft open. The two soldiers flew into the room, and they drew 
their guns on me. I pulled out my razor sharp katana, and sliced the barrels 
off their guns. With a jump spin kick, they were both down on the backs. 
However, more of them were flooding through the door.
	"The Shards," Koga reminded me.
	"Right," I nodded. "Psychic Shard, Psychic Pulse!" I pulled out the shard, 
and held it in front of me. The soldiers all clapped their hands to their 
heads, and fell to their knees. Koga, Bruno, and I sprung into action. Bruno 
was just muscling his way through the line of men, while Koga and I were 
just pummeling them. We made it out, and then we saw just what was going on. 
The man in the black trench coat was standing there, with a black glow 
surrounding his figure.
	"How dare you defy me," the man said. "You will die now! SHADOW BURN!" All 
the darkness around us was drawn into him, and he fired a beam of pure black 
energy. I flipped out of the way, and the house beside Dave and Joan's house 
burst into black flames. I whipped out the Fighting Shard.
	"MACH PUNCH," I screamed. In the blink of an eye, I struck the man in the 
black trench coat. He flew back twenty feet, but regained his balance on one 
hand and flipped back into fighting position. I pulled out a shard at 
random: the Fire Shard.
	"DARK SHOCK," he yelled.
	"BLAZE KICK," I retaliated. Beams of black thunder were flying everywhere. 
My feet erupted in flames, but it did not burn. I decided quickly to combine 
two attacks. I pulled out the Normal Shard and whispered "Agility" to it. 
Using the speed to dodge the attacks, my feet were in a flurry of scorching 
kicks. Each one connected, and the man in the black trench coat was getting 
sick of it. With a back flip, he connected a swift kick to my chin, sending 
me backwards to my allies. Bruno caught me, and set me upright again.
	"Let's get out while we're ahead," he whispered.
	"Good idea," I whispered. "Take the Ground Shard and dig us out of here."
	"Right," he nodded. I handed him the shard, and he ran off with the others.
	"You're not getting away this time," the man in the black trench coat said. 
"SHADOW BURN!" Again, the black flames spurted out. I had to use a different 
attack. He was getting to know my attacks that I depended on. I had to 
surprise him. The only way to do that, I thought, was to surprise myself. At 
random, I pulled out a shard. It was the Water Shard.
	"WATER SURGE," I cried. More powerful than a Hydro Pump, the Water Surge 
put out the flames instantly. The water continued to hit the mad in the 
black trench coat. Right then, I felt a hand on my arm, pulling me back. It 
was Koga.
	"Let's go," he said, not letting go of the iron grip on my arm. Thinking 
that I shouldn't leave, I left anyway. I was pulled down into a hole. I was 
dragged down, and it was covered back up again with soil. Without looking 
back, we all sped away to wherever Bruno led us with the Ground Shard.
	A half hour later, we stopped running, and Bruno handed me the Ground Shard 
back. Dave was sitting over by his wife, and they were just savoring the 
moment.
	"Where are we going," Grace asked. I was shocked. These were the first 
words that she had said in my presence.
	"I'm sorry, sweetie," Aya said. "But this is as far as you're going to go." 
A sad look filled Aya's eyes.
	"What do you mean," Grace asked.
	"You're going to stay with Dave and Joan," Aya explained.
	"But I want to stay with you," Grace pleaded.
	"It's too dangerous where I'm going," Aya said. "Don't worry, I'll be back 
to get you when this is all over. I promise." Aya turned away, and headed 
off. Dave looked perplexed.
	"Where are we going to stay," Dave asked. "I didn't count on Olivine City 
being a concentration camp. We'll take Grace, but we need somewhere to go." 
I thought for a moment. I snapped my fingers.
	"I have a log cabin where I used to vacation with Delilah and Lance when we 
were younger," I said. I handed him a piece of paper. "Here's a map. It's 
right near Mt. Mortar. There are supplies that will hold for at least a 
month if you ration them. There's also a well out back. Hopefully, you won't 
be staying there that long. I want to get this conflict resolved. Go." I 
pointed the Ground Shard at the ceiling, and it split open. Dave and Joan, 
carrying a crying Grace, left. I looked over at Aya, and teardrops were 
falling down to the ground from her face.
	"Aya," Koga started. "Are you-"
	"I'm fine," she cut him off. "Let's just do as Bob said, and get this 
conflict resolved." Koga was about to put a hand on her shoulder, but 
decided against it, and we continued on...just the four of us.
	We came out in the darkness, and I used Flash by the Normal Shard to light 
it up. It turned out that we were in Mt. Mortar. We navigated ourselves 
through the caverns, and we found ourselves coming upon a group of people 
huddling around a fire. One of them whipped around and saw us.
	"LEAGUE INTRUDERS," an old man shouted. "KILL THEM!"
	"WAIT," I cried. "WAIT!" It's me, Bob Shepardson. I was-I am the Pokemon 
League Champion."
	"How can you be," the old man asked. "Shepardson is dead. You must be an 
imposter. KILL THEM!"
	"Whoa, whoa, stop," I said. "What if I had some other former League 
employees with me?"
	"That would just give us more incentive to kill you and your companions," 
said the old man.
	"Wait," I cried again. "May I present, Bruno, third of the Elite Four." 
Bruno stepped up, and all of the people fell to their knees immediately.
	"I am so sorry, Master Bruno," apologized the old man. "Had I known it was 
you that traveled with this stranger, I would've not told to attack."
	"Wait," Koga said, stepping forward. "Why kneel down before Bruno, but not 
before the Pokemon League Champion?" Nobody said anything, but Bruno was 
shaking his head.
	"That, my friend, is simple enough," Bruno said. "They are what we call 
'obsessive' fighting trainers. They will kneel down before a Fighting Master 
before any other, no matter the rank."
	"What are they doing here," Aya asked.
	"Good question," Bruno said. "What are you all doing here?"
	"The League was about to arrest us all," said the old man. "But, some young 
men gave their lives so the rest of us could escape. We fled to Mt. Mortar."
	"Then you must have lived in Mahogany Town," I exclaimed. "What is the 
situation like there?"
	"Deserted," the old man said. "Nobody there...all wiped out..." The old man 
wiped his eyes. "But, we will help you get there if needed. Just follow the 
trail of maroon scarves that we tied to rocks. Good luck." He leaned in to 
me. "By the way, if you really are Bob Shepardson, I know that you'll save 
us." Before he could tell us where to go, a little girl in a maroon velvet 
coat came up to me, and tugged on my forest cloak.
	"I believe that you are who you say you are," she said. "Thank you." She 
walked back to her mother. The old man sent us in the direction that we 
needed to go, and we left. We followed the trail, and soon enough, we were 
led outside. The four of us followed the forest path to Mahogany Town, and 
soon we came to a gate that read "Mahogany Town: The Original Home of the 
Ninja." I raised my eyebrow at Koga.
	"Most people think that Fuchsia City was the original home of the ninja," 
Koga explained. "But, it is indeed Mahogany Town. This is where I learned 
the martial arts." I nodded, and I pushed open the gate. It fell down with a 
loud thud.
	"Okay," I said, rolling my eyes at it. "This place was definitely raided by 
the League. And they had Fire Trainers." I pointed at the scorch marks on 
the rocks.
	"An entire team of fire against a town of ice," Bruno said, shaking his 
head. "They went quickly."
	"We have to meet with the Rebels," Aya persisted.
	"Good idea," I said. "I want this resolved as quickly as possible. Where do 
we meet them at?"
	"Lake of Rage," Bruno said. "They'll contact us from there."
	"But how-," I said.
	"They didn't say," Bruno said. "They just said that they would."
	"How can we trust them," Koga asked.
	"My brother is heading it up," Bruno said. "He knew that I would never 
betray Kanto and Johto like this. So, he took it upon himself to solve 
this."
	"Let's just hope that when he finds out that I'm alive," I said. "That he 
knows that I'm in charge." I started walking towards the gate that led 
towards the Lake of Rage.
We came upon a large lake, and looked out upon it. However, there was 
nothing to be seen.
	"When's he gonna call us," I asked.
	"Be patient, Bob, just be patient," Bruno said. All of a sudden, the water 
about twenty feet out started to bubble. A tube came out of the water, about 
six inches in diameter. Something shot out of it, and landed ten feet in 
front of me. It was a cell phone. We were all staring at it, when it started 
to ring.
	"Should I get it," I asked Bruno.
	"Yeah," he said, transfixed at the phone. I walked over and picked it up. 
Holding it in my hand, I opened it and placed it to my ear.
	"Hello," I asked the other end.
	"Bruno," the other end asked back.
	"No," I said. "But I'm-"
	"Where's Bruno," the other guy cut me off.
	"He's right here," I said.
	"Give him the phone," the guy said. "I need to talk with-"
	"Well, you're gonna talk to me," I said, my voice getting angry.
	"You have no right to overrule me," said the other guy, also getting angry.
	"Yes, I do," I argued.
	"By what order," the other guy said.
	"By me, Bob Shepardson, the current Pokemon League Master," I said. There 
was silence. Then there was soft mumbling, as if the man was holding his 
hand over the phone, so I couldn't hear.
	"We have evidence that Bob Shepardson is dead," said the man.
	"Oh yeah," I asked. "What would that be?"
	"His body," the man said.
	"How could you have my body when I'm currently in it," I asked in fury.
	"If we have his body, then you're not in it," the man argued.
	"ARGH," I said in frustration. "Look, all I'm trying to do is get my fiancé 
back while saving Kanto and Johto. If you have a problem with that, then why 
don't you just go f-"
	"Give me the phone," Bruno said, cutting me off and grabbing the phone away 
from me. "Jim, this guy is Bob Shepardson...How do I know?...I've been with 
him all this time!...Look, give me directions to where you are...Okay, 
wait...I'm going to make you give the directions to that guy that you don't 
believe is Shepardson...Do it...you know I can kick your ass, little 
bro...Okay." He handed me the phone.
	"Ready to cooperate," I asked him.
	"We'll see if you're the real Shepardson when you get here," he asked.
	"Specify where 'here' is," I ordered.
	"Go back to Mahogany Town," he ordered. "Caddy-cornered from Pryce's Gym is 
a store. Go to the cash register and press the combination '642862'. A 
trapdoor will open, and there will be a set of stairs. Go down them, and 
some of my men will arrest you and take you to me. You will get let go after 
I confirm that you are the real Shepardson." Click. The line went dead.
	"Where do we go," Koga asked.
	"Follow me," I ordered, without saying exactly where we were going. I 
walked all the way back to Mahogany Town, and stepped in front of Pryce's 
Gym. I looked diagonally from the corner of the Gym, and there was a 
PokeMart. It wasn't an official one, but it was a store. I walked over there 
and twisted the knob. It was locked. I took out my katana, and made two 
diagonal slashes from corner to corner. I kicked the door in, and walked 
through the door. I spotted the cash register right away. I walked over to 
it, but Koga, Aya, and Bruno just stood there. I pressed "6" on the keypad. 
Remembering the next digit, I pressed "4," "2," "8," and "6" again. The last 
number I was having trouble remembering. I knew that it had already been 
pressed once. I had four choices.
	"Bruno," I asked. "How many brothers and sisters do you have?"
	"Just me and Jimmy," he replied. I pressed "2." The screen read "ACCESS 
GRANTED." A trapdoor opened in the far corner of the room.
	"Let's go," I said, pointing my hand towards the trapdoor. The other three 
followed me down. Four men with guns were standing there waiting for me. I 
knew that this was coming, so I raised my hands and cooperated.
	"What's going on," Bruno asked in rage. "Where's Jimmy?" Another man 
stepped out from behind a corner.
	"Right here, Bruno," said the man who was supposed to be Jimmy. He was a 
similar build to Bruno. He was about an inch shorter, and about three years 
younger.
	"What is the meaning of this, Jimmy," Bruno demanded.
	"Just a precaution," Jimmy said. "I assure you, he knew about this all 
along." I nodded.
	"Let us see the body," I demanded.
	"You have no authority over me yet," Jimmy said. "As long as you are under 
arrest, you are considered a Prisoner Of War. Take him away, boys." They 
handcuffed me and I was taken to a room with a two-way glass mirror. I sat 
down on a bed, and found out that I was on the side that I could see 
through. Lights flickered on in the room next to me, and there was a table 
in the middle of the room. That must be the body, I thought of the thing 
under that blanket draped over it. Aya, Koga, Bruno, and Jimmy walked into 
the room. Jimmy undraped the body, and there laid someone who looked 
identical to me. Koga went up to inspect the body. I could also hear them 
through the glass.
	"See this," Koga indicated to Jimmy, pointing a mark on the side of the 
body's neck. "A mark from plastic surgery. This man, whoever he is, was made 
to fake Bob's death. He died in vain..."
	"Proof enough for you, brother," Bruno asked.
	"Um...yes," Jimmy said. "Yes it is. I'll have Master Bob taken away from 
detainment immediately." He walked out of the room, as did everyone else. 
The door to my cell opened, and the four of them walked in.
	"I see that I was telling the truth," I said.
	"Yes, you were," Jimmy confirmed.
	"I hope that you know that I'm in charge from now on," I said.
	"You will be working with an operative of my group," Jimmy said. "Also, you 
will be working with the head operative of Team Rocket."
	"Deal," I said, shaking his hand.
	"You have just met the operative of my group," Jimmy smiled. "Me. I'll go 
take you to the other operative." My handcuffs were taken off, and Jimmy 
took us to a room. I walked in, and saw a man staring at the wall, his back 
facing us. He turned around, and I was shocked.
	"Giovanni," I said in rage.
	"Bob," Giovanni said, also in raw hatred.
	"Do you two know each other," Jimmy asked, obviously unaware of our 
relationship.
	"This son of a bitch is my father," I said.
	"And this bastard is my son," Giovanni said. "Though I don't like to claim 
him."
	"Don't worry, 'Dad', the feeling's mutual," I said. We stared at each other 
in pure hatred. There was a long silence.
	"Well," Jimmy said. "We had better get to our briefing." I walked out of 
the room as quickly as possible. My father did the same.
	"Look," Giovanni said. "Since we're going to work together-"
	"I thought you were working with that dumbass in the black trench coat," I 
said with spite.
	"Long story short," Giovanni said. "I wanted more control, and he took my 
Mastery."
	"Go on," I ordered.
	"Since we're going to work together," he continued. "We should ignore our 
past. I know that you don't like me-"
	"Don't like you," I said in anger. "I HATE YOU!"
	"I'm going to wave that aside," Giovanni said. "I know that you hate me, 
and trust me, the feeling's mutual. But, in order to take this guy down, 
we're going to have to work together."
	"Since we're all making points here," I said. "Let's get something 
straight. I'm in control. I don't care what that Rebel operative says. I'm 
in control. You two are under me. Since you were never my father, I'm never 
going to be your son. I rank above you. As far as I'm concerned, you could 
die in the line of fire."
	"Let's just get this thing wrapped up as fast as possible," he said. We 
walked into the briefing room. We each took a seat.
	"This is what's going to happen," Jimmy said. "The three of us will travel 
though the Ice Path. That's one of the only places where the League has no 
control. We will go through Blackthorn City. I have a contact there. As for 
Bruno, Koga, and Aya, they will wait for our signal here. They will go in 
for a frontal attack."
	"Wait," I said. "They are going to get slaughtered up there."
	"On the contrary," Jimmy said. "Most of the League soldiers are at 
concentration camps places strategically throughout Kanto and Johto."
	"Where are all the other ex-Masters," I blurted out, interrupting him.
	"As far as we know, they are placed within the camps," Jimmy said. "But, 
they are not in their own town."
	"Why don't we go and get them first," I asked. Something dawned on me. 
"Koga said that all the ex-Masters were being held at Indigo Plateau."
	"We have a double-agent in there now," Jimmy said. "He reports that all the 
ex-Masters that didn't go along with him were deported two days ago."
	"They could be useful," I said. "I know they could."
	"Bob," Jimmy argued. "Time is of the essence."
	"I know," I said. "But, think of how much faster we could infiltrate the 
Palace of the Elite Four. It would save us more time in the end."
	"This is a joint decision," Jimmy said. "Majority rules. You say yes, and I 
say no. Since I brought you into this, and Giovanni isn't saying anything-"
	"I agree with Bob," Giovanni broke up the argument. "We could go and 
retrieve our allies. After that, we could split them up, while you, Bob, and 
me go in. Just another distraction is all it is." I was in shock. The man 
who hated me more than anything else agreed with me. I didn't know whether 
to believe him or not. I guess I didn't have a choice.
	"Like you said, Jimmy," I broke the silence. "Majority rules. We leave in 
an hour. Briefing adjourned." I got up from my chair and walked out of the 
room. Before I knew it, Giovanni was following me.
	"Don't I even get a 'thank-you,'" Giovanni asked in an unbelievable tone. I 
stopped and turned around.
	"Listen," I said. "I don't know what angle you're coming from, but I'm not 
buying it. The question you really want to ask is 'How do you thank the man 
that abandoned you as a baby, became the evil genius of the most evil 
corporation in the world, and still defies you?'"
	"Okay," Giovanni said sarcastically. "How do you thank the man that 
abandoned you as a baby, became the evil genius of the most evil corporation 
in the world, and still defies you?"
	"You don't," I said coldly. I whipped around and walked away. I was walking 
furiously towards where Koga, Aya, and Bruno were at to tell them what was 
going on. Jimmy caught us to me.
	"Bob," Jimmy said, running to catch up. He handed me a backpack. "Here's 
your gear. Also, if you're going to tell Aya, Koga, and Bruno, they have 
already been informed of the plans. Here's a change of clothes." He handed 
me a black camouflage suit.
	"Thanks," I said. "I'm going to go change, and then we can get on the 
road."
	"Good," Jimmy said, slapping me on the back. "By the way, Bob. I knew that 
you weren't going to be too thrilled about working with Team Rocket. Now I 
know that you're even less thrilled about working with your father. I just 
hope that you and him can sort things out."
	"There's nothing to sort out," I said. "Nothing in the world could salvage 
what was left of our relationship before I even knew him. I've hated Team 
Rocket all my life, even when I was little. I always thought my father was a 
good man, but when I found out who he really was, I wished that I never met 
that sorry excuse for a man. I'm gonna go get ready." Without saying another 
word, I went off to a room. Inside were Koga and Bruno, also dressed in 
black camouflage suits.
	"You hear," Koga asked in a solemn tone.
	"Yeah," I said as I pulled off my shirt and pants and got into my other 
one.
	"This is going to be the grand finale," Bruno said, also in a solemn tone.
	"I know," I said. "Kind of reminds me of the time that I was fighting 
against the League for my first time. You guys weren't there, but we had 
many hardships. Only this time, the stakes are higher..."
	"No doubt," Koga said. We sat there for some time, not saying anything. 
Occasionally, Bruno would go and get a drink of water. Finally, my cell 
phone rang, and it was Jimmy on the other end.
	"It's time," Jimmy said.
	"Okay," I said. I nodded to Koga and Bruno, and then left the room. Jimmy 
was waiting for me at the stairs out of the lair. I nodded to Jimmy, but 
ignored my father's presence. As I saw when I exited, the sun was setting, 
and three men dressed in black were walking towards the Ice Path. I had just 
realized, that the next chapter of my life was unfolding...
-                                         End of Chapter Seven               
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