Disclaimer: I don’t own most of this, even though I’m the one writing it.

 

Claimer: I own the stuff in here that doesn’t appear in the show or the games.

 

Category: General

 

Rating: PG-13

 

AN: I want to thank the person out there that nominated me for the BIC Awards. I have this warm fuzzy feeling right now, I can’t describe it… Oh well, lots of thanks to the wonderful person that nominated me. Now read the next part, which I wrote just this afternoon. Enjoy.

 

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Fight For Freedom.

 

By: WeirdDutchGuy, email: swampthing1132[at]hotmail[dot]com

 

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Chapter Eight: Tormenting Memories, Part Two.

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Kane smirked as they dragged Gary out of the room. So Slate was on Cinnabar. That just made his job a whole lot easier. Soon everyone he was after would be in the same place. Then he’d take care to get rid of them all and nothing would remain in his way to stop him from carrying out his master plan. Giovanni would see things his way, as usual, and walk right into his trap. He’d then take control of Team Rocket and sweep through the other regions. Soon the nation would be his and the next step would be the world. And if, by some miracle, they’d put up a decent fight on Cinnabar… he’d have some trump cards. Being an evil genius could be so satisfying.

 

He made his way to the exit and into his car. The driver poked his head out from behind his seat with a questioning face. “To Pallet and step on it, we’ve wasted enough time here.”

 

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“Ok, I guess it’s time for our story then.” John said as he sat down and tried to recall what he knew. Ash was listening with great interest, partly because it was his job now and partly because he might hear something about his friends.

 

“Where to start… I’ll leave out the details about our journey and all and get straight to the takeover if you don’t mind. Well, with us living in Lavender, where Team Rocket had been quite active before the attack we kind of got wind of something big. We didn’t know exactly what they were planning, but activity just increased tenfold, so to speak. They were hauling supplies and weapons all over the place and stole powerful Pokémon instead of rare ones like they used to do. That put us on alert and Chris was just getting his gym up and running so it added to the strain. Then the first newsflashes about Team Rocket attacks started coming in. Not long after those reports came flooding in. It appeared Team Rocket had attacked multiple targets in rapid succession. By the time the news started the League was crippled, Cerulean was under attack, Celadon was taken, Pewter was evacuated, Saffron was under siege, Vermillion was getting stampeded, Viridian was burning and Rockets were closing in on us and Fuchsia.” Now even John had to admit recalling all this was pretty hard on one’s wellbeing, and he hadn’t even come to the hardest part yet. The others present just sat tight and listened.

 

“Things went pretty smooth in Pewter. The Gym leader there, Brock I think it was, got everybody out before the main Rocket forces came in. That went without a hitch. Viridian was where their base was, so taking that wasn’t too hard, even after the police started fighting back. In Cerulean they fought back initially after gathering as many trainers as they could find, but after several casualties on the defending side they surrendered. Saffron was a hard nut to crack, but being in the center isn’t very good as you can be attacked from pretty much everywhere. They just circled the city and started pressing the defenders back gradually. After they were pushed back into the Gym the Rockets threatened to blow it up if they didn’t surrender. They surrendered, but Sabrina was nowhere to be found.” He paused a minute to let it all sink in before he continued.

 

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“Damn that Kane. Why did he have to come up? Why did he have to be involved? Now I can’t get him out of my mind.” Chris watched the battles in front of him. Pairing up his Arcanine with his Golduck had proven to be good training for his Arnanine. Amazingly he could now hold his own against his weakness. Golduck hadn’t been too thrilled though; there wasn’t much training in it for him.

 

“I wonder what Kane has to do with all of this. If he did plan the attack he wouldn’t be stupid enough to let it leak. That leaves two possibilities. He has nothing to do with the attack on Cinnabar, or he let it leak on purpose…” Chris recalled his Pokémon; training wouldn’t work while he was thinking like this. No, he had to get his mind off of the latest developments. It didn’t do him much good, as pictures of the past, namely pictures of the attack on Lavender Town, started to fill his head. He shook it wildly to get them out, but in the back of his mind he knew there was only one way to get rid of them. So he set course for the cafeteria.

 

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The car stopped in front of a large building. The building used to be the lab of the renowned professor Samuel Oak, but now it was used as a base of operations, the staging site for the attack on the island several miles off shore. Numerous tents were set up on the fields surrounding the structure. Fields that were once used to air the Pokémon the professor took care of. The driver stepped out and opened the backdoor to let out his boss. Kane stepped out and looked around the camp site with a pleased smile on his face. So far everything had gone according to his plan. His men had leaked to Blaine’s informant and tracked the messenger to a surprising discovery. The base of his main enemy was in the Rock Tunnel, something he hadn’t thought of. Not that it mattered much now, because his latest plan would get all birds with one stone.

 

“Tell all squad captains to meet me in the briefing room in ten minutes. We’ll go through the final plan and make sure everybody knows what to do and when. I will not allow anyone to screw this up, understood?” He said to the saluting grunt at the door of the building. The man nodded before speeding off into the camp to find said captains. Kane walked through the rooms until he came to the briefing room. Here he would go through his plan one more time. Unfortunately the Boss had insisted that Butch and Cassidy be part of the attacking force. This fitted his plan to some extend, as he wanted to rid himself of them, but it meant he couldn’t freely speak in front of his men. This was the last step he had to take before seizing control and accomplish what the fool in his tux could not. In a sense he was loyal to Team Rocket, yes, but the incompetence annoyed him greatly. Had he been the boss the world would be at his mercy right now, but he wasn’t and it stung. He would complete Team Rocket’s legacy and take control of the world, but he would have to take out Giovanni, the current leader, to be successful.

 

“Good day gentlemen. I assume you know how important the battle ahead is to our cause? We must not lose the battle for Cinnabar Island; it is the only obstacle that remains in our path to full domination of the Kanto region. Let’s go over the plan one more time.” Kane started as the room finished filling with officers. To his annoyance the two watchdogs had also made an appearance.

 

“Now, we leaked that the attack would take place at noon, which is twelve o’ clock mid day for the mentally challenged. Of course, we won’t stick to that time, as it would probably result in getting ambushed. Instead, we will use the night to our advantage and get as close as we can to the island. Then we will attack at dawn, the instant the first rays of the sun shoot over the horizon. That way, we’ll have enough light to see what we’re doing whilst using the element of surprise to the greatest extend.” He paused and waited until everyone had nodded or made some other sign of understanding.

 

“Also it means we’ll have no fixed time of attack, since the sun doesn’t bind itself to our clocks. That should make it even harder for them to predict the time of our attack. Yes, I’m not assuming they’ll believe the information we leaked as I know they are no fools. But we will make it as hard as possible for them to predict our moves.” Now he moved them over to the large table in the center of the room. On it stood a 3D scaled down version of Cinnabar Island, incredibly detailed and lifelike. There were also movable pieces representing rebel forces, Rockets and even the Lavender Faction fighters. “Now, as for the battle plan itself…”

 

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John had just finished telling about the secret Team Rocket base in Celadon, and how that helped them win the battle swiftly. He was just about to start telling of the attack on Lavender Town when Chris walked back in. The look on John’s face was priceless as he was about to protest, but Chris cut him off.

 

“I’ll tell them what happened here. Don’t try to stop me or but in.” He said, the determined look on his face adding more to John’s confusion. It did save him from the hardest part though, but he wasn’t so sure if his brother could manage. Up to this day he wasn’t sure what it was that made him so angry yet sad at the same time whenever Kane was brought up. The conflicting emotions usually shut him off from the outside world, like he was reliving those moments in a dream.

 

“You wanted to know how we knew Kane, right?” This was directed at Ash, who only nodded. “He was the leading Rocket in the attacking force. That’s how.” This caused John to instantly pay attention. He’d never heard this part before. Sure, they had met Kane before, but he never knew Kane led the attack here.

 

“After all the attacks on the other cities, our dad tried to send John and me away. He said they’d stall the Rockets so we could live. John pulled me out of the house and we started running for the mountains, but then we heard gunshots and I wouldn’t have it anymore. I ran back into the town and hid behind a wall as I watched the battles take place in the streets. Most trainers were stronger than the Rockets, but their sheer numbers made that up and it was a losing cause. Most of the time it was two or even three on one and I almost stepped in right then. But that’s when something else caught my eye. Dad was fighting Kane head to head and surprisingly none of the grunts interfered. They talked too, but it was pretty far away and I only caught shards of sentences, but I could tell Kane was asking where I was. I was after all the official Gym leader and capturing or killing those was a high priority to the attackers. Dad started losing and I could see Kane was only using type advantages, so in a way he was still fighting dirty.” Chris was looking quite angry now, gritting his teeth and raising his voice slightly. Somehow, John felt the worst was yet to come.

 

**Flashback**

 

“Is your son too weak to fight his own battles, Fuji?”

 

“I have to get closer for a better look.” Chris thought as he crawled along the wall. Kane’s taunts and threats became clearer now that he came close enough.

 

“Come now Fuji, surely you can do better than that. How do you expect to stall time when you fight like this? I’ll catch up with your boys in no time at all, hahahahaha!” Kane continued to laugh as his Slowbro got ready to extinguish the flame of the Charmeleon who lay barely conscious in front of Chris’s father, in no shape to dodge. Defeated, Chris’s father recalled his Charmeleon and glared at Kane for almost killing his Pokémon friend.

 

“Oh, giving up? And that was your last one too, wasn’t it. Well, spill the beans! Where did you send your boys! Or do you want to face your maker prematurely?!” Kane smirked as he pulled a pistol out and cocked it. This made Chris’s blood boil, but he knew there was nothing he could do.

 

“Is that a threat, Rocket?! Go pack, you’re not getting me to tell on my boys!” Was the reply which only angered Kane even more. Not a good thing in the current situation.

 

“Your courage is misplaced, Fuji. If you think I don’t have the guts to do you in, you’re sadly mistaking!” Kane yelled before pointing his gun at the chest area. “Now tell me!”

 

“No! Dad, get out of there!” Chris screamed in his mind as his eyes widened in shock, but his father couldn’t hear it. Instead his father stood firm and glared at Kane with nothing but determination in his eyes before spreading his arms out wide.

 

“Never! Shoot me if you must, but you won’t get anything out of a dead body! My boys will live and they’ll fight and win!” Chris couldn’t watch anymore and turned his head just as the gunshot rang. The bang and Kane’s laughter was all that filled his mind while he ran away as fast as he could. Away from the scene he knew would haunt him until Kane paid.

 

**End Flashback**

 

He fought back the tears that almost slipped after he finished. Somewhere it felt good to finally spill it, but he wouldn’t be seen crying. He glanced at John, who looked back almost hurt. He probably should’ve told him sooner, but every time he tried he couldn’t.

 

“You have your answers John, and you have your story Ash. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a battle to plan.” Chris said before silently walking out of the cafeteria. Ash looked about ready to apologize for even asking him to tell what happened, but he just walked out not wanting to hear it.

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know…” Ash said to John instead.

 

“You’re not the only one who didn’t know. Damn it Chris, you could’ve at least told me!” John cursed under his breath.

 

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“Do you all understand what your part is?” All present nodded. “Good, then it’s about time you go and fill in your men. Dismissed!” Kane looked on as his captains left the room to prepare for their parts. Butch and Cassidy also left the room and he smirked at what he knew. They wouldn’t be returning.

 

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To Be Continued…

 

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AN: I know, it did get a little violent there near the end, but that shows the rating isn’t PG-13 for nothing. War is a nasty thing in which more nasty things happen. I hope everybody liked this chapter, even though everybody liking it is most likely impossible. Now I’m off to revamp the first few chapters as I’m not happy with those.

 

Now time for bad news, well, depending how you look at it. I’m leaving on the 25th for France, so you won’t hear from me for several weeks. Actually, me getting this up now could be considered a small miracle as I was battling writer’s block. I broke it though and I’m on a roll, so now I must leave and rewrite parts of previous chapters.

 

WeirdDutchGuy