Misty Waterflower, Admin of Team Aqua, was in a very dangerous position.
She paced slowly back and forth along the narrow hallway, trying to keep calm, trying to look natural. Of course, this was helped by her bright red hair, which most of the bloodline Magmas possessed. With her hair, it was practically a given that she was one of them.
She shuddered at the thought. Her? A Magma? Never. Not when they had killed her family and crippled her only surviving sister. Not when they had sparked the fire that had enveloped all of Cerulean City in its flames. That one time, even the Rockets had been forced to flee their hideouts like the bugs they were. All of her friends, all of her family had died except for Daisy, and even she had not escaped unscathed.
Curse them and their black souls, she thought darkly. Her gaze was sharp upon two Magmas, walking down the corridor. Neither of them was the one she was trying to spy on. Stupid grunt work. Stupid guard shift. Stupid narrow halls. She had to admit, it was difficult to spy on people inconspicuously when there was no one else but her in the hallway.
A sudden commotion caught her attention, and she stopped at the beginning of another corridor. Voices floated down toward her.
"--let the two of you have some fun then," finished the Magma Admin. He turned, winked at the girl in the other young man's arms, and began walking toward Misty.
Misty averted her eyes, heart pounding as the Admin neared. He scrutinized her, his dark eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "New, are you?" he murmured.
"Yes... sir." She wouldn't be able to wash that bad taste out of her mouth for hours. "Just joined about a week ago."
"Really." A hint of a smile seemed to appear, but the Admin quickly frowned again. Misty stowed this piece of information in her mind. Able to hide his expression.
"Is there a problem?" she asked honestly, almost sweetly.
The Admin shook his head, seeming slightly perturbed. "No. Carry on." He gave her one more glance before walking away.
Thank Kyogre, he was gone. Misty stopped herself from sighing in relief and instead focused triumphantly on the couple farther down the hall. Thanks to the Admin earlier, she had found the one Archie had sent her to gather information on specifically. She let her gaze run over him. Green hair and green eyes. Unusual for an Admin. Likely as not he had made it into the top ranks based on ability alone, no blood ties. Misty watched as the girl beside him suddenly dissolved into tears, burying her face in his shirt, clinging to him. Misty nearly smiled. His girlfriend, possibly. She looked like a medic. A valuable piece of knowledge. It even looked like he actually cared about the girl. Now Misty really smiled. If this worked out the right way, they might even be able to manipulate him. Hah. Little Magma bugs. The only reason for their existence was so that Aquas could squash them.
She walked casually down the hall, eyes flickering once to another grunt passing by, then broke into a sprint once she knew the coast was clear. In a week she had already memorized the layout of the place, and within seconds she was outside, pushing through the sparse undergrowth of the jagged pass above Lavaridge Town. She stumbled to a halt and kneeled beside a short, stubby tree, ice-blue eyes raking the landscape. Fingers trembling, she pulled out a communicator from her belt, one that she had disguised as a Magmacom, and pressed a button. The signal wouldn't be detected by Magma receivers; it was tuned to a channel expressly for Aquas. Taking a deep breath, she reported on her findings, all the while scanning the area.
"...it's fifty-seven. Yes... Admin Drew... apparently... medic with brown hair, blue eyes... yes, this is directly to Archie." A click, and she disconnected.
She sighed, leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes, sacrificing sight for rest. It wasn't like anyone would notice she was gone that early, right? The hairs on the back of her neck rose as an unseen gaze swept through the area. Then it was gone. A sigh escaped her lips.
Abandoning my guard shift, she thought grimly. I have to, but I'll probably get demoted. Hah. Lower than a grunt? Is there such a thing?
To her horror, it seemed as if she had been talking aloud, because a voice answered.
"Do you really want to know?" asked Gary Oak, sweetly, innocently. Misty spun around, eyes widening as she crouched in the dirt. The Magma Admin continued in a lazy drawl. "There actually is something lower than a grunt." He gave a signal - Misty noted this as well - and a dozen grunts appeared by his side. Misty froze, muscles tensed, her eyes locking with Oak's. Not good. The Admin had probably noticed, somehow, and tailed her. How stupid, she thought, that an Aqua Admin would be bested by a Magma.
Forcing herself to breathe calmly, she smiled sheepishly and said, "I-I'm sorry, sir, I just wanted some rest so I came out here." She stopped as the grunts inched closer. "Am I going to be punished?" she inquired, playing the ignorant newbie.
"Of course." Oak smiled coldly. "I'll have you know, we don't take disobedience well."
"R-really, sir?"
"Would you be surrounded by us if we did?"
"I..." Damn him. Damn him. "I guess not, sir."
"Smart girl, aren't you?" Then he glanced at the gadget in her hands and plucked it from her grasp. "Oh? What's this?"
"Standard Magma communicator," she responded, stiffly. "Also known as a Magmacom. I'm sure you've seen one before."
Oak gave her a bemused look. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
"Completely sure?"
"Yes, sir." She resisted the urge to spit the word in his face.
"Then what--" he pried open the cover on the back and showed it to the grunts, "--is this?"
Misty stared blankly at the symbol etched onto the inside of the cover, a cross between an A and a skull-and-crossbones, white on a dark blue background. The Magma smirked.
"Well, well. You seem to be fairly interested in our enemies. Even stole one of their communicators and disguised it as ours. Clever." He stowed the gadget in his pocket.
"So, you wanted to know what was lower than a grunt? Well, since you asked," a slow smirk spread across his face, "there's something we like to call... a prisoner."
A dark chuckle ran around the group surrounding Misty, and she tensed, calculating. Her eyes darted around the area, looking for some opening, some way she could escape. The circle closed in tighter, and the grunts began to call out their Pokemon. Soon, Mightyenas growled, pacing, whimpering with the desire to kill. Camerupts scraped the ground impatiently alongside Magcargos, eager for battle. Golbats screeched, circling the air.
Misty gritted her teeth. "Starmie!" she called, tossing a Pokeball into the air. It opened with a flash of light, revealing a purple, star-shaped Pokemon, a red jewel at its center. The Starmie fell into a battle stance. "Hydro Pump!"
The Pokemon jumped and began to spin in midair, spraying water from its rays, forcing back the surrounding Pokemon. Grunts and their Pokemon scattered beneath the jets of water.
Gary rolled his eyes as he dodged the spray. "That thing is dead. Umbreon!" A dog-like creature sprang from his Pokeball, completely black-furred aside from the yellow rings around its ears and tail, forehead and legs. "Faint Attack!" he shouted.
"Bre!" The black-and-yellow-furred Pokemon's eyes began to glow, and it crept close to Starmie. Within the moment that Starmie turned, Umbreon leapt up, tackled it, then jumped away as the star attempted to counter. Starmie staggered, then righted itself.
"Psychic, Starmie!"
The jewel at Starmie's center glowed with red light that soon enveloped the surrounding trees. With a slight flick of one ray, a single tree was uprooted and flung towards the Umbreon. It dodged, only to be beseiged with more trees. Foliage and splintered bark rained from the sky as the Umbreon continued to dodge.
The Admin rolled his eyes. "Ho-oh, help us. Umbreon, Psychic. And--" another Pokeball flew into the air, "Alakazam. Psychic."
"Hydro Pump, Starmie!" Misty shouted.
"Confusion, Alakazam. Umbreon, use Shadow Ball."
"Dammit," Misty muttered, as Starmie fell once again. "Come out, Gyarados!"
A blue-scaled serpent towered above the clearing, roaring, jaws open wide.
"Hyper Beam!"
Points of light began to gather at the serpent's mouth, focusing into a glowing beam that blasted Umbreon and Alakazam into the trees. Oak swore and tossed out another Pokeball.
"Arcanine!" A large dog with flaming fur leapt out the Pokeball, snarling. "Use Extremespeed!"
Misty was left stunned as Gyarados crashed into the ground, the impact sending clouds of dust into the air. "Get up, Gyarados!" she called, rushing over. "It was only a little Extremespeed! Come on!" The water Pokemon began to flail around, striking out at the Arcanine with its tail. "Hydro Pump it!" The serpent roared again, the sound reverberating throughout the clearing. Misty noted with a small prick of triumph that the grunts had already fled, unwilling to face certain injury. "Go on, Hydro Pump!"
A jet of water slammed into the Arcanine, catching it unawares. The dog tumbled into a tree, growling and shaking off the water as it stood again. Apparently, it wasn't going down easily. Out of the corner of her eye, Misty saw the Umbreon ready itself to attack.
"Gyarados, Bite Umbreon! Starmie, use Hydro Pump on Arcanine!"
The ground pitched and rolled as Gyarados thrashed about, its jaws barely a second behind the black-and-yellow Umbreon. Starmie lifted into the air, spinning, its Hydro Pump lashing Arcanine repeatedly as the dog attempted to close in on the weakened Pokemon. Meanwhile, Misty's eyes darted into the trees. Oak had disappeared. Definitely not a good sign. Likely as not he planned to incapacitate her while she was distracted with the battle. A dirty trick.
"Two can play at that game," she muttered to herself. Silently, she retreated back into the thicker part of the foliage, all the while scanning the area for the Magma. By now all the grunts should have fled the battlefield, she reasoned. No worries there. But she couldn't catch even a hint of that Magma uniform on the landscape. She withdrew her Pokemon, watching as her opponent's Pokemon disappeared as well. Silence closed in as her mind began to turn. He must be somewhere nearby if he withdrew them. He took to the trees? No, too little coverage there. Maybe behind that ledge. Or the tall grass. No, not enough of it. The ledge, then.
She fell to her hands and knees and began to crawl away from the ledge. If she left now, at least she'd get away with her life and some knowledge, though she'd be short one Aquacom. She grimaced at the thought. With the little device, the Magmas could wreak havoc on the Aqua communication systems. Even with their diminished forces, the Magmas were a force to be reckoned with, and they would likely use the chance to retaliate. Misty paused, battling with herself. Should she leave the Aquacom and doom Team Aqua to months of instability, or should she risk her life and take that sliver of a chance?
Take the chance. Take it. Take the risk.
A smile curved her lips. This was what she lived for, wasn't it? Thwarting the enemy. Particularly Magmas.
Within seconds she was sprinting toward the ledge, a makeshift plan forming in her mind. It wasn't one of her best plans, but then again the Aquas were known for their recklessness, and the brains were left to the Magmas. One swift movement and she landed on the other side of the ridge, pivoting almost before she landed. Gary Oak stared at her as she stepped toward him.
"You think you're so smart," Misty spat at him, "you just think you're so wonderful, don't you?" With a single flicker of motion she had a gun aimed between his dark eyes. The Admin froze as Misty continued. "You little bugs just think that you're so elite, so great at tactics and strategies. I bet you think that you're going to make a comeback and overthrow us Aquas in the next few years, don't you? Well, you see--" she cocked the gun almost lazily, smiling faintly in triumph,
"I'm not letting that happen."
A single shot rang out in the small clearing, smoke rising into the air. For a moment, Gary Oak thought he was dead. Then he realized with slight annoyance that he wasn't, and that Misty Waterflower was lying on the ground while a grunt held her down. The gun had been knocked off course just before the Aqua had pulled the trigger.
"I was wondering when you were going to jump out and save me," he said, raising his voice above Misty's muffled protests. "As you can see," he watched as the grunt relieved Misty of her gun and held chloroform to her nose, "I was in a fairly dangerous situation."
The grunt stood and straightened once he had bound and gagged Misty, whose movements stopped completely as she sank into sleep. The grunt gave Oak a look. "I was waiting for the right timing. If I'd rushed out before, she would've gotten both of us."
Oak chuckled. "Amazing. You actually thought about your actions this time, Ash Ketchum. Seeing how you rarely use that brain of yours, if you have one. But if it had been me saving you, that wouldn't have been a problem." He smirked at the grunt, who looked like he was about to spew a string of profanities at him. "Still, I can't say you didn't save me," he relented.
"And you'd better remember it," muttered Ash, as Oak strode past him, moving toward the entrance to the Magma base. He looked down at the Aqua lying at his feet, then up at Oak once again. "Hey, what do I do with her?"
Oak stopped and gave the girl a thoughtful look. "I think..." he began, then walked back, picked her up, and slung her over his shoulder. The grunt blinked in surprise. Gary Oak wasn't known for doing the dirty work himself. Could he possibly be interested in this Aqua?
He shrugged and followed the Admin. He had to appreciate this rare moment of grace. They were rare enough already.
~blood~~~~~~~
