Sheena and the Jewel of Life

Chapter 4: Operation—Save the New People!

Spiky-eared Pichu ran through the dirt tunnels, hurriedly trying to find the keys to the cell that the two new people were locked up in. Suddenly, she smelled something really tasty…

"[...I'm hungry!]" she suddenly decided on a whim. She took a detour towards the smell.

Through a "ventilation duct", she saw a basket of Pecha and Sitrus Berries in a basket hanging right in front of her. She hopped through the opening and jumped right into the basket, stuffing her face as fast as she could before anyone saw her.

She then looked around. She was in a kitchen where two Pokémon in restraining devices were working. A Chikorita stood on the counter, carrying a turnip to the cutting board, while a Cyndaquil was on the ground, keeping the oven burning. And in between them was a young guard in his twenties watching over both of them.

Chikorita was clearly tired, and tried to rest, but the guard elbowed her and said, "Quit dillydallying." She quickly sliced the turnip and scooped it into the basket. Cyndaquil tired out too, but the guard slammed his staff and said, "No goofing off." So Cyndaquil shot more fire at the furnace.

Pichu scowled. Even if they've mostly done away with capital punishment, she still hated how they treated Pokémon. And she really hated those infernal restraining devices. Since Marcus invented them, she really wished she could get back at him for this outrage one day. After all, young Pokémon don't deserve to be restrained. They're supposed to be free to run around, as that's the only way they'll be grow up to be healthy. And I should know—I am one!

She jumped down from the basket and growled, sparks emitting from her cheeks. But when the guy turned around and panicked, she saw that she didn't even need to let loose a Volt Tackle.

"AAH! G—go away! Stay back! What do you want?" he stammered, backing off towards the wall. Pichu dropped her electric charge and said, "[Look out, Mister!]" pointing at the plate above him. No such luck. He crashed into the wall, knocking the plate over, which hit him on the head with a loud comically sounding DONG! He fainted.

"[...Doofus,]" said Pichu, smacking her face. She then turned to Cyndaquil and said, "[Hey, Cyndaquil! Want me to help you out with that?]"

"[What do you mean?]" he asked.

"[Stand still for a bit…Okay…Iron Tail!]" She smacked her tail against the restraining device—and it broke! Cyndaquil stretched his muscles. "[Aaah…yes! I can MOVE! Thanks, Pichu!]"

"[H—hey…What about me?]" asked Chikorita.

"[Coming!]" replied Pichu. She climbed up to the counter and prepared her attack. Chikorita winced as she prepared for the blow. "[Iron Tail!]" It didn't hurt. The restraining device came off, and Chikorita could stretch again. "[Thanks! But, Pichu…What are you doing here?]"

"[Oh, right! I'm in the middle of Operation: Save the New People. Wanna help me? I'll explain on the way,]" said Pichu.

Chikorita and Cyndaquil enthusiastically agreed. As they ran out the door into the hallway, the guard woke up and exclaimed, "H—hey, wait!" Just to make sure he wouldn't follow them, Pichu jumped right in his face and made all sorts of funny faces. "[Ooogabooga! Ooogabooga!]" The guard fainted again.

Pichu, Chikorita, and Cyndaquil ran across the ceiling beams over several rooms in the place, including a room where several vats of silvery liquid were being mixed. Finally, Pichu found the room where the jail key was hanging. "[Okay, Chikorita! Since you're bigger than all of us, lower us down to that key.]" ordered Pichu. Chikorita's Vine Whip wrapped around Cyndaquil's legs, and he held onto Pichu's tail. But right as she reached the key, the room's door opened! They gasped.

"[Hey! Fellow Pokémon! What'r y'all doin' up there?]"

It was a Totodile.

"[Uh…]" Pichu wasn't sure what to say.

"[Oh, I see. I see. Lemme help y'all out.]" He took a deep breath.

Cyndaquil got a sinking feeling. "[Hey! HEY! Wait wait wait! No no no no no—]

Too late. Totodile let loose his Water Gun at the key and all over them. Pichu and Cyndaquil fell to the ground, and because the blast made Chikorita lose her balance, she fell down on top of them both.

"[OWOWOWOWOWOW! Too…heavy!]" Cyndaquil's back flared up and burned Pichu and Chikorita. Chikorita's leaf caught on fire and she ran around, screaming, "[Put it out put it out put it out put in out!]" Totodile shot a water gun at the leaf, putting it out, but the blast was so big, it also hit Cyndaquil. "[THAT'S IT!]" he fumed, blowing a Flamethrower at Totodile. The three of them started fighting.

"[All of you SHUT UP!]" shouted Pichu, shooting a Thunderbolt in the middle of them. "[Now are you gonna help me with Operation: Save the New People or make so much racket they catch us? Huh? HUH?]"

Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile suddenly realized how stupid they must've looked. "[Eheheheh…Sorry.]"

"So how are we supposed to get out of here?" Sheena desperately asked.

As if to answer her question, a piece of flooring started to move. Pichu popped out with the key around her spiked ear. "[DAMOS!]" Oh boy, was she glad to see her best friend again. She ran right up his arm and sat on his shoulder so he could retrieve the key. "Pichu! Thanks so much!" he said. One by one, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile popped out of the hole, too. She pointed to them and said, "[They helped me!]"

"[So exactly WHO are these new people—Oh.]" Chikorita stopped when she saw Sheena and Kevin and their weird outfits.

"[That's them, guys. Hi, new people!]" Pichu waved.

Damos said, "Oh yeah. I never got your names. Actually, I think yours is…Sheena, right?"

"Right."

"My name's Kevin."

"Are you another descendant of mine?" asked Damos.

"No, actually, I'm her friend," he said, pointing to Sheena.

As Damos inserted the key and turned it, Cyndaquil and Pichu gave mischievous glances at Sheena and Kevin. "[Just a friend? Reeeeaally?] asked Cyndaquil. "[Ooo, ooo, I know, I know!]" said Pichu. She took a deep breath and sang:

"[Sheena and Kevin, sitting in a tree!]"

"[K-I-S-S-I-N-G!]" chimed in Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile.

"[First comes love, then comes—]"

"Hey, shut up!" Flustered, Sheena slapped Pichu's mouth before she could stop herself. "What? What'd they say?" asked Kevin. Damos just patted him on the back and said, "Children. They just love having fun. Don't worry about it, okay?" He opened the cell door.

With that permission granted, Pichu continued on, eager to outdo herself. "[Sheena and Damos, sitting in a tree!]"

"[K-I-S-S-]"

Sheena covered her ears. Right when it looked like she was going to throw up again, Damos intervened. "You do know that she is my descendant, right?" he remarked as naturally as if he were commenting on the weather.

They stopped.

"[...EEEEWWWW!]" Coughing, all four of them were trying their best to convulse and throw up. They resolved never to sing silly songs again without actually ascertaining said party members' relationships. Damos turned to Sheena and said proudly, "And that is how it's done."

Sheena smiled. So that's how I should deal with my niece if she ever tries one of those on me!

Kevin had no idea what they were singing, but judging by how he never seen Sheena so flustered before, he figured that it was something embarrassing he'd be better off not knowing. The three of them filed out of the cell right past the guard. Damos whispered, "Don't tell Marcus, okay?" while throwing him the key. The guard nodded.

So in the end, Operation: Save the New People was a smashing success! Too bad that Pichu and friends were temporarily knocked out of commission.

They ran through the dirt hallways desperately trying to reach the altar before the moon covered the sun. They went through turn after turn after turn…and suddenly found Marcus standing in the middle of the hallway, with his Heatran and Bronzong, right in front of them.

"Well, well, well. What have we here?"

The three of them gasped and ground to a screeching halt. They just remembered.

Wasn't Marcus coming down to hypnotize Damos?

To be continued…