A/N: Alright! So, I took Doggiefan's advice and will try to update more frequently.

Now, on with the story!


Chapter 7

Enemy Lines: Part 1

Rufus's P.O.V

It was an ideal decision to sleep before the sun fell, for we awoke early indeed. When my weary eyes looked towards the sky, it was still fairly dark, and I doubted the sun was even beginning to peak the horizon yet.

I was slightly groggy from waking up so early but I didn't complain. I knew better than to complain. After Commander Kief barked out a few harsh commands, we were once again marching off. We all wondered who this Pokemon was that we were meeting up with, but Ace and Commander Kief refused to tell us.

Giving up on asking, we all continued in silence. The only sound was of our paws padding softly in the sand. But just as light began to seep through the edge of the world, we came to a large cliff face, where multiple trees were growing out of the side. Cawing was heard from above, and I looked up to see a large speck circling in the smoggy sky, before diving down.

I yelped, as well as the other cadets, and was about to dive for cover until I realized how calm Ace and Kief were. Cocking my head to the side, I looked back towards the black speck to see it come into view.

It was unmistakably a large, dark gray bird. I couldn't quite make it out until it made a harsh landing on one of the trees protruding from the side of the cliff face. I now recognized the mighty bird. It was a Staraptor with a long scar stretching from its left eye to across its yellow beak. Its large talons gripped the tree branch it was perched on, tearing into the bark and glinting maliciously. Wide white circle on its head confirmed this Staraptor to be a male.

"Cadets, this is Scouter Ray, he'll be helping us on our mission." Commander Kief stated, as the Staraptor continued to glare at us pensively. Ripping his gaze from us, he looked to Ace.

"Scouter Ray, report." Ace ordered the large bird.

Saluting, Ray began to report his supposed findings. "I've been scouting over all three camps, and I have discovered that each one has up to about 10 soldiers at each, including a designated leader. The third camp however, is the largest with at least 15 soldiers including the leader. But so far they seem to suspect nothing of our sneak attack." Ace nodded in return.

"Go on." He simply urged.

Nodding, Ray did as ordered. "The first camp is located at the top of this cliff face, surrounded by a forest of dead and ravaged bark trees. The perimeter is lightly guarded, and there is an unguarded spot closest to the cliff edge. I suspect they do not believe an attack to commence from there. The forest isn't very dense, but the ground is littered with underbrush for us to conceal ourselves with."

Ace nodded, and seemed to contemplate the series of action we could take. Thinking for nearly a minute, he turned to us all with a confident and sure gleam in his eyes.

"I have planned out a course of action. We will do as you suggested Ray, and use the underbrush as cover. But we will split up into groups so as not to be noticeable. We will attack from all sides, taking out the guards first of all discreetly as possible. The largest group will attack from their weak spot."

We all nodded in agreement, which seemed to satisfy Ace. He then began to assemble the groups.

"Commander Kief, you will have the largest group and will take them out from the weak spot. I propose Cinder, Buzz, and Ardillaila go with you." Commander Kief nodded at the idea, finding it acceptable. I supposed the Pachirisu was Ardillaila, as she walked over to Commander Kief's side along with Cinder and Buzz.

Continuing on, Ace appointed the last two groups. "I shall take Serena and Ampierre, and Scouter Ray, you take Rufus and Sam."

Scouter Ray nodded, and flew off his perch, landing beside me and the Eevee named Sam. Serena and Ampierre trotted over to Ace's side. I felt a bit saddened at the thought that I was to be separate from my friends. I was more so nervous about the fact I was going with two complete strangers I hadn't even uttered a word to once. To be frank, the Staraptor intimidated me, and Sam seemed to have quite the snide attitude. Sparks could fly if I were to work with that one.

Shrugging off my insecurities, I accepted the fate handed to me, and did not verbally protest. As we all separated in our different directions, our group going to the right side of the encampment, I decided to analyze my allies.

Scouter Ray continued to hold that stern gaze of his, never flashing a look to mine or Sam's way. I decided there wasn't much else to analyze about him, besides the fact he was huge, even for a Staraptor. Looking towards the Eevee, I noticed something about her fur. Instead of brown, it was actually more of a ginger coloration. Her mane of fur was still the usual cream color however.

Before getting much more of a chance to keep analyzing anything including our surroundings, Ray stopped us.

"Alright," Ray leaned down "get on my back you two." In response, we simply looked at him incredulously.

"Look, just get on my damn back! It will be a quicker way up if I fly us there." He snorted out. Hesitantly, I hopped on to his large back. Sam gave Ray an "are you insane" look before hopping on after me. Not exactly sure what to expect, I awkwardly sat down.

"What are we supposed to hold on to smart one?" Sam asked in a mocking manner. Ray shrugged in return.

"I don't know. But you better find something quick." And before we could blink an eye, Scouter Ray launched himself into the air with blinding speed. With a loud yelp, I quickly latched myself onto his shoulders, my claws slightly digging into his flesh. Sam latched her small paws around my midsection so as not to fall off as we continued to climb higher and higher in a diagonal path.

Through the rushing wind I was able to hear Ray cry out "Watch it kid!" I was certain he was referring to my claws digging into his shoulder.

Both Sam and I struggled to keep our grip due to the rate we were ascending. The cliff face rushed by us in a blur, and I unluckily just had to look down.

A wave of nausea swept over me as I saw the dizzying heights we were at. Trees and bushes looked like specks, and the ground seemed to spin out of control due to the pressure and speed of our flight. Apparently following my actions, Sam to couldn't help but look down. She let out a frightened yelp and latched on even tighter. She practically squeezed all the air from my lungs.

It only seemed as if we increased in speed, and to make matters worse, with the combination of pressure and the death hug Sam had on me, it was becoming quite difficult to breath.

Just as I thought I was about to pass out from the lack of air, we suddenly dived down, causing my heart to climb into my throat. But this descent was short lived, as we landed down close to the cliff's side edge.

As Sam finally, yet reluctantly, let go, I tumbled to the ground, and gasped for air in what I was sure looked to be in a comedic manner. Sam was trembling, and her legs visibly quivered as she stepped foot onto ground once more. Scouter Ray just laughed at us.

"Flying sure is the shit, huh?" Ray said in an optimistic tone. I ignored his profane choice of words, and slowly got to my paws.

"Oh yes, definitely the shit bird brains." Sam rasped out sarcastically. She was still trying to gain control of her shaking legs. Apparently neither of us was very keen on flying. I truly dreaded the trip down.

After regaining our composure, Ray began to lead us through the actually surprisingly large forest of trees and underbrush. It wasn't long before the camp came into view.

"So what do we do now?" I asked Ray. Ray settled in the foliage above before replying.

"We wait for the others to get up here. They shouldn't be any longer than half an hour." I sighed. Great, waiting. I wasn't really the patient type. Besides, how were we going to know when they got here?

Sam seemed to be thinking the same thing, as she verbally asked the question, though in a much harsher manner. "So how the hell do we know when they get here?"

Ray looked down at the small Eevee with a bemused look on his face. "Ace's team will take out the guards on their side, duh. Then we will proceed to do so as well, and that's when Kief's team will initiate the attack. You guys have to look around you, take everything in. And try to think things through, even if you aren't the one with the plan. It'll help in situations like this. That's why Ace is the one to plan these things out."

Taking up on what Ray said, I decided to analyze my surroundings. We were indeed insight of the guards on the opposite side, so we would know when they were taken out. I also noticed the guard on our side was lounging against a leather-hide tent. The guard was a small red Pokemon with a bumpy head and a yellow bill. My best guess was a Magby. It had what appeared to be a gray bandana with an insignia on it. The insignia was that of the fire type flame, most likely used to represent his army.

Staying hidden in the underbrush, we silently waited for our cue. The red sand, underbrush, and variety of brown and black trees provided perfect camouflage. Within about the designated time Ray estimated, the action began.

Over across from us, I saw a guard stiffen up, and suddenly fall silently into the underbrush lining the campout. It was laid in a sleeping position against a tent. Soon, the other guard on that side fell as well. Perched up in the tree, Ray's eyes narrowed.

"That's our cue. Go!" Ray silently fluttered to another guard slightly farther away. Sam and I were to take out this Magby.

As silently as we could, we stalked over to the Magby. It was still heavily unaware of our presence, and we were just about to make our move when Sam stepped on a patch of thistle like plants. Crying out a curse, she fell on her rump and clasped at the paw. The now startled guard shot straight up from his sitting position and looked towards us. With a yelp, he tried to yell out a warning.

"Enemies in the ca-!" Before he could finish the alert I tackled him to ground, clamping a paw firmly over his bill. But my reaction wasn't quick enough. Commotion began to be heard from the center of the encampment, and worse of all, the momentum in the tackle on the Magby caused us to roll out from behind the safety of the tents and underbrush.

Startled gasps and angry growls were heard around me. A canine fire type with orange fur, a cream colored tail, and cream colored tufts of fur on its chest and head snarled at my direction.

"What the hell is the enemy doing here? They shouldn't know about this! Get him! Kill him!" The Growlithe barked out in contempt. The same gray bandana with the flame insignia was tied around the Growlithe's head. I inferred he was the leader here.

As the small group of fire types were about to lunge at me, a blur of gray zoomed by, taking an unlucky soldier with it. A blood curdling scream was heard as it plummeted back to the ground and hit with a dull thud.

"The hell? Attack! Attack! There is more than one enemy about!" The Growlithe shouted out once more, spittle flying.

But before they could blink, a roar was heard as Commander Kief, along with Cinder, Buzz and Ardillaila came bursting from cover.

With a snarl, Kief lunged onto a Cyndaquil, getting into a rough tumble with it, the two exchanging nasty bites. And within that time, Ace, Ampierre and Serena had joined in the battle, each taking on an opponent of their own.

Sam jumped in beside me, tackling a lunging Numel in the process. She flashed me a cocky smirk, before exchanging a round of blows once again with the Numel.

All hell broke loose as the roars of battle echoed on this small battlefield. Ace jabbed multiple times at a Chimchar. Going ridged, the orange monkey stiffly fell to ground, an agonized look on its face.

I decided to go for the leader, who was trying to back away from the rumble, while still barking out orders. Easily sneaking up beside him, I pounced with my teeth bared. He let out an angered growl as we fell to the dirt.

Sending a kick to my chest with his hind legs, I flew off of him but managed to land on my paws. Sliding further away from him, I was able to use the distance to initiate a quick attack. My head rammed into his side as he went flying. My head hurt slightly from the impact, but I shook it off. Flexing my claws, I prepared to use one of my newly learned moves taught by none other than Commander Kief himself. I hadn't totally perfected it, but it was better than using quick attack all day.

Focusing energy into my tail, I could feel it stiffen up and begin to glow silver. Charging at the recuperating Growlithe, with a mighty roar, I swung myself around and brought my iron tail attack down upon the Growlithe. The steel hard tail made contact with the side of the canine's face, and a mighty crack was heard. Grinning in triumph, I began to circle round.

But, in a flash, the Growlithe latched blunt teeth onto my faintly glowing tail. Being tugged by the tail, I was thrown into a tent, the structure collapsing atop of me. Grunting, I pulled myself free of the wreckage.

The Growlithe Stood before me, cracking his jaw into place. Blood dribbled down from his sinister smirking maw.

"Hehe, you probably would have broken my jaw if your iron tail didn't wuss out on ya' on the last minute! I can tell you haven't perfected the move," He smirked once more, his fluffy tail starting to grow luminescent, "but lucky for me, I have!" My eyes widened as the deadly tail was already flying towards my face. Reacting quickly, I used a quick attack to avoid the offense. Panting, I stood to the orange dog's side.

The iron tail crashed to the ground, cracking it, and sending debris into the air. The orange dog let out a laugh.

"Don't think you'll get away that easily!" His body suddenly became engulfed in flames, and came whirling towards me. The flame wheel ran me over, sending waves of excruciating pain through my body. The scent of burnt fur filled the air, and smoke rose from my singed fur.

Getting to my feet, I noticed the brawl still going on around me. I was unfortunate enough to see Kief tear out the throat of the Cyndaquil, blood staining his snout and ground beneath his paws. Sam was dodging deadly stomps to her head from the Numel, and Serena was taking down a Slugma with the inescapable faint attack.

Ray was swooping down and cutting multiple, long and jagged gashes across the body of a Houndour. Blood drizzled from every possible wound on its body. Ampierre constantly fried anything that got near him with a thundershock. Ardillaila seemed to be playing with her foes as she hopped from head to head, delivering gruesome bites with her large teeth. Buzz was attacking anything in range with his fury attack, even impaling the Magby I had tumbled with early. It gurgled as blood began to pool from its beak.

Cinder was expertly dodging everything and anything, helping out with all the battles he could. I would have cheered him on if it weren't for the fact I was being attacked by a dangerous Growlithe. He had already turned on his heels, and began another flame wheel attack. This time dodging, I followed the erratically moving ball of fire. When it dispersed to reveal the orange dog once more, I leaped upon him, and delivered a bit to his neck. Using my jaw strength, I continued to dig deeper and deeper with my fangs.

Prepared to kill this Pokemon, I almost forgot that we needed to keep some enemies alive. Releasing my fangs, I consecutively swiped my claws at his legs and paws, making sure it would be difficult for him to run away.

The Growlithe coughed and sputtered as blood trickled from the puncture wounds on his neck. Luckily, I missed anything vital.

Panting heavily myself, I almost collapsed, exhaustion taking over the adrenaline. The Growlithe was obviously much stronger than me, but I had gotten lucky. My body still hurt from the minor burns I had.

Slowly turning, I noticed that only remaining alive of the enemy were two injured ones, not willing to go on. They were surrounded by my comrades. The two alive were the Chimchar Ace had stunned with his jabs, and the other was the Numel. I looked to each of my fellow soldiers. They all seemed to be alright, besides a few minor scratches and bruises, Ray being an exception of that. He had no wounds what so ever.

But Sam and Buzz however seemed to be in a shape more like me. Sam more so. Buzz only seemed to be cringing, as one of his stingers was largely chipped, and one of his legs seemed to be burned as well. Sam, on the other hand, had a small spot on her side singed, and her right front paw was held up, and it looked strange. It was slightly disfigured, and seemed to have been crushed.

Ace seeing to the wounded, gathered the more so, as in Sam, Buzz and I. Looking at each of our wounds, he rummaged in his bag.

"Here," he handed each of us an icy blue berry with green leaves, "it's a Rawst berry, and it will help heal your burns."

Taking the berries, we each ate them. They were cold tasting, but within moments, the burns on my side were relieved, and the pain slowly began to ebb away. The singed fur and flesh was still there on all of us, but there was no more pain.

Ace then looked to Buzz's stinger. He inspected it for a few moments before talking once more.

"It's nothing too bad. The stinger will probably grow back within a week or so, though it may be slightly disfigured." Buzz nodded in understanding, and looked at his broken stinger mournfully. Ace then walked over to Sam and carefully examined her paw.

"The paw seems to be jammed, maybe even sprained. What happened to it?" Ace asked Sam with a concerned laced voice.

Sam snorted quietly. "That stupid Numel over there stomped on it. Luckily I was able to slip out from under his clumsy foot before it grinded it into the ground." Sam glared at the trembling Numel. Ace nodded.

"Its most likely sprained then. You're going to have to go lightly on it. I would say stay out of battles, but at this point, you can't. You'll just have to rest up as best you can before we continue again tomorrow." Ace concluded, patting the paw caringly before getting out some wrappings from his bag.

"That's fine by me; I would've kept going anyway even if you told me not to. A stupid sprain ain't gonna hold me back." Sam stated in a haughty tone, puffing out her chest triumphantly. Ace chuckled.

"I'm sure you would have. Now hold still. I need to wrap up this paw of yours." Using the wrappings and the straightest sticks he could find, Ace wrapped up her paw so it would heal right. Sam looked at her paw before taking an experimental step. She subtly cringed but continued to walk lightly on the paw.

Turning to me, Ace examined my person.

"You seem to be fine besides that large burn you got. Fortunately it's a light one and if you keep eating one or two more of these Rawst berries, it should be healed up within two days. Lucky for you, it might be healed up by the next camp. Speaking of which…" Ace turned to the three captive soldiers.

The Chimchar and Numel were trembling, while the still bleeding Growlithe had a deep scowl on his face.

Commander Kief glared down at them. "Alright scum, tell us, what information do you have on your leaders and their tactics?" The Chimchar and Numel remained silent but continued to cower. The Growlithe snorted.

"We ain't tellin' you nothing hound. I'm disappointed in you and the Vulpix there. You're fire types, one of us! And yet, you choose to be on the filthy enemy's side. You're a much more superior being! And yet… You make me sick!" The fire dog then proceeded to spit a wad of blood at Kief's face. Kief moved out of the way of the bloody spittle, and growled out angrily.

"You good for nothing….fine then, I'll ask you two." Kief tried to keep his temper in check as he looked to the Numel and Chimchar. "So tell me, what do you know? About your leaders, about these camps?"

The Chimchar chokingly spoke up. "W-we don't k-know much about o-our leaders. A-all we k-know is that they in-intend to do s-some spying with our three camps, but that's i-it. We don't even know much about the other camps, just that they're there for scouting…"

"Weak minded fool! You don't tell the enemy anything! For your treachery I'll personally rip out your throat!" The Growlithe began to spout threats, and the Chimchar whimpered. It was obvious the orange monkey wasn't cut out for this, and was downright terrified.

"Quiet you!" Commander Kief barked. "The only person who will get their throat ripped out here is you if you don't shut your trap!" Growling, the orange canine reluctantly quieted.

Ace looked upon the scene with a blank expression. Finally, he turned away.

"We're done here. We'll be setting up camp here for the night once we give a proper burial to these bodies." Ace announced, looking back to Commander Kief and Ray. They both nodded, Commander Kief unwillingly so.

"What about those three though?" Ampierre asked timidly, referring to our captives. Ace looked back to them.

"We'll bind them for the night and take shifts to watch them. We'll release them in the morning before we continue on our way." Ace replied coolly.

"We're just going to let them go?" Ardillaila asked the Hitmonchan, who simply nodded.

"Yes, they are no longer a threat to us. They may run to their leaders all they like, but there will be no good to come of it for them. The enemy is bound to find out anyway, and we'll be done with our mission before they are to take course in action." Ace reasoned with us. We all nodded in understanding.

After bounding our enemies through the constant snarls and insults from the Growlithe, we set to work on preparing the camp. We would be resting the night, and most of the day tomorrow before continuing onward. We would then create settlement by the next camp once located.

Apparently, the action was just beginning.