Chapter 7: Moving Out
Under normal circumstances I'd only approach a Team Rocket facility under the cover of night. Unfortunately these weren't normal circumstances. With this new base being built near Pallet Town it had to go down fast. I owed at least that much to Ash while he was off on his journey.
"(So, what the plan?)" Foxy asked.
"I'm not sure yet," I replied. "I'll have to get a look at the facility before coming up with any sort of attack strategy." Foxy nodded. Then, Scarlet called out to me.
"Hey! I think I can see it!" she called. I looked ahead. There, right in the middle of the forest just north of Pallet Town, was a large facility with a red "R" painted on the side. Man, they didn't even try to hide it.
"What now?!" Scarlet asked.
"Let's land in Viridian City and go the rest of the way on foot!" I replied. Scarlet nodded and motioned for Miora to descend.
"Okay, Kane! Time to land!" I said.
"(You got it!)" he replied. He followed Miora down towards Viridian City. At least this way we could approach them without attracting their attention… I hoped.
Normal POV
Giovanni sat in his office awaiting his daily report from the various facilities had had built all over Kanto. Actually, he was waiting for a report from one particular facility that had just been built. He didn't have to wait long. The screen on his videophone lit up moments later.
"The facility has been completed," the officer on the screen said.
"Good," Giovanni replied. "Keep me updated."
"Yes sir," the officer said. "Umm… do you really think he's going to come?"
"If I know Brian he'll be there soon," Giovanni replied. "Just make sure you're ready for his arrival."
"Yes sir," the officer replied. The videophone shut off, leaving Giovanni once again to his thoughts.
"And now it's only a matter of time before you're back in my possession," he said. "And this time you won't escape."
After we landed both Scarlet and I agreed to wait until nightfall before we made our move. As I said earlier I prefer to attack under the cover of night. Makes it harder for them to see me. Right now Maggie and I were scouting out the base ahead of time so we'd know what we were getting ourselves into. We were perfectly hidden in the bushes, me in my Vulpix form.
"How does it look?" I asked.
"(Heavily guarded,)" Maggie replied. "(It's almost as if they're expecting you this time.)"
"To tell you the truth I wouldn't be surprised if this was some kind of trap to get me," I replied.
"(Then why come here in the first place?)" Maggie asked. "(If you know it's a trap then shouldn't you avoid it at all costs?)"
"I can't," I replied. "Giovanni knows that I won't ignore a base this close to a city or town, especially towns where close friends live. That's why he built this one so close to Pallet Town. He probably knew it would draw me out, the bastard."
"(He's ruthlessly clever,)" Maggie said.
"But I'm determined," I replied.
"(That you are,)" Maggie said.
"Come on. We need to start planning our attack strategy," I said. Now that we'd seen all we needed to Maggie and I retreated back towards Viridian City.
Back at the Pokémon Center Maggie and I relayed all our information to the others. Needless to say they came to the same conclusion we had: it was a trap setup by Giovanni to catch me.
"He sure is going out of his way just to capture you," Scarlet said. "Are you really that valuable to him?"
"I don't know if it's that or if he wants to pay me back for all the Hell I've been putting him through since my escape," I replied. "Either way we need to take this base down, if not for us then for Pallet Town."
"I agree with you on that," Scarlet said. "So, what's the plan?"
"Well, I'd normally go this alone. But with you here things should go much better," I said. "Still, I'm concerned with the number of sentries Maggie and I saw. That's a lot even for two to handle."
"(I agree. There were many more than what Brian usually says he runs across,)" Maggie added.
"(That just proves that this is a trap,)" Foxy said.
"(What will you do?)" Esther asked. "(The risk is too great for you and Scarlet to go in without assistance.)"
"I agree," I said. "That's why we're bringing two of you with us."
"(Safety in numbers, makes sense,)" Morse said. "(But who's going in with you two?)" I looked towards Foxy and Ivy.
"You two up to the task?" I asked them.
"(Of course!)" Ivy replied.
"(It's about time you brought me along,)" Foxy said.
"Come on, Foxy. You know I didn't bring you along because I didn't want to put you in any danger," I said.
"(So putting yourself in danger is better?)" she asked.
"To me it is because it's not you," I replied. I could tell my response startled her a bit because she immediately let the subject drop.
"In any case we should head out now," I said. "That way we can get our campsite set up before we have to start the mission." Scarlet and the Pokémon agreed with me. With that taken care of Scarlet and I recalled our Pokémon and headed out of the Pokémon Center on our way to the forest where the facility was.
Once night came Scarlet, I and our Pokémon were gathered in the shadows near the Team Rocket facility. Looking at the facility it appeared as though security had gotten tighter since Maggie and I were there earlier in the day.
"I guess they got more guards in during the day," Scarlet said.
"Looks that way," I said. "Okay, we need to find a way inside. Esther, can you scan the building for an entrance we can use."
"(At once,)" she replied. Esther's eye's glowed blue as she began to scan the building for a suitable entrance for us to use. It didn't take her long to find one.
"(I've located one,)" she said. "(There is a small air vent on the facility's southern side.)"
"That'll be perfect," I said. I was about to sound the call to proceed with the mission when Esther found out one more piece of vital information.
"(What's this?! Do my powers deceive me?!)" she said.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"(I believe… yes, I can clearly see two generators powering this facility,)" she replied.
"Two! Are you certain?!" I asked, praying that she made a rare mistake.
"(Unfortunately I am,)" my Gardevoir replied. "(Not only are there two generators but they are placed on opposite ends of the facility.)" That's when it all clicked in my head.
"Giovanni, you devious son-of-a-bitch," I said. "He knew that I'd target the generators so he built this base with two. That way when I destroyed one all he'd have to do is have his security waiting for me at the other one."
"Damn! What do we do now?!" Scarlet said.
"We're still attacking," I said. "The only difference is that we're going to split up into groups of two. I'll take one generator and you'll take the other. Once we're in position we'll take them both out at the same time."
"How are we going to do that?" Scarlet asked. "It's not like we can communicate to each other from opposite ends of the facility without attracting unwanted attention."
"(I shall provide the means with which you may communicate,)" Esther said.
"She can keep us liked with her psychic powers," I said. Scarlet still didn't seem too convinced with the plan.
"Okay, I'll give you that, but there's still a lot of guards there," she said. "Are you sure this is still going to work?"
"Absolutely," I said. "He's expecting me to show up alone. He's not anticipating me coming in with help, and that's where we'll get him."
"You do have a point there," Scarlet said. "Okay, how are we splitting up the teams?"
"I'll go in with…"
"(I'll accompany Scarlet,)" Foxy said, interrupting me. Huh, didn't see that coming.
"You sure about that?" I asked.
"(Having you and I on the same team would be disadvantageous,)" Foxy said. "(Having type diversity will make things easier in the long run.)" That's Foxy for you, always using her head.
"Okay," I said. "That leaves me and Ivy."
"(That works fine with me,)" my Leafeon said.
"Okay, let's get ready to move," I said.
Normal POV
While Brian, Scarlet, Foxy and Ivy got ready to infiltrate the Team Rocket facility the rest of their Pokémon were preparing to head back to the campsite. Off to the side Crazefire and Morse were engaged in a bit of small talk.
"(So, how do you like being a part of the group?)" the Monferno asked.
"(It's a slow process, but I feel like I'll fit in just fine,)" Morse replied. "(Brian and Scarlet seem very nice, but I can't help but feel like there's something odd about them.)" Crazefire nodded his head in response to her comment.
"(Oh yes,)" he said. "(Those two are very… 'special'.)" Morse looked at him, not quite understanding what he meant.
"(Really? How so?)" she asked. Crazefire shrugged and laughed a bit.
"(Oh, you'll see,)" he replied.
"So everyone's okay with the plan?" I asked.
"Yeah," Scarlet said. "Esther will inform us when we're both in position so we can take out both generators at the same time. Once we do that we get our asses out of there double-quick."
"You got it," I said. "Okay, let's change." Scarlet and I stood side-by-side. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Scarlet's body become engulfed in a white light. Moments later my body was also engulfed in light. The light faded and we stood there in our Pokémon forms.
"Okay, ladies! Let's move out!" I said. "Take care of our things, guys."
"(You got it,)" Kane said. The four of us made our way towards the Team Rocket facility while everyone else wished us luck on our mission.
Normal POV
"(There they go,)" Crazefire said. With Brian and the others gone the remaining Pokémon were about to head back to the campsite. Just as he was about to go follow the others Crazefire noticed Morse was just standing there.
"(Hey, Morse. We're leaving,)" Crazefire said to her. But she still did not move. He walked in front of her to see what was wrong. Her face was one of pure shock. Crazefire waved a paw in front of her face in an effort to snap her out of her trance. When that didn't work he snapped his fingers in front of her face. That finally snapped her out of it.
"(Hey, what's wrong?)" he asked.
"(What's wrong?! Did you see what they just did?!)" Morse asked. "(Brian and Scarlet… they just… they're…)"
"(I told you they were special,)" Crazefire said.
"(What are they?!)" Morse asked.
"(They call themselves Shifters, humans who have the ability to transform between a human and Pokémon,)" Crazefire explained.
"(Were they born that way?)" Morse asked. Crazefire shook his head.
"(They were born normal humans. Giovanni and Team Rocket turned them into Shifters,)" he said. "(To get back at them, and to make sure this never happens to anyone else, they've dedicated themselves to taking down Team Rocket.)" This was quite a bit for the Cubone to take in. She took one last glance towards the facility.
"(I hope they succeed,)" she said.
"(So do we all,)" Crazefire replied.
This was going to be a bit harder than I thought. If it were just me I could have slipped around these guards no problem. Heck, if it were just me and Scarlet it would have been easy. But with Foxy and Ivy I had to make sure no guards saw us before we got in our the whole plan would be put in jeopardy.
"Okay, so how are we getting inside?" Scarlet asked.
"We have to wait for a break in their guard and then make our move," I said.
"(Wouldn't it be easier to just bust in?)" Ivy asked.
"That would alert them to our presence, and I don't want to do that until after we've taken out those generators," I explained.
"(Oh… right,)" Ivy said.
"(Can everyone hear me?)" I knew that was Esther communicating with us.
"Loud and clear," I said. "What's up?"
"(There shall be a changing of the guard soon,)" she said. "(During that time you should make your way inside. From there you shall find two paths. Each will take you to one of the generators.)"
"Okay. Thanks," I said.
"(You're welcome, and be careful,)" Esther replied. With that she ended her communication.
"What's the word?" Scarlet asked.
"Esther said they're going to be changing the guard soon," I said.
"(That should give us our chance to get inside,)" Foxy said.
"That's what Esther said," I said. "She also said once we're inside we'll have tow paths to take. Each one will end at one of the generators."
"(A straight shot, huh. Giovanni's almost making this too easy,)" Ivy said.
"Remember, this is supposed to be a trap for me so he's going to make it look easy just so I'll let my guard down," I said.
"(That's not going to happen,)" Foxy said. "(Nothing he can do will make us let our guard down.)"
"That's what I like to hear," I said. Right at that moment the guards stationed along the facility walked away, leaving the air vent unguarded.
"Okay! There's our chance!" I said. Without wasting time the four of us charged towards the air vent.
"Uh-oh! The vent's covered!" Scarlet said.
"Not for long!" I replied. As we were closing in I powered up an Iron Tail and took a swing at the vent. I easily shattered the cover and cleared out way inside.
"Okay! Get inside, quick!" I said. We wasted no time getting through the air vent. Once we were inside I noticed it was much brighter than facilities in the past.
"(Was it always this brightly lit?)" Foxy asked.
"No. He must have done this to make sure the guards could see me clearly," I said. "In any case we need to find those two paths."
"Well you don't have to look that far," Scarlet said. "We're already there." Looking around I noticed we had entered the facility right in the middle of the two paths Esther was talking about.
"So, what group goes where?" Scarlet asked. In the end it didn't really matter. They each lead to one of the generators.
"You and Foxy take the one to the left. Ivy and I will go right," I said.
"You got it," Scarlet said. "Happy hunting."
"You too," I said.
"(Be careful,") Foxy said.
"Same to you," I said. Scarlet and I tapped paws before heading off to take care of business.
So Giovanni's set up a trap for me. Thinks I'm just going to waltz right in and say "Hey, I'm here! You can come get me now!" ... Just how dumb does he think I am? I don't think I need to say this but stick around and watch me, Scarlet, Foxy and Ivy ruin his little trap in the next chapter of The Shifter Chronicles!
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