The car they were riding in was much less impressive than the armored van they had used two days earlier, but it was comfortable and fast which made it a much nicer trip out of the city than before. There was also the added bonus of not having to wear armor or put up with any taunts from a nosy driver. On top of that, Aiya was with him. He smiled over at her and she returned the smile. He didn't notice the flash of some other emotion in her crimson eyes.
"So, do you think we'll be able to find anything at that camp?"
"I don't know," Aiya replied thoughtfully, turning her eyes to the car window. "I didn't notice anything that looked like a clue to our Pokemon, but I wasn't really looking either."
Jacob nodded cheerfully. "I think there'll be something there. And, if there's no clue to our Pokemon, we may be able to find some clue to where Team Rocket went. If we can find them we're sure to find our Pokemon."
"I don't want to hear any more talk like that while you're riding with me," said Officer Jenny sternly, looking at them through the rear-view mirror.
"Sorry, Officer Jenny, I'm just exploring all options."
"Explore them after you leave Viridian."
Why does she have to be so bossy? I haven't done anything to get myself hurt! And I helped get Aiya back. He sighed and shook his head as Officer Jenny's eyes vanished from the mirror. He looked over at Aiya and saw a small frown playing across her face. She must feel the same way I do.
The rest of the ride passed in silence. When they were on the very edge of the city, the car slowed then came to a complete stop. Jacob raised his head and looked out the front window. The street was deserted. "Why have we stopped?"
"Stay here," said Officer Jenny sharply, opening the door and getting out.
You'd think she'd know me by now, he thought amusedly, unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the door. He heard a click behind him which meant Aiya was doing the same thing.
It took him only a moment to find what had made Officer Jenny pull over. Two men in black uniforms were leaning against the counter of a small shop. The scene was clearly visible through the large window that displayed items trainers would need. The cashier was looking very nervous as the two men talked to him.
When Officer Jenny entered the shop, the three men looked at her. The two uniformed goons put on cheery faces and greeted her with a wave while the cashier gave her a pleading look behind their backs. Jacob couldn't make out what they were saying but the two goons soon dropped their composure and one of them reached into his pocket. Officer Jenny took a radio from her belt and spoke into it, backing out of the shop.
The two uniformed men followed her out. When they emerged Jacob saw the large red R on their shirts. He attempted to rush forward but was grabbed by someone from behind.
"She's already called for back-up, and if I remember correctly she told you to stay put." It was the other officer that had been riding with them. As he spoke, two police cars pulled up and five officers got out, pulling guns from their holsters.
The two Rocket grunts were holding Pokeballs now. As one they tossed them into the air, revealing two tough looking Raticate. The officers positioned themselves into a defensive formation and Officer Jenny spoke to the Rockets. "Give yourselves up, you're outnumbered!"
"Not as much as you might think," sneered one of the Rockets. From an alleyway not far away came three more Rockets, each accompanied by a Pokemon, two Pidgeotto and one Houndour. The officers changed from defensive to offensive and Officer Jenny moved back from the group of Rockets, drawing her gun out of its holster as she did so.
Jacob took a Pokeball from his belt and held it ready. The officer that had been holding him released him and took out a Pokeball of his own.
"Why don't you use a gun?"
"Many officers prefer to use Pokemon instead of firearms. Fewer casualties."
Jacob nodded, looking around at the other police officers. A few of them had released Pokemon and held no gun. One had both. The scene was still for a moment, then Officer Jenny spoke again.
"You can't win, Team Rocket! Give up now!"
The Rockets only laughed. "Hyper fang!" shouted the two with Raticate as one.
"Protect!" shouted an officer to his Cubone. The little Pokemon scurried forward and created a barrier around itself. The two Raticate attempted to bite through it but the barrier held. They darted back to their trainers, their fangs bared.
Then everything happened at once. The officers and Rockets shouted for their Pokemon to attack at almost exactly the same time. There were small explosions as some of the attacks hit each other. Smoke clouded the air, obscuring the scene for a moment. Shouts still echoed, and Pokemon's battle cries continued to fill the air. Jacob wanted to help but he couldn't see anything.
Suddenly, without warning, a loud male voice shouted, "Hyper Beam!" A blast of energy shot from nowhere. The smoke was blown away by the force of the attack and three of the officers' Pokemon were knocked out instantly. The attack stopped as it made contact with a building on the other side of the street.
Jacob was frozen where he stood, his eyes wide as he stared at the remains of the building. He hoped no one had been inside. Slowly he turned his head back to the place where the Rockets stood. A man with dark blue hair and wearing a high ranking Rocket's uniform stood in front of the five grunts, a cold smile on his face. Beside him was a large and fierce looking Tyranitar. He looked around at the assembled officers, his eyes pausing on Jacob for a moment, the he spoke, "Well, that was much easier than I thought it would be. I would have thought police officers trained their Pokemon better." He let out a soft chuckle.
The officers were apparently too stunned to reply. Jacob noticed one of them, the youngest looking of the group, shaking slightly. Then, as one, the officers with guns raised their weapons to point at the dark haired man.
Movement caught Jacob's attention. He turned his head and blinked as he saw Aiya dart forward. Then his heart skipped a beat as he saw her stop in front of the dark haired man, turn, and put out both arms, shielding him. Her crimson eyes flashed dangerously as she stared at the surprised officers. "I don't care if you play battle the bad guys with those grunts," she said, her voice shaking slightly with anger, "but I'm not going to let you hurt my brother!"
----
Aiya felt anger bubbling within her as she watched the police officers staring at her in shock. Jacob looked as if he'd just been hit in the head with a mallet. His expression was one of the utmost confusion and he looked dazed. She didn't care. Perhaps now he would stop fawning over her.
Geoff nudged her but she ignored him. She didn't care if he thought she was an idiot for protecting him, she wasn't going to risk losing her brother for anything.
Officer Jenny recovered her voice first. She stared at Aiya, an almost hurt expression on her face. At last she said, "Who are you?"
This question seemed to puzzle one or two of the other officers, as well as Jacob, but Aiya ignored them. She allowed a dark grin to spread across her face then spoke in an icy tone, "My name is Aiya Sinel, but most people within Team Rocket know me as the Nightmare."
Jacob's expression turned from confusion to horror. "You…you're with Team Rocket?"
"Took ya long enough to figure it out," she snapped, glaring at him. A couple of the Rockets behind Geoff laughed. Three of them moved forward to stand beside the two elites while the other two moved to the sides of their teammates, watching the police closely.
Jacob looked on the verge of tears. Hesitantly he took a step forward then asked in a shaky voice, "How can a person so good be so bad?"
Aiya looked at him, all kindness erased from her features. "Because they have something to fight for, and they don't care who has to get hurt to make their dreams come true!" She took five Pokeballs from her belt and tossed them into the air. Core, Vulcan, Ryo, Kao, and Kine appeared in flashes of red light. All but Kine looked at the assembled officers and Jacob with looks of dislike on their face. Kine simply looked annoyed.
"When did you get that Alakazam?" asked Geoff, looking curiously at Kine.
"I've had him for ages. He just doesn't like being around Team Rocket so I only let him out when we're not on a mission or in the base."
"Makes sense."
"All right, now it's time for the real battle to begin. Core, Vulcan, Ryo, Kao, you ready?"
'Yes,' all four of them growled together.
There were four more flashes of light as Jacob released his remaining four Pokemon. The look of horror was gone, replaced by one of anger. The other officers who had Pokemon released them. The rest aimed their guns at Aiya, Geoff, and the other Rockets.
"I know you too well to think you'll come quietly," said Officer Jenny, her eyes fixed on Aiya's face, "so I won't bother asking."
"Kind of you," Aiya said coldly. "Now, let's start this battle!"
There was a burst of noise as every officer and Jacob commanded their Pokemon to use an attack. Two Water Guns from Jacob's Starmie and Vaporeon shot towards Vulcan who took off into the sky to avoid them. Ryo then moved forward and used Protect to prevent the attacks from hitting anyone else.
A Machoke attempted a Karate Chop on Core but the Sneasel was too quick. He jumped out of the way and blasted the Machoke with a Shadow Ball. At the same time, Kao fought off a charging Dodrio with a Water Gun/Fury Swipes combination.
Jacob's Seaking was sending blasts of water at Geoff's Tyranitar who was too busy dodging to use a counter attack. A Ponyta, Arcanine, and Growlithe were using Flamethrowers and Embers against the two Raticate, the Houndour, and the Pidgeotto.
There was a mass of confusion as the Pokemon darted around the street and sidewalk, firing attacks and dodging them.
Aiya worked her way away from the confusion and over to Core who was still fighting the Machoke. "Try a Faint Attack/Slash combination!"
'Thanks for the tip,' said Core, darting backwards to prepare the attacks.
Aiya moved away, towards Ryo, but as she neared the Ampharos someone reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Aiya, stop this, leave Team Rocket before it's too late." Jacob's eyes were pleading as he looked at her.
Aiya jerked her arm out of his grip and stared coldly at him. "You're a fool. Do you honestly believe begging will make me leave my brother and my team?"
Jacob stared at her, a look of sadness on his face. "The Nightmare…that's what you really are, isn't it?"
"Yes," she said softly. Then a thought seemed to strike her. "Do you want to know why they call me the Nightmare?" she asked, a cruel smile creeping across her face. "It's because I strike my unsuspecting victims at night. I move so quickly that there's no way for them to defend themselves and by the time they realize I've been around it's too late to do anything about it. I'm long gone, nothing but a bad memory. I don't last long, just long enough to complete my mission, just long enough to cause pain to trainers who experience my presence, then it's over. I'm never seen again but my memory haunts them for long years afterwards. I am a living, breathing, Nightmare."
Jacob backed away from her, fear showing in his eyes. Aiya smirked and darted away towards Ryo and Vulcan. The two Pokemon were still trying to fight off Vaporeon and Starmie. Ryo had nearly finished Starmie off but Vulcan was having more trouble. There was so much commotion going on that his tail was in danger of being hit or trampled and his flame extinguished. He stayed in the air, avoiding attacks rather than using them.
"Use Smokescreen, Vulcan! Then hit Vaporeon with Dragon Rage!"
Vulcan roared and blew a large amount of black smoke out of his mouth. He vanished behind it, leaving Vaporeon firing Water Guns at random, trying to hit him. A blast of greenish energy blasted through the smoke and hit the water type hard. It squealed in pain and flew backwards into the street.
Aiya turned her eyes to the fire-dragon and grinned at him. He grinned back. Aiya opened her mouth to tell him something, but she never got the words out. A loud crack filled the air like thunder. Aiya's eyes widened, a look of shock and pain spreading over her face. Geoff shouted her name, running forward to catch her as she fell, the bullet hole in her chest soaking her white shirt with blood.