Chapter 9: Prototype Fighters (Part 1)
The ship sailed across the Lake of Goners, the only occupant on board staring from the bow at the metropolis of Klinger City. A helmet hid the Pokemon's facial features, only revealing golden amber eyes, pupils slit into a thin line. Two blades, the edges sharp enough to cut the hide of a Golem, were attached to the aquatic Pokemon, naturally formed from centuries of evolution. Turning back to the stern of the ship, smoke billowed from the smokestack, the propellors being assisted by sails, picking up wind to push the ship towards the harbor.
Taking off his helmet, the Kabutops smirked, watching as the scanners passed over the hull of the ship. The computers whirred, messages springing back and forth from the ship and the crew of the scanning system.
Manifest Inventory requested.
Manifest Request denied. Highest level of sovereign access codes granted. Given by the order of the Beholder. Procedure inevitable.
The Grovyle and Furret, both Pokemon that had willingly joined the Beholder's army gaped at each other. Both had seen the access codes like these before. Jumping down the side of the platform and walking into the harbor, the two took off their uniforms and dug a backpack with a radio included in the works. The Grovyle, wearing Rebellion clothes, spoke into the radio, voice wavering like the oceans in an earthquake.
"Scyzor," Slash whispered just loud enough for the recipient to hear, "Khanis has come to Fleriss City."
Several hours earlier...
Quil and Sniv moaned, crawling out of the beds that lay in Scyzor's room. The thieves den was long past them, exactly two days before. Pulling on their jackets, neither bothered to zip up the coat to cover their gray shirts.
"'Morning, Scyzor," Quil yawned, Scyzor already in a War Conference with his team. Scyzor gestured good morning, and for the two to take a seat at the conference.
"Now, back to business," Scyzor said in a stoic tone, "Slash and I have been increasing our efforts in raising the Beholder's attention away from Jungle Plateau. Now, we need to focus on the fight in the jungle. Anybody have any complaints about this idea?" Quil sheepishly raised his hand, to which Scyzor nodded.
"A couple of days back, you said your team was split into several locations," Sniv reasoned, pressured by the stare of every member of Team Spearhead bore into his eyes. "If you focus your entire efforts on just one area, couldn't the Beholder's forces take the other areas that were almost under the control of the Rebellion."
"The kid has a point," the Furret, known as Kunber, said with approval, "If we pull all of our forces into one area, the others will be occupied by the Beholder's forces. Our forces will just have to pull double shifts. If Junkad, Ghaned and I pull it off as a double, we'll take Underworld Valley in a matter of days."
"It is settled then," Scyzor said, standing up from his chair, "Team, to your campaigns. Dismissed." All eleven other Pokemon rose and strided out of the planning quarters. "Quil, Sniv. I need to talk with you." Quil and Sniv froze in fright that they had done something wrong. Sitting back down on their chairs, Scyzor resumed his speech.
"Upper Command has reviewed your progress so far, and is highly impressed. Without my help, they are confident that you two are potential candidates for the Special Operations program. I was never selected for this position, so I suggest that you consider this a large honor. However, training of all candidates begin in two weeks. You will be receiving personal quarters for Team Smallspark, along with independence without my guidance. You two should go and train with Pakkre. Go on.." Shoving Quil and Sniv out of the room, Scyzor closed the door to receive messages.
Training room, present day...
"Ah, you two," Pakkre said, turning into his Excadrill form, "You have come to hone your skills. Therefore, let us beg-"
"Hold on." Sniv and Quil both stopped Pakkre in his tracks, before any attack could come close to hitting them. Pakkre turned back to his Zoroark form, crossing his arms and gritting his fangs.
"What is it? Where is the vigor I saw in you the day I first met you?" Pakkre barked, "Where has your inner fire disappeared to?"
"We're not here to immediately train," Quil said, holding up his hands, "We're here to learn some new techniques." Pakkre turned into a Cyndquil. In fact, he was, in long story short, Quil himself.
"Ah, to learn to control your fire," Pakkre said, grinning in Quil's form, "Now, what can I do for you?" Quil flared his back, then spoke.
"I can activate my back flames," Quil explained to his doppelganger, "But I can't use my Flamethrower technique. Do you know what's wrong?" Pakkre thought wisely, then shot a flare of fire from his mouth. Quil frowned at Pakkre's incompetence, before Pakkre described Quil's problem.
"It seems that you have not activated your anger." Pakkre then paused at Quil's dumbfound expression, and continued to speak. "Fire must have anger to burn. It is like having oxygen to breath, only every fire-type Pokemon has a fire in their lungs that does not affect their breathing. It absorbs the hate in your mind, and transfers it into gasoline. Try it." Quil tried thinking of an angry thought, but only one came: that Sniv was slated to be rectified. Every piece of that hate went into his mind, and breathing out, a blast of fire joined it.
"Excellent, pupil!" Pakkre said, clearly happy that Quil was able to complete his task at hand. "As you begin to fight more, the less thoughts you need to shoot your fire. It will be more natural to shoot your fire in time, so keep praticing with a fireplace, and you'll have it in no time."
Pakkre began teaching Quil how to use his arms as a weapon by slicing the air to gain momentum, then use that momentum to attack against grass and bug Pokemon. He referred to the technique as "Aerial Ace", since it was designated as a Flying-based move. Sniv was taught to absorb moisture from the air and channel it into his tail, referred to as "Aqua Tail". Sniv personally requested learning the technique to counter Fire Pokemon.
"There was another technique that I saw a Treecko use in Youlen Cave, that Sniv was very interested in," Quil explained, remembering Sniv's peculiar obstacle with following the move's trajectory. "It was a green sphere of some kind of energy. It was a powerful one, made a pretty big bang."
"Ah," Pakkre mused, "That technique would be referred to as..." A loud slam of the training room's doors drowned out Pakkre's last words, of there were any. Scyzor's panting echoed throughout the room, like a Growlithe with rabies. Finally, Scyzor spoke.
"Pakkre, get Team Smallspark in the simulation chamber," Scyzor said, recomposing himself, "Khanis is back in the area."
Quil was in a room that was filled with luminous tiles, loading holographic simulations for Pokemon to train with. This was mostly since Pakkre couldn't train hundreds of Pokemon at one time.
"So, what's the occasion?" Quil asked to Scyzor, who was standing behind a glass wall.
"Stay focused, Quil. You're going to need it." Scyzor was speaking in a harsh tone. One that Quil hadn't heard since the day they met. "The simulation you're about to face with Sniv is Khanis. He was one of Pokemon who willingly joined the Beholder's forces. Now, he has the highest level of access to the soldiers in the Beholder's army."
"Were you personal friends, or?..." Quil stopped his sentence dead, at the glare of Scyzor's suddenly bloodshot eyes. "You know what, never mind. Just load the simulation." Pakkre nodded, wincing as he pressed a glowing, bright yellow switch. Immediately, four Kabutops sprang out of oblivion, a menacing, yellowish tint to their slit eyes.
Every Pokemon in the room froze. A look of fear was plastered on their faces, watching as the four Kabutops, maniacal grins still glued on their bodies, dove in for the kill. Quil's instincts came to mind, inhaling a large breath and exhaling out his nose. Smoke covered the area, the Kabutops not used to smokescreens. Quil grabbed a Kabutops by the neck , throwing him into the glass wall that stood in front of Scyzor. Nodding, Sniv threw Quil into another of the remaining three of the Kabutops, using the momentum to use a Flamethrower. A crisped shell was all that remained of the simulation's thick hide.
Sniv fired off several Vine Whips at the other two Kabutops, but then paused. A glowing ball of emerald had formed in his hands. The technique that Pakkre was about to teach him.
"Sniv!" Quil shouted. His teeth were grit, his right paw reaching out in genuine worry, "Pakkre didn't finish teaching you that move! What are the side effects of an incomplete technique?!" Before a reply from Pakkre could be issued, a large, ear-splitting explosion filled the glass chamber. Sniv was stuck in a large crack in the chamber, the other two Kabutops on the ground, knocked out by the force of the explosion.
"You two did exceptionally well," Scyzor said, "But I do have several things to reprimand you both for several articles. Quil." Quil looked up from the smoking body of the Kabutops that he had smoldered. "Your fire is useful. But never use it at close range. Fire is meant for long range assaults, so use a Fire Punch if you are engaging in close combat. Also, never use a fire attack on a water-based Pokemon. They can put out the fire, and also put out your life. Just be sure to use explosive or status inflicting seeds when facing water types. Sniv." Sniv pushed himself out of the crack, then faced his superior. "You tried to use a technique that you had never even tried before. However, you pulled it off in an... er... unpredictable way."
"Either way, you two did something most Pokemon cannot. Defeating even a simulation of Khanis, let alone four, is a feat that even I have trouble doing. This is a major milestone in your training." Turning to Pakkre, he barked. "Pakkre, I expect these two to come to the simulation chambers every day, twice a day, and play over the same simulation. But use scenarios such as the major ports and a Mystery Dungeon. Do not fail me." Pakkre nodded in fright as Scyzor marched out. Nodding for Quil and Sniv to return to their quarters, Pakkre sighed in exasperation, and began practicing his Gallade form's combat stance.
"Something's up with Scyzor," Quil said, over the mumbled speech in the mess hall, "The way he reacted when I asked him if he and Khanis were personal friends... he looked pained. Almost like he would kill me right there."
"Well, working for the Beholder must have been a bad experience." Sniv attempted to reason with their mentor's erratic behavior, but Quil's rebuttal was dashed as Anon went equally as fast to their bench.
"Hey, guys," Anon cheerfully said, sparks flying out of his cheeks, "What's with the low faces? Didn't your mission with Scyzor go well? Oh, I bet it did. He never fails in his missions. What exactly happened?"
"Well..." Quil and Sniv grit their teeth, then Sniv spoke. "Apparently an old accomplice of Scyzor's arrived in town yesterday. He's putting us on the simulators until he's certain we can defeat him in seconds."
"That doesn't seem like the Scyzor we all know and love," Anon said, the sparks of excitement fading away, "He's had a rough past. Just give it some time and he'll loosen up. Don't worry."
Anon couldn't have been any more wrong. The better Quil and Sniv got at facing simulations, the harder Scyzor pressed. The simulation they had started with was on medium, which was above their rank's level. By the end of four day's time, the level Scyzor had them at was Extreme. Only Scyzor and his team, along with a few others, were allowed to use that setting. And Team Smallspark was one of those few others.
Quil groaned, cuts and bruises stained red the yellow and blue. "Come on, Scyzor," Quil croaked from the lack of hydration, "we've been over the same simulation five times in a day. I think we know what we're doing."
"I don't know what Khanis could have done that's affecting Scyzor this badly," Sniv said, whispering low enough that Scyzor couldn't hear the aside from the thick glass that stood between them, "But I know whatever it is, Scyzor wants revenge. Swiftly." Quil nodded and waved a paw for Scyzor to halt the simulation. Scyzor's bloodshot amber eyes widened in horror, as Quil activated the comlink, the prototype of the Special Ops program.
"Scyzor," Quil said, in a voice that sounded cleaner than the dirt covering the entire bodies of both him and Sniv, "We've done this more than enough times to detect the exact move that Khanis would have done."
"Fine," the Scizor growled in hate, "But if you can't complete this mission, then I'll do it myself." Quil's eyebrow shot up in fear of hitting Scyzor's emotional pressure point, walked out the simulation chamber towards their first major challenge. "I'll drag Khanis to this base and kill him myself! Without either of you!" And with that, the lift closed and shot upward.
A/N: Yeah, ran out of ideas. The idea is based off of the Scars saga from Tron: Uprising, but I added a little twist to it. Hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.
Next: Scyzor, learning of Quil and Sniv's failure to capture Khanis, knocks out the exhausted pair and goes after Khanis himself.