THE LUGIA CHRONICLES Chapter 10: History's Daggers, a pokémon fanfic

THE LUGIA CHRONICLES

Chapter Ten

History's Daggers

By R. A. Stott

Based on FanFics by Anni Ruecroft & R. A. Stott
with a passing note to a FanFic written by Steve Brunton

The Arcanine eyed the Meowth, a trickle of drool running down its mouth. It grumbled and snorted, building its energy stores, preparing to do what it had been trained to do - destroy anything that got in its master's way.

"Don't try it mate!" the Meowth sneered. "A'm a bit smarter than you! An' I c'n say right now, I've beat meaner 'n uglier Pokémon than you!"

The Arcanine leapt at the cat Pokémon. Meowth whipped out a staff, and clobbered the fire hound over the head. He then proceeded to shove the ends of the pole into either side of the beast in rapid succession, then threw the limp dog away with a flick of the staff. Then he saw the two new Arcanines, waiting their turns.

"Right!" the Meowth said. "Get that baby out'a here!" he then yelled back at the house, turning to pole-vault over the nearest dog, landing on the second.

James had heard the commotion from clear across the forest. He had dropped his sacks, and was running as fast as he could for his home. But six Black Shirts, a Scyther, and a wild eyed Raticate bounded out of the shrubs and blocked his way.

"You won't stop me THAT way, boys!" he said with a gleam in his eye, jumping into the air, somersaulting over the first group, landing between the Pokémon and the Black Shirts. He tossed a pair of PokéBalls under the Pokémon, which were instantly drawn in.

"Hey!" the first Black Shirt yelled. "You can't capture our Pokémon! The balls will reject them!"

"Who said anything about capturing your Pokémon?" James smiled. "That's just to distract them while I do THIS!" James proceeded to whip his legs between the legs of the Black Shirts, knocking them down. He then sprinted to his feet, and tossed another PokéBall.

"Weezing! Go! Sleeping gas!"

The poison Pokémon appeared and released it's unusual gas. Instantly the six Black Shirts found themselves sawing up wood followed closely by their Pokémon as the balls released their contents to the cloud.

"Get in there!" came a command from the rear. "I warned you! James' Pokémon were the best trained in Team Rocket!" Genya was standing on top of a Jeep Cherokee watching the former Rocket weave and tear threw the throng of Black Shirts and Pokémon sent to stop him.

"He's not doing so bad himself!" came a female voice over his com unit. "I can see why you wanted the garrison. If this doesn't work, Captain, I'm sending in the TS. Get him!"

"Right away boss!" he responded. "ALL TROOPS! ENCIRCLE AND CLOSE IN!"

James had released another Pokémon, and was firing orders left and right that would have confused the most obedient of creatures. "Arbok - Tail whip followed by Poison Needles! Weezing - Acid sludge attack! Arbok - Leer! Victreebel - Poison Lightning!"

He cut a swath through the attacking Black Shirts and Pokémon, finally making it to his rose garden. There, he kicked a fence post. A door slid open in the grass beside the roses. James looked down it, and heard a gurgling.

"Ah, nuts! They found the tunnel Meowth! They flooded it!" he shouted.

"That's not good news, mate!" the cat shouted back. "Well, it was bound ta happen sooner 'er later!"

"Back to back! Just like the good old days, ea Meowth?" James said, backing up to the cat while the garrison started to close in.

"We'll give 'em their money's worth!" Meowth said with a wink, swinging his staff in one hand, extending his claws in the other. "We'll see just how many of their gooses we kin' stick on me bar'bie! PREPARE FOR TROUBLE, YOU RAT CHASERS!"

Suddenly, there was a burst of wind, and something whizzed over their heads, rapidly moving away from them. Then another. And another. And another

The wind had kicked up a dust cloud that now covered the surrounded pair. Genya was perplexed. Then the dust started to clear.

"What are THOSE!?" he yelped.

James and Meowth could hear a whirring. They looked up and saw four strange looking aircraft hovering directly over their heads, seemingly pointing in four directions. Two more craft slowly moved over top of the four stationary ships.

"G'day! What in da blinkin' blue-eyed world are those!?" Meowth asked out loud. It would have been nice to be able to hear him, but he was pretty much drowned out by a rumbling that was coursing through the wood. Looking down the tree line, James and Meowth could see the sunlight go away as the trees darkened with the passing of something large - huge - really really big...

In unison, everyone who had stood in stunned silence, looked above themselves as a massive ship roared overhead. It came to a halt. It just - - - stopped.

"What is keepin' that bloody thing up there?" Meowth asked. James just shook his head, but then he yelped "Arbok! Weezing! Victreebel! Defensive position!

James' three Pokémon leapt to their master's side, each choosing an angle to defend.

"What is the delay, Captain!?" barked the com system. "I don't care if the sky falls on your HEADS! GET HIM!"

"Y-yes boss!" Genya stammered. "You heard her! Unless you want to be TS targets, GET HIM!"

The troops made one step forwards, and were dropped in a flash of light.

"Flight leader to Group 1, move out and stun only!"

The four ships slowly moved away from James and Meowth, beams of energy shooting from them, Black Shirts and Pokémon alike falling to the ground knocked silly.

"Well, thot don't happin' every day, ey?" the Meowth said.

They then noticed another sound, and looked up. A ship was descending on them. Not the huge ship, which still hovered overhead, but a smaller shuttle of sorts - larger than the small attacking ships that were knocking Black Shirts out left and right, but obviously large enough to carry more than just a pilot.

James was amazed at how quiet the ship came down. It was so quiet, he heard footsteps behind him on the porch of his house. He quickly looked behind him, and saw his wife and daughter. He smiled a quick smile of relief, then turned to the new visitor.

The shuttle landed with a gentle thud. A slight whine was heard as the engines died down. Then the doors open, revealing a slender green haired woman in robes and a fuzzy creature in a uniform... this was different, indeed.

President Sabrina stood in the doorway for a moment and swallowed hard. "Ah..." she whispered to Kinza, "I think we'd better not let Jesse know about THIS!"

Kinza was a bit more to the point. "Who in the world is THAT!?" also whispering.

PK, who had joined the group after learning of Rose's abrupt venture into time travel - AGAIN - looked out the doorway in stunned shock. But he did manage to say one questioning word...

"Cassidy!?" he yelped.

Kinza looked puzzled. "That's not Jesse?"

"Not even close," Sabrina answered.

"Ah!" the Tomassamassa said, shaking his head. "I hate temporal physics!"

"Captain's Log: The Lugia Campaign - Level 14... Exeter has backtracked the path that Scat Back 12 from Forrestal took Rose Musashi in her attempt to destroy Black Lugia before it escaped its own dimensional level. We have arrived approximately 12 hours prior to the Skat Back's departure from this level, and are now attempting to find it's transponder signal."

"Lugia?" James asked sitting at his kitchen table drinking a coffee. "I haven't heard of anything called Black Lugia, but yes... I certainly have known of Lugia... I had a run in with it some years ago."

"Oy! Thot takes me back!" the Meowth bellowed, rubbing its tummy and swigging a beer. "We got da Triple Rocket Cluster fer thot one!"

"Triple Rocket..." Sabrina asked confused, looking around for an answer.

"...Cluster?" Kinza added. "Ah! A medal!" he realized as James pointed to a framed award on the wall behind him... or at least one of them... It had not dawned on anyone yet that the wall was CRAWLING with medals, honors and what-nots, all dealing with Team Rocket's seemingly best team, Jesse and James.

PK was impressed, if not confused. "Er, pardon me for asking, but where's Jesse?"

James was halfway into another drink from his cup. He stopped and looked over the rim at his guests, giving them his best Mr. Spock raised eyebrow he could. He finished his swig and put down the mug. "You're from out of town, aren't you?"

"What gave us away? The starship hovering over your house?" Kinza cracked.

James smirked. "Good one. No, Jesse and I haven't seen one another - at least, not in person - in about a year and a half. Not since..." He reached out and took the hand given him by Cassidy, who had been surprisingly quiet throughout all the entire situation besetting her family.

"When I first laid eyes on Cassidy, I knew she and I were meant to be!" James gushed.

Sabrina sat with a nearly blank expression on her face - then again, so did Kinza and PK. Then, something chimed in her head. She looked at Cassidy with some concern.

"Mute?" she said. The look James gave her answered the question.

"How'd did you know? How?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry... I'm psychic..." Sabrina explained, embarrassed that she had blurted that out so loud.

"Ah... That does explain how you would know... Well, it wasn't by choice. It was punishment..."

"What?" the trio across the table said in unison.

"Wait... I'll have to tell you the whole story... Up until three years ago, Jesse and I were Team Rocket's top team. We were entrusted with the hardest jobs the Boss could throw at us. And we NEVER failed him."

'Now THERE'S something you'd never hear from OUR James!' thought PK. Sabrina shot him a look. He grinned.

"About that time, the Boss was sending us to collect samples of Pokémon, rather than stealing them outright. It seems that he wanted to get their DNA. It was different, and a bit more challenging. Before, you just grabbed and ran. This new way meant you needed to find more deceptive ways of getting what we wanted. So Jesse and I trained our Pokémon in special techniques, so that we could obtain our needed samples by simply doing Pokémon battles. Arbok alone was responsible for 40 of our take!"

"'Ey! 'Ey!" barked the Meowth.

"Hey, don't sweat, Meowth! You know I'm just pulling your chain! Meowth here was the best sample grabber we had!"

"75, 'n don't you forget it, mate!" he swaggered.

'I'm not quiet sure I'm ready for Meowth with an Aussy accent,' PK thought again. 'Course I wasn't quiet ready for the light blue fur either!' Sabrina just looked at the ceiling for a moment.

Kinza couldn't hear the psychic commentary going on, but could see Sabrina's reactions. He gave PK a slight nudge with his elbow. PK in turn gave a slight static shock back in return.

"I take it," Kinza said, rubbing his elbow to get the feeling back in it, "that Giovanni was attempting to clone Pokémon..."

James nodded. "About a year into the collecting program, the Boss was killed in an accident at the cloning lab. One of his creations self destructed, taking everyone and everything within 20 miles with it."

"That must have been some Pokémon!" PK said. "Any idea what it was?"

"Fortunately, all data and video systems downloaded to duplicate systems at headquarters. The entire event was recorded. He called it a MewTwo. Seems the moment it awoke, it became extremely violent. Being a psychic Pokémon, it simply changed its form to pure energy and blew up. The Boss was in a helicopter en route when it went. He didn't stand a chance.

"I was surprised by Jesse's reaction when she heard. She cried all night. That's when I found out about the Boss and Jesse..."

"That she was his daughter?" PK said.

"His wife you mean..."

There was a collective gaping of mouths and bugging of eyes.

"Temporal paradoxes!" Kinza said, cocking his head. "Gotta love 'em!"

The room froze for a moment. Kinza and Sabrina looked over at PK and both said "Thank you."

"'Pleasure... Whoa! What'ta start! His WIFE!?"

Kinza looked at the James before him. "Well, if it were our Jesse, not only would he have been marrying his daughter, but, taking age and dates in mind, he would have been labeled a cradle robber. If this James is a proper example of this level's Jesse and James, I'd say that they're a bit older than our Jesse and James."

"Point noted," Sabrina said, taking in a breath. "Let us continue..."

PK nodded, and released the time-jump.

"Wife, I mean... wife!" PK said, attempting to correct what he had said earlier. "Sorry..."

"Anyway," James continued, "the Boss' will left Team Rocket to Jesse - lock, stock and barrel. And she dove in with both feet! She ran it harder than the Boss had ever run Team Rocket. I never knew just how ruthless Jesse was up until then.

"I was sent off on assignments with Meowth as my new permanent partner, while Jesse remained at headquarters being her own little Boss."

Meowth nodded. "Yea, 'n dat's when she started ta give us those wild an' hairy jobs! Hoowee! That last one was a dilly!"

"What was it?" Sabrina asked.

"Get this... she wanted a feather," James said, leaning over the table towards Sabrina. "A feather... from EACH of the Legendary Birds!"

PK gave James a incredulous look. "What, is she nuts?"

"'Ey! We thought that first!" Meowth griped.

James sat back in his chair. "Anyhow, we found that some idiot named Jirarudan was attempting to collect the Legendary Birds. So we stowed away on his ship, and waited for the fireworks. Sure enough, he managed to get Moltres and Zapdos. Just capturing them made them loose feathers, so getting those two was a snap."

"Thot' s when Articuno attacked tha ship!" Meowth added. "'Guess it didn't like tha way Jirarudan started ta attack it's home!"

"Yea, but that's when everything started to hit the fan!" James said with a wry smile on his face. "Articuno disable the ship, which crashed into its island home. The crash caused the other two birds to get free. We abandoned ship as fast as we could. 'Found an Articuno feather in the process!

"So, there we were, three feathers in our caps, ready to head back to HQ. We noticed that the three birds were starting to duke it out between themselves, so that was no place for Team Rocket's finest to be. We booked out!"

Sabrina looked at Kinza. "They got out of there..." he said. She nodded understanding.

"But wait!" James said, holding his hand out in a halting motion. "As we're running along, I see water boiling in the sea. And lo and behold, Lugia erupts from the sea! WHOOOSH!

"Hey, I was ordered to get feathers from ALL of the Legendary Birds. Just because a new one decided to appear before me that very moment wasn't going to faze me! Jesse wanted feathers, I was going to get her feathers!"

"HA!" Meowth laughed. "You should'a seen this loony! He climbs a rock cliff and waits for Lugia ta fly by, right? An' when it does, 'e jumps off tha cliff onta the critter's back, grabbin' anything he 'kin get his hands on!"

James shrugged. "Hey! I got my feathers!"

Kinza and PK looked at one another, then back at the pair across the table from them.

"Tell me, what color was your Lugia?" PK asked.

"Off white with dark blue highlights!" was James' response. Well, that meant this level's Lugia was the same as back at home.

James' face turned grim. "As I jumped onto Lugia, I was thinking to myself - this is it! If I ever live through this, that's it! I'm through! No more, uh uh, goodbye! James Kojiro has left the building, see ya! I bounced off the back of the beast, grabbing what I could as I hit. Fortunately, Lugia was near the ground when I hit it. Unfortunately, I was still moving too fast to do a proper tuck-and-roll to avoid some good bumps and bruises. I broke three ribs doing that. Never again!

"I had dated Cassidy once or twice prior to the mission, so I was pleasantly surprised that she was there in the hospital waiting for me to recover. Meowth had delivered our wears. 'Got those medals for it too. But Jesse never bothered to come visit me.

"I told Cass what I was planning to do. She asked me if I would like a partner. I told her that I would appreciate it greatly. She said that she'd tender her resignation as well then... That was one of the last times I ever heard her speak..."

Sabrina looked as if she were about to be ill. "Why? Why would they do such a thing?"

"No one - NO - ONE - leaves Team Rocket. Or, at least, no one may leave permanently, or may speak of Rocket activities. And they have ways of making it so. First, they started with intimidation. Her Pokémon started to disappear, or not behave. There were threatening phone calls. Then her brother's supposed suicide..."

"Brother?" PK asked.

"Butch," Meowth answered. "Odd kid, sounded like he ate a frog as a child..."

"Butch had been Cass' partner in Team Rocket," James continued his story. "One night, someone found him swinging from a tree."

"He hung himself?" Kinza interjected.

"Not quite... I saw the coroner's report before the Adjustments Department 'corrected' the report. Butch was dead before he was hung there from a blow to the head. And I know the Marowak that probably did it."

"Team Rocket's own?"

"A special group in Team Rocket... TS - Terminal Solutions... Basically our own internal rectifying department. They take care of all the messy stuff that would otherwise make Team Rocket a nasty place to work!" James sarcastically remarked. "They're also responsible for keeping the rank-and-file in line. Team Rocket's own little hit squad."

"Geeze!" Kinza shuddered. "Nice workman's comp! Not to sound insensitive, but Cassidy is still quite with us... Why?"

"An example to the rest of the roustabouts," James growled. "Sometimes it's best to leave an example to show what may happen if you fall out of line..."

Sabrina stood up and went over to Cassidy. Cassidy was wearing a turtle-neck, and she knew why.

"Please, I can help," Sabrina told her. "Trust me."

Cassidy looked back and forth from James and Sabrina.

"What do you mean you can help?" James asked.

PK got up on the table. "Oh, believe me, she can help! You're looking at the strongest psychic conveyor on this planet, or any other for that matter."

Sabrina took Cassidy's hand and lead her to her chair. She sat her down, and knelt in front of her. "PK, time her out, please... I don't want to hurt her."

"You got it!" he said. Instantly Cassidy froze in place.

"Hey!" James started to panic. "What did you do to her?"

PK put a hand up. "Please! She's fine! Just watch!"

Sabrina lowered the collar, revealing a scar from the tracheotomy she had gone through. Sabrina passed her hand over it, and it vanished. James' eyes widened. Meowth gasped.

Sabrina's eyes glowed as she worked on her subject. She gritted her teeth and knitted her brow as she repaired the damage she found. "My god, what they did!" she whispered two or three times.

"There!" she said, releasing her psychic lock she was working with. She nodded to PK, who snapped his fingers.

"Oh!" Cassidy said.

James leapt from his chair. "Cass! Say that again!"

"Oh!"

Cassidy couldn't say much more. James was kissing her too hard.

"Well," PK said with satisfaction, "that was fun! What next?"

Doctor Joy entered the house, followed by the Mew, who looked quite recovered from its ordeal. It swooped over to the crib, where it amused itself with the gurgling baby that was reaching up to it.

Meowth just stood and watched, mouth agape. "Would'ja lookit thot!" he said to himself.

"How's our patient?" PK asked the doctor.

"Sufficiently recovered, I would say," Joy said with a bit of peeve in her voice. "When I suggested that it should continue to rest, it shot the image of me sitting on top of it, not letting it get up into my mind!"

PK gave her a coy look. "Was that all?"

Joy looked down at the rodent. "The rest is covered by Doctor/Patient privilege!"

The Mew giggled. That is until the baby grabbed its tail.

Sabrina, who had taken leave to the sofa for a quick rest, sat up. "Any news from Captain Edwards?" she asked.

Joy shook her head. "Exeter hasn't been able to find the transponder from the Scat Back. They said a faint signal was found, but hasn't been found since. How about you?"

"We think we know what we're dealing with now," Kinza said. "The native Lugia is NOT the Lugia we are looking for. We think Black Lugia is a clone."

"A clone? Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure… And it would explain a few things. As we've been able to discern, there hasn't been a Lugia on any level yet that co-exists with ghost Pokémon the way Black Lugia does. Well, what if it were genetically infused into a clone?"

"Why?"

"Because they're EVIL!" PK said. "Hey, it's in their charter!"

Sabrina looked over at the Mew Balloon hanging from the crib and stifled a snicker. "Mew, can you direct us to where you saw Rose last?" The Mew nodded a yes, but remained effectively captured in the hands of the baby.

"It's probably the Team Rocket Labs on the Orange Islands," said James, as he entered the room and then stood still, pointing. "That's a M-M-Mew! Anni's got it by the tail! Cass! Come look at this!"

Kinza pulled out a communicator. "Kinza to Exeter - concentrate your scans on the Orange Islands. Over..."

"A good choice," was the response from above. "There's a great deal of interference from out there. We'll check it out. Out."

"Look at that!" Cassidy exclaimed at the sight of the Mew hanging over her child. It purred and swayed, content with the hand clutching its tail. The child trilled with excitement.

"You people have been wondrous!" James said. "You've helped us fight off Team Rocket, you're restored my wife's voice, and now you've shown me one of the rarest of Pokémon! I'm forever in your debt. I must help you in your quest."

"How can you do that, James?" asked PK.

"I can show you around that lab on Orange Island. I've been there many times in the past."

The Exeter crew looked at one another.

"'Ey, they're gonna have ta get outta 'ere any ways! As soon as you's leave, Team Rocket'll be back, an' maybe even the TS!" Meowth added.

"Point to the cat," PK said.

Sabrina sighed then nodded. "Get the shuttle ready. We move out in 10 minutes!"

James, Meowth and Cassidy huddled together, giggling and laughing at each other, then left the room, saying they needed to pack a small amount before leaving.

The Mew looked over at Sabrina, a tear running down its cheek. Sabrina needed to wipe one from her own. Kinza, PK and Joy all huddled near her.

"Are we going to tell them?" Kinza asked.

"No," Sabrina said. "No."

The Mew hung its head. It knew. It knew.

The shuttle made short work of the flight between the forest and the Orange Islands. James, Cassidy and Little Anni, still holding her Mew Balloon, sat in the rear, nervously waiting for the ship to land. Meowth was up in the cockpit watching the goings on. Kinza was in a small room off the main deck.

"Okay," he said into the com unit, "you'll take Exeter back into orbit and await our signal, right?"

"We'll be there. You take care Kinza," came the response.

"Always, Caroline, always," Kinza sat back in his chair and switch his com off. He had an itch that wouldn't go away, and this situation wasn't helping it any. The receiver then crackled with a general message.

"Exeter to all ships - Exeter to all ships - Return to Base 1. Repeat, return to Base 1. We will be heading into orbit in 15 minutes. Only the President's shuttle is to remain on surface. Repeat, ONLY the President's shuttle is to remain on the surface while operations are underway. Over."

15 minutes. The starship lifted up her bow and headed north. She would take position over the North Pole, using the planet's natural gravity well to hide it from any of history's scanners.

The shuttle's pilot looked over his readouts. "Heavy magnetic fluctuations ahead," he reported.

Meowth looked ahead out the wide window before them. "Whot's thot mean, mate?"

The pilot looked at the cat. "It means things are happening ahead."

"Peachy," Meowth said with a wink. "I'm up fer a bit of a scrape, ea?"

The pilot returned to his controls. "Whatever makes you happy!" He reached over and flicked a com switch. "Two minutes!" he said. Kinza and James entered the cockpit.

"Let's see what we've got..." Kinza said, switching a screen on and displaying scan readouts of the island they were approaching.

A horn sounded. "Incoming fire!" the pilot yelped, and dove the ship. A bright orb whizzed over the ship. Kinza quickly raised the shields as the orb detonated behind them.

PK entered the cockpit. "What was that!?" he said.

"Photon charge! I think we found Rose!" Kinza answered.

"Rose?" asked James.

"One of MANY reasons why we're here my friend!" Kinza said, patting James on the back.

PK was not happy being a target of a Photon Charge. "She wasn't trying to hit us, was she?"

"Don't think so... there are more shots being fired at ground level - ooooh! Here comes another one!"

The shuttle twisted around another shot, which again detonated behind them.

"I wish I knew whether to take us down or keep us up here!" the pilot quipped.

"How many rounds does that gun have?" PK asked, trying to keep his feet under him. He had not floated yet, and did not want to spook James by doing so.

"I'd say about 10 rounds, if we're talking the same launcher. 'Course, that also depends on how many reloads she has."

PK shook his head. "She said she took a load of 50 PokéBalls with her. I wonder what happen to them."

Kinza just shrugged. James was reading the map that was being projected. "Here," he pointed. "Put her down here. We'll be protected by the rock wall on the back side of the island."

The pilot nodded. "It's pretty foggy back there... Get ready."

The shuttle dove into the sea fog that hugged the island and skimmed over the water. The pilot slowed the ship as he approached. Something felt wrong.

An alarm. "Proximity warning..." the pilot said, and stopped the forward momentum of the ship. He turned on a pair of fog lights and scanned the water.

They were bobbing up and down in the water below them. Three dead Gyarados and what was left of a Tentacruel. The sight was sickening. The shuttle moved on.

Another alarm. "Magnetic field is making the scans hard to read... Look out!"

The pilot put the shuttle into the water as the missing Scat Back dashed over top of them.

"Well, there goes the Mew back to get us..." PK said. "Take us in."

The shuttle lifted off the water, and continued towards the beach.

Meowth saw it first. "Good god..." was all he said.

PK keyed the intercom. "Doctor Joy to the cockpit!"

The beaches at Omaha, Iwo Jima (Io), or any old war footage of a battle landing - it looked like the equivalent with Pokémon. Bodies were strewn across the sands, some buried, others contorted and extended. Many could easily be seen to be dead. Some could be seen to be still moving. It was a horrible sight and Doctor Joy could only glance at it when she arrived in the cockpit. "Oh dear god, no!" she gasped, nearly crying at the vision.

The pilot leaned over to Kinza. "I've found a clear spot... I'm putting her down."

Joy composed herself. "I'll need to set up a triage... what sort of PokéBalls do you have on board?"

"I had a feeling this might happen," PK told her. "You'll find four cases of Medical Balls - but doctor, you'll need to work quickly. Collect those you can save then get back into the shuttle." PK looked at James, who was still looking out the window aghast. He took Joy aside.

"We're going to collect Rose and get out," he whispered, "that's it. We could be done in less than a minute or so."

Joy looked over at James. "What about them?"

PK dropped his head. "I don't know... We know this level is doomed. If we don't take them, they're as good as dead." PK felt the landing struts touch ground.

"Pilot, you're with Doctor Joy. Assist her. Kinza, James, let's go..."

Back in the rear private cabin, Sabrina sat cross-legged, meditating. She was clearing her thoughts - relaxing her mind - preparing for fate. The door chimed.

"Come..."

The door opened. Kinza looked in. Again, he found Sabrina had changed into her Gym Leader's uniform.

"You okay?" asked the Tomassamassa.

"I was remembering. Friends, relations... those I've loved... those I've fought... those who defeated me... I'm tired Kinza... so tired."

"Maybe you should stay here," Kinza suggested.

"No... no, this is my fight," she said, getting up from the ottoman she had been sitting on. "What's the situation?"

"Ugly," Kinza bluntly said.

"Yes..." she continued. "I saw it... a beach covered in blood. Horrible..."

"Are you sure you want to go?"

She looked at the ground. "Kinza... promise me... protect Pikachu. It is essential that he makes it through this."

Kinza had that itch again. He only nodded to Sabrina. Another one of those 'History's Daggers' Sabrina referred so often to. He hated those.

"Let's go," she said, tugging at her uniform to straighten it out.

The shuttle's door slid open. Instantly three beams shot out of it, and three Pokémon appeared.

"Charrrrrbok!"

"Weeze! Weeze!"

The third one howled.

Meowth stepped out. "Defensive positions!" he yelled. The Pokémon headed out in an arcing sweep. Meowth looked about then waved to the opened door. Joy popped out with Cassidy and the pilot, who was carrying one of the cases of Medical Balls.

Thunder and explosions could be heard in the distance. PK exited the ship then rose off the ground, much to Meowth and James' surprise. He looked at them and told them, "I'll explain later guys!" Mew joined him, and they headed for the wall of rock. Kinza followed, with Sabrina and James close behind.

"There's an opening to the labs in the wall ahead" James yelled while running, "but I don't know if it's open..."

Sabrina knitted her brow, and the wall vanished. James was impressed. "That'll do!"

Kinza moved to he left of the opening and pulled his gun. PK and Mew edged up to the right. James went in the middle, brazenly entering the doorway, giving a quick look to the left and right. He waved for everyone to follow and entered. James went towards the left. Mew looked at where he was going and headed right, after giving James a psychic tap on the shoulder.

"James, where were you going?" Sabrina whispered loudly.

"Managerial Offices and Control Rooms are this way."

"What's that way?" she asked pointing at the waiting Mew.

"Labs... Tech labs and testing centers..."

"Mew!" the floating cat chirped.

Kinza looked at the critter floating there. "How come it can't talk with you about, PK?"

The Pikachu gave Kinza a smirk. "It chooses not to."

"Ah!"

Sabrina looked at the Mew with concern. "I'll go with Mew... you three check out the offices - see what you can find.

PK felt a cold wave pass over him. Sabrina shot him a quick glance, and he reluctantly gave a slight nod. James and Kinza continued on. PK started to follow, but quickly dashed over to Sabrina, and gave her a hug and a peck on her cheek.

"Take care, Madam President... Goodbye..."

Before she could say anything, PK darted away and around a corner.

"Goodbye..."

The offices were a wreck. Something large had been tromping through it, leaving large holes in the desks, walls and what have you. Kinza looked at them. They were not what he expected.

"This isn't by any Pokémon," he said, examining a larger hole nearby. James and PK joined him.

"How can you tell?" James asked.

"Look at the impact impression - the angles, the shape... This was a mechanical."

James nodded. "That's possible." He stood up and continued on, leaving PK and Kinza looking at one another. "Here it is!" he said from around another corner.

Kinza and PK came around the toppled desks and furniture to James' side. There, partly impaled into the wall, was a large mech-suit. It had been thrashed fairly well, and obviously had hit the wall after being sent through the wall behind them. Kinza looked out the hole and saw a huge cavern. He could see building shapes across from them, some smoking. Looking up, he saw the opening of a volcano.

"Whoa... hot stuff!"

"Jesse!"

"What?" Kinza said, turning to see James had opened the visor of the mech-suit.

"Jesse! Jesse! Answer me Jess!"

PK attempted to sensed anything, but the suit prevented any good readings. Kinza came over and checked things out.

"Here we go... a service and diagnostics port." He keyed a switch, and a small screen came alive. "She's still with us... barely... The suit has a life support mode... I'm switching it on..."

Jesse's eye opened, as she gasped and took great breaths. Kinza reached down and adjusted some of the controls.

James was getting a bit panicked. "We've got to get her out of this thing!" he said, looking for a release switch.

Kinza grabbed his hand. "NO, you DON'T want to do that!" he ordered as he read his scanner. "The life support systems in this suit are the only thing keeping her alive. IT'S pumping her blood right now. IT just released a bonding gel throughout the arm and leg units to support her broken bones. Release her from this, and she will die."

"An amazing piece of technology, isn't it?" Jesse said, trying to move her head, but only craning her neck slightly.

"Yes it is ma'am," Kinza replied. "But, unfortunately, in this mode, you can't move."

She put her head back. "Yes, unfortunately, the Life Boat function does have its drawbacks." She again craned her neck to look down at Kinza. "Who are you?"

"My ship came back and got me!"

"Ship?" Jesse asked then realized what he meant. "The ship! That girl! She was right! She said that she had 'borrowed' that ship of hers! Is it yours?"

Kinza got up and looked in the visor. "Oh, I do hope you mean Rose Musashi!"

"You DO know her!" Jesse said. "What - what about the Mew? What happened to the Mew?"

"The Mew's fine. It's here with us."

"NO! NO! NO!" Jesse shrieked, nearly crying. "IT'S GOT TO BE REMOVED! FOR ALL OUR SAKES! GET THAT MEW OUT OF HERE! IT'S OUR ONLY HOPE!"

James turned Jesse's head towards himself. "Jesse! Jesse, what happened? What did you do?"

"James!" she said, a bit dopey. "James! My dear sweet James!"

Kinza didn't like the sounds of this. He looked down at the screen and saw systems failures across the board. "We're loosing her!" he warned.

James shot him a look then returned to Jesse. "Jesse, please! You have to tell us! What happened? Where is the Black Lugia?"

Jesse glared at James. "Where did you find out about the Black Lugia?" she demanded.

"Ma'am," Kinza said, "I'm from the future, and a different dimensional level to boot! We're LIVING your Black Lugia! We need to know about it! We've discerned that it was a clone made from the DNA of the natural Lugia of this level."

Jesse nodded. "Y-you're correct... I had the geneticists create our own Lugia using the DNA extracted from the feathers James and Meowth had obtained. But something went wrong during the initial electro-static charge over the DNA pool..."

"Okay, a standard procedure - infusing the DNA with energy..."

PK gave Kinza a look. "Is there anything you DON'T know about?"

"Hey, they teach us that in Middle School!"

Jesse continued, "It seems that the electro-static generator drew in a Haunter while infusing the DNA with energy. The Haunter got infused into the Lugian DNA. The professors never knew it until the final process. They thought the black body was a slight DNA error...

"Then this girl shows up with some story that the Black Lugia had killed her father. She somehow found this Mew - It was how she got into this complex - along with that ship of yours!"

"It's on loan," Kinza mumbled.

"Quite! - COUGH! - Huhhh!"

Kinza adjusted what he could. "I'm sorry ma'am... please hurry."

"While my security and I were questioning her, the Black Lugia awoke. My god, she was right... The beast seemed to have had the Haunter's powers infused into its own Lugian powers. It could absorb life force energies, and in some cases, actually take on some of the absorbed powers as well. After it killed the technicians, it raided the DNA Pools, and the livestock pens. In there, it ate a Raichu..."

"Oh boy..." PK said. "We know where THAT'S going!"

"What?" asked James.

Kinza glared at him. "The Lugia would have developed electric sacks under its eyes - After absorbing the energies of all the life forces around, Black Lugia could then fire off a beam strong enough to destroy that starship you saw earlier!"

Jesse coughed again. "That's why we must get that Mew away. Lugia tried to absorb it earlier. If it manages to do so... with its psychic abilities..."

"...It would gain unimaginable powers!" James finished her thought.

PK chirped.

"Hiccups?" Kinza asked.

"No... Mew isn't the only psychic here right now... With her powers, Sabrina is a match, if not STRONGER than that Mew..."

"The PRESIDENT!" Kinza yelped, getting up and almost running out of the room. He quickly turned about. "We can't just leave Jesse like this! What are we gonna do?"

"Turn me off!" Jesse said. James grabbed her.

"Are you out of your mind? You'll die!" he yelled.

"James, that will happen either way. It's only a matter of time... And if I understand what they are saying, it doesn't matter anyway. If Black Lugia gets those powers, it will destroy this planet, and many others... it must be stopped..."

"Jesse..." James said, a tear running down his cheek.

She nodded. She then touched her right thumb to the tip of the forefinger on the suit's gloved hand. A beep was heard. "Computer... shut down life support systems..."

"Affirmative," it monotone back. The light on the small screen went dark.

"James..." she said. "Goodbye..."

James kissed his former partner.

"Now... get out of here..." she said, closing her eyes. "I'd rather... not... have you see me die..."

James shook his head, then he and the others left. Jesse watched them leave then closed her visor.

Like everything else, the labs were a wreck. Mew and Sabrina floated about sensing and searching. Sabrina only found bodies. But unlike her later run-ins with the Red Haunter's victims, these were gory, bloody messes that were torn and heaved.

"It's nice to know Black Lugia's manners improve in the future..." she said to herself. Mew chirped.

PUUU!

"Photon charge! And close by!" yelled Sabrina.

"This way," a psychic message was sent to her by Mew. A flash of light around the corner made the directions moot. It was followed by yet another sound that tore into Sabrina's soul, and scared the life out of her - An electrical arcing thunderbolt that singed the ears and weakened the heart.

BARRZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAPPH!

BRRRRRZZZZZZAAAARRROOPH!

ZZZZZZEERRRRSH!

PUUU!

A roar came from around that corner. It seemed that the Photon Charge had found its mark. Something struck the other side of the rock wall, and a few stones fell around Sabrina and Mew.

"Die, you bastard! DIE!"

"I think we've found Rose..." Mew sent to Sabrina.

"No! NO!" came a yell from around the corner. They quickly headed around the stone edifice.

On its back on one side of the large open lab was Black Lugia, mad as hell, and about to get back up and attack again. On the other was Rose, standing on a catwalk, banging heavily on a Photon Launcher.

"Mew, quickly, bring down the roof on Lugia! I'll get Rose!"

Mew nodded, charged its energy orbs, and sent volley after volley into the stone roof. Huge chunks of rock and stone crashed down on the black beast below.

"Mew! Aunt Sabrina!" Rose cried.

"You're right, my dear... I AM sore!" Sabrina said sternly as she reminded her about her message she had sent with the Mew. She then winked.

"I'm out of Photon Charges," Rose said as she continued to smack the side of the launcher.

"Well, at least this time I see you're wearing the shielded goggles that are NEEDED for such things!"

Rose didn't have time to respond. A lightning bolt shot out from the rock debris and struck the catwalk, flinging Sabrina to one side, and Rose to the other.

The Mew went to Rose's side. The concussion had knocked the girl out. It purred and stroked her in worried concern. It then covered Rose with its energy shield, defending its friend from the menace that was unearthing itself.

Sabrina raised her aura. Black Lugia, who was looking at Mew from under the stone switched menus. It sensed the energy coming from this new source and wanted it.

Mew also felt this. It fired a psychic bolt at the creature, blasting the stone and making it once again, the target of its ire.

Sabrina saw the yellow spots under its eyes glow with rage, and saw its intended targets. She instantly put her own deflection field over Mew's own shield. Lugia fired its bolts, which bounced off Sabrina's energy orb. The Mew huddled behind Rose, peering over to see if Sabrina was still there.

"Mew?" it cooed through the energy discharge. Sabrina nodded eyes afire.

She reared back, energy and light drawing into her body from all directions. Kinza, PK and James entered the room near Rose and Mew, and saw Sabrina floating in midair. It almost looked as if she had wings of fire and energy on her back. Almost simultaneously, Sabrina and Lugia fired. Their energy blast encircled one another in mid room, touching the roof, which melted.

Kinza, shielding his eyes, yelled "If that thing detonates in here, we're as good as toast!"

PK understood, and jumped to the middle of the room.

"PIIIIIIKAAAAAACHUUUUUUUUU!" he shrilled. A torrent of energy shot skyward, adding itself to the energy orb, but also pushing it out of the room.

Exeter remained over the pole. Suddenly, the southern hemisphere erupted in light.

"1200 terawatt energy burst was just sent into the stratosphere, Captain!"

Caroline shook her head. "Stand by - rescue procedures!"

Sabrina was weary, and a bit singed. She awoke draped across a rock, a stone on her legs. A quick psychic jolt removed the stone. Her right leg was injured, but that did not last long, as she quickly repaired the gash. She turned to survey the situation, and found Lugia about to eat her!

One energy orb to the head.

Another to the torso.

A third to the left wing, a forth to the right.

And for a finale, another mega thundershock from the enraged PK.

Mew had come to Sabrina's aid. Perhaps this could be finished before it ever started.

"Let's end this now," she said.

Again, Sabrina reared back, drawing energies from all about. Her aura extended all around, covering everyone. She then formed it into a massive orb. She looked down at the beast that had taken so many lives.

Be done!

"NO!" came a yell from above, but after Sabrina had sent the orb on its flight.

It hit Black Lugia, enveloping the creature.

Sabrina looked up. Flying overhead was a mech-suit.

"Jesse?"

"Not quite dead yet, James dear!" the mechanoid suit said then turned back to Sabrina. "Fool!"

The Psychic gave the mech a stern scowl. "Why? What has happened?"

"You have doomed us all! That's all!"

Sabrina was getting a bit angered at the unknown suit, and returned to her first objective. A tweak of her brow, and flick of her hands, and the orb surrounding the Lugia contorted and shrank, compressing its occupant.

"Oh, very well, if you must try to destroy it that way, be my guest!" yelled Jesse. "But don't let me say that I told you so!"

Sabrina now saw what the suit was referring to. Six Red Haunters now appeared from the back side of the room, and started attending to their master. They began to absorb the energy being sent against Black Lugia. Sabrina clenched her fist, and the orb constricted more. Lugia roared in pain.

"Here it comes!" the mech-suit said, pulling a spear out from its backpack storage shunt.

Six more Haunters appeared. "Mew! Psychic wave! Get rid of those Haunters!" Sabrina gritted.

"Mew!" said the floating cat. It fired a burst that knocked four of the six new Haunters away, dispersing them. It did another, and another, but couldn't get close enough to the ones within Sabrina's aura field.

"Mew!" it yelped. Sabrina felt its psychic message, and agreed.

"She's right," Sabrina yelled. "The Haunters are preventing me from crushing the Black Lugia! PK, Kinza, James, get Rose out of here!"

The Mew floated over to Rose, and again set up its energy orb, this time containing Kinza and James as well. PK stood his ground, until he found himself within an energy orb as well, and was unceremoniously tossed into Mew's orb.

"I said GO!" Sabrina yelled, again placing her own orb around Mew's, launching the group out the hole in the roof.

"NO!" shrieked PK. "NOOOO!" Sabrina heard her friend bellowing and shrills disappear into memory.

"Okay lady!" she said to the mech-suit. "In my universe, you and I were good friends."

"Really..." Jesse smirked.

Sabrina smiled and gave the suit a wink. "Let's show this beast what Banshees we can be!"

"You're my kind of lady! Let's go!"

On the beach, Joy, Cassidy and the pilot had found as many Pokémon as they could alive, and were loading them into the shuttle. They were suddenly greeted by the striking of the sand by Sabrina's orb, which deposited it's cargo with a thud.

"Where's the President?" asked Joy.

Kinza only gave a stern look at her. "Pilot, emergency launch, NOW!"

"NO!" shouted PK. "I've got to save her!"

Kinza grabbed PK. "SHE told me to protect you. You knew she wasn't coming back. SHE knew..."

PK nearly launched a thundershock, but broke down instead. "No... no... no..."

Kinza assisted the electric mouse onto the shuttle. "Get us out of here pilot... I don't think there's going to be much left of this place shortly..."

The shuttle lifted off, clearing the island with much haste.

The mech-suit lay in shambles on one side of the room, it occupant torched by a Hunter's wave. The spear it had been carrying was still in the Lugia, which plucked it out with much pain. It bellowed a yell, and looked at its next target.

Sabrina looked up, and saw an approaching shadow. She smiled. "Watch the birdie!" she said to herself.

The Lugia reared back, and a horde of Haunters formed a wall between it and Sabrina's final attack.

The shuttle flew on. Behind them, the island disappeared, as did a part of the ocean, four nearby islands and a cruise ship.

Sabrina had been working that afternoon with Jesse on her psychic powers when it struck her. A blast of memories and psychic powers in a shock so hard it floored her then tossed her across the room. She awoke some hours later, Jesse, James and Professor Oak all looking over her. She grabbed Jesse and cried the rest of the night.

"We are gathered here today to honor the passing of our President, Sabrina Natsumi," the newly sworn in President Brock said in his inaugural-memorial speech to the Stratus League. "Let it be noted that she gave her life in the defense of this league, and the worlds as we know it."

The moment of silence that followed seemed to haunt PK and Rose. They thought it would never go away.

"We're letting you in on one of our dirty rotten secrets," Kinza said to his passengers.

"How so?" the James he had just rescued asked.

"Well, Exeter and Forrestal operate as emissaries between dimensional levels, but one of the things we rarely tell our hosts is the fact that they aren't the top dimensional level."

"You've got me confused now... what do you mean?"

"Well, how would you feel if you knew that you had someone standing on you, dimensionally wise? Or worse, that your entire life was something written by someone else in a dimension directly above yours?"

"Ew," said Meowth. "Deep!"

"Deep..." Kinza continued. "As it is, we decided to keep your little group safe, that we'd house you in one of our own worlds, where Black Lugia shouldn't come after you. Only drawback is, no Pokémon."

"Fine with me," Cassidy said with a bit of satisfaction at the thought. "Do you know how habit forming those things are?"

"Ummph!" Kinza had that itch again.

oOo

Edited 0706.21 - 1807.12

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