Chapter 10 – Victory or Death
Completely oblivious to Sarah and her friends, Neo-Cyclone had attacked Arcceonn City again, albeit it wasn't an all-out attack, but a Black Ops mission set upon capturing some very important enemies of theirs. Meanwhile, they prepare their trap for Sarah, Cade, Darman and Mewtwo, one that absolutely cannot fail. The trap is set; all that remains is for Sarah and the others to take the bait.
"They should be coming through here in a few hours tops Master Lettos" Derek said as he overlooked a clearing. "Assuming they don't change direction you mean…" replied Dallon flatly. He had brought forty of Neo-Cyclone's best operatives with him to capture Sarah and her comrades, including Derek and the Delta Force Four, who were to start the initial attack along with himself. "They shouldn't, there's no forks on the path here" Derek answered, "I assure you that in a short time, they will be ours." Dallon smirked slightly and overlooked the area when something occurred to him. "Tell me Derek, how does it feel knowing you're betraying your own family?" he asked. "Well…I won't lie to you, it's heartbreaking" Derek replied sadly, "But if it is to be for a better world, then no sacrifice is too great." "Glad to see you're loyal Derek" Dallon said, "The world needs more like you."
Since Mewtwo had defeated Regigigas three days prior, he, Sarah Cade and Darman continue their way to the Northeast with as much energy as ever. Despite this, the four of them couldn't help but feel uneasy, as if they were being watched. "Something isn't right…" Cade muttered when suddenly a flash from the corner of his eye caught his attention. His commando's instincts immediately kicked in and told him to move. "Get down!" he shouted, Darman responding immediately, but Mewtwo and Sarah weren't fast enough. A net shot out from a concealed location in some bushes and ensnared Sarah. "No!" Mewtwo exclaimed when suddenly he felt an enormously powerful presence nearby. He spun around and found himself face to face with Dallon Lettos, but by then Mewtwo was too late. Dallon slammed Mewtwo with Shadow Punch, launching him high into the air and out of sight. "Mewtwo!" Sarah shouted in horror. "Dammit, I should've known you'd ambush us!" Darman shouted furiously when suddenly he realized that not only Dallon, but Derek and the Delta Force Four had surrounded them. "Evasive Tactic Gamma!" Cade shouted as he threw a smoke bomb on the ground. After the smoke dissipated, the two were gone, but had left Sarah. "Let them go, we have what we came for" Dallon said flatly as he lifted Sarah onto his shoulder.
Meanwhile, Cade and Darman were watching them from a nearby bush. "You could've at least picked up Sarah first!" Darman said in a hushed tone that nevertheless betrayed his anger. "And then what? We wouldn't be able to escape on foot, it's a Catch-22" Cade replied in the same tone, "No matter what happens, we lose…or do we?" "What the…Cade, you're up to something aren't you?" Darman said flatly. "Precisely!" Cade replied happily, "It's simple really. What is it we commandos so best?" Suddenly Darman realized what he was implying and shook his head in disappointment. "Cade this is no time to relive our glory days, we need to think of a more practical solution" Darman said, even though he knew that infiltration was probably the only option. "There is no other way Darman, you'll have to trust me on this" Cade said before extending a claw towards him, "What do you say Partner?" At this, Darman couldn't help but smile and tapped a scythe to Cade's claw. "We'll do this together."
Several hours later, Sarah finally came to and found herself in a dark room, with no windows and only a single light providing dim illumination. The walls were dull gray and there was an odd chill to the air, but none of these caught her attention. There were others here, four of them: a Lucario, a Gardevoir, an Absol and a Gliscor. "Mom! Dad!" Sarah exclaimed, causing all of them to glance up at her. "Sarah!" Raynar exclaimed as he, Eva and Sarah ran towards each other and embraced. "What happened to you? How did you get here?" Sarah asked. "The same way you did Poppet" Razon replied, "We were captured and brought here by a Spec Ops Team, probably Delta Force Four if I know these guys…" "Razon…and Andre! They got you too!" Sarah exclaimed in disbelief. "Yes, they did…" Andre replied as he stood back up, strangely enough looking as strong as ever, even in defeat, "But what you should be worried about is what they intend to do to us…we are to be executed." Sarah froze up at this; she knew full well what she was getting in to, but she had never stopped to think of what would happen should she fail in her mission. She fell to her knees and began crying uncontrollably. "Sarah, what's wrong!" Raynar exclaimed as he attempted to comfort his daughter. "Mewtwo, if you can hear me, I need you now! Help!" Sarah shouted.
Meanwhile, somewhere outside the Neo-Cyclone base, Cade and Darman surveyed their surroundings ahead to get an idea of what was going on when suddenly their eyes came to rest on a crater, obviously fresh. They ran over to it, and to their surprise, Mewtwo was in the center, battered, but very much alive. "Whoa…Mewtwo? You okay?" Cade asked as he lifted Mewtwo up, supporting him on his shoulder. "Cade? Is that you?" Mewtwo asked as he came to, "Where's Sarah?" "She was captured by Neo-Cyclone and is being held inside that base, we're gonna go get her out" Darman replied. "You mean she's in…" Mewtwo began when suddenly; he stopped, snapping his head towards the base. Mewtwo, if you can hear me, I need you now! Help! Shouted Sarah's voice in his head. "Hang in there Sarah, I'm coming!" Mewtwo exclaimed as he shot into the air over the base, alarms immediately starting to go off. "Well so much for stealth…" Darman muttered. "C'mon Darman, we can't let a comrade go in alone!" Cade replied. Darman nodded in response, and screaming at the top of their lungs, the two slashed through the surrounding fence and joined Mewtwo's attack.
In the holding cell, Sarah and the others could clearly hear the alarms going off. "The base is under attack!" Razon exclaimed. "There's only one I could see attacking a base like this…" Raynar began when suddenly the wall was punched through. The light was blinding, but as his eyes adjusted, he recognized a silhouette that for fifteen years had given him nightmares. "Mewtwo!" Sarah exclaimed, leaping to her feet and running to embrace him. Mewtwo returned her embrace replying, "Thank Arceus you're alright Sarah!" "Hey you in there! I hate to interrupt the reunion, but we need help out here!" Cade shouted. "Raynar, Eva, you get Sarah and Mewtwo out of here. We'll handle them" Razon said with a grin, "C'mon Andre, let's go!" At that, the Gliscor and Absol charged out the opening and began attacking multiple base guards at once. Cade and Darman, however, were surrounded. "Cade, Darman!" Raynar shouted, about to rush in and assist. "Raynar, get out of here! If we don't hold them off, all is lost!" Cade shouted. "We'll handle this one Raynar, don't worry about us!" Andre exclaimed. "I…" Raynar began to protest, but he knew that they were right. It sickened him to the core that his friends were about to give their lives to save him, Eva, Sarah and Mewtwo, but there was no other way. "I trust you…see you in the next life…" Raynar said. Mewtwo looked over at Cade and Darman, gave them a salute, and then turned back towards the others. The four of them began to glow, brighter and brighter until suddenly the light faded as Mewtwo teleported them away.
As Cade, Darman, Andre and Razon continued to fight a losing battle, suddenly, things got much worse as Dallon appeared to confront them. "I'll take him…" Razon said calmly as he stepped forward to challenge him. "Razon 'the Dagger' Nachturne, your bravado has remained unchanged since your youth" Dallon said. "Yeah, but I've become far stronger since then!" Razon replied furiously, his claws out to either side for the fight ahead, "It's time we ended this once and for all!" "Gladly!" Dallon replied with a wide grin as the two charged at each other. Razon tried to land an early hit with Night Slash, but Dallon immediately evaded and used his trademark move, Shadow Punch. The attack struck home and knocked Razon out in a single hit, slamming him into the ground at Andre's feet. "Razon!" Andre exclaimed, about to attack Dallon in revenge when Cade blocked him. "Get out of here Andre, we'll handle him" he said. "No! I can't and I won't!" Andre exclaimed in shock. "You can and you must!" Cade shot back, "Razon is badly injured, and needs medical attention immediately! Get him out of here while there's still time!" "Go! It's better this way!" Darman shouted. Hesitantly, Andre nodded and managed to get Razon onto his back before running off, carrying his injured comrade with him. Darman watched him leave and backed up towards Cade, the two now standing side-by-side. "Cade…this is our finest hour…let's make this count!" Darman said. "Let us be blessed in the next life as we go down in blaze of glory!" Cade shouted, "ATTACK!" Cade and Darman charged forward, straight at Dallon. "This will be too easy…" Dallon muttered as he disappeared. Cade and Darman stopped, looking frantically around them for Dallon. "He's gone! Disappeared!" Cade shouted. "Disappeared, hah! I'm not gone, just hidden, but not for long! SHADOW FORCE!" Dallon shouted as he reappeared behind Cade engulfed in energy and charged at him. "Cade!" Darman exclaimed as he pushed Cade out of the way and took the full force of the attack. Darman screamed as he took the attack, but he wasn't in any pain; the reason for that, however, is that he was dead. "Darman!" Cade exclaimed as he ran over to his fallen friend and lifted him up in his arms, "C'mon Darman, you're a soldier! Snap out of it! Darman! DAAAAAAARMAAAAAAAN!" At that moment, Cade felt a powerful grip on him. He spun around only to find Dallon grabbing him by the throat and lifting him high in the air. "Our deaths will only rally others…you're downfall is imminent!" Cade shouted furiously. "Silence…traitor…" Dallon said as he threw Cade into the ground and loosed a powerful blast of energy at him. Cade now lied motionless on the ground, his vision and feeling fading away. "From nothing, all had begun…and in nothing, all shall end…" Cade muttered with his last breath as he passed away.
An hour later, Raynar, Eva, Sarah and Mewtwo rendezvoused with Andre and Razon, the latter apparently not as badly injured as Andre had thought, as he was conscious and able to stand, although for now gliding would be out of the question. The six of them stood together, their heads bowed in total silence. "Today, we have lost two valuable comrades" Raynar said mournfully, "Cade and Darman, although enemies at one time, became among the most loyal friends I myself have ever had…and today, we say farewell to them for the final time…goodbye my friends…and thank you. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten…" Inside of each of them, they were all sad for Cade and Darman's loss, but there was also a seething anger towards Neo-Cyclone, and in Mewtwo, this anger had reached the breaking point. "Enough of this!" he shouted furiously, "Now is not the time to mourn, but to act! I vow that I will never give up hope until Neo-Cyclone has been all but destroyed! They will regret the day they decided to take the lives of our friends or family!" He then turned to Sarah and added, "Will you fight by my side?" "To the very end!" Sarah replied. "I'll do my best" Eva said. "You can count on me" Andre answered. "I'll fight with you" Razon said. "As will I" Raynar answered as a glow emanated from his hands, and from that, Exomere appeared once again, "Arceus in heaven above, give us Victory or Death!"