Chapter 12: In Which Mars has Anger Issues
"Do you know where this meadow is?" Andrea asked as they ran.
"Yeah, although I don't think you'll like the place," Laura replied.
Andrea groaned, all too easily able to guess as to why she would dislike the place they were heading. Flowers, lots of them, would be involved, of that she was sure. They continued to run and Eve eventually having to jump off of Andrea's should and run with them, no longer able to keep her balance on her trainer's shoulder.
They arrived into town panting, receiving a few looks form passerbys but on the whole their entrance was ignored. Out of breath from the run, Laura simply indicated the direction they had to go before heading off at a brisk walk. Andrea followed behind after scooping up Eve. They made their way through a small field of flowers, Andrea beginning to sneeze, and towards the back of the town.
Trees surrounded the edge of the town but there was a small tunnel that went through them and led to the meadow. As they neared this natural tunnel the girls could hear the sound of raised voices and, after exchanging a quick look, hurried forward silently. They came out of the tunnel to find themselves in a field of flowers far larger than the one they had just left. Standing in the flowers, a short distance away from trees, stood three people, two members of Team Galactic and one old man.
"…Honey old man," one of the Galactic grunts was demanding when Andrea and Laura arrived unnoticed.
"We need it so we can attract the many Pokemon needed for our plan," the other added.
"Yeah, so you'd better hand it over or suffer the consequences. We're done asking nicely," the first grunt warned.
The old man stubbornly shook his head. "I don't know what exactly you young people are up to, but I can tell it's no good. I'll never give you even a drop of my honey."
"Don't say we didn't warn you," the first grunt said with a laugh as both Galactic members reached for the Pokeballs at their belts. It was at that moment that Andrea's nose began to itch. She tried to stop but soon she sneezed loudly and everyone in the meadow was looking in her direction.
Now that they had been noticed by the Team Galactic members, Andrea sighed and took a step forward. "Hey, either of you have a key to the Windworks?"
"What are you doin' here kids?" asked the second grunt.
"Answer my question and I'll answer yours," Andrea told him, placing her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes.
"I've got the key," the first grunt told her, taking it out and showing it to her. "Now answer our question."
"We're here to get that key. If you give it to us we'll leave," came the response.
"Andrea," Laura exclaimed. "We need to help that old man too."
Andrea just turned and looked at her before shrugging and looking back at the grunts. "So, giving us the key or not?"
"I think not," the first grunt said. "You two have heard a bit too much I think. It's unfortunate, for you at least, but we'll have to stop you from leaving." With that he released the Pokemon he had been planning to attack the old man with earlier, his partner soon doing the same.
Laura stepped up next to Andrea, a Pokeball in her hand. "I'll take the guy with the Glameow, you take the one with the Zubat."
"Don't really care either way," Andrea said, releasing Zora. Laura gave Andrea's Pokemon an approving look before releasing her own, a large, pelican like creature.
"We're in a hurry Zora," Andrea informed her Pokemon, "so we need to take out this guy fast. That said, let's start things off with spark."
Zora began the process of storing electricity the moment the command left Andrea's mouth. True to her trainer's request for speed, Zora had enough electricity gathered for the attack faster than ever before. Star shaped tail glowing, pieces of static clinging to her fur, she charged the Zubat, leaping into the air before hitting into her opponent, all of the electricity she had stored moving from her to the other Pokemon.
Zubat fell to the ground, stunned. Not wasting any time, Andrea ordered Zora to finish the battle off with bite and the Galactic grunt was soon withdrawing his Pokemon. Another Zubat appeared when he released his next Pokemon and this time the grunt's Pokemon put up more of a fight.
"Supersonic," ordered the man.
Zubat opened its huge mouth but Andrea could not hear anything. Zora, on the other hand, seemed to be having a hard time with whatever the Zubat was doing. The eclectic Pokemon began to stumble around as if dizzy and when Andrea asked if she was okay the response was something along the lines of, "Everyt'in' spinnin'"
"What the hell is going on?" Andrea said, looking down at Eve for help.
"Looks like Zora's confused," Eve said, watching as the electric Pokemon continued to stumble around, mumbling about spinning trees.
"No shit she's confused," Andrea said in frustration, looking over at the grunt to see him laughing at her Pokemon's predicament.
"No, it's a status aliment. It should wear off in a bit, but she could hurt herself in the meantime," Eve explained patiently.
"Think I should recall her?"
"She won't act like it, but I think she might be a bit hurt if you do."
"Well then-" Andrea began, only to be interrupted by the grunt shouting an attack.
"Leach life." This time, Andrea was well aware of what the attack did.
"Move Zora, move," Andrea ordered her still stumbling Pokemon. Zora just looked around, as if trying to figure out where the shouting was coming from. This cost the electric Pokemon, who let out a surprised squeak when the Zubat landed on her and sunk its fangs into her neck. Zora's eyes began to droop as she had the energy drained from her body. Zora's wobbling legs gave out on her and, through some miracle, she ended up falling on her side, a movement that disturbed the bat Pokemon feeding on her enough for it to flap back into the air.
"Zora, you need to get up," Andrea pleaded with her Pokemon. Through her currently muddled view of the world, Zora was able to make out what her trainer wanted and struggled back to her feet. Zora shook her head in an attempt to clear it but the action did little for her as the double image of Zubat continued to flap in front of her.
"Bite and finish the little girl's Pokemon off," ordered the grunt.
"Dodge it Zora, then bite," Andrea ordered.
As Zubat swooped down at Zora she stumbled out of the way, forcing the flying Pokemon to pull back or land face first on the ground. Zora turned around, nearly tripping over her feet as she did so, and leapt at her opponent. Having aimed for the correct of the two Zubat she was seeing at the moment, she was able to sink her teeth into the other Pokemon's wing. Gravity dragged them both to the ground, where Zora refused to let go of her opponent. The Zubat struggled and beat at Zora's head with its other wing, forcing her to eventually let go. Zora's confusion was lessening and when Andrea ordered her to use spark she was steady enough on her feet to charge her opponent and make contact with the devastating electric attack. The second Zubat was down for the count and recalled by a frustrated looking grunt.
"You two will regret this," the grunt warned as Andrea withdrew Zora. Laura had just finished up her battle as well and was recalling her Pelipper as the other grunt agreed with his partner. After a few more threats the two ran off, the key to the Windworks being dropped in their haste. Walking over to where her opponent had just been standing, Andrea bent down, moving grass and flowers out of her way as she searched for the key. Triumphantly she straitened up with the small piece of metal in her hand.
"Okay, now that we got the key we can head out," Andrea said, already walking towards the tunnel of trees.
"Wait, I need to thank the two of you for saving me from those men," the old man said, hurrying forward.
"Oh, it was nothing sir," Laura said modestly. "We're just glad we could help."
"She is anyway," Andrea added.
"Here, take this as a sign of my gratitude," the old man said, shoving a jar full of an amber liquid into Laura's hands.
"Oh, some honey. Thank you sir," Laura said appreciatively.
"You can buy some more from me for a hundred Poke any time," the old man told her.
"If we're done receiving free samples…" Andrea said, gesturing towards the trees. Laura thanked the old man again and placed the honey in her pack before hurrying forward and leading the way out of the meadow. They ran once they left the trees, trying to get back to the Windworks as quickly as possible.
Out of breath, they arrived at their destination. Panting, Andrea held up the key for Lucas and the little girl to see, unable to say anything as she gulped down air. Lucas waited for the two girls to catch their breath before he took the key from Andrea and walked over to the door. Holding a finger up to his lips to signal silence, he placed the key in the lock and turned it. Slowly, he pushed the door inward and looked around the corner.
What he saw was the man who had locked them out in the first place, shock covering his face. Without a word the man hurried off deeper into the building, likely to inform his superiors about the intruders.
"Well, so much for the element of surprise," Andrea said from over Lucas's shoulder. Pushing past Lucas, she walked into the building, grinning. "And without that, we can now make as much of a racket as we want giving any grunts we come across a beat down."
"We won't have to worry about sneaking around, that is true," Laura said, stepping into the building herself. Turning to the little girl, Lucas told her to stay outside before he followed his two companions inside.
As they followed the one hallway the sound of the generators began to fill their ears. Turning the corner, they came across the first of the guards, who was standing in the middle of the hall as if waiting for them.
"I'm not going to let you three interfere with our plans," the guard told them, releasing a Zubat.
"You guys go on," Lucas said, stepping forward and releasing his Chimchar. "I'll take care of this guy. The little girl said her dad should be in a room at the back, so head there."
Without protest the two girls hurried past the guard, who could do little to stop them as Lucas ordered his Pokemon to attack. The sounds of battle receded and were soon covered by the sounds of the generators as the two hurried down the hall. Andrea stopped briefly to pick up Eve, who had been lagging behind as they continued towards the back of the building.
The hallway led to a door that stood slightly ajar. Cautiously, making sure no one was standing on the other side waiting to ambush them, Laura opened the door the rest of the way. The sound of the generators increased tremendously but other than that there was nothing.
"Looks like the generator room," Laura commented over the noise as they walked in.
"I couldn't tell," Andrea said sarcastically, looking at the large machines that took up most of the space of the room they had entered. The generators whirred loudly, busily converting the wind into usable human energy without any concern for what was going on in the building that housed them.
Walking around two of the generators, the two females were confronted by another guard, also seeming to have been already alerted to their presence.
"I bet if I stop you two," the guard said, releasing a Glameow, "I'll get a promotion."
"Like you could beat us," Andrea said, hand already reaching for a Pokeball.
Laura stopped her by holding out a hand and releasing her own Pokemon. It was a different bird Pokemon than the last two, this one resembling a larger version of a Starly. "No offence Andrea, but we want to try and keep these generators intact, which, honestly, I don't see happening if you battle. Just leave this to me and Star. You go on and see if you can rescue the girl's father."
Grumbling, Andrea hurried past the guard and further into the generator room. The sound of the machines blocked the sound of the battle and soon enough Andrea came to another door. She turned the handle and was pleased to find the door unlocked. Opening the door slowly, she looked around the edge to make sure there were no surprises on the other side.
Inside the room were four people, one of whom was the grunt who had locked them out of the building to begin with. Sitting in a chair by a desk was an unshaven man who Andrea could only guess was the girl's father. Standing next to the man was an elderly, balding guy in a lab coat with a pair of glasses perched on his nose and a slightly hunched back. He was saying something to the room's final occupant in a frustrated tone. The last person in the room was a female with her back turned to the door, so Andrea was unable to see her face. Andrea could see that, while her hair was red and did not have a bowl cut, she was wearing a variation of the female Team Galactic Uniform.
"…Are you going to give us the information we need or not?" the female was soon demanding of the man sitting in the chair.
"I'm not going to tell you how to take the energy from here," the man said stubbornly, shaking his head.
"Commander," the grunt said, interrupting.
"Shut up," snapped the woman. "Whatever it is can't be that important. You can tell me in a bit."
"Mars," said the balding man, "Why don't we just go get that little girl that's been hanging around? I'm sure our friend here will talk if it'll help his daughter."
"Don't you dare harm my Elizabeth," the man shouted, turning angrily to the balding man.
"Don't be a fool Charon. The boss said to keep this operation as low key as possible. No one noticed this guy going missing 'cause he barley leaves this place. They will notice if a little girl who's always in town disappears though."
It was at this point that Andrea suddenly sneezed, swearing soon after when she noticed the potted flowers near the door. Everyone in the room turned to the door to see the face of a female teenager and an Eevee peaking in.
"How the hell did you get in here?" demanded Mars.
"That's what I was trying to tell you about commander," the grunt said in a whiny voice. "We've got intruders."
"Be quite you useless grunt. Can't even keep guard properly," Mars mumbled to herself. "Come here to help this man out I assume little girl?" Mars asked, frowning, as Andrea stepped into the room.
"What is it with you people and calling me a little girl? I'm seventeen you know," Andrea informed her huffily. "And yeah, I guess I am here to help the guy out."
"Did my daughter ask you to help me? Is she okay?" the man asked desperately. He struggled in his chair and it was then that Andrea noticed he had been tied to it.
"Yeah, your kid's okay," Andrea told him. "I don't think these Galactic morons are going to be able to say the same about themselves in a bit though."
This comment made Mars smile, even chuckle quietly. "I see you've got spunk kid. What's your name?"
"Andrea."
"Well, Andrea, how about giving up your goody-two-shoes ways and joining the winning team? Team Galactic could certainly use some competent members."
Andrea shook her head, smiling herself. "Sorry, but I've seen the help and I'd hardly call them members of the 'winning team.' Besides, whoever said I was doing this out of the kindness of my heart? I just wanted to mess with another Team Galactic plan."
Mars's eyes narrowed as Andrea spoke. Her voice was cold when she spoke next. "What do you mean 'another' plan?"
"Jubilife ring any bells?" Andrea asked her, smile widening.
Anger flashed in the Galactic Commander's eyes as she reached for a Pokeball. "That was you? Charon, try to get that idiot talking while I deal with this nuisance. Try and stop the plans of our master, eh girl? Hope you're ready for the consequences."
"More than ready," Andrea told her, hand on one of her own Pokeballs.
There were two flashes of red light as the Pokemon were released. Zubat hovered in the air as Zora looked up at her newest opponent, waiting calmly for the order to attack. The first order she received was one to dodge however, Mars having quickly ordered her Zubat to use bite. Zora moved quickly out of the way, paws loosing traction on the slick linoleum floor of the room. The electric Pokemon slid into the metal desk head first. Slightly stunned by the impact, Zora was unable to move out of the way quickly enough as Zubat came in for another bite attack. Zora brought around one of her clawed paws to bat her attacker away but the Zubat had already fluttered off.
"Zora, charge," came the command as Andrea watched the Zubat flit around the confines of the room.
Soon the tip of Zora's tail was glowing brightly, the electric Pokemon expecting the command that would come next. Noting that her Pokemon had stored the extra energy needed to give her attack the edge, Andrea gave the command to use spark. Zora gathered a bit more electricity before rushing forward with a leap that brought her in contact with the Zubat. The moment the two touched all of the power that Zora had stored was released on the flying Pokemon, stunning it and sending it crashing to the ground.
"Get up Zubat, use leech life." Zubat followed his trainer's command, taking stiffly to the air again. Zora nipped at the Zubat as it dived at her, forcing it to take to the air again. After a few more such attempts and a few nasty bites, Zubat made it past Zora's defense and latched onto her neck. As with earlier, Zora's eyes began to droop and her legs gave out on her. She had enough energy to let off a few sparks of electricity however, making the Zubat screech and fly away.
Getting back to her feet with some effort, Zora turned to the Zubat, awaiting orders. She did not have to wait long, Andrea telling her to use charge again. Zora stored even more energy than last time and when she was told to use spark the eclectic lion released her most powerful version of the attack to date. Zubat crashed to the ground as the electricity flowed through its body.
Mars withdrew Zubat with a curse before releasing her next Pokemon. The Purugly materialized with a lazy yawn, looking around the room as it blinked sleepily. Zora stood her guard, reasonably more wary than her trainer, who was busy unsuccessfully suppressing the urge to laugh at the sight of the overweight cat Pokemon.
"Okay," Andrea said, calming down from her giggle fit, "Zora, use bite."
"Fake out Purugly," Mars ordered.
Zora began to rush forward towards the other Pokemon. She was surprised when Purugly moved with astonishing speed, especially for a creature of its girth, rushing headlong at Zora. The eclectic Pokemon flinched instinctively, bracing for impact. None came immediately, making the fact that Purugly suddenly barreled into her side all the more shocking. Zora was knocked off her feet and sent tumbling into the desk, where she lay, unable to battle further.
Now taking the Purugly seriously, Andrea withdrew Zora and released Roz. The bird Pokemon appeared with her customary willingness for battle, wings flapping excitedly and a loud and insulting challenge to her opponent coming from her beak. The Purugly's only response to Roz's entrance was to yawn, showing off sharp teeth.
"Roz, I want you to stay out of that thing's way as much as possibly," Andrea said. "It's faster than it looks."
"Got it boss," Roz said before taking to the air. The Purugly simply sat, watching as Roz flew in a tight circle above its head.
"Faint attack," ordered Mars.
Purugly stood up with a sound that resembled a sigh, as if it truly disliked having to put out so much effort. The Purugly looked up at Roz and said something and Roz, despite what Andrea had said about staying out of the way, landed and the ground looking curious. Purugly indicated the desk with one of its paws, causing Roz to turn her head to look in the direction curiously. It was then that Purugly put on another display of seemingly impossible speed, rushing forward to whack Roz hard on the side of the head with a paw. The bird Pokemon was sent tumbling over with a surprised squawk.
"Pay attention Roz," Andrea said in frustration. Roz got up with an apology, shaking her head in attempt to clear it. "Use tackle, okay?"
Roz rushed forward once the command was given, slamming into the other Pokemon's side. Purugly, in a testament to the aggressive bird Pokemon's brute strength, was sent sliding back a few inches. The cat Pokemon hissed angrily and took a swipe at Roz with its claws, the sharp points making contact and tearing through feathers and flesh. Roz just pecked at her opponent in retaliation before flapping away to circle in the air once more.
"Laura said we're not supposed to destroy the generators and the whole destruction thing probably applies to the rest of this place. So if I do destroy it, I'll have to listen to her and Lucas yelling at me, which I don't particularly feel like," Andrea said to herself, thinking about what attack to have Roz use next. "Guess that leaves only one option. Roz, use gust."
"I thought you were just talking about not destroying this place," Eve commented as Roz began to flap her wings.
"I was. That's why I'm not having her use twister," Andrea pointed out. Eve just rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the battle.
Everyone in the room watched as Roz whipped up the powerful, twisting winds of her gust attack. Papers from the desk were scattered to the ground and some even sent so spin in the column of air. Little else in the room was affected however, forcing Eve to silently agree with Andrea's choice of attack.
Purugly was engulfed in the flying type attack, buffeted by the strong wind. The attack slackened after a bit before completely dissipating as Roz began to flap her wings at a more normal pace. The cat Pokemon hissed up at her opponent in anger, Roz simply replying back with a loud insult involving her opponent's parentage. Andrea let the two continue their verbal battle while she thought of what to do next.
Mars was not as content to let the Pokemon shout abuses at each other. "Use scratch Purugly," she ordered.
Purugly demonstrated another of its amazing bursts of speed and quickly crossed the room to the desk. Easily the Pokemon leapt to the top of the desk, from there sending itself into the air directly at Roz. Shocked by her opponent's movements, Roz did not move out of the way quickly enough and received a painful scratch near her wing. It was at this point that gravity caught back up with events and Purugly fell back to the ground, landing safely on all four paws.
The bird Pokemon was forced to land as her wing beats painfully irritated the injury. "Andrea, what should I do? It kind of hurts to fly," Roz told her trainer, a slight edge of panic in her voice. Purugly watched happily, licking blood from her claws.
"Just stay calm Roz," Andrea told her, "Use quick attack, 'kay?"
Following Andrea's advice about staying calm, Roz took a breath before rushing forward. Purugly tired to move out of the way but the Roz reached the other Pokemon in seconds, colliding painfully into her opponent. Purugly tried scratching Roz again but the bird Pokemon dodged, tackling her opponent after an order from her trainer.
"Quick attack again Roz," Andrea ordered, smiling as she watched Purugly panting. Roz rushed forward swiftly, colliding with the other Pokemon again. Purugly staggered backwards from the impact before falling to the ground, unconscious.
"How could you possibly beat me?" Mars asked angrily as she recalled her Pokemon. "Charon, did you get the information we needed? We have to evacuate now," the Galactic Commander snapped, turning to her balding accomplice.
"No, I didn't. If you had dealt with that girl's Pokemon we could deal with her and wouldn't be having this problem. You're so incompetent."
"Incompetent?" Mars shouted in fury. "You may be a commander Charon, but I joined before you so I've got seniority. I don't want to hear any lip from you." When Charon gave no other reaction than to roll his eyes, Mars turned her wrath on the grunt who had unwisely stayed in the room throughout the battle. "You, this is your fault. There will be consequences. Go and gather the rest now, we have to leave before this brat has a chance to call the authorities."
The grunt nodded mutely before rushing past Andrea and out the room. Smiling and thanking her Pokemon for a job well done, Andrea recalled Roz. She looked up at the still seething Mars when there was a shout of, "And you."
"And me what?" Andrea asked, smirking at the older woman who was beginning to turn a bit red in the face as she yelled.
"You will regret this, I swear by the Original One you will. One day you'll be laying injured somewhere with your Pokemon stolen and. You. Will. Regret. This!"
"Like I told the last Galactic goon who told me that, I'll believe you when you can back up those words."
Mars was about to stat shouting at Andrea some more when Charon interrupted. "Stop acting like the immature female you are Mars. Honestly, you're an embarrassment to the rest of us. Just go round up the grunts so we can leave with some dignity." Mars was about to say something to the old man but stopped herself and marched past Andrea out of the room.
Everyone watched her leave before Charon turned to Andrea. "I commend your skill as a trainer…Andrea wasn't it? Are you sure you wouldn't like to join up with us, you certainly can keep your cool better than some of the incompetents I am forced to work with."
"Answer's still no," Andrea told him, folding her arms across her chest.
"Pity," the old man said with a shake of his head. "You could have been such a help to our plan."
"And what exactly is your plan?" Andrea asked, carouse.
"What do you think?" Charon asked with a laugh before following after his fellow Galactic team members. Andrea sighed, knowing that the only way she could get an answer out of the man was probably to chase after him and some how force the answer out of him, a plan that she didn't particularly feel like acting upon. Sighing again, she crossed the room to the man who was tied to the chair. Without a word she bent down and started working on untying the ropes that held him in place.
The man was alternately thanking her and asking about his daughter when three people burst into the room. The shortest of them rushed over to the man, stopping short a few feet from where he was tied up.
"Papa, you smell," the little girl complained. "You need a bath."
"I know sweetie," the man told his daughter with a laugh. "I'm glad to see you're okay."
"I'm glad you're okay too Papa," the little girl said, rushing forward to hug her father despite his smell. Andrea had just finished untying him so he was able to return the hug.
Andrea walked over to the other two members of the group, looking at Lucas with some shock. "What the hell happened to you?" she asked, taking in the bruise that was developing over his right eye.
"That grunt punched me after I beat him in our match, going on about not failing his mission and stuff," Lucas mumbled, looking at the ground.
"I hope you hit him back," Andrea said.
"Well, yeah, I did -"
"That's what matters then," Andrea told him, smiling a bit. "And you? Your grunt to polite to hit a girl or something?" Andrea asked Laura, who showed no signs of getting into any fight past the Pokemon battle.
"More like a bunch of his superiors rushed past before he could try," Laura told her. "What happened in here anyway? This place is a bit of a mess," Laura accused, looking pointedly at the papers scattered around.
"Must have been those Galactic guys. Kidnappers and mess makers," Andrea tuted theatrically while shaking her head, "they must be some truly evil people."
The man interrupted any further conversation by speaking from his seat where he was still holding his daughter. "Elizabeth tells me all three of you helped her. I truly can't thank you enough, especial since it seems one of you got into a bit of a fight on my account."
"Oh, we're just glad to help," Lucas said modestly, Laura agreeing with him.
"Hey, can we go now?" Andrea asked after the man continued to thank them and the other two continued politely denying doing anything the average Good Samaritan wouldn't have done. "I don't know about you two but my Pokemon kind of need a trip to the Center."
"Oh, I'm sorry for keeping you here," the man exclaimed.
"No problem, glad we could help," Lucas told him. "It was nice meeting the both of you," he added as he and his group left.
"God, I can just feel my allergies acting up thinking about going back to that place," Andrea mumbled as they left the building.
"Stop complaining," Eve said from her spot on Andrea's shoulder. "Besides, I think you have more pressing concerns at the moment, like those Galactic guys. This is the second time you messed with their plans and I doubt they'll tolerate even thinking of a third."
"Don't worry so much," Andrea told her Pokemon quietly. "What's the worst they can do anyways?"
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AN: Back from vacation and with computer access again. Sorry it took so long to update, my computer was being pissy and I couldn't get on. Heads up on updates guys: I know I've been updating about every week if we forget the vacation, but that's stopping. I can't keep up with that because this chapter is the last of the ones I wrote ahead of time. Don't worry, I'm not stopping, but updates will take longer until I get some more chapters written up. Hopefully I'll get back to the weekly updates soon. Anyway, thanks to everyone for reading.