Sorry again for the wait! Finals are going to be putting some pressure on me for a little bit, but I wanted to get out another chapter soon since I haven't updated in over a month. Hope you all enjoy, and if you do, please consider giving me some feedback!
Recently, some fellow writers (Umi/FriskyFlareon, DarkFoxProjectX, Aurumn48, and WolvenRepublic) and I have opened up a new Discord server. We talk about story ideas and the like, as well as just generally have a good time. If you would like to join, shoot me a PM, as I cannot post link info on FFN for some reason.
Also, if you enjoyed reading this, please consider giving Into Darkness a shot. It's a mystery dungeon fic that I've started, and there aren't too many of those in this fandom.
Special thanks to Lunar Knight Archangel as always!
"…" - Spoken dialogue
Italics - Michael's thoughts
'Italics' - Telepathic dialogue
/\/\/\ - Lemon Scene
It is worse to lose a friend to evil before one loses him to death.
-Mary Renault
Ch. 24 - From the Ashes
"It's been over a day since what is now being labeled as the largest terrorist attack in Johto's history, and already thousands have been reported dead from the bombings and raids. Authorities have not revealed the person responsible for these attacks, but many are speculating that it may have something to do with the same Kantonian radicals that took over Fuchsia and have been at conflict with the military for a few years now."
"No doubt that these are among the darkest days in Johto. All we can do is pray for those affected by this tragedy and wait to hear from the president and the Secretary of Defense tonight. As things stand currently, we are unsure as to what will happen next. All we can do now is be there for those affected by this terrible incident."
The two news anchors were replaced by video clips of memorial ceremonies across the country - vets, families of the deceased, and pokémon of all origins deep in prayer over the victims. As several commentators went on about details of the attack, the Reapers nearby tuned it all out. Not like they'd be learning anything; they knew exactly what had gone down.
Most of them were helping where they could; Thomas was cleaning out the hallway of heavy debris while Alex and John helped the doctors transport patients and the like. Throughout the whole ordeal, TMA specialists like Grace and Sebastian were barely seen resting as they assisted the hundreds of critically wounded. The medical area was swarming with activity, with many of the injured resting on cots out in the hallway.
Michael tried to keep himself as busy as possible in order to keep his mind numb. Despite this, though, anyone could tell that this was futile with how red his eyes stayed. There were no more tears left to cry. As he and his two dragons helped transport the wounded, newly deployed troops rushed in each direction to assist. It was all but a blur, the noise being drowned out by his own silent thoughts. Thoughts of the friend he had lost.
He didn't know how to cope with it. When he had killed Ethan, things had initially seemed rough - he no longer had a biological family to turn to. But that was his own choice, and one that he had no problem making, all things considered. But in this case… his friend that had always been there for him; from the first moment he stepped on base until the very last days, Zeke had been the greatest friend a man could ask for. And Douglas had taken him.
They didn't just go for Johto's instruments of war; nor had they settled for attacking the soldiers. They had targeted both militant and civilian alike, murdering everyone not garbed in solid black. He had promised the girls that he wouldn't resort to vengeful rage in killing his enemies, but now… now he wasn't so sure that he could follow through with that.
Not a single one of those services could truly represent to the nation what had gone on in those bases. You had to be there to truly understand the destruction - to witness the sight of blood staining the floor, or the heaps of dead bodies laid side-by-side for confirmation. Thousands here alone had lost their lives to the attack - hardly a victory for Johto. They were, to the people, a large number to remember in infamy. Not the individuals it was comprised of, but one large statistic.
It had been around afternoon when Thomas approached him. He and the girls were seated among the wreckage of what had once been their quarters. No one was sure what to say - as if anything could have been said at all. Thomas stepped through the unhinged door and slowly approached them.
"Hey," Alaina softly said. "Company."
"Hey…" Thomas said. Michael looked up at him wordlessly. "I know this doesn't seem like a good time… I can't even begin to understand what you're going through right now... but we have to meet on the thirteenth."
"When?" he asked.
"Well… they're waiting on us to get back."
"Go on," Layla said, "we'll be right here when you return."
He followed his comrade down to the lower floor, still bustling with medical activity. The others were waiting in front of the door, but they weren't alone. Both Giovanni and Nate stood before a slightly opened door. What is the CIC doing here? Michael thought.
"They're all here," Nate said.
"Tell 'em to come in," Wesley said. The voice came as a relief to the Reapers. One less thing to be worried about. They all walked inside, seeing the Commander sitting up on a hospital bed now. The side of his face had been bandaged, with a large, white pad over where his right eye had been. Grace had finally taken a seat after days of continuous work, visibly exhausted from the sleep deprivation.
"Shit…" Kevin said.
"I know. Feels like hell too." Grace looked down and shook her head.
"I'm… sorry I couldn't save it," the gardevoir said. "There just wasn't anything left. I have to have something to work with…"
"Don't beat yourself over it doll. If it hadn't have been for you, I wouldn't be here now. Now you go get yourself some sleep. No offense, but you look worse than I do." She nodded - there was no disagreeing with that.
"Call Sebastian if anything goes wrong, okay?"
"Will do." She slowly walked out of the room, leaving the soldiers to themselves. Nate put his hand on Wesley's shoulder.
"Just had to go and get yourself shot…"
"You know it," he chuckled.
"Sorry about the eye though…" Wesley didn't respond immediately, but looked up with a slight grin.
"Ah well. The good lord gave me two of 'em for a reason. And it ain't gonna get in the way of work."
"Maybe not. But our damn base getting torn up might just interfere…" John said. And obviously, he had a point.
"That's what I'm here for," Giovanni spoke up. "Johto has always been there for us. When the money from donors wasn't coming in - when our men didn't have the equipment they needed for the job at hand - Johto immediately gave us what we needed. Now it's our turn to help you all for once. We've got rooms for all of you if you're up for it. My guess is that the base near Route 22 might be in danger of being attacked, so I'd like to keep you all out of that area for the time being. Wouldn't want you all to get caught up in something like this again."
"Considering the circumstances… we might just have to take you up on that offer."
"Glad to hear it. Since we're also in a national state of emergency, there'll be patrolling aircraft for miles around."
"Wouldn't want a repeat of all this," Nate murmured.
"If you don't mind me asking," John said, "what in the hell kind of an organization is this? At first it was just trafficking and smuggling… then kidnapping legendaries, city takeovers… Something was definitely off when we looked over all that budget data. Now come and find out they have fucking aircraft." Giovanni stood up and walked to the door, then looked outside, checking to see if anyone was nearby. After that he shut and locked the door, much to their nervousness.
"You're right. It just started adding up these past few days. We knew they had money - and a lot of it. But now we see where it was all vested. And we should've known. What kind of an organization can run up a fuel bill in the tens, even hundreds of millions? But it's the only explanation now… the one I feared most." The room fell silent; all dreaded the unspoken words. Finally Thomas had the courage to ask.
"…What are we dealing with?" he asked quietly.
"…The resources we know that he possesses - billions of dollars… encryptors, hidden bases here and there, aircraft and missiles - there's no other explanation. He's been buying out Kanto's military."
"I… hope you're wrong about that," Wesley said. "Kanto wouldn't sell that kind of stuff…"
"He's purchased power in the media, protection from politicians, and has more money than Arceus himself. What would stop him from buying equipment from a failing army? We - a private group - are more suitable for war. And yet they still have trillions of dollars worth of assets lying around. I don't doubt for one second that Stone could buy weapons and vehicles for pennies on the dollar. It isn't getting used - so why wouldn't the politicians jump to sell it? Hell, they did all those years back when Rocket was at it."
"…How much are we talking about?" Wesley questioned.
"Well, with him racking up such a fuel bill… It'd be hard to estimate, but my guess is that he's at least got enough to fill up a base this size…"
"Shit." If that was true, then Douglas could cause a great deal of destruction before being stopped. He wouldn't stand a chance against Johto's full military, but the fact that he possessed such assets was anything but good.
"And the worst part about it?" Giovanni continued. "There's nothing we can say about it. Once Kanto's citizens hear that their government is selling military equipment to a terrorist…"
"Society will go to hell..." Nate stated. "Fuck, he's put us in a great predicament."
"So then what do we do? Just wait for him to pull another punch like that?" Kevin asked.
"If Giovanni's right about this… then the only thing we can do is try and take him out quietly," Wesley said.
"That's right. As crooked as Kanto may be, we have to work towards preserving our country for the greater good. The people can't know about it - not for awhile. We'll make sure to clean out the crooks for what they've done, but we need to take the hit and roll for now," Giovanni stated. Surely they all despised that very fact, but there was nothing they could do. Living under discreet corruption was far better than life under the anarchy that would surely develop.
"Now what?" Samuel inquired.
"We double down on our efforts to find him. Once we do… there won't be any prisoners taken." Finally, something they all wanted to hear. "If you all are alright with it, I would prefer that we leave in two days' time." That date hadn't been randomly selected, either.
"CIC and Reaper operations are going to be working hand-in-hand for awhile," Nate added. "As long as Douglas is still alive, this is both of our fight."
"Correct. And we do have a few things working in our favor."
"You sure about that?" Kevin asked. "I mean, if you look around and all…"
"Going off of the fact that he has aircraft, we've been able to narrow down his location significantly. There are only so many places you can store it, and even fewer that aren't governmentally owned."
"So then he's really set a time limit on his operations," Wesley said.
"Yep. My guess is a few months tops. But that presents another issue altogether," Giovanni stated. "Given his circumstances, I believe that Douglas may try to strike again." No…
"How?" Thomas asked. "This country's locked up tight, and I doubt that he'd be able to try something like he did the other day."
"Maybe not against Johto. But we're sitting ducks. I'm worried that he might launch an attack within Kanto's boundaries," Giovanni answered. "With the capabilities he has, Doug could pose a threat to dozens of military bases across the region. We can't let him launch another attack like this - especially one that might help him build his armory even more."
"So what's the plan?" Nate asked.
"Simple. We locate him and send in as many Reapers as we can," Wesley said. "We're going to kill that son of a bitch for all that he's done. No governmental bullshit; this is personal now."
. . . . .
The wind stung their cheeks as they stood amongst the tens of thousands of slender, white tombstones, each consisting of an elevated symbol of Arceus. The final resting place of soldiers spanning from wars fought decades ago. And now it had more activity than any other individual day in history.
Thirty minutes. That had been the time allotted. Thousands to bury, with many of the ceremonies going on at the same time. Off into the distance, groups of families and loved ones flocked around the endless series of white graves. But for this particular grave, that wasn't the case.
The zoroark had no friends, no family outside of the military. Nineteen were present - nineteen that weren't required to be there; that really knew the person getting ready to go into the ground. Quietly six of the eight present ceremonial soldiers lowered the casket in front of the grave, then proceeded to take the red flag that had adorned it into their hands. Their moves were swift and silent, and the large emblem of their country was folded into a small triangle, which had wound up in the hands of the soldier on the end. He walked over to Michael and extended it. The only… fucking family he had… The Reaper accepted it silently.
The sound of the bugle fell upon deaf ears, then the readying of the weapons. All Michael could think about was the infuriating, yet inescapable, result of all of this. Nobody would ever know of who was getting buried here. This would be the extent of the services held in his honor - a private's funeral. Not one reporter would utter his name; not one person absent today would even know of him. And to the nation… he would just be one out of the thousands. Just… a fucking statistic… He clenched his fist as Alaina held his arm in a futile effort to comfort him. As if anything could.
Actually… maybe one thing. Douglas's head would suffice, he supposed. Steven's request be damned; if they found him… the only way he would be transported away would be in a trash bag.
The time came. The soldiers stepped aside, and, one by one, each of the mourners approached the casket. When their turn came, every person silently placed their hand on the metal case. Elise's sniffles were the only sound aside from the gentle breeze. Nobody made any effort to hide tears.
Eventually Michael's turn came. He mustered the strength to walk forward, stopping before the closed casket that held his friend. His hand rested upon the cold surface as he quietly said his farewell. But as he remained still, his feelings of grief were being replaced by those of rage. Stolen before his time. Murdered… they fucking murdered him and all the others! Thoughts of what he wanted to do - what levels he would be willing to sink to - for a shot at Douglas. How he could make it last for hours, days even - how he could make that piece of shit beg for death.
While he walked away, the words of Secretary Connor at the press debriefing echoed in his mind."I recognize that in extreme circumstances such as these, the nation would like reassurance - some form of certainty. Well, here it is. The heads of each branch of the military and I have been talking this over for hours on end. The nature of this attack calls for retaliation of the utmost level; we have come to the conclusion that it is in the best interests of not only our country - but to the other regions and even the rest of the world - that we step forth and remove this despicable group from the planet.
We are not going to war. That terms suggests that both sides stand a chance. No - we are going to avenge. We are going to eliminate every single one of them - not one damn prisoner is to be taken. Justice will be swift, and believe me, it will be without hesitation. They have sealed their fate. No force in heaven or hell can stop what is about to come."
They all watched as the soldiers concluded the event. service. Lined up horizontally, they each took the ceremonial rifles from behind their backs. The command was given by the one on the end - the only one without one.
"Ready… Aim…" They pointed diagonally into the air. "Fire!" The gunshots sounded, and out of the corner of his eye, Michael noticed Elise jumped, despite knowing what to expect beforehand. "Ready…" They quickly racked the slides of their M1s. "Aim… Fire!" One more time. "Ready… Aim… Fire!" And just as the noise of thunder had dissipated, he was gone from them.
. . . . .
They did their best to pack up what was left of their stuff. The rooms were all practically leveled, with only larger furniture such as the beds and couches remaining in most of the living quarters. Almost no walls remained. Michael approached the demolished nightstand, stepping onto the crushed sheetrock strewn about the carpet. Fragments splintered off in every direction from the toppled piece, but it still remained fairly intact. With some force he was able to open the top drawer.
His revolver was there, without even a scratch, alongside the string of six luxury balls. Only one of them no longer had an inhabitant. Michael took it into his hand and lightly pressed the central button. The spherical device expanded, ready for use once more. He sat on the edge of the bed as he gripped it tightly.
He heard someone approaching - the sound of soft, familiar footsteps. Elise walked to the edge of the bed, looking up at him sadly. Michael said not a word; there was nothing to be said. She hopped up beside him and into his side. He held her like his life depended on it, hugging her closely as they simply sat there. Perhaps the sweet glaceon before him was the only thing keeping him grounded. Th… thank you… Softly, he pressed his lips to her cheek, remaining there for what felt like an eternity. She gently nuzzled him back, before ceasing her actions and looking back toward the doorway.
Charlotte was standing there. "…Everything's… ready to go," she said quietly. "They've started heading out…"
They all left the ruins of the base, uncertain as to where the future would lead them. There simply was no telling at this point. But one thing was for sure - it would have been far better for Douglas had they all died in the raid. No doubt that every militant there would stop at nothing to put an end to Stone. They left the very way they had arrived to the scene - out the back entrance into the airport. Among the destroyed vehicles were only a few functioning ones. Those coming to deliver aid, some dropping off troops… and the one ready to take them away from it all. Giovanni stood near an Osprey that had recently finished unloading its cargo. It would only be a matter of minutes before it had finished refueling.
"Everyone ready?" he asked.
"Looks like it," Wesley said.
"Alright then. Let's go." As they were making their way onto the aircraft, an officer approached the Commander and handed him something - an ultra ball. He quietly said a few things before walking off, leaving the Commander looking down at the device. What the hell is that? It certainly wasn't Wesley's one pokémon, whatever that was - his pokéball was on his side. He followed the others into the open hatch of the Osprey, which was soon after shut behind him. He took a seat on the end and pressed his head into his hand.
Michael laid his head back in an attempt to get some well-needed rest. He didn't even want to look at the base as they passed over it - just shut his eyes. "We have to do this just right," Giovanni said. "We can't let Kanto fall, and we sure as hell can't let war break out between our countries. I… wouldn't want to be forced to choose between our greatest allies and our homeland…"
"You won't have to," Wesley said. "This morning, the order has been given for every single Reaper division to shift their focus towards killing Douglas. He's not going to claim one more life."
"Did any of you check the news?" John asked as he looked a his phone.
"Don't need to," Thomas murmured.
"Oh yes you do." He turned his phone to the larger Reaper, who shook his head.
"Well damn…"
"What is it?" asked Ivy.
"Steven Stone has just resigned as the champion of Hoenn…" What?
"Shouldn't come as surprising," Wesley muttered. "He knows what's gonna happen, and looking at all this… yeah, I can see why he'd lose the drive to battle."
"Where is he now?" Alex asked.
"He got relocated to a Sinnoh branch. Much safer there and can still keep an eye on him. He probably phoned in his resignation this morning."
"Good fucking riddance. Sick of that family," Kevin said. At this point, most of them probably agreed with that statement.
By the time they had neared the CIC base near the Indigo League, most of them had dozed off. Sleep was a great way to mind-numbingly pass the time and keep one's thoughts off of the recent events. But it would seem that it wasn't going to come to Michael. Slowly he opened his eyes and looked around the aircraft. The only other conscious Reaper was Thomas who was absentmindedly stroking Ivy's neck, which was laid across his lap. Nicole was intently focusing on him, unbeknownst to Thomas. She knew.
"Rise and shine," Nate said. "We're here."
. . . . .
Less than an hour later, their pokémon found themselves returned to their balls while their trainers were seated around a long, dark table. Armed guards stood around every corner of the building, ready to act at a moment's notice. And yet, despite all the security measures, there was no denying that everyone there felt at risk. After all, if Stone's forces could break through Johto's defenses, then a building like this would be fairly easy. But it was still their best option for the time being.
"Thousands of work hours already have been dedicated towards finding Douglas's assets," Giovanni started, "and we've narrowed things down quite a bit within Kanto's borders. Airports of course, but we're having to assume the worst given the circumstances. We're keeping an eye on any military bases within the country's borders just to be safe. After all, he's got jets and the like."
"So what have you come up with?" Wesley asked. Giovanni hit a button on the remote, making the monitor behind him buzz to life. A map of the region popped up - one with varying colored circles, each covering certain spheres of influence and likelihoods.
"The first wave of missiles was relatively short range stuff. Probably came from within a couple hundred miles from the site of impact. That makes this half of the region more likely, unless they were launched from some sort of vessel. I doubt that though. You're talking billions there - that's hard for even Douglas to afford."
"So how many locations are we talking about?" John asked.
"Couple dozen. It'll take us awhile, but we can get our guys into most of these places within a few months. Then we'll start keeping tabs on everything. The military more than likely has no idea what the hell's going on here, and for the sake of regional stability, it might be best that things stay that way. We can take the problem out quietly, clean shit up, and pin it on the trafficking organization. After all, that's exactly what it is. But if he's got things spread out everywhere… we might have a much larger problem on our hands." It would then be very difficult to remove the insurgents and their weaponry without instigating a conflict of some sort.
"I don't think it will come to that," Alex said. "Think about it - Douglas may have had bases and operations spread around the region, but you're talking a lot of shit that he wants to keep really well hidden. Hell, missiles and aircraft? That stuff can be so easily traced - it'd be suicidal to keep it spread around over several areas. Granted, he's probably removed serial numbers from everything - that's been done for all the weapons we've confiscated from them. But still he'd be running a huge risk of getting caught if he funneled illegal weapons through federal property. And if he left the serial numbers untouched, then he reveals both his sellers and his buyers."
"That's a really good point," Giovanni said. "I hope that's the case. It'd make our job a hell of a lot easier to be able to carpet bomb a single base than to try and uproot a cancer within the military." He shifted his focus back to the map. "That being said, I think we best play it safely and start collecting information about bases on the western half of Kanto, as well as any outliers."
"Fair enough. As for us, all available resources will be diverted to focus on your intelligence-gathering efforts. If something goes down, Johto will make sure you have the backup necessary," Wesley responded.
They discussed the plan for the remainder of March and April - mostly keeping them and other forces nearby in case of a firefight. After the meeting had concluded, Nathaniel led them down to the housing sector. But once they stepped off onto the fifth floor, they realized there was another stop in mind. "Boss's idea," Nate said as he opened the steel-enforced door. Weapons lined the several walls, separated into categories and types. "He wants you all to be armed at all times. And sorry to say, but we don't carry Tavors." As much as Michael hated to admit it, a seven-shot revolver was not exactly going to be suitable if they were attacked in large forces again. They each spread out among the lengthy room, browsing over the vast array of choices.
Michael headed over to the pistol section - there must have been at least fifty different models, with each one having accessories and spare parts directly beneath. As he was scoping out the various weapons, Thomas walked by with a G36, quickly scanned over the options, and grabbed a Glock-21. As Michael held a P226 in his hand, his eye was drawn to a couple of highly-accessorized Beretta M9A3s. The tan pistols had silencers, red-dot sights, and lasers on the bottom rail. He set the previous pistol down and took one of the M9s into his hand. He gripped it tightly, and, liking the feel of the gun, grabbed another.
After he snagged an MP5 as well, he headed outside with the others. Samuel had grabbed an AUG rifle, whereas the others had stuck with members of the AR platform. Nathaniel led them down to the living quarters - a series of rooms with two sets of bunk beds each, connected to a small restroom between each room. Bland, and much smaller than the rooms that they were used to, but they would have to make do. And a couple of housing changes were the least of their concerns for the time being.
"You all take it easy for a few days. I know you've each been through hell… so take some time to get back in the game. And once that's done, we're gonna get those fuckers and make them pay for all this."
Michael was given a room to himself - he'd need all four beds for him and all of his girls. He dropped his bags and set the guns onto the lone desk in the center. Michael then removed the belt containing the five luxury balls and looked at it for a moment before setting it to the side. Love them as much as he did, he wanted to be alone right now. After he locked the door, he took a seat against it. His mind drifted towards the man responsible for all of this and how he had forced all those people into slavery. How he had caused tens of thousands to suffer, and how he had killed that many more. And now, he had taken one of his best friends from him.
But they weren't about to sit this one out. Douglas couldn't even comprehend what was in store for him. He had woken a sleeping beast within Johto's military, and it would stop at nothing to bury him and everything he had ever done. And as for the Reapers… they weren't just coming because it was their job. They were coming for a head.
A/N:
My apologies again for the late update. We are beginning to come close to the end of part one of the story - almost a third of the way there in terms of chapters. It's looking like about 33 for this part of the story, so perhaps 100 chapters in total. I can't say anything about word count yet.
If you'd like to get into direct contact with some other well known authors in this fandom and I, don't forget to shoot me a PM requesting the Discord info. Until next time!
