There isn't any time to think. There is barely any time to act.
"Over here! Give me your hand! Powergirl, take them with you!"
"The left side caught fire! Torrent!"
"I know!"
"Zephyr! This is Nightmare! I have three people here in need of pickup!"
"On my way!"
To be perfectly honest, if it wasn't for our teamwork that had been perfected after months of drills and backbreaking training there's no way we could have coordinated with each other so seamlessly. Each of us knew exactly what our individual roles are and knew exactly what to do to best adapt to the situation.
Pyral and Jacky had set up a safe zone within the sector which our squadron was allocated to evacuate. Their pokemon are diligently guarding the perimeter, preventing the civilians within from coming to harm. Amy, Adam, and Rufus are in charge of finding and bringing people into the safe zone we had set up. My job is to evacuate those within the safe zone to the designated Area LD155 with help of my flying types.
The injured, the young, and the elderly are given priority, followed by the adults. There isn't time to listen to any of the civilians' petty squabbles of who should be rightfully evacuated first, if there are any. If we encounter any resistance we simply tossed them onto my flying types before we take off towards Area LD155.
We don't have time.
I myself had lost count how many times I had flown to and fro between Area LD155 and the stadium. Rockets had started to fill the stadium once more as they seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Many times a stray attack or two would have gotten us if it wasn't for Pyral's charizard and Jacky's crobat acting as bodyguards for me and my team of flying types.
To bring along a greater number of people for each journey, we had used a special kind of net which we Rangers affectionately called the 'delivery net'. As its name implies, it assists us in delivering people or things. Whatever people or goods we have to deliver will sit right in the middle of it, the four corners of the net are to be held by our pokemon as they move together at the same speed towards their destination.
Basically, we are ferrying people across the skies using a large net held together by four of my larger pokemon. Dia, Echo, Aria, and Tino are currently using the net to ferry as many as they can for each journey. The rest of my flying types either act as their escorts or assist in defending the safe zone from hostile fire.
"Skye, dive towards your four o' clock!"
Crown reacted before I did, swerving downwards within a split second. A stray bolt of lightning would have hit me if it wasn't for the warning.
"Thanks, Liam!"
"Be careful!"
"INCOMING!"
A massive explosion occurred right in the middle of the route the Rangers are using to evacuate the masses from the stadium to the designated areas. An armoured pokemon flew up from within the smoke and began to indiscriminately fire off waves of psychic energy in our direction.
"GET DOWN! GET DOWN NOW!"
"Tino, to our left!"
With Tino acting as the leader, the rest of my flying types who are using the delivery net immediately tried to follow Tino's lead in order to avoid Mewtwo's attack. The civilians within the net screamed at the sudden midair twist, as if that would save their lives.
However, even I can tell that we are not going to make it in time. Even if Crown can dodge that attack, Tino and the rest cannot. The civilians will be hit and they will die from it.
"Ranger, don't move! Dragon Pulse!"
A bombardment of Dragon Pulse was fired from behind us as they hit the huge wave of psychic energy before it could get us, prematurely setting off a series of explosions that produced a gust of wind so strong that even Crown was nearly blown off with me on his back. Tino and the rest managed to maintain their altitude while staying out of the blast range, coming out of it unscathed.
I turned around, only to spot the Indigo Champion giving me a thumbs up before diving right back into the fray with his dragons.
If this wasn't such a bad moment, I would have fangirled at the fact that Lance himself just thumbs up me.
"This is Champion Lance! I will open up a route! All Rangers, follow behind me!"
Lance's voice could somehow be heard over the din. His presence and voice alone is enough to calm us down and assure us that everything is going to be alright. Our morale was raised once again as we followed his orders, trailing behind his team of dragons while protecting the civilians we are trying to escort out of the battlefield.
Mewtwo is currently busy battling against countless streaks of yellow lights. I don't know what these lights are, but my best guess is that they are pokemon who moved so fast that their forms could only be seen as streaks of yellow lights by the human eye. Down on the ground below, Elite Four Karen and Gym Leader Elesa from Unova are busy assisting whoever is taking part in aerial combat against Mewtwo.
A flash of psychic later, Elite Four Will dropped down from above together with Bruno. We watched in awe as Bruno's fighting types physically smacked Mewtwo into the ground at speeds so fast that it produced a sonicboom. The stadium shook at the impact and we could see an army of poison types closing onto where Mewtwo had fallen almost immediately. That must be the work of Elite Four Koga.
The Elite Four have the situation handled.
"Hyper Beam!"
As one, Lance's dragonites collectively fired a Hyper Beam that blasted a huge gaping hole towards the Rockets in our way, obliterating them from the face of the earth in an instant.
I could only stare in awe. This, is the power of a Champion.
"GO!"
We didn't dare to waste any time. Rangers who, like me, were tasked to transport the civilians from the stadium to the safe areas outside the stadium immediately rushed out of the stadium now that both Mewtwo and a substantial number of the Rockets are no longer in our way.
Beats produced three clicking noises before rushing straight ahead with Emi and Hawk right behind him. Beats must have detected something that we didn't.
"Cosmo! Sitrep!"
'Five hostiles ahead.'
"Glide, Heli, assist them! Clear the way!"
My gliscor and masquerain heeded my orders as they followed after Beats. Pyral's charizard flew higher into the air above us before shooting a flamethrower straight ahead in an area where my eyes couldn't see, but I know it well enough to understand that it is lending us a hand.
"We have twenty seven left!" Pyral informed me the moment we returned to the stadium once more after sending the previous batch of civilians to Area LD155. "Can your flying types take them all at once using the net?"
"Affirmative! Get on!"
"Good! Everyone, you heard Zephyr! Defend her and her flying types while she gets the civvies onto the net!"
"Yes Sir!"
"Is Teleport still being blocked?!"
"Last I checked, it's an affirmative! The STAR forces are still unable to pinpoint the source of the interference!"
"They are too damn slow!"
"This is Nightmare! My location, three o' clock! Bunch of ursarings heading our way! ETA three-zero sec-! Scratch that! One-zero seconds!"
"Do not engage them on your own! Torrent, are you able to lend a hand?!"
"Negative! I'm still trying to contain the fire that is spreading our way!"
"This is Powergirl! I can assist Nightmare!"
"Good! Venom, you go too! There's no need to tangle with them for too long! Disengage the moment Zephyr and her team takes off! Leave it to STAR to take care of them!"
"Yes Sir!"
"Get them on quick!" I instructed my flying types as they quickly picked up whoever is closest to them and deposited them onto the delivery net, ignoring the civilians' protest. There isn't time to tell the civvies to stay calm and not panic, not when every second counts right now. They either endure the rough treatment we are giving them and suck it up, or stay here and die.
We don't have time.
"Cremator, I'm taking off!"
"Go! We will be right behind you! Venom, you guys prepare to disengage!"
"Roger!"
We took off again, and hopefully this is the last time I would ever see the Indigo Stadium today. My flying types flew in a formation around the net with my larger pokemon holding the net together. Just as we were about to fly out of the stadium, I spotted Pyral and his fire types chasing after us from below, probably acting as our escort.
Crown suddenly gave an alarmed squawk, and it was then I saw what he saw.
Right below, near an area of the outer walls of the stadium where a large gaping hole is, a little boy that couldn't be any older than ten is crying and huddling in a hole with no way for him to get out. I have no idea why or how he is there without any members of the Indigo forces spotting him for so long, but that isn't the worst that I saw.
Right above the boy, a large piece of debris is dropping down on him and the boy does not realise it.
My body reacted even before my mind did.
"CROWN!"
Crown didn't hesitate as he dove down towards the boy at maximum speed with me on his back. Getting the boy out of there before the debris hits him does not seem to be possible, so the best alternative will be to destroy the debris before any harm could be done.
"Air Slash!"
With a flap of his wings, Crown succeeded in destroying the debris without slowing its flight in the slightest. We touched down onto the ground and I immediately got down from Crown's back to lift the boy out of the hole.
'Cosmo, get Tino and the rest to proceed to Area LD155 without me. We will join you soon. I'm counting on you guys.'
'Understood. Stay safe, mistress.'
"Hush, it's all right now. You will be fine."
I carried the boy and hugged him close to me as I quickly made my way back to Crown, who is standing nearby and on alert. The boy clung onto me tightly as he buried his face into my chest, crying uncontrollably.
The only thing I can do is to pat him on the back and try my best to soothe him.
I was about to climb back up onto Crown's back when he suddenly moved to position himself in front of me and without delay, fired another blast of Air Slash ahead.
"Get her!"
This time, I didn't have time to react. All of a sudden, we were bombarded by attacks fired by Rockets who weren't previously around the area. Crown had managed to hastily use a Protect to defend us for harm but there's no way the Protect could last for long.
I grimaced. For a Flying Specialist, this is literally the worst situation to be in. Grounded with all exits blocked, fighting indoors, in cramped spaces.
"Hyper Beam!"
A Hyper Beam was fired and while Crown's Protect held, the force of the attack was powerful enough to throw us all backwards. I managed to shift my body in time and place myself in between the boy and the wall which we are thrown against, shielding the boy from harm.
God, that fucking hurts.
"B-Big sis!"
"I'm fine!" I gritted out as I tried my best to ignore the acute pain. Crown is picking himself up from the ground too as he prepared himself for another bout.
"Don't worry, I promise I will get you out of here. Crown, Whirlwind!"
"Mach Punch!"
A hitmonchan moved before we were able to, punching Crown away from me. I quickly moved the boy out of harm's way as I half-dragged, half-carried him along with me before a victreebel nearly succeeded in impaling us both with the sharp end of its vine.
"Flame Charge!"
Hope arrived in a blaze of fire as the moving flames rammed the hitmonchan and victreebel away before the Rockets could do anything. The blur of flames didn't stop there, but rather, did the impossible by making a sharp turn even while moving at such high speeds and continuing to charge towards the remaining Rockets and their pokemon.
The edge of my vision caught a fast moving blur of purple and it stopped in front of me. A massive scolipede hissed and clicked its mandibles fiercely as it stood protectively by my side with its poisonous stings raised, using its body to shield me from potential harm. From right behind the Rockets, a pangoro roared as it began to send any Rockets and their pokemon flying left and right using only its fists. Another Rocket tried to retaliate by sending out another pokemon from the pokeball in his hand, only for a lopunny to drop in from above and took him out with a well-placed kick. The Rockets who tried to flee were swiftly neutralised by a regal looking kingdra that knocked them out with accurate blasts of pressurised water.
"Zephyr! You alright?!"
"We are fine!" I replied, relieved to see my squadron once more. "You guys sure have nice timing."
"Sorry, it took me a while to locate you and to get here. You were too damn fast." Pyral apologised as the moving ball of fire ceased burning and his arcanine trotted back to his side. Jacky ran up to me and assisted me and the boy in picking ourselves off the floor.
"You are hurt."
"I'm fine." I insisted as I stood up once more, letting Jacky carry the boy instead. My back is hurting so badly that I doubt I could lift the boy up again. At least, not right now. I need some time to recover.
"Sorry to interrupt, but this is one bad place to hole up in. Can we move?"
For once, nobody rebutted Adam because he does bring up a valid point. We cannot stay here for too long or we will be fishes in a barrel when more Rockets head our way.
Without another word, Pyral took point as he rode on his arcanine, with Jacky and Rufus following behind as they rode on Amy's tauros. Adam, Amy, and I flew through the air using our pokemon's help.
We reached Area LD155 soon enough. The rest of my pokemon team are already there and are anxiously waiting for my return. I quickly thanked them before recalling them into their pokeballs, only leaving Tino out with me. A large number of police are here maintaining law and order while ensuring the safety of the civilians. I can also see the rest of the Rangers from the 1st Regiment slowly trickling in one after the other. It seems that we had all completed the mission General Hartatter had given us.
"We are done here, the police will take care of the rest. Five minutes, go do or check whatever you need to do, then gather back here. We will be moving out right after." Pyral ordered before turning to take his leave, walking towards the direction where the rest of the squadron commanders are.
"Here you go." Jacky told the little boy as he entrusted him to a police officer. The boy had stopped crying by now as he looked at Jacky, then back at me.
"O-Okay." The boy stuttered before calling out to me before the police officer could whisk him away.
"B-Big sis!"
"Yes?"
"T-Thank you! Thank you for saving my life!"
"Just doing our job." I told the boy as I bent down a little and patted him on the head. "The police will find your parents for you, so be patient, okay?"
"O-Okay!" The boy nodded determinedly before surprising us with his next words.
"I-I will be a Ranger when I grow up! J-Just like you and that mister over there!"
Jacky and I were both stunned for a short moment before we let out a collective laugh.
"Sure, we will be waiting." Jacky said with a grin as he lowered himself to the boy's height. "And when that time comes, we can save people together, okay? Remember, we are from Johto's 1st Ranger Regiment, Black Squadron. My codename is Venom and she is Zephyr, and we will see you there in the future! Promise?"
"Promise!"
We watched the police officer leading the boy away until he was out of our sights. I was about to turn and leave until Jacky grabbed me by the arm.
"What?"
"Go get yourself checked. You were thrown against a wall for goodness sake."
"I'm fine."
"Skye-"
"Five minutes is almost up." I replied as I gently pried Jacky's hands off me. "Besides, this is an emergency. There's no time to rest."
I walked on ahead with Tino lumbering along beside me. She let out a soft croon, looking at me in concern.
"I'm fine." I reassured Tino. "I have a feeling that we might need to fly to many places later. I will be counting on you."
Tino's throat rumbled a little, telling me that she understands what is expected of her in our new mission assigned to us.
Pyral was already there when we returned. Like I had suspected, another mission has been given to us. We are being reassigned to help out in another location as of immediate effect.
"We are going to Blackthorn. Long story short, Team Rocket has their armies marching towards almost every single town or city in Johto right now. We won't be taking part in the fight, the other Indigo forces will be handling that part, but we will be needed to ensure that civilian casualties are brought down to the minimum. There isn't a strict order to follow for this particular mission other than saving as many as we can. Use your own professional judgement to assess the situation on the ground. Clear so far?"
"Yes boss."
"Good, then we are moving out right now. Zephyr."
I nodded as Tino got on all fours to allow us to climb onto her back. With a flap of her wings, we took off once more. As long as Tino is around, we could reach anywhere in a matter of minutes.
Time is of the essence, lives are at stake.
To Blackthorn we go.
Name: Skye Bale, 16, Female
Affiliation: Indigo Ranger Force, Johto Region, 1st Ranger Regiment
Rank: Staff Sergeant
Code Name: Zephyr
Pokemon Team:
1. Pidgeot (Crown), male
2. Gliscor (Glide), male
3. Skarmory (Dia), female
4. Crobat (Beats), male
5. Jumpluff (Cotton), female
6. Dragonite (Tino), female
7. Noivern (Echo), male
8. Emolga, (Emi), female
9. Hawlucha (Hawk), male
10. Sigilyph (Cosmo), female
11. Aerodactyl (Aria), female
12. Masquerain (Heli), male
