"Ash?" Max asked, eyes wide and jaw slack.
Ash bit his lip. "Hold on a minute, I can explain!"
Tears ran down Misty's reddening face. "You'd better, Red."
Max shook his head. "Red, we figured it out. Same Pokemon, you speak the same way, heck, you even used the same strategy in your last battle? Did you really think we wouldn't notice that Counter Shield?"
"Dammit," Ash muttered. "Knew that was gonna bite me in the butt…"
Brock grinned, knowing he had the trainer cornered. "Admit it, Red Aronshu is an alias."
"I didn't plan on coming back like this," Ash groaned, putting his face in his hands. "You've unearthed information that could compromise the fate of the world if it gets into the wrong hands. We'll have to ask all of you to come with us."
"Where?" Brock asked, skeptical of Red's words. "And how can we know if you're truly Ash Ketchum?"
"Truly?" Ash said with a humorless laugh. "Brock, I haven't been the boy you knew in a very long time."
Misty shrank back a bit as the tension between Ash and Brock grew to nearly catastrophic levels.
"Can it, boys," Aurian said, moving between the two and putting her arms out. "You'll have time to talk this over later, after you've met some people that can fill the story in where we can't."
"This has something to do with the G-Men, doesn't it?" Max asked, wiping his eyes under his glasses.
Ash nodded. "Yes, it does. Aurian, go call our Commander. I promise we won't detain you, just let you stay long enough to find out what really happened. Xiphos!"
The Gallade appeared, immediately sensitive to the palpable tension at the campsite.
Aurian rolled her eyes. "You really have to go busting my cover just because they figured yours out? Not cool, man, not cool at all." She pulled out her Pokegear and pressed speed dial. Lance popped back up, worry evident in his glance.
"They figured it out," she said with a guilty look. "We're coming back. Any way we could borrow conference room number nine?"
Lance nodded. "I'm honestly not surprised. We'll get on it, see you soon."
"Xiphos," Ash rolled his shoulders, "take all of us to HQ. I'd prefer to use the actual entrance and not Entrance B, but do what you feel comfortable with."
The Gallade swung his arms and focused, sending the six through space back to Kanto.
Their feet hit the floor with a thud. Max caught Maddy as she nearly fell, Brock grabbed Misty's shoulder to stabilize himself. The newcomers turned around and stared at what lay before them.
"Welcome," Aurian said, "to the G-Men Headquarters."
"How old are these doors?" Brock asked, moving a bit closer to inspect the finely detailed woodwork.
Ash frowned. "About a hundred and fifty years, give or take? There was a different set before that but most of HQ was lost in a fire under our eleventh commander, Madigral."
As he spoke, the doors swung open, and the newcomers followed the Captains into their second home.
"How big is this place?" Max asked, taking in everything from the rough-hewn stone walls to the noises of troops moving about the base.
"Twelve stories, a couple of halls on each story, and tons of spare rooms in case of an emergency," Aurian said, quickly double-checking the number of floors on her fingers. "We need to be able to house the entire corps in case of an emergency, so there are a ton of spare bunks in the lower floors. We're currently about three-hundred feet below Kanto's Victory Road."
Ash stopped outside a conference room and ushered the group in, where Lance, Riley, and Steven stood waiting for the group.
"Good evening," Lance said. "Please sit down."
The newcomers did so with varying levels of suspicion.
"I know this is a lot for you to take in, but hear us out, there is a reason for everything that has happened so far," Riley said, stepping forward. "Many of our decisions crossed into a moral grey area, but everything we've done- as both an Executive Board and an emergency corps- was for the cause of Inter-Regional Peace."
Brock frowned. "I still don't understand how these two got caught up in all of this. Red, Blue, you had to be what, fourteen when you joined? The youngest person I've seen here didn't look more than nineteen or twenty."
"Good observation," Ash said, "and we're getting to that. I know you don't believe us, Brock, let me prove something to you."
Ash turned around, took his contacts out, and braced himself for a visceral reaction.
Max gasped. "Whoa."
"What happened to your eyes, Ash?" Misty asked, scared and intrigued by the change to her old best friend. "That can't be normal."
Brock nearly fell out of his chair. "Aura blue..."
"So you do remember!" Ash said with a smile.
Aurian smiled. "Continuing. As you've probably figured out, I'm not Blue Katrian. My name is Aurian Lillian Borealis, formerly known as Aurian Copland."
"That Aurian Copland?" Brock asked. "The one in the custody hearing that Inter-Regional news wouldn't ever shut up about?"
"The very same," Aurian answered. "Ash and I met on the night... was it night or early morning?- anyways, we met about three hours after the Sinnoh League ended. Ash was in rough shape and was surrounded by Galactics led by Mars, who wanted to take him out for sending Cyrus into the void."
"What do you mean by 'rough shape'?" Misty asked, afraid of learning the answer.
Ash took a deep breath and lifted the bottom of his shirt up, exposing the scar that ran from shoulder to hip.
"God," Misty attempted to disguise a choked, strangled sob. "What did that to you?"
"Tobias' Darkrai."
"You're freaking kidding me," Brock said, shaking slightly. "How did you make it out of that one alive?"
Ash released a few sparks from his right hand as he wrangled his shirt back down. "I healed myself. Aurian pitched in a little, too."
"A little?" Aurian said, her fingertips sparking. "I nearly fainted because of you!"
"Anyways," Ash continued, ignoring his patonai's outburst, "we escaped to Kanto on Lieutenant Surge's cargo plane and went back to Pallet."
"Lance," Aurian motioned to her Commander, "called us within an hour of our arrival and offered us asylum with the G-Men. Ash was offered membership if he passed a series of probationary tests."
"Just Ash?" Maddy asked. "How'd you get into this, Bl-Aurian?"
"Captain Borealis was insistent that she could keep up with the male recruits, so we decided to buck a good three-hundred fifty years of tradition and allow the first female probationary onto base," Lance said. "One of the best decisions we've made."
Max's jaw dropped. "Dang."
The patonai locked eyes with Riley and he nodded, encouraging the two to continue with their story.
"As we initiated, we decided to become Patonai- the Aura Guardian version of blade brothers. We swore our vows and started training under Riley after the official ceremony," Aurian said, pulling down her collar enough to show the tattoo-like emblem across their hearts. "We were sent to Sinnoh on what was supposed to be a small covert ops mission. It didn't turn out that way."
Ash nodded. "Galactic figured out what was going on within a few minutes of the operation starting and kidnapped Aurian during the middle of an ambush. They wanted to use her as a test subject in the development of a new Red Chain. I'll spare you the details. We almost lost her."
"It wasn't pretty," she said, rolling up the long sleeves of her shirt to reveal the coiled burn scars that stood out, livid, against her pale skin.
Maddy winced at the scars on her mentor, trying to imagine the kind of pain that she went through to stand for what she believed in.
"Then Unova, then Orre," Ash said. "We recruited Michael after we saw what he was capable of and he joined in readily. Then came Johto…"
"Damn Johto to hell," Aurian hissed, catching the civilians off guard.
"Long story short- we shut part of Rocket down, but it was only temporary. Now they're back in action and we're standing here in front of you."
Brock whistled. "I'm sorry I was so skeptical, I had no idea. Please forgive me for ever doubting you, Ash. I should've known better."
Ash analyzed his old friends' reactions. Brock's face contorted in shock, Max looked like he'd grown up by about three years in the last ten minutes, and Misty looked on the verge of a total breakdown.
"You okay, Mist?" he asked.
Misty shook her head. "All this because Tobias took advantage of your exhausted team?"
Ash and the youngest Waterflower shared a forlorn glance and they embraced for the first time in four years.
"Shh, it's okay. We're alive and well and so much stronger because of this. Please don't cry. I promise we'll get out of this next one, too," Ash said, quietly rubbing her back. "I've made it out of worse."
Misty sobbed into Ash's shoulder and Ash kept her close.
"I'm glad we have you back now," she said between deep, heaving breaths. "Things haven't felt right without you."
Brock and Max looked at each other, shrugged, joined their group hug.
"We'll do what we can to help and set this right," Brock said, putting an arm around Misty and Ash. "Rocket won't know what hit them. And if Tobias really is the mole, we'll help you give him hell for what he did."
Ash turned his attention to Max, who was barely holding himself together.
The smallest Maple's lip quivered the slightest bit. "Brother, you're back!"
"I really missed you, little Maple," Ash said, wrapping his trainee in an Ursaring hug.
Aurian stood away from the tearful reunion, Maddy by her side.
"You doing okay?" Maddy asked.
Aurian sighed and watched tears trickle down her patonai's face. "I think? I've stuck with that idiot for three years, nearly three and a half, and this is easily the hardest thing he's had to do."
Maddy hugged her mentor. "Thank you for your service, Aurian. You must've gone through some unspeakable things."
"You're welcome, Maddy," Aurian said, returning the action. "You're one of the few people that's bothered to say that."
Ash looked up from the mass group hug on the floor and extended a hand to Aurian, who accepted her patonai's hug and pulled Maddy in with her.
"I hate to interrupt this moment," Steven said, pulling a handkerchief from his back pocket, "but you guys need to hear something."
"Shoot," Ash said, helping his friends up off the floor and wiping his eyes on his sleeve. He tensed in preparation for the news that his superiors were about to give...
"We've managed to find more evidence to prove your point about Tobias' alliances," Lance said. "I'm not surprised at this point but I'm wondering how we missed this connection over all these years."
"What now?" Aurian asked. "Do we go back?"
"Go back and win that damn tournament," Lance said. "I'm not giving you any other options. The entire Armada will move to Lily of the Valley. If anything goes wrong, radio in and they'll be over in five, tops."
"Understood," Ash saluted, Aurian quickly following suit.
Lance nodded. "That is all. Go home."
The six walked back through headquarters, politely ignoring the fact that Ash and Misty started holding hands halfway through their walk.
"Ready to go back?" Aurian asked. "Misty, we've got a Girl's Forum to host."
"Damn, I'd forgotten about that!" she said, putting her head in her hands. "That shouldn't take too long, right?"
"Shouldn't take more than two hours," the Sinnoh Sharpshooter said. "We'll need the boys to help us set up, though..."
Ash groaned. "Roping us in at the last second? Really, Borealis?"
"Come on, complain about it once it's done. Get Xiphos to take us home, won't you?"
Two hours later, the six scampered around a press conference room, frantically attempting to organize the space.
"Anabel, how many chairs do we need?" Faith asked, kicking her stilettos off so she could move faster.
The empath quickly did the math in her head. "Maybe a hundred? Hundred and twenty?"
"Call it one-fifty," Aurian answered, passing a stack of chairs to her patonai. "Misty, you doing okay with the signs?"
Misty nodded. "I'm gonna need some help. Red, help me out?"
Ash was about to protest, but a wave of Misty's mallet quickly changed his mind.
"Does she always carry that thing around?" Touko asked.
Ash nodded, finishing up his row of chairs and following Misty out the door. "You have no idea."
"All right, I think we're getting pretty close to finishing up the preparations," Aurian said, clapping her hands together. "Out of curiosity, did anyone brainstorm a list of questions that the girls might ask?"
Faith nodded and pulled a neatly-folded sheet of paper out of her bag. "I've got copies for you guys. We're up on the platform, right?"
"Looks like it," Anabel answered, motioning to five chairs behind tables. "The League gave us water and snacks for everyone who wants them, so we need people to pass those out when our guests enter."
"I'll get on that," Brock said, picking up the box of water bottles and the snacks like they weighed nothing.
Faith whistled as he walked away. "Damn. That's impressive."
"I'll pass that on," Aurian said, laughing at the blush that tinged Faith's face.
"We're back!" Ash held the door open for Misty. "There's already a crowd starting to form on the outside of the building."
Aurian frowned at her watch. "So soon? Damn. Let's go!"
The five scattered across the room to act as ushers, hand out pamphlets about the different League Circuits, and welcome the girls to the occasion.
Ri, I'm going to take point at the door, Ash said. I'll keep watch. You enjoy this, okay?
Aurian nodded. Thank you, Ash. I owe you one.
The hundred and fifty chairs filled up. Girls of all ages crowded against the walls and stood up in the back.
Touko tapped her microphone. "Hello, everyone, and welcome to the first ever Girl's Forum! We figured we'd start with an introduction of who we are and the circuits we've competed in. I'm Touko White, from Nuvema Town in Unova. I took the Royal Circuit- Unova, Kalos, Kanto, and Sinnoh."
"I'm Faith Sorenson," the oldest competitor said. "I'm from Lavender Town, Kanto, and I'm a Four Great Regions Veteran- Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh."
Aurian grinned at the crowd. "I'm Blue Katrian, from Canalave, Sinnoh. I did things a little out of order in the Fifth Circuit- Sinnoh, Unova, Kanto, then Johto."
"I'm Misty Waterflower from Cerulean. I've competed in the Indigo League and the Renegade Rounds, which are a gym-leader exclusive tournament held every other year at the base of Mount Silver."
Anabel smiled. "I'm Anabel Harkinian, originally from Cinnabar Island. I've competed in the Sinnoh and Kanto Leagues and Battle Frontiers, respectively."
"We're curious to hear your questions," Aurian said. "Anyone willing to start things off?"
A small girl sitting dead-center on the left side raised her hand. "If you had to start your journeys all over again, what would you tell yourselves?"
"Damn," Faith said, "I'd tell myself that it's natural for beliefs to clash. As long as you're willing to stand up for what you believe in, you'll find the strength to continue on."
"Don't worry about what people think of you. Use the energy you would've spent worrying to prove their expectations wrong," Touko answered.
"Why did you choose battling over Contests or Musicals?" An older girl in the back asked.
"I wasn't ever a fan of the Contest system," Anabel said. "I personally prefer the tactical challenges of battle. Granted, it'll be different for everyone here. Battling, Contests, and Musicals aren't one-size-fits-all. Find what works best for you and pursue it."
Aurian nodded. "I started off in Contests and missed the Sinnoh Grand Festival by one ribbon. I wasn't enjoying the activity anymore so I dropped Contests, made the fastest sprint through the Sinnoh League possible, and jumped into the Lily of the Valley Tournament way too soon for my own good."
"What was your favorite League to battle in?" Maddy asked.
"Kalos, surprisingly," Touko said. "It was cool getting to see Pokemon that I was totally unfamiliar with."
"Kanto Battle Frontier," Anabel added. "Not that I'm biased or anything."
The room laughed.
Another hand raised and Aurian found Ash in the back of the room. He motioned around his wrist with two fingers and pointed to his temple.
Red alert, something's coming.
Aurian nodded, nudged Misty's foot under the tablecloth, and pulled Arcanine's Pokeball off her belt, readying for action.
"Sexism in the battle world isn't as out there as you think it is," Faith started. "It's more of a standard than anything else. It's been implemented without effort since the days that girls and women were expected to stay home with the kids and not venture too far from the kitchen..."
Her answer was cut off by a large explosion from outside. The power flickered, the room shook, sending the carefully-hung banners crashing to the floor. When the lights came back on, the audience was shaken but unhurt.
"Faith, Anabel, and Touko, stay with the girls and protect them," Aurian said, turning off her microphone. "Misty, you're with me. We're tracking down whatever made that explosion and taking it out before it does any more harm."
The two girls slipped out of the room and into a janitor's closet, where they met up with Ash, Brock, Max, and Maddy.
"I've already called Riley," Ash said, pulling his covert ops uniform out of his backpack. "He, Hiori, Michael, Wes, Sam, and a the rest of the Armada are on their way over. Lance'll be keeping aerial patrol and sniping from above."
"What did you sense?" Aurian asked, quickly exchanging her civilian clothes for her trusty uniform.
Ash gulped. "Around three hundred people? Couldn't get an exact number but they're all rallying together under one banner."
"You don't think it's Andan, do you?" Aurian paled, losing all color in her face.
"I don't know, but that's my best guess. Looks like the days of divided Teams are over," Ash replied, carefully placing his hood over his head. Only crimson eyes shone out.
Aurian did the same, masking her face in the shadows of the hood.
"Max, Maddy, I want you two to stay here," Aurian said. "It's dangerous out there and I trust Faith, Touko, and Anabel to keep a good eye on you guys. If something feels weird, call Brock."
The trainees nodded.
"Be careful, okay?" Max said, hugging Ash. "We just got you back..."
"This time'll be different," Ash winked. "Come on, Braveheart, we've got work to do."
The patonai, Brock, and Misty left the building through a well-disguised side entrance and found most of the Armada waiting on them.
"Armada," Ash said, and his company saluted. "Here's the situation. Three-hundred people are marching in our direction. We don't know how many Pokemon they have on them."
"We believe they are Andan," Aurian continued, trying not to react at the company's visible wince. "The outcome of this skirmish is crucial. We'll have extra assistance from Misty Waterflower and Brock Harrison today. Wes, I want you to explain the concept of an Alpha-Delta Six to our new additions."
"Understood," Wes said. "You two, come with me."
"As for everyone else," Ash said, "you're with us. Set up an AD6 in a chevron with the middle right in front of this door. We have civilians in there that we can't afford to lose or injure. Clear?"
The Armada saluted and began to arrange themselves in an inverse-V.
"Wait for me," a new voice said. "Can't leave your Commander out of this, can you?"
The patonai turned towards Riley and saluted. "Sir!"
"Good call with the AD6. Brock and Misty are sandwiched between Wes and Sam?"
Aurian nodded. "We figured that'd be the best place for them. If we need to, we can cover their ground with our flying types."
"Any last minute comments?" Ash asked.
Riley shook his head. "No. Now, we wait and see what this mob came to do. I'm giving them about seven minutes before they get here, maybe longer."
The three settled into formation with Riley taking point and the patonai on either side of him.
"Arcanine," Aurian said, calling out her team member. "We're starting an AD6. You need to stay between Hiori and I. Make sure no one gets to the door of the building behind us, okay? I know you've got this."
The fire-type licked Aurian's face and trotted off to his position.
"Lucario," Riley commanded, calling on his best friend. "You're running interference. Find anyone who's struggling and help them out. Report back to me every once in a while, I'd like to know how you're holding up."
Understood, Lucario said, sprinting off to watch Misty and Brock's backs.
"Pika, shock anyone that tries anything funky. If Red Chain pops up here- which I don't believe it will, but there's a chance- you're in charge of seizing and destroying it. Got it?"
"Pi-cha!" Pika said, nuzzling Ash's cheek and leaping off his shoulder.
Aurian bit her lip and released Cass, who immediately took a knee.
How can I be of service, ma'am?
"Please call me Aurian, Cass. How are you in hand-to-hand combat?"
That's the only thing that Rocket didn't have to train me in, ma'- Aurian. As loathe as I am to say it, I excel in combat."
"You don't have to elaborate on this if you don't want to," Aurian said. "I get it. There are things we've gone through that leave scars that shouldn't be touched."
Cass shook her head. No, miss, I feel that you, your patonai, and Riley need to hear how I ended up here. I was kidnapped by Rocket before my egg hatched- or that's what they told me. Never knew my parents or if I had any siblings. As you already know, Rocket treats their Pokemon at the equivalent level of garbage- we can be replaced at any time without penalty. There were four others in my hatch batch- a Poochyena, a Drifblim, a Machop, and a Koffing. I'm the only one still alive.
"I'm so sorry," Ash was at a loss for words.
I miss them. Greatly. After I evolved, Rocket paired me with the man you rescued me from and sent us on missions. He couldn't use tactics for crap- pardon my Kalosian. He took his failure out on the other team members, but I wouldn't let him touch the little ones. That kept going for a good four, five years until the trainer moved up in the ranks to Giovanni's personal guard. I caught wind of their internal mission and nearly ended it all so I wouldn't disgrace the name of the Guardians. Then you two barged in and shut down the systems. That was the first glimmer of hope I'd felt since I was born.
Aurian wiped her eyes and lowered her hood, much to Ash and Riley's shock.
"Cass, look at me. I promise to never treat you like that, I swear on my soul," the girl said, fire burning in her eyes. "Let's make a deal. When all this is over, we'll find the man who did this to you and ensure that he gets the justice he deserves."
The Lucario smiled. Sounds like a plan. Thank you, Aurian. You've shown me more kindness in the past three days than I've seen in my entire life. Same goes for you, Ash, and for you, Riley. Pass this on to Lance, as well. I'm looking forward to continuing to get to know you all and how you fight.
Ash watched as his Armada checked their hoods and readied for battle. Sam stretched his arms, Wes shook out his hands, Hiori traded a secret handshake with Michael, Misty nervously checked her team with Brock looking on, Eusine tossed his thigh-length cape over his shoulder- wait a second, that wasn't regulation- and Tommy spoke with his Salamence. The Captain could feel Lance shift slightly on top of Dragonite, fifty feet above him. Mack the Sniper checked his scope from on top of the building that the Forum was taking place in. Keith and Kellyn checked their stylers and tried not to distract themselves with idle conversation.
Aurian tensed, her hood swaying slightly as she pulled it back over her head. "They're here. Cass, stick with us."
"Armada, brace for impact!" Riley called, stretching out his arms and shoulders.
The mob appeared a bit down the gravel path, flying a single banner in the middle of the mass. The Andan insignia was a solar eclipse on a field of crimson and black. Ash suppressed a shudder at the amount of people present. Some still wore the uniform of the Team they joined but most wore a simple black tunic with red pants, the Andan logo embossed over their hearts.
"Can't see who's in charge. Wait for them to land the first strike," Riley raised his voice. "We cannot come out as the aggressors in this battle!"
Aurian paled when she realized who stood in the point position for the Andan Alliance.
"Dammit, it's Saturn!" she hissed, just loud enough for Ash and Riley to hear her. "Thought he was dead!"
"Obviously not," Ash said. Aurian refrained from socking her patonai in the shoulder and settled for a deadly glare. "See any other familiar faces?"
"Mack, coming in," the rooftop resident said through an earpiece. "We've got about two-hundred eighty six on our hands. Unusual that they're taking the mass mob formation. So far, Saturn's the only Admin that I've seen present. That might change, though."
Ash's world faded to shades of blue. "That's all of them. Can't sense anyone hiding in the forest around us. Pack mentality, perhaps?"
Saturn stopped about thirty feet from the point of the G-Men's formation, analyzed the situation, and released a Drapion.
"G-Men," he said with a curt nod. "May I please speak with your commanding officers?"
"Negotiation," Riley said. "Shadow, Braveheart, you're on. The Master and I will keep things under control here."
Ash and Aurian pulled Saturn over to an area of forest obscured from view.
"Our leader wanted to present you with a list of demands," he said, passing over a neatly-folded envelope. "Would you like to read them now?"
Ash nodded and opened the envelope.
"I'm sorry, but we cannot agree to these," Ash said, burning the envelope with a variation of an aura flame. "The G-Men stand against everything you are pushing for."
Saturn sighed. "Understood. I have a favor to ask of you, Captains."
"Depends on the favor," Ash said, crossing his arms.
"I want no part in this," Saturn confessed. "I want you to take me prisoner after this fight concludes. What I've seen on New Island can't be released. They shoot anyone who tries to leave. Everyone there- the scientists, the grunts, the executives… Andan has no idea what the thing that they're about to launch on this world can do."
"We can do that for you, but there's something you need to know first," Aurian said, completely shocking Ash.
Saturn raised an eyebrow. "What would that be, sir?"
Aurian dropped her hood. "Do you remember me, Saturn? From the second time you tried to summon Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina?"
"My God," Saturn said, losing all color in his face. "You're supposed to be dead."
"But I'm not. I've lived with the pain of Andan meddling in something they shouldn't. I can't let this happen again," she said, pulling her hood back up. "The first time you nearly destroyed the world was bad enough."
Ash crossed his arms. "I'll give you two options. The first is to go against us in combat and we'll take you as a prisoner of war. The second is to voluntarily come back to our side, completely abandoning your post in front of your colleagues and leaders. Which do you choose?"
"My moral compass may be a bit screwed up, but I am still a man," Saturn said. "I'll return with you. I know I'll most likely face prison time for what I did to you, miss, but someone needs to set this right, and that starts now."
Ash nodded. "I admire your honesty with us, Saturn. Let's get this over with."
The three left the cover of the woods and returned to the Armada. Riley gaped at Saturn and motioned to the booing grunts before them.
"The hell just happened?" he asked.
Ash stood a little taller. "Commander, he's defected to our side."
"Let me fight with you to prove it," Saturn said. "I'm not much in the hand-to-hand department but my Pokemon work well together."
"Let me make one thing clear," Riley hissed, "If you dare try anything on any of my kids, you'll be out of commission faster than you can blink."
"Crystal," Saturn winced.
"We're putting you on the end, next to the rangers. Go find Keith and Kellyn, ditch the Andan logo, and start fighting for your life," Ash said.
Saturn nodded and took off towards the end of the chevron.
"That was unexpected," Ash said. "We might have our chance now, if Saturn can live to the end of the battle. He said they take out anyone who leaves."
"Don't know if he's brave or stupid," Hiori called. "We starting this thing or no?"
A different man stepped into point for Andan and pulled a Pokeball from his belt, releasing an Absol.
"I'll do what that traitor could not. Andan, charge!" he yelled.
Ash raised a fist. "Armada, forward!"
Hell broke loose as the mob exploded into action. Pokemon from both sides leapt into the fray. Grunts and G-Men alike entered hand-to-hand combat.
Misty and Brock stood back and let their Pokemon fight for them. Mack helped them out by taking down whomever he could with tranquilizer bullets especially designed for him, Lance and Dragonite sniped out the more powerful Pokemon from the skies. Hiori moved so quickly that he easily could've been mistaken for a Pokemon using Extreme Speed. Keith and Kellyn freed as many of their opponents' Pokemon as they could with their trusty stylers, causing a bit of panic on the east end of the mob.
Aurian half-kept track of her Armada but kept most of her focus on helping Ash and Riley whenever she wasn't dispatching someone on her own. Since she was about a head shorter than Ash and a head and a half under Riley, most of the grunts went for her first, thinking she was the easier target.
Oh, were they wrong.
She'd plowed through nine of them in the first thirty seconds of the brawl. Now the Andan were keeping their distance, trying to rely on their Pokemon to reach the interior of the building.
A grunt caught her slightly off guard and the younger patonai ducked to avoid a left hook.
"Looks like you need a hand," Riley said, releasing his Gallade to help out. The Gallade took out the grunt, saluted, and dashed off into the heart of the battle.
Ash laughed. "It's rare that you get to see action, Commander! Welcome," he ducked an uppercut and landed a right hook, "back to the real world!"
"Haven't missed it much, to be completely honest with you. Staying quiet, Braveheart?" Riley asked.
Aurian nodded as she took down three grunts in a series of perfectly executed kicks and assassin-esque movements. Not risking anything yet, you two. Ash, if you could do what we did back on New Island if push comes to shove, I'd greatly appreciate that.
"Of course I will," Ash said, flashing his patonai a thumbs-up before launching himself back into the fight.
The battle raged on. Ash could tell that the Armada, though tough, were starting to lose steam. Sam made a faulty maneuver and nearly lost an arm in the process. Wes, who normally didn't make any mistakes in combat, took a boot to the side. Keith had a bloody nose, Kellyn had a makeshift bandage tied around his left arm, Tommy seemed to be favoring his right ankle.
A trumpet sounded off and the Andan Alliance grunts stopped fighting and parted, leaving a massive divide with only a single man in the middle.
"Giovanni," Ash hissed, his aura flaring. "here, of all places?"
"This is Mack. Want me to take him out?"
Riley winced. "Not yet, Mack. Wait. He might have information for us at a later time."
Ash, Aurian, and Riley stepped forward, three navy shadows on the scarred path.
"Did you read our demands?" Giovanni asked.
Aurian winced at the intensity of his aura.
"We cannot and will not uphold the requests of a group who refuses to follow the law," Riley said.
"Sir," Ash began, struggling to contain his aura at the sight of his worst enemy, "with all due respect, we ask that you leave these premises immediately. You're breaking Inter-Regional Law in its highest degree right now and thousands of civilians are in danger."
Giovanni laughed. "How cute, the smallest G-Men members are trying to talk the Andan Alliance out of our plans. Nice try, sonny, but that isn't going to work."
The three aura users made eye contact.
Now? Aurian asked.
Riley nodded. Let's show them what they're actually up against.
The heads of the Armada lifted their right hands in tandem and released their auras in the form of flames out of their fingertips and palms. The other G-Men grinned at their commanders and started healing their teams during the distraction.
Giovanni's face lost all color. "No..."
"We know that you aim to erase the very existence of the Guardians off the face of this earth," Riley said, his voice booming across the grounds. "You can try to frighten us with your synthetic Pokemon and your army of turncoat believers but you will never sway us from what is true."
Ash grinned a terrifying grin, his eyes burning through the contacts. "The only way that you'll succeed in trampling out our history is over our dead bodies."
Aurian extended the first two fingers on her right hand in Giovanni's direction, the tips glowing a deadly blue.
Riley and Ash stared at Aurian as she relaxed. Guardians didn't two-finger salute unless they intended to announce a challenge to duel or intended to start a blood feud, both of which had been unheard of for centuries.
A Dragonite landed and Lance stepped forward, his cape billowing in a new breeze. "And, as the Commander General of the G-Men, I cannot stand for this. This organization was founded on the ideals of the Guardians- the most righteous and moral people that ever lived. We cannot abandon their beliefs, as they are the foundation that promotes justice throughout the echoes of these lands. You slander their names, you slander ours."
The Armada erupted into cheers, the cacophony drowning out any Andan protest.
"Very well, then," Giovanni said, clearing his throat. "If it's a war you want, a war you have, G-Men!"
Thunder cracked across the clearing and the leader Andan Alliance vanished, leaving the battlefields scarred and charred.
Aurian sighed and grabbed onto the arrowheads around her neck. Ash, Riley... what did we just do?
We'll figure out the repercussions later, Riley said. We can't lose this chance to finish this up!
"Armada!" Ash called, launching himself back into the fray.
The rest of the battle went much quicker than the first half. Ash kept a careful eye on Saturn, who winced a bit every time he took down a former ally. Soon, the last punch was thrown, the last kick landed squarely in a grunt's ribs, and the Armada called it a day, taking as many prisoners as possible.
Saturn returned from the end of the chevron and extended his wrists. "I'm a man of my word. Take me and do what you will but please be kind to the men and women that were in my division. Several of them share my sentiments and stayed out of fear."
"Understood," Riley said. "Is there anything you can tell us about MissingNO that we don't already know?"
Saturn nodded. "I wasn't the lead scientist on the project but I did have access to about half the classified information surrounding it. I can tell you now that it is sentient."
Aurian's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious."
"I wish I wasn't. But yes, MissingNO can answer questions and form its own logical statements. Last I knew, they were figuring out if it could interpret emotions and come to conclusions based on simple prompts."
"Damn it all," Riley said. "Thank you. You'll go with Wes- he's the ridiculously tall guy with the three red stripes on his left sleeve- back to headquarters, where you'll work out a deal with our technology division. Don't make us regret this."
Saturn turned on his heels, found Wes, and the two vanished thanks to Wes' Natu.
"Lance has the Jennies on their way with prison transport," Riley said. "You two need to get Misty and Brock and go check on those girls. Start making plans for your Top Twenty battles, use tactics from the Handbook you two created if you need to. I'm proud of you."
The patonai hugged their mentor, who shooed them off towards their friends.
"You guys okay?" Aurian asked once they reached Misty and Brock.
Misty nodded. "Yeah, we're alright. Sam and Wes took good care of us. Our teams are a little… ah…"
"Wrecked," Brock said. "The word you're looking for is wrecked. Someone came through with a tiny little Mawile and blew through a lot of our teams in a short amount of time. Can you help us out?"
Ash nodded. "Hand me your Pokeballs."
Misty and Brock passed over their team members and Ash pulled on his reserves to envelop the Pokeballs in a soft wave of aura.
"They should be good now," Ash said, passing them back. "We need to go check on the girls, you guys want to come with us?"
"Let's go!" Misty replied, dragging the three along with her to the door.
After the patonai changed back into civilian clothes, they met up with Misty and Brock outside the conference room and opened the door.
What they found threw the four greatly off guard.
The girls had turned the room into a fortress- the younger and newer trainers hid behind stacks of chairs and the older ladies had the door surrounded with their Pokemon.
"Stand down!" Aurian yelled. "It's just Misty and I and two of our friends. Everyone all right in here?"
"Yeah, we're good," Touko said, motioning for her makeshift squadron to relax. "What was going on out there?"
"The Teams united under a single name," Ash said. "We'll fill you in on it later. For now, we need to get these girls home. If they have family here, they'll be wanting to get back to them."
Anabel nodded and grabbed her microphone. "Gotcha. Hey, girls, looks like we're going to have to finish this up at a later time. Thanks to the G-Men, we're safe again. If you have questions for any one of us, feel free to stay!"
Most of the girls returned their Pokemon and left but a few stayed behind to talk with Anabel, Misty, Aurian, and Touko.
Ash frowned, counting four lady mentors. "Anabel, where'd Faith go?"
"She helped us plan the counter-offensive in here and went up to the roof to keep watch. Haven't heard from her in a while, so it looks like no news is good news, right?"
"I heard that," Faith said, entering the room barefoot. "Sorry about that delay."
Ash kept quiet and noted that she walked with a faint limp, favoring her right ankle.
"No worries, thanks for watching out for us," Touko said. "We need to go get coffee or do something together before this tournament ends."
Aurian nodded. "Definitely! It's a shame that this had to be cut short, but I'm glad we all got to plan this together. See you all tomorrow?"
Faith, Anabel, and Touko waved goodbye as they left the building.
"Did you see that?" Brock asked.
Aurian nodded. "Faith was definitely not walking with that limp when she got here, or when we left. Looks like she did more on that roof than stand watch."
"Something's not sitting right with me about this," Ash asked. "If she'd seen what was going on, wouldn't she have sent updates back to the girls so they knew if they were going to have to fight or not?"
"Unless she meant not to send updates," Max muttered.
Ash and Aurian exchanged dumbfounded looks.
"Does Andan have a second mole?" Ash asked, his stomach dropping towards his toes.
Aurian shook her head. "We'll need to do more research, but my gut's telling me that we're heading in the right direction, however much I don't want to believe it."
Max frowned. "What does this mean?"
"It means," Ash said, "that we have a pariah on our hands. She has to be at least as powerful as Tobias, if not more. This fight just got a whole lot harder."
(A/N): Hello, everyone, and thank you so much for reading chapter 18 (eighteen!) of Primary! It's review response time...
WritingForMuffins: Thank you! Hope this chapter lived up to your expectations!
Mark Andrew: Thanks! I'm not sure if that AU is in the future but I do have ideas for a few sequels bouncing around. As for Mewtwo... there are plans. Carefully laid plans, but plans.
boomingmaster: Thank you for the reviews, and I'm glad that someone agrees with me there.
Don't forget to review! Thank you all so so so much for reading, I'm glad that you guys stuck with me through that nasty hiatus and that you're enjoying the ride as much as I am. Special shoutout to my wonderful beta, thechinskyguy! Go check out his newest story, "Hell and Hell Again"- three chapters in and I'm already hooked.
This is PL, signing off!