Final Pokémon Fantasy IX
Episode 5: Model Team Rocketry
"They're overtaking the entire kingdom, the whole lot of them..." Dagger stared in disbelief as she saw the whole legion of soldiers, marching towards the castle. "We've got to do something..."
"But what can we do?" Zidane stared hopelessly. "They may look weak but there's far too many of them..."
"Whatever the cost, I shall protect both of you," Steiner consoled.
"Thanks, Rusty," Zidane gave him a pat on the back. "But for the most part, we should make an escape route..."
"I only have one way," Dagger said. "That is by Eidolon."
"WHAT?!" Zidane exclaimed. "You're going to fry the whole lot of them?!"
"I have no choice..."
"COOL!" Zidane gave Dagger a passionate kiss, and Steiner looked away to give them privacy. "My best bet is that you summon Leviathan, so it doesn't hurt the castle walls."
"Okay..." Dagger then started to pray. "Leviathan... help us... Wash away these intruders..."
A flash of water appeared, and it splashed down in front of the three of them. But instead of Leviathan emerging, a water demon appeared. It's top half was human-like, but its bottom half was more like a sea creatures. Its voice crackled through the air. (I am the Kraken! As Leviathan cannot answer you call, I shall answer your prayers until he returns.)
"The Kraken?!" Zidane asked in surprise. "I thought you were uglier, and we whipped your butt in Memoria!"
A sweat drop appeared on its head. (That was my cousin...)
"Oh, sorry... Can you get rid of that evil legion that's about to take over the castle?"
(Very well,) with a powerful wave, a giant tsunami emerged from inside the castle, washing away the whole line of troops. The Kraken disappeared in a flash of water.
"We saved the castle!" Dagger and Zidane hugged, and the plucky Steiner was hopping with happiness. But someone was about to crash the party.
"You're not out of the clear yet, you little twerps!" came a snide voice. Two females hopped on to the balcony in which Zidane and his company stood. Zidane resisted the urge to flirt with them, blaming that fact on his teen hormones. Nevertheless, he readied his double daggers, knowing it was going to get ugly.
"Give it up, scumbags!" Zidane thundered. "We sent your army packing!"
"Be off, ye smelly miscreants! Leave this castle be!" Steiner readied his huge Ragnarok sword.
"No can do, little medieval twerps!" said the second female. "We have business to do with the queen! And you forgot about the members that are ALREADY inside, hmm?"
"What is it you want with me?!" Dagger hissed at the duo.
"Come with us and find out!"
"So it's true," said the first. "She is quite the looker."
"Not as good-looking as me!"
"Or me!"
"Shut up!" Steiner snapped. "Y-y-you're just in denial!"
"My wife is FAR better looking than you losers!" Zidane got a smug grin on his face.
"WHAT did you just say?!" raged the first one.
"You heard us," Steiner and Zidane stuck out their tongues. Dagger just giggled and blushed.
"THAT'S IT," hissed the second. "I had enough! Prepare for trouble and make it double!"
"To wreck the world with devastation!" announced the first.
"To unite our peoples from under our nation!"
"To get rid of the evil that is truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Cassidy!"
"Jesse!"
"Team Rocket! Circling the earth, day and night!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight! And since you wimps made us mad, we FIGHT!" Jesse's eyes became strained as a flurry of razor leaves attempted to slice our heroes.
"Augh!" Dagger screamed as a razor leaf made a cut on her skin.
"WHAT??! HOW DARE YOU HURT THE QUEEN!" Both Steiner and Zidane raged and blew both of them back with sword attacks.
"What a shame I had to hit a lady!" Steiner mused. "But if they're scoundrels like you, I don't mind!" He rushed Jesse with a Stock Break.
"Hmph, so you're stronger than you look," Cassidy raised an eyebrow, recovering from the strike. "But not strong enough!" Cassidy's eyes rolled back and glowered white, and a dragon rose from the bottom of the balcony. It roared and crashed into Zidane, who staggered backwards. Clutching his chest in pain, Zidane glared at Cassidy and tossed up a coin. That coin turned into a treasure chest, which plopped down and exploded in her face. She fell over, but the blast almost knocked Jesse off the balcony. Steiner attacked with sword blow number 2, further beating Cassidy down.
"Urgh..." Jesse clambered back up. She landed a punch in Steiner's face and sent him reeling to the edge of the balcony. She aimed yet another flurry of razor leaves, cutting off the balcony were Steiner stood.
"Rrauughh-AAUGH!!!" Steiner clutched the edge, hanging on for dear life.
"Steiner! NO!" Dagger rushed and tried to get to him to help him up. But she wasn't fast enough. The balcony chipped where Steiner was holding onto and he fell to his doom...
"STEINER!!!" Dagger cried.
"Hmph! Now it's time you joined him, brat!" Cassidy sneered. Rolling back her eyes, this time two dragon spirits emerged to attack. But before they could blast through her, a figure jumped in front of her and took the blow instead.
"Z-Zidane?" Dagger looked on in disbelief as Zidane fell from the blow. "No... Why did you have to-"
"Get... OUT of here..." Zidane gasped. "Leave... before they kill you..."Zidane fell, no longer able to stand.
Tear struck, Dagger looked on at the Rocket members in anger before running away into the castle. Unfortunately, upon arriving inside, there stood a whole mass of Team Rocket members, but they were occupied with something else. Dagger glimpsed in the crowd to see Rob and Beatrix fighting off several of them, while Quina and some others just shivered in fear. Quina changed faces when he saw Dagger. "There Dagger!" s/he pointed. The Team Rocket members all stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to Dagger.
"It's the queen!" one shouted.
"ATTACK!!!" shouted another.
"You and your big mouth!" Taz smacked Quina in the part where it hurt most.
Shocked with fear, Dagger simply fainted, right before the onrush of soldiers...
****
"I am not afraid... Pikachu..." Ash voiced quivered, showing his fear and bravery. He and Pikachu stepped forward, ready to do battle with the great Kuja.
"Hahahahaha!!! You really think you can beat me now?! Your pathetic mouse only won last time because it caught me off guard," Kuja just laughed. "Don't waste your life, boy. Now just give yourself up..."
"NEVER! Pikachu! THUNDERSHOCK!!!!" Ash commanded.
Pikachu let loose his usual flurry of electricity, but Kuja simply cast reflect on him and James. The electricity bounced back into Ash. "WAAAHHH!!" Ash clutched his chest in pain. Pikachu, seeing that he hit the wrong target grew furious and launched a powerful Thunderbolt (Thundaga) on Kuja, but it too, bounced back. Luckily, it didn't hit either target.
"Pikachu! They have on a barrier! Don't use thunder!" Ash yelled.
"You see, Giovanni?" Kuja showcased his voice. "Reflect bounces off magic. With the right equipment, it even grows stronger! LUA hahahahaha!"
"Pika..." it hissed. It charged itself with electricity, and rushed toward the two attackers. It snapped its tail, catching both by surprise and delivering a powerful blow. Kuja, however, countered with a slam to the earth, sending Pikachu rocketing to the air. He then snapped a Demi on Ash, causing him to scream in pain.
Giovanni looked in interest. This man, despite his odd dressing style and mysterious demeanor, has already proven himself to be an unstoppable force. Capable of the black magic that his minions are 100 times stronger, he should prove a great asset to Team Rocket. And to make things even better, he asks so little in return. So far, all he asked for was the queen of the kingdom his troops were taking hostage and a couple of his enemies dead. That also included some of HIS OWN enemies! He quickly radioed his troops to send the queen to his base and now, with his new ally, nothing was going to stop him, or his new partner, for that matter, from ruling the world.
He watched as Kuja continued to show off his magic, belting every trick up his sleeve on the hated boy and his Pikachu.
Kuja ripped a Firaga on the two, but this time Ash dodged the move. Quite shocked, Kuja decided to cast slow to humiliate him more, but then the tides turned.
"I had enough of this..." Ash, beaten, tired, and weary gathered the last of his strength. "You have picked on the innocents for far too long..." Ash focused in on himself. Suddenly, a pulse of power shot through him. He glowed white, and a burst of energy consumed him. He even sprouted two pairs of small wings.
Kuja looked on in shock and amusement. "Oh, so he figured out how to Trance..."
"What is Trance?" James and Giovanni asked almost at the same time.
"So glad you asked..." Kuja began to explain. "Trance is a dormant power in everyone. I can Trance. You can Trance. Heck, even small monsters like that yellow mouse can Trance. It is fueled by a surge of emotion, but triggered differently from person to person. When someone does achieve this, they gain extreme amounts of power, allowing them to use powerful magic they couldn't use before. Now, watch this little boy..."
Ash voice this time seemed to ring out from the room. "This is not where you people belong. You have destroyed innocent lives for the last time," his wings spread out. "Now, I cast Judgement Bolt! Leave this place alone, DEMONS!" Ash emitted a blast of powerful thunder, blasting away the other members of Team Rocket, even James. The power shot right through Kuja and even nearly struck Giovanni.
"Ay, S***!!" Kuja staggered backwards. "It can't be reflected, and it's STRONG!"
"We'll be destroyed if we stick around any longer! We've got to get out of here!" Giovanni yelled.
"My point exactly..." Kuja whistled, and a few seconds later, a silver dragon crashed through the ceiling. Swiftly dodging the bolts of thunder coming from Ash, it landed next to Kuja. "This is our ticket out of here!"
"Nice dragon..." Giovanni muttered as he hopped on. Kuja jumped on as well. The dragon, with one giant flap of its wings flew off, dodging more currents of thunder flowing from the holy Ash. It sailed off into the west, the noon sun showing no mercy.
Seeing that the threats to the lab are gone, Ash calmed down, and fell out of Trance, back to normal. Pikachu ran into his arms. "Pikachu..." he said. "We did it. We beat him once more..."
"PIKA!" Pikachu nuzzled Ash in happiness before leaping out of his arms. He then dashed to a back room.
Ash followed, and coming to the back, he saw Professor Oak dusting himself off. "Professor Oak!" Ash cried.
"Ash! Thank goodness!" the professor cried. "Thanks for clearing out my lab! I have a LOT of research to do, especially about Trance!"
"Yeah... are you okay?"
"I'm fine!"
"Too bad you can't say the same thing about your mother!" a voice with a New Jersey accent crowed. "Ha! Team Rocket always gets the last laugh!" Meowth landed down from the ceiling and leapt out of a window.
"You little s***!!" Ash jumps out right behind him and tails him, Pikachu following closely.
"HA, ha haHA HA!" Meowth seemed to enjoy himself, leading the two right to in front of the Ketchum family house. There, Meowth had two nameless Team Rocket members... and Ash's mom, tied down to a chair. She seemed to be quite bruised and tear struck.
"You leave my mom alone!" Ash thundered.
"Oh, yeah? MAKE ME!!!" Meowth pulled out a small bell. "All righty! BIG MOMMA! Show loser boy how much you've grown!"
"I've never heard of Big Momma," Ash said, scratching his head.
"Well uh... SHOW THIS WIMP HOW STRONG YOU ARE!!" Meowth tinkled a bell, and a giant ice spike jutted from the ground. The ice then broke, revealing a giant ice serpent! It had a red jewel below its mouth and oddly had what looked like wings on the side.
"IIITTZZAAARRRR!!!" the monster roared in a throaty voice.
"Izzar! Give 'em a Blizzard Wind (PKMN Blizzard)!"
"IITTZZAAAARRR!!!" the monster blew a powerful gust of icy wind on Pikachu, blowing it quite a distance.
"PIIKAAA..." Pikachu shook off the ice and ripped a Thundara attack. Meowth and Izzar were heavily shocked.
"Pikachu! Don't give them a break!" Ash cried. "Make them eat Thunderbolt/Thundaga!"
The bolt took a moment to charge up before smashing into Izzar and Meowth. Izzar countered with another Blizzard Wind, this time hitting Ash and Pikachu.
"Urgh! Eat nail gun!" Meowth aimed a claw, and in a violent rush, several nails erupted from his paw. Pikachu, however, shielded himself and Ash with a burst of electricity.
"Izzar! Kill them all!" Meowth commanded. "LUA HAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
Izzar lunged at his targets, and Pikachu readied a counterattack. But before the mouse could do anything, something leaped out from behind them and cut the monster in half with a HUGE sword.
"Whoa, what the heck?" Ash stared in amazement as there was a giant metal creature standing in front of them. The creature was built human-like but about double the size in stature. It held a giant sword in its right hand, and small spikes on its shoulders.
"Die fiends..." came the slightly robotic voice of the monster. With a single slice it sent the two rockets that charged at it packing. Meowth, utterly horrified, decided it was running time!
"Augh, crap!" Meowth kicked himself, sending him skyward. "Team Rocket's blasting off again!" He disappeared into the sky with a *ding*.
Ash rushed past the monster and to his mom. "Mom!" he cried. "Are you okay?!" he hacked away at her bonds and set her free.
"I'm okay now..." she hugger her son tightly. "But what or who's that?" she pointed to the metal man.
"Greetings," it bowed. "I am Meta, an Iron Man from Memoria. I'm trying to find my way home, and it so happens that I had a grudge against those soldiers."
"Wow!" Ash looked at this "Meta" with pure interest. "I'm sure Team Rocket's despicable scum, but what did they do to you?"
"Not 4 months ago, a person by the name of Kuja entered Memoria, the place of memory, holding the past of the planet and life itself in its realm. He came to destroy the life crystal, which is the pure origin of life for this planet."
"KUJA??!!" Ash exclaimed. "Same guy waltzing about trying to kill people?!"
"That would be him! I don't know why he wanted to do so, but then a troupe of brave heroes came in and defeated him. That effect sealed off Memoria, since the planet was no longer in danger... Unfortunately that effect also chased out the guardians of that place... Namely, my whole race."
"Wow... but what does that have to do with Team Rocket?" Ash asked.
"I'm getting there... This group of humans known to you as Team Rocket came and enslaved my entire race, capturing them with balls similar to those on your belt..."
"Ouch!" Ash flinched. "So that's why you hate them... I understand. But good or evil, they mistook you for what's called a 'Pokémon'. Pokémon are creatures that train to do battle with one another. Team Rocket's a smelly organization dedicated to using Pokémon for evil. But both good and evil trainers keep their Pokémon in balls like this. Get my drift?"
"I think..."
"Yeah, so just because I have these things doesn't make me a bad guy! I hate TR just as much as you do! Speaking of that, we've got to get back to Alexandria!"
"Hmm? Why?"
"They're taking it over, and they must be stopped!"
"COUNT ME IN!" Both Ash and Meta begin to run off, but a voice stopped them.
"Ash! Wait!" his mom called. Ash stopped in his tracks and came back. "Oh, I'd hate for you to leave me again!" she gave him a tight hug. "But I realize that you have to save the world... Good luck!"
"Mom! Take this..." Ash handed his mom a pokéball. "Allow his fire to protect you..." he returned the hug. He then hopped of the balcony. "Bye! And visit Professor Oak!"
"Bye..." Ms. Ketchum waved to her son, tears of happiness in her eyes as she watched him run off to save the world with his Pikachu and his new metal friend.
****
"This look bad..." Quina looked around at the advancing army. Rob and Beatrix were growing weaker, and they couldn't hold the army much longer. Being cornered on the stairs was NOT a lively fate.
"WHAT GAVE YOU THAT IDEA??!!!" Taz repeatedly smacked Quina upside the head. "It's your fault we couldn't rescue the d*** queen, and then you keep stating the obvious! You screw up everything!"
"Leave him alone, fatso!" Vivi Jr. smacked Taz in the knee with her staff. "S/he can't help him/herself!" she patted the miserable Quina on the head. "I'm sorry..."
"That okay!" Quina chirped. "He fatter than me, no care at all!"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME??!!!" Taz raged.
"Hey! This way!" Came a voice from the window. A young girl, looking about Taz's age, lowered a rope down to our heroes.
"Hmm? This is an escape route! Let's go!" Vivi Jr. cried.
"Beatrix! Rob! We're outta here!" Taz called.
"What? Home free?" Rob asked, repelling a magic shot from a Rocket member.
"Let's move!" Beatrix took one final swipe at the soldiers with her sword before she turned tail and ran, climbing the rope after the rest of the heroes.
Beatrix landed down on the ground, looking at everyone. The crew was transfixed on looking at the land they were on. They seemed to be overlooking steep gorge, though it was a much livelier sight due to the lack of Mist. She was also faintly aware of an "OW!!! D*****!" but she didn't pay much attention to it. What got her attention was that the girl that rescued them was a member of Team Rocket! Her suit, however, was gray instead of black. And her eyes glowered a faint blue... If this wasn't a trap, then why was she helping them?
Rob voiced out her thoughts. "Hey, if you work for Team Rocket, why are you helping us?"
"Simple," said the girl. "I'm a double agent. A little young, but I can take the pressure."
"Who do you REALLY work for?" Taz asked.
"Ah, so you really want to know, hmm?" she said, seductively tickling Taz's chin. "I'm afraid I can't tell you-yet."
Taz looked lovestruck, being mesmerized by the stranger.
"HEY! Stop seducin' us!" Rob snapped.
"But honestly, I can tell you that I'm a good guy. I personally don't approve of this... and I'm worried about the queen..."
"What happened... to my wife..." our heroes turned to see Zidane emerge, heavily bruised, his tail bleeding. He and Steiner were both staggering and barely able to hold each other up. However, Zidane stopped and gave the girl a steely glare. "Who are you? Tell me where they took my wife... NOW..."
"Kidnapped by those Team Rocket b******s, no less..." the girl said. "It's too bad I have to work for them. However, I pay true allegiance to another group, determined to bring them down...
"Most likely they took her to the big base. You'll have to head north from here for a whooping 25 miles... I must leave, now." She gave them all a bow. "Know that I'm on your side. I'll see to it that the queen's safe..." she turned tail and ran, leaving our heroes behind. Beatrix turned to Zidane.
"How'd you end up down here?" Beatrix asked Zidane.
"Heh, I tried to save Dagger from those Team Rocket brats, but I failed... Next thing I know, I land right on top of Rusty here in a haystack, makin' my tail bleed... Lucky save, eh? They think we're both dead..."
"Very clever! We get moving now!" Quina demanded.
"S/he's right, who knows what they'll do to Queen Garnet?" Rob said.
"Let's go!" Vivi jr. cried. "I wanna shove a flare attack up their butts..."
"We're... ready..." Steiner wheezed.
"You two need some rest first!" Beatrix snapped. "Come. We can cover more ground and let these two recover if we take a Chocobo drawn carriage." They took to the stables and hitched a ride on one of the Chocobo carriages. Beatrix took to the helms and rode off.
"TO RESCUE THE QUEEN!!!!" they all cheered.
That's it for episode 5! Next Up: Episode 6: A Flair of Opportunity
So our heroes set off to rescue Dagger. What do the bad guys want with Dagger? What the heck is Meta after, anyway? And who's that girl that always helps them out, much less who is that girl under Trance who keeps trying to beat the bloody crap out of them? All this and a bag of chips await you in the next episode of Final Pokémon Fantasy!
Episode 5: Model Team Rocketry
"They're overtaking the entire kingdom, the whole lot of them..." Dagger stared in disbelief as she saw the whole legion of soldiers, marching towards the castle. "We've got to do something..."
"But what can we do?" Zidane stared hopelessly. "They may look weak but there's far too many of them..."
"Whatever the cost, I shall protect both of you," Steiner consoled.
"Thanks, Rusty," Zidane gave him a pat on the back. "But for the most part, we should make an escape route..."
"I only have one way," Dagger said. "That is by Eidolon."
"WHAT?!" Zidane exclaimed. "You're going to fry the whole lot of them?!"
"I have no choice..."
"COOL!" Zidane gave Dagger a passionate kiss, and Steiner looked away to give them privacy. "My best bet is that you summon Leviathan, so it doesn't hurt the castle walls."
"Okay..." Dagger then started to pray. "Leviathan... help us... Wash away these intruders..."
A flash of water appeared, and it splashed down in front of the three of them. But instead of Leviathan emerging, a water demon appeared. It's top half was human-like, but its bottom half was more like a sea creatures. Its voice crackled through the air. (I am the Kraken! As Leviathan cannot answer you call, I shall answer your prayers until he returns.)
"The Kraken?!" Zidane asked in surprise. "I thought you were uglier, and we whipped your butt in Memoria!"
A sweat drop appeared on its head. (That was my cousin...)
"Oh, sorry... Can you get rid of that evil legion that's about to take over the castle?"
(Very well,) with a powerful wave, a giant tsunami emerged from inside the castle, washing away the whole line of troops. The Kraken disappeared in a flash of water.
"We saved the castle!" Dagger and Zidane hugged, and the plucky Steiner was hopping with happiness. But someone was about to crash the party.
"You're not out of the clear yet, you little twerps!" came a snide voice. Two females hopped on to the balcony in which Zidane and his company stood. Zidane resisted the urge to flirt with them, blaming that fact on his teen hormones. Nevertheless, he readied his double daggers, knowing it was going to get ugly.
"Give it up, scumbags!" Zidane thundered. "We sent your army packing!"
"Be off, ye smelly miscreants! Leave this castle be!" Steiner readied his huge Ragnarok sword.
"No can do, little medieval twerps!" said the second female. "We have business to do with the queen! And you forgot about the members that are ALREADY inside, hmm?"
"What is it you want with me?!" Dagger hissed at the duo.
"Come with us and find out!"
"So it's true," said the first. "She is quite the looker."
"Not as good-looking as me!"
"Or me!"
"Shut up!" Steiner snapped. "Y-y-you're just in denial!"
"My wife is FAR better looking than you losers!" Zidane got a smug grin on his face.
"WHAT did you just say?!" raged the first one.
"You heard us," Steiner and Zidane stuck out their tongues. Dagger just giggled and blushed.
"THAT'S IT," hissed the second. "I had enough! Prepare for trouble and make it double!"
"To wreck the world with devastation!" announced the first.
"To unite our peoples from under our nation!"
"To get rid of the evil that is truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Cassidy!"
"Jesse!"
"Team Rocket! Circling the earth, day and night!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight! And since you wimps made us mad, we FIGHT!" Jesse's eyes became strained as a flurry of razor leaves attempted to slice our heroes.
"Augh!" Dagger screamed as a razor leaf made a cut on her skin.
"WHAT??! HOW DARE YOU HURT THE QUEEN!" Both Steiner and Zidane raged and blew both of them back with sword attacks.
"What a shame I had to hit a lady!" Steiner mused. "But if they're scoundrels like you, I don't mind!" He rushed Jesse with a Stock Break.
"Hmph, so you're stronger than you look," Cassidy raised an eyebrow, recovering from the strike. "But not strong enough!" Cassidy's eyes rolled back and glowered white, and a dragon rose from the bottom of the balcony. It roared and crashed into Zidane, who staggered backwards. Clutching his chest in pain, Zidane glared at Cassidy and tossed up a coin. That coin turned into a treasure chest, which plopped down and exploded in her face. She fell over, but the blast almost knocked Jesse off the balcony. Steiner attacked with sword blow number 2, further beating Cassidy down.
"Urgh..." Jesse clambered back up. She landed a punch in Steiner's face and sent him reeling to the edge of the balcony. She aimed yet another flurry of razor leaves, cutting off the balcony were Steiner stood.
"Rrauughh-AAUGH!!!" Steiner clutched the edge, hanging on for dear life.
"Steiner! NO!" Dagger rushed and tried to get to him to help him up. But she wasn't fast enough. The balcony chipped where Steiner was holding onto and he fell to his doom...
"STEINER!!!" Dagger cried.
"Hmph! Now it's time you joined him, brat!" Cassidy sneered. Rolling back her eyes, this time two dragon spirits emerged to attack. But before they could blast through her, a figure jumped in front of her and took the blow instead.
"Z-Zidane?" Dagger looked on in disbelief as Zidane fell from the blow. "No... Why did you have to-"
"Get... OUT of here..." Zidane gasped. "Leave... before they kill you..."Zidane fell, no longer able to stand.
Tear struck, Dagger looked on at the Rocket members in anger before running away into the castle. Unfortunately, upon arriving inside, there stood a whole mass of Team Rocket members, but they were occupied with something else. Dagger glimpsed in the crowd to see Rob and Beatrix fighting off several of them, while Quina and some others just shivered in fear. Quina changed faces when he saw Dagger. "There Dagger!" s/he pointed. The Team Rocket members all stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to Dagger.
"It's the queen!" one shouted.
"ATTACK!!!" shouted another.
"You and your big mouth!" Taz smacked Quina in the part where it hurt most.
Shocked with fear, Dagger simply fainted, right before the onrush of soldiers...
****
"I am not afraid... Pikachu..." Ash voiced quivered, showing his fear and bravery. He and Pikachu stepped forward, ready to do battle with the great Kuja.
"Hahahahaha!!! You really think you can beat me now?! Your pathetic mouse only won last time because it caught me off guard," Kuja just laughed. "Don't waste your life, boy. Now just give yourself up..."
"NEVER! Pikachu! THUNDERSHOCK!!!!" Ash commanded.
Pikachu let loose his usual flurry of electricity, but Kuja simply cast reflect on him and James. The electricity bounced back into Ash. "WAAAHHH!!" Ash clutched his chest in pain. Pikachu, seeing that he hit the wrong target grew furious and launched a powerful Thunderbolt (Thundaga) on Kuja, but it too, bounced back. Luckily, it didn't hit either target.
"Pikachu! They have on a barrier! Don't use thunder!" Ash yelled.
"You see, Giovanni?" Kuja showcased his voice. "Reflect bounces off magic. With the right equipment, it even grows stronger! LUA hahahahaha!"
"Pika..." it hissed. It charged itself with electricity, and rushed toward the two attackers. It snapped its tail, catching both by surprise and delivering a powerful blow. Kuja, however, countered with a slam to the earth, sending Pikachu rocketing to the air. He then snapped a Demi on Ash, causing him to scream in pain.
Giovanni looked in interest. This man, despite his odd dressing style and mysterious demeanor, has already proven himself to be an unstoppable force. Capable of the black magic that his minions are 100 times stronger, he should prove a great asset to Team Rocket. And to make things even better, he asks so little in return. So far, all he asked for was the queen of the kingdom his troops were taking hostage and a couple of his enemies dead. That also included some of HIS OWN enemies! He quickly radioed his troops to send the queen to his base and now, with his new ally, nothing was going to stop him, or his new partner, for that matter, from ruling the world.
He watched as Kuja continued to show off his magic, belting every trick up his sleeve on the hated boy and his Pikachu.
Kuja ripped a Firaga on the two, but this time Ash dodged the move. Quite shocked, Kuja decided to cast slow to humiliate him more, but then the tides turned.
"I had enough of this..." Ash, beaten, tired, and weary gathered the last of his strength. "You have picked on the innocents for far too long..." Ash focused in on himself. Suddenly, a pulse of power shot through him. He glowed white, and a burst of energy consumed him. He even sprouted two pairs of small wings.
Kuja looked on in shock and amusement. "Oh, so he figured out how to Trance..."
"What is Trance?" James and Giovanni asked almost at the same time.
"So glad you asked..." Kuja began to explain. "Trance is a dormant power in everyone. I can Trance. You can Trance. Heck, even small monsters like that yellow mouse can Trance. It is fueled by a surge of emotion, but triggered differently from person to person. When someone does achieve this, they gain extreme amounts of power, allowing them to use powerful magic they couldn't use before. Now, watch this little boy..."
Ash voice this time seemed to ring out from the room. "This is not where you people belong. You have destroyed innocent lives for the last time," his wings spread out. "Now, I cast Judgement Bolt! Leave this place alone, DEMONS!" Ash emitted a blast of powerful thunder, blasting away the other members of Team Rocket, even James. The power shot right through Kuja and even nearly struck Giovanni.
"Ay, S***!!" Kuja staggered backwards. "It can't be reflected, and it's STRONG!"
"We'll be destroyed if we stick around any longer! We've got to get out of here!" Giovanni yelled.
"My point exactly..." Kuja whistled, and a few seconds later, a silver dragon crashed through the ceiling. Swiftly dodging the bolts of thunder coming from Ash, it landed next to Kuja. "This is our ticket out of here!"
"Nice dragon..." Giovanni muttered as he hopped on. Kuja jumped on as well. The dragon, with one giant flap of its wings flew off, dodging more currents of thunder flowing from the holy Ash. It sailed off into the west, the noon sun showing no mercy.
Seeing that the threats to the lab are gone, Ash calmed down, and fell out of Trance, back to normal. Pikachu ran into his arms. "Pikachu..." he said. "We did it. We beat him once more..."
"PIKA!" Pikachu nuzzled Ash in happiness before leaping out of his arms. He then dashed to a back room.
Ash followed, and coming to the back, he saw Professor Oak dusting himself off. "Professor Oak!" Ash cried.
"Ash! Thank goodness!" the professor cried. "Thanks for clearing out my lab! I have a LOT of research to do, especially about Trance!"
"Yeah... are you okay?"
"I'm fine!"
"Too bad you can't say the same thing about your mother!" a voice with a New Jersey accent crowed. "Ha! Team Rocket always gets the last laugh!" Meowth landed down from the ceiling and leapt out of a window.
"You little s***!!" Ash jumps out right behind him and tails him, Pikachu following closely.
"HA, ha haHA HA!" Meowth seemed to enjoy himself, leading the two right to in front of the Ketchum family house. There, Meowth had two nameless Team Rocket members... and Ash's mom, tied down to a chair. She seemed to be quite bruised and tear struck.
"You leave my mom alone!" Ash thundered.
"Oh, yeah? MAKE ME!!!" Meowth pulled out a small bell. "All righty! BIG MOMMA! Show loser boy how much you've grown!"
"I've never heard of Big Momma," Ash said, scratching his head.
"Well uh... SHOW THIS WIMP HOW STRONG YOU ARE!!" Meowth tinkled a bell, and a giant ice spike jutted from the ground. The ice then broke, revealing a giant ice serpent! It had a red jewel below its mouth and oddly had what looked like wings on the side.
"IIITTZZAAARRRR!!!" the monster roared in a throaty voice.
"Izzar! Give 'em a Blizzard Wind (PKMN Blizzard)!"
"IITTZZAAAARRR!!!" the monster blew a powerful gust of icy wind on Pikachu, blowing it quite a distance.
"PIIKAAA..." Pikachu shook off the ice and ripped a Thundara attack. Meowth and Izzar were heavily shocked.
"Pikachu! Don't give them a break!" Ash cried. "Make them eat Thunderbolt/Thundaga!"
The bolt took a moment to charge up before smashing into Izzar and Meowth. Izzar countered with another Blizzard Wind, this time hitting Ash and Pikachu.
"Urgh! Eat nail gun!" Meowth aimed a claw, and in a violent rush, several nails erupted from his paw. Pikachu, however, shielded himself and Ash with a burst of electricity.
"Izzar! Kill them all!" Meowth commanded. "LUA HAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
Izzar lunged at his targets, and Pikachu readied a counterattack. But before the mouse could do anything, something leaped out from behind them and cut the monster in half with a HUGE sword.
"Whoa, what the heck?" Ash stared in amazement as there was a giant metal creature standing in front of them. The creature was built human-like but about double the size in stature. It held a giant sword in its right hand, and small spikes on its shoulders.
"Die fiends..." came the slightly robotic voice of the monster. With a single slice it sent the two rockets that charged at it packing. Meowth, utterly horrified, decided it was running time!
"Augh, crap!" Meowth kicked himself, sending him skyward. "Team Rocket's blasting off again!" He disappeared into the sky with a *ding*.
Ash rushed past the monster and to his mom. "Mom!" he cried. "Are you okay?!" he hacked away at her bonds and set her free.
"I'm okay now..." she hugger her son tightly. "But what or who's that?" she pointed to the metal man.
"Greetings," it bowed. "I am Meta, an Iron Man from Memoria. I'm trying to find my way home, and it so happens that I had a grudge against those soldiers."
"Wow!" Ash looked at this "Meta" with pure interest. "I'm sure Team Rocket's despicable scum, but what did they do to you?"
"Not 4 months ago, a person by the name of Kuja entered Memoria, the place of memory, holding the past of the planet and life itself in its realm. He came to destroy the life crystal, which is the pure origin of life for this planet."
"KUJA??!!" Ash exclaimed. "Same guy waltzing about trying to kill people?!"
"That would be him! I don't know why he wanted to do so, but then a troupe of brave heroes came in and defeated him. That effect sealed off Memoria, since the planet was no longer in danger... Unfortunately that effect also chased out the guardians of that place... Namely, my whole race."
"Wow... but what does that have to do with Team Rocket?" Ash asked.
"I'm getting there... This group of humans known to you as Team Rocket came and enslaved my entire race, capturing them with balls similar to those on your belt..."
"Ouch!" Ash flinched. "So that's why you hate them... I understand. But good or evil, they mistook you for what's called a 'Pokémon'. Pokémon are creatures that train to do battle with one another. Team Rocket's a smelly organization dedicated to using Pokémon for evil. But both good and evil trainers keep their Pokémon in balls like this. Get my drift?"
"I think..."
"Yeah, so just because I have these things doesn't make me a bad guy! I hate TR just as much as you do! Speaking of that, we've got to get back to Alexandria!"
"Hmm? Why?"
"They're taking it over, and they must be stopped!"
"COUNT ME IN!" Both Ash and Meta begin to run off, but a voice stopped them.
"Ash! Wait!" his mom called. Ash stopped in his tracks and came back. "Oh, I'd hate for you to leave me again!" she gave him a tight hug. "But I realize that you have to save the world... Good luck!"
"Mom! Take this..." Ash handed his mom a pokéball. "Allow his fire to protect you..." he returned the hug. He then hopped of the balcony. "Bye! And visit Professor Oak!"
"Bye..." Ms. Ketchum waved to her son, tears of happiness in her eyes as she watched him run off to save the world with his Pikachu and his new metal friend.
****
"This look bad..." Quina looked around at the advancing army. Rob and Beatrix were growing weaker, and they couldn't hold the army much longer. Being cornered on the stairs was NOT a lively fate.
"WHAT GAVE YOU THAT IDEA??!!!" Taz repeatedly smacked Quina upside the head. "It's your fault we couldn't rescue the d*** queen, and then you keep stating the obvious! You screw up everything!"
"Leave him alone, fatso!" Vivi Jr. smacked Taz in the knee with her staff. "S/he can't help him/herself!" she patted the miserable Quina on the head. "I'm sorry..."
"That okay!" Quina chirped. "He fatter than me, no care at all!"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME??!!!" Taz raged.
"Hey! This way!" Came a voice from the window. A young girl, looking about Taz's age, lowered a rope down to our heroes.
"Hmm? This is an escape route! Let's go!" Vivi Jr. cried.
"Beatrix! Rob! We're outta here!" Taz called.
"What? Home free?" Rob asked, repelling a magic shot from a Rocket member.
"Let's move!" Beatrix took one final swipe at the soldiers with her sword before she turned tail and ran, climbing the rope after the rest of the heroes.
Beatrix landed down on the ground, looking at everyone. The crew was transfixed on looking at the land they were on. They seemed to be overlooking steep gorge, though it was a much livelier sight due to the lack of Mist. She was also faintly aware of an "OW!!! D*****!" but she didn't pay much attention to it. What got her attention was that the girl that rescued them was a member of Team Rocket! Her suit, however, was gray instead of black. And her eyes glowered a faint blue... If this wasn't a trap, then why was she helping them?
Rob voiced out her thoughts. "Hey, if you work for Team Rocket, why are you helping us?"
"Simple," said the girl. "I'm a double agent. A little young, but I can take the pressure."
"Who do you REALLY work for?" Taz asked.
"Ah, so you really want to know, hmm?" she said, seductively tickling Taz's chin. "I'm afraid I can't tell you-yet."
Taz looked lovestruck, being mesmerized by the stranger.
"HEY! Stop seducin' us!" Rob snapped.
"But honestly, I can tell you that I'm a good guy. I personally don't approve of this... and I'm worried about the queen..."
"What happened... to my wife..." our heroes turned to see Zidane emerge, heavily bruised, his tail bleeding. He and Steiner were both staggering and barely able to hold each other up. However, Zidane stopped and gave the girl a steely glare. "Who are you? Tell me where they took my wife... NOW..."
"Kidnapped by those Team Rocket b******s, no less..." the girl said. "It's too bad I have to work for them. However, I pay true allegiance to another group, determined to bring them down...
"Most likely they took her to the big base. You'll have to head north from here for a whooping 25 miles... I must leave, now." She gave them all a bow. "Know that I'm on your side. I'll see to it that the queen's safe..." she turned tail and ran, leaving our heroes behind. Beatrix turned to Zidane.
"How'd you end up down here?" Beatrix asked Zidane.
"Heh, I tried to save Dagger from those Team Rocket brats, but I failed... Next thing I know, I land right on top of Rusty here in a haystack, makin' my tail bleed... Lucky save, eh? They think we're both dead..."
"Very clever! We get moving now!" Quina demanded.
"S/he's right, who knows what they'll do to Queen Garnet?" Rob said.
"Let's go!" Vivi jr. cried. "I wanna shove a flare attack up their butts..."
"We're... ready..." Steiner wheezed.
"You two need some rest first!" Beatrix snapped. "Come. We can cover more ground and let these two recover if we take a Chocobo drawn carriage." They took to the stables and hitched a ride on one of the Chocobo carriages. Beatrix took to the helms and rode off.
"TO RESCUE THE QUEEN!!!!" they all cheered.
That's it for episode 5! Next Up: Episode 6: A Flair of Opportunity
So our heroes set off to rescue Dagger. What do the bad guys want with Dagger? What the heck is Meta after, anyway? And who's that girl that always helps them out, much less who is that girl under Trance who keeps trying to beat the bloody crap out of them? All this and a bag of chips await you in the next episode of Final Pokémon Fantasy!