Fourteen: Holy Retribution
Upon the eve of the attack on Sapphire City's base, which was guarded by the final and most powerful Elemental Machine, everyone aboard the Dreadnaught Euphrates decided to spend their "final moments" of peace together with the one they loved most. Brock and Lenneth had sought solitude from the entire crew as they stepped out onto one of the many balconies available on the ship. The night sky was comfortably calm and cool, with a nice dark hue covering the world, with just enough lights from celestial bodies to see in.
For a while, Brock and Lenneth just stood on the railing, smiling and watching the night sky drift. It had not been too long ago since the silvery-haired girl recovered from her injuries, and of course, when she did, Brock was absolutely overjoyed. Strangely, the young lady didn't have any scars left over at all, or any weakness from being in bed for so long. She seemed just as sweet and strong as ever, and flattered that so many people cared so much for her, especially Brock. When she learned that he had never left her side during the entire ordeal, she couldn't help but blush.
"It's such a beautiful night out," she sighed happily, her starry eyes matching the sky. She inched closer to Brock, who smiled and gently took her hand into his.
"Yes, but nothing is as beautiful as you, dear Lenneth!"
"Oh, stop it!" she giggled. "I bet you've said that to every girl you know!"
"Uh, actually…" Brock hung his head in shame, reluctant to reveal his flirtatious past to the only woman he ever really cared for. "Actually… I have…"
"So…"
"But I've changed, honest!" he exclaimed suddenly. "I've really changed, Lenneth! I could never imagine myself with any other woman except you! Really! It's like you're the round peg that fits into my round hole; it's like we were really meant for each other! I'd never want to be with any other woman again!!"
"Oh my!" she gasped, startled and flattered. "Brock, that's an awfully big thing to say! 'Never being with another woman, for as long as you live'? That's not something to say lightly!"
"But I'm serious!" he exclaimed, taking her hands into his and kneading them gently. "Lenneth… from the very moment that I first saw your angelic face… I have felt as if… as if I… know you from somewhere. It's like…… we've met before, but I can't say where!"
"You have that feeling too?" she gasped. He nodded his head, and her beautiful face blossomed with wonder. "Oh, Brock… I've always felt that we knew each other once, so long ago. It may not have been in this life… and we might have been different people with different identities… but it was still us! I've always felt as if we had a deep intimate connection in a past life of ours… and I could almost……"
Not finishing her sentence, Lenneth trailed off and let her breath float off into the air, becoming one with the night sky as a foreign, feint, but familiar thought was shared between the two. Brock smiled warmly, not needing to know anything else, and placed his hand on her cheek, feeling the cool touch of her smile.
"Lenneth… you're beautiful…"
"And you are very, very sweet, dear Brock…" She smiled lovingly, and gently leaned forward to find herself in his embrace. Her head, with fields of liquid-silver hair falling over his shoulders and down her back, rested comfortably against his neck. He gladly took her into his arms, feeling the soft, gentle body of the woman he loved… the woman he had always loved, and had found once again, after waiting for so long…
"But where…?"
"It doesn't matter," he told her, his voice warm and comforting. "I… I only know that I love who you are now. I… always want to be with you, Lenneth, no matter who you are or where we might be. Even if… the heavens themselves separate us…"
"……The heavens…" Dimly recalling a shared past memory, Lenneth slowly looked up into his face, and knew that she loved him, as she always had and always would. Her fingers combed through his spiky hair, and then, underneath a clouded moon and gentle obsidian sky, they shared a kiss of love.
"Jessie, look! Isn't that the sweetest thing ever?" Smiling warmly, James discreetly pointed down several balconies, where he had recently spotted Brock and Lenneth sharing their very first moment of loving intimacy together. Jessie looked down, and cooed softly as she saw it.
"Yes, you're absolutely right, James. They make such a beautiful couple…"
"Agreed. Ah, it's just so wonderful!" The poor loveable fool bawled softly as he saw his two friends below sharing each other's love, and Jessie couldn't help but chuckle. Perhaps overcome by the moment, she scooted closer to her longtime partner and placed her hand over his.
"James… it's been a long road for both of us… but I'm glad I was able to walk down it with you. If it hadn't been for you… well… I never would have made it."
"You… you know that's not true, Jessie," he said, his eyes still misty. "You're such a strong and independent woman that you probably would've been better off without me."
"Nonsense!" she argued. "James, we're the ultimate embodiment of the most beautiful union of man and woman! Your strengths and my strengths combine and fill in for each other's weaknesses! Your crazy schemes and my go-getter attitude make an unstoppable force! The old Team Rocket just wouldn't have been the same without either one of us! You can't have Jessie without James--"
"And you can't have James without Jessie!" he added. Joyfully, he clasped her hands, smiling like the loveable loon he was. "Oh, Jess, you're right! You're absolutely right! We do go well together! We make such a wonderful pair!" She smiled simply and nodded her head, and then to his surprise, she drew him in for a very rare hug.
"James…"
"J-Jessie…?"
"Just keep on being yourself," she whispered softly. "You know… that James that comforted me when we were fired from Team Rocket… the James that's always showing off and making a big spectacle about everything… the James that squeals so adorably when things aren't going his way, or when he's scared--the James that has such a beautiful nobility when he's standing up for what he believes in…" She paused for a while, and joined her eyes to his as she looked deep inside of him, upon that starry night.
"Jessie… you're such a great person…"
"The feeling's mutual, Jim." The two of them smiled, and drew in for a tender hug, which inevitably evolved into the second intimate kiss of that night.
"Awww… that's so cute!"
"Yeah… I guess they do make a good couple…"
"Ash?" Ash Ketchum looked over at Misty.
"Yeah?"
"If this really was the last day that we would be together… I mean, all of us here… If this was our last night to live…"
"Hey, don't say something like that!" he stated firmly. "I know in my heart that not only will we live to see tomorrow night, but we'll also live to see the end of Team Rocket!"
"Well, yes, but… what if we--"
"We can't predict the future, so anything could happen," he shrugged. "But at least we can keep being optimistic. I mean, there's no point in worrying over something that hasn't even happened yet, is there?"
"…Ash…" Misty smiled warmly at her friend, and was amazed at just how mature he had become in the past few weeks. He had turned from a thickheaded naïve little boy into a… well, into a less thickheaded, less naïve little boy. But he had definitely matured, all right--Misty could tell by the way he was talking.
"Huh? Hey, Misty, why are you looking at me like that?" Misty was still smiling at him, so she wasn't aware of the fact that she had been staring, too. She blinked in confusion and shook her head.
"Uhh, like what?"
"Aaah!! I know what you were gonna do!" he screamed suddenly, pointing a shivering finger at her. "You were gonna kiss me, weren't you?"
"What???"
"Admit it!" he shouted. "You were gonna kiss me, like Brock did to Lenneth and James did to Jessie! Aah! It's this romantic night! It's affecting everyone on the ship! Well I'm outta here! Yaaaiiieeee!!!!"
"ASH!!!" But before the poor deluded boy could listen, he was already running as fast as he could to his room, avoiding a fate worse than anything he knew. Misty's face soon turned violently red, and her voice could've been heard all the way down to where Brock and Lenneth were.
"Ashley Ketchum!! How dare you have such a disgusting thought in that empty head of yours! I would never kiss you if you were the last boy on Earth! I wouldn't even do it to save my life! I'd… I'd rather kiss Psyduck!"
"Psy-yai-yaii!!!"
"I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT, PSYDUCK!!!!!"
"Oh, boy," sighed Gary, who had watched the entire scene from a balcony even further above theirs. "Yup, they definitely love each other. Huh! I almost feel sorry for poor Ashy-boy! Oh well."
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With a mighty whoosh, the Dreadnaught Euphrates tore through the sky, its passengers ready and waiting for their debut battle in Sapphire City. The final mechanical monster was waiting for them there, according to Butch and Cassidy, and it was the most powerful out of all the others. Not only was it a Light-elemental, but it was a Psychic-type machine as well, perhaps the most powerful type around. The crew of twelve had already faced hundreds of dangers on the path to saving the world, individually and as a combined unit, but the worst ones still remained.
Once the Light machine was destroyed (or if it was destroyed), Team Rocket would be at a severe disadvantage and would no longer have much power, so therefore, Captain Thatcher decided that once everyone had a rest, the main base of Team Rocket would be attacked. After that, it would only be a matter of defeating their final enemy, Morrison Glidden, and declaring Team Rocket abolished forever. It was easier said than done, especially considering the odds, but even the most reluctant members of the crew were up to the challenge.
"Hold onto yer hats!" shouted Thatcher as he steered his mighty vessel. "We're almost there! I hope y'all are ready for a big brawl! This is the one that'll determine our fate from here on out!"
"Don't say such a thing, Captain!" shouted Officer Jennifer. "Even if we lose, that doesn't mean that we still can't fight!"
"Aw, what a buzz-kill," he moaned. "I try'n rile everyone up, and you gotta tug'em back down! Now they'll think that they can lose and get away with it!"
"But Captain--"
"In war, only one can win," he told the officer sagely. "An' considerin' the enemy we be goin' up against next, I'd rather not lose. Anyway, we're almost there. Everyone ready to kick some tail?"
"YEAH!!!"
"Then heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere we goooooooooo!!!!" Screaming at the top of his lungs, Thatcher landed the Euphrates and opened the hatch, allowing eleven eager fighters and rebels to spill out like locusts on a crop. He followed last, laughing and shouting as joyfully as ever, as only he could when faced with an impossible battle.
They came upon a Sapphire City dominated not by people (as the streets were completely abandoned), but by a machination of steel and otherworldly construction that resembled a kind of angel. It had three pairs of large wings used for soaring above the city, a body faintly human that radiated blinding light, and a large pole in its hand which it liberally used to smash anything in sight. The machine's psychic powers were amazing; with a snapping gesture of its palm, it could level a building flat or cause the roads to quake and split apart. As the crew of twelve watched it wreak mindless havoc on the city, they began to understand why it was known as the strongest of the machines.
"Well, let's not just stand here!" shouted Butch. He summoned Raticate first, and everyone followed with a rain of Pokeballs. The Angel machine continued to fly and destroy, disregarding the growing threat below, until the trainers commanded their troops to fire upon it. Massive waves of energy struck first, then squadrons of powerful Pokemon slammed into it like raindrops, making small dents in its body. The machine roared out loud, sending a powerful and sudden shockwave erupting out of its own body, forcing Pokemon and human alike flying far away.
"Oh, man!" gasped Brock, barely able to brace himself. "That was a big one! Wh-what power!"
"We may be in trouble!" sang Misty dreadfully. Withstanding the blows that the machine dealt, she charged forth and called out all her water Pokemon for a single blast. The Angel was quickly but briefly deluged, getting soaked only briefly before swatting away the creatures with an energetic wave. Gary took over for Misty as she was flung away, calling Arcanine and Nidoking into the fray. A pillar of fire crashed into the machine, while Nidoking thrust a large boulder onto the machine's body, smashing it with the powerful rock. The Angel countered by swiping at it with its pole, shattering the rock and knocking the flames away.
It mercilessly dove down and shot a beam of pure light energy at the two creatures, blasting them away in a powerful explosion. Gary gawked at the carnage in frozen horror; Ash stepped in with Charizard, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle, a team that should have been unstoppable. Pikachu bravely darted towards the Light monster as well, sending a blast of electricity towards the heavenly foe. Suddenly, the Angel braced itself and erected a dense energy barrier around its body, rendering all the attacks useless.
"That attack was little more than child's play!" snapped James angrily. "How on earth can that thing keep up?"
"It's a psychic type; they have no real weaknesses," muttered Butch. "All we can do is send in any ghosts we may have, and perhaps a poison or bug to go along with it. Wearing it down is our only option for now."
"I have just the Pokemon for the job!" called Jessie, summoning Arbok. The purple snake slithered after the Angel with that same murderous look in its eyes; James' Wheezing followed suit, spitting sludge to gum up the machine's works. The Angel was briefly trapped in muck as the sludge splattered all over it, and a shower of poison stings injured the soft inner core of the mechanical monster. James and Jessie actually cheered as the Angel seemed to be weakening.
But then, it blasted the grime and needles away with a second, even more powerful blast of power. Whole buildings were leveled as the beast allowed its energy to surge outward, and all the Pokemon were flung away like they were pebbles in a storm. A dozen screams came from a dozen mouths as the shockwave sent everyone scattering; the clutter of debris created when the Sapphire City buildings were annihilated filled the air and came crashing down everywhere like the meteors of doomsday.
"This is insane!" screamed Misty, barely able to shield herself. "It can't possibly be that powerful! We've got to do something!"
"May as well use our secret weapon!" shouted Cassidy. Butch, ducking behind a portion of a wall, firmly nodded his head and supported her decision; James and Jessie had no idea what their archrivals were talking about. With some reluctance, Cassidy threw out a Pokeball.
"Ditto, go! Transform into that Angel!"
"WHAT?!?!" screamed half of the former Rockets. "You mean you had a Ditto all this time and you never told us?!?!"
"What's the use of a secret weapon if everybody knows about it?!" retorted Cassidy. James and Jessie couldn't say anything in response, so they just watched as the Ditto transformed into its designated foe. For a brief time, the twelve-member party was hypnotized into watching the fight between the two Angels, not sure which one was winning or losing. The fight, violent and loud, seemed to be going both ways.
But just as soon as it began, it ended with a thrust and a blast of psychic light. One of the machines fell to the earth, turning into a Ditto again, only not able to move or respond. Cassidy screamed as she saw their secret weapon fail so rapidly.
"Oh no! Ditto! You'd better return or else!" The pink blob wearily transferred itself back into the Pokeball, leaving Cassidy more worried than before. Butch gnashed his teeth together as all their brilliant ideas seemed to be running into failure, and turned back to face the Angel machine. Partially oblivious to their presence (their only true advantage), it continued destroying the town and creating a heavenly mess.
"This is really bad," muttered Officer Jennifer. "We've thrown everything at it and nothing works. Captain, what about--"
"Don't even ask, Jen," he interrupted. "The Euphrates' arsenal is poorly-packed at the moment. We used it all up fighting all the other machines. Ain't no good to us now, less we use it as a ramming device, and the ship's too close to my heart for that. I ain't got any ideas that don't involve us runnin' away."
"So what are you suggesting?" she wondered desperately. Thatcher paused for a while, but was forced to duck down fast as another blast scorched the area, leveling more buildings in the process. Cassidy saw the wall of energy burn through the air and ground, and screamed as she shoved a catatonic Jessie out of the way.
"OOF!" Both women were tossed violently as the shockwave of the attack shoved them into the gravel; Cassidy landed on Jessie, incredibly injured and somewhat surprised that she had done such a thing. Jessie was even more stunned.
"Cassidy… You… saved my life…"
"Ughn… barely," groaned the other woman. "Don't know why I did it… heh. Maybe I was feeling too heroic for my own good." Jessie smiled warmly at her friend-turned-enemy-turned ally, and helped her stand to her feet.
"We'd better get you to Nurse Joyleen on the double." Cassidy mutely agreed, not quite so weak that she couldn't smile. Thatcher snarled in horror at the monster's power, and made a decision that nobody thought he ever would.
"We'd better hightail it outta here if we don't wanna get fried!" he shouted. Both Jennifer and Joyleen stared at him in surprise, but Thatcher had been perfectly serious when he said that, and to prove it, he said it again. "Okay, maties! We'd better run while we can! I hate doing this, but we ain't got no choice! Retreat!!"
"Captain!"
"Wouldn't do us any good to stick around and die, Ash!" he shouted. "Best to run! I don't like it, but y'all are my responsibility! I'd be ashamed to look at myself in the mirror if I let y'all get hurt! C'mon, it's for your own good!" Amazed that the cavalier Captain had said such a thing, Ash slowly turned for the ship and made a run for it. Misty and Gary saw him running, and concluded that the bullheaded young man had a very good reason for retreat, so they followed him. Brock and Lenneth both made a mad dash for the ship, and soon everyone was making the second desperate escape of the campaign.
Captain Thatcher, Jennifer, and Joyleen each helped shepherd everyone else inside, staying behind bravely even as the Angel caught onto what they were doing. Although not too smart, it easily observed their attempt at retreat and became angry over the potential loss of its prey, so it turned around and gave chase to them. Jennifer, Joyleen, and Thatcher screamed for everyone to hurry, and as soon as the last foot was on the hatch, they scrambled inside and screamed orders everywhere. The Angel was too fast, though, and quickly rammed into the ship before it had a chance to take off.
The Dreadnaught, large and powerful but at the mercy of the Psychic machine, spun out of control as it sailed into the atmosphere, rolling around and around endlessly, sending its crew tossing and turning like clothes in a dryer. Inside, chaos and terror shook everyone in every direction as if they were inside a rattle shaken by an angry giant, yet through it all, someone managed to hear bits and pieces of Thatcher's commands. The ship rocked and sailed on its sudden aerial path, but in time, a steadfast navigator and yeoman took control of it again, and managed to land it on some foreign, far-off country, where it rested and stayed and refused to get back up.
To be continued…
