Mission 3: Sing to Save Pewter's Treasure! (part 3)

"Hey, let go!" Ash demanded as the two Rocket grunts hung him from a claw. "We've only come to return the treasures you have stolen!" He sighed as the two grunts disappeared from the room, leaving him, his Rescue Force team, and Brock hanging above the factory floor.

"Looks like we'll be hanging out here for a while..." Eevee sighed.

"Maybe not..." Brock suggested as he waited for Pikachu to undo the bindings on his hands. "I'll alert my team, then tell Terra about our plan to escape." With that, he fumbled for his communicator. "Mayday, Rescue Force! Fire Red is snuffed!"

"Huh?" Ash was confused.

"That's my distress call if I wind up captured...this tells them that I'm in trouble and need their help." Brock explained, but he was interrupted by the voice of Vulpix. "We're coming, Fire Red...We have the treasures too..."

"Hurry if you can!" Brock answered, but was cut off by the whir of the claws moving. "I think we're moving..."

"We are..." Torchic replied, swallowing hard as she looked down at the omnious drop to the floor below. "Not to mention it's a long way down..." She was about to say more when the claws suddenly came to a stop. "Now we've stopped." she reported as Vulpix lead her teammates around the corner to a spot overlooking the group of claws.

"Hurry and undo my bindings, somebody!" Ash begged as he fruitlessly struggled to work his hands free of the ropes.

"Hold still..." and Vulpix aimed a fireball at the ropes binding Ash's hands. "GLOWING EMBER!"

Ash winced as the ropes fell to the ground, but flexed his hands in relief. "Thanks, Vulpix...the next question is, why are we straddled like prizes in a crane game?"

"See that funnel up ahead?" Lotad asked, pointing out a funnel in the distance. "That's where the ingredients for PokeChow are dropped into the machinery...so I think the Rockets may be trying to turn you into PokeChow!"

"Then I may have an idea--" Ash started, but was cut off as the claws began to move again. "Uh oh..."

"There's another catwalk inside the area with all the machinery..." Vulpix explained as she and her teammates hurried down a small stairwell.

"What was your idea?" Treecko started. "I kinda would've liked to know..."

"Well..." Ash started, but suddenly felt the claw holding him give way! "Oh no..."

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" everyone screamed as they hurtled down the funnel, where they landed on a conveyor belt with a thud.

Pikachu was the first to surface from the heap. "Rough landing..." he commented as he brushed himself off

"Well, my idea was--" Ash started, but suddenly gasped when he saw several knifes up ahead. "Heads up, Rescue Force!" Everyone scrambled out of the way to avoid the giant knives one after the other. Once the conveyer belt had safely passed the knifes, the Force huddled close together again.

"That was close..." Brock commented. "Whatever your plan is, Ash, I'll relay to Terra."

"Okay...' Ash started. "My plan...is for Treecko to extend a vine up to the catwalk up there..." he explained, pointing out the catwalk Vulpix and her comrades were standing on. "and then have the rest of us climb up."

"That works!" Brock smiled as he reached for his communicator. "Fire Red calling Leaf Green, over."

"This is Leaf Green." Terra replied. "Any news?"

'Well, my plan went horribly wrong, and Ash's team and I got captured..." Brock started.

"Oh no!" Terra cried. "How are you going to escape?"

"I'm getting to that..." Brock explained, but was suddenly cut off by the low roar of an oncoming wall of water. "Just a sec, I think we're about to go down the drain!" he yelped as a surge of water came racing down the conveyor belt, taking the Rescue Force with it!

"AAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHH!" everyone screeched as the water swirled them about, ultimately taking them down a drain, where they emerged on the next conveyor belt in a puddle.

"You still there, Leaf Green?" Brock asked, still shivering from the cold water.

"I hear you, Fire Red..." Terra replied.

"Okay..." Brock continued. "My team is on a catwalk overlooking where we are..." he explained, gesturing to a catwalk overhead, where Vulpix and the rest of Brock's team were waiting. "Treecko's going to make a vine that leads up to the catwalk, then the rest o us are going to climb up and escape. Hopefully nothing will go wrong this time."

"Knowing Murphy's Law..." Terra giggled. "Something probably will go wrong. Leaf Green out."

"Fire Red out."

Ash turned to Treecko. "Well, Treecko, you know what to do: Fire a vine up to Vulpix, and she'll tie it to the catwalk, so it won't snap."

"Roger...ENERGY VINE!" Treecko hurled a glowing vine up to Vulpix, who quickly tied it to the catwalk. "All right!" Everyone climb up!" he called.

One by one, the Rescue Force members climbed up to the catwalk, being extra careful not to make the fragile vine wobble. Once everyone was safely on the catwalk, Ash turned to Vulpix. "Now what?"

Vulpix slung the bag with the treasures over one shoulder before pointing out an open doorway leading outside. "Everyone follow me!" With that, the Force ran out into the night, relieved that they had not turned into PokeChow.

Back at Pewter Base...

"Guys! You made it!" Terra cried as both Rescue Force teams returned. "They just showed a report on the news just now that the Diamond Jirachi and all the other treasures are safe and sound, thanks to you guys!"

"Thank you so much for helping us out..." Brock smiled as he climbed off of Sora.

"Anytime!" Ash replied, embracing his friend. "A Rescue Force team is always meant to help out, even if it's another team."

"How can we ever repay you?" Terra agreed as she too hugged Ash.

"You still owe me an encore!" Torchic interjected, gesturing to the piano.

"All right, Torchic, I didn't forget about your encore..." Brock laughed as he settled before the piano. Ash led the clapping as another ragtime tune filled the air...

END MISSION 3