Hey everybody, I'm back with another update with a fairly long and action filled chapter to boot. I don't have an excuse as to why this is up later than some of you may have hoped, but I've been preoccupied with a new story I've been writing along with school, so there you go. No bullshitting. This chapter introduces three new OCs that will be listed at the end of the chapter. Read and review as always and I hope you enjoy.
Warning: language and violence present. There is also a torture scene, but nothing too intense.
Bold- TV/Radio/PA Systems/Megaphones etc.
Italics-Thoughts/Letters/Flashbacks/Pokemon and Human conversation through thought
Bold Italics- Radio Responses
The Pontiac GTO Judge roared loudly as it worked its way into the town. Dameon, David, Rein and Michka were now in Kansas and slowly making their way to Greensburg. They had been keeping an eye out for the police and listening to the radio stations for any possible updates about their escape. So far it appeared that they were in the clear and that helped them relax, but they still kept their guards up just in case.
Dameon switched the radio back to the iPod jack and resumed playing some good old rock and roll. He glanced around the car at the other occupants. All of them were sleeping except for Michka who appeared to be waking up in the back. She and David switched spots after arriving in Kansas when they stopped to stretch. Dameon saw David was dribbling on himself and couldn't resist the urge to mess with him for a bit. Looking around the car he found a chocolate bar in the cup holder and smirked. He picked it up and unwrapped it while simultaneously driving. Once he got the wrapper off he began to angle it to push the bar into David's mouth.
The little act of mischief caught Michka's attention as she saw Dameon trying to shove a candy bar in David's open mouth. She giggled lightly and continued to watch the silly behavior. After a couple of seconds, Dameon successfully pushed half of the bar into David's mouth and took a quick picture with his cell phone.
"Time to wake up, Davey," Dameon thought with a grin.
"What are you doing?" Michka asked as she cocked her head.
"You'll see," Dameon replied cranking up the radio.
The sudden noise boost jarred David from his sleep as he sat upright. This was accompanied by some quick panic as his hands comically swiped and pulled at the object in his mouth. David sputtered as he managed to spit out the candy bar and gave a sigh of relief. He glared at Dameon who was laughing at his spaz attack. He decided to let it slide since it was taking Dameon's mind off the negative events that he had gone through over the past few days.
"We're good," David announced, "it was just chocolate. It could have been worse."
Of course the vulgar joke had mixed reactions. Dameon laughed at it while Michka sent a look of disapproval at David before whacking him at the back of the head. David cursed from the hard hit as tiny lights burst in front of his eyes.
"All joking aside, where are we now?" Michka asked as she glanced out of the window.
"We're in Wichita right now so we're a little over an hour away from Greensburg," Dameon replied.
"Well that's good. But are we really going to do this in broad daylight?"
"No. We'll wait until it's dark out before we do anything. The less people that see us the better off we will be," David said rubbing his eyes.
Michka nodded at the plan and looked out the window once again. Silence filled the car as they pulled into a gas station. Dameon got out to refuel the car while David, Michka and Rein remained in inside. David took his hat off and ran his hand through his now longer hair as he tried to formulate a plan of action when they got to Dean's bar.
"If I know Langdon, then that prick has a QRF moving in to capture Dean right now," David thought as he took a bite of the chocolate bar from earlier.
"Is something on your mind?" Michka asked.
"I'm trying to think of an attack plan when we get to Dean." David replied.
"You don't think he's going to be attacked tonight, do you?"
"We have to consider that possibility. I know Langdon and he knows me and Black. He knows that's where we'd go first so I wouldn't be surprised if he has some men going for Dean right now."
"So what do we do?" Rein asked as she gave a stretch.
"Leave that to me," David said with a grin, "when it comes to planning, I'm the shit."
For Dean Hartsock, once a Tier One Delta Force Operator, now the owner of a bar on the edge of his hometown of Greensburg, Kansas, life has been anything but pleasant these past few years. In the event of returning home after being honorably discharged from the Army, he found that his wife left him for another man, taking their daughter with her and that caused a lot of financial issues for him. He lost his house, custody of his daughter and a lot of his money, requiring him to seek residency in an old house that needed major refining. Thankfully his bar was very popular and he was making decent money that was helping him pay for everything.
So far that night it had been fairly slow and Dean was contemplating closing early but decided against it since he needed the money to make his payments. Instead he was sitting on a stool behind the bar drinking some beer and staring at a picture that he kept on his person throughout his service. In the photograph was him, his wife Lauren and their two year old daughter, Amber. A tear trickled from his eye and he swept it away with the back of his hand.
"Damn-it," Dean muttered as he tucked the photo in the back of his pocket.
He took another sip of the beer he was drinking and gave a shudder as it went down his throat. He glanced around the bar and took a quick count of the customers that were inside. From what he saw, there were only five people. One of them was a local that came in the bar on a daily basis and would keep to himself as he sat at the counter drinking. The man had grey eyes, long greasy black hair that went down to his shoulders, pale skin and a beard that concealed his strong jaw. He was wearing a long brown duster coat, a black cowboy hat, blue jeans, black boots, a belt and a maroon long sleeve shirt that was tucked into his pants. Dean was tempted to call him stranger from the old Clint Eastwood movies but refrained from doing so.
"Can I get you another round?" Dean asked the man.
The man said nothing and gave a small nod in return before sipping down the rest of his whisky. Dean shrugged as he turned to pull another bottle off of the shelf to refill the man's glass. As he was refilling the glass, the doors to the bar opened and some of the remaining customers left waving goodbye. The bar was now deserted except for Dean and the man before him. Dean walked over to the doors to lock them to close the bar but stopped when he saw another face appear in the glass. It took a brief second for him to identify the person but when he did, a smirk spread across his face.
On the opposite side of the door was a woman. The woman was very short, standing at just barely over five feet. She had rather tan skin and very dark red hair that hung down to her shoulder blades and glassy bright green eyes. She was wearing a pair of tan cargo pants, black sneakers, a black t-shirt that had a red claw like slash print on the front of it, and to top it off, a dark blue bandanna was tied on top of her head.
"I'm sorry, but we're closed," Dean said smirking at her.
"Dean, shut up and let me in," the girl replied with her rather strong southern accent.
"Oh, well that's not very nice now, Kath."
"Neither is your face, now come on."
"Coming from the one who's blind as a bat?"
"I'm not blind, I'm nearsighted!"
Dean laughed and opened the door for Katherine and she strode inside. She walked over to the bar and sat down to get a drink. Dean walked back behind the bar and set a glass down in front of Katherine.
"So what can I get you tonight?" Dean asked.
"I'll have some water," Katherine replied with a stretch.
"You're twenty years old. I can at least give you one glass of alcohol, Kath."
"No, I'm not drinking tonight. I've got to get back to Stillwater tonight. Besides, that's illegal."
"Jesus, you've got a long drive ahead of you."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
Dean slid the glass over to her after filling it with water and glanced back at the man who polished off his glass of whisky.
"Hey, stranger, do you want more?" Dean asked.
The man nodded and Dean went to refill the man's glass. While Dean was pouring the man another drink, Katherine gulped down her water. She let a tired sigh escape her lips. She glanced at Dean and was happy to see that he appeared to be doing better. Katherine had known Dean for almost a year and was an occasional customer to his bar when she would drive through Greensburg to do work at another ranch.
"So how are things going?" Katherine asked him.
"Better than they were when I was discharged," Dean said with a shrug.
"Well that's good. Are you paying everything off after the split?"
"One penny at a time."
Dean downed a shot of whisky and shivered as it traversed down his throat and into his stomach. He set the shot glass back on the counter and leaned against it as he looked at Katherine while she continued gulping her water down. He had met Katherine a year after he was discharged from the Army and shortly after his divorce. She came into the bar on a night just like this one and they ended up talking for a few hours straight. Katherine was definitely a girl that he could confine in and get along well with.
Katherine was a hard working young woman and worked on a ranch that she grew up on when she was a kid in Stillwater. She ended up moving to Chicago when she was six after her parents sold the ranch but had a difficult time trying to acclimate to city life because of her strong southern accent that never parted from her. She would often pick fights with those taller than her to appear strong and unafraid of people despite her short stature.
Katherine finished her water and gave a refreshed sigh and stretched before standing up. She placed a tip on the table for Dean and gave a two fingered wave in farewell as she started her trek toward the doors. As she was halfway across the bar, her eyes could make out a large group of people outside and they were wearing matching uniforms.
"That's weird," Katherine thought as she crossed her arms, "they know that the bar is closed right?"
"Is something wrong, Kath?" Dean asked.
"Not exactly, but you weren't expecting a large group of people were you?"
"No I wasn't. Why?"
"Because I can see a bunch of people outside and they look like they're dressed in similar uniforms."
"I see. Well, I didn't lock the door yet so I guess they will come in momentarily."
Katherine walked to the door and was about to leave, but they opened and the large mass of people entered the deserted bar. The majority of the group was made of men dressed in some type of military tactical uniform and there were two women accompanying them. The thing that stood out the most were the rifles that the men were holding at the low ready. Dean's eyes narrowed in concentration as he quickly deduced that they were not here by chance.
"This does not look promising," Dean thought as his hand disappeared under the counter and touched the shotgun he had mounted under the countertop.
The soldiers surrounded the stranger, Katherine and Dean and blocked the doors to prevent anyone from leaving. By this time, each of the occupants knew that these soldiers were not here to have a drink. The two women stepped forward from the large group of soldiers and rested their hands on their hips as they looked at the three before them. The first woman was wearing a dark purple skimpy jumpsuit. The second woman appeared to be in her early twenties and was quite tall. She had long dark brown hair, olive green eyes and a tan to color her slender body. She was wearing a Metallica t-shirt on top of a long sleeve shirt, grey jeans, black sneakers and she had a black cowboy hat on top of her head. Overall, Dean, Katherine and the stranger looked at her with curious expressions with the unusual mix of fashion.
"What can I help you with?" Dean asked as he leaned forward on the bar.
"Is your name Dean Heartsock?" The woman in the jumpsuit asked with a sweet smile.
"Who wants to know?"
"I am Amiko Blivernette, and my companion here is Jess O'Malley. We've been sent to bring you to our employer."
"Uh huh, and who's this employer?"
"Come on cutie, where's the fun with asking when you will find out shortly?"
"I'm sorry. You seem to think I've decided to go with you."
"That's because you are," Jess said as she looked at him from under her hat.
"What do you want with Dean?" Katherine asked glancing between Dean and the women.
"It's not what we want. It's what our boss wants."
"Don't worry, Katherine. You'll find out soon enough as well."
Katherine's face adapted a look of surprise when Jess said that. How in the world did this woman know her name? She looked back at Dean who now looked alert and ready for a fight to break out. She was a little concerned with what Dean would do after hearing some of his stories from his time in the Army and was hoping he wouldn't do anything brash.
"Well, we've chatted long enough," Amiko said giving a stretch, "you know what to do boys. Cuff them and let's go."
Amiko and Jess walked back into the crowd and stood behind them by the door. Five soldiers moved forward to seize Dean, Katherine and the stranger who continued to drink the whisky in his glass. Two soldiers stood behind the stranger, two went to Katherine and the last one stood in front of Dean and aimed his rifle at him. Dean cursed and knew he had to act or else he would be captured along with the stranger and Katherine. He snuck a glance at Katherine and could see her looking nervous with her eyes set on the soldiers about to subdue her. Formulating a plan, Dean decided to do the next best thing he could. He looked the soldier in front of him in the eyes and gave him a deadpan expression.
"Safety's on, dipshit," Dean said nodding at the soldier's rifle.
"What?" The soldier asked turning the rifle to glance at the switch.
Upon realizing what happened, the soldier had no time to defend himself. He had been fooled and it proved to be fatal. The minute the soldier turned his gun to the side to check and see if the safety was on Dean grabbed the barrel and pushed down. The buttstock shot up and hit the soldier right in the face, making him drop his rifle in pain. Dean pulled out the pistol that rested directly under the shotgun under his counter and aimed at the guards by Katherine. Bang! Bang! The two guards dropped to the floor with well-placed shots to the head. He then aimed at the two soldiers who were behind the stranger and fired two more rounds, killing them both.
The surprise counterattack caught the rest of the soldiers by surprise and they immediately went on the defensive and got behind cover. Dean used the opportunity to do the same and gave a sharp whistle. Katherine heard Dean's call and dove over the counter and got behind the bar with Dean. The stranger mimicked Katherine's movement and dusted himself off.
"Are you crazy?" Katherine demanded.
"You're only just figuring this out now?" Dean retorted as he reloaded his pistol.
"It's not every day you see a friend of yours kill five guys under ten seconds!"
Dean rolled his eyes and cocked his pistol again to resume firing once the soldiers stopped firing at him. He needed a distraction to stand a chance of escaping the sticky situation he was in. He gave another sharp whistle and a door just off to the side opened and a Feraligatr stormed out and prepared to fight. Feraligatr looked at Dean and saw him nod at the intruders.
"Dean, what's going on?" Feraligatr asked as he crawled over to him.
"No time to explain," Dean replied glancing over the counter, only to duck after getting shot at again. "I need you to help me kill these guys."
"Roger that."
Feraligatr shot up and opened his mouth to release a large powerful blast of water at some soldiers hiding behind a table. The table exploded upon impact and sent the soldiers crashing into a wall.
"Aha, so you finally reveal your partner in crime!" Amiko said with a smirk. "I was beginning to wonder if you had activated the A-Gene at all!"
Katherine turned to Dean with disbelief. He was an A-Gene wielder too?
"You've unlocked the A-Gene?" Katherine whispered.
"Yeah, I did. And judging by the look of your face, I'd say you've unlocked it as well?" Dean replied.
"What makes you say that?"
"They're obviously here because of that! I was able to put two and two together!"
"Fine, you got me! I'm an ice-type."
"Then how about using your ice powers and giving me a hand, Frosty?"
Katherine rolled her eyes and pulled out a Poké Ball. She opened the ball and a Glaceon emerged and looked at her with curiosity.
"Glaceon, I need your help. Use your ice attacks to help me and Dean take out these soldiers!"
"Why are soldiers shooting at you?" Glaceon asked as she tilted her head.
"I'll tell you later!"
Glaceon nodded and began charging up an Ice Beam. She poked her head up and fired the frigid attack at the large group of soldiers, effectively freezing a good amount of them in place. Katherine then stood up held out both arms and the wind began to pick up and blow violently. Snow and pieces of ice began to materialize in the air and pelt the soldiers in front of her. Her attack stopped suddenly and she cursed. The surprise stop of her attack left her wide open and a soldier took aim and fired. Thankfully Dean tackled her to the ground just as the soldier fired and the bullet missed her by mere inches.
"Thanks," Katherine grunted as Dean pushed himself off of her.
"No problem. Watch your back, Kath," Dean replied as he stood up and fired a couple more rounds from his pistol.
Feraligatr fired another Hydro Pump at a group of soldiers that were frozen in place and successfully obliterated the ice block they were frozen in. They fell in frozen pieces to the floor and disintegrated into little snow crystals from the sheer power.
"Not bad," the stranger said, garnering the attention of Katherine and Dean.
"So you do talk?" Dean asked with a smirk.
"Yes, but I prefer to keep to myself."
"So I've noticed."
"Let me try something."
The man stuck both of his hands into his duster and pulled them back out. He was holding two old pistols that looked as though they were from the last century. Both of the pistols were the Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army revolvers that the 7th Cavalry used way back in the day.
"He's not going to hit shit with those peashooters!" Dean thought with disbelief.
The man drew the hammers down on the pistols and stood up. He fired both of his guns, but what happened next left Katherine and Dean stunned beyond belief. Each gun fired a different projectile. The gun on the right fired a normal bullet while the other fired a small purple ball. Each round went to their respective targets and dropped both of them. The stranger cocked the guns again and then vanished completely.
"What the hell?" Katherine said aloud as she looked for him, "he's a ghost?"
The soldiers started to look around frantically for the invisible stranger and had their weapons raised ready to fire. The man appeared again behind the soldiers and fired two more rounds. Just like before, one purple ball shout out of a revolver and the other fired a normal bullet. Two more soldiers dropped to the ground dead.
"Behind us!" A soldier shouted.
The remaining soldiers turned around and began firing multiple bullets at the man. Each bullet hit the man and he froze for a minute before vanishing again. Now the soldiers were terrified that their weapons appeared to have no effect on him.
"What is this guy?" A soldier whispered.
"I don't know man, but we're out of our league here! These guys are a bunch of freaks!" Another replied.
"If you even think about fleeing, I will kill all of you," Amiko sneered as she glared at the remaining men she had at her disposal.
"You should never have your men be expendable," the stranger's voice said in her ear.
Amiko jumped to the side just in time to avoid a slash from a sharp knife. The stranger had appeared beside her and almost cut her with ease.
"He slipped by my defenses like they were nothing! Who the hell is this guy?" Amiko thought as she glared at him.
The stranger fired two more rounds and killed two more soldiers in the process. By this time, the majority of the soldiers were now either dead or near death after being put through a relentless onslaught of the A-Gene wielders they were facing. Katherine saw two soldiers looking for the stranger who kept vanishing while the other two remaining ones were focused on Dean. She made her move and held out both hands once again. Due to the water that was around the bar from Feraligatr's attacks along with Dean's occasional water attacks, she had the ability to control her ice easier.
Using the water in the air and the ground, she fired two separate Ice Beams. The first beam hit the water soaked floor and immediately covered it in ice while the second beam instantly froze and the air and trapped the soldiers in the block of ice. Dean used his chance to take out the two soldiers Katherine froze for him. He tucked his pistol in his belt and crossed his arms as he covered himself in water. Dean hovered in the air for a moment and shot at the two frozen soldiers like a bullet and smashed right through them, reducing them to ice crystals that melted away moments later.
"You're welcome!" Katherine hollered.
"Yeah, yeah," Dean said as he waved her words aside.
The stranger appeared and took careful aim at one of the last soldiers as he slid on the ice. He fired one shot that struck the soldier in the temple and dropped him to the floor. Katherine hopped over the counter and used the ice to skate to the last soldier. She covered her arm in a strong coat of ice and gave a ferocious punch. There was a sickening crunch as the ice smashed into the soldier's chest, collapsing his lungs and shattering his ribcage. Now that all the soldiers were dealt with, Dean, Katherine and the stranger turned their attention to the remaining women.
"What are you going to do now? All of your men are gone," Dean said as he pulled out his pistol.
"Don't take us lightly," Amiko said giving a glare, "those soldiers were here to tire you three out to make our job easier."
Amiko pulled out a sharp knife that was about the size of a ka-bar. She then pulled out a Poké Ball and released it into the air. The ball opened and a Crobat was now flying around near the ceiling. Dean was able to tell the woman's type upon seeing the Pokémon that was released and had to be careful. The other woman released her own ball and a Sandslash emerged giving a couple of vicious slashes.
"Katherine, are you ready for my plan?" Dean asked.
"You've got a plan? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Katherine hissed back.
"I just thought of it. I apologize if I didn't meet your expectations in time."
"Oh shut-up and tell me."
"You take your Glaceon and face that woman in the hat. You've got the type advantage over her. I'll take care of this chick."
"What about that other guy?"
"I don't know what he's going to do, but hopefully he'll pitch in and help us out a little."
Amiko looked at Jess and nodded, receiving one in return. She and Crobat charged at Dean and Feraligatr who prepared for combat. Jess and Sandslash jumped Katherine and Glaceon with her fists drawn back.
"Hand to hand combat, eh? Bring it on!" Katherine thought with a smirk.
"This woman is fast. I need to be careful of her poison capabilities," Dean thought as he kept a close eye on Amiko's movements.
While Dean and Katherine were in the middle of fighting Jess and Amiko, Glaceon and Feraligatr were engaged in combat against Crobat and Sandslash. The Pokémon were both giving and taking hits from their fierce clash and it was proving to be exhausting for both sides. It appeared as though Feraligatr was going to wrap up his fight against Crobat soon and Glaceon currently had Sandslash cornered. Glaceon fired an Ice Beam at Sandslash and froze him in place.
"Katherine, hurry up and take that girl down!" Glaceon urged.
"I'm trying! She's proving to be a pain in the ass!" Katherine shot back.
"Hold on!"
Glaceon waited until Jess had her back turned and opened her mouth. A ball of ice took shape and was catapulted at Jess. Jess glanced back at the ice ball and turned around giving a hard punch. Although she was a ground-type, she destroyed the ball with little difficulty, although she shook her hand off in obvious pain from the type disadvantage damage she took. Katherine saw her opening and took it. Covering both of her fists in ice, she jumped at Jess's back with both fists drawn and gave a double Ice Punch. Both punches smashed into Jess's back and she froze in shock and pain. She was blasted off her feet and into the wall from the brute force.
Jess fell to the floor and entered blissful unconsciousness. Katherine dusted her hands off and gave a triumphant smirk and flexed her muscles with pride.
"Oh yeah, now that's what I'm talking about!" Katherine said with a grin.
While Katherine was busy celebrating her victory with Glaceon, Dean and Feraligatr were doing everything they could to wrap things up on their end. Feraligatr covered his tail in water and gave a hard swing at Crobat as it swooped down low to attack him. The tail smashed into Crobat and sent it spiraling back into the wall, rendering it unconscious. Amiko gave a growl and slashed at Dean again with her knife. During their fight, Amiko had cut herself with her knife and let her blood coat it which immediately tipped Dean off of the toxin only being able to be spread through her blood or saliva.
Dean caught her wrist with the knife and gave a slash of his own with his ka-bar. His blade began to glow a dark blue and it extended even further than it was capable of. Amiko leaned back and narrowly dodged the attack that she confirmed as Razor Shell. She swept her foot out and under Dean in hopes to catch him off guard. Dean saw that coming and immediately spun her around and drove his foot into her back and forced her away. Amiko flipped forward and pulled out a shuriken that was coated in her blood. Quick as a flash, she threw the sharp weapon at Dean who jumped to the side, just barely dodging the thrown weapon.
"Jesus Christ, how many weapons does this woman have?" Dean wondered.
Amiko jumped at Dean and sent a stab at him. Dean grabbed her wrists again but was kicked in the face by Amiko's foot. The kick stunned him enough to allow Amiko another chance to hit him. She swept his feet out from under him with another kick and jumped on him, closing her hand around his throat to strangle him. While he was being strangled, Dean could see the wild look in Amiko's eyes and the insane grin that threatened to split her face in two.
"This is the end for you, honey!" Amiko laughed as brought her knife down.
"Like hell it is!" Dean thought as he focused whatever power he could into his chest. "Please God, let this work!"
Dean finished channeling his power into his chest and watched as the knife was about to pierce his chest cavity. He was relieved when he saw that the power he diverted did as he hoped. The power he used built up a hard barrier around his chest to prevent anything from harming him. Amiko watched with surprise as he knife broke in half.
"What?" Amiko said in disbelief.
"Withdraw, success." Dean smirked as he took a deep breath and opened his mouth.
A large burst of water hit Amiko in the face and sent her airborne. Dean got to his feet and lunged at Amiko with his knife. His knife extended again as the power of Razor Shell flooded it and he slashed at Amiko. The sound of clothes being torn met Dean's ears as his knife successfully cut Amiko. Amiko managed to get a quick kick in and struck Dean in the face again, forcing him back. She looked down and could see her jumpsuit was torn in the front leaving her naval exposed with blood trickling from the cut on her stomach.
"Honey, if you wanted to get frisky, all you had to do was ask," Amiko teased with a smirk.
"I think I'll pass," Dean replied as he clutched his nose, "chances are that toxins aren't the only thing you're riddled with."
"Oh, zing!" Katherine laughed.
"It seems that your tongue is as sharp as you blade, Dean. This makes your upcoming downfall even more fun!"
Amiko pulled out more shuriken and wiped them across her stomach, covering them in blood. She had her arms ready to throw them at Dean but she sent a side glance at Katherine who was not anticipating her next move. Dean, being the experienced fighter that he was, saw the attack coming from a mile away.
"Katherine, look out!" Dean yelled.
Amiko threw her first set of shuriken at Katherine who got Dean's warning just in time. Katherine took a deep breath and traced her hands over her chest to form a hard block of ice as armor. The shuriken embedded into Katherine's ice armor and made her stumble back in surprise from the narrow miss.
"Crazy bitch," Katherine muttered as she broke the ice off of her frame.
The second wave of shuriken went for Dean and he fell back to dodge the sharp projectiles. He lost his balance and landed on his back which made Amiko jump at him again. Amiko landed on top of Dean and her lips were now stained with her own blood. She pinned Dean's arms down with surprising strength and leaned down to press her lips to his.
"I should let you know that even though you're about to kiss a beautiful woman, it's the last time you'll ever do so. The kiss of death is real and I'm the one who gives it," Amiko whispered as he lips were just mere centimeters above Dean's.
"Get the fuck off of me!" Dean growled as he struggled to break free.
He drove his head up and slammed his forehead against Amiko's. Amiko pulled back, clearly dazed from the hit but regained composure quickly. A sweet smile spread across her face as she resumed her activity.
"You would have been interesting with that rough housing." Amiko giggled.
Amiko leaned forward and was about to press her lips to his to seal his fate but was stopped again when a loud bang echoed around the bar. The glass on the front doors exploded as they were blown out by a shotgun blast. Amiko quickly got off of Dean and clutched her shoulder in pain as blood began to ooze out of it. She glared at the culprit who shot her and damaged her beautiful body with rage. Her eyes fell upon a man with a backwards black baseball hat holding a double barreled shotgun. It was David Montes. Upon seeing him, Amiko cursed as she saw Dameon, Michka and Rein appear alongside him and enter the bar.
Each of them were glaring at Amiko with malice and she knew that she had to flee if she wanted to survive. She was not looking forward to facing Langdon with a failed mission, but facing his anger was more appealing to her than dying at the hands of other A-Gene users. Michka and Rein hurried over to Katherine who was recovering from the shuriken attack and to restrain Jess who was still knocked out. Dameon and David were standing behind Dean and glaring daggers at her. David opened the shotgun and ejected the empty shells from it.
"Yo, she-bitch," David said as reloaded the gun with a click, "let's go."
"As much as I'd like to stay and play with you boys, I need to be going," Amiko replied as she recalled Crobat to its Poké Ball.
"You're not going anywhere," Dameon said as he raised his Remington 870.
"Ami, help me," Jess said as she had just roused from her unconscious state.
Amiko looked at Jess and saw the pleading look in her eyes, but didn't return a friendly gesture. She continued staring at Jess and frowned at her before giving a sigh. A small smile spread across Amiko's face as her hand slid to her belt for a smoke grenade.
"Jess, dear, what was it I told you about my expectations for my partners?" Amiko asked.
"That they were team players and that they could hold their own in a fight," Jess replied.
"Precisely, and now you're about to fulfill the role of being a team player my dear."
"What do you mean?"
"This is where we terminate our contract as partners, Jess."
Amiko quickly pulled the pin on the grenade and tossed it to the center of the room. A loud crack sounded and smoke filled the room, concealing Amiko's escape. David and Dameon began firing slugs in front of them in hopes to hit Amiko and stop her from escaping. Both of them emptied their rounds and the smoke vanished, showing that Amiko was long gone.
"Coward," Katherine spat as she stood up with Michka's help.
"No kidding," Michka agreed with a nod.
"Amiko, come back! You fucking traitor!" Jess screamed.
"Shut the hell up!" Rein sneered as she punched Jess across the face.
Jess trembled in rage from both the hit she received that the hatred she felt towards Amiko for betraying her and leaving her for dead.
"Who are all of you?" Katherine asked as she looked at the four newcomers.
"I'm Dameon," Dameon said with a nod.
"The name's Dave," David greeted as he reloaded his shotgun again.
"I'm Michka," Michka said with a smile.
"I'm Rein and fighting's my game!" Rein said with a smirk.
Katherine wasn't sure what to make of the newcomers but was sure she had nothing to worry about if they saved her from Amiko and Jess. She greeted all of them with a smile and decided to introduce herself as well.
"I'm Katherine Terrine. It's nice to meet all of you," Katherine said with a nod. "Thanks for saving us back there. If you all didn't come it may have ended badly."
"No problem," Rein said dismissing it with a wave of her hand.
"Hey, focus!" Dean said as he raised his voice to gather everyone's attention, "in case you all forgot, we just got ambushed by those freaking clowns. That girl there is affiliated with them. Now I say we get some answers and get the hell out of here."
"Alright, alright, calm down. Don't get your panties all in a bunch," Rein said rolling her eyes.
Dean sent a glare at Rein and walked over to Michka who was holding Jess at the scruff of her neck. He grabbed Jess and forced her to her feet and forced her over to an undamaged chair. He set her down in the chair and had David and Dameon hold security on her as he reloaded his pistol.
"Jess, is it?" Dean asked as he looked at her.
"What?" Jess asked looking up.
"Jess. That's your name, isn't it?"
Jess flinched at the tone Dean was using and could only nod in a response. Dean raised his foot and rested it on whatever remained of one of his tables. He was furious at being attacked and he was even madder that his only method of profit was now destroyed beyond recognition.
"Good, now let me tell you this is going to work. I'm going to ask you a series of questions and I expect you to answer each one of them truthfully. Should you lie, I will shoot you with one bullet from this magazine in my pistol here. The final round will be put into your skull if you continue to lie," Dean explained as he glared at her. "Do you understand?"
Dean's words made everyone look at him with some surprise. The two that looked indifferent to Dean's statement were David and Dameon, but that was because in the past they had to do some rather drastic measures to acquire certain information they needed. Jess could once again say nothing and only nodded to show she understood what he said.
"Who was it that sent you and why are you here?" Dean asked.
"I was sent here by a man to capture you, Katherine Terrine and that other guy that was here earlier and bring you all back to a hidden military base down in Texas for testing on the A-Gene."
"What was the man's name?"
"I… I don't know."
"This is your only warning, Jess. Lie to me again and I will shoot you."
"I swear I don't know."
Bang! Dean fired a single bullet into Jess's shin and earned a loud shriek of pain from her. Michka, Katherine and Rein all flinched as they saw the gruesome method of torture taking place and felt somewhat sympathetic towards Jess. They quickly dismissed it when they remembered that she was their enemy.
"Don't bullshit me! Who is your employer?" Dean asked.
"Gardner!" Jess whimpered through her tears. "His name is Langdon Gardner!"
Dean froze and his eyes widened in surprise. He looked at David and Dameon who didn't look surprised at all at the revelation. He made a mental note to ask them how they knew that when they had some spare time. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to Jess who was sobbing with pain from the bullet in her shin.
"Well that wasn't so hard was it?" Dean sneered. "Let's continue, shall we?"
Jess let out another whimper as she prepared to be asked another question she was hesitant on answering. While she wanted to tell them the plans as revenge for Amiko abandoning her to save her own skin, she was afraid Langdon would find out. She knew the amount of power he had dwelling inside of him and knew he could enter the minds of his subordinates at will.
"What is the purpose of capturing A-Gene wielders?" Dean asked.
"All I know is that it has something to do with the super soldier and trying to perfect it," Jess replied.
"She's telling the truth about that," David said as he glanced back Dean.
Dean nodded as David told him that and prepped his next question.
"How much success have they had in perfecting the enhancements?" Dean asked.
"Not a lot," Jess answered with a shake of the head.
"She's lying," Dameon whispered to Dean.
Bang! Jess howled in pain again as the new bullet entered her knee, shattering it completely. Tears trickled out of Jess's eyes and the excruciating pain was becoming too much to bear. She let out another scream in an attempt to fight through it.
"Alright, alright, I lied! They're getting closer to making the final adjustments for the enhancements," Jess said quickly and sobbed again as the pain was becoming too much for her.
"Good. Now how many bases are in the United States that are conducting the tests?" Dean continued.
"I'm not sure. I only know of five bases. There's one in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Colorado and Texas."
Dean sighed as he absorbed the information and got ready to ask his next question. So far he did not like what he was hearing.
"Which base has made the most progress with the testing?" Dean asked.
"I think it was either the one in Texas or Colorado."
"Alright, now how many A-Gene users do you all have under your payroll? I know there's you, Langdon and that girl Amiko."
"I only know two others aside from them. They are Bill Harding and Seishiro Tokugawa."
"That's true," David confirmed with a nod.
Dean crossed his arms as he tried to think of any other questions that he felt were pertinent to know.
"How many states are on the lookout for us?" David asked.
"I'm not sure. I know that Nevada was notified, but I wouldn't be surprised if all the states were given word about your escape from the military base," Jess answered with a shrug.
"How many people are coming for us?" Dean asked.
"I'd imagine whatever A-Gene wielders Langdon has under his command along with a bunch of soldiers will be sent after you so I'd recon you have about two days before they find you again."
"Alright, I only have on last question for you. Where are the bases located in those states?"
Jess opened her mouth to answer but found herself unable to do so. It felt as though that she could not talk and it was as if something held her tongue in place. She began to panic and tried to open her mouth again but it was no use. Her body started to hover in the air and she felt her bones constricting from an unknown force. The event that was taking place before them left them speechless. It got even weirder when Jess's eyes glossed over and her mouth began to move and her voice was replaced with a more masculine one. The scene looked like a possession scene from an old horror movie.
"I'm glad to see your interrogation methods haven't faltered, Dean," Jess said.
"Who am I talking to?" Dean asked.
"Surely you haven't forgotten your old commanding officer's voice?"
"Langdon? What the hell are you doing? How are you even doing this for that matter?"
"I've possessed Jess so she doesn't spill any information I find important and she would have released the most important bit had I not intervened. I'm also a powerful psychic-type user. My psychic prowess allows me to do things beyond your comprehension."
"Well we got a good deal out of her already. I'll just have to break your hold on her."
"You don't get it do you? She was finished the moment I entered her head. The second I leave, her mind will be turned to mush, leaving her in a vegetative state for the rest of her life."
"Only one way to find out!"
Dean jumped at Jess and drove his fist into her stomach in an attempt to break Langdon's hold on her. The second he did that, Jess's body went rigid and fell unceremoniously to the ground with a loud thump. Jess's eyes returned to normal and they looked unfocussed. Her mouth was open and she was struggling to speak.
"Jess, talk to me," Dean said as he slapped her cheek lightly.
He got a jumbled response and he sighed. Langdon was right. The moment he left Jess's head, he reduced her mind to nothing and she was now a zombie. Dean cursed as he gently rested Jess on the floor and stood up to look at his comrades.
"She's gone. Langdon completely destroyed her brain with his possession," Dean said with a sigh.
"So what do we do now?" Katherine asked.
"We need to get the hell out of here. Cops will be here any minute and it won't do us any good if we encounter them," Rein said as she crossed her arms.
"Yeah, you're right," the stranger said as he reappeared in front of the group.
The ghost-type's sudden appearance made them jump in surprise at his unexpected pop-up. Dean and Katherine glared at the stranger who raised an eyebrow at their intense stares.
"Can I help you?" The man asked.
"Where the hell did you disappear to? We could have used your help facing those two A-Gene wielders!" Katherine said with frustration clear in her voice.
"My apologies, but I was recovering from my injuries."
"What injuries? You're a freaking ghost!"
"Although I am technically a ghost, I can still be harmed by things. Those bullets that hit me did do some damage and I needed time to recover."
"How do you recover?" Dean asked as he turned to him.
"Look at the soldiers around you."
The group did as the man requested and almost gagged at the sight. All of the dead soldiers were now decomposed beyond recognition and some of them were to the point of their innards being visible.
"What the hell are you?" David asked as he stared at the man.
"I'm a ghost-type. An A-Gene wielder in your terms," the man replied.
The group fell silent as they continued staring at the creepy ghost-type before them. He gave a shrug and walked back over to the bar where his drink was still sitting and surprisingly remained intact from the fight that took place earlier. He continued drinking the whisky from his glass.
"This brings us up to the matter we've been talking about," David said as he looked at his comrades. "What do you all want to do now? We need to get out of here so we don't draw any further attention."
"I agree. We need to leave now and get to a safe place and come up with a plan from there," Dameon said with a nod.
"Well, I'm tagging along with you all now, so I'll go wherever you guys are going," Dean said as he looked at David and Dameon.
"I'm coming too. Those jokers are coming back for round two soon and I'd rather have friends that have my back," Katherine agreed.
"Sounds like a plan," Michka said with a grin.
"Well, what are we going to do with her?" Rein asked as she pointed at Jess.
They all looked at the disabled girl with some pity. She was betrayed by her teammate and left for dead and she had to endure some painful torture, courtesy of Dean. To top it off, Jess had her mind reduced to nothing after Langdon destroyed it upon possessing her body. Even if she could recover, there was no way she would be able to function the same way again. Dean had one thought in mind and he felt it was the best way to deal with it.
"For those of you that have a weak stomach, I suggest you turn away," Dean said as he pulled out his gun.
"What are you doing?" Katherine asked.
"Granting her mercy," Dean said as he walked over to Jess and towered over her.
"Dean, you can't do that. She didn't give you permission or ask you for that matter."
"Kath, she can't talk. Even if she could recover, she cannot lead a normal life. Her brain is destroyed and she's going to die eventually. It's best to relieve her suffering now."
Katherine opened her mouth but closed it when she couldn't find the words to say. Deep down she knew that Dean was right and she lowered her head and let out a sigh. Dean aimed the gun at Jess's head and said a prayer for her before cocking the hammer back.
"Be at peace, Jess. I'm sorry for this," Dean muttered.
Bang! Jess's eyes closed after Dean conducted the mercy killing with a single shot to the head. He tucked his gun back in his belt and took one last look around his bar. The place where he invested a lot of time and energy in hopes to turn his life around after his divorce was now destroyed. His heart felt heavy as he remembered the memories he had while running the bar.
"If you need more support, I'll be willing to lend my assistance," the stranger said as he downed the rest of his drink.
"We could always use more help," Dameon replied. "I don't suppose you can tell use your name."
The man gave a light chuckle as he looked up at the group from under his hat. His grey eyes glowed red for a brief moment before reverting to their original color.
"The name is Roland Winchester. It's a pleasure to meet you," Roland said as he tipped his hat.
That's the chapter, everybody. For those of you who have been waiting to see Dean again, there you go. I hope the wait was worth it and that you are now eager for more to come. I'm still taking duplicate OCs for those who have not submitted one yet, but be sure to look at the types that are available at the bottom before choosing. That's all I really had for you, so until next time!-CaptainPrice
OCs introduced:
Katherine Terrine: Ice Type (Morris Archeltum)
Roland Winchester: Ghost Type (CaptainPrice)
Jess O'Malley: Ground Type/Dead (WolfWarrior1)
Story Shoutouts: 4/23/2013
"Time of Courage" by my good friend FiammaJoule: This story is becomming one of the new stories that contain people with Pokemon powers/souls. It's extremely interesting and the first chapter alone was enough to get my attention and I'm sure it will be of interest to a lot of you readers as well. The story revolves around a group of people known as S-Types that have the abilities of Pokemon and are being hunted down by the government. Michka Morre is the protagonist and it'll be great to watch her progress and grow to help lead the resistance against the government. (Recently Updated on 12/8/12)
"Elementals" by Morris Archeltum: Elementals... humans that can use the abilities just like a Pokemon. Hunted by the government, they live in hiding. But as the world starts falling apart, they might just be the only ones who can stop it.
Grass-1
Fire-2
Water-1
Electric-3 (No more electric types are being taken.)
Flying-1
Dark-6 (No more dark types are being accepted. There are too many. I'm only going to take two more of these guys from the submitted ones I received.)
Poison-1
Dragon-1
Bug-2
Fighting-2
Rock-1
Ground-3
Steel-2
Ghost-2
Ice-1
Psychic-1
Normal-1