Transformation: New Dawn
Chapter 15: return to Hoenn
A/n: Here's another update! In the last chapter we saw Cindy break away from her dark deal with Wilhelm and Sophie evolved after apparently sacrificing herself for Cindy. Now let us continue with another party of friends who are returning to Hoenn…
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pokemon, Nintendo does. I also do not own The Transformation universe established by TurtlesandMonkeys; I am only borrowing with permission. Mary belongs to TurtlesandMonkeys, Swack16 owns John and Sarah, Lord Nalthren owns Akira and Omega, and I own Cindy. MEE-YAA
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John stared at the passing sea outside the chopper window, listening to Mary tell Linda of their adventures as Pokemon and fighting the ancient society. Commander Yui also listened, occasionally running a hand across his .50 caliber Desert Eagle he had holstered.
"…And then we were tied up by the society and they waited until midnight to turn the other scientists first until we were left and that's when the Doduo came…" Mary told Linda as her face looked to the side as she closed her eyes in remembrance. Linda nodded. "So this society…did you guys stop them?"
John looked to her. "I'm sure we did, you don't see them around, do you?"
Yui closed his eyes and sighed. "Well there was that massive pokemon attack in Lilycove city a year ago…too organized to be some random attack and way to big. It was kind of like the Mauville city disappearance."
"We were in that actually, me and Missy and the others. That is where most of our group got caught and…" Mary said as she looked down.
Linda clenched a fist. "Well if they are still out there, count me in making sure that nothing like that happens again." Mary smiled. "Wow, that's pretty neat of you…" the she looked down again. "But almost everyone who tries to help us gets hurt." She looked at John. "John was one of them."
John smirked and shrugged. "I was in for them anyway when they jumped me outside of Mauville. I was going to heal my pokemon up there and maybe battle Watson when they come out of nowhere and capture me. I woke up and there was this little girl with an Eevee in her arms and it bit me and…" He shrugged. "I'm sure you can guess the rest." Mary chuckled. "You were a cute little Eevee. Remember when you saved the day at Fallarbor when we were getting attacked by that infected Nurse Joy?"
John soled his eyes in a lighthearted smile. "How could I forget? I did happen to see you cure Nurse Joy right there, but I was a gentleman and looked away."
Mary giggled and wagged a finger. "But you saw something, right? I mean you turned redder than a Macargo before you turned away." She teased. John frowned. "Hey…"
Linda laughed. "Well those all sound like interesting stories. This virus thing sure caught all of us by surprise. None of us could have seen anything like this coming."
John sighed. "Yeah…" Yui looked to the pilot. "How far is it now?"
The Pilot looked back. "Not far, we just passed Mossdeep and should reach Mauville in maybe an hour and a half, maybe less even." Yui nodded. "Thank you. We'll get to Delta Base from there." Linda cocked her head to the side. "Delta base?"
"One of our new makeshift base set between Mauville and Lilycove, maybe several miles from Fortree. Akira's last seen position was near route 111 and we suspect that he is with in the middle region of Hoenn. We have also combed both the east and west coast such as Rustboro and Lilycove, but no such luck." Yui explained.
Mary put a hand to her chin. "So you say you're looking for Ninetales?"
Yui nodded. "General Kikari received instructions from Mika and he told the rest of the new pokemon recovery squads to be on the look out. His shiny Ninetales Kitsune was also seen with his group, so any shiny colored Ninetales are pokemon of interest."
John nodded. "Well at least it won't be hard spotting them out."
The chopper rumbled again and the pilot spoke up. "Stay sharp, we're approaching the landing vector."
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The helicopter began to descend on a tall building with several Omega guards on the roof with their M-16 rifles held in attention. The helicopter blades began to slow as the engine began to whine. A soldier went to the door and opened it and saluted as Yui stepped out and he returned the salute. John and Mary and Linda followed him out and were sort of amazed by their military visit. Yui motioned them to follow as he began to descend the landing platform into a set of stairs that led into the building. Mary looked at the city around the building, memories flowing back as she closed her eyes. Linda gently tapped her and Mary snapped out of it and bowed in apology. "Sorry." Linda waved her hand. "It's ok. Now let's go." Mary nodded and followed her down the set of stairs. John just looked at the skyline and thought to a year ago when he was captured just outside the city limits. This is where it began for me…
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As they walked down the building, they could see several armed men walk by as they patrolled the area. Mary and John looked out the window and saw that there were some people wandering the streets, proof that the city wasn't as deserted as it was a year ago when the society attacked.
"Looks like things are barely getting back to normal." Mary sighed as they descended. Yui looked back. "Those people are one of the few who dodged the Mauville incident. Some were out of town, others hiding out in other city's when they heard about the virus, then they come back to see that the entire town is gone. We still haven't even recovered the Gym leader, and several hundred residents are still missing."
John narrowed his eyes. "Man, that bad…"
Yui sighed. "it makes me wonder if the world will ever fully recover from this virus."
They stopped by a level. Yui looked to where they were. "Ah, we have to stop here for awhile." He walked into the room where they saw several metal boxes stacked high. He reached into one and pulled out a case. He opened it and inside where some type of capsules or syringes.
"Self injecting syringes. Omega developed them after some of our search teams were overrun with pokemon ambushes. This one doesn't require any pushing of a button for injection, you just hold it to a vain, like so." He demonstrated by aiming it near his neck. "And 'psh. In like that." He made a pushing motion with out sticking it in him and put it in the case. "Will be useful if we still maintain sentience but not opposable thumbs if you know what I mean." He shouldered the pack. John nodded. Linda looked around and opened a box and found a little pistol with the build of a 9mm and a case of small darts. Yui looked to her. "That is not a toy." Linda took it out and assembled the pieces. "I know." She assembled the little pistol in a few minutes and began to aim it at imaginary targets and chambered a clip of darts without looking. She pressed a button and the clip slide out into her waiting hand and she looked to Yui. "It's like the Berretta 9mm. I know how to use one of these with no problem. My dad was an officer in the Police department."
She slapped the clip inside and assumed the firing posture. Yui smirked. "Well that will come in handy. Those darts have enough sedative to put a Tauros to sleep. Just hope we don't need to use it." Linda smirked and clipped the holster to her belt. "Gotcha." She slid the pistol inside. She looked to John and Mary. "You guys want one too?"
John shook his head with a smile. "No thanks, I got my pokemon team." Linda shrugged. "Suit yourself."
Yui picked up a radio and a case with the parts for a tranquilizer rifle and several capture balls. He gave some balls to each of them. Yui picked up a radio and gave each of them a walkie-talkie. "In case we split up. This is going to be a long search. John clipped it to his belt. "Got it."
Yui nodded. "All right, looks like we're ready to go."
A thought ran across John. "Can we stop by the pokemon center before we leave for delta base?"
Yui raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"So I can tell my family I'm back in Hoenn real quick." Yui looked to his watch. "I'll give you five minutes before we go." John nodded. "Thanks."
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John, Mary, and Linda walked down the city, seeing a few people here and there, but not enough for a city with a reputation like Mauville. Touted as the shiny city of small, Mauville was still a relative ghost town with only a few people here and there. They approached the pokemon center where they passed a guy with blond hair and a wrangler outfit and hat pass by, giving a wave to Nurse joy. "I'll be back tomorrow with another load Nurse Joy." He said with a smile. Nurse Joy waved with a smile. "Thank you Drake, see you then." Mary and John could see that she was pushing a cart of pokemon cages to the back room and coming out, wiping the sweat off her forehead. Linda looked at the passing pokemon wrangler and began to think of the ones that tried to catch them when they were pokemon, but this one seemed different, as if he were trying to actually help. They walked into the pokemon center where Joy was waiting. "Hello and how may I help you?" John unclipped his belt and put it on the counter. "Can you give them a quick check up while I use your phone." Joy nodded. "Certainly. Let me see your pokemon."
She took the belt and began to rest the balls in six slots on a machine. The balls began to roll as lights blinked and a little jingle played when they were done. She gave the belt back to John. "You pokemon should be in perfect health." She bowed. Joy took the belt. "Thank you." He headed for the phone.
He pressed a button and dialed a number. A little Porygon icon appeared with a please wait message as the phone dialed. The phone finally clicked and an image appeared of a familiar ancient face that John knew.
"Grandpa Shu." He said. His Grandpa Shu Wei's eyes widened and he smiled as he got closer to the screen. "Little Johnny! I haven't seen you in a long time." He said with joy. John smiled and held the necklace in front of the camera. "I got your necklace, just like you wanted." Grandpa Shu rubbed his eyes and smiled as he bowed and pulled out a necklace similar to it with a yellow gemstone. "You are bearing your family crest just as you should have." He said with pride. John nodded. "Where's mom at?"
"She's visiting your aunt and uncle, who are very worried at the moment. "Ryan hasn't checked in for a long time and they're beginning to suspect the worst." He said with a sad look. John got closer. "Ryan is missing?" Shu nodded. "We were overjoyed to hear from you the other day, it was one of the few rays of hope we had seen since this whole nightmare began." John looked to the side. Ryan is missing as well? H thought of his older cousin, strong and tough, yet so much like John in nobility and honor. He looked up to him growing up, and still has respect for his older cousin. If the virus took Ryan away, John wouldn't know how to respond. But Ryan will fight, he always does. We're the two dragons, nothing will stop us.
"So John, where are you calling from anyway?" Shu asked. John stood tall. "Mauville, Hoenn."
Shu's face dropped and he stood up. "Hoenn? Oh no…" He put a hand to his forehead and trembled a bit. John got closer with worry. "Grandpa?" Shu looked up after breathing several times. "I'm ok, just the shock. So you are in Hoenn…" He looked down.
John's eyes turned soft. "I'm sorry grandpa that I couldn't come home yet, but I have something to do, a promise to keep." Shu nodded. "I understand, but still be careful my grandson. You do not realize the peril you are in just being in Hoenn."
John raised an eyebrow. "From the virus? I know you are worried, but grandpa, I faced the virus, twice now, I'm sure I can handle it."
Shu shook his head. "But it wasn't the virus I was referring to…"
John got closer. "What is it then?"
Shu closed his eyes as he looked away from the camera and sighed as he looked again. "A long time ago, before your father was born, I was a part of a society that believed in ancient rituals concerning the virus in the name of a god called Yasuo."
John's eyes widened and he almost dropped the phone. "No…" Shu nodded. "Your great grandfather was one of the noble guardians of the chronicler, Lady Moro."
Shu had a far away look as he began to remember. "It was such a grand time…a state of peace…a time when pokemon and human lived in harmony and we were given the chance of joining them in that harmony as a pokemon." He then narrowed his eyes. "All that came to an end when he became elder…Demetrie…" He looked to the side. "That boy began to lead the society down a road of ruin and when we argued against his new ways, he labeled us as traitors and turned the rest of the society against Lady Moro and our family. We were forced to flee to Sinnoh, vowing to never have our children involved with Yasuo's society again should Demetrie come after them." His eyes became filled with sorrow. "Now you know why we were always insistent that your father and you should never settle or even travel in Hoenn. We did it to protect you."
John tried to gather all the facts in with wide eyes. He looked to his necklace. His family was apart of the very society that tried to capture them and force them into pokemon? It seemed impossible. John wanted to cry out, to say his grandfather was making it up, but he felt a sense of truth in his words and knew he couldn't be lying. It just can't be…
"You...you ran into them, didn't you?" Shu asked. John nodded. Shu looked down and closed his eyes. "I was afraid so. They probably didn't even recognize you as a member of our family and just turned you. But now you know why we fled from them. Demetrie has turned them vicious and heartless."
John looked at his grandfather. "But Grandpa, the time for running has ended. If we do run into them again, I will not run." He narrowed his eyes and clenched his fist. "I will fight back. I did it before, I'm still fighting now."
Shu stared at him for a while before slowly nodding. "Stay safe, and may the grace of our ancestors watch over you." John nodded. "Thank you grandfather." He clicked the phone off and looked to the side. So that makes me a part of the society in some way too…
Yui looked at his watch. "It's time to go." John nodded and picked up his belt, rubbing his necklace. Now I mustn't' fail…for sure…
He walked out the pokemon center, Mary and Linda following.
There was a waiting Jeep. Yui gestured them in. "This will take us to Delta base and we'll begin our search from there." John nodded. "Right." They took off, not noticing the pair of red headed twins watching them from the bushes.
Twins with markings.
They looked to each other and nodded and took off into the forest.
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And I'll stop there! XD! This chapter was sort of a stage setter with their arrival in Hoenn starting with preparation materials. The new syringes were suggested by Swack16 and were inspired by the syringes seen in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the patriots. I also thought that Mary could share some stories with Linda in this chapter about their past exploits. I chose Mauville because it was in the middle of the Hoenn region, plus it was the epicenter for many events in this series. The city is still recovering from the previous Mauville incident. This chapter also ties into Double The Trouble with the appearance of Drake in this story., who as we all know was a victim with Nurse Joy in the opening chapters. This places this visit about a few days before Missy's arrival and the start of DTT. The appearance of Shu was not only used to tie into Ancient Society but also with project legends concerning Ryan's disappearance. And those two twins at the end should be familiar to anyone who read Tam's original stories or Darkest Before the Dawn. XD! Please review! Jonseycat, out! MEE-YAA!