I felt sped up this week. Thus, I'm able to get this out earlier for all of you. Please R&R.
Chapter II: Beyond the Front
September 6, 2061 5:22 p.m.
His binoculars dropped back to his chest. "Targets entering at 11 o'clock, approximately 300 meters away! It's a force of about fifty!" Sentinel spoke hurriedly into his radio, taking his finger off the transmitter on his head as he took another quick shot. The bullet flew into yet another grunt through the head while lasers zoomed back and for the through the fauna. On his sides other Kanto soldiers with rifles crouched in the bushes, firing back at the Rocket Shock Squadron forces who were already there, about 100 meters away.
He crouched a little lower behind the bush and looked towards another plain-uniformed sniper who was crouched behind another bush on his right. "Kenny, do you have a spare scope?"
Nodding, Kenny reached into his side pouch and pulled out a black scope, just like the one Sentinel had on his rifle before. Getting up, Kenny lunged over to Sentinel and handed him the scope. Just as he was about to get back behind the bush he had been hiding in, a stream of lasers ripped through his chest and stomach.
Kenny looked down in shock at the burnt holes in his chest as his uniform began to become red with blood. "Fuck…" He muttered shakily before another burst of lasers smashed into his head.
Kenny's mutilated body slumped to the ground. Looking at the corpse, Sentinel only growled a little while reaching to his earpiece. "They killed Kenny!"
"Bastards!" Someone else shouted over the radio, the next second a shot ringing out from it.
Dropping his hand from the earpiece, he took the scope in his hand and slid it into the rail on the top of the rifle, having fixed the rail himself.
In full honesty, at this range he didn't really need the scope, considering how talented he was. For some reason it was just instinct for him to put on the scope; it was what they taught to him, that a good sniper needs to maintain a good scope on his rifle.
He spied through the scope, smiling as he saw the crosshairs nice and aligned. Choosing one of the men who were coming in from afar, he fired.
Meanwhile, Shadow and Light had dashed into the bushes between the opposing factions, inching closer and closer to the approaching group of black-shirted grunts…
(Ready Light?) He asked as a single bullet zoomed past overhead, followed by about two more in quick succession.
(I'm ready.)
Inching a little closer, Shadow peered out of the bush to see three Rocket grunts hurriedly trying to assemble what looked like a mounted machine gun. Peering around to make sure these three were the only ones close by, Shadow nudged Light. (Go.)
Sentinel was firing a round nearly every half-second so long as his clip had bullets. Ahead of him he could see a powerful electrical explosion throw three Rocket grunts covered in static into the air with pieces of machinery in their wake. At the same time he had gotten low and was crouch-walking to the tree in front of him, placing his finger to the earpiece and typing in a four number code. "So what'd you and Light find there, Pulse?"
"Some grunts were preparing a machine gun position. Just out of curiosity, how many kills did you just get with those bullets?"
"About thirteen. I hit six of them in the head with three bullets, and the rest were single kills. It's not a very long distance, so this is absurdly easy."
Sentinel looked around the tree he was behind and noticed another group of grunts coming in towards where the explosion occurred. He kept one hand to the earpiece while reloading his rifle with the other. "Pulse, there's six Rocket grunts coming in at you."
The smaller radio on Shadow's ear beeped out as Light's ears twitched. (They're coming from behind you.)
(I know, let's get back in the bushes, quick!) He replied while leaping back into the shrubbery, her in tow. Within seconds they saw six black-garbed Rockets rushing in towards the blast hole. Watching patiently, Shadow leaned his head towards Light.
(Do you want to get them?) He asked softly. In turn, she summoned electricity into her paws…
"Looks like those grunts never learn…but then again, those were not Shock Squadron grunts, just the normal kind." Sentinel observed as he witnessed a charge of lightning dart in from above and smash into where the other explosion had occurred, tossing more electrocuted grunts into the air. Seeing two of them breathing rather fast and hard in the air, he raised his rifle and put a bullet through both of their hearts before they landed.
I wonder how Umbreon and…Bolt, was it? Yeah, Bolt. I wonder how they're doing questioning that Wartortle back at the post…
…
Within a larger tent in the encampment, flashes could be seen along with silhouettes blocking parts of the lights.
(GHHH! HZZZaaaAArrRRRggGhH!) The Wartortle screamed as his body was thrown into spasms by Bolt's electricity once again. Meanwhile, the Umbreon sat in front of the turtle, glaring it down before looking to Bolt.
Nodding, he took his paw off the Wartortle, ceasing the powerful flow of his electricity into the Wartortle's body.
Behind the Umbreon was a woman with hair orange like flames, flowing down her shoulders in a cascade. A blue and yellow flak jacket-looking vest with many pockets covered a Kanto military uniform, the left sleeve adorned with a patch that read 'KAM-TS'. She seemed to wince every time Bolt shocked him for not answering a question, but other than that, her aqua-colored eyes stayed where they looked.
Misty watched the tied-down Wartortle look up again, eyes wide with pain while his breathing continued erratically. Crossing her arms, she spoke once more. "You're not making this any easier on yourself…now, I'll ask again: What is the location of the airstrip Team Rocket is using?"
The Wartortle shakily looked up to her, face pale by now. Fearfully, his eyes turned towards Bolt in time to see him charge up a small sphere of electricity into his paw. Gulping, the Wartortle looked back to Misty, forcing his teeth to stop chattering as he clenched them. The translator collar on his neck beeped to life once more.
"I'm not talking…" He breathed out, and within that second the Umbreon nodded to Bolt again…
Misty sighed as she saw the Wartortle cry out once more at the feeling like fire igniting in his chest. Why they had picked her for interrogating this Wartortle was beyond her; first of all she was never good at torture, and second of all she didn't truly have the gut to see the Pokémon and humans writhing with whatever they had decided to use to 'persuade' them to talk, such as with Bolt sending electricity into the water type every time he refused to answer.
The static ravaged his body, and blood vessels could be seen sticking up in his ocean-blue skin like his very blood was boiling. His voice seemed to falter like he was already losing consciousness, only kept awake by the storm injected into him.
Bolt's paw rose from his skin with a shower of sparks. This time the Wartortle's eyes were becoming glazed over, small red cracks across them from the corners. The area of skin where Bolt had been putting his paw was blackened.
Misty grimaced; this wasn't helping much. He was probably sooner going to lose consciousness than to tell her anything. Within she just wanted to stop, but she knew she had to keep things menacing to get any information. She looked down to the pouch on the left side of her vest, opening it with her right hand.
The Wartortle watched fearfully. At the sight of what she pulled out, his pupils dilated in horror. She moved closer to him, brandishing the tool she had:
It was a gleaming, serrated combat knife that had been hidden in the radio pouch. The blade in the middle was a like small saw, while the upper portion sharpened into a needle at the tip. On the metal was the engraving 'KAM' with a water droplet beneath it.
The Umbreon moved aside for Misty as she knelt down in front of the shivering turtle Pokémon. A whine of fear escaped his mouth as he felt the cold steel press against his blue throat.
"I really don't want to have to do this, but I will if you don't answer me." Misty said as coldly as she possibly could. It seemed to have enough of an effect on the Wartortle, as he began to sweat profusely, even more so when she ran the flat back of the blade across his neck.
"So, where is that airstrip?"
…
Lasers zoomed past Shadow, many nearly hitting as he dashed towards the Shock Squadron soldiers with a layer of electricity cloaking him. Meanwhile, somewhere behind him lightning obliterated the area around a tree and threw up a Quilava who had a bloody streak across its chest…
(Iron Tail!)
Shadow's tail glowed a steely gray in the sunlight as it smacked into a grunt's chest seconds later, leaving a mighty cut through his Kevlar vest that ripped through to his entrails. Landing, Shadow threw up his paws and a dome of electricity with them, deflecting several laser blasts that were still coming from around him.
"Eat this, you stupid-AGH!" A grunt cried as he was thrown up along with his allies by a powerful Shockwave Shadow unleashed when he crossed his arms to focus his electricity, then threw them out.
From his position, Sentinel quickly took a shot at two of the grunts thrown into the air by Shadow's attack, the single bullet going through the ears of one and hitting the next square in his stomach.
Moving along, Sentinel moved forward in a crouching stance, taking out the M1911 he had found three days before. Silently he moved closer and closer to the enemy side, getting within twenty yards of a small group.
His aim was magnificent as he whipped out from behind a tree and shot a single .45 ACP into a grunt's head. Running towards the other three, he took two more shots before they could turn, catching one through his temple and the other between his eyes. As for the third he had run in towards Sentinel, brandishing his knife.
Another knife fight…
Not interested.
"Ha!" The grunt yelled as he drove the knife through the air toward Sentinel. Easily, Sentinel caught the grunts arm and slammed into him with his elbow, dropping slightly to suplex the grunt over him. Turning around, Sentinel unloaded another bullet into the grunt's face.
This M1911 is ancient…but reliable. It goes to show that old technology can still be of some use.
He lowered himself back to the ground, unloading the clip from his pistol and inserting individual rounds into it until it was full. He peered out the top of the bushes, thinking: this was a position just about in the middle of the two forces. He was now in a magnificent position to get some more kills, but then again, the Rockets were now closer as well. In the crossfire he could also get killed by friendly forces.
The barrel on the pistol went back forward as he reloaded the clip. Reaching for the true tool of his trade, he carefully chose a target about fifty meters away and fired. At the same time, he noticed that many were beginning to run away.
Good, they're retreating.
(Shadow, I think they're starting to fall back!) Light said with relief. In turn, Shadow smirked. True, the Rockets did appear to be faltering, many beginning to fall back into the woods. At the same time, he was hearing large amounts of rustling behind him: the Kanto men and Pokémon were advancing in.
It felt strange, fighting on the other side now. He was fighting on the side he thought was the enemy before. Now here he was, fighting for the former enemy against enemies that he once thought were allies.
"Go get 'em!" He heard a Kanto soldier yell from behind, followed by a battle cry as many Kanto soldiers came charging through the bushes, some pumping their rifles in the air. After them, a few silent ghillie-suited men came through, looking through their scopes all the way.
Despite the fight they had just been in, she managed to give him the kind, reassuring smile she always gave to him.
Sighing, he returned it. (Everything okay?)
(I'm fine. Is everything okay with you?)
(Not a scratch, a Light.) He answered her. At this point they had moved in toward one another, their noses almost touching.
(I've been thinking it over; Light…what you told me when we were getting toward Pallet. That you…loved me.)
Light listened, closely, her ears gobbling every word he said. He continued on:
(It was just so…sudden for me. I've never felt as appreciated then as ever before…You made me feel like I have a purpose again. Since then I've been thinking about my own feelings…and well…)
(I love you too.)
The sparkle in her eyes intensified, like the birth of a star. Slowly, she took a step towards him, then happily embraced him. Lovingly she rubbed her cheek on his, which was the 'Chu version of a kiss. (Oh Shadow…to hear you say that…I feel so happy…)
Gingerly, he wrapped his own arms around her waist, feeling the warmth of her body in his hold. Again, this feeling felt strange to him; actually being cared for, actually feeling appreciated for who he is, and not for his power.
She was giving him just that; true feeling, true attention, true love.
"Pulse, Light!"
Shadow looked up into the air, Light doing so as well when they heard Sentinel calling. With smile to each other, they let go of one another while Shadow cupped his paws around his mouth. "Over here!"
Seconds later, a heavy boot covered in realistic-looking fake leaves stepped through the bush, followed by Sentinel himself. Sweat showed on his skin, dampening the hair just barely visible under his hood. The black metal of his rifle did not reflect the sun, except for the glass on the scope. Wiping some dust off of it, Sentinel lowered himself to eye level with them.
His forest green balaclava moved with his mouth. "You're both good here?"
"We're both fine. What about you?"
"Just had small skirmish with some grunts earlier, but other than that I'm practically collecting heads." Sentinel responded calmly, his brown eyes sweeping over them. "I think we should move up with everyone else. We need to keep driving forward."
"Okay. We're ready to go when you are, Sentinel."
A beeping sounded from Sentinel's earpiece, along with a rapidly flashing green light on it. Sentinel pressed the button on it immediately putting two fingers over his mouth to tell Shadow and Light to keep silent. "This is KAM-TS Sniper Unit 3-2, codename 'Sentinel', number 10263991…"
Shadow and Light waited patiently, looking towards Sentinel while chatter went on through his earpiece. Sentinel's eyebrows rose slightly, then he looked up toward both of them curiously. "Yes, I have a Pikachu here named Pulse and a Raichu named Light. Interrogative, why do you need to know, Ma'am?"
I wonder if Bolt told them or if Sentinel told them earlier…
Another short chatter came through. Nodding, Sentinel looked back over his shoulder. "Confirmed, Ma'am. I'll be there immediately with them."
His hand lowered from the radio and he got up. "It looks like the Captain wants to speak with you two on…personal matters, apparently. Can't imagine what, but I suppose we should get over there anyhow. Let's go."
Sentinel turned quickly on his heel and walked through the bush. Light passed by Shadow to follow, but stopped, looking back at him. Blushing, she pecked him on the cheek with an actual kiss before following sentinel through the bush. This time, Shadow stood silent, rubbing his face where her lips had met, a smile creeping up along his mouth as he too stepped through the bush.
…
Ticks sounded from the small mechanical clock on the top of the folding table. Next to it was several photographs and two documents, scattered amongst themselves.
Misty looked at the clipboard she was using in the interrogation a few minutes ago. Most of the page, however, was blank…
"…Why couldn't he have just talked…" She said sadly, giving her combat knife one last swipe with a cloth before putting it in her chest vest and reaching out to take something in her hand, tossing the dull crimson-stained cloth into a trash can at her side…
What she picked up was a single letter, mailed from Cerulean city with a photo of her sisters in military uniforms like hers attached to the letter. The blond sported a Major's hat and a pistol, the brunette carried an ACR-A5, and the pink haired woman held a sniper rifle. Under the photo, a caption read 'Cpt. Violet, 1st Lieutenant Lily', and 'Maj. Daisy', all in their different handwritings. With them she could see the Nurse Joy of Pewter City standing, smiling at the camera with a Blissey next to her. The main difference she could see was that both wore helmets with red crosses instead of the usual medical caps they had.
Misty smiled at the text of the letter, which mixed in just how much they still thought of her as 'little' sister, and yet still respected her as a woman. Apparently they were stationed at Pewter, and they were planning to start another push from the north. Of course, like many other sisters, they added a bit of gossip into the letter that Misty blushed at.
"Have you hooked Ash yet…" She read aloud, looking to the framed photo of him that stood right next to the clock. Dropping the letter onto the table she sighed, putting her hand to her chin and resting her elbow on the tabletop while staring at the picture. The photo had been taken about two days ago, and at that time he had seemed a little more like his old self than usual. He seemed slightly uneasy about his Pikachu, though. It was, after all, about two weeks since he had sent him to find Shadow, as far as she could remember.
It was the day after he had once again gone to visit the remains of Pallet. That was also the day he, her and the rest of KAM-TS had been transferred to this location to deal with the Rocket's Shock Squadron. The first conversation they had here was actually pertaining to Shadow.
"What is it about that Pikachu that Ash is so interested in?" Misty asked herself while looking to another photo on the table, picking it up to get a better look at the image of what was thought to be Shadow, fiercely dashing to another Kanto soldier after having sliced a massive wound into another behind him who was now covered in static.
From her very own experience in fighting him TWICE, she could tell that he was quite a battler. She could only imagine how things would've gone if Team Rocket had him about twelve years ago, when Ash had just barely gotten past Kanto and was going to Johto…
No, don't think about it.
As far as she could tell, it wouldn't have ended up very well for him, her or Brock. Even though Bolt was unbelieveably powerful now, it wasn't exactly the case then. Another disadvantage they would've had…would be that Shadow didn't seem to fear killing someone if he had to, and she was pretty sure he would've killed at LEAST one of them unintentionally.
She missed the old quadruplet they had, herself, Ash, Bolt, and Brock. Right now Brock was in Pewter with her sisters, but the last time she had heard from him was probably three months ago. Meanwhile Ash and Bolt were always off to places unknown…
She put down the picture and looked to the small wooden clock, whose thin blue needles now read 6:08. Once again, she saw, she was alone. Just like she had been for a while now.
This was one of the many things she hated about war, looking past the bloodshed, the deaths of so many innocents, and the destruction of her homeland. It was probably even the thing she hated most.
The isolation you feel. How alone you could be in these situations, and nobody else can come for you because they all have something else to do. Meanwhile the clock kept ticking, each click another second of her time…time spent being all alone.
…
(It's definitely not like a Team Rocket camp…) Shadow observed, seeing both humans and Pokémon walking around in the same area, some going out into the forest in groups, some resting. There was even a red-headed woman and a blue-haired man he could see playing cards with a Meowth that they were walking towards. From the looks of it, the Meowth was actually winning with a huge amount of chips, while the man had a decent amount of chips left. Meanwhile, the red-head was down to almost no chips left, with her lip twitching in an angry smile.
"Ha! I win again!" the Meowth yelled triumphantly in a brooklyn accent, happily bringing all the poker chips towards him while the man scratched his head. Meanwhile, the woman was enraged, practically fuming from her nostrils as the cat took her last poker chip. "No way! You must be cheating, Meowth!"
"To be honest, Jess, you just suck at the game of poker." The man put in. "Wah! I mean, he's cheating! He's cheating!" He spoke in alarm upon seeing her loom over him with her knuckles cracking between her hands.
"Still having trouble, Jessie? Let me guess; James is still doing better than you, and Meowth is winning." Sentinel said to them, stopping to view their game. Curiously, Shadow eyed the Meowth upon hearing him talking. Light on the other hand was watching the woman, amazed by just how much of a drama-queen she seemed to be.
"Shut up! I'm just getting warmed up is all! Hmph!" She said defiantly while crossing her arms and turning away. When she looked down, she saw Shadow there, and immediately he noticed her eye twitch, her pupils getting smaller.
"…Oh, ummm…hi there, Pikachu." She said with a noticeably forced smile, waving at him. Both Shadow and Light gave her an odd look, and she turned from them, laughing slowly and shakily. "Wonderful day we're having, huh?"
"Jess, it's not HIS Pikachu. The fur on top of its head is different, see?" James pointed out half-heartedly, yawning as he took a sip from a bottle of Coca-Cola while looking over his next hand of cards. "Hey Sentinel, when's dinner?"
The sniper shook his head. "James, sometimes you amaze with just how smart you are…and how stupid or irrelevant your questions are. Why the in hell are wondering about dinner when you've already gone through ten bottles of Coke?"
While James had begun to explain, Shadow had walked around to where he was right next to the Meowth. Taking notice, Meowth leaned in towards Shadow's ear. "James just likes bottle caps A LOT, dat's the ting, and as ya can probably tell, Jessie has two personalities: an insecure woman, and a MEAN woman."
"I can tell. So you can talk too?" Shadow whispered back, making the Meowth double take at him. "Wow, I never thought I'd see anotha Pokémon speakin' like me. Do ya have a name?"
"My name's Pulse. By the way, don't let them know I can talk, got it?"
"Okay, Pulse. I won't tell nobody." The cat said, looking over to James, who was now opening yet another bottle of soda while carefully trying not to bend the cap in the process. Shadow could actually see him sweating in his effort not to break the tiny piece of metal.
"Mmm…Got it!" He said triumphantly as the red cap came off perfectly, allowing him to catch it with his unoccupied hand while taking a big swig from the Coke with his other. "Tastes like victory…I wonder just how difficult it was to get this Coca-Cola stuff from that country over the sea…"
" 'Ay James, are ya gonna get anotha hand or what?" Meowth said, annoyed at the delay. He leaned back towards Shadow, whispering with a sly smile. "I'll talk to ya later. I've got a game to win!"
On the opposite side of the table, Sentinel had his hand to his face, shaking his head. "All that caffeine can't possibly be good for you, James…"
James took another sip from the bottle, hardly paying attention to Meowth. "It's well worth it when I get these bottle caps, though. Like I said, this stuff isn't even found in this country!"
"James, are you gonna play or do I have ta rip ya stupid bottle caps to shreds?" Meowth exclaimed, jumping onto the table and unsheathing his claws. Unfortunately for him, however, the sweeping motion he made with his paw caused a claw to cut a piece of Jessie's hair when she leaned in to take a few poker chips when they weren't looking.
The small lock of red hair drifted down directly in front of her vision while she watched, a shocked expression on her face. At the same time, Sentinel made a large motion to Shadow that pretty much told him to move. NOW.
"Ehh…sorry, Jess…" Meowth said, raising his paws innocently. Even James had stopped drinking his soda and was slowly scooting away from the table, only stopping when he realized that he had left the bottle caps on the table.
Light stepped back from Jessie as she rose from her seat, both fists clenched at her sides while a mad smile crept across her face. "You just…cut my hair…"
"YOU CUT MY BEAUTIFUL HAIR!"
"Okay…Pulse, Light…let's just keep going…" Sentinel whispered as Jessie reached across the table to seize Meowth while he in turn grabbed James with his claws. Walking away with Sentinel, Light and Shadow looked back to see the rather comical brawl take place, with Jessie trying to stab Meowth with a knife, the alarmed Meowth trying to dodge each swipe of the knife, and James using his body to protect his bottle caps while also avoiding Jessie's blade.
The two 'Chus looked at each other with questioning looks, somewhat confused at the odd behavior of the trio.
(…Those had to be some of the weirdest people I've ever seen…) Shadow said, the sounds of the fight growing distant.
(I agree…) Light said while scratching her head, astounded by the sheer amount of foolishness those three had shown despite being in a Kanto Army camp. Ahead of them, Sentinel sighed. "I can't understand what you two are saying, but I'm pretty sure that you're probably talking about them, right? Well guess what…those three are actually robotics experts…"
(What? Robotics experts?) Light said. Despite not being able to understand her, Sentinel could hear the disbelief present in her voice. "Yes. Robotics experts. Apparently they've built more robots…GIANT robots, they say…than you can count. I've seen their work, and I have to say that I'm impressed with it."
He shook his head, looking over his shoulder to them as they passed a small squad of soldiers walking the opposite way. "…Apparently they specialize in electricity-proof armor and short-proof wiring…"
…
It was a drab green tent with a lantern hanging out side it, with a visible light source inside as well. Overhead the sky had begun to turn a shade of violet and bright orange, but under the canopy of trees the camp already was experiencing the darkness of night. At the sides of the tent was what looked like barbed wire separating the front of the tent from the forest behind it. A small wooden gate was open slightly to the left of the tent. Next to the opening in the wire was a young, strong-looking dark man carrying a rifle, with a scuffed-up camouflage cap over his hair. The uniform he wore was much cleaner, though there were some signs of wear. Like Sentinel, he had a dark green cloth over his mouth.
The outline of a smirk appeared on his mouth cover. "I heard things went well, Sentinel. How many heads did you collect today?"
"I'd say about thirty six or thirty seven, four of those with this pistol here."
The M1911 was raised in his hand to show. The soldier looked at it oddly, reaching his hand out. "Mind if I see that? That thing looks ancient."
"Sure, Harvey. Just don't break it." Sentinel said while placing the gun in Harvey's hands. While he had begun inspecting the pistol, Shadow and Light had begun talking.
Light started off. (...So what do you think, Shadow? Do you think you'll be able to fit in here?)
(It's definitely not as hostile as being in a Team Rocket post…I mean, in Team Rocket they'd have most Pokémon in Pokéballs, but here I'm seeing a lot of them just walking around…)
All around, there were signs of this. A translator collar around a nearby Ivysaur's neck was allowing it to talk with the soldier walking with it. Near there a dark-haired woman was dozing off on a chair with a sleeping Vulpix cradled in her arms, nuzzling its head into her chest. Right across from them a tall, black-haired and light skinned man was busy inspecting a cut on the back of a Marowak, who stood there wincing slightly while the man gave encouraging remarks as he applied what looked like some disinfectant to the wound.
Even then, these were just three examples in the wake of many more humans and Pokémon interacting in Shadow's view.
(…This is definitely better than in Team Rocket. I would never even dream things like…these would happen with them. Everyone…humans, Pokémon…they're all so close here. )
(I promise you, Shadow. Everything here's much better than in Team Rocket. I know from experience that these people will actually listen to your problems. Just trust them, and they'll grow to trust you.)
Overhead, Harvey was enviously handing the pistol back to Sentinel. "Damn, I wish I could get my hands on something like that. Our current pistols are too damn bulky compared to that thing." He observed while pulling his own pistol, its size definitely greater than that of the M1911. "Sure, the pistols we use just need energy packs, put I think a weapon like that would be much more reliable when you need to whip it out fast."
Sentinel spun the gun on his finger while holstering it. "Now, if I could just find some .45 rounds. I pretty sure the only place where I could find them is probably directly from an armory…anyway, I need to get these two to the captain."
He pointed down to Shadow and Light, motioning to the gate. "For some reason the captain wants to see them."
Harvey smirked as he looked down to them. "Well apparently the captain here can understand Pokémon. I don't know how in hell he can, but he can…anyhow, I'll have to ask the Lieutenant."
Harvey opened the tent flap and put his head in. "Lieutenant, ma'am, the Captain called for Sentinel here to bring him some 'Chus?"
From within, Shadow heard a woman's voice reply "Pulse and Light, right? The TS captain's waiting for them. Let them pass."
That voice sounded oddly familiar…
Harvey took his head out of the tent. "Okay Sentinel, you guys can go on. You know where the cap'n is."
"If I know him, he's sitting by the fire." Sentinel spoke while going around Harvey and going through the gate. "Let's go you two."
, Shadow's eyes wandered to Light, his paws scratching the back of his head while following behind the sniper. (You can tell who this captain is, right?)
(Of course. He and Xepher were the ones who had sent me to spy in Team Rocket, after all.)
It was actually a fairly short walk past several men in the woods, armed with either a sniper rifle like Sentinel's or a carbine that looked upgraded from the standard Kanto soldier's weapon. A path had been cut through the shrubs that led to a small area in the cross off three other paths. Both 'Chus met the sight of three tents, each one with two men guarding the entrances. Smoke rose from a campfire in the middle of the camp, with a lone figure sitting there and watching it. In front of the entrance to the area was a check-in point of some sort. A single guard stood there, raising his gun slightly as they approached.
"Halt. State your identity and purpose." The guard said flatly, looking down to Shadow and Light, then to Sentinel.
"KAM-TS Sniper Unit 3-2, codename 'Sentinel', number 10263991. I was informed that the TS Captain wants to talk with…these two."
If looks could say words, Shadow could see that the guard's eyes were questioning, pretty much like they were saying something akin to, 'WTF'. Meanwhile he was typing Sentinel's code into a computer that was on his wrist. After a small beeping sounded from the device, the guard nodded to them.
"…Okay then. The three of you can come in…Sentinel, I'll be needing all the weapons on your person."
The sniper rifle strap came off somewhat grudgingly; after all, it was almost an insult to have a sniper's weapon taken from him. Another blow came to Sentinel when he slid the holster carrying his vintage pistol off of his belt and placed it on the table as well. Finally, he slid the knife he had out of its sheath, its steel gleaming in the glow of the fire.
Of course, he actually had more than just that.
"Everything." The guard said impatiently.
Seriously. I hate all these hold-ups.
Shadow began tapping his foot lightly as Sentinel reached for his right boot, sliding out a plastic bottom with his thumb to reveal a hidden shoe knife. Unclipping it from the boot, he placed it on the table as well.
"That's everything." Sentinel said firmly.
"…Alright. Come on in."
...
Shadow could sense that even Sentinel was a little uneasy. But what could one expect?
The Captain sat, staring steadily at those flames as they licked away at the graying wood. At his side another Pikachu, like Shadow, was sitting there looking into the fire with his master.
Bolt looked back at them, automatically making eye contact with Shadow. It was almost a cold glare, but it was almost welcoming at the same time; like the kind of look given to someone you don't completely know, but recognize as a proven ally.
The figure shifted, turning his head to them to look with his own eyes. He didn't know why, but the very sight of his eyes made chills run through Shadow. He wanted to look away, but at the same time he wanted to face the man. The hair on top of his head was slightly spiked on the edges, but rounded near the top, like it had adjusted to him wearing a cap.
Sentinel stopped. "Captain, I brought them for you."
"Thanks, Sentinel. I needed to talk to these two…how was the battle going?"
"We routed them, sir. These two helped a lot, and I mean it. They've gotten a few kills to their credit today."
Ash smirked, nodding to Sentinel. "Good. Okay Sentinel, your Umbreon is waiting for you in that tent behind you. Thanks again for bringing them."
"Yes sir. Just call if you need anything."
Sentinel turned around and began walking back to the tent Ash pointed out. The Umbreon walked out, her tail wagging as Sentinel knelt down to pet her for a few moments before making his way to the guard at the gate.
Meanwhile Shadow faced Ash directly, Ash looking over him extensively with a more serious look now. Silently, he motioned for him and Light to go over to the other side of the fire.
Light sat down at the other end, followed by Shadow next to her. Both had their attention on Ash, waiting for him or Bolt to say something. Instead, they were both continuing to look into the fire.
Fur brushed against Shadow's paw, and he turned his head to see Light holding it. She looked earnestly at him, smiling. (Shadow…)
Smiling back, Shadow gripped her paw as well. Both looked at each other tenderly for a few moments before they, almost in unison, turned back to the crackling orange.
They lifted their head to Ash as he grunted, crossing his legs and looking over the fire to them.
"So Shadow, Light…I want you to tell me everything: What's happened to you both so far?"
"…What have you seen?"