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Chapter 12: Heart of Man, Heart of Pokemon
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The sky is black.
The world is being torn asunder.
Matt and Parker have been fighting against Celebi's onslaught for the past 2 years. Now, both of them 19, they have undergone some changes. Parker was now filled out, his body pulsing with muscle and his eyes filled with a relentless determination to win. Matt has also gained muscle, but not nearly as much as Parker. Instead, Matt has become a master strategist of sorts, able to predict Celebi's next move before she even decides it. His knowledge became invaluable as the U.S. tried to link up with other countries fighting against the onslaught of pokemon. The U.K. had sent over a large shipment of troops by boat, but they were all devoured by a school of Gyrados under Celebi's command. France was obliterated in a day as their president had tried to appease the pokemon army, not knowing that Celebi wouldn't take prisoners. China was still free, but too far away to be of any help to the U.S. Every country but Canada and Mexico had been useless to the U.S. resistance, which was now considered to be the main force against the Pokemon as Matt and Parker were the heads of it.
There was, however one country that would never return a message sent to them by any other country in the world.
Japan.
Parker was convinced it was because they were the first to go, but Matt thought otherwise. He had not forgotten the terrorists, and he was considering the fact of one section of the human race actually being able to negotiate with Celebi. The case with France made the idea seem a bit off, but it was possible. It was a Japanese researcher who brought pokemon back in the first place, after all.
Parker was obsessed with protecting Mia. The girl was now 5 years old; her hair was long and brown. Her eyes a deep blue. She was extremely mature for her age, and Parker wished he could give her a childhood that she was unfairly cheated out of. In many ways, Mia was Parker's child. He made sure she got the food, sleep, and play she needed to grow up normally. There was a boy around her age, Tanner, who he had her play with. They became great friends. Tanner, the slender blonde with brown eyes who was only two months older than the little girl, has become sort of a role model for Mia. Parker found this funny and let Tanner and Mia figure out who they were by themselves.
Meanwhile, when he wasn't taking care of Mia, Parker was with Matt, Obama, and two other people planning the next move for the resistance. One was a young, red-haired woman name Johanna, who was everybody's mother. She handled hospitality and humanities regulations for the troops in order to keep up their morale. The other was an older, white-haired crotchety old man named Shrub; his nickname in the Vietnam War. Together, the five of them created the Council of Freedom (a name obviously picked by Americans) which, in essence, was humanity's final stand against the onslaught of deadly Pokemon.
The council was meeting in a makeshift war-room outside New York City, the last major city in the world not to be taken by the Void. It was their plan to keep it that way and have New York be a beacon of hope for the rest of humanity-a beacon humanity could hopefully rally around. The room was located in a small, teepee-like tent with a large map of the five boroughs of the city. There were large pen marks all over it showing enemy-occupied, contested, and allied territory. There were a lot of contested zones; all of Manhattan and Long Island were up for grabs. Meanwhile allied territory was in Queens.
Parker gazed at the map, a campfire lighting it up in the dead of night "Look, we need Manhattan, we know that for sure. The place is abundant in resources, and we can use them. We're almost out of food and fresh water, and there hasn't been any rain in the area for a month. We need to get Manhattan quickly."
"Parker," Matt said, his tone showing an air of superiority, "You forget that the enemy is trying to lock us out of Manhattan for that very reason. If we don't get Long Island first and cut off another spot for their troops, we can easily overwhelm Manhattan and claim dominance over the city.
"But the resources…!" Parker yelled, "People are about to STARVE, Matt!"
Matt readied himself to yell something back, but Johanna stepped in, "Boys, please. You can't fight in here, this is the war room. If we don't agree on a plan right away, we're cooked."
"Matt's plans have saved us before; we pushed back the assault on the Appalachian Mountains because of his guerilla strategies and have been able to push our forces all the way up here because of him. It's almost winter, and in order to get those supplies securely we need to take Long Island." Said Shrub.
Parker sighed, looking at Obama but getting no response. He looked at his friends and nodded, "Fine. We'll assault Long Island first. But how?"
Matt pointed to the water surrounding the borough, "Okay, Jirachi said that with the help of Mew she can teleport a large amount of water pokemon here. Those Pokemon will take the bridge connecting Long Island to Manhattan. We'll then fly in the rest of our troops with airplanes and flying Pokemon. They'll deploy from the bridge and push to the center of the island, where we can expect to see the base of enemy operations. From there all we have to do is put down a heavy assault on that one position; once the base is captured the island is ours. We'll send out recon squads to eliminate any more enemies. Once we have Long Island, we can continue to attack Manhattan."
"And our plan for that assault?" Parker asked cynically.
"We will figure it out after our result on Long Island." Matt said, "Hopefully our losses will be minimal, but you can never be sure."
"Right, well then." Johanna said, standing up and looking at the room with gentle eyes,"I'll be off serving dinner to the troops. When can I tell them our assault will take place?"
"Tomorrow." Matt said, "We have no time to lose."
Johanna nodded, "Of course." She walked out of the teepee.
"I'm off to bed then," said Parker, leaving the tent without a further glance at the rest of the council. He was a tad upset Matt didn't listen to his plan, but he knew he was probably right. Having Long Island and Queens before attacking Manhattan would even out the number of bridges they had control over with the enemies'. That would mean reinforcements for both sides would have an equal opportunity to reach the final battle for the city.
His tent was small, it was square and purple with a twin-sized cot on the inside. There was also a basin where he kept drinking water as well as a large, comfy oversized dog bed for Entei. He would often talk late into the night with his Pokemon, growing very connected to the creature. He often wondered what would happen if they won this war, would he and Entei have to part? He didn't know if he could bear it. That and his Flygon and Illumise would miss him too.
He walked into his tent and lied down on his cot, looking straight up into the fabric above him. It was getting cold, so he had a couple of wool blankets on top him now. The sun was setting outside, meaning Entei would return soon so they could have their evening discussion.
He saw the front flap of his tent open out of the corner of his eye, he turned his head to see Entei slumped over on the dog bed, looking exhausted.
"How was scouting?"
Tiring. The bridge connecting Long Island to Manhattan is infested with Beedrill and Mothim. We're going to need to clear them out before we can land troops there. Also, the water surrounding Long Island is infested with Gyrados. We'll need some way to beat them.
"Could we air-drop some Voltorbs and Electrodes to zap 'em?"
It's a possibility, yes, but we'll need to rescue them before they drown.
"Jirachi and Mew…"
Yes. They said they have stored enough energy to do two large transports of Pokemon, but that would be the extent of their power for the battle. They'd be useless until a victory or loss is decided.
Parker pondered, "It might just be a risk worth taking."
I hope so. We haven't come up with any other way. The sky is still black, too.
"It has been for 2 years. Will Arceus ever come down?"
I wouldn't question it. It's a good thing we still can see the sun.
"I agree. We'd be lost when it comes to telling time otherwise."
Exactly. Entei sighed, he seemed really depressed I miss Suicune's presence.
"Oh?" Parker said, not realizing that the dogs could have possibly had a deep friendship rooted in them.
Yes. He was always just like the water in the ocean, calm. Yet fierce. He was always the voice of reason between Raikou and me. It's hard to have gone this long without even a word from him.
"Yeah…" Parker said, putting his hands behind his head, "I wonder how they're doing…if the time freeze has ended for them yet."
I sent a squad of Taillow to figure out the answer to that question. They'll tell me if they can see the four. If not, then they've continued their mission.
"If they have, I hope they're O.K." Parker said, "We didn't get a big chance to get to know them, but we need them. Mew was right. Without them we can't possibly win this war. Not by ourselves."
Just remember Parker, we may not be able to win, but we aren't going to lose. Not until they come back, that is when our fate will be decided.
"Right." Parker said, "And it is our fate to win this. I know we can."
Entei let out a laugh, yes. Now go to sleep, little one. We'll be in the second wave of troops, but we plan to attack at the crack of dawn.
Little one. That's what the "wise" Entei called Parker ever since he took over as co-president of the United States. He liked the irony of it all.
"Alright, Entei. Sleep tight, don't let Darkrai bite."
And with that the two partners quickly fell asleep.
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Okay, you know I'm back in business when I put up yet another chapter ^^
I would enjoy a review. Tell me how you think the plot and characters are going…you know. The usual stuff. Thanks guys!