In which Sirius finds a new, albeit very unorthodox, way to engage an enemy tank one on one.
Much thanks for Galalithial, grammaguy, hironada, and Infinity WEAPON for reading and reviewing, as well as the quieter of you who are just reading!
Sorry about the late update; stuff like summer projects and college apps are starting to hamper my writing, and I'm afraid that it'll only get worse as the rest of the year progresses. I'll try to update at least once a week, especially in larger chunks. So anyways, enjoy!
Chapter 11: Airborne
To say that the room was stifling would be an understatement. At least half of the apartment-sized space was devoted to a set of boxy, bulky supercomputers, lights creating a mosaic in the dim lighting. Wires from these machines laid strewn about on the ground, as if intentionally set to ensnare an unsuspecting 'mon who had mistakenly ventured into the lab. On the opposite side, many flat-screen monitors adorned the walls, each displaying data such as maps, calculations, formulas, and other information that would, at first glance, have little relation to each other. Below them, a clean glass table had several panels embedded in it, undoubtedly used to control the computers. One black leather seat was positioned directly in the center, seemingly inadequate furnishing for the number of 'mon that would be expected to operate all of the technology in the room. A shadowy individual shrouded in a white lab coat sat in the chair, watching a video on one of the many screens mounted in front of him. The images that played on the monitor showed a snarling Latias engaging in combat with a maniacal Glaceon. As he watched the girl pummel the ice-type with a Hidden Power attack, he slammed a tan fist on the table. "Dammit…" he muttered, continuing to watch the battle unfold in front of him.
"Problem, sir?" A slight, feminine figure appeared in the doorway, the only source of ventilation for the room. The light from the hall behind her obscured most of her features as she walked forward, heels clacking and nine tails trailing behind her on the uncarpeted, concrete floor. "I brought your coffee, as you requested," she continued, setting a small, steaming porcelain cup next to him.
The 'mon at the monitors growled softly at her question, as if it was an affront to his work. "Yes, there is a problem." The woman cocked her head at his announcement. "It turns out that our predictions on Shadow were far grander than what we actually developed. And for a stupid reason, indeed…." He snatched the cup and downed the hot liquid in a single gulp before glaring at a screen with a complex chemical structure on it.
"Is that the current formula for the Shadow enhancements we are producing, sir?" the Ninetales asked, trying to make sense out of the multi-hexagonal diagram. She narrowed her eyes, attempting to deduce what exactly was wrong with it.
"Yes. There is something wrong with it, but I cannot figure it out. The computers are trying, but I have little faith in them." The supercomputers made a loud humming noise after his statement, as if they were disagreeing with it.
She paused for a minute. Stroking her muzzle, she asked, "Sir, if I may suggest a solution?"
"Go ahead."
"If you alter the bond on the far right, it would no longer be an alkyne, sir…."
He sighed and chuckled, stroking one of his small, streamlined, dark blue ears. A set of rapid keystrokes executed the alteration she offered, causing the diagram to morph and shift to a similar figure. He didn't need to read the calculations provided on another screen to provide his impression. "If only it were that easy. If I do that, then the effectiveness of the Shadow would be halved, which is an intolerable result. The solution to this is most likely rebuilding the entire structure, not making tweaks here and there."
"Then, sir, what is its effectiveness under the current formula?" She took the coffee cup from his side while asking the question.
He looked at the fire-type. "Only ten percent, actually. I had anticipated maximum efficiency, but I only saw my mistakes in hindsight. Poor waste of a good candidate, too…" he trailed, watching the Glaceon hold a knife against the Latias' neck. "He had all of the requirements even after he was engaged at Trinity, and I deployed him with Shadow, hoping that we had finally perfected it. It seemed right, at first. All emotions deprived of him, increased strength, heightened senses, regeneration, the works. Though, as you can see-" Here he motioned towards the Glaceon trying to undress the girl. "We failed in removing all emotion. This is only one flaw of many, such as the fact that the execution of almost all of his attacks did not meet the power levels we had anticipated."
The Ninetales narrowed her eyes at this response, thinking of its implications. The other 'mon turned away and continued to watch the video. "So what happens to the rest of our forces in the combat zone, sir?"
"Ditch them. All Shadow-related contraband has already been destroyed, and we have no agents in the area that know of this operation, and all of the extra casualties will provide the Halcyian Defense with a sense of comfort," he replied. She gulped slightly at the thought of losing so much 'monpower so easily. "We were slightly lucky in the fact that we knew of this attack a few days prior so that we could deploy our first Shadow Pokémon, but I do believe that we could have effected a proper response even if the strike were sudden. And if you're worried about what we're losing in this," he said, as if he read her mind, "We will gain so much more when we perfect the Shadow formula. Also," he continued, turning towards her once again. "Do you know why I'm answering all of your pointed questions with classified answers?"
"I do, sir," she said. The Ninetales did not even flinch as a red laser dot worked its way up her torso to her forehead.
"As a fellow fire-type, I have little doubt that I will not be able to do much to you in combat. Your Flash Fire ability is annoying to me, as I normally cannot kill you immediately if I wish. However," the 'mon continued, "The miracle of the modern pistol can do the job just as easily for me. Your tails may keep you alive for an extraordinarily long time, but they certainly don't protect you from lead. Am I making myself clear?" His small, red eyes gleamed as he aimed the gun at her.
Again, without missing a beat, the Ninetales replied, "Yes, sir, I understand perfectly." Bowing, she turned and left the room with cup in hand. Had she not been a fire-type, she would have been immensely glad to be out of the sweltering heat of the room. Rumor had it that a few messengers had actually died due to the temperature in there.
The other 'mon sat in his chair, reviewing the video once more. He saw the Wargle tackle the fully healed Glaceon and somehow manage to trap him, despite the injection that he gave himself. He scowled at this, wondering just how so much power one 'mon could hold. Perhaps in the most desperate of circumstances…. As he watched that damn Halcyian Wargle perform some Body Slam-like move on his test subject, flames erupted from his back, completely incinerating the lab coat he was wearing. One of the computers in the back complained about the heat by blowing a circuit, letting sparks fly from one of the ports on its front. The Typhlosion, too preoccupied with his work, snarled in disgust and ignored the distraction, beginning to type rapidly on his keyboard. The chemical structure on the screen began to undergo a variety of permutations as the remaining supercomputers began to hum even louder, performing the many, many calculations he entered.
"Two minute warning!" a Flygon at the front of the transport plane's hold yelled over the consistent buzzing of the propellers outside. The 'mon sitting on the benches took note, the sounds of rifle bolts locking, magazines loading, and metal objects clanking each other filling the space as they checked their equipment for any last-minute flaws or problems that might complicate operations on the ground. The only one not to do this was a Latios sitting in the back, head casually laid back against his hands. Well, laid back casually until….
"Hey, Bill! Check your gear!" He turned towards the source of the voice. A Salamence next to him stared at him, obviously annoyed by his lack of seriousness. After a quick survey of the psychic dragon's face, though, the glare turned into a confused expression. "Hey, you're not Bill…."
Sirius gave her a wide grin. "No, I'm not. Bill had an 'accident,' so he's recouping back at base tonight. I'm his replacement." He motioned with air quotes, recalling the events from a few hours prior. In the middle of his thoughts, Sirius did not expect the dragon to angrily grab him by the front of his vest and shove her face into his own.
"Accident? What exactly do you mean by 'accident?' For what I know, you may have one of those 'accidents' if you give me an answer I don't like." Sirius could feel her breath as she held his face only an inch away from her own. "And you're Special Forces, ground division, too, not part of Airborne!" she noted, recognizing the stitching on the Latios' arm.
Hm, peppermint gum and jasmine shampoo. This would be interesting and kinda hot if she wasn't two seconds away from killing me. He winced at the sudden thought, feeling quite lucky that his sister wasn't sitting beside him. Then, another angry tug dragged Sirius out of his thoughts and back into reality. "No, no, that's not what I meant!" he exclaimed, unable to keep a straight face because of the ludicrous exaggeration of his assertion. "A few hours ago, I asked around and caught wind of this mission. It sounded interesting enough to do, pounding the sand out of enemy combatants. So one of the 'mon I asked turned out to be on this mission." The Salamence only nodded at his explanation, obviously not pacified yet. "So I asked him if he wanted to go, but he was a bit drunk, so he said no. I offered, he accepted, and now I'm here! I promised him I wouldn't die or get injured or do something that would put marks on his record," he added a bit nervously, not wanting to get into a fight in the critical moment before they jumped. Luckily for him, the dragon backed off, huffing as she sat back down.
"Problem, guys?" the Flygon in the front asked, fantail quivering in anticipation. He looked concernedly at the two, wondering if he had to break up an argument.
"No, Jumpmaster," Sirius quickly responded, giving an innocent smile. The other blue dragon snorted in disbelief. At this point, the Latios mentally told himself not to hit on Salamence who looked like her, on the off chance that he would unluckily ask her and end up having Siria spend half of her time healing the gouges on his body.
Someone tapped on his shoulder again. He turned towards the source, fully expecting a Dragon Claw in the face. However, all he saw was the same Salamence, albeit one that had lost the previous scowl on her face. "Sorry about earlier," she said, looking a bit friendlier. "It's just that we look out for each other, and Bill's had his fair share of problems." Sirius thought back to his drunkenness, wondering if it was only one of his 'problems.' "I'm Justine, by the way," she finished.
He took the extended claw warily, wondering if the dragon was trying to lure him in so that she could exact some more revenge on him. "Sirius," he responded.
Even after the exchange, though, he noticed that she was still eyeing him. When he looked at her once again, she suddenly asked, "You're a Latios, right?"
He displayed one of his triangular wings for effect. "Yeah, born and raised. What's it to you?"
"Aren't Latios supposed to be peaceful Pokémon?"
"Yes." Sirius nodded, faintly knowing what the next question would be.
"Then why did you volunteer to be here?"
He sighed, knowing that his prediction was spot-on. "Well, everybody has a different theory. My sister says that I'm a retard, which I resent," he said, shaking a fist in mock anger. "I call it a challenge, which I do feel it is, in a sick, twisted way. A psychiatrist said it was some strange disorder which I didn't have the patience to memorize. Friends usually side with me or my sister, depending on who they like more. Strangers are entitled to their own ideas because I couldn't really care less. Anyways, I'm here, and that's all that counts." Sirius shrugged.
Before she could respond, the Jumpmaster, competing against the plane's engines, loudly shouted, "Stand UP!" The sound of ten bodies getting up greeted his demand. "Sound off for equipment check!" he next ordered as the transport plane whined even louder, reminding everybody that they were nearing their destination.
"Ten OK!" Sirius responded, grateful that he knew a few 'mon who were in Airborne. If he didn't he would have been at a loss as to what to say.
"Nine OK!" A Pidgeot sitting across from him shouted.
"Eight OK!" Justine yelled.
"Seven OK!"
"Six OK!"
The responses rolled down the two lines until it reached the one in front, a Scyther who roared "ALL OK JUMPMASTER!" at the top of his lungs, gleefully watching as the Flygon's face twisted into a pained expression. Ears still ringing, the dragon looked towards the light above his left shoulder, hoping to Arceus that it would turn green. His wish would soon come true as the circular red light dimmed, a buzzing noise accompanying the green light that flickered on.
"Go, go, go!" he yelled, pointing at a door in the front. The Scyther rushed at it and dove straight out of the plane, leading the charge. "Make sure not to get yourself caught in the prop wash!" the Flygon added as another 'mon barreled past him.
Sirius watched as the number of 'mon in front of him began to dwindle. Soon, it was only the Salamence, the Pidgeot, and him in the line. "Well, see ya," the female dragon said, winking at him. Then she jumped, spreading a pair of very powerful red wings as she began her decent. Gotta rethink that "No hitting on Salamence" rule, he thought with a satisfied smirk.
"Troop, what are you doing? Get moving!" The yell certainly shook the Latios out of his reveries as he looked up, noticing that he was the only one left in the hold.
"Yes, sir," he responded, limply holding his hand to his forehead in a very sacrilegious manner. To increase the Jumpmaster's disdain for him, he tumbled out of the plane backwards instead of performing the traditional dive, allowing himself to plummet a good twenty meters before beginning his flight. As he looked back, he noticed at least seven other planes dropping soldiers as well. Some of them, like him, were able to simply dive and fly out, whereas others used parachutes to make their decent. He counted about a hundred bodies in the air, which seemed like a rather inadequate amount of troops to deal with what, as he had heard it, about a thousand troops plus armor and other assets.
No use worrying about it now. Extending his wings for full flight, Sirius rocketed towards the fiery, glowing forest below him, overtaking some of the 'mon who had jumped out of the plane before him.
Sirius, along with four other 'mon he deployed with, walked into a clearing that had once been a small road. Needless to say, the place looked like a Ho-Oh had set fire to everything after a Groudon rampaged through the area. Such is the consequence of an air raid and the subsequent dropping of, at minimum, fifty tons of high explosives.
"Arceus, this place is trashed. I'll be damned if someone actually survived," a Charizard commented, tail flame adding only a minimal amount of light to the woods already lit by the fires of roasted tanks, blackened artillery pieces, and charred Pokémon bodies. Sirius had to agree, kicking a piece of metal on the ground and whistling. He looked around at the scene; a particularly fierce-looking Staraptor was talking into a radio while a Swellow, presumably the assistant gunner, held a couple ammunition boxes for the Salamence who he now recognized as Justine.
"Keep your wits about you, Lamar. For all we know, this could be an ambush," the Staraptor, who Sirius recognized as the squadleader, admonished. He gripped his rifle tightly, as if expecting an attack from any angle at any second. Following the Staraptor's lead, the Salamence took the ammo boxes, loading one into the undercarriage of her machine gun and placing the first round of its ammunition belt into the feed tray. The audible slam of the cover and the chk chk of the bolt charging a round echoed clearly through the forest.
As if to affirm the Staraptor's suspicions, a stray bullet suddenly whizzed by and hit the frame of a tank behind them, creating a chink sound and throwing sparks everywhere. All five 'mon ducked at this attack, scattering to find cover behind whatever debris there were.
"Who's there?" the flying-type called, laying low in a crater, called out at the trees far from them. Hardly expecting a response, he looked at Sirius, who was crouched behind the body of a destroyed APC. "Hey, Latios there, can you check out who that is?"
This was one of the many times he hated his ineffectual psychic abilities. Time and time again, squadmates have always asked him to perform mind-reading or scanning tasks, putting stock in the fact that he was a Latios and thus genetically predisposed to having above average psychic skills. Sirius' incapacity to perform such tasks may very well have stemmed from, as Siria cruelly put it, a mental defect of some kind at birth. The only thing he could perform with full confidence was telepathic communication with his sister only within a hundred meters of her position; on the other hand, the Latias, who apparently hogged all of the psychic power, could project as well as receive thoughts to and from anybody within an astounding one kilometer radius. However, it seemed that in exchange for his inability to use his psychic skills well, he had a knack for mastering any type of attack (aside from those that were Psychic-based), whether it be physical, special, or status, that his species could learn, despite the fact that Latios are usually incapable of the first of the three types.
"No, I can't," he sighed, waiting for the inevitable curse and suggestion that he should be able to gauge an individual from at least half a kilometer away. A collective grumbling emanated from the other four hiding 'mon.
"Arceus-dammit, you're a Latios, aren't you? Shouldn't you be able to ID a 'mon from that distance?"
He grinned Mareepishly in response. "Sorry, bro. I can generate a Protect shield for you, though. Guaranteed to stop everything outside of APC rounds," Sirius offered. At least it's not psychic-based….
"That'll do. Want to start now?"
The Latios concentrated on the Staraptor's body, trying to envision a shield around him. Hardly a moment later, a thin blue box appeared around the bird, existing to the naked eye for only a few seconds before turning invisible. "There," Sirius said, still smiling. "Walk with confidence."
The flying-type grunted in response, obviously not partaking in the Latios' humor. "Cover me." All of the others, even the assistant gunner who only had a pistol, flipped their safeties off and trained their weapons at the target. Crouching as he did so, the Staraptor approached the edge of the trees slowly with caution, holding his rifle to his shoulder but not limiting his vision by using the scope. Surprisingly, no additional attacks came from the area. This did not mean that any of them relaxed in the slightest, though.
"Who's there?" the Staraptor repeated, looking for a hint of any sort in the trees. The soft sound of crying was the only response there was. "What the hell…." He let his gun fall to his side to hang on the sling, drawing a pistol and turning on its tactical light. A quick wave of the flashlight illuminated the body of a young Growlithe holding a bolt-action rifle. The child was sobbing, wooden, antiquated weapon pointed downwards as he wiped at his eyes.
The others hiding behind their cover recognized the gesture of the Staraptor's talon. Both of them got up and passed the short distance between the trees and what used to be the road, still wary of their surroundings. "Well, Roc?" Lamar rumbled once the rest of the squad arrived at the position. As the Charizard and the Staraptor inspected their findings, the other three stood guard, looking for any threat that might suddenly make itself apparent.
"A kid shot at us. A kid." Roc derisively snorted. "I tried to get him to talk, but I don't think he knows what happened. I don't think anyone knows what happened, considering how many bombs were dropped."
The Latios turned away from his post and crouched down to the Growlithe. "Hey buddy, what's wrong?" he asked in the most soothing voice he could produce. This was obviously not the best approach, as the fire-type turned away from him and continued to cry.
A body behind them warmed the air slightly. "Forget sentiments. We should just take him and wait for additional support. Our only goal here is to root out any surviving forces, anyways." The Charizard pulled out a plastic restraint from his pack, brandishing them at the child. "We can ask for information later. As long as we're not engaged, that is."
Although Sirius felt a pang of guilt for handcuffing what appeared to be a 'mon not over ten years of age, he nodded his head, knowing that it was the most efficient way in performing the task. Reaching down to the hands, he began to wrap the plastic around one of the pacified child's wrists.
"Tangos!" he heard someone hiss. Gulping, he looked up at the clearing, suddenly noticing a noise that should not have been there. The sound of four old, rusty engines filled the air as the rest of the squad began to quietly pack their weapons and make themselves hidden. Then, his eyes widened at the realization that two tanks, two troop carriers, and a large contingent of Tamsus 'mon had stopped, obviously knowing that someone or something was hiding in the trees in front of them. He grabbed the Growlithe and hid behind a tree trunk, making sure to conceal his wing that always poked outwards.
"Maybe they won't notice we're here," the Swellow murmured, back pressed up against a tree. He was apparently sweating in fear, despite the harsh training that all Airborne troops had to go through. All of the others in the squad desperately hoped that he was right. As what seemed like minutes passed, everything certainly seemed to be that way until Sirius' face turned from anxious to downright frightened as he heard a soft but very, very familiar plink.
"GRENADE!" Justine roared, abandoning both her position and her inconspicuousness. The Salamence ran to the left, tree branches above her preventing any chance of flight out of the area unless she wanted her wings to end up a bloody mess. The rest of the group quickly followed, Lamar bringing up the rear. In a split second decision, the Latios quickly slipped the other half of the restraint on his own wrist and began to run after them, ignoring the pleas of the fire-type the plastic cuffs linked him to. Not even half a second later, the ground where they had previously been standing was ripped apart by a flurry of bullets and high explosive rounds, enemy forces not withholding any ammunition in their endeavor. The sheer impact of the explosions caused Sirius' vision and hearing to fade out for a couple of seconds, but to his credit, he kept running and running, remaining fixated on the continually glowing tail in front of him.
"Arceus. I don't believe it. They baited us with…" Lamar gasped, trying to catch his breath.
"A kid," Roc finished, though now with a tone of absolute disbelief. "They put the kid there to ambush us. The fuck is wrong with them?"
Sirius stared at the plastic handcuffs and the child they linked him to. The Growlithe was crying again, most likely scared and exhausted from their five-minute sprint from the enemy forces that began to crawl throughout the entire area. The six 'mon sat under a tree, resting for a short while before executing a counterattack, provided that they could even think of one. From the naked eye, nothing but trees surrounded them, meaning that the only threats that they would encounter were ill-trained troops, not heavy armor. However, those tanks will cause lots of problems for whoever else they come by, which will be many, judging from the amount of 'mon who jumped.
"Roc, do we have any air support?" Justine sat upwards, looking at the Staraptor.
"Not until half an hour from now. Apparently no one likes Airborne, so they put an hour's distance between our airdrop and the Stardust Regiment's arrival." He chuckled at the derisive nickname for the Eighth Mechanized Infantry Regiment, called so for both the white diamonds on its flag and the unusually high rate of drug use among its members.
"So what are we going to do now? Regroup or engage?" The Latios concernedly scanned the dark for any sign of approaching enemy combatants.
Lamar looked at him, responding, "First, I'd be concerned about how you're going to fight with that Growlithe strapped to you." He seemed to be rustling in his pack for something, two orange horns the only noticeable features Sirius could see.
Sirius looked down once again at the plastic bind, thinking of a way to get the fire-type off of him but in a way that wouldn't endanger the child in any way. Then, he suddenly got an idea. He breathed a slight blue mist on the cuffs, extremely weakened Dragon Pulse making short work of the plastic. The Growlithe looked up somewhat fearfully, wondering if his captor was going to kill him. "Don't worry," the Latios said when he caught the thought. Too bad I don't have a way to subconsciously soothe minds like Siria does, he noted with regret. Then, scooping him up in both arms, Sirius slowly levitated upward.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Roc hissed, very aware of the possibility that the Latios' blue wings made an excellent target to any enemies looking for them.
"Don't worry about it," Sirius casually responded, much to the Staraptor's ire. Continuing upwards, he floated to the top of a particularly large tree and set the Growlithe upon a wide branch. He sat down next to him, asking, "If you agree not to jump or set this tree on fire, you can stay here. Clear?" The fire-type nodded in response, fear still showing in his eyes.
The Latios was about to give several more words of reassurance when a shout and several bursts of gunfire from below forced him to turn away. Roc was hidden behind a tree, weapon shouldered and firing away at the darkness. "Can't see for shit, Lamar! Flare!" he yelled before reaching for another magazine on his belt, spent one dropping from the rifle. The Charizard in question landed on another tree branch much like Sirius' and tossed a flare into the darkness of the woods, unable to use a fire attack due to the fact that the entire forest would go up in flames if he did. The bright, crackling light it gave off illuminated several bodies; the Latios counted a Drapion, a Floatzel, and a Swampert, each carrying a rifle and openly firing at the Staraptor. A thump above him almost made him fall in sheer panic. He jumped off of the tree, prepared to engage whatever 'mon had sneaked above their position.
"Hi there." A blue face poked out from a branch above him for a moment, reassuring him that nothing was going to attack him. Sirius tersely nodded and shot down to the ground, ready to get in on the action. "Alright, Erik, let's show them how it's done," the Salamence said, pulling her head back and nudging the Swellow assistant gunner. The bird nodded, beginning to scan the area of any targets of opportunity. The grating noise of a machine gun quickly followed as Justine fired it from a crouched stance, shells flying downwards in a torrent as the muzzle flash illuminated their position. The Growlithe underneath shivered and pulled his legs up to his chest as several of the brass pieces clinked on the wood next to him. Screams floated up from the ground below as several of the Tamsus 'mon fell victim to the suddenly apparent machine gun fire.
As the Salamence's attack suppressed enemy fire, Sirius managed to dart on the ground and blast a foxhole for himself out of the soil with a well-placed Dragon Pulse. Slipping snugly into the depression, the Latios looked up and gauged the situation again. Roc was still seated in his position behind the tree, though now yelling on a radio instead of laying down fire. Lamar was positioned far above any of them, taking very accurate shots with a semiautomatic marksman rifle. And, of course, Justine and her assistant gunner were laying down contrastingly inaccurate but equally deadly machine gun fire. The Tamsus troops had sought defensive positions just as his own squad did, effectively turning the fight into a stalemate. And he was….
Well, what am I doing? He paused for a moment, only to duck back into the hole when a bullet lodged itself in the dirt an uncomfortably short distance away from him. Slightly pissed off, the Latios crouched and jumped straight up, subconsciously realizing a bit late that he might end up quite injured if he didn't perform his attack right. Maw agape, he shot a sustained azure beam at the enemy position, turning his head from left to right as he strafed the vegetation with the attack. The enhanced Dragon Pulse easily sliced through the wood, felling a few trees and, more importantly, provoking more shouts of pain from those hiding behind the tree trunks. Whatever soldiers were left quickly emerged from their hiding spots, trying to avoid the scorching power of Sirius' attack. They made easy prey for the other four, guns lighting the darkness of the forest for only a few seconds. Then, everything was quiet as the last body fell to the ground with a soft thump.
Roc looked up from his steaming gun, nodding at the Latios. "Damn, nice shot. Haven't seen someone as good as you in quite some time." Justine and Erik, swooping down from their branch, began to spread out and check the bodies, still fully aware of their environment.
"Thanks," Sirius said, slightly abashed. "I try."
As the Staraptor slung his rifle over his shoulder and began to assist the other two, Lamar, leaping down from his branch, asked openly, "So what is the, ah… body count?" He squirmed a little as he pronounced the last two words.
"You have a problem with dead bodies?" Sirius responded, easily noticing the Charizard's discomfiture.
"Yeah, it makes me feel bad to think about each one of them. You know, what lives they led, what relatives they had…." The Charizard stared at the stumps that had once been lush trees. "But at the end of the day, I just end up shoving those emotions back down and stuff. Probably bad for my psyche, but it has to be done, you know?" The Latios nodded humbly in agreement, remaining silent but fully agreeing with the sentiment.
"Hey, Lamar," Roc, inspecting one of the bodies, called out. "Can you get the sand out of your pussy and get with the program? I counted forty troops with the armor. We only got twenty-one bodies here, meaning that there are still nineteen tangos, two tanks, and two APCs out on the loose." Sirius was slightly taken aback by the rough language, even though he was already quite used to barrack banality. Arceus, don't vent just 'cause he's a normal 'mon….
"Watch the language, Roc!" the Salamence said, a tone of steel in her voice.
"No need to be a prick about it," Lamar muttered, a little more than offended at the remark. Then, taking an analytical tangent, he said more loudly, "It would be a decent guess to say that the others are with the tanks. Never let armor go without infantry, as they say."
The Staraptor snorted. "Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry. Anyways, we need to somehow track and neutralize four vehicles under heavy guard by jittery troops who just got the shit bombed out of them. Any ideas?" He looked around, sarcasm written all over his face. "Maybe we can find them cruising southeast on Bakalakadaka Street."
"Try using your radio. Another squad's probably seen or engaged them already. It's not as if they can run a tank in the forest and completely avoid detection," the Charizard suggested.
Roc held a plastic box up, showing an impressive, gaping hole and the innards of the machine. "If we had a radio, that would have been the first thing I did."
"We can just let the main forces sweep them up in half an hour," Erik offered. He backed up slightly after Roc shot him a particularly withering look. "Arceus, no insults intended…."
The Salamence decided to angrily interject. "Is there a better option? Look, we don't even have a plan to take on a group of mech infantry, let alone the equipment. Unless you happen to be carrying a couple twenty-pound AT rockets, I don't see how we can get away with an assault. It's just easier to retreat and let friendly tanks take care of whatever's left over. Our main objective was to disrupt any enemy attempts to regroup, and we succeeded!"
"I'm sorry, the word 'retreat' is not in my dictionary," Roc growled. "Airborne never retreats. 'I shall prove my ability as a 'mon by defeating the enemy in the field. To quit, to surrender, is to fail,'" he quoted, referencing a particular line of Airborne creed.
Justine rolled her eyes at this. "Just because they force us to recite it almost every day at base doesn't mean that we have to follow it to the letter. And we're not quitting! We already executed the task given to us in a timely manner, and have decided that it is near suicidal to give chase to a secondary objective when we don't even have the materiel to do so! Oh, and if you're wondering," she continued, pointing a sharpened claw at him. "We are rebelling against your order. I'm sure HQ will understand perfectly." Erik and Lamar stood behind her, nodding their heads. At the side was Sirius, feeling both confused and left out.
The Staraptor blinked once before growling, "What? That's mutiny! They'll have all of your heads!"
"It's either get a chance to explain everything back at base or die here," she responded, beginning to make her way through the woods. "Besides, they abolished the death penalty for mutiny quite some time ago. Erik, grab the kid. We're leaving." Roc, closing his beak, raised his rifle at the two retreating 'mon. The Latios crouched, ready to take him down should he actually make an attempt on their lives. However, the precaution was not necessary, as the Staraptor snarled, slinging the rifle angrily over his left shoulder and stomping behind them. The Swellow flapped his wings and also fell in line, carrying the now-unconscious child in his arms. Sirius followed, trying to catch up with the Salamence and settle his confusion.
"Justine, what was that?" he asked, walking alongside her. "Mutiny's an act punishable by the highest order, no matter how you see it."
She looked at him rather nonchalantly, smiling as she glanced back at the moody Staraptor. "Well, in our squad, it's called 'mutiny' but it's really a way to get Roc's head out of the sand. He's always so stubborn and straightforward, even to the point of walking to his own death if a fancy paper with official letterhead tells him to." She ducked to avoid a low-lying branch, nearly slipping in a crater right next to the tree. Sirius shot out an arm to grab her, pulling her back up. "Thanks," she coughed, more embarrassed than shocked at the mistake. "Anyways, the only way to get through to him is to make a military threat, like mentioning mutiny. Whoever makes the threat leads because Roc just stops talking after the fact. Then, in the retreat, which it usually is, he finally thinks with his brain and comes to the rational conclusion that his idea was incredibly stupid. Consider it a quirk of this squad."
Sirius contemplated the explanation. "That is pretty strange…."
"Yeah, he's a bit crazy like that. It's nice if we actually have to accomplish something, but he always goes too far." She looked ahead of her, noticing a somehow untouched dirt path. "Halt," she ordered, putting a hand behind her. "Erik, map please." The Swellow pulled out a steel tube. "I said map, not MG barrel." Flustered at his mistake, he rustled in his pack and brought out a more papery scroll. Squatting on the ground, she laid it down in front of her, talon moving about it.
Lamar looked over her shoulder, scrutinizing the map. "We're close to the edge of the forest, right? What's stopping us from going out?"
"Look to your left. Don't put your head out too far, though," she warned. He did so, eyes slightly widening as he saw a tank situated in the middle of the road, engine completely turned off.
"What's that doing there?" he asked. "It's just in the open, waiting to get nailed."
Justine motioned down at the map. "No, look," she corrected, drawing a claw down a tan line on the paper. "It's seated in a position so that if a Halcyian unit comes down this path, the tank can easily ambush it and score a kill. It doesn't matter if it's infantry or tank; at that angle we're getting casualties, no matter what."
"Which means…."
"Which means we have to take it down. It's not like before, when it was just an idiotic rush against something someone else could have taken care of," she said, glaring at Roc. "If we don't find a way to immobilize that tank, someone's definitely going to pay for our inaction. It's a shame that we're anti-infantry, not anti-tank; otherwise, we'd have a way to put a hole in it." Everybody was silent, each stumped as to how they could, with nothing but their weapons, attack the tank.
"Hmm…." The Salamence looked at Sirius. "I recall reading that Latios and Latias can shift their down to become invisible. Can you do that?"
"Don't expect him to. He can't even read minds," Roc muttered, still upset over the "coup."
Sirius ignored the remark, looking back at her. "Yeah, I can," he said, causing his left hand to disappear. "Neat little trick to do sometimes."
"On the tank, there's a 'mon on the machine gun. If you can neutralize him and get in the hatch, could you possibly disable the driver and gunner?" Her voice became somewhat hopeful as the first hints of a plan began to form.
"Huh, that's actually not a bad idea. But what happens if I mess up?"
Lamar rumbled, getting up from his seated position. "Damage the main barrel. The coaxial gun won't be able to do much to a tank, and is less damaging to infantry than a HEAT round. If he screws up, I can use the distraction and put a Blast Burn on the gun, hopefully melting it enough to jam any tank rounds. I don't know about their anti-heat protection, though…."
"We don't have a better option, unless Roc would like to mention one." The Staraptor hmphed at this, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "Well, then, we should get started. Lamar will go to a position near the tank, and Roc will spot for him," she said, nodding at the both of them. "I will be near the other two, also spotting for other threats. Erik, the FNG, gets to stay with the kid." She laughed as the Swellow gave her a sour look. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Well, about the FNG part, at least. Lastly, Sirius will go invisible and try to engage the tank." Justine looked at the Latios. "If you'd like to start now…."
He nodded, shifting his down and disappearing into nothingness. Well, at least the uncovered parts of his body did. The four others first looked bemusedly at the floating set of fatigues in the air. Then, a couple of jaws dropped as the clothes began to take themselves off, dropping to the dirt below them.
"Sirius, what are you doing?" the Salamence hissed, quickly overcoming her speechlessness.
The only thing left were a pair of boxers. "Sorry, these fatigues aren't made for invisibility. Pure invisibility is only done nude." Justine put her claws over her eyes as the undergarments also fell to the ground. "Don't worry, everything's covered," he reassured. "Well, unless you don't want them to be…." He chuckled, unable to resist sliding in the lewd remark.
"Whatever, just go!" she said, turning away from the now-invisible Latios. "Arceus, what a perv…."
Sirius smiled at the curse, keeping sure to float instead of press his feet on the ground. Nothing startled enemy troops more than small footprints coming out of the middle of nowhere. As he heard the rustling of leaves behind him, he concentrated on getting right next to the tank without getting caught. The hard part is getting that guard in one shot. He was able to sneak up right next to the steel behemoth, crouching behind one of its treads. Quickly but gently he propelled himself upwards, floating right behind the Manetric machine gunner. Slowly, slowly…. He reached with a hand out to the electric-type's neck, about to reach the pressure point that would render the 'mon unconscious….
CLANG!
Sirius flew backwards both in response to the Manetric's sudden movements and the giant steel barrel of the machine gun the 'mon swung at him. He hit the dirt behind the tank, rubbing his knees as they swelled a bit. Then he saw the electric-type staring at him, obviously shocked by the presence of a previously undetectable enemy. Oh shit, my invisibility. His hands instinctively shot to his groin at the very thought. The next thing the Latios knew, he was hastily readjusting his down while a multitude of bullets slammed the dirt behind him as the Tamsus soldier began to fire at him. He dove into one of the bushes, hoping to avoid the gunner.
"Get off of me!" Sirius heard someone yelp. Looking down, he saw a familiar Salamence face, body pinned down by his own. Then, he saw her claw come up and crudely shove him off. "And get invisible again!" Justine looked away from the Latios, blood mixing with her blue hide to create a vivid purple blush.
As the two dragons recovered from the faux pas, Lamar opened up at the tank, maw firing a scorching blaze that broiled the tank gun. Some of the conflagration washed over the Manetric, setting his fur on fire. He screamed in pain and dove back into the tank, which was admittedly not the brightest idea. As the tank began to turn towards the Charizard, its joints began to pop, smoke rising from the crevices between the turret and the hull. Realizing what was going to happen next, Lamar roared in panic and ran, an equally alarmed Staraptor following him into the forest. As the two made their escape, the fire the electric-type brought into the hatch apparently reached one of the unused tank rounds. The armored vehicle exploded in a brilliant flash of orange and white, sparing no one inside its now blackened body. A large black plume of smoke spiraled upwards along with many chunks of molten metal expelled from the sheer force of the explosion. After they were certain that the last of the steel missiles from the tank had landed, the five hiding 'mon warily got up from their positions, watching the crackling fire of the tank.
"Wait, so are we done here or what?" the Staraptor asked in a begrudged tone, impressed at the task he had failed to do.
"Looks like it," Justine replied, looking around at the squad. "Sirius, for Arceus' sake, put some clothes on!"
The Latios' head reappeared in midair, grinning crazily. "Liked what you saw?" The Salamence heavily blushed again, raising a claw. He turned invisible again and dodged as she swung at where she thought he was with a Dragon Claw. "Fine, fine," he complained, though the laughter never left his voice.
"Honestly…" she sighed, putting a palm to her face. "What a perv. The world will explode by the time he gets a date…." Lamar laughed at her exasperation, tail fire glowing brightly.
The approaching dull roar of engines caught their attention as the Salamence snapped her head upwards, looking to see if anything else was coming their way. In the far distance, the faintest rays of sun revealed a small blue flag with white diamonds running across it sitting atop an approaching APC, which was flanked by several squads of troops."Well, well, if it isn't the Stardust Regiment," Roc mockingly snarled. "A bit late because one of them didn't get their high? Or maybe they stopped at a fast food joint on the way here?"
"Enough, Roc," Justine said. "They're here, and that's all that counts. Now let's go. I'm sure the other Airborne squads are already making their way out too." The three of them began to walk towards the convoy of armor, fully clothed Latios and Swellow soon joining them. The Growlithe in Erik's arms cracked his eyes open, neither crying nor rejoicing at the slowly lighting sky. He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but a natural sleep quickly overtook him as he closed his eyes again, snoring lightly. Even Roc couldn't help but slightly smile at the endearing sight.
"Identify!" someone yelled in the distance. "Identify, or we will shoot!"
Justine ran forward and roared, "Airborne! Airborne!" She put her hands up in surrender just in case the other troops couldn't hear her.
As the Salamence feet stepped from dirt to grass, a jeep pulled up next to her. An Ursaring sat in the rear, pinned collar showing that he was a captain. "Airborne? We've orders to transport you back to base. There are helicopters behind us, one for each squad. Get moving."
She bowed her head. "Thank you, sir. Also, we have a prisoner of war that would fall under your jurisdiction." The Salamence motioned for Erik to come forward. "This child attacked us, though we do not know if he did it out of fright or intention." The normal-type nodded, having an assistant step out of the vehicle and take the Growlithe.
"We'll be sure to take care of him," he said as the jeep accelerated forward. The rest of her squad had now caught up with her, walking in unison to one to the awaiting transport choppers. All of them piled in, exhausted from the mission they had just completed. It then lifted off, leaving the scene with several other similarly-designed helicopters. Sirius, sitting next to Justine, smirked at her.
"So, how about those clothes…."
She slapped lightly at his cheek, too energy-deprived to summon an actual attack. "Pervert," she groaned, glancing at him tiredly.
He laughed, not bothering to raise an arm to intercept her hit. As the Latios looked out at the sky, the sun slowly crawled over the mountains as dawn broke. Now to crash for the next ten hours…. Slouching in his seat, he grinned as he slowly fell asleep, hardly aware of the pains and tribulations her sister had gone through just a few hours earlier.
So again, a slightly longer chapter than usual. The last few chapters regarding Siria and Wyatt were so damn depressing, so I thought I'd inject a little humor here and there. Thanks for reading!
PS. Whoever finds the movie reference gets a virtual cookie.