Work's still coming down in a torrent, but I'd rather write this than a whole term essay.

Chapter 18: Charlie Foxtrot

"Here we go," a red dragon announced. She glanced over at her brother, who was also dressed in the same clothing as her: a skin-tight black suit tailored to tap into their natural refractory abilities. After her last one got completely ruined in the conflict with the Glaceon, Siria had to call in quite a few favors and do a handsome amount of begging to obtain another one of the expensive experimental suits.

Sirius squirmed on the helipad, very unused to the type of clothing his sister always wore on missions. He couldn't understand how in the hell Siria could actually tolerate the outfit. First of all, it was incredibly itchy; secondly, it didn't buffer the frosty air around him, making him incredibly cold; thirdly, it greatly hampered his ability to get girls, not to mention the various comments the clothing that hugged his body made about his sexuality….

Siria snorted, easily picking up on the Latios' thoughts. "Really, Sirius? We have a mission to attend to, and that's all you can think about?" Not waiting for an answer to the rhetorical question, she kicked off the giant white "H" painted on the smoothed concrete, shimmering into nothingness as she rapidly ascended into the sky. Hardly abashed, he too jumped up, accelerating a bit faster to make up for the large distance Siria already put between them.

Flying gave both of them time to relax and unwind before getting into the heat of the operation. Because of their invisibility, the two were virtually undetectable by any form of antiaircraft defenses. Even Halycian military research and development laboratories haven't come close to creating the detection technology; fortunately, most likely didn't need it if intelligence's assumption that no Lati siblings were under Tamsus' employ. There were only three Pokémon that could turn completely invisible: Latios, Latias, and Mew (an extinct species, according to modern textbooks). Kecleon made a close fourth, but it was incredibly easy for R&D to break the copyright protection in the Devon Scope's programming and tweak it to fit more military-suited and underhanded devices. The detection code infuriated researchers, though, because the main body of it revolved around detecting and analyzing the trademark red zigzag that never left a Kecleon's body even during invisibility. The Latis, on the other hand, left no noticeable mark when they turned invisible. Of course, beyond all of this, the Devon Corporation had tried to accuse the Halycian Defense of theft of intellectual property, but it proved a bit difficult for a company to sue a nation's military.

"Cloud," she heard her brother call out. However, the Latias was too wound up in her thoughts to hear him, and flew straight into the cumulus formation. The millions of tiny droplets sticking to her down and dress was a far better rejuvenator than a cold bucket of water. She first gasped after feeling the wetness slam against her face like a wall; then, she spluttered, having inhaled a fair amount of water vapor. Coughing and wiping at her face, Siria flew upwards out of the cloud. She hated them with a passion. They certainly looked fluffy to an observer from the ground, but that was only a mere deception. If the Latias were slightly more cynical, she would have developed a theory on how clouds were Arceus' deliberate attempts on flying 'mons' lives.

By then the two were circling high above a certain target in Riyaq. Their duty was to provide overwatch security over their squad's landing zone, looking for potential enemies in the area and neutralizing them silently. Since they were so high up, their techniques for executing the latter were slightly altered; Siria had to swoop in low and project a Psychic attack from afar, and Sirius would use the semiautomatic sniper rifle strapped on his back to drop any enemies if his sister couldn't get them. The rifle wouldn't be as precise as a perfectly maintained one because the decreased air temperature would cause the barrel to contract, but the lack of bullet drop would compensate, at least for now. He would have to calibrate the weapon before passing it off to Shadrach when they were on the ground.

Siria looked down into the snaking trails of side streets, backyard, intersections, and alleyways surrounding the landing zone, naturally acute vision allowing her to seeing finer details that others could not. Seeing no threats within the vicinity, she called on her mike, "Echo One to Sierra One. Clear for takeoff, over."

"Wilco. Sierra One, out." Shadrach closed communications and tapped the helicopter pilot's shoulder. Six Special Forces 'mon watched as the snow-covered ground grew more and more distant from underneath them. The helicopter's engines increased the amount of fuel they drew from the tanks below the main cabin, providing the immense amount of torque required to propel the metal body into flight. The loud thumping of the rotors rattled the buildings now far below the Alpha Team, which was more than ready to carry out the duties assigned to it.

No one talked inside as the chopper began to approach the target city. If the doors were not propped open, something akin to a dull roar would have dominated the air inside, but the deafening howl of the tireless machine quickly drowned out any attempts at intelligible conversation. Even with the mikes and earpieces doled out to each soldier, communication was futile; if they tried to listen to what came out of the plastic bud, all they would hear would be a monotonous whup, whup, whup.

Bored beyond belief, Levina tinkered with the night vision goggles she wore on her face. The green-tinted world was hardly a new sight to her; she knew all of the standard quirks of the technology, such as fact that the NVGs distorted her sight so that she'd have to reach a bit farther to grab at something, or that staring at anything bright could blind her for at least ten seconds. Looking out of the door, the Ampharos saw that the ground was no longer covered by snow; the far darker green gravel far below she saw told her that the beginning of the mission would soon come.

She gave a cursory glance at the others sitting on the steel floor behind her. All of them, with the exception of the night-loving Shadrach, wore the same goggles that she did. Someone in logistics had even pulled some strings to get a pair for the young Nuwai, who couldn't fit even the smallest set of NVGs Special Forces had in stock then. Levina had to give them at least some credit for that, despite their multitude of faults and fumbles. She remembered at one time an officer had quipped, "Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals talk about logistics." The yellow 'mon smiled slightly at the memory, but the expression quickly fled her face as she remembered that the superior was in fact one of the two 'mon Alpha Team was tasked to rescue tonight.

The sound of whistling shells jarred her out of her daydreams. Looking down once again, she saw not flat ground but instead the rooftops of buildings. If any Tamsus insurgent chose to pay attention to the pitch-black helicopter, which was rendered nearly invisible against the backdrop of the new moon night, all of them would be in dire straits. However, it was the opinion of all in the maneuvering transport helicopter that any militiaman beneath them would be more preoccupied with the fifty-plus explosive shells dropping on an electrical power facility half a mile away. The giant explosions the artillery barrage created made the chopper's rotors sound like a Yanma's buzz contrasted against the roar of a jet engine. Even the air raid sirens screaming below were hardly audible.

As the Halcyian attack began to carve generous chunks out of the concrete face of the power plant, Levina observed that the bright white lights of the recently-activated searchlights scattered throughout the city began to fade one by one as the power grid quickly caved in to the artillery strike. The pilot of the helicopter, noticing that this was a rather opportune time for an insertion, pulled back on the throttle, stabilizing the bird into a hovering position. As the rotors' roars quickly devolved to a mere whisper, she saw Shadrach toss a six-inch thick nylon rope out of the side door. The steel weight on the end clacked harshly against the asphalt of an abandoned parking lot, but no one noticed the sound over the cacophony of the artillery shelling. She then followed the escaping Umbreon, taking hold of the rope and wrapping both her hands and knees around it. After her, Talal and the rest of the RMs followed.

Within fifteen seconds, the entirety of Alpha Team was mobile. The insertion helicopter droning overhead made a quick exit after an automatic motor reeled up the rope, leaving no hint of its presence or existence behind. Shadrach motioned towards the others to move into the shadows of an alleyway next to a burned-out storefront, surveying the area around her carefully for any potential enemy patrols. The seven others quickly filed into the darkness, and the Umbreon entered after giving the area behind him a final sweep.

Having concealed themselves properly, the 'mon took out their GPSes to gain somewhat of a bearing on where they were relative to their target. A bold yellow line on the screen linked their unit to a rectangular structure hardly a quarter of a mile away. Nobody spoke a word, all already knowing how exactly they would approach the target.

Siria and Sirius continued to provide overwatch, city below them still remaining a static mosaic of rooftops and passageways. "Echo One to Sierra One. You're free to go," the Latias stated.

"Roger, Echo One," Shadrach returned, recognizing the call signal assigned to him for the mission: he acted the role of lead sniper in the squad, and One was always used as the designation for the leader in a team. Hence, Sierra One.

He peeked his head out of the alleyway, which opened into a large commercial street. Confirming Siria's claims of a lack of combatants or civilians, the Umbreon stole out into the street, taking cover behind the wooden fences of a nearby house. With a modicum of clanking and thumping, seven others stacked up behind him. He stretched his left paw out, indicating for them to stop and observe for enemy activity.

"Still clear. Continue down the path, over," he heard a more masculine voice buzz into his ear.

"Roger, Echo Two."

Again, Shadrach leaned out from behind the fencing, peering down a more suburban road. His feet crunched on gravel as he moved out, decades-old asphalt revealing the more natural state of the ground.

The Lati pair pulling constant surveillance offered words of encouragement as the squad continued to advance. Siria sighed, hardly accepting the nagging feeling that she was beginning to get bored with her task. Everything was going according to plan so far; nothing particularly troublesome had shown up yet-

"Hold! Hold your position!" she hissed, dropping the formal "over" used to indicate awaiting a reply. Her eyes picked up a pair of 'mon walking down a street, about to pass a T-intersection where the squad was positioned.

The Umbreon took a light breath, pressing back harder into the wall of the grocery store whose shadow they were hiding in. The others too heard Siria's warning, and readied themselves appropriately. Shadrach waved for Levina to take his place; the contingency plan usually called for disabling the targets, whether enemy or noncombatant, with a status attack of some sort.

As the members of Alpha Squad breathed shallowly, they could hear the approaching 'mon more clearly.

"-hic- and you know," a labored, drunken voice slurred, "They can go –hic- fuck themselves, you know?"

"Easy on the liquor," a more baritone tone responded. "What will the commander say when he sees you in this sorry state?"

"Well –hic- then he can go fuck himself too." The sound of tinkling glass quickly followed the curse. They heard the other 'mon mutter softly.

"And you know!" the first voice wailed, miserable cry joining the thump of a body falling to the ground. "They think they can come –hic- around and, and just rob me of my work! Take my life an' smash it up like my bottle! It's not fair! Just- just- Motherfucking Tamsus!"

The second one suddenly became nervous and rushed. "Hey, now, keep it down a bit, won't you? They'll come after us if they hear you."

"Well, fuck 'em! Come and trash my shop and make me –hic- enlist, and for what? For some shitty ideology? Sure, they want some-" Shadrach narrowed his eyes at the sound of profuse retching. "Want some recognition and shit," the 'mon gasped. "They got that by torching cars. They fucked my brother eight ways to Sunday! My dad is dead! They killed him in the street! What else could they want?" Despite the obvious effects the alcohol began to have on him, his voice remained clear and understandable.

"Now, look-"

"Look at what –hic-? There's a burnt car, right in front of us! Remember Morge? He sat in that seat yesterday! Now where's he? Up knocking on Arceus' door, that's where!"

More movement; the sound of a body getting up. "We need to get back to base. Aiden won't be pleased if we're late from our patrol."

"Fuck Aiden. Fuck 'em all." But the drunken 'mon seemed to comply despite his denouncement, drawing long, sluggish steps that contrasted against the quick, calculated paces of his partner.

As the sound of footsteps approached the hiding 'mon, the Leafeon among them shouldered the weapon and aimed right down the intersection, flicking the safety off and clearly indicating that he wanted to kill. Shadrach whipped his head back at Jun, bringing his black arm down on the stubby barrel of the submachine gun. The other Eeveelution gave him a glare, but ultimately stood down and turned the safety back on.

"Oh, shit!" the drunken 'mon exclaimed. The two of them now squarely stood in front of the hiding squad. The Umbreon looked over his shoulder as the millisecond of panic he experienced gave way to reflex. He jumped out from behind Levina, drawing his pistol and aiming it straight at the enemy combatants staring down at them. The Ampharos now besides him lashed out with a Thunder Wave, paralyzing both the drunk and the more sober partner into falling on their backs. As she dragged them out of sight, Shadrach managed to get a better look at the two.

A teary, red-eyed Lucario and a bitter-looking Kecleon laid bound by paralysis, arms clasped to their sides. The Body-Binder, as the unfortunate bar-goers Levina often brushed off termed it, left all muscles under the head area in stasis, allowing whoever the Ampharos attacked to apologize, or, in this case, be interrogated.

The steel-type was the first to speak, eyes wide in absolute terror. "I- I swear, I said nothing –hic- about Tamsus! I'm proud to be working for such a free, honest associa-"

"Quiet!" the other indeterminate-typed 'mon spoke. "Can't you see they aren't part of us?" He rolled his long tongue out, trying to reach for a radio on his belt, but the electric-type had no qualms with grabbing the appendage. The Kecleon gagged when the electric-type began to tie it into a set of intricate knots, rendering him both unable to speak or grab anything off his body to threaten the Halcyian soldiers with. Levina then knocked him out with a jab to his temple and propped the body against the wall, knowing that interrogation would be worthless if he couldn't talk.

The first one could not get over what his partner had said, though. "Wait, you 'mon aren't Tamsus?"

Shadrach gave him a cold stare, not knowing if his simpleton state was merely a charade to draw them into divulging vital information. He turned away, saying into his mike, "Siria, can you halt observation and come down here for a minute? I need a scan." The scan he referred to was a brief psychological probe; technically, it was banned under modern warfare conventions, but the sheer value of the tactic completely overrode whatever penalizations they would face. The technique had saved countless lives throughout the years the Halycian Defense warred against Tamsus.

Dust and leaves swirled upwards as an invisible presence nestled itself between Shadrach and Levina. The Latias materialized and looked down at the Lucario. "He's drunk," she said simply.

"I never would've noticed," Din jokingly responded.

Ignoring the jab, Siria placed a hand on the Lucario's forehead. She continued, "I'll try my best with him. Don't expect any results, though. It's hard to get a fix on a drunk's thoughts, especially when you're looking for specific ones." She closed her eyes in concentration, beginning to search for mission-specific data such as enemy holding points and positions.

"You don' have to do that," the steel-type protested, shaking his head. "Those Tamsus bastards took my savings, my life. I'll tell you all you need to know. Honest."

All eyes focused on Siria, silently asking if he was telling the truth. After a brief pause, she opened her eyes again and withdrew her hand. "I can't find any malign intent. If he has some, then it must be subconscious or somewhere he can't access it," she analyzed.

Shadrach glanced at the Latias. "How much more time do we have before we need to start stage two of the operation?"

"Not enough to interrogate him."

A light tap on her shoulder caused her to turn. "May I?" Din asked in a now clipped tone. "If I question him, I can get the data out quicker than any of you." He said this not in an arrogant voice, but rather a subdued one that communicated his uneasiness with remaining in the same position for so long. Siria wordlessly stepped aside so that the Vaporeon could make contact with the Lucario. She then widened her eyes as he slightly gasped.

"No, that can't be- Talal, come here." The grass-type stepped up, slinging his rifle over his back as he approached.

The Tropius first gave the steel-type a quizzical glance before staring in disbelief for the first time any of the Halycian troops had seen. His jaw dropped and quivered. "W-Ward?" Talal asked shakily, voice nearly cracking on the vowel.

"Who's that? I can't focus…."

"Ward! It's me, Talal!" he exclaimed energetically, exposing a side that not even the RM 'mon had seen before.

"Talal… is that some sorta drink or something…?"

"No, old friend, think harder."

The Lucario let out a loud groan, turning his head to the left to exhale some vomit. Having seen this behavior from Sirius (on numerous occasions) and Shadrach (only once), Siria set aside the countless questions teeming in her mind and commented, "We're going to lose him if he remains in this state."

Talal widened his eyes. "What? Lose him? Right," he said, seeming to gain control over his euphoria. "Nuwai, do you have any of that sobering solution?"

The Gabite shook her head. "Zaid knew how to mix it, but he never taught me."

A sudden voice interrupted in all of their ears. "Hey, Nuwai, do you have the standard berry pack that I gave you earlier?" Sirius asked. Hey, sis, let me borrow your sight, yeah? he additionally messaged the Latias. She relented for the time being, allowing him to see what she saw though the technique known to them as sight-sharing.

Nuwai pulled out a decently sized steel carton and flipped the lid, revealing an incredibly organized system of compartments. Each container was filled to the brim with a certain type of berry; the dragon estimated that there must have been around ten different selections inside the box. Two metal flasks sat separate from the other compartments.

"Alright," the Latios began to lecture. "Open the empty bottle and do this mix: five part Persim, two part Pecha, three part Oran, one part Cheri." She picked the respective berries and slid them down into the steel flask. Sirius saw all of this from his sister's eyes, and approvingly instructed, "Now shake it up. There's a smashing mechanism inside that'll grind them up into juice." Nuwai followed, feeling a slightly heavy component sliding up and down as she shook the bottle. She opened the lid, allowing a sweet scent to waft into the air. The Gabite then balked at the next order. "Pour that stuff into the Lucario's mouth."

"What?" she responded. "This is pure concentrate!"

Sirius justified guiltily, "The only mixing agent available is vodka, which is in the other container." His admission evoked an embarrassed sigh from Siria. "Besides, we need him up in a minute, not an hour, so the concentrated drink will only encourage recovery."

Knowing that no time could be lost, she knelt down to the steel-type and tipped the bottle into his mouth, allowing a thick, pinkish fluid to slowly drip out. After the Lucario swallowed (he perceived the drink to be more alcohol), he coughed violently and convulsed, causing Nuwai to draw back as he tried to contain all of the medicine. After a very fitful minute, he ended his flailing, chest heaving up and down from the exertion of the activity. He gingerly drew himself against a wall, making sure not to dirty any part of his body with the vomit drying on the ground beside him.

"Holy… what?" he enunciated in a stronger voice. Almost immediately sobered by the incredibly strong drink, he looked around him, focusing on a brown-and-green face in front of his own. "You… are you…?" He shook his head, trying to clear his still-hazy mind.

"I am Talal, and you are Ward," the Tropius said, beaming brightly at him.

The steel-type murmured, "Talal…," racking his mind for anything associated with the name. Then, he stiffened and sat up straight as the memories came rushing back to him. "Talal! You don't mean to say that you… even after all of these years… is that really you?" Tears began to leak out of Ward's eyes.

The grass-type's eyes were equally misty. "In the flesh and blood, my friend. It's been too long since then; we thought we had lost you."

The Lucario shook his head. "No, no. They spared me; I assume that they believed I would be useful to them. But I held out against them. I resisted their kindness and their torture. I was both pampered like a king and beaten within an inch of my life, but I gave and told nothing. For years it has been like this, up to tonight – I apologize that you had seen me in such a miserable state, with my tongue so loose and groveling to such a despicable enemy."

"Apology accepted," the Tropius chuckled. "It would be of great interest of us if you-"

"Hey," all of their earpieces buzzed. "I know this is brotherly bonding time and stuff, but we're starting to run near the operational time limits here, so you might want to get a move on. Don't forget that we're running a covert mission in enemy territory. Stay frosty; we're Oscar Mike," the Latios jokingly added, remembering a particularly irritating pair of lines from a popular first-person shooter he often played. He refrained from saying the third line, which all of the Halcyians knew was invariably, "Ramirez, do everything!"

The Tropius turned towards Siria. "Is there any way we can include him in our mission?" he asked humbly, realizing the burden he was requesting the Latias to undertake.

"He doesn't look like he's in the best of conditions," she replied, motioning towards the steel-type's emaciated features.

The Lucario objected. "No, I am in good shape. Look-" He stood up and let out a flurry of punches and kicks at the air in front of him. "I can fight, but more importantly, I can lead you to the area and advise. That's the place where I was taken prisoner, after all."

The Latias, pressured by time, made a snap judgment. "Alright. Your call sign is Echo Seven, even though we don't have an additional radio kit or weaponry for you. Follow the lead of your fellow squadmates; there's no time to explain." Having finished her statement, she leaped upwards, becoming invisible once more.

Ward looked at the silent Umbreon. "You're the point 'mon, right? I'll tell you where to go and get you out of any tight fixes. I know I look like a Tamsus 'mon, but you have to trust me," he earnestly beseeched of him.

"We already have our routes planned out, so we don't need instructions. I expect you to hold to your word, though, especially if we get into a 'tight fix,'" Shadrach firmly replied. Looking out once more into the street, he asked of the Lati twins, "Clear? Over."

"Affirmative, no activity below. Proceed, over."

"Wilco."

The leaves crunched under Levina's feet as she followed the advancing Lati twins in front of her. It had been easy enough disabling the meager guards around the compound, but it would take more than a few Thunder Waves to clear out the inside of the factory and retake two hostages.

All of them stacked up besides a single metal side door. Sirius motioned for her to go forward. Levina did so, heaving her rucksack and taking out a set of premade breaching charges. She took the several rolls of charges and started attaching them vertically near the hinges of the door, eventually creating a three-inch column of explosive material that spanned from the top to the bottom of the door. She moved back to her original position, trailing a cord and detonator that led to a detonator cap embedded in the bottom of the column. Siria began to talk into her mike, undoubtedly checking on all of her units' locations and readiness before entering.

After half a minute on the air, the Latias finally quit communications and gave Levina a terse nod. As Sirius readied a Protect shield in case something in the explosive went awry, the Ampharos held the simple cord in her hand, ready to send an electrical pulse down the wire at any moment. Five seconds later, Siria nodded twice. Levina let a small burst of electricity race down the wire into the breaching charges.

Several things happened in the second it took for her electricity to reach the charges. As the pulse hardly left the Ampharos' body, Shadrach focused his rifle crosshairs on a Tamsus target he had been tracking for the past ten minutes and squeezed the trigger. The bullet broke the sonic barrier and began to form into a liquid lead mass, intense heat of the friction of its flight emulsifying the round. It broke through the thin factory window with ease, causing the glass to shatter and attract other insurgents' attention. The round then travelled the rest of the minimal distance and embedded itself right into the head of an inattentive Nidorino. The bullet spread its liquefied mass among the gray flesh of the poison-type's brain, cooling and creating a permanent mold. Blood arced from the entry wound as Shadrach finished absorbing the harsh recoil of the weapon. The electric pulse was now a quarter of the way down the cord.

As soon as the Umbreon's round burst past the window, Din pressed a button on an olive green, worn detonator. All of the windows on the right side of the factory suddenly exploded into millions of tiny shards, showering the just-panicking enemies below with the gift of Din's large set of well-planted explosives. The electricity was now halfway to the breaching charge.

Siria could virtually see the shattered glass begin to hit the ground as she honed in on a random door guard's mind, searching for the complex that controlled his consciousness. After spending the quarter of a second to locate the prefrontal cortex, she gave it a slight psychic nudge, causing it to shut down for hardly a moment. The time it was out of commission was enough to knock the unfortunate 'mon unconscious, though. The sight of a random soldier dropping would undoubtedly add to the mass chaos and hysteria of the moment. Levina's pulse now was hardly a nanosecond from going into the explosive blocks.

The electricity took the path of least resistance, flowing up the rest of the cord's length and nestling itself finely within a blasting cap. The cap then spurred the detonation of the entire breaching charge, disconnecting the metal from the hinges and causing the door to fall inwards. The operation was now underway.

Go! Levina heard the Latias shout in all of their minds. Paying rapt attention, she saw a blue winged body move into the lingering smoke from the explosives, quickly followed by a red one. Plucking a smoke grenade off her belt, she pulled the pin, moved inside, and hurled it with as much force as she could muster. "Popping smoke!"

As the metal container began to hiss and form the vestiges of a dense, heavy cloud, Levina took the quarter of a second to acquaint herself with the innards of the factory. Din was right, she noted, seeing large wooden crates and shipping containers scattered throughout the facility. To her left ran a giant conveyer belt with large machines dotting the path down to the other side, undoubtedly used to manufacture cars in a past era. There were several lights hanging from the roof, but the lack of electricity made everything dark under the new moon's sky. A couple catwalks above the factory floor held several Tamsus shooters, which prompted her to take cover behind a shipping container as a beam of white energy streaked by.

"Alright, Echo Six, there's a tango behind your cover, frag him there. Echo Two, tango flanking your right, take him out. Echo Four, check a tango on the catwalks," Din continuously streamed, using a pair of binoculars to spot enemies for the advancing Echo team. His Umbreon partner was continually sniping at targets of opportunity with the semiautomatic rifle. The lack of windows made his job considerably easier.

Back on the ground, the Ampharos peered out of the her right corner and shot out a Thunderbolt at a passing Floatzel. The water-type, who was hell-bent on expending every round in his rifle's magazine at Nuwai, yelped and collapsed to the ground with a sizzling thud. She then retracted her head as a bullet nailed the metal right next to her eyes.

"Moving up!" she heard Siria yell both in voice and mind. Knowing that she was up, Levina looked for an opportune place to lay down a Light Screen. She looked about twenty yards up, where there were a set of shipping containers favoring their position, and settled on placing her defenses there. The ethereal barrier remained invisible until a bullet or attack hit it. The screen turned a pale pink every time it was struck, passing the energy cost required to sustain itself to Levina. Each time the Light Screen came under assault, it taxed more and more of the electric-type's stamina.

The Ampharos covertly stole from her position to behind another container. She knew that the chances of an attack getting through her barrier and hitting her were slim, but it didn't hurt to be careful. She observed around her as the others began to settle in new positions as well. Nuwai took up a shooting stance behind a wooden crate, sending lead down to the other side of the factory in three-round bursts. As the Gabite began to lay down suppressing fire, Jun clambered up a shipping container, going prone and taking far less controlled shots at the enemies. Siria and Sirius were at opposite ends, each focusing their special attacks at the continuous onslaught. Levina felt a leafy object brush against her back as Talal flapped, sending a barrage of petals and an oddly pleasant scent to the factory's deepest ends.

"Echo Three! Your right!" she heard a voice blare into her ear. Turning towards that position, she saw an Aggron leap out at her, about to punch the ground in front of him to deal a devastating Earthquake attack. As the claw fell towards the ground, Levina could only rationalize that he had been waiting in ambush as the Halcyian-Resistance squad made its way deeper into the facility. She crouched in preparation to jump, not knowing if she would have the time to actually execute the move before the Aggron hit her.

THOCK.

The electric-type was surprised to see a bright blue sphere strike the steel-type in the chest, cutting off his attack and making him stumble backwards. A blue blur then streaked by and positioned itself right in front of him. Ward struck the Aggron in the mouth with a straight right Vacuum Punch, causing another audible crack. As the enemy paused to grab at his now-broken jaw, the Lucario withdrew his paw and finished with a fiery front snap Blaze Kick to the chest, the heat of the attack distorting the air around them. The completely broken steel-type flew and slammed against a wooden crate. It splintered and broke under the force, allowing a battalion's worth of bullets to scatter on the ground.

"Thanks," Levina grunted before attending back to her Light Screen. The steel-type tersely nodded and jumped away, obviously using a combination of speed, range attacks, and close-combat attacks to support the squad in any way he could.

Her efforts only lasted for a few seconds, when she heard the familiar, "Moving up!" She dropped her barrier and looked out at the battlefield. It was nothing short of disastrous; large machinery here and there laid wrecked and burning, obviously victim to the blazing attacks and weapons fire exchanged between the two warring groups. As far as she could see, the ground was covered in brass shells, scorch marks, blood, bodies, or a combination of the four. Looking above her once again, she saw the familiar heavy-duty lights. Her eyes then fell to the ground, where she saw two Tamsus 'mon with an antitank rocket launcher. They hid along the wall, meaning that Din or Shadrach couldn't target, let alone see, them, and Siria was too preoccupied with holding up the screen and relaying the positions of enemies ahead of them.

Although the weapon was tooled for use against armored units, the Ampharos knew that it could cause plenty of damage, especially against "soft" targets like infantry. "Sierra One, can you drop a light for me?" she asked, moving behind another steel container for cover.

"Which one?" the reply came.

"Middle one, closest to the windows."

"Copy that." Hardly a second later, the metal wires of the targeted fixture sparked and frayed, releasing the large light to gravity's hold. The antitank pair hardly had the time to glance upwards at the whistling of the steel object before it crushed the both of them. Threat now averted, Levina looked ahead again, searching for targets of opportunity.

A sudden burst on the radio caught her attention, though. "Echo One, advise that you drop your Light Screen," Din crackled.

"What?" a voice returned. Levina could tell that the Latias was incredibly stressed. "Why?"

The Vaporeon mumbled something before Shadrach took over communications. "This is Sierra One. Siria, cancel it! Now!" he yelled, dropping her formal call sign.

"Alri- oh ARCEUS-"

CRACK.

The Ampharos watched in absolute disbelief as the giant screen Siria created began to bend and crack under a mysterious pressure. After the barrier absorbed all that it could, it gave way and shattered, causing the dragon to scream in pain as the screen drained her energy. A great gust of wind flew down the middle of the battlefield, throwing up shipping containers and even heavy machinery in its devastating wake. Hardly a second after, enemy fire began to pour down on them, unabated by the now-missing Light Screen. For the first time in the conflict, Levina was aware that there was a heavy machine gun nest at the end of the factory as it started unloading bullets down the center of their position. She, along with Nuwai, dodged to the right and took cover. The latter growled, clutching at her arm where a bullet had grazed her.

"Stick together!" the Ampharos heard Sirius roar in front of her. "They're trying to separate us!"

No, she then heard Siria contradictorily order. Divide and conquer. Sirius, take your 'mon up the right. I'll do the left. Shadrach, spot for Sirius. Din, spot for me. Out. Levina assumed that something had happened to the Latias' voice, but she told herself not to care and keep focused on the mission. The integrity of not just their outfit but all Special Forces troop squadrons relied on being able to trust each other even in the direst of situations.

Sirius shouted, "Follow me!" while motioning at a miraculously unharmed semi-trailer truck. Levina and Nuwai went prone, crawling on their stomachs to avoid being seen by Tamsus riflemen. Once they made it up to the truck, they knelt besides one of the wheels, using the body of the semi-trailer for cover.

"Sierra One, sitrep!" the Latios then requested, not willing to look out of his cover. Levina was also hesitant to set up a Light Screen, knowing that she would have no chance against a blow powerful enough to break Siria's barriers.

"Ahh, up front there's… tango! On the catwalk above you!" Shadrach abruptly exclaimed, noticing a body scoping in at the Halcyians under him.

BLAM BLAM.

Nuwai, expertly aiming upwards, loosed two shots up at the pathway above her. The sound of shrill screaming rose to the ceiling not even a second after the bullets punctured the thin steel of the catwalk. Levina saw the silhouette of a body tumble downwards, thudding on top of the semi-trailer before falling even further to the ground. She watched morosely as a spray of blood flew from under the truck, peppering her rucksack and boots with dark red dots.

All of them heard a clean whistle on the radio. "Nice shot, Echo Four. Anyways, major thing that concerns us is reaching the end. There are about five or six tangos along the way; you advance, I'll neutralize them as you go along. Have your weapons ready though; it's dead 'mon's land out there."

At first not understanding what the Umbreon meant, Levina leaned out from behind the truck. The area ahead of them was completely devoid of cover, bloodied concrete the only protection there. Up at the end, two 'mon in T-shirts and jeans manned a heavy machine gun turret, both dug into their position by a set of sandbags. She charged a Thunderbolt in her hands, focusing to see if she could attack them from her position.

Her vision went blurry for a second as the machine gun crew began to direct fire on her position. The light on the back of the trailer exploded into shards, scratching her face. The Ampharos hastily retracted her head and looked over at the other two. "HMG at ten o'clock!" she shouted over the roar of gunfire.

She saw the Latios widened his eyes at her, and wondered for a second why before a drop of blood splattered the back of her hand. Levina wiped at her chin, feeling a warm wetness there. Feeling her face now, she realized that she must have accrued more than a few incisions from the shattering glass. "Surface wound!" she said. However, the Latios was now yelling into his mike.

"No can do, Echo Two," a voice calmly responded in all of their ears. "I can't see them from here. You're on your own."

Sirius snarled, throwing his body flat on the ground as a high-caliber round tore through the thin metal of the semi-trailer and exited right besides his head. Nuwai and Levina also went prone as another bullet struck the tires.

"Plan!" the Ampharos shouted at him.

"Fuck if I know!"

As she was going to formulate another response, she heard a slight popping come from inside the truck. Levina widened her eyes in fear, knowing exactly what the sound was. It was the spark of a special type of blasting cap the Halycian Defense used, designed to set off the more stable explosives they had. And if there blasting caps going off inside come into contact with a certain type of plastic explosive….

"Sirius! RUN!" she screamed, grabbing Nuwai's claw and running straight out into the open. It didn't matter where they ran; if they remained in their current position, the truck would incinerate them all in an instant. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Latios jet backwards, feet completely leaving the ground as he began to fly. Levina pumped her legs even harder, knowing that there could be mere seconds left before the semi-trailer went up in flames. Bullets sparked around her feet as the machine gunners focused on the more conspicuous yellow figure running across the factory floor.

BOOM.

Levina saw a white flash of light before hugging Nuwai to her body and jumping as far as possible. The concussive explosion ripped through the air, tossing her like a ragdoll. The Ampharos and Gabite pair hit the metal of the conveyer belt and slid off of it. The flames of the burning skeleton of the truck cast everything in an eerie orange glow.

The electric-type grunted and came to, trying to figure out where she was and what she was doing. As she looked up, she saw a Sandslash raise a sharpened claw, ready to eviscerate both of them. She shot a hastily charged Power Gem at him, knowing full well that she was going to be in for a lot of pain.

A blur shot past and took the ground-type with it. As Ward swiftly knocked the Sandslash unconscious with Extremespeed, Levina slowly sat up, looking at the Gabite body she guarded from the brunt of the explosion. The Lucario knelt down to the two of them, giving both of them a look-over. When his eyes fell on the dragon, he exclaimed, "Nuwai! What happened?" Then, looking at the accompanying Ampharos, he repeated in a half-compassionate, half-threatening voice, "What happened?"

"Knocked unconscious by the explosion. I did my best to cover her," Levina responded.

He nodded tersely. "I will protect her from here on. You go on ahead and finish the mission. I would only impede the process, after all." Levina turned to advance to a position close to the machine gunners' position.

"Wait!" she heard Ward yell behind her. He leaped behind her and threw up a Protect barrier, averting the path of a stray molten piece of metal. It ricocheted harmlessly off the pale blue guard, finding another place to lodge itself in.

The Ampharos breathed a slight, "Thanks," before moving behind a pair of metal barrels. Observing the burning hulk of the truck, she stated, "We need water on that semi-trailer. If the fire spreads or gets too hot, other materiel may cook off or explode," as calmly as a 'mon watching a raging inferno close to melting everything around it possibly could.

"No can do," she heard Sirius respond. "That HMG has us pinned down. We can't project a Rain Dance because we have to watch the shots." Levina peered out at the machine gun emplacement, where the two 'mon were busy hammering away at what was undoubtedly the main squad's position. As she began to charge yet another Thunderbolt in her hands, a secondary explosion rocked the factory. A fuel tank near the fire evidently was heated to beyond the maximum suggested storage temperature, the Ampharos noted, because it exploded and threw up its flammable contents for the fire to consume. The liquid blaze sprayed anything within its vicinity, one of which was the machine gun crew. The two 'mon quickly caught on fire after the flaming fuel coated the burlap sandbags in front of them, leaving them screaming and clawing at their bodies. As they forsook their entrenched position, two precisely aimed bullets flew down from above and put a permanent end to their misery.

"What about now?" Levina cynically responded, watching the fire continue to eat away at the Tamsus 'mons' bodies.

"I think we're good," Shadrach voiced. As if to affirm his statement, a deluge of water poured down from above as Sirius projected a Rain Dance attack from afar. With an ominous hiss, the water made contact with the fires and evaporated into steam, continuously depriving the flames of combustive fuel. As Levina got wetter and wetter, the fires died down to kindles and popped only slightly as whatever small remaining explosives were consumed.

The Ampharos, listening to the radio, heard a weak "All clear" from Siria. Feeling free to get up, she stood at full height and looked around her again. She counted about fifteen bodies strewn on the ground before her, all of them either victim to Shadrach's sniper fire or the collective attack of the others. Then she looked back at the entrance of the factory, realizing just how isolated she had been from the rest of her squad. Levina traced her steps back to the others. All but Siria were still standing, some with slightly bleeding wounds and others with none at all. The Latias in question was propped up against a concrete barrier, holding her head and moaning softly. Sirius sat besides her, using the berry case Nuwai brought along to create an alleviating medicine.

"What happened?" the electric-type asked, concernedly watching Siria.

Sirius shook a metal canister several times. "Psych concussion. She overexerted herself when she tried to resist that force from earlier. She told me that she didn't know what it was, but she said that it was pretty damn powerful, so…."

"Whatever that thing was is still out there," Shadrach completed, scratching one of his ears. "But we still need to search those rooms in the back. We lost our psychic, so we can't figure out who or what is behind the doors. We also need to leave someone behind to guard her, in case there are still some lingering forces."

"I'll do that," Ward volunteered, looking down at the dragon.

He was surprised at the Umbreon's answer. "No. There are two rooms that need to be struck simultaneously, and we need all the 'monpower we can get. We'll split the remaining forces into two parts. One team will consist of I, Talal, Jul, and Nuwai. The other will have Sirius, Ward, and Din. Levina, you stay behind and tend to Siria. I'm proficient enough with explosives to knock a doorknob out," he assured humorously as she began to voice an objection.

The two fireteams quickly assembled and filtered out of the safe haven. Levina could barely track their bodies as they melted into the shadows. Sighing, she turned back and sat down besides the recouping Siria. She watched the dragon breathe in slowly, and wondered what kind of force could have possibly forced her incredible Special Defense stat to its limits.

"Shadow," the Latias abruptly coughed, as if answering Levina's question.

She blinked at her. "What?"

Siria drew her legs in slowly, wincing as pain coursed through her entire body. "The only thing… that could produce such power is Shadow," she elaborated hoarsely.

"Wait, what's Shadow?"

The dragon opened her mouth to explain, but was interrupted by a voice on the radio. "Alright. One, two, three-"

Two explosions echoed from the back of the factory as the teams went in to clear the rooms and look for hostages.

"Shadow is a drug," Siria continued. "It makes its user extremely… powerful in many ways, but there's a cost to that power. It upsets the natural equilibrium, causing…." She coughed a mixture of blood and saliva on the ground in front of her.

"Siria!"

"Never mind me. Shadow has a tremendous cost…" she trailed off.

The electric-type frowned. "What cost?"

Just as the Latias was about to respond, the radio crackled again. "Echo Three, come down here. There are no tangos, but you might want to check something out. Is Echo One mobile? Over."

Levina looked at the dragon, who responded with a weak nod. "Affirmative, Echo One is mobile. We'll be there in a moment." She got up and offered a hand to Siria. She accepted, and nearly fell as her wiry frame stumbled. As Levina propped the sickly Latias on her shoulder, the two began to walk slowly towards the rooms that the rest of the squad had just cleared.

Shadrach was waiting outside to receive them, submachine gun held under his arm. "Levina, go inside. We need you to look at something. I'll take care of Siria."

The Ampharos was struck with a sense of foreboding. "What exactly do you need me to confirm?" she pointedly asked.

"Just do it," the Umbreon cryptically responded.

Nervous, Levina stepped into the room and wrinkled her nose at the overwhelming smell of smoke and ash. Her eyes watered as she narrowed her eyes, looking at the blackened concrete walls of the small room. Then, her vision settled on a small wooden box with a red-and-silver knife on top of it. She stooped down to it and picked it up in her hands.

Her eyes widened after only a brief examination of the knife. As she turned it over in her hands, Levina realized that it was not a knife she held, but a feather. A Skarmory feather, as sharp as any knife in existence. Mind reeling, she dropped the steel object and pedaled backwards to lean on the charred wall. It fell with a noisy clatter, filling the room with a strident, ringing sound. "No… it can't be…" the Ampharos murmured, absolutely mortified.

She then remembered the box. Quickly kneeling down, she fumbled to undo the small brass padlock on the front, nearly tearing it apart in her frenzy to find the truth. Finally opening it, she saw a dog tag and a pair of sunglasses laid upon a layer of fine, black ash. "Oh, Arceus…." She didn't have to pause to remember that Charlie always wore his trademark glasses wherever he went. All doubt was removed from her mind then: the feather was Charlie's, the personal effects were Charlie's, and the ashes….

The Ampharos sat down hard, staring at the box as if it contained the essence of Darkrai itself. "Levina?" Shadrach called from outside. She heard his boots as they softly struck the concrete. "Levina, what's- oh…."

"Is this for real?" she uttered, unable to come to terms with the fact that the Skarmory she knew and loved was dead.

Saying nothing, Shadrach gently picked up the metal tag from the ashes, wiping at it slightly to get a better look at the name stamped on it. "Huh. It says, "O'Brien, Michael," he commented. "Not Charlie."

Levina stood up and swiped the identification tag from the Umbreon's hands. "What?" she demanded, not believing what he said.

"Didn't Charlie have a partner? I knew his name was Mike or something; you'd swear that they were twins."

"So," the Ampharos started, completely disregarding what Shadrach said. "If these aren't Charlie's, then there's still a chance that…." The inflection of her voice rose a few levels as she realized new hope.

"Yeah. It's possible that he's still alive," he confirmed, replacing the dog tag in its original position. "Though Mike was a good guy too…."

She was filled with renewed energy. "If he's still alive, then where is he? Is he still somewhere in he-"

An incoherent yell filled their earpieces as a giant roar came from the main factory floor. "…shit's hitting the fan!" they heard Sirius phase in. "Shadrach, you might want to see this!"

Shouldering his rifle, he nodded at Levina before edging closer to the door. Looking out both ways, he stole out from the room, with the Ampharos hot on his heels.

"Regroup at the entrance. I've got Echo One," Din advised. "Holy fu- ARGH!" Looking up, Levina saw a compressed wave of air slam into an area beyond her field of vision. As a vaporous white mist formed behind the distorted air the attack ripped through, wood splinters and packing pellets flew upwards, obviously the result of the air burst making contact with a wooden crate or two. Seeing a blue and a red-winged figure propped up behind a shipping container as well as the force of the last attack, they hastened their retreat.

"Sirius! What the hell is happening?" Shadrach yelled over the sound of the wind.

He grunted, "I don't kn-" He quickly set up a Protect barrier, which barely held back another beam of air. "I don't know," he completed, visibly tired from the effort required to block just that one strike.

Just as he uttered those words, a metallic figure rose from the other end of the factory and hovered in the air, flapping lightly to keep afloat. All nine of the Special Forces 'mon, separated into individual groups by the attacks' ferociousness, peered at the steel-type from their cover.

The metal hide of the Skarmory no longer shone a shiny, well-kempt gray but rather a mottled, sickly purple, corrupted with a force that Siria dearly feared. The normally dull burgundy wings now glowed a bright blood red, accompanying the fearsome crimson glow in the former Special Forces soldier's eyes. Spikes protruded from his back at odd angles, creating a seemingly chaotic nest of pointed metal seemingly able to scratch even the hardest of steel surfaces. Appendages that were previously talons appeared more like claws as the Skarmory flashed the foot-long blades at his former friends. The familiar crest on his head was similarly elongated, trailing with a malicious razor-sharp knife rather than the normal blunt end. In contrast, his legs were stubbier, seeming to have been retracted a bit; however, even the otherwise laughable defect didn't distract the Alpha Team members from the sheer horror of the sight they witnessed.

The steel-type cawed shrilly and flapped his mutated wings only once. The minimal effort was more than enough to send a tremendous gust through the entire factory, causing the lights to sway dangerously. Levina shivered at the sensation, not knowing if her gut telling her to bolt was from the sheer power the Skarmory appeared to command or the disgusting, horrifying conclusion she had come up with. "Arceus, is that…" she whispered, hoping that no one would answer her question. However, Shadrach was not one to let questions go unanswered.

"Yeah. That's Charlie."

Trivia question: Tell me what the title of the chapter means.