Chapter 2 – Ambush
Sarah K'Tal and the two former Cyclone operatives Cade and Darman have set off in search of the elusive Mewtwo, whose power, in theory, borders on absolute, assuming Mewtwo can control that power. The three of them don't necessarily work that well together, but they won't have much of a choice, especially once they discover that Neo-Cyclone is already aware of what they're doing, and will do whatever is necessary to stop them…
"I assume you have some idea where to start looking?" Cade said to Sarah in a half-whining, half-sarcastic tone. Sarah had been leading Cade and Darman down a seldom used path for quite some time now, and yet they seemed to be going in circles. "Do you have any suggestions?" Sarah replied with a subtle hint at annoyance. "Actually, if I were trying to do everything I could to avoid contact with civilization" Darman replied, "I'd hide in the most remote location possible, which in this case means somewhere on the Eastern half of the region." "Yeah, and that's a lot of ground to cover, so we'd better get moving" Cade added bitterly, "besides, the tree line's too thick for me to scout ahead from the air, I wouldn't be able to see a thing down below!" "Or…maybe we should try seeing with more than just our eyes…" Sarah replied as she closed her eyes and calmed herself, reaching out to her surroundings, sensing everything around her at an ever expanding distance. "What's she doing?" Cade asked. "I don't know, but perhaps it's some type of telepathy that allows her to scan her environment" Darman replied, "much like radar actually."
Sarah suddenly opened her eyes and froze, remaining absolutely still, which Cade took as a sign of danger. He had enough sense to bring his old headset with him, and so he activated the thermal imaging scope, and was hardly surprised to pick up two heat signatures, approaching at high speed from the front and to either side. "Sarah, duck!" Cade shouted as he and Cade leapt out of the way as one of the assailants lunged, and missed them; Sarah teleported just as the second appeared, reappearing next to Cade and Darman. Their attackers were a Luxray and a Toxicroak, and both appeared to be highly skilled when it came to battling. "Argus, Vance, should've known it'd be you to attack us" Cade said coldly upon realizing it was someone he knew. "You should've joined us while you had the chance Cade; you would've been a valuable asset given your experience and training" replied Argus, the Luxray. "Both Darman and I have told you before; we want no part of this Neo-Cyclone you're part of!" Cade shot back angrily. "Hehehe…too bad, because anyone that gets in the way of our objectives will be dealt with accordingly" taunted Vance, the Toxicroak, as he moved into a fighting stance. "These guys are pushovers" Sarah said as she readied for the battle to come, "Let's go get 'em boys!" "Right, we'll cover you Sarah" Darman replied, "let's blow 'em away!" "Argus, let's go!" Vance shouted as he and Argus charged at Sarah, Cade and Darman.
Vance immediately went for Sarah, his clawed fist glowing purple from a Poison Jab attack. Sarah caught his fist between her hands before flinging him back with Psychic. Vance was caught off guard by his foe's sudden counterattack but having had the same commando training that Cade and Darman, he was by no means about to lose, especially to one so young. "Not bad Kid, but you're still not ready to take on Neo-Cyclone's Elite!" Vance taunted as he attacked again from long range with Sludge Bomb. This time the attack was too fast to evade or block, resulting in Sarah taking a direct hit…or so it seemed, until Cade faded into view in front of her, using his armored body as a shield. "Of course, I forgot you affinity for using Double Team in battles Cade" Vance said with a grin, "but I suggest you focus more on Argus for now!" At that moment, Argus lunged at Cade whilst being pursued by Darman. Sarah used Psychic to catch a very shocked Argus in mid-leap just prior to flinging him into Vance. "Now it's our turn!" Darman shouted as he attacked one final time, flinging massive boulders at them with AncientPower; this attack knocked their two foes flying into the air and out of sight. "Looks like they're really blasting off this time!" Cade exclaimed sarcastically as he crossed his claw with Darman's scythe, the closest thing to a high-five either could accomplish. "Elite huh? If that's their elite, I can't wait to meet the Boss!" Sarah added in, adding her own hand to the salute. "You see guys, we can do this as long as we work together!" she continued, "now let's go find Mewtwo!" "I'm still not thrilled about having to find him, but I'll stay with you Sarah" Cade replied. "As will I" Darman added, "now let's head east!"
Later that day, the weather started to take a turn for the worst; it had begun drizzling, and it was expected to become a lot more intense later that night. "This is bad…" Cade muttered, "we need to find someplace dry, and preferably on high ground…" Sarah looked around for a bit when she noticed a high tree; it may not be completely waterproof, but it was certainly high, and by closely interweaving some of the limbs, the three of them could remain dry through the night; the only one who wouldn't have any problems would be Darman, as he was a water type. "How about that tree?" Sarah asked, pointing to it. Cade looked at the tree for a few seconds and replied, "it's as good as we're gonna get, let's go."
Within a few minutes, Sarah had managed to arrange the tree's limbs in a way it would keep the rain off of her and Cade, as Darman didn't particularly care if he got wet or not. At first, all of them remained silent, until Sarah asked, "Vance and Argus…where did you meet them?" Cade, whom had been trying to sleep, opened his eyes, stretched and replied, "Well, the four of us were Commandos working for the original Cyclone when your Dad was your age…" He straightened his back out a bit before continuing, "but…since they are part of Neo-Cyclone now, it wouldn't surprise me if there was another of our former comrades who is now affiliated with them: a General Dallon Lettos, the highest ranking survivor from Cyclone." Sarah remembered when her father had told her about Dallon's treachery, and that he had been, for a long time, the Chief of Special Operations under Emperor Saul; it wouldn't surprise her a bit if the deceptive Gripper pokemon was part of Neo-Cyclone as well. "But try not to worry yourself too much" he replied, "save your energy, you'll need it for tomorrow…" With that, Cade nodded off again, leaving Sarah the only one awake. Sometimes you find something unexpected in the form you least expect… she thought, what could that mean? She mulled this thought around in her mind for several more minutes before she too succumbed to sleep.