"A tra-" A quick smack on the back of the head by Damon made Daichi shut up quickly. A mightyena growled from Tabitha's side as he stood at the dome opening.
"Hand over the stones." Tabitha said quietly, a hand outstretched.
"Why?" Kei questioned, holding up his own pokeball. Tabitha sneered.
"Come on. You don't want to fight me. The stones. Now."
"Not a chance." Kei growled and released his corsola. "Corsola, bubble beam!"
While Kei engaged the Magma admin in the battle, Shu ushered Ayame up on the copter, "Come on, quick. Move!"
The pilot obeyed, quickly elevating the copter while Ayame skillfully climbed the ladder. Tabitha growled, "Mightyena, stop the helicopter with a-"
"Roselia, use magical leaves." An array of crescents showered upon the unsuspecting Pokémon, knocking it out. Tabitha shouted in outrage as he re-called the injured Pokemon and released a Poochyena.
"Corsola, use spike canon!" Kei ordered. Tabitha commanded the poocheyana to dodge and retaliate with tackle.
"Drew!" Shu called as Damon reluctantly climbed the ladder after Daichi, "Quick!"
"Yeah, Drew!" Tabitha mocked, "Go on!"
Drew sneered, "Roselia, venoshock!" The grass Pokémon immediately shot out several green globs, landing on Poocheyana's body, poisoning and rendering it immobile.
"Drew, Kei!" Shu called urgently while he forcefully pushed Carlos up the ladder.
"Go." Tabitha said seriously, as he called back Poochyena and brought out another pokeball, "You can go. I'll blast your helicopters right out of the sky. Or, you can hand me the stones and be on your merry way."
"Sir," The pilot said, "The radar shows Magma-troops are close. We have to go."
"Kei! Drew!" Carlos shouted, "Come on, guys!" Tabitha stared at the two fighters seriously.
"Shu, you go." Kei said, glancing back and giving him a smile, "Take Drew. Let me be of some use!"
"Are you kidding me?" Drew laughed without humor, "I was just as useless. No way you can hold him off on your ow- Roselia, razor leaf!"
"Golbat, air cutter!" Tabitha said gleefully, staring at Kei, Drew and then at Shu, who was holding on to the ladder with one hand.
"Move!" Kei shouted, "Me and Drew will hold on!" while Drew cried out, "Roselia, dodge!"
"Not a chance." Tabitha gloated, "My guards are on their way."
"2 on 1. Not fair. May I help, sir?"
They all spun around to face the new entry and Tabitha grinned, "See, more guards are on their way!"
Drew called out to his brother, "Go, Shu! We can take him on!" With a last resigned glare, Shu began to climb and the pilot began to get as far from Magma building as he could, following the first two copters
"Aww, your brother left you!" Tabitha mocked Drew and then turned to the young guard, "Attack."
"As you command, sir. Charizard, inferno." The guard commanded, grinning at Tabitha.
As the heat engulfed them, the young guard lowered his hood and gave the two young men a wink.
"The fuck?" Tabitha's enraged cry echoed in the night sky, followed by golbat's screech as it was knocked out. Tabitha whirled around, "What the hell are you doing?"
"Attacking." The guard announced, pointing at the Charizard, "Charizard, take them up."
Kei and Drew recalled their Pokémon just as Alex and Tabitha moved to take out another pokeballs. Kei climbed on first and then pulled Drew up on the Pokémon's back. They tried to grasp as much as they could around the large neck as the wings flapped and the Pokémon lifted up in the sky.
Alex joined them a few moments later, astride an Fearow, grinning widely as Tabitha screamed obscenities at them. His mouth moved but it was hard to hear him over the roar of the wind and the flapping of the giant wings.
He steered his Fearow closer and repeated, "I threw his pokebelt down the crater!"
"That's playing dirty, man!" Kei shouted back, his mouth stretched wide in laughter.
They looked up, feeling the copters coming closer around them. Drew looked towards the one on the left and saw the pilot pointing towards the front. Kei gave the pilot thumbs up and turned to shout at Alex, "The headquarters!"
"Charizard will drop you there and come back! Good luck!"
"Is he kidding?" Drew muttered in Kei's ear.
As they watched Alex dip, Kei requested Charizard to lower his altitude as well. As soon as they were on level with Fearow, Alex slowed down, "What are you doing?"
"Come with us!"
Alex couldn't have looked more bewildered or more delighted even if he tried.
O.o
Mack watched as a belt tumbled down from the gloom, pokeballs flying everywhere and one hitting an unconscious guard in the face with a detached amusement. He caught two of the pokeballs before they could touch the ground and made note of where the other balls rolled off to.
He climbed on top of the machine as he waited for Tabitha to come down. As soon he heard the scuffling sound from above, he pressed the grey button and jumped off the machine. As the loud whirring filled the room, he rushed towards the entrances. He ducked out through the hole Tabitha had blown up in the entrance and trotted through the tunnel and back into the cavern to where his three colleagues were tied up. He crouched down near them and began picking at the ropes binding them.
O.o
"There are five Magma copters following us!" Drew shouted, twisting around to watch in sick fascination as the helicopters got ready to fire.
Alex also twisted around and then turned back just as quickly, commanding Fearow to turn around and use whirlwind.
The winds held them back for a few moments, after which they were back on their tails.
"Drew!" Kei shouted, straining to be heard over the wind, "You may want to keep your head down!"
Drew caught glimpses of the Rubello copters mounting up their big guns and ducked down. He buried his face in the back of the older boy as he felt the heat behind him and his ears rang after the blasts which took down 2 helicopters.
It seems like the first fire had started a war and having two of the copters down enraged the other three. Shots were flying over their heads; charizard's motion as he dodged them was making Drew queasy and he was more than afraid when a shot whizzed far too close to the three Rubello copters for comfort. He could feel the bile begin to rise as the helicopter carrying May and the girls spun around in the air twice to avoid a fire.
His hand automatically went to his pokeballs when Kei stopped him, "Don't send out a Pokémon! It'll just get caught in the crossfire!"
And then Kei dipped Charizard to avoid a shot which buzzed past them over their heads. And that was followed by loud cracks of 3 shots and a small blast followed by three larger blasts. They watched as two more helicopters descended in front of them and fired at the Magma copters. The one helicopter flying empty also turned around to fire. They managed to take down two of the copters and the second one crashed into the third as it swerved to avoid the incoming blast, but not before the third one released a shot which caught one of the Rubello copters on the tail.
Drew felt his stomach drop as the helicopter carrying his brother spun around due to the impact, tail ablaze and holy fuck, it's coming towards us!
"Charizard, dodge!" A panicked scream, a small, spluttering blast and Drew knew he was falling as Charizard turned a full 360 degree and his grip went slack.