Light awoke to a blinding light and the hushed murmurs of familiar voices around him.
"Are we really sure it's him?" A voice Light vaguely recognized as Momo asked.
"There's no way it isn't." Nate replied. "All the reports I received stated his attacks, tactics and mannerisms were all identical to Light's."
"You were unconscious that whole time." Grunt chimed in, "And I find it hard to believe he didn't order any of our men to their deaths."
"You still hold that low of an opinion of me?" Light said as he slowly awakened. Taking a quick measure of his surroundings showed that he was in a mostly bare hospital room with only his 3 former lieutenants present. A pair of handcuffs firmly chained the Meowth to the hospital bed upon which he laid.
"Of course I do." Grunt said, still sporting bandages from his injuries at Stark Mountain. "Even if you aren't him, leaving a man to die on a mission is kinda a hard thing to get past."
"That brings up an important point. How do we know he's really Light?" Momo asked.
"He was working under the name Shoteneko." Nate said, "We never released his true name to the public. It has to be him."
"Momo has every right to be cautious." Light said, "It's not everyday a dead man comes back to life."
"If you really are Light, how did you survive the attack on Devon?" Momo asked, "And why come back now?"
"The Tower of Thunder attack I used to end the attack on Devon in truth could have killed me." Light admitted. "I poured everything I had into that attack expecting to perish but I guess the survival instinct within me wouldn't let that happen. When I awoke, I was buried in rubble and barely able to escape into Meteor Falls to recover."
"How the heck do you look so young though?" Grunt asked, "You look at least 2-3 years younger than the last time we saw you."
"I'm not sure." Light replied, "The Tower of Thunder gets its extra power by converting the user's mass into energy. It's possible the last one I used converted the outermost part of my skin into energy, sloughing off old skin to reveal untarnished skin beneath, giving me my current look."
"Then why did you come back now? Why didn't you return after you recovered?" Momo asked again.
"After defeating Devon, I was no longer needed. It was time for you all to take the torch." Light said. "I only came back because the peace we worked so hard to create was threatened. What is the status of the base we lost?"
"You've been unconscious for the past few days but the group that attacked the base was connected with the group that defeated us at Stark Mountain." Momo explained, "They've announced themselves to the world calling themselves the Progressives."
"Smart. They've had success against the NAA and now they want to gain allies." Light deduced.
"Exactly and it's really whipped other resistance cells into a frenzy." Nate said. "We have reported uprisings in every region."
"With reconstruction still ongoing, these uprisings have the NAA militia spread incredibly thin." Momo said
"At least the idiots haven't all teamed up together." Grunt added, "If they did that we'd be toast."
"That would be quite bad." Light commented.
"So what are we going to do about Him?" Grunt asked
"I think that he's the real deal but there's no way to be sure." Nate said, "And there's no telling how the general public might react to Light's return. They still believe Silver's propaganda from before Devon's fall."
"It wouldn't look good for us to reveal the truth now either." Grunt added, "People either wouldn't believe us or would turn on the NAA for keeping this covered up."
"Then again, revealing Light's return to the world might dissuade these resistance cells from causing more trouble." Nate said, "Having the NAA's master strategist from Devon's downfall would be an incredible show of strength."
"In that case, why don't you-"
"We'll reveal Light's return on the battlefield." Momo said, cutting off Light and taking charge of the situation. "It'll give him an opportunity to prove his abilities and if he's successful in stopping a resistance cell, it'll show the public his motives are pure."
"And what if he's not Light?" Grunt countered, "What if he's just another expertly placed Progressive operative? We don't have the manpower to spare to give him a whole unit."
"Then we give him only one or two trusted operatives." She replied. "If he's a fake, the operatives can dispose of him and if he's the real deal, he should only need a couple pieces to obtain victory."
Light simply smiled in response, happy to see Momo had grown into a capable leader.
"You're quite right about that Momo." Light replied, "Show me the pieces at my disposal and give me enough time to formulate a proper plan and the NAA's victory will be assured."
"Everyone here is still recovering from our losses at the hands of the Progressives." Momo said, "The four of us will all be heading back to our main headquarters in Rustboro." She turned to Light before continuing. "You'll be kept under lock and key until we arrive there. Rumors have already begun spreading that you're back and we can't have them getting blown out of proportion before you make your triumphant return in battle."
"And what about us?" Grunt asked, wondering what the orders would be for him and Nate.
"You two will begin looking over personnel files." She said, "We need to find a couple of operatives devoted to the NAA cause to assign to Light."
"Right!" The two men replied in unison
"I'll be back to check on you in a bit." Momo said as she, Nate and Grunt made their way toward the door. "Be sure to rest and recuperate Light."
"As you wish commander." Light replied, trying to show deference to Momo's command.
After the door to Light's room closed, Momo turned to her two lieutenants and said, "In regards to those operative we're giving to Light. Make sure they're devoted to the NAA above all else and capable in a fight in case the worst comes to pass."
Grunt smiled, understanding Momo's viewpoint and agreeing completely.
"You don't really think he'd betray us do you?" Nate asked.
"I don't know what to believe anymore." The Servine replied, "An organization capable of rivaling the NAA has risen basically overnight, a man is back from the dead and any hope of quickly establishing a lasting peace has been thrown out the window. I can't say for certain whether I truly believe that is truly Light in there but I do agree with him on one point: the NAA's peace needs to be maintained. If Light proves to be a threat to that peace, I won't hesitate to give the order to take him out. Now start looking over personnel files and find me someone who could do that job."
"Yes ma'am." Nate replied, understanding the order before walking off.
A few days later, the 3 NAA lieutenants reconvened in Light's hospital room/holding cell to show him the candidates they had chosen.
"Ok Light. Here are your supervisors." Momo said, making it clear that they held a higher rank than he did at the moment. She gestured to the two individuals behind her after finishing the statement revealing an older looking Escavalier and a younger girl with short blue hair.
"The Escavalier is Gunter." Momo continued. "He's been with the NAA practically since its founding. His battle experience should prove invaluable to you in the battles ahead."
"It an honor to finally meet you." Gunter chimed in. "I may be old but my lances certainly still have some fight left in them."
"And over here we have a promising recruit out of boot camp: Catria."
"Recruit number 77,069: Catria reporting for duty." The girl responded professionally with a salute.
"So what do you think of your new comrades?" Momo asked, wanting to hear Light's reaction.
"They're certainly interesting picks. I'll give you that much." He replied quickly skimming through their personnel files. 'One's a war veteran who's been with the NAA too long to think of betraying it and the other is a green by the books recruit who is fully devoted to the cause. They may be mine to command but Momo made sure their allegiance was firmly with the NAA. A wise decision.' He closed the files after his brief analysis and said, "I look forward to testing their abilities firsthand."
"That won't be happening bud." Grunt said, handing Light another file. "You've already got a mission to complete."
"Already? You certainly aren't wasting your time putting me to work."
"The longer you stay here, the greater chance that news of your return blows back on the NAA." Momo explained. "Besides, war waits for no man. That includes Pokemon too."
"Your target is a resistance cell in the northernmost part of the Kanto region, controlling Routes 24 and 25." Nate said, briefing his former commander on the mission. "Their leader is an Ursaring named Briggs and he appears to have taken the Progressive's message to heart, leading a mix of human and Pokemon units."
"He should be manageable." Light replied. "Will Gunter, Catria and I be rendezvousing with other units in the area? I'd like to know how large a force I'm working with to formulate a strategy."
"You three are the units in the area." Grunt replied, "Your entire fighting force is present in this room."
"You can't be serious." The Meowth replied, "You expect the 3 of us to take out an entire resistance cell on our own?"
"Can't you do it?" Momo asked, "The Light we knew overthrew the entire Devon Corporation with a crew of 5 people. I think you can take a resistance cell with 3."
"That's only because I knew the capabilities of my allies." Light countered. "I had fought with them before that battle and knew what their strengths and weaknesses were and capitalized on those. You're asking me to do this without even knowing what these two can do."
"It's all in my record sir." Gunter said, "I know exactly what I can handle."
"I may be new but I can pilot a Knight against the best of them." Catria added. "I'm sure I won't slow you down."
"Have a little faith in your men Light. If you truly are the man we knew then I know you can handle this." Momo said.
"When do we head out for Cerulean then?" Light asked.
"Two days from now." Momo replied as she and the others moved toward the door. "I hope you'll be ready."
"I'm sure I will be." He replied, watching everyone file out of the room. He laid back in his bed and began assessing the situation. 'Two days doesn't leave me a lot of time. Without an accurate gauge on these two's abilities I'm going to need a lot of contingency plans. It's going to be a long couple of days.'
Recognizing the work in front of him, Light let out a small sigh and began formulating plans of attack.
AN: I'm back! Happy Memorial Day eeryone! Sorry about the long hiatus but I just could find the drive to write Uprising. It wasn't until about a week ago that the creative flame for this story was reignited. I also apologize if there are any continuity errors between this chapter and previous ones(it's been a while).
Light has officially rejoined the NAA and has been given a new squad to command. Sorry to those hoping for the return of Nate, Grunt and Momo. They'll still be around but Light will once again be claiming the spotlight(He is the main character after all). Next time we'll hopefully learn a bit more about Gunter and Catria as well as start the battle against the Ursaring Briggs. Feel free to leave a review with your thoughts or predictions. I always love hearing from you all.
Will Light be able to prevail with his new team of allies, will he ever regain the trust of his former comrades and will I ever stop using this outro? Find out next time in Pokemon New Age Uprising.