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Pastoria City Temple
11:45 PM
The day before Operation Eterna occurred
Inside of the stone temple were several dead bodies on the floor. The temple's security guards were either fried or burned to death, suffering terrible fates. At the end of the temple stood a tall young woman. She wore her usual outfit, her face covered by her signature black skull mask. The six foot woman stood over an older man who was cowered on the floor. The old man wore expensive clothes, along with valuable items like a golden watch and an emerald necklace. Special Agent Nine sighed in frustration, before picking up the man by his shirt and dragging him up. The older man cried in fear, refusing to make eye contact with the taller woman. She held a small curved blade against his neck, drawing a small line of blood on the man's neck.
"Last chance. Put in the code or I will open your neck and spill your blood all over the stone floor." Nine said calmly, pressing the blade against his neck harder. The old man took a few shaky breaths and nodded quickly.
"Ok, I'll do it! Just please don't hurt me or my family!" The older man cried, pushing numbers in the keypad.
"Do what I'm asking and we won't have a problem Mr. Spears. I need the necklace and I know you keep it here inside the Pastoria Temple. So do me a favor and give it to me." Nine said, gritting her teeth while holding Mr. Spears in front of the keypad. Mr. Spear's hands shook as he typed in the full combination. After a few more seconds, the keypad turned green, before the wall in front of them opened up. Against the new wall was a very small golden horn sloped upwards to the right. Upon seeing the horn, Nine was furious, once again grabbing the older man and threatening him.
"What is this?! Where is the necklace?! The necklace is supposed to resemble Giratina's crown, not one side of it!" The Special Agent demanded. Mr. Spears stuttered while speaking, tremendously afraid of the woman.
"Th-e Necklace w-was broken up i-into three small pieces." Mr. Spears sputtered out, tears escaping his eyes at this point. Nine scoffed at the older man, seeing him as pathetic and weak.
"Then where..Are..The other..Pieces?" Nine said coldly, expecting an answer.
"I don't know exactly where they are kept, I swear! All I know is that I sold one of the pieces to a buyer in Snowpoint City and a buyer in Sunyshore City!" Mr. Spears shouted. Special Agent Nine stared at the man for a few seconds, eventually letting him drop to the floor. Nine then walked to the wall, grabbing the horn and stuffing it in her pocket. She then walked back to the man, where two of her Pokemon stood by waiting for her. Nine glanced down at Mr. Spears, before looking back up at her Magmortar. The woman simply nodded to the Magmortar, before walking to the temple's exit. The sounds of Mr. Spear's screams rang through the temple, echoing across the stone walls. A bright light shined behind her, due to Magmortar burning the older man to a crisp. Electivire and Magmortar soon followed Nine back out, with Nine having retrieved one piece of what she was looking for. She just needed two more pieces before Chaos's plans could advance to the next stage.
It had been a day since Kai and the others had taken down Chaos's base located in Eterna City. The group was back in HQ, recovering from the exhausting mission. After they had returned, the group were treated like heroes. They were praised constantly due to taking down a Chaos base with just the six of them. Five, if you don't include Lucario, since he is a Pokemon. Their group even earned their own team name, since they didn't even have one before. Kai had called them "The Ghosts" as a joke, due to not being seen by Chaos until they wanted to be seen by them, wreaking havoc after shutting down their communications. Little did they know that name would be taken seriously, with all of HQ now branding them "The Ghosts". While it was a very cool name to be called, it did boost Kai's ego, which was never a good thing. Currently, the group sat in the debriefing room, with Cynthia at the speaker's podium. The Champion of Kanto and Johto, Lance, would also be joining them. It would be the first time they had spoken about their Mission.
"Today, we're going to talk about everything that went down during Operation Eterna. It's crucial that you all listen closely. While the mission was a huge success, I'm not extremely happy with the way things unfolded-" Cynthia paused for a moment when Sarah made a "Ttt" noise, upset that Cynthia wasn't particularly happy with the job they did. Cynthia crossed her arms, looking at Sarah for a moment, before continuing again. "There was a lot of good, but also a lot of bad. You were all disorganized. While you worked together well and completed the mission, there were too many close calls. In Project Giratina, we don't do close calls. There were also moments where you all looked like you didn't belong there at all! Cynthia stated loudly, looking across the room. Seiya, Silas, and May appeared calm, taking in what Cynthia was saying. They listened respectfully, nodding at her words with a neutral face and understanding attitude. Sarah did not look as understanding as the others. She stared at her nails with a fake interest, occasionally looking up to glare at Cynthia. The black haired teenager also let out scoffs, not appreciating how Cynthia sat up there criticizing them after they all put their lives on the line. As upset as Sarah looked, she was nowhere near as bad as Kai.
Kai was struggling severely to maintain his anger. Kai rarely got really upset, it was extremely rare for the young man. But damn he really wanted to break something right about now. Kai's hands clenched into fists, his eyes glowing blue due to the angry aura pulsing through his veins at the moment. After everything Kai had sacrificed, this was how they were treated after successfully completing a mission. Kai had given up his goals to work for Cynthia and Project Giratina. He gave them nothing but hard work and dedication daily. Every day, shedding blood, sweat, and tears. Ok, maybe not tears, but Kai had given up a hell of a lot.
"Fuck this.." Kai said out loud, shocking the others as he got up from his chair, making his way to the exit. Kai was about to open the door to leave the debriefing room until the red haired Champion stepped in between the door and Kai. Champion Lance crossed his arms, attempting to intimidate Kai into sitting back down. Cynthia watched the two of them, no one speaking as they watched Lance and Kai. While Lance stood at 6'2, two inches taller than Kai, he wasn't a trained aura user who knew how to fight extremely well.
"Get out of my way Lance." Kai told Lance, gritting his teeth while still clenching his fists. Lance shook his head instead, pointing towards Kai's chair. Kai looked to where he was pointing and saw the worried faces of Sarah and May. Kai looked back at Lance, before laughing for a second. The aura user couldn't believe that Lance had the audacity to try and order him around. Kai only took orders from Cynthia, and look how that was turning out. Since Lance wasn't moving out of the way, Kai simply shrugged, before pushing past the Champion. His shoulder hit Lance aggressively, making Lance step backwards due to the force of Kai. It was then that Lance made the biggest mistake of the day. Cynthia had been wise to not get in the way of Kai, knowing that he was angry and needed time to himself. Lance, however, wouldn't let Kai disrespect another Champion by walking out on her. The dragon tamer had too much pride. In that moment, Lance grabbed Kai's shoulder roughly, attempting to turn him around.
It took less than two seconds for Lance to be on both knees, with his right arm held behind his back, his face carrying a pained expression. Lance let out a cry of pain for a second before biting his tongue, not allowing himself to show the pain he was experiencing. Sarah and May gasped at the actions of Kai, not believing what was going on. Seiya was equally shocked, his mouth wide open. Silas, however, was completely asleep. The blue haired teenager's mouth was slightly open, drool coming out of his mouth as his head rested on his hand. Cynthia took a step towards Kai before speaking for the first time since Kai began to make his exit.
"Let him go, Kai. You're welcome to leave but I will not stand by while you hold the Champion of two regions in an arm lock." Cynthia stated strictly, her confidence never unwavering. Kai glared at Cynthia, before pushing Lance's back, making the older man fall and lay down on his chest, breathing heavily. Kai opened the door and slammed it shut behind him. Lance was slow to get up, swiping the dust off his pants and rubbing his now sore arm. He was about to take a seat again until Cynthia stopped him.
"I think it's best for you Lance if you take a break and skip this debrief this once." Cynthia calmly advised the other Champion sitting across from her. Lance's face became angry, almost insulted by her words.
"Are you kidding me Cynthia, I didn't even-" Lance's angry rant was interrupted by Cynthia speaking again, this time more harshly.
"Lance, I asked you to get out of the room."
Lance felt humiliated and insulted at that moment. Not only was he physically assaulted in front of six other people, but he was now kicked out of a meeting by a fellow Champion. Lance stormed out of the room, opening and slamming the door shut behind him, but nowhere near as hard as Kai had slammed the wooden door.
Words wouldn't even be able to describe how confused and shocked the group was. Minus, Seiya, since the boy was still asleep, with tired bags underneath his eyes. Cynthia sighed softly, before continuing.
"I apologize for Lance's behavior. While I am disappointed in Kai leaving the debriefing, Lance was in no position to stop Kai, especially with force. Kai had every right to put him on his ass. Despite the events that just occurred, I'm still going to give you my feedback on Operation Eterna." Cynthia stated, before looking at Silas. Seiya caught Cynthia's stare at Silas, understanding why she was looking at him. Seiya shook the other sixteen year old awake, who wiped the drool off his mouth and looked at Cynthia with tired eyes.
"I'm going to give you my feedback on Operation Eterna, Silas. I would appreciate it if you would not fall asleep again until I am finished speaking. Once I am done, you will be able to get all the rest you need. Clear?" Cynthia asked the younger boy, who nodded and apologized to her.
Cynthia began to give her feedback on each person, one by one. She started off with Seiya. "Seiya, I would first off like to say that I was most impressed by you. You handled the mission almost perfectly, not becoming distracted and doing your job extremely well. You were able to not only guide the group and aid them in their mission, but also improvise when the plan failed. When May was almost caught, you contacted Kai, ordering him to help her due to how she could have compromised the mission. That is exactly what your job is and what you're expected to do in that situation. You are the eyes and ears of the operation Seiya. You excelled in helping Sarah cut off the surveillance cameras and communications inside the base, which was the most important part of the plan. When it came down to a battle at the end of the mission, you were also able to think quickly on your feet, utilizing an effective strategy to defeat your opponents in battle. You battled very well. Overall, you did a very good job Seiya. You made a few mistakes but I would be happy to discuss them privately with you if you'd like, since they were nothing serious." Cynthia finished, smiling at the dark skinned teenager. The teenager bowed respectfully.
"Thank you Ms. Shirona, I appreciate your words."
Cynthia nodded, moving on to the next team member.
"Silas, you did very well on the mission as well. I had told you before that you would not have a big role unless some plans went sideways. Unfortunately for the Operation, they did. You stepped up, also being able to improvise on the spot and help Seiya when you sensed he was in danger. Without you, Seiya would most likely have been caught off guard in the Communications Van, and the mission would be compromised. Not only that, but you also fought well alongside Seiya in your battle. While the both of you still have a lot of work to do in terms of battling with your Pokemon, your skill was sufficient in accomplishing the mission. Over the next few days, you and Seiya will be training with others, improving on your batting skills. That is both your biggest weakness. While the two of you are extremely talented and smart, you need work in terms of being a trainer. Otherwise, well done Silas." Cynthia finished, now turning to Sarah.
"Despite what you may think due to how you reacted at the beginning of the meeting, I also think you handled your job well Sarah. You were tasked with cutting off the Communications without being spotted. You completed this task. I gave you the task of clearing out the third and second floor with your Pokemon. You managed this task just fine, despite being outnumbered severely without the help of May. I don't believe you made a major mistake during the whole Operation Sarah. Well done." Cynthia said while looking at Sarah, waiting for a reaction. While Sarah was still upset, she had calmed down over time and due to Cynthia's appreciative attitude. She nodded and muttered a "thank you", before sinking back into her seat. Cynthia turned towards May, making eye contact with her for a few seconds before sighing.
"May, I am the most disappointed in you. The best way to describe how you acted in the mission is "lost". As soon as you entered the building, you were a step behind, somehow getting separated from Sarah. Just when that wasn't bad enough, you then raised suspicion from two guards, leading to them capturing you. If it wasn't for Kai, you would have completely ruined the mission May. Kai was able to save you and still keep the mission alive. While Sarah, Kai, Seiya, and Silas fought valiantly and with everything they had, you sat by yourself in an empty room due to a cut!" Cynthia yelled, slamming one of the tables in frustration. Everyone flinched at this, never seeing the Sinnoh Champion lose her composure.
"You risked the entire mission May. If you can't handle this type of work, then you need to leave because it could cost someone their life someday." Cynthia finished sternly, before addressing the group as a whole once again.
"Lastly, I wanted to speak about Kai. It's obvious he is the most powerful trainer and individual in the group. He will continue to be the strongest in every mission you complete. However, I refuse to let you all rely on him as much as you all did yesterday. It's unacceptable and not sustainable. You all will continue to improve your batting skills, along with basic combat training. Is that clear?" Cynthia asked the group, who agreed quietly or simply nodded their head.
"Good, you are all dismissed. You have the day off today so enjoy it however you'd like" Cynthia stated, walking out of the room. The four of them now sat alone inside the meeting room. That is until May stormed out of the room with tears in her eyes, slamming the door behind her. She was the third and final person to slam that poor wooden door today.
The three trainers remained quiet, before Sarah broke the tension.
"Well that went well."
Chapter 13 everybody! Please Review the story as it is really helpful for me! Hope you all enjoyed it and I'll see you all soon!