Chapter 72: The Cave Escape
Note: Readers please listen to Red Alert Big Foot while reading this:
By this time myself and the Loweeans in this camp are all packed and ready to go. I've also had a few moments to familiarise myself with the new weapons that I have right now. Those being 2 Mauser C96s which consist of 15 bullets in each gun as well as 270 extra bullets and, according to my HUD a Colt Model 1855 Revolving Carbine with 6 bullets and 54 extra bullets, with some sort of speed reloader attachment. I must say this attachment will be useful as I remember due to the method required to reload such a weapon, it takes quite a long time to reload. Oddly enough it makes me wonder how it will speed up the reload, from what I can remember from the gun. I also happen to remember how despite the guns being semi-automatic, they can sometimes be automatic by accident. But while I do remember the hazards from firing such weapons due to the blast from the powder, I actually raised that concern with Bow and he informed me that such a thing never occurs when the gun is being fired, this is due to the physics of this world as it's impossible to harm yourself. Although this relieves me I do feel that a gun that has a long reload time will be quite a disadvantage. But with that said in this universe at least it's just a matter of removing and putting bullets in the chamber, as opposed to putting in powder even though without the matter of the powder it's still quite a long time compared to other guns. At least there's also the semi-automatic capability being an advantage. It does make me wonder how our revolving rifles will fare against their bolt action rifles considering the circumstances.
In any case it's not long before we all head out on foot, including myself as I thought it best to ditch the bike to avoid suspicion. We're carrying all of the supplies we have on our backs, and we're using our torches to light up this dark cave which while I am able to see with my special vision unfortunately they don't share that ability. It does astonish me how they still have torches that work despite their predicament of lack of supplies. As we move out cautiously while I look ahead for enemy Team Rocket grunts patrolling this area, I can't help but feel concerned that we have an enemy army that's no doubt large of Team Rocket troops on our tail, and I'm not sure if we'd be able to hold them off. Ideally we need to be on the move, but I can just predict that we will end up being bogged down by our enemy.
It's not long before I see some enemy troops and we take them down with no difficulty at all, but pretty soon afterwards there are more of them that move forward to engage us. Although we're still able to move forward, due to the number of enemies we have to deal with we end up slowing down as we are engaging them. I also find that quite a lot of the allied troops have to reload their revolving rifles in the dark, which is taking them quite a long time to do so.
In fact it's not long before the situation happens just as I feared that we are now bogged down trying to engage the enemy troops. In fact we find ourselves taking cover behind rocks inside the cave, while trying to shoot at the enemy as they do the same. I do feel as though they're using this tactic in an attempt to stall us, enabling their army to attack us from the rear and perform the pincer attack. I don't like this we need to break through their lines.
Eventually the enemy army have caught up at the rear, but at least we have some of our troops guarding our flank and they're able to hold them off….somewhat. But there are just so many of them to kill and I even notice how despite our troops hiding as best as they can and shooting from their cover, a few of them die and I haven't been able to give them the perk a colas due to having to rush. I feel terrible and perhaps guilty for this, but again what can I do as I don't think I have enough supplies for them. There's also the issue that they may become suspicious and suspect I'm from Lastation due to the powers from the drinks, and while I'm their ally I don't want to inform them that I'm from Lastation, as our nation could be compromised and perhaps then more of our own people would die. But I shouldn't feel bad even if I do for this, at least I'll be giving them supplies. It's just unfortunate that due to circumstances I cannot give them the drinks to help them fight in battle again. I suppose I could at least consider trying to give them to my allies but make their leader promise his lips are sealed, or perhaps get Uni to deliver perk a colas that are disguised as different drinks that they'd like, while being from Team Rocket themselves. Perhaps they have special drinks of their own but I doubt it. Hmmmm I'll need to come up with a method because I genuinely would love to give them those drinks, but I just cannot blow my cover even to these guys.
It does worry me that it will only be a matter of time before our troops die at an even quicker pace. I realise that if we're to get out of this sticky situation, I have to charge ahead and use my HUD as a guide to reach the entrance. While I would have been concerned about them being suspicious about me having loads of health, at least this time around according to my new friend Bow I'm disguised as a Loweean boss so I shouldn't arouse too much suspicion.
"Bow you and I should charge in and try to break through, meanwhile get the rest of your troops to deal with that flank." I propose to him, while knowing how unsure I am as to whether he'd agree to my idea.
"That's a great idea. Ok I want you lot to deal with our flank, meanwhile we'll try to punch through their lines. Keep going we can survive this and escape the cave." He replies ordering the rest of his troops.
With that said I switch to my dual pistols and so does my new partner, while we both attach a torch to one of our pistols. With us both exchanging glances as an indication we're ready to do it; we move forward killing every enemy that we see. Although we get shot a few times our large health ensures that we are able to survive their shots, but while I know how huge my health is something tells me that he may not have nearly as much as me. Therefore I'd have to watch out for him as he could easily die which would be terrible for the rest of his remaining people.
As we engage the enemy I find that our pistols make short work of them, and while they don't have as much range as the rifles it matters not for us. Yeah if I'm honest I certainly find the pistols to be more effective than the revolving rifles, and with this new tactic I am able to progress despite the numerous enemies that try to surround us.
But it's not long as we progress making sure that no enemy stands between us and our army behind us engaging the enemy at the rear, that we find that they use a different tactic. They use enemies on motorcycles in an attempt to take us down, but like with their infantry we're able to take them down just as easily, before they can even fire their revolvers at us.
Though even then it's not long before I see the dreaded enemy from Team Rocket: The Zubats, and it worries me to no end that they'll take out my ally just as they took out my driver earlier, and like before there's loads of them approaching us really fast. I would have liked to have hijacked one of their motorbikes and use speed to evade them and give us extra time, but we'd leave our own troops exposed. Even if I was to ride alone I wouldn't like the idea of leaving my friend Bow behind.
I guess this is it then to just stand and engage the Zubats, but it's then I have a different method to take them down.
"Get on those bikes; we'll lead them to our troops so they can take them down." I order my ally.
I sense Bow's body language showing how he doesn't like the idea which I can understand, the very terrifying thought of those troops having to deal with the Zubats. But he none the less agrees, probably because he has learnt to trust my instincts.
We waste no time in riding the motorbikes only to then move in circles as we take out the Zubats, unlike with the infantry the pistols aren't as effective against the Zubats due to the immense number of them. Bow meanwhile switches to his Winchester which proves to be more effective against them, but it's rate of fire is pretty slow.
Just as I suspected although we both manage to kill a few of the Zubats, there's still too many of them. I guess I can at least hope that if our troops would fire a volley at them, it would be enough to kill the entire group of bats. We drive towards our allies shooting at as many Zubats as we go.
"My friends be advised an army of Zubats is heading behind you, I need you to engage them!" He yells as loudly as he can.
As I do my best to take out as many Zubats as possible, it pleases me to see that our troops are taking cover from the rear while reloading their guns before aiming at the Zubats. But it concerns me for some of them that are taking quite a long time to reload their rifles, and I see a lot of them doing so. While they do manage to load at least one bullet into their gun I'm not sure it will be enough, as now we need them to be aiming their weapons and Bow realises this and so he orders them to do so.
As I continue to shoot at the Zubats I also look to see our troops aiming their weapons at the Zubats ready to fire. I can tell that they look really nervous especially with the noise of them and the numbers of them, that their torches reveal to them. It is quite daunting to have to shoot them all down, but I'm confident that they will succeed in this task.
"Fire!" My ally orders.
And they all do. The noise of their guns are loud but not deafening at all, and I look to see that a good number of these accursed bats do in fact die from the shots. In fact some more of them die in the second volley of shots though not as many, as less people were able to fire again.
After the volleys of fire from our allied troops, a lot of the bats have finally been killed. There were just a few left, but me and my buddy were able to make quick work of them. But although we have been able to survive their surprise attack, we were open to the enemy army as they were able to attack us by surprise. They even manage to kill a couple of dozen of our troops, but we are then able to deal with the attackers thanks to our troops switching to their pistols.
Even so I find that the enemy army have switched tactics. Instead of taking cover trying to take pot shots from a distance, they're now stood together in formation really close to us, ready to fire a volley of bullets at any of us that lean from cover and try to take them down.
I realise now that as we engage them, a good number of our troops are dying compared to similar casualties with their troops. This is not good and I advise them to remain in cover and try to create some distance between us and them as best they can without getting shot, though this isn't easy at all.
We manage to create some distance between us and them, although it's at a slow pace and it is now I see with my vision that they are gathering some more troops. There must be a good few hundred of them, and they heavily outnumber us. They must be getting ready for a banzai charge. This isn't good, not good at all. At least our flank is alright but who's to say another enemy army isn't coming our way. It does concern me that we may not be able to hold them off now, at least before our troops are in a good position.
I suggest to them that they should lie prone in a line with their torches switched off, so that they wouldn't be able to see us so easily. I myself and Bow do the same, ditching our motorbikes but will this strategy work though? Would we able to survive long enough before they spot each of us and kill us? But what choice do we have?
I must admit that with what's happening right now, it is frustrating me with how difficult this is turning out to be. How I keep hitting brick walls like with Pallet Town and now this. It's so sad that I don't feel these Loweeans that have held out for so long will escape now. There's just far too many of Team Rocket and it does concern me that their ammunition may be beginning to run out. It's just a shame that this war doesn't seem to be going our way as such. But then suddenly out of the blue:
"We are still being invaded and we're losing troops, requesting immediate reinforcements. We don't know how much longer we can hold out against them." White informs me.
So just as I feared Pallet Town is in need of immediate reinforcements. It wouldn't surprise me at this rate if Pallet Town would end up being retaken, and that worse she'd be killed or captured. Not ideal, not ideal at all if we're unable to keep hold of our foot hold in this location. I don't think we'll be able to assist in time.
"I'm extremely sorry but negative. We're currently bogged down ourselves; just hold out as best you can." I order her, knowing that she probably won't.
It makes me feel incredibly powerless, but what I can do but do the best I can to rescue her? But how am I supposed to do that when we need rescuing ourselves? I guess I mustn't let this bother me as I must now focus on dealing with the enemy army, who are now charging at us.
We all fire at them and while I am able to shoot them with precision, my allies have to guess as regards to their location but more often than not they're able to hit rather than miss. The enemy soldiers that do charge at us die quite rapidly but unfortunately not enough, as one by one my own troops get trodden by the enemy, indicating their location to them and so then they die by a stabbing from the bayonet.
It's not looking good and we've now reached the point where all of our allied troops have died from the enemies finding them and stabbing them, it's just two now but at least much of the enemy army is wiped out.
I realise now that we should attempt to run, trying to gain a little more distance so that we can take them down a bit easier. We both stand up as we walk backwards away from them while shooting more and more of them, but eventually they're able to work out where we are and despite getting shot at a rapid rate they were able to discipline themselves, and fire at us both simultaneously as best they could.
With us both being shot although my health is enough to take such damage, my friend isn't in fact he is being shot in the gut. It proves to be painful enough that he is forced to drop his pistols while clutching on to his stomach, as the pain and the loss of blood prove too much for him.
"Butch….go on without me…..liberate….Lowee….." Bow says with his last breath as he collapses on the floor.
To see this happen demoralises me greatly as I feel I have failed, I have failed to rescue them and none of them were able to escape the cave. I also failed the mission to find the Loweeans and for them to be our reinforcements. All I have now are about the best part of a hundred troops outside the cave, I'm not sure if they'll be enough or if we'll be able to reach Pallet Town in time. I really do feel as though I have let all of my allies down: the Loweeans in the cave for not being able to rescue them as promised, our CPUs for not being able to make any progress in taking back Lowee, I feel terrible. While me being upset and fed up doesn't begin to describe how I feel right now, I will not die here as I continue to shoot the rest of the enemy troops here.
Although they manage to shoot at me a few times, my rate of fire, my fire power and my speedy reloads ensure that I make quick work of the rest of the enemy Team Rocket army. It's just it's such a shame that it's at the cost of the Loweeans, if only I was able to find them sooner, if only they could have survived this. And now Pallet Town has probably fallen back to Team Rocket control. I don't know if I can forgive myself for this, I suppose at least it's best to make sure.
"White, White are you there? How are you holding up?" I speak by mind talk with much urgency, hoping she's alright.
"I have bad news, my small army has been wiped out and because I am wounded, I had no choice but to surrender. They are taking me to Viridian City, no doubt to interrogate me and to then kill me." She speaks with much sorrow and sadness.
I myself feel for her sorrow and sadness as my worst fears have been confirmed, that my best friend and strongest ally with me has now been captured and will no doubt be executed. What worries terribly is how am I supposed to rescue her, considering that bluffing my way through is out of the question? Pallet Town will no doubt be too well fortified now along with Route 1 and the cave is very difficult to navigate, and there's countless patrols there and I can't begin to imagine how well fortified Viridian City is. I guess I can only hope that Jimmy Patterson will be able to rescue White from prison but will he be able to? Then there's also the matter of informing him. I could really do with informing Uni about this, even if it's all bad news and I feel terrible about it. It's important that they know, it's just that it's such a shame that they're busy defending themselves from a Leanbox attack. It makes me wonder how they are getting on, I hope they're alright it's just a shame that right now I feel that their defending may be in vain and it's just postponing the inevitable. I can at least head back, but what can I do then when I regroup?
I guess being depressed is not going to help, and I guess it's all down to unfortunate circumstances. I just hope that Uni can become available really soon at least. After a lot of thinking and worrying I realise that I'm still in the cave and there is the matter of riding out. I quickly get on the motorbike I ditched earlier and ride out using my HUD to guide me. It's weird as earlier I would be rushing to find my troops so that they can regroup but now, what differences does it make considering the circumstances?
But it is then the moment I start riding off do I then see yet another army of about hundred or so men approach me, they must have intended to attack the Loweeans though right now they're dead unfortunately. Rather than trying to engage them, I think it's best to ride through them, lure them to the entrance so that my troops can ambush them. Indeed this is what I do as I ride trying to find the best route around the army, but they all stand in formation so I just shoot my way through the path. But soon then there's trouble as when I drive past they somehow manage to shoot me and the tyres of my motorcycle, this causes the motorcycle to stop abruptly and somehow forces me to fall over. Although I'm quite badly hurt I keep going as I just stand up and run away from them as fast as I can while they try to shoot me down, but while about a dozen bullets hit me it's not enough to take me down. Another dozen bullets hit me with the same effect, but by that point thanks to the perk a colas I'm too far away from them now for them to be able to effectively hit me. Unfortunately my wounds are taking its toll and while I'm willing to run to the entrance if I have to, I'd prefer to ride.
Oddly enough I then see a group of bikers approach me, with my pistol in hand I shoot at them all quickly before they have a chance to react. As I do so I find myself filled with a mixture of emotions: I feel much sadness for the loss of Bow and his group, as well as for how I have failed to save them, and failed to save White. I also feel angry with the way things are, right now with Team Rocket for how they will stop at nothing to destroy Lowee, it's people and it's Pokémon. But despite the emotions inside me I keep going, even if I couldn't save them I could at least make efforts to ensure that their sacrifice is not in vain.
It's not long before I commandeer one of their motorbikes only to then quickly ride through the caves, using my magnetic vision and HUD to guide me to the outside of the cave. It's not long before I encounter the usual enemy patrols, which I've grown to expect in this territory. The grunts prove to be no match for me, and even the motorbike riders they send after me prove to be the same story.
But as I drive through the different paths in the cave, dealing with whatever patrols I happen to encounter I then hear the all too familiar sound of the dreaded Zubats, and there appears to be more than before. And it just so happens that it's down to them that Bow and his people died, as they served as the distraction for the enemy army to wipe most of us out. Although perhaps I experience the most of my anger and sadness from them, I try to keep a rational head as I attempt to outrun them as I find them pursuing me from behind me. I just hope I can lure them long enough to the entrance, where my allies can wipe them out. But due to the immense number of these bats, I'm not sure that they'll be able to wipe them all out, and perhaps they'll share the same fate as me. No I must keep positive.
I try to go as fast as I can, but it is unfortunate that even when I manage to occasionally shoot a few of these wretched bats, they're still able to keep up and they're getting closer and closer. It'll only be a matter of time before they land on me and eat me; I just hope I can get to the entrance before I die. But eventually I find that I may not be able to make it as they inevitably land on various parts of my body and start biting me, draining my health way, increasing the amount of pain I feel and making it more difficult for me to ride my bike. I'm trying so hard not to slow down but this is easier said than done as the pain becomes almost unbearable.
I also find it difficult to focus on my HUD so that I am able to navigate properly due to all these bites, but I then find that the entrance isn't too far away, but can I make it due to how low my health is starting to get? The relentless biting from these foul creatures are so intolerable ahhhhhh! If I can just at least make it to the entrance even if I end up dying, then if Lastation is able to win their defensive battle against Leanbox, hopefully they can revive me as I have an extra life if you will, that can potentially be infinite as long as I always have a drink of perk a cola in hand. Hmmm at least I have some right now.
Owww! Ahhhh! The pain becomes almost too much for me to bear, I just need to keep going a little bit more now. I'm near the entrance, I'm near the end. It astonishes me how they are no enemy troops since the Zubats have come to play, I certainly would have been finished if they were. But it doesn't seem to make much difference now.
Amazingly I finally reach the exit and I finally see the light, the outdoors as well as my allied troops engaging the Zubats. I definitely feel a lot less of them on my body, but alas I feel the damage is done as I think it's safe to say that I am about to die, as the pain is now unbearable and agonising. I just wish it can end, but it shouldn't be too much longer now. I just hope I can be revived by my allies in Lastation but if I was to die and not be revived, I can at least die trying to unite Lowee just as our allies have already done so before me. I suppose it's appropriate for me to die as I have failed the mission, and I remember how a gamer's character often dies trying to complete a mission. I just hope I can get to try again but I'm not sure if it'll be the case, and I sort of wonder considering the circumstances if it's worth trying again. I'll have to see I guess.
I guess I get to find out the old question of what happens when I'm dead, I suppose I could have asked Noire and Uni that when I was forced to kill them for Neptune. But I didn't think it would be appropriate and I thought it best not to ask; besides I will at least get to find out now.
May I Rest…..In…..