Chapter 80 – Darkness descends! Alola in Crisis!
Aether Paradise, Alola Region….
"Alright, raise the alarm," Lusamine barked as she started pressing keys on the console.
The image on the projected screen changed, the image of the Team Rocket vessel minimising and squares with images of different personnel's faces appearing in place. Held in a headlock by Zoroark, Ash could barely see.
"Mr. Colress, Ms. Wicke. I am instructing you to place Aether Paradise into a full lockdown and call the police. There's a Team Rocket Mecha on the way."
Ash's heart pounded in his chest as he tried to make sense of the situation. What was going and what would happen, Pikachu, Cameron, and the rest of their Pokémon. At least in the face of an impending disaster, Lusamine was remaining, calm, collected and in command.
"Yes Ma'am."
"Right away madame president."
A male and a female voice responded. Ash recognised the male as Colress and could just make out the bespectacled appeared and odd hairstyle of Colress in a corner of the screen.
"And start evacuating the Pokémon," Lusamine barked.
"Madame President, if I may," Wicke replied. Or at least Ash thought it was Wicke. The voice sounded like a woman. "Looking at this on the radar, that Team Rocket craft should be here less than half an hour. We don't have time to do a full evacuation."
"Then get the Pokémon who are most vulnerable out of the facility," said Lusamine. "The infants, the sick and the dying. Clear out the medical units."
"I'll circulate instructions to employees, but I don't think there are enough boats in the dock."
"Just do what you can!"
One of the Ultra Recon Squad members, the male by the sounds of it, cleared his throat so as to attract Lusamine's attention. "Htc hmmm, Madame President, our agreement was that we would assist in preventing Necrozma from stealing the light of Alola. We will not intervene in disputes between yourself and others of your world."
"If Geyser the Dewott is no longer here, then there is nothing more that we can do," one of his female companions added.
Lusamine sighed, a flash of annoyance and exasperation crossing her face. When she addressed him however, she addressed she remained calm and collected. "I understand your position, though you should realise I cannot assist you further as the foundation and the Pokémon living here will always remain my priority. I would suggest you flee before Team Rocket arrive!"
"But the Cosmog-Dewott," the woman replied. "Without it, we are trapped in this dimension."
"My son Gladion," said Lusamine. "He has a Pokémon with him. A Weavile named Cleave, with a connection to the Lunala. Find that Weavile and you will find Lunala."
"Thank-you for all you have done for us," said the male. The Ultra Recon Squad Trio bowed, before turning on the spot and marching back down the island towards the warp tile at the other end.
"Lusamine," Ash tried to cry out as the Aether President turned back to her console. "LUSAMINE." Zoroark's arm against his throat made it painful to talk. It cost him a great deal to shout the name loud enough for her to hear, although it still came out horse.
At once Zoroark's grip on his slacked and Ash was able to take a deep breath. He hadn't realised how much the arm around his throat had been constricting his breathing, and he wondered if in that moment something about his suffering had managed to touch the Fox's heart and fight the EM Waves. If only in a minor way.
As if in reaction to Ash trying to attract her attention Lusamine barked to someone on the screen, "Oh and if security can spare someone to escort our two visitors somewhere safe!"
"Lusamine WAIT," Ash cried out again. "I-I can help! I can help you fight Team Rocket."
Lusamine turned to look at him, a curious expression on her face. "Oh-ho?"
"My Pokémon, Cameron and I have experience fighting Team Rocket," he blurted out hurriedly. "And from the looks of things, you're going to need all the help you can get."
Lusamine raised an eyebrow. "You would offer to help us? How do I know this is not a trick."
"ASH!" Cameron cried out incredulously from his position in Flygon's claws. "What are you doing?"
Ash gritted his teeth. "Because I care about the Pokémon here too. None of them deserve to be caught up in this. And right now, you and the Ultra Recon Squad are the best chance I have of seeing Ashachu, Charizard and the others again." He choked up on the last sentence, which had nothing to do with Zoroark's arm around his neck.
"Hmmm." Lusamine considered him for a moment, staring at him with a steely expression that made Ash feel as though she were looking through him. The moment was tense – Ash could hear every beat of Flygon's wings. Then suddenly, she raised her right hand and snapped her fingers.
A loud crack echoed through the room…Then Ash felt Zoroark remove his paw…
[Pokémon]
Meanwhile…
Gozu lowered the spyglass. The small handheld telescope, silver in colour seemed almost arcane, but was actually as sophisticated as the latest military grade binoculars. A magnification of ten time, and night vision enabled. For Gozu it was idea, as the large muscular man was blind in one eye and wore a black eyepatch.
There was an electronic whirr from behind and somebody called out, "executive on deck!" Gozu turned to see the petite form of Matori marching up the flight deck towards him.
"Mr. Gozu." Matori was a young woman, relatively short and thin with purple hair cut short, back and sides. She always wore a small pair of spectacles on the end of her nose and a scowl. "What have we got!"
As she marched through the flight deck, the four present Team Rocket agents of Jessie, James, Butch and Cassidy, and their Pokémon Meowth, Wobbuffet, Noibat and Mightyena stood at attention along one wall. Each giving a salute with their hand or paw, which seemed to go unnoticed by Matori.
"We have the facility in our sights, but no sign of the creature yet," said Gozu. "They will have seen us by now, but no matter. They can't possibly do anything about us as this point. Local police won't have the resources to deal with us and the nearest miliary facilities are in "
Matori gave a curt nod. "Very good. Prepare to attack."
Gozu nodded, before barking, "put us into position. Transmit the warning message!"
At the very front of the flight deck, manning the control were two Crazily, plant like Pokémon of a bright green coloration, with long neck and pink fleshy tentacles growing out of their head.
"Craaay…"
One of them glanced over their shoulder to peer at Gozu, a pair of yellow eyes inside a crescent opening in its head. It nodded once.
"Right, you lot." Matori turned to the four Rocket members and their Pokémon standing behind, who jumped to attention at the sound of her voice, as though her words were a whip.
"Sir," they chorused in unison.
"I do not want any screwups. It has taken months of planning and work to acquire this vessel and months more to prepare this operation. Our goal is to capture the blinding one, alive, and as many other Pokémon as can be retrieved from Aether Paradise. This shouldn't be too difficult, even for you lot. Team Rocket intelligence has revealed that the foundation President, Lusamine has allied herself with local villains Team Skull. But they're nothing more than delinquents. Is that understood."
"Sir." The gathered rockets nodded…
"I'll go over the plan so everybody understands," barked Gozu. "But listen carefully, because I'm only saying this once."
[Pokémon]
Aether Paradise…
"…Pikachu…." Ash coughed and spluttered as he fell hard on the ground. His eyes watering, he looked up at the case holding Pikachu. Behind the glass and through the moisture in his eyes his partner seemed like a watercolour picture mounted on a frame.
The EM waves dissipated, giving Zacian, Zoroark and Flygon back control of their bodies. As the redness disappeared from their eyes, they looked around confused at their surroundings, each wondering how they had come to be here.
Flygon so much so that he dropped Cameron, the boy's arms slipping through his claws and causing him to drop in a heap on the hard floor.
"WHOAAA! Ouch!"
"Ash," Zoroark growled as he noticed his trainer laying on the ground for the first time. A sense of shame and guilt spread through him. Had he caused that? That feeling went away however, when Ash pushed himself back up and pulled him into a bone crushing hug, Dragonite style.
"Ahhhaha Zoroark…You're back." He pressed his face against his shoulder and breached in the fox's scent.
Flygon and Zacian joined the little circle of affection, Zacian pressing herself against Ash's side, and Flygon putting his arms around both of them at the same time.
Zoroark hugged Ash back, a bemused grin spreading across his muzzle. "You know," he whispered, pressing the end of his nose against Ash's ear. "If you really want to show affection, you should take your shirt off." The remark earned him a cuff over the muzzle.
"Stop being a perve. You're lucky Axew isn't here." Which reminded him. He spun back round to look at Lusamine. "Alright, release Pikachu. Release Pikachu and give me back my other Pokémon. Do it now!"
Lusamine folded her arms and glowered at him.
Before she could say anything however, Ash added, "If we're gonna fight Team Rocket then I need my Pokémon. Cameron's too. And I need Pikachu by my side. I-I can't do it without him."
"Yeah," groaned Cameron as he got gingerly to his feet. "If you want our help. I need Lucario."
Lusamine ignored the other boy, her gazed fixed on Ash. "Your Pikachu is pregnant. Hardly in a good condition to fight."
Ash shook his head. "I still need him. Please, let him go… What's the point now anyway, Geyser's trapped in Ultra Space."
"Surely he'd be safer in here," Lusamine suggested.
Ash replied a little more forcefully. "Please…Let him go."
Lusamine let out a long sigh. "Very well…"
[Pokémon]
Team Rocket's Flying Mecha – High above Aether Paradise…
"I do not want any screwups…Is that understood….Blah blah blah!"
No sooner had Matroi left the flight deck, the door whirring shut electronically behind her, than did Jessie pull out a small hand worn puppet, fashioned to the Rocket executive's exact likeness, and put on a mocking, though not inaccurate, imitation of her voice…
James and Meowth sniggered, while Cassidy scowled her eyes flashing. Her partner, Butch almost cracked a smile, the corners of his mouth twitching and a laugh nearly escaping his lips, but both died under a single glance from Cassidy.
Gozu didn't laugh, though didn't say anything either, his single eye still peering out of the windshield as Aether Paradise slowly became larger and larger as the craft descended. A steady stream of motorboats was speeding out of the of docks beneath the facility, speeding in the direction of Akala Island.
"Raticate deserting the sinking ship," he growled, raising the spyglass to his eye for a closer look.
"They may be trying to evacuate some of their more valuable Pokémon," Cassidy suggested. "We should stop them."
"Agreed," Gozu barked. "Activate the force field."
Around the Halberd, a wall made of an aura like energy, lightly pink in colour, appeared in a great circle. Waves threw up on either side as it sliced through the water, and ripples spread across the ocean causing the boats fleeing Aether Paradise to sway as though caught in a swell.
The edges of Gozu's mouth twitched into another smile, and he muttered triumphantly, "you ain't goin' nowhere!"
[Pokémon]
On the Ocean below…
The boats that had departed the Aether Paradise were three large schooners capable of carrying multiple personnel and equipment, a larger ferry vessel that ran scheduled services between the facility and the islands of Akala and Ula'ula, and a couple of single engine motorboats and tinnies.
While the majority were fleeing to the east, towards Heahea City, save for one small motorboat speeding west, in the direction of Poni Island. Piloted by the three members of the Ultra Recon Squad and their captive Sneasel.
"SHIT!" One of the women, who had the helm, swore as the pink shield wall cut across the ocean in front of them. "Forcefield…"
She relinquished the throttle, cutting the engines allowing the boat to slow. Its passengers held its breath as it careered towards the forcefield, each hoping it would not strike with force and capsize.
"Hmm… That must have taken a great deal of power to create that," said her male compatriot, sitting in the passenger seat beside them. "This Team Rocket is apparently more sophisticated than we gave them credit for."
He glanced over his shoulder to look up at the Halberd high overhead. A hulking monster in the sky, so large it nearly blocked out the sun, casting a long shadow over the water. It was almost unsettling how the giant metal beast like was able to hover above them, defying gravity, as it begun to drift over Aether Paradise…
[Pokémon]
Team Rocket's Flying Mecha….
The doors to the flight deck whirred open once again, and four more people entered; two more Team Rocket grunts dressed in black outfits, escorting two teenage boys. Prisoners, with their hands bound behind their back in handcuffs.
"Ah, the Twerps," Gozu barked, turning back from the windshield once again. Around him two teams of Jessie and James, Butch and Cassidy giggled. "Welcome aboard the Halberd."
"Where are our Pokémon!" one of the boys said bluntly, his voice calm yet angry, despite the situation. The voice of somebody who wasn't going to be pushed around.
Gozu laughed. "No point putting on the tough guy act. It isn't going to win you any brownie points." He turned to his teammates and added, "I'm not sure how these twerps keep giving you useless lot so much trouble. They weren't even that difficult to defeat."
The first of the two boys were Ash's friend, Jimmy, tall and dark haired and wearing a scowl. The other was a few inches shorter, blond, pale, and thin, wearing his hair forward in a messy plat. This was Gladion, son of Aether President Lusamine.
"Where are our POKÉMON!" Jimmy said again, a little more forcefully. Unfortunately for him, this didn't achieve anything except to elicit an even louder, booming laugh from Gozu.
"Hahaha… Alright I'll show you!" He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
At once, one of the Rocket grunts produced a brief case, held it up to Gozu and opened it. Twelve Pokéballs sat inside in neat rows, causing Jimmy and Gladion to gasp in near unison. Gozu selected on and plucked it out. "There you go. They're all here safe and sound. For now!"
The grunt closed the briefcase as Gozu tossed the Pokéball casually in the air as though it were a baseball. At that moment there was a chime from the console, and one of the Cradily raised its head and cried out, "Cray."
Cassidy moved closer to the console and looked over the Cradily's head at the radar. "Looks like we've got company!"
[Pokémon]
Ocean…
The tiny motorboat swayed horribly as it rose up and down with the swells. The sea seemed to be becoming more and more choppy as the Halberd descended lower and lower towards the Aether Foundation. But that did not deter the male leader of the Ultra Recon Squad.
He stood at attention, perfectly balanced with one hand resting on the windshield, and the other gripping a Pokéball, before casually tossing up in the air over his head. "Naganadel. Dragon Rush!" It was a simple cool command.
Above the Ultra Recon Squad's head, a purple wasp like Pokémon materialised. It went right to work, obeying its trainer's commands, rocketing forward at the energy barrier. A blue energy veil surrounded its body.
It struck the forcefield with a mighty KABANG, the energy discharging in an explosion of light, as Naganadel's entire body bounced off. The force of impact sent the wasp creature spiralling downwards until it splashed into the ocean.
"Confound it." The man pointed the Pokéballs at the ripples in the sea where Naganadel had just disappeared, and the red beam shot out to summon the Pokémon back.
The Ultra Recon Squad, require a formal introduction. The captain, the man standing in the front of the boat, was Pycho. He was an older man whose distinguishing features where the short goatee and moustache adorning his mouth and chin.
Beside in the pilot seat was Soliera, a woman the end of whose long blue hair cascaded from out of her helmet. She appeared to be much younger than the captain. Little could be ascertained about either of them, given the helmets and visors they wore covering most of their head and face.
Finally, sitting in the back of the boat, was the last member of the squad…
"Misty…" barked Phyco, twisting to look at her. "You know this world better than the rest of us."
"Have you encountered these people before," added Soliera. "Is this government."
The girl in the back shook her head. "They're called Team Rocket. They're villains out to take over the world, mostly by stealing Pokémon. Whatever they want here, it won't help us."
"What do you recommend that we do?" asked Psycho.
Misty glanced upwards. "If we cannot get through the forcefield, then we need to try and get aboard that machine. There may be a way of disabling it. And it may serve our interests to find out what they want with the Aether Foundation…"
[Pokémon]
Hirosaki may have been a Latios and a legendary Pokémon, but standing (well, hovering in his case) there before Team Rocket's flying demon made even him feel exposed, naked, and vulnerable. The sheer mass of metal of the flying machine, with its ugly visage, points, and spikes, triggered something deep within his instinct and he longed to fly off in the other direction.
He glanced over his shoulder, to Flygon who was fluttering behind him, seemingly trying to keep as much distance between himself and Team Rocket as he could while still following his trainer's instruction. The Mystic Pokémon's entire body trembled, and he fidgeted with his claws.
"HELLO, TEAM ROCKET."
One more present with the two dragons. Ash rode on the back of Hirosaki armed with a microphone transmitter in his right hand capable of relaying messages to the Halberd via Aether Paradise below. His thumped in his chest as he rose up, to stand on the Latios's back with his feet balanced on either wing.
Hirosaki flattened himself obligingly, gritting his teeth as the weight on his back became more and more concentrated. Ash knew he was causing him distress, but there was nothing he could do about. He had to show the villains he was standing up to them, and literally standing up was more impressive than merely riding the levitating Pokémon.
Still, he dared not look down…One wrong move here and it was a long way to fall, assuming neither of the dragons were able to catch him in time.
"Pikapi," a soft voice cooed behind him, barely audible above the roar of the wind and the Mecha's engines. Ash felt a set to tiny claws on his shoulder, as a furry head poked out from underneath the back of his jacket. "Do you have a plan…."
"Thinking of one," Ash said back to Pikachu. He lowered the microphone to ensure Team Rocket wouldn't hear him. "Man, I hope this works…" He cast his mind back to what Zacian had told him….About what was to come!