Chapter 57: Rocket Science
#57 of Pokemon Rangers 2: Eddies: A pokemon story.
Many things about the entire situation remain confusing, even to this day.
As an example, after the initial fallout following their arrival had subsided, where did the creatures go? Given only speculation remains as to their eventual fate, was the government involved, or had they simply vanished as mysteriously as they arrived?
Or are they living amongst us still, hidden from the prying eyes of the general populace by those sworn to protect them?
Perhaps we'll never know, just as it's as unlikely we'll ever be told the real truth as to their mysterious presence in our world. The government has covered it up, the people involved remain mute, and the creatures themselves; these pokémon; are the biggest enigma of the lot.
At least their presence here has answered one important question that's plagued humanity since the dawn of its creation.
We are not alone.
Perhaps we never have been.
Eddies
Chapter 57: Rocket science.
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Eddies 57
Leaning over the hand railing of the outdoor veranda area, Chris stared morosely down at the deserted street below. While only seven in the evening, the semi-commercial district which housed the main police complex wasn't exactly a happening place after hours, especially on a week day, with most of its usual occupants more than happy to get away from the area outside normal business hours.
Still, the occasional car drove down the street, stopping tentatively at the set of lights on the corner before proceeding to destinations unknown. In that, Chris almost felt jealous of the luxury they had. He'd have given a lot not to be feeling as shit as he currently felt.
Turning slightly, he caught Skyy sitting beside Raikou and Suicune out of the corner of his eye, where they rested on the tiles opposite, sharing the warmth of an old gas patio burner that hissed slightly as it pumped heat into the chill air around it. Entei, being Entei, had sprawled untidily against the far wall, snoring loudly as he dreamt whatever dreams legendary pokémon dreamt. Probably something he didn't want to know, Chris thought wryly, knowing Entei's sense of humour. When his huge legs began twitching, dream running as he chased whatever he'd encountered in sleep, Chris almost snorted in amusement, but he didn't. Not much was that funny, lately.
Chris shook slightly, whether from the cold or the stress from the situation he couldn't fathom, but the slight shudders racking his back did little to improve his outlook.
Skyy had tried, earlier, but he'd shook his head at the lucario's attempts. Finally, when the worried pokémon realised he needed some alone time more than anything else, he'd sighed and left the young human to his thoughts.
Not that they were especially good ones, as a flash of guilt shot through Chris at his rather abrupt treatment of his best friend. But he didn't have the energy to apologise, instead wasting the effort shaking in the cold and staring at the near empty world revolving past below.
Knowing they had an early start, he should have gone to bed. But he couldn't. His mind was too churned up to relax, and with a suddenness that took his breath away, the claustrophobia hit hard, and he felt the overwhelming need to get some air. Away from the others, and away from the building.
Resolute, he spun and marched past the others, who looked up at him in surprise. When Skyy made to rise, Chris shook his head and said softly "I'll be back in a bit" as the confused lucario settled back down against Raikou's side, watching him leave the veranda worriedly.
Getting out of the building was easier than he expected. Likely the guards on duty had been told to let their odd visitors come and go as they pleased, as Chris received only a nod of acknowledgement from the woman posted on duty as he pushed through the heavy glass doors and entered the street.
He found himself walking; just walking, nowhere in particular. He didn't bother to check the direction and really hadn't been paying much attention where he was heading. But after a time, he found himself approaching the waterfront; the serene, picturesque view of Sydney harbour spread before of him in the new moonlight.
Wrapping his arms around himself as an inadequate protection from the cold, Chris shivered as he dropped with a sigh on a boardwalk seat adjacent to the water's edge. Ahead, the moored boats bobbed and rocked in the stiff breeze crossing the water, sending small whitecaps racing across its surface to rush rhythmically against the gravelly shore. The small park he found himself in wasn't especially isolated; just a small patch of green lost in the cityscape, but it afforded him the much needed space where he could gather his thoughts and consider his future.
At least, that was the idea, if he hadn't been interrupted.
It was the sound of painful cries in the distance that caught his attention. That, and the harsh laughs following heavy thuds that came from a distant area of the park.
Throwing caution to the wind, he rose and slipped quietly through the dense trees, following the sounds of pain which increased as he drew closer.
Then the stopped, and Chris froze, parting the last of the branches to stare in shock at the three laughing youths, one holding a metal pipe and another a short length of tree limb, as a third bent over a small, prone form lying motionless in the darkness beneath them.
"Is it dead, you reckon?" he said, looking up at the pipe wielding thug with wide eyes, only to receive an indolent shrug in return.
"Dunno. Don't care, neither. It ain't going anywhere, so hit it a few more times and make sure."
Later, when he had time to think about it, Chris wasn't sure what caused him to react as he did. Given the circumstances, and hindsight being twenty twenty, it could have been construed as stupid; even idiotic.
At the time, it really didn't matter at all.
"Perhaps you'd be better not doing that, arsehole?" he called out, ignoring subtlety in favour of boldness. Stepping from his concealing spot, the three douche bags froze, turning slowly to regard the new threat stepping from nowhere.
After a moment exchanging stares, the leader of the trip brought his arm up to rest the length of pipe over his shoulder, and gave Chris a wide smile lacking any warmth.
"And why would we do that, mate? Who's going to stop us? You?" he sneered, taking a step forward. Chris held his ground, lips grimly set as he let the man approach to within a few meters.
"If you try anything, I will kick your balls so far up your arse you'll have them hanging out your mouth the rest of your very shortened life, shit head. Then, I'll do the same for your cock sucking friends there."
The man scowled, bringing the pipe forward to hiss menacingly "Is that right?"
One of the others turned to the leader and said snidely "He's dissin' you, Spike. I think we need to teach this prick some manners, when he talks to us! What do you think?"
Spike turned sharp eyes back to Chris, cocking his head as he gazed darkly at the young man before him. "I think you're right. I'm thinking he's probably full of shit, and he's needing a good ass pounding."
Leaning forward, Chris laughed into the man's face, and said "Yeah, it's been tried before, by losers even as retarded as you lot. I'm really scared. See, I even think a wee bit of shit just popped out my arse, at just how frightening you wankers are!"
Spike swore, beckoning the other two to join him as he eyed Chris up and down with an ugly look. Chris knew he hadn't much chance taking all three on at once, but wasn't going to show it, readying himself for an attack. Whether it was his dark mood, or the situation itself, something snapped in Chris's mind as he said in a chill voice "You know, over the past few months, I've killed one guy, seen a mess of others slaughtered before me, guts splattered before their eyes. I've seen pain and suffering and more shit than you can possibly even comprehend in that fucked up, retarded, troglodyte mind of yours, and now you think I'm going to bow down to you three imbeciles? Not a fucking rocket scientist are you?"
Spike's eyes turned cold as the words sunk in. Eyeing the youth before him, he stepped forward menacingly and said with a hiss "Retarded, huh? I don't think I like that very much. In fact, I think I'm gonna enjoy making you eat those words."
"Will you now?" a deep voice sounded from the darkness of the trees behind him, and Spike spun, looking for the new threat, even as his friends made to scatter.
Not seeing anything in the gloom, he spat "Come out, arsehole. You can join your friend here in a little old fashioned pummelling!"
A deep, guttural growl sounded from the darkness, as a pair of red eyes opened, glowing fiercely as they narrowed on the speaker.
Letting out a gasp, Chris was forgotten as the trio began a slow retreat, only to freeze as another voice sounded from their chosen escape route.
"Going somewhere, lads?" it said, as Entei stepped onto the path, blocking their way.
One of the three let out a shriek that sounded through the clearing, doubling as Raikou emerged from the darkness, followed by Suicune and Skyy.
Chris stared at his friends sudden approach, as the darkness that had taken over his mood broke, relief washing over him. He wasn't in this situation alone, his mind told him. You have friends. The best of friends, who will be with you, and protect your back.
Just as they were doing now, he concluded, letting a wry grin envelope his face when Skyy stepped forward to his side. "What took you so long?" he said beneath his breath, as the lucario gave him a low chuckle.
"You OK?" Skyy asked quietly, before letting out a breath as Chris grabbed him around the neck, hugging him hard.
Into the pokémon's ear, he said "Yeah, I am now, Skyy. Thanks."
Smirk quirking his muzzle, Skyy returned the hug briefly, before the two turned back to the three quaking humans, huddled under the watchful eyes of Entei and Raikou.
The calm lasted a moment, until Suicune cried out from behind the group, leaning down over the prone form of the creature who'd been beaten.
"Chris! I think... It's a raichu! I think it's..."
But what he thought wasn't uttered, as the leader let out a yell, swinging his metal bar around in a vicious attack on Raikou. The legendary snarled, ducking his huge head as the bar whistled over it, and lunged forward, catching the human a massive swipe with a paw that sent him flying backwards and upwards in a perfect arc to land thirty feet away in the harbour.
Chris stood, stunned at the human's flight, before one of the men broke and ran, tearing away from the pokémon as fast as his cowardly legs could take him. Spike, forgotten in this haste, broke the surface in the distance, clearly nursing injuries as he began a slow paddle parallel to the shore in an attempt to escape further punishment.
"Let them go. They're not worth wasting time on" Chris said tiredly, as Entei gave him a hopeful look, ready to pursue the pair. The last guy, who had cowered down to squat, crying between Entei's paws, brought his tearful face up hopefully. The look was quashed instantly as Raikou took a step forward, his warm breath inches from his face as he growled "You are most lucky. If I had my way, you would be dead, never to bother anyone again. In this, I will defer to my young friend there. But your luck has now run out. If we ever see you three again, ever, I will shred you into pieces so small, they'll never put you back together again. Am I clear."
Unable to speak, the man simply nodded as Raikou stepped aside, allowing him to bolt along the water's edge towards the city beyond, pausing only to lend his injured friend an arm as they hobbled away.
Sighing, Raikou turned back to Chris and muttered "You have a propensity for finding trouble wherever you go, my young friend" as Chris raced forward, grabbing the big pokémon around the neck.
With a loud rumbling purr muting his words, Chris sighed and said "Thanks, guys. That might have been messy."
Chuckling, Entei came close, allowing Chris to pat his cheek, and said disappointingly "I was hoping to have some fun there. Thought it might be interesting to see how far across the water we could launch the other two, and beat Raikou's shot!"
Suicune, ever the realist, looked up from the badly injured pokémon, eyed the harbour intently and pondered "A good way, Entei. Do you think we could go retrieve them and find out?"
Chris couldn't help chuckling, relief flooding him as he dropped beside Skyy and the unconscious raichu, giving the feebly stirring form a dark look before his brow furrowed. "Is that who I think it is?"
Suicune, having overcome the distraction, nodded slowly, leaning down to rest his muzzle against the orange and black fur, sniffing deeply.
"Yes, it's Sparky. I don't know how it's possible, but it's definitely her."
Raikou scowled. "We need to get her back to safety immediately. Chris, if you hold her, do you think you can stay on my back on our return?"
Chris gave Skyy a glance, and the lucario said "I'll keep him on, Raikou."
Nodding, Raikou said "Let us go back then." Dropping to the ground, he looked at Chris and Skyy and said "Hop on!" before rising to his feet and speeding off.
On such an evening, no one saw the group of friends racing through the deserted streets towards the police headquarters, which was for the best, as they still had a long night ahead of them.
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Scott stood with a sigh, stretching his back as he cracked his spine straight. "She's pretty messed up, but I don't think anything's broken. She's a tough one, that's for sure."
Their sudden reappearance bearing an injured pokémon had caused a real stir with the police on duty, but they'd ignored the questions to rush the raichu up to their accommodation, placing her gently on a couch to allow Scott to look her over.
Looking to Storm, who had been watching over his shoulder as he examined the raichu anxiously, he said quietly "In my pack is a healing potion. It won't get her 100%, but it'll take the edge off the injuries."
Nodding, the typhlosion left towards their room, as Chris approached with the other pokémon.
"It's definitely her then?" he queried, receiving a nod in reply. Confused, Chris gave Skyy and Raikou a loaded look, turning back to the Ranger and asked "But I thought they'd killed her?"
Scott shrugged tiredly, and replied "Perhaps they just wanted Jasper to think that. The biggest question here is, what the hell is she doing on this side of the portal?"
Storm returned, a small flask clutched in his paw, which he handed to Scott solemnly. Bending down, he brought Sparky's head up carefully, assisting her as she took a tentative sip, then another, before finishing the contents slowly.
After a few moments, she stirred, and Scott rested her back against the pillow they'd used to prop up her head on the couch. Opening one bloodshot eye, then another, she finally focussed on the worried faces peering down at her, before coughing and making to rise, only to groan and fall back in pain onto the makeshift bed.
Patting her shoulder, Scott soothed "It's OK. You're safe now..." but paused as she began a frantic head shaking, trying again to rise and managing to half make it, resting against the couch back as she began a stuttering, cough filled reply in pokéspeak.
Scott turned to Storm for translation, but didn't miss the wide eyed start from Jimmy and the other pokémon, who took in her words intently. When Storm finally sat back in a neighbouring chair, as the Raichu lay back exhausted, he gave his fellow Ranger a loaded look, and translated.
"When they separated her from Jasper, they took her to holding cells, before she was transferred through the portal to the research facilities here. Apparently they were worried at keeping her back home, in case she got away from them. They kept her pretty tranked up on medication, which apparently stopped her using her abilities, but she managed to still get the gist of what they were saying to each other, overhearing way more than they might have liked."
Scowling, he looked across at the raichu, who had managed to keep her eyes on him alertly.
"She says they have Jasper here, too. They're keeping him somewhere locked up in the facility. But it gets worse."
Shutting his eyes at yet more bad news, Scott asked "What now?"
Sighing, Storm replied tiredly "They know we're coming. When she heard this, she managed to escape and track us down based on what she overheard, even injured as she was. But they know everything, Scott."
Before the human Ranger replied, Raikou rumbled darkly, a sound echoed from his brothers "Well, we had best ensure we do not disappoint them, had we?"
Looking down at the injured pokémon, who lay quietly while returning their look with wide eyes, Scott shook his head, unable to respond further.
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Authors note:
Fucks sake!
As if things aren't pissing me off here enough, I went and dropped an outboard motor on this retarded eBay shitbox stand, that was ludicrously top heavy. Unfortunately, in trying to save it, my finger got caught under, taking my hand with it.
*Peeled the end of my pointy finger off like a banana, exposing the bone and fracturing the tip. Had to have holes drilled in the nail as an anchor point to suture the entire end back on with. *
So a week at least off work, losing a shitload of money I really need right now, and I have a boss who is now pissy at me because I inconvenienced him, as I should be working given it's "nothing that should stop me."
Clueless fuckwit.
Still...
The unfortunate consequence is I won't be typing extensively for a few weeks.
With that in mind, I'm posting this chapter as is, since the next one might be a few weeks away at least. It's shorter than most, but for a reason. Chapter 68 is... going to be a long one, I think. One I can't type till this heals properly.
So, more delays, but shit happens, I guess.
So, why reintroduce Sparky? Initially, I wrote it without her. Then had an idea, that might lead interesting places, so I included her recovery.
It's not as if Sinnotech wouldn't be aware they were coming, after all.
That brings the question on what'll happen to Jasper? Ooooh!! Ideas!
Anyway, enjoy...