Part 8~ Life Goes On

Chapter 8.

       Hello?  latias, are you here?

       Silly girl, you know Latias is not here.  She is with Hombre Nonombre.

       Noname man?  he must be a strong soul.

       Of course he is.  What do you wish to say to me?

       latios, as you known, the trainers of the otherworld are stranded in paluz.  they are very worried about the fate of their home. 

       They should be.

       Would you let your barrier down for just a while?  That way the trainers and their army of the willing can go to rid the earth of this evil.

       You are naïve, young one, and have no concept of the real workings of this world.  I will do as you wish, and on the next full moon, the barrier will be gone.  Leave now, spirit.  I must prepare for the challenge ahead.

       <He said yes!  On the next full moon, the barrier will be down.>
       <That's a relief.  When's the full moon?> asked Will.
       <It's in three nights,> Sabrina replied.
       <Don't you think, though, that we ought to Teleport during the day, so it will be night there?> asked Tate.
       <Yes.  We'll Teleport during Hoenn's full moon.>  answered Liza.
       <We must prepare for action, then,> Sabrina reminded.  <Let us waste no time.  Make sure everyone is rested.>
       <We should have some sort of plan, you know, where to hit and when, stuff like that.  We're talking a lot of cities to take over.  There are probably twice as many Rockets as our three hundred and thirty-two trainers out there, and they have the home field advantage,> Will insisted. 
       <This is the plan.>  Sabrina took command.  <We meet again in Savannah Square and make a plan.  Be there as fast as possible.>
       <Got it.> replied Will, and he was echoed by the twins.


       The Meowth-shaped hot air balloon was falling fast.  Already in bad condition with numerous patches, the craft had four small punctures.  The three occupants of the basket gasped as bullets whizzed by their heads.  "What do we do now, Jess?" the blue-haired man asked his comrade. 
       "How should I know, James?" she snapped nervously.  They were only about a hundred feet from the frothing waves below.  She knew that even if there hadn't been a helicopter full of Rockets firing at them, their chances of survival were slim to none.
       "Well ya'd bettah tink a somtin fast!" yelled the Meowth from below.  As most of his kind did, he hated water.  The waves didn't help much either.  By now they were fifty feet up, still falling like a rock.  BANGBANGBANG!  BANG BANG! 
       "Jessie, what do we do?!" James demanded.  She was the smart one.  It wasn't his fault that he was a little clumsy, or a little slow on the uptake.  Jessie was there to fix everything.
       "Oh no," Jessie moaned.  "This can't be happening.  This can't be happening."  She forced herself to focus.  It was happening, and she wasn't helping.  'Think, Jessie, think.'  There had to be a way out.  There was always a way out.  Meanwhile James and Meowth were throwing heavy things out of the balloon, hoping to keep it afloat for a little longer.  After James almost threw out Meowth, he received a few harsh scratch marks on his face.  Twenty feet to go.  Ten.  Nine, eight, seven.  Six, five, four.
       "WOB-buf-FET!" called the blue blob-like Pokemon as it appeared.
       "Stupid, get back in your Pokeball!  We're in the middle of a crisis here!"  yelled Jessie angrily.  Wobbuffet, however, didn't pay any mind.  By this time the team was in the water, with the balloon falling on top of them.  (Well, Jessie, James, and Wobbuffet were in the water, but Meowth was clinging to James's head.) 
       "WOBBUFFET!"  announced the Pokemon, and with little more than a flash, they were gone from under the balloon, as if they had never been there.

       "This is Black Fearow to HQ.  Repeat, Black Fearow to HQ.  We got 'em.  Yep.  They're gone."



       Evelyn gasped.  Oh, no!  Why didn't I see it before?  I must tell Sabrina!
       <Sabrina!>  The otherworldly intonation of the voice snapped her to attention.  <Horrible news!  Your homeland has been taken over by the Rocket plague!>
       <You didn't know before?>  Sabrina was impatient with her, but more impatient with herself.  Why hadn't *she* seen it?
       <No!  I'm terribly sorry, I should have seen it before.  I've let you down!>  The spirit was the epitomy of apology.
       <You have already taken care of the problem.  You have spoken to the legendary Pokemon and persuaded him to remove the barrier.  But thank you for letting me know.  We must prepare for the worst.>

       In two day's time, all people were back in Savannah Square.  They were acting like Trainers: showing off their Pokemon, competing them against one another, bragging if they had more than one.  The psychics called over Lt. Surge, realizing that he knew of military tactics and such.  After hearing the situation, he scratched out a fairly accurate map of the Kanto-Johto region above a drawing of Hoenn.  Giving the cities big dots was his first task; his next was adding passable roads.  Sabrina passed on information as she found it out, such as: "The roads are all guarded by Rockets," and, "They've blockaded the water between the northern and southern continent.  Ships are used only for Rocket transport."
       Lt. Surge was getting frustrated.  Sabrina made it seem like everything was blocked.  The only alternative he saw would be to Teleport to one of the caves and take over the closest cities first.  It would be important, he knew, to be able to get their bearings before fighting; also the citizens would have to be as safe as possible.  If some Teleported to the Victory Road cave in Kanto, and some to Mt. Moon, and some to Mt. Mortar and Union cave in Johto, and then some to Meteor Falls, Granite Cave and Hoenn's Victory Road, then they could take over fast.  Better choose four caves, for the four Pokemon that know Teleport.
       As if reading his mind, Sabrina reminded him that since the last time they had Teleported, they had caught more Pokemon, and that knowing the move Teleport was no longer an issue.  "Fine then," he replied.  "We teleport to caves here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.  Six caves.  They're all near important places, and if I did my math correct there should be about forty people in each division.  Forty people should be able to take over a town if the Rockets are taken by surprise, and maybe the residents will give us a hand, even.  The faster the better in this situation."  He marked the caves on the map with X's.  "After that we'll have to work our way around.  It's probably not as bad in Hoenn, I hope it isn't anyway, but those groups should be bigger since there are only two divisions going there."  He thought again.  "And after we get over there, Teleport is free to use again?  Good.  That gives much more mobility.  After one town, if it seems a reasonable risk, Teleport to the next town.  Or Teleport back to the cave to rest."  And so it was settled.  The people were divided, and each had a guide and a mission.  In anticipation of the coming battle, the native Paluzis decided to party.  So they had a big feast, with tons of food. 
       Everyone was there, all the important people at least.  Leader Micah and Miguel were speaking to one another where a few Trainers could hear.  "… Be careful what you say at this party, Miguel.  The outsiders understand the language now."
       "Come, Micah," replied Miguel cheerily, "If they understand the language they are no longer outsiders.  You have heard it yourself a million times.  'No outsider understands the language.'  Be glad!  We have new allies.  'The enemy of my enemy is my friend,' as they say."  He spoke up so all who couldn't already hear him could.          "And on this day I make thirty new friends!"  The mob cheered, for the Trainers and for the leader who threw away the title of Outsider. 
       After the party, things quieted down some.  The soldiers of the Cause went to bed late, got up late, and finally were ready.
       The Paluzi people were ready to help the enemy of their enemy.
       They were ready to give their lives for their cause.
       They were ready to be remembered as warriors of justice.
       The trainers were ready to save their home.
       They were ready to rescue their family and friends.
       They were ready to defeat Team Rocket once and for all.
       But most of all, they were ready to win.

A/N:  Review please!  Sorry I was so late on this one!  And again, a big thanks to Topaz!  Hip hip hooray x3!  9/15/03