The First Warriors: Chapter Seven (2024)

Re: The First Warriors: Chapter Five

Thank you @AetherX and @Legacy for your feedback. The issues raised, namely Blue's seeming bizarre character change, will be answered not necessarily in this chapter but in the next few.

Deoxymoron

June 15th

The storm had stopped by the time dusk broke, and while some residents of PewterCity inspected blocked drain pipes, damaged roofs or upturned trees, most eyes that morning turned to the north as they awoke to find their museum in ruins.

The strange thing though that the city's occupants quickly noticed was not the fact that the building had been damaged, but the spread of destruction; while the east and west wings were unharmed asides from broken windows, the very middle of the museum displayed looked as though a bolt of lightning had struck the building, leaving a great blackened tear in the heart of the museum. People gathered around the cordoned off zone, looking at the smouldering ruin of brick and concrete, all of them wondering how such a hideous crevice had appeared in the pride of their city, but it seemed no one had any idea what had happened the night before…

Inside, Leaf's eyes slowly flickered open, unaware of the chaos around her.

She had been stirring for a few minutes, a fading dream of wandering through ViridianForest lingering at the front of her mind, leaving her in a blissful state of ignorance. It was not until she felt the sun shining on her face, and the cold, ceaseless dripping of water onto her chest that Leaf truly awoke, and as she gazed at the sun-hazed ceiling above, the memories of last night began to rush back to her; Team Rocket, the museum, Janine, Madame, wooden slabs, the party, bright shining light…

"OH MY GOD!" Leaf yelled, sitting bolt upright and breathing intensely. Now that she was awake she felt dizzy and weak, her back aching and her wrists burning raw, but Leaf knew there was no time to waste. "Red! Blue! Are you two here?"

"We're right next to you, shut up!" Blue groaned. Leaf turned and sighed with relief; behind her lay the two boys in her life, both beginning to wake at the sound of her voice, and both appeared unharmed. Their Pokemon were scattered around them; Charmander and Bulbasaur, their Rattata and Caterpie, all raising their heads and looking around in dazed confusion.

"Thank god you're alright!" Leaf cried. She tried getting to her feet, but her brain swayed and she flopped back down onto the cold floor, mind spinning at a mile a minute. "What the hell happened here? The last thing I remember I was tied to a wooden slab and was being placed right here above the party, and then I was knocked out, but I feel as though you two were standing next to me at some point?"

"It's a real mystery," Red moaned groggily, sitting up and rubbing his head. "Team Rocket attacked the party, they wanted to get the meteorites, and we worked out they were going to sacrifice you," he explained, and pointed at her arm; Leaf looked down and was stunned to see a barely healed cut down her right arm, the outside caked with blood.

"We came up here to save you, and we managed to break the slab and push it onto Proton," Blue continued, "and we were going to take you and go when there was this weird voice and suddenly all this light filled the museum and we got knocked out." Leaf paused, struggling to take this all in when her head still felt as though it had been cleaved in two. She felt at her wrists where she had been bound, and then looked across at the remnants of the wooden slab, which lay cracked in two a few metres apart.

"Hang on, you said it fell on Proton – where is he then?" She said, suddenly alert, and Red and Blue both sat up straighter, looking around for their crushed enemy. Bulbasaur growled and Charmander raised his claws, but there was no sign of the strongman.

"Maybe he got away?" Blue said with a shrug.

"How though, anyone else would have died if that had fallen on them!" Red snapped. "And if he left, why did he leave us alive?"

"Perhaps he had more concerning things to think about?" Blue snapped back, eyes narrowed. "He probably had orders to carry out!" Leaf could sense another argument brewing and went to speak, but something suddenly fell against her nose; she paused to touch it, her fingers coming away damp. She remembered feeling water on her chest, and slowly Leaf looked upwards, wondering where it was coming from.

Her jaw dropped when she saw the roof – what was left of it anyway. Twenty four hours ago, there had been a beautiful glass ceiling showing off the sky above. Now, the sky was still on display, but there was no longer a ceiling; a jagged, open hole exposed the museum to the world, cracked, charred edges the remaining signs of what had been. Only parts of the ceiling were still held up, with the water dripping down from a sunken section that was barely hanging in there. Leaf was horrified, and she gazed around and saw the was covered in fallen plaster and broken tiles; the chunks were not large enough to have caused harm, but it was still a miracle that they had not been killed.

Terrified, Leaf scrambled towards the balcony, which she now saw had been blown apart, large sections missing from the marble barrier, whilst several pillars bore unhealthy fractures down the middle. She grabbed onto one of the whole sections and peered down to the museum below, and nearly fell backwards in shock.

The ground floor looked like a war zone. The display cases lay in smoking ruins, the tables from the party had been blasted apart, big, black scorch marks covered the floor and walls, and there were deep fissures across all the surfaces. It looked as though a bomb had gone off, but one that was strong enough to knock marble pillars over and crack the staircases. Leaf heard a murmur from behind but she was too stunned to notice, but a few seconds later Red and Blue joined her, and they simultaneously cursed.

"Wow…," Blue muttered, and Leaf could think of no other word to describe the chaos below. Was this all the work of Team Rocket? Could the strange burst of light Blue mentioned cause all these burns?

"I can't see the meteorites anywhere," Red said. "Do you think Team Rocket took them?"

"I'm not sure… didn't that voice say it was going to stop them?" Blue replied.

"What is this voice you keep going on about?" Leaf asked, staring between her travel companions, feeling thoroughly lost and left out by the fact she had been unconscious during all of this. Red opened his mouth to explain, but before he could there was a sudden crashing below, and they all looked at the stairs. Bulbasaur stepped forwards, vines slipping out, and both Rattata beared their sharp fangs.

The three trainers exchanged looks, all wondering if this was Proton returning, perhaps having gone to collect more Grunts to help with his killing. However, Leaf was stunned when she recognised the faces rushing up the stairs.

"There you are!" Janine cried, rushing towards them over rubble with Susie following behind. "One of the pillars collapsed downstairs and they couldn't get up to look for survivors. We thought the worst may have happened, but you're all alright!" She looked like she was about to hug them for a second, but then Janine seemed to remember her tough persona and merely nodded her head and smiled. Leaf looked down and saw she had a bandage on her left arm, as did Susie when she appeared.

"Oh my god, it looks even worse up close!" Leaf's old friend said in shock, staring at the collapsed ceiling that loomed above them. Shouts and murmurs came from below, and Leaf saw men in hard hats and high-vis vests peering around the stairs.

"What exactly is going on?" Red asked. "Where's Team Rocket, where are the meteorites?"

"They aren't telling us anything," Janine replied, though she looked at Leaf as she spoke. "But Madame pestered and threatened some police officers, and this junior cop told us that Mark and Casimer moved the meteorites to a safe place, but when they got back Rocket had scarpered. They left all their dead grunts behind, so the police are working on identifying them, while Mark and Casimer have disappeared to Route 3."

"Route 3? What are they doing there?" Red asked, exchanging looks with Leaf and Blue.

"Well, they have the meteorites; maybe they are going to hide them there?" Blue suggested.

"But Team Rocket must know that there are going to do that, they are probably re-grouping, and even if Casimer is Champion he would be outnumbered." Leaf looked between her cousin and his friend and could see a manic understanding coming between the two, and it quickly dawned on her what they were thinking.

"Oh no, you are not going after Team Rocket!" She yelled, her shrill, angry voice echoing. "Proton may have left without killing u, but it doesn't mean they will be so lenient again – look at what they did to us!" Leaf added, pointing at her gaping wound, which repulsed her to think about but made a brilliant point.

"We can't let them get away!" Red huffed. "We defeated Proton on our own last night –"

"Yes, while he was on his own!" Janine interjected, her eyes flaming as brightly as Leaf's. "You two will be killed if you try and stop them again!"
"That's what you may think, but I have a brand new Pokemon!" Blue said, puffing his chest out slightly, and retrieved his yet un-opened PokeBall, casting a sly look at Red. "I paid a pretty good price for this, so I know it will be enough to bring down Rocket!" Leaf looked across at Red and could see he was watching his friend with jealousy so obvious in his eyes. She wanted to scream at them both for putting a petty argument before their own safety, but instead she merely sighed, her head throbbing painfully.

"You know what, I don't care!" Leaf huffed, glaring at the boys. "My head hurts, I need to see a doctor, and I would like to battle Brock before I nearly get killed again. If you two want to pretend to be the heroes, be my guest, but I don't care either way." Without another word, Leaf turned and walked towards the staircase, leaving the boys staring shell shocked after her. A few seconds later, two other sets of footsteps joined her, and Leaf smiled, pleased to have Janine and Susie on her side.

"We'll take you to the Pokemon Centre, they set up a makeshift first aid area there," Susie explained, and Leaf nodded wearily, struggling to tend to her emotions. When they reached the bottom of the staircase and Red and Blue did not appear behind them, it became clear what choice they had made, and Leaf hoped that the next time she saw them, they were still all in one piece.

***

"They have come, just as we thought," Archer purred, a smile spreading across his bruised face. He heard footsteps and passed the binoculars sideways, which Arianna snapped up and peered down into the crater on Route 3. Without the binoculars, Archer could only see two distant figures mulling around the crater's top, standing beside a large four wheel drive. He had chosen a vantage point that was sheltered on three sides by trees, but its cliff top position gave them an excellent view over Route 3 below and the crater it harboured. It was damp from the storm and scattered with leaves and broken branches, but Archer knew they were safe here, and he hardly noticed the dampness after two hours of eagerly awaiting their target's arrival.

"That's them alright," Arianna said quietly, lowering the binoculars. "They don't look very weak though – they seem to have escaped the museum unharmed."

"And? We still outnumber them!" Archer snapped back, though he did not look at her, instead remaining focused on the duo as if expecting them to flee. There was a movement next to him, and Archer briefly looked over as Arianna leaned down so her lips were barely a centimetre from his ear.

"We barely outnumber them, and Casimer's Pokemon are more superior," she hissed.

"That's why we brought weapons with us," Archer said, in a tone as if explaining simple maths to a toddler.

"We left half of those back the museum!" Arianna said more urgently. "Look at what we have left, do you really think we are going to defeat Casimer with this lot?" Archer rolled his eyes and ignored her, but Arianna grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him roughly around, forcing him to face the remains of their team.

It was not an encouraging sight. Archer, Arianna, Proton and Petrel arrived in PewterCity with over three dozen Grunts at their disposal, and a significant portion of Giovanni's weapons stash. Now, half their weapons had been abandoned at the museum, and barely twenty Grunts remained. Archer gazed grimly across what remained of his soldiers, it slowly dawning on him the mistake he had made.

When he had awoken inside the museum to find it in ruins and Deoxys and the meteorites gone, he had given the order for everyone to clear out and to not waste time by clearing things away. Archer had seen several Grunts lying dead beneath fallen glass and plaster from the ceiling, many with their weapons still on them, and he had decided it would take too long to remove all the bodies before the authorities returned. Two Grunts had rescued Proton, Arianna found the spell book lying beneath a light fitting, and then everyone had fled out back to Petrel, who had been waiting with the cars.

Archer realised now that there was a chance many of the Grunts had just been unconscious, or could have survived if their injuries had been treated. The police would check everyone was dead before taking them away, and Archer internally groaned at the thought of that Grunts were now in police custody. The ones they were left with were wearing bandages and plasters, and two had collapsed shortly after they had fled and now lay alongside Proton in one of the trucks, Petrel directing others in treatment.

"None of them are going to last very long if we lead them into batlle again," Arianna whispered. "I want those meteorites as much as you, but Giovanni is trying to build an army, and for that he needs soldiers, not corpses." Archer shuddered at the sound of his boss's name, briefly imagining the pain and humiliation he would suffer when they returned to base.

"Giovanni may want an army, but he wants those meteorites as well," Archer hissed back. "He is going to be furious if we lost all those Grunts and the sacrificial slabs if it all turns out to be for nothing!"

"We got the spell book, he has wanted that for years, and –" Arianna quickly replied, but Archer angrily turned to face her, leaning in so there was barely a centimetre between them, and he stared at her with such fury she recoiled.

"Giovanni put me in charge of this mission, not you, so I do not care what you think, this is my call to make, and we are going to kill Casimer and Mark and fulfil Giovanni's intentions, do I make myself clear?" Archer had spoken so quickly and with such venom that he had sprayed Arianna with spit, and when he finished she slowly leaned backwards and disgustedly wiped the saliva off her face.

"Crystal," she purred back in response, and then got back to her feet and turned away. Archer briefly watched her as she strutted across at the clearing, walking with perfect composure even though the grass was nearly mud, not giving away a single hint that she had just had an argument. Archer smiled slyly to himself, and he grabbed the binoculars and returned to watching Casimer and Mark, waiting for the right moment to strike, waiting for the perfect chance to reclaim glory, ignoring all thoughts of protest and reason screaming in the back of his head.

***

"So this is a gym shaped like a giant boulder?" Janine purred, gazing up and down at the Pewter Gym. "Hmmm… pity you don't have any Electric types Leaf, this one is clearly a Flying gym." Leaf and Susie both laughed, and the trio walked the last few metres into the gym in good spirits; they had just left the Pokemon Centre, Leaf's wound cleaned, stitched and wrapped up, and now they were ready to see what Brock had to offer.

"Oooh, my first gym battle, I am sooo excited!" Susie said eagerly as they passed through the double doors. "My first real challenge as a trainer! I was hoping to have caught some more Pokemon first, but I think it will be fine if I tried battling now, don't you?"

"I am sure it will be," Leaf said, though she was trying not to dwell too much on her prospects. Her heart was beating rapidly against her chest, having gotten faster and faster with every step they took from the Pokemon Centre, and now that they were inside Leaf thought it was going to burst out of her chest; here she was, after barely a week ready to face her first gym battle. She stared around at the huge, towering, cathedral like walls and roof as they began to walk across a sandy field, and in her tense state Leaf felt as though all the nothingness surrounding them was beginning to close in.

"Oh, did Red and Blue get their badges in the end?" Susie asked innocently. "That's what they left to do yesterday, wasn't it?" Leaf came to a stop, frowning slightly, her laughter quickly dying away; they had not spoken about the two boys since leaving the museum, and Leaf would have preferred not having to think about them. But now they were shoved to the front of her mind again, and Leaf was forced to imagine them in battle against Archer or Arianna, Charmander and Bulbasaur trying to hold off Arbok and Houndoom.

"I don't think Leaf really wants to think about that," Janine replied with a touch of acid, and Susie fell silent, a guilty look filling her face. Leaf wanted to say something to her old friend, to say it was fine to bring it up, but words failed her as dark thoughts filled her head of Red and Blue, heading off alone to Route 3. This was what she had travelled for, not chasing after Team Rocket and putting her life in danger, and Leaf was not going to let their silly competition get in the way of what she had come here to do.

"There's nothing to be worried about," Janine whispered as Susie began to babble on again. "It is just a gym battle, and Brock is meant to be the easiest leader by far. You have Squirtle so you should be good, and Pidgey and Weedle are going to be great as well. Besides, if you don't want to battle now you can just turn around and walk out those –"

"No; I am here now, if I leave I will probably never come back," Leaf replied, forcing a smile, even though she wanted to be sick. By now, the trio had made it to the edge of the boulder strewn battlefield, and Leaf was just wondering where Brock was when a door banged open above, and three pairs of eyes glanced upwards.

From what Leaf knew of gym leaders, they were highly respected by those around them, presenting themselves to the world in a particular manner to match the prestige of the title and the visions of their legions of fans around their region and the world. Leaf knew Brock had a reputation as a ladies man, and was well adored and loved by many of her fellow students, and she herself had ogled a shirtless photo spread in Teen Queen Magazine, and had expected Brock to withhold those expectations.

However, as the Rock type trainer leaned over the railing, Leaf had to wonder if the photos had perhaps lied a little bit; Brock look tired and dishevelled, even from a storey above them. He was wearing what would have been a crisp white shirt and smart black trousers, but they now had a crinkled, slept in appearance. Brock's trademark spiky brunette hair was flat and messy, and he yawned loudly as he stared down at the trio. Leaf looked at Janine, and the Poison trainer had her eyebrows raised in a mix of shock and amusem*nt.

"Challengers, are you?" Brock mumbled, gazing absently between them.

"Ummm… yes, we are, but we could come back later if you're… busy," Leaf said uneasily, feeling as though they walked into his bedroom instead of a gym. Brock shook his head and sighed loudly.

"No no, it's fine, I am awake now," he grumbled, and began to descend a spiral staircase, his feet echoing so loudly Leaf had to wonder if he was stomping deliberately. "It's not as if I was awake until 5 this morning trying to clear rubble off my assistant… it's not as if my oldest and strongest Onix is still being treated for his injuries… no, no, I can battle, it's perfectly fine – I have nothing else to do, considering my oldest friend doesn't think he needs my help sorting out the mess he made..." Again, Leaf, Janine and Susie all exchanged looks, all taken aback by the gym leader's unprofessional, grumpy mood. Brock soon reached the same level as them, wobbling slightly as he got off the ladder, and then briskly walked towards them, coming to a halt on the opposite side of the pitch.

"Your names?" He asked with another sigh, fetching PokeBalls out from his pocket.

"Janine."

"Susie!"

"Leaf," Leaf added finally, slowly absorbing the gym leader and his surly attitude; he didn't even appear to have caught their names, instead muttering things under his breathe.

"Is this punishment for being late, for not caring about stupid parties?" Brock grumbled quietly, but in the huge, quiet gym, his voice easily carried across the sand. "Onix saved their lives last night, but what thanks do I get? No Brock, we don't need your help Brock, just go back to your gym Brock – what, do I spend too much time here? Should I perhaps forgo my duties and flounce about at parties like you? Oh, I bet you enjoyed saying that, probably have been waiting to for years…" Brock suddenly looked up, as if he had only just realised they were still there, and he blushed slightly and straightened up.

"Okay, so I will battle one after the other, I will use two Pokemon but you can use as many as you like, first trainer who knocks out their opponents Pokemon will win the badge. Janice, as your name's first alphabetically –"

"Oh, no, I am not here to battle, just to watch," Janine interrupted, taking an awkward step backwards, and Leaf turned and looked quizzically at her; what was Janine doing training if she was not facing the gyms? They had never really discussed it, but Leaf had merely presumed, and now her curiosity was peaked.

"Oh, okay then – Leaf, was it? You're up first then," Brock said, turning to her and forcing a smile. Leaf snapped out of her thoughts and looked back around, taken aback; she had not expected to battle so soon, This seemed so sudden, even though she had been building up to this for weeks now; her first gym battle, her first real adventure on this mad rush of a journey. Were her Pokemon ready for this challenge? Am I ready for this? Leaf thought, shaking slightly and taking a gulp.

"I could go first if you want," Susie whispered. For a brief second, Leaf was tempted to accept, feeling as though the massive building was closing in around her. But then, in that moment, Leaf saw something flicker across Brock's face; was that annoyance, irritation or boredom that briefly shone in his eyes? Not that she felt she needed it, but Leaf had been expecting at least a little bit of support from the first gym leader she faced, not getting the brunt of their annoyance with someone else.

"No Susie, I will take this battle, thank you," Leaf said curtly with a kind smile, and she stepped forwards onto the marked battle field, her feet sinking slightly in the sand as she fumbled for her PokeBalls. Brock nodded and moved into position, pulling out his first PokeBall.

"Alright then, without any further ado, Geodude – I choose you!" He yelled, and he threw the capsule onto the field, a red and white blur that burst open as it touched the sand, spewing out red energy. Leaf watched patiently as Geodude was formed, essentially a small boulder with a face and hands. It looked threatening, the way it has its huge brown hands bunched up, and Leaf felt overwhelmed once again. However, Brock's nature was bothering her; she cared so much about her battle, and it seemed rude that he was not showing even the slightest bit of interest.

"Come on out Squirtle!" She cried, and gracefully rolled her first PokeBall onto the pitch. With a flash that illuminated the gym, Squirtle landed on the sand, a few metres of earth separating him and Geodude. The Turtle Pokemon turned and looked back at Leaf, clearly not expecting to be in a battle; Leaf smiled encouragingly back, trying to ignore her own anxious thoughts and beating heart.

"We can do this," she whispered, keeping her voice low so it would not carry. A cautious Squirtle nodded and turned back to face his opponent, and Leaf could see Brock looked more alert now, his eyes slightly wider, body tensed up like his Pokemon's. Leaf knew she would have to be ready now as well; she took all thoughts of Red and Blue, of Team Rocket and the meteorites, of the fact her arm had been slashed open, and she stored them away in the back of her head. This was what she had left home to do; this was the moment she had been waiting for.

"Okay – if you're ready, then let us… BEGIN!"

***

After the ferocity of the storm the past few days, it was rather surprising to be able to stroll through PewterCity without getting completely soaked. Humidity hung in the air, and the storm clouds remained like creatures waiting to strike after a failed attack, but there seemed no chance of the bad weather striking again while Red and Blue made their way along Route 3.

It was different to the routes they had previously experienced; it was not as green or grassy as the ones by PalletTown and ViridianCity, with the path dirtier and more rock strewn. Trees continued to border their way, but as the duo headed further west, they began to thin and were replaced by more rocks which got bigger, and the path itself began to slope, making it a tiresome walk as they searched for Casimer and Mark. They had kept their Pokemon out to stretch their legs and get some exercise, but Charmander and Bulbasaur were getting tired, and Caterpie had fallen asleep on Red's shoulder.

"How soon do you think until we find them?" Blue said nearly breathlessly as he glanced between Pewter quickly disappearing into the background and Bulbasaur walking sluggishly alongside, his usually proud and rough manner disappearing in his weariness.

"They can't have gone too far," Red replied. "But I am not walking all the way to Mt Moon, not when Leaf is still there and all of our stuff is still at the PokemonCenter."

"And Janine," Bleu added. Red turned and looked quizzically at him, and Blue replied with a simple shrug. "What, she is travelling with us now, isn't she?"

"I suppose," Red murmured, though he had noticed the supposed ninja had not taken too kindly to him, and he did not really like the idea of travelling with three people who did not like him a lot. Blue looked unimpressed but did not say anything, and they carried on silence.

A few moments later, there was a soft explosion from nearby, and the two turned as their Rattata burst forth from the grass. The two were nearly indistinguishable from the other, but Red had noticed earlier that his Rattata had a curlier tail, while Blue's had longer front teeth. Right now though, they were a swirling mass of purple and cream, rolling across the path as they play fought with the other.

"Do you think fighting like this will help them level up?" Red said, looking at his friend with a slight smirk.

"I hope so, we haven't had much chance to train them yet," Blue replied with an identical grin. "Too much time nearly getting killed by Team Rocket to do anything else." Red laughed at this for a moment, but the bitter truth behind Blue's words quickly softened any of the humour. He fell silent, thinking back to what Leaf had said at the museum; did they actually have the strength to take on Archer and Arianna both at once? Vivian Winters had saved them from their first encounter, and then it had taken some luck to get past them at the ViridianForest. Last night it had taken both Red and Blue, plus five Pokemon and a piece of wood, to stop Proton, and they had not treated their Pokemon before leaving…

"Do you think Leaf may have been right to worry?" Red said finally, coming to a halt, and Blue paused and turned to face him. "Going off, battling Team Rocket again; are we doing the right thing?" Blue stared back at him in surprise, and for a brief second felt triumphant, receiving proof that he was bolder, braver, stronger than Red. However, before he could say anything, before he could even smirk, Blue stifled back a sigh, knowing perfectly well that Red was right; there was no way they could defeat Rocket alone.

"Maybe she was…," he replied quietly, staring awkwardly at the path ahead, having no idea what they would face if they ever found Mark and Casimer. However, Blue thought back to the PokemonCenter yesterday, to the things Red had said… "But…. They haven't killed us yet, have they? If we keep going, there is a chance they we will win again! Like I just said, we have barely had any time to train, have we? This is a chance to get some real experience!" Red dwelled on this for a moment, but he knew the real reason why Blue was not backing down; neither of them was willing to admit defeat, neither of them was willing to be the first to accept that their Pokemon weren't ready, that they barely won their respective battles with Brock or Team Rocket. Their fight had been going unresolved for the past twenty four hours, and Red stared cautiously back at Blue, wanting to turn around and go home, but he knew what Blue was like; if he refused to carry on, Blue would see it as a victory, that he had been right all along…

Their Rattata broke apart for a moment, Red's jumping between the two, and Red and Blue looked down and watched as the two … Pokemon faced each other, fangs bared menacingly, snapping at the other. The two trainers watched them, unable to look at the other, unable to admit defeat. For a minute, they waited for the two Rattata to pounce at the other and resume fighting, but after what felt like ages, both Normal types merely backed away, closing their jaws, panting wearily.

"Rat A Ata Rat Rat."

"Rattata Rat Rat A Rat Rat." And with that, the Rattata fell silent, moving slowly towards their respective trainers.

"What is that about?" Blue asked, taken aback by the sudden end to their play fighting. Red looked between the two Rattata and could see how tired they were, covered in dust and dirt from rolling around, little red patches on their cheeks.

"Maybe they just know when to quit," he replied without thinking, but his words hung in the air, and Red and Blue exchanged an awkward look, an understanding quickly falling between the pair of them…

Before they could speak, a sudden flash illuminated the area, and both trainers looked around; rainbow light shone through the grey clouds, a glittering, shining pattern that spread across the sky. For a moment, Red and Blue were struck dumb by the display, exchanging stunned looks, their Pokemon watching in equal awe; but then, moments after the light had appeared, a figure began to descend from the clouds, something that looked humanoid but even from afar they both knew it was too tall and misshapen to be human.

"Something's floating around it!" Red hissed, and Blue looked carefully and could see four shapes rotating around the figure. They looked at each other again, and without a moment's hesitation ran forwards, keeping their eyes on Deoxys as it descended a mile up the route, both trainers wondering what it was doing with the meteorites.

***

"Bubble!"

"Tackle!"

Leaf watched tensely as a tired and battered Squirtle leapt back to his feet, having been knocked down seconds before by Geodude's powerful Tackle. He turned around, trying to find his opponent, who blended in so well with the other boulders, and fortunately spotted Geodude right as the RockPokemon was preparing to launch himself off a rock.

"SQUIRTLE!" The Water type cried, and a small barrage of bubbles shot out of his mouth. Geodude pushed himself off the boulder at the same moment, and flew right through the water.

"Duck!" Leaf yelled frantically, not sure if Squirtle would survive another hit, but he had already jumped away; Squirtle landed delicately a few feet away, but Geodude crash landed onto the sand and rolled over, rocky arms flailing, before thudding into a boulder; it was clear straight away that he was unconscious, his eyes falling shut, body limp and unmoving.

"Congratulations, the first victory goes to you," Brock said, wearing an encouraging smile that did not mask the bitterness in his voice. Leaf grinned briefly back, but her attention quickly turned to Squirtle, who wobbled as he got back to his feet. The battle had not been what Leaf would call exciting, Squirtle having a limited move range and Geodude restricted by what would be effective, but the exchange of attacks had worn her starter down. Leaf had noticed from their training that Squirtle was softer than his fellows; Bulbasaur seemed silent and surly while Charmander was eager and confident. Squirtle shared that excitability, but he was not as focussed or strong as the others and as such had been beaten in most of their training exercises.

But Squirtle had been her best hope for the battle; her other two Pokemon were Flying and Bug, both weak to the Rock type, and there was not a great move variety between them. Leaf gulped nervously as Brock withdrew his Pokemon and switched PokeBalls.

"Usually around this time I would be using Onix," Brock called out. "However, most of my Onix's have been incapacitated over the past twenty four hours thanks to two gym battles and the issues at PewterMuseum. So for a change, I thought I would give one of my other Pokemon a try – I certainly hope you don't mind," he added with a sly smile, and threw the PokeBall forwards. Leaf watched tensely as it burst open, and then her jaw dropped as her next opponent formed.

She pulled her PokeDex out to double check, but it simply confirmed her fears; the massive, jagged boulder-like Pokemon, with a sinister face and four rugged arms, was definitely Graveler, the evolved form of Geodude. It loomed over Squirtle, all four hands flexing as Graveler stared malevolently down at him. Squirtle stepped cautiously away and looked back at Leaf, fear shining across his face.

He can't win this, not when he only has Bubble!, Leaf thought frantically. She tried to put on an encouraging face, but the situation she found herself in quickly dawned on her; she was in a battle she could not possibly win, not with her team the way it was, and if she could not even defeat the first gym, how would she manage the other ones?

There has to be a way, you have not come all this way and gone through all that drama with Team Rocket to simply give up now! A voice in the back of her head told her furiously. Leaf frowned at the thought of retreating to Pallet Town after barely a week away from home; what would her grandfather think of her, what would the kids at school say, how would she live with herself knowing Red and Blue are out having adventures without her? There must be a way, think, THINK! Leaf looked around the field frantically; could they maybe move around the boulders? No, they'd be too heavy… what about the sand, sand is light enough for Pidgey and Weedle alike, yes?

"Hmmm….," Leaf murmured aloud, her mind racing at her mad plan, and she looked up to see Brock watching her, waiting for her to move. "Squirtle, return!" She yelled, her heart beating rapidly as she grabbed his PokeBall, and Squirtle disappeared in a flash of red. "Now Pidgey, your turn!"

"A Pidgey, really?" Brock said, eyebrows raised, as the Tiny Bird Pokemon formed in the air above. "A Flying type is a massive risk, I will be interested to see what you have planned."

"So am I," Leaf mumbled uncertainly, and Brock grinned.

"Let's get this going Graveller; Rock Throw!"

"Fly down and use Sand Attack!" Leaf yelled. Pidgey chirped in response and tucked her wings in, dropping dramatically towards the field. Graveler was quicker though, quickly grabbing a large boulder from nearby and easily pulling apart with his four hands; when Pidgey pulled out of her dive, Graveler initiated his attack, throwing the rock hard projectiles with all his might. Leaf watched worriedly as they hurtled through the air, but Pidgey's smallness benefited here, as she easily curved around the stones and flew unharmed towards Graveler.

"PIDGE!" She cried, swooping down and beating her wings against the field. Huge clumps of sand were swept up by her wings, and Graveler stumbled backwards as the tiny particles were fired into his face, blinding him.

"Nice tactic," Brock said coldly, "but Pidgey still won't last long! Rollout, let's go!"

"Fly up and fire a Gust directly into the hole you just made!" Leaf yelled. Brock looked confused by the order, but if Pidgey was bothered she did not show it; Leaf had a feeling that the Flying type was keen to prove herself, having lived her whole life on a route that seemed to only contain Pokemon like her. She soared upwards, and Leaf tensely watched Graveler as he rolled into a tight ball and slid across the field.

"GRAV!" The Rock Pokemon bellowed deeply, and launched himself off a boulder and into the sky. Pidgey was easily able to dodge once again, and then frantically flapped her wings, generating a small but powerful gust of wind that struck the hole her Sand Attack had made. As Graveler fell back to the field with a thud, the wind blew across the sand, leaving a larger hole than before.

"Thanks Pidgey, now return!" Leaf cried. "Weedle, it's your turn!" Brock looked stunned as Pidgey disappeared from the air, and seconds later the golden Weedle formed on a boulder in the middle of the field, looking inquisitively around.

"Alright, Pidgey I can understand, but a Weedle?" Brock said, looking aghast. "You are aware I am using a Graveler, yes?"

"Yes, I am aware, and I am aware that my strategy is going to beat you," Leaf said with a smile. Brock continued to look perplexed, but then he smirked too.

"We shall see," he replied. "Graveler, Rollout – into the boulder!" Leaf took a deep breathe, aware that this was a massive risk she was taking, but now that Pidgey's part had worked, she was beginning to feel more confident. She watched as Graveler turned back around, squinting slightly from the sand in his eyes, but still spotted Weedle and curled up once again. Weedle turned around at the sound of his opponent tearing up the field, and looked horrified as the spinning ball hurtled towards him.

"Jump!" Leaf yelled, eyeing a boulder opposite the hole, and Weedle obediently threw himself forwards, just as Graveler smashed through the rock; it broke apart spectacularly, and Weedle shrilly yelled as smaller stones bombarded him, nearly flattening him against the rock.

"Keep going Weedle! Jump to the next one and use Poison Sting!" Leaf shouted.

"Use Rollout again, keep destroying the boulders, give him less room to hide!" Brock bellowed, and Graveler barely paused, quickly wheeling about and speeding towards Weedle's new boulder. The Hairy Pokemon wasted no time and threw himself to the next stone, this time getting an extra second before Graveler hit, sending massive chunks of rock flying. Leaf raised her arm as a shield as the shrapnel spread across the pitch, but through her arms she could see something bright and purple moving through the dust cloud, striking Graveler in the back as he rolled past her; the Rock type kept spinning, but now he glowed purple as the ailment sunk beneath into his hard body.

"Your Poison won't defeat him, not once we had crushed every boulder on this field! One Magnitude, one Rock Throw, and Weedle is gone!" Brock growled. "Keep going Graveler, he's over here!" Leaf looked up and saw Weedle was now sitting on the boulder closest to the hole Pidgey had whipped up, and she smiled, her plan able to come into effect.

"Fire a String Shot directly into that hole!" Leaf bellowed. Brock looked confused, but by the time he realised there was no time to stop the speeding Graveler. Weedle leaned towards the hole and a string of white goo shot out of his horn, landing square in the middle of the dip. Leaf tensed up as Graveler neared, and then beamed as the … Pokemon rolled straight into the hole and froze; there was a deep grunt from within his bundled up arms, and much shaking and groaning, but Graveler was now stuck upside down in the dip. Brock's jaw dropped in shock, but Leaf could not be happier, for the first time since she had entered the gym feeling truly happy.

"Okay Weedle, fire String Shot across Graveler and trap him in there!" She yelled. Brock stared blankly for a few moments but then shook his head, snapping out of his thoughts, an annoyed look taking over.

"Use Magnitude!" He roared. Leaf had feared an attack like this, knowing that it could be enough to bring Weedle down. However, no Magnitude came, and she peered into the pit to see Graveler was struggling to move let alone attack, a giant grey ball shaking irritably in the hole.

"Weedle Wee!" Weedle bellowed softly, and more String Shot was fired; this time, Weedle fired it so it stretched across the pit, forming an Ariados-like web across Graveler. Furious grunts rose out of the hole, but Graveler was well and truly stuck, and Leaf had to stifle a cheer.

"Weedle, return!" She cried. "Squirtle, let's finish this off!" Weedle disappeared just as quickly as he had formed, and Squirtle reappeared a second later; he still looked dazed and wobbly, but Leaf was riding high on the others successes, and knew Squirtle could pull off the victory.

"You can destroy him Graveler! MAGNITUDE!" Brock yelled, now looking nothing like the tired, disinterested trainer who had first descended the stairs. Graveler roared just as furiously, and Leaf was taken aback when she felt the field shake, watching as the sand bounced about and the rocks quivered; Squirtle shook for a moment, but he managed to maintain his footing and the shaking quickly stopped without any lasting damage.

"He will have to do better than that!" Leaf called teasingly to Brock. "Now Squirtle, fire a Bubble directly into the hole!"

"MAGNITUDE!" Brock shouted, but his order was too late; Graveler had been glowing purple profusely for the past few turns, and now Squirtle was right on top of him, able to score a direct hit with his Bubble-bombardment. For a few moments, Graveler continued to try and shake and free himself, but then he fell still, all grunts dying away. Quickly, Brock strutted across the field and stared down into the hole. Leaf took a deep breathe in, staring intently at Brock's head hair as it stuck out of the hole; then, with a loud sigh, the gym leader re-appeared, looking grave.

"Graveler is unable to battle, meaning that you are the winner." Leaf gasped and froze in shock; it took a few moments to properly sink in, but when it did, she beamed broadly and began to squeal, leaping up and down on the spot; she had won, she had won her first badge!

"SQUIRTLE!" Squirtle yelled boldly, running towards her, and Leaf threw her arms out and pulled him into a hug. Her starter was panting and winced at her touch, but Leaf could not be happier to have him by her side; in fact, at that moment, she felt as though she had the best team in the world.

"Good job; that was a risky strategy, but it paid off in the end," Brock said, walking slowly forwards her and holding out what she had come here for. Leaf beamed and walked forwards, holding Squirtle in one arm and grabbing her Boulder Badge and TM with the other. The badge was cold and was smaller than Leaf had expected, but she could not help but beam and hold the rock-shaped emblem high, Susie and Janine clapping and smiling as they stepped forwards. Brock applauded along with them, but his smile did not match his eyes, and when Leaf looked back round and noticed, her own joy sank slightly. She frowned, and before she could stop herself, all the disappointment and annoyance she had felt during the battle came bursting forth.

"Okay, look here; I am not expecting you to be dancing with glee about me winning, but you are a gym leader, you should be more supportive of young trainers instead of getting all stuffy and aggressive when you lose! AND you should be prepared to battle if you had your gym doors open, not waking up looking as though you slept in your clothes!" Brock looked taken aback by the outburst, and even Squirtle stared at Leaf in surprise, but she was glad she had said it, and part of the tension and guilt she had being holding in since the museum had lessened.

"Oh… um… I'm sorry," Brock said sheepishly with a touch of edge, clearly not use to his opponents confronting him at the end of a match. There was a tense silence that engulfed the gym for a few seconds, but then Brock sighed and shook his head. "Your right, I have acted inappropriately. I have not had the best twenty four hours, to tell you the truth. I got beaten by two trainers, one after the other, yesterday, both of whom had only just started their journeys, and frankly it was embarrassing; I am a gym leader for peeps sake, not some bug trainer skulking around ViridianForest! Then there was the whole drama with Team Rocket last night; I did my best to help, but Mark Hansom seemed reluctant to let me have any role with handling Deoxys and the meteorites. I sort of stormed off and came right back here and crashed; this isn't the first time Mark hasn't let me help out, and I swear it is because I never go to any of his stupid parties!"

"Well, just because you think they are stupid doesn't mean he does!" Leaf scolded. "If he really is a friend, you should be willing to help him out with things like that! But then again, if he really is your friend then he should let you work as a team… but if you are a team, then you shouldn't have stormed off, not without hearing their side of the story, not without finding out why he was acting that way… what if he is in trouble right this minute…" Leaf fell silent as realisation swept over her, and she nearly dropped her badge, her mind racing once again. Then, with barely a moments pause, she turned rapidly around to a confused Janine. "We have find Red and Blue right now!"

"What? Find them, why?"

"Wait, you know Red and Blue?"

"What about my gym battle?" Leaf paused after dropping her badge into a pocket, and slowly turned to face Susie, already feeling terribly guilty; she seemed to be running out on her friend all the time now, and felt awful for having to do it again.

"I'm sorry, I promise I will watch your next one! I have just realised I made a terrible mistake!" Leaf explained quickly, rushing backwards towards the door with one hand dragging Janine. "Thank you Brock, you have helped me more than you realise!" Brock looked stunned and confused, but he awkwardly waved at her as she left, while Susie stood silent and sullen alongside.

"Leaf, what are you on about?" Janine cried as they stepped between the sliding doors. "I thought you said they were being idiots for going?"

"They are, but I am being an idiot by not helping them!" Leaf wailed back. "What if something happens to them and I wasn't there to help them or to do a better job of stopping them? We are travelling as a team, and I let them done by letting them run off! We have to find them before something bad happens!"

"How do you expect us to catch up to them though? They left ages ago!" Janine tutted. Leaf had not really thought of this, and was briefly considering whether Pidgey would be willing to carry them when a loud car horn broke through the post-storm silence of Pewter; the two turned as a limousine sped towards, and watched as the passenger door was flung open before the car had even stopped.

"There you two are!" Madame croaked as she stuck her head around the door. "I have been trying to find you for the past fifteen minutes, I thought I'd have to drag you away from your battle!"

"What do you need us for?" Janine asked, but Leaf could see an opportunity.

"We need to get to Route 3, Red and Blue have gone there and –" she began, but Madame interrupted, waving her walking stick frantically.

"Route 3's why I've come for you!" She said briskly. "I thought you two would want to see this thing through, considering we nearly died because of it!"

"What are you on about?" Leaf asked, feeling fearful, and Madame tutted.

"Did those Rocket fools blind you too, look at the bloody sky!" And she pointed a wizened finger in the direction of Mt Moon. Leaf and Janine both looked and instantly gasped; the sky was lit up like a rainbow, but it was nothing like they had ever seen before. Without any hesitation, they jumped into the limo, and Madame's driver sped off, ready to find out what was going on.

***

Silence filled Route 3. The grassy fields, the rocky slopes, the empty dirt paths, all were empty and quiet, not a single soul moving through the mountain road. It seemed abandoned, forgotten, like an old street that had been replaced years before. It had the eerie calmness of the sea before a storm, one that would be catastrophic for anyone caught in it, yet two people currently stood right in the middle of the brewing chaos.

Mark and Casimer did not speak to each other, they did not exchange looks; in fact, they hardly breathed as Deoxys descended from the clouds above. It had been dark when they had first lain eyes upon the Pokemon, but they would never forget the strangeness of that creature; tall and humanoid, but designed by someone who had little idea what humans looked like. Its body was a rich, deep red, its legs oddly thick curving downwards, while its arms were red and turquoise, resembling string that had twisted together. A purple crystal glowed from the middle of its chest, and as Deoxys descended, its blank white eyes stared down at the humans beneath it, pupil-less eyes bearing into their thoughts and souls, their minds turned into an open book for the legendary to examine at will.

Surrounding Deoxys were the four meteorites Team Rocket had tried to steal, held there by the Pokemon's Psychic powers, but they were not still as you'd expect rocks to be, and instead seemed active, almost alive, as they came nearer and nearer to the pit that had previously been their home, occasionally flashing with light unlike that currently spread across the skies above. Mark felt unbearable guilt as he stared into the uneven crater, four empty crevices at the bottom showing where he had taken the meteorites from. He wondered if Deoxys would punish him, but the legendary had given nothing away when it had flown away with the meteorites last night, merely telling the two to wait at the crater for him. Mark could not help but be fearful though, even as he tried to mask his feelings behind calm indifference; he had seen what remained of the museum, how broken and damaged it had been, and could imagine what may happen to him.

Finally, after hours of waiting, Deoxys came to a halt before them, hovering a metre above and away from them. Its empty white eyes looked blankly at the pair, but it did not speak, did not give any indication that it was pleased to see them, simply looking intently at them. Casimer took a confident step forwards, silently cursing Charlotte for bringing him into this, and spoke.

"Deoxys, I am here as a representative of all the residents and Pokemon trainers of Kanto," the Champion said, his booming voice carrying throughout the silent hills that surrounded them. "I am here to apologize on behalf of us humans for the serious mistreatment of your meteorites, on behalf of the PewterMuseum researchers that discovered and harvested them, and on behalf of the members of Team Rocket who planned on using these for nefarious purposes. We did not intend to offend you, and we will make it known throughout our world that these meteorites are your property, not ours." He ended his speech hopefully; Casimer was regularly asked to give speeches, and usually received a raucous applause for his efforts. The Champion never really enjoyed those moments, but he realised now it was much better to receive applause than nothing; Deoxys had not spoken or moved, staring without blinking at him, making no comment. The silence carried on for several more minutes, and in that time Casimer thought he could hear several things; the oncoming sound of many footsteps banging against the rocky floor behind, far off whispers and the rustling of grass, but he did not dare look, refusing to look away from Deoxys.

I understand, and I accept your words, the legendary Pokemon said finally, his words echoing inside their heads, and Casimer and Mark briefly exchanged looks, swelling with relief inside. However, I asked you here for another reason; whilst I shall seal my meteorites here with my own powers, they can be broken, and I ask that they be protected at all costs by humans now that they have been unearthed.

"Of course, we will definitely do that!" Mark said quickly, nodding vigorously. "My team at the museum can arrange for this area to be made a national heritage item; it will increase the legal ramifications for damages."

That is good, though my powers are far more severe than those of your human legal system, Deoxys said, but Mark nodded obediently. Now, I shall begin to seal my meteorites, and you two shall deal with those persons waiting to ambush us.

"Ambush us?" Casimer said coldly, his eyes flickering about the area. "I thought you were waiting for the area to clear before returning?"

Indeed I had, but I underestimated the determination of this Team Rocket to capture my meteorites, and I must say I do not have the patience to wait around for theirs to wear thinner, Deoxys explained; its eyes suddenly flashed pink, and behind him a series of bushes were torn out of the ground from the opposite side of the pit, revealing a number of people in black uniforms watching from atop a cliff.

"Them!" Mark yelled, reaching for the handgun he had brought, but he had barely moved when machine guns suddenly appeared in their opponent's hands, and red laser points appeared across his chest. A sole figure stood up from behind the grunts, and Casimer's eyes narrowed as Archer stepped to the front of the cliff, his smirk visible even from afar.

"I should have known our hiding spot would not be entirely hidden from a creature of your powers," he called mockingly out to Deoxys, and bowed exaggeratedly, though he kept his eyes on the legendary Pokemon. "And your assumptions are correct; Team Rocket shall not rest, not until we have your meteorites in our possession!"

"You will never lay your hands on these!" Casimer snarled, and raised his left hand, three PokeBalls resting in his palm. Archer looked at them and smirked.

"Oh yes, your Pokemon, how adorable; let us see how handy they will be when you are dead!" The admin snapped. Casimer looked down, noticing the lasers aimed at his chest, and whilst he looked defiant he felt uneasy, knowing it would be simple for the waiting grunts and their guns to tear him to shreds. However, Deoxys floated downwards so its body fell between Casimer, Mark and the guns.

You can attempt to shoot me if you wish, but it will be most unwise of you to try, it murmured, the voice sounding inside all their heads. I will warn you that I am not prepared to relinquish my meteorites, and I am most difficult to execute; believe me when I say many people have tried to capture and kill me since I first arrived on your planet, and none of them have succeeded. If you wish to live, then leave now before I am forced to attack.

The silence that followed was unlike anything Casimer or Mark had experienced before. It felt as if Deoxys was sucking all the air out of them as it waited for Archer to reply, and no one dared to move, breathe or blink, all eyes looking warily between Archer and Deoxys, everyone on both sides waiting to see what the admin said next. Archer looked less confident now that Deoxys had spoken, and he cast his eyes across his team as if looking for advice; he saw Grunts standing by, waiting for their orders, their nerves etched into their faces; he saw Petrel moving about treating the still unconscious Proton; he briefly settled on Arianna, waiting in the background, her lips pursed, eyes tense, and for a moment Archer felt less confident, seeing her looking at him like that, and for several seconds he was tempted to leave right then and there…

Then, in those few seconds, the silence was shattered by something as simple as footsteps; every eye in the area, including Deoxys, turned and looked to Route 3 as two figures appeared, running, on the scene. They skidded to a halt, red in the face and panting, their eyes still on the rainbow clouds above, but then the boys looked at the scene, gazed between Mark and Casimer, Deoxys and the grunts, and Archer saw who they were. His smile suddenly widened, and Archer knew now what to do.

"There is always a first for everything," he whispered, his eyes focussed on Red and Blue. There was a pause as those words reverberated around the pit, as Red, Blue and their Pokemon tried to take stock of the situation, and then Deoxys blinked.

So be it, it said coldly; its right arm grabbed hold of one meteorite, and the other three fell into the pit. Archer sharply lowered his hand, and with that, the battle began.

The sound of gunfire exploded throughout the route. Red and Blue had been thrown by the appearance of Team Rocket, but they quickly acted as bullets hit the ground at their feet; grabbing their Pokemon, the boys leapt towards the safety of the car, flinging open doors and jumping inside.

"Who the hell are you two?" Mark snapped as he came in from the other side, ducking low as the windows exploded around them.

"I'm Red and this Blue," Red explained quickly, staring confusedly out at the battle.

"We're friends with Leaf and Janine!"

"Oh yes, Janine mentioned you this morning," Mark said, his tone quickly softening, and he cautiously followed Red's line of vision. "Glad to see you got out of the museum alive – pity you had to stumble across the next big fight."

"What the hell is going on here?" Blue yelled, not seeing the funny side.

"Last night, Deoxys took the meteorites away after it destroyed the museum, but it told me and Casimer to meet it here today for when it put them back," Mark explained. "Team Rocket must have worked out that would happen and have been waiting for us – Deoxys, however, had more faith in them then I do, and expected them to stand down. I thought Archer would have for a second, but then…," Mark trailed off there, looking the boys up and down, and Red and Blue knew enough from their battles to understand; Team Rocket had only attacked because they had appeared, probably so they could kill them at the same time as getting the meteorites. The two exchanged glances, both thinking the same thing; Leaf had been right, it had been a mistake to come here, and now they would have to pay the price.

There was a thud, and they all turned as Casimer opened up the boot, removing the carpet and pulling out a long black machine gun. He looked up and caught Red's eye for a second, and despite the situation, Red's stomach jolted; he had never been so close to the Champion before, and to find his hero before him, ready to fight, ready to defeat enemies, made Red feel certain he could get out of this alive.

Casimer merely nodded at him, his face grim, and turned and walked away. Red turned to watch him and saw that the same Gengar from the museum was hovering in front of the car, absorbing the bullets that came towards the car and firing them away.

"Why aren't we fighting back?" Blue snapped. "Why isn't Deoxys doing anything?"

"It is – can't you see?" Mark said. Red looked through the shattered front window and could see Deoxys, but it seemed as though the legendary was simply floating there. However, when he focussed, Red could see rainbow light shining from Deoxys front, and the meteorite it held was beginning to glow a blinding white.

"Deoxys is changing formes; I have read about it but I have never seen it happen in person!" Mark whispered in awe. "It is going into Attack Forme, I suspect, to better deal with Rocket. We should wait here until it is ready; there is no point in us getting killed before it tries to stop them."

To Red and Blue, the plan seemed intelligent, neither of them willing to go up against bullets. The only downside was that Archer could tell this was what they intended to do. The green haired admin stared across at his enemies, watching as Casimer loaded a machine gun behind the protection of his Gengar. If Rocket wanted to get the upper hand, Archer knew they needed to strike now; he felt uneasy, a constant battle raging in his mind about if he had made the right decision, but there was no backing out now, and Archer would not stop until the battle ended in his favour.

"Release the Zubat and Geodude, let's get those meteorites before they can stop us!" Archer barked loudly, keeping a cautious eye on his enemies. The Grunts that were not shooting nodded and moved quickly; a number grabbed trays loaded with PokeBalls and began tossing the capsules into the skies or down into the pit, while the rest gathered around a series of futuristic looking white boxes; at the press of a button they began to float, . The crates rose up at the press of a button, specially built vessels designed for carrying the weight of the meteorites. Archer watched as the grunts began to lead them towards the clearing, but his eyes came across Arianna once more, the red head leaning against a truck; she turned away from the grunts and caught his eye. They stared at each other for a few seconds, but then Arianna turned and strutted away, grabbing a long pole as she did so, and Archer turned grimly away, wondering how she'd react if he won, but dreading how she would if they lost.

In a few seconds, Red could see the battle was turning against them; two dozen Zubat were now flapping in the sky, while an equal amount of Geodude filled the pit, working in pairs to load the meteorites into floating crates the grunts were guiding down. Deoxys was shining so brightly now that it was almost blinding, its entire body shining like a spotlight, but it seemed no closer to forming. The only Pokemon defending them was Gengar, who was slowly rising up to meet the swarm of Zubat, but Casimer did not seem to be giving orders, instead watching the battle, machine gun by his side.

"If we don't do something, they are going to take the meteorites!" Red hissed at Mark. "There has to be something we can do to help!"

"Do you really think your Pokemon are going to be able to stand up against bullets?" Mark snapped back, eyes narrowed. "The second you step outside they will shoot you, and then we will have even less of a chance of getting out of this! We have to wait for Deoxys to finish transforming, and then we will be able to help!"

"They are getting the meteorites now though!" Red yelled, watching as two Geodude loaded the first crate. Red stared at the mass of Rock types, memories of his battle against Brock swarming back to him; it seemed like so long ago that he had actually fought in it and won, but now, watching the Geodude, Red remembered the powerful rush that came with winning, the joy he had felt when his crazy strategy actually pulled off. And what were gym battles for if not preparation for the real world, the real and bigger challenges that are waiting out there? He looked at Blue, and could see more clearly than ever how foolish their feud had been, how much they had risked by forcing themselves into battle like that. But Red could see that it may have just paid off.

"I'm not waiting any more," he said, and before Mark could even blink, Red jumped out of the car with Caterpie still on his shoulder, and pointed down into the pit. "String Shot, fire it on all of them!"

"Caterprieeeee!" Caterpie squealed, and Red leaned his head away as the Bug began to spray the sticky string into the pit. He smiled as one Geodude holding a meteorite was hit clearly in the face, causing the stone to fall and roll back into a hole. Caterpie did not stop there, and within a minute half the Geodude were struggling to pull the String Shot off their faces. Red smiled broadly; however, it was clear now that attention had turned firmly upon him. Grunts lined two sides of the pit, and they were all staring at him with a mixture of shock and rage.

"DON'T JUST SIT THERE, SHOOT HIM!" Archer roared, pointing madly down at Red, his eyes clearly bulging. The grunts agreed, and Red looked down in horror as dots appeared across his chest, his enemies lining him up to shoot, and his mind fell blank, all his bravado disappearing; for a second, it seemed like this was it…

A car horn sounded above all the chaos, and Red barely had time to look before a limousine burst roaring through the bushes and clunked over the ledge. He cried out and leapt backwards just as the grunts fired; the bullets harmlessly slammed into the other side of the limo, which skidded to a stop just before it hit Mark's four wheel drive, and Red found himself lying on the ground, breathing deeply and staring shell shocked at Caterpie's, her big black eyes wider than normal .

"Red! Thank god you're alright!" A familiar voice cried, and Red looked up as Leaf leapt out from the safe side of the limo, followed quickly by Janine, her throwing stars clutched in her hand.

"What are you dong here?" Red asked dumbly, feeling confused and stunned after having so close to death.

"We followed the rainbow," Leaf replied, gesturing at the sky above, and then her attention fell on the glowing figure hovering over the battle. "Oh my gosh, is that… is that Deoxys?" Red nodded and Leaf exchanged stunned looks with Janine. They stared at him for a few seconds, by which time Blue, Mark and their Pokemon had scrambled out to join them behind the safety of the limo, but they snapped back into reality as a bullet flew over Leaf's head, making her instinctively duck.

"Team Rocket's here, they are trying to kill us and get the meteorites before Deoxys changes forme," Red explained quickly. He remained on the ground, and he zoned out for a few moments as Blue, Leaf, Janine and Mark dissected the situation; there had been times over the past week where he had nearly died, but Red had not come that close before, had not had so many guns aimed directly at him before. He could see now that Mark was right; they were outnumbered, just as Red had been since the moment he had left Pallet, and he wished now that he had taken Leaf's advice.

"ZUBAT!" Leaf's yell snapped Red out of his thoughts, and he looked up as a cloud of blue and purple suddenly descended upon them. He raised his arms over his face for protection, and suddenly felt a mass of wings whacking against him, while the cries of his fellow travellers and Pokemon sounded all around. Red tried to see where other people were, but the entire swarm of Zubat were now surrounding them, sucking away the light. Caterpie whimpered by his shoulder, and Red reached out to pat her, but a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"LEAF! LEAF, SEND OUT WEEDLE!" He yelled. Red waited for a response, but there was the familiar click and whoosh of a Pokemon forming, and he smiled in his arms. "ON MY COUNT, COMMAND STRING SHOT, OKAY? ONE… TWO… THREE!"

"STRING SHOT!" He and Leaf cried simultaneously, and their Pokemon quickly responded; Red spread his arms enough to watch as Caterpie began firing String Shot at the advancing Zubat. Their attacks were enough to weaken the crowd, and soon Charmander and Bulbasaur moved in, firing Embers and Leech Seeds respectively, and within two minutes the crowd had disappeared. Red breathed with relief and climbed back to his feet, and stared down at the fallen Zubat as both Rattata moved in to finish them off.

"That was some smart thinking!" Leaf said, smiling softly. "I completely lost my head – wouldn't have even thought of it!"

"It was nothing," Red said, shrugging. He looked at Caterpie and grinned at her; the little green Pokemon smiled widely back, and then suddenly began to glow white. Red gasped, and despite the chaos around him, his attention was solely on Caterpie as her entire body shone. Picking her delicately up, Red placed her on the ground and stepped backwards, and the same moment as another burst of light hit his eyes; Leaf made a noise halfway between a gasp and a squeal as Weedle began to shine a blinding white, and she too placed him on the ground. The small group watched as Caterpie curved and began to lengthen and thicken, while Weedle stood up straight and seemed to harden. Red and Leaf exchanged stunned looks, but then they both smiled as the light began to fade…

Where Caterpie and Weedle had stood seconds before, a Metapod and Kakuna were now in their place. Metapod looked up at Red with sullen eyes, and Red felt as though she still had Caterpie's shape but had merely grown a thick green shell around herself. Kakuna looked the same, his eyes now dark and narrow, a golden-brown shell encasing his body.

"They evolved…," Leaf whispered in shock. "THEY EVOLVED!" She squealed, looking frantically at Red, and he beamed at her before looking down at Metapod, who stared beadily up at him; his little Caterpie, the tiny green Pokemon he had had for only a few days, but here she was, already in the next stage of her evolution. It was strange to think that her, with her limited moves, had managed to make it so far so soon, and Red's heart swelled with pride as he scooped her up.

"We can't let Team Rocket win," he said to everyone, though he kept his eyes on Metapod. "They are not going to defeat us! They may outnumber us, but we can still defeat them!" He looked up finally, and saw Blue, Leaf, Janine and Mark all nodding in agreement, while their Pokemon flexed muscles and bared teeth, ready to fight. Red looked around for Casimer and saw that Gengar was fighting against a great ugly Arbok, hissing poison at the Ghost type, and he thought it looked familiar; sure enough, the red headed Arianna was duelling with Casimer a few feet away, brandishing a long staff to keep him at bay. It looked dire, but Red realised that the grunts were not shooting, not when one of their own was so near their targets.

"We need to send our Pokemon into the pit to defeat the Geodude before they get the meteorites," he yelled, and looked at Blue, half expecting his friend to argue or disagree, but Blue determinedly nodded, and Red swelled slightly inside.

"You'll need a clear path first!" Janine said, smirking, and threw a PokeBall forwards; Ekans formed loudly on the limo roof, and jumped directly onto Arbok, fangs sinking through her purple flesh. Arbok squawked and flung her tail so violently it made the limo roll backwards, creating a clear path to the pit. Red nodded at Janine, and she grimly tilted her head backwards, throwing stars already raised.

"LET'S GO!" Red yelled, and he ran forwards, clutching Metapod in his arms. Arianna turned as he approached, but Mark leapt at her and began to wrestle the staff from her hands. Red smirked and ran to the very edge of the pit before stopping; briefly taking in how smooth the slopes edges were, as if it had been carved like this, before his Pokemon leapt into the battle below. Charmander, Bulbasaur and both Rattata became blurs, racing towards the scattered Geodude, many of whom were still blind from the String Shots, and the attacks began to fly. Leaf and Blue joined him, and Metapod and Kakuna both fired String Shots into the pit, either blinding or trapping the Geodude there. Red was beginning to feel confident, watching as Charmander slashed a Metal Claw against one Geodude, while Bulbasaur threw two back to the grunts with vine whip; their battle was turning in their favour, and Janine was even taking out the grunts, her throwing stars shining as they soared against the pit.

"They will need help if they are going to defeat them all," Leaf said.

"My other Pokemon – I keep forgetting about it!" Blue cried, and he quickly fetched his third PokeBall out from his pocket. Red and Leaf both turned away from the battle at hand, intrigued by what their friend now had, and Blue beamed broadly as he threw the capsule into the battle. Bulbasaur jumped backwards as the ball landed near him, and the Geodude without String Shot blinding them watched with interest as red light poured out, merging together to form a….

"Karp Karp Magikarp Karp Karp!" A squat red fish with gold on its top formed in the pit, flopping so intensely that the Geodude backed away in fear. However, Blue's face sunk as he stared in shock at the Pokemon, which was making so much noise that the battle was actually pausing, the grunts lowering their weapons and staring down into the pit.

"A Magikarp… I paid for a Magikarp…," Blue murmured, looking at his latest acquisition almost with disgust. Red and Leaf quickly exchanged looks, both of them wearing expressions of amusem*nt merged with concern, and Red gave Blue a consoling pat on the back.

"In a few weeks time, it will be a Gyarados," he said, but Blue turned and gave him a look that would make plants wither, and Red stepped awkwardly away. He looked across at the battle around them, and was surprised to see that everyone had fallen silent; all eyes were on the Magikarp that had been unleashed into the middle of a war zone, a weak creature in a situation that required such power that it seemed to have stunned everyone and everything around it.

Then laughter erupted from high atop the cliff. Red, Blue and Leaf all looked upwards, and they saw Archer standing at the edge of the clearing, laughing loudly and deeply as he stared down at them with cold, humourless eyes.

"This is what we are up against?" He cackled. "These are the trainers that Giovanni wants us to stop? Look at you three – you're pathetic! Team Rocket is going to conquer Kanto and rule this region, yet Giovanni thinks we should be concerned about trainers who can get tricked into buying Magikarp? You fight against us with Rattata and Caterpie and Weedle – you are no threats to us!"

"I bet you didn't think that when we beat you the other day!" Red shouted, and Archer stopped laughing instantly, his eyes narrowing as he glared down at them.

"This has gone on long enough," he said coldly. "Kill them, kill every last one of them; KILL THEM!" And without waiting, Archer pulled a machine gun away from a nearby grunt, angrily raising it up and pointing it towards them, and everyone watched, certain that someone was about to be shot.

I have seen enough, a deep voice suddenly boomed, and Leaf jumped, looking frantically around until Red poked her and pointed at the sky; Deoxys was no longer glowing, but simply floating, eyes flashing with a vivid pink light. Leaf was in awe of the Legendary, taking in its long red and turquoise arms, its three pointed head, the jagged green points on its leg, and the shining jewel that sparkled on its chest.

I am not impressed by the actions I have seen today, Deoxys said, its tone emotionless but it felt scolding as it echoed inside all their heads. Violence is not the answer to any issue; as you can see, it has been so long so I have felt the need to change to my Attack forme that my body was slow to accept the change. I am disappointed but not surprised by your very human actions today, but I am here to end it. Its eyes flashed more brightly than ever, and when Deoxys flexed his arms, a faint rainbow wave flickered across the scene.

Suddenly, all members of Team Rocket were floating in the air; the Zubat and Geodude froze and rose up like balloons, while the grunts squirmed and struggled against their invisible bonds. Red, Blue and Leaf watched Arianna and her Arbok rise up, along with a now groaning Archer, and they kept rising until they reached the height of the clearing. Then, Deoxys moved its arms to the left and all of Team Rocket soared across the pit before getting dumped in the bushes.

You shall leave now, within the next minute, and tell your commander that if any of you try and steal my meteorites again, I will not be so lenient, Deoxys boomed, now waving his arms so that Red and Blue's Pokemon rose out from the pit. These stones are not fro humans to touch, and I shall not have any bloodshed over what is mine ever again, but I will gladly be the one to shed it if I am pushed. Deoxys stretched its arms out wide, and the four meteorites lit up like rainbows as they floated towards the uneven holes, falling in like pieces of a puzzle. Both sides watched as Deoxys brought his arms together, something like electricity crackling between the tips, and it pulled away to form a giant, glowing ball, sparkling and shining like something magical.

"Step back," Casimer cried, and everyone obeyed the Champion, but they had barely moved a step before Deoxys threw the ball down into the pit. It exploded the second it touched the ground, a huge golden white light blinding them all as the energy rose up the sides. Red, Blue, Leaf, their Pokemon and everyone around them watched in awe as the light rose up, almost as tall as building, shining and glowing like a great pillar; then, after what felt like minutes, there was a brilliant rainbow flash, and a wave of energy washed across them, and the light had disappeared.

"Look at the stones!" Janine cried. Red had to blink rapidly, the bright light burnt into his eyes, but he rushed forwards with the others and stared into the pit; the meteorites were plain and black once more, but now they were infused into the ground, the floor as smooth as the rest of the pit.

"Team Rocket had gone," Mark said with a touch of bitterness, and Red looked up and the clearing on the other side was indeed empty.

"Where have they gone?" He asked.

They would have retreated; my words will have affected them, even if they do not fully taken them into account, Deoxys replied, floating down and staring at the crowd of people before them. Red shifted uncomfortably, feeling those blank eyes staring into the back of his head, but did not speak his discomfort. I shall leave now that I have secured my meteorites; Casimer, Mark, I expect you to keep your promise, and that those who bore witness to the acts shall spread my wish across your land.

"Of course," Mark said quickly, while Casimer nodded solemnly.

Good, Deoxys replied simply, and turned his attention back to Red, Leaf, Blue and Janine. Enjoy the rest of your travels children, but be warned; I can sense a tension brewing in the air, a tension I have not felt for some years. Expect there to be more threats like these in your travels, and be warned. As for you, Blue Oak; it is not what a Pokemon looks like that matters, it is what it does with its abilities that counts, and what you as a trainer do with such a Pokemon will mark you for the rest of your travels. Blue looked down at the Magikarp flopping at his feet, and silently nodded, though was not sure what to make of those words.

Farewell trainers, I hope that I will not need to encounter you again; if I do, then the best of luck for your futures. And with a flash, Deoxys sped back up into the sky; all heads inclined upwards, watching the red blur as it disappeared through the rainbow coloured clouds, and then even the strange colours faded away, normally white clouds appearing instead. Silence fell across them all, one that was awkward as none of the strange assorted group quite knew what to say now…

"For god's sake, trust me to always get the bad driver!" A voice shrieked, and everyone turned as Madame emerged from the limousine, shaking her head and flexing her wrinkled arms, walking stick clasped in hand. "The damn fool drove right off the road, nearly killing us all, and managed to bloody well knock himself out in the process! They just hand licenses out these day – my god, the state of the world today! Alright then, what did I miss?"

***

"Are you sure you aren't going to come with us?"

"Yeah… I'm sorry, but I am meant to be training, and it seems this past week all I have done is fight for my life! I wasn't even keen on that party in the first place."

"You can probably blame us for that," Leaf said, smiling awkwardly, and Janine laughed briefly. The ninja had her rucksack hanging off one shoulder and her Ekans wrapped around her right leg, hissing softly as her yellow eyes flickered about the PokemonCenter waiting room. Red and Blue were talking to Mark by the couches, and for a moment Janine stared across at them, falling silent as she watched them all. Leaf tried to look away, but she could not help but stare curiously at her now departing friend; since Janine had declined the gym battle, she had been wondering what the Pokemon trainer was doing if not that. Surely there must be a reason for leaving home and training her Ekans, but Leaf was beginning to wonder how much her friend was keeping to herself.

"I am sure we will run into each other again," Janine said suddenly, turning around, and Leaf snapped out of her thoughts. "I will be heading in the same direction as you guys – your heading through Mt Moon now, right?"
"Yeah, I think so, then on to Cerulean to face Misty."

"Well, good luck with that – hopefully Team Rocket won't show up again."

"Hopefully they don't," Leaf replied, and she flung out her arms. "Take care of yourself!"

"You too," Janine said brightly, and the two embraced for a moment. Leaf felt odd at how attached she had become to Janine after only a few days together, but it had been nice to have another girl around, to have another friend that had not fled in fear the moment Team Rocket had appeared. Yet as Janine walked out of the Center waving, Leaf wondered if there was something they had done to drive her away, and she looked over at Red and Blue, wondering why Janine had kept staring at the pair.

"I'd better be heading back to the museum," Mark said suddenly, and Leaf headed over as the handsome archaeologist got to his feet. "You three don't seem to have any lasting damage, but the museum is going to need a bit more work."

"Thanks for checking up on us," Leaf said, smiling softly, and Mark winked back.

"I feel it is the least I can do – removing those meteorites from the pit and throwing the party is what got us all into this mess in the first place." His face sunk a bit at this, and when he next spoke it was with an air of awkwardness. "I should have known something like this would happen if we displayed the meteorites – it was a harmless dig originally, and we just happened to come across them, but we could not turn down the opportunity. I never thought it would turn out like this, but with something that rare and powerful…"

"It's not your fault, you can't have known Team Rocket would try and steal them," Red said. Mark seemed to relax at this, and smiled uneasily at them.

"Well, enjoy the trip to Mt Moon – walking back that way?"

"Yes, should be really fun to walk all that way again," Blue grumbled, and Mark boomed with laughter as he edged towards the door. Leaf watched him go, the second friendly face to leave them so soon, and she found words bursting out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"You should go see Brock!" She cried, and Mark looked stunned. "I just think… he seemed down before, and I think he feels a bit ignored after this whole incident." Mark's eyes widened at this, but then realisation washed over him and he frowned slightly at his feet.

"Deoxys only wanted Casimer and I to go, I did feel bad about shunning Brock aside… maybe I will go see him, just to check on things." Leaf smiled at this, and when Mark grinned back it made her heart flutter.

"We will have to see you again at some point!" She yelled as he walked out the door. "I… I… I need to pay you back for those tickets, even if I didn't end up going."

"I'll hold you to that," Mark said laughing, and he followed in Janine's steps out of the PokemonCenter, leaving the three alone. Leaf watched her go with a smile on her face, but she realised after a few seconds that Red and Blue were watching her, struggling not to laugh.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"You, drooling over him!" Blue scoffed.

"Could you have been more obvious?" Red snorted, and he and Blue began to giggle, nearly doubling over in their fits of laughter.

"Jealous much?" Leaf said, giving her head held high.

"No thanks, I'd rather go for Brock's Onix than you!" Red replied with a smirk, and Leaf scoffed and tossed her hair back. Her eyes suddenly landed on one of the posters, and she recognized it as the same one they had seen in Viridian – Casimer, sitting in a dark space and staring intently at the camera.

"Whatever happened to him?" She said, and Red and Blue stopped laughing and turned.

"I'm not sure, he just left while we were checking out," Blue said with a shrug.

"It would have been nice to have actually spoken to him," Red mumbled, his joy fading away now.

"Hey, I am sure you will meet him some day," Leaf said, trying to sound encouraging as they made their way to the exit.

"Yeah, on the day I become Champion," Blue smirked.

"In your dreams! You'll have to get past me first if you ever want to have that title!" Red retorted, beaming brightly. Leaf smiled as she walked in step behind them, pleased to see that the two seemed to have reached a truce for now – there was no mention of them making up, but all signs of animosity had completely faded away, but Leaf's mind kept going back to Janine…

"Off are you?" Someone croaked from behind, and Leaf turned to see Madame was halfway into her limo, a suited chauffeur holding the door open for her, a bandage around his head. "Pity I missed the party before; I would have quite liked to give one of those Team Rocket pricks a good kick up the arse!"

"Same here," Leaf said, chuckling, and Madame gave her a cheeky wink.

"You've got some good spirit in ya girlie, reminds me of a younger, nicer me. I am going to want to see you around again – get those boys there to watch out for you, I don't want to lose my new favourite trainer!"

"Please, I'll have to watch them!" Leaf replied, winking back, and Madame's cackle lingered in the air long after her door was closed, and Leaf waved enthusiastically as the limousine drove past.

"Who is that old woman, you never actually introduced us," Blue asked indignantly as they followed the limo down the road, watching as it turned south towards Viridian.

"She's a friend, hopefully one we will be seeing again some time," Leaf said, smiling broadly, the old woman's words circling inside her head.

"You seemed to have made quite a few friends here," Red said. "Though what happened to Janine anyway; why did she leave?"

"She said that she needed to train…," Leaf replied, but she could not hold her tongue any longer. "But… I think your fighting may have put her off," she added cautiously, turning to face the two boys in her life, and they stopped dead in their tracks.

"Our fighting? Why would that have put her off?" Blue asked, looking distraught.

"She kept looking at you when I asked why she was leaving; it is just a guess, but she is probably use to travelling alone and not having to deal with other people squabbling around her." Red and Blue's face sunk as they exchanged equal guilty looks, and Leaf sighed.

"I made a mistake this morning… well, we all did. When I left PalletTown, I thought we would be travelling and working together. Instead, I had to go into my gym battle without the two people who, despite our pasts, I had figured would always be with me out here. But its not just you two, I should have tried harder to stop you going after Casimer, or I should have come with and made sure nothing bad happened.

"I am not sure how to word this…" Leaf said, shaking her head, "but we are a team now, and we need to be thinking about each other. If we ever see Team Rocket again, we have to agree on what to do. We need to stick together, so no fighting, no matter what happens. I don't know what is waiting for us out there, but I came on this journey to see new things, not to have arguments and nearly get killed." Red and Blue both looked ashamed, but they simultaneously nodded at her before looking guiltily at the other.

Leaf smiled grimly, and as they set off again, the two boys now talking in low, apologetic tones, she exchanged ashamed looks. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the Boulder badge she had received only a few hours ago; it sparkled in the sunlight that had burst through the clouds, and Leaf's beam brightened as she led the way towards Route 3, her eyes falling on the looming peaks ahead, hopeful for what the rest of her journey had to offer.

***

"So… you have failed to retrieve the meteorites."

"Yes sir."

"I see…' Giovanni paused, mulling this over as he took a long sip of wine. "Yet you retrieved the spell book, did you not?"

"Yes sir, we have that sir, right here if you want to –"

"Oh no, I have seen it before, many years ago," Giovanni replied drolly, though he was grinning on the inside. "Very good, I am pleased that it is now back in my possession."

"What about the meteorites sir? What do you want us to do about them?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing, there were never really my concern," Giovanni replied, waving his hand at the image projected on his wall. "I thought it would have been handy to get hold of them and have Deoxys under our control, but it is not necessary; besides, Oak and the rest of those old fools will be wondering why I wanted it, so that shall make for a good distraction for the next few weeks."

"But… but sir, you gave us orders to retrieve them; we lost many grunts and dozens of weapons because of this mission!"

"You really shouldn't have pointed that out, now I know how much of a failure this was," Giovanni said, smirking into his glass so Archer could not see. "I want you to return to base and work on training the replacements for the soldiers you lost, the others can join Gideon at Mt Moon without you – oh, and leave the book with them, I don't want it getting lost on your return journey. Tell the others Gideon shall brief them when they meet him – it's his mission, one of his pet projects, nothing that really matters to me."

"But sir, I can assure you I'd be a valuable –"

"See you here tomorrow Archer," Giovanni interjected, and he pressed a button on his desk; the video call ended, and Archer's face disappeared from Giovanni's wall as the projector turned off. The Rocket boss stared at the space for a few moments, dwelling over his failings, but then he topped up his glass, smiling to himself; the meteorites had merely been a ruse, and hopefully it would be a few days before anyone took stock of the museum and saw what had really been taken. .

"Here is to you Charlotte; may all your past mistakes lead to more successes in my future," he said to his empty office, and laughed as he drained the rich purple liquid in one long draught. It had been a successful mission, and Giovanni could not help but laugh as he imagined his enemies' reactions when they learnt the most powerful weapon in the entire world was now once again in his clutches.

So end's the Pewter City trilogy so long after it started. I hope it was worth the wait, and I will do my best to get the next one up. Things were not as smooth in terms of development/personality as I would have liked, and I will greatly appreciate any constructive criticism around that, but I hope to expand on the seeds that have been lain over the next few chapters.