Aftermath

[Hangman]

I doubt anyone will get all the references in chapter 6. XD
Meh, whatever. I'm happy to be done with it.
Also, I'm working on an English essay at school, so production is going to be slowed. Sorry. ;(

[Hangman]

Alright, here's chapter 7, as promised. And me up late at night. Again. On a school night. Again. I gotta stop that. XD

[Hangman]

A F T E R M A T H

Ch. 7

SUGGESTED MUSIC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y44ob...89BC914162840E

Jake's teeth sank into the drumstick he was eating as he simply sat at a table without a care in the world. He was about finished with it when a young boy asked him "Want more?" Jake nodded and the boy handed Jake another drumstick from across the table. "We're going to go back home soon," he told Jake.
After a few minutes, Jake and his trainer got up from the table and began walking, when suddenly, a speeding ball of light whizzed in front of them. He turned to see a lucario, its paws still blue with energy, standing on a hill with the sun behind it. "Jake, use flamethrower on 'em!" the boy commanded before Jake could make further examinations. He obediently used the move the boy commanded, which in turn staggered the attacker. Suddenly, the lucario disappeared as the sun was replaced by a face with purple fur and familiar gemstone eyes and the sky now a pitch black. "Jake!" his trainer called out. Jake spun around to see his trainer being dragged into a cave behind them which was not there the last time they were facing that direction. He dashed in an effort to help his trainer, but as he neared, his trainer faded more, but Jake could also see what seemed like the same lucario as the one that attacked them. He managed to get to his trainer's hand, but he was too late. His trainer was gone. And by the hands of who? A lucario.
Suddenly, Jake was sitting up in a bed, when he realized it was a nightmare. But one thing remained in his head. The lucario who kidnapped, and possibly killed, his trainer. The facial features, the expression, the height, everything was in his head. It probably WAS just a nightmare, but still. It was the most important thing in the world to him right now.

You can turn the suggested music off now if you want.

The Employer found his way to the bar the next day. He was there to simply hire someone to replace the ditto. He eventually found the right person: a lucario who called himself Raiden.
"So you said you are an expert when it comes to spying, firearms, and various other weaponry, correct?" the Employer asked.
"Yes," Raiden replied.
"Good. Now, you're targets are a group of four: they own a van, one carries a Five-seveN, another carries a sword, the other two carry bows. I think their names are something like Ben, Willy, Shannon, and Jake. Not exactly sure. Ben and Jake are two typhlosions, likely brothers, Willy is a zangoose, and Shannon is a gardevoir."
"Do you have their locations?"
"Sadly, no. They took out another one of my employees who had the information. It was such a tragedy..." Well, that's quite a lie.
"And you know that how?"
This took the Employer by surprise. But it showed him that Raiden had an attitude, which could make him even more valuable.
"Well, we don't exactly know for sure. Officially, he's MIA."
Raiden wasn't hiding the fact that he was highly considering this job.
"I'm willing to pay $2,800, Raiden. What do you say?"
Raiden thought about it for a moment. This Jake... His description sounded familiar. And not in a good way. But the pay sounded great. In the end, though, he accepted the job.

Jake had woke up before the others, so he went down to the square and bought breakfast and brought it back to the room. The entire morning was rather uneventful, but then again, most mornings are. After he ate his breakfast, Jake simply looked out the window, after all, he had nothing better to do. For an hour or 2, absolutely nothing out of the orinary happened. No wonder the city was called Solitude.
But after that, Jake saw something completely new to him.
A snivy riding an ATV pulling a wagon of things pulled into the square. A crowd gathered around him. Jake could see that the snviy was announcing something, but what? He then realized the window was closed, almost laughing at his own stupidity. He opened up the window and Jake listened long enough to be able to tell who exactly the snivy was and what he was doing.
"...and I also found these!" the snivy announced as he picked up a metal box of colored disks with numbers on them. He had a slight Australian accent. "TMs! They use these to teach certain moves to trained Pokémon!"
The people of Solitude were rather skeptical about this one. They just looked like normal disks. They responded with mixed reactions, though. "Pfft, yeah right!" "How do WE use them? The few remaining trainers are the ones that use them!" "I'm outta here..." "How much are you wanting for them?" "Show us something else you got!"
The snivy didn't really know how to respond this, so he simply set the box aside. By now, Jake was standing outside the inn, listening to what the snivy said. He wasn't liking how they said "few remaining trainers." Then the snivy picked up something that caught Jake's attention. A hat. The exact kind his trainer wore. Only it was scorched. Suddenly, he had a mix of emotions. Worry. Relief. Shock. A little bit sad.
"Wait! Don't go! I've more! Look at..." The snivy seemed to shrink down as he found Jake towering over him.
"Where did you find this?" Jake demanded, flames flaring up on his back
"On-on the side of the road," the snivy replied weakly.
"What road?"
"I-I d-don't remember..."
"Tell me where."
"It was east of here. There's a ruined city near it."
"Thank you," Jake said as he began to walk back into the inn, though he didn't sound very thankful. But in reality, he was.
"Sir?"
Jake turned around and saw that the snivy was talking to him.
"You can have the hat if you want... Free of charge."
"Oh. Th-thank you," Jake said as the snivy handed him the hat. He put it on and walked back to the inn.
About half an hour later, Ben woke up. He saw Jake sitting on the couch in the room reading a book. "Where'd you get that?" Ben asked.
"The library. Just down the road," Jake replied.
"How long have you been up?"
"Couple hours."
"Why didn't you wake us up?"
"I was busy. And I didn't want to wake you up."
"Busy doing what? Exploring the depths of the library?"
"Yes, Ben. The library is built on ancient ruins with dungeons and monsters. I leveled up a few times while I was down there. Increased my mana and stuff. I ran out of potions and decided to come back up, though."
Ben rolled his eyes. "Have you been hunting yet?"
"No. There's some breakfast for you, Will, and Sara on the counter. You'll have to heat it up yourself though."
"Thanks," Ben said as he put some food in the microwave.
"Were you planning on going hunting this morning?"
"Yes."
"Alright. We'll go hunting when you're finished with your breakfast."
"Okay."
Later, Ben finished his breakfast and Jake put his book down and wrote a note in case Will and Sara woke up while he and Ben were hunting.
"Wait..." Ben said as they began to head towards the door and Jake put his hat on. "Where'd you get the hat?"
So for the next few minutes before they went hunting, Jake explained what happened in the square with the snivy.

"Raiden, are you in position?" the Employer asked.
"Yes, sir," Raiden replied through his walkie-talkie.
"Good. Keep Hunter updated, as well."
"Will do."

Jake and Ben moved along a trail in the woods on a hill that apparently is one of the most used. To their left, the hill sloped upwards. To the right, a very steep slope with a creek at the bottom.
"Hey, Jake, have you been feeling like you're being watched lately?" Ben asked suddenly.
"Actually, yes, I have," Jake replied.

"Dammit, Raiden! Be quieter!" the Employer snapped at Raiden through his walkie-talkie.
"With all due respect, sir, I'm not making a sound," Raiden told the Employer.
Why is it, the Employer thought, that every time someone says that, they mean "kiss my ass"?

"Hm. Strange. Well, at least I know I'm not crazy," said Ben.
This made Ben and Jake laugh, even though it probably scared away a lot of game around them.
Suddenly, Ben and Jake heard something snap. They froze, startled by the noise. Then Jake slowly turned around. He saw... Nothing. Strange. The snap sounded like it came from behind them.
"My trap!" Ben said. Then Jake remembered too. They had put down a trap earlier, deep in the foliage. The two of them moved toward the trap to find a wild turkey. Quite rewarding.
"You should make more of those, Ben," Jake said.
"Good idea," Ben agreed.
The rest of the trip went on normally. They got the wild turkey, a rabbit, and even managed to get a deer. They skinned them as normal and cooked them and returned to Solitude. They eventually found a trader who would buy the pelts and kept the food in the van, hidden.

"Good. Now we know their hunting spots. They'll most likely return here tomorrow," the Employer said. "Raiden, you notice anything else?"
"They said they'd deploy more traps, as well," Raiden reported.
"Alright. Let's keep an eye out for those."

-END OF CHAPTER 7-

[Hangman]

I should probably give credit for one of the characters in this chapter. The idea for the snivy with stuff on his ATV's trailer comes from the roamer characters from the City of Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau.

[Hangman]

Feedback anyone? Please?

[Hangman]

A F T E R M A T H

Chapter 8, Part 1

Good news, ladies and gentlemen. We've recovered Jake's log. We found it in the forest, but word's been going around that the group is still alive. After all, we'd find bodies if they were killed. Or at the very least, a Five-seveN, a sword, a bow, a hat, or some glasses. Or maybe some blood. What we're thinking is that he accidentally left it there or dropped it. So, rest assured, they're almost guaranteed to be still alive. Anyway, here's the data we've obtained from it.*

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This means there will be alternation between first- and third-person in some parts of the story. I'm very sorry if it bothers you.

Day 10

I bought this log from a merchant in the square, don't know if I'll keep it. After all, it WAS pretty cheap. But talking about the price of it is not why I bought it. But I'm not writing some sort of deep or philosophical intro or anything.

The log starts from when this whole thing started, so to save your time and mine, I'll cut straight to the part where we left off.*

I'm thinking about telling the others about that event in the square with the snivy. Not gonna be anything new to Will though, since I already told him. No doubt they've noticed already. Nonetheless, we're surviving. I'm not sure what happened to the group that attacked us. I've been hearing whispers about them, and that the leader simply goes by "the Employer", and that someone named Raiden joined him. I'm not sure what kind of Pokémon he is, though. Also, a prisoner broke out of the town jail. I hear he's a swampert, was in jail for assaulting the town hall. Scar across his left eye. Muscular. I'll have to keep an eye out for him.*

Today, there's nothing we need to do. I mean it. Absolutely NOTHING. We're all tired from hunting, except for Will, who's still recovering from his injuries, but feels like he's as recovered as he ever will be and is feeling very restless.*
"So, you're telling me, for once in our lives, we can just sit around and do nothing?" Will asks.*
"That's right," I say as I read a book.*
"...wow."
"Yep."
"What's that book you're reading?" Will asks about 10 minutes later.*
"It's a legend about two brothers,*a zangoose and a charizard," I tell him.*
"Huh. Sounds familiar."
"Since when have you been one to read books?" I ask, looking up at him questioningly. *
"I don't know... It just... Does."
I'll admit, it did before I started reading it. Just before I can turn the page, though, I notice something doesn't feel quite right. I look up and see Will with wide eyes, trembling nervously. A lot. He's looking at something behind me.*
"Don't move, don't do anything stupid, and you and your friends might survive this."
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a bright, glowing blue sword. A dark black paw with a spike on the back of it is holding it. Crap. Looks like I've no way to get out of this one.*
"Put the book down and get up."*
I do as I'm told and am leaded out the inn's back door, along with Will. The receptionist is, again, no where in sight. Come to think of it, I don't really see anyone in the inn. Great. Only God knows what's outside.*
"What's this?" I hear as the invader reaches for my right side and pulls a gun out of the holster. With my initials on it.*
"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have missed that!" I say, smiling as they confiscate my gun. If it's gonna be your last, why not make the most out of the moment? Will must think I've lost it, though.
Eventually, we're piled into a station wagon, and I realize something that could be our chance of survival. They don't have my knife. And I notice something else, too. We're on our way back the place that shot down that plane.*

I dread to know what lies inside.*
When we get there, it's nighttime. I can't imagine what Ben and Sara are doing right now. Or if they're even still alive.*
As we're escorted inside the fort, I see a large sign with "EAGLE" painted on it. I also pay close attention to my surroundings, planning an escape. And they know it. But they don't care.
The fort has some sort of medieval design, but seems very awkward with all the modern buildings and weaponry. Up in the battlements, there is a large hole that looks like it's being repaired. I remember seeing it on the outside, too. 5 and 1/2 feet*above a pile of dead leaves. Perfect. And there's a ramp leading up to the battlements. Did they even thing of this? But then, I realize it could be a trap. But there's also a hole in the gate that just shut behind us. Wow. They didn't think about it, did they? Oh well. They could still kill me here and now.*
We're taken to the building in the center of the fort. When we get inside, I hear, "Sir, I got 2 of 'em."
"Perfect..." replies an all too familiar voice from the other side of a desk inside. The chair behind it turns around and I see none other than the Employer himself, with a swampert accompanying him from behind. "Ah, Jake! Fancy seeing you here! And is this a... Friend of yours?"
I stay silent, and so does Will.
"We've got a lot of catching up to do."
And before I know it, me, Will, the lucario who captured us, and the swampert, who I think may be the criminal since he has a scar across his left eye, are following the Employer. We arrive at a smaller building with 4 bunks,*a barred window, a vent in bad shape, and a foldable chair, for some reason.*
"You'll be staying here for the night. I hope you had dinner already!" the Employer says to me and Will. "Now get in there!"
We're shoved into the room as the door is slammed shut, and I hear a number of locks securing the door.*
"W-what do we do now?" Will asks, already starting to panic.*
"I don't know. Why don't you got sit down on the bunk over there and try to rela-"
"RELAX?! Are you kidding me, Jake?!" Will yells as he grabs me. "We've been captured! By these guys! EAGLE! OPEN YOUR EYES!"
"You know what? See if I care what you do! I'm going to actually do something productive!" I yell back.*
Will spends about 15 minutes walking around the room before he sits down on the bunk. "It's hopeless. This is how we die..."
I ignore him and continue inspecting the room. I can't help but get the feeling that it's bugged. Then I finally notice something. The vent. It's in bad shape, therefor, it's not going to stay together. The chair. It's just the right height to reach the vent. I take off its grate, and now I see that I've found the way out. "Will..."
"Hopeless... We're gonna die... All gonna die... Hopeless..." he mumbles.*
"Will!"
"Huh? What Jake?"
"I think I found the way out!"
Will scrambles over to me.*
"Oh my God..." he says.*
"Oh no. We're gonna die," I tell him. "You're gonna die, I'm gonna die, we're ALL gonna die... Just not today."*
I jump up into the shaft. Will jumps in, too. We crawl for only a minute, and then I see a way outside. I drop down, Will doing the same, and then we find ourselves surrounded by a countless number of threatening-looking Pokémon. The shaft is no where in sight.

SUGGESTED MUSIC:*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYWZZlVlFb4

"Well shit," Will says, already on his feet. I get up too, and see the situation we're in. In unison we put our hands up, not sure of what else to do. And before anyone knows what on earth is going on, me and Will are already sprinting for the exit, but are quickly blocked by more Pokémon. Suddenly, it's as if time just stops. No one does anything, says anything, or moves. Just paused.*
Out of nowhere, a large, black, dragon-like figure lands. A smaller figure, one that looks a bit like Will but with a hat, jumps off of the back of the dragon.*
The dust begins to clear, and we see that the figures are more Pokémon. Only these 2 aren't here to kill us. Some other Pokémon begin to run for the hills. We see a black charizard and a zangoose wearing a hat, just like the ones from the legend. Heck, they probably ARE the ones from the legend.*
"Ready for another EAGLE raid?" the charizard asks.*
"Sure am, Epic," the zangoose replies.*
"Looks like possibly a rescue mission, too." The two of them got in defensive stances.*
Now, we all know I can't possibly describe this next event as epic as it was, but you can bet I'll try.*
The opposing Pokémon are sent flying, smashed into the ground, disintegrated, and more as all Hell broke loose. Instead of standing there like a couple of idiots, me and Will decide to help out.*
Now I wasn't watching Will, but I know what I did.*
I use flamethrower and take out 3, or else they gave in that easily. The flames on my back flare up. Uppercut a raichu somewhere. Take out another 3 that are already weakened with a flame wheel. A shadow claw on 2 more. Another flamethrower. And flame wheel. Heck, I lost count.*
Before long, a fraction of the opfor were begging for mercy, others falling back or running for their lives.*
After all the fighting, and after the dust settles, we begin to approach the charizard and zangoose.*
The charizard, Epic, said something very quietly that looked like "two o' clock" and the two brothers turned around looking at us. We stop dead in our tracks.*
"And there's the package," the zangoose, Guitar, says. We begin to approach again, but slowly.
"So how'd you end up here?" Epic asks.*
"W-we were captured" Will says before I can comprehend what we were just asked.*
"By EAGLE?"*
"Yes, sir," I say.*
"From where exactly?" Guitar asks us.*
"S-Solitude."
"Ah. Shady little town. Haven't seen you two around here."*
"Sir, we just got here only a month ago."*
"Really? From where?"
"Kentucky."*
"Haven't seen you there either."
"It's... It's a long story..."
"Oh I bet it is..."*
"Wait..." Will says.*
"Yes?" Epic replied.*
"Weren't you guys from Utah?"
"Yes sir."*
"So how'd you get all the way down here?"*
Guitar sighs. "It's because of EAGLE."

[Hangman]

A F T E R M A T H

Chapter 8, Part 2

As it turns out, EAGLE stands for *Earth's Air and Ground Legend Enforcers. EAGLE was created to protect the world from the Legendaries in case they turned against the humans. The reason it rebelled remains unknown at the moment, but right now, many believe it partly has to do with the power they were given. The humans in EAGLE had the latest in weapons and international defense, and their Pokémon were, or ARE specially trained, able to take down Legendaries, hence the name.*

"Well, thank you very, very much!" Will says. *We shake hands, and pretty soon they are off.*"Wait a minute..." Will says after they've already left. "Should we have asked for a ride?"
"Uh..... Crap," I say.*
"Well, this is gonna be a long walk!"
Luckily, though, the station wagon's still out there. We then drive all the way back to Solitude, which, as you could imagine, took a very, very long time.*
"Jake? Will? You're back! Wha..." but before Ben can finish, I'm fast asleep.

[Hangman]

Chapter 8... As pro.... As promised... With gue... Guest stars... Righ...right? That the correct t... Term? I think i... Think it is... *falls asleep*

[Hangman]

Once again, I should tell you, if you are confused about the last chapter, PLEASE read chapter 7. Some of it didn't copy correctly, and I suggest that you read it again.

[Hangman]

A F T E R M A T H*

Chapter 9

Day 11

I wake up back in our room, taking a minute to try to remember how on earth I fell asleep in this position. I glance at the clock. 12:00 PM. Oh. That's right... EAGLE. The legendary Epic and Guitar. The intense battle. The long station wagon ride. Well, might as well get up now. Huh. Ben and Sara aren't here. Must be out hunting. Will's still asleep. Library it is, then.*

"Hey." The sound of the librarian's voice stops me. "You Jake?" she asks. "I've heard good things of you, friend." Well. That's good to know. A good reputation in the town. It could have some benefits.

"Well, good morning," Ben says as he and Sara come back from hunting about an hour after I come back from the library. "Now that you're up," he says, "mind telling us about what happened last night?" Will begins to wake up.*
"Uh... Well... Long story..." I tell him.*
"Of course it is. It always is." Will's awake now, getting up from his bed.*
"Alright, I'll tell you...
"While you and Sara were asleep, I was just sitting on the couch reading a book and Will was sitting on his bed. Eventually, a lucario came in and we were threatened and told to get in his station wagon. We were drive *back to Kentucky. And we were at the place that shot that plane down. It turns out, it's owned by an organization called EAGLE.*Earth's Air and Ground Legend Enforcers. They were created to protect Earth from the Legendaries if they attacked. However, they rebelled for reasons that remain unknown. Some believe it was because of the-"
"Alright! Any homework for us?" Ben asks, beginning to get impatient. "Stop reciting the Wikipedia article and tell us what happened."
"Okay. We were captured. They locked us in a prison cell with a couple of bunks, a chair, and a ventilation shaft, which is how we got out of it. But outside, there were more Pokémon waiting to kill us. Then - are you sure you want me to tell you this? You won't believe it."
"Try me."
"Alright then...
"Out of no where, the legendary Epic and Guitar landed at the fort. And helped us." I can see a grin start to appear on Ben's face. Of course he doesn't believe me. "After the battle, we drove all the way back and you know what happened then.
Ben begins to laugh. "Alright, I thought I'd believe anything you would say, what with all that's going on, but don't lie."
"I knew you wouldn't believe me..." I say.*
"Ben, he's telling the truth," Will tells Ben.
"Convince me," Ben says.*
"Well... I don't have my gun," I say.*
"So where did you put it?"
"EAGLE took it."
"Would you stop with the EAGLE crap?"
"I'm serious."
"Then show me their base."
"Alright, you willing to pay for the gas?"
"I guess. But if it's not real, you're paying for it."
"Well alright then. Let's get in the van and go."

An hour later, we're at the EAGLE base.
"Where did you get the time to paint that?" pointing to the sign. Everyone just ignores him, though.*
"...Alright, there you go! Let's get outta here," I say after about a minute of standing around.*
"Oh, ho, ho, I never said I didn't think this was fake," Ben argues.*
"What more do you want, combat?" And as if cued, a shot from a tower or somewhere in the battlements rings out, barely missing Ben's head. Instinctively, each of us take cover. "Will, Sara, did eith..." They already have their bows out. Ben unsheathes his sword. And I only have my knife. Great.*
I sneak inside the fort, apparently without being spotted. I sneak around for a few minutes, looking for something of use. Then I see a building with a scorched hole in its wall from last night's battle. Perfect. But wait. Something's not right. Then I realize what it is I'm looking at. A trap. I pick up a stone and throw it on the ground near the building. "That was easy!" I yell, just to add effect. Almost immediately, a machine gun opens fire on the area around the hole. Of course, now the others think I'm dead. Well, they're going to have to deal with it for a while.*
I decide to go around the building and find a very small ruined building. I climb in the ruins and find a room not destroyed with broken guns littering the ground. And what do I find inside? New toys. And lot's of 'em. A shotgun. A few assault rifles. A snipe rifle. A few SMGs. All of which seem to be quality. So many choices. And so little time. And shouldn't I bring some back for the others?*
In the end, I choose the sniper rifle, a silenced HK 417 Sniper, conveniently with a shoulder strap, grab a couple of mags, and locate and take down the enemy sniper. The rifle has an incredible kick. Boy, the rest of the group must be confused now.*
"What the hell, Jake?!" Ben asks angrily when I get back.*
This time I don't even ask them if they're ready for a long story. "There was a building with a hole in the wall and it was really a trap, which I outwitted. I went around it and found some ruins and an armory. There are more guns in there if you're interested," I explain.*
"I think I'm going to stick with my bow," Will says.*
"Me too," agrees Sara.*
"Show me, I want one," says Ben.*

Ben chooses a Kriss Super V, which is the only SMG there, and also grabs a few mags. Luckily, (Don't ask me why these are here.) Sara and Will find four quivers, each with 15 arrows. They split the arrows equally between themselves, giving them both 38 arrows (Including the ones they already have) and some fancy quivers. Now we're all happy with our new toys. Except the EAGLE sniper, who's now struggling to get into the main building, which is still intact and in good shape. We decide to leave otherwise unnoticed to spare ourselves more combat. We get back in the van and start heading back to Solitude.*

Ben reluctantly pays for the gas to and from the EAGLE base. Ben is very eager to use his gun. I, on the other hand, just want more sleep.

The wartortle bursted into the command post. Sort of. More like fell in to. The Employer looked up from his computer at the door to see the wartortle, who had an area around the lower left corner of his head bleeding badly.*
"Th-th-they came..." he said before collapsing on the floor.*
"Ryan!" the Employer shouted after seeing this. "Someone get a medic over here! Now!" He began walking quickly to the wartortle.*
"He... Got me..." the wartortle said weakly. The medical team rushed into the room. He was rolled onto his back.*
"Dammit, don't die on me!"
Ryan shook his head weakly. He was quickly rushed away on a stretcher by the medical team. Raiden followed.*
"Raiden! Where are you going?" the Employer barked.*
"I'm going to help the medical team," Raiden told him.*
"Are you in the medical team?"
"No sir." The lucario opened up the door and followed the medical team regardless of what the Employer told him.*
"Raiden-"
"Trust me. I know what I'm doing." And with that, Raiden was out the door.*

[Hangman]

...No one is reading this, are they?
...
AW, SEE IF I GIVE A CRAP!
Honestly. Benefit? Pfft. I've had this idea for a story bouncing around in my head for 4 years! I'm happy just to get it down on paper! Er... iPad! Well... No... Now on a forum. Still though... Hell, I bet no one's reading this post either!
...I bet no one's reading this post either!
...no one's reading this post either!
...reading this post either!
...this post either!
...either!

Hello?

[Hangman]

A F T E R M A T H

Chapter 10

Day 12

Because of Ben's eagerness to use his gun, we go deep into the forest the next day, early in the morning. It's just going to be a quick walk out there, so we don't see what harm there could possibly be without telling the others.
"...and then I backflipped behind them, and used flamethrower." says Ben, telling me another one of his farfetched stories. "Took 'em out just like that."
"Right..." I say.
"No, I did! And then there was the time I-AAH OOF!" Ben tried to tell me as he tripped over something. "What the..." He then heard a squirrel scurry up a tree and turned, brought up his gun, and pulled the trigger. "DIE, LIZARD MAN!" Facepalm. "Huh? Jake! My gun won't work! Where's the bad guy?!"
"That's because you have the safety on, idiot," I tell him. Ben looks down at his gun and attempts to take the gun off safety before I snatch it from him. "And that was a squirrel." I hand the SMG back to him. "Now what on earth...?" I say as I inspect the object he tripped over. It looks like some sort of touch screen tablet. But bulkier. "The hell?"
"Uh... Hey, look! A note!" Ben says.
I take the note off the device and unfold it.
"What's it say?"

New EAGLE Officer,
My years as an EAGLE officer are coming to an end. Who your next targets will be, I do not know. To assist you though, I've set up a trap. It's a collapses shack. It has destroyed furniture, broken windows, debris, everything to make it as believable as possible. Inside it is a pistol, which has a tracking device in it. No doubt, they will unassumingly pick it up and take it with them. If this person isn't your target, or if you're not the new EAGLE officer, forget this entire thing ever happened and I'm sorry for wasting your time. The tracker is activated once touched by a heat source, such as a human or Pokémon. Once activated, it will show up on this device once you turn it on.
************************************************** ************************************************** *Good luck,
************************************************** ************************************************** *Former EAGLE Officer

"Huh," Ben says, unamused. "How much do you think a merchant will buy this piece of junk for?"
"I don't know," I say.
"Well, let's keep moving."
"Hold on, Ben..." I turn on the tablet thing and see the EAGLE logo flash on to the screen, with the word "Welcome!" under it, then fade. A compass appears, then the words "Satellite imagery courtesy of Google", and a green arrow pointing northwest of our position. The pinch and zoom gestures work, which I use to zoom out and see that the arrow is pointing to somewhere in Kentucky. The EAGLE base. The gun described in the note was mine. That's why there was no body at the collapsed shack. No escaping now, Employer.

We get to a place deep in the woods and Ben is bursting with excitement. I try *my best to calm him down and get him ready to shoot, and I'm not completely sure it works. "Ok, you are ready," I tell him.
"Alright. Shoot to thrill, right?" he says.
"Play to kill."
"Too many women, too many pills." We both smile and Ben begins to squeeze the trigger.
Finally, he fires.
The gun has an amazing rate of fire; the muzzle climb just as.
"Damn!"
"You didn't empty the entire mag, did you?" I ask.
"I don't think so," Ben says.



"Sir..."
"Don't tell me. We lost Ryan," the Employer said angrily.
"No sir."
"Then spit it out. What do you want?"
"Raiden seems to have disappeared."
"Wait... What?"
"Raiden se-"
"I heard you. Explain."
"There isn't really much to explain. There was a hole in the wall, and Raiden no where to be found in the entire base."
"Did you ask the med team and Ryan?"
"They said they didn't remember anything. One moment he was there, the next he was gone."
"That's not possible."
"But... It is."
"Dammit, find him or you're fired!"

When the Employer says you're fired, he means it quite literally. He puts sleep syrup in whatever you drink next, and when you wake up, you find you're covered in gasoline. Huh. Wonder how that got there. You wait for hours in a dark room when it comes. Redemption. The door opens and bright light streams in. A figure is standing in the doorway. It comes near you. You see that it's a swampert. It ties you up and takes you out of the room and brings you onto a metal platform on a stage. The Employer is there, and so is everyone at the Kentucky EAGLE base. The Employer gives a long speech and then turns to you. He gets out a lighter, lights it, and brings it near you. Hey... What's that burning sensation? You look down and see a large, growing flame. Oh God, you're on fire! But it's too late. You're screwed. Say goodbye to the world.

The Employer reached for a gun to make it seem more threatening. But he realized that the gun was gone too. Raiden must have stolen it. "Now go find Raiden!"
"Y-yes sir!" Well, guess who's getting fired?


Sent from my iPad

[Hangman]

A F T E R M A T H

Chapter 11

Day 15

Surprisingly, our food supply has gone by quickly in only 3 days. Today, it is my turn to go out and hunt.

I see a movement out of the corner of my eye. I spin around, bringing up my gun quickly. Perfect! A wild turkey! I ease down on the trigger and...

Whoa, where the hell am I?! Tied to a chair and... Oh. One of those times. Is it just me, or does it seem like EVERY villain do this? Well, now I have to wait. Hey, my gun is still strapped on my back!
...Ok, it's getting hard to keep looking on the bright side. I'm tied to a chair in a dark room with a lightbulb dangling from the ceiling. Let it begin...

After hours of sitting there doing nothing, my arms becoming numb, someone comes into the room.
"Hello, Jake."
Blackout.

Suddenly, I find myself waking up in ANOTHER dark room. (And once again, tied to a chair.) Well, more like a chamber. I lift my head up and look around when, almost as if someone had been waiting for me to do just that, the room lights up. There are metal plates with black dots in the center everywhere in this small circular room. *A loudspeaker comes down and a familiar voice comes out of it.
"Good evening, Jake." Oh Lord... It's the Employer again.
"What do you want this time?" I ask.
"Oh nothing. I'm just gonna kill you."
"Of course you are. What are you planning this time?"
"Well, I'm sorry. I MAY or may NOT kill you. You're actually going to be a test subject! " He seems overly cheerful today.
"For what exactly?"
"I'll tell you soon enough. First though, I must tell you something."
"Go right ahead, sir."
"You actually posses a set of abilities very few individuals posses."
"Why thank you. What kind of abilities?"
"Fate-of-the-world abilities."
"HAHAHAHAHA! Right! Can we cut to the part where I kick your ass?"
"I'm serious."
"Continue." I'm trying my hardest not to crack up again.
"You are able to be considered a Legendary with this much power. And we happen to be in need of just that power!"
"Waitwhat?"
"As you know, here at EAGLE, we are devoted to controlling Legendaries. A disturbance has recently been detected in our area. Legendary disturbance. We believe it has to do with a plane. And we've recently shot down a plane. That means that there is a Legendary on the loose right here in Kentucky."
"Well at least I've been living in Tennessee!"
"And Tennessee."
:C
"This Legendary just so happens to be none other than Mewtwo."
"I thought he was taken care of back in 1999."
"You thought wrong. He's back. And mad again."
"How do I stop him?"
"You're acting like we're on the same side. We're not."
"Darn."
"If he accomplishes what he wants, it could mean the world."
"And you're telling me this why?"
"Because. I'm gonna test a new weapon on you."
"Can I get out of here now?"
"No."
"Explain to me what you're going to do to me first, please."
"Well, using the same technology of Flux Pavilion's Bass Cannon, we've created a much more efficient weapon of sound. It can take down buildings, vehicles, you name it. Or so we're hoping. We need a test subject first. After we've done that, we will take your power while your body's systems begin to stop."
"Oh God..."
"Indeed."
"Listen, just untie me and just gimme three steps towards the door, mister, and you won't see me no more."
"You amuse me. Without further ado, let's power up the cannon!"
A machine starts whirring and an electronic voice announces "Powering up sound cannon." I'm in trouble. Big trouble. I try to free myself fro the rope and actually begin to slightly succed.
"Sound cannon at 25% power."
Almost... There! One hand undone! I reach for my knife and, once again, they forgot to take it. Idiots. I begin cutting away at the rope.
"Sound cannon at 50% power."
And... There. Hands free. Let's do this. I get up and head towards the door.
"Sound cannon at 75% power."
And they forgot to lock it. I walk out, closing the door behind me. I bring up my gun and realize there's no magazine in it. I take off my hat and reach inside. I find a spare loaded magazine in my hat in the secret compartment and load it inside my gun. You know what? Forget the gun. I got Legendary power. I sling the gun back over my shoulder and start charging up a flame wheel.
"Hey! Who are... HE GOT OU-" a gaurd yells as I use my flame wheel on him. Another guard appears, who I also take out with my flame wheel. I put the flame wheel out for now and focus on moving through the facility. Somewhere, I hear "90%, 95%, 100%." Suddenly, a large boom.

I eventually get outside and find a squad of more EAGLE fighters. Bring it on.

SUGGESTED MUSIC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uZ520fyjB4

Fire punch to the left, flamethrower three of 'em. Throw a fire wheel at another. Entire squad wiped out.
Now... Looks like a long walk home... No station wagons. No charizards coming out of nowhere. Just a long walk. And you know what sucks even more? I didn't get that turkey. Now I'm hungry because I'm thinking about it. Dammit.

[Hangman]

A F T E R M A T H

Day 16

"No, I already told you, he was lying! And even if he wasn't, we can't!" Ben yells.
"How do we know he was?"
"He's been trying to kill us ever since this whole thing started. "
"He was going to kill me, so what reason does he have to lie?" This takes Ben by surprise. But of course, he has a comeback ready.
"We can't save the world, so he must have been saying that so you'd think that if you died, we'd all be doomed.
"But what about the pla-"
"Sorry for interrupting, but have you guys seen Sara?" Will says.
"Now that you mention it... No," I say.
"I haven't either," Ben says.
"Oh no, then..."
"Stop, let's try to stay calm and try and think about this," I say.
"B-but, we never sent her out to hunt, so where-"
"Will, calm down."
"But what if she's dead?!"
"Calm down, dammit!" Suddenly, all the windows in the room shatter, with powerful winds coming in through outside.
"What the...?!"
I look out the window and see none other than Mewtwo himself. Perfect. PERFECT.
The town square is in chaos. Merchants and shoppers running for there lives, stalls exploding. A raichu comes out of one of the houses with an automatic rifle and aims at Mewtwo.
"HEY, MOTHA*****A!"
Mewtwo charges up some sort of ball of energy, and the raichu opens fire. Mewtwo releases his energy ball, which sails towards the raichu at an astounding speed. It's vaporized instantly.
"...Holy crap," Ben says. He reaches for his gun and turns off the safety, then aims at Mewtwo.
"Ben, don't!" I yell. Mewtwo turns towards Ben as I tackle him. Mewtwo seems not to notice.
"Get off of me!"
"No, we need to get out of here!"
"I know! We can't go anywhere if you're on me!"
We both sling our guns' straps over our shoulders; Will slings his and Sara's bows and quivers over his shoulder.
I get off of him and we head towards the van, evading fire and debris.
When we get to the van, all we find is a twisted metal shell and some of our things.
"Oh no..." Ben says.
I search through the car parts and junk and find 2 filled gas cans.
"How the heck did these survive?" I ask.
"That is a good question, sir. At least we still have that station wagon!"
I grab the gas cans and we head towards the station wagon, which, luckily, is okay. We pile in to the station wagon, and I slam down on the gas pedal. I glance up at the rear view mirror, which shows the little town we once called home, being destroyed.
"We still haven't found Sara..." Will says, breaking the silence. No one says anything back, probably because we don't know what to say. She could still be in there, being tortured, or she could already be dead. I dread thinking about it.

SUGGESTED MUSIC: (Start after Ben first says "Pokémon") http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pXRSPAUCTU

We come to a clearing in a forest and camp there.
"Do you believe me now?" I ask Ben.
"I do... But we still can't save the world," Ben says.
"Why?"
"We're just kids, Jake. Just some kids running from some corrupt military organization. And we're Pokémon. How often does that happen? Some kid Pokemon, with guns, whose trainers are missing or dead, trying to take down a corrupt military organization AND save the world from a Legendary that should've been taken care of in 1999! Do you really think we can do this all?!"
"I... I..." Holy crap. He's right. What ARE we going to do? "We've come this far, why stop now, Ben?"
Ben says nothing and lays down in the back of the car. Soon Will and I do the same.

[Hangman]

A F T E R M A T H

Chapter 13

"Project Aftermath has been initialized, sir."
"Excellent."
"It will take 10 days to fully initialize, then all you will need to do is say the word."

Project Aftermath at 3%...

Day 17

When I get up, Ben is already awake, sitting in a passenger seat in the car looking at the tablet.
"Hey Jake, come check this out," he says. I come and look and see the beacon is no longer at the EAGLE base, but somewhere else, moving. And fast. In our direction.
"Uh... What are we going to do?" I ask, since I'm STILL not used to thinking as soon as I wake up in the morning.
"I think we need to get out of here."
"Well, let's not waste any time and start packing up!" Why do I think this is a good idea? I just woke up. I'm not thinking all the way. Oh well.
We wake Will up and gather up our stuff and pack it into the car. "Jake, it's getting closer!" Ben tells me.
I'm packing up the rest of our stuff when I hear a rustling in the forest.
"It's almost here!"
I finally pack up everything and get in the car.
Something bursts from the forest. Crap, it's Raiden. Wait a minute...
"Jake, drive!"
I press the gas pedal down hard, but Raiden keeps following. I take frequent glances at the rear view mirror and notice something I didn't before. He's the exact same lucario from my dream. The one that killed my trainer.
I MUST have revenge.
I finally make up my mind. "Ben, take the wheel."
"What?" he asks.
"Just do it!"
He finally switches seats with me and I lean out the window to confirm that he's the killer. And he is.
Since everyone knows that trying to use fire type moves in a car, especially a moving one, is a terrible idea, I bring up my gun and aim it at Raiden.
"Jake, what are you doing?" Ben asks me. I say nothing.
I begin to ease down on the trigger, holding my breath. Wait a minute... I'm having second thoughts... Could I really kill this guy? I remember quotes from books and movies. "The burden is yours and yours alone to carry..."
Stop. He killed my trainer. He ruined my life. *He ruined Ben's life. He might've ruined Will and Sara's lives. In fact, he could have something to do with Sara's disappearance. I have to.
Suddenly, I hear something whiz past my ear. I see that Raiden has also brought his gun up and is firing. Forget this. There are lives at stake and I'm focusing on revenge and emotional burdens. "Ben, focus on breaking the line of sight between us and Raiden," I order. The car is already starting to turn; Ben asks no questions. Will is holding on to the seat tightly.
Another bullet. Wait, I'm in the car... Oh no...
"AAH! MY EAR!" Will shouts. I turn around and see that he was shot in the ear.
"Dammit! Ben, drive faster!" I command. I search for something to bandage Will's ear with. "Hold on, Will!" His ear is bleeding badly. Finally, I find something to patch him up with. We also lost Raiden. I find some bandages in the glove compartment. "Ben, pull over." He stops at a spot outside of the forest and I get out of the car to help Will. "Here, found some bandages. Need any help?"
"N-no, I think... I think I can help myself..."
"Okay..."

Soon, we're back on the road. We come to a town much larger than Solitude. It's walled and has armed guards. A sign says Louisville. My God, if this is all that's left of Louisville, it must've been hit by something. And very hard.
We park the car nearby and approach the gate, which 2 armed guards are posted at, who are clearly extremely bored.

"Hey Mike, you suppose that's that group?"
"Pfft. No. That group had a gardevoir. I don't see her anywhere."
"But look at that one's hat. It's the exact same one."
"I'm still not convinced. They're in Tennessee."
"But didn't you hear? Solitude was attacked recently."
"Uh... Oh. You're right. It actually could be them."
"You guys don't suppose you could let us in, do you?" I ask once we get to them.
"We might. Just answer some questions for us," one guard says.
"Okay, go ahead and ask."
"What's your name?"
"Jake."
The guards eyes widen. Oh my goodness, his name is Jake! *That's amazing!
"Who are they?" the other guard asks.
"The other typhlosion's Ben. He's my brother. And the zangoose is Will. He's my friend. By the way, he needs medical attention. We kinda need to get him to a doctor quick.
The guards hesitate before answering at first for some reason, but then one says, "Alright, we'll let you in."