Wednesday, May 10th, 1989

Captain Bourbabel could see an Elktan Lord fighting a Colran Lord. The Colran Lord's talonflame was burning up the grass, and the fire was spreading, only being put out by the orange and black mega chandelure. The blaze erupted from the talonflame's body, and his eyes stung from the brightness. "Superpower on the porygon," he said and spat out dust which had risen into his mouth. His braviary dived down and raised his claws at the porygon-z. The sharp talons ripped into the normal type, and it squirmed to avoid the attack to no avail. Lord Interrogator Spitz held his leg, still unable to rush in, much to the relief of Captain Bourbabel. Captain Bourbabel blinked away from Lord Interrogator Spitz and back to the talonflame. The Lord it was attacking lay dead on the floor beside his chesnaught, and her trainer's leg was injured. Remnants of a pin missile barrage scattered the ground. It could be broken or worse.

"Come on, Spitzy! You have to totally fight better than that!" Lady Smith called out, smiling as she slammed her fist into Young Lord Kek's side. He flew backwards into the side of his copperajah, the knife still in place. "You are strong, and I am sure Madi will love you. You'd make a great companion for someone."

Lady Smith's words made Young Lord Kek's spine shiver, and he felt the vomit creep up his throat. "Use... h-heavy s-slam..." he whispered. His feet struggled to find solid ground, and his legs shook. He felt a wave of electricity in the air. His eyes refocused on the electrode. It glowed and sparked a bright white and yellow; it spun at him and rolled faster and faster. The sound of metal surging through with electricity filled his ears, and he smelt burning metal. Relief washed over him when he noticed his copperajah, now covered in brown burn marks, had swatted away the electrode.

"Aww, no fair," he heard Lady Smith say.

"Piss off, bitch!" Lieutenant Tomilson chipped in. "You are just dragging this shit out!" He cut the rock that was hurled at him down. "Imagine bringing an ampharos to the fight and not mega-evolving it!" He jumped on his dragapult's back, and she flew up into the air and fired dragon darts down onto Lady Smith and her ampharos. It raised its yellow and black striped tail and batted away the darts with a single swipe. Its oval face let out a cheer of glee at its success. Lieutenant Tomilson narrowed his gaze and looked to Lady Smith. I don't know what other pokémon you have, but what I can do is draw you into mega-evolving this pokémon. I can't mega evolve my dragapult, but I can draw your focus. You are using your stone to fight Cohnen directly, which is stupid unless all your pokémon are electric types or almost all of them. I suppose you want to take the Lords and Ladies off the battlefield, but it won't work!

"You asked for it," Lady Smith said, grinning, waving a small circular mega stone. The battlefield paused as a bright yellow light shimmered around the ampharos. A purple blaze spiralled outwards, and a roar echoed through the field. A white, fluffy mane stood tall in the middle of the blaze. "Take it down!" The ampharos nodded, and a bombardment of dragon pulses fired from her mouth.

"What was that for?" Captain Bourbabel shouted at Lieutenant Tomilson. He ducked down and stepped back behind his alakazam when his braviary landed. Come on, Hishrak, keep pressuring the pinsir. "Barook, look for an opportunity!" The braviary pivoted in the air and dived down, narrowly avoiding a poorly aimed poison jab from an Elktan Lady's beedrill. The large stingers were far from delicate but were built for precision. He scoffed a little at her confusion. How did you miss the staraptor, and how did you confuse my braviary with that? Barook is red, and staraptors are brown. If you are colour-blind, then get off the fucking field! Captain Bourbabel looked to Sergeant Sutton. "I'll help you out! Let me take care of this pinsir first!"

"Sir!" Sergeant Sutton raised his fingers to the sky. He was bruised and battered, but he knew he had to keep fighting no matter what. A quick word in the wind, another rush in the sky, and he knew he was in trouble. He placed his hand on his poké ball to withdraw his injured volcarona, but a sword came down, almost cutting his fingers. The poké ball was knocked out of his hand and onto the floor. Lord Interrogator Spitz had limped over to him. Sickness filled his stomach, and he looked around for James. "Fuck it, use heatwave!" His volcarona's wings glowed a burning orange, and heat blasted past him and into the middle of the battleground. The grass tips burned, and a charring smell floated through the air. He looked to the copperajah and the pinsir. Both had been caught up in the attack. Where is the –, his thought train was interrupted by the stinging sensation climbing up his leg.

"Sutton! Muk!" James said. He had tried to save me before. What do I do?

"Hesitation just gets you killed. What are you, an Elkran sympathiser? Let me end you." A Lady approached him. Her blade was unusual. Instead of a standard sword, she had opted for a scythe. She looked almost like a demonic creature seeking murder and bloodshed.

"Sutton!" James called out, but Sergeant Sutton was unresponsive. "I guess it is up to me and you, right, Okta?" He gulped and pressed the button on his pokéball. His onix glowed bright red and began appearing in front of him. However, before she was fully formed, a bone slammed against her. James couldn't move. His legs felt like they had been glued in place. His heart raced, and sweat dripped down his face.

"Sorry, kid, it just ain't your day. Kill it." The marowak growled, and the skull on her rock-hard head rattled. She raised her bone to throw at the onix's bruised golden body once more. The Lady raised her scythe to James's neck and pulled it back. She swung forward and screamed.

James opened his eyes and saw her scythe clunk against the floor. The marowak's bone flew through the air and struck his knee. He felt the pain throbbing through him, but he angrily turned and picked up the scythe. The weighty metal handle pulled him towards the ground. However, he took in a deep breath and lifted it. His head ached. His arms ached. His knee felt like it was about to crumble. He looked at his onix, and his stomach sank as he watched part of her rock body crack and fall into the ground.

Go on, James. Kill the marowak. Use my power to drain it.

"Kid! Listen to me, kid. Withdraw!" the voice of a Lord cut through the air, and James looked at him. His mega absol pounced on the marowak and slammed it against the ground. The white absol's fur was covered in dirt and mud, something the Lord was thankful for. "The onix is badly hurt, so with-damn-draw!" He turned around and ran his sword through the trevenant's trunk. "Fill me with your energy, absol. Use knock off on my sword!" The absol nodded, kicking the marowak unconscious as he pounced and struck the blade with the large crescent-like horn on its head.

"Did that guy just... kill that trevenant?" James's feet stuck into the ground, and with a shaking hand, he raised his poké ball and returned his onix.

"Now get moving." The Lord turned back around, sword raised and chanted as he rejoined the battle. However, he didn't get far before being shocked by the mega ampharos.

"Aww, damn. I was aiming for the cute one." Lady Smith grinned at Sergeant Sutton.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Lieutenant Tomilson called out. His arm was bleeding, and he had a scratch along his cheek. "Dragon darts!" He jumped over the top of his dragapult, leaving her floating in the air as she fired at the ampharos. She glowed a dark purple and faded into the sky, reappearing seconds later in front of him. "Damn it all!" She still can't use phantom force. He steadied himself, holding onto her tightly. He tugged her to the right. An ache caught him off guard, and he glanced at his hand. "Crap!" He let out a gulp of air, and a few tears streamed down his face. "Dragon pulses, huh?" he struggled to say. Do I mega-evolve her? No. If I do that, I show my true stre- A dragon pulse collided with his dragapult, and smoke submerged him. He felt the world around him spin, and electricity shocked through him. He flew back and slammed against the wall. D-damn it all. Lieutenant Tomilson pulled himself up, only to find James holding his arm.

"I'm scared, and someone has trapped us here..." James sniffled.

"Don't... just... don't cry." Lieutenant Tomilson stood back up. His vision spun around, and his nose bled from the impact. He felt sick to his stomach once again when the only thing in his field of view was his friend, injured but still fighting. The claws of the mightyena had dug into the luxray, but the luxray's fangs had broken the skin of the mightyena. His view became obstructed by a flash fire, and the orange glistening of the mega chandelure shooting a scorching fire blast into the green and twisting carnivine. However, Lord and Lady had been too close to the explosive fire and disappeared in the smoke. When it had cleared, he only saw the Elktan Lady standing, holding her shield and limping.

The copperajah swung its trunk around, almost knocking the Lady over, and charged towards Lady Smith. However, she smiled. The large pokémon swayed from side to side as it lowered its head to slam the electrode.

James squatted down and hid behind Lieutenant Tomilson and whispered, "Don't leave me." Lieutenant Tomilson's nod made his heart stop pounding against his chest. "They hurt her... what do I do?"

"We will protect you. I will protect you." Lieutenant Tomilson stood up and positioned himself in front of James. The dragon burns on his hand ached, but he gritted his teeth. "I need to finish my role in this battle, though. Damn it!" He heard voices not too far in front of him. Despite them being obscured by the smoke, he recognised the sound of Sergeant Sutton and Captain Bourbabel shouting together in tandem. He placed his hands over James's ears and knelt.

"Let's finish this!" Sergeant Sutton and Captain Bourbabel both pointed forward together as their voices shouted.

"Heatwave!" Sergeant Sutton shouted.

"Controlled psycho-screech!" Captain Bourbabel shouted.

The pinsir and the muk shrivelled up. The pinsir screamed in the fire, and smoke rose from its body. Behind him, the muk spat sludge at them both. His eyes opened wide, and his purple, semi-liquid body gurgled. Lord Interrogator Spitz grabbed his ears, and he screamed. His head felt like it was exploding from the inside. All he heard was a scream, a yell and a piercing ringing. Blood dripped down his nose, and he passed out on the floor. His forest green hat fell from his head, and his injuries became more apparent with each passing second.

"Spitzy!" Lady Smith shouted, and her eyes turned electric yellow. She sprung up and dashed at Young Lord Kek. The electric stone zapped loud enough that everyone on the battlefield could hear the static sparking away. She slammed into him and knocked him back into the copperajah's leg. When he fell back, she grabbed the blade and pulled it back into her hand. She ran at Captain Bourbabel. The yellow in her eyes had changed to orange, and she swiped at him. "Time to step it up, 'kay?" Her voice was chipper as ever, but something was unnerving about it. The tone was deeper than before, and it almost had its echo.

"It's taking over her..." Captain Bourbabel whispered to Sergeant Sutton. "The stone, it is talking to her. The cracks on her skin tell you that. I will take care of her." He shot a concerned look at Young Lord Kek. He saw him fidgeting with something in his pocket, and Lieutenant Tomilson was leaning over him while his dragapult fired dragon darts towards Lady Smith. "Sutton? Incaresta..." he shook Sergeant Sutton's arm.

"Sir?" Sutton answered. His eyes fixed on Lady Smith, and he looked dazed.

"Protect James. I will deal with her. Is that a flapple? Lieutenant Tomilson! Wake the fuck up and concentrate. Your friend can give himself an adrenaline shot. Help me deal with the flapple!" Captain Bourbabel raised his hand and pulled his knife up so it slanted sideways. It seems harsh and uncaring of me, but if he doesn't snap out of this, he could die. The best thing he can do for his friend right now is to end this fight. "Barook, use brave bird!" His braviary shot up towards the sky in a display of red and white and swiped at the flapple. The flapple's head bobbed up and down, ducking and weaving each strike of the sharp talons. Captain Bourbabel felt the knife in his hand being struck back against, and he took his eyes back off the braviary and onto Lady Smith.

"You can't use your psychic powers anymore; you are getting weaker. I can see your alakazam struggling to rejoin the fight. Why don't you just give up, 'kay? We can totally go back to Madi, and he can make you all good and useful. Fire electricity everywhere! Blazing sparks!" Lady Smith grinned and kicked Captain Bourbabel in the shin.

"Ugh," Captain Bourbabel slipped out his mouth, and he pushed against her. His blue eyes clashed with her corrupted orange ones. She sparked in front of him and kicked him in the knee with speed, and he fell onto his back. He raised his dagger back up, but to his horror, she swung down on him.

"Boomburst!" Lieutenant Tomilson shouted. Sound waves rippled into the group, knocking Lady Smith onto her back. "My exploud has got this. Let me deal with the rillaboom. I can't hear shit! So I'll deal with it nice and clean!" He raised his thumb on his hand. The sound waves smashed into the rillaboom which had been fighting against Sergeant Sutton's volcarona's air cutter to disrupt the battlefield for most of the fight. The rillaboom smashed its drumsticks into its drums, and the sound collided with the bellows of the exploud. Yellow, blue, green and brown airwaves. That was all Lieutenant Tomilson could think of. His fingers shook, and his hands ached. His face turned a pale white as Young Lord Kek was knocked down under his copperajah once more. Lieutenant Tomilson's eyes started to hurt, and he saw a bright bulging light extending from the rillaboom.

"Ah shit," Young Lord Kek gasped. "She has two megas on the field now." The swirling sounds blasted back against him. He raised his hands to cover his ears. His vision blurred, but his heart raced. He knew the only reason he could still move was because of his adrenaline shot. His belt was keeping his tie pressed against the wound, but for how much longer, he didn't know. He saw his friend struggling to keep his eyes on the battle, and his mouth dropped at the sight of the larger rillaboom that held but a single drum approaching his exploud. Young Lord Kek looked away, and the sound coming out of the exploud was no more. Come on, Cohnen. Your battles are going poorly. He shook his head and pulled himself together. He pressed his fingers against the ground and then ran at Lady Smith. She drew her blade up, and the metal of the two screeched. He extended his leg, slammed the tip of his boot into her shin and flung his knife over to his left hand. She dashed back, but the tip of his blade struck her just under her eye. Yes!

"Use fire fang on him! Blazing sparks, again!" The fiery electric ball started to spin to his side. Young Lord Kek pulled himself back and pivoted his feet on the ground. He felt the luxray's fangs dig into his shoulder, but he couldn't stop, not here, not now. His mightyena chomped onto the luxray's tail, and Young Lord Kek, now feeling sick, sliced his blade upward. The luxray's black fur was thick, and she retracted her claws to bounce back. However, before she could land, she bit into the mightyena. A howl echoed out, and a thud consumed the battlefield. He turned to see his copperajah but felt a slam to the side of his shoulder.

"Cohnen! Damn it all! Finish the giratina-damn ampharos and kill that rillaboom!" Lieutenant Tomilson ordered. The sound of the rillaboom is deafening. Everyone is struggling to hear. "Dragon darts, and finish it off the psychic fangs!" His dragapult roared, and her ghostly body disappeared into the battlefield. She popped up behind the ampharos and fired into her with explosive dragon darts. The beast pivoted on her tail and bounced out of the way. However, the moment she sprang back up, the dragapult was there. They looked at each other as the dragapult's teeth surged with psychic energy, and she chomped down on her tail. Lieutenant Tomilson took a deep breath, ran forward and swung his sword down. He finished his swing and stepped back into a drum beat attack. The sound wave carried him back into the passed-out copperajah.

I can spare maybe one more before it runs out. Young Lord Kek shook and pulled out a poké ball. "Come on... I am sending out hippowdon!" A large ground-type pokémon buried itself into the ground the moment it touched the ground. Its back snorted out specs of sand, and a swirling vortex engulfed the battlefield. "I'll try to take care of this. Attack the electrode with high... high horsepower..." His hippowdon charged through the ground and slammed into the electrode. He watched the electric ball, which he noted had been a pain in his side, and everyone else's from the start of the fight flew back past Captain Bourbabel.

Captain Bourbabel, to Young Lord Kek's surprise, was swinging his blade at the flapple while his braviary pounded it with brave bird and looked more beaten up with every second. Until it suddenly fell limp and passed out from the barrage. Behind him, his alakazam had switched focus to the rillaboom, firing small waves of psycho-screech at it. The battlefield was deafening to be on. Captain Bourbabel noticed almost everyone had swollen ears.

"Aw, you lost kid? It's fine. Come with me. I'll take you to Lord Madison." A Colran Lord extended his hand over to James.

"Stay the fuck away from him. I can see your fucking concealed blade." Sergeant Sutton ran in front of James and bashed the Lord's hand away, narrowly avoiding the blade. "Use air cutter!"

"Bad match up. Brave bird!" The Colran Lord gestured to his staraptor, flying high above the sandstorm. "For a soldier, you are brave. I'll give you that. I respect it. Once we win and take you back to Madison, you and I can have a drink." He looked over to the Elktan with the mega chandelure, reaching over to his colleague and helping them sit up. "At the end of the day, we are just people. We fight for what we think we need to. I wasn't going to stab the kid."

Sergeant Sutton's hair blew in the wind. The heat and air pushed around above them made it messy. He looked into the Lord's eyes. You are a good person. Hell, I hope I...

"Fuck..." Lady Smith said. This is bad. I need to get out of here. She dashed forward towards Lord Interrogator Spitz on the floor. "Explosion!" She grabbed Lord Interrogator Spitz's arm but felt a psychic blast strike her chest and knock her back. Sorry, Spitzy, I have to get out of here.

The dust settled. The sound stopped.

"Well then..." The Colran Lord beside Sergeant Sutton raised his hands and looked around the field. "Let's end this. No point in continuing this bloodshed. The deaths of anyone else seems pointless..." He walked over to Young Lord Kek, who had seen him collapse from his injury. He reached into his pocket, but Captain Bourbabel pushed a blade against him. "Relax, big shot." He pulled out a small case with a tablet in it. "Bite this. It will freeze the injury. At the end of the day, we all turn to dust. Just it isn't your turn yet."

Lieutenant Tomilson held his injured arm and walked over to James. He sat down beside him and placed his hand on his shoulder. He saw terror in James's eyes, but his body wasn't shaking. His hands were steady and on his onix's poké ball. His breathing sounded normal, but something about how he stared into the distance left Lieutenant Tomilson uneasy. The silent battlefield's sandstorm ended.

"Don't leave me..." James whispered, his distant gaze changed with a blink to the ground, and his hand wrapped around Lieutenant Tomilson's wrist. Lieutenant Tomilson winced but nodded back at him and mouthed the words, I promise.

"Ten minutes, fifteen minutes... and all of this destruction," the Colran Lord said. "We should collect tags from the dead, call a doctor and a pokémon healer."

"I agree," Captain Bourbabel said. "We need to get information on her and give him to the Lords." He gestured to Lord Interrogator Spitz, and silence fell once again, and the clean-up operation began.

James seeking support from Lieutenant Tomilson is a change in tone for him - although he has been looking up to him for a while, but perhaps not so openly. How will that effect their relationship in the future?

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