"Stop!"
In a instant, the incoming blade came to an abrupt halt in mid-air, mere inches from the tip of her nose. Footsteps could soon be heard as several individuals approached the two fighters. Lowering the sharpened extension attached to her arm, the attacker swiftly backed away as the officials came in to suspend their bout. With a pout, she crossed her blade covered arms before letting out a huff.
"Aww come on, I was just getting to into it..."
"That's enough Li," one of the intervene-rs shot, "this was a simple sparring exercise, you should know the extent of which your Morph's abilities can be used, especially against your future partner."
The bladed brunette, indifferent to the situation, acknowledged her superior's statement with a reluctant nod. Breathing a sigh, her supervisor turned back to the Morph's would-be-victim before instructing the other aids to assist in escorting her off the field.
"Your attitude still needs some work..." her higher-up started, "but you're progressing quite well in your physical training, in actuality, you're doing more than just okay, your results are exceptional."
"Of course!" the floozy brunette spat. "It's because you keep chalking me up with these weaklings, if you do that, I can't help but cut them down."
"In any case, the results for your physical training and intelligence tests are complete. I will be delivering the reports to Commander Reed momentarily, please make any necessary preparations and meet me in front of his office in ten minutes."
With a small bow her supervisor turned in her place before marching out of the room. It was time. Her first chance to start some actual field work for the organisation had come. In a matter of minutes she would be assigned to a squad to begin the Pokemon Liberation Force's counterattack against the leaders of the nations. If there was ever something she was looking forward to, it was this.
Unfortunately, the higher-ups' intentions were a little bit different from what she had in mind, which she was just about to find out herself.
---
"What?!"
"Understand Meiling, the Kanto PLF division is more than capable of handling the situation, it's jus-"
"Yeah?! So why the hell are you sending me to help them then?"
At this point, she had become quite irritable, the commander's assignment was definitely not what she had in mind. And to think, she had been looking forward to finally getting some action. It was surprisingly disappointing and annoying at the same time.
"Li! Show some respect," her supervisor hissed from behind her, "especially in front of the Commander."
"Aww geez, sorry about being rude!" the brunette snapped back, her tone just as cold. "But if you haven't noticed, there's a crisis going on!"
"Rest assured Meiling, we are well aware of the situation in Johto," came the soothing voice of her commander, his voice pleasantly calm in the face of the furious half-naked samurai Morph, "and as promised, you will be assigned to the first squad assembled for its liberation. However..."
"However what?!"
"Li!"
"Please calm yourselves, both of you," he continued, ushering his two subordinates to quell their bickering, "as I was saying, a problem has arised involving the Kanto liberation force..."
"Commander, what's this about?! I never heard of such a report..." her supervisor suddenly piped, much to her own and her protege's surprise.
"Ah yes, well, the report was just recently submitted by one of the on site medical officers," Reed continued to explain, his voice unwavering as he did so, "the strike force was successful in apprehending the first target city's leader."
"G-Gym Leader Brock?!" her supervisor rebutted, obviously just as surprised as she was about the recently received news. "P-Pewter City's been freed?"
"Reinforcements have already been deployed for the city's clean up, the number of casualties and damage reports are also being processed." Retrieving the appropriate files from his desk, the commander held up what was the report for the current case. "In the matter of Brock's arrest however, we were unable to successfully retrieve him."
"What the hell does that mean?!" Meiling suddenly exclaimed, taking her first chance to speak since hearing of the news. "You said they freed the city right? How come they didn't bring him in?! Don't tell me..."
"He died..." he finished for her, handing over the papers to her supervisor, "everything about the mission is detailed in there. I trust you can handle things from here on Chiharu?"
"Of course."
"W-Wait a minute, what's this got to with me?" piped the bladed brunette. "Why'd you want to see me?"
"Ah, I almost forgot, my apologies Meiling," her commander replied, "there is a reason as to why I called you here. Chiharu has just finished compiling your test results and presented them to me before our meeting, and admittedly, I was quite surprised with the results."
"Oh really?" the rebellious samurai sneered, shooting daggers at her supervisor as she did so. "How'd I do?"
"Meiling, you should give Chiharu a little more credit," he laughed, much to the embarassment of his subordinate, "your results are quite frankly outstanding and your revisionary report is also very impressive. From this, I have decided that you are more than qualified to begin some serious field work, which brings us back to why you're here..."
At this point, the scantily-clad Morph couldn't help but notice her supervisor's suddenly deterred attention. Was she embarassed that she had put in a good word for her? Or was it something a little less straightforward? Unable to comprehend her superior's motives, she turned back to hear the rest of her commander's proposal.
"Initial reinforcements have provided minimal aid to the current strike force, as not to attract attention from the neighbouring cities. Thus, while remaining temporarily hidden from the region's new government, it won't be long before their presence is detected, especially how any future communications with Pewter City will arouse suspicion."
"Is this where I come in?" she pressed irritably.
"Yes Meiling, this is where you come in. Along with three other agents, you will form a new squad to provide direct support for the current liberation force. The details of the mission are covered in that document I justed handed to Chiharu, please read it over before making the necessary preparations."
It was then that both of her superiors flinched from her sudden slamming of the commander's desk, it would have been a lot less shocking if it had just been her fist hitting the table but with a giant blade attached to each arm, the damage was considerably greater.
"Li! What are you doing?!" Chiharu exclaimed as she watched her protege face off against their commander.
Remaining ever professional, Commander Reed stood his ground and happily confronted the opposing brunette with a calm smile. Baring her sharpened teeth into a serrated smile, the teenage Morph held out her other bladed arm to his cheek, all much to the shock of her mentor.
"Alright old man, I'll help you out..." she started through berrated breaths, "I'll help these losers, but the moment I finish cleaning up their mess, I wanna be on the next team outta here for Johto. That's the only reason I joined this stupid place and let you have your way with me."
"L-Li! Please..." her mentor stammered in disbelief.
"Fair enough," Reed suddenly replied, his expression unchanged, "I will keep to my promise and allow you to assign yourself to the first strike force leading Johto's liberation."
"Heh! Alright, I can agree to that..."
"Good. Now Meiling, if you would be so kind as to remove your scythe from my face and join Chiharu for the team's briefing. Your mission starts in one hour."
Flashing her superior a smile, the brunette retreated from her position of attack before turning to leave the room, having finished with her role for the meeting.
"Come on Chiharu-hara, let's go."
Sighing, her supervisor turned to follow her subordinate out of the room, but not before giving the commander a swift apologetic bow.
"Excuse us Commander."
Smiling, he gave her a small wave as she did so, "Good day Chiharu."
---
The two of them had rendezvoused at the allocated meeting room where she was to be briefed on the mission in further detail.
"Your squad's only purpose is to provide any necessary support to the current strike force, nothing else. You are to follow the assigned leader's orders directly as you will be under his jurisdiction the moment you arrive, otherwise, do not interfere."
"Ehh?! Wait a minute! You're sending me out there to help these idiots, right? So why the hell am I taking orders from them?!" the brunette protested, slamming an irritable fist into one of the loose-side table that littered the room, halving it on the spot. "I should be the one giving the orders!"
"Even you should understand that the leader is always in charge, Li," Chiharu continued, her tone void of sympathy, "no matter who you are, you will follow your superior's commands."
"That's bullplop!" she huffed, falling roughly into a nearby seat, arms crossed. "Who is this jackass anyway?"
Her supervisor's eyes narrowed as she read over the papers the commander had given them. Locating the page where the members of strike force's profiles began, she handed them to her subordinate, who hastily tore them away. It was then that an immeasurable force fell over the room. The few moments of silence that followed the samurai's review was heavier than gravity itself. Chiharu knew what was coming and it wasn't going to be pleasant; the leader of the current strike force leading Kanto's liberation was Clove Wheldst, a particular person Meiling was never fond of and for a number of reasons.
"Chiharu-hara...what the hell is this?"
"What do you mean?" her higher-up inquired, slightly taken aback by her protege's lacking response. "It's the members list for the strike force."
"I...I can't read it..." the teen huffily replied, averting her mentor's eyes, her face tinged with the faintest flush.
For the first time in a long time, Chiharu smiled. "Y-You can't read it Li? Are you saying you can't read?"
"Chiharu baka! That's not important!" she stammered, bonking her supervisor on the head. "Now why the hell is Clove-chan's picture in here? He's not on the team as well is he?!"
Supressing a snort, her supervisor brushed off the previous attack before beginning to explain the situation to her underling. "I'm afraid you don't understand, Li. Wheldst is not only participating in Kanto's liberation...he's leading it."
---
Admittedly, she could've taken the news a little better, but of course that was impossible for someone in her position. Her past experience with Clove was one of verbal abuse, physical prowess and allied rivalry, a befitting relationship if there ever was one. It was during this brief time as new recruits that something happened which overturned the whole balance of their relationship. Just thinking about it made her face swell.
"Clove...baka..." she breathed, shaking her head in an effort to subdue her memories.
"Li-sama," the first of her three lackies who had been assigned to her support squad piped, "we're nearing Cerulean City, we should arrive in twenty minutes if we keep pace and maintain our current course."
A dangerous smile began to play on her lips as she sprinted forward. The thought of confronting one of the eight leaders of Kanto was proving to be nothing but an irresistable incentive as opposed to a justified call of duty. Nothing got her blood boiling and her hormones racing as much as a good fight and she was more than looking forward to her match up against the prissy starfish.
With her sights set and her previous thoughts forgotten, the brunette soon led the four of them out of the mountain and into the clearing that sat a paths away from the city. It was there where she was planning on giving her final instructions to the squad before executing their surprise attack. That was, until they were ambushed.
Three individuals of varying height had appeared in the distance, stopping the squad in their tracks just as they exited the mountainside on the west end of the large rectangular clearing. It soon became apparent that the approaching trio were Morphs as well, each of them bearing significant signs of being morphed with a Pokemon. Specifically in their case, all three of them shared surprisingly similar traits and deformities, the predominant feature being a rough shell that encased their backs. It was clear by then that they were each apart of the Squirtle evolution chain.
"Aww crap..." she huffed irritably, "I guess we've been caught."
"Li-sama," the second of her subordinates suddenly piped, eyeing the still approaching turtle trio, "maybe we should retreat and proceed with the plan as ordered, we have to reach Vermillion before dawn. Commander Reed won't be happy if he finds out we went ahead on our own to Cerulean..."
"Baka!" the Scyther-morph snapped, causing her squad to flinch in surprise. "As much as I hate praising that jerk, Clove-chan can handle himself, he'll be fine on his own. We'll just cut these *******s down and storm the gym like we planned, then we'll head to Vermillion."
"B-But Li-sama..."
"Just don't die, alright?!" she finished, just as the three turtles reached the foot of the mountain where they were waiting.
Turning to face the three, her intention of fabricating their reason for breaking curfew and wandering the plains surrounding the city was immediately cut short as a powerful jet of water struck her side, tossing her onto the ground with extreme force. The turtles seemed to have no intentions of reasoning with anyone they didn't recognised, which presumably made sense but that didn't mean it didn't piss her off.
Looking up, her right side completely drenched, the samurai locked onto the turtle who had shot her; the leader of the trio bearing a fluffy white tail, the trademark shell and enlarged fangs in the corners of his mouth; the Wartortle. He was hers. Lifting herself up off the ground, all rational and logical thought left her. When it came to fighting, the only thing she relied on was instincts, pure and simple.
"Ha ha ha...alright Turtle Boy, let's rumble!" Licking her lips, she rushed forward towards her target.
In a split second, the remaining two turtles Rollout'd of their leader's path and turned on the remaining members of her squad. Her main concern was that the Blastoise-morph might prove to be a little difficult for her team to handle, but then again, they did have the numbers on their side. It was four verses three, but of course, that didn't mean much when the opponent's a giant canon-totting-turtle-tank. In the end however, it didn't matter. Her target was the Wartortle and that's all she cared about now.
---
An hour had passed since their initial confrontation with the turtle squad. By now she was completely drenched and bruised all over, but at least she had managed to slay the bastard who had done it to her. Kicking the motionless body to the side, she looked up to see a rather unwelcoming sight. During her battle with the leader of the trio, his two lackies had gone after her team, the Blastoise taking on her first and second subordinate while the Squirtle faced off against the third. Despite the odds however, luck wasn't on her side. The Blastoise easily crushed the first two and although the Squirtle had been struggling throughout the fight, he emerged triumphant in her team mate's defeat. The situation had gotten bad and she didn't have a lot of options left to secure her initial plan of storming Cerulean, in fact, her chances of doing such a thing were now completely out of the question, bordering on insanity if pursued. This was it, she was done.
"S***..." she spat through berrated breaths as she watched the Blastoise-morph toss her team mates to the ground like rag dolls, "I really f'ed up this time..."
She then heard the sickening sound of breaking bone as the overgrown turtle crushed what remained of her team mates' bodies. Watching their lifeless limbs flail under the turtle's weight caused something inside her to stir. As much as she was into being rude and disrespectful, she knew where to draw the line and if there was one thing she hated, it was arrogant jerks who did as they pleased just because they can. The only thing on her mind now however, was salvaging her fallen squad and to protect whatever dignity they had left. It had been a long time since something had made her feel this way and warrantly so; she was pissed.
"Hey Tubbs," she called out, a sadistic smile now playing on her lips, "if you're done with defiling my team mates, I suggest you aim those stumps for feet and shoulder canons my way, I don't like cutting jackasses down from behind. I like to feel them right up against me and see their expressions just before they die."
"Ha ha ha ha!" the opposing turtle bellowed, kicking her team's crushed remains to the side as he trudged up to the last member of the Kanto support team. "You think you can possibly cut me down with those dull blades? Don't get cocky just because you beat our leader. I'm stronger than he was and I can break wind sharper than those things you call weapons."
"Well, I'd like to see you back that up, Tubbs," she smiled, pushing her nose right up against his, a devilish smile pursing her lips, "I'll slice you like barbeque Octillery."
"Mhmm...sounds tasty," he smiled in response, a sudden click sounding a moment later, signalling his adjustable canons' trajectories, "too bad I like my grubs soaked!"
Two extremely powerful jets of water erupted from the canons adorning his back, striking the already soaked teen head on and throwing her several feet away. The sheer speed and power of the fired water was incredible. It was as if she had been hit by a thousand tiny knives, each drop slicing her on impact. She had never been cut by water before but she had to admit, it hurt. That didn't of course mean that she didn't like it, far from it, she was racing now.
Falling back from the force of the attack, she skidded to a halt, digging her scythes into the ground to slow her pace. The Blastoise-morph quickly readjusted his in-built firearms and aimed his next shot straight at the panting half-naked samurai in front of him. Retracting her blades, the brunette leapt from her place and shot straight for the trigger-happy turtle again. On cue, the burly Morph unleashed another torrent of water, reminiscent of a Hydro Pump but split into individual shots, fired off within one second intervals. She easily avoided the first but fell victim to the second, although not in the way her opponent had predicted, much to his surprise. In the last moment before impact, she had thrown her right arm forward, blade and all into the second shot, cutting the water like a pair of scissors through paper. Her thinned blade sliced the water with ease although her flesh took another severe beating, but at that point she didn't care in the slightest, for she had won.
"Urk..."
The towering Blastoise-morph stuttered under the pressure that was now pressing against his throat. The teenage samurai held herself right up against the turtle, her shredded right arm tucked halfway into his exposed throat, the only significant opening worth pursuing when up against a tank of a Pokemon. Closing her eyes, she quickly finished the job and threw the tub of lard onto the ground, her arm now covered in much more than just water.
"Gross..." she muttered through heavy breaths, wiping the dulled blade against her tattered robe in an effort to clean the stained appendage, "maybe I shouldn't of killed him..."
"Shadow Ball!"
Surprised but exhausted, all she could do was turn to face the sudden attack that sounded behind her. She had let her guard down after finishing off the Blastoise-morph, a careless mistake. To think, she had forgotten the last member of the turtle trio; Squirtle, and now she was going to pay for it with a Shadow Ball in the back.
"Wait a minute..." she started, turning fully around to see the contradiction in her own thoughts, "Shadow Ball?!"
Facing the scene, the actuality of the situation sunk in. Standing only a few feet in front of her was the assumed culprit, Squirtle. His bald face contorted as he struggled to keep his stance against the sudden pressure building on his back; a large sprialing mass of black energy, the Shadow Ball. The next second, she heard a loud crack followed by the inevitable destruction of the Squirtle-morph's shell. The black ball of energy then proceeded to grind into the boy's back, cutting straight into his now exposed spine. Pulling herself to the side, she watched as the Morph struggle against the attack before eventually giving in and collapsing onto the ground, his body scarred and steaming.
"Ouch..." she muttered in a somewhat sympathetic tone before looking over to where the attack had actually come from.
Her third subordinate, the one who had initially engaged the Squirtle-morph in combat, looked up from where he laid. Beaten, bruised and crushed, he struggled to lift himself up onto his feet as his leader approached but soon realised he was incapable of doing such a thing. He knew it then that his time was up.
"Nice shot..." the tried samurai smiled, crouching down beside the Sneasel-morph and the last living member of her squad before placing a comforting hand on top of his head, "idiot..."
There wasn't much he could do except smile, something she respectfully accepted until his last breath. The mood had changed, at least from what she had imangined prior to their confrontation with the turtle trio. She had assumed her team would be able to handle anything before and after entering the city, no matter what happened. She was wrong and paid for it with the lives of her subordinates. PLF was going to have a field day over this but that wasn't what was weighing on her mind. She still had a mission to complete and was now even more determined to accomplish it.
Issuing a command for a small team of medical officers to come and assist in her squad's retrieval, the brunette abandoned her Cerulean vendetta and proceeded to follow her original orders, but not because she felt guilty about what had happened but because it was her job. Promising herself that she would return to finish what she had so recklessly started, the soaked, beaten, half-naked, samurai, Scyther-morph paid her last respects to her team before setting off towards Pewter, and from there, to Vermillion.
