LOVE AND SACRIFICE

Love and Sacrifice: No one works alone.

--------------------- In Arasia ---------------------

"Keisuke, meet your pokemon." Professor Victoria gestured towards a steelnix that was lounging in a large cage. "He was genetically engineered for you."

Walking up to the cage, Blade took a good look at the Steelnix. It would be perfect for mass destruction and other good war related things. For a moment, he hesitated, a little intimidated by its sheer size.

"Steel steelnix," it said, moving its head to the boy. It sensed something about the little not-human that it liked, and its eyes lost some of its hard edge. To most people, it still looked like a lethal weapon, but to Blade, a new friend.

"So, we'll be working together..." He reached into the cage and gently patted the steelnix on the head. "What its name?" He asked the professor.

"His name is Sahn. He has been trained especially for things you might need him for. I trust you with him."

Blade nodded. "Where's his pokeball?"

"A pokeball is too bulky. Here." She handed him what looked suspiciously like a silver collar with a locket. "Should I put it on for you?"

At first he hesitated, but then nodded. "What is it?"

Snapping it around his neck, she explained. "The locket is like a miniature, compact version of the pokeball. The collar just serves as a way for you to keep it without losing it. We considered a regular chain, but that could easily slip off. It is thin though, so you can easily keep it hidden underneath your shirt if you're worried about it reflecting light."

"It's fine," Blade replied, fingering it curiously. It fit him perfectly. "How do I recall Sahn?"

"Like this." She pressed a tiny button that was on the right side of the 'collar', and a beam of light shot out at the steelnix. When the light faded, it was gone. "It's as easy as that."

Smiling, Blade turned to regard the Professor. She was the one who had been in charge of his creation, of Project H/C, Type#14. Although Blade had never come to regard her as a mother figure, he greatly respected her. "Thank you, Professor Victoria."

"You're welcome Keisuke." She then looked at her watch. "You should be heading out now. It will be dark soon, and traveling should be easy. " And then she left, off to work on some other project.

Blade took one last look around the base. This was a newer one, and still wasn't complete. They were still un-packing everything since their move from Eurel. But he still felt slightly attached to it, and to the people that worked there. More the reason to keep fighting.

Once outside, he mounted his motorcycle, planned out his journey for the night, and went on his way. There was no time for delays. There was somewhere he had to be within the next few weeks, and it would take a long time to get there.

--------------------

"So Indenki, what was the Ultraball for?" Xeth asked as they walked back to their dorm from classes. "You said I'd find out later." He rolled his eyes as Indenki simply ignored him, as usual, and did not even look at him. "Of all the others I could have met, I had to find you, didn't I?"

"Be quiet and follow me." Indenki finally spoke, taking a sudden detour from the dorm rooms.

"Where are we going?"

"I said, be quiet."

"Fine." Xeth clamped his mouth shut, and concentrated on keeping up with the lightning hybrid. They disappeared into the 'forest' that was behind the school, and finally stopped near a tree that had a small, nearly invisible, black 'X' painted on it. Indenki knelt down, then peeled away the grass that was at the foot of the tree. There were what looked like two silver collars hidden there, and he picked them up, replacing the grass. Examining the collars for a while, he finally handed one to Xeth, snapping his own around his neck.

Xeth looked suspiciously at his own, refusing to put something around his neck without knowing what it did. "What is-" He started to ask, but a glare from Indenki shut him up.

"Watch." Indenki pressed a finger to the right side of the collar, and two beams of light appeared.

"A Zapdos and a Raikou? But those are legendary pokemon!"

"Genetic engineering." Was Indenki's reply as he walked up to the two pokemon and examined them. After looking them over, he allowed himself the luxury of getting to know them a little better.

Deciding to follow Indenki's example, the fire hybrid found the button on the right of the collar, and two beams of light also appeared for him. A charizard, and a rapidash. They were not any ordinary charizard or rapidash, either. For one thing, they were mostly black, instead of the usual colours for their species, but Xeth didn't care. He happened to like the colour black, second to the colour red, of course.

"Well, looks like I've finally got some partners. Air travel, and land travel." He approached them cautiously, careful not to appear scared overbearing. "Nice to meet you. I'm Xeth."

"Charizard."

"Rapidash."

He stood his ground firmly, letting them know that he would not let them try to pull any stunts with him, but his tail was relaxed, and there was a hope for friendship in his eyes that he hoped they caught.

"Let's go." Never one to waste time, Indenki was ready to leave.

"Alright, alright. I'm coming!" Xeth recalled the two pokemon, then followed the already leaving Indenki back to the dorms.

----------------------------------

----------- In Jarlis -----------

Kaor sat down on a table in one of the many labs in the hideout he had grown up in. The professor was doing some last tests on him before she let him go off to Arasia, and his tri-colour eyes looked around the lab with unhidden hate. Even just the thought of those labs brought back many unpleasant memories. "Are you done yet?" He asked the professor, anxious to leave.

"Almost," she replied, running some last tests on a blood sample she had taken from him. After ten more minutes, she wrote down some notes. "I'm done."

"Finally," he muttered to himself, jumping off the table and about to leave.

"Wait!" She picked something off a shelf and walked up to him, about to put it around his neck when he noticed and moved away, glaring at her suspiciously.

"What is that?"

"It works like a pokeball. It's been in the development stages for a very long time, but we finally finished it. It can hold up to six pokemon."

He blinked. "Just in that?"

Nodding, she took advantage of his momentary surprise and snapped it around his neck. "Pressing the small button on the right side recalls and releases the pokemon. It's thin, and therefore easy to hide underneath a shirt collar. Try not to take it off though."

"Sure." Then he glanced at the door. "Can I go now?"

"Yes. And be careful Kaor!" Professor Yalissa looked at him worriedly, not like a mother watching her son go off to war, but like a scientist putting an experiment to the test.

"I'll be fine." And he turned and left. He did wonder what pokemon he had gotten, but he suspected it would be a venomoth or a nidoking. Those were two pokemon he knew the Professor, and the others who worked in the base, had been doing extensive research on over the years.

-------------------------------------

Hali looked at the scyther and the beedril, watching their attitudes toward her. They were smart, smarter than normal bug pokemon, and they knew what she was. Both pokemon seemed a bit unsure how to communicate with her. Could she understand their body language and their calls, or would they have to talk with her as they did with humans.

Anxious to start traveling to Arasia, Hali decided to help the two pokemon get acquainted with her so they could get on the move. She stood with her feet slight apart and she tilted her chin up a little. She fluttered her butterfly wings, and then lowered her chin to stare at them evenly.

The scyther shifted his weight on his feet and looked at her, then shared an approving glance with the beedril. Both of them walked up to her and kneeled before her, surrendering their lives to her care. Scythers and beedrils lived in large groups, and large groups of pokemon meant some of them had to be willing to serve others. Hali wanted to tell them not to be so submissive, but that was the human part of her talking. She understood what they were doing, and she knew it was right. They stood, and she recalled them into her collar.

She ran a hand through her light green hair, and wondered how the attack on the conference would go. A plan would be nice, and she did not have one yet. Would they do a sort of all out attack, or something more covert? But they did not want the Kaitan Alliance to cover up the existence of rebellions. By covering up any attacks, the Alliance made it seem as if they were so omnipotent that no one dared to attack them because no one else had, or so it seemed. No, they needed a flashy attack, something that screamed to the world that it was time to get rid of the Kaitan Alliance.

Hali started to walk over to where the group of soldiers traveling with her had set up camp. She looked down at herself, then at her wings, and shook her head. Who was she to be such an important player in this war? A motley mix of bug pokemon and human genes in a tiny, compact body. She was too fragile for this war. Why, if she were to be captured... She shook her head again, wishing to shake those thoughts out of her head. She couldn't survive a torture session, could she? She knew she could resist the pain and not talk, but she would be permanently damaged if she escaped before she died. Her wings, for instance, took months to regenerate.

Sighing, the bug hybrid looked at her watch. If they stayed on schedule, they would be leaving for Arasia soon.

------------- In Arasia -------------

Siana collapsed, caught by the large wing of her lugia partner. With tender care, the legendary clone slipped her into the other wing and lay down, cradling her gently. He lowered his head and nuzzled her face, hoping to wake her. Although she would need rest, it was crucial for her to be awake while her mind recovered from the shock of the teleport. He nudged her side when the nuzzling did not work, and she woke up with a start. She would have jumped up if not for the fact that he held her in his wings.

"Psyris?" She mumbled, looking around with her blind, golden eyes. Siana's eyes really were just there for cosmetic purposes. She did not need them to be open, but she was used to making sure they were. She saw mostly through picking up on psychic energy of people and pokemon around her.

/Yes, it's me./ The pokemon replied. She tried to get up, but he would not let her. /You need to sleep. You are too tired./

She started to protest, but realised how tired she was. She had never made such a far trip by teleporting. Even with Psyris's help, it was draining. She would recover soon, and after practice, she would get used to it. The sheer ability to be able to make such a far jump was amazing, let alone her recovery time.

/Try reciting something. It will help clear your thoughts./ The lugia suggested, noting the confusion on her face as she tried to make herself rest.

"Alright..." She thought back to her lessons, and picked something random. "The mind is a powerful, and precious thing. It is also, at the same time, something with many faults. The main one being emotions. That is what makes computers so efficient, and why humans cannot live together in peace." Siana paused as she felt the disagreement in the lugia's aura. "At the same time, a soldier without emotions is not a true soldier, but one must also learn to hide their true feelings, or they will be used against you. A perfect soldier cares, but does not make it known. A perfect soldier is loyal, but knows how to distance his or herself from the ones they are protecting, and not let others affect his or her decisions." She stopped here and shut her eyes. "Better now."

/Good./ The lugia loosened his hold on her and she stood. /It will not be night for a while though, and I think you should sleep./

Siana blinked, surprised by the lugia's protective nature. They had known each other for a while now, but had never really worked together. It was... interesting, having someone who cared. She looked at the big pokemon, curled up on the grass in the forest. For a moment, she hesitated, because if she slept by him, he would be able to feel her emotions, her fears. But then, she had just been cradled in his wings a little while ago... She shrugged, then sat by him and leaned herself against his side. She felt his body rise and fall, she heard his heart beat, and she sensed his feelings. Such a powerful and noble being. And there was this... peace about him. As soon as she closed her eyes, she found herself relaxing, letting down her guard.

When she was asleep, Psyris opened one eye to look at her. Still a child, in his opinion, but a very grown up child. She was naturally reserved, and it was not quite a result of her training, but it was nice to see her let loose. He put one wing over her, to protect her from the chilly wind, and then he too fell asleep, but not until after erecting a psychic barrier.

-----------------

Love and Sacrifice: A look into the enemy camp

In a relatively empty, but very clean room, two adults, friends since they were children, fenced. Abruptly, they stopped, finding that they both had their practice swords at each other's throats. Sighing, they withdrew their weapons and put them on the racks that hung on the walls.

The man in his early twenties, or maybe even younger, brushed away some of the wild, light brown locks of hair that fell over his face. Wiping away the beads of sweat that coated his brow, he looked at his friend with intense blue eyes that seemed to dance with a merriment that otherwise did not show on his face. "Good fight," he said.

The other, a slightly older woman with very short black hair, and bangs that fell over her left eye, smiled slightly and then answered. "Yes, it was. Though I am still waiting for the day when one of us wins."

There was a knock on the door, and a woman about their age entered. "Another tie?" She saluted in front of the black haired woman. "Your excellency, Colonel Haris wanted to see you."

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "I'll be right there." She paused, trying to see if there was anything she needed to tell Lt. Demis. "You're dismissed," She said, turning after to the man she had previously been fencing with. "And you may leave to."

"Yes ma'am." They both saluted, and left together.

"So, how was the fight?" Demis asked as they walked down the hallways together.

"Good, as always," he replied. They walked side by side, his head only about two inches higher than hers. They had met at the Kaitan Alliance academy, and through competing for the top scores, they became friends.

"Will you be coming down to my base next week?" She asked. They had not seen much of each other lately, and she had few other people that she felt could hold an equal conversation with her.

"I might. I have some... other business to attend to here."

"Oh." She looked outside a window and noticed a Pidgeot waiting for her. "I need to leave now. An instructor's work is never finished... You'd think they could find someone else to help teach them proper pokemon handling." She sighed, and put on a sort of helmet over her short, dark brown hair. "See you next week, Reix!" She waved, smiled, and then ran outside.

He watched her go, then turned and began to walk back to his quarters. He wished he could visit her, but he had a lot of work to do, mainly planning. Next week, they were going to destroy the Kaitan Alliance in order to take over, and those hybrids were going to be a big help.

Unknown to many, various factions hid under the umbrella of the Kaitan Alliance. Within its army, there existed an Elite force named Zentai, run by Yiana Naventa, a brilliant twenty-four year old woman. Directly under her worked three highly respected individuals, Haris Kahin, Reix Corlis and Vaela Demis, who had been the top students of their class at the Kaitan Academy.

Hidden behind Zentai was Sai, a group that had isolated itself from Team Rocket, the Kaitan Alliance's financial supporter and their head of human/pokemon experiments and weaponry projects. Together, Sai and Zentai were the real driving forces to the Kaitan Alliance, and now they intended to get rid of that burden.

---------------

"Your excellency." Colonel Haris bowed as Yiana Naventa entered the room.

She acknowledged him with a slight inclination of her head. "What is it that you wanted to see me for?"

"We've been monitoring the movement of the hybrids for the past few days. They have been doing their best to keep their whereabouts secret, but we've managed to locate a few of them. They are all heading for this base, as we had anticipated."

"Good. Is there anything else?"

"Actually, yes." He turned to his desk and picked up a folder, his dark brown eyes quickly looking around the room, as if making sure they were alone. "We managed to get pictures from some of the attacks." He handed the folder to her.

Yiana quickly browsed through the pictures, then allowed herself to smile slightly. "Good work," she said. "I'll be keeping these."

He nodded, pleased that she was pleased. She usually was satisfied with his work, otherwise she would have fired him, but rarely did she spare any compliments.

"I trust you'll keep monitoring them." She watched as he nodded again, and then left to go back to her office to look over the pictures. After entering her office, she locked her door and sat down at her desk, flipping through the pictures carefully. Some were clear, others were blurry. The clear ones showed seven individuals, all surprisingly young. Considering the damage they had caused, she had expected them to be a bit older.

One shot showed three youths together. Two boys and a girl. One boy had bright red hair, and red eyes. He also had a tail with a flame at the end. Obviously the fire hybrid. The other boy she was not completely sure of, though judging by his spiky hair, he was the electric hybrid.

The girl, however, was another matter. She did not seem to be a hybrid. In fact, she seemed like a normal civilian... Why was she with those two boys, who was she, and what did she know? They were going to have to keep close tabs on that girl. Something about her seemed very familiar...

The other four, however, were obviously hybrids. Another boy, and three girls. The boy had had metallic grey eyes; mercury would probably be a better description. His platinum blonde hair gave the appearance of being very wiry, and his skin was tinged with grey. There was something about him... she wanted to say innocent, despite the blood that stained the sharp blades on his hands. Of the girls, they seemed to be the grass, ice and ground hybrids. The grass and ice hybrids seemed normal enough in appearance, excluding their oddly colored hair and the ice hybrid's tail, but the ground hybrid had taken a more pokemon like appearance. She had a human figure, but she was covered in brown fur, and she had a tail and tiny sandshrew ears.

Yiana put the pictures away, wondering how the hybrids had slipped so as to allow those to be taken. They had been very careful up to now. She knew for a fact that the lightning and dark hybrids started attacking many years back, but never had they managed to get any pictures, or even eye witness accounts. She stood up, moving to the window that was behind her desk. Looking outside, she watched some cadets training along with their pokemon. It would not be long before they were promoted to be real soldiers, fighting for what they believed was right. That was the way things should be, and the way things had always been. Briefly, Yiana felt tired of this. Only twenty-four and already all but in control of the world. The hybrids would provide some much needed entertainment.

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