Eddies

Chapter 43: Tantrum.

DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

_________________

Eddies 43

The community wasn't exactly what Raikou had expected.

It was hot, for starters, not to mention dry and dusty.  Ludicrously so, and he had a real job keeping his tongue from hanging embarrassingly down his face in a panting effort to cool himself off.

Entei, however, seemed to be having no issues with the heat, and lay spreadeagled on the red soil outside the community hall, basking in the hellish rays beaming down from above.

Suicune took a different approach, surrounding himself in a heavy, icy mist he generated, which evaporated and cooled him as it went.

Raikou didn't have such a luxury, and simply stewed in his own juices.  This made him somewhat less than content with the situation.

Rodney had brought them to his community, where they found themselves surrounded by fearless children.  The adults weren't overly afraid of them either, which was a relatively new experience for the three legendaries, who were more used to the awe generally held of them by the humans they encountered.

Rodney laughed when Suicune brought it up, and told the blue pokemon that they had all been raised with the stories of those from the spirit world, so seeing a few materialise in the flesh didn't cause the shock as they might expect from the white folk.  When Raikou again protested they were not these "ancestor spirits" he kept talking about, he received a dry smile in return, and the pokemon knew his repeated rebuttal was falling on deaf ears.

Still, after a good feed and several hours recounting their story to the rapt natives, the three found themselves again alone, as Rodney took pity on them and shooed away those locals still remaining.  Raikou was truly relieved at the peace he provided, even if it left him at the mercy of the sweltering conditions.

It was enough to send a sane pokemon crazy!

Unable to sleep, in the end it was the hot wind that made him crack.  Blowing steaming gusts across the desert scrub lands, they threw gritty dust into his face, making his eyes water and his tongue dry out, sending his breathing rasping.  Add to this the persistent flies making a nest in his mouth and eyes, and he wasn't at all a happy pokemon.  Finally, he reached his limit, and couldn't take any more.  Struggling to his feet, he let out an ear piercing roar that had his brothers looking at him startled.  The thundery clouds covering his back darkened ominously, as lightening static danced across his frame in increasing intensity until, with his head high, he screamed defiance into the sky, following the shriek with blast after blast of pure energy.

The sky overhead darkened alarmingly as heavy clouds formed swirling vortexes above.  As Raikou continued throwing raw power into their midst, lightening crackled from within, as heavy peals of thunder rocked the ground, deafening those below.

Shrieks from the village revealed the fear being felt by the locals, but Raikou was beyond either hearing or caring.  As the heavens opened from above, a heavy downpour cascaded onto those below and he tilted back his head to revel at the cooling, icy water now cascading over his face.  With his body temperature normalising, the pokemon closed his eyes and opened his mouth, letting the cool water flood his dry tongue and wash away the desert dust, and disperse the persistent flies.

In the end, it was the sarcastic drawl of the village elder that brought him back to his senses.  As Rodney leaned against a fence railing nearby, clothing soaked and clinging to his lithe, wiry form as rivulets of water trickled down his face and arms, he said with a wry grin "You lot don't do anything by halves, huh?  But you still insist you're not ancestor spirits, come back to impress us?"

Raikou started as he suddenly realised the extent of his blatant expression of power.  Slowing the downpour to a trickle, he looked at the elder in sudden embarrassment. 

"I am sorry..." he began, but with a wave of his hand, Rodney cut him off.

"Hey, you filled the water tanks for us.  An early start to the rainy season won't hurt no one.   Just a bit of an unexpected shock, is all."

Grinning, he watched as Entei slowly stood from the muddy pool the rain had made of his dusty bed.  The legendary gave his brother a look of disgust, shaking first one paw, then the other, of the clinging mud that now coated it.

"Yeah, a real shock.  I'd rather a nice big warning next time you decide to lose your temper, Raikou.  Give me a chance to get under cover first."

Laughing loudly, Rodney directed the trio towards the shelter of the community building, as the heavens again opened up with Raikou's embarrassment.

"Well, got some news for you three.  We have tracked down this farm of your friends, but it's a long way away!  Take a good few days to get you there.  On the bright side, we have some transport for you.  A bit on the rough side, but it'll get us there.  I just hope you like long bus rides!"

Raikou gave him a look, but when the elder grinned back, sighed.  "Thank you, Rodney.  But you said we?  Are you planning to accompany us?"

Sitting back, the smile slipped from the human's lips, and he licked them in thought, staring into Raikou's face intently.  "This is important to my people, too, my big friend.  I believe it would be in our interests to accompany you lot and see what's really happening."

Grinning suddenly, he leaned over and laid a hand on the legendaries shoulder.  "Besides, you lot aren't having all the fun to yourselves!  Life's been way too interesting since you three turned up, and I can see it only getting funner!"

Raikou sighed.  Here he thought having a manic typhlosion in the group was bad enough.  These human's are crazy!

_________________

When their transport finally arrived, Chris went looking for Jasper, finding the gym leader still deeply asleep on a stretcher in the nurse’s office.  Not overly impressed at being woken early, he seemed even more put out when they returned to the manager’s office to find the place crowded, as Storm and Skyy continued to hold an animated, enthusiastic conversation with the zoo manager.

Giving Scott a scowl, he said "I thought you were playing this low-key?"

Scott shrugged, not ready to apologise to Jasper for anything.  "I did what I needed to.  Any allies we make can only assist our cause."

Jasper grunted, dropping into the visitors chair and began staring moodily out the window.  In other circumstances, Scott might have felt a little sympathy for him, but too many of his friends had died partially due to the actions of this individual, and sympathy was scarce on the ground at the moment.

Turning to his partner, Scott called out "Need to be going, Storm."  The typhlosion gave him an absent wave, making his way over with the manager, Skyy and Chris in tow.  Rolling his eyes as Scott pulled out his pokeball, he gave Todd a final handshake before disappearing back into his ball.  Skyy followed as Chris recalled him, and Todd gave a long sigh as he vanished, before turning to Scott and extending his own hand.

Shaking firmly, Todd said simply "Thanks" and the Ranger nodded with a smile.  On a whim he grabbed for pen and paper on the guys desk, jotting down the phone number of Chris's parents farm, and said "Well, keep in touch.  I'm sure Storm won't mind doing so."

The man beamed, clutching the paper to his chest, and walked with them to the waiting black vehicle.  The driver, impatient to be on his way, glanced obviously at his watch, but was ignored by the trio as they crammed into the back of the van.  Even as they drove away, Chris turned to see the manager waving, and said to Scott "We made his day there, I think."

Scott nodded, as he watched Jasper stretch out on the bench before them, eyes shut to catch more sleep.  Giving the gym leader an inscrutable look, he asked the driver where they were headed.

"Anderson Air Force base, Sir" was the curt response, and the Ranger grimaced.  Yet another authority to deal with, he grumbled to himself, but shrugged as Chris gave him a worried glance in return.

Time would tell how this would pan out.  But as there was nothing else he could do about it, he stretched out himself, and tried to get some sleep too.

_________________

It took them just over two hours to reach the base, where they were bundled into a waiting Sikorsky S-70 Blackhawk.  The transfer went smoothly, and Scott was relieved to see no excessive troops had been stationed to monitor their arrival and departure.  While the involvement of the military was unexpected, they'd been treated with respect by the soldiers they'd been in direct contact with, and pretty much ignored by everyone else. 

Guided to the rear of the helicopter, they'd been joined by the pilot and navigator, as well as a mid-thirties man in a pressed civilian suit, who had slipped into a vacant seat opposite.  Jasper muttered something about air sickness, cinching his harness tightly around his waist and shoulders, before glaring moodily out the still-open side cargo door.  Chris gave him a glance, but didn't comment, instead cinching up the strap on the helmet they'd given them, and plugging the attached leads into the intercom.

As the gas turbine roared into life, he yelled out to Scott "How long do you think it'll take to get there?"

Overhearing his comment, the stranger looked at him and replied "It's a two hour flight, kid.   We should be there just on dusk."

Sheepish, Chris flashed the guy a grin, and held out his hand as the man offered his own to shake.  "John Parsons.  Personal Attaché to the Prime Minister, out for briefing.  But you seem a little young to be getting into this?  What brings you to this crazy situation?"

Chris released the hand, turning to Scott, who held out his own and shook the Attaché's.    "Well, we have a few skills to bring to the table" he said dryly, before sitting back and regarding the man further.

"Skills, huh?" said John, choosing to ignore the subtle misdirection.  "Strange accent you have, though.  Where you from?"

Scott grinned wryly and replied "Oh, here and there.  You could say I'm a bit of a traveller though."

"I see," said Parsons, although he clearly didn't, as a hint of annoyance crossed his brow.  "Well, we're still trying to get to the bottom of this, ourselves.  Seems a bit of a fantasy act, and I have doubts about the entire thing.  If it wasn't for the reputations of those involved, we'd call the whole thing a hoax.  But we've been assured these creatures are real enough."

Scott nodded in reply, and said "So they say.  Me, they sound like a whole mess of trouble!"

Parsons agreed, and turned to Chris, who had been listening on the conversation intently.  "What about you, kid.  What's your bit in this?"

Chris hesitated a moment, a move again noted by their new friend, and said "I'm just hitching a ride to see my folks.  They're up there at the moment."

Parsons flashed him a grin, and said "Military brat, huh?  They must be high ranking brass to manage to hitch a ride on this mission, especially given the level of secrecy involved."

Chris nodded, receiving an affirmative wink from Scott, and agreed. "Yeah, they've been part of this from the beginning."

They were about twenty minutes into the trip, travelling over dense and forbidding tiger country below, when without warning the four passengers were thrown to the side as the helicopter spun to starboard.  Grabbing his harness desperately, Chris managed to avoid smacking his head against the cabin wall, but Jasper wasn't so lucky.  The gym leader bounced hard against the padded fuselage, to land limbs akimbo on the bench seat.

Scott had grabbed a metal stanchion, missing the worst of the turbulent movement, and thrust out an arm, gripping Parsons on the shoulder even as the man jabbed at the internal helmet intercom, demanding from the pilots what had happened.

A jumbled message came back through, as the voice of both the pilot and navigator spat through the headphones. 

"Unidentified aircraft, you have violated our airspace.  Leave the vicinity immediately."

"Sorry, folks.  We just had some idiot in a private heli cross our path.  Now they're sitting less than fifty feet from our starboard.  We'll get rid of them and resume the flight..."

Scott pressed his own PTT, and interrupted "Pilot, they aren't here for the view.  Get us the hell away from here now!"

The pilot made to respond, but jerked the aircraft again, this time as the rattle of rapid fire gunfire was audible even over the whine from the gas turbine engine.   Cursing, the pilot began a series of wild manoeuvres to avoid the tracers erupting from the other aircraft.

Parsons yelled down the helmet mike "Fire back, damn it!  This thing has weapons, doesn't it?"

The navigator, giving up on his broadcasts, had begun transmitting their predicament over the radio.  Those on the ground responded, but it was clear any assistance had no chance of making it in time.

The pilot called back "No weapons.  No reason to arm this flight!"

Cursing, Scott gave Parsons a long look, before shouting "OK, I'm going to do something.  Just keep this thing in the air!"

The pilot threw a glance over his shoulder and made to reply, when a bright red flash erupted from the rear section, and something... huge...  materialised before his widened eyes.  Blinking wildly, he spun back to his controls, battling to avoid the rounds passing ominously close to his machine.

Parsons let out a shriek, even as Storm grabbed frantically to the ceiling bracing to avoid being thrown to the cabin floor.   Cursing, he turned to Scott, who was pulling at the release on the cabin door, and said "What the fuck is happening?"

Scott yelled back "No time!  Hang on for your life!  When I get this open... see that other machine?  Deal with it!"

The typhlosion nodded, bracing his feet and grabbing the ceiling struts with both paws and digging his feet claws into the rubber decking mat.  When the door slid back, sending a rush of noise and air through the cabin, he squinted against the elements, drew a deep breath, and used Eruption.  A massive ball of flame flew from his gaping maw and sped across the intervening airspace to envelope the cabin of the attacking aircraft.

It swerved violently away from them in an attempt to avoid the blaze, but the typhlosion's aim was true, engulfing the fuselage and engine cowling.  For a few moments those watching thought it might escape, but once the flames reached the jet engine, the turbine stalled, sending the chopper plummeting towards the ground.  Even from their vantage point, those within the helicopter saw the enemy strike the tree canopy below, before a fireball and plume of smoke rose into the air above it.

Wrenching on the door, Scott struggled to close the cabin as the pilot smoothed out their wild ride, before Storm reached out a paw and dragged the door shut.  As relative calm enveloped the cabin, the bug eyed face of Parsons, and the wide eyes of the navigator turned back to them, stretched the silence further, before Storm cursed, dropping to the bench besides the horrified Attaché and said "Arceus sake!  Can't I fucking leave you lot alone for a moment?"

Scott grabbed his partner on the arm, giving him a broad smile which was returned by the typhlosion, who wrinkled his brow and looked down on the frightened human next to him.

"How you doin'?" he said, reaching out a paw, only to withdraw it hurriedly as the human fainted, slumping into his seat with eyes rolling.

Startled, Storm turned to the Navigator and said "Shit!  Was it something I said?"

Shaking his head violently, the man hurriedly returned to his instruments, even as the pilot began throwing frantic glances into the cabin. 

With the situation rapidly deteriorating, Scott unbuckled his harness, leant past Storm, and yelled to those in front "Ignore him!  Just get us out of here!"

They did so, fast!  The roar as the turbine wound up blanketed the cabin in noise, and they accelerated rapidly, as Jasper called out dryly "Never a dull moment around you lot, huh!"

Scott gave him a grim look, and said "No, not since we met you, Jasper.  Strange that so often we seem to be getting these little surprises when you're around."

Jasper shrugged, looking away from Chris, Storm and Scott to stare moodily out the window.  "It's not like I had any choice." he muttered beneath his breath, but not quietly enough that Chris didn't overhear him.

Giving the gym leader an angry glare, Chris retorted.  "Yeah, betraying us was beyond your control.  Sure it was!"

Jasper returned his look without further comment, before shutting his eyes and resting his head against the cabin wall.

Storm had been eyeing the unconscious Attaché curiously, and yelled to Scott "Who's this skitty?"

Chris grinned and replied "Oh, no one important.  Just the assistant of the leader of the country."

Rolling his eyes, Storm reached out and shook the human's shoulder roughly.  Long moments passed before the eyes fluttered open. As they focussed on the frightening form above, Parson blanched at the hovering monster overhead and made to shriek again; a sound muffled by the heavy paw Storm threw across his face.  As the human struggled to get free, Storm leant down and said in a loud, frustrated voice "Get a hold of yourself, human! You're not a child; act your age!"

Parsons nodded hesitantly, eyes wide as he stared at the toothy maw above him.  Still, he seemed to be calmer, and Storm withdrew his paw from his mouth, allowing the man a much needed gasp of air.  Finally, as his panic began to fade, he managed to gasp "You're real!"

Storm shook his head at Chris, and said wryly "Master of the fucking obvious, huh!  No wonder you human's are the dominant species on this world!"

Chris grinned and nodded, turning to Scott who had been gazing at his partner thoughtfully. 

"This isn't normal" he said, causing the typhlosion to regard his partner in confusion.

"What?  Is that a specific comment about me, or what?"

Scott shook his head.  "No.  I mean, they seem to be on to us at every turn.  It's like they know where we are before we even decide it."

Storm looked doubtful, but Chris nodded towards Jasper.  "Well, it can't only be him.  Apart from the first instance, he hasn't had any opportunity."

Jasper muttered "Oh thanks!"  A comment ignored by the others.

Scott looked thoughtful, considering Chris's reply.  "No, it can't be can it?  Which begs the question, how are they getting all this Intel on us?"

Chris glanced between the two Rangers, and said "Could they have bugged us, somehow?"

Giving him a confused look, Scott asked "Could they have what us?"

Chris put his fingers together.  "You know; bugs!  Spy things!"

Storm shrugged.  "Dunno.  Is that something that happens over here?"

Chris nodded.  "Shit, yeah.  All the time!  Plant a bug, or trace on someone or something, and you can know what they're saying, or where they are."

Scott looked at him incredulously.  "Seriously?  I hadn't realised that sort of technology could be made that small.  How big are we talking?"

Chris shrugged, giving him a sheepish look.  "Well, I don't really know.  They bullshit about it a lot on TV, but I imagine in reality, it could be pretty small.  I've seen GPS trackers small enough for a wrist watch or dog collar.  No reason why it couldn't be made even smaller, if someone had the need."

Looking Grim, Scott said "Someone like Sinnotech, huh?" and Chris shrugged.

"Probably; I really don't know much about it."

The Attaché, following the bizarre conversation with wide eyes, interjected "It is feasible.  They tag animals, and machinery, and some of the units used in the military are pretty small.  It would depend on their having access to someone, for a reasonable period of time.  Long enough to plant it more or less permanently on their body, and have it heal to the point of comfort.  Otherwise, such a device would be lost when the individual changed clothing or equipment, or removed when the individual discovered it."

Giving Jasper a searching stare, Chris pondered "Well, they knew about the portal on this side well before Jasper would have had a chance to pass on any information."

Jasper nodded wryly.  "I didn't spill my guts for a few days, if that's what you mean.  I managed to handle the torture for that long, anyway.  Besides, from the few slipped things they mentioned, they appeared to have an idea what you were doing before I even said anything!"

Storm looked confused.  "But who could they have had access to for long enough to..."  The typhlosion petered off, voice dropping to a whisper, as a horrified look crossed his face.  "Oh no..." he began, only to halt as Scott looked at him grimly.

"It's a possibility" the human Ranger said, eyes hardening as he spoke, even as Storm began groping through his fur, parting the dense hair to probe at some of the old scars he bore beneath.

Chris looked confused, as did the Attaché.  "What are you talking about?" the youth asked, not liking the look on the Rangers face.

"I was held captive long enough for them to have done anything they liked with me" the typhlosion whispered, the shock in his face giving way to a sickened expression.  "They had me so beat up and tranked, they could have done anything without me knowing."

Scott reached out a hand, resting it on his partner comfortingly.  "No point worrying about it now.  I'm sure we can look into it when we arrive at Darken Ridge."

Parsons had been struggling with the conversation, but had managed to recover his aplomb.  He'd met enough unusual people over the years, and while this seven foot monstrosity was as beyond his norm as it got, he seemed "human" enough that the Attaché could try ignoring his appearance. 

"My understanding is they have a fairly well established field hospital unit at the property.  While isolated, keeping the operation there allows a level of secrecy that makes it that much harder for word of the situation to escape.  However, we can have them screen everyone when we arrive.  Regardless of how small it is, if something is there, it should still be picked up by a metal detector or X-ray."

When the typhlosion looked less stressed, Parsons gave him a tentative smile and said "Don't worry.  Anything can be fixed. But, since you're clearly real, and not just a figment of my imagination, I think it'd help if you filled me in on as much as you can for what's left of the journey.  That crash is going to stir up a whole bucket load of shit, and the sooner we get onto it, the better."

Giving Storm a sudden determined smile, he held out his hand, which was engulfed by the typhlosion's paw after a moment’s thought.  "Nice to meet you, I guess" said the human, and Storm nodded, trying for his usual grin, but still clearly upset by the earlier conversation.

"Yeah, same." he replied, before they were interrupted by the Pilot, who said over the intercom "ETA sixty minutes to base.  I've radioed ahead, and they're expecting us.  They're also sending out an escort to make sure we get there in one piece, people.  But thanks for the assist earlier."

Storm brightened, twisting his head to lean over the seat back into the cockpit, head mere inches away from the pilot and navigator.

"No problems!" he shouted over the engine noise, and received a nervous thumbs up from the Nav.  "Anytime you want to see something crash and burn in a flaming fireball, I'm your pokemon!"

Exchanging a bemused look, the pilot shrugged and returned to his controls.  Hell, on the weird shit-o-meter, this rated pretty high, for sure!  But given the alternatives, a friendly monster in the cargo bay was better than an arse full of lead any day.

Still, he wasn't unhappy that the rest of the journey went without further incident.

_________________

Authors note:

I have a thing for burning helicopters.
Something I’m a bit over, well and truly, but after considering changing it to a fixed wing aircraft, I changed back, just to get past it.  I do promise, I will slightly somewhat attempt to try and not use any more burning helicopters in the rest of this story...  err, chapter...  paragraph!! ;)

But, things are going to start picking up pace again now.  Sure, there are fillers involved, but I’m trying to tie up a few loose ends, in interesting ways ;)

Plus, I thought it amusing to have Raikou throw a tanty ;)  Even the best of us crack a shit now and again.

Or, if you’re like me, you occasionally stop throwing one ;)