Reiko knelt atop the hill, kneeling amidst the tall glades of grass, gaze completely focused on the Galactic grunts below. Only their silhouettes were visible under the weak moonlight, which merely served to carve a straight, white line across the ocean toward the horizon. No lamps were lit and no Pokemon helped illuminate their path as they transported box after box from the rusty hangar at the edge of Pastoria's port toward the dark ship anchored to one of its docks.

Transporting provisions? Pokeballs, maybe? Whatever it was, it made no difference. Those boxes would not reach their destination tonight.

And neither will one of them, she thought.

It had taken more than a week of reconnaissance and sneaking around, but their efforts had finally bore fruit. After Hao managed to steal some data from one of Team Galactic's encrypted servers, they learned that one of their ships would secretly come to Pastoria's port tonight, and with it at least five grunts. It was the opportunity they had been waiting for.

An opportunity they couldn't afford to waste, she reminded herself. The muscles on her arms tensed in anticipation, nervousness playing her heart like a drum.

Just then her earpiece came to life, and she heard Percy's voice.

"You're being awfully quiet, Mon chou. Should I assume from your silence that you have been captured?"

She smiled despite the tense situation. Taking care not to make much noise, she took one of her hands to her mouth and whispered into the small microphone stuck to her cheek.

"Not getting rid of me that easily, hon. Was just gathering myself, is all."

"…Right." Even through the static distorting her boyfriend's voice, she had no problem catching the worry in his voice. "Just be careful, okay? Did you notice anything down there?"

Right, he can't see here, she thought, frowning. From his position high atop the hill and hidden between two thick bushes all Percy could see was her and the edge of the port, even with his binoculars. Were she to get caught, he probably wouldn't arrive in time to help her. Still, she needed those eyes above. Ground forces she could deal with, but the situation would get tricky if those bastards managed to call any aerial reinforcements.

"I see five of them," she said after a few seconds. "Four taking the boxes from the hangar to the ship, and one just standing there. Probably a supervisor or something."

That one kinda makes me nervous, was what she wanted to say, but she kept it to herself. No point in being unnecessarily pessimistic.

"And Pokemon?"

Reiko swallowed. "I see three Luxio patrolling the perimeter, and there's another one just past the hangar door. No flying Pokemon though, thank Mew."

"How about we leave the thanking until after we make sure you don't die?" Percy's words implied he was making a joke, but the way his voice thinned made that difficult to ascertain. "Still… four of those fleabags sounds like trouble, and there ought to be one or two more inside the ship and hangar. Not to mention the Kadabra they surely have lying around just in case they need to escape." He took a moment to gather his breath before continuing. "I don't mean to doubt your abilities, but are you sure you and Stain can handle it alone? Why not bring out Denki to help?"

She was thankful Percy wasn't there to see her roll her eyes. Even if he hadn't spent the last week obsessing over every little detail of their plan, what made him think it was a good idea to change it at the last minute?

He's scared, she reminded herself. And so are you, so get off your high Ponyta and reassure your boyfriend already.

She gripped her wrist with her left hand in an attempt to make it stop shaking. At first she thought it was due to the cold, but the more she delayed her attack the more she felt her throat and stomach tightening, as if an invisible hand were squeezing them.

Five grunts and four Luxio at the very least, and all she had was her Scyther and her long bokken, its weight on her back familiarly reassuring. True; the two of them were more experienced in combat than anyone else down there could possibly hope to be, but what did that matter when they had a number advantage? Luxio were small, but they were incredibly fast and could paralyze them with their electricity. Not to mention any of the grunts could have even more Pokemon on their belts or even worse; guns. There was too much uncertainty, too much that had to be left to luck.

I'd rather have to wrestle a Tauros; at least that's straightforward enough.

"It's gonna be okay, I promise," she whispered into the microphone. "Try to breathe and relax, okay? I'm counting on you and Pierre to be my eyes from up there."

"Y-yeah… yeah, okay." At the other side, she heard him take a deep breath. "Are you sure you don't want Pierre to use Sleep Powder on the whole port?"

She shook her head, and then realized he couldn't see her doing so. "The Luxio would smell it coming, and it would alert the people inside the ship. Besides…" She ripped a small bundle of grass from the ground and let it fly past her shoulder. "Wind's blowing north. I'd get hit by it too."

"Merde, I didn't think of that. Still…"

"Percy, trust me." She put a bit more force into her words, or as much as she could while whispering. "This is simple. I'll swoop down and grab one of them while Stain takes care of that Kadabra and Nakuru messes up the ship's engine. Then Hao disables all their Poketch and sends an alert to the authorities, Stain comes to pick us up and we escape while leaving the rest of these bastards stranded with no way out."

A sigh was heard at the other side. "The more you try to summarize your plans, the more it dawns on me just how idiotic they are."

"Hey, that's why you fell in love with me."

"Among other things," he admitted.

Another crackle in her ear, and Hao's voice was heard.

"Someone call for me?" His tone was, as usual, flat and electronic, though somehow she could pick up the smile on his voice. "So we doing this or what? If I had a body that could get tired I'd be snoring right now."

"Charming," Reiko whispered to herself. "Hold your Ponyta, pint-size. I was just about to jump when you interrupted me."

"Fine, just do it already."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

She heard his voice disappear at the other side, and sighed. "Impatient little bugger. Okay Percy, I'm going."

"All right, I'll keep an eye from here. Just… be careful, yes?"

"Will do, hon."

His voice vanished as well, and the moment it did Reiko started missing it. Taking in a deep breath, she leaned slightly forward and peered over the edge one last time, trying to locate all the grunts and Pokemon she could. She would fall behind a large rock and out of everyone's sight, but it still paid to be careful.

A familiar shiver ran down her spine, and like a shadow her Scyther rose from behind her, scarlet eyes gleaming like rubies. She looked at him over her shoulder, and smiled.

"Ready, pal?" The creature barely moved his head to nod. "Alright… I'm counting on you. Let's go."

And, taking in what might be her last deep breath, she threw herself forward and started falling. A slight gust of wind brushed her side just before her feet met the ground. The dark silhouette of Stain fell as fast as a bullet and silent as a feather, and the moment he landed he disappeared once more, his body blurring as he zigzagged from shadow to shadow toward the back of the hangar, in pursuit of his prey.

She was next. Raising her arms, she made a straight line of herself and bent her knees as soon as she touched ground, distributing the force of impact all throughout her body. Not only that, but it was a good way to land without making a sound.

Just like a Meowth.

She stood still for a moment, taking in her surroundings. She was in a small creek, hidden from the Galactic grunts by a large stone and only a few seconds away from the back of the hangar. Slowly, she rose to her feet and looked over the edge of the rock. Two of them were carrying boxes, two were either inside the hangar or the ship, and the last one –her target, she reminded herself– stared at the men with arms crossed and a firm posture. There were no Pokeballs on their belt.

A faint breath came, and she felt as if the pungent cold around her had gripped its hand around her lungs. That grunt… something about them made her extremely nervous, but the strangest thing was that she couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. Still, they had no Pokemon and she had to complete her mission anyway, so her worries were inconsequential.

As discretely as possible she took another step to the side and looked over the rest of the port. Three of the Luxio were visible, two close and one far away. The fourth was nowhere to be seen.

Did Stain take it out already? No, I told him to go straight for the Kadabra and he's too prideful to get distracted.

Yet another uncertainty she had to deal with. In any case, thinking about it any further would not help; she needed to act and fast.

But… when, exactly? Should she wait until those two grunts were inside the ship? What if the other two came? What if they noticed Stain and they all rushed toward the hangar? It would distract them for long enough that she'd be able to grab her target and escape, but it would also put her Scyther in unnecessary danger.

Nothing's gonna happen if you just stay here, she told herself. Just go!

Gritting her teeth, she stomped one foot outside her spot and spun on it as she faced the port. She bent her knees and placed her arms to the side, ready to run. The two grunts were almost at the ship and the one overseeing them had his back on her. She took off like a bullet, running behind a row of forklifts as she approached from the side, her steps silent.

A gust of wind hit her as she passed the forklifts, putting herself in view once more. She was inches from the back of the hangar and her target was past the end of its left wall; maybe ten yards away? Twelve? It didn't matter. They hadn't noticed her and she would reach them in a couple seconds anyway.

The fingers of her right hand itched slightly as she raised it, her muscle memory trying to convince her to grab the bokken tied to her back. But… no, she didn't need it. More reach would not help if she was so close anyway, and a hit to the back of the head would make much more noise than the choke-hold she had in mind.

Then… why are my instincts screaming at me to grab my weapon? She thought, feeling time slow around her. There's… there's something wrong with this grunt. Why am I so…?

It happened too fast. Just as she was about to pass the wall she saw the door at its furthest edge open, and the light from inside blinded her for a moment. She stopped on her tracks, feet dragging slightly, and raised her hand to shield her face. Past the light she spotted a dark figure; a young girl wearing Team Galactic's uniform, her expression aloof and innocent. That however changed when she looked at Reiko.

Their eyes met. There was confusion for a moment, and then fear overtook the girl's expression. She took a sudden step back, opened her mouth and brought her Poketch close to her face.

Reiko's body moved on its own. In a fraction of a second she unsheathed the bokken from her back and gripped it tightly, throwing herself forward. A sound like a whip was heard as the wooden blade cut through the air.

W-what am I doing? Reiko's eyes widened and her grip loosened as she saw her weapon move toward the young girl. If I hit her with this, I'll…

That's when she heard the grunt gasp, and knew that a scream was coming; one which would alert everyone in the vicinity. In that moment, amidst the doubt and confusion, she reached deep within herself and grasped the cold, firm stone that was her resolve. Her grip on the blade tightened, and its trajectory did not change.

A deaf crack was heard as the tip of the blade connected with the girl's throat. Her face contorted in agony. She tried to let out a gasp but her cracked windpipe didn't allow her to.

Reiko moved like the wind. Setting her right foot in front of the girl, she rotated on the ball of it and used the strength of her momentum to deliver another blow, this time to the back of her head. There was a second of silence as the grunt's head veered down, and then her knees shook and the rest of her body began to fall as well.

Feeling her heart on her throat, Reiko placed her bokken under her arm and dove to catch the girl before she met the ground. As she held her unconscious body with one arm, she allowed herself to fall to one knee and immediately looked behind her, sweat falling down her forehead.

Her target stood still with their back toward them. There was no sign that they had noticed them. Reiko finally let go of the breath she'd been holding and gently placed the girl's body on the ground, trying her hardest not to think about how strongly she had hit her. There was no time for sentimentality; she had to act.

Just a few feet away, she reassured herself. I'll grab them and…

A multitude of things happened in the next second. Just as she was about to jump forward, a scream tore through the silence of the night. It was high-pitched, but not human. Reiko recognized it instantly.

Stain! Was he…?

Then she heard a click as her earphone came to life, followed by Percy's voice. She felt her throat tighten at his panicked tone.

"Reiko, there's someone else here! Get out of there bef–!"

A deaf impact was heard and Percy gasped in pain. Then, the sound died on the other side.

It felt as if she'd been touched with a live-wire. Her eyes went wide in panic and without thinking she tried to turn around, tried to run toward her boyfriend as fast as possible. All thoughts of the mission fled from her mind. She didn't consider why Stain had screamed, nor why Nakuru hadn't disabled the ship yet, nor why Hao hadn't said a single word since the mission had started.

However, her path of escape was cut off before she took a single step. Out of the corner of her eye she saw two dark figures sliding from behind the edge of the hangar, their tiny bodies landing at the other side and their golden eyes set on her. The Luxio snarled as they approached slowly, their hind legs lowered in wait.

Reiko took a tentative step back, her shoulders shaking as she pointed her bokken forward. Taking on one of those bastards would've been difficult enough, but two? It was practically impossible.

That doesn't fucking matter! She yelled inside her own head. I need to get back to Percy!

The air crackled as the Luxio hemmed themselves with electricity. Reiko took in a deep breath, tightened her hold on her weapon and readied herself to attack.

Then, a blur. A blue shape flashed behind the two Luxio for a moment; an impact was heard, and both fell unconscious to the ground.

Reiko froze, unsure of what had just happened. However, before she had time to consider it, someone spoke behind her.

"Hm? Well, this is a surprise."

Had she not been gripping her bokken as hard, it would have fallen from her hands. Her entire body shook at the sound of that voice, the sheer weight and power behind it. It wasn't loud or forceful, but rather calm and composed. She looked over her shoulder. The grunt she had planned to attack had turned toward her, but… there was something off about them. That face, that expression, those stormy grey eyes… where had she seen them before?

That was the last thing Reiko thought before that blue blur appeared again. She barely caught movement on the corner of her eye, and then she felt an impact on the back of her head.

The pain lasted for only a second before she lost consciousness.