Washington DC

Rico is led into a room where Dorian is sitting drinking her morning tea. The doors close behind Rico who looks over at the Whimsicott grinning at him.

"Who are you supposed to be"

"Mr. Jamison, my name is Ashley Dorian. I am you're replacement lawyer for the remainder of your trial"

"Where's Braxton..."

"He's in the hospital, he won't be coming out anytime soon, he has a few more surgeries anyway"

"You're were sent by Greene weren't you?"

"No, I have not been sent by Greene" Dorian responds, then she takes a sip of her tea and closes the newspaper she's reading, "If I was you'd be able to tell"

"Yeah, and I can tell that you're working for him" Rico says, his voice getting aggressive.

"Believe what you like Ricardo, but you're stuck with me until this is over" Dorian answers back.

Luke laughs hysterically, "This is actually fucking happening, I can't believe it"

"Yes, I know what question you're going to ask now: No we have nothing to do with Mister Braxton's attempted murder"

"Like I'd fucking believe that" Rico snarls.

"Anyway, I have not come here to argue and get into pointless debates with you. We're going over to the court room in about 10 minutes, if you have any statements that you want me to make on your behalf, feel free to tell them to me now"

The Lucario squeezes his fist, he can feel the serum edging it's way into his brain, he can feel it bringing his blood pressure up. He's trying his best to contain his rage but it's difficult.

Dorian gets up and opens the door for Rico, gesturing him to exit the room so they could walk into the court room. Rico stops by the doorway looking down at Dorian as she gazed back up at him.

"Greene's not gonna win this. Let's get that clear right now" Rico says.

"Hm" Dorian goes.

Rico finishes walking out the door to the court room, Dorian sighs and follows behind him. As they walk Rico tries to compose himself so he's not making himself look like what the CIA claims he is, but his current circumstances seem to make that feel impossible. Rico enters the court room, everyone's there including the CIA, Tetrahyde rests her head on her hand as she watches Rico sit down at the defendants table, Dorian sitting next to him.

Atticus bangs the gavel and looks between the two teams.

"It appears you have a new lawyer Mister Jamison" Atticus says looking over at Dorian.

"Good morning your honor, I'm Ashley Dorian I have been chosen to replace Mister Ayala as he's currently in the hospital after his recent attack" She sats introducing herself.

"I see... Anyway, we will now continue with the proceedings. After today's session the hurry will be sent off to make a decision and their decision will decide whether Mister Jamison goes to prison or whatever punishment it the jury finds necessary" Atticus explains.

The CIA agents at the plaintiffs table are silently praying their efforts pay off, Greene takes a deep breath and readies himself for what's to come.

"If the plaintiff may continue their case"

Tetrahyde raises her hand, "Yes Miss Tetrahyde"

"May I speak you honour"

"You may"

"Before I joined the CIA, my former line of work was... Let's just say... Unsavoury. When I got brought into the CIA, I felt like I was at home, like I mattered. If it weren't for them I would be in some hot water right about now, I would just be another careless youth doing something dumb, I have food, I have a home - well several, I can provide for my boyfriend, I can travel the world and experience all the new cultures. Ricardo Jamison, though he's recieved the care they've shown me, Delevio, Keyen, Waterlily... He's ungrateful, he bites back at the caring paw, the paw that's done so much for him, the paw that puts money in his pocket and gives him an opertunity do do right!"

"Preach" Keyen says.

Greene nods liking what he's hearing.

"You see if Ricardo Jamison was innocent, he would have done the right thing and help us capture his brother, but he didn't do that now didn't he?! He backstabbed us! He betrayed the country! He betrayed you! Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, let me ask you this-"

Tamara slowly strolls up to them.

"Should someone as deceiving as Ricardo Jamison deserve to walk free? Should he really go unpunished? Should he really be on the street after what he did, what he did in New York, Vancouver, Tatami, Shanghai, Berlin, Tokyo... Should he really be released into this world unpunished though the weight of his crimes is enormous? I have the answer for you! It's no!" Tetrahyde says.

The jury mutter to themselves, Tetrahydes speech seemed to sway their opinion.

"Do the right thing, punish this ungrateful bastard! Show him that he shouldn't betray your friends, your family, or your country... That is all"

Tamara walks back to her seat and sits down, she high fives Keyen and Delevio. Greene smiles at her, "That was electrifying"

"What can I say, I learned a thing or two from working with you guys" She says.

Dorian is impressed with her speech too, nodding slowly. Rico on the other hand can slowly feel his patience running out.

"Thank you Miss Tetrahyde. If the defense may state their case..." The Pelliper says.

Before Dorian can speak, Rico immediately stands up from his seat almost immediately, Dorian flinches when he does this, when he shows his face there's nothing but rage and the fires of frustration burning in his eyes.

"You're really gonna let HER sway you?! The mon who used literal ELECTRICAL SHOCK TURTURE on us for her own amusement sit there and badmouth me like she even gives a damn about me or my brother?! She would've killed us in that holding cell without a second thought! Tetrahyde cares nothing for Family, nothing for Friends, and she damn sure doesn't give a shit about the safety of the American populous! If anyone here were anywhere near the alleged threat I posed, she'd shoot you dead in a heartbeat and not lose a single second of sleep over it!!"

"Just following orders hon" Tetrahyde says shrugging her shoulders.

"Now hold on! Are you saying she doesn't give a shit about us because she's from Australia?!" Greene says with a hysterical smile.

Rico glares at Greene for a moment and then turns back around to face Atticus.

"With all due respect... I question the credibility of this witness, as she has had a far too personal stake in this case. She's used... Harsh methods against myself and Luke..."

Rico shudders feeling a faint phantom shock run down his neck.

"...And she also shot and killed an innocent civilian in Japan, but I'm sure that was kept off the record..."

The jury mutter among themselves when they hear Ricardo mention this.

"A civilian who became a criminal the moment they aided you and what's her face, Alexa was it?" Delevio says, paw on her face.

"...Judge, I'd like to give a statement of my own. No lawyer's consultation. I'm pretty sure it's damn near obvious they've set it all up to place all the blame on me, lock me up, then go sip their frappes in the coffee shops like nothing happened. My only request is, at least let me say my side of the story, your honor. The people... and hell, the CIA as well... deserve to hear every account, as it happened."

Atticus sighs, "Very well"

"Oh here we go" Greene says quietly to himself.

Rico looks back at his former colleagues, "Hey, if they're gonna lock me up, might as well go down in a blaze of glory right?"

A confident smirk makes itself seen on his face as he looks back towards the judge and jury.

Dorian nudges him, "What the hell are you doing, If they rule in favour of the CIA your sentence could get trippled"

"I'm willing to take that chance" Rico says.

"The coconuts on you..." Ashley says, unimpressed with his show of bravado.

"Ladies, Gentlemons, Agents, Diplomats, and Honoraries alike. My name is Ricardo Jaire Jamison. Son of legendary Agent Jaire Allin Jamison and Bio-Tech Scientist Amber DeSantos-Jamison, also known under her most oftenly used alias 'Amber Shiratori'. I'm the younger of the twins, the older being my aforementioned brother, Lukarin David Jamison. Enough with the introductions though, let's get onto some of the more important facts here." Rico says, jumping on the desk and sitting towards the crowd of people, back towards the judge.

"I'm engaged to a wonderful Lucario named Cairo Blake, who I'd give anything to spend just one more night with. My brother's got two kids with an agent in this courtroom, Delevio Bottelavicci. I believe they were engaged too, but then Luke got busted doing some underground fighting. Now, I'm not gonna defend that, nor did I have any idea he was going there. Why didn't he tell me? Maybe because he was ashamed he felt the need to take such measures to let out some of that aggression deep down... but we should explain why that is. Luke's a super soldier, subject to an experimental serum he injected himself with the night our father, Beloved Agent Jamison, was murdered"

"Objection!" Greene shouts, "You have the documents and the mission report you don't need to listen to this sob story-"

"Overruled, continue" Atticus answers.

"As a result, He's got some anger issues. That, I'm sure of. He's going back home to Appleton for therapy and counseling. He told me he plans to take an extended trip to the mountains in Colorado when He's done. Says it's a good place to train the mind. But that's off topic... Luke couldn't control his anger and stuff, and when he confronted Delevio, she threw him out in a fit of anger and most likely mirrored bitterness. Luke hated her for blowing the whistle on him... or moreso, he hated that she had to be the one to do it. Delevio, I only wish you let me take the blame for it. That way, he could live his whole life hating me, but then we wouldn't be in this mess."

Delevio looks away towards the ground, Greene face palms.

"Next I saw of Luke, he was simply visiting his kids on the property that he owns the deed for. And then Yes, I cut some tires with my dad's favorite Katana. Did I literally pay for new ones? Yes. Did I get suspended too? You bet. As if they'd let you forget it! I'd like you all to open your minds, indulge me for a moment, if possible... have you ever made a rash choice in life you would give the world to go back and change?"

The Chinese, Japanese and German diplomats sitting in the crowd glare daggers at Rico but it doesn't wear him down as he continues to speak.

"Because that choice was one I really wish I hadn't made so late into the shithole. I mean, the CIA's been sitting here talking about protecting 'Family' as a part of why I deserve to go away... My dad is dead and my mom lives in Manchester. Luke... well he's the only family I have left. So if I'm a bad guy for choosing him in the heat of probably the most heart-wrenchingly stressful moments of my entire life, YES all my prior Missions Included, then So be it, I'm the bad guy! But if you had lost both your parents, Say like Miss Bottelavicci... wouldn't you do anything to protect a sibling? Hell, what would she know, her Brother's in a maximum security wing at Arceus-knows-where penitentiary..."

Delevio jumps from her seat infuriated with what Rico said.

"I have happy memories with my brother too, asshole! My brother just mixed in with the wrong people!" Delevio shouts.

"Miss Botelavicci!" The judge shouts.

She growls and sits down.

"Mister Jamison, please refrain from agitating the plaintiffs" Atticus says.

"Sorry, just thought it would be a good example" Rico says, shrugging his shoulders.

"As I was saying, "You see, I tracked Luke down in a day. It took the CIA almost triple that. Had they just sent me alone to confront Luke instead, maybe this could've been all sorted out. Let's not also omit the facts, that two agents cornered Luke in a New Orleans alleyway and called it in as an attack on them when those two buffoons attacked a Super Soldier! Play stupid games, win Stupid prizes, folks. Trust me, I'm the stupid prize king around here these days." *Rico's lighthearted jab at his own shortcomings managed to get a few chuckles from the courtroom.*

"If you ask me, this was all a big misunderstanding that turned into... pardon my language, an international biological clusterfuck. Luke wanted to go to China. He wanted to destroy a replica serum. We never intended to interfere in CIA business, never meant to hurt anyone in any country we were in. The company who made the serum, Kai Industries, was making a dangerous serum that... I sadly know the effects of all too well. In the heat of the moment... I ingested it. And While the effects may not be as long lasting, they were much more severe. It felt like someone else entirely was controlling my body, I was trapped in my own mind while my I moved on instinct alone. It made me uncharacteristically violent in the weeks that followed. Only now, I've began feeling more like myself again..."

"Your honour, this kid is lying to you" Greene says ruffling his hair like fur.

Dorian sighs, she sees no point in trying to stop Rico now that he's doing this, so she waits.

"Your words are noted, Boss. But I don't think you realize the Grey areas I left out. So let me fill you in... I, Rico Jamison, never directly caused a death of an innocent civilian by my own direct actions. The civilian casualties occurred only when we were pursued by the CIA, and... Agent Tetrahyde."

Rico's tone of voice turns vengeful when he says Tetrahyde's name, the Slazzle however doesn't flinch.

"Sure, I've done bad stuff. Luke tortured a Servine for information, basically guilt tripped a guy into helping us because My brother was his daughter's love life, Our old friend Alexa just was acting out of concern for her longtime friends while searching worldwide for her parents' killers. Nobody had to die in this unfortunate series of events, ladies and gentlemons. Luke and I were never threat to national security. The CIA only feared the mon... No. The 'weapon' they once controlled. Tell me, did they act because Luke was a terrorist, or because he's a Bio-weapon charged vessel capable of taking a mon's heads clean off with a steak knife?! Capable of tearing through enemies like wet paper, as Bottelavicci and Agent London Winters witnessed in-person in Evansville, Indiana! We aren't good by any means, folks. I'm a hacker, a trained sniper and assassin, basically raised to be the perfect stealth operative for the CIA. Luke was forced to be a brutal, limb snapping, Life taking walking weapon by the Surren. We simply acted on our survival instincts. Keyen... when you got ran through by the sword... That wasn't me in control. I want you to know, I hoped every day you hadn't died of that wound, because I dunno if I'd have been able to live that down. Delevio, Luke told me he knew your father in the war. Hell, Luke even..."

Rico gulps nervously.

"...He was in the same vehicle as 'em when the roadside bomb went off."

Delevio's eyes go wide when she hears this, it got her attention, "What..."

"Luke and I aren't inherently bad. We're just two brothers who were raised to survive. And, through a few misunderstandings and domino effects... we got to where we are today. Now, I've sat here and listened to everyone who were once friends of mine scrutinize me, belittle me, call me less than deserving of watching my future children grow up, basically breaking apart my engagement... and they say I don't deserve freedom. And If I'm being honest... I'm not sure I do. But if this is where you make your choice and lock me away, at least I have the peace of mind knowing that everyone heard what I had to say. I can go, knowing my brother isn't gonna have to live with his demons, those voices in his head driving him to kill and harm others. I can find solace knowing we stopped distribution of a Bio-weapon. I can sleep at night knowing I don't have to feat getting shocked for simply being imprisoned and at the mercy of a sociopath."

The Lucarios gives a sneering glare in Tetrahyde's direction, the Slazzle adjusts her position in her seat so she can get more comfortable, paying no mind to his attempt to get a reaction out of her.

"...So lock me up if you want. Maximum sentence, Bring it on! That's how the script goes for this, right? Flashing their power and thinking they won the case just because they made spectical of it?... do Y'all know, my Lawyer, my good friend, Braxton Ayala, was Shot in the subway because of his role here? Apparently, It's because the prosecution hadn't put me away yet. Because he was doing too good of a damn job. Yet, no one's investigating that, and if they are, it's probably Page 12 news. If it were anyone else, I promise it would've been a headliner. Let that sink in, folks. This isn't a case against one mon. It's the CIA using Politics and Power to spin a narrative of a situation they only experienced half of"

"Half?! We were there 98% of the time! That's almost the whole story if you ask me!" Greene interupts.

"In conclusion... I, Ricardo Jaire Jamison. I'm... well, formerly... a Sniper Assassin and a top hacker in the CIA. I've told you my side of... pretty much everything. Now, I'm 100% prepared for Tamara to get up here and attempt to debunk every word I just said, you all murmur and nod, effectively forgetting I just poured my heart and soul out to this entire courtroom In as professional of a manner as somemon in my situation ever could... And I hope you don't forget this, because in the end, who are we really punishing by locking me up? Sure, I go away, but I could probably run a prison from the inside. On the outside, you ruin an engagement. You take away my brother's only real family he has left this side of the Atlantic. The agency's down one of their top tech guys and most efficient sharpshooter. And the People of America? They'll either vilify me into Oblivion, or they'll see me as a tragic hero of sorts. That all depends on your verdict. Thank you for your time... and I hope you all choose with what your heart says, as I did. Maybe then, you'll understand some of my motivations. I have nothing further to say"

He swings around and sits back in his seat, Dorian rests her face on her paw, still trying to comprehend what just happened.

"Are we clear to proceed? I don't have all day." Rico says, smirking confidently.

Atticus gives a slight nod while the jury speak among themselves.

"The court will recess and the jury will be sent off to make their decision. We will return in about 3 days time" Atticus says, then he bangs the gavel and stands up.

Later after the session, the agents find themselves at the diner once again, words cannot come close to describing Greene's frustration, Tetrahyde plays with the straw of her drink as she thinks about Rico's speech that day, she bangs her fist on the table and sighs.

"This is just great, the last thing we needed. The jury will most definitely be questioning if his arrest is 'justified' now" Greene says.

"It sounds like sending him to prison would be a bad idea now as well" Delevio adds.

"What are we gonna do then, he can't just go unpunished for what he did to us" Keyen says.

"Did anyone try convincing his girlfriend to talk some sense into him" Greene asks.

"Yeah, she thinks he's in the right! Which is insane!" Waterlily answers.

Delevio sips on her smoothie, looking into the plastic cup containing the fruit juice... Then she gets an idea, "Theres are still a few Pokémon we can go to... And I have a few ideas"

Greene looks up at the Glaceon a piece of sandwich in his mouth, "Im listening"

---

Dupont Circle, Washington DC

Standing infront of a coffee shop are a Blaziken in a black leather jacket and boots and a Hitmonlee wearing a grey jumper, the two are waiting for somemon as the rain comes down.

"What do you think the job will be this time" The Hitmonlee asks.

"I don't know and I don't care, as long as it pays good I'll take it" The Blaziken responds looking at his phone.

Suddenly a black Maybach pulls up infront of them, out of the drivers seat steps a Meowscarda who opens the passwnger door, inside is Huang smoking a cigarette, the Raichu blows a puff of smoke in the air and steps out of the car.

"Are you Rush and Fury?"

"Thats us" The Blaziken responds.

"Get in the car we're going for a drive"

He steps aside revealing another Meowscarda in the other passenger seat, Rush, the Blaziken looks at his partner, Fury, and he looks back at him. The two pick up their bags and climb into the Maybach, Huang gets back in and the driver closes the door so she can get back in the drivers seat.

"Are you the guy that contracted us" Fury asks.

Huang blows some more smoke in the air as the driver pulls away from the curb, "More or less"

"Whats the job?" Rush asks getting straight to the point.

Huang smiles and chuckles a little, "Straight to the point, I like that... Bǎ wénjiàn gěi tā (Give him the file)"

The Meowscarda sitting next to them gives them a blue file, Fury takes it and opens it.

"That is Ricardo Jamison-" Huang takes another drag before exhaling so he can continue, "... I need you to kill him"

"He's just a kid" Rush says, somewhat surprised thats what he wants him to do.

"Do I pay you to complain?" Huang asks.

They both go silent, as Huang stares them down then intensely, his eyes piercing like tiny knives.

"What did he do to you?" Fury asks.

"Him and his brother broke into my company building and destroyed a batch of a chemical I was working on. Oh, and it gets better... This little shit drank one of the viles... Which brings me to the second thing I want you to do-"

The Meowscarda hands them a small fancy little gun like object.

"Use that to get a sample of his blood once you've killed him"

"Where is he right now?" Rush asks.

"In holding, at the Grand Escanore Prison Complex. Which is where I'm taking you right now" Hunag responds.

The Raichu exhales and looks at the two mercenaries, "Wishing you the best of luck gentlemen"

"We don't need luck" Fury responds.

"We just need some good weapons" Rush adds.

The limousine pulls over onto the side of a motorway, the prison tower in the far distance to their east, the sound of cars flying by them gets louder once the two are let it of the car by the driver.

"Your toys are in the trunk... I'll see you when the job is done" Huang says, then he takes another drag of his cigarette as the driver closes the door and gets back in the drivers seat so he can drive off.

Rush and Fury take two black briefcases out of the trunk and close it, the Hitmonlee signals the driver to go and the car pulls away from them.

"Let's get this shit done" Rush says, walking toward the woods leading to the prison.

"I bet this kid ain't even as scary as the stories make him sound"

"Usually when they warn us about a target, that means it's serious right"

"Yeah, but this dude is like 17 or something, no way he's gonna that difficult"

Rush just stays silent as they walk through the woods approaching a sewer drain. That's when they stop and Fury takes a laptop from out of his briefcase, he types for a second while Rush looks out spotting for patrols.

"Motion sensors disabled... We're a go" Fury says.

Rush steps forward out of the treeline and walks up to the sewer grate, taking a plasma cutter from out of his briefcase, he turns it on and starts cutting threw the rotted metal bars, a few minutes go by and they get in, turning on their flashlights.

"Blegh! The fuck does it always gotta be the sewer..." Fury complains.

"What? Should we just go through the front door?" Rush says to him giving him a stare.

Fury sighs and decides to shut up for the time being. Rush spots a dim light leading to an access door which without a doubt led to the basement in the prison. Rush signals for him to be quiet, Fury nods. The Blaziken puts his hand on the door handle and channels the heat in his body to his hand so he can melt it off. He pushes the door open slightly and sees it's a strange room of some sort, and no one's in there so he steps in and Fury closes the doors behind them.

Fury whips out the laptop again and this time gets into the prison's systems, a few minutes later he gets into the prison roster and finds where Rico's cell is.

"Found him, cell D-768" Fury says.

"Let's get this shit done" Rush says.

Fury closes the laptop and puts it in his bag. Rush peaks out into the hallway, there's a camera facing the door so he takes a small pencil like device and presses a button on the back of the device and it fires a small projectile at the camera looping the camera feed.

He gestures for Fury to follow him and the two come out of the closet, weaving around and dodging cameras. Both men eventually arrive at the lift out of the basement, there are two Pokémon in front of them in guard uniform chatting it up and laugh. They reach into their bags and pull some Glock 21s out, striking both of them in head.

"Take off your clothes" Rush says.

"W-What?" One of them says, flabbergasted at his request.

"Take your fucking clothes off!" Fury shouts.

Reluctantly then men comply, and run off. Rush and Fury gun them down once they're far enough.

The lift doors open and the two step inside wearing their uniforms. When the lift doors close they lean against the wall, Rush screws on a silencer while Fury hacks into the security system and crashes the system.

"Too easy" Fury says.

"You have enough amo?" Rush asks as he puts some bullets into the magazine to replace the ones he used to shoot the guards.

"Yeah, I checked" Rush says as he types away on the computer.

"Last time you said that you ran out of mags" Rush says, loading the gun and cocking it.

"I did check" Fury responds, annoyed with Rush poking at him.

"Sure" Rush says.

The lift doors open and the two find themselves on the 7th floor of the building. There's a guard in a booth at the door, an exhausted looking Tauros.

"Cameras are down" Fury says as he walks toward the booth with Rush next to him.

Fury clicks on the door on the diagram on his laptop. The door unlocked which gets the Tauros' attention, Rush opens it and walks into the room.

"Hey pal, this rooms for authorised perso-"

Rush lifts the Glock and shoots him in the face three times, splattering blood on the glass as the Hitmonlee types away on his laptop, the gates release and open so they can walk into the room. Prisoners immediately start shouting at them, calling them explatives and racial slurs. The two walk through the corridor of angry prisoners as if they're having a peaceful walk through the park while Fury screws his silencer on

A guard standing at the next door walks towards them trying to stop them.

"Hey guys why do you have bags-"

Fury shoots the guard in the chest before he can radio anything, then takes his key card so he can open the door in front of them, the two walk by leaving the guard to bleed out on the floor by the door.

They climb up some steps before finally arriving at the maximum security wing of the D sector. The heavily armed guards notice the door opening and when Rush and Fury walk in they waste no time and shoot all of them, clearing them out all in eight seconds.

"His cell's this way" Fury says, pointing straight ahead.

"Let's get this clown"

Around them are cells with LED lights surrounding a large see threw energy shield. Eventually they come up on Rico's cell, the red Lucario fast asleep. Fury deactivates the cells energy barrier, this wakes Rico up and he rolls onto his side expecting to see people ready to escort him to the courthouse, but when he sees Rush and Fury raising pistols at them his eyes go wide.

He sits up immediately and Rush shoots him in the shoulder, Rico shouts and falls off the bed. Rico immediately lunges at Rush but the Blaziken dodges and he falls into the concrete floor. Rush shoots at him again, this time Rico scurries to his feet and starts to run while applying pressure on his shoulder, Rush and Fury give chase, and they're blazing hot on his trails.

"Shit, what kind of energy drink are they fucking drinking" Rico says to himself.

Ahead of the Lucario, maximum security guards arrive with assault rifles arrive and fire at them, Rico takes cover behind a support beam. Rush and Fury however do not hide and start shooting at them, as the security realise the Blaziken and Hitmonlee are cutting them down fast they begin to slowly pull back, however the cold duo once they've reloaded shoot the fleeing security until they are all laying on the floor.

Rico is somewhat terrified of Rush and Fury and how relentless they are as he runs from his cover and toward the lift so he can escape them. Rush and Fury fire at Rico, another bullet hits Rico in the thigh making him shout loudly. As he gets closer to the lift he sees the guard at the booth is dead.

"Come on kid! Come easy and we can make this painless!" Fury shouts.

"Who the fuck are you guys? CIA?! Just when I thought you couldn't get any lower then this!"

Rush and Fury look at each other and break out into laughter at the accusation, Rico grits his teeth as they laugh at his face,

"What the fuck makes you think we're CIA?" Rush says with a smirk.

"Who hired you then?" Rico shouts, squeezing his shoulder tightly.

"The Chinese Raichu sends his regards" Fury says and then he fires straight at the Lucarios skull so he ducks down and runs into the stairwell so he can try and get help.

Rush and Fury run down the steps behind him. Rush jumps over the railing, falls a few flights and grabs a railing not that far down, he pulls himself over the railing just as Rico was about to procede further.

Rico throws a punch at him but Rush catches it and thrusts his knee into his breaking Rico's arm, he stumbles backwards and Rush charges at him, claws out and he takes a firm swing at Rico's face scratching him in left eye. The Lucario screeches in pain as Rush grabs him by the neck, Fury comes in not far behind him aiming a pistol at Rico as Rush slams his injured body against the wall with such force it cracks.

"A job's a job kid, no hard feelings" Rush says as he squeezes tighter, "Fury, now"

Fury while still aiming at Rico's head takes the small injection gun from his pocket and sticks into Rico's stomach, Rico begins to struggle as Rush slowly crushes his windpipe and Fury takes a sample of his blood, the only thing he can see on his left side is black and red. Once Fury has a sufficient enough sample he puts the injector in his pocket and puts his other hand back on his pistol.

Something snaps in side of the Lucario, something in his mind just snapped. He suddenly kicks Rush hard enough that he's able to push him back and release him, Fury shoots him as a response causing him to tumble down the steps into the darkness. Fury turns on a flashlight as Rush gets back up onto his feet, when fury shines a flashlight on the area where he saw Rick fall only sees a small shallow pool of blood and a trail.

Suddenly the prison alarms begin to sound as Rico forces his way into the front entrance of the prison and fights the guards, the Lucario snaps one of their necks and takes their service weapon. Rush and Fury bust out the door and when they see Rico they open fire on him so he takes cover behind a transport van and breaks the glass of the vehicle so he can break in and climb inside.

"Fuck! He's getting away" Rush shouts.

Ricardo starts the van up after playing around with the wires and speeds off, driving rather erratically.

"He's injured, he can't go far" Fury says, he quickly takes his laptop from his bag and hacks into a nearby Audi A7.

The two get in the car, Rush into the drivers seat, Fury into the passenger. Rush changes gear and speeds off down the road, charging into the main road not far behind Rico, the newer LED headlights of the Audi shine brightly in Rico's rear view mirrors. Rico growls and swerves down a dirt path, the Audi following not far behind. Fury loads a Kriss Vector and opens fire on Rico shattering the rear windshield, Rico ducks to avoid getting his head taken off. Fury keeps shooting at him until the magazine runs out, he throws the empty one away and reloads.

An open field is in view as Rush accelerates into Rico to try and spin him out, he hits the bumper of the van and the Lucario is jolted forwards aggressively.

"Fine you play it that game?" Rico growls.

He slams on the brake and the Audi smashes into the rear of the van, the airbags deploy in both cars as Rico groans, he kicks the door open and stumbles out. Rush steps out of the Audi dazed, but he's able to pull his hand gun from his Holster and open fire on Rico, Fury comes out of the car as well. He looks at the Kriss Vector and sees how damaged it is so he tossed it away and snaps his arm back into place.

Rico charges at Rush, eating bullets until he eventually tackles him to the ground and starts to punch him repeatedly in the face. Fury's foot slams into Rico's face and throws him across the grass. The shaking Lucario gets up though and he gives his attempted killers a glare from hell. Fury helps Rush up from off the ground and cracks his knuckles.

"You went for my face? You got balls kid, but soon you'll have none" Rush says.

"Even if you did kill me... You'd still be in hell" Rico says.

Rush laughs and spits the blood out of his mouth.

"You wanna know how much we're getting for this gig? $67.5 million, more then your sorry ass mother can make" Fury says.

"Last chance kid, give it up... Or we're gonna make this painful" Rush says cracking his knuckles.

Rico begins to laugh, painfully yet he still sees it as some sort of joke.

"I've just had my best friends turn their backs on me, the one Pokémon I saw as a sister tried to fucking kill me and the only person I have right now is my brother... Now I have some fucking clowns hired by a Chinese billionaire trying to kill me. So now I'm angry, really, really fucking angry. So now, I'm going to give you one chance to fuck off... Or you suck my balls" He growls.

Rush signals to Fury so they can do a maneuver and finally end Rico. They get into a stance and prepare to jump at the Lucario. Rico snarling like a feral wolf begins to glow as Rush and Fury look up at him. A blue light with a red after glow appears around him as he channels his aura from within.

Fury dashes at him as fast as a cheetah, Rico uses Aura Sphere and fires the attack at him. Fury tanks the blast and rams into Rico, he slides in the dirt before coming to a stop, Fury is still rushing towards him though and at the point he knows a projectile won't work so he raises his fist to the ground and punches it... Hard, the resulting Aura infuses shockwave throws Fury into a tree and he slumps down on it knocked out cold. Rico looks around now so he can deal with Rush but he doesn't see him.

Suddenly Rush drops in from above, holding a krambit and he stabs the Lucario in the chest with it before Rico eventually throws him off of him and he slides on the grass. Rush swings the knife around again then he charges Rico throwing punches and kicks at him.

Rush eventually forces him into the woods where Rico powers up another Aura overloaded punch which he throws at Rush, the blue and red Shockwave throws Rush across the ground, the sound of the boom the punch made could be heard as far as Delevio's hotel, the mysterious glow bright enough to catch Greene's attention as he walks down the street back in Washington.

"Oh shit" The Glaceon goes.

Rico breathing and wheezing heavily makes a break for it when he sees Rush rolling around on the ground in pain, the Blaziken sees him running and fires a small silver him at him before letting his muscles relax and letting out a sigh, Fury who's holding his head comes up to Rush and helps him up from off the ground. Rush takes his phone from his pocket and dials Huang.

"What happened" The Raichu asks as he lays back in a pool floatie, a view of America's capital infront of him.

"I have good news, and I have bad news-" Rush starts.

"Just get the bad news out of the way" He interupts.

Rush sighs not impressed that he asked for that first, "We went after the kid, he put up a pretty good fight and got away"

Huang squeezez the glass of wine he's holding tight enough for it to crack, the attendants standing by the pool see he's about to explode so they back away from him, "Do not slip up again! The longer that runt breathes the bigger the threat he poses to my company, I already have MI6 snooping into my affairs! The last thing I need is for him to come back and completely ruin this god damn company!"

Rush takes a deep breath as he holds the phone away from his ear, Huang takes a moment to calm down then he takes a giant gulpnof his drink and hands it to one of the attendants.

"The good news?"

"We acquired a large enough sample of his blood, I'll have Fury run a scan on it" Rush responds.

Huang wipes his face off, "I'm giving you half your pay now, you'll get the rest once you've fucking killed him... Until then, do not call me again"

Then he hangs up and lets his head hit the back of the floatie.

Rush turns to Fury who's on his laptop, Rush comes over and looks at the screen.

"Is that his location?"

"Should be"

"Pfft, he's going north... Typical"

Then Rush gets an idea... A devious one...

"Say... Don't this kid have a girlfriend?" Rush says with a smirk.

"Hey pal, are you fucking crazy?" Fury says, somewhat alarmed at what his partner is thinking of.

"Just maybe... Come on, let's clean up and get to the airport" Rush says with a villainous smirk on his face.

---

Wilmington, Deleware

Rico stumbles through the streets of the city as he holds the wall and does his best to push forward. The fight with Rush and Fury drained him, he had been shot several times so he lost a lot of blood, he had a stab wound in his chest, and worst of all his left eye, his arm was broken and it just hurt him to do anything at that moment. So he seeks out shelter and knocks on the door of a house, he slumps against a support column on the porch of the house and waits for someone to open the door.

A few seconds go by and a Weavile with pink eyes and a fancy dress answers the door, when she sees Rico she sighs.

"Why are you always like this when you come by?" She asks.

"Good to see you too Maria..." Rico wheezes with a weak smirk.

"Vas a ser mi muerte..." Maria says as she puts on some latex gloves and pulls Rico inside, she looks around outside before closing the door and helping him onto the kitchen counter offer where she lies him down.

"Alright give me the run down mio" Maria says, asking him to tell her about his injuries.

"My right arm is broken, fractured metacarpal. My left got clawed out, I don't know what the fucks going on with my legs but they hurt really fucking bad, I got stabbed in the chest - I don't think any of my lungs got punctured though, my rib cage is fucked, collar bone hurts like shit, and I've lost a... Shit ton of blood... Ngh"

"It's okay, you're safe with me" Maria says.

"Sorry about this Maria, I know you're busy with the kids and I-"

"It's fine Rico, anything for a friend" She says with a smile.

Rick smirks again, "You're awsome"

"Ok... Are you ready for me to fix you?" She asks closing the kitchen doors.

Rico gives a weak thumbs up and lets his hand fall back to the ground. And with that Maria takes a military issue medical aid kit out and gets to work fixing the young Lucario up.

---

London, England

Kovar yells, both mentally and into his paws as he tries to control his anger. The Leafeon in front of him is the brother of the guy that they were supposed to be helping, but instead got captured.

"Is the Umbreon okay, Mom?" Emily asks Isabel.

"Yes, dear, he's just trying to figure out how to solve a new problem."

"Isabel, I hate to break it to you, but this is a dilemma more than a problem." Asperch states in a matter of factly tone. Kovar charges a shadow ball, that's not well seen by the kids, as a form of threat.

"Shutting up."

London sets down Perseus and turns him to Isabel before going to Asperch and Kovar. Moonlake follows with the mask still on his head.

"Listen to me very carefully, you're going to help me get the mask off of Moonlake's face right now, or I'm going to burn you like an asparagus on a barbecue."

"That plan came across my mind when I saw him with the mask on."

"Then why didn't you?"

"An emotionally unstable Eevee with mystical powers that are unknown to even the most well educated mons in that specific department is very difficult to convince you're not a threat when he's yelling slurs and throwing furniture at you."

"You came in here unannounced!"

"Teleportation isn't always as easy as we want it to be, even in our group."

London and Kovar look at Asperch with a deadpanned expression before looking at Moonlake, who's expression is unreadable from the mask.

"Didn't I tell you not to touch it?" Kovar asks.

"I wiped the umbreon sweat off." Moonlake answers with his arms crossed. London scratches his head and pinches the bridge of his nose as he sighs.

"If you could just let me go for a few seconds, I could remove the mask for you." Asperch says looking up at the three. They exchange a few glances before Moonlake lets the tendrils go. Asperch slowly gets up and pushes a few pieces in on the mask until a quick metal on metal noise is heard and Moonlake gasps. London and Kovar quickly pull Asperch back and into the wall.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Kovar yells as London comforts Moonlake. Isabel rushes the kids upstairs away from anything that may come of it.

"The mask has a safety feature which digs spikes into the cranium of its wearer! Anyone who doesn't have advanced healing abilities will die instantly from it unless you push on a specific plate to stop them."

"So what did you do?!" Kovar puts a paw around Asperch's neck, choking him.

"He pulled them out." Moonlake says almost relieved. Kovar eases on the choke and Asperch starts to breathe more properly again. Moonlake reaches on the chin piece, pushes on the same plates and pulls down on the chin piece extending the mask, he then pulls it up to reform it back into a cap.

There's a sigh from everyone before Kovar takes the hat back and throws it to Asperch.

"I want you to take your stuff and get out of this house!"

"Wait, hold on-"

"No, no more waiting, I'm done with you and your lot, you come here to do professional business, then your leader gets captured while here, suddenly a Houndour whom I haven't hired comes with stuff from MY evidence trucks, then you come in here with no invitation or announcement and think that we have any right to listen to you?!"

"Well-"

"Well what?!"

"Well, when you put it that way, yeah, we really have been cloak and dagger with you guys, and you really don't have any reason to listen to us or help us. Hell, the only reason we're doing this is basically the same reason that America allows Article 4 and 5 in NATO to exist."

"Which is?"

"Politics, this entire thing is strictly politics. To play nice with all of the intelligence agencies so that way when something happens, we don't get the whole blame for allowing it to happen, but we can at least have an assembled task force that's ready to take on the dangers at hand." There's an elongated pause as everyone takes in the information.

"You are infuriating."

"Yes, we've been told. Oh, and, to make you all more infuriated, Moonlake still needs to decide on what weapon he wants us to purchase him as per the winner's bet from your bout with Ketster, and the hat... well, the hat's for London, if you'll let me tinker with it to disable the spikes."

"Absolutely not." Kovar says.

"About which part?"

"All of it. I'm tired of you and your organization highjacking my personnel for your own gain."

"Fair enough, it would be infuriating if I had to do that with CSIS, INTRPOL, CIA, JTF2, local police forces, North Korea at one point, a Mexican drug cartel-"

"The more you go on the less likely I am to believe you." Kovar crosses his arms.

"Well, that's on you, and that's us on an organization level, not just me." Asperch looks around a bit.

"Can I stand up, please?"

"No, actually, Moonlake, tie him up for now."

A tendril of mystical power shoots across the room and wraps around Asperch's waist and arms.

"Until we figure out what to do next, you're not going anywhere and staying with us."

"Or, or, or... we take Ketster's list and start looking for mons to assemble our task force for taking the offensive."

"How does 'fuck no' sound?" London asks rhetorically.

"Why not? Do you have any idea what Kai Industries is doing right now? They're trying to clone Ketster, do you like the idea of that? An army of overpowered Eevees with no moral compass or empathy whatsoever being led by Kai Industries?"

"They won't get him out of country, we'll make sure of that."

"Then how did I not know his name get in the country?" Asperch's question is met with silence. "All these security measures, all these cameras and not one tracked him coming in country? See why I don't trust you? You don't trust me because I lack experience, I don't trust you because you can't stop me, my brothers, and our enemies."

Kovar shuffles on his feet. Not necessarily nervous, but uncertain in how to progress in this attack in the form of a conversation.

"Okay, we screwed up," London starts, "But how can we trust you to keep our country and it's people's interests in your priorities?" Asperch looks at London dumbfounded, then sighs.

"I understand that you have the rank of Commander, but you are not a politician, so, politely, don't take that tone with me. Your concerns are real, but you're thinking a little small for someone who's fought terrorists and gangsters on a global level, as well as a war." Kovar looks at London being berated and looks back at Asperch."

"Were you ever given a rank? I'd assume so given your group's stature."

"Captain. Not very high on the tier list, but since we're respected as Field Commanders in the event of enemy and all of that fun stuff."

"Interesting. I distinctly remember seeing Ketster, your leader, wearing Corporal chevrons with Colonel stars on his shoulders... care to explain that to us?"

"Due to us being, well, still quite young, we're given enlisted mon ranks when in garrison and doing most of our outreach. Our paperwork having higher tiered classification gives us the title of an Officer to demonstrate our experience and qualifications in the field. The only ones that outrank the rest of us, are Pesus, and Thatch. Air Marshall and Waterborne Admiral respectively."

"Where are they now?" Kovar asks in an accusatory tone.

"Pesus, is probably in Germany doing his own recruitment, as for Thatch, he's in Kai Industries' custody. Has been for some time now."

"Well then... That presents a problem..." London says.

---

Out in the western plains of China, stands a large complex. Concrete and steel walls border it with sentries and rotating turrets. A group of Pokémon run, carrying a small plastic wrapped package screaming as they round a corner and yell for the guards to open the large steel door. The door opens just enough to throw the package that lands harmlessly in the hard desert sand before the large steel door closes with a clang.

"Nà tài jìnle (That was too close)" One of them says.

A Giraffarig walks through the complex. Walking past multiple holes in concrete being patched and Pokémon with broken arms, legs and various other wounds litter the hallway. The giraffarig walks past the medical area with a healing glow coming from the room. An Aromatisse sees the Giraffarig and rushes to them.

-> Translated from Cantonese

"(Ma'am! Ma'am!)"

"(What is it, Wong?)" The Giraffarig keeps walking.

"(We have hundreds of casualties ranging from broken limbs to death)"

"(Do we have any definitive numbers?)"

"(Total casualty count is over 400, and we're still finding more. I'm surprised that, given their reputation, they didn't do more damage)"

"(Don't remind me. Mr Huang leaves me in charge for a week and just as everything's gone well, I lose communications with him and the 'All Clear' signal is still being sent-.)"

An Emolga with light armour rushes forward with a comedically large radio strapped to their back with the line blaring in Mandarin.

"(Liang, I thought I lost you...)" The Giraffarig says as she takes the Emolga into a hug making her break out into a grin. She places her down before taking the line off of the receiver.

"(This is Chief Xing, what is it?)"

"(Ma'am, this is Phantom 4, we have located them as instructed, we are half a mile from them as we speak.)"

"(There wouldn't be a reason to call before had something gone wrong, what is it?)" She says angrily.

"(A light armoured convoy is approaching. Should we engage?)"

"(Either get them now, or bring me their heads!)"

"(Yes Ma'am! Phantom 4 out)" The line goes dead as Xing hangs up the radio.

“(Well that was endearing.)” A muffled explosion is heard on the other side of the complex and her ear personal radio chimes.

“(Explosive dealt with. We’re continuing to find more, no idea how many remain.)”

Xing keys her radio. “(Find them, you imbeciles.)”

“(Yes Ma’am.)”

“(I better get a raise for this.)” She says before walking away with the emolga to continue the assessment of the damages.)”