Steel Jambalaya (PG-13)

ONOEZ I wrote it. I said I wouldn't, I hoped I wouldn't, I even promised I wouldn't. Well, sorry to betray your trust. =P
This story's pretty bizarre even to me, and its continuity to another fanfic of mine (in the works) is tenuous. Still, the idea of a massive war in the Pokemon world just kept eating away at me until my hands bound and gagged me to my computer chair and typed it against my will. Apologies in advance for this.

Rated PG-13 for strong language and violence.
EDIT: Well, attempted strong language. The auto-censor is pretty annoying, I gotta say. >_>

Chapters:
- Chapter 0
- Chapter 1: Into the North

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// Chapter 0
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Johto had fallen. Hundreds of search parties and expeditionary forces continued to scour the landscapes for remnant Rebel groups. Confrontations continued sporadically, but the great Golden City was lost to the vast Ruffian armies after a long and bloody siege. Rebel control in the area began to dissolve as morale dropped. Johto had fallen.

The names "Hercules" and "Napoleon" had become infamous. Hercules was the Ruffian general who had spearheaded the invasion westward from Kanto. The initiative for the invasion was the doing of Admiral Napoleon, who preceded the invasion with a bombardment of Johto's long coastline, beginning from New Bark Town and pounding westward. He had even navigated his fleet through the Whirl Islands to attack Olivine City. After he was confident in his damage, he turned north and returned to Sinnoh, the Ruffian stronghold.

Hercules, however, was not finished. As the commander of the Ruffian armies in Johto, he had to see to it that every Rebel was wiped out. From the top of the Goldenrod Radio Tower, he held his binoculars up to his eyes with one pair of hands, watching dozens of his battalions hunt the alleys and streets of the city for Rebel stragglers.

"Major General Hercules!"

Hercules lowered his binoculars and turned to the officer calling him. A Lucario rushed up the stairs to the rooftop, slinging a sniper rifle over one shoulder.

"Major Luca, Fifty-Second Special Forces Division, reporting as ordered by Colonel Saito of the Fifty-First Infantry Corps, sir!" she saluted.

"Go ahead."

"News from the front line." she said, not dropping her arm. "Colonel Saito has suddenly encountered heavy resistance in Ecruteak. He's requesting reinforcement ASAP!"

"And where is the detachment that was supposed to be in Violet City? Did he call them?"

"Colonel Lami commanded the last battalion in the Violet City area, but she is unavailable at this time. We'd lost contact with her about four hours before--"

"Enough." Hercules interrupted. He didn't like lengthy reports. "You're from Saito's battalion, correct? Take Captain Kodora and the Thirty-Second Armor Battalion to him on your way back. Reinforce his detachment as needed."

"Can you spare any airborne battalions at this time, sir?" Luca asked. "Colonel Saito also requests air support, if possible."

Hercules knew the value of his air divisions. Most generals did not have the privilege of of commanding flights. But since the assassination of Brigadier General Akaba, most flights in Johto were temporarily transferred to Hercules' command, because he was the most capable commander in the region. If he led them well, perhaps he could become their permanent commanding officer. He chuckled to himself as he imagined this, being a Major General in both ground and air operations? What an accomplishment that would be! His mind soon drifted to competition with Admiral Napoleon for naval command, but his thoughts were broken in a moment by Luca's voice.

"Sir? Sir, your orders!"

"Um, yes." he coughed. "That is all, Major. You have my leave to return to Colonel Saito with Captain Kodora and his Thirty-Second Armor Battalion."

"With respect, sir," Luca continued, "Colonel Saito requests air support as well..."

"That is all, Major." Hercules snapped.

Luca stood silently for a moment, but finally lowered her arm. She turned and marched back down the stairs into the tower, and Hercules saw her leaving through the bottom floor some time later.

The fighting in Goldenrod City was beginning to wind down. This was good, Luca thought to herself. Kodora would be easier to track down with things getting calmer. She also began to think more of Major General Hercules' refusal to lend air support. "What greed." she muttered to herself. She knew he was only hoarding the airborne battalions to himself, in a city that's already well-fortified, when they were needed somewhere else. He didn't want to turn them over to Saito because then he would get credit for any successful operations in Ecruteak. Was credit all that mattered? What about crushing Rebels? That was the idea of the war, wasn't it? As long as it gets done, why does it matter who does it?

Captain Kodora and his battalion were not difficult to find in the city. The heavy armor the Lairon wore was not well-suited to the narrow alleys of the city, and once the wide main streets were cleared of Rebels, all the armored battalion could do was sit around.

Luca marched up to the captain and saluted him. "Major Luca of the Fifty-Second Special Forces Division, reporting as ordered by Major General Hercules."

"The Gen..." one Lairon sneered. "What's his greedy as want this time...?"

Kodora seemed to ignore his soldier's remark, but there was a nod of agreement in his eye. "What's his greedy as want?" he echoed. A lot of the Lairon behind him lauged.

Luca dropped her salute and laughed as well. She saw she didn't have to be so formal with these men. "He's reassigning you to Colonel Saito's command, in Ecruteak City." she said.

"Finally!" Kodora laughed heartily. "Hey boys, we got a new commander!"

"...Also," Luca went on. Kodora and his men calmed themsleves from their hysteria to listen. "...He's also reassigning... the Forty-Fifth Airborne Battalion. Who is their commander?"

"Ah, those Red Wing crackpots?" Kodora chuckled. "They're headed by Colonel Zu. He'll be even easier to find around here than we were, trust me." He looked to a high building.

Luca followed his gaze and saw a Fearow perched atop it, roosting and watching its Skarmory groups fly in low formations around the city, occasionally dropping explosives on small Rebel groups or any buildings they didn't like.

"They call themselves the Red Wing Battalion," Kodora said. "They can be pretty full of themselves sometimes... but you can't argue with their results. They might be the best Airbornes we got, and I don't mean just here in Johto."

Luca waved to one of the Skarmory as it passed overhead, and it circled around in front of her and landed smoothly. It had no arms to salute, so it folded its wings back and gave a slow, elaborate bow.

"I haven't seen you about," it greeted calmly. "Are you from another corps?"

Luca remembered she was on a mission to retrieve reinforcements quickly. "Yes." she replied, suddenly becoming more tense. "Report to your commander that Major General Hercules has ordered your battalion to reinforce Colonel Saito's infantry corps in Ecruteak City. Move out ASAP!"

The Skarmory gave a quicker bow this time, then turned and flew to the top of the tower where Colonel Zu was sitting.

Luca turned to Kodora and his group. "Come on, we need to go, fast!"

Speed was of course not to be expected from a group of Lairon, but they made haste as best they could.

Luca rushed out of Goldenrod through the north road, with the Lairon close behind her. Hercules watched from the Radio Tower as the group left, but was shocked when Colonel Zu, who should have been overseeing his battalion, began to follow. All of the air formations began to draw closer together, and also followed their commander.

Hercules scrambled to draw his binoculars. He focused in on the Red Wings, then Kodora's battalion, then... her. Luca was standing to the side of the Lairon as they marched past. She was looking over her shoulder at the top of the radio tower, straight into Hercules' binoculars, with a smug grin.

He snatched a portable radio from his waist belt. "What the hell are you doing!?" he yelled into it. But he realized he didn't know Luca's radio's channel, or even whether she had a radio with her.

Just then, one of his lieutenants, a Machop, rushed up the stairs and saluted him nervously. "Major General Hercules... you've, uh, gotten a message from Major Luca..."

"Spit it out!" Hercules scowled.

"...F-f-duck you and your detachment, they're coming with us."

Hercules' eye twitched. In a silent fury, he slowly turned back to the north road and picked up his binoculars. Luca was still staring at him with that same grin. She silently mouthed a final word of parting to him, then she turned her head forward once again and continued to march.

Hercules knew what she said, and the sound of her voice rang in his mind.

"Owned."

That's an awesome fanfic.

Lol @ this: "...F-f-duck you and your detachment, they're coming with us."

^ Yeah, the auto-censor kind of kills it, but it's funny in a different way. =P
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1 Up!
I'm hoping this story doesn't end up overshadowing Heart of Blackened Gold and Devastation's Doorway, but strangely I'm finding this story much easier to write than my others.

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// Chapter 1 = Into the North
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The stretch of road from Goldenrod City to the Johto National Park was long, but surprisingly quaint. It was enough to make one forget about the war. The constant calling in rhythm "Left! Left! Left right, right left! Left! Left right, right left!" began to fade from Luca's ears as her mind drifted. Looking to the untouched grass and trees, she wondered how beautiful the Park must have been before the war began.

The National Park was where Colonel Saito first encountered the Rebel surge. By the time Luca and her battalion arrived from Kanto, however, the Park was in flames. Luca dreaded to think what all the beautiful fields and forests would look like if the Rebels had their way. The Park was said to be the most beautiful place in all of Johto, but all she saw there was mortar falling from the sky and rockets and bullets flying in every direction in a confused, fiery tumult. Saito had beaten the Rebels back to the outskirts of Ecruteak City, when suddenly their numbers seemed to double. The forward brigades dropped like flies before walls of bullets, and constant charges failed one after another. Saito's army was forced to entrench south of the city and wait for help. That was the battle Saito was locked in for eighteen hours, before Luca finally went back, to Goldenrod, for help.

"Left! Left! Left right, ri--Oh Arceus... C-Company... halt!"

This call nearly slipped Luca's ears. She stumbled a bit, but after gathering herself, continued to march forward and met Kodora at the front of the company.

"What's wrong? We've stopped..."

Kodora seemed shaken, staring up over the top of the building that loomed over the entrance to the National Park. Luca realized she did not hear any guns or rockets firing, no bomb blasts; little of anything. Somewhat fearful, she followed Kodora's gaze up to a flagpole high over the National Park. There was no mistaking its yellow crest on a bright red background. It was a Rebel flag.

"S-Saito... No... it can't be..."

Captain Kodora grew furious. "We can't let them get away with this!" he growled. "Let's charge! Now!"

Luca didn't know what to do. Without Saito's infantry, any charge would lack a balanced frontline; all she had to command was armor and Zu's airborne. But what would she do, go back to Hercules and request infantry battalions? And what about artillery? Saito's infantry also managed anti-armor weapons. If they had been captured, attacking with armor would have been suicide. Luca knew any request for help from the Major General would have been denied, even though the last thing anyone wanted was his help.

"Colonel Zu!" she called to the sky. The colonel and his battalion were hovering above Kodora's men, and Zu floated down to her.

"I have a plan." Zu crowed, before Luca even said a word.

"Uhm... sure."

"Heh, I'll take my battalion to the sky first to take out anti-armor cannons, then you and Kodora follow from the ground."

"But what if there's anti-air?"

"Spare us, Major, we're the Red Wings!"

Luca sighed. What else was there to do? "All right. We'll be ready." She turned to Kodora. "Get the 32nd ready. We're charging in at Zu's signal."

Without missing a beat, Zu took to the sky again. "Red Wiiiiiings!!" he cried, "Faaaaaal IN!!"

"Don't shout like that! You want the Rebels to hear you!?"

Zu paid no attention. He liked to make a scene, even before the enemy. The Red Wings loaded themselves with explosives and rockets, some of them even carrying Mankey or other small pokemon with light guns, and pulled into clusters of triangular formations behind Colonel Zu.

Below, Captain Kodora and his battalion prepared their weapons. Most were armed with grenade launchers and other heavy, explosive weapons, but few carried small arms to conserve the more valuable heavy ammunition. Kodora himself was armed with both light and heavy arms.

Luca loaded her guns as well. A sniper rifle wouldn't be much use on a chaotic battlefield, so she holstered it and switched to her lighter but faster compact machine gun. In case of close combat, she carried a powerful revolving pistol.

"Red Wiiiiiings!!" Zu cried once again, "CHAAAAAARGE!!"

Zu charged headlong into the sky over the Park, with his battalion following close behind and to his sides. A flood of gunfire burst through the air, and the Red Wings' formations began to scatter to cover the entire park. Bombs and machine gun fire rained down on the Rebel camp for nearly an hour, then Zu returned to the entry.

"Now!" he crowed, "32nd, forward!!"

Kodora and his men made no delay. In a fraction of a second, they charged at full speed into the front building, nearly toppling it before them as the smashed it to pieces. The moment the front line cleared the building's rubble, they rushed to the right flank and fired wildly. The incoming ranks scattered in every direction until they formed a steel barrier around the southwest zone.

Rebel forces responded in equal haste. Masses of armored Ponyta and Granbull flooded the fields ahead, dodging the Red Wings' barrage to make their way to Kodora's company.

"Fire! Fire! Fire at will!" was shouted by commanders on both sides. Bullets and rockets flew back and forth over the shattering cobblestones. The air began to fill with smoke. Blood splashed the air as bullets pierced armor, and constant explosions slammed fiery craters into the formations on both sides. The Rebels began to haul propelled grenades and heavy explosive weapons; the only things that could stop armored Lairon. These weapons were portable and easy to hide from the Red Wings, so they could not be destroyed from the air.

These flying explosives were the only danger to Kodora's men. No sooner had they appeared on the battlefield than had they begun to rip through the steel battalion; each blast threw two or three Lairon through the air and tore their armor, and their bodies beneath, to shreds.

The Rebel ranks were not weakening, but Kodora ordered his men forward. With a thunderous roar, the full force of the 32nd Battalion stampeded deeper into the park. They collided with the Rebel cavalry and trampled most of them, but those who fled continued to fire from the flank. The battalion quickly shifted focus to the new front.

The park's south zone was now under Ruffian control, and Zu and the Red Wings landed behind Kodora's lines to rest and reload. Luca took cover behind a shrubbery just off the side of the 32nd's front and watched the Rebel's ranks. There was a lone Blaziken scurrying back and forth among the confusion, but he seemed to be giving orders. Perhaps he was the one in charge.

Luca was glad she didn't leave her sniper rifle behind. She drew it from the holster on her back, and as she loaded its barrel, she focused herself and muted the bombs, guns, and frantic yelling all around her. She brought the scope up to her eye, and all was silent.

"This is what I was meant for."

With her crosshairs over the Blaziken's chest, she held her breath to steady her aim, and without another thought, pulled the trigger. The gun's recoil kicked her shoulders back a bit, but in a rhythmic motion, she steadied herself again, and watched the result of her fire through the scope. The Blaziken was gone, and a number of other pokemon crowded where he stood. He had fallen.

Confident, Luca raised her weapon and stood up.

"Major! Look alive! Rebel reinforcements are on the way!"

Luca kept low and made her way over to Kodora, behind the 32nd Battalion's wall. By now they had captured the entire south end of the park, but the Rebels were preparing for another charge. Over the treeline in the distance, flocks and flocks of Pidgeotto were swarming into formation over the Rebel camp. Zu and the Red Wings loaded themselves and began to take off.

"We've got the air! You get the bastards below!"

The 32nd Battalion halted their advance to wait for the Red Wings to clear the air. The Rebel airborne surged forward, and the Red Wings charged with equal force. In the middle of the battlefield, one could have drawn a line across the sky where airborne from both sides collided in the air. Gunfire turned into furious slashing and pecking, and some of the Red Wings' gunners were thrust off of their mounts.

"Thirty-Two!" Kodora called. "Thirty-Two! Prepare to charge!" He could not let his battalion stand idle when the Rebels were constantly firing on them. The wall of Lairon made ready to stampede at full speed once again.

Across a stretch of the park, the Rebels began to dig. These new trenches would be just deep enough to allow one to duck beneath to dodge a projectile; but standing up, he could fire a weapon. Kodora had to charge before the trench was finished. Without delay, he gave the order.

"CHAAARGE!!"

The third great stampede began. But this time, the Rebels had little ground to retreat to; instead, they scattered to the far reaches of the park. This area, the northern half of the park, was wide open and dangerous; one could easily be surrounded.

Luca struggled to stay alert to everything. Once the 32nd Battalion entered the north zone, it seemed the Rebels were everywhere at once. The Red Wings were winning the skies, but were beginning to run out of explosives to drop to the ground. Zu was not afraid, however; he confidently ordered his airborne to plunge deep into the Rebel camp and engage in close combat. The 32nd Battalion had little choice as well, and charges were nearly constant, at the lieutenants' commands.

"Captain! C-Captain Kodora! Where are you!?" Luca cried as her gun blazed wildly into the Rebel crowd. The lieutenants were beginning to break the 32nd battalion apart to cover more ground, but Rebel explosives were tearing through the small groups. She would have to take over the battalion herself.

"Thirty-Two!" she called, "Thir--" A piercing sensation tore from the back of her neck down her spine. Her voice choked, and she collapsed onto the blood-soaked ground. As the battlefield faded to a black haze, she saw the ghostly images of Scyther and Sandslash speeding toward the rear of the 32nd Battalion.

"All right, now spread out." echoed a voice from behind her. "We got 'em now."