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Description
For an instant, Dagger watched his old human partner sliding down to take on the Team Sigma grunts at the bottom of the ravine. He shook his head and looked again to only see Jake. A true wave of emotion lit his eyes before he squelched it and went after his partners.

Haze hit the ground running, sending a storm of fireballs into the midst of the enemy. Many of them were caught off guard and took some heavy hits. The others that recovered from the initial sneak attack quickly came back with retaliation. A Team Sigma Breloom that was too busy with its first target, Haze, fell to the side by a devastating kick from Jake.

"Crap, its PEF," One of the grunts that recovered first bellowed, "Hey you, has the underground team found them yet?"

Another grunt on a radio fiddled with some nods, "Not yet, but soon, they're on the right path they say."

Jake and Haze had already taken out about a quarter of the enemy forces, but as more of them recovered it began to get tougher. Jake just narrowly avoided a Mach Punch by another Breloom and sent it flying with an over the shoulder toss. Dagger, now in the fight, worked his way through a team of Skuntank and Gabite with alternating tactics of offense and defense.

"Haze, watch your back!" Jake called as he ran his elbow into a Tyrogue's gut.

Haze did a back flip over the incoming Water Gun attack, letting it hit the Marowak she was just facing.

Jake stole a glance in Dagger's direction; he was putting up a good fight. A Tyrogue had tried to sneak up behind the Gallade only to miss with a Cross Chop and thrown into another Tyrogue by Dagger. A Graveler used Rollout but also missed the elusive Gallade and slamming into the ravine wall with a thud.

Jake was too distracted and caught a blow to the side by an enemy. The Breloom rushed him and grabbed Jake under his arm, throwing him over ten feet into the air above the terrain. Jake saw the world spin once and came face to face with a Tyrogue charging a Dynamicpunch. Jake could only wait for the oncoming attack with a crossed arm block. The Tyrogue was just about to bring his fist forward when Dagger suddenly appeared between the two and let loose a Fury Cutter attack on the Tyrogue. Jake and Dagger landed safely next to each other while the Tyrogue crashed to the ground on its back.

"Heh, thanks Dagger," Jake smiled as he returned to the fight.

Dagger stood for a moment, watching Jake take on another set of Team Sigma's forces. Another instant of his old human partner appeared in Jake's place, her light blue hair waving with the motion of her attacks as she took down a Gabite. Dagger blinked twice and saw Jake dodge a Tyrogue as the Gabite fell to the ground. Dagger's eyes began to glow in a brighter blue shade; he felt the surge of energy welling up and used Calm Mind to get himself under control.

"Sir, the underground team found them and are just about to reach the surface," the grunt on the radio station said.

The other grunt he spoke to smirked, "Perfect. Get the rest of the team ready and destroy the rest of the equipment."

Jake, Haze, and Dagger saw a team of grunts exiting a cave from the ravine, each carrying rock tablets with ancient pictures and dialect on them.

"Haze, we gotta stop them," Jake called, pointing to the Team Sigma grunts.

As Jake and Haze made their way to head off the underground team, another wave of pokemon cut them off keeping them at bay.

"Graveler, Earthquake!" one grunt commanded and the Graveler in front of Jake and Haze obeyed.

The ground shook and a large crack ran from the Graveler, past Jake and Haze, and up the side of the ravine wall. The top most part of the ravine exploded in a shower of rubble and dust. Almost all the pokemon that were peeking out from their homes and caves ran out to avoid being trapped by some random boulder, terrified and panicking as they went.

Jake's heart thudded fiercely, "Haze, Dagger, forget Team Sigma! We need to help those pokemon!"

Haze and Dagger reluctantly broke off from Team Sigma's forces and ran for the ravine wall where large boulders tumbled and rolled with deadly force.

A Geodude was suddenly cut off from the rest of his family by a falling boulder. He was too scared to move and curled up to protect himself. Jake scooped up the startled Geodude just as another boulder was about to squash him. The giant chunk of rock splintered and threw slivers every which way; one even caught Jake against his thigh as they leapt away. He winced but didn't let go of the frightened Geodude as he landed away from the boulder.

"Th-thank you," the little Geodude squeaked before bounding off.

A Sandslash was ushering a group of pokemon away from the ravine side. A Hippopotas tripped and the Sandslash went over to help her back up. The Hippopotas screamed as she and the Sandslash watched a boulder tumbled down the ravine toward them. Dagger sprang out in front of them, charging his Psycho Cut attack in his right forearm. The two pokemon cowered as Dagger waited for the boulder to get closer and slashed at the falling hunk of earth. The rolling boulder split cleanly in two, leaving the path open for the Sandslash to carry the Hippopotas away.

The trembling and quakes were subsiding as the last of the rubble crumpled to the ground. Jake breathed heavily as he surveyed the area; the equipment from Team Sigma was completely destroyed with no signs of any Team Sigma grunts left. Back to the ravine, it looked like all the pokemon had made it out of the caves just in time, but seemed downcasted by the fact that their homes had been buried. Though Jake heard conversations of digging them out in due time; a positive outlook. Dagger walked up next to Jake, his arms crossed as if this was no big deal.

'Wait a minute, where's Haze?' Jake franticly thought.

As if on cue, Haze emerged from behind some rubble carrying a pair of Teddiursa under her arms. The two little cubs wiggled their way out of Haze's arms and ran up to their Ursaring mother.

Jake breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank Arceus you're alright."

Haze put her hand to her hips, "It would take a lot more than a bunch of rocks to keep me down, you know that."

"Heh, yeah I guess-"

"AAAHHHHHH!"

The earth shattering scream seemed to pierce the very air itself. Jake and his partners ran to the source of the cry coming from the middle of the fallen rubble. Three little Shroomish were franticly huddled around a single spot weeping in unison. Jake, Haze, and Dagger all froze where they stood, a few feet away from a Breloom lying on the ground with a rock shard protruding from just under her rib cage; a pool of blood already forming underneath her. The innocent Breloom wheezed and breathed raggedly, coughing up blood between a few breaths.

"Momma, Momma!" the first little Shroomish sniffled as she looked down upon her dying mother.

The other two Shroomish began to cry even harder.

"Don't die momma, please don't die!"

Haze cupped her hands over her mouth, tears formed at the corner of her eyes as she turned from the horrible scene. Dagger showed nothing through his eyes or expression, just a blank canvas.

The Breloom mother held out her hand to her Shroomish, "Don't cry children, I'm still here. And we'll all be together again someday."

Jake came to his senses after the overwhelming shock and rushed over to the Breloom.

"No, I can help. Let me just…" Jake said kneeling next to the surprised Shroomish.

Jake reached into a side pocket of his pants, but a wave of terror washed over him as he did. The pocket he reached into had a gaping hole where a shard of rock had cut him earlier. A cold lump settled in his throat as he looked out over the piles of rubble. His medicinal supplies buried somewhere underneath it all. Cold tears lined Jake's face, unknowing of what to do now.

"It's okay human," the Breloom weakly said, "You and your friends at least…saved…the others…"

Jake watched in dismay as the glow of life disappeared from her eyes as they closed.

"Momma, momma!" the Shroomish cried out.

A cold painful grip tightened around Jake's heart. The sky gave another rolling thunder as droplets broke out as if the sky was trying to hold back tears itself. Everything in Jake's world froze for that moment until Dagger turned away.

"Where are you going?" Haze dully asked.

Dagger turned around again to speak, "We have to report back to HQ."

Jake was on his feet and in front of Dagger in a second, angry tears flooding his eyes.

"Is that all you can really think about, especially right now!" Jake choked, his fists shaking in anger.

"Death is and always be a part of life, or did you not know that," Dagger replied tonelessly.

Jake snapped, catching Dagger in the jaw with a left hook. He left clean red marks on his knuckles and Dagger's face.

"You may be able to kill without remorse, but that doesn't give you the right to be a heartless brute!"

"Jake," Haze whispered, unable to her partner in this situation.

Dagger winced as he turned to look at Jake. His eyes were no longer bland, but filled with a deep seeded sorrow and pain.

In a cool calculated tone he replied, "You are right, I'm sorry…she would said the same thing.

'She?' Haze and Jake both thought.

Other pokemon were already offering their comfort to the orphaned Shroomish. An Ursaring wearing a tattered cloak lumbered over to Dagger and the others.

"Human, sometimes life can be too short to comprehend," The old sage like Ursaring declared, "But others will always remember the actions and effects some make on others like you and Breloom. She will live on in our happiest memories of her, as will you and your friends for what did for us today."

Jake tried to smile, but was too ashamed by his uselessness.

"Haze, Dagger, we need to head back to report," Jake murmured.

Haze glanced back to the clan of pokemon one last time before following.

---

Back at PEF HQ, Jake reported to Dakota in the Intel room.

"…Jake, I'm sorry you and your team had to experience something like that," The Admin said with true sympathy after hearing what happened, "But thank you for bringing in the intel on those tablets."

The small praise did nothing to soothe the anguish Jake felt. A moment of silence filled the room as if everyone were looking for the right words.

Dakota broke the silence first, "Jake, why don't you take a few days off from PEF activities."

Both Haze and Jake's eyes lit up, "What, why?"

"Because you need it," Dakota simply responded, "I know how you must feel right now, and quitting is not the answer. But it's also not a good idea to push yourself too hard, so I want you to take a break."

'Dakota is right,' Haze thought, still sensing the emotional scarring placed upon her partner, but couldn't bring herself to actually say it.

Jake stood motionless, his hair shadowing his eyes, contemplating what Dakota said before deciding.

"Ok Dakota…come on Haze, Dagger."

With that, the trio left the room without another word.

Dakota made a deep sigh as he thought, 'Don't worry Jake, you have a kind heart. I know you won't let that guilt consume you.'

Description
For an instant, Dagger watched his old human partner sliding down to take on the Team Sigma grunts at the bottom of the ravine. He shook his head and looked again to only see Jake. A true wave of emotion lit his eyes before he squelched it and went after his partners.

Haze hit the ground running, sending a storm of fireballs into the midst of the enemy. Many of them were caught off guard and took some heavy hits. The others that recovered from the initial sneak attack quickly came back with retaliation. A Team Sigma Breloom that was too busy with its first target, Haze, fell to the side by a devastating kick from Jake.

"Crap, its PEF," One of the grunts that recovered first bellowed, "Hey you, has the underground team found them yet?"

Another grunt on a radio fiddled with some nods, "Not yet, but soon, they're on the right path they say."

Jake and Haze had already taken out about a quarter of the enemy forces, but as more of them recovered it began to get tougher. Jake just narrowly avoided a Mach Punch by another Breloom and sent it flying with an over the shoulder toss. Dagger, now in the fight, worked his way through a team of Skuntank and Gabite with alternating tactics of offense and defense.

"Haze, watch your back!" Jake called as he ran his elbow into a Tyrogue's gut.

Haze did a back flip over the incoming Water Gun attack, letting it hit the Marowak she was just facing.

Jake stole a glance in Dagger's direction; he was putting up a good fight. A Tyrogue had tried to sneak up behind the Gallade only to miss with a Cross Chop and thrown into another Tyrogue by Dagger. A Graveler used Rollout but also missed the elusive Gallade and slamming into the ravine wall with a thud.

Jake was too distracted and caught a blow to the side by an enemy. The Breloom rushed him and grabbed Jake under his arm, throwing him over ten feet into the air above the terrain. Jake saw the world spin once and came face to face with a Tyrogue charging a Dynamicpunch. Jake could only wait for the oncoming attack with a crossed arm block. The Tyrogue was just about to bring his fist forward when Dagger suddenly appeared between the two and let loose a Fury Cutter attack on the Tyrogue. Jake and Dagger landed safely next to each other while the Tyrogue crashed to the ground on its back.

"Heh, thanks Dagger," Jake smiled as he returned to the fight.

Dagger stood for a moment, watching Jake take on another set of Team Sigma's forces. Another instant of his old human partner appeared in Jake's place, her light blue hair waving with the motion of her attacks as she took down a Gabite. Dagger blinked twice and saw Jake dodge a Tyrogue as the Gabite fell to the ground. Dagger's eyes began to glow in a brighter blue shade; he felt the surge of energy welling up and used Calm Mind to get himself under control.

"Sir, the underground team found them and are just about to reach the surface," the grunt on the radio station said.

The other grunt he spoke to smirked, "Perfect. Get the rest of the team ready and destroy the rest of the equipment."

Jake, Haze, and Dagger saw a team of grunts exiting a cave from the ravine, each carrying rock tablets with ancient pictures and dialect on them.

"Haze, we gotta stop them," Jake called, pointing to the Team Sigma grunts.

As Jake and Haze made their way to head off the underground team, another wave of pokemon cut them off keeping them at bay.

"Graveler, Earthquake!" one grunt commanded and the Graveler in front of Jake and Haze obeyed.

The ground shook and a large crack ran from the Graveler, past Jake and Haze, and up the side of the ravine wall. The top most part of the ravine exploded in a shower of rubble and dust. Almost all the pokemon that were peeking out from their homes and caves ran out to avoid being trapped by some random boulder, terrified and panicking as they went.

Jake's heart thudded fiercely, "Haze, Dagger, forget Team Sigma! We need to help those pokemon!"

Haze and Dagger reluctantly broke off from Team Sigma's forces and ran for the ravine wall where large boulders tumbled and rolled with deadly force.

A Geodude was suddenly cut off from the rest of his family by a falling boulder. He was too scared to move and curled up to protect himself. Jake scooped up the startled Geodude just as another boulder was about to squash him. The giant chunk of rock splintered and threw slivers every which way; one even caught Jake against his thigh as they leapt away. He winced but didn't let go of the frightened Geodude as he landed away from the boulder.

"Th-thank you," the little Geodude squeaked before bounding off.

A Sandslash was ushering a group of pokemon away from the ravine side. A Hippopotas tripped and the Sandslash went over to help her back up. The Hippopotas screamed as she and the Sandslash watched a boulder tumbled down the ravine toward them. Dagger sprang out in front of them, charging his Psycho Cut attack in his right forearm. The two pokemon cowered as Dagger waited for the boulder to get closer and slashed at the falling hunk of earth. The rolling boulder split cleanly in two, leaving the path open for the Sandslash to carry the Hippopotas away.

The trembling and quakes were subsiding as the last of the rubble crumpled to the ground. Jake breathed heavily as he surveyed the area; the equipment from Team Sigma was completely destroyed with no signs of any Team Sigma grunts left. Back to the ravine, it looked like all the pokemon had made it out of the caves just in time, but seemed downcasted by the fact that their homes had been buried. Though Jake heard conversations of digging them out in due time; a positive outlook. Dagger walked up next to Jake, his arms crossed as if this was no big deal.

'Wait a minute, where's Haze?' Jake franticly thought.

As if on cue, Haze emerged from behind some rubble carrying a pair of Teddiursa under her arms. The two little cubs wiggled their way out of Haze's arms and ran up to their Ursaring mother.

Jake breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank Arceus you're alright."

Haze put her hand to her hips, "It would take a lot more than a bunch of rocks to keep me down, you know that."

"Heh, yeah I guess-"

"AAAHHHHHH!"

The earth shattering scream seemed to pierce the very air itself. Jake and his partners ran to the source of the cry coming from the middle of the fallen rubble. Three little Shroomish were franticly huddled around a single spot weeping in unison. Jake, Haze, and Dagger all froze where they stood, a few feet away from a Breloom lying on the ground with a rock shard protruding from just under her rib cage; a pool of blood already forming underneath her. The innocent Breloom wheezed and breathed raggedly, coughing up blood between a few breaths.

"Momma, Momma!" the first little Shroomish sniffled as she looked down upon her dying mother.

The other two Shroomish began to cry even harder.

"Don't die momma, please don't die!"

Haze cupped her hands over her mouth, tears formed at the corner of her eyes as she turned from the horrible scene. Dagger showed nothing through his eyes or expression, just a blank canvas.

The Breloom mother held out her hand to her Shroomish, "Don't cry children, I'm still here. And we'll all be together again someday."

Jake came to his senses after the overwhelming shock and rushed over to the Breloom.

"No, I can help. Let me just…" Jake said kneeling next to the surprised Shroomish.

Jake reached into a side pocket of his pants, but a wave of terror washed over him as he did. The pocket he reached into had a gaping hole where a shard of rock had cut him earlier. A cold lump settled in his throat as he looked out over the piles of rubble. His medicinal supplies buried somewhere underneath it all. Cold tears lined Jake's face, unknowing of what to do now.

"It's okay human," the Breloom weakly said, "You and your friends at least…saved…the others…"

Jake watched in dismay as the glow of life disappeared from her eyes as they closed.

"Momma, momma!" the Shroomish cried out.

A cold painful grip tightened around Jake's heart. The sky gave another rolling thunder as droplets broke out as if the sky was trying to hold back tears itself. Everything in Jake's world froze for that moment until Dagger turned away.

"Where are you going?" Haze dully asked.

Dagger turned around again to speak, "We have to report back to HQ."

Jake was on his feet and in front of Dagger in a second, angry tears flooding his eyes.

"Is that all you can really think about, especially right now!" Jake choked, his fists shaking in anger.

"Death is and always be a part of life, or did you not know that," Dagger replied tonelessly.

Jake snapped, catching Dagger in the jaw with a left hook. He left clean red marks on his knuckles and Dagger's face.

"You may be able to kill without remorse, but that doesn't give you the right to be a heartless brute!"

"Jake," Haze whispered, unable to her partner in this situation.

Dagger winced as he turned to look at Jake. His eyes were no longer bland, but filled with a deep seeded sorrow and pain.

In a cool calculated tone he replied, "You are right, I'm sorry…she would said the same thing.

'She?' Haze and Jake both thought.

Other pokemon were already offering their comfort to the orphaned Shroomish. An Ursaring wearing a tattered cloak lumbered over to Dagger and the others.

"Human, sometimes life can be too short to comprehend," The old sage like Ursaring declared, "But others will always remember the actions and effects some make on others like you and Breloom. She will live on in our happiest memories of her, as will you and your friends for what did for us today."

Jake tried to smile, but was too ashamed by his uselessness.

"Haze, Dagger, we need to head back to report," Jake murmured.

Haze glanced back to the clan of pokemon one last time before following.

---

Back at PEF HQ, Jake reported to Dakota in the Intel room.

"…Jake, I'm sorry you and your team had to experience something like that," The Admin said with true sympathy after hearing what happened, "But thank you for bringing in the intel on those tablets."

The small praise did nothing to soothe the anguish Jake felt. A moment of silence filled the room as if everyone were looking for the right words.

Dakota broke the silence first, "Jake, why don't you take a few days off from PEF activities."

Both Haze and Jake's eyes lit up, "What, why?"

"Because you need it," Dakota simply responded, "I know how you must feel right now, and quitting is not the answer. But it's also not a good idea to push yourself too hard, so I want you to take a break."

'Dakota is right,' Haze thought, still sensing the emotional scarring placed upon her partner, but couldn't bring herself to actually say it.

Jake stood motionless, his hair shadowing his eyes, contemplating what Dakota said before deciding.

"Ok Dakota…come on Haze, Dagger."

With that, the trio left the room without another word.

Dakota made a deep sigh as he thought, 'Don't worry Jake, you have a kind heart. I know you won't let that guilt consume you.'