Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Agent #293 to Base."

"This is Base. We read you #293. Situation?"

"Target has been sighted. Collection is immenent."

"Very good #293. We await word of your success. Base out."

"#293 signing off."

The small communicator gave a static click as the call was disconnected. Nodding to his teammates, the man stood and stepped into the clearing near the gym. Various teams of law enforcement officials milled around, puzzled as to what to do next while others tended to the wounded. The special forces team strolled confidently through the center of the clearing, looking all the world as if they belonged there.

"Hey! Who are you? What are you doing here?" The voice boomed out over the gathering of officials, coming from a portly, but impressive-looking man. Probably a high-ranking officer, judging by his collection of medals on his formal uniform.

"Special forces. We'll take care of this," #293 snapped back, nodding slightly before beckoning to his squad to move out.

The portly officer seemed momentarily taken aback, then shrugged and walked off, muttering, "Your funeral..."

"Alright, here's the plan," #293 snapped to his squad. "We've got a dangerous one here, not unlike the last one. He's strong, fierce, and seems to have nothing to lose. Watch yourselves. We don't have the forces to spare right now. Pokemon forces hang back for now. Sniper squad will head in first with tranquilizers. You will NOT be seen, understand? If you're seen, I will not be responsible for the consequences. You will target the subject. Hit him and get out. Once he's weakened, Pokemon squad will rush the target. Water-types and Electric types only. Watch out for each other and take the target down as quickly as possible. Got it? Now, let's move."

Sniper forces circled the building silently, using every trick and tactic in their arsenal to avoid detection by the fire dragon inside. Taking up positions with access to the inside of the gym, they sought out their target. Although they couldn't understand his deep growls, the sounds helped them pinpoint the Charizard's position. Each sniper carefully set up their rifles, armed with specialized Pokemon tranquilizer darts. They were to hit the beast and get out; once weakened, the Pokemon squad would finish him off so that they could take him into the lab, unconscious.

One by one, crosshairs sought out and targeted their large foe. Ideal shot would be into the beast's neck, though flank shots would work for those with bad angles. The point was to get the darts into a part of the body where the blood would pick up the tranquilizer and pump it rapidly throughout the body. All they needed was their cue.

It came moments later through the tiny earpieces they all wore. "Now."

A flurry of darts flew towards the great dragon, swiftly and silently. Without staying to watch the results, the snipers quickly packed up their weapons and fled, leaving no sign that they had even been there. Their job was done.

"SECOND SQUAD! MOVE IN!"

The order echoed off the gym walls that were no more than debris after Charcoal's rampage, accompanied by a flurry of red light beams and emerging battle-ready Pokemon. The first wave consisted of Water-types. They immediately launched their attacks towards the fire dragon, then scrambled to get out of the way as the Electric-types took over, launching their own wave of attacks. The combination was powerful and sure to send the Charizard reeling, but the special forces squad wasn't taking any chances this time. Not after that Gyarados.

"Well, that went better than it could have," the squad leader muttered, watching his forces regroup and recall their Pokemon. "Alright, forces reform and return to base. We're done here!"

Reaching for his belt, the leader pulled out a jet black Pokeball. A Capture Ball. Tossing it almost casually at the unconscious Charizard, he watched emotionlessly as the great beast was pulled inside. Stepping through the debris to retrieve the Pokeball, he thanked fortune that this mission had gone better than the one to capture that Gyarados. His forces had been decimated and though they had succeeded, it would be some time before his squad could be rebuilt and reach its former strength once more.

"Back to base!" he ordered once more. The fire dragon was in the lab's hands now.

"...and that would be Experiment #014, sir."

"I see that."

The monitor switched over to the cell designated for Experiment #014, also known as "Charcoal." The two men watched for a moment before one commented, "You know, we sure have a lot of these hostile, dangerous ones all at once. Why couldn't we get...I don't know...a Furret or something? Can we really handle this many potential catastrophes all at the same time? You remember what happened last..."

"Shut up. That never happened, got it? And we'll handle whatever we have to handle. End of discussion."

Withering under his superior's icy glare, the first man fell silent.

After some time, the elder man spoke again. "Feed him and see if that quiets him down for a while."

"Yes, sir." Pressing a button on the console, an automated system slid a small hatch in the wall open and a tray bearing a good-sized steak was ejected through the opening, sliding forwards a couple feet across the floor before the hatch closed again. It wasn't much, but the system was good for feeding some of the more hostile experiments. Much better than the old methods.

Those poor fools.

The men continued watching the monitors closely even as the fire dragon quickly devoured the meat and discovered the source of the food. Smirking slightly, the first man turned to his superior. "Should I give him anymore? Gotta' give him credit for asking for more..."

The other nodded. "Go ahead. Do what it takes to keep him happy for now. We have enough problems to deal with elsewhere, so might as well have a full, happy dragon in here. Let me know if any other developments arise." With that, he turned and quickly left the monitor room, stalking down the hall to report to Dr. Hakan.

Left alone once more, the first guard turned back to the monitor and grinned. At least this was semi-amusing. Pushing the button again, he sent another steak into the room, determined to keep doing so as long as the Charizard seemed hungry.