Ash Ketchum: Battle of the Ampere

Ch. 48 Voices and the Jade Dragon

It was at least fifteen minutes before Dodds spoke.  The emotion in the room was still very strong.  Calem was quiet, lying in Shauna's arms. 

"This was a very special evening," he said.  "I share my deep condolences for all of you. Especially you, Calem. I wish I could delay what I have to say, but it's late and time doesn't afford me that luxury.

"As you know, Raihan and I went into Lima today.  We went as close to the dock as we dared.  But we learned what we expected. The government is blaming the attacks on the American terrorists.  They have matched the Galactic's bounty of two and a half million soles on each of your heads." He looked at Calem and Clemont. "That includes you two as well. 

"In a country where more than a third of the people make less than a dollar a day, a million dollars makes you quite a target. We need to get you out of here as soon as possible. Our jet will be here in the morning." He glanced at Raihan, then breathed out slowly, as if in exasperation. "We have some unfortunate news, Cyrus is still alive."

We all gasped. 

"What?" I said. 

"His security detail his rushed him off the boat as soon as the Watt blew up."

We were all quiet, stunned, then Zeus said, "You mean I saved his life?"

"Indirectly," Dodds said.

"I screwed up big," he said.

"No you didn't," I said. "If you hadn't blown up the Watt, none of us would be here."

Dodds continued, "We've slowed Cyrus down.  We've given Tuvalu a chance to respond to their threat, if they're smart enough to make use of it.  You've freed Chairman Giovanni and the Galactic board.  I admit, that's a wild card.  We don't know where that will lead.  But Giovanni isn't stupid.  He's going to fight Cyrus to gain back control of the corporation.  That might sound like the lesser of two evils, but so be it.  Giovanni's about profits, not conquest.  We can live with that.

"Ash, tonight, you and Serena gave us all a nice surprise. We have a surprise for you as well."

Raihan left the room, then returned carrying the radio.  He set it down on the kitchen table and motioned me over.  "We cannot stay in contact for very long," Dodds said.  "But there's someone who would like to speak with you."

Raihan turned up the radio's volume.  There was a blast of static, then a voice said, "Ash. Are you there?"

"Mom!"

"How are you, son?"

"I'm good. I'm really good."

"I have missed you so much. They say you're coming back now. I can't wait to see you."

"Me too."

"I have so much to tell you. Things I can't tell you over the radio." She paused.  "Oh, Ash. I'm so proud of you. I love you."

"I love you too, Mom."

"They're telling me I need to go, but is Clemont there?"

"He's right here," I said. 

"I'm here, Mrs. Ketchum," Clemont said. 

"There's someone here who would like to say hello."

Another woman's voice came on.  "Hello? How does this work? Can he hear me?"

"Just talk, Estelle."

"Are you sure? Clemont? Are you there?"

"Mom! Dad!" Clemont shouted. 

"You're there," Mrs. Citron said.

"How are you, son?" Meyer asked. 

"I'm good. We're all good."

"We're so relieved," Mrs. Citron said. 

"You know how I worry."

"I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to worry you."

"They're saying we need to go," Mr. Citron said.  "We're proud of you, son. And we'll see you soon."

"We don't know where in the world you are," Mrs. Citron said. "But you be careful.  And don't forget to brush.  Gingivitis is the silent killer."

"Gingivitis?" Korrina mouthed.

Clemont blushed. "Okay.  I'll see you soon."

For a moment the radio went dead. Then another voice came on. The voice.

"Congratulations, Electroclan.  Well done.  You never cease to amaze.  We are all looking forward to seeing you again." He paused. "I would like to share with you some developments in our cause. 

"There is a nine-year-old girl from the province of Guangdong, China. Her name is Lin YuLong. In English that means jade dragon, but her localized name is Mairin. She is a nationalized child of French immigrants. She is a child prodigy. Her IQ is 182, higher than Einstein's."

"That's higher than mine," Clemont mumbled. 

"Two weeks ago she started posting a thesis on her blog about an experiment she was working on.  In English, her thesis her was called "The Theoretical Transference and Electrification of the Human Nervous System."

"Whatever that means," Serena said. 

"What it means," the voice said, "is that she figured out how the MEI works and why it made you electric but not the other children."

"That's what Cyrus has been looking for," Clemont said.

"Exactly," the voice said. "And apparently he's found it.  By the time we discovered the blog, the posting was nine days old.  YuLong was kidnapped three days ago."  

"I see where this is going," Clemont said.

"I'm sure you do," the voice said. "This has always been Cyrus's master plan.  If he can produce hundreds of thousands of electric children, all under his control, it's over."

"So now what?" I asked.

"We believe that Galactic are holding YuLong in their Taiwan Starxource plant, waiting for their science ship, the Volta, to arrive in the South Pacific, where they can put her to work.  We can't let that happen."

"You want us to go to Taiwan and rescue her?" I said.

"After all you've just come through, I know that's asking a lot.  But you're our best hope."

I looked around the room. No one spoke for a moment, then Calem said, "I'm in."

"I'm not leaving you again," Shauna said. "I'm going."

"YOLO," Zeus said. "In."

"I'm there," Brock said.

"All right," Iris said. "You guys are crazy, but I'm in."

"Of course," Korrina said. "You need me."

"Clemont?" I said.

"No-brainer," he replied, "You know how I love Chinese food."

I looked at Serena. She just looked at me for a moment, then she shook her head and groaned. "I'm in.  It's been at least an hour since my life was in mortal danger.  I was already getting bored."

I kissed her on the cheek. "All right," I said. "Looks like we're in. Let's find Jade Dragon."

1063

Heyllo all. Thanks for reading this book and series regardless of the delays of uploads. I'll say again that this is an adaptation of Michael Vey. The series when I started was 7 books but in the last year plus few months, books 8 and 9 came out of a new arc.

I have most of Vey book 4 transcribed and adapted with PKMN except for the last 10 chapters or so. I haven't touched Wattpad for a long time sept for uploading finished chapters. I may try to finish book 4 but that's up to your responses. So how about it? Please give me your thoughts