Chapter 46 - 46 - Take thy Risk II

Later, at the beach, as the waves are getting stronger and more hostile and the winds much more stronger than yesterday or this morning, Rico and Jacob arrived at the beach village, only to be surprised that the community was blowing apart by the winds and waves. But some, especially made of concrete, bricks, and harder wood, managed to survive and withstand the winds. And as they tried to resist the winds and rain, Jacob asked Rico, '"Where's that "shack" you're talking about?"' Looking around in full focus, Rico quickly spotted the shack he had seen before, and answered Jacob, "That's it! It's over there!" He then went there first, then Jacob too. There they saw some coast guards monitoring the area, not allowing anyone to step in due to hazardous weather presented there. They are in a concrete station, elevated from the ground by tough concrete pillars and a winding stairs as access. And as the watchful men looked around with their Pokémon and binoculars, Rico and Jacob rushed in through the narrow alleys between houses and stopped at an intersection that goes either straight ahead or left.

"Which way?" Jacob asked. Trying to remember where, Rico realized it and said what direction, "Straight ahead!" Jacob then seriously nodded in agreement and they went straight as answer.

Back at the station, one coast guard commented about the weather while drinking some hot chocolate, "Man, just like every year. A storm at Christmas season."

"You got that, dude," another replied while reading a bunch of weather reports. "But we celebrate that even with power outage, right?"

"Yeah," another agreed with him. Then, the fourth one spotted two youngsters running across the grassy area while in a storm.

"Uh, guys," that guard called the rest, "I saw two youngsters running through the rain." This response causes the rest to snapped out from their doings and gathered beside him and glanced at the window.

"What the...?" one of them asked in shock, "What those two doing here? They might be killed by the storm."

"We must warn them!" another responded. So, three of them worn their raincoats and went downstairs and towards them, intervening and intercepting their mission.

"Hey, you two!" one of them called the two. "What are you doing in the middle of the storm?"

"Don't you know it's dangerous out here?" another added another warning.

"But there's a bunch of Starlys trapped inside a wooden shack!" Jacob explained their mission.

"What? A bunch of Starlys?" one of the coast guards. They then exchanged looks for a few seconds.

"Please!" Rico begged them to let him and Jacob in. "We begged you! This is serious!" After some exchanges of looks, the coast guards finally agreed, but with safety measures. First, they get two ropes, tie them to one of the pillars and tie the other ends to Rico's and Jacob's waistlines so the winds would not blow them away. Second, another guard get some safety helmets and military-style goggles and put them on Rico and Jacob, giving them more protection.

"These will protect you from the storm," one of them explained about their purpose.

"Thank you," Rico gratefully accepted it. He and Jacob then continued their mission as the rope extends their distance more and more.

Moments later, they arrived at the shack, but the shack is falling apart very fast. And as the Starlys braced for disaster, Rico intervened, opened the birdcage, and told them, "Come on! Get in the cage!" Upon seeing Rico, they hesitated with fear.

"Look, it's the only way out of this storm," Rico told them why. "Trust me, I'll bring all of you to safety." Because of Rico's trusting words, the Starlys agreed and get in the cage, filling its capacity. Rico then closed the bird cage, get up, turned towards Jacob, and said, "Mission accomplished." Jacob then positively nodded in agreement. They then turned back and trek back to the evacuation center via the coast guard station.

Along the way, they struggled as the winds are getting more stronger and stronger.

"Don't worry!" Rico said to the desperate Starlys as he tried to resist the winds and rain. "We'll make it in time!" Then suddenly, a big tree branch was blowing towards them. As Rico and the Starlys braced for impact, Jacob drew his sword and sliced the branch with one cut, breaking it into two and blew it around Rico.

"Huh?" Rico commented in realization that he was defended by Jacob as he lower his guard down. Putting his sword back, Jacob said to him seriously, "I'm a warrior too." Rico was surprised at first, and then smiled in happiness.

Back at the coast guard station, the coast guards are waiting for the youngsters to come back, looking at the windy environment for any survivors.

"Are you sure about this, dude?" one of them asked in unsure and doubt.

"I'm sure," another answered him back in positivity. "Those equipment will help them." Then, just as expected, Rico and Jacob got out alive with the Starlys in a bird cage.

"So, how's the mission, you two?" one of the guards asked them.

"Mission, accomplished," Rico replied in exhaustion as he catches his breath for a few seconds.

"That's great, you two," the coast guard replied back. "Now, go back to your evacuation immediately before the storm would destroy you." One of guards then untied their ropes.

"But what about this equipment in us?" Jacob asked about their equipment.

"Forget the returning of the equipment!" the coast guard retorted back. "Return to your evacuation center, now!" Rico and Jacob then seriously nodded in agreement, and they went off back to the evacuation center, far away to the blurry environment, as Rico hold tight the birdcage while he and Jacob tried to resist the winds and rain.