Chapter 28: Chapter 28 - Rescue!
Later, after a full 7 minutes of running, Rico had arrived at the beach village, only to see flying debris and floods.
"Oh, no," Rico thought to himself.
And then, Ben and Jacob catch up with him and said, "Rico!"
Rico then turned around, only to see them.
"Ben?"
"What are you doing?" Ben asked him seriously. "It's too dangerous here!"
"I have to rescue those Starlys!" responded Rico back.
"Where?"
To answer that, Rico began looking in his surroundings as he holds the birdcage. After a full minute, Rico saw the old shed with the Starlys inside now being invaded by floods and destroyed by winds. Pointing at it in the distance, Rico said to them, "Over there, guys!" He then then went through the floods, followed by Ben and Jacob.
Meanwhile, three coast guards are at their elevated post chilling and relaxing while looking for anyone who were at the floods.
"Man, another storm on Christmas season, right?" one of them said to them.
"Yeah, just like almost every year," another answered back in response while sipping his cup of hot chocolate.
And then suddenly, another of them spotted three kids rummaging through the floods using his binoculars. He then alerted his fellow coast guards.
"What?" asked his friend. "What is it, dude?"
"I just saw three kids rummaging through the floods," answered his friend holding the binoculars."
"What?!"
That coast guard then went outside and descended downstairs to meet Rico, Ben, and Jacob. He then stopped them and asked, "What are you three doing here? It's too dangerous out here!"
"Sir, we have to rescue a bunch of Starlys who got stuck in an old shed!" Jacob responded back.
"What? A bunch of Starlys?" another of the coming guards asked. He and his fellow coast guard then exchanged looks for a few seconds.
"Please!" Rico begged them to let him, Ben, and Jacob in. "We begged you! This is serious!" After some exchanges of looks, the coasts guards finally agreed, but with safety measures. First, they get three ropes, tied them to one of the pillars, and tied the other ends to Rico's, Ben's, and Jacob's waistlines so the floods and winds would not blow them away. Secondly and lastly, another guard get some safety helmets and military-style goggles and put them on Rico, Ben 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 his group then continued their mission as the rope extends their distance more and more.
Moments later, they arrived at the shed, but the shed itself was being flooded and 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 and higher ground."
Because of Rico's trusting words, the Starlys finally agreed and get into the cage, filling its capacity. Rico then closed the birdcage, get up, turned towards Ben and Jacob, and said, "Mission accomplished." Ben and Jacob then positively agreed with him in agreement. They then turned back and trek back to the evacuation center via the coast guard post.
Along the way, they struggled as the winds and floods are getting stronger and stronger.
"Don't worry!" Rico said to the desperate Starlys as he and his group are trying to resist the winds and rain. "We'll make in time!"
Then, suddenly, a big tree branch was flying towards them. As Rico, Ben, and the Starlys braced for impact, Jacob wield his sword and sliced the branch with one cut, breaking it into two and they flew around Rico and his group.
"Huh?" Rico commented in realization that he was being defended by Jacob as he lowers 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 at him in happiness.
Back at the coast guard post, the coast guards are waiting for the youngsters to come back, looking at the windy and flooding 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 his group got out alive with the Starlys in the birdcage."
"So, how's the mission, you three?" 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 three," the coast guard replied back. Another guard then untied the ropes that held Rico and his group, releasing them.
"Now, go back to your evacuation center immediately before the storm would destroy all of you," the guard told them.
"But what about the equipment in us?" Jacob asked about the equipment.
"Forget the returning of the equipment!" one of the coast guards retorted back. "Return to your evacuation center, now!"
Rico and his group then seriously nodded in agreement, and they went back to the evacuation at the hilly, sloped part of the city, far away to the blurry environment, as Rico hold tight the birdcage while he and his group tried to resist the winds and floods. Meanwhile, an Absol, the same one Rico had an encounter yesterday at the mall, was watching them from the rooftop of a building while thinking whether Rico is worthy of it or not.