Chapter One
A Family Reunion
The girl's breath was fast as she sprinted down the path that led away from Mossdeep City. Her heavy military boots were thumping loudly against the boggy ground. Her dark purple ponytail shimmered in the light from the dying sun. Her black eyes glowed, grim with worry, and her face was scared by an unseen horror. As she raced down the game trail thick underbrush snagged at her jacket. An empty broken down cabin met her at the end of the trail deep in the dark forest. "Brodie! Quick! Run!" she breathlessly cried, shooting through the slanted door. There was no answer, the house was silent. The only noise was emanating from the panting girl, who stood in her dark cargoes, which were torn, as was her navy blue tee-shirt and lined denim jacket. She stood there for a moment, unsure what to do. "Brodie?" This time her voice was quiet, and tinged with worry. She was sure there was life in the house, she could hear shallow breathing. This time she was answered by a voice ordering pitifully, "Renee, get out. Run." Brodie's voice was weak but stern.
Renee turned to see the purple and orange haired man, blood trickling down his neck from the sharp silver dagger pressed against his throat. A crimson haired woman stood behind him, holding the knife with a steady hand. Renee knew who the woman was; Shelly. Her insane mother. Her father Tabitha's killer. The one who had killed everyone in Team Magma, except for Brodie, who had been forewarned and had been on the run from her ever since.
"Why hello sweetie", Shelly cooed to her daughter, "See, I told you I knew the brat would be here", Shelly hissed in Brodie's ear as she pressed harder on the knife, which was already digging into his skin. Renee's stomach twisted, she felt sick. She hated everything about her mother; her voice, her team, and the experiments they had done to her. That was why she had run away; to escape the horrors of Team Aqua. Now her mother was here to bring her back to the living hell she had left behind. Renee swallowed hard and forced herself to speak to the red haired demon.
"Please just let him go... I'll go with you." Renee pleaded. "Oh honey, you know it won't be that simple." Shelly responded, her voice sweet as honey. "It can be! Just please let him go!" she said on the brink of tears. "Please... I'll do anything... just let him live." she added in a whimper as she sank to her knees in defeat. She didn't care what happened to her, but Brodie was the only real family she had, thanks to her mother. "Wait! Renee, no!" Brodie choked out before Shelly tightened her grip on the collar of his shirt. "Shut it." she snarled at him before teasingly replying to her daughter, "I was hoping you'd see it my way. We have a prisoner whose been dying to see you." As she said this she flipped the knife in her hand and hit Brodie in the temple with it's hilt, knocking him out. Shelly kicked Brodie's unconscious form away as she walked over, grabbing her daughter by the arm, "Shall we get going then?"
A little over an hour later, they arrived at Team Aqua's base. Shelly smiled maniacally as she and her prisoner entered the steel corridor on their way to the cells. Renee anxiously fingered the silver locket that hung from her neck. It held the only picture of her father she had, and she had been glad to find that she resembled him much more than she did her mother. Both the picture and pendant had been a gift from Brodie. Brodie. He probably lay bleeding to death where they'd left him. The thought made tears prick the corners of her eyes, but she didn't dare let her mother see. Soon they rounded a corner and she saw a cell door, the sight sent horrid memories shooting through her from the last time she had been there. Chills rocketed up and down her spine as the cell door slid open after her mother punched in a code. "There have been a few 'modifications' to the security since you've left." Shelly explained. She moved out of the way to reveal a prisoner slumped in the far corner, wearing what Renee assumed was an old Team Magma uniform. "Welcome home, sweetheart! I'm sure you two have lots of catching up to do!" Shelly sang as she shoved her daughter into the dimly lit cell and shut the door behind her. Renee could hear her mother's laughter as she turned the corner.
The prisoner raised his head and Renee felt a chill run up her spine; she had seen him before. The laughter was gone from his face, replaced with a haunted look she had begun to associate with anyone her mother took prisoner, but there was no doubting it, this man was her father. A weak smile decorated his face as he laid eyes upon his daughter for the first time. Renee stood for a moment or two, unsure how to react. Finally she managed to choke out, "I-I thought... She said you were dead...". "It's interesting to see you believe that woman, especially concerning me". "I think 'witch' describes her better." Renee replied, trying to hide her guilt at having believed her mother about something this important. Another smile worked it's way across her father's face at that, "I guess you're right",he said in a strained sounding voice. That was when Renee noticed the gash on his arm, as well as the deep cut running along his cheek. In fact the longer she studied him the more injuries he seemed to have. He noticed what had caught her attention, and with a pained smile said, "I'm not going to beg, but if you have medical supplies in that bag I wouldn't complain about getting this arm looked at." Renee had forgotten about the backpack slung over her shoulder, but gave a quick nod and walked over.
Renee was, by no means, a good medic. Blood grossed her out, and she could never remember herbs or anything that would normally have been useful to someone who had been on the run as long as she had been, but the one thing she could do was treat a knife wound. And, in spite of the fact that her hands had been trembling so badly that she was fairly certain that she wasted more rubbing alcohol than used, by the time she had finished her father seemed in a lot less pain.
"That's better", he sighed as he slowly lowered his arm back to his lap. "I don't understand, how are you still alive? It seems to me that you would've been at the top of her kill list." Renee said, still a bit shaken from the blood. A pained look crossed her father's face as he explained, "I noticed something in her was starting to change, she was just acting so strange. At first I thought she was just stressed from work, but when Team Aqua's old leader, Archie, ended up dead it didn't take me to long to realize that she'd snapped. I ran. She caught me maybe a week after you were born. I made a deal that she could keep me prisoner and use me for whatever she wanted on the condition that she didn't hurt you, and let me live." Renee sat in silence as the weight of his words came crashing down on her shoulders. "So... so you-" She was cut off by the sliding of the heavy iron door. "Dinnertime, inmates! Eat up!" a guard sneered as he tossed them a scrap of meat and two small, stale pieces of bread. Renee managed to catch the meat but the bread broke into smaller pieces when it hit the ground. "Ew." was Renee's only word, however her father laughed and said, "Your mother must be in a fouler mood than usual, normally it's at least edible. All the same, eat what you can". "You sure you want to eat this stuff? I have a few crackers and stuff in my bag." Renee offered. Tabitha shook his head but there was no denying the hunger in his eyes. "Here. Take some." As she said this she held out a hand full of crackers and a strip of jerky. After a moment he took it. Renee took a similar amount for herself, having just now realized how hungry she was, she hadn't had time to eat that morning, and had been on the run during lunch time. The two were quiet as they ate.
"Alright, I told you everything that's happened to me, what about you?" Tabitha finally said, breaking the silence. Renee studied the floor for a moment before saying in a quiet voice, "She kept me prisoner here until I escaped three years ago, they used me for experiments. After I ran away I ran into Brodie an-, well he was helping me until today...", she couldn't go any further. Suddenly she felt her father's hand on her shoulder and she burst into tears. She threw her arms around his neck as she started to sob into his shoulder. She felt his hand on the back of her head, as his other arm wrapped around her. "It'll be okay sweet, I promise." Renee wanted to believe her father, more that anything, but she couldn't. They were trapped and at Shelly's mercy, things couldn't be much worse. After a few minutes she managed to stop crying, but she didn't move. Slowly she drifted off to sleep in her father's arms. Finally she understood what having parents could be like, and temporarily forgot about her mother.
Unfortunately Renee's moment of bliss ended quickly. She woke up on the floor, covered by the torn but warm blanket she kept in her backpack. It took her a moment to realize what had woken her up; the sound of the door opening and closing. "How sweet. If anything you owe me now, she was a pain to track down. Or at least harder than you." Shelly sneered from the doorway. Renee stayed down, pretending to be asleep, she wanted to hear this. "You wouldn't have needed to have wasted so much time if you had stuck to your end of our deal." Tabitha replied, his voice neutral though Renee noticed a hard to read expression on his face. Was it pain? Guilt? And why were his hands shaking? Shelly laughed,"The deal was that I wouldn't hurt, as you put it, 'the baby'. Once she was two or so I could do what I wanted with the brat. But did you really expect me to keep to it in the first place?" Tabitha hesitated for a moment before saying, "Oh that's right, I suppose I forgot for a moment that you don't have a heart." There was pain in his voice, which confused Renee, but if Shelly noticed it she didn't react. The conversation continued for a few minutes, by which time Renee had realized something; in spite of everything she had done to him, her father clearly still loved her mother.
Chapter Two
Escape
Renee didn't remember going back to sleep, but before she knew it her father was shaking her awake. "Eat, then I think I know how we can get out of here." That got Renee's attention. "How?" she asked with her mouth full of cracker. "They'll be pulling up to land this afternoon. The sub will be completely empty for a few minutes. That porthole will be above water. If we're quick we can break it and you should be able to fit through. Then you can go through the main entrance, unlock the cell door, we take what we need and we can be gone by the time they get back."Renee considered this. There was a lot that could go wrong, but it was their only chance at escape for a while."Alright. If it gets me away from mom, I'll do it." Tabitha gave a short nod,"Get your stuff together then."
Sure enough towards evening the sub hit land. Renee watched as the whole of Team Aqua left. Part of her wondered what mission could possibly be big enough for the whole organization, but she didn't ask."Are they gone?" Tabitha asked suddenly. Renee nodded as she studied the gap in the trees through which her mother had just disappeared. "Alright, let's get going then."
Breaking the porthole wasn't to hard, Renee kept a hammer (long story) in her bag at all times. Then with a boost from her father she was out. She scampered up to the sub's entrance and slipped back in. In a few minutes she had the cell door open. "Wait for a minute, there's a few things I need to do", her father said as the two of them climbed onto the main level of the sub. Renee nodded and watched as he slid into an abandoned looking room at the end of the hall. Renee studied the place for a moment; she could identify nearly everything. The two doors to the left led to the grunts quarters, the room at the opposite end of the hall led to her mother's office and bedroom. Then, to top it all off, on the right was the small lab where she had spent most of the first seven years of her life. "Alright, go put this somewhere in your mother's office for me"."Huh?" Renee spun around to see her father holding out a folded up photo. "Let's see if we can mess with your mom a bit", he said with a faint smile. Renee nodded, took the picture, and darted down the hall.
When she entered the office she stopped for a moment. The room was almost to tidy. Especially for Shelly. Across from the door was a desk, and in front of that there was a fairly small couch. Renee walked over to the desk and started to set the picture down. Then on an impulse she unfolded it, and her heart skipped a beat. It was a picture of her parents sitting at the edge of a cliff that over looked the sea. Technically she was there to, she could see the small bump in her mother's belly announcing a baby. The two looked like they had just pulled out of a kiss. Part of her wondered who had taken the picture, the other part wanted to curl up in a corner and sob. Oh yes, this would mess with her mother. She refolded the picture and set it on the desk. When she slid out her eyes scanned the hall for a sign of her father, they had to be running out of time.
She found him in a room by the ladder, checking two Mightyena for injuries. His uniform was gone, replaced with jeans and a dark brown shirt. Probably from the grunts' field clothes. One of the Mightyena noticed her and limped over. Renee hesitantly extended her hand, and was rewarded with a lick. "If she likes you you can have her." Renee glanced up at her father, "Could I?" she said after a moment. With a nod he handed over the poke-ball. "We should get going", he said as he turned out the door.
Chapter Three
Shelly
"You're dismissed Sean." Shelly said before she lost her temper. How stupid could she be? Leaving the sub completely unattended with Tabitha and Renee in it. And, of coarse, they were stuck until the window the two had broken was fixed. Leaning back irritably in her chair she wondered if it was worth hunting the two down. Probably not worth the effort. Or the risk.
That was when she noticed the folded up photo on the corner of her desk. She leaned forward and picked it up. After she unfolded it, tears filled her eyes. She stared down at the picture, the irony of it made her want to scream; less than eight months later the man in whose arms she had been laughing had become her prisoner for a decade.
Her trembling hand dropped the photo as an emotion she hadn't known in years hit her; guilt. Memories flashed through her mind; her knife sinking into Archie's stomach, pinning Tabitha to a tree about to kill him, then slashing a knife across his face in a cell. Then the really painful ones hit her, a four year old Renee crying and begging her for help as a scientist injected a drug, Renee, a little older, cowering in fear in a dark cell, next was Renee laying pale and scared on an examination table with another scientist leaning over her, and, the worst of all, Renee screaming in pain and terror as the effects of a drug took full effect, her eyes filled with hatred, pain, panic and a million other emotions Shelly couldn't even begin to untangle. Finally she came to her senses long enough to sink to the floor and choke out two words,"Water...gun". Her Walriegn got the message, and she felt freezing water rain over her, clearing her head. The Pokemon worked it's way over to her, and Shelly frantically clung to it, still shaking. "What have I become?", she whispered to it in a shaky voice.
Finally she pulled herself up and walked over to the desk. She dug around for a piece of paper and a pen. When she found them she quickly scribbled a note and gave it to her Peliper, "Take this to the police, then meet me to the north of the town."
Chapter Four
Troubling News
"Where did you last see Brodie?" Tabitha asked, jerking Renee from her thoughts. "Just north of Mossdeep", she answered sleepily. It was late and they had been on the move for two days with maybe five hours of sleep each. To Renee this seemed stupid, but she didn't bother arguing. There was no point, and technically heading inland would make it more difficult to be found. Though why sleep was such a bad idea she didn't know. "If you want to check on him though, he has a hide out near Lillycove that we could check. He's probably there, I doubt he'd stay in a place that's been found." Her father did little more than nod at that."Can I sleep now?" Renee asked. "Fine, we're leaving first thing in the morning though." Renee didn't need to be told twice, she curled up with her new Mightyena and fell asleep on the spot.
In Renee's opinion, 'first thing in the morning' meant sun up. To her father, it meant two hours before sunrise. "But the sun isn't even up yet". Renee said sleepily as she tugged her hair into a messy ponytatail. "Yes, and I want to get a move on. Because we broke the window, Team Aqua is stuck where we left them for a bit. Knowing your mother she's probably going to send at least a few people after us", Tabitha replied, sounding wide awake. Renee hadn't considered that, but she wasn't about to admit it. "How long will it take us to get to Lillycove?" She asked as she started on her breakfast."We should be able to get there by tomorrow if we're quick. Which means eating faster." Renee scowled,"Fine. But when I'm collapsing from exhaustion and hunger..."."Then I'll carry you", her father answered with a genuine laugh. 'So much for that', Renee thought as she pulled herself up. "All right, let's go."
As far as Renee could tell they were half way through route 121, meaning they could find Brodie the next day. After what felt like an hour of her complaining about her feet aching they stopped. "Is this what you were looking for?" Renee asked as she slid into the dark cave they had found, trying not to think about the cell she had just left. Tabitha nodded,"It looks like it's going to rain, and this is better than camping out in the woods again anyways." Renee nodded, sinking down and pulling her boots off to rub her feet.
After a quick dinner Renee hesitantly asked,"Why'd mom...", she stopped, not sure what to say. "Snap?", her father guessed. At Renee's nod a pained look crossed his face before he explained. "Back when we started meeting we came up with a deal that if one of us ended up catching the other for information they'd just tell a couple lies and we'd call it good. That way we wouldn't have to hurt each other. It worked, or at least we never had to put it into play. Until Shelly messed up during infiltration and I had to take her prisoner, I didn't have another option. Team Magma had recently come up with a drug that caused hallucinations, and in some cases extreme pain, to lower the ability to keep yourself together long enough to come up with a lie. It probably goes without saying that I had to use it on her. She reacted pretty badly to it, I think it took a month or so before the effects completely wore off. By that time she was close to loosing it"."Was she pregnant with me then?" Renee asked, already guessing the answer. Sure enough Tabitha nodded,"She told me a week afterwards. It made a pretty good guilt trip." Renee studied her trembling hands for a moment before asking one last question,"Were her eyes always red? Or did the drug turn them that color?" A weak smile worked it's way across her father's face,"You're pretty smart Renee. Yes, her eyes changed when she was exposed to the drug. Before you ask, they used to be a dark blue. Like the bottom of the sea." Picturing her mother with blue eyes made her seem less evil, maybe even nice. Renee hugged her father tight before laying down on her blanket, and as she drifted off sleepily mumbled,"You still love her, don't you?" That caught her father off guard,"It's more I feel sorry for her, because I know it's my fault that she's the way she is. Now go to sleep."
The next day Renee bugged her father less. She wondered what it had to have been like, slowly watching someone you cared about unravel into insanity and knowing it was your fault. It had to have been awful. Part of her wondered if there could be a way to bring her mother back to whatever normal had been.
"How close are we getting?" Tabitha asked. "Pretty close. If I can remember where we hid the entrance...",Renee answered,"It's somewhere around here though." Her father nodded thoughtfully,"Could it be that?" Renee studied the spot he was pointing to, she could just make out a faint ring in the grass."Yeah, that's it"."Well, your eyes are as hatefully sharp as ever Tabitha", a familiar voice said from behind. They both turned, and Renee darted forward, hugging Brodie."I thought you died", she said as he pried her off. "Yes Renee, because I was going to bleed to death from a cut that shallow", Brodie shook his head as he turned to Tabitha,"How is it that you can be held prisoner for 10 years, and be in better condition than your captor?" Tabitha shrugged, "Guess I'm just lucky that way." Brodie snorted in disgust,"Speaking of Team Aqua, have you two seen the most recent newspaper?" They both shook their heads. "In here then", Brodie said as he kicked the entrance's cover away.
"Isn't this part of one of Team Aqua's land bases?" Tabitha asked as he jumped off the ladder. "Technically it's an expansion that they never finished, it doesn't connect to the one in Lillycove. Of coarse, Shelly abandoned them all after she killed Archie, so it was the ideal hiding spot". "Was?" Renee asked, confused at Brodie's choice of words. "Oh, right. Here." Brodie handed Tabitha a newspaper. Renee watched as confusion crossed her father's face. "What is it?", she asked finally since no one seemed to be about to tell her. "Someone sent the police an anonymous note saying where Team Aqua's base was. Nearly everyone was arrested, those left have split up." Brodie explained. After a moment he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. "The police have been handing out copies of the note, to see if anyone can identify the handwriting. Take a look if you want." He handed the paper to Tabitha, whose eyes widened in shock as he read it. "What is it?" Renee asked. Her father swallowed hard, "That's Shelly's handwriting."
Chapter Five
"I Just Want To Know What A Family Is"
"Are you sure?" Brodie sputtered. Tabitha nodded,"I've seen enough ransom notes written by her, trust me." Renee stared in shock,"Why would she sell out Team Aqua though?" Tabitha shook his head, looking as confused as Renee felt, "I don't know. But it makes sense, according to this the police didn't find her, and everyone that they did arrest has no clue where she is". "So what? Are you going to try and find her?" Brodie asked, looking more worried than anything."The alternative is leave her to Interpol. And chances are that anyone who did manage to avoid the police is going to have put two and two together, they'll be after her to. I know it sounds stupid, but think. If Interpol gets her she'll get life, I guarantee it. If anyone from Team Aqua finds her..."."They'll kill her." Renee finished. Tabitha nodded,"Renee, you can do what you want, but I have to find her. If she sent that note to the police, something sent her back to normal." Renee darted across the room they were standing in, and hugged her father,"I'm going with. If there's a chance that she's back to normal..." Brodie sighed,"I guess I can't talk you out of this. Will you need supplies?" Tabitha shook his head,"I know where she's going to try and go, it's not to far from here."
Tabitha and Renee left the next morning. "Where do you think she's going?" Renee asked finally, getting sick of not being told anything. "There's an abandoned warehouse north of Fourtree where we used to meet. I think she might be planning on using it as a hiding place until she has a plan together", he answered. Renee nodded, she was to tired to say anything else. They had spent the night at Brodie's hiding spot and had left early that morning. And they had been walking all day. Renee didn't understand how her father had so much energy, especially considering the fact that he had been locked up for ten years.
Finally it was getting to dark to go on without getting lost. The two camped under a tall oak tree. Renee ate slowly, waiting for the inevitable question. Finally Tabitha seemed to have given up on trying to guess and asked,"Renee, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but why did you come with? You have every reason in the world to hate your mother." Renee studied the ground, picking at a blade of grass. After a few minutes she said,"I... it's just... I've spent the past three years running from her. I thought you were dead until a few days ago. Before all that I spent every other night strapped to an examination table. I just want to know what a family is. Not even what it's like, just what it is." By this point Renee was in tears. She curled up against her father, crying. Slowly she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Six
A Mother's Regret
Shelly tugged her jacket closer against the wind. Just her luck, Hoenn was always warm, and the one winter that she didn't have a roof over her head the region was in a full out blizzard. But she had to be getting close to her destination. She had been traveling for a week now, she had to be almost there.
After what seemed like hours she could make out the dark outline of the old warehouse a little ways away. With a gasp of relief she raced towards it and slipped into the abandoned building. She sank down against the wall, glad to be out of the storm. She brought her hands to her mouth, breathing on them to try and warm them, frostbite was the last thing she needed.
Suddenly footsteps from the shadows caught her attention. She pulled herself up, instantly on her guard. "Tell me why you did it Shelly, and I'll let you go". "I don't know what you're talking about Matt." she replied, trying to hide the fear in her voice, she knew why he had followed her. Matt snorted,"How stupid do you think we are? A note giving away our location sent to the police the same day you run off? And did you expect us to believe it was by pure coincidence those two escaped the same day?" Shelly closed her eyes in defeat,"Alright, fine. I sent the note to the police. But I didn't help them escape. It didn't even occur to me that they'd try." After a moment she added,"I take it you're here to kill me?" Matt nodded,"I don't want to do this, but I'm the only one left who has a chance against you so..." Matt pulled a handgun from his coat pocket and studied Shelly sadly. Shelly shook her head,"Matt, don't you get it? Killing me is a mercy. I want to die. The alternative is to live with the fact that I nearly killed the one person in this world who showed me any form of affection, and when I let him live I tortured him for no reason other than the fact he was there. Not to mention the fact that I treated my own child like an experiment. You would be doing me a favor to end this hell I'm forced to call my life." Matt sighed as he raised the gun so it was pointed at Shelly's heart, "That makes this a little easier then."
Shelly braced herself, waiting for the pull of the trigger that would end her life, when something across the warehouse caught her eye; a Mightyena slipping quietly through the shadows. Suddenly the Pokemon lunged at Matt, causing the gun to go off in his hand. Shelly felt a pain graze her side as she stumbled back to avoid the bullet. Warm arms closed around her, catching her before she could hit the ground. She pulled herself up and spun around, to familiar lips pressing against hers.
Chapter Eight
A Real Reunion
Renee could see tears running down her mother's cheeks as the two broke apart. "I don't understand, why are you here?" Shelly choked out as she slid out of Tabitha's arms. Instead of answering, he asked, "What made you send the police that note?" Shelly sank to her knees, shaking as she said, "The picture. When I saw it... I don't know, everything just hit me. And I am so sorry for everything I did to both of you." At that Renee darted over, sinking down next to her mother and hugging her for the first time in her life. After a moment she felt her mother's arms wrap around her. The two stayed like that for a moment, both trembling from the cold, shock, disbelief, and relief. Then Renee heard her mother's quiet voice in her ear, "I love you." In a hoarse voice Renee replied, "I love you too." after a moment she added quietly, "Mom."
-The End-