Chapter 2 – Not done with you yet
"The young man is lucky, it's not half as bad as we expected. His Pokémon are all healed up and waiting for their trainer to regain consciousness, we'll take care of them for now. I'm guessing he'll wake up in a couple of days or so, probably fully restored considering how fast his wounds are healing. Would you like to be sent a word when he recovers, miss…?"
"No, thank you." Rowena immediately declined the pink-haired nurse's offer. "I'm a mere ranger on ranger duty; I have no relation to the patient whatsoever. Good evening." She turned to leave when the nurse spoke up again.
"Do you know if he has any relatives we should contact, miss? Or any other close relations?"
"I'm afraid I can't help you with that." She said, her tone telling the nurse this was all she was going to get. "Now, if you'll excuse me."
With that, she walked out of the Pokémon Center and headed for Ilex Forest to check that no one else had had a close encounter with the angry horde of Zangoose. She would have to deal with them as soon as possible.
~Silver's POV~
Silver opened his eyes, blinking. Where was he? It felt like he was lying on a bed, his surroundings appearing mostly white. Then, memories started to flood back to him. The battle, the horde of Zangoose, Rowena…
He concluded he was at a Pokémon Center, probably in Azalea Town. Wondering how long he could have been unconscious, he heard a door open and footsteps approaching his bed.
"Oh, you're awake!" A pink-haired nurse was looking down at him, smiling. "Such a strong young man you are! When we heard of the incident we immediately assumed it was going to be much, much worse. You've proved us wrong, thankfully. Now, how are you feeling?"
Silver blinked again, trying to produce words.
"Uh… Okay." He said, not being able to think of anything else.
"Not many would say that after being passed out for two days due to a horde of angry Zangoose. You're wounds are healing fast, there's almost nothing left but a few bruises and scratches, possibly a scar from the deepest cut that we had to sew, but that's healing well, too."
"Right." Silver mumbled, trying to process the information.
"I'll bring you your Pokémon, and then something to eat. Rest for a while now, I'll be right back."
He didn't respond as she exited the room. His head still felt a bit dim, but the memories from the encounter with Rowena were now coming back to him. She had mentioned leaving Team Rocket when project Mewtwo went wrong, and that she now worked as a ranger in the Johto region. He tried recalling if she had said anything else of interest, but could only remember her calling him pathetic. A jolt of pain suddenly shot through him, making him gasp. He had reflexively clenched his fists, making his aching muscles scream in protest. Damn that woman!
~Rowena's POV~
"If I find you poaching ever again, I swear you'll be in hospital for a month." Rowena threatened the man and the woman being shuffled into a police car by a turquoise-haired female officer. They looked at the ranger wide-eyed and scared as the officer closed the door and waved a 'thanks!' to Rowena.
"Thank you for your assistance, we highly appreciate that." The young officer said. "Call us if anything comes up."
Rowena simply nodded in response before heading back to the ranger's cabin in the deepest darkness of Ilex Forest. The poachers had clearly been after the rare female Combees that were attracted by the sweet scent coming from the Forest Shrine. She cursed them under her breath. They reminded her of herself and the person she had been until a few years ago: an ambitious fool who wanted nothing more than find rare, valuable Pokémon, even going as far as trying to create the ultimate Pokémon, the strongest and most powerful there would ever be.
Those dreams had been shattered when Mewtwo let itself free, destroying the lab facilities completely and leaving it in ruins. Then it went into hiding in some location no one would probably ever find it. Rowena thought that probably was for the best. What they had created at the lab in Viridian City wasn't a Pokémon – it was a highly intelligent monster. She would never forgive herself for going through with the project. It should have been aborted long before Mewtwo showed any life signs, before they started the cloning process, before they even found Mew's DNA…
She had believed in it then. She had believed they could make a Mew-clone more powerful and intelligent than the original. In fact, they had been able to. She simply couldn't let go off the fact that no one foresaw the consequences, that no one could calculate just how powerful and intelligent the being would be, let alone how aggressive. They had given it false memories, but it was only later that she learned those memories had been filled with sadness and misery.
Her rage towards the scientists and Giovanni had been finally led to her abandoning the organization altogether and they didn't dare follow her. They knew where she was but had decided it was better to leave her alone… which they were damn right about.
She made herself some coffee and sat down by the table, taking out a detailed map of Ice Path that she had been scheduled to patrol the upcoming week. She had a few days to prepare for the cold, snowy conditions before she had to switch cabins once again, as she did at least once a month. Life as a ranger was just the way she liked it: never standing still, always on the move.
~Silver's POV~
"The woman who brought me here, do you know where she went?"
"I'm afraid not, dear. She's a ranger stationed in Ilex Forest, but they switch places periodically, so there's no knowing if she's headed off someplace else already."
"…I see." Silver murmured, finishing his bowl of soup. The nurse had been kind enough to let him stay an extra night in a room at the Pokémon Center for free, and he had been thankful, even though he wanted nothing more than rush to Ilex Forest as fast as possible. He had questions, and he demanded them answered properly.
"But if she has left, the ranger now stationed there might just know where she is, I guess."
"Right." He said finally, absentmindedly, gathering his things. Sneasel jumped up on his shoulder and he stood up. "Thank you for your time. Goodbye."
"You're welcome!" The nurse called after him, left a bit dumbfounded by his sudden decision to just walk away. Silver didn't even hear her. His mind was solely focused on the former Team Rocket admin.
"I'm not done with you yet, Rowena…" he mumbled through gritted teeth. Sneasel hissed on his shoulder, agreeing with its trainer. "I will find you, and you're going to talk."
