Breaking the Chains

(Pokémon)

Chapter 4: Founded Trust

Aaron's POV (Point of View)

Riley came back with the antiseptic and the wet towels after a few minutes.

"All right, Aaron." he said. "This may sting a little."

He put the wet towels to the whiplashes on my back. It stung a bit, but after being accustomed to tremendous amounts of pain every day, I hardly felt anything. When he pulled the towels away, I saw just how much blood I had lost. I only gave it a glance because I was used to the sight of it, however, Riley was shaking his head at the sight of the blood-soaked towels.

"How Team Galactic could be this cruel to…anyone is just…sick and wrong. They have no respect for other life."

"You get used to it. They've done this for years to me." I sighed.

Riley dropped his towel when he heard me.

"Years?" he questioned.

"I kept track of the months using the moon and…I was there for least 36 full moons if not more." I answered.

"3 years…" He shook his head. "No one deserves that, human OR Pokémon."

"At least you care about me. Nobody else I've met during those 3 years ever did. My faith and my hope that I could be free one day were the only things I could rely on."

"I see." nodded Riley. He took the antiseptic and began to spray it onto my back.

The antiseptic stung, more than the wet towels, but it was tolerable.

"So Aaron." he began. "I hope you don't mind me asking but…how did you escape? I thought Team Galactic had some of the best security systems in Sinnoh."

I explained my escape to him in vivid detail. Everything from being strapped down to the table, to the explosion of the aura-transfer machine, to my get-away in the air ducts.

"…Wow. That's unbelievable." Riley said.

"I know. I'm just fortunate enough the thing exploded and that I got out in time. At this point though, they've definitely realized I escaped now. They're probably on the hunt for me." I muttered.

"Don't worry about it… For now, why don't we change the subject to something better?" offered Riley.

"I'm with you on that." I agreed.

"So…I have a friend coming over today." he mentioned.

"Was that who it was at the door? I heard the bell ring."

After I said that, Riley was strangely silent. I turned over and looked at him. He was sweating and noticeably nervous. I could sense it in his aura. I knew who it might have been.

"I only need 1 guess." I told him. "It was Dr. Anderson, right?"

"Yeah." he admitted.

"I knew it. It's only a matter of time before…"

"He won't."

I stared at Riley, dead in the eyes. He didn't falter.

"Are you serious?" I asked. "Because I don't know if I can trust humans again…and if you're just pulling my leg…"

"Aaron…I wouldn't let him. Experimentation on Pokémon is…is…just sick and wrong! For all the money in the world, I wouldn't hand you over to him." he told me.

I slowly nodded my head. "O…OK. I-I think I can try to trust you. F-For now, at least."

"That's good to hear. So, onto that other topic; I have a friend coming over today. I think you'll like her."

"I-I'm not so sure." I muttered. I remembered my previous past with a Team Galactic woman, and it wasn't a pretty one.

"I can cancel if you want. But, you know she has a Lucario, too…" he grinned.

"A-Another Lucario? I haven't seen another one beside me since…" I paused. The memories of that horrible night came flooding back.

Flashback

"Mommy…Daddy…where are you?"

I was lost. Lost in the fire that flooded our valley. I ran through the valley looking for them.

"Mommy! Daddy!" I cried to them. "What's happening?"

There was no answer.

"Where are you?"

Silence. Throughout the entire valley.

"Help me!"

After an eternity of searching, I came across their two lifeless bodies. Burnt to death by the fire…

Riley took me back to reality.

"Aaron? Are you okay?"

"Huh? What?" I shouted, startled.

It took me a few seconds, but I regained my senses.

"What just happened?" I asked; a bit confused.

"I think you zoned out for a while there. Were you thinking of something?" he asked innocently, not knowing anything about my tragic past.

"No. I-It's nothing." I lied. I hated to lie, but it's not something I really wanted to remember.

"Well…if you say so…" muttered Riley uncertainly. "Just let me finish up with these cuts."

DING-DONG!

"Oh! I think that's her now." Riley set the antiseptic on the nightstand, and the towels on the ground and left to answer the front door.

"Huh. I wonder why Riley's so excited about one girl coming over…"


Riley's POV (Point of View)

"Have to make myself look presentable…"

I stood in front of the hallway mirror, combing my hair; which was kind of hard to do when your hair sticks up in spikes. I finished with my hair and set the brush down.

"Perfect." I said.

DING-DONG!

"Be there in a sec!"

I double-checked the mirror to make sure I looked good. My clothes and my features were flawless.

I briskly walked over to the front door, not wanting to keep Maylene waiting.

I peeked through the peep-hole to check for sure it was her, and indeed it was. She brought her Lucario with her; I could tell because he was standing next to her. Unfortunately for me, her Lucario hated my guts. I don't know why, but every time me and Maylene get together; her Lucario, nicknamed Lucas, always wants to KILL ME. It wasn't a guess either, he told me via telepathy.

But in the end, it's worth it for Maylene.

I unbolted the door and greeted her.

"That short orange hair, her gorgeous skin, her killer blue eyes and that cute band-aid on her nose…sigh…she's perfect in every way." I wondered dreamily.

"Hey Maylene." I grinned. "How are things for you?"

"Things are just great, Riley." she answered. "Come on, we'd better get going if we want to keep our breakfast reservations at the Vistas."

I sweatdropped. In the back of my head, I realized, "Crap, I forgot about the reservations! But…I can't just leave Aaron here. What do I do?"

"Riley?" she asked. "What's the hold-up?"

"I think I should just come out with it."

"Maylene, there's something I need to tell you." I confessed.

She gasped, and Lucas shot daggers in my eyes; and spoke in a strong voice telepathically,

"If you hurt her, I swear to God, you'll wish you were never born."

"You're not going to…propose or anything, right? This is just our third date…" whispered Maylene.

"WHAT?" I shouted. "Uh…no, I would never! Wait, no, what I mean is…"

And cue random gibberish. I'm pretty sure I spitted out nonsense for a minute and a half until Lucas interrupted,

"And your point is…"

"OH!" I realized. "Heh heh…sorry. Maylene, what I'm trying to say is that I need to take care of someone."

"Who?" Maylene asked. "You live by yourself."

"A-a friend." I answered, slightly hesitating.

"But…we had this planned for a month; it wasn't easy getting those reservations." she muttered.

"I-I'm really sorry, Maylene. I wish I could…but…I can't." I honestly confessed.

"I shouldn't have expected better of you." growled Lucas.

"All right, I understand." Maylene sighed. "Maybe we can reschedule sometime…"

She turned to leave and Lucas shot me an 'I knew you'd something like this' look.

"Oh man, she's disappointed…I have to do something." I realized.

"Wait."

Maylene turned and faced me along with Lucas, whose face practically screamed, 'You'd better have a really good reason for this.'

"What is it?" she asked.

I breathed in deeply and gathered my courage to speak to her…and to confront Lucas' demonic glare.

"Would you like to come in for lunch? I know my house is no fancy restaurant but…"

"It's all right. I'd love to." she smiled.

My eyes widened. "That went surprisingly better than expected." I thought in the back of my head.

"Master, are you actually serious?" Lucas asked. "Or are you joking? Because I never really understood the human concept of 'humor'."

"It isn't a joke, Lucas." Maylene told him.

Then she walked up to me. I began to sweat profusely, and it showed on the collared blue shirt I was wearing.

"I would be honored to dine in your humble abode, Riley." she said calmly…5 seconds later, she was bursting with laughter, rolling on the ground.

"Ahahah! Ahahaha! Ohhoohho…man, I can't believe I just said that." she chuckled.

I laughed heartily too, as I helped her back up.

"Yeah, that's a riot." I smiled.

A distance away, Lucas stood with his arms crossed, rolling his red eyes.

"I will never understand humans…"


Third-Person POV

Meanwhile…

"Curses! How the hell am I going to find that blasted Lucario? This is all Mars' fault…"

Dr. Anderson was pacing back and forth through his office; lit with fluorescent lights so intense, it could blind a person.

It turned out while Mars was running to get the fire extinguisher; she had accidently bumped into the 'RELEASE' switch for the table restraints.

He sat down at his desk, with his elbows on the stainless steel.

"I've checked every city from Veilstone to Canalave and STILL no sign of him! If I don't find him soon, Cyrus will have my head…" he muttered.

He pondered something to himself.

"How could that Lucario take off the tracking device? It's nearly indestructible! Let me take another look at it."

He opened a drawer attached to the bottom of the desk and pulled out a small metal anklet. On the cold steel was a Team Galactic emblem. Although the anklet was unlocked, it showed no sign of being forced open.

But he noticed something. Out of a long, thin slot, an object appeared to be sticking out. He pulled it out.

"A Team Galactic keycard? How…How did that Lucario get his damn hands this?" he hollered.

Realization hit him.

"I'm the only person who's been near him for the past few days, except for when Cyrus took him to the main lab but he was unconscious. Then that means…"

Dr. Anderson quickly checked his wallet, where he kept important items such as money…and Galactic keycards.

However, he was extremely surprised to discover his keycard was still in his wallet, safe and sound.

"If… my keycard is here…then…WHOSE DID HE USE?"

He examined the keycard again. There was nothing wrong with the front or back. However, there was mysteriously no ID number on it…or any sort of identification at all.


Lucario © 2005 Nintendo/Game Freak

Riley © 2006 Nintendo/Game Freak

Cyrus © 2006 Nintendo/Game Freak

Maylene © 2006 Nintendo/Game Freak

Commander Mars © 2006 Nintendo/Game Freak

Story and all other characters (in this chapter) belong to me.

EDIT: Thanks to all of you guys for reading! However, this story will be on hold for a little while. Not too long, a couple of weeks at most. Reasoning? I want to focus on my other two stories: Pokemon World Tour & Slaves and Soldiers. Expect these two to be the more updated ones for a while, go check them out! And R&R them too!