Author's Note: Dude! It's been forever since I updated, it seems. Well, yeah, there's been a lot going on: I got sick, I had to go to school, spring break came, and some more stuff I can't remember right now. But all the while I've been writing this chapter, I've had plenty of inspiration for later chapters.
It's going to get good, especially after this chapter! So use the three R's: Relax, Read, Review! On to Chapter 4!
Oops! Forgot the Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. However, I am the owner of a Level 55 Tauros on my Pearl version. Giga Impact FTW!
Chapter 4: Two Broken Promises
"And then the guy told me that he got his clock cleaned after snatching the kid's Pokedex! How ridiculous!"
Yes, I'm sure.
Cyrus and I had just gotten to the Solrock Inn after trudging through the marshy routes leading to Hearthome City. It seems like everything was normal upon our arrival. Grunts were busy preparing for the next day, and Jupiter was listening to a (once again) frustrated Mars, who was complaining about one of her grunts stealing a Pokedex from a kid when we have a whole plethora of information on Pokemon.
Mars. She was the one who captured Mespirit at Lake Verity near Twinleaf Town. I remembered Carlton's words from the Valor Hotel…
"He said that it was some red-headed woman who looked to be in charge of something at Lake Verity, where his parents were vacationing when he turned on the news and found out they were dead! Ever since then, he's sworn to get his revenge."
You couldn't mistake red hair like hers anywhere.
That kid has some guts to stand up to Team Galactic. I respect that. I wonder if he would still avenge his parents' deaths if he didn't have psychic powers. How did he get psychic powers anyway? There aren't that many psychics in the Sinnoh region as far as I know.
But don't you worry, kid. I'll be sure to get Mars for you. Nothing much, though… if you really are as strong as your friend claims, I'll leave the rest to you.
"I swear, if any one of those grunts messes up anything at Mt. Coronet, I swear I'll switch my entire division with another Commander." Mars was waving her hands around frantically as she spoke. "I know I'm not doing anything wrong in training these guys, it's just… aarrgh!"
"'It's just… aarrgh!' …what?" I asked, making my way towards the two women while mimicking Mars.
"Well, Mars claims that her grunts suck," Jupiter informed me.
"Again?" I asked Mars, exasperated.
"Yes, again! I'm beginning to get a mind to ask the boss for better recruits…"
"Maybe you don't have to, Mars," I replied. "How about you switch up the way you command?"
"And how would I be able to do that?"
"Well, maybe you could be a little bit nicer to them, you know." A red-hot glare. "I don't mean you should completely shower them with affection. Just… let them know they are appreciated every now and then. Besides, everybody gets clueless and makes mistakes at some point. Right, Jupiter?"
"Yea, he's right, Mars. Don't get that worked up. People will work harder for you if you give them a good benevolent reason to." I didn't show it, but I was in shock. Jupiter hardly ever gave praise to her grunts… but then I started to think about the times I heard her in the Nap Room in Headquarters. Well, maybe one at least, I thought to myself.
"I just don't see how I can be nice when these grunts give me absolutely no reason to."
"Don't worry, Mars," I assured her, "you'll definitely think of something."
Just then, one of the grunts came through running on the red carpet in the hallway which we were having our discussion in. He stopped in front of Mars and made a deep bow.
"The radiant Commander Mars," he said. I noticed he was forcing his voice to go deeper than usual. "Boss Cyrus wishes to meet with you at eight o'clock to discuss further plans for Mt. Coronet."
"Alright … Why are you acting so weird?"
"Is it really weird to show a gracious lady such as yourself gratitude and appreciation?" Wait a minute. Mars, gracious?
"Well, I appreciate the comment, um… Devin, was it?"
"It's Damion." His voice went back up an octave to normal.
"Well, Damion, could I ask you to do me a favor?"
"Ask and it shall be done, my lady." The deepened voice again. I smirked in amusement at how the little scene was playing out.
"Straighten up, for starters." Damion quickly returned to an upright position. "And accompany me to dinner; I could use more comments like the ones you're giving me right now."
"Done." He held out his arm, and Mars hooked her arm with his.
"Well, Jupiter and Pluto, I'll probably talk to you two later. So long!" And as she and Damion left, she chanced one last glance back at us. I gave her thumbs up, and Jupiter winked. Mars must have been relieved, because she smiled at us, and then began to pay attention back to Damion. "So what do you think of me as a Commander…?"
When Mars and her companion stepped in the elevator and the doors closed, I asked Jupiter, "Do you think Mars is cut out for romance?"
"I really don't know. As long as I've known her, she never was involved in romantic pursuits," she explained. "But hopefully that will turn around. She probably needs it more than anybody now."
"I suppose so," I said. We were walking down the hallway, and I was thinking about the romance I shared with Allison. I figured it was something like a roller coaster, not in the sense that it was going up and down and threw us for a loop every once in a while, but in the sense of speed. It was going way fast, kind of like I assumed Jupiter's relationship was. Wonder how they're doing together? Maybe I'll ask.
"Hey, speaking of romantic pursuits, how are things going between you and your boyfriend?"
Jupiter looked at me in shock. "How did you know I used to have a boyfriend? I told Mars not to tell anybody."
"Nobody told me anything. When I was on patrol in HQ, I sa… heard you getting busy in the Nap Room a few times. Don't worry, I didn't tell anybody, either. …Wait a minute; you said you used to have one?"
"Yeah. I was going with this one guy who transferred from Saturn's division. It was fun while it lasted. We only broke up like a week ago, because neither one of us was ready to commit to a serious relationship."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, it is so." She started to wonder, and then, "Are you asking me this because you want advice for you and your girlfriend?"
Wait a minute, she knows!? I didn't want to be for certain that she knew, so I decided to play it off. "What makes you think I have a girlfriend?"
"Because you very bad at hiding stuff," Jupiter boasted. "But I have to admit, you and – what was her name, Alice…?"
"Allison," I corrected.
"Allison… Anyway, you two make a good looking couple. I just never knew that guys with spiky silver hair would be so popular with the ladies. Why, if you weren't with Allison, I would probably be your girlfriend by now."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
Wow… I had no idea that she was into me, too. I was scared that if I had somehow managed to tell her before I met Allison, she would run and tell everybody and they would start laughing at me or something.
But now that I think about it, I might as well tell her about I how I used to feel for her, since I won't be around much longer anyway. It's not like I'm asking her to be with me or anything, it's just that if you have a chance to tell somebody something, you should do it before it's too late. At the very least, I'll be getting it out of the way. There's nothing to lose.
"You know, Jupiter, I… uh… really had a crush on you for the longest time right now. Ever since I laid eyes on you on that first day, I thought that you were just so beautiful. Don't get me wrong, I'm way into Allison right now, but I had you on my mind before now."
"Wow… I had no idea. So why didn't you just come out and tell me? I mean, we're both Commanders here," she said as she hit the "Up" button next to an elevator we stopped in front of.
"I know, but I wasn't back then. Usually when people tell someone they like that they have a crush on them, you would expect the other person to laugh, or just outright crush you or something. They'll probably never look at you the same way again, regardless of how it turns out," I explained as we heard a ding, signaling that the elevator had reached our floor.
"So that's what has been keeping you from telling me? Because you thought I would never see you the same way afterwards?"
"That… and… some more personal stuff," I replied as we stepped inside and the doors closed.
I looked over at Jupiter, and she smiled sweetly at me. "I'm going to do something that I really shouldn't be doing, but I feel a little obliged to give you what you want." I looked straight at her in shock. "No, not like that," she reassured me. "All I want you to do is close your eyes…"
And so I did. And the very next second, I could feel a pair of long, slender arms wrapped around me along with soft, luscious lips pressing down on my own. I sort of expected something like this coming, but never so intense. Shocked, my eyes shot open and so did my lips, and her tongue penetrated inside of my mouth.
Right then, I was stuck in the middle of a crisis. Dude, she's kissing you. Kiss her back.
But I can't kiss her back.
Come on, you know you want to.
If I kiss her back, it'll show that I love Jupiter more than Allison, which is not true.
She knows you have a girlfriend, and yet she's still doing this.
I know, but what would Allison thi-- Hey, she broke it off…
She stepped back with a smile on her face. "So, how did you like it?"
"I… uh, like… it was… wait… uh… it was… good…"
Say what you feel!
"But I want you to know… I love Allison. The kiss we just shared… doesn't mean that I'll just dump her to be with you."
"Oh, you read too much into it," said Jupiter with an understanding look. "I thought it was natural for two people who like each other to kiss. It doesn't literally mean a relationship or anything. Tell you what; it'll be just between you and me, ok?"
"Ok. That makes it a lot better," I sighed.
"Good!" She checked her watch, and then hit the elevator button for the 6th floor. "It's about 7:30 right now, so I'm gonna go and take a shower before I see Boss Cyrus." Then she looked at me with a lustrous intent in her eyes. "Want to join me?" she asked in a matching devilish voice.
"Ah!... I… can't…"
"Ha ha! Looks like you can't take teasing. Ah, well. Girls like a guy who can loosen up. That's my advice to you. You work on that, and I'll be seeing you later Pluto." And then the elevator doors opened, and I watched Jupiter make her stroll through the hallway of the 6th floor before the elevator doors closed.
"Hey Allison, can I ask you something?"
"You can ask me anything, Terrence."
Before I invited Allison to the balcony of my room, I lay on my bed for a while replaying the conversation I had with Jupiter over in my head.
The discussion of her past relationship, which led me to re-evaluate my own.
The fact that she knew that Allison and I were a couple. How many other people knew? Probably my entire division, along with Mars and Saturn and maybe even Cyrus. Not that it matters to me how many people know, as long as they don't try to split us apart…
The revelation of how we liked each other, leading to her kissing me in the elevator. I couldn't tell Allison that; she would blow it out of proportion. And I really do like Allison, too. That why I didn't put any effort into that kiss I shared with Jupiter.
Back to the present. I looked over at Allison and asked her in a serious tone, "How do you think our relationship is progressing?"
She looked back with a glum expression on her face. "What's the matter, Terrence? Am I doing something wrong?"
"No, it's not you," I smiled. "I… how do I say this… do you think we're going a bit too… uh… fast for our relationship?"
"You think so? …Now that I think about it, we have been going pretty quickly about things. I mean, we've only been together for three days, and we already hit… second base, I think. Maybe third."
"Allison, I would love to hit second and third base with you… over and over and over again," I chuckled. "But maybe we should slow down and examine first base a bit more."
Allison tilted her head to the side, giving me a quizzical look.
"Meaning… I don't want us to go too fast and let this relationship crash and burn, you know? Relationships aren't just about loving people; they're also about loving things about people. We should take a little bit of our time and find out more about each other's likes and dislikes."
"…I understand, but what caused you to bring this up all of a sudden?" she inquired.
"I had a conversation with someone who I believe went too fast in her relationship. They didn't last because neither one of them was ready for a serious relationship. I think it was due to the fact that they knew too little about each other before they started dating. I just… don't want it to be the same way with us… wait, why are you crying?"
She wiped crystal-clear tears from her eyes. "Because it shows… you really do care…"
"Of course I do," I replied, drawing her into a tight hug. "I want to know more about you, Allison—beautiful and radiant bug-type Pokémon trainer of Sinnoh!"
"And I want to know more about you, Terrence— my knight of shining armor-clad Pokémon from Hoenn! Once we escape the syndicate, we'll have so much time together!" She paused for a minute and then said…
"Speaking of which, how are we going to escape at Mt. Coronet?"
"Oh, man, you ask me now? I was going to just think of something right before Cyrus starts summoning the legendaries."
"Maybe we should think of something now," she said with a look of worry. "There will be a whole bunch of grunts standing in our way if we decide to charge them head on."
"Yeah, and I don't really want to kill anyone. That's not me. I'd rather have some way to disable them, though…"
After two minutes of thought…
"How about my Beautifly? It knows Stun Spore and it's supposed to be potent, too."
"Hmm, that's good. Think we can find a way to use it and catch them off-guard? I wouldn't want them to see it coming and launch a counter-attack…"
Dude, I had no idea that the top of Mt. Coronet was covered in snow year-round. Mars, Jupiter, Allison and the rest of the Grunts seemed to be taking it pretty well, despite the fact that they were shivering. Some Grunts huddled closer to others for warmth as we trudged our way uphill through the foot-deep snow.
Only Boss Cyrus didn't mind the cold. Maybe it was the prize of immortality that caused him to keep marching onward, because the snow didn't even seem to faze him in the least. Once we came up a ways, we saw a cavern set up with lights. …Wait a minute, lights? Lights in a cave disturb Pokemon that live in it. Either Boss Cyrus set this up in advance, or somebody else was set up here, and I highly doubt the latter.
We reached the cave, went inside and walked all the way to another opening. Boss Cyrus addressed us:
"Here is where we make—no, remake history! Up ahead is the Spear Pillar. It is rumored that here, Dialga and Palkia ascended into the heavens soon after the world was created. Now, in a few moments, I will bring them back to this dimension, and through them create the world that I—that we have toiled long and hard for!"
A crowd of cheers surrounded Boss Cyrus.
"However, there are some who would seem fit to stop the coming of this new era. Mars, Jupiter, disperse your grunts all around the base of Mt. Coronet and make sure they eliminate all opposition. Pluto, you and your grunts will disperse all around this cave in the unlikely event that our first defenses become breached. You yourself will become the last line of defense. In the even more unlikely event that you meet your demise, Mars and Jupiter will avenge you together. They will be my personal bodyguards from here on out."
"Wait, you mean I can't see your summoning?" I asked.
"Unfortunately, you cannot. I am relying on you to defend this opening for me."
"Ah… OK," I replied reluctantly.
Mars and Jupiter walked out of the opening on either side of Cyrus. I waited until I was sure they were out of earshot for a few minutes.
"Hey, Team Galactic! Gather around!" I cried. Within a minute I had seventeen grunts facing me in a semicircle looking at me with my back towards the opening that Boss Cyrus went out of. Allison, as always, was at my right hand side.
I hope I know what I'm doing, I thought.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to know that I enjoyed working with every single one of you. But as far as I can tell, there may be some of you who don't feel that loyal to Team Galactic for some reason. What I want to do is hear about some of your concerns and give you an option. Before I actually give you the option, though, I want to know what you guys think. Ok, I'm all ears."
Silence. I swear you could hear a humming sound that comes with so much silence even though there was snow blowing outside and a little water dripping in the illuminated cavern. Silence is golden, but not when there are so many people.
"Oh, come on now! Nothing?"
Nothing.
I couldn't take it anymore. "Alright, since nobody is willing to express concerns, I have one I want to address to all of you.
"You know that Boss Cyrus is serious about summoning Dialga and Palkia, the two legendary Pokemon that legend says created this region, right?" This was confirmed by various reactions:
"Is he really trying to do that?"
"Come on, man, what is he really trying to do?"
"Our boss is trying the impossible!"
"If he succeeds, he'll be legendary!"
More murmurs here and there, and I waved my hand in the air, signaling for silence. "It seems that we have mixed opinions about this. You guys want to know mine?"
Several heads nodded, urging me to go on.
"Personally… I don't approve of it at all. When it comes to legendary Pokemon, people who mess with them eventually wind up suffering a price or making things worse. Dialga and Palkia are masters of time and space. Did you hear me? Time and space. If Boss Cyrus messes up just one tiny detail, time and space will be warped forever. We may not have an existence anymore."
"If you don't like it so much, why don't you tell him yourself? We grunts can't do anything," one grunt said. He was holding a boom box that I didn't notice before.
"You know what? I'm going to do more than just tell him. I'm going to put a stop to it."
Same guy: "Are you for real?"
"He's definitely for real," Allison spoke up. "I'm going with him, too."
"You really think you can defeat our boss? Your boss?" cried one grunt in her disbelief. "I always knew that Boss Cyrus was destined for great things, but now you're going to destroy his biggest endeavor get, without a thought for the consequences!" She stepped forward, holding a Pokeball in her hand. "I'm going to bring you to your senses."
"I'm only going to say this once. Don't get in my way," I warned.
"No, you get out of Boss Cyrus' way!"
"Janice…" another grunt said, stepping forward. "Why don't you let Commander Pluto fight Cyrus? I mean, it's his decision."
"Don't tell me what I should be letting someone do, Charlie! You think he can just battle Cyrus and stay a Commander?"
"I think if—no, when he beats Cyrus, he should run away from this syndicate, just like I've been wanting to. You think being forced to join after that Eterna City incident was what I wanted!? Hell no! I've been looking for an excuse to run away, and now that my actual Commander is openly saying it, I'm with him."
"You want to stop me from stopping him? Let's take it outside in the snow. If you win, you can run away, right then and there, and nobody here will say anything. If you lose…"
"I won't lose..."
"If you lose," she interrupted with extreme vigor, "Then I'll have Cyrus execute you and I'll be there to watch. And you can't run away once you lose, either."
"Sounds fair," said the guy named Charlie. "Ladies first."
"Chivalry will get you nowhere with me, mister," shouted the woman named Janice as she walked in front of him. All of the other grunts followed behind Charlie wanting to see the outcome of the battle.
"Allison, now's the time!" I cried.
"I know. We have to hurry," she responded. And so the two of us went to the opening at the very end of the cave, only to step out onto…
…The Spear Pillar. It was aptly named because there were columns of granite jutting out of the ground with the ends pointed like spears. …Well, some of them, anyway. Most of the columns were toppled over, and some that were still erect were missing their pointed ends. Who made this place, and what for?
Certainly not the reason that Cyrus was here, I know. He was far away, standing on what seemed to be a large square tile with a triangle etched inside of it. In his hands he was holding a chain of interwoven red and blue links. He seemed to be chanting, and the next thing I knew the clouds in the sky disappeared, and was suddenly replaced with this multicolored light that seemed to cover the entire sky. Maybe the whole region…
I have got to stop him, now! But how would I be able to do that? I didn't have time to think on it, as Mars and Jupiter spotted me and came walking in my direction.
"So, Pluto and Allison. About time you showed up." Mars said indignantly. "I assume your grunts are distracted or were laid to waste, so you could come up here and defeat Cyrus on your own."
They knew?! Jupiter was right; I really am very bad at hiding things."Well, it doesn't matter if you know, Mars; I'm still going to stop him from summoning those legendaries. "
"You can stop him, Pluto. Just let us annihilate you first," mocked Jupiter, reaching for a Pokeball on her belt.
"Please, put your Pokeballs away!" cried Allison.
"And why should we do that, little missy?" hissed Mars.
Allison stepped right up to the two Commanders and spun around with a smirk on her face.
"…Because I'm the one who's going to annihilate him!"
"Say what! Allison, what the hell…?"
"You mean, you never saw this coming?" cried Allison. "I guess love really is blind. No, wait… I think it would be better to say that love is something that can blind. In your passion for me, you never thought once about why I fell for you so hard and so fast. Now you're the one who's going to fall hard and fast… face-down on the floor!"
She betrayed me… This little... She betrayed me! What the hell for!? I could feel so many emotions flow through me: disbelief, followed by grief, which gave way to sadness, and that turned to anger. I looked up, and saw Allison staring at me with a cold luster in her eyes. Seeing Jupiter and Mars grinning at how my plan backfired only fed the fuel for my anger.
"Allison," I started, my voice quivering. "You probably don't care what I think right now. I'm becoming a traitor to Team Galactic, and you became a traitor to my heart. Do you really care for Team Galactic that much that you would get so cozy with me out of deception?" She opened her mouth…
"Wait a minute; don't even answer that damn question!" I interrupted, with a tear coming to my eye. "This may be karma coming back to get me… I'll admit it came sooner than I expected… but not even you will keep me from my freedom, you hear me!? I'll plow through you, those demons behind you, and the Boss himself before I let you take me down."
"What are you going to do, kill me? You don't even have the guts. You said so yourself!"
"A person doesn't have to kill someone in order to destroy them. You destroyed me by breaking my heart, but I'm not dead yet! Crimes of the heart must not be forgiven, Allison!" I shouted, while drawing my Pokeball, the one that contained Skarmory in it, pressing the button for enlargement. "Prepare yourself for oblivion!"
I seriously thought I could trust you, Allison.
That's the first—and last—time I willingly give my heart up for love.
Oh! Heartbreak! Pluto wasn't expecting that! He's still showing determination to stop Cyrus, but can he get past his biggest obstacle... Allison, the girl who just broke his heart? And if he does, then what?
Stay tuned for the next chapter of Escape from Team Galactic! It's coming soon!