Author's Note: The starters have all been taken! Thank you aggies2015 for choosing Charmander, and thank you everyone for your submissions! But SYOC isn't closed yet! There are still plenty of spots available for the Shadow Syndicate and other minor characters! Let's make this an adventure we can all enjoy together!
Shout-Outs: Thank you FinalPower, Flame Sergeant Fisher and Shadow Serenity 57 for your awesome reviews! I look forward to including your OCs into the story!
Chapter Two: A New Day Dawns
It was already late into the night by the time Officer Jenny returned home to her apartment. Bolting the door behind her and tossing her keys onto the kitchen counter, she stretched her arms above her head and sighed. Three robberies, a drug bust on the south side, a stabbing, and several domestic disputes across the city had kept her busy for most of the day.
What is this city coming to?
She noticed the empty cardboard pizza box on the dining table and a small smile touched her lips. At least the boys had eaten.
"Manec!"
She glanced down at the blue and yellow pokémon next to her. "You hungry?"
"Tric! Tric!"
Shaking her head, Jenny walked over to the refrigerator and opened the door. The yellow light cast a soft glow over the kitchen as she fished around, her hands pushing plastic containers left and right until finally she pulled out a small brown bag with a blue thunderbolt emblazoned on the front. The manectric circled her excitedly as she reached overhead and withdrew a ceramic bowl from the cupboard.
"Here. Pokéfood, à la carte." She poured the dry bits into the bowl and set it on the floor, watching as the pokémon attacked the food like a starving dog. "You better clean that up," she warned as she prepared a simple sandwich for herself. When her meal was ready, though, she devoured it just as hungrily.
Once they were satiated, Jenny kicked off her shoes and made her way to her bedroom. It had been an exhausting day, and a hot bath sounded like the perfect medicine for her aching muscles. "We've the next two days off, Manny," Jenny stated as they pattered to the room. "I plan on starting our mini vacation off right—by sleeping in." The manectric glanced up at her, his bolt-shaped tail wagging as if in agreement.
She stopped midway down the hall, just long enough to peek into Zayn's room.
It was a bit small for a bedroom, but it was the best she could do on a moment's notice to turn the unused office space into something Zayn could call his own. The twin-sized bed frame was a little worse for wear, but it was made of solid pine and the man at the used furniture store across town had given her a generous discount in order to get rid of it. The oak dresser, regrettably, was purchased at full price.
It had all been so new to her, so...unexpected.
Tears stung at Jenny's eyes as she recalled that day at the train station, when those Reapers had taken the life of Rhodette Harker and left her twelve-year-old son to bury the body. She had seen the Syndicate's handiwork many times, though mostly she just dealt with the lowly Shades peddling Black Dust on the streets or harassing tourists for some quick cash. Rarely did a Reaper ever cause a commotion in her city; they were public assassins who generally targeted political officials and other gangs. She had never heard of them killing a civilian in cold blood before. Or worse—leaving a survivor.
Two tiny ears rose up from the foot of the bed, barely visible in the dark. Jenny smiled as Manny crept over to say a quick hello to Ghost.
She remembered rushing the houndour to the Pokémon Center with little Zayn right beside her. It had been six nerve-wracking hours, but save for a winding scar across his back the little runt had made a full recovery. He's no runt now, Jenny thought as Manny returned to her side.
By houndour standards, Ghost was the biggest that she had ever seen. He had grown almost overnight, it seemed, and was about as tall as Manny's shoulder. "Runts will do that," Nurse Joy had told her when she brought him out of the recovery unit. Zayn's eyes had lit up as the pup licked his nose, and for a moment Jenny was sure that he had forgotten all about the train station and the Shadow Syndicate. "Either they die from malnutrition while fighting for their mother's milk, or they develop faster and stronger than their littermates. Your boy's lucky to have one."
With the way he watched over Zayn and how fiercely he fought for him, Jenny was more than convinced. Ghost was definitely a fighter.
She tiptoed over to the bed, scratching Ghost behind the ear as she studied the boy. His curly brown hair hung in his eyes as his brow furrowed at something unpleasant in his dream.
The first year had been the hardest.
At first, Jenny remembered with a sigh, every dream he had was a nightmare, and every night she would rush in and quiet his screams. As time carried on the wounds gradually healed and Zayn opened up to her a bit more, but her worries never took rest.
She had never given it any thought before, having children. When people would ask she would only laugh and tell them that Manny was childish enough for her, or that she dealt with enough unruly kids on the streets to even think about having one of her own.
Funny how things turn out, she thought as she brushed aside a lock of hair from Zayn's eyes. They may have their ups and downs, and they might disagree on things most of the time, but as she watched him sleep, the lines in his forehead smoothing over and a small smile flickering on his lips, Jenny was certain that this was how things were meant to be. How she was meant to be.
Leaning down, she gave him a light kiss on the cheek and pulled his covers up a little higher. "Goodnight, little soldier," she whispered as she turned to leave.
A glint of silver on the nightstand caught her eye.
Jenny glanced down at the picture frame, studying the image behind the glass cover as she had done so many times before. It was an old photo they had found in Rhodette's purse, though the couple in the picture were far too young to have had any children at the time—barely out of middle school, if Jenny ventured to guess. Still, she recognized the tall girl standing under the tree from her mug shot in the Lumiose morgue.
Zayn looked so much like her, dimples and all, though he had the same bright blue eyes and unruly mop of hair as the boy laughing next to Rhodette. Standing beside their respective owners were a red-and-tan corphish and a tiny purple-and-beige purrloin with sharp green eyes, and behind them all in the distance was a multistory building that Jenny could only assume to be a trainer school—though not one from this region, if memory served her well.
His parents had been trainers, though she had no memory of seeing the purple cat at the station when her squad arrived. Zayn had told her about his father's abusive habits a few months after she had legally adopted him, but he made no mention of any pokémon other than his father's crawdaunt.
"So sad, to lose a pokémon," Jenny muttered, brushing a finger down the frame's smooth edge, "and then to suffer your husband, only to end up losing your son." Sometimes, when things would get a little hard for her to handle, she would come into Zayn's room alone and talk to the girl in the picture. If nothing else, Jenny would find faith in herself as a foster parent whenever she whispered to Rhodette.
These days, though, she mostly sought advice on how to let him go.
Giving him one last, long look, Jenny motioned to her manectric and they made their exit. "As much as I hate to admit it," she whispered as she led Manny to their room at the end of the hall, "I know that boy will end up leaving." She glanced down at Manny and sighed. "I can't keep him from his dreams."
All children with the glory of becoming a trainer set in their hearts must leave home eventually. She knew this. She had practiced for it, preparing herself both mentally and emotionally for the day when Zayn would follow in his parents' footsteps and seek out his own fortunes. But even with all of that preparation, Jenny knew that it would not make the blow any less painful.
Manny gazed back down the hall, a tiny whimper rising in his throat, before following Jenny to the bathroom.
{{{{-]-]-]-]-][-][-[-[-[-[-}}}}
The tantalizing scent of pancakes and bacon stirred Zayn from a deep sleep. Stifling a yawn with the back of his hand, he sat up in bed and glanced at the clock on his nightstand.
12:53.
He had slept in?
Tossing the covers off of him, he rose to his feet and stretched, another yawn tugging at his mouth. Jenny never let him sleep in before.
Gathering a few items from his dresser drawers, he scratched his head as he stumbled across the hall to change.
When he finally emerged from the bathroom, dressed in a pair of loose-fitting jeans and a light blue hooded sweatshirt with a slanted red-and-white pokéball embroidered on the left breast, he slowly made his way to the kitchen.
"The dead has arisen!" Officer Jenny exclaimed as she finished setting the table. "Does the zombie prefer orange juice or milk this morning?"
"Orange juice," Zayn said, waving off her remark as he took a seat at the table. His stomach began to gurgle as the smell of breakfast filled his nostrils. "Where's Ghost?" he asked as Jenny placed a stack of pancakes and a platter of bacon in the center.
"He and Manny already had their breakfast," she replied as she settled in across from him. "Now it's our turn!"
Zayn made no argument as he filled his plate. The bacon was burnt to a crisp and the pancakes were a little doughy, but he was too hungry to complain. Jenny was never really one for cooking, but Zayn appreciated the attempt nonetheless. "What time did you get in?" he asked between mouthfuls.
Jenny cut her pancakes into fours, lathering butter on each slice before topping them off with a few drizzles of syrup. "Late."
Zayn nodded as he continued eating. Maybe she had forgotten...
"We still need to have that talk," Jenny stated as she dipped a sliver of bacon into the puddle of syrup on her plate. "Don't think I've forgotten."
Zayn sighed. Nothing ever escaped her notice.
Jenny took a sip of milk from her glass and leaned forward, pressing her elbows against the table as her gaze bore holes in his head. "You know what you did was wrong, right?"
"Yes," he nodded, grabbing the orange juice next to him and raising the glass to his lips. He felt better when he was not forced to look at her directly; the guilt did not nag at him as much. "I promise, Jenny, it won't—"
"You've promised me before that this would stop, Zayn!" Jenny cut him off as she pinched the bridge of her nose. This was not the direction she had wanted to take this in. "I'm tired of broken promises."
Zayn remained quiet, nibbling at the last bit of bacon as he stared intently at his plate. It was true, he had promised before to stop participating in battles within the city limits. And he had tried to keep that promise, he had really tried, but he just could not stop. The desire to fight was like a poison to him—it made his skin itch and his blood burn, and the only antidote was to battle. Hell, half of his year-mates were already well on their way as pokémon trainers! He knew that Officer Jenny meant well, but Legends be damned if he didn't hate her for it sometimes.
"Zayn." Her voice was low, almost a whisper, but it still drew his attention. He glanced up, noticing for the first time a piece of paper pinned beneath her hand on the table, and his breath froze in his chest. Oh no, he thought as she slid the sheet towards him. No, not the academy!
For two years, Jenny had been expressing her wish that he join the Lumiose Police Academy. "You have that fire in you, Zayn," she had explained when he asked her why. "We need people with your drive on the force, and Ghost would be a fantastic partner!" The coursework spanned a total of four years, which would put him at an excellent age for an officer position right after graduation. Now, as the long summer months were coming to an end and fall was creeping up on them, it seemed as though her wish was finally coming true.
Anger boiled in him, flushing his cheeks a dark red as he crossed his arms. "I don't want to go."
"Zayn—"
"I don't want to be a policeman, Jenny. I want to be a trainer!"
"Just read the paper."
There was an underlying tone of exasperation in her voice that stilled his growing rage, and hesitantly he took the paper and read. As his eyes scanned the page, his heart began to pound and his excitement grew. This was not an application for the academy, it was a release form for his school!
He looked up at Jenny, speechless. "Is...is this real?"
Jenny nodded, her eyes misting as she forced a small grin. "Signed, sealed and delivered by the school board, themselves. Consider it a belated gift for your sixteenth birthday."
Zayn leaned back in his chair, stunned. So this was it. He was officially pardoned from his remaining semesters at school so that he could leave and achieve his dreams. He had seen the release form in the hands of his classmates before, and he had always dreamed of getting his guardian to sign one for him. But now, it all seemed so surreal.
Ghost came trotting over from the kitchen and sat next to his chair, head cocked to one side and tongue lolling out of his mouth as he gazed up at him. He already had his partner, and he knew that Ghost was just as determined as he was to go out there and prove himself. And yet...
"Jenny," he said as he sat up. There was still one thing that didn't make sense. "When did you—"
"Since the beginning of summer."
Summer? That had been nearly two months ago. His brow furrowed in confusion as he glanced back down at the letter. "Why did you wait?"
Jenny sighed, combing a hand through her tangled green hair as her eyes shifted to the floor. "I wasn't ready to let go. I'm still not." She turned her gaze to Zayn as a stray tear slipped down her cheek. "But you were never mine, sweetie. I can't—I won't hold you back from pursuing your dreams." She looked down at Ghost and grinned, patting Manny as he came and sat by her. "Besides, I know that Ghost can protect you. You two were made for the road."
Wiping away her tears with the heel of her thumb, Jenny sighed as she locked eyes with him. "Professor Sycamore is expecting you tomorrow morning, along with the other fall starters." A chuckle escaped her throat, as if remembering an old joke that Zayn had never heard before. "You'll finally get that trainer's license you've been wanting."
Zayn could not contain his excitement any longer. Laughing, he poked the last spongy pancake on his plate and held it up for inspection. "Is this why you made breakfast?"
His laughter was infectious, and Jenny soon found herself laughing along with him. "It wasn't very good, was it?" she asked between breaths, holding her stomach as if it would burst open. From their seats on the floor, Ghost and Manny started barking as they contributed their own opinions to the conversation.
As the laughter subsided, Jenny's lips spread into a thin smile. She knew that she could not shelter the boy forever, but it didn't make the reality of it any less daunting. With a small sigh, she stood up and walked over to Zayn. "Now you promise me," she started as she knelt next to him, "that you will hold nothing back on this, Zayn. Give it your all."
He watched her as she spoke, studying the lines in her face, and his chest tightened. He knew that taking this journey meant leaving Jenny and Lumiose City, and that tugged on his heart. They were all he had known for the past four years, and despite their differing views, Jenny had become an older sister to him. She was the only family he had left; it pained him to know that he would be leaving her behind.
"You have to be strong," she continued, stroking his cheek with a trembling hand. "And you have to be brave. The road is dangerous, even with Ghost at your side." A smile returned to her lips as she ruffled his hair. "But I know you can do it, kid. I've seen your battles, illegal though they were."
Zayn blushed, knocking her hand away playfully as he held up the release form. "Not with this!"
"Not with that." Jenny echoed as she picked up his uneaten pancake and plopped it onto his head. Zayn's mouth hung open in silent surprise, and he erupted into another bout of laughter. "Now, let's clean this place up and head out. We have a lot of shopping to do before your big day tomorrow!"
Tipping his head so that the pancake flopped back onto his plate, Zayn turned around and pulled Jenny into a tight embrace. "Thank you, Jenny. Thank you!"
Startled at first, Officer Jenny quickly recovered and wrapped her arms around him, burying her head in his shoulder. "You always have a home here, Zayn, remember that," she mumbled into his shirt. "If things get too tough, you can always come back."
Zayn stayed quiet as they continued to hold each other, each one drawing strength from the other, but a gnawing thought crept into the back of his mind. He always had a home, that much he knew. But he also knew that he would never come back. He had so much that he wanted to accomplish, so much that he needed to do. He could not give up.