Yes I know, it's been a while. I've mostly been working on my writing assignments for school, so shhh. Enjoy it cause it gets shippy.
Age: 14
I laid there on the grassy hill, basking in the sun's warm glow. Salamence was on my left and Cyrus on my right. Cyrus rolled over, pulling me close to him, kissing me softly. "I love you, Jaylynn," he whispered.
I stopped, staring him in the eyes. "That's not my name. I'm sorry, I lied to you! I'm nothing you think I am!" I started to cry a little.
"Does this relate to your past? You keep running from it. It's tragically beautiful," He smiled warmly, kissing me again. "Now, just what is that mysteriously beautiful name of yours?"
"My name… it's…."
I woke up, sitting instantly upright. The only light in the room was from Mars' blanket on the floor across from the bunk bed I was in. I rolled my eyes and laid back down, seeing she was playing that stupid Flappy Karp game on her Poketech. "Did I just… kiss Cyrus in a dream?" I whispered as quietly as I could to myself, trying to process what happened. I stared at Jupiter's bunk above me, a million thoughts buzzing through my head, but none of them sticking long enough for me to process them. I slowly fell back into a restless sleep.
The next morning, I was awoken by the sounds of two girls screaming at each other, then Jupiter running into the room and slamming the door. She fell to the floor crying, and Mars and I jumped up, running over to hug her.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Fantina found out about us ditching school and joining Team Galactic. She said our two options are to get out of here and stay with Galactic, or stay but we have to go to school," Jupiter explained.
"So can't we just say we're going and just run off like usual?" Mars asked.
"Fantina said she would personally walk all three of us each and every day," Jupiter said, making Mars groan in agitation.
"Then it looks like we're leaving. Or at least I am. I have to see Cyrus again. I can't leave Cyrus! I.. I love him," I said, putting my left hand over my right and holding them to my chest.
"Don't you understand, J?! We'll never survive on the streets! We're kids. Kids can't do anything. We have no power over anything. And stop daydreaming about Cyrus! He will never love you. He has no emotions so stop hoping! I'm so sick of you always talking about 'Oh, maybe Cyrus will' or 'oh but Cyrus said' like no, J! I don't care what Cyrus is doing or saying. Cyrus is an emotionally devoid being. He's not even human. Stop acting like he's such a hero! He's dead on the inside. Let him rot. Stop blindly following him." Jupiter snapped, breaking down and crying again.
I just stared at her numbly. "You're wrong. You're so wrong about Cyrus. Cyrus can love still. I know it. He's human. He might show it differently, or try to hide it, but I'm sure if you work enough he'll show you his human side."
"He's dead inside! He is literally a shell of the person he was. You didn't know him when he was happy in Sunnyshore. He was so different back then. He would always smile, and wait for me to run down the pathways before we'd head off to school together. Mars wasn't even alive yet, and J, you were probably, what, 5 maybe?" Jupiter said.
"Ew, I destroyed everything in my mind that is before I turned 8," I said, waving my hands a little.
"Anyway, I was in first grade, but his kindergarten teacher had passed for some reason they never explained to us, so our teacher offered to take on both grades since they couldn't find a replacement. We would always go to the beach to collect seashells together, or pet the sea Pokemon, or visit the market just to watch the people in their daily lives. It was fun. Then shit went down and he changed into what he is now." Jupiter explained.
"It sounds like you miss those days," I said, now sitting next to Jupiter.
"It was the best. But everything changed and now I'm almost eighteen, and Fantina got an offer to become the Hearthome Gym Leader, and I don't wanna do this anymore!" Jupiter shouted, burying her face into her arms she crossed around her legs.
"Just come with Mars and I. You don't need this family. Team Galactic is our family now. We'll live with Cyrus in our own apartment in a different city. There's a vacant factory in Veilstone we can hide out in. We can rebuild there and then we'll have a base and not just some stupid alley. We can become as great as Team Rocket with Madame Boss and Miyamoto!" I said, hugging Jupiter.
"Actually Madame Boss and Miyamoto are no longer part of Team Rocket. Madame's son Giovanni now leads them. Anyway, as you were saying, J," Mars interrupted.
"Anyway, what actually happened in between that time and when his parents died when he turned 11?" I asked carefully.
"Fine. I'll tell you." Jupiter sighed. "His parents weren't always the best. Most people in Sunnyshore avoided them for reasons, and they were always hard on Cyrus. If he wasn't always top of the class, if he wasn't always perfect, his dad would get the family's Houndoom to attack him. It made him get good grades, and eventually he stopped talking to me. He stopped talking to everyone. Until they died, he was obviously in pain. He's gotten really good at holding down his emotions as a result. He still hasn't told anyone how they died. They just died. He probably had a hand to deal in their murder, but let Team Rocket fall for the blame."
"So basically he planned it and let Team Rocket be the bad guy. That's so epic though!" I said, laughing a little.
"He's psychotic. He's insane. He's-" I cut Jupiter off.
"Perfect. Perfectly imperfect. Beautiful. He might not care about anything or say he doesn't have emotions, but he's perfect to me. Stop being so negative, Jupiter," I said, rolling my eyes towards her.
Jupiter sighed. "Fine. We'll head to Veilstone tomorrow to get that abandoned building after we meet with Cyrus."
"But what are we gonna do about tonight?" Mars asked.
"One more TV night with pizza, gossip, and chick flicks?" I asked.
"For the hell of it." Jupiter gave a soft smile.
"So let's agree to Fantina's terms, then sneak out tomorrow before sunrise and get on with life. Without these sleazy do-gooders," I gave a sly smile.
"Fine. It's not a bad plan, I do have to say," Jupiter gave me a slight smile. I just nodded, the smile staying on my face.
About five a.m., Jupiter's alarm went off, Jupiter quickly reaching under her pillow to silence it. She got out of bed, Mars standing up from her sleeping place. I groggily stood up, wiping the sleep from my eyes. "I just wish 5 a.m. came around like, you know, noontime." I yawned.
"Shhh and put on your Galactic outfit. It's the only outfit we'll need for now. We can leave the rest here. If we need to, we can buy more later." Jupiter tossed my outfit towards me, and I slipped it on, trying not to trip over it in the dark.
"You two ready?" Mars whispered.
"Yeah, let's go." Jupiter went over to the window, opening it slowly. She stepped out onto the fire escape. "Thanks for giving me the fire escape in my room, Fantina. Great for grounding for sure." Jupiter sarcastically rolled her eyes.
"Wow, the sky is beautiful!" I said, once I made it outside. Mars followed, closing the window behind her.
"Now, to the alley?" Jupiter asked.
"To the alley!" I said, running as quietly as I could down the stairs of the escape. We ran through the town laughing as we made our way to the alley for the last time.
"That was too much fun, okay?" Jupiter said, laughing and out of breath.
"We managed to get away, that's the best!" Mars jumped up excitedly.
Jupiter sat against a wall, pulling out a box of cigarettes, taking one and lighting it up. "Want one?" she put the box in my direction.
I just stared at it a few seconds. "Why the hell not." I shrugged, taking one. Jupiter lit it, and I took a deep inhale from it.
Jupiter turned to Mars. "C'mon, Mars. Be cool."
"Well… Since J is, why not!" she took one, sitting next to me and Jupiter.
"Guess we don't have to use our stupid normal names anymore," I said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah. My days of being Miranda are looong behind me now. Thank Arceus. I hated that name!" Jupiter said, taking another drag of her cigarette.
"This is so relaxing, you know. Right after a getaway, especially. Sun's not even up yet and we're outside already. The air is still cold from the night. I could get used to this, in a weird way," I said, taking another deep inhale from the cigarette.
"Cyrus will be here any minute now. Just hope he hurries up so we can get out of here before Fantina catches on," Jupiter said in a calm but hurried manor.
"Just relax, Jupiter. It'll be fine!" Mars said excitedly, taking one last inhale from her cigarette before throwing the butt on the ground and stomping it to ashes with her heel.
Cyrus then walked around the corner, looking at us in mild surprize. "You three are here early. Why?"
"We have to go, Cyrus. Now," Jupiter sprang to her feet, finishing her cigarette and stomping it out as well.
I followed Jupiter's actions. "I found this abandoned warehouse in Veilstone we could make a base out of. Just give me today to draw out some plans once we get there, and I can design the whole thing myself. Then we'll just need a crew to work the magic and boom, new base better than the best."
"I like it. Especially since people around here are starting to catch on to our noisey alley and our team itself is growing. You guys go, start making plans, and me and Saturn will tell the grunts. We'll reconvene there in an hour." Cyrus gave a nod of approval, before turning to walk out of the alley to go find Saturn.
I turned around, blushing wildly as he walked away. "He's just so cute when he's commanding."
Jupiter slapped me. "Stop with the girly fangirling. We need to go now. And for the love of Arceus, never do that again, J. It's creepy."
"Y-yes, Jupiter…" I looked down, turning away from her a little.
Mars led the way to Veilstone, singing her usual peppy songs as Jupiter and I just trailed along, both looking like we wanted to murder her just to end her stupid singsong. Just when the sun had risen over the horizon, mixing with the clouds that were moving across the sky, Jupiter grabbed Mars by the sleeve and shoved her to the ground. "Please, for the love of fucking Arceus. Shut. The fuck. Up."
Mars looked up at her, tears in her eyes. "B-but I thought you liked my songs!"
I looked at Jupiter. "What was that for? You can usually tolerate it for her sake, at least." I put a hand on my hip.
Jupiter just pulled out another cigarette and lit it. "Whatever just keep walking."
"Do I get one too?" I held out my hand. Jupiter reluctantly handed me a cigarette and I smirked towards her. I lit it, deeply inhaling, the smoke filling and circulating in my lungs as I walked.
Mars let out a small squeal. "I found Veilstone! Wow it's a long time when we're not on a shopper's sprint!"
"It's only two miles, get over it," Jupiter rolled her eyes, walking past Mars and towards the abandoned warehouse.
We made it inside, and I did a quick survey of the interior. "Hmmm… Yeah, okay. I got this." I drew out sketches inside of a notebook. "Aaaand, done. Give this notebook to the grunts in charge of construction and we're good to go. Welcome home, bitches."
Mars gave me a high five. "Yeah! Welcome home, bitches!"
Jupiter just rolled her eyes, walking over and sitting on a large piece of charred metal, setting the notebook beside her. "When will Saturn and the Boss get here?" she asked rhetorically.
"Hm. They shoulda been here by now, I'd think. Many of the grunts are already here. Even the grunts carrying our previous merchandise. Wonder if they got caught up in something." Mars shrugged.
Saturn burst through the door, Cyrus around his shoulders. Both were badly beaten and bruised, Cyrus' breathing rapid, while Saturn was dragging one leg behind him, obviously injured. I instantly jumped up, rushing over towards Cyrus, helping him over to the charred metal Jupiter was sitting on. Jupiter ran over towards Saturn, picking him up and carrying him away from Mars, Cyrus, and I. "Where's she goin with him?" Mars asked.
"Just shut up and leave them alone, Mars. Cyrus, what happened?" I asked him, quickly sending out Skorupi and Shelgon to help me fix up Cyrus.
"There was this Pokemon, it was worth a lot so I thought, hey maybe me and Saturn could get it as well. That was obviously not my best move as leader." He just laid his head back in agony, obviously in a lot of pain.
"Here, Mars, you watch him, make sure he doesn't get a fever. I'm gonna go outside and try to find some berries for medicine with Shelgon and Skorupi. If he gets a fever, send Purugly to get me. I shouldn't be long," I put on a jacket, getting ready to go out.
"B-but it's all cold and it started raining!" Mars cried out, showing worry for me.
"I'll be fine. Cyrus needs help. I'm going to help him, even if I get a little chill doing so. Cyrus is more important than a stupid grunt like me," I ruffled her hair a bit, before turning to the door.
Cyrus sat up just as I was about to leave. "W-wait… J…." He struggled to speak. I just turned around and faced him. He gave me a nod. "Thank.. you."
"No prob, Boss," I saluted him, turning and running out of the warehouse. I ran into the nearby forest, Shelgon and Skorupi tailing me. "Skorupi, can you head into the trees to knock some berries down for me?"
"Skor, skorupi!" it said, climbing up a tree. It clawed at the tree with its tail, trying to cut off a branch. The tree was slick with rain, and Skorupi lost its footing, slipping and falling from the tree.
"Skorupi!" I ran towards Skorupi, but it started to glow. I stared in awe. It landed on its feet, looking at me proudly.
"Drapion! Dra dra drapion!" it said.
"Skorupi! You evolved into Drapion!" I ran over, hugging Drapion. "Now, care to help us collect the berries for Cyrus?"
"Dra! Drapion dra!" it said, climbing the tree again, then cutting the berries out of the tall branches. I placed the berries on Shelgon's back, and we headed back once we had more than enough.
"Thanks for all the help today, Drapion and Shelgon! You two deserve a treat. I'll get it after I treat Cyrus' wounds," I said, smiling at them happily. We made it back into the warehouse. "I'm back!" I shouted.
Mars stood up. "J! Come quickly, it's Cyrus! He's not responding to me!" she dragged me over towards him.
"Oh, hey J," he said towards me.
Mars stopped instantly, falling flat on her face. She bounced back up. "But you-but I-but you were-"
Cyrus cut her off. "You were annoying me so I pretended to sleep. You took it as I fucking died. Not my problem."
I just rolled my eyes, mashing some berries into a paste. "These should help your wounds heal, as well as fighting any infection. You'll be better before you know it." I spread the paste onto his wounds, some of which were already yellowing with infection.
"Dear Arceus that hurts. I'll be fine now, though, thanks to you, J." he nodded in approval towards me, a faint smile shadowing his face for a second.
I sat on the charred metal next to him. "I drew out our plans for this place as well. It's pretty great, it's one of my best works so far. I hope you like it." I handed him the notebook.
He opened it, flipping through the pages. "This is beyond amazing! It's a way to confuse and trap visitors, as well as incorporate new technology, and make it easy for us to get around. Great ideas. The construction teams will begin revamping this place tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be revamped by then as well." he set the notebook on the floor next to the metal.
"You'll be fine. You're the leader of us. You're the strongest person I know, Cyrus," I said, smiling softly. I pulled a few strands of hair behind my ear. The rain grew stronger, some of the droplets starting to leak into the building.
"You're the strongest woman I know," he said, sitting up with a small sigh full of pain.
"Cyrus, lay down and save your strength. Mars, go see if you can find us some blankets somewhere. Cyrus and Saturn need to stay warm tonight," I said, Mars nodding with her playful smile before running off.
Cyrus stared at me. "Jaylynn…"
"That's not my name!" I blurted out.
"Then what is your name?" his gaze met mine. It didn't seem like he was mad at me for lying, he just looked genuinely curious as to what my name really was.
"It's… It's Julian…" I said, turning away in fear.
"Well then, welcome to Team Galactic, Commander Julian." Cyrus leaned in, kissing me softly.
