The Callous Adventure of Travis Thorn
Author's Note: I think I've lost most of my followers by now. If you're still reading this, thanks for sticking with me for so long. I'm really glad you are; I think this will be some of my best work. It's already got some of my favorite characters, and there are lots of events that I like.
So I saw your review, Phione (which was wonderful! I actually read it in the middle of school- in my least favorite class, no less-, and it brightened my day.), and thought "Hey, maybe she reviewed Sardonic!" And... I'm sorry, but your crying made me smile! Not because I like your suffering! But because I was able to pull off something sad enough to make you cry.
... And this is probably why I don't have any more readers.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon
Chapter 8
Police Protection
"I'll start with Dina and N," she said, sipping her soda in that small room that I had seen the light poking out of, which had been a cafe of sorts. "They're simple; nothing's changed. We haven't heard from them. They've disappeared."
"Seriously?" John asked, eyes wide. "Nothing?"
"Nothing. Not a day goes by where I don't wonder what they're doing." Jazelle choked a bit on her soda. "Well... sometimes I don't wanna know."
"Well, that's surprising since they don't even-" I elbowed him to shut him up. Arceus, why did he insist on waiting for Rosa? He could've been to their make-out session in the rain if he just read on.
"What else?" I asked, leaning in eagerly. I had unleashed surprising amount of emotion when Jazelle stepped out of the shadows; I pointed and stuttered, eyes wide and normal line on my face breaking into a grin. John almost took a picture. Frankly, though, I was surprised that I recognized her at all. Her glasses were gone, as well as the rest of her outfit. She was wearing Briar's trechcoat- Briar's trenchcoat- open, with a matching vest and dark brown pants that poofed out as they fed into darker brown boots. Her black/brown/blonde hair was now pulled back into a ponytail, where it curled in five or six different sections on the end. The only thing I recognized were her eyes, as blue as Briar had described. Well, that, and her knocking out three Team Plasma grunts (who were picked up by other officers later) with a few punches.
"Patience. Lessee... Earl's doing good. Last time I checked- which wasn't long ago, mind you-, he was almost done with the Hoenn Gym Circuit and preparing for both the Pokemon League and the Battle Frontier." She winked at no one particular. "He and Rae were dating, too."
"Who's Rae?" John asked, cocking his head.
"You and Rosa'll get there soon. Go on."
"Cilan's been at his restauarant slash gym since Briar brought him there on her way here," she went on, shaking the nearly empty can before setting it on the table. "He enjoys the work, after everything we went through. I hear he visits Gracie's grave every week, though."
"Wow," John laughed. "I didn't know he had been that good of friends with Gracie!" Jazelle's eyes nearly popped out of her head, and I mouthed Not done yet. She nodded and went on.
"Briar has been climbing the ranks almost as quickly as, well, me!" She finished the sentence with a blinding smile. I didn't realize how white her teeth were. "She's now partners with Tagumi. She mentions him once or twice at the end. Anyway, he's a prodigy too. Nineteen or so. Hunting Plasma grunts had been his job, before Briar beat them two years ago."
"Where are they now?" I asked eagerly, eyes wide. Her eyes narrowed as she frowned.
"Not here. They were sent to Iccirus on an assignment. I don't know when she'll get back." I sat back and crossed my arms. Well. Great. "My dad told me about your friend." My head snapped up. "The one that's protecting those people. It's noble, but it's stupid."
"I agree," I assured her, "but don't talk about her that way." Jazelle's brow cocked, but she didn't press it.
"When was the last time you heard from her?"
"On the ship here," I explained. "The last I heard, Team Plasma was chasing her." Jazelle did a spit-take.
"And you haven't called her back yet?!"
"Yeah," I replied, disgust sneaking into the edges of my voice. "She didn't answer."
"And when was that?"
"Awhile ago. While John was making the life-changing decision of which Castelia Cone flavor to get."
"Then let's call her again!" I whipped out my Xtransceiver, Jazelle hopping on the table to look over my shoulder. A table-cleaner yelled something, but the bartender waved it off. Apparently, Jazelle was quite the regular.
The phone rang once, then twice. We all held our breath, waiting for an answer.
We didn't get one.
"I see you show worry by acting like a stone column," Jazelle observed with a grin as she hopped back into her seat.
"He shows everything by acting like a stone column!" John corrected.
"Reminds me of someone," she murmured, sipping the last of her soda. She had developed a bit of an obsession, as you could tell from the two other cans littering the table.
"What do you suggest we do?" Cheren asked, having to shift his arm to adjust his tie. he, John, and I were all crammed into one side of the booth, since Jazelle somehow convinced us it was necessary for her to stretch her legs across the other. The aforementioned girl glanced at Cheren while waving for another drink.
"So you're the new Gym Leader!" she said excitedly. "Ya know, I was gonna go out for that position. Except, well, Looker doesn't let you work two jobs." Another can was brought to her, and she popped the tab without even looking. She jerked it to her mouth, probably chugging half of it before slamming it down. "Say, didn't you fight Team Plasma two years ago?" Though he was already pretty pale, Cheren's skin grew paler. "Yeah, I heard about you! Second most famous retaliator. Or... whatever. If that's even a word."
"You fought Team Plasma?" John prodded, smiling. "That's awesome, man!"
"Yes. Great."
"Totally!" Jazelle persisted, leaning against the table. Apparently, I was the only person that seemed to realize these memories were not something Cheren wanted to resurface. "Dude, I heard you and your friend put together teams that rivaled my dad's!"
"Your friend?" John asked, cocking his head. Cheren squeezed his glass of water.
"That was a long time ago." I couldn't read his voice. It's not like it lacked emotion; there was plenty of that. But there was so much of it that I couldn't pinpoint each individual feeling, but I coulf guess that there was hardly anything good. Jazelle and John didn't seem to get that, though, and they looked ready to press it further.
And then my Xtransceiver rang.
"Answer it!" everyone exclaimed at the same time (even my mind as I scrambled for the "answer" button.) Cheren, however, sounded the most eager, and I didn't think it was because he wanted to know how Tobee was doing.
But I did.
"Tobee?" My voice came out in what could be interpreted as a quiver. Luckily, she didn't interpret it that way.
"Oh, Travis, I'm sorry man!" The picture was even fuzzier in this concrete box of a restaurant, and Jazelle wrinkled her nose in distaste. "When we found a hiding spot, I turned my this thing off and forgot to turn it back on. Arceus, that was so stupid, I'm sorry! I hope you haven't worried too much."
"We've been fine." If my worry was an earthquake, the world would've shaken.
"Well... that's good to hear. But yeah, we're fine. In Driftveil now. There's a grunt here and there, but they're too busy strutting around like they own the place to notice us. I even got to see where Monroe works. Like, his alley... mall... place. I dunno, it made him loaded, so he certainly did something right."
"Are you gonna leave?" I asked. I prayed for a certain answer.
"Driftveil? That depends. If it starts getting overrun by grunts, we're not gonna have a choice. We'll stay here as long as can, though."
"You do that," Jazelle insisted, jumping into the small space between Cheren and me, and consequently pushing John onto the floor. She looked at him and mouthed sorry!
"Uh... who's that?"
"Jazelle Sebring!" Jazelle replied, flashing that same smile from before. "But if your picture's anywhere near as bad this one, I don't blame you for not recognizing me."
"You're obviously famous for your humble nature," Cheren snorted, the condescension escaping again.
"Jazelle... wait, like that one chick in Travis' book?" Even though the picture was awful, I could still see the confusion and shock on her face. I was beginning to be able to morph the lopsided squares that made up my love into a semblance of her face, and I hoped for it to be no different soon enough.
"The very one," I replied, feeling smug but not expressing it.
"Hi!" Jazelle chirped. I noticed the other customers were getting irritated, but again the bartender waved it away.
"You... you actually got their help?"
"Well, not Briar's, yet," I corrected.
"And I am totally cool with helping you out," Jazelle says, taking another swig of soda after reaching across the table, "but you have to do what I say." I could almost see Tobee's eyes furrow.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm not questioning your leadership or anything," Jazelle insisted, almost spilling her drink. "It must be great, since you've managed to keep all your people safe so far!"
"Speaking of that, gimme a moment." Tobee turned around and yelled: "Hugh, we can't be your harem 'cause Monroe is here!" Her fuzzy gaze returned to us. "Sorry. I love 'em, but sometimes they can even be idiots. Like that argument. He's still a guy, so we can't be a harem!" Obviously, she was addressing Hugh again, then turned back to us. "What do you suggest then?"
"Stay there," Jazelle said, slowly. But not in a condescending. More in a "You have to understand this because its important whether you're a great leader or a harem or whatever, so listen." "As soon as I can get to you, I can give all those people police protection."
"Yeah, about that, Hugh and Amanita are refusing any sort of such protection." Now it was Jazelle's brow that furrowed.
"And why is that?"
"Just a sec... They said they don't want me to tell you."
"They stole from Team Plasma," I said, adjusting myself in the crowded seat.
"Dang it, Travis, don't you have respect for privacy?" Jazelle, meanwhile, was scratching her chin thoughtfully.
"I could probably get Looker to overlook that," she concluded.
"Really?" Both Tobee and I said this at the same time.
"Yeah," she replied, this time with more conviction. "I mean, it's Team Plasma. And if all else fails, I still about the time where he and his secretary-"
"Why don't you keep it a secret for now," I interrupted.
"You haven't happened to talk to Erica recently, have you?" Tobee's voice sounded pained.
"Not since we left Aspertia. Have you not been able to reach her?"
"My memory was wiped at some point," she huffed. "I've forgotten Ms. Hannah's number, and there is no way I'm calling my parents. You're lucky I remembered your number." Well then.
"I'll call them when we're done and tell you about everything when we talk again," I assured. I saw her relax.
"Okay. That's sounds good." She stood up straighter. "Okay, we'll just chill here then. Try not to get- Arceus, can you tell Bianca what a harem is, Amanita? Wait... wait on second thought that's a very bad idea! Huh... Well there that part of her innocence goes. Anyway, don't get in trouble, 'kay?"
"I need to say the same for you," I said, mentally quivering. Tobee, however laughed.
"Me? Trouble? Don't be ridiculous!... Hey... Hey, you mess with Monroe and I'll-" The "end" button was pushed and for a moment, a glorious moment, I got her face again. They were surrounded by buildings and there wasn't a grunt in sight.
"She's pretty," Jazelle pointed out, elbowing me.
"Yeah."
"So do you like her?"
"He LOVES her!" John exclaimed, his eyes wide. I mentally facepalmed. "Seriously, who woulda known?"
"Love, huh?" the cop asked with a cocked brow. "You gonna play the dashing knight that swoops in and saves the princess?"
"You kidding?" John laughed. "Tobee would probably be saving us!"
"And you'd be the princess," I felt the need to remark.
"Well," Jazelle exclaimed, standing up suddenly, "let's go find your friend, cheer her on, and make everything go quickly so the knight and the princess can switch roles. Cheren! Come on, man!" Our bespectacled friend had migrated to the bar at some point during our conversation, but seemed ready to leave.
"Now where do we go?" he asked.
"Well, the gym is this-" But as the door squeaked open, I could tell what Tobee felt like when she met Bianca and Monroe and Amanita and Hugh in the woods.
So many. So many grunts that Jazelle's sentence cut off with a little "eep!"
"Finally, we've got you cornered!" The words came out of a grunt that may have been important, but honestly just looked like all the rest. Jazelle's mouth set into a determined line. I noticed the bartender looking curiously at us from his normal position, but our targeted guardian kicked the door closed.
"Amazing! You can check that off the list of stuff you can do before I wipe your face on the alley floor."
"I wouldn't be so cocky," the grunt went on. Even though he had a mask on, I could tell he was smirking. "We've got you surrounded."
"Me? Not cocky? Can such things be?" She rubbed her chin, as if contemplating. "Nah. Now dance!" With speed quicker than could be described in the book, Jazelle yanked a gun from beneath Briar's coat and began shooting at his feet. The grunt jumped with a yelp, and a third of the grunts ran at that point.
"That all you got?" the not-really-leader taunted, though his voice quivered. Jazelle sighed and in a moment she was at his side, her fist on his neck. In another moment, he was against a wall. And in a few more of these oh-so-small moments, she had beaten up enough of the grunts to scare the rest away.
"Whoa," John breathed. He didn't even seem capable of saying "awesome" far too many times.
"They're getting so annoying," Jazelle ranted, cracking her knuckles. "Two years ago, they weren't that irritating." As she stretched her legs (even though the fighting was done), I noticed a piece of paper at her feet. Curious, I scooped it up. All of it was smudged with dirt, but I was able make out a couple words. The most important-looking one was "sewer".
"The sewer?!" Jazelle exclaimed, stomping in frustration. "Is that their nest?"
"Nest?" Cheren prodded.
"We've been trying to find their little hidey-hole that they always ran to, but we never could," Jazelle replied. "But I don't think we ever thought to look in the sewer. At least, not up to now. Let's go!"
"Right now?" All three of us ask this at the same time.
"Right. Freaking. Now. This is happening." And before we could say anything else, Jazelle was dashing out of the alley.
Author's Note: So I wasn't sure when I was going to end this... but I'm tired so here it is.
Thanks for reading and please review!
