I've been working on finishing this for two days. It was like pulling teeth . not because I didn't want to or anything, I just went to a banquet Friday and they didn't tell me if there was cheese on the pasta so I've been having a really bad allergic reaction. I also found out I'm allergic to bread. Thanks for trying to murder me, body! I may or may not have been getting distracted by Twitch Plays Pokemon as well ^-^; Consult the almighty Town Map! This Fanfic needs more Town Map. I'll work on that right away~
"Julian, wake up. C'mon, you gotta get outta bed at some point. You've been laying there ever since we brought you home." Gaige nudged me with his elbow.
"Go away. I don't want to talk to anyone." I pulled the blanket over my head again.
"Julian, come on!" he pulled the blanket away from me. I just laid there, crying. "Oh, come on, Julian!"
"Gaige, leave her alone." Kael walked into the room. "She just lost her daughter, it's gonna take a few months at least for her to feel better."
"She just seems so distant from everything. I just want to make her happy again." Gaige stood up solemnly.
"I know, it's hard to see her like this. It breaks my heart, too, but she'll get better eventually.I hope. She's had a rough life. I think it's time for her to just relax a little. She needs a good few months to cry about everything. It's a lot for a teenager." Kael placed a hand on Gaige's shoulder.
Gaige stood up. "Feel free to come out whenever you want, Julian. We'll always be there for you, I promise!" he left, closing the door behind him.
I pulled the blanket over my face again. Salamence and Drapion hadn't been out of their Pokeballs since I lost Aya. I tossed their Pokeballs, releasing them in my room. I just layed on Salamence, crying softly. Salamence made a sad noise and Drapion embraced me with its claws. An Ariados crawled out from under my bed, laying on my stomach. I screamed, the Ariados flying across the room as I fell off of Salamence. I walked up to the Ariados. "You just wanted to cheer me up, didn't you?" I asked it, petting its head.
"Ari! Ariados dos!" it nuzzled my arm.
I picked up an empty Pokeball from a basket, tapping it on the Ariados' head. It wiggled three times before freezing, noting that I caught it. I smiled lightly, letting the Ariados out of its ball. I hugged the Ariados. "Welcome to the party, Ariados!"
"Aria ariados!" it said, smiling.
I opened my door, peeking out of my room. I looked around before walking down the stairs, Salamence and Drapion following me while Ariados sat on my head. Gaige stood up instantly. "Julian! You came out of your room! And you have an Ariados! Did it come in through the window, cause that window is always letting Pokemon in. Not to mention cold air that runs our electricity bill up a wall." he said sourly.
"I don't know how it got in, to be honest. It just kinda appeared once it saw me crying while laying on Salamence. It just wanted to comfort me, I guess." I petted the Ariados.
"Are you feeling better, Julian?" Kael asked me from his spot on the couch.
"A bit, I guess. Ariados willing to be friends kinda helped too, I guess." I picked up the Ariados, when a guy walked in through the door.
"Hey Gaige, Kael." he stopped when he saw me. "Who's the chick with the Ariados?"
"Hey, Aiden. Meet our sister, Julian," Kael said, still staring at his TV show.
Aiden walked up to me. "So, are you the one I heard about? The one that lost her kid?"
I nodded, hugging Ariados. I tried to fight the tears stinging my eyes. "Yeah. That would be me."
"You're only 17, too. Must be hard." he hugged me gently. I just stood there, blushing awkwardly.
Gaige looked up from the TV. "Hey, no hugging my sister!"
I laughed a little. "It's okay, Aiden was just trying to cheer me up. Not his fault. It's all Cyrus' fault."
"That, I'm pretty sure everyone in the world can agree on." Aiden gave a light chuckle.
"You guys wanna go out to dinner? I'll pay. A nice meal won't hurt." Kael turned off the TV.
"Sure, I'm game!" Gaige shouted.
"Julian, you coming along, too?" Aiden asked.
"I don't know… I don't really want to go outside yet. Though, food does sound pretty good." I thought about it for a few seconds. "Okay, fine, I'll go. Just let me shower and change first."
"Yay! Julian is finally getting better!" Gaige cheered as I ran upstairs.
I quickly showered then put on my red leggings and red long sleeve shirt, pulling my purple coat over it. I put on some red shoes then quickly fluffed my hair to its usual fluffiness, then ran downstairs. "Ready!" I grabbed a scarf, covering my face.
We walked outside, the snow blowing harshly in the wind. "Couldn't have picked a better day, could ya, Kael?" Gaige shouted over the howling wind.
"It's just beyond the Pokemon Center stop crying!" Kael snapped.
I felt something grip onto my coat and turned around quickly. A man was grabbing hold of it with his left hand, a knife in right. I screamed, kicking him in the face with the heel of my shoe. He tried to pull me down, but ended up tearing off the left sleeve. "My favorite jacket! You bastard."
"Well, now that wasn't very nice. Why don't you quit being a little brat and come with me!" he lunged forward, his knife pointed towards my chest.
Kael stared in fear. "Julian, watch out!"
I grabbed hold of the man's wrist, twisting it until the knife fell from his grip. I caught the knife as it fell, bringing it up and into the man's chest. Blood dripped onto the snow as I pulled the knife out of him and he collapsed to the ground. I just stared at the knife. My first homicide. I actually killed someone.
Gaige ran over to me as I sank to my knees in the snow. "Julian… We can go back home now, if you wish."
I looked up at him, a dark smile across my face. "Why would we go home? It's so much fun out here!" I started laughing.
Kael put a hand on my back. "Julian, are you okay?"
"Call me J. Now, let's get out of here before Jenny finds out we're murderers." I twirled the knife in my hand as I walked out of Snowpoint, my two brothers and Aiden following me.
After a while, the wind stopped blowing and the snow stopped falling. It was quiet. A beautiful, serene kind of quiet. I smiled, taking in a deep breath. "Isn't this all just so much fun?" I broke the silence, tossing the bloody knife into the air. I caught it, the blade piercing my skin. "Oops." I pulled the knife out, skittishly laughing as it ripped through the nerves that laced underneath my skin. Blood splashed onto the snow, dripping off of my hand. I flicked more blood from my hand then licked the new wound. The pain numbed my hand and I laughed, Kael walking up beside me.
"Julian-I, I mean J…. Are you sure you're okay?" he looked at me apprehensively.
"I'm just marvelous!" I laughed in hysteria, looking around through the snow-covered trees at the wild Pokemon living their daily lives. "They're so beautiful. I wish to preserve their beauty! Their strength and power could work wonders for me!"
"J sit down, please! You don't seem to be feeling well. You aren't talking how you usually talk," Kael said, scratching his head.
I twirled the knife in my hand again, before pointing it at Kael. "Join me or die. Those are your only two options!" I could feel the malice I long held inside me bursting open as I pointed the knife at him. I wanted to kill. The emotions took over my body. Malice. Hurt. Pain. The years of crying and abuse-they took hold over my body and I threw the knife, narrowly missing Kael's head and sticking it into the tree.
Kael pulled the knife out of the tree, tossing it back to me. "You got your first three recruits. Wasn't that easy?"
"We'll always be there for you, no matter what J! You're our sister. No one could ever replace you!" Gaige ran up, hugging me.
I tried to break free from Gaige's strong grip. "Please don't hug me."
"Sorry," He said quietly.
"I know we just met and all, but I'll join you, too. You'll need strong men, and just two probably aren't enough. Besides, these two goofballs and my best friends! I couldn't let them have all the fun." Aiden wrapped his arms around Kael and Gaige.
I nodded, walking towards the mountain. "We need to get to Sandgem. I have an idea from something the Professor said to me as a kid. How to capture and preserve their beauty, forever," I said, narrowing my eyes towards the direction of Sandgem.
"We can make it there by tomorrow morning if we don't stop moving. Stopping will also mean freezing to death slowly, so use that as inspiration to keep moving as well," Kael said with a slight nod.
"Wait, you guys have a snowmobile, right?" I asked.
"Yeah, why?" Kael looked confused.
"Do you have any other vehicles?" I asked, placing one hand on my chin.
"Uh, our company has an airship, but we're not permitted to use it. It's for deliveries only." Gaige interveined.
"Well, you guys get to use the airship now. It's in the Snowpoint field, behind the tower, correct?" I said, a sly smile creeping onto my face.
"Wait, J, this will mean we'll lose our jobs!" Kael came to the realization.
"You won't need that pathetic job anymore. You can work for me. Trust me, you three will be my highest officers!" I pointed at the three of them.
"We can recruit some guys from our job to come as well. Some of them could even pilot it, since we honestly have no clue," Kael said nervously.
"Do that. That's good. The more men the better. We're gonna become rich and famous!" I flipped my short silver hair then turned and walked back towards Snowpoint.
A few hours later, Kael ran back over towards where I was sitting. "We're all ready to go, J! Sandgem, right?"
"Exactly. Let's go!" I boarded the ship, sitting down in a chair above the control panel, where men wearing the same uniforms as Kael, Gaige, and Aiden were sitting. The ship took off and I just sat back, crossing one leg over the other. "This is where our new lives begin!"
"J! We're coming up on Sandgem Town shortly. Be prepared. We'll land on the nearby Sandgem beach," Kael said over the radio.
"Copy," I said, watching the skies pass by the window. The sun was setting beautifully over the horizon by the time we landed.
"Opening the hatch!" One of the guys up front said and I walked out, sending out my Salamence.
"Salamence, let's go!" Salamence flew over to the Pokemon Lab, where it landed outside the front door. I barged open the door, walking through the lab. "There it is!" I grabbed the laser and attached it to my left arm as a scientist tried to grab hold of me. I turned and shot the beam, freezing him solid in the gold substance. "Thanks, Rowan. Wherever you left to!" I put on the goggles that were sitting nearby and connected them to the headset I was already wearing.
"Did you get everything?" Kael's voice echoed over the radio.
"I got the laser and the instructions for the gold substance and how to make the cages. I think I'm good here," I said, walking out of the lab. I hopped back on Salamence and we flew back onto the ship. I returned Salamence, going back to my chair.
"You got the instructions, Sir?" One of the lackeys asked.
I handed him a sheet. "Be quick about it! We have to get some offers in."
"Hey, J! Wanna fly to the Hoenn region for a task? I know one that'll earn us some cash real fast. Possibly even get our name out there so others can find us, too," Kael turned around, winking towards me.
"Hoenn is the closest region to here…. I suppose, but we have to be back in Sinnoh in less than a week. I wish to stay in Sinnoh, for the most part," I said, staring out the front window again.
"I'll be sure of that, Sir! Now, let's get flying to Hoenn!" Kael shouted at the men working the controls.
"Estimated time of arrival?" I asked.
"Tomorrow morning if we travel at this speed all night long!" Kael put his feet up on the control panel.
"I'm going to bed then. Goodnight," I walk out of the room and down a hall, opening a door to a room with a simple bed in it. "Welcome home, J…" I whispered to myself before laying down, quickly falling asleep.
I woke up to the sounds of the ship powering down. I walked out of my room, quickly finding Kael. "What's happening?"
"Welcome to Hoenn, Sir!" He said with a smile.
We got off of the ship, looking around in the bright sunlight. "Smell a lot like ocean here."
"We are looking for a Pokemon native to Hoenn. Blaziken!" Kael said, holding a single sheet of paper.
"Go! Salamence! Let's find that Blaziken!" Kael and I climbed onto the Salamence, flying off towards inland Hoenn.
"I found one! Drop down just outside of Mauville!" Kael said, excitement coating his voice.
We dropped down next to the trainer and their Blaziken. "Wah! Who are you two?" the girl cried out.
"We'll be taking that! Don't worry, I take good care of my merchandise!" I blasted Blaziken with the gold substance and Kael packaged it.
"You can't do this! Come back, I'll fight for my poor Blaziken!" she shouted up towards me.
A man with silver hair just like mine ran over, hearing the commotion. "What's going on?" he asked her.
"That lady stole my Blaziken!" she pointed towards me.
The man looked up. He was about the same age as I was. I recognized him instantly. "I remember you…. You were in a dream I had…."
"So you do remember me, my sister! Glad to see you back in Hoenn!" he waved.
"Steven…. My twin brother! You're alive?"