Hey guys! Sorry for not updating... I hit a massive writer's block until a few days ago and decided to write this (painfully) on my phone.
Why on my phone? I was in Japan! :D It's so awesome there xD It also helped with my inspiration for writing this and expect a few oneshots and upcoming stories soon! (I wish I could post on my phone, but sorry that's why it's late)
If anyone cares, part of my struggle with this story is that it started out four years ago, and it's been difficult for me to develop an immature idea into a story I at my current stage in writing can be proud of. So basically, trying to develop an immature idea to a more mature idea in the process of several rewrites and chapters is sorta hard *sweatdrop
This chapter is dedicated to because this reviewer shamed me back into writing this for you guys, and as always, LeafxGreenx3! Also SurferGurl14 because reading her stories helped me a LOT, so I hope she's still reading this!
Chapter Nine
What's Between the Lines
In a restaurant that could only be classified as 'fine dining,' a striking orange-haired young woman in a red dress sat alone at a table set for two. Her jade eyes were conflicted and her slender fingers were clenched white around the glass of water a particularly brave waiter had placed on the table.
Not long after, a tall, handsome young man approached the carrot top, looking immensely satisfied.
"Danny, what happened?" Misty demanded, half rising to her feet.
The man opposite her only smiled. "I'm sorry Misty, I had to take a call. My boss called just now."
"Why would the school call you?" The carrot-top's hands clenched, green eyes sharp and disbelieving.
"Well..." Danny shifted in his seat. "I didn't mean the school." At her glare, he adjusted his collar and sighed. "Alright, you want the truth?"
"Every single detail." Misty's reply was immediate.
"Part of my pretense I told you earlier was real. I'm an undercover...detective, you might say. And we're close. Really close." Danny's eyes were expressive, boldly honest as he matched her stare. He showed her his badge as proof, and after some inspection, it was obvious it was real.
"To what?" Misty snapped.
"Dissolving the Assassins for good. Listen to me," Danny's eyes were pleading, "Listen to me, you're the only link to the Assassins that we have. I know your friends are Assassins and you weren't aware til recently. The top killer, Veil, has managed to manipulate Officer Jenny to doing her will by giving her a fake Poké Ball of an Eevee and swearing that she'd never killed a person in her life, wanting to abolish the Assassins as much as we did. But Officer Tom, her second in command, doesn't trust Veil and with good reason."
"What... What has he found?" Misty swallowed, her throat dry. It was one thing to be upset at friends for keeping their lives a secret from her. It was another to hear that her friends were cold blooded murderers wanted by the law.
"Veil's in collaboration with the notorious four male Assassins: Shadow, Forest, Sky, and Auburn. The Commander - head of the Assassins - has ordered those four to eliminate four students here at Darkstone Academy. However, for some reason Veil had convinced Officer Jenny to take her side and trust her plans. So far, the only thing that's happened is four people have died - the targets, and also undercover detectives. You've met them. Harley, Conway, Brendan, and Rudy." Danny stopped to catch his breath, and looked to Misty to gauge her reaction.
She looked as white as a Pokémon egg. There wasn't a trace of suspicion left in her mind.
"So... What did Dawn, Leaf, and May have to do with this?" she whispered. Danny shook his head.
"We know little about those three. I wasn't even aware that Leaf and Dawn were Assassins." Danny looked at her quizzically.
Misty's face turned red. Oops, she thought. Didn't mean to let that much slip...
Danny continued nevertheless. "I was talking about the four boys, Misty. Paul, Drew, Gary, and... Ash."
Misty's jaw dropped. Sweet, funny, dense Ash, an Assassin? Ash, who seemed so down to earth, loved his food and Pokémon, and cried about his mother's death? Ash, the one that she had fallen for?
She loved a cold-blooded murderer.
The revelation was so shocking that Misty felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach.
"Misty?" Danny jumped to his feet and came over to her. "Mist? Hey, you!" he shouted at a waitress. "Call 911!"
"N-no, I'm okay!" Misty shivered. "Let's go. Please?"
Danny looked at her and nodded.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Danny asked her again, once they were in the safety of his apartment.
"Yes. Tell me more." Misty, getting over her initial shock - she couldn't trust anyone anymore - and curious, wanted to know the whole story.
"Well, we want to get Veil. Th - I mean, she, is basically the leader. The Commander seems to be, according to inside information, a figurehead that does nothing and serves as someone to be feared but that's all. And if you tell us all you know, that could lead us to Veil." Danny's eyes were hopeful.
Misty steeled herself before speaking, her hand finding its way to the knife strapped to her thigh. "I'm in."
Danny's expression morphed into pure joy and triumph, something Misty paid no attention to, lost in thoughts.
"Great. First thing first, how did you get that knife?" He pointed to the one she was holding, and Misty cursed mentally as she realized she had uncovered it.
"May gave it to me," she said finally.
"The Sapphire gave it to you?" Danny's jaw dropped. "May I see?" He slipped on a glove and took it reverently from her before dropping it on the table beside him as a ringtone sounded. "Sorry, one second. Someone's calling me."
He picked up and turned around. "Hey, Officer Tom. Yes, I have Misty here. You're welcome. Yes. Oh, no. What? Ah. Good. Thank you." He hung up, and smiled at Misty, taking a seat beside her and holding her against him. Grateful for the comfort, she leaned into the warmth. "It's been a long night. What do you say I get you a drink and something quick to eat since we didn't eat at the restaurant? You can tell me what you know. Then I'll bring you home."
He gently kissed her forehead, and Misty felt her heartbeat speed up. At the moment, the tough tomboy was vulnerable. And Danny's law-abiding career and sincere personality was welcomed.
"Okay."
Misty struggled with the room key, cursing as the knob tangled with her dress. The hallway light was off, but she assumed May was still awake since the room light was on. Mild irritation coursed through her as she recalled May telling her she'd be gone.
Sighing in relief when she finally opened the door, she shoved it open, stumbling inside in her haste.
The contents of the room made her scream and fall back, jolted awake. Blood spilled from the bunk to her left, coating the carpet and soaking into her light blue heels. A dark, mangled shape lay on the bunk, being the source of the blood. Misty couldn't make out the shape, the body too destroyed to be identified in her terror.
A scrap of paper floated from the top of the doorway into her lap and she looked down at it in horror. Look upon your work, Assassin Misty.
Panic seized her. No, no, no... she silently begged, not knowing who her pleas were directed to. I didn't want this to happen!
Her eyes lingered on the body, and within her horror Misty's sharp eyes noticed something she hadn't before. A familiar red bandana.
Then a shadow fell over her, and she looked up. Her eyes widened as she recognized who it was - someone she hadn't expected to see ever again.
"R-"
Suddenly, her head exploded with pain and her vision faded to black.
Gary watched Leaf shift on the bed, almost willing her to wake up. He was worried. Was the injury laced with poison or something? She should've woken up already.
Suddenly, Leaf's eyes opened, albeit barely. "Ga...ry," she whispered hoarsely. "What...happened?"
"Shh," he said, pulling the blanket to cover her shoulders. "The Commander attacked." And called you by name, he added silently, knowing he'd have to bring it up with her sooner or later. Gary wisely chose later, when Leaf was feeling better.
Leaf flinched as she moved. "Ow," she whimpered.
"Hey." Gary showed her the bowl of soup Zoey had brought. "Want some?"
Leaf's face wrinkled adorably when she realized what he meant. "Yea-wait, no. Not if you're going to feed it to me!"
Gary rolled his eyes. There was the Leaf he knew. "Well you can't eat by yourself."
"Yes I can!" She struggled to lift herself into a sitting position but cringed. Gary could swear he saw more blood seeping through the bandages.
"Stop!" he almost shouted, terrified at the idea of her tearing apart what had already healed. "We need to get going soon, so you need to heal. Let me feed you; I won't try anything, I promise."
Leaf looked at him funny, but nevertheless she lay down again, looking relieved.
Once he finished feeding her, she thanked him. And smiled brilliantly.
Her smile took his breath away.
In no time at all, Leaf was asleep. He watched her as she dozed peacefully, content. He wouldn't admit it, but she was really starting to mean a lot to him.
"Here."
Gary looked up in surprise as Zoey entered the room, holding a steaming mug of coffee and a croissant on a plate. She placed it down on the table next to Leaf's bed.
"She awake yet?" Zoey tilted her head at Leaf.
"She woke up earlier, ate the soup you brought," Gary replied, half-smiling and indicating the empty bowl. "She's getting better."
"How'd she get hurt that bad?" She pushed the croissant towards him.
"Let's just say the Commander doesn't like me," Gary answered, his smile gone. "And neither does he like Leaf, apparently."
Zoey looked at him for a few seconds, clearly not believing that to be the whole story. She sighed and dropped into another chair. "Alright then. But if the Commander comes to assassinate me, I'll kill you in your next life."
Gary's body froze, mid stroke of Leaf's face. "What makes you think that?"
Zoey rolled her eyes. "Uh, why else? He's obviously after you, and a runaway ex-Assassin is sure to make his hit list. How else do you think I know Shadow and owe him a favor?"
"What is the favor?" Gary asked, curious. He leaned back and picked at the croissant, momentarily happy at the fact that it had chocolate in it. "I can't believe Pa-Shadow would actually do anything for anyone."
"Well, it wasn't for me," Zoey retorted. "I needed to run away, and someone was with me that couldn't be because I wanted to protect her. Shadow took care of her while I ran."
"Her, huh?" Gary's eyes were wide, the croissant halfway in his mouth. "Did you have an illegitimate daughter or something?"
Zoey laughed. "No, no. Just a friend. She was young, and innocent. Shadow was safe, and I wasn't. Plus, I owed a favor to the girl's mom."
"Who was this?" Gary inquired, curious about who Paul had saved, and shocked that the cold-hearted Assassin had agreed.
"Honestly, I didn't know the girl's name, or the mom's real one. I just remember I called the girl 'girl' - I didn't know her that well. Eventually she told me to call her what I called her mom so she'd have a memory of the mother she lost." Zoey looked at the wall opposite her, lost in memories.
"So what was the girl's mom's name?" Gary pressed, picking up the coffee mug and taking a long sip.
"I called her Platinum."
Gary spat out his coffee.
It was midnight by the time Officer Jenny finished up the paperwork for the day's troubles. The Assassins were striking at a worse rate than before, and Jenny just couldn't understand the motive. There didnt seem to be one - the victims ranged from young to old or poor to rich, with no specific gender or town chosen.
"Tom!" she called. "Tom!"
Her sister, on midnight duty, poked her head into the room. "Tom's gone home, Jenny. Like you should."
Jenny forced a smile. "Thanks, but I think I'll stay a little longer. I have to finish up something."
Her sister grinned. "Hardworking Jen. Suit yourself then!"
Once she left, Jenny tidied up the papers into piles and leaned back in her seat. Her eyes lingered on the phone lying on her desk. It'd been a week since she and Veil had last talked, and there had instead been murders reported at Darkstone Academy of boys she'd never heard of. Officer Tom had overseen the case, and she trusted his judgment. However, there was no results and instead more deaths. Something had to change.
Making up her mind, Jenny called Veil again. "Please pick up," she urged the phone. To her utmost relief, it didn't go to a busy tone. "Veil?" Officer Jenny exclaimed.
"Sorry, Veil is unavailable right now," a calm male voice that was definitely not Veil's told her. "May I take a message?"
"Who is this?" Jenny demanded sharply.
"Sorry, where are my manners? Veil is my ward, and I can take a message to give to her when I find her." The voice changed its tone from pleasant to dark. "Nice chatting with you, Officer Jenny. If you haven't guessed, I'm the Commander of the Assassins." He hung up.
Jenny's jaw dropped. Then she frowned.
The voice of the Commander was familiar. She had heard it before. Was it one of Veil's Assassin friends?
Taking a sip of the coffee on her desk, she winced when she realized it was cold. Officer Tom had brought it in for her earlier that day, insisting she get some caffeine in her system so she wouldn't collapse from sheer overwork (his concern was valid - Officer Jenny had a bad habit of working overtime by several hours when on a case).
Jenny sighed and shifted through some DVDs she had in a drawer. Seeing the one of Veil's interview, she pushed it in her computer and pressed play.
Suddenly, she pressed pause, her complexion flushed with the excitement of her revelation.
She knew who the Commander was. "Jenny!" she called. "J-"
Her vision blurred, and Jenny fell to her knees, clutching her desk. Was she really that tired?
Steps entered the room. "Not to be dramatic or anything, but why'd you drink that coffee?" Someone sighed. "Should've removed it when I had the chance..."
Jenny looked up, her strength fading fast. Through her obscured vision, she caught sight of a blue vest of an officer.
"Tom..." she whispered. "Why?"
"I didn't, Jenny." Officer Tom stood in front of her, looking at her with regret. "I'm sorry this had to happen to you."
"What-" was the last thing Jenny said before she collapsed on the floor, eyes rolled back in her head.
When Tom left the room, she wasn't breathing.
Drew flinched as Brianna entered the room, her green eyes trained on him like an Assassin would to a victim.
"Paul, get Dawn out," he hissed before she reached them. "If Brianna finds her, she's dead and we're screwed for sure."
Ash, who had overhead, expected Paul to disregard him. Surprisingly, Paul nodded and up and left the room.
Brianna's eyes followed the Assassin, her lips pursed in thought. When Drew spoke, she turned her undivided attention to him.
"What a...pleasant surprise, Bri," Drew greeted. "How'd you find us?"
"'Us?'" Brianna's nose wrinkled as she took a seat beside him. "I remember when you were just a single Assassin like I and Veil were. We could've burned the world together, you and I."
Ash snuck a shocked glance in Drew's direction. That Forest was once a solo Assassin was news to him.
"Yeah well, times change." Drew flicked his hair and flashed his typical smirk. "So what brought you around, Bri? Missed me?"
Ash wanted to choke. Enter charming Drew, someone no guy could stand being around, even happy go lucky Ash. "I'm gonna feed Pikachu," he called, and left the room as well.
Drew mentally groaned. Now he really had to entertain Brianna, and it was a difficult task to control an infatuated cow with a love for murder.
"I overheard some new recruits talking about you," Brianna told him airily. "They said something about how even you four couldn't complete the 'ultimate task' Manny gave you."
"He's the Commander, not 'Manny,'" Drew said, trying his hardest not to give in to the urge to strangle her. "He's someone to fear, not to admire."
"Manny?" Brianna laughed. "Drew, he can't hurt you. Not if you're with me..." She moved closer to him and smiled sweetly. "I also heard something else."
Drew knew he wouldn't like the news. He flicked his hair again to hide his uneasiness, and Brianna snuck in closer to him.
"You remember Misty? Your little carrot top friend met at the academy?" Brianna's smirk was smug, cruel, and arrogant. The typical Assassin attitude.
"What?" Drew snapped. Misty had nothing to do with him. The news was worse, he was sure.
Unfortunately, he was right.
"Well, news has it that May's been stabbed. Several times, by Misty's knife." Brianna leaned in closer. "May's dead."
Ash couldn't believe what he heard. Misty was responsible for May's death? Wait, May was dead?
Drew looked as if the ground had just been torn from under him. Ash was about to confront Brianna - girl or not, he wanted to make her suffer - when Drew got to his feet. There was a murderous glare on his face as he turned to face Brianna.
Ash looked away, hearing the sound of impact. When he looked back, Brianna was on the ground, unconscious. The wall had a crack directly where her head would've been. Drew was nowhere to be seen.
The Deadly Rose had, for lack of better words, wilted.
But Sapphire had fallen, and Ash was going to find out why.
"Pikachu," Ash whispered to his favorite Pokémon, "Go find Misty. Find out what happened and then report back."
"Pika pi," Pikachu replied, giving Ash a thumb's-up. The little electric mouse scampered off.
Ash wasn't worried at all about Pikachu - well, other than normal concern. Pikachu had been trained to be stealthy and resourceful and the black-haired Assassin could readily admit that often Pikachu was more intelligent than he was.
"I don't believe Mist had anything to do with May dying," he told himself. "And I won't believe May's dead until I see her body with my own eyes."
It was dark in Dawn's room, and the blunette was fast asleep. Paul closed the door behind him silently, and walked over to the bed. He was about to wake her when she turned on her side restlessly, her face lit up in the moonlight streaming in from the window.
Was she... Crying?
"Dawn!" her father called. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
Five year old Dawn giggled behind the curtain she used as a hiding place. For anyone actually bothering to look, it was obvious that there was a child hidden behind the brocade, but her father was humoring her and searched in silly places, like the inch behind the bookshelf or the pillows on the couch.
The doorbell rang, interrupting the lighthearted game. Dawn heard her father murmur, "Now who can that be?" and walk over to the door to open it.
Before she could process what happened, a strange whistling sound pierced the air and there was a clear thud as something heavy hit the ground.
Something spattered on the curtain, and Dawn's eyes went wide with shock.
"Where is she?" An unfamiliar voice froze her in place.
"Search the whole house," another ordered.
Dawn whimpered in fear as crashing sounds filled the air.
It could have been ten minutes or ten hours by the time the intruders had finished, but time seemed to disappear from the five year old's mind. She sat, frozen, behind the blood-covered curtain.
Dawn was still there when her mother, Johanna, came home, curled up and shivering.
"Mommy... What's wrong with daddy? Why won't he wake up?" she wailed, a heartbroken Johanna holding her tightly.
The words her mother spoke made no sense to the shell-shocked child who barely paid attention. "How did they find out..?"
The five year old started sobbing and thrashing. "Daddy! Daddy! DADDY!"
"Dawn! Calm down!" Johanna cried, trying to hold her still. But she wouldn't stop.
"I want my daddy!"
Then Johanna disappeared, and instead someone else's arms had her pinned against a wall.
"Well, look who we found."
With a gasp, Dawn jolted out of bed, her fist striking forward as she pulled herself into a defensive stance.
Surprised at her sudden attack, Paul had just barely managed to evade the blow.
Dawn slowly sank down on the bed, astonished at what she'd just done and equally shocked at the smirk Paul threw her way.
"Looks like I taught you well," the Assassin well known for his combat skills said.
Before Dawn could process his words, her nightmare came flooding back and she fell into Paul's waiting arms, her cheeks already stained with tears.
Zoey, turning on the TV in her room, changed the channel and sat back on the couch to watch the news.
"I'm Todd with Jubilife News with not so jubilant news. There have been two deaths in the same general vicinity as the place where four students had been brutally murdered - Darkstone Academy."
Zoey snapped to attention.
"Another student, by the name of May Maple, was reported dead. Her roommate, Misty Waterflower, was found unconscious in the doorway of the room, oddly dressed in evening wear. Maple appeared to have been stabbed several times and decapitated until it was almost impossible to identify her if another student hadn't noticed the typical red bandana Maple wore. Both girls were discovered at early morning, when the other students of Darkstone were about to head to class. A search for the murderer and Waterflower's attacker has shut down the school and the students sent home in fear of more deaths. Waterflower has yet to awake and is being held under guard in case the attacker comes back to finish what he started.
On the the other side of town, Officer Jenny was found on the floor of her office. Her cause of death is unknown, although most evidence points toward the coffee she'd consumed before death. After testing, the coffee had turned out to be a dead end, but the town mourns for its Officer Jenny.
Again, this is Todd with Ju-"
Zoey changed the channel, hearing Gary enter her room.
"Hey, what's with that?" the brunette Assassin asked curiously, pointing at the TV screen. He carried Leaf in his arms (the brunette girl seemed to be tired of bed rest).
Zoey turned around, surprised. She'd changed to the weather channel in her haste.
"Outside is a raging thunderstorm, with unusual flashes of lightning." The screen cut to a live shot of the storm - dark storm clouds over a forest. Lightning suddenly shot through the air and vanished almost as soon as it came.
Gary jolted forward. "Did you notice that?"
The redhead looked confused. "Notice what?"
"The lightning!" Leaf exclaimed. "It came from the ground, not the clouds!"
Leaf and Gary looked at each other and simultaneously said one word.
"Pikachu!"
Hopefully that's a decent length... I kept adding and re-adding details and scenes to make this longer, so hopefully it flowed and didn't drag on.
Questions! (Anyone who answers ALL the questions will get a romantic scene of their choice pairing, so answer, answer! And if you'd like I'll give you a hint on anything you're confused about! :D)
1) Opinion of Danny? Is he lying? If he is, about what?
2) What do you think Danny was talking to Officer Tom about?
3) Why do you think Misty falling for Danny so fast?
4) What do you think happened to May? Is Air (that's me!) so cruel as to kill off a main character? (Apparently so, gomen *bows -is shot-)
5) What do you think Misty's note means?
6) Who do you think was Misty's attacker?
7) Why am I giving you guys so many questions? XD
8) Anyone notice the oldrivalshipping there? No? -crawls in corner-
9) Dun dun dun, Zoey knows Dawn! And so does Paul? O.o Now why do you think Dawn doesn't remember anything?
10) What do you think happened to Officer Jenny and Tom?
11) How /did/ Brianna find Drew and the others? And where did Drew go after he knocked her out?
12) Opinion on Ash's loyalty and Pikachu's recon mission?
13) Opinion on Dawn's nightmare?
14) Opinion on Paul's words ("Looks like I trained you well")?
15) What do you think of the lightning? :o
16) And last but not least, what was the part that stood out for you the most? And why?
Thank you for reading, and please review! Remember, if you answer ALL the questions in decent detail, you'll get both:
A) A romantic moment of the pairing of your choice
B) One hint on something you're confused about
Ask any question, I'll answer as best I can! Oh, and vote on my poll when it's up please!