Chapter 14: Dreams and Flickering Lights
A girl in her early twenties tugged at wires, observing them silently to herself. Moments later, she pulled her pocket knife from her sneaker and sliced several of them in half.
This'll teach them not to mess with my crew. She smirked, pushing her short, black hair out of her face. She had to see clearly to do this right. She then cut more of the wire, collecting the sections of the colorful wires and putting them in her backpack.
The girl pulled a poke ball from her pocket, probably one of the last pokeballs in Unova at this point, and released Rotom.
"Tom!" Rotom buzzed, a mischievous smirk on its face.
She smiled faintly at her Pokémon, "Rotom, be a doll and zap these please."
"Ro!" Rotom nodded, waiting for its trainer to wrap the freshly cut wires around the two lightning bolt-shaped feelers before electrocuting the wiring.
"Nice, buddy. Now they've got a power outage. We will free all four of them and everyone else in that castle and get Unova back if it's the last thing I do, no matter how long it takes. Now we just have to hope that the right person sees this…"
XXX
Storm's POV
Storm inhaled deeply as he walked through the prison halls, but instantly regretted it and went into a coughing fit. The prison did not smell very good. He had no idea if he was doing the right thing here or not. Storm would've waited longer before visiting Hailey, but he didn't know if his father would ignore his pleas and execute her anyway, and Moku was right. He didn't want Hailey to die angry at him. Storm forced himself not to look into the cells with irate townsfolk glaring at him or jeering at him. He sped up eventually, not wanting to see much more.
Eventually, he reached the traitors' section. The guards nodded at him when he entered the hall of those who betrayed Crown City. Storm knew she was kept in cell number 127, right next to the former rangers that helped Hailey escape to Johto. His father would often rant about their meddling in society. They had gotten a little too snarky with the guards down in the prisons, so his father had one executed two weeks ago, the green haired one to be exact.
Storm had shrugged off the executions though, all of them. But he wasn't about to shrug Hailey's off.
XXX
Hailey's POV
Hailey began to tremble, tears already rolling down her cheeks, her eyes were wide and she looked like she was in some sort of daze.
"Hailey?" Crystal asked, looking rather sad herself.
Hailey slowly sank to the ground, her gaze unblinking with her breath becoming louder. The trio looked at each other, knowing that Hailey would probably sink into a depression much like they had. The three were still depressed, but had been able to carry on after about a week and a half of grieving. Hailey would probably do the same, maybe a little longer though.
Although Hailey had been taught to conceal her emotions, she hadn't had to hide her feelings for seven years so she was most likely out of practice. While they had faced tragedy nearly on a daily basis for the past ten or so years.
"No… no, you guys are lying! Hope- she can't be dead! Y-You guys are working for those grunts! They promised they'd break me no matter what they had to do! You lied to me! I-I bet Hope's still alive and free! You're just trying to make me reveal my brother's location!" Hailey screamed, picking a stone off the dirt on the cell's floor and throwing it across at the three cells in front of hers, narrowly missing Jacob's head.
"Hailey! We're just as upset as you are!" Clyde snapped.
"Lies! You aren't even grieving for her!" Hailey responded, burying her face in her hands.
"She died two weeks ago! We've all been in depressions for the past week and a half! But we can't grieve forever, Hailey! Hope would've wanted us to escape and save Unova, not weep and rot in these cells forever!" Jacob snapped, peeved that the seventeen year old had almost nailed him in the head.
Crystal had already started crying at the mention of her best friend, trying her best to hide it, as crying and grieving after such a long time period was unprofessional. Hailey wasn't sure why, but everyone had fallen silent. Wiping tears out of her eyes, she looked up.
Her eyes immidately narrowed. It was Storm. Jacob, Crystal, and Clyde had all retreated back into the shadows, out of the candlelight's reach.
Cowards. Hailey thought angrily, still mad at them for letting Hope die.
"What?" Hailey asked hardly.
Storm looked surprised, "what did I just walk into?"
"Murderer." Hailey glared, not taking her gaze off the Prince of Unova as her hand blindly ran over the dirt in search of another rock to throw.
"What are you talking about?"
"You killed her. You killed Hope!" Hailey said lowly.
"That was an order that my father gave, not me. I was off in Johto… hunting you down…" Storm's voice trailed off.
"Well then what in the hell do you want?" Hailey asked.
Storm looked like he wanted to sit down in front of her cell, but after examining the floor, he thought again.
"What? Too dirty for you?" Hailey sneered, trying to make him feel unwanted.
"I wanted to talk to you and try to fix things between us," Storm began.
A look of shock flashed in Hailey's eyes, his words surprising her. She let him continue, her hand slowly stopping its search for a rock.
"However, I can see you're not in a very good mood right now… so I guess I won't have time to fix our friendship-"
"What friendship? We were never friends in the first place." Hailey interrupted blandly.
Storm flinched, but continued.
"Fine, our acquaintanceship, so I will skip to the point." Storm inhaled deeply, coughing after he did so. Note to self: don't take any deep breaths down here. Hailey noted to herself, watching curiously.
"Hailey, I don't want you to be executed. I don't know why, usually I don't care if the people I bring back live or die, but with you-"
"You actually talked to me, so it's different." Hailey finished for him.
He paused, but nodded. "Yeah, that's probably why."
"Where are my Pokémon?" Hailey asked.
Before Storm could answer, she heard Crystal laugh in the dark. "Right, like we all ain't asked that question before, kid. He won't tell ya nothing!"
Storm ignored them. "They're safe and nothing bad will come to them." He assured.
Hailey decided to stop sneering and yelling at him, knowing what Clyde had said about us being at their mercy was true. She stuffed her grief for Hope down.
I can grieve later, besides, it isn't every day a Plasma member is nice to me… I should at least try to be nice. Hailey chided at herself, only now just realizing how ungrateful and disrespectful she was acting, even if it was his fault she was trapped in this dirty disgusting dark prison.
Hailey narrowed her dulled blue eyes. "But what quality of life will I have if I live? Obviously if your father spares me I won't be taking my Pokémon and myself back to Blackthorn." She said cautiously, eyeing him suspiciously. "And for what reason? There has to be something more to keeping me alive than fixing something that was never real."
Storm looked stung once more, but Hailey spoke the truth. She'd only talked to him for a day, and that day ended on a sour note.
"I'm not sure how you will be treated," he admitted. "But I would probably be able to let you see your Pokémon at least a little bit…"
Hailey's eyes flickered, the dullness washing away at the mention of her Pokémon. "Please do! I would do anything to see them!"
Storm smiled, glad to see Hailey at least appear happier. "Oh, and my father wishes to see you tomorrow, so I would be expecting another visit from those two grunts." Storm informed.
Hailey suppressed a gag at the mention of the two grunts. "Fine." She muttered.
He looked at the place that Hailey assumed was her bed: a damp wood board bench hanging from the wall with rusty chains supporting it.
"What? This is a prison, Storm. What'd you expect? An actual bed with fresh sheets and pillows?" Hailey asked dryly.
She heard a call from further down the dungeon, but she couldn't quite hear who said it or what it was about. "Nothing. Goodbye." Storm said suddenly, leaving the prison quickly.
"Wha? I'm never going to understand that guy." She muttered, taking a seat on her bench/bed thing.
Crystal, Jacob, and Clyde all came back into the candlelight.
"How could you talk to him like that?" Clyde asked.
Hailey rose an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"How can you just call him 'Storm'? If any of us were to be spoken to by him, even Crystal, we would've at least added a 'prince' in front of Storm. It's incredibly disrespectful."
Hailey shrugged, "I don't know, I just don't."
"Well… if you're that daring, then as the temporary leader of our little resistance squad, I'd like to make you an offer. If we get out of here alive, how would you like to take Hope's place and run the forest?" Clyde asked.
Hailey's eyes widened. "M-me? I'm not cut out for that."
"Why not?"
"I'm easily captured. Storm got me twice in less than a week. I'm pathetic."
"You were alone."
"No, I had my Pokémon."
"You weren't trained."
"I was trained by Johto's strongest gym leader for the past seven years."
"Do you have anything nice to say about yourself?"
"Considering I just had a civil-ish conversation with basically my only enemy next to Team Rocket, no. No I don't."
"You're hopeless."
"Ah, now you see it my way." Hailey smirked, glad to have won.
Clyde sighed, sitting down in the dirty, damp hay with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. "Alright, you win. But it's getting late, you should get some shut-eye. All of you."
XXX
Hailey stood, alone in a tranquil place. Waterfalls fell from the clouds with unnaturally clean shimmering water gently fed seven pools of the crystal-clear water. She looked below her. Green and healthy grass sprung out of the ground dotted with a couple perfect tiny blue, white, and pink flowers every so often.
"SUUUUUUIIIIII!" A familiar cry echoed, making the water ripple.
Hailey tensed, but relaxed again. Somehow, she knew it was just a dream. Nothing could actually hurt her here.
"SUUUUIIII!" The Pokémon cried again, the sound more soothing than frightening.
I've got to have this Pokémon! She thought, excitement pulsing through her veins as she reached for her Pokémon belt.
Nothing.
Her eyes drifted down to her waist to see that she wasn't even wearing her typical brown pants: instead, she wore a blue dress that was the exact color of her eyes that covered her bare feet.
How did I not notice? Hailey wondered, feeling embarrassed that she hadn't noticed earlier.
Her hair wasn't even in her signature loops; it was curled and rolled over her shoulders. She felt almost awake in this dream. It was like the kind that you half controlled in your sleep, except Hailey didn't feel very in control for this one. The brunet tentively peered into the body of water in front of her, nearly tripping over her dress in the process.
She stared into the water and observed herself further. As Hailey looked at her face, debating if she had makeup on or not, another reflection joined Hailey's. She gasped, turning around to see Suicune standing only inches away from her.
"Suicune?" Hailey asked in awe, unable to believe that she was seeing Suicune again, even if it was in a dream. Suicune nodded, kneeling down and staring at Hailey.
"What?"
"Cune!" Suicune cried, nudging her stomach with her nose.
She bit her lip and slowly gripped Suicune's purple mane. Suicune nodded, urging her to continue. Hailey smiled, understanding now and climbing onto the legendary water type's back, sitting with her legs dangling over Suicune's side so she wouldn't flash anyone on accident.
"SUI!" Suicune screeched, not giving Hailey very much time to settle comfortably on its back as she leapt onto the water, purifying the already clean water even more.
She gripped Suicune's mane tightly, not liking how fast the beast was running. Suicune slowed down in front of the largest waterfall, walking slowly to the roaring waterfall. Hailey flinched as the falls spat water into her eyes and onto her face, but she did not dare to complain. Suicune stepped into the waterfall, the water pounding on them as Suicune walked Hailey behind the waterfall.
"Suicune… what is this place?" She asked, wiping water out of her eyes.
Suicune ignored her question as they got behind the waterfall.
Hailey blinked. "Suicune, you sure you've got the right waterfall? It's just a wall. There's no cave or-"
She was interrupted when something that looked like a giant ripple shook her body, taking her vision for a moment.
"What was that-"
Another ripple shook Hailey. Suicune closed her eyes and bared her teeth.
"CUNE!" She roared.
A third ripple swam through Hailey, but this one was weaker than the last two, almost as though Suicune was disabling them somehow. Her vision grew blurry. She looked down at her hands, only to see skin-colored static like how you'd see on a broken TV.
"S-u-i-c-u-n-e-"
Her speech slurred. She gasped as she began to fade in and out of the dream world that either her or Suicune had created. Flashes of the Plasma prison began to overlap and overpower the sweet image of Suicune's water world. The last time she saw Suicune, she looked frustrated.
"J-u-s-t-c-a-l-l-m-e-b-a-c-k-t-o-m-m-o-r-o-w-!" Hailey called as she was forced back into the waking world.
XXX
Hailey blinked and rubbed her head as all of her senses were regained. Her eyes widened when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Wake up," a familiar voice hissed quietly.
Hailey's eyes narrowed. "Storm… why in the hell would you wake me up!? What time is it?" She snapped quietly, angry to see it was Storm who took her away from Suicune just as Suicune was about to show her something clearly important.
"Well excuse me for trying to do something nice for you," he scoffed, what Hailey assumed to be the keys to her cell door jingling in his hand.
She rose an eyebrow. "And what might that be? I'm about to die tomorrow, the least you could do is let me sleep a little."
"Exactly, you're about to die. Well, maybe. If my plan backfires then yeah you're dying tomorrow. But, that's beside the point. Since your Pokémon have been removed along with your Pokégear, you are no longer a threat to Team Plasma's rule," he began, causing Hailey to roll her eyes. "And, I thought that I'd be nice and let you on top of the castle for a while, you know, on the roof."
"Right, and your father totally must've approved of this, taking one of his traitor's out of her cell in the middle of the night, and, aren't there like, security cameras everywhere in this stupid place?" Hailey muttered.
"I didn't ask my father, and no one knows why, but the power went out this morning. Even the emergency power doesn't work. So our technicians have called it a night since there was no evidence that it was cut intentionally so we're not under attack. There's no security cameras to catch you sneaking around the castle."
"Oh yeah? Well what about all the guards in this place? I think they'd notice if one of their prisoners was walking freely around the castle."
"I know a way that's unguarded. Are you in, or out? Just remember, this could be your last chance to ever see the outdoors."
"Fine!" Hailey snapped, grudgingly sitting up.
Storm smiled at her response and opened the door with ease.
"Lead the way." She grumbled, stuffing her hands in her pockets.
XXX
Storm had led Hailey to the top of the building through a fire-escape passage. (And through some halls with guards sleeping on the job.) Now they were on top of the roof in the darkness.
Hailey was glad she wasn't afraid of heights, as she was at the highest point in the castle. She couldn't even see the ground.
"Man… what Blue wouldn't give to hang out up here…" She murmured quietly to herself, forgetting that she wasn't alone.
"Isn't it nice up here?" He asked, as though hoping to start a conversation.
Hailey refused to have another civil conversation with him or with any other Team Plasma member.
Storm sighed, "what do you want me to do here? I'm trying my best to make you comfortable, you know."
Hailey gave him an icy glare. "I don't want your sympathy."
Things stayed silent between the two of them for a few more moments. Hailey gazed into the distance, her eyes trained on one sole spot in the sky. She kept staring until she saw something bright flash in the corner of her eye.
Careful not to have Storm see that she was looking somewhere else, her eye slowly turned in the direction of the light. They were tiny little flashes made up of many different colors. It started flashing again. Red, red, blue, purple, green, red, red, red, red, yellow.
Perhaps some sort of color code? But what does it mean? She wondered.
After that, the colors stopped. Hailey drew in one last breath of fresh air before turning back to Storm. She was about to request that he took her back down to her cell and left her alone, but Storm spoke first.
"You know, it wasn't sympathy. If I was going to feel sorry for you then I wouldn't have overpowered you like that back in Blackthorn city. I would've gone easy on you so you could have a chance at winning."
His words felt like a punch to the gut.
She glared at him. "You really think that your Pokémon are stronger than mine?" Hailey asked through her teeth.
"Well, think about this. Four of you, each with six fully healed Pokémon and advanced weaponry. Against me, and just me, with only four Pokémon with no advanced weaponry. Trust me, Princey, if it was just you and me in a battle, you'd be destroyed. I dare you to battle me with no help, no dirty tricks that you Plasmas love to pull."
"I won't fall for your taunts. I know that I am a better battler than you, and I won't waste valuable time battling you for five seconds."
Hailey could feel the heat of rage rise onto her cheeks. Her fists tightened in anger.
"That just proves that you're too afraid of losing to a girl like me who opposes everything you and your sick people believe in! You are no king! A real king wouldn't have trapped a young girl like myself and several other young people in jail for life and taken her best friends away from her! A real king wouldn't earn his right to the throne through hunting down innocent people who simply wanted a different life than they had and then killing them or imprisoning them for life afterwards!" Hailey snapped, barely restraining herself from punching him.
Storm looked infuriated. She couldn't exactly see all of his facial expressions in the dark, but she knew that she'd rubbed a good amount of salt into his wounds.
"You know what? We're going back down to the cells. Good luck swaying my father not to kill you tomorrow, because I'm not helping." Storm said coldly, gripping Hailey's wrist and dragging her back into the castle's interior.
Me and my big mouth…