Author's Note
Can I just say that writing "Poke Ball" instead of "Poké Ball" is one of my favourite things to come across when reading XD Anyway it's been a while since updates- I actually wanted to get this Chapter up before Christmas but, oh well, what can you do? *eyes a DeLorean* well...
Anyway there's been a lot of new things happening! If you've somehow followed me all the way from Animation Source to here you'll know I was a big fan of The Lion King back in 2010; I've probably read/watched or at least heard of every bit of media every produced but I sort of killed it by rewatching it too many times XD BUT The Lion Guard TV Series has rekindled my love for the series!
I know a lot of people didn't like it but honestly I'm a kid at heart and quite enjoyed it :3 Anyway my point is I've been distracted writing fanfics for that and getting caught up with what I've missed in the fandom throughout my 5 years of absence :3 Don't worry; I'll never abandon this story! In fact as the story is reaching its climax I'll likely be a lot more inclined to update :D
I'm also super hyped for the English release of XY I've been keeping updated throughout the Japanese release (I don't speak the language so I just use subs when I'm too excited to wait for future episodes!) and I hope it'll be as awesome as the last 2 series'! The Pokemon anime has really taken a turn for the best imo :3
Happy New Year and let's begin!
Chapter 14; A Reluctant Membership
Despite the late hour Barry was still clothed and awake in the guest room. Ordinarily he would have been in his pyjamas despite being so concerned about Shivu, but something about borrowing Cynthia's had put him off.
Sometime after they'd called Palmer, his father had sent one of his Pokémon to Barry via the Pokémon Centre Storage PCs to help if it was needed. He only had three; a Milotic, a Rhyperior and a Dragonite, although all were quite strong. He had sent Barry his Dragonite, something Barry was delighted by- Dragonite was his favourite of his father's Pokémon and probably the strongest too.
Suddenly outside he heard the distinctive loud blaring of an alarm. He sat up and frowned; outside he could just make out red lights dancing on the window pane from somewhere far off.
His eyes narrowed and he slipped out of the bed and crept over. He peered through the glass- from the guest room he could just make out the Galactic Veilstone Building through the trees that surrounded it; the lights, and probably the sound too, were coming from there.
Barry didn't waste a second, he quickly ran into Cynthia's room. "Cynthia!" he called, "Something's going on at Team Galactic's building!"
Cynthia jumped up immediately, "What?" she said in disbelief, "Show me."
Barry led her to the window and pointed. Cynthia took in the scene before her, "What is going on?" she whispered, her eyes narrowing.
"I don't know but we need to find out," Barry replied.
Cynthia nodded and leapt into action, "Get your Dragonite and my Garchomp ready," she demanded, before adding a swift and polite, "please." She jogged into her own room, "I'm going to get dressed."
Barry gave a nod before pulling out the two Poké Balls. He ran to the French windows that led out on to the balcony and unlocked them, throwing the doors open and releasing the two Pokémon they would use to fly- he pulled their saddles from the corner of the room and threw them on, quickly buckling the girths and checking to ensure they were secure.
Cynthia came out a moment later pulling on her coat, "I trust that you can fly?" she asked Barry.
Barry nodded, "Dad's been teaching me since I was about 8. I'm good."
"Brilliant, then let's go!" Cynthia barked as she mounted Garchomp's back and together they swooped down from the balcony and towards the base.
Barry was flying right behind Cynthia but the speed at which her Garchomp was going at made the wind behind it swirl into a small vortex; barely visible at night but Barry and his father's Dragonite could certainly feel it as it disrupted their flying. Barry knew this was called wake turbulence and that he had to get above Cynthia to avoid it.
He called to her, telling her the problem and she nodded, making a motion for him to move upwards.
Barry did as he was told and Cynthia moved further down nearer the ground to try and dispel the air behind her.
Just as they were about to reach the base, Barry caught sight of a green panel on the ground ahead of them. He realised with a start it was the same portal devices that were in Team Galactic's base and worst of all as he stared in alarm, it lit up and began pulsing with power.
Barry let out a startled cry, "Cynthia!" he yelled down to her, "The portal, dead ahead of you!"
Cynthia's gaze flicked from him to the portal and she gasped as something began materialising through it. "They must have seen us!" she shouted up to Barry and then to Garchomp, "Quick, Garchomp; take them out!"
Garchomp picked up speed and let out a terrifying roar as she charged towards the portal. Just a split second before they hit their target it came into full view. It was Shivu!
Shivu twisted around at the sound of something approaching and yelled in fright. Garchomp tried to pull up at Cynthia's alarmed command but she hit him head-on despite her best efforts.
Shivu was thrown along the ground as Garchomp changed course, doing a loop before coming to rest beside Shivu who now lay on the ground on his back. Cynthia hopped off her Pokémon and rushed to his side.
Shivu looked up, apparently a little unfocused. Above him he saw Barry hovering on Dragonite, and he jumped up immediately, "Barry!" he cried in relief, "You're okay!"
"I'm fine!" Barry called back, "Do you, uhh…?" he swallowed a lump of nerves in his throat, directing Dragonite to fly back a little, "Do you remember me now?"
"Yes, yes!" Shivu responded, his smile widening, "It's a long story but I'm on your side now!"
At that point the portal shimmered again and 24 appeared, landing nimbly on the ground. He looked around as if in a daze, "I'm out…" he whispered, his eyes shining in awe.
"Team Galactic!" cried Barry and came at a speed towards him.
"No, no!" Shivu quickly leapt in front of Barry, "He's a friend!" Barry came to a halt in the air, Dragonite's wings flapping angrily at 24 who had covered his face in defence.
"A friend," Barry spat, "how?"
"No time," Shivu replied, "Team Galactic can use that portal just as well as we can." As he spoke, Barry carefully landed and 24 lowered his arms. "24 saved my life," Shivu went on, "We've got to get out of here," his stare hardened, "And he is coming too." he added firmly.
"Alright," Barry held up his hands, "Hop aboard." 24 took a step forward but Barry shook his head, "Not you- Shivu. You can go with Cynthia. If anything goes wrong she can handle you."
Cynthia frowned a little at the comment, not delighting in being stuck with one of Galactic's goons but she didn't argue- she knew what Barry said to be true.
"Whatever pal," 24 muttered dryly and got on Garchomp's back instead.
The portal began humming again as someone else began to come through. "Quickly, let's go!" Shivu jumped behind Barry and they took off at full speed.
"Where do we go?" asked Barry.
"Head for Route 214, dude." 24 replied, "It's right next to Veilstone City, but the forests there are overgrown and hard to get through; it should slow Team Galactic down, bro."
Barry looked to Cynthia for confirmation. She nodded, "If Shivu trusts him then I trust him, Barry. There's something that sets this one apart from the others..."
"Yeah, I'm the only one with a brain!" 24 snorted.
"To Route 214 then," Barry said with a nod in return to Cynthia.
24 was panting heavily from his chase earlier but he gazed around in wonder; he took in simple things like the street-lights that were fading away now, the starry night and the moon overheard and the smell of proper fresh air. Things he feared he'd never see again, at least not with a free mind.
He almost felt overwhelmed with emotion but shook his head and tried to focus on what was happening here and now; there would be plenty of time to celebrate and relish in the power of free will when they were really out of Team Galactic's reach.
He looked behind him and almost fell off in shock when he realised they were still being pursued; behind the four were two Team Galactic members, one flying on a Staraptor the other on a Pidgeot. The Pokémon looked almost as blank as their Trainers did.
Below them were two more- one on a Rapidash and the other on an Arcanine. The others must not have had the transport to give chase but these four were enough; given that neither Shivu nor 24 had anything Pokémon, they were already outnumbered.
24 poked Cynthia's shoulder, "Cynthia- it is Cynthia isn't it?" Cynthia nodded. "Well, dude we're being pursued." 24 reported.
Cynthia's eyes widened and she followed his pointing finger behind them. She let out a frustrated snarl and turned to Barry, "Barry I need you to take 24 and Shivu and land somewhere safe. Stay hidden while I take on these grunts,"
Barry turned in puzzlement to see what she meant and the shock was clear on his paling face as he saw the Team Galactic members. "Cynthia, you can't..." he began.
Cynthia cut him off, "I can and I will. Now go!"
She deliberately commanded Garchomp to tilt to one side and 24 slid off with a bark of surprise. Now Barry had no choice but to go after him to prevent him falling to his death.
"Are you insane?!" Cynthia heard 24 yell after her just as Barry caught him safely in the air.
Cynthia wheeled around to face her oncoming enemies. "Use Hyper-Beam!" she roared. Garchomp did as she was told and unleashed the powerful attack. The beam flew out but the two Galactic members were clearly skilled fliers, at least in one point of their lives before joining Team Galactic, and easily moved to either side to avoid it.
Cynthia growled and avoided the simultaneous attacks that followed the evasive manoeuvres.
"Go Garchomp!" Cynthia went on, "Now use Dragon Rush!"
Garchomp flew up high into the air then carefully tipped downwards, her nose pointed towards the two members. A bright blue energy began to fire up around her as she charged up the attack before crashing straight through the two enemies, leaving damage to be reckoned with.
The member on the Staraptor turned tail and flew haphazardly to the ground, defeated.
Cynthia turned to the second one, her sharp grey eyes meeting her blank blue ones. Garchomp let out a snarl of anticipation and Cynthia took the first move, "Fire Blast!" she called.
Garchomp immediately shot out the attack. As the member was distracted with that attack, she ordered Garchomp to twist around and use Brick Break, her final move against the Pidgeot Trainer.
The member only just escaped unscathed from the Fire Blast attack but the Brick Break hit her and her Pokémon full on and they crashed to the ground, despite the move being weak against the Flying-Type bird Pokémon.
"That's that," Cynthia patted her Garchomp fondly but just as she thought the battle was over a Flamethrower attack hit Garchomp hard from underneath.
Garchomp roared in pain and was thrown into a tail spin. Panic shot through Cynthia but she forced herself to keep a level head. Gripping the saddle tightly she directed Garchomp toward the sky, "Pull up!" cried Cynthia, "Quickly, Garchomp!"
Garchomp let out a pain-filled whimper and tried her best. Just as Cynthia was sure her life would end in a horrific crash-landing, something soared up underneath them, righted Garchomp by hitting her winged arm and stopped in front of them. Garchomp wheeled around to gain balance and altitude before halting, flapping in midair.
"Barry!" gasped Cynthia, seeing the boy and the Dragonite, "I thought I told you to…"
"You did but isn't it a good job I don't seem to have a habit of listening to adults?" Barry stuck out his tongue, "There are two more Galactic members on the ground, that's where that Flamethrower was from. Come on, let's take them out!"
Cynthia let out a sigh of relief and looked to her Pokémon, "Can you do it?"
Garchomp nodded, a grin spreading on her slightly burnt face. "Then let's go," Cynthia shared her Pokémon's grin as they dived towards the other two members.
Looker had woken up a little after he had been apprehended. His Croagunk was being carried by a Stuntank, the same one who had attacked him and his Pokémon friend, while Looker was being dragged down the halls by two strong-looking members.
"Uh oh," he thought in his head, "That didn't go to plan." In front of him was the burgundy-haired woman who had commanded the Stuntank. In her hand by her side he could see she had the book. Looker gritted his teeth in frustration; it was going to be tricky to get that back, not to mention escape.
The woman seemed to feel his stare but as she turned Looker swiftly dropped his head and pretended to be unconscious again.
The two members never even seemed to notice what Looker was doing and instead went about with their orders, dragging him up the stairs and to a large room where it seemed the Commanders had their living space when they weren't working.
Looker opened one hazel eye slightly as Jupiter stepped forward to a three-seater sofa where Saturn and Mars sat at either end.
Charon was giving Saturn a shot of antidote; pale-faced and looking very ill it wasn't hard to work out what had happened to the Commander, even without seeing the obvious bandage around his bare chest where Toxicroak had accidentally stabbed him.
Toxicroak herself had been healed easily with a Hyper Potion but sat beside her Trainer occasionally casting an apologetic glance his way. Saturn didn't fully blame his Pokémon but he was annoyed at 24 and Shivu for getting past him and, as he had been informed once he'd woken up, escaping.
Mars was holding an ice-pack to her left eye which was bruised and swollen badly.
"What on earth happened here?" Jupiter asked, curling her lip.
"24 and Shivu happened," Charon snorted, "Long story short; Saturn was poisoned and beaten up, Mars just got the latter."
Saturn and Mars looked up miserably at Jupiter but their eyes lit up with curiosity as they saw Jupiter had a prisoner.
"Is that 24?" Saturn asked in a croaky voice, not being able to see Looker's face past his turquoise wig which hung messily around his features.
"No, this is the intruder that helped them both escape." Jupiter replied, gesturing behind her, using the hand that held the book.
Looker had narrowed his eyes to slits again to feign still being out, but he watched it carefully.
"He's unconscious," Mars observed.
Jupiter rolled her eyes, "Yes I can see that."
"Permission to speak English?" asked the member on Looker's right in the Team Galactic language; he was still fairly new and hadn't quite grasped the language yet.
Jupiter nodded, "Permission granted."
"He is not unconscious." the member said calmly, "He woke up earlier."
Looker visibly jumped at this comment and shut his eyes tightly. "Shoot." he thought.
Jupiter stalked over to him, "Well now, is that so?" she asked, bending down to get a better look at him. She took his chin in her hand and jerked his head upwards painfully. Looker yelped and was forced to open his eyes.
Jupiter chuckled, "Trying to deceive us?" she tutted, "Shame on you,"
The man laughed nervously, "Err… I was not feeling in the best of ways." he lied, "This is why I didn't wake up sooners."
Jupiter shook her head, "So who are you anyway, stranger?"
Looker's eyes widened slightly, but he kept up his charade, "Why I am being one of you, of coursing!"
Saturn narrowed one eye suspiciously, "Oh is that so? What's your number then?"
The man blinked, "81-216… uhm… I am not remembering the rest. It's a new landline,"
"Not your phone number you idiot!" Saturn snapped, "Your number; the thing you get in place of your name!"
"Oh!" the man said, "That is why everyone is referring to themselves like they are objects."
Saturn and Jupiter glared at him and the man tittered again, "Err… I am… 11!"
"Really?" asked Jupiter, "Are you sure about that?"
Looker didn't answer- of course he wasn't sure, he didn't know what numbers had been used and which hadn't. Jupiter walked all the way around the man, examining him. It was then that she noticed a bit of dark brown hair sticking out from underneath what she now realised was a wig, coloured to look like the hair of the Team Galactic members.
"Well since #11 is actually a girl, I'd say you are…" Jupiter grabbed the wig and whipped it off, revealing short hair with a side fringe, "An imposter!"
The man blinked in surprise then stammered, "I-I'm not an imposing! I just… Haven't got my hair fixed yet! As you can surely be seeing, it's too short a-and I didn't want to look not like you fantastic people…"
Jupiter sniggered, "Oh I see." she drawled, "Well if you really want to be one of us, there's only one way to do that…"
The man gulped- the anxiety was now plain to see in his wide eyes.
Jupiter grinned and waved her hand at the two grunts; "Take him to The Machine!" =
Outside dawn was approaching in the forest that Cynthia and the others had entered earlier that night. The Team Galactic members had scarpered and not returned after they had realised the Champion was amongst the escapees' ranks and after said Champion alongside Barry had beaten them badly.
Barry and Shivu had wanted to go right back to the safety of Cynthia's apartment but she insisted they wait in case Team Galactic returned and followed them.
Instead Barry's father's Dragonite had helped them light a fire and they now sat around it as the sun began to melt its colours into the sky and the morning dew was beginning to form.
24 and Shivu sat on a felled tree while Barry had chosen a rock as his seat and Cynthia had found a tree stump.
"…So," Shivu was saying, "that's the whole story, start to finish."
Between Shivu and 24 their side of the story had now been relayed to Barry and Cynthia, with Shivu apologising many times for revealing Barry to Team Galactic and Barry had forgiven him just as often.
"I see so that's how Shivu ended up there." Cynthia nodded, "And you 24, I'm sorry for all you had to go through."
"It isn't your fault," 24 shrugged.
"But it is-I was the one who helped investigate Team Galactic… " Cynthia looked at the forest floor, "if only I had known what was going on! I could have stopped Cyrus and…"
"It isn't your fault." 24 repeated, this time firmly but kindly, "You couldn't have known; even the police don't know."
"Except for Looker," Shivu put in, "and we still don't know where he is."
"He might have escaped," Barry said hopefully, "he wouldn't have known to follow us here. He's probably hiding out in town or something."
"I hope so." replied Cynthia, "At least he doesn't know where my apartment is; at least if Team Galactic force him to tell them where we are, he won't know." she paused and took a deep breath, "Horrible as that sounds."
"What's more horrible is the fact that we haven't done anything about it yet," 24 hissed, scraping angrily at the bark on the log, "Team Galactic needs to be stopped; I'm sure the police aren't going to believe this tall tale without Looker to back it up, so I guess it's up to us alone."
"We'll work on it," Cynthia nodded, "but right now we need to head back to my place; it's 5am and we're not going to get anywhere without resting first."
24 sighed like he was a child being told to go to bed early, but suddenly he perked up, "There is one thing we forgot to mention," he added looking at Shivu.
"There is?" Shivu tipped his head in question.
24 took out the files that Looker had given them earlier, "Looker gave us these." he explained, "He told us they might help to find out what Team Galactic's goal is."
Cynthia's eyes widened and she accepted the files that 24 offered her, handling them like they were a delicate and ancient artefact that threatened to fall apart at any moment.
"Oh Looker is very good," she whispered in awe, her eyes flicked up, "if he's right we'll find out just what they're up to and be able to stop them."
24 nodded eagerly, "Exactly!" He looked at the fire, his eyes reflecting the flickering flames, "We need to stop them," 24 tipped his head towards the sky where the stars were just beginning to disappear as the sky lightened. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of air. He opened them again and snarled with determination, "And through hell and high water, we will!"
The sun had raised high in the sky later that day. Cynthia, Shivu and Barry were asleep but 24 had slept until his new bed on the sofa had become too uncomfortable. He sat up and stretched, running his fingers through his hair; naturally 24's hair was curly but the constant straightening and dying had left it damaged and almost dead.
This morning 24 noticed it was somewhat returned to its normal style, although he would have to grow the dye from his hair for some years before it was also healthy again.
He thought about going back to sleep after his late night but he too awake now; if he slept on he'd likely end up with a headache and besides, he was used to staying up all night. Before his job at Team Galactic he spent many- maybe too many- times at a friend's house where the nights were filled with partying and games.
24 missed those days and now he was out of Team Galactic officially he felt he had missed a lot of his life thanks to them.
He sighed as he stood up and walked to the kitchen; he supposed Cynthia wouldn't mind if he had a quick meal. He flinched as a bruise on his arm caused him some pain but he realised he could have been injured much more severely; in fact 24 remembered a time before when he had tried to escape and had got sliced in the wrist by one of the member's Pokémon. The blood loss he had sustained meant he had passed out soon after despite reaching the entrance and was easily brought back to Cyrus' side.
He looked at his wrinkled sleeve, forever reminded of his horrible mistake by the sewn-up tear there and the scar beneath.
Just the week before 24 had heard a member had been slashed up badly by somebody's two Sneasels when they had also tried to make a break for it.
Shaking these dark thoughts from his mind, he made himself a quick breakfast and then decided to leave for a walk around outside. Cynthia had told him not to leave under any circumstances but 24 was getting bored and he didn't want to wait for everyone else to wake up.
24 did however leave a small note saying where he'd gone in case anyone got concerned. He found joyously that he had his wallet with him in his back pocket; regardless of his job qualities, it did pay quite well. Not that he was ever given the freedom to buy anything.
24 decided the first thing he wanted to do was to buy new clothes so he didn't have to spend another minute in his awful uniform. Thus he headed for the centre of town and looked around the shops. Nothing he saw immediately perked his interest but after leaving the 5th shop he decided that he shouldn't be so picky.
24 began to browse which shop was the cheapest from the outside but he didn't notice he was being followed. A man peered around the corner of the wall and watched him carefully- beside him was a woman. "That is him." the man hissed.
"Have you got a positive identification?" the woman replied.
The man turned to her and didn't answer, as if he were confused by her question. "Are you sure it is him?" the woman changed her wording.
"For definite sures." the man nodded.
The woman lifted out a communications device, "In that case I will tell the others."
They slipped away into a dark alley and 24 continued to move forward. 24 stopped suddenly as a shiver ran up his back. He looked around, wondering what had caused his strange feeling of being watched; no one seemed to be paying him much attention- except for the odd glance because of his strange clothes- but despite this 24 just knew something wasn't right.
24 forgot about his new clothes and decided quickly to go back to the apartment. He twisted around to face the direction of where the apartment was and began to pick up his pace. He lowered his head but kept a sharp look out for anything suspicious. All of a sudden he was stopped in his tracks because a woman had stepped out in front of him from one of the many side-streets.
An electric sensation of fear shot through 24 as he realised it was one of the members of Team Galactic. "Hello 24," she said blankly, "Cyrus has sent us to fetch you."
She had not even reached the end of her sentence when 24 ran away from her. He took a different route to Cynthia's place but as he turned a corner into an alley that cut through two tall buildings he smashed straight into an obstacle.
He hit the ground hard and scrambled away from the man who now stood before him; the same uniform he had come to despise was the first thing he laid eyes on.
The man's mouth twitched slightly with a smile and he said, "I've got you."
Something about his accent reminded 24 of someone but he had no time to think about it as the man jumped at him. 24 twisted out of his aim and stumbled back, but just then someone grabbed him around the arms.
24 just got a flash of a member he knew was numbered 681 (Sebastian had been his old name) - a tall member with impressive strength. 681 tossed him downward and pinned him thrashing to the floor.
From a command from the other member a truck was brought round and 24 was roughly thrown into the back.
24 tumbled backwards along the floor. The door clunked as someone outside locked it and 24 quickly stood up, "Noo!" he cried. He pounded desperately on the door, "Let me out of here!" he screamed.
"Now, now, no need to get so worked up..." said a voice behind him.
24 felt the blood drain from his face as he spun around. Behind him, almost hidden in the heavy shadows within the dark back of the truck, was Saturn.
24 barely got a chance to gasp before Saturn released his Toxicroak from its Poké Ball. A bright red flash filled the back of the truck and the Pokémon came charging towards 24.
24 felt the sharp spike on Toxicroak's paw slam into his shoulder. He let out a choked bark as he felt the cold sensation of the poison make its way through his body.
The poison took affect quickly thanks to his fast-pumping heart and he fell to his knees.
"Not so nice to be poisoned, is it?" Saturn sneered.
24 could only groan in response as he fell to all fours, clutching his bleeding wound.
"Like I said," Saturn said slowly with a small chuckle, "No one," he leant down on one knee in front of 24, "no one escapes Team Galactic."
A look of dread filled 24's eyes before they rolled into his head and he hit the floor of the truck with a thump.
24 awoke not long after thanks to the administration of an antidote from Charon. He soon found himself bound by leather straps in a chair in Charon's lab.
"Oh no…" he croaked. His voice rose in volume as he glared at Charon, "No! You won't keep me here; I'll get out again! I'll never stop trying until I'm free of Team Galactic forever!"
Charon snorted, "Fine by me. You're nothing but trouble anyway. But it's not me who wants to keep you here; it's Cyrus and the others. You'll have to take it up with them."
"Who brought me here?!" demanded 24 tossing his head to look around the room, "There were other members, where are they? I'll rip their freakin' eyes out!"
"102 and 681 went to do other work. But the other guy is here," Charon gestured to 24's right. 24 twisted around, his breathing ragged but when he saw who stood beside him, his mouth fell open with shock. Now in the brighter light, he recognised the man immediately.
"Looker…?" he whispered in horror.
"Yup, that's what he calls himself." Charon shrugged, "He'll get a number soon enough. And he's horrible at English and our language… I tell you, in my day you could rely on staff…"
24 ignored Charon's rambling- Looker was walking around freely and not paying them any attention.
"Looker!" cried 24 again.
He didn't turn until Charon called his name.
"Oh no, Looker please not you too..." 24 whimpered, shrinking back in the chair.
"Yes, he's under the power of The Machine before you ask." Charon said, "He put up quite a fight for such an imbecile. I guess he must have some training, being a member of the International Police and all."
"Looker, I'm so sorry…" 24 said in a hushed voice. He swung his head around to Charon, "But we will escape." he hissed angrily, gripping the arms of the chair angrily.
"At least wait till Saturn comes back from giving his report." Charon sighed, "He says he has a proposition for you."
"I'm not interested." 24 spat, "Now let me out of here!" He tugged hard at his restraints.
"You may be when you hear what he has to say." Charon smirked, ignoring the rest of 24's sentence, "I know it's not your strong point but just be patient, boy."
Not having any other choice 24 waited. Saturn took his time in coming. By that time 24 had struggled against the straps holding him to the chair till he had exhausted himself, the affects of the poison still not completely worn off.
He looked up as Saturn entered the room and bared his teeth, "Machine or not, I won't be a slave to this dump of an organisation again!" 24 growled, his words broken up by his heavy breathing.
"That is no longer my concern." Saturn said calmly, narrowing his eyes, "I have more important things to do than to chase after you now we're getting closer to our Ultimate Goal."
24 couldn't help but tilt his head with inquisitiveness. "What do you mean?" he asked, his tense shoulders dropping slightly.
"I want you to help us get the Lake Guardians." Saturn began.
24 bristled again and shouted, "No way! I don't know why you want them, but there's no way on this earth that I'll help you again! Anyway how would I help you with that?"
Despite himself, 24 was curious as to why Saturn would want his help in particular when he had proven time and time again that he couldn't be trusted alone.
"Very simple," Saturn replied, "We need Barry,"
"I don't know why you need him," 24 said, he paused and then lied, "but I don't know where he is."
"Then you'd better find out and fast, otherwise I just might rethink your freedom." Saturn spat.
Charon had been listening to their conversation as he went about his work. He remembered how Shivu had reacted when he had threatened Barry; he had been a lot quicker to agree to Charon's terms when his friend's life was on the line.
Charon stepped up behind Saturn and put a hand on his shoulder to silence whatever he was about to say. Charon gave him a look and Saturn allowed him to step forward to speak.
"If you don't comply," Charon said darkly, "then we'll kill that little Trainer you've gotten so friendly with."
The colour drained from 24's face, "You wouldn't hurt Shivu…" he pushed the worry from his mind, "Cyrus would never allow it!"
"Oh, wouldn't I?" Charon grinned and his eyes darkened, "I didn't stop with adults, 24; don't think I'd hold back on a child."
24 felt his stomach drop and he closed his eyes. He guessed Charon's warning was not an empty one.
The two Commanders waited for his answer, although Saturn was giving Charon a funny look. 24 looked up slowly, "If I do this, do you promise not to hurt Shivu or Barry when you get him?"
"Of course," Saturn shrugged, looking away from Charon, "so long as you comply completely, we're not going to hurt anyone." Another quick glance at Charon.
24's throat felt tight and he almost couldn't believe he spoke the next words that came from his mouth, "Alright. On that condition I'll help you."
Saturn and Charon exchanged a pleased look. "Good." Saturn said and he began to release the straps that held 24.
24 didn't eagerly leap up as he might have done a week prior. He sat still and muttered darkly, "Your plan will not succeed. How could bringing Barry possibly help you?"
"I suppose you should know." Saturn mused, "Palmer is the only person in this era that has ever befriended and gotten close to the Lake Guardians. Barry is Palmer's son, so we believe that if the Lake Guardians see Barry in danger they'll reawaken once more."
"We plan to bring Barry to Lake Valor," Charon picked up where Saturn had stopped, "where we believe Azelf, the somewhat leader of the three, will come and awaken the other two as it does so."
24's eyes were wide with amazement; he wasn't so confident now that Team Galactic's plan would fail.
"So you are going to hurt him?" he questioned.
Charon shook his head, knowing 24 would never agree if he thought Barry would be hurt either way. "We'll make it look real." he responded evasively.
Saturn helped 24 stand since his legs were still shaky from the poison, "When you feel fit enough to walk," Saturn said, "Go back to the Champion or wherever it is you're staying and make sure she doesn't notice anything suspicious."
24 nodded weakly, still not quite believing he was going to do as Saturn said.
"You can bring Barry to Lake Valor on Saturday; that's when our plan will commence." Saturn went on, "That's two days from now, understand?"
"Yes… sir…" 24 replied. Even though he didn't feel up to strength yet he still left the building. He couldn't stand to be around his enemies any longer- he felt even sicker from the way he seemed to be becoming one of them even without mind control.
"You're doing this for Shivu," he reminded himself in his mind, "And Barry will understand in time why I did this…" He kept repeating this in the hope that it would raise his spirit as he left Team Galactic's premises.
After 24 left, Saturn turned to Charon, "You didn't really mean that did you, about killing anyone?"
Charon looked up at the younger man, his eyebrows rising slightly. Saturn was oh-so devoted to Cyrus, he thought, and anything his leader thought of as wrong Saturn would surely think the same without ever once asking why.
Therefore, Charon shook his head, "Of course not, Saturn. It was merely a lie spun to get 24 to do what we wanted… Nothing more."
Further Adieu
LONGEST. CHAPTER. EVER. No really; normally my chapters are 3-4 pages at most, this one was 7! Well, 7 on Word Document anyway.
I feel I should mention at this point something about Looker; when he's speaking in his mind he's speaking in his native tongue unless I say otherwise.
Team Trivia!
*The only additional thing which wasn't in the initial planning was the part where the four Team Galactic members pursue Cynthia and co.- they were just supposed to run through the city and to the forest and then wait there until dawn for the heat to die down but two problems arose with that; if no one was chasing them, why would you wait? And also I felt it was too easy for the characters to get away if they weren't chased for a while.
In case it wasn't blatantly obvious enough I'm trying to establish how bloody difficult it is to get away from Team Galactic; hence no one has managed it before
*We finally find out where 24's tear came from! Idk if anyone was wondering but now you know!
-24's hair is actually also naturally curly; if anyone is wondering now which character 24 is in Counting Stars, this is a major clue!
*A few things about 681 (Sebastian); this is a character who's set to appear in Counting Stars although he hasn't just yet. This shouldn't come as a surprise to those who have seen the art of him and two other characters named Mel and Scarlett as Sebastian is very open about his previous membership in Team Galactic; in fact he even admits that he misses it! Strange guy, but nice enough once you get to know him.
-I also think it's odd myself for those who notice how we went from "8, 11, 24" etc to "SUDDENLY 600+!" This was kind of always the intention but I have a list on Word for members and their names up until 30, after that I have nothing but I did want to get Sebastian in there x3 I imagine there are maybe 1000+ members? As much as that sounds that was the amount of pupils in my school; to look at it you wouldn't believe it (it wasn't exactly a huge school) but apparently that was the number!
I also found out recently people who attended a local convention were counted to be over 3000- again you wouldn't have noticed but you get the idea; seems like less, is actually more xD
*In a previous draft of this story 24's situation towards the end of the Chapter was actually Shivu's problem. In fact, it took place right after Shivu comes around from the knock on the head; after that Shivu was meant to run away following Barry but the three Commanders catch up to him more or less straight after and recapture him then threaten him to bring back Barry.
I scrapped the idea because I felt Shivu had enough going on; I like to spread the story out amongst the characters to keep them all interesting and important (as much as I love Kung Fu Panda, they're a fine example of how letting the main characters take the spotlight can leave the lesser characters undeveloped) so therefore I changed it to 24- it would also give an interesting development later in the story!