I didn't want Chapter 29 to be out so late, so here it is.
Hopefully the hiatus didn't ruin the momentum. If you think that, probably look over 28 again? They WERE in the same document. I originally planned for 28 and 29 to be one chapter as crazy as that may sound!
At the moment, I'm working on the last chapter for Volume 1, so enjoy!
No. It's not that things are going to change. It's that things 'must' change.
-Nina Frost
Chapter XXIX: Departure
The run to where the fire was wore me out. A flying Pokémon would be next on my list to catch because my legs could only take me so far. Chasing the fire brought us all in the city limits and I caught my breath against a city mailbox. Nobody else was tired. Streams of visible breath came from all the masks and made us look demonic with half our 'faces' visible.
"If you used Ghost Pokémon like Zero, you could fly," A female member said. She became snide. "You're obviously not used running around like this. And also…"
She grabbed my hood and pulled it over my head. Then she tucked my uncut hair into the sides.
"There, now you don't stick out. And damn Ed, you need someone to fix your hair because you look wilder than before."
Her mask and zipped hoodie prevented me from recognizing the stranger. The hair in her hood was dark through my lenses. "I know you?"
"Duh?" She said, lifting her mask just above her face. Her freckles and slightly jutted teeth on her bottom lip smiling at me was easily recognizable.
"Anne?" I asked, getting up. "That really you?"
"Of course it is, idiot. But it's not like Darius told you. I don't think he even knows I'm still in Team Zero. And Ned's on the other side."
I vaguely remembered her at first, but it came back to me that she was the girl with Darius and Ned. She was Ned's older sister and her Arbok tried to kill me, she treated me like shit, gave me some food and a nice conversation. All four of us had been in the Ruins of Alph.
Another flame shot across the sky. This time I could barely see Charizard's outline swirling around another flying figure shrouded in darkness.
"We'll talk later?" I asked hurriedly. "We gotta go."
Anne put her mask back on. "Yeah, let's get out of here."
If anyone looked out their window at the street, they'd see a ghastly group of people dashing down the road with masks out of a horror movie or a southern Sinnoh play. If they looked up in the sky, they'd see a light show with a Charizard blasting flames at a Dragonite and the two swirling around each other in a close game of Meowth and Rattata.
We all had reached the other side of the city outskirts. Climbing over a chain fence, we were in a camping reserve with groups of people standing out their trailers looking in awe at the battle going on. When they saw us, older folks either shouted profanities in our direction or avoided us by going inside or not getting in our way. Younger ones whooped and some even ran inside to get dressed in black and joined us. Since the actual Team Zero members ignored them as we made our way through, I ignored the new 'recruits.'
Then we found the true battlefield beyond the trees and hills – a wide pond surrounded by tin lampposts - and the water reflected Charizard's flames above from above. Abel's massive Dragonite swooped down and glided above the water. Water rose behind it in an unnatural formation, creating a tide that rose up like a hill. Tied-up boats banged against the dock and one was set ablaze as Charizard ceased his pursuit to dodge the water, his tail hitting it.
"There they are! On the other side!" A member shouted.
Near a lone shack across the pond from us, two Pokémon were in tight combat – Umbreon and a significantly larger, fat human-shaped Pokémon covered in decorative yellow and orange petals and flowers. The Pokémon delivered a gigantic fist down toward the ground that Umbreon dodged barely. Her red eyes glowed with an otherworldly nature, emitting crimson streaks of light as she hopped around.
Abel was immediately recognizable, jumping backward when Umbreon got too close. The two opponents were trying to have their Pokémon attack the other human. Abel was surprisingly agile in his red Champion's uniform.
Rob, however, donned a black overcoat, shoes, gloves, the works. His hair flowed wildly as he ran back and forth, keeping the distance between the dueling Pokémon and himself constant. His Team Zero mask was different from the others. From where I stood, it looked like he had a half-white half-black Venomoth crawling down his face.
With impressive skill, he made his voice loud and raspy. He was completely unidentifiable without Nahindelon saying anything.
"Yeah, goddamn Champion! Motherfucker! Your fighting Pokémon can't even touch me and your Dragonite sucks so much ass!"
That was him alright.
Some members took Zero Balls out and chucked them onto the water. The light emitted from just a few forced me to cover my eyes.
Then there were millions of high shrieks and the noise of hundreds of wings beating in the air. The light was gone and I looked up and nearly fell over from fright. Tiny, flapping Zubat were everywhere. Fluttering around Charizard and the Dragonite like a swirling, dark cloud.
Charizard flew higher. The flock of Zubat started gnawing on the Dragonite. Struggling to shake them off, it plunged into the pond. The resulting wave gained momentum and crashed on the banks. We were left soaked.
The Dragonite was gone I started my mad dash around the lake and left the other members and Charizard to keep distracting it.
Halfway, the ground nowhere near the bank became muddy. My steps became sloshes and I soon found myself sunk waist deep in mud. My heart started beating against my chest.
"What the fuck?" came out my mouth, wondering if I should struggle if I really was in quicksand.
I found the ground-altering culprit. Spikes barely sticking out the ground to look like a bunch of scattered, inconspicuous pebbles, Abel's Tyranitar had set a trap. Members screamed for help. "OH GOD THE GROUND IS EATING ME!" one shouted.
My legs were immovable. They were locked in place by thick, soft matter. Suddenly, the Tyranitar started to dig itself up out of the mud around it. With furious power and speed, it kicked up mud and soil off its back and arms. Debris started to cover me. The Pokémon was so close to me that my body moved as it shifted the ground around it to get up. My leg rubbed against its solid, soft and sandy body.
The Tyranitar managed to move me to where I was on my back with the mud slowly pulling me down. My hood was off and my hair had clods of mud all in it. Being forced to look up at the Pokémon frightened me and made me feel vulnerable. The Tyranitar could easy take a massive round, clawed hand and pressed down against my chest, having me suffocate in mud. Its earthen green layer of sand was intertwined with some of the earth like a continuous cloth. The towering behemoth ignored me.
Not waiting for a moment to hesitate, I managed to get my arm out the mud and dug into my jeans' pocket. Clawing through the mud with all my strength, I grabbed all four of my Poké Balls and tossed them to the surface. I activated all of them with one hand and slammed them as hard as I could against my chest. The result was all four of my Pokémon jumping away from the mud to avoid getting stuck. I noticed I wasn't sinking anymore.
June was in her cast in a ready position, Shox with his goofy e-collar sparkling with electricity, Nick brandishing his brand new claws together, and Alan barring his teeth with a trail of poison running from his curled lips. None of them were afraid of Abel's Tyranitar (thought I felt Alan was just pissed in general.) My Pokémon that had followed me through three badges and an epic ass-whooping were now going against a Pokémon that undoubtedly killed more rogue trainers, won more battles, and crushed bigger Pokémon than mine ever would.
The Tyranitar noticed them and let out a low menacing growl and its beady eyes glared at my Pokémon like insults. June made the first move and the rest did their thing. Perhaps Shredder messed up her fire abilities, but June dashed and made a cautious sidestep to dodge an attack that never came. She leapt in the air and attempted a roundhouse kick at the Tyranitar's head, coming short at the neck.
Her foot was swallowed into the sand shell. Without moving an inch, the Tyranitar enveloped June's leg in sand and swirled her right into the pond with a shriek and a sound splash.
Oh god. "JUNE!" I shouted.
I grabbed one of the empty Poké Balls and aimed at her struggling, crying figure. The red light enveloped her in time. I kissed the ball, thanking her for trying and promising her I'd stop being a stupid trainer. I put her in my coat.
The ground under Alan shot up, launching him into the woods behind us. Recovering, he dashed along with Shox toward the Tyranitar. Again, the ground rose from underneath them at an angle, causing them to stumble over.
The Tyranitar just stared at them with years of fighting experience. Alan and Shox started to sink into the ground as well.
Thinking quickly, I returned both of them so they'd be out the mud and attempted to let them out again. The Tyranitar lifted a small piece of ground that rapped my hand, making both Poké Balls plop into the mud. A small piece of ground rose and swept them away from me, even taking Nick's.
Then Nick came from above, landed, and leapt - he slashed the Tyranitar's throat. Sand particles flew off to the side, leaving a black gash on the behemoth's neck. Nick fluttered sideways, ready for anything.
The Tyranitar was surprised, now rubbing the scratch on its shell. A second was all it took for it to be filled with new sand. The wound was good as new.
Nick closed in, getting low to dodge swings. The Tyranitar didn't move. He allowed Nick to get underneath and use the top half of his claw to slice up the shell, all the way up to the center of the Tyranitar's blue belly.
Sand exploded from the cut and got in Nick's eye. He screeched in agony and staggered backwards. The noise he made echoed from his metal covering breaking. Then the Tyranitar snatched him in both hands by his thin waist like a doll.
A metallic cracking sound made me wince. Nick screeched again, flailing is arms around, cutting the Tyranitar's wrists with no success.
I reached for my only chance, activated her Poké Ball, and slammed it against my chest to let her out. The light uncovered June rolling around in a sort of seizure. Hitting the water was messing with her insides. I returned her for her safety.
Despite talking to Alice about it and seemingly settling it, I was feeling the complete stupidity I stepped in. Again I let my Pokémon fight a battle I knew I couldn't win, and the cost was to watch Nick get crushed by a gigantic Tyranitar's arms. I was torn between cheering him on to bust out and outright crying and admitting I was a failure.
And then the sand on the Tyranitar's head exploded. A harsh, heavy crack popped through the air, and Nick was dropped to the ground. Him landing on his knees made me praise God. Somebody had shot the thing.
The Tyranitar's black, thin lizard head was exposed above its bulky body. A guttural roar of rage escaped its mouth. Then the Tyranitar's chest exploded followed instantly by a gunshot.
It took a step away and raised plates from the ground to shield itself. The ground shifted upward, inadvertently lifting me out of my trap. I plopped and rolled over onto the somehow hardened mud, and then made a mad crawl to gather my Poké Balls, gathering them all and returning Nick to keep him safe. I promised to get myself one of those belts Alice had after this.
Then luck worked against me by having the damn Dragonite land a few meters away. The shock from the impact was so sudden, I was sent rolling past the mud and was submerged into the chilly water. Dead Zubat bobbed into me.
Then the water churned up the bank, making me go deeper into the pond. I struggled to keep my face above the surface. My mask collected water and messed up my breathing, so I threw it off to stay alive. Icy water went through my clothes, shocking me all over and making me numb. Memories of swimming back on Hoenn's beaches kicked in, but I was stuck in one place – the Dragonite was collecting water with its power. A huge column of water shot upward toward Charizard. Then three more. Charizard narrowly dodged them all with twisted flying maneuvers.
Getting my swimming back in shape and trying my best to ignore the cold water, I saw others joined in the fight. People with neon lights on camo uniforms, strange glowing batons twirling around, and a slew of dogs had the Team Zero members busy. They were Pokémon Rangers.
On the other side, Umbreon and Abel's fat yet swift Pokémon were still dueling. Both Rob and Abel were glancing at me. Nobody taunted the other anymore. Instead, Rob took a quick look around and above at the surrounding chaos.
He dropped a Poké Ball. The light resulting from it lit up the entire area and managed to curl its way down into the water with no sort of diffraction. For a moment, I could see the fish and rocks underneath.
The light went away and everyone and everything was recovering their eyesight.
Then the water erupted, making a tidal wave that lifted me into the air and threw me into the air. Gravity was nothing. I was an airborne amateur trainer caught in the middle of I didn't know how many fights. The feeling of ascension went through my head, like I hit some other plane where I wasn't in control over anything and was guided by all the chaos around me. Doing my best made me a leaf being blown every which way on a windy day.
I landed. The breath was knocked out of me and my head bounced against the ground. All of the lights did a small dance to the harsh ringing sound in my ears.
Then I was being dragged, and then put over a shoulder. Someone's back was in my face. I could smell some fancy, light cologne.
A bloodthirsty, guttural roar boomed. My ears rattled again and I felt a gust of wind push me, making me shiver. Weary, I looked up at where it came from.
As cold and tired as I was, I could see the giant sea snake clearly. Looking back, I can't tell if I wet myself there or not since I was soaked from swimming. Was I hallucinating? I asked myself. The thing was a colossus as big around as a family swimming pool and I didn't want to begin figuring out how long it was. The Gyarados probably was curled up just to fit in the pond, or at least I imagined so.
Then the serpent reeled over to get a closer look at whoever was carrying me. The face burned itself into my mind and I still see it to this day. The creature had to have been born without any way to show any sort of happiness and it didn't look like it gave a damn. The frowning mouth could've swallowed a car whole if it didn't rip it to shreds with its fangs – they were longer than I was tall. The Gyarados' eyes glowed bright yellow from reflecting the lights around the pond, giving it a frightening blank stare. The forehead was slanted downward making it look perpetually angry and the fins around the head stood erect. The emblem-like appendage on its head was lighter than the rest of the body. It demanded fear and respect.
"God you're a wreck," Abel said. He had me slung over his shoulder. He seemed a lot chiller than I was. My mind was tripping out at seeing the Pokémon. I couldn't respond. I was speechless from shock and from absorbing everything around me. Umbreon was still fighting. Rob was screaming something. Hollering and taunts came from across the pond with the rest of the Team Zero members fending off Rangers and their dogs. Charizard roared and the Dragonite roared back. The Tyranitar was barking, deciding to help with taking out Umbreon. Slabs of earth shot out of the ground to block the bullets shot at it from the hidden gun.
"Your friend better not be planning anything stupid," Abel chided. "Grab my coat and hold on tight. Need to get you out of here."
He shouted. "November! Hold the Gyarados down while I get out of here!"
November stared up at the Gyarados and the Gyarados looked mockingly at the Tyranitar. The size difference didn't matter. Abel's November raised an earthen shell around her body, and lifted and readied her foot, howling louder and louder.
Gyarados submerged, tossing water everywhere. Umbreon slipped on mud and Abel's fighting Pokémon took the opportunity to snatch her up in one hand, and then slammed her like a football. Charizard soared down and blasted the enemy with fire in passing, setting him ablaze.
"Spiros!" he shouted to the Dragonite chasing Charizard. "Help Kline and keep fighting that Charizard! I'll be RIGHT BACK!"
Abel made a mad dash into the woods with me slung over his shoulder. Branches cracked under his feet as he ran. Back at the pond, I could hear the Gyarados resurface and bellow. Then a shockwave popped my ears as everything shook like an earthquake. Sounds of trees being broken and people fighting and in the campsite screaming and cursing echoed through the woods.
"Where are you taking me?" I managed to get out my mouth, coughing. My words were jumbled and harsh. Something trickled down my face toward my mouth. I let out a sneeze which trigged a massive headache.
"Out of here," he said. "Somewhere safe."
He continued through the woods, stopping for a moment to carry me in his arms. The change relieved me because blood was collecting in my head making me feel light and woozy.
Then he stopped. I opened my eyes. A man with a moth mask like Rob's stood in front of us with a pistol. A large rifle was strapped around his back like he was a hunter. This was the second time Eli helped me out with a gun. Beside him was a shorter girl in a black coat and a similar mask, with her brown hair running down the sides. Her hands trembled as she pointed another pistol at Abel.
"Give us the kid so I won't have to shoot you in the head," he said. He raised the pistol higher. His false raspy tone wasn't as good as Rob's. "Though that might make things a lot easier for me and my people."
"And Abel," Zero's voice said, "you're out of useable Pokémon I think. November, Spiros, Kline are back at the pond. Muriel and DeVonte were helping out at the graveyard and poor Zuzu can't even lift his spoons."
All of a sudden, I was snatched away from Abel's arms into the light grip of a cold and massive, bandaged hand. I looked up at Aven's one glowing yellow eye that twisted around like a cautious overseer.
Eli went over to Abel and put the gun sharply into his head. "Come with us."
Then Aven started going back to the pond, weaving past trees. I looked around for Zero but saw no trace.
"You don't hide your voice," Abel said, holding his hands up as Eli kept him in line. "Or you trying to taunt me like that or what?"
"No Abel," Zero said casually. "Victor Frost and I are two different people. I'm nicer than he is. Also, he took a vacation with his daughter. He said he'd send us postcards."
Then I realized his voice was next to me. I looked up and a man in a black, long coat hovering next to Aven. His hood was up and his face was covered in an unnatural pitch, black darkness. As we got closer to the pond, the lights revealed his coat's dark violet colors and the girl's heavy brown hair.
Charizard and Spiros were going head to head in the sky. Spiros was blasting a strange blue flame from his mouth Charizard made sure to dodge. On the ground, the earth was torn and plates made jagged rips across the banks. Spikes were sticking out of the water and the Gyarados was bleeding out the mouth while indignantly standing, staring down Novemeber. Half her armor was gnarled and twisted with chunks of it dripping. The Gyarados managed to soak some of her. Across the pond, the Rangers were fending off flocks of Zubat with their batons and the Team Zero members were using personal Pokémon and knives to fight the dogs.
Kline, the fat yellow fighting Pokémon, launched himself at Eli for having a gun at Abel's head. Then he was sent flying into the pond. I missed what happened, or so I thought.
"Make sure nothing goes wrong," Zero said. He descended to the ground. Small cracks slithered from under his feet, knocking particles of dirt into the air.
Then he broke into a run onto the pond as if he was a mystical being, placing perfect steps onto the water's surface, toward the rangers. As he lifted each step, a small strip of ice remained. I watched as he started his cleaning up of the place.
With a sweep of his arm, all of the Rangers and their dogs were lifted into the air like puppets lifted by strings.
A massive red light enveloped the pond. Rob returned his Gyarados and came over to us, exhilarated. "Abel, you sure do know how to fight," he said in his fake voice. "I'm all excited. My blood's rushing." Then he looked up at me through his mask. He fell silent. Abel said nothing.
Zero made a dash to November. She made a spike shoot out of the ground next to her aimed at him, but he glided over the water and kicked some right at her. More chunks of her shell dripped as she readied another spike.
Swerving out the way, Zero shoved a fist through the softened part of her armor. Before she could shift it to possibly break his arm, her shell completely exploded into mud and sand, revealing her body – completely frozen and crystallized. Frost crept up to her exposed, fearful face, petrifying it.
Above, Spiros watched November get decimated. He stopped chasing Charizard and swooped down toward Zero. Frost trailed from his hands as his hooded head looked up at the sky toward the furious Dragonite.
Charizard took the chance, intercepting Spiros, and unleashed a stream of fire from his mouth. Spiros backhanded Charizard with his massive arm, sending him crashing into a tree.
The distraction was all Zero needed. He got back onto the water. A patch of ice grew from under him and started covering the whole pond. His body was hunched over and his hands were inches apart. A sphere of white light grew in his hands, emitting trails of wispy frost. Within seconds, the sphere grew into the size of a basketball. Crystal ice slithered from the pond onto Zero's legs and gradually grew to his arms.
Spiros turned around. Zero threw his arms out in front of him and a beam of slim white light and wisps shot out and hit the dragon in the center of his chest. The impact made Spiros explode into a massive frozen crystal with jagged, symmetrical spikes.
The crystal fell and rolled into the pond. Zero raised a hand and the water around it lifted the frozen dragon and froze itself. Spiros' face was stuck between showing worry of being attacked from the back and the surprise of being frozen within a second.
For the final move, Zero caught Kline lifting himself out of the water. Zero froze the water around its waist, trapping him like how November trapped me in the mud. He punched the ice around him and broke himself free.
Frustrated, Zero made a small wave to crash into Kline. Then he froze Kline stiff.
Eli nudged Abel's head with the gun. "Return your Pokémon. Throw one out and you're dead."
Without any retaliation, Abel opened his coat and took the Poké Balls from his belt. He returned all of his Pokémon, even taking the ice that trapped them. He locked them onto his belt and put his hands back up in the air. Abel was beat by Rob and Zero.
"What…" Alice's voice said from behind the girl's mask. She wasn't bothering hiding her voice. "How'd he do that? Oh my God…"
Rob nudged her. She looked up at him and he motioned his head toward a glum Abel. She coughed. "I've never seen him do that before," she said, sounding like a Politoed. A laugh came out my chest, making my lungs ache. Eli shook his head and sighed, readjusting the gun in his hand.
"I don't know who he's fooling," Abel said through gritted teeth. "He's a goddamn old man in denial. All he's going to do is fuck himself up and bring you all with him. And if he's lucky he'll probably kill millions of people because of whatever idea he has. Little girl, that apprentice mask you're wearing means your days are numbered."
"And your seconds are numbered since you won't shut up," Eli taunted.
"We've been in this position how many times?" Abel asked in a worn yet mocking tone. "You'd think you'd tell me your real name by now. If you ask me, I don't even think you're a trainer. Why do you follow Frost – oh, I mean Zero around? It's been about three years and you still haven't found anything better to do."
He sardonically laughed at his own joke. Eli chuckled. He raised his gun above Abel's head and fired off a shot. The gunshot made Abel hesitate and almost stumble over. Alice jumped and I snapped into full attention from shock.
Eli shoved the gun hard enough in Abel's skull to make him fall over in the mud. Abel didn't bother trying to get up.
"Abel deserves a bit more respect than that, I think," Zero lulled, coming over to us on the bank. Behind him were more Team Zero members carrying two gagged and tied up champions – Roger and Miranda. Darius was in the back with his arms folded smugly. Rob was motionless.
"Here," Zero said. He nodded toward the members. They tossed Roger and Miranda next to Abel in the mud. Both of their yelps of pain were muffled.
Zero knelt next to Abel's head. "Get up and talk," he said with surprising terseness.
He held a hand out for Abel. Abel looked up at it with sheer contempt and knocked it away as he sat up. Before Eli could get in Abel's face, Zero had an open hand up to keep him away.
"So what do you want to know?" Abel asked, staring down at the two tied-up Champions. Miranda's blonde hair was mixed with mud and blood and her normally clear face was bruised and scraped. Roger had a single scratch on his cheek.
"You suspected Team Zero was planning something in Ecruteak, but your attempt to do anything was half-assed at best. Three Champions and a bunch of Rangers is nothing," Zero chastised. "Why did you bother attacking?"
Zero looked over at Roger and Miranda. I could only see the back of his hood, but I could imagine how the two felt seeing his unnaturally dark veil. I was still in Aven's grip and I was even afraid to see Zero face-to-face.
"We would've killed them easy," Zero said.
"You don't kill anyone," Abel muttered. "At least that's still respectable about you."
Zero chuckled.
"What?" Abel asked, raising a brow. Zero fell silent and stared at him, probably smiling behind his dark veil.
"What?" Abel blurted.
"Nothing," Zero said. "But there are nastier folks than me out there. You think I'm the bad guy when they're all around kidnapping trainers and putting them in that Dark Market."
Zero stood up and put his hands to his hips. "You know the Dark Market is bad in Goldenrod, right? You could be a real hero doing something about that than following me around. And I think they got something awful brewing. I feel like they're going to try and mess us both up." He cleared his throat. "By us, I mean me metaphorically representing Team Zero and you metaphorically representing the garbage kennel that's the Pokémon League."
Abel stared at Zero with contempt and curiosity. "Like what?" he asked curtly.
Zero waved a gloved hand in the air in confusion. "I honestly don't know. But I do know they're screwing with you more than they're screwing with me. They're even sweet to me when they feel like it or see enough cash. But you obviously knew that Team Zero liberates trainers from the Dark Market. I know being a Champion through and through can make you blind and stupid but I think you know that much."
Zero shook his head. "I thought you were smarter, Charles. But forgive my tangent. Now tell me why you attacked the way you did. Why did you only have three Champions and handful of Rangers?"
Abel frowned and sulked heavily in defeat. "Stats. The League wants stats from all the Champions because apparently we're not doing our job in cutting down on Pokémon-related threats."
Zero nodded in understanding. "I see. So you were here investigating…. Let me guess. You get info Victor Frost's at the Lake of Rage, figure he'd come back, assume me and him are the same person," – he wagged his finger – "and then attempt to trail Frost and you run into me, and then attack me."
Zero sighed. "I thought you were better than that. I'm telling you, retire early, get a family, and settle down in a nice estate. I don't see a ring on your finger so I'm going to assume you're seeing a pretty woman who you make very happy and who makes you very happy. You're getting too old for this."
Abel didn't respond. He looked over his shoulder at the Rangers still floating in the air. He sniffed, his nose was running. He rubbed his sleeve against the top of his lip.
"You know what, Zero?" Abel asked in a low tone. "I'm going to give you a heads up because I know you mean well enough, but you're just too fucking senile to know common sense."
He stared fiercely at Zero. "I suggest you get back to that museum. The cavalry will be there to pick up your daughter at any minute. But let me guess, she won't be there because you were relocating all of the Johto Team Zero members."
Zero slowly lowered his arms and stepped back. Abel furiously stared up at Eli's gun. "I suggest you get to running. I don't think you want to be caught with a gun in a Champion's face."
"Then why didn't they show up earlier?" Zero asked innocently.
Abel kept silent. Zero laughed. "Oh damn. All this time, I hoped you were important."
Then he nodded at Eli and then addressed everyone. "My friends, it's time to get outta here! We should leave before Charles becomes a vigilante and comes after us with a shotgun."
The members cheered in victory. Some stood over Roger and Miranda to ridicule them with taunts and insults. Rob yelled at them to leave them alone and to hurry up. Eli followed Zero through the woods and Aven finally let me down. My legs were wobbly and weak but Rob held onto my shoulders. Abel watched everyone pass by, and focused on me. His face was unreadable but I knew he could see mine perfectly. He didn't seem mad or upset staring at me, which made me nervous. I was in Team Zero as far as he was concerned. Miranda and Roger probably saw me too. I could picture Miranda getting disturbingly excited over thinking I was in Team Zero.
Everyone ran. Once the police sirens hit our ears, some split up. Keeping up with Rob was hard, but we managed to make it across the city without getting caught. Everyone was back together again once we made it to the museum, except for Zero and Eli.
"They're okay," Rob answered when I asked about them. We were hurrying down the stairs to the basement. "They'll be here soon, hopefully. They're keeping the police and Abel's 'cavalry' busy, I think. C'mon."
I stopped. Rob halted a few steps below me, surprised and annoyed.
"What's wrong?"
A combination of the cold getting to me and having to run messed up my thinking. Perhaps it was being in the museum giving me frightening clarity.
"Rob."
"What, man? We gotta hurry up!"
"What am I going to do? Abel saw my face and he thinks I'm in Team Zero."
Rob impatiently rolled his eyes. He grabbed my arm and pulled me. "Dude. Come on."
I followed him down. The portal's lights were dimmer as they lit the bottom floor. "Through the portal?"
"Mmhm."
I stopped again and snatched my hand away from Rob. "What am I going to do in Sinnoh?"
Rob flipped around and raised his voice. "What the hell are you gonna do here, huh? What are you gonna tell the Champions when they catch you? You're not in Team Zero and you just wanted to help them out?"
He made sense, but was he over-thinking it? Or was I not thinking enough? "What can they do to me?"
Rob slapped his forehead in disappointment. "Ed, don't be stupid. Team Zero may as well be damn terrorists or somethin'. The moment you helped out wearing that mask, you pretty much fucked yourself. And then you manage to lose it and Abel and Roger and Miranda get a good look at you."
He went down the rest of the stairs. I stopped again. "I tried to help you out. Nahindelon said Zero didn't care."
Rob chuckled sarcastically. "Yeah? And look what good it did. Just come on. We'll figure out somethin'."
The irony bit me - Rob was thinking when I wasn't.
We entered the portal room. The violet light no longer bothered my bare eyes. The portal had gotten twice as small and half the number of Beldum before kept it open. In a group going on ahead through the portal, a masked girl waved at me.
"You ought to come with us, Ed!" Anne shouted before the light took her completely. "Didn't they already see…your…face….?" Her voice trailed off like an echo across a great distance.
Rob counted off the remaining few members. He'd be in the last group going in, I figured. "Inez, Nina go through already? Nahindelon?" he asked.
Inez took a longer than expected second to respond. [Yup. She and the weird guy went in about ten minutes ago. When you gonna jump in too?] Her telepathic voice went from a sarcastic, intelligent woman's to a whiny, preteen girl's.
Someone patted my shoulder. I turned around and Alice hugged me tight.
"Why are you so garbage with your Pokémon?" she rambled. Her mask slightly muffled her angry, concerned voice. "Why the hell did you think you could take on that Tyranitar and why didn't you come and get me when you and the others ran to help Rob and Zero?"
She looked up at Rob. "Why didn't you want me there? Why the hell would I stay in here and not do anything?"
Rob scanned across the large concrete room. Us three remained.
"It was Zero's call but I agreed with him," Rob said hurriedly. "Alice, you're reckless and you're a bomb ready to be set off. You would've used all your Pokémon and got them killed. You'd probably get yourself arrested or killed too."
Alice threw herself off of me. "What? How you figure that? I literally told Ed today if I was him when he fought me for the Fog Badge, I would've given up way sooner."
Rob took off his mask and wiped his sweaty brow, looking over the both of us. "Yeah? Well you didn't mind using all four of your Pokémon against that Venusaur back when we were comin' to Ecruteak."
She threw her mask off and stomped toward him, staring up at him with her fists balled. Her teeth were clenched and her sweaty hair stuck to her face from all the running. "Because somebody had to do something! What were YOU doing?"
Zero came from behind still masked in pitch darkness and knelt down to pick up Alice's mask. "He was saving you," he calmly answered. He stood up and handed her the mask. With a closer look, it was more like a heart than an upside down moth, but with jagged, elegant teeth-like protrusions at the top.
She stared at the mask indignantly. "I tried," she murmured. She snatched the mask from Zero's hand. I half expected him to backhand her across the face since he was the leader of Team Zero, but instead he attempted to place a gentle hand on her head. She knocked it away and ran over to the portal, turning around and oddly standing there as if to dare Zero and Rob to stop her from going in.
The light behind her darkened her image, giving her a demonic image. "Why are you sending me to Hoenn? You said I'd be an apprentice!"
Zero put his hands akimbo. "I told you already," he said in a voice that implied everything was obvious. "I have people down there that can help you. Good Gym Leaders and a bunch of good trainers to help you out. The lady you'll be staying with has walked the same path you're on now. She'll be a far better guide than I ever could."
Alice rubbed her nose and looked back into the one-way portal. "How long do I get to stay in Sinnoh?"
"A day roughly," Zero said. "It wasn't my doing. Ellen picked out the plane tickets. But I promise you she could win a Pokémon League Championship if she decided to on a whim. She's everything you could possibly hope for."
Rob had been looking over his shoulder at the stairs impatiently. "Zero, Champions and Rangers will be storming the place in a second. Can you throw her in there?"
"Hey Rob! Fuck you," she spat at him. Then she turned over to me. She took a breath to calm herself down again. "What are you going to do?"
The urgency had pulled Rob's last straw. "Goddamn! Alice! If you want-"
"Alice. Everyone. Just get in," Zero interrupted. "We'll all sit down and talk once we get to Sinnoh. Alice, I'd rather not leave you here. You either, Ed. Let's go. Inez, we're done here."
"Finally," Rob said. He went up to the portal past a stunned Alice and entered the light. One by one, Beldum detached themselves from the light and entered the portal, making it smaller and dimmer.
Alice growled, avoiding a Beldum floating into the portal, going in herself. The portal was now a tall triangle held by three Beldum.
"She's quite the belligerent child, isn't she?" Zero asked as we approached the light. My feet were on autopilot. I didn't know what belligerent meant.
"I dunno if this is the right thing to do," I whined. "What am I going to do in Sinnoh? I've never been to Sinnoh."
Zero rubbed his chin, getting rid of any fear I had of him snapping like Rob did. "Like I said, we'll talk about it there. But look at it this way for now: the museum is about to be filled with police and Champions."
He walked me over to the portal with a gentle hand to my back. "When we go through this thing, Nina's Beldum will cut it off and we won't be tracked. Now, you're not in Team Zero, but you already know the Champions don't care about that. They think you are, even though you just wanted to help a friend out. They're going to hunt you, Ed."
I looked up at him, afraid. That was the only logical thing the Champions would do.
"And then Riley's going to keep hunting me," I admitted.
"Not just the Riley kid, but the Syndicate. The bastards have a tendency to put a bounty on any kid that manages to get out of their system. Rob had Eli get you but there's more to it than that."
Fear of being in Sinnoh went away, replaced by fear of staying in Johto alone. I would've been long dead if Rob had never found me getting attacked by that Skarmory, and he wouldn't have been around if he wasn't in Team Zero.
So what was the best thing I could do? Obviously jump in the portal and never look back. And that's what I did. I walked through and felt nothing. However, instead of walking through to the other side of the light, my eyes sank and I was overcome with immense tiredness. My legs gave. All my weariness came back and my body shut down. I didn't even care that I collapsed on the concrete.
Somebody shook my shoulder. Rob spoke in my ear. "Ed, it's time to wake up."
I tiredly opened my eyes, seeing darkness. I shifted myself onto my back. Whatever I was laying on felt like a bunch of blankets. Rob's outline was barely visible above me and I couldn't tell what kind of room I was in. A burning smell got in my nose and a warm, cozy feeling was everywhere.
I got up and popped my neck. "What happened?" I asked. My throat flared up and made me cough.
Rob went over to a wall and flipped on a light. I rubbed my eyes. "You stepped through the portal and you were knocked out longer than anyone else," he said. He chuckled. "But now you can at least get some sleep without worrying about Champions or some crazy kid stalking you."
I saw I was on the floor sitting on a bunch of quilts. Getting the sleep out my eyes, I noticed Rob and I were in an empty room with cardboard boxes to the side. The door out had a boarded up window.
My head felt heavy and I couldn't breathe out my nose. "Rob, I don't feel good."
He knelt down next to me and put a hand on my forehead. "Yeah, you're burning up. You probably got a fever from falling in that water. Just take June out and stay close to her. You'll be alright."
I ran my hand through my hair. It needed to be cut and washed. "She fell in the water too. She was going crazy like when Alice's Shredder hit her with bubbles," I said quietly. Mentioning it made my regret over letting that happen to her heavier inside me.
"Oh damn, sorry. I didn't see that," Rob said. He got up. "Well let's go outside. I'll get Charizard out and he'll get June all hot again, and then she can help you out."
Rob helped me onto my feet and kept me from falling over. Outside the room, long rows of lights hung from the ceiling. Stacks of steel cargo boxes made hallways where Zero members mingled about, sitting on their belongings. We were high above, standing on metal grating.
"Let's go on the roof," Rob said. I followed him down the platform and up a dark stairwell in the wall. The warmth of the warehouse was gone and I was shivering again. I smelled salt in the air.
Our footsteps crunched against the gravel on the roof. The night sky was murky orange and heavy smog blocked out the stars. Giant cranes with blinking lights going down their necks and stacks of cargo boxes towered everywhere. More members were on the roof lounging around self-made fires in steel barrels.
Rob let Charizard out, who stretched his wings and yawned fire out his nostrils. Without having to look at my Poké Balls, I reached into my pocket and picked the one that simply felt like June. I dropped it and let June out. Fortunately, she wasn't flailing around like before, but she sat on the gravel and curled up to stop her trembling, tightening her arm sling. She made me notice my teeth were chattering. In the distance, a ship's horn sounded.
"Can you warm her up?" Rob asked Charizard. Rob motioned for me to come over to where he was, away from June.
Charizard looked down at June's pitiful figure, as if he could relate to what she was feeling. Opening his jaw, he let a stream of fire loose that covered June completely. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch.
I almost got nervous watching, but June shot up to her feet. Charizard stopped blowing fire and June started spraying streams of flame from both hands around her feet.
"She's warming herself up," Rob said. He nodded over to Charizard, who stretched his wings and took to the air. Charizard flew off to a crane nearby and circled around it. Other members' flying Pokémon joined him.
After a few minutes of blasting fire down at her feet, June was more or less back to normal. The gravel around her glowed red as she walked on it to me to be at my side. I scratched the base of her neck, causing her to rub her head against my forearm and radiated her warmth all the way up to my shoulder. She was next to the scar I got from getting attacked by that Skarmory outside of Cherrygrove. June had gotten scratched too, but her feathers covered the scar up. I had never forgotten our run-in with the Skarmory, but a lot had happened since then that I focused on. Like watching a kid die and having to cope with that. Like being kidnapped and almost getting killed two or three times. By this time I honestly lost count.
Rob buttoned up his overcoat. I noticed he wore a white scarf as he tightened it and sat down cross-legged. "Sit down with her. Hold on to her and she'll keep you warm. Your fever'll go away quick."
I did as I was told. Having June sit down in my lap, I wrapped my arms around her stomach and put my head on her shoulder. Her heat was so comforting, I felt like going back to sleep again.
"Tomorrow, we gotta head to Hearthome. Zero's already there getting things set up," Rob said, watching Charizard perch on a stack of cargo. He was next to a giant smokestack from a ship.
I let go of June and stood up. The cold got to me but I had to see water at least. I half-walked half-jogged all the way to where the boat was.
The water was as black as Zero's veil back in Ecruteak. The tiny lights from ships and cranes reflected off of its surface. Beyond the cranes and flat, freighter ships in the distance, there was nothing but water and dark sky.
June came up from behind me and slipped her hand into mine. She joined me in watching the water.
"I gotta be honest," Rob said, joining us. "I looked at a map of Sinnoh, like, a day or two ago. All I know is we're in a place called Pastoria and I have no idea what's what around here."
He folded his arms and smirked to himself. "But I heard Sinnoh schoolgirls were damn hot though. Like university girl-hot."
I chuckled. A sense of defeat and submission settled itself in my heart. Sooner or later, I'd get a taste of Sinnoh life outside of a television. Johto was thousands and thousands of miles away, along with a home that wasn't mine anymore. But did that matter? I asked myself.
I tightened my grip around June's. For once, after everything that happened, I found myself smiling and actually content with being away from Johto.
Well that's done. Hopefully it was okay. The action may have been weird but I'm still looking into it. Zero's powers will come into question too, so no worries about that.
And as for reviews...well, as long as people acknowledge they're reading it, I'm fine! I just like getting alerts about reviews more than story/author alerts, but that's cool too. I just like knowing people are reading.
So read...AND DO WHATEVER :D!
