Yay! Another long chapter!
-About time! Your latest ones were like five words each.
They were not Alisa! They were huge! I must've written a Lord of the Ring's novel by now.
-How many words are you at?
A million. Happy? Now, lets let the readers do their job.
-Wait. I have a question?
Oh yeah? And what's that?
-Um, well I, uuh... I just wanted to know. What's two plus two?
Seriously! I'm done here, (goes to push button to post new chapter.)
-WAIT!
What? What do you want this time?
-I'm serious. There's, uh, you left the microwave on fire! It's going to burn the whole house down! Quickly, get out, save yourself, I'll take care of the computer! Go!
Hey? What do you think you're doing? Don't touch anything Alisa or your grounded for five chapters!
-Ok. (Sits down ashamed)
What's going on with you today? Why are you so, needy?
- (sighs) Well, I just feel lonely. Brother's out practicing his moves and it's daytime so there's nothing for me to do. You didn't give me a role in this chapter at all!
Well duh. This is Jack and Eseral's chapter. And the new Pokemon too. There story happens every other chapter. You know that.
-Yeah, but could we just get rid of those three and then focus more of the story on me? I think the readers would like that better?
What! Of course not! I should write two chapters about Jack just because you said that.
-Aww! Please? (Gives puppy dog eyes)
No. Get back into your own chapter. This one's important.
-Whatever. (Goes and walks off) I'm telling you, by the end of the story, I will be the main character. You just watch me! (Takes off running)
Sheesh. Alisa and her stubbornness. I think I should've turned her into a leaf bug instead of a Umbreon. She's been having problems lately since her brother is always out of the house. Any guesses on where he is?
Anyways, I like this chapter. It's about time a good one came up after so long of nothing. I promise, Eseral and Jack will get home soon. it's taking years!
Enjoy! Thanks for rev... Hey? (Smells something burning)
-That's what you get you jerk! Make me the protagonist of the story or I'll burn the whole package! DO IT!
ALISA! If you touch one Pop-tart I'll... (Runs off to the kitchen to handle the crisis)
(Hey? should I start giving my chapters cool names? What do you guys think?)
Chapter 36
There was darkness for a while. First pain, then darkness.
Jack woke up. He woke up scared, frightened, staring down something unfamiliar.
He decided, walking was the best thing he could do, so he walked down the alley alone. "Where am I?" Why was the frightened Eevee asking himself this? Why was the city so dark today? His four small paws continued treading through the soot covered alley. The floor was coated in at least an inch of smoke.
The place smelled like garbage. It reeked of filth, it burned Jack's nose until he couldn't' breath. His eevee fur was disgusting and his paws stuck to the nasty cement below him. No wonder this place was horrid.
He kept walking though, his head moving from wall to wall as he crept further inside. Behind him, he could hear the roaring of car engines although ironically, there was only one really loud one going by. It was almost deafening.
Jack blinked. He stopped walking and looked down.
"What? But, I was..." Jack stopped talking. The small brown paws were so simple. Why was he an Eevee?
Jack looked up. Somehow, this place felt familiar. Being an Eevee felt familiar. The cars outside, it was like, it was like he had been here before.
The Eevee started to get scared. Vaporeon's were tough. When threatened, Eevee's tended to coward. Jack could feel his old instincts crawling upon him like he had never changed in the first place. "Why's it so familiar?"
He backed up. A trashcan fell over, it collapsed right on him. Jack's mind almost snapped awake but instead he coughed. The silt on the ground now stood up to his waste. Why had it suddenly grown?
The trashcan tipped over. It wobbled gently, and then Jack heard nothing but the large clang of a trashcan hitting by his head. The whole canister was filled with black soot. It covered his fur. The now brown Eevee was black and not a trace of brown fur was spotted on him.
Jack again, felt this was familiar. He scrambled away from the trashcan and backed further into the alley.
Jack started whimpering as. Outside the familiar alleyway, thousands of cars raced by at tremendous speeds. The noises were multiplied in his ears. He couldn't hear anything except the roaring of the engines.
Jack started to cry. "Where, where am I?" It was familiar. "Why? What was going on?"
The poor Eevee started to cry. Something tall was staring at him from behind. Jack whipped around just in time.
"Wake up." The human called to him. Jack felt his nervous little body give out at the sight of the human.
It, it... What was it. He knew this man.
...
"Jack! Wake up!"
The Vaporeon snapped awake. The sound of the engines still went on. The bright sun above almost blinded the Vaporeon for a second.
Jack opened his eyes, slowly. He adjusted to the light. He noticed a couple things. Eseral was by him, she looked horrible.
Wait. Jack looked down as far as he could from where he lay motionless. Eseral looked horrible? Every inch of his own fur was layered in garbage!
Jack accidentally breathed. His nose flared up with the millions of smells that he was surrounded by, it was ten times worse than the city. He nearly puked and tried to hold his breath.
Eseral was at his side. She smiled. "Jack? Are you alright?" She whispered gently, to his good ear.
Jack turned his head. Eseral was speaking to him. She, she was alright. What the heck had happened?
Jack stared for a few seconds, and then felt something touching his head. The headache he had coming hit him and he flinched.
His ear felt like an explosion. His left side was still ringing. He turned his head meeting Jasmine, who was gently holding her paws on his wound to help heal the last bit of swelling. The bleeding had luckily stopped about an hour ago.
Jasmine was touching him. Her large yellow paws which held lethal claws underneath were just centimeters away from his throat.
Jack's instincts screamed immediately. He felt his Pokemon side screaming to get up and fight.
Jasmine said something, it was muffled, Jack wondered why she was muttering below a whisper. She smiled and turned her gaze to meet Jack's eyes. Immediately her smile disappeared when she saw how he was going to react to her presence.
Jack screamed in horror and flipped himself over. He was still dizzy and it took affect the minute he jumped up. He collapsed onto one side but held his weight, growling.
Eseral realized what was going on. "No. Jack? It's ok."
Jack turned. Why was his hearing so muffled? Was Eseral trying to whisper as well.
Jack wouldn't stop growling. He unsheathed his claws. "Eseral. It's, it's her! Watch out." He made a motion to step forward but collapsed on his face.
Jasmine couldn't help but chuckle. The noise completely confused the Vaporeon for a second and Jack looked up in disbelief. "Wait. Aren't we fighting?" He questioned the yellow furred stranger in front of him.
Jasmine actually laughed. Jack's ears shot up in confusion. "Of course not water dog. I'd win." Jasmine shrugged and smiled again.
Jack didn't get it. "But, you tried..." Jack stopped talking. He turned to Eseral. "What's going on?" He pleaded. "What happened? Am I ok?" He asked. Did he black out or something?
"Yes. Actually, no." Eseral answered. She jumped in front of the Vaporeon before he dared to do anything not smart. Jack's vision spun for a second and he thought there was an earthquake where Eseral was standing. "Jack? Hey." The words disappeared in his mind as the Espeon spoke further.
Eseral smacked his cheek. Immediately Jack was awake. "Jack? Focus. Pay attention."
The Vaporeon had a lot on his mind. But when he saw the Espeon, he stopped growling. He forced his head to stop spinning from the nauseous smells around him. It felt like that wasn't the only problem though. Something was making him tremendously dizzy. Still, why did this place smell so bad? Where were they?
Jack took a good look at Eseral. Immediately he took a step back. "What happened to you?"
Eseral blinked in surprise. She looked down at herself. Oh, duh. They had spent the last hour inside a garbage truck. That's what happened.
Eseral sighed. "It's, it's a long story. Listen." She jumped upright again. Jack tried his best to keep his distance. His Pokemon instincts were demanding him to stay away from the smell. But, it was everywhere!
Eseral started talking. Jack tried his best to listen but all the words only came in one ear. He wondered if garbage was clogging up the other one. It felt cold.
Eseral finally got his attention. The Vaporeon's ears shot up. "Jack? Hey? Listen. You were knocked out. Jasmine hurt you but you're ok. We've been riding..."
Jack couldn't pay attention. He felt like he was going to puke. The liquids started swirling around in his stomach. His head started spinning.
His paws gave out underneath him. Eseral stopped talking and the Vaporeon could only sit down to try and help himself.
This place was horrible. He was a clean Pokemon. Why did it smell so badly? Why did his ear hurt?
Jack reached up to touch his ear. The slightest tap and...
"Ow!" Jack screamed. He whimpered like a cub and started to cry.
Eseral was immediately by his side. "Don't touch that?"
Jack finally found his voice. The ringing pain in his ear stopped after twenty seconds. "Why?" Why he managed to say whisper. Now everything was ringing in his head and not just his ear. His headache felt twice as bad.
Eseral took a look, she immediately regretted it. "Um, it's broken. Well, actually, it's destroyed."
"What?" Jack complained, holding his paw next to his ear but then deciding otherwise. He stood up on his shaky paws and tried to keep his balance. "What happened? What happened to my ear?"
Jasmine stood in the back this entire time. She just watched the two in curiosity, keeping aware of her distance between her and the Vaporeon that wanted to kill her.
Eseral sighed. "I just explained it. weren't you listening." Eseral realized that perhaps Jack didn't hear her. She didn't realize that his hearing would've been affected by that. Oops.
Jack looked up. His face was covered in filth from sleeping in a garbage truck for over an hour. His once bright, reflective blue fur was now grimy and coated in black liquids of all kinds from human waste mixed together.
He realized. Eseral was talking this whole time. "What? Sorry, I didn't hear you?" Jack interrupted.
Eseral realized what he just said. She giggled slightly. She could whisper anything behind his back and he would have no idea anymore. She forced herself to talk louder until she was nearly yelling. "Listen Jack. It's serious. Try not to touch your ear ok? It might bleed again."
Now Jack was scared. He jumped up. "What? What do you mean? What's going..."
He spotted Jasmine. In response, the alarmed Jolteon sprang up to defend herself. This only caused the Vaporeon more worry. He visually remembered the Jolteon ready to tear his neck out. He remembered how she had nearly killed him. Why was she still in the garbage truck?
Eseral could see the problem. She glanced back at the worried Jolteon who was already planning out how to take out the Vaporeon if necessary. "Jack? She's a friend." Eseral walked up closer. She stared the worried Vaporeon in the eyes. "It's ok. Calm down. She's a..."
Jack didn't hear the last word. Naturally, he went to paw at his ear and fix the problem. He touched his ear, again.
"Ow!" Jack fell to the ground and cried.
"Dang it Jack! I told you not to touch that!" Eseral screamed in his face. She tried her best to help him by holding his weak head upright while Jack bit his tongue and tried not to squeal in pain.
Jack whimpered. What was he supposed to do? What the heck had happened to his ear!
"Eseral? What's going on?" Jack complained. "Why does my head hurt so much?" He struggled to get the last words out since his headache was throbbing. Every time he touched his ear, his head just exploded.
Eseral rolled her eyes. "I'm not telling you, until you get calm. Put your claws away!"
"What!" Jack jumped upright. His head was a little dizzy but his instincts were done with this. "Get calm? Should I be worried! It's not like there's a dangerous yellow furred dog with us!" Jasmine frowned at the name calling. That wasn't necessary.
Eseral was losing her own temper. "I told you, she's a friend."
Jack stared at her, and then shook his head, gently. "Why are you guys whispering? Speak up!"
Eseral couldn't believe this. "She's, a, friend!" She screamed in his ear.
The two started yelling. Jack complained that she almost killed him. Eseral repeated herself three more times in order to get the point across. Jack couldn't hear anything with the engine running and the dirt road below them making all the noise in the world. The poor Vaporeon was so confused. He yelled louder. Eseral was practically screaming at him now.
Jasmine rolled her eyes. Did she really have to step in?
"Ok. Enough!" She boomed with her voice. Instantly all the arguing stopped.
Jack looked over. The Jolteon was walking towards him. The Vaporeon backed up naturally but he hit the back of the container and couldn't go further.
Jack felt his heart skip a couple beats. He was going to die! Jasmine kept walking up, slowly and carefully.
Jasmine smiled. "Jack?" Jasmine tried. Her voice wasn't nearly as loud as last time but that same hint of demanding was still in it.
Jack forced himself to calm down. "Yeah?" He responded, the shrill worry in his voice sounded like a cub about to get in trouble by their parents. Jack was scared for his life. He backed up as tight against the railing as he could get without falling out.
Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Listen water dog. I don't know what you think happened, but I cut off half your ear." She said it without any mercy.
Jack's damage dear shot straight up. "What?" He questioned.
Jasmine made it nice and clear. She used her paws as an example. "It's simple. We fought. I won. I cut half your ear to the middle and then you passed out. It's mostly healed but it's permanently damaged." Jasmine smiled again at this. She was actually impressed with the quick injury she had given him. It was a proud hit from a Team Citadel member.
Jack understood it now. He wanted something to see himself. Naturally the Vaporeon thought of a stream. At least that would help to deal with the smell around him too. Why was it so hot out?
Jack didn't know what it looked like, but he could feel it. The Vaporeon reached up to his ear for a third time. He just barely touched it.
"Ow! Dang it!" Jack collapsed into the trash and curled up tight. He lay there for thirty seconds until the throbbing went away. Why did he keep touching his ear? It hurt!
Jasmine laughed. "I thought you were a trained fighter? Can't you handle a little cut?" She taunted him from where she stood.
Jack growled. His head finally stopped ringing. "Come near me, and I'll make sure you to rip both your ears and your tail off your yellow furred body." It wasn't really an insult, but the frustrated Vaporeon couldn't think of much else to say. He had hardly caught Jasmine's own words, although his hearing was improving. Slowly, the pain was going away more and more. Jack could almost hear through his damaged ear by now.
Jasmine rolled her eyes. Their friendship was already off to a great start. First they tried to kill each other, but now they only insulted each other. She didn't know much about friendship but she figured this was a step forward.
The pain finally faded away. Jack promised himself to never touch that side of his face again. he could hear through the other side. At least his ear wasn't a total loss. Arceus, he wanted a stream to see his reflection.
He stood up, the confused Vaporeon gathered his surroundings. Eseral and Jasmine watched his curious behavior patiently.
Jack remembered what the engine noise was coming from. A garbage truck? Why were they in a garbage truck? Why weren't they in the city anymore? Where were they?
Jack turned around and looked out the opening of the truck. For miles in every direction, it was nothing but meadow. The dirt road leading to the dump was empty except for three Pokemon and a garbage truck. Everything else was dead grass.
There was no vegetation, no water, nothing. It was completely dead. The great city was surrounded by brown burned grass for miles.
Jack had grown up in the city. At least, the Vaporeon thought so. His ears fell and he felt like he was a long ways from home. "Eseral? What happened?"
Everyone stared at the Espeon. She was put on the spot. Eseral perked up from her trance. She too, was looking out among the grass.
"Um," she stuttered. "Well, you know how we escaped the park?" She asked Jack. Jasmine made sure to pay deep attention to this. She could use a little back story.
Jack thought about it. He nodded, which hurt his ear a little, but at least it wasn't ringing anymore. Hey, he heard her the first try!
Eseral sighed. "Ok, because it gets worse. You jumped into the garbage truck and Jasmine attacked you."
"Jasmine?" Jack asked. He looked over at the smiling Jolteon. What was she smiling for? Jack growled in response.
Eseral continued. "She helped us. We escaped the city. We're heading back to my pack."
Jack looked confused. "Wait, I thought we lived in the city?" Didn't they already discuss this.
Eseral turned from compassionate, to completely annoyed. "What? No! We hate the city. I live out here, with my pack! Where did you think we were going this whole time?" She was up on all fours by now wondering what the heck was wrong with this Vaporeon's mind. Why could Jack never be on the same page as her?
Jasmine looked surprised. "Your pack?" She interrupted, staring at Eseral. "Wait a minute." She pointed a paw at both of them. "I thought you two shared the same pack. Are you from, different areas?"
Eseral gulped. Jasmine was going to ask them for some kind of history report of where they came from. Even though Jasmine had told her very confidential information about how she was fleeing Team Citadel, Eseral made sure that her own story never got out.
But now, Jasmine was curious. "I thought you two lived together." She stood up confused. "Did you grow up in the city or not?"
Jack started explaining about how he lived in the park, but halfway through he contradicted himself, not remembering a thing. Jack's broken mind didn't help at all with explaining. Jasmine still didn't know where they came from, all she knew was that this Vaporeon was obviously crazy.
Eseral blinked awake from her trance and looked up. She had been thinking about home.
Everyone was staring at her again. Oops, she had just missed their entire conversation.
"What?" She whispered. Her ears lay flat in confusion as she glanced back and forth between her two friends.
Jasmine repeated her question. "Where are you from?" She demanded an answer with her stern voice.
Both Pokemon decided to answer at the same time.
"From the city."
"The meadow."
They both stared at each other. Eseral growled so loudly that Jack was forced to submit to her answer. "Oh, never mind. We're from the meadow." The Vaporeon submitted.
Jasmine was confused before, but now she was actually a little frightened. The truck continued on while the three Pokemon stared at each other.
Eseral gulped. "Um, it's a long story."
"Quit saying that." Jack demanded. "How can it be long if it's only been one day? Why are we out here in the middle of no where?" He was starting to lose his temper.
Jasmine growled, they both went quiet. The confused Jolteon regained her pose and tried to keep things calm. She knew a fight right now would just result in more chaos.
She tried again. "Can one of you explain where you're from?" She asked, looking right at Eseral. She didn't want Jack's opinion in this at all.
Eseral gulped. She shook her head. Jasmine blinked in surprise. Did Eseral just say, no?
Jack wondered what was wrong. He failed to see Eseral's shake of the head when Jasmine asked the question. "Well, Jolteon," Jack spat the word like he hated their type. "I come from the park."
"No you don't!" Eseral interrupted. "You came from a laboratory!" She screamed it at him.
Jasmine flinched. "What?" A laboratory? Why the heck...
The two friends started bickering again. "What do you mean laboratory? I've lived in the park my whole life." Jack was sure of himself. His memories proved it. Wait, what memories? He couldn't even picture himself as an Eevee except when he was locked in the alley.
Jack shuddered. Wait a minute. That dream! That was...
Eseral interrupted his train of thought. Immediately Jack snapped out of it. "You didn't grow up in a city park! Look at you! You look nothing like a normal Pokemon."
Jack was going to complain but Eseral continued screaming. "You've never lived in the park you moron! You lived with humans! Why don't you remember anything?"
The two continued bickering. Jack was actually getting ready to take his claws out.
"I don't live, with, humans!" Jack screamed.
Jasmine could hardly hold in her surprise. What was going on. She needed to intervene or there was going to be more blood.
Eseral was screaming so loud by now, it was heard over the truck engine. Jasmine wondered if the drivers at the front could hear them through this.
Jasmine stepped in. "Ok! Enough. Stop." She begged. The two calmed down and stared at her. Jack's claws went back in.
"So," Jasmine stepped forward. "Jack? You lived as a pet. Or did you belong to a trainer?" That all that she could figure out from their arguments back and forth. All she knew, was that Jack had something to do with humans so he probably grew up as a pet Eevee or something. It wasn't uncommon, and Jack couldn't fight so he was obviously not for training.
Jack's ears shot up. His bad one went lopsided since it was broken. Any cub who caught sight of him like this would've laughed their heart out. "What? No. I never lived with humans."
Eseral was about to complain but Jasmine spoke first. "Ok then. Well that's simple. Where did you live?"
Jack opened his mouth, and then shut it.
"Um, I, I don't know." He managed to answer. "It thought I lived at the park."
Jasmine was hoping this would've gone simpler, now her hopes disappeared.
"You don't know?" She asked, her voice raising at the end. "How can you not know?"
Eseral finally spoke up. She decided, in her anger, to release some more private information. "I erased his memory because he was insane." She felt better saying that. It actually made her anger seem much more logical. Although, it drastically confused the other two when she said that.
Jasmine stared at Eseral. Then back at Jack. Were these two insane? The Jolteon stepped back in case she misunderstood these two Pokemon that she was stuck with. The truck continued to drive, it was over ten miles out from the city.
They sat in silence. Eseral wanted to scream again since Jack was being dumb about the truth, Jasmine wondered if traveling with these two was actually a good idea.
Jack looked down, and saw pizza. His mind clicked and his lopsided ear shot sideways.
"Hey?" Jack blinked, his nose caught the specific smell of an old thrown out slice of cheese pizza. It had extra pepperoni which by now were obviously gone.
Jack stared at it. Then his eyes shot wide.
His brain clicked. As if it was always there, he suddenly remembered everything he ever knew, about pizza.
He spoke. "Pizza?" He whispered. The other two pokemon looked at him funny.
Jack couldn't believe it. He, he remembered! "Pizza? Pizza! That's, that's pizza!" The Vaporeon pointed at it and shouted over and over.
Jasmine wondered what his problem was. She stared at the object Jack was pointing at and yelling about.
She knew what that was. It was human food. Her trainer had that all the time.
Jasmine had a thought. She stuck out her tongue. "Ugh! Gross!" Everyone stared at her.
"Jack?" Jasmine asked. She felt sick now. "Did, did you used to eat that?" She still believed he lived with humans, or wherever he lived. But, how could he eat pizza? It was gross!
Jack stopped exclaiming the word pizza. He stared at Jasmine. "What?"
Jasmine put her tongue back in her mouth. She hoped she wouldn't have to recall the taste of the disgusting human food. "I asked, did you used to eat that? That's disgusting, it's human food."
Jack stared back down at the half rotten slice. "It is?" Eseral rolled her eyes.
Jasmine was very confused now. "Well, duh? Do you even know what it is?"
Jack shook his head. "No. It's just pizza." He couldn't think up anything else on it. Why couldn't he remember?
Eseral rolled her eyes. "Like I said, I knocked out your memory when..."
"Jack? Did you live with humans or not?" Jasmine interrupted. She stepped forward, approaching the Vaporeon.
Jack stared at the slice of pizza. It was weird. He remembered what it was, he had this image in his head. there was a large metal door, he would open it, and then there was pizza inside.
Wait a minute, the Vaporeon's ears jumped up, his broken ear twisted funny. "Wait. Pizza?" If this was human food, Does that mean he used to live with humans?
Eseral was about to speak, but Jasmine cut her off again. "Jack? Did you, or did you not, lived as a trainer's Pokemon?" She demanded for an answer. It would solve a lot of her problems if Jack would just tell her the truth.
Jack tried to remember. He couldn't though, so he just shrugged.
Jasmine couldn't believe this. She growled but finally Eseral spoke up.
"I wiped his memory clean! Ok?" She blurted. Both Pokemon looked at her.
Eseral figured it was confess everything now, or never. "Jack used to be a human! He was turned into an Eevee, then a Vaporeon, and now the crazed water dog doesn't remember a thing!" She stopped and took a breath. "That's why," she stared at Jake. "That's why you can remember garbage trucks and straws and, well, whatever that is." She pointed at the pizza.
Jack took a second to take it all in. He stared at Eseral, then at Jasmine.
The Vaporeon started to cry. What the heck was going on? He wasn't human! Arceus, he had always been a Vaporeon!
The dream came back. Jack flinched remembering the Eevee before him.
"Eseral? Was I..."
The truck stopped. All three Pokemon collapsed.
They had arrived. They were close to the dump. A wired gate ran around the entire place to keep out stray Pokemon and teens who wanted to drive the government mad.
The truck stopped. The three Pokemon sat in the back, listening to the sound of two front doors close as the driver and passenger stepped out.
The driver wasn't very happy. "What the heck is this all about? We've got a tight schedule to keep and we're already late from traffic."
The two guards in front of the closed gate had their instructions. Normally they weren't there, and the gate was wide open. "Sorry. But checks are necessary. Chase orders them."
Jack, Eseral, and Jasmine sat in the back and listened. With every passing second their fears grew. There were at least four humans there, talking.
Jack wasn't too smart, he spoke up. "What's going on?" He whispered.
Eseral immediately glared at him, the poor Vaporeon knelt down in fear and kept his ears low in submission. He was just wanting to feel some security amidst this chaos.
Eseral was about to peek around the corner when Jasmine shoved her down. Much better than the Espeon had planned, the Jolteon moved to the edge of the garbage truck. Just as quickly as Eseral could blink, Jasmine was staring around the corner at the four men.
She was practically invisible. Nobody could see the Jolteon staring at them from the only shadow that the truck gave.
The Jolteon's ears went flat and she ducked low to the ground. "Arceus, we need to leave." She whispered as quietly as she could.
Jack perked up again. "Why?" Eseral jumped over and held his mouth shut, rattling some trash in the process. A soup can flopped around by accident and banged against the metal.
Jasmine ran right back, expertly avoiding the noisy garbage and only hitting the soft squishy stuff. "Listen. They'll be checking the back. We need to leave now."
Eseral frowned. She looked out the opening where there was nothing but short dead grass. "Where?"
Jasmine started growling. She spoke in a very aggressive whisper. "Anywhere. We're going to get caught if we..."
Everyone stopped. The two guards started heading this way. Jasmine, specifically, was the most scared. She recognized the uniforms on the guards.
They were the police. But not only that, they were from Team Citadel. After years of experience, she could spot them anywhere no matter how they dressed.
Team Citadel members were always required, to have at least one Pokemon. One very well trained Pokemon.
Jasmine jumped up and headed to the opening. She jumped out and slid underneath the truck. In a matter of seconds with the approaching guards, she was gone. She wasn't getting caught again!
The footsteps got louder. Jack and Eseral glanced at each other for a moment longer.
Eseral made up her mind. She wasn't staying here. She noisily climbed out the back and landed on her stomach, instantly jumping upright. She looked around for Jasmine before making up her mind and crouching underneath the truck. Where did the Jolteon even go? Could she hide here forever, or was she going to get caught?
The footsteps were imminent. Jack made up his mind. He jumped upright and scrambled to the edge frantically.
Jack stopped. His ears jumped up and his head turned around. He recalled another memory.
Was that, a TV?
It was too late. The guard crossed the corner. Jack and the five foot tall human met eyes.
The guard was thinking this was going to be a waste of his time, how the heck was he supposed to find three wild Pokemon out here. Chase had issued the dumbest order...
He finished walking to the other side of the truck. His eyes jumped straight up and he staggered back. "Hey? Hey! They're here!"
"Dang it Jack!" Eseral screamed from underneath, making the man look straight down. The Espeon jumped out and tackled the man's legs, knocking him clean to the ground. Jack didn't hesitate. He jumped out with his mind screaming at him. What was a TV?
He jumped down and ran. Leaving Eseral to fend for herself. It was the least he could do.
Jack should've been thinking what the heck was wrong with him. Behind him the chaos still continued. He could see it behind his back as he ran further. Eseral was nearly grabbed when she fled and got free of the man's grip. She tore his hand with her jaw and took off after her useless friend. Jasmine was no where in sight.
The man finally got free of the Espeon's relentless attacks. He watched in surprise as the pink Espeon took off running. His hand stung like mad and now he was furious. The trash covered Vaporeon stared at the Espeon dumbfounded for a moment. The two were screaming at each other.
The policeman had enough, he reached for his belt, grabbing the one Pokemon he had. His partner just started to reach for his belt too, realizing that they were under attack.
Jack ran, Eseral was very hard to catch up with.
"Jack!" She screamed at him. The exhausted Vaporeon finally caught up, and stood there panting. They had only ran twenty meters.
"Jack, run!" Eseral commanded. She just saw the red light flash. The flash that brought her back to the dark void that she remembered. Where was Jasmine? This wasn't good.
Jack couldn't do anything. He was too tired. Besides, something else was on his mind.
"Eseral?" He breathed. The Espeon looked over, the poor Pokemon was so nervous that her breathing was becoming erratic. She wasn't going to get caught. She had to see her family again.
Jack had to ask it. His mind screamed it. "Eseral? What's a TV?"
"What!" Eseral screamed. What kind of question was that!
She blinked, a Pokemon was running towards them. There was only one though. As if by magic, it had materialized from the red flash, and it looked angry.
Jack turned and faced the Pokemon head on, with his head shoved under his paws and whimpering. Eseral had a choice, leave or protect her cowardly friend.
She chose the latter. She braced herself for whatever was about to come.
When the Houndoom caught up to them, it stopped. Jack screamed and jumped behind the only cover he had, Eseral. If her life wasn't on the line, she would've chosen to fight this dumb Vaporeon behind her back instead and teach him a lesson about bravery.
The Houndoom smiled, his horns looked like they had been sharpened himself in his free time. His claws were cutting deep into the ground below him. it looked like they never sheathed.
The Houndoom smiled, his white teeth showing. "Easy." He mocked, judging the Pokemon he was supposed to face. "An wild untrained Espeon, and a cowardly water dog. This is too easy."
Eseral didn't know what to do. This Houndoom would rip her to shreds. Jack continued to hide behind her unsuccessfully.
She gulped. "Jack, please?" She whispered. If he didn't stand up now, they were doomed.
Jack didn't know. Was he a coward? Why couldn't he fight? What was wrong with him?
"TV?" His instincts questioned. They were completely oblivious to the current problem. It was like his own instincts were confused. Why would his darn instincts be worried about a TV?
The Houndoom had enough. His master yelled a command. "Ember!" He screamed from back at the garbage truck.
The Houndoom closed his eyes and sighed for a moment. Ember? Really? He was up against a Vaporeon. Why did trainer's always suck at this?
Whatever. The fire in his dark orb started to build up. Ember it was. It would probably be the only move he needed to do. At least it would rid his nose of this awful smell that came from the Pokemon. He liked the smell of death better.
Jack didn't know what to do? He whimpered and kneeled down in submission. He was fighting worse than a newborn cub, like a water dog. He was a coward.
Jack shut his eyes. Eseral made a choice. She ran and hoped that a Vaporeon, even when in submission, would be able to defend itself.
The Houndoom prepared it's attack. He stood back, ready to blow away the entire field with his flames.
A bright yellow streak shot out from underneath the garbage truck. The trainer of the Houndoom had just enough time to blink before the Jolteon was in the battle.
Jasmine jumped. She landed right on the Houndoom's head, making him slam his ember attack straight into the ground where it caused no pain. In one move she rolled off and stood, perfectly positioned, ready to attack on command.
The Houndoom looked up. Instead of a Vaporeon, there was now, a very fearsome looking Jolteon.
The Houndoom normally would've smiled for another challenge, his Team Citadel instincts were in him. He started growling.
Then he recognized who it was. He stopped. Wasn't this...
"Listen cursed dog!" Jasmine commanded. The Houndoom immediately stopped.
Jasmine continued. The trash covered Jolteon stood up to her full height, and she looked twice as threatening as the Houndoom did. "I'm Thunder, and we're escaping. And if try to touch us," She unsheathed her claws. Even at half the Houndoom's size, they were still larger and sharper. "I'll cut you open nice and quick. Just like we've been trained to. Got it?"
The Houndoom finally recognized who it was. He stepped back and gulped. This, was the one formally known as Thunder. John's lead Pokemon, the best that all of Team Citadel had to offer.
The Houndoom stepped back, and then fled. There was no way he was going to take the female Jolteon on, He would end up losing all four of his limbs and probably dying before he had one move out in defense.
Jasmine always smiled after a victory, it was her custom. This time, it reminded her of her past. It reminded her of her fear.
She turned around. "Jack!" She yelled. Jack still lay there curled up. "Jack! What are you doing?"
The trainer of the Houndoom recalled his whimpering Houndoom and started yelling at his partner, who had yet to pull out his Pokeball. It was still stuck to his belt where he lazily had it clipped and now he was highly regretting not taking the time to attach it right.
Jasmine couldn't believe this. She kicked the whimpering coward. "Jack? Get up. Run!" She commanded him.
Jack was forced to stand up. He stared out in disbelief. "What happened?"
"Run!" Jasmine commanded one last time. The Vaporeon hesitated, but then ran out into the grass. The dead brown grass stretched for miles outside the city. The sun was bright and scorched the tired Vaporeon while they ran.
Jasmine didn't have time to think about problems. She turned around in confidence that maybe now, she was safer than before. Maybe she could escape Team Citadel.
She watched, the man pulled out his walkie talkie, daring to take one look at her. Jasmine had a feeling who he was talking to.
She sighed and just wanted to quit. This was hard enough. Things never were actually easy though. But now, was the officer really going to call this in?
If she knew Chase, every team member available would be searching for her now. She turned around and ran. Chasing after the slow Vaporeon and catching the Espeon already a mile away. She hoped that just by getting out of the frying pan, she wasn't going to be neck deep in the fire.
Besides, where was she supposed to go?
...
John was busy heading to the door. The police station was in full throttle. He didn't care though. He had something to do. The place was swarming with business today. He had accidentally nudged three officers on his way to the elevator doors.
He slipped in the elevator and hit the number one. First floor it was.
It was the first slow moment John had had that day. He stood there, his mind working frantically. The elevator moving at a rate that seemed slower than a snail.
John's eyes stared into oblivion. His hand slipped to his taser in his back. The look he had on his face was like a ghost.
He played the video back in his head. Jack entered the machine, things turning on, the man inside freaking out, fur, paws...
John shuddered. He let go of his taser. The light blinked to the first floor and he had arrived.
He took one step, and then stopped. If there had ever been chaos in the police department, it was right now.
People were everywhere. A man was yelling at the front, people were shoving each other in lines, half of the team was down here trying to organize the chaos. John almost wished that he had just stayed upstairs.
The poor attendant at the front was yelling. "People, please?" She pleaded. "I know you all have complaints but..."
She was cut off. A man stepped up to the front. "My car insurance covers this!" He screamed at the lady, holding her a picture. "You guys get your system straight or..."
It wasn't just angry crashed drivers either, people all over were complaining. The world's best police force was going to lose a golden star on the wall for customer service.
The elevator doors started closing. John quickly slid through as they closed. He figured he wasn't getting back up that way. Whatever. He had a job to do. He set out into the crowd pushing his way through. Talking to Lauren was more important than any of this. He wanted an explanation of what the heck he just saw in the evidence room.
A man stepped right in front of him. He held a phone in his hand and attempted to hold it close to the officer's face. John immediately recognized what he was, a reporter.
"Sir?" The man questioned. He had to literally push people out of the way in order to keep up with John. Dang, this officer could move in crowds really well.
John kept going. He didn't even make eye contact. The trained officer moved through the crowd as if there wasn't even anyone in his way.
The man tried again. "Sir? John? Second of the police department, right?" The man thought he had the correct person. He had done his research before hand.
John sighed. "Not right now." He walked off faster but the reporter kept up.
The man pushed past an angry family. "How about now?" The man asked just after his first question. They had made it through the doors and out into the open. The crowd had finally vanished and John kept going.
John turned to look the man in the face. Did he seriously just ask that? What was he, four years old?
John studied his face. The man looked tired. He was at least twenty five but probably no older than that. Fresh out of college most likely, and struggling as a reporter.
John kept walking. The man followed. "Listen." John commanded, making sure to watch his tongue. "Whatever you're looking for, the action's inside. If you want a story, go in there." The officer pointed behind him. He was in no mood for this right now.
The man wasn't dumb, he knew what he was searching for. "Sir, I'm here to ask about..."
He was cut off. John stopped walking right in the middle of his pace. The reporter wondered, what would stop such a determined officer in his walk?
A police car pulled up. The front end was broken and the bumper was completely slanted out of place but that didn't mind John at all. What mattered, was the face of the person driving it.
It was Chase. He gulped. The reporter started recording.
Chase didn't see him at first. He parked the car, jumped out, slammed the door, and stormed towards his office. His head was down in fury and concentration.
John never moved his eyes. Naturally, he saluted. Chase looked up at this action.
He stopped. "John?" He questioned.
John knew what to say in this situation, nothing at all or he was going to get fired. he let his hand rest back down by his side. The officer had a lump in his throat the size of an apple.
"John!" Chase started. He failed to see that another person was watching them right by his side.
Chase couldn't help it. He started yelling. "Where were you? I should've fired your sorry..."
John made a motion to his left. He nodded his head violently but Chase kept yelling further, exposing a lot more than John thought was necessary.
"If you ever dare to leave me again in the middle of service, I'll rip your neck out! I'll take your badge and burn it! I'll take your years of service and throw it away, burn every file, I don't care! It thought the rest of my team was a bunch of useless first degree morons, but clearly you..."
John clapped. It forced Chase to stop yelling and he stared at the man, taking in large breaths of anger. John dared to interrupt him? In his fury?
John motioned his head to his right and grunted. Chase looked over his shoulder. A reporter stood there, watching with a smile across his face.
The reporter clicked the button. His phone had just gotten all of that. The right to the press was really helping out his job right now. This may have just made his career. The chief of police calling his force morons? This would make...
Chase reached out, and grabbed the phone. He threw it on the ground and smashed it with his foot.
The reporter couldn't believe it. He almost wanted to smile wider. "That's illegal." He whispered. Oh, this was too good.
It was the wrong move. Chase reached out to strangle him but the man took off running. It took all of John's will not to reach out and stop his boss knowing that he would be fired if he dared to try.
The young reporter got away, Chase was so angry that his fists clenched weren't enough force to release his rising anger.
He turned to John. He was done with this, this ended now.
"John." Chase commanded. John looked up from his trance.
John nodded. Chase continued. "Bring me back Thunder, or you're fired." Chase sped off towards the crowded entrance which was still surrounded by angry pedestrians about the accidents. John didn't even know that Thunder was missing. Hmm. Pokemon everywhere were acting curiously.
John suddenly remembered what he was supposed to do in the first place. He turned. "But sir, I..."
"Don't you dare!" Chase turned around and pointed his finger right at his forehead. If John dared to contradict what he said this time, he was going to kill him...
John had stuff to do though. His life depended on it. "Chase? I need..."
Chase didn't listen. He continued towards the door.
John made the quickest plan of his life. How was he supposed to get Chase's approval? "Where was she last spotted?" He asked.
Chase found the question reasonable. He turned back around. "In a garbage truck! that's where." He shouted back in anger. "My Pokemon was inside a disgusting garbage truck!"
John had a theory. "Were there any other Pokemon with her?"
Chase stopped. There were other Pokemon actually. How did John know that?
John knew. If he were a Pokemon, or at least a transformed one... He stopped and shuddered at the thought. It brought back bad memories. All he knew was that a garbage truck to a once human Pokemon would be a good way to get out of the city.
And where they were going, John forced the memories to subside before they continued. No! He would not think about that.
Chase spoke up, remembering his answer. "There was an Espeon." He continued to think, and then remembered more of what he saw for just a split second. "And a Vaporeon. Why?"
John wasn't expecting that. A Vaporeon? Oh wait, Eevee's could evolve into Vaporeons. Perhaps that's what happened. That just made the situation even worse. John almost felt bad for the Eevee that he suspected was traveling with the Espeon and the Jolteon.
John smiled. "I think I know where they're going." He had a theory, it would make sense.
John did know where they were going. The Espeon from the meadow was leading the way. It was the same Pokemon that Lauren had rescued from her first police headquarters attack.
John smiled wider. "I know where she is." He turned around and started walking. He had just gotten his boss interested, that was all he needed.
Chase had plenty to do, but getting back his best Pokemon was priority one, not protecting the city from car accidents and customer complaints. He ran to catch up with John.
"Where?" Chase demanded as soon as he caught up.
John hesitated. "Um, the Eevee and the Espeon, Lauren's Pokemon?" He questioned to see if Chase still remembered them.
Chase almost punched him. "You're basing this off theories!" He raised his hands up in anger.
John quickly explained. "They found each other. They're escaping together. You're Jolteon and Lauren's Pokemon are getting out of the city." He approached Chase's police car almost to the front door.
Chase looked confused. "Escape?" He asked.
John sighed. "Why else would she leave?" He knew Pokemon better than these humans did. He knew why Thunder would be leaving.
Chase was still confused. "How can she escape?" He still had her Pokeball. Well, he used to. He seemed to have misplaced it for the first time.
Wait a minute, Chase stopped dead in his walk. Misplaced it? He never misplaced anything. His Jolteon was his favorite Pokemon, it never left his belt.
He swore to Arceus under his breath. That yellow dog was trying to escape? She must've planned it all out, and hid her Pokeball while she was at it. The best trained Team Citadel Pokemon was loose in the real world. That could be a problem if someone identified where it came from. It would raise a lot of questions, or a lot of dead bodies.
Chase continued, he ran to catch up to John who was staring at Chase's police vehicle.
Chase made a promise under his breath. "When I find her. I'll kill her." He promised, not one of those three Pokemon, whether it be his favorite one or Lauren's two that escaped, would be alive. It could jeopardize Team Citadel if they were caught.
John knew, it would jeopardize his life and more, if Jack was caught. Who cared about Thunder when Jack was loose? If he found a way...
They got to Chase's police car. Both of them stopped in surprise. Chase had forgotten that the front end of his car was destroyed. It was rather embarrassing to be showing his next in command what his front hood looked like.
John met Chase's eyes. He turned around and sped off. "We'll take my car instead. We're heading, to the meadow. Do you know where her Pokeball is?"
Chase had one last idea. "Maybe? Why?"
John almost wanted to slap his boss now. He would've, if Chase wasn't higher in command than him. "What's the first thing we do with our Pokemon once they are fully trained?"
Chase smiled. "Tracking. Of course." Now he really hoped he would find his Pokeball.
...
Jasmine stopped running. She turned around and stared out into the vast field, of nothing. The only sight was a pink speck running up to her.
Just seconds after, Eseral caught up to where she was. She collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.
The two stopped running for the first time. There was nothing but open fields and dead grass for miles.
They breathed, Eseral slumped to the ground. Jasmine's stance was tired, but she had run more than this just for fun when she was with Team Citadel.
Eseral could hardly talk. "Did, we, lose them?" She asked after taking three breaths.
Jasmine took one deep breath, and then was instantly recovered. "I think so." She commented, standing up straighter and keeping a keen eye around her.
Eseral couldn't believe it. She stared at the Jolteon before her who wasn't even tired. She had seen battle ready Pokemon before, but what was this? Jasmine was, different.
Jasmine turned to face the exhausted Espeon, Eseral didn't even realize it when the Jolteon was smiling at her.
Eseral felt awkward. She immediately looked away. Instead of meeting her friendly eyes, Eseral just looked out at the horizon.
Jasmine did the same. "Why's it so dead out here?"
Eseral smiled. "Sorry." She couldn't help but feel guilty for it, even though it was her home.
A small sight caught their eyes. Jasmine jumped right up and stood ready. Eseral hesitated.
Slowly, at least in Pokemon standards, Jack finally caught up. His heavy paw steps and slouched stance showed that he was completely wiped out.
Jack finally made it. He stopped running and trudged the last few steps. The Vaporeon thought that he had played a lot as a cub, but apparently he had never learned to run correctly.
Jack took twenty seconds to catch his breath. A normal Pokemon took ten. Finally, Jack looked up, still exhausted. He felt it was more than the hot sun at work here.
Both of his friends were furious. Oops.
Jack only had one thought. He smiled and sat down since his paws felt like butter and the sun was giving him a headache. He wasn't very enthusiastic when he spoke up.
"Hey." The Vaporeon whispered. He tried not to make eye contact.
Eseral was first to complain. "What was wrong with you back there?"
Jack looked up. "What?"
Eseral couldn't believe him. What the heck was his problem? "Jack! We were in a fight, and you crouched downed and hid from a Pokemon that you're supposed to be strong against."
Jack knew this was coming. The poor Vaporeon slouched down in submission. His ears fell flat against his head and his tail stopped moving. His fur felt itchy and it annoyed him. There was no moisture in this air and the irritation was driving him nuts. The worse part, was that him and his friends were still coated in the thick substance of human garbage. It was intolerable.
"What happened?" Jasmine demanded. Her voice was much more stern and forced Jack to look up. He snapped out of his exhaustion.
Jack only had one answer. "I, I don't know." He said after a while of thinking.
Eseral couldn't believe this. "You don't know? What's to not understand that your life was in danger!" She yelled the last word at the confused Pokemon. Sometimes she wondered why she bothered to stick with Jack.
Jack didn't know. How was he supposed to explain this? "It, it felt wrong."
Now Jasmine was concerned. Before Eseral could yell, Jasmine held her paw up and everyone went quiet.
Jasmine spoke up, softly. "Jack, are you feeling ok?" If he was going insane than she was leaving right now.
Jack shook his head immediately. "No. I'm not." Eseral was surprised by the response.
Jasmine spoke up. She stood up and tried to be nice. "Well then, what's wrong?" For a antisocial Pokemon, she was doing quite well, and she was trying very hard.
Jack didn't know how to explain it, it was the simplest calling.
His dream? Pizza? TV? What the heck was wrong with him! Why did these thoughts bring, happiness? He didn't even know what they were.
Jack's ears perked up. He smiled. "Eseral? What's a TV?"
Eseral jumped awake. "What?" She complained. She turned to Jasmine.
Jasmine wondered if perhaps both her friends were insane. "Um, a TV?" She questioned. "It's human. It's used for entertainment."
Jack suddenly looked like he was about to cry. He had hoped, that a TV, was something more Pokemon like.
If it was human. The Vaporeon's ears dropped "What do you mean? How can it be human?" Both Eseral and Jack looked at the surprised Jolteon.
Jasmine figured something was amiss. "Why does it matter? We should probably..."
"Because!" Jack suddenly interrupted. "It does matter. I saw one. There was one inside the garbage truck. I saw it!" The question was, how did he know what it was?
Eseral figured out what was happening. Her ears jumped up, but then slowly lowered. Everyone caught the reaction. Eseral was now faced with everyone's glare.
"Jack?" She whispered. "You're, you're remembering." She gulped. His memory had been returning, but now his time was up. Psychic attack's wore off over time.
Jack crossed his eyes. "Remembering what?" Jack felt the urge inside his chest beating again. Something, that he didn't quite understand.
They waited. Eseral didn't answer. She looked down at the ground in shame.
"We, we should probably move." Eseral suggested. She turned around away from where they came and started walking out further into the meadow.
Jasmine caught the suggestion. She ran up, right next to the Espeon, and demanded an answer for the final time. She made sure that Jack with his now working ear couldn't hear her.
Eseral started talking. Jack watched, unable to hear as his friends walked off without him.
Jack felt as awful as he could get. His fur was drying up from the hot sun. Garbage filth was literally absorbing deep into his fur where it baked and stayed stuck inside. There was no vapor in this air and it showed in the Vaporeon's life source. The orb of water struggled to retain what water it had.
Who cared about physical though? Mentally, Jack was destroyed. His brain was recollecting lost thoughts, thoughts that he never thought he had. It was mentally traumatizing.
Jack started walking. His two friends stayed ahead of him, talking. He could hardly keep his recovering mind on one place.
He remembered one more word. Jack's paws hit the ground hard and he took on the weight of a new memory. He remembered the word home, and thought about his house that he used to own. There was a laboratory underneath wasn't there?
Eseral turned, Jack was out of earshot. "Ok." She began in a whisper, finally wanting to tell the truth to Jasmine since she couldn't hold it in any longer.
Jasmine listened patiently. She kept trying to sneak glances behind her at the Vaporeon. Jack looked like he was sick with something his walk was so slow. "Mind explaining to me what's wrong with the water dog?" The Jolteon asked. "And what's wrong with you too?"
Eseral turned back around. "Hey? I'm just fine, thank you." She answered sarcastically.
Jasmine smiled. "Sure, you two arguing sounds like a mental hospital." She waited for Eseral's response, but it never came. Eseral was wondering what a mental hospital was. Jasmine realized that perhaps being the number one Pokemon on an illegal team meant they visited places most didn't, so her joke made no sense to a wild Pokemon.
Jasmine sighed, she looked onward towards the horizon filled with brown grass. "So you really do come from the wild huh?" She asked. "How can someone live out here?" There was no vegetation for miles. Not a single berry.
Eseral looked up, not at Jasmine, but at the sky.
She nodded. She missed home.
Jasmine figured half as much. "Do you have a family?"
Eseral started to cry. "Yes, if they're still alive." She added.
Jasmine had hope. Mostly, because she wanted to see it for herself. The Jolteon took one whiff of the fresh air out here, outside the city, and immediately she liked it more than the years she had spent in captivity. She was made for this by birth. She liked the fresh air, even if it was surrounded by dead grass. It was better than the black voids of the Pokeballs that she knew as home.
Eseral made up her mind. She hoped she wouldn't regret it. "Ok, about Jack." She started.
Jasmine looked over. Was there more to explain? What was Eseral hiding?
"Um," Eseral felt like this was a bad idea. She scooted over just in case Jasmine had some kind of reaction and she needed to protect herself. She double checked to make sure Jack was far enough behind. He was actually farther than when they started.
Eseral sighed. "Ok, well, you know he's acting weird right?" She didn't need to motion to Jack behind them, it was obvious.
Jasmine scoffed. "What? Really? I hardly noticed." Jasmine answered, completely being sarcastic.
Eseral didn't appreciate her tone. "Fine. But listen, it's confusing."
"Then tell me." Jasmine demanded. "Quit avoiding the story and just tell the..."
"Jack's a human." Eseral blurted out. Jasmine stopped dead in her speech. She turned back to the Vaporeon who was busy trying staring at his paw. "Jasmine. He was once a human. I'm telling you the truth. It's confusing."
Jasmine stopped walking. She shrugged. "What kind of humor is this?"
Eseral realized that the Jolteon thought it was a joke. "I'm serious. He wasn't always like this." Eseral complained, trying to explain. "He used to be an Eevee, and before that he was a human."
"Ok." Jasmine kept walking in case Jack overheard them. She never removed eye contact from the Espeon. "I don't believe you one bit. It sounds made up."
Eseral growled. "You don't have to. I don't need your opinion. I've got to take care of the lunatic, so deal with it." She knew this Jolteon wasn't a good idea. SHe purposefully took a step away and increased the distance between them.
Jasmine realized, she was probably ruining the one friendship she had created outside of the city. Besides the fact that she had already tried to kill both Eseral and Jack, it seemed like a good idea to be with them. Well, she still considered them friends, hopefully they did the same. She had never had someone do something nice for her except obey her orders under pain of death.
Jasmine sighed, she gave in. "Ok. Lets say that I do believe you. Can you explain how that," Jasmine pointed back at Jack. They both looked over at him.
Jack looked up. He stopped. Both his friends were staring at him awkwardly, immediately they looked back at each other.
Jasmine began again. "Explain how that water dog, used to be, a human."
Eseral did explain. She explained very well. The conversation went on for a while.
It ended, with how Jack would soon recover his memory. The poor Vaporeon after the story was complete, had regained more than half of his entrapped memory.
...
Jack kept walking. It had been twenty minutes. The two Pokemon up front, who didn't slow down for him at all, kept talking about him behind his tail. Well, technically they were in front and he was behind. He didn't like it this way.
He felt lonely, and scared. Worst of all, he was remembering things.
Jack sighed. "TV." He told himself. It was the twenty-seventh time he had said it. "TV. TV. TV..."
The Vaporeon walked on. He remembered running up to a small TV. He remembered flipping the channel to the little electric box.
The Vaporeon stopped. He just had another memory. It was a very recent one. The same night of the alley that he dreamed of.
The water Pokemon stood there. His breathing quickened by three times the normal speed. He felt his head start to get dizzy.
He recalled a memory. Another part of his brain had been unlocked. He had been sitting on the couch, in the kitchen area, watching the news. It was about a bomb explosion. Someone had been in danger.
Jack recalled more thoughts. His headache increased. The only thing he could manage to do to appear that he was in control, was to keep walking, even though he felt completely wasted of energy.
It was obvious though. Jack's stomach started to feel sick. More and more memories came back. He threw a Pokeball against the wall. He remembered yelling at a young girl.
Worse still, very minimally, he remembered that he was a human. It was obvious. How could he have forgotten? He just put the code into the basement door, and stared at the machine. What had that been for?
...
Eseral finished her story. Both her and Jasmine had slowed in pace because the story was so long.
Eseral finished. "He won't remember much. But slowly, probably really soon, his memory will jump back. Psychic can't work forever."
They both turned around. The Vaporeon had stopped entirely. Jack couldn't even look up. He was remembering everything. Almost everything, he played the last few days of his human experience back in his head.
To the Vaporeon, it was torture. How did he know this stuff? Very slowly, he felt more and more disconnected with his instincts. It was happening again.
Eseral stopped walking also. She felt terrible for her friend. "I, I think I killed him on the inside."
Jasmine was speechless. She was expecting some cub's story of how a Vaporeon or even an Eevee cub could dream of being a human one day. Something silly and not realistic.
What she wasn't expecting, was a fully logical story of a machine, a human, and the police, which quite ironically she used to work for. This story that Eseral told, sounded probable. It even sounded truthful.
Jasmine took a deep breath. She turned and looked at the Vaporeon.
"So," she whispered. Jack was still looking at his paws in wonder. "He's, human?"
Eseral nodded. Jasmine almost shivered from the thought.
"Well, what are you going to do?" Jasmine asked. She was considering fleeing now since both these Pokemon were definitely classified as crazy on the panic scale.
Eseral rolled her eyes. "I don't know. But we're heading back to my pack. There, I think he can be safe. I don't know though, I keep telling him that we'll find a way." At this, she looked at Jasmine.
Jasmine had a look of hope. Eseral was quick to explain. "You're not coming by the way. Stay away from my family and my cubs." Eseral was quick to add. Jasmine stood back in surprise but Eseral was already walking back towards her friend who looked lonely.
Jack couldn't help it. He hung his head lower, hearing his Eseral walk up and the dead grass fall over to her paw's weight. He wondered how hot the sun was right now. It felt like a hundred degrees to the dehydrated Pokemon.
Eseral finally spoke up. "Jack? Are you..."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Jack asked. He sobbed once in the middle of his sentence. It was then that Eseral realized Jack had been crying.
Jack couldn't help it. He had just remembered his parents. They were memories he couldn't believe he'd forgotten.
Jasmine walked over. "Are you sick?" She asked. Both Jack and Eseral looked up at her.
Jasmine stepped back. "What? You look like it. You look awful." She nodded towards Jack since she was talking about him.
Jack didn't quite understand. The Vaporeon looked down. He looked just fine. Except for the fact that his fur was destroyed and he was still covered in some garbage. He was lucky that in the boiling sun, his nose refused to contemplate the smells covering his body. It was the only sense he had that wasn't ruined right now.
Jack sneezed. Jasmine thought for sure he was sick now. But Eseral realized something else.
Eseral's ears shot up and she took a step back. It wasn't Jack's mind that was in trouble, it was everything about him.
His stance was different. When he hung his head, it was like it was unnatural. Jack stood up and even though no one else would realize, he almost made the action like he hadn't practiced it.
it was like, like he wasn't supposed to be a Pokemon. He literally was, sick. Sick to his core. His instincts were fighting something that would go until his mind destroyed itself. He wasn't supposed to be two species at the same time.
Another memory exploded in Jack's mind. He stuttered on the words.
The Vaporeon nearly fell to the ground in worry. "Lauren?"
Eseral's ears went down. Jack remembered Lauren? Uh oh.
Jack continued thinking. He dared to let the last thought out. His headache hurt like mad, but the last thought in his recovering memory came back.
It was Lauren. It was the Lauren that he had met two years ago. The Lauren that he had risked his life for.
The Vaporeon broke down and cried. He poured tears into his paws as his last few memories came back. He, he missed his life. Paws! Fur! This wasn't ok!
Jasmine rolled her eyes. She sat down annoyed. "Sure, we can take a break. There's only a whole cop division coming after us. Maybe we can move in an hour when they find us."
Eseral couldn't believe her. Even though the Jolteon was bigger, she growled at her and kept her quiet. Jasmine decided to hold her further complaints. Who cared about a sick Vaporeon who apparently really loved to cry.
Eseral stepped forward. No matter how much she hated this Vaporeon, Jack had been there to help her and she would do the same. "Jack. I'm sorry." She apologized.
Jack looked up. "What, what am I?"
"Human." Eseral answered truthfully. It was quite simple. Jasmine tried not to blurt out the confused questions in her head so instead she just stood in confusion with her ears down on her head.
Jack looked down. But, all he saw was a Vaporeon. He didn't see hands. "What happened?" He asked rhetorically.
Eseral didn't answer. Jack continued crying. He knew exactly what was wrong with him. What was wrong, was that he was a Pokemon. Not a Human. How was he supposed to get back? Was he doomed to feel like a garbage covered animal for the rest of his life. He just wanted to be human again. He just wanted his old life back. He wanted Lauren to be safe.
"Can we get moving?" Jasmine complained again. No one paid attention.
Jack couldn't' help himself. He started wailing. "I, I want to go... Home!" He broke out in tears.
Eseral sighed and crept up close to Jack. It scared him, his instincts flared up, but somehow it was more comforting than being alone. Even if he was curled up to a Pokemon that was the same size as him. How was that possible?
"Jack, I'm sorry. I don't know how to get you back, but at least your safe here." Eseral tried to comfort her wailing friend.
Jasmine grunted in annoyance. Eseral scowled at her and she went quiet. What was the Jolteon's problem? Did she have any emotions at all?
Jack looked back down at his paws. "But, But, Lauren. She's, I'm, I'm a, a, Pokemon!" He started sobbing again. "I, just want, to, see her." He complained. If he knew that Lauren was ok, then maybe he could handle himself as this monster that he was. His thoughts continued to love water. He forgot how much he hated that. Streams and oceans popped up into his head instead of images of his family.
Eseral tried again. She had an idea. "It's not home Jack. But it's safer, you can come to my pack." Eseral offered.
Jack looked up. He stopped crying. "Huh?" He sobbed twice more, sniffing his running nose with the water that flowed out. He didn't know Vaporeon's did that. He didn't know a lot of things. Why? What was wrong with him? He didn't realize how destroyed his mind was right now. Eseral had to be very delicate with this matter or Jack could break.
Eseral stood up. She smiled. "Well go home. It's not the city, but it's safer for us, it's a Pokemon home. My home."
Jack's face turned mortified. He was just getting used to this.
Live with Pokemon? As a Pokemon? The Vaporeon jumped back and shook his head violently.
"No, no. I, I can't. I can't do that Eseral." Jack complained. it was too unnatural.
Eseral jumped forward. "Jack. It's the safest way. We'll get home, then we'll figure out what to do."
"Quit calling it that!" Jack yelled. "It's not home! It's not! Home is in the city, inside my lab! Not in a meadow filled with dead grass and Pokemon!
Eseral gulped. "I'm sorry, it's the best option we have."
Jack couldn't handle himself. "What if I go? What if I don't get back? What if I like it there?" He stopped dead at his last thought. "What if I can't change back!"
He noticed that Jasmine was waving her paws frantically. He stopped complaining and both Pokemon looked over.
Jasmine let her paws down. Finally someone paid attention. "Guys? We should probably go, right now." She strongly advised.
Jack couldn't believe this. His fear turned right to anger. Both Jack and Eseral ignored her again. Jasmine could just see it approaching on the horizon.
Jack turned back around to Eseral. "Eseral, I can't go. Not there. I, I don't belong here! Just let me die in peace!"
Eseral stood her ground. "Jack? You're lost. If you don't find somewhere to stay, you'll die. It's a pack. We'll look out for you. You're coming with me and Arceus knows, we'll figure out how to change you back!" She screamed it because she didn't really believe it herself.
"How?" Jack yelled even louder. He raised up his paw and stared at it. "I'm a Vaporeon? Look at me Eseral! This is fur!" He started tugging at it with his teeth. Eseral tried to stop him. "I'm a Pokemon! I've got instincts! There's nothing, human, about this!" He screamed. "This isn't natural!" He tore so hard it made him yelp and some blood started showing on his paw. The fact that he just yelped made Jack all the more angry.
Jack wanted to scream. He wanted to rant about his soaking wet fur, his sticky disgusting fur, the fact that he even had fur! Everything was so... Wrong! The fins, the instincts, that little voice in his head that wouldn't be quiet. How could Eseral live like this? How could she convince him that it was normal!
The Vaporeon had enough. He started tearing at his paw despite all the pain it caused. "I can't take it anymore! Make it STOP!"
Eseral jumped in to stop him. Instead Jack shoved her out of the way and barred his teeth at her. It was such a natural reaction, yet he realized, he was actually growling at her. He was snarling. His fractured mind was done. He would rather face death than spend another moment walking on four blue paws. He wasn't supposed to be a Pokemon. If he stayed angry, then that meant he would never give in right?
Jack tore at his fur. He slammed his large tail against the ground painfully. Eseral frantically tried to get him to stop but the large Pokemon was more of a threat now than worth protecting. The most annoying thing for Jack was his little heartbeat always telling him, "Survive. Survive."
"Shut up!" Jack yelled at his chest. The voice hardly even dulled, but just got louder.
Eseral realized something. Wait a minute. "Survive." Her instincts told her.
Her instincts whispered it. Although Jack was about to have a serious mental breakdown, his instincts stopped him from thinking. He froze, blue fur on the ground from where he tore it out of his paw. It stung like a wound from a fight.
All three Pokemon were hearing it now. All three froze. "Survive. Survive!"
"Guys. Duck!" Jasmine commanded. She pushed them down just as a car pulled up into sight and they were almost seen.
Jack crouched down out of sight. He looked much less experienced hiding than the other two Pokemon near him. It wasn't his fault, Vaporeon's weren't built for stealth. And he was hardly a Vaporeon in the first place. He was the worst Vaporeon in the world.
Jack could feel his anger coming back. Him and his freaking huge paws and bright blue fur...
A door slammed. Two people got out. "Are you sure they're here?"
Jasmine cursed in Arceus's name. Eseral looked over to find her face filled with fear.
John got out of the driver seat. He shut the police car door with a loud thud. "I'm sure. The tracker back home said that they were in these fields. It won't track them for much longer after that. But they're here."
The three Pokemon watched in silence. There were only two humans out, but they were still a threat. More of a threat than they could face alone.
Eseral crouched only as low as she should've. She figured it wasn't too much to worry about. They could always run if needed. "Jasmine?" She whispered.
Very slowly, Jasmine reached over and shut her mouth with her paw. Eseral wondered what she was doing.
It was then that the Espeon noticed how worried Jasmine was. It wasn't only that her ears were down to stay hidden. Her fur was literally shaking, she was trying to stifle the millions of electric shocks that wanted to spring out. When her paw reached Eseral's mouth to keep her quiet, it was cold and shaking in fear. The movements were actually visible in front of the Espeon's eyes.
Eseral realized, Jasmine wasn't just scared, she was horrified. If Jasmine was this scared, then what did that mean for her?
The two men figured they weren't going to find anything out here like this without help. Chase commanded John to release his Pokemon. John shrugged since he didn't have any, as he always had. Chase always forgot that his favorite Pokemon to carry around, was a little taser he kept in his back pocket. He never did understand John's motives behind that.
Chase pulled out this three Pokeballs. One of them wasn't working, because Jasmine had broken it herself and then hid it. Even though it was found, it wasn't like Chase could click the button to a pokeball that wasn't even registered and collect his Pokemon. It all depended on whether he found her first.
Jasmine had been fearing this moment. She knew it would've never been so easy. "We need to run." She whispered.
Eseral turned her head. Jack didn't even hear her since his bad ear couldn't pick up whispering. "What's going on?" He asked. Just a bit too loudly but no one answered him.
Jasmine made the motion to turn around. She wanted to be as far away from here as possible right now. "We're leaving. Now."
Eseral made the motion to turn. Perhaps they could get away.
Then it was Jack's turn. He didn't move, but stayed just a moment longer. His poor instincts failed to realize that his friends were trying to escape and he was missing out.
Just as Jasmine feared, Chase's other two Pokemon came out. The two red flashes jumped to life. The Jolteon shut her eyes in fear knowing what would come out.
First was the Arcanine of Chase's squad. It was a foot larger than normal, it's fur already thicker than most hides. It's talents on the field, were incomparable.
Then came the second Pokemon. Jack's ears perked up above the grass line.
It may have cost him his life. John looked right over just in time to see the movement of two blue ears hiding in the grass. "Hey!" He commanded, and everyone looked over. Including the two well trained Pokemon.
Eseral didn't know what happened. She heard one of the humans yelling commands. How did they get caught?
She looked over and sure enough, Jack's bright blue fin like ears were sticking straight out of the grass. "Jack!" She whispered as violently as she could. "You moron!"
It was too late. Jasmine let out a long sigh. Now everyone was looking over at the blue fins sticking out in a sea of dead grass. John smiled as he spotted the blue outline of a Vaporeon about thirty yards away from where they were.
The other two Pokemon looked over. Jack perked up even further by accident. "Hey?" He whispered. "Isn't that..."
Eseral tackled him flat. The two struggled but it was obvious that they were no longer hiding. The two trained Pokemon from Team Citadel split up and ran over quickly. They had trained for this thousands of times.
Jack finally got his mouth free. "It's him. I saw him. It's the Buizel! The one at the stream!"
Eseral slapped him hard. "Stop!" She demanded in a whisper. "You'll get us killed water dog!"
Jasmine stood straight up out of the grass. Her entire body showed itself, standing tall. "Well, he won't be the one doing the killing Eseral. You can stop hiding now." Jasmine wasn't even bothering to whisper anymore.
Both Jack and Eseral looked over. Jasmine was standing straight up. Her entire body was exposed.
She was no coward. She knew, there never was a chance of hiding. She wondered how far she would've been able to make it if she escaped. Now she knew. She would make it this far, and then chaos would erupt.
"Eseral? Jack?" Jasmine commanded. The two stood up.
Jasmine got ready. "Listen. Do what I say, and maybe you won't die as quickly as expected." With that, she bent down and got ready into a pounce position.
Eseral gulped. She looked out at the two approaching attackers. Any moment now, and she would be fighting for her life. She got ready.
Jack looked. He stared at the Buizel charging him. It looked, well, furious. When the Buizel finally recognized who he was, he was so doomed.
He started to cry. "I, I don't want to fight." The Vaporeon backed up further.
Eseral tried to stop him, but there was nothing she could do. She yelled his name and chased after him when Jack took off running.
Jasmine couldn't believe it. The two Pokemon finally caught up to her. So, she was alone then. Fine, she liked it that way to begin with.
She turned to face the Pokemon in front of her. It was the Arcanine. She would have to face her long time partner in battle. The Buizel was strategically raced on all fours to catch up to the other two who were trying to escape. Jasmine decided to let them test their luck, knowing she had to keep herself alive first.
Jasmine looked at the ground. She often wondered what death would be like during her training for Team Citadel.
They were trained to fear it, to hate it, to do anything to avoid it. It was for this reason, that Jasmine knew this Arcanine wouldn't go down easily. The well trained beast in front of her was growling and ready to kill. Who cared if they had been partners? She smelled like garbage. The Arcanine smelled like death.
Jasmine looked up. She closed her eyes. Could death really be that bad?
She sniffed in the fresh air, and smiled her victorious smile that she loved so much. "So be it." She challenged. She stood ready, the perfect battle position that she knew by heart.
The Arcanine smiled. Unfortunately for him that Jasmine didn't realize, he had orders to take her alive.
This made his already life risking job, a whole lot harder. He crouched, not ready for the fight of his life.