A/N: There is a flashback in this chapter, this note is just to say that I am going to elaborate on some of the things said in the flashback, as it links back to the incident that caused 'The Phantom' to exist in Part One if everyone can remember that far back? It feels like ages ago! Enjoy the chapter guys!
Oh and I'm working on two, (yes, two) new stories, neither are about Pokemon... one is about Bleach, and the other is about Naruto, the thing is I'm not sure which one to post first because both have an equally decent plot and I know pretty much what I want to write for them both. I'll probably post one or the other, or maybe both when I get near the end of this story, so I'm thinking around Chapter Seventeen or so I'll be putting up a new story. Even if you aren't major fans of the shows I'm going to write about maybe you guys would like to read them anyway? Basically if you like my writing style, and the plot for this one, I'm going to be writing mostly mystery stories with plenty of plot twists, (I'm not amazing at writing romance..), so if you're into that I'd recommend you read my next few stories.
Anyway, wow that took a while. Enjoy this chapter, review if you'd like to and well this isn't quite as long as the last chapter but everythings going to get very intense soon and throughout this entire part. So, enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!
Part Three.
Chapter Two: Isolation.
7th January.
Makoto was bleeding badly; he could feel his strength draining out of him in a small crimson liquid, before he'd had a chance to counter the attack or even attempt to attack Jordan again he noticed the boy he'd once thought would be a perfect accomplice to his schemes running toward his own son, and his other companions. It dawned on him that he'd have to act fast otherwise he'd lose them all tonight, and forced himself to run forward although the amount of blood he was leaving behind on the floor below him was far too much to still be moving around.
His face contorted into an ugly grimace as he saw the violet lights swirl up around Amarante, Detective Groom, Jordan, May and the unconscious Drew, Makoto continued to advance on them regardless of his wound.
"You're not going to get away like that- I won't allow it!" he screeched, his voice becoming quite hysterical as the pain begun to set in.
He was just a couple of seconds too late as the lights vanished, taking the group with them, and left Makoto inches away from the spot they'd been sat in. Makoto stood for a moment, taking in the sight of the empty floor.
"Damn you, Jordan Coran!" shouted Makoto, bringing his fist onto the floor with an almighty thud. The sound resonated off every surface in the room, Makoto's incredible strength causing it to sound as if a small bomb had gone off in the room. Immediately he heard footsteps running up the stairs to come to his aid, or perhaps just observe while Makoto defeated Jordan and the others that were preventing him from getting to Drew.
"…How disappointed they'll be" mumbled Makoto, holding onto his wound with one hand and taking note of the amount of blood on his hand as he withdrew it from the wound, "-Pitiful"
A couple of followers Makoto couldn't think the names of burst into the room, panting. Makoto eyed them suspiciously; they hardly looked like the kind of people that would follow him. One of them was considerably shorter and stouter than the other; his grey eyes magnified by the large glasses he wore, his blonde hair thinning and combed toward the side of his head. The other wasn't much better, however he looked a little stronger than his four-eyed friend, with a broad upper-body and visible muscles on his arms, the only thing that made Makoto sneer was the fact he was red in the face and panting from running up the stairs.
So these were the two running up the stairs to save me? wondered Makoto I don't know why I bother with these fools as my followers, they're hardly intelligent looking.
"Master Makoto!" exclaimed the four-eyed one, putting his hand to his forehead in a salute, "We heard noises from up here and were wondering if you needed some assistance-" The follower stopped his sentence, his eyes firmly fixed on the blood dripping from the wound across Makoto's chest, "Master Makoto- you're bleeding!"
"What an incredibly accurate statement, if only it'd have been less obvious, it may have been even more of a challenge for you" said Makoto scornfully, "I don't matter; Drew and his friends have got away… again"
"How?!" exclaimed the out of breath one, Makoto couldn't even begin to think of his name either.
"Stop asking me pathetic questions, I have no time to sit around listening to you two ask me all about what happened here tonight!" exclaimed Makoto, "Your job is to fight these little brats and bring the necklace and Drew to me. Nothing else, you don't even deserve to ask questions!"
The two men looked at the floor, full of shame and chorused, "I'm sorry, Master Makoto"
"Now" said Makoto carefully, "This is what you're going to do; firstly you're going to find Dean and tell him to report up here immediately. Secondly, you're going to create a team consisting of Roisin, Clifford and twenty other exceptionally good fighters and send them off to track down Drew and his friends, they couldn't have gone too far so check out the forests and anywhere they could be hiding. And last of all, you're going to make sure we wipe out every single person in this godforsaken village." Makoto paused, looking at the two followers, "Have I made myself clear?"
"C-Crystal, Master Makoto" stammered four-eyes, looking at his friend to lead the way out the room.
The two of them stood there looking shameful for a moment, the taller of the two rooted to the spot before Makoto glared at them, and added, "Are you going to leave or will I have to force you?"
"R-Right Master!" exclaimed four-eyes, turning and walking out of the room, followed by the slightly less dense one who nodded at Makoto as he left as a sign of respect.
"…I should've chosen my followers more carefully" muttered Makoto to no-one in particular, looking down at his wound, which was still bleeding but not as badly as before. He looked over at the room, his own blood seemed to have dripped everywhere, even places he couldn't remember walking over to.
Makoto bought his fist onto the ground again, a little less fiercely this time, to take out some of his rage and frustration. He'd been moments away from having the girl dead and being able to take the boy without fear of him fighting back. But that despicable human being; Jordan Coran, had intruded again. The boy was always one step ahead of Makoto, every move he made; pretending to be a pokemon coordinator so that he was recognized as a respectful citizen, Jordan had countered it easily. Jordan had even managed to inflict him with the kind of wound he hadn't seen on himself in years. Although he couldn't pretend to be surprised, the last person to inflict this kind of wound on Makoto had also been Jordan; he closed his eyes, the memory of that day flashing before them.
Date: 20th May, 2001. Time: 2.00PM Location:Grand Festival Stadium.
"Never let your guard down, Jordan" said Makoto, "That's the simple rule to any fight; you should know this already!"
Jordan could not breathe; he looked at the floor desperately trying to capture his breath again, as if looking at something that wasn't going to make him angry would calm him down enough for him to attack again. Makoto smirked at the sight of Jordan trying to catch his breath, it had become quite obvious he was completely worn out, after a few moments of watching Makoto begun to move around Jordan.
"Oh Jordan, I know how much you despise it when I do this…" snarled Makoto, walking around Jordan in a deliberately slow manner, to infuriate him even more. However a few moments later he noticed no change in his demeanour, and raised his eyebrows, "-Not taking the bait today? You're a little different than usual, Jordan"
"Why… are… you… here?" panted Jordan, pausing for breath between each word, looking up at Makoto to make eye contact, his eyes full of the deep hatred he possessed for Makoto.
"Isn't it obvious?" spat Makoto, standing over Jordan, noticing one of his arms was stretched out a little further than the other and moved his foot so that he was stepping gently on it, he looked at Jordan for a second before briefly lifting then bringing his foot down onto the arm.
Jordan yelled out in pain, and instantly moved his arm as Makoto lifted his foot up again, Jordan glared at Makoto before pushing himself up off the floor and standing up at his full height, "What's so obvious?"
Makoto smiled brightly, his evil eyes bulging open as he did so, "Well I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise if you aren't going to offer any suggestions! You'll find out if I let you live right now"
Jordan had a puzzled look on his face, moving a few steps toward Makoto, "I've been guarding the pokemon storage room for a while- you haven't even made a move to go into it- are you testing me?"
"Far from it" said Makoto, "I only challenged you to fight because I felt like it; these pokemon have nothing to do with me being here"
Jordan let his guard down for a moment as his eyes widened- Makoto took this opportunity and came running forcefully toward him, stopping his raised fist just before Jordan's eyes, and smirked, "Are you beginning to understand now, Jordan?"
Jordan winced, "You can't be here for him…"
Makoto let his fist go back to his side, and laughed, "Now you're guessing! Wonderful, at least it won't come as such a surprise when your best friend ends up dead-"
"-NO!" Shouted Jordan, his anger and the will to protect his friend awakening some extra energy within him, he quickly grabbed Makoto's arm and pushed him to the wall, after running toward him and dodging several punches he took out the knife concealed in his back pocket and sliced a line across Makoto's arm. The line looked like a simple scratch in the skin for a second before crimson begun to seep through the harmless looking line. Makoto immediately yelled out in pain, the blood coming up from the wound too fast for him to do anything for it.
Jordan had temporarily let down his guard again and Makoto acted fast, knocking the knife out of his hand and hitting Jordan right across the head, "What have I told you before? Don't ever let your guard down!"
Jordan did not do anything for a second, a little smile appeared on his face for a moment before his eyes begun to close, he kept trying to keep them open but the strength of Makoto's punch slowly took over.
Jordan fell to the floor, shaking and looking up at Makoto, who knelt down beside him, "He'll… He'll get you… you know, Daniel's tougher than me… he won't lose… not to you!"
"We'll see" smirked Makoto, watching Jordan's terrified-looking eyes closing, as soon as he was certain he wouldn't be attacked he released a Chansey from its pokeball. He did not bother smiling at the pokemon and simply held out his injured arm, "Heal me, now!"
The pokemon hesitantly begun to heal Makoto, enveloping his arm in a pink light, Makoto didn't look at the pokemon as it performed its task. He didn't care for pokemon, in fact he despised them and if they didn't have such strong power he probably wouldn't choose to use them at all. After Chansey had finished healing him, it begun to make its way over to the unconscious Jordan, Makoto glared at the pokemon and placed it back in its pokeball before it had a chance to reach him.
Makoto stretched his arm out a little, checking that it was still okay to use, the wound had healed quickly leaving a small scratch mark where Jordan had cut the knife into his skin. Makoto stood up from the floor and stretched his arms out, preparing for the next battle he'd have to deal with, he made his way over to the door in seconds, swinging it open.
Makoto's facial expression changed, he felt as if something was holding him back and waited by the door a moment, looking back toward Jordan with a smirk on his face, "You'll be out for another two hours, kid"
Makoto grinned as he slammed the door behind him, knowing very well that in those two hours events would happen that would change his life forever.
There was a sudden noise, Makoto looked up as Dean burst into the room, a worried look on his face, "What's going on here- Oh my G-God! M-Makoto!"
Makoto waved a hand in the air as if to tell him to stop, "What's all your pathetic stuttering about?"
Dean pointed to the wound on Makoto's chest, "We need to get you some urgent help; you're going to die if you lose anymore blood-"
"Shut up" spat Makoto, Dean's eyes looked as if they were about to bulge out their sockets but a moment later he regained his composure and watched Makoto silently.
Makoto reached into his pocket and bought out a pokeball, instead of releasing it he simply tapped it twice and waited for a moment, Dean raised his eyebrows as he saw a green light emerge from it and wrap itself around Makoto's wound which begun to heal before his eyes. Makoto noticed Dean's expression and rolled his eyes.
"What is it, boy?" asked Makoto, "Staring is impolite…"
"Oh!" said Dean, knocking himself out of his daze, "It's just… what are you doing?"
"Accessing the power of the pokemon without releasing them" said Makoto simply, Dean's expression, however, did not change, causing Makoto to sigh, "Roisin taught me how to do it, and soon I'll be able to access my pokemons power and attacks without having to carry pokeballs around with me all the time"
Dean looked amazed, "I had no idea you could do something like that-"
"-You underestimate me to the point of annoyance, Dean" muttered Makoto grumpily.
Dean's eyes widened, "I didn't mean that- Makoto."
Makoto looked up at his partner and sighed, "Forgive me for snapping at you, controlling a pokemons power can take a lot out of you…"
"Maybe" said Dean, "Maybe you could teach me how to do it, too? It'd be a good weapon against Drew and the others-"
"-It wouldn't" Makoto paused a moment, "Well, it would of course cause them damage, but the thing is, Amarante can use this kind of power too. It wouldn't come as a surprise to them"
Dean raised his eyebrows, "I had no idea she had so much power-"
"-It doesn't matter now, anyway" said Makoto firmly, the tone of his voice signifying the end of that topic of conversation.
Dean paused for a moment before asking the obvious question, "What happened with Drew and the others?!"
"They got away" spat Makoto, visibly annoyed at how talkative Dean was being.
"H-How?" asked Dean curiously, "The plan was full proof- we'd have people attack the rest of the group and leave Drew on his own, then we'd capture him. How did they get away? The fighters are expertly trained it's not like they'd have just let them get away-"
Makoto begun to snicker, "That plan had so many holes in it I'm surprised we managed to keep them here for as long as we did"
Dean moved closer to Makoto, "I don't understand"
"Failing to capture Drew tonight was bound to happen, is all I'm saying, kid" said Makoto, breathing a sigh of relief as all his wounds had completely healed.
But Dean continued to look at Makoto with a mixture of confusion and annoyance on his face, "What do you mean by that?!"
Makoto glared at Dean, who immediately changed his facial expression so that he appeared calmer, and added, "I mean, why is failing not the worst thing that could happen? We were coming here to get Drew t-tonight…" Dean stopped upon realizing the expression on Makoto's face; even though they were working together it didn't mean Makoto still wasn't terrifying.
Makoto begun to laugh, startling Dean, "You haven't quite caught on, have you, Dean?"
Dean looked at the floor shamefully, "Forgive me, Makoto"
"This attack wasn't so I could get Drew now" said Makoto, standing up shakily, "Beating someone to a pulp and forcing them to do my bidding; that isn't my style"
Dean looked offended, "You've been keeping me in the dark? This attack; it wasn't to get Drew? Then what was it for? Some of your people are dead, Makoto! Do you mean to tell me this was just a great waste of time?!"
"No, boy" sneered Makoto, "It's quite the opposite. You are my most trustworthy ally, I would not lie to you; but until now I've needed to keep you in the dark for good reason." Makoto paused, leaning against the wall to rest, "I told Drew that I'm his father"
"You did what?!" asked Dean, "But that- that wasn't to be revealed! We were going to kidnap him and-"
"-Quiet down, Boy!" interrupted Makoto, moving so that he was closer to Dean and continued, "Ever since I've revealed that people have been lying to him, that he is my child, he's gotten confused, angry and upset with the people that have done this to him. The thoughts of his father, how different I am to him, will get into his head. He will withdraw from his friends, he won't talk to them or confide in them about how he's feeling. He'll realize that the power within him is too great to keep running away from"
"And?" asked Dean, urging Makoto to go on.
"He'll seek me out, I can see the boy wants power. He wants to be known and acknowledged among people he may never meet; the answer he's always wanted lies with me" said Makoto, "When he comes to seek me out, he will do it alone without his friends to prevent him from making such a deadly mistake"
"And what will he do when he comes to us?" asked Dean, "He doesn't have the necklace, you know"
Makoto smirked, "What a foolish question. We'll hold him hostage when he comes to us, and the item we desire that will set him free is the necklace. When his friends turn up, we'll take the necklace from them"
Dean looked at Makoto for a moment, "Makoto, forgive me for saying this but; wouldn't that mean he got away again?"
"By that time, he'll have withdrawn from his friends so much that when he's told to go with them, he won't do it" said Makoto, "His thirst for power will be too great and his friends will leave empty-handed." Makoto paused, adding as an afterthought, "Or as a precaution; we'll kill them"
"I see" said Dean quietly, "But what if May talks him round? He holds her very dear to him, and even if he's angry with her I can't see him staying like that for too long. After all, the girl is in love with him and I don't have any reason to doubt he's not in love with her too"
"Love" spat Makoto, "What they have isn't love. It's infatuation, possibly lust but love; the boy does not know what love is. And lust fades very quickly when you have the reason to doubt the person you're in lust with"
Dean smirked, "Makoto, you are a genius"
Makoto did not smirk, in fact he looked troubled, "But… maybe I need to speak with him again"
Dean raised an eyebrow, "Again? We don't know where any of them disappeared to. And even if we find them they'll keep running."
"If I speak to him again, tell him all about his power… it'll get into his head even deeper, it'll be the only thing he thinks about" said Makoto, "That is, if whatever he feels for that girl disappears before then"
"What if it doesn't?" asked Dean.
Makoto paused thoughtfully, "If it doesn't… the plan may still work. I just need to get to him one more time. We need to find him and separate him from the girl, talk to him and make him see sense"
"I'm not sure how we'll be able to track them" said Dean, thinking for a moment before adding, "Unless we find out what they plan to do while they're running"
"How do you propose we do that?" asked Makoto.
"Set up followers to work in all the pokemon centres, hospitals, police stations in every city" said Dean, "If they spot them we'll be able to track them, perhaps get Drew alone and give you time to teleport there to speak with him."
"You are perhaps the best subordinate I could ask for" said Makoto, "I hold you in higher regard than any other of my followers. Perhaps because I know you are I are the same"
Dean smiled, "We have always been the same, Makoto. I have been held back for too long"
"By that brother of yours" said Makoto darkly, "No matter, he will be dealt with soon enough"
"D-Dealt with?" stammered Dean, "What do you mean?"
"He will be killed in the quickest and most efficient way" said Makoto bluntly, "His interference with the plans I've been making for years is going to come to a violent end for him"
Dean looked taken aback, "You can't do that"
Makoto glared at Dean, "What did you just say to me?"
Dean smirked, prompting a confused look on Makoto's face, "You can't kill him, Makoto… because I'M going to!"
Location: LaRousse Forest.
"My biggest fears have come true; you truly are pathetic. Looking back now the people I killed were just a waste of my time; just like you"
Drew clenched his fists, focusing on preventing himself from pounding them into the earth in front of him. His memories from his encounter with Makoto had been rushing through his head ever since he'd regained consciousness.
Am I really that weak? thought Drew sadly.
"It must be sad; finding out you've been lied to your entire life. That your father has surpassed you in every way possible; perhaps if there was going to be a next time we'd meet in combat, you'd at least work on that pathetic punch of yours"
Drew gave into the temptation and pounded his recently healed fist into the earth to try release the anger that was pent up inside him.I'm strong! I'm stronger than him, and I'll prove it.
Drew could feel eyes watching him from somewhere, he'd bet anything they were May's. The conversation he'd had with her had been running through his head, also, not as frequently as the encounter with his father but it was there. His initial thoughts were to forgive her and begin talking to her again but as the things his father said to him planted their way further into his thoughts anytime he thought of May he couldn't help but feel angry.
I've never felt so useless, thought Drew, his fists clenched so hard he felt his nails breaking the surface of his skin There has to be something I can do to prove I'm worthy to fight my father, there has to be some way I can get more power…
Drew sighed, the cold wind didn't seem to be affecting him at all, and the tired feeling he had before had completely disappeared, all his feelings before for everything were being slowly replaced by an insatiable desire for power and revenge. Things Drew hadn't thought about since he'd set out to be a coordinator; until he met May all he'd been was a kid desperate for power, and not caring how far he'd have to push himself or his pokemon to get it. The feelings were back now, and they felt like a giant weight on his shoulders as he pushed himself to think how he could gain power to get revenge on his father, and came up with nothing. Drew jumped a little as he heard noises not far from where he was sitting; he couldn't pinpoint exactly what they were so continued on looking at the ground, keeping his thoughts firmly on Makoto and nothing else.
"Drew!?" called Jordan from close by.
Drew looked up, trying his best to appear calm by unclenching his fists, although the interruption had left him ready to shout at Jordan until he noticed the look of concern on his face, "What is it?"
Jordan tried to catch his breath, "Amarante, May and I heard noises from over there" Jordan pointed off to the trees to the right of the group, "We think they've tracked us down already"
"How?" asked Drew, uncomfortable having such a normal conversation with someone else and willing himself to say as little as possible.
"We don't know!" exclaimed Jordan, "But we've got to teleport immediately, come with me"
"Wait, what about Detective Groom?" asked Drew.
"We have to leave him, he should be able to take care of himself!" said Jordan.
"I don't want to leave him" muttered Drew.
"We don't have a choice" explained Jordan carefully, "He'll be okay on his own, he's a Detective, he can handle anything, and plus they don't want him"
"Right" said Drew between clenched teeth, "They want me…"
Jordan turned and begun to run to the other two, who already had everything packed up and were holding each others hands, ready to teleport. Jordan sat down and quickly grabbed Amarante's hand as Drew hesitantly sat down and took May's hand. He realized her eyes were boring into him, and he did his best to carry on looking away from her, however much she stared or however tightly she held onto his hand he refused to look at the girl he believed he could trust.
The lights swirled up around the group as they moved for the second time within the hour, Drew feared he would grow quite tiresome of all this running away they were doing. Within seconds they reached their destination; inside a cave that was buried halfway up a cliff, Drew walked out to the edge of the cave and looked around them, they were surrounded by cliffs on every side except in front of them where a giant forest was placed, there didn't seem to be a town around for miles. And it had become very clear they were now far away from LaRousse City.
As Drew walked back inside he noticed that Amarante had unpacked four sleeping bags, Jordan was wrapped up in one but remained sat, leaning against the wall of the cave on full alert. May was sat next to him, her eyes fixing on Drew as soon as he re-entered the cave, for a moment Drew made eye contact with May; the anger he felt didn't seem to weigh so heavily on him as he looked at her sweet, innocent face, and the familiar butterflies he got every time he noticed she was looking at him had returned. It wasn't until May begun to smile that Drew remembered everything that had happened, that sweet smile that hid the lies she'd been telling him. He looked away and took the sleeping bag Amarante had unpacked for him and curled up in it, noticing that May was still staring at him from out of the corner of his eyes and decided this time to ignore it, he turned his back to the rest of the group without so much as a word coming from his lips, closed his eyes and wished he would wake up to a situation a million times better than the one he was currently in.