Chapter 38: Back Where it All Started
A wave of silent sadness had washed over the remains of Firefly's group. It had been hours since their close friend, and to others family member, had given herself up to Giovanni in an effort to protect them. The children had thankfully fallen asleep, giving them time to discuss their next course of action.
"There shouldn't be any question about what to do next," Icy declared. "Rescuing Firefly is top priority."
"That's easier said than done," Shadow said.
"And how would you know?" Icy questioned.
"I know it was Hell trying to get away from them in the first place, and I know there's no way in Hell I'll ever go back!" he answered.
"So you just want to abandon her?" Icy yelled.
"I never said that!" Shadow responded.
"Then what…"
"That's enough, you two!" Shadowfire scolded. "We've already got enough to worry about without you two going at each others throats!" Shadow immediately became quiet and hung his head, but Icy turned and stormed off towards the cave entrance.
"Where are you going?" Saya asked.
"To cool off. I'm so hot right now I'm afraid I might melt," the Sneasel replied. As they watched her leave Saya got up.
"I'll go make sure she's okay," the Aipom said. Shadowfire nodded as she followed Icy out of the cave.
"Okay, now does anyone have any idea on what we should be doing now?" Shadow asked. No one knew what to say. They all wanted to go after Firefly, but they knew she was depending on them to care for all the young Pokémon in her absence.
"You know, I don't think this is our call," Shadowfire announced. Everyone knew he was right. At that point all eyes fell on Indigo. He had been silent ever since Firefly was first taken, continuing to stare from the cave entrance in the direction she had left.
"What do you say, Indigo? What's our next move?" Shadow asked. Indigo didn't respond, nor did he act like he had heard Shadow's question.
"Indigo?" the Pikachu called. Again no response.
"Poor guy must still be in shock about what happened," Shadowfire guessed. In truth Indigo was still thinking about what happened, playing the scene over and over again in his head.
"I failed you, Firefly… I said that I'd always protect you… But now look what's happened… Well I'm not going to let this stand. I may have failed you once, but I'll be damned if I fail you again!" In his mind he already knew what he would do next, and there wasn't anything or anyone who would stop him. He suddenly stood up and walked back towards the group, catching everyone's attention.
"I-Indigo?" Shadow called.
"I've decided on our next course of action," he said.
"That sounds good to me," Shadow said. "So, what have you decided?"
"If it's all the same to you I'd like to let everyone know at the same time," Indigo said.
"I'll go let Icy and Saya know you've come to a decision," Melody said. She took flight and left the cave to go inform Icy and Saya know what was happening while Shadow and Shadowfire gathered up everyone still in the cave. In a few minutes everyone, with the exception of the sleeping children, had been gathered.
"So, we heard you decided what we're to do next," Pearl announced.
"That I have," Indigo responded. "Once everyone is physically able to we're leaving."
"Well that's all well and good, but where are we going?" Rusty questioned. Indigo looked his way, a determined look in his eyes.
"I'm pretty sure you already know," he answered.
"Wait… are you trying to say…"
"That's right. We're going to go get Firefly back!" he shouted. Everyone cheered his decision, making sure to stay quiet enough to keep from waking the children.
"Look out, Giovanni! We won't let you hold her for long!" Rusty declared. While everyone was voicing their approval for his decision Indigo was thinking about the battles that were to come as a result of this. While he was in thought Rei approached him.
"Indigo?" she called.
"What's on your mind, Rei?" he asked.
"You're going after her, right?" she asked.
"We all are," Indigo replied.
"Do you have any idea where he took her?" Rei asked.
"I know exactly where he took her," Indigo said. "The only place he'd take her would be their main HQ in the Ichis Region."
"In Ichis? But that's hundreds of miles away!" Rei exclaimed.
"It doesn't matter. For her I'd travel half way around the world. There isn't anything I wouldn't do and anyone I would go through for her," Indigo explained. Listening to him speak Rei got the idea that he'd do anything for Firefly.
"Is… Is it alright if I come with you," she asked. This was something he was not expecting.
"Sure, but why? It's not that I don't want you to come along. It's just that… I didn't think you had a reason to," he said.
"I do," Rei replied. "There's someone he took that I have to rescue."
"I see… in that case we'll help you get them out," Indigo told her.
"Thank you," Rei said. Indigo smiled and nodded to her before addressing the rest of the group.
"Okay, everyone. Let's get some rest. We'll need all the energy we can get for the what's ahead." Everyone agreed with his suggestion and turned in for the night, all of them knowing they had a long journey ahead of them.
Giovanni sat in his private helicopter looking across at his prize. Firefly sat across from him, her head hanging down. Though she knew that by giving herself up the others would be safe she was still filled with sadness upon realizing that she may never see them again.
"Sir, HQ will be coming into view shortly," the pilot announced. Giovanni looked over at Firefly, a smirk on his face.
"You hear that? You'll soon be back where you belong," he gloated. Firefly didn't look up. Her mind was still on her friends and family. It had felt like an eternity since she had left them, but in reality it had been a few days since then.
"I wonder what they're doing now… I hope they're safe," she said.
"Ah, there it is," Giovanni announced. Firefly looked out the window, where the ominous structure that was Team Rocket's main base of operations loomed. If possible she could feel her heart becoming even heavier at the sight of the facility. As they grew closer Giovanni had two words for Firefly.
"Welcome back…"
"You should feel lucky, 01. The Boss is being… quite giving."
"That's right. He's ordered us to take you to your old enclosure. Doesn't that sound generous of him?" Firefly didn't respond to them. She didn't even look up as they lead her down the darkened corridor. Truthfully she didn't need them to lead her anywhere. She still knew her way around despite her time away, so it was no surprise to her when they finally arrived in front of the familiar metal doors that lead to the enclosure. The doors opened, but just before Firefly walked through the Rockets had one last thing to say to her.
"It may look the same as last time, but don't assume it is." With those words Firefly walked into the enclosure. She glanced around, seeing that things did appear to be the same. Although…
"With as much time that's passed I'm sure things here aren't the same anymore," she said. As she continued to look around she let out a yawn. During her trip there she hardly got any sleep. She knew she'd need sleep if she was to survive here again, and so she made her way deeper into the enclosure on her way to her old den. As she walked through she could feel the eyes of all the Pokémon on her, as well as hear some of the things they were saying.
"Isn't that Firefly?"
"It can't be. She busted out of here months ago."
"That's her. I'm sure of it." All around her she could hear the murmurs of those who couldn't believe that she was back. In truth she couldn't blame them. If she had been in their place she wouldn't believe it either.
"Firefly? Is that really you?" The Vulpix looked up and saw two small Azurill standing before her. She recognized them as two sisters she had often seen scurrying around the enclosure. She smiled at the two of them.
"It's good to see you two are still in good health," she said.
"You too, but we didn't think we'd ever see you in here again," the first Azurill commented. "What happened?" Firefly cast her eyes downward, her sadness being reflected in them.
"Giovanni… managed to catch up to us," she answered. The two Azurill gasped.
"Oh my goodness! W-What happened to everyone else?" the second asked.
"They're fine. I gave myself up in order to guarantee their safety," Firefly explained.
"You think Giovanni will really leave them alone?" the first asked.
"Well, he did call his men back when I surrendered," Firefly replied. "Going by that I can only assume that he's given up pursuit of them."
"Let's hope so," the second commented. "What will you do now?"
"If it's all the same to you two I'd like to get some sleep. It's been a hectic couple of days and I haven't gotten an ounce of sleep," Firefly said.
"Then you'll be heading back to your old den then?" the first Azurill asked.
"I'd like to," Firefly answered. The two Azurill stepped to the side and let Firefly pass. They both watched her walk away, their faces filled with concern.
Minutes later Firefly was standing outside of her den. Despite all the time that had passed the den looked the same as it did back before she escaped. With exhaustion slowly taking over she slowly made her way inside. The interior also remained unchanged.
"It's… the same as it was back then," Firefly commented. She looked around until she spotted a pile of leaves towards the back of the den. She walked over to it and laid down. Memories of her spending time here surrounded by her friends filled her mind, and made her heart ache with loneliness.
"Those days… are over for me," she said. "I… I'll never… see them again…" The more she thought about everyone she left behind the sadder she became. Eventually her emotions refused to stay bottled up any longer. She buried her face in her paws and cried, the thought of never seeing her friends or family ever again overwhelming her. Eventually she became exhausted and fell asleep. Despite this her tears continued to fall, running down her muzzle in small streaks.
Elsewhere the doors leading to the battlefield opened and a Jolteon stepped out. This Jolteon was normal except for the 4-inch long horn that protruded from his head. He stretched a bit before heading further in.
"Man, that wasn't even worthy of a warm-up fight," he commented.
"Yo, Houkai!" The Jolteon named Houkai looked up and saw a group of Pokémon consisting of a Quilava, a Flareon, a Dragonair and an Oddish.
"Faber, Ryley, Sabre, Inferno! What's up, guys?" he greeted.
"We were just waiting for you," the Oddish named Faber answered. The four of them along with Houkai were a tight-knit group, and like the Jolteon the others had been modified by Team Rocket. Unlike other Oddish Faber's body was red while his leaves were a sky blue color. He also had some spikes on his legs.
Sabre the Quilava appeared to be just like any other Quilava, but he was far more unique. He had the ability to use both Fire and Ice type attacks, but they were a bit backwards. His Ice attacks came out red while his Fire attacks came out blue. He also had a bracelet on his left foot with a sapphire in it to keep him from losing control.
Inferno the Flareon had been injected with Psychic DNA which gave his fur a slight pink tint.
The final Pokémon was Ryley the Dragonair. His body was green instead of blue, and his stomach was gold instead of white. He also had steel spikes going down his back and unlike other Dragonair he had no horn on his head.
"We take it the battle wasn't anything too difficult?" Ryley asked.
"Nothing I couldn't handle," Houkai bragged. "If you ask me they should have put me against more opponents so it'd actually be a challenge."
"Well it's not like they're smart enough to figure that out," Inferno spat.
"Tell me about it. It's almost like they're trying to weed out all the weaklings," Sabre commented. "If you ask me this is a sick way of going about it."
"Like Giovanni gives a damn," Faber said.
"We all know he doesn't," Houkai said. "Anyway, let's head back to the den." The five of them started making their way deeper into the enclosure.
"Heads up. Here comes Ephriam," Ryley observed. Ephriam was Charmeleon, though he had gone through drastic changes. His body was a darker shade of red than other Charmeleon. His arms were those of a Gallade and he sported Charizard wings. What made him truly different from the other Pokémon there was the fact that he worked for Team Rocket.
"I see you survived another trip to the battlefield, Houkai," Ephriam observed. Houkai snorted.
"You call it a battlefield but it's turning into more of a slaughterhouse if you ask me," he corrected.
"In any case be thankful you're among the survivors," the Charmeleon suggested.
"Yeah, I'll take your advice to heart," Houkai said. "So, is that all you came to say?"
"Actually, I came to inform you that a new arrival has been added to this enclosure," Ephriam explained.
"Just what we need… fresh meat," Inferno said.
"This one is a special case. Giovanni has great interest in her," Ephriam explained.
"Her? The newcomer is a female? Well now you've got my attention," Houkai said. Ephriam shot him an intense glare.
"I'm serious, Houkai. I wouldn't want to see what would happen to any of you should you do anything to her that would anger Giovanni," he warned.
"Please. If we did do something to her I doubt if that ass would even care," Inferno said.
"Well then, do what you want. But remember… you've been warned." And with those words Ephriam left. The five of them looked at each other, each of them contemplating the Charmeleon's warning.
"What do you think? Should we put any sort of thought into that warning?" Faber asked.
"I doubt it, though I am curious to know who Giovanni brought in and why he's so interested in her," Sabre commented. "The last Pokémon that had his interest was that Vulpix everyone said busted out of here months ago."
"I doubt if this new one is even half the Pokémon she was," Inferno commented.
"The only way to find out is if we run across her, but right now we don't even know who she is or what kind of Pokémon she is. All we can do now is go about our lives like we have been for the past few months," Houkai said. The others agreed with him as they continued on towards their den.
Minutes later all five of them were standing outside of their den. They hadn't come across anyone that might have been the new addition to their enclosure, giving them the impression that whoever it was might not have been brought in yet.
"Maybe she'll be brought in later," Faber said.
"Perhaps, but the way Ephriam talked about her he made it seem like she was already added," Sabre informed him.
"That's the impression I got as well," Ryley added.
"Well despite what we thought that didn't seem to be the case," Inferno said. "And anyway standing out here talking about it isn't doing us any good."
"Inferno's right, guys. We can deal with all this later," Houkai said. Deciding that the Flareon was right they dropped the subject and walked closer to the cave. They were a few feet away when Ryley suddenly stopped, catching the others' attention.
"Something wrong, Ryley?" Sabre asked.
"Someone's in our den," the Dragonair whispered.
"How do you know?" Inferno asked.
"I can sense it," Ryley answered.
"I think you're imagining things," the Flareon said.
"I doubt it. Take a look at this." The others looked to where Faber was pointing, where they could clearly see footprints leading into the den.
"These aren't ours," he said.
"No, they're not," Ryley agreed. "And I don't see any leaving the den. That means whoever entered must still be inside." The five of them looked towards the den.
"Okay, let's go in but be careful. There's no telling what's waiting for us on the inside," Ryley instructed. With the Dragonair in the lead the five Pokémon cautiously entered the den. The took a quick look around to see if anything was out of place.
"At least they didn't trash the place," Faber commented.
"And I think I know why," Inferno informed him. "Take a look at that." He pointed to the bed of leaves at the back of the den where a small Pokémon, who turned out to be Firefly, was sleeping.
"Who's that?" Houkai asked.
"I don't know, but they're about to get a rude awakening," Inferno declared. He was about to go over and wake her up when Ryley stopped him.
"Hold on a second. I really don't think that's a good idea," he informed him.
"And why not? That Pokémon has come into our den and made itself right at home. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't run it out of here?" Inferno demanded.
"Take a close look at that Pokémon. You'll find your answers there," Ryley told him. Though he felt that this was a waste of time Inferno did as Ryley suggested. He stepped closer to the still sleeping Firefly and took a closer look at her.
"A Vulpix with wings… seems pretty run-of-the-mill for this place," he commented.
"Perhaps, but look at her face," Ryley suggested. Inferno sighed and looked at her face. What he saw shocked him.
"Are those… tears?" he gasped. The other gathered around and looked as well.
"I think those are tears," Houkai said.
"They are," Ryley informed them. "I figure she came here and cried herself to sleep." Even Inferno, who at first wanted to throw her out, felt his heart going out to her.
"Poor girl," Houkai said. As he stared at her, for some strange reason, he reached out and brushed his paw against her tear-stained cheek. The moment he did that Firefly began to stir. All five of them jumped back, waiting to see what she would do. Slowly her eyes opened. It took a while for her eyes to adjust, but once they did and she saw Houkai and his friends all staring at her she jumped up and backed up against the wall.
"W-What's going on? Who are you?" she growled.
"Whoa, take it easy. We're not here to harm you," Houkai said, trying to calm her down. Despite his reassurance Firefly was still wary of the five of them, but as time continued to pass she began to see they truly didn't mean her any harm. Realizing this she began to relax.
"I… forgive me. It's just… you all startled me," Firefly explained. "I wasn't expecting to wake up and find five Pokémon all standing over me."
"I can imagine," Faber said. "If I were you I'd be startled too."
"Well you are quite the intimidating group," Firefly commented. "No offense meant."
"None taken," Ryley said. "Oh, but look at us. You're probably wondering who we are right now."
"The thought did cross my mind, though you're more than likely wondering the same thing about me," Firefly commented.
"I know I was," Inferno whispered. Faber nudged him, motioning for him to keep quiet.
"My name is Ryley," the Dragonair said. "This is Houkai, Faber, Inferno and Sabre." The others said their greetings.
"It's good to meet all of you," Firefly greeted. "I'm Firefly." The minute he heard her name Houkai went into deep thought.
"Firefly… Firefly… now why does that name sound familiar?" he questioned. It didn't take long before Sabre figured it out.
"Hold on… you're the Pokémon that busted out of here all those months ago!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah… that was me," Firefly answered, feeling slightly embarrassed.
"Wait… you busted out of here before? Then what the Hell are you doing back in here now?" Inferno asked. Upon hearing his question Firefly went from embarrassed to depressed.
"Well… as you already know I escaped with a large group of Pokémon," she said.
"I do recall hearing that you and a Growlithe lead a large group of Pokémon to freedom," Ryley said.
"Well you heard right," Firefly told him. "We managed to put some distance between ourselves and Giovanni, but he eventually caught up to us and…" Her sudden pause had them all curious.
"And… what happened next?" Faber asked.
"He managed to catch us with a surprise attack. We… couldn't do anything to stop him," Firefly explained. "He… There were children with us and he... I had to do something or… there's no telling what would have happened to them if…." Firefly shut her eyes tightly, the memory of what happened that day coming back to her mind. The others were both shocked and disgusted by what they heard.
"Bastard," Sabre spat.
"How heartless can you get?" Faber seethed.
"And here I was thinking he couldn't get any worse," Houkai growled.
"Attacking children… just how damn low can he get?" Inferno shouted.
"I knew he'd do anything to get what he wanted, but this… this is just too much," Ryley said. "I can only imagine how painful that was for you."
"It was, but the most painful part was having to say goodbye," Firefly explained. "That alone hurt me more than any physical wound he could have inflicted." The pain in Firefly's voice came across loud and clear. Ryley and the others felt their hearts going out to the saddened Vulpix. They all wanted to help her in some way, but none knew how. It was Ryley who finally broke the silence.
"Firefly… I don't know if there's anything we can do for you, but I want you to know that we're all here for you," the Dragonair said.
"That's right. This place may be a Hell on Earth, but we'll try to make this as bearable as possible for you," Sabre added. Houkai, Faber and Inferno all agreed as well. Firefly smiled at their kindness.
"Thank you… all of you," she said.
"You're welcome," Ryley said. "Now, is there anything you need at the moment?"
"Now that you mention it… some sleep sounds good… right… about… now…" And with one final yawn Firefly laid back down and drifted back to sleep.
"Man, talk about going through Hell," Faber commented.
"I know. Giovanni must have really wanted her back bad to put her through all that," Sabre said.
"You think the others will come for her?" Houkai asked.
"I don't doubt it. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't already on their way back here right now," Ryley commented. "Of course there's no telling how long it will take them to get here."
"That means Firefly could be stuck in here for weeks, or even months," Faber said.
"If not longer," Inferno added. The five of them looked at Firefly. They all knew that, while not fair, the reality was that Firefly was stuck here for who knew how long.
In his office Giovanni was basking in the glory of his recent victory. Getting Firefly back put him in a somewhat good mood, a strange sight for him.
"Of course now I'll we'll have to set up an appropriate schedule for you," he said. As he planned a guard entered.
"Sir, 01 has been released back into her enclosure as you requested," he reported.
"Very well. You are dismissed," he ordered. The guard saluted and left. An evil smirk made its way onto Giovanni's face.
"Well, Firefly, let's see how you manage to survive this time," he said. "Things have changed drastically since you were last here, and it looks like you'll have quite a few more enemies this time around…"
Things for Firefly have taken a slight positive turn with the meeting of new friends, but with Giovanni planning who knows what for Firefly what will the future hold for her? And just how long will it take for Indigo and the others to rescue her? Find out in the next chapter of Firefly: Queen of the New Breed!
Author's Note: Houkai the Jolteon belongs to Benji The Hunted. Sabre the Quilava belongs to Tainted Okami. Ephriam the Charmeleon belongs to Fallen Vanguard. Inferno the Flareon belongs to redsalamence222. Ryley the Dragonair and Faber the Oddish belong to poka.
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