So sorry guys! I know its been almost three months since I uploaded the last chapter and I know it seemed like I forgot or gave up on the story...Well SURPRISE! I didn't! Here is Chapter 48, three months overdue, but here nonetheless! Hope it makes up for it! Enjoy!
Chapter 48
The Calm Before The Storm
Jason and Kelly held hands as they headed out of the stadium, Luxio and Pikachu walked beside their trainers. Kelly was looking down at the engagement ring. The rings diamond seemed to sparkle no matter the lighting and Kelly seemed entranced by it.
"Is so beautiful!" She gasped. "How did you afford this?"
"Well I didn't buy it; it was given to me by my father." Jason replied. "That ring was my mother's, but I thought it would look better on your finger instead of being locked up gathering dust."
Cameramen and news reporters swarmed the newly engaged couple as they were leaving the stadium. Jason let go of Kelly's hand and put his arm protectively around her. Microphones were put in front of Jason and Kelly and several questions were asked.
"Jason! Jason! Congratulations you two! Will the wedding be televised?"
"Kelly! Kelly! What caused you to get engaged to someone in a lower social standing?"
"Jason! Jason! Is the reason you two are getting married because Ms. Conner is pregnant?"
Jason formed a fist and was about to retaliate to the reporter's rude questions when Luxio growled and hissed at the reporters, sparks flying off her body as she glared at them. Pikachu glared at the reporters also. The reporters were backed away from the two trainers and Jason and Kelly were allowed through the mob of reporters.
"What a bunch of jerks." Kelly said as they continued walking.
"I know." Jason replied. "They were probably just jealous."
"Yeah. I'm sure they had a lot to be jealous about." She smiled.
The two walked out of the stadium, Jason still had his arms around Kelly. There was a huge crowd of fans waiting for them outside the stadium. The fans started clapping and cheering at the sight of the two trainers. Several fans ran up to Jason asking for autographs. He started signing the autographs. The other fans just looked on, a few girls even glared jealously at Kelly. After a few autographs and congratulations the fans left just as Jason's and Kelly's friend were approaching the two.
"Congratulations you two!" Alice cried as she ran over and hugged Jason and then Kelly.
The others approached them, Matt, Brian, Maria, Akira, Blitz, and even Everlynn.
"Good going man!" Brian slapped Jason on the shoulder. "I'm happy for you two."
"It's about time." Matt smiled. "Congratulations." He and Jason shook hands.
"Oh I'm so happy for you!" Maria hugged Kelly. "Let me see the ring."
"Yeah! Let's see it! It better be a good one!" Akira gave Jason a pointed look.
Blitz walked up to Luxio and smiled. Kelly showed everyone the ring. They oowed and awed. Everlynn stayed a few feet away from the chattering group.
"Here hold this for a second, but don't run off with it." Jason said jokingly as he handed the check to Alice.
"Aww, it's nice to see that you trust me." She replied. "So what are you going to do with it?"
"Use it for the wedding of course." He replied.
The group chatted on for a while, failing to see that Everlynn and Minun had walked off.
…
Everlynn quietly walked along the empty, night streets. Minun walked next to her, occasionally glancing worryingly at its trainer. Everlynn let out a depressed sigh as she glanced down at the sidewalk.
…
"Hey, have any of you seen Everlynn?" Jason asked as he looked around for her.
"She was here a moment ago…." Akira added. "She probably went back to the house."
"Yeah it's probably was for the best." Maria added.
"I need to talk to her." Jason said. "I'll wait until we get back to the house."
"Well come on! We should celebrate!" Alice interjected.
"Isn't it a little late?" Brian asked.
"It's only nine." Alice said. "What Brian? You already tired?"
"No."
"Well then let's go celebrate!"
"What about Everlynn?" Akira asked.
"If she wanted to be here then she wouldn't have left." Maria added.
"Well….yeah, true."
"I'm sure she'll be fine." Matt added. "She just need some time to herself."
"Yeah." Akira nodded. "….well lets go celebrate!"
…
Boss, Edward, Anya, Dyre, and Cherie all sat in the Rocket Control Room. They all sat around metal table that had a hologram map of Kanto and Johto displayed.
"We need to start making final preparations." Edward said. "The attack is in two days."
"Tell the bases in Celadon City and Cianwood City to do final evaluations first thing in the morning." Boss said. "We can't have anything going wrong."
"Agreed." Edward nodded. "Dyre, you'll be going to Celadon to make sure everything goes smoothly."
"Yes sir." Dyre nodded.
"What will I be doing?" Cherie asked.
"Cherie you'll be going to Neoterra to assume command of the invasion force." Edward said.
"Yes sir." She nodded.
"Anya." Boss looked at her. "You'll be staying here and leading the Rocket forces stationed here."
"Yes." She nodded.
"Wait….what?" Edward said surprised. "I thought I was the one who was going to lead the Rockets that were here?"
"Well there has been a change of plans." Boss smirked. "Anya is now the second in command, but don't worry, I have another post that you can command."
Two Grunts walked into the room and went over to Edward; they forcefully grabbed his arms and handcuffed him.
"Edward Teach, you are hereby relieved of command." Boss said. "Take him away."
"Yes sir!" Both of the Grunts saluted and they started to drag Edward away.
Edward didn't say a thing; he just glared at Boss as he was dragged out of the room. Both Dyre and Cherie looked on in shock.
"Alright, now that that's done with." Boss said. "Now back to business. Should Jason start winning, I need an ace in the hole that could turn the tide of the battle into my favor. We need something that when revealed when surely demoralize Jason."
"How about kidnapping Kelly Conner?" Cherie suggested.
"No. That wouldn't work." Anya said.
"Why not?"
"By kidnapping someone from the richest family in Kanto, we would be attracting too much attention from law enforcement and that's something we can't deal with at this time."
"Fine. You have another idea?" Cherie asked a bit rudely.
"As a matter of fact I do. Watch and learn, little girl." Anya smirked at her.
…
Everlynn slowed turned the doorknob and walked into the dark and empty house. Sighing as she turned on the lights and Minun jumped off her shoulder. Everlynn walked throughout the house turning on all the lights. Minun followed his trainer as they went into her room, closing and locking the door after Minun had walked in. Everlynn sighed and plopped down on the bed, she looked straight up at the ceiling. Minun jumped onto the bed next to Everlynn and just sat still looking at its trainer. Everlynn just laid there looking up at the ceiling, about a half hour passed until she drifted off to sleep. Minun fell asleep shortly after.
…
The others had gone to a nearby restaurant to celebrate Jason and Kelly's engagement. They were all seated at one table with Jason and Kelly sitting next to each other.
"Well that was a good dinner!" Brain said as the group finished eating. "What made it especially good was the fact that it was free.
"Yeah? Well you better enjoy it now." Jason commented. "Next time you're paying."
"You beat the World Champion and I'll pay for the whole wedding." Brian replied jokingly.
"I'll hold you to that." Jason replied with a smirk. "In two days you better have that checkbook ready."
"Tell me that when you win…..and if you don't win I'm fining you a million dollars."
"Don't worry Jason; I'm sure you'll do fine." Matt added. "You have a what? One in twenty chance of winning."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence both of you." Jason replied sarcastically.
"Don't you worry Jason; you'll prove em all wrong." Alice winked at her cousin.
"On the off chance that you don't…" Matt added. "You can relax knowing that you're marrying a beautiful, smart girl that is way out of your league."
"Thanks a lot Matt…." Jason said.
…
Everlynn opened her eyes and slowly sat up off the bed, yawning as she did. She took a peek at the clock.
"It's only eleven thirty?" She yawned.
She looked over to Minun and found that he was still sound asleep. Still tired from abruptly waking, Everlynn lazily got out of bed and went to check in the others were back yet.
"Hello?" She called out. "You guys back yet?"
There was no reply as Everlynn searched around the house, until finally stopping in the kitchen and taking a seat at the table.
"Hello?" She called out again. A few seconds passed with no reply. "Hmmm….guess they aren't back yet."
A cool breeze blew through the room.
"It just got a bit chilly in here." Everlynn shivered lightly
She looked around and noticed that the front door to the house was slightly ajar.
"Weird…." She thought. "I know I closed the door right."
She walked over and shut the door, made sure it was closed correctly, and locked it just to be sure.
"Hmmm…weird." She said once again.
Before she could turn back around a pair of hands wrapped around her, one placed a rag over her mouth. Everlynn try to cry out, but accidently breathe in the chemicals that the rag was drench in, causing her to fade towards the blackness of unconsciousness. Everlynn struggled against her attacker, but with each passing second she faded more and more until there was nothing but darkness.
…
"You know, Jason has defeated all of us at one point or another." Akira said as she unlocked the door to the house and walked in followed by everyone else.
Blitz stood by the door, waiting for everyone to walk in before shutting it. Akira went into the kitchen, putting her leftovers in the fridge, everyone else took a spot in the living room. Blitz and Luxio taking up a spot by the window.
"Nah uh." Alice shook her head. "He hasn't beaten Maria or Matt."
"Hey, yeah I haven't." Jason realized.
He wrapped his arm around Kelly as they sat side by side on the couch...
"But you've beaten everyone else." Kelly said as she laid her head on his shoulder.
"Well we never really had a battle…." Maria replied.
"And I've battled you once before and won if I'm recalling correctly." Matt replied.
"Well I've improved a lot since then." Jason said. "We should have a rematch."
"How about tomorrow? A little warm-up before your big match the day after."
"Yeah, that would be great!"
Akira walked back into the living room.
"I'm going to check to see if Everlynn came back here." She said and walked off again.
"So what do you guys think the deal is with Everlynn?" Jason asked a bit quietly.
"She's still in love with you." Brain replied nonchalantly.
"No she isn't….is she?" Jason looked at the others.
"Sadly she is." Kelly replied.
"Yeah….almost to the point of being obsessed." Alice spoke.
"I feel bad for her…." Maria said. "…I wonder how she's holding up."
"She'll be fine." Alice said. "She just needs to stop being a love sick puppy."
Akira came walking back slowly into the living room.
"Guys…." Everyone turned to look at her. "Everlynn's gone. None of her stuff is there."
"What? Really?" Alice asked, a look of concern crossed her face.
Akira nodded slowly, disappointment passing over her face.
"That girl…." Alice sighed.
Silence befell the group at the recent turn of events.
"She left without even saying good bye." Maria spoke up.
"That doesn't seem like something she'd do." Jason said.
"I agree." Akira said. "Maybe something happen to her."
"What could happen to her out here?" Brian argued.
"She probably just headed home." Kelly spoke up. "She was obviously very upset at Jason's proposal."
"Yeah. That seems like the logical choice." Matt said.
Alice suddenly yawned.
"I never realized I was so tired." She yawned again. "We should head back to the hotel Matt."
"Hey we have an extra room now." Jason said.
"Yeah, why don't you guys stay here from now on?" Akira asked.
"Well I guess we could." Alice pondered. "But what about all our stuff?"
"We can just stay here tonight and pick it up tomorrow." Matt said.
"Alright. I guess we're staying here." Alice said and then yawned again.
"And you're obviously tired." Matt smiled at her and then turned to the others. "Guy's we're heading to bed, its past midnight."
Matt gently took Alice's hand, helping her up.
"Good Night guys." They said and headed off.
"Good night." Came the replies.
"I'm pretty tired too." Akira said. "I'm going to bed. Night." And she was off to her own room.
"Good night Akira." Replied the others.
"Bye Luxio." Blitz said as he ran after Akira.
That just left Jason, Kelly, Brian, Maria, and Luxio.
"We're going to bed too." Maria said as she stood up and took ahold of Brian's hand, helping him up.
"We are?" Briand asked.
"Yes. We are." Maria flashed a smile at him and then started to lead him to their room.
Brian turned and winked at Jason and Kelly, then disappeared around the corner. Jason smiled and shook his head.
"Maybe we should also go to bed." Kelly said. "It's late after all and you'll need all the rest you can get."
"Alright, but I'm so tired. Too tired to get up and walk all the way to our room." Jason said, feigning falling asleep.
He fell over on one side of the couch.
"Hmmm, well maybe we should just sleep here….for the whole world to see us." She said as she laid down and snuggled up next to him. "Well maybe just for the others to see."
"I don't care." Jason said as he wrapped an arm around her and gently kissed her on the side of her head.
They soon relaxed and both fell into sleep's embrace.
…
"What have you got to lose?" Matt smirked at Jason, who was about twenty feet away from him.
It was the following afternoon, Jason and Matt stood at an open plain near the house with Tyranitar and Dragonair out of their Pokeballs and engaged in battle. The sun was shining bright and both Pokémon looked ready for a battle.
"True." Jason replied. "Not like the fate of the world depends on the outcome….Dragonair use Dragon Rage!"
The long, blue serpent dragon Pokémon formed an orange orb on the tip of its white horn and launched it forward.
"Tyranitar use Hyper Beam!"
Tyranitar opened its mouth and fired out a powerful beam of orange energy. The Hyper Beam clashed with the Dragon Rage attack and completely negated it. Dragonair was struck by the attack, but seemed to shake it off.
"Dragonair use Ice Beam!"
Dragonair launched a straight light blue beam at Tyranitar.
"Tyranitar use Fire Punch to block the attack."
Tyranitar's fist became cloaked in flames and blocked the Ice Beam attack.
"Dragonair use Aqua Jet!"
Dragonair burst forward at an incredible speed, jets of water surround is long body.
"Tyranitar use Dragon Claw!"
One of Tyranitar's three clawed hands became enveloped in an aura of dark blue energy. Dragonair was struck in the head, its previous attack being negated, and sent back a few feet. That last attack look like it had taken a toll of Dragonair.
"Come on Jason!" Matt called from the other side of the battlefield. "Don't rush in like that. You need to strategize! Think unorthodox and cover up your weaknesses!"
Jason sighed.
"Dragonair use Agility!"
Dragonair start to zig and zag around Tyranitar, appearing to teleport as it moved. Tyranitar did nothing; it just stood there, trying to catch sight of Dragonair. Dragonair suddenly shot forward, slamming into Tyranitar and throwing it off balance.
"Tyranitar use Ice Punch!"
Tyranitar's formed a fist and it hand became covered in a thick layer of ice. Tyranitar swung towards Dragonair, but before the attack connect Dragonair disappeared and reappeared behind Tyranitar.
"Dragonair use Dragon Pulse!"
Dragonair fired a blast of blue energy at Tyranitar's back. Tyranitar flinched as the attack struck.
"Dragonair now use Aqua Tail!"
Dragonair spun around and slammed its tail into Tyranitar, blasting it with water as it did. Tyranitar was still standing.
"Dragonair use Draco Meteor!"
Dragonair formed a huge blue, flaming orb on the tip of its horn and launched it up. The orb flew up and exploded, dropping down several meteors. Tyranitar was struck by the strongest Dragon attack. Tyranitar fell to the ground fainted. Dragonair floated over to its trainer, a happy expression on its weary face.
"Good Job." Jason smiled as he petted his Pokémon's neck. Dragonair cried happily.
Matt called back Tyranitar to its Pokeball.
"Not bad." He said as he approached Jason. "Using Dragonair's speed to increase your odds."
"Thank you." Jason nodded.
"But you still need to be more prepared." Matt continued. "Tomorrow you're going against the World Champion, the very best in the entire world. He's probably planned counter strategies and studied the strengths and weakness of your Pokémon…."
Matt could clearly see the nervousness creep onto Jason's face.
"Y-You really think the World Champion has done that?" Jason asked.
"Well, yeah….I don't mean to make you nervous. You just need to be prepared." Matt continued. "You're getting a once in a lifetime opportunity tomorrow. You need to be at your very best; you can't have any regrets after tomorrow. Give it your all and don't hold back. After all you're going to be battle for the most prestigious prize in the world. Just be prepared for anything, you understand."
"Yes. I understand completely." Jason nodded. "Thanks."
"No problem." Matt smiled. "I'm sure you'll be fine. You're a very capable trainer…I hav-"
"Hey guys!" A voice called out.
Jason, Dragonair, and Matt all look towards the source of the voice. Akira came walking up to them.
"Hey guys you're needed back in the house." She said. "Linore needs to talk to everyone. It's important."
"It's important, huh?" Matt replied. "No point in keeping her waiting. Let's get going."
Matt and Akira started walking back. Jason took a moment, thanked Dragonair, returned it to its Pokeball, and ran after them.
…
"Finally. I have all you guys together in one place." Linore sighed as she looked over the group. "We have much to discuss."
Linore had gathered everyone in the kitchen where she had set up a projector. The projector was connected to her laptop onto a nearby white wall. The cap on the projector was currently on.
"Everlynn isn't here." Akira pointed out.
"Then where is she?" Linore asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"She's not here." Alice replied. "She left last night."
"Alright then. There is no point in worrying about here. There are much bigger things to worry about." Linore walked over to her computer, turning it on and waiting for everything to load.
"What's this all about anyway, Linore?" Brian asked.
"Oh you know, mass genocide, Kanto and Johto being reduced to ash, end of life as we know it, you know the usual stuff." She replied nonchalantly.
"O-Oh…."
Silence befell the room as Linore's computer started up. She opened up several different programs and then removed the cover from the projector lens, but didn't turn on the projector. She stopped and looked at everybody.
"Well, guys…..uhhh, Team Rocket is going to be at the Championship match." She said.
"What? How do you know?" Jason asked.
"Because of this." Linore handed him a sheet of paper. "It's a detailed report of Team Rocket's movements."
Jason looked over the paper for a moment and then handed it to Alice.
"They're obviously going to try and sabotage the match." Jason said.
"But that's not all." Linore continued. "They've been preparing three invasion forces."
"Three!?" Alice exclaimed.
"Yes three." Linore switched on the projector.
Being displayed by the projector was a map of the Regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Neoterra. The map was white with each region drawn out by black lines. The regions of Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova were colored a dark red. There was a small, red capital R near Cianwood City in Johto, one near the Cerulean Cape, and another just off the coast of Neoterra.
"The dark red signifies where Team Rocket has total control." Linore explained. "The capital Rs are where Team Rocket is preparing an invasion force."
"So what? They expect to take an entire region? They don't have the man power anymore." Brian said. "Not to mention their element of surprise went out the window after their base was discovered on Seafoam Island."
"They know that Brian….They know they can't just march in and take over like they did with the other regions. That's why, they are going to use these." Linore pushed a button on her laptop and a different picture was projected. It showed two large battleship like airships.
"Wh-What are those?" Akira asked.
"Those….are two airships that Team Rocket built specifically designed to destroy Kanto and Johto." Linore said, pausing momentarily. "Each has approximally a hundred thousand tons of armor, so no Pokémon attack is getting through and the interior remains unharmed from outside attack. The main guns on these things, one fires out two hundred thousand volts of electricity, enough to instantly disintegrate anything that gets caught in its path. The other fires a stream of super-heated fire that's hotter than the sun."
"Why would they make something that devastating!?" Kelly gasped.
"They….they plan on flying these airships over Johto and Kanto and literally reducing the regions to rubble.."
"We have to stop them!" Jason shouted.
"I know and I have a plan for that as well." Linore said, pushing another button.
The picture changed, showing the vital components of the airships.
"There are two places that, if they can be taken offline, will cause the ship to plummet to the ground and be destroyed…..we just need to strike at the engines and the ships power source. Take those out and bye bye ship."
"How did you find out all this Linore?" Akira asked.
"Well, I have my ways." Linore smirked.
"No really. How did you find all this? The documents, the pictures. This is official stuff." Brian said. "There is no way you broke into Rocket HQ."
"I….have an informant." She replied.
"An informant? What are you an International Police agent?" Brian joked.
"Yes."
"Wha? Huh?"
She reached into her pocked and pulled out a badge. Everyone gasped.
"International Police agent Linore Giovanni at your service." She said.
"That would explain a lot." Alice admitted. "How you're always show up when Team Rocket was around."
"Yeah. I've been on their trail for some time now. I finally have a chance to stop them, but I'll need help from all of you."
"Your informant. Who was it? Was it someone from Team Rocket?" Matt spoke.
"Yes it's someone from Team Rocket…..someone who wants out and wants to be pardoned from their crimes."
"Who is it?" Maria asked.
The door behind them swung open. Everyone was startled and turned around, gasping as they did.
"It's me." Dyre closed the door and walked over to Linore.
He was wearing a black robe and his face was covered up.
"It's you?" Jason said confused. "You're the double agent?"
"Surprised?" Dyre said as he removed his hood, smirking. His short blonde hair had been dyed an unnatural black.
"Nah. I'm more surprised at your hair." Alice commented.
"Dyre here has been feeding me information about Team Rocket for years now. It was because of him that I saved you guys back in Cerulean. It was because of him that I knew where Jason was being held prisoner, and it's because of him that we know about Team Rocket's invasion plans." Linore said.
"Yeah you should be thanking me." Dyre said.
"Thanking you!? You tried to kill us on several occasions. I still remember what happen in Saffron." Brian said.
"Well I have to put on a convincing show. Boss would kill me if he knew I was a double agent."
"Oh and we'd all hate that." Jason replied sarcastically.
"Is there anything else you haven't told us Linore?"
"Well….." She started.
"As a matter of fact there is." Dyre said, as he slowly wrapped his arm around her waist causing her to blush a bit.
Everyone looked on in shock.
"I….I don't know what to say….." Alice said.
"Well…..uh congratulations?" Akira said.
"H-H-H-H-How?" Jason asked.
"It just kind of happened…." Linore admitted. "But that's not important. Guys, world in danger."
Dyre removed his arm from around her.
"Well do you have a plan of attack?" Matt asked.
"Well yeah. The airships will be going airborne around tomorrow afternoon. We'll sneak aboard, disable the engines and power supply." Linore said. "We'll need to split into two teams, take out both airships at the same time."
"Alright. I'm in." Jason said.
"Oh no you're not." Alice said. "In case you didn't hear her. We're not attacking until tomorrow afternoon."
"Yeah so?"
"You're championship match is tomorrow afternoon. You aren't missing that!"
"But the world is at stake!"
"Nah she's right." Linore said. "You need to stay here. We don't know what the Rockets will do here…"
"So who's going then?" Akira asked.
"I actually need to stay here….but I was thinking Alice, Matt, and Akira could go to Cerulean and Maria, Brian, and Kelly could go to Cianwood."
"I'm sorry, but I can't go." Maria said. "My dad's here. I need to know why."
"If you're staying her, then I'll stay as well." Brian said.
She nodded.
"I should go too." Dyre said. "I can easily get them onboard in Cerulean."
"Alright then." Linore said. "Alice, Matt, and Dyre will be going to Cerulean and Kelly and Akira will be going to Cianwood. Jason, Maria, Brian, and I will be staying here to deal with Team Rocket. It'll be dangerous….for all of us…..I hate to think about it but there is a chance that we might not be coming back, so if you have some unfinished business then you should take care of it tonight."
…
The group split up later than evening, to take care of any unfinished business. Akira had gone home to spend the night with her mother. Brian and Maria had returned to Celadon City, Brian wanted to spend the night with his family and Maria just tagged along. Linore and Dyre had disappeared without a word. Kelly had gone home to see her family. Jason, Alice, and Matt returned back to Pallet Town to see Jason's family. As it was getting dark, Jason received a call from Kelly. She informed him that her parents wanted Jason and his father to join them for dinner. Jason accepted the invitation and now he and his father were having dinner with Kelly and her parents.
"Well it's so nice of you to join us, Mister Malone." Mister Conner said.
"Well thank you for having me over." Jason's father smiled and nodded in gratitude.
The group sat close together at one end of the long table in the dining hall of the Conner Estate. Kelly's father sat at the head of the table with his wife and Kelly sitting next to him on one side and Jason and his father sitting on the other. Jason and Kelly sat across from each other.
"Well I assumed you also had an incentive for inviting me and my son her." Jason's father continued.
"There's no hiding anything from you." Kelly's father said. "Obviously since our children are engaged and will soon be getting married, I wanted to discuss the wedding."
"I agree." Jason's father finished up the last of the food on his plate.
"Well me and my wife we discussing it and we want the wedding to be here in Viridian."
"Yes. That would be lovely." Kelly's mother replied.
"Well Jason and I kind of wanted to have it at Cerulean Cape." Kelly spoke up.
Jason nodded.
"Sweety…." Her mother placed a hand on her shoulder. "I thought we went over this already."
"But it's my wedding…." Kelly said.
"I agree with Kelly." Jason father said. "It's their wedding; let them have it where they want to."
"Very well." Her father agreed reluctantly. "We'll send the wedding planner to Cerulean Cape to plan it out.
"Thank you." Kelly nodded.
"There is also the matter of payment." Jason's father said.
"Don't worry Mister Malone." Kelly's father spoke up. "I'll take care of all the cost."
"They won't be necessary." Jason's father shook his head.
"No, Mister Malone I insist."
"Mister Conner, Its fine. We'll pay half each."
The parents started arguing back and forth about wedding cost, food, among other things. Kelly glanced over at Jason and got up, leaving the dining hall and going to the backyard. Jason got up about a minute after and left also, unbeknownst to their parents.
Jason walked outside. The flower gardens remained almost unchanged; a few more roses had bloomed. Kelly was sitting against the water fountain in the middle of the garden. Jason approached her and sat down next to her, he placed an arm around her and she scooted closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder.
"They were really going at it, weren't they?" She said.
"Yeah. We'll just let them deal with it…." Jason added. "Then we'll go in and tell them what we want for our wedding."
"Mmmhmm." She nodded. "Cerulean Cape at sunset."
"Yup. With all our friends and family there." Jason added. "Even Nick and Tom."
"Yeah a small wedding."
The two sat in silence, thinking over everything that had happened and everything that would happen. After a few minutes passed Jason suddenly spoke up.
"I don't want you to go to Cianwood tomorrow." He said.
"What? Why not?" She said up and looked at him.
"Because. Like Linore said. It's going to be dangerous….and….I don't want anything happening to you." He replied.
"Jason don't worry, I'll have Akira with me. I'll be fine." She smiled reassuringly.
"I'd feel a lot better if you didn't go….. I think you'd be a lot safer if you just didn't go."
"Jason. You know I'll be fine. I can take care of myself." Her smile faded.
"Kelly. Please don't go." Jason placed both his hand on her shoulders.
She backed away a bit.
"Why are you so dead set and stopping me from going?" She asked, frowning.
"Because! I don't want you getting hurt… or worse." He replied.
"Jason, I'm not going to sit on the sidelines when you and our friends our putting your lives on the line….I'm not just going to sit around. You of all people should know that about me." She stood up and walked back inside.
Jason sighed and followed after.
…
After about an hour of chatting, Jason and Kelly were headed back to the Pokémon League Village. Jason's Gardevoir teleported Jason and Kelly back to the entrance to the League Village. Kelly walked in front of Jason, her arms crossed, ignoring him. They walked down the street in silence.
"Are you really gonna ignore me the whole time?" He asked.
She ignored him and kept walking.
"Kelly….come on!" He said as he walked up to her.
"I have nothing to say to you." She replied.
They were nearing the house they were staying at. Kelly turned the knob on the front door, but it wouldn't open.
"It's locked." She mumbled.
"I know, I locked it before we left." He replied as he moved passed her and used his key to unlock the door.
He pushed open the door and allowed her to go first. She walked in without saying a word. Jason followed and closed the door behind them, locking it. Kelly walked in and set her purse on the couch and then went over and sat on the couch.
"You're not going to stay mad at me the whole time are you?" He asked and she still ignored him, sitting with her arms crossed. "What did I say to make you so pissed at me!?"
"What did you say!? What did you say!? You pretty much said I was too weak to protect myself!" She replied, glaring at him.
"I never said that! I never once said that you were too weak to protect yourself!" He replied.
"You might of well said that!" She stood up and angrily walked over to him.
"But I didn't! I just said I was worried about you getting hurt! I don't know what I would do if you got hurt or, god forbid, if you died!" Kelly was about to say something, but Jason stopped her and continued. "I've lost somebody close to me before! You don't know what it's like! To realize that you'll never see that person again! To wake up every morning, looking forward to seeing that person and then remembering that they are dead…" He paused for a moment, his eyes tearing up a bit. Kelly had calmed a bit. "The feelings of despair that plague me to this day….I don't want to add anything to it. To lose you would destroy all my hope, all my happiness, all my courage, losing you would destroy me indefinitely….I'm not going to deal with that again."
There was a suddenly silence, Kelly looked up at him, feeling shocked and guilty; she looked up into his eyes and saw fear, sadness, and worry. Before she could reply, the doorbell rang, snapping the two into reality. Jason sighed and wiped his eyes. He headed over to the door and slowly opened it. The World Champion, Thomas Walter, stood at the door.
"Jason?" He asked. "Sorry for coming by so late."
"Yes? What do you want?" Jason replied.
"I'm just visiting to wish you good luck tomorrow and that I'm looking forward to battling you." Thomas smiled and slightly bowed.
"You couldn't have told me this tomorrow morning?" Jason said a bit rudely.
"Well I was on the way home from a meeting and just wanted to stop by. Sorry for the inconvenience." He said. "Best of luck to you tomorrow." With that, Thomas walked off.
Jason sighed. He hated seeing his uncle. He was sort of the black sheep of the family. Jason closed the door and turned back towards Kelly. He felt arms wrap around him as Kelly hugged him and pulled him into a tight embrace.
"I'm so sorry Jason!" She cried. "I didn't mean to upset you. That was the last thing I wanted to do!" She paused a moment. "I hate feeling helpless. My parents always treated me like I was helpless and fragile, that the simples touch would cause me to break into a million pieces….So today when you said that I'd be safer if I stayed behind, it made me think of all the times people told me I was helpless….I hate that feeling. Just because I'm a girl doesn't make me helpless…."
Jason paused for a bit, he was taken back, but he slowly put his arms around her.
"I never said you were helpless." He replied. "You're stronger…stronger than me…"
"H-How so?" She asked.
"Well you weren't selfish enough to tell me that you wanted me to stay behind…" He replied. "I'm sorry. You are right. The others need you. They wouldn't stand a chance without you. You need to go with Akira….They need you."
"The world needs us both." She replied, snuggling up to him.
They stood there in each other's embrace. Minutes passed, then a half hour.
"You know…" Jason spoke. "I had good reason to worry."
"I never said you didn't." Kelly replied. "We're going to be fighting for our way of life, for our right to live, something that people our age usually don't have to worry about. It's going to be dangerous…I hate to think it, but there is a chance someone might not make it." She shuttered a bit. "I hate thinking that, but it's the truth…..there are still things I want to do in life…."
"Like what?"
"Travel the world, Get married…" She suddenly blushed. "Uh, experience copulation for the first time."
"Copulation?"
"Y-You know…" Her blush deepened.
Jason paused, giving her a weird look. Then he suddenly realized what she was saying.
"Well I mean, uhh." He cleared his throat and blushed. "Well considering the circumstances, we're about to risk our lives to bring down an evil terrorist group…with minimal chances of survival…" He paused for a second, extremely nervous. Kelly looked up at him, surprised at what he was implying. "I mean no one is here at the moment and no one will be home until tomorrow…The Pokémon are also put up and Luxio and Pikachu are asleep on the balcony…"
"Jason what are you suggesting?" She said, her face still red.
"I'm saying…" He paused, calming himself down. "Let's take care of something on your list."
The awkwardness of the situation was almost too much, Jason face was red as a beet, and he couldn't even looked Kelly in the eyes.
"Th-Then l-lets." Came her reply.
Jason looked at her, but before he could reply, his lips met hers in a series of passion filled kisses. Not stopping the make out session, they attempted to maneuver to their bedroom from the kitchen. Eyes closed and lip locked, they ran into the couch, knocked over a lamp, and slammed against a wall. Once they made it to the door leading to their bedroom, Jason fumbled with the doorknob, attempting to open the door, but when the door wouldn't budge, he came to a conclusion.
"Kelly the door is locked." Jason mumbled into her mouth.
Kelly mumbled something incoherently. Regrettably, Jason pulled away and reached into his pocket pulling out the keys.
"Why did I decide to lock it!?" He cursed himself.
As Jason struggled to find the right key, Kelly wrapped her arms around Jason and pressed herself against his back.
"You're not making this any easier." Jason replied jokingly.
"I know." Kelly giggled.
Finally managing to get the door open, Jason pushed the door open and threw the keys aside, not even bothering to pocket them. He turned to Kelly, kissed her and lifter her up bridal style, Kelly gasped in surprise and delight as he did. They continued to kiss as he carried her into the room, shutting and locking the door.
…
Sunlight seeped into the room through the cracks in the curtain, landing right on Jason's face. He momentarily grimaced as the bright light slowly woke him up. He moved his face out of the way of the light. He was lying on his side and felt something warm pressed up against the front of his body. He opened up his eyes and smiled when he saw Kelly lying next to him. He wrapped his arms around her stomach. He sat up a bit and started to gently kiss her neck. She mumbled a bit and started to wake up. She sighed in content.
"You never wait for me to wake up, do you?" She giggled.
"Sorry." He stopped for the moment.
Kelly wiggled out of his grasped and then turned around to face him, her body still under the covers. She moved over to him, pressing herself against him. He put his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Kelly placed her hands against his chest and gently ran them over his abs.
"Last night was great." She smiled.
"It was." He smiled back at her.
"You were great." She said, gently kissing him.
"As were you." He replied. "Hope we'll get to do that again."
Kelly giggled, but before she could reply there was a knock at the door and the two were caught by surprise.
"Jason? Kelly?" Alice called from the other side of the door. "You two awake in there?"
"Y-Yeah! We are." Jason replied. "What do you need? It's too early."
"It's almost eleven! You two need to get up and get ready! You have a battle in four hours and Kelly needs to go to Cianwood."
"Okay, I'll get her up and we'll be out in a minute."
"Okay, hurry up!" Footsteps could be heard walking out.
"What time do you think they got home?" Kelly asked.
"Probably not that long ago." Jason replied. "We should get dressed and get ready."
"Okay." She kissed him one more time.
…
Jason and Kelly walked outside where the others were waiting. Luxio was walking next to Jason and Pikachu was riding on Kelly's shoulder. The others were standing together and looked ready to go. Akira had out her Aerodactyl which stood next to her and Blitz. Brian and Maria stood side by side, Linore had her Espeon and Umbreon, and they stood on either side of her. Dyre was dressed in his Team Rocket uniform. Alice and Matt were dressed in Team Rocket uniform, both of them looked uncomfortable.
"About time you two woke up." Maria smiled.
"Yeah, you certainly took your time." Brian smirked.
"Yeah sorry." Jason rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I was just a long night."
"I'm sure it was."
The group snickered lightly, causing both Kelly and Jason to blush a deep red.
"Why are you two dressed like that?" Kelly asked, pointing toward Alice and Matt.
"Dyre wanted us to sneak aboard the airship." Alice frowned.
"Yeah, it's better than having to fight our way onto the airship." Matt added.
"True."
"If you guys don't like it you could always pose as my prisoners." Dyre suggested.
"No I rather wear this stupid uniform." Alice replied.
"Well if everyone is done bickering, we should get a move on." Linore added. "Team Rocket isn't going to wait for us."
"True. We should get a move one." Dyre said. "I'm supposed to be in Cerulean in three hours."
"Fine." Alice nodded, and then she turned to her cousin. "Jason, good luck today and make sure you try your hardest. You work too hard to have any regrets. Just be careful."
"Alright. You be careful too." Jason replied. "Don't do anything too high risk."
"Don't you worry one bit." She winked at him.
"Good luck Jason." Matt said.
"Good luck guys." Everyone said.
Dyre lead Alice and Matt to a nearby car.
"Either of you know how to drive?" Dyre asked. "Most people don't bother to learn."
"I got it." Matt said.
The three got into the vehicle and after a few minutes, they drove off.
"Well, Kelly…" Linore spoke. "You and Akira need to get going."
"Alright." Kelly nodded.
Luxio walked over to Blitz. Luxio was wearing the bluish white scarf that Blitz had given her. She wished her friend good luck as they hugged.
Jason grabbed Kelly's arm and pulled her into a hug.
"Be careful." He whispered to you.
"You too. Don't do anything stupid." She replied back.
"I won't." Jason replied as he kissed her.
She kissed him back and after a few moments, they pulled away. Kelly smiled at him and then went over to Akira.
"Good Luck both of you." Everyone else said.
Aerodactyl knelt down to let the two girls get on his back. Akira got on first with Blitz sitting behind her and then Kelly sitting behind him. Pikachu was on her shoulder.
"Good bye." They waved as Aerodactyl took off, flying towards Johto.
They group watched as they flew off.
"Well," Linore spoke. "We have four hours until we have to get to Indigo Stadium. There are still things we need to do."
"Yeah." Jason nodded. "Brian…I need your help with preparing strategies." Jason looked over at his friend.
"Of course." Brian said. "I already had a few in mind."
"Yes you need to be ready for anything." Maria said to Jason. "We have no idea what my father and Team Rocket are planning."
"Mmmhmm. And because of that I need to be at my best. I have doubt that I can win, but that's something I can't afford to doubt myself right now…I have to win and I intend to do so." Jason replied.
…
Edward Teach, the former second in command of Team Rocket, sat in a cold dark cell. He said against the wall with his legs in front of him, he was looking down at the floor, his eyes closed. He heard footsteps nearing his cell. He didn't bother seeing who it was. A group of Team Rocket Grunts stood in front of Edward's cell.
"Mister Teache…." The head Grunt spoke." Boss may be our leader, but our loyalties lie with you."
"Very good." Edward opened his eyes and looked up at them. "We shall wait until the time is right to deal with the traitors."
"Sir." The grunts bowed and left.
So now everything is set up for the final battle(s). I don't know when or how I'll upload the next chapter. I could upload the whole thing or do one part at a time. Just rest assure it is going to be released. I hope I didn't lose any readers from my long absence, sorry again. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapterHAPPY BIRTHDAY POKEMONTRAINER77!
