Shedding Skins
Chapter Fifty Four
This Has Went Balls Up
Author's Note : Yes, I know this chapter is heavy on text. Deal with it.
Also, not to get your hopes up, 'cause I might lose enthusiasm again, but I think I might be back to my old update schedule - that is, a chapter or two a week. MAYBE. Not making any promises.
Hazel was still asleep. We had been lying in her bed and had stayed up talking so late that we both fell asleep. I couldn't feel my arm because of the way she was lying on it, but I endured it rather than waking her up.
I may not have wanted to wake her up, but my life had other plans. My phone started ringing and she awoke with a start.
"Fuck," I hissed, digging around in my pocket for my bastard phone.
"What...?" Hazel asked sleepily.
"Who is it?" I asked.
"It's Tyson. Yeah, this is important, can you be at the penthouse in about ten minutes?" Came his voice through the phone.
"What penthouse?" I asked, irritated.
"Every Center has a penthouse. In case some official or celebrity comes to stay, although they're rarely used," he explained. "I wouldn't ask on such short notice, but this is important," he finished, before hanging up.
"Sorry, but I need to go," I groaned, pocketing my phone.
"Why?" Hazel asked.
"I don't even know, but it's apparently important," I replied.
"Oh, okay then. Bye," she said, calm and confident as ever.
"Bye," I responded, leaning in and quickly kissing her, my heart leaping into my throat as I did so. I got up and left after that, not even needing to get dressed, seeing as we had both fell asleep fully clothed.
Climbing the stairs to this damn penthouse seemed to take forever. I cursed the fact that the penthouse was right at the top of the Center and the fact that I wasn't allowed to use the lift because I wasn't disabled. Stupid rules.
When I walked in, all the furniture had been cleared away, apart from eighteen chairs, all arranged in a big circle. Tyson, Shenzi, Leon, Reece, Jan and Zach were all seated, with two younger trainers between each of them. Tyson was the only exception, with an empty chair on either side of him.
The only younger trainer I recognized was Damian, who was seated next to Reece.
A few others caught my eye, however. The trainers on either side of Zach, both of which were built like marines. One had an expression akin to an angry Pokemon and long, wild brown hair. The other one had curly, wiry, red hair and just looked exhausted.
A girl sitting next to Jan, with long, thick auburn hair. She had so much hair that it actually looked like too much for her head. She had a pair of square glasses and looked younger than what she must have been. She was also wearing an expensive looking white dress. She was what most people would probably describe as cute.
I also noticed that most people in the room were dressed in their best clothes. Myself and the pair of trainers beside Zach were among the few that weren't. They were dressed simply in t-shirts, combat pants and boots, basically identical aside from the colors.
"Hey," the redheaded older trainer called to me, beckoning me over. I made my way over and sat down next to him.
"What's happening?" I asked Tyson, thoroughly confused.
"Well -" He started, but was cut off by Leon speaking.
"Yeah, think everyone that's gonna show is here," the dopey Elite Four member announced.
"So, down to business," Shenzi started. "The six of us have been designated the leaders -" she went on, but was cut off by the sound of the door opening.
"Why only you six?" Forrest asked, striding into the room in a black suit. His hair had been cut, but was still in a short style, and he looked healthier and more alive than I had ever seen him before. I also noticed how massive he had actually gotten. He was nearly as big as Zach's two trainers.
"You made it!" Tyson shouted happily, gesturing Forrest over to sit on the other side of him. Forrest gave me a nod as he walked past, to acknowledge my presence. I returned it. We couldn't just launch into conversation and start talking our usual crap at a time like that, so nods would have to be sufficient.
"There are reasons the other high ranking trainers aren't leaders," Reece explained calmly. "Lee and Eve died in the riots, which is tragic. They were good trainers and good people," he informed us. I already knew about Eve - although her death had apparently preceded the riots - but Lee was news to me. The fiery martial artist had been the Gym Leader in my hometown, and I had frequently looked up to him during my childhood. Not because I particularly preferred him over the other Leaders, but because he was the one I most often saw and heard about. "Other deaths were not so tragic," he added, clearly referring to the deceased Hank Vernon.
"Kate and L.J weren't chosen because of their general lack of experience," Jan told the rest of us.
"We're the only two Elite Four members that are going to be here," Leon said, gesturing to himself and Shenzi. "That's why the other two aren't leaders."
"Raynor suffered a breakdown," Tyson informed the other trainers. "He's just completely...Anyway, I know he's not dead, but it's still unfortunate," he went on, near enough tearing up.
"Scarlett - one of the other favourites to win this year's championship - didn't want to be a leader," Zach said. I got the feeling that Tyson was going to explain, but wouldn't have been able to without bursting into tears after the thought of Raynor.
"Pauli is quite frankly too old for this," Shenzi then called out. "I know he seems unstoppable, but he could drop dead any minute, and we can't have that."
"Why are we here though?" One of the other trainers called out, getting impatient.
"We've decided that each of the leaders is to have two other trainers that serve directly underneath them," Shenzi explained.
"Lieutenants, or right hand men, if you will," Reece chipped in.
"And that's us?" Another trainer asked.
"Yeah," Leon called out.
"The leaders in question know both the trainers personally and pick them not only for their training skill, but for other qualities, such as bravery," Jan informed us.
"You'll also get two other trainers assigned to you that will serve directly underneath you," Reece added.
"What about the psychopaths here?" One of the trainers asked, gesturing to Damian and I. "I was there during the Mahogany riots, and I think these two are dangerous," he opined.
"Hey," Damian pulled him up for his comment. "What were you doing? Shitting it, that's what," he practically growled, yet it was still audible.
"We were getting shot at!" I called to the ignorant trainer. "We could have died! We were risking our lives while you were running!"
"If people like you hadn't bailed out, a lot more trainers - and Pokemon - would still be alive, so shut it," Damian went on. The other trainer had nothing to say to that.
"I've not got a problem with Linus and Damian," one of the girls started. How did she know our names? "But those two next to Zach look don't even look like trainers."
"We're not really," the red haired one said under his breath. Despite his attempt to keep it quiet, everyone heard it.
"What the hell are you then?" Someone shouted out. Zach opened his mouth to defend them, but the long haired one stood up and started speaking first.
"Does it matter what we are? Me and my team have been in more fights than you and yours ever will be!" He barked. "And I don't mean those shitty little battles you do to get badges, I mean fights. I mean actual combat," she went on, almost growling.
"So, you're what, a soldier?" The trainer said, standing up as well. "Look at the fucking size of you. You look like a marine," he said, referring to the gorilla like muscles of the teenager. "In fact, fuck that, you've got the build of a marine, but you look like a bloody gang member," he went on.
The much larger, soldier like trainer moved quicker than I had expected. He took about two steps and was then in front of the other trainer. He launched a piston like punch that collided with his victim's jaw and sent him flying backwards. He fell over his chair and landed on the ground, motionless. It didn't take a genius to work out that he was unconscious.
"Shit!" Zach's other trainer hissed, jumping to his feet. The red haired trainer was behind the brown haired one in an instant, restraining him with some form of complex hold, presumably to prevent him from attacking anyone else. The brown haired trainer twisted and did something, breaking out of the hold. He did it too quickly for me to really follow.
Brown then pushed against Red, sending him stumbling backwards. Brown threw a hook that would probably have knocked Red out cold, but Red ducked under the fist and attacked with a jab. Brown batted his arm away before it hit and grabbed Red's collar with his other hand. Red grabbed Brown's wrist with both hands and twisted it somehow, forcing Brown to let go. This all happened quicker than I would have thought possible and, more importantly, too quickly for anyone to really do anything about it.
"Kevin! Barry!" Zach barked, standing up and getting ready to intervene. So these were the two people I kept hearing about.
"Stop!" Damian commanded, standing up and pointing his pistol at the two of them. The two stopped struggling as soon as they heard him and turned around to face him. "You two, we do not need this. Just sit back down," he ordered. Amazingly, the two much larger, more intimidating teenagers obeyed the skinny Damian, let go of each other and sat back down next to Zach.
"He's not conscious," Jan called out, kneeling beside the fallen trainer. That was a surprise to exactly zero people in the room. "Broken jaw and missing teeth," she then said. That surprised most of us. That must have been a punch and a half. "He might have a concussion or something like that, we won't know until he wakes up, will we?" Jan asked, looking for someone with more medical knowledge than herself.
"Great first impression, you two," Zach groaned, burying his face in one hand.
"What was the deal with those two?" I asked Forrest.
We had been dismissed from the meeting soon after the fight and we were just relaxing in my house. Yes, that's right, my house. The leaders, as well as their lieutenants - or whatever the hell we were - had all been given a small house on a street just a few minutes walk from the Pokemon Center. It beat the hell out of sleeping in the Center.
It was nothing fancy, just a single floor, a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen and living room sort of merged together. Plain wooden floors, plain white walls, naked light bulbs, a double bed in the bedroom, a table and a single couch in the living room. Nothing else furniture-wise in the house at all. Still, I could easily decorate. Get Forrest, Hazel and whoever else in to help me, it would be a laugh. Hell, I'd even get Damian to join in.
After our partnership during the Mahogany riot, my dislike for the boy had near enough disappeared. We had just gotten off on the wrong foot really, he was nowhere near as bad as I had originally thought. He was not the kind of person you wanted to fuck with, by any means, but he was a good enough guy, and I liked him now. I would even consider him a friend.
"Kevin and Barry? Not sure about Barry, but Kevin's just...I don't know, unruly? That the right word?" Forrest replied.
"Nice vocabulary," I laughed. "Wait, how do you know which one's which?" I asked him. That much had not been made clear at the meeting.
"I met Kevin a few months ago," Forrest told me. "I never kept in contact with him or anything, but we were both in...I think it was Olivine? Anyway, we were both there for a few days at the same time and talked a bit. He showed me a thing or two," he went on. "He's the one with the brown hair," he added as an afterthought.
"Such as...?" I prompted.
"A really nice throw actually. Hard to anticipate, eve harder to reverse," he answered.
"Why would he be teaching you throws?" I asked, confused.
"You not know how I get my money?" Forrest asked, amused.
"No," I said, piecing it together in my head already.
"I do underground street fights. Good money, and I'm good at it," he grinned. That would explain why he had been steadily growing bigger since I met him.
"What's that like?" I asked, interested.
"Was scary at first, but I like it now. I get hurt, but it's fun," he replied. "Well, depends where you do it, but generally," he corrected himself.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Goldenrod, for example, isn't too great. People place way more money on the fights, which means a better pay for the fighters, but more chance someone's going to stab you or something before the fight to make sure they don't lose a bet," he explained. "I've seen it happen a few times, it's not nice."
"Is everywhere like that?" I asked.
"No, some places are great. Olivine's amazing. You don't get paid anywhere near as much, but the fighting's in good spirit. Like, if you fall, your opponent would wait until you get back up. Wouldn't hit you when you're down, you know? People help you out, share fighting tips, that kind of thing. It's brilliant," he recounted.
"Sounds good," I said, actually meaning it.
"That's why I loved the Ecruteak Gym so much, 'cause of all the equipment in there," he explained.
"Ah. That makes sense now," I said, thinking back. "Still, I can't believe Lee's dead..." I trailed off, taking a moment to think about the deceased Gym Leader.
"The guy seemed invincible. You should have seen him fight, he was damn near unstoppable," Forrest recounted.
"It's just hard to believe someone like that can actually die. I know that sounds stupid 'cause everyone can die, but, you know," I sighed. We both took a minute to think about the deceased Gym Leaders and said nothing for a little while.
"But hey, I saw that brunette girl earlier," Forrest grinned. "Hazel, is it?" He asked, deliberately changing the subject.
"Yeah," I confirmed, a little exasperated.
"So, how's that going? Anything happened yet or...?" He trailed off, leaving me to guess at what he was going to say.
"I don't even know what's happening to be honest," I admitted. "We fell asleep together last night though," I added.
"Did you two...Get up to anything?" Forrest asked, nudging me with one elbow, a stupid grin on his face. Just the kind of way your best friend acts when there's romance on the scene.
"Shut up you idiot," I laughed. "No, we didn't even mean it, but we stayed up talking too late and couldn't stay awake," I elaborated.
"Relationships are far too much effort," Forrest laughed. "You'll see," he went on, with a knowing smile.
"How?" I asked, a little puzzled.
"Well, feelings are involved. Feelings don't make sense. To be honest, I want to be with Marnie because I still have feelings for her, even though getting back with her would be a stupid idea," he explained. "See? I can't win in this situation," he chuckled.
"I have a lot to look forward to," I muttered.
"Girls are confusing as well. They don't make sense. They needle at you and needle at you until you lose the rag, then they play the victim," he said. "That's not all they do, they're more trouble than they're worth in general to be perfectly honest with you," he went on. "Doesn't bother me though, I'm done with the opposite gender for the time being," he laughed.
"Wonderful," I said sarcastically.
"In all seriousness though, she seems lovely. I don't know her at all really, but from what I've seen, she seems really nice," he opined. "She seems like one of the better ones when it comes to those weirdos we call females," he laughed.
"So are you and Marnie totally done then?" I asked.
"I hope so, but I'm not a hundred percent on that," he admitted. "Not getting back with her any time soon, but in the future, who knows? I know for a fact that she wants me to take her back though," he explained.
"Then why did she...?" I started to ask, then realized how inconsiderate a question it was to ask. It was probably not the kind of thing he particularly wanted to talk about. He answered nevertheless, seeming not bothered in the slightest.
"Girls are strange and people are stupid," he said, even laughing a little. This wasn't the same Forrest that had left in a rage after Raynor's breakdown. This was an older, wiser, tougher Forrest. This was a more carefree, laidback, happier Forrest. I was happy for the change. It was for the better.
