Chapter 55: Crimson Disruption, Part 6: Trust
On a less sleepy side of the hall in front of the Central Control's door, Katrina spotted Mako making his way over. She smiled widely and placed her hands on her hips. "Hehe... and just what exactly are you doing here?"
Everyone else was still awake, and no one looked badly injured, Mako noted. He turned to Katrina, smirking. "Just taking a relaxing vaca away from it all; fighting nonstop battles throughout an entire day... you know, the usual, that's all."
Sky was wondering just how these two knew each other, but then he remembered how good of a trainer Mako was. Must've defeated Katrina for her badge ages ago.
"Heh... Looks like Mr. Popular knows just about everyone." Kyle remarked, arms folded.
Sky was going to ignore him, but noticed something. He thought that was Kyle's normal marks of resentment that he seemed to have for every living creature besides himself and his Pokemon, but something was off about it... He glanced at Kyle for a moment and the dark trainer was scowling more than usual, glaring peculiarly at Mako... 'Is that... envy?'
Sky was a bit taken aback, was Kyle jealous of Mako? 'This is too good to be true.' He smiled slightly and said, "Oh, like you wish you did?"
Kyle's glare shifted immediately to Sky and remained there for a long moment. It was such a menacing death-glare Sky felt uncomfortable. "Shut it, loser." Kyle said with finality and with that turned his back on Sky.
Sky glanced at Kyle for a moment. Why did that comment bug Kyle so much? He thought for a moment, then, after a moment of comprehension, it all came to Sky. Turned away and despondent to the world... It should've been obvious Kyle wasn't likely to be the most popular guy in the world. Maybe he had always been friendless? He didn't really go out of his way to make himself approachable. But no one in the world to share a laugh with... Then Sky wondered what had made him sick enough to think about this. This was Kyle.
Sky froze; Kyle had caught him staring. Their eyes locked for a moment and a familiar, strange feeling returned. Sky remembered what Melena had said from earlier: 'If they'd get past their differences, they might actually make good friends.'
Sky's own thoughts interrupted.
'Could we?'
Suddenly, both Sky and Kyle turned their heads away quickly with snorts of disdain.
Sky let his thoughts run loose. He had only two real friends, back in Pewter City. He sometimes wondered if they were ever really his friends, or if they'd cared he'd gone. Honestly, the only friends he knew cared about him were Pearl, Melena, and now Mako. But Mako was older than he seemed, Sky could tell, at least eighteen. Mako was smart, powerful and cool... Everything he wanted to be. It was easy to see why the blue-haired trainer seemed to be so well known.
Sky's thoughts dampened more. He'd never had many friends, either. In one way, they had something else in common besides being Trainers. The question came again.
'Could we... actually be friends...?'
It just didn't seem possible. They hated each other, and constantly fought whenever they came within two miles of each other. And yet...
Sky narrowed his eyes. Maybe... just maybe Samantha was Kyle's only friend in all of Kleeto. Scratch that—in all of the world. Sky knew he was better off than the darker trainer as far as friends went, but... just maybe...
Sky garnered his courage. He must've been insane, but something just pushed him into it. 'Here goes something...'
"Hey, Kyle."
"Now what?" Kyle snapped, turning halfway around to glare at Sky.
Sky glanced away in minor annoyance at the tone, and at what he was about to do, but pressed on. He narrowed his eyes and forced himself to speak. "I'm... sorry about the popularity crack." Did I really just apologize...? To him!?
Kyle narrowed his eyes in a hard stare of suspicion, wondering just what kind of game Sky was playing at. Sky was really starting to weird him out. Then he realized it. 'Did he just.... did he just apologize to me?!' Was there an apocalypse during the past minute?
Sky noticed the look Kyle was giving him, and glanced to his right with a childish face of embarrassment.
"I mean, yeah, you're still a jerk..."
Kyle's narrowed his eyes and the left one twitched.
Sky forced himself to continue, neither of them had started an argument just yet... "...Since we've met... I think... maybe we've both been idiots..."
Kyle couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sky hated him, and frankly, he hated the overconfident, smug sorrel haired trainer, too. Why would he say any of this? 'Because you two could be friends.' Kyle knew this voice as his conscience. Locked away at maximum security of course and withering away, but now making a very rare appearance. Kyle wanted to tell it off and say it was wrong, but he wondered vaguely... could it be right?
Kyle narrowed his eyes, and scanned the ground hastily. He should've been able to end an argument they should've started by now. "Idiot... who says I was wrong..?"
Sky shook his head. "Oh come off it, we've both been wrong!" Kyle froze. Sky glanced away again. "For this mission... perhaps we could maybe... call a truce?"
For the first time ever, Sky saw honest uncertainty in Kyle's eyes. The dark trainer always looked sure of himself, regardless of the circumstances. Their eyes met in tense silence for a moment that seemed to last hours.
Kyle tried to calm his rushing thoughts. His hand twitched, as he considered what Sky had offered. They'd never been even close to friends. This was the Loser! They were bitter rivals... weren't they suppose to fight? But for some reason, he felt his hand move. I'm mad...
Eventually, Kyle raised his midnight-gloved hand (which was cut at the fingers), and reluctantly, he extended it toward Sky. "...For this stupid mission."
For one moment Sky was astonished. Kyle agreed?! He had convinced him to a truce? Maybe the world was ending outside... Yet Sky didn't notice he was grinning.
Kyle looked impatient. "What, you change your mind?"
Sky shook his hand. "I was thinking on it, yeah. But nah. Truce."
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This was it. Silence engulfed the entire hall. Not even the sleeping grunts and Pokemon snoring could be heard. They'd gone so far, and so much had been done to get to this point. Sky stared at it for a moment. Beyond the two sliding metallic blue doors, the fight with Team Crimson over Meritina would come to an end. They'd finally reached, now unopposed, the Central Controls room of Team Crimson's base.
Sky had been nursing his Pokemon back to health. He'd given both Spike and Sora a drink from bottled water, more oran berries, and sprayed medicine on their wounds. Tank and Scruf had also been let out, giving them the same treatment.
He grinned. "You guys have been great. I'm proud to have you all on our team." he spoke honestly in a warm tone.
Tank smirked, taking a bite of his Oran berry. "Heh. Finally, a bit of appreciation for the things we suffer."
The trainer only chuckled in response. Then he turned back to the door and was silent for a moment. When he turned back to his team, his eyes were determined. "Okay, this is where we stop them and end this. One last battle! You guys up for this?"
A cheer of consent arose from the four.
Sky nodded, smiling. No fear, doubt, or uncertainty was spotted within Spike, Sora, Scruf or Tank. He couldn't have asked for a better team. "Then let's do this."
Sky and his team joined Mako, Kyle, and Katrina, who stood readily in front of the large sliding door. "All right..." Mako began, "This is it." He turned to the other three. "Now. Is everyone ready to end this?"
"Yeah!!" Sky and Katrina both yelled, fire in their eyes.
Kyle let out a breath of annoyance, but nodded. "Yeah."
"Then let's go..." he froze. A beeping sound came from Sky's pocket. The trainer quickly pulled out the walkie talkie set and clicked it on.
"Melena?" Sky asked.
"Yeah, it's me. Listen, Sky...? We've... kinda got a problem... we've been captured."
Sky's enthusiasm died but he remained calm as he said, "No problem, we'll come bail you out."
From what he had gathered, Kyle's mouth dropped. "No way... they've been captured!?"
"Kyle's unhappy." Melena noted, sounding slightly more cheerful.
Sky chuckled. "Yeah, he is. Okay, we'll be right over!"
"I'll save them," Offered Katrina as Sky was putting away the walkie talkie. "That way, you three can continue and no more time will be wasted."
Mako looked concerned. "Really?" Yet her offer made sense. "...Okay, we'll leave it to you then. Be careful."
Katrina looked agitated, but instead simply took Sky's walkie talkie from his pocket.
"Hey!" Sky complained, looking semi-violated.
Katrina ignored him and addressed Mako. "Chill out... You know I'm a gym leader, shark-brain." She dangled the radio in front of her. "I'll use this to track them." With that, and a very confident smile, the trainer ran off. "Storm, let's go!"
The Fearow began flapping and took off toward Katrina and the gym leader leapt on his back. She called to the others, "Later!" then pointed Fearow in the hall right of the group, and they were gone.
Sky watched them leave, then turned back to Mako. "Okay, so should we go now?"
Mako nodded.
Kyle looked as if something bugged him. "...'Shark-brain?'"
Mako seemed confused too, then he realized what Kyle meant. "Oh, that. Just a nickname Katrina thought up for me."
It was obvious Katrina had known Mako for longer than either Sky or Kyle had thought. Sky dismissed it, though. They needed a way in. "I don't know the code."
Mako glanced around. He noticed the sleeping Electrode next to Hizou and smirked. "You never need a code when you have bombs, my friends."
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It took only a moment, but suddenly a bang erupted and blasted the sliding metal doors to kingdom come. Pieces of metal flew around with a cloud of debris and smoke, and a frightened tech staff working at computers in the next room fell to the ground immediately. One shouted, "We've been discovered!!"
Sky, Mako and Kyle ran in through the cloud of smoke. "Tell us where the controls to the satellite are and we promise that might not happen to you!" Kyle threatened the technicians, who simply cowered. The room they had entered was blue, of course, the walls above desk controls and equipment were suited with monitors, and the floor was a luminescent light blue with green light lines running through it.
"This is the control room all right," Sky commented, looking at the countless screens and computers.
Mako was making a quick examination of the room, and Kyle was more focused on growling viciously at the tech staff. "Oh, no answers, huh...? One of you geeks will tell us how to shut this place down or...!"
"Wow, you kids managed to get here? Past all our guards and grunts?"
The three spun around. A door leading into another room had just shut and Aveus was walking calming towards them. A sick smile was on his face.
"Aveus!!" Sky shot him a look of pure hate.
Aveus scoffed, but remained grinning. "I must say I'm impressed. You three actually got this far... But what good do you think it will do? Do you really think you can play hero and save everyone?"
"We're shutting this place down, and saving Meritina." Mako announced seriously, fixing Aveus with dead serious glare.
"Heh." Aveus looked them over. Mainly, he looked over Sky and Kyle and his face darkened. "I never thought I'd have to deal with both of you in the same place." his voice began to lose its calm tone and turned a tad more edgy. "You see, my luck always seems to change for the worse around brats. Particularly, brats with Pokemon they call pals."
"This time we'll take you down for good, you piece of crap!" Sky shouted, now angry.
Aveus narrowed his eyes. "You really don't know what you're doing, do you? People are all the same. Quick to judge, never to listen. We've a lot in common. Team Crimson's work will better this world and cleanse it of its faults. We're both striving for peace, yet we confront each other like bitter enemies..."
"So you're part of the Peace Core now?" Kyle retorted.
Aveus smiled and shook his head. Strangest thing was it was done as if he pitied them. "Team Crimson will save this world from itself. With the use of Pokemon this world will go under one supreme rule. You're all too feeble and close-minded to understand our purpose."
Sky growled with infuriation. He had heard enough. "And you lunatic criminals are all the same! Raving on about your own twisted and selfish ideas of peace... you steal trainers' beloved Pokemon for your own selfish reasons and make lives miserable for everyone... you call that making this world peaceful!?"
Aveus, however, didn't flinch. "You'll never understand." he reached for his belt. "And if you refuse to accept our cause... I will have to dispose of you all... permanently. We simply cannot allow you interfere with Team Crimson any longer."
Sky growled and drew a Pokeball from his belt. Beside him, Kyle and Mako were doing the same. "Deranged psychopath..." Mako murmured. "They're all the same. Convinced their own insane, pot-smoking cults are right."
Sky simply shrugged in response, then called to Aveus, "It's three against one! Do you really think you have a chance?"
But Aveus only chuckled. "I wonder... has it leaked from any of the grunts yet...?" He drew an Ultra Ball, flicked it into the air and caught, then fixed his cruel dark blue eyes on the three with a twisted smirk. "Enlighten me... have you heard of ExPokemon?"
