Happy Tuesday! Sorry for the late update, the end of the school year was quite busy. Maybe I'll have the next one up tomorrow!
Disclaimer: I have NEVER seen an episode of Pokémon or a movie with Cassidy and Butch, so I have no idea how they act (I gave Butch a British accent for some reason?)
Trigger warning: Violence
Chapter 26Once I was certain that Mewtwo was gone, I carefully stepped over the splintered wood and broken glass before stumbling onto the couch. I curled up into a ball and took deep breaths, trying to get myself to stop trembling so violently. Tears were still running down my face, and my ears rang from his screams.
I . . . I did it.
I hadn't anticipated crossing paths with Mewtwo; I remember feeling as though I was going to vomit when I saw him hovering there. The moment he asked me to explain myself, I really thought it was all over. But in that moment of panic I realized that if he couldn't see my future, then surely, I could prevent him from reading my mind if I tried hard enough.
After a few minutes, I sat up and turned to look at the kitchen and the dining room . . . or what was left of it. The table was broken into several pieces, and the chair he smashed it with was reduced to large fragments of wood. Broken glass covered the kitchen floor like fat snowflakes. Several shards had made their way to the living room as well, though I could not find any pieces in my bare feet. I touched the spot on my neck where he pressed the glass and was relieved to see that there was no blood there, either.
Among the debris, there was something strange near the stairs that caught my eye.
I slowly got to my feet and walked behind the couch to pick it up. The flower was still intact, and after looking at it for a moment longer I immediately recognized its color and shape from the gardens at Ever Grande. There were several more on the ground that I failed to notice earlier, right under where the two halves of the Pokéball were. I picked them up and held them in my hands. I was silent for all of two seconds before sinking to my knees and bursting into tears once more.
When I finally pulled myself together again, I looked outside and realized that it had grown quite dark by this point.
Better get out of here, I thought to myself nervously.
I stuffed the flowers in my grey bag before pulling out several thousand Poké from my wallet to leave for my Aunt (the "not-having-enough-money" statement was a blatant lie, even with the hiatus from battling trainers), then carefully pushed the broken door open and walked outside. Just as I was about to shut it behind me, I froze when I remembered that I left my new Pokénav on the bed.
Do I actually need it?
After deciding that it was too valuable to leave behind, I threw my bag on the ground, ran back inside the house, up the stairs and back into my room.
Just as I grabbed the Pokénav, I heard loud engines.
I gasped softly before dashing to my Aunt's room to get a better view from the large window and my fears were confirmed: a solid black helicopter was touching down several meters from my house. The side slid open and a man jumped out, taking off toward the front door.
My entire body went numb. I dropped my Pokénav when I quickly backed away before falling onto the bed behind me.
No, no, this can't be happening!
I had no idea what I was going to do to get out of this. And it was too late to do anything about it, because I heard the front door being kicked open, followed by a loud bang as it fell to the floor.
Don't panic, don't panic, I kept saying to myself as I felt panic rise in my chest.
As I was thinking of ways to escape without being noticed, I suddenly remembered that my Pokémon were in my duffel bag just outside of the house. I really started to lose it when I thought of Meganimum. I could have jumped into the bush from my bedroom window, but that would mean leaving my Pokémon behind.
I heard him mutter to himself, "What the 'ell 'appened here? Looks like a bloody tornado hit."
Then I heard the sound of heavy boots crunching on top of broken glass.
"I know you're in 'ere! Come out with your 'ands up, and no'un 'as to get hurt!"
Does he have a weapon? I thought fearfully.
There was a loud thud as the coffee table was kicked over. Then I heard him begin to further destroy the kitchen draws were pulled out and the remaining chairs were knocked over. My stomach dropped when I heard the tiny scratching noises and sniffing; he had a Pokémon with him.
At that point, I began breathing as quietly as I could to avoid detection. I frantically looked for a place to hide, and under the bed was the best I could find. Grabbing my Pokénav from the bed, I slid underneath the frame and pulled my limbs close to my body. I activated the Pokenav's camera and put it on selfie mode as I began to record myself.
"Whoever finds this, my name is Lilly Prescott, and there's a member of Team Rocket in my house," I spoke with barely a whisper to the Pokénav.
"I think he's going to try to take me, but I don't know where. If someone could get this to anyone who might be able to help me—"
Something else was knocked over with a loud crash, and I flinched. I continued, "Ash, if Mewtwo found you, he probably told you that I was going to sell him to the Rockets and that I saved him just for that, but you know me well enough to know that's wrong."
Another crash.
"You're useless! Go upstairs an' find 'er!"
"I knew the Rockets were coming here today because I had a vision earlier. I lied to him hoping that he would get angry and leave. I didn't want to, but it was the only way to get him out of harm's way—"
BANG
I screamed at the top of my lungs when the gun went off, dropping the Pokénav to the floor. I heard footsteps and something small scrambling up the stairs and knew that I was out of time. My hands fumbled for the device and I began to talk through the tears rolling down my face.
"I had to keep him safe, I wasn't gonna let the Rockets take him back. But it was hard seeing him so angry and hurt because I—"
I paused again as the sound of little feet and claws made their way into the room, though I knew that it was pointless to keep quiet by that point.
"I-I really love him," I sniffled as quietly as I could.
Before I could throw the Pokénav behind myself, sharp claws were grabbing at my hair. Before I knew what happened, I was quickly dragged out from under the bed. I saw that it was a Sneasle that grabbed me, and his trainer was scowling at the foot of the bed. The Rocket approached and roughly pulled me up by my arm, pinning me against the wall. I tried to hide the Pokénav behind my back, but he saw it.
"And who the fuck are you talkin' to, girl?" the man asked, grabbing the device from my hand.
"Nobody, it's just a video!" I cried, trying to grab it back.
He examined it in one hand, realized that it was recording him, and smiled really wide.
"Leavin' a message, eh? You're way ahead of me, kid!" he laughed.
I stood there, too afraid to move.
"Oi, listen up," he began talking to the Pokénav, "if you want to see this girl alive again, bring Mewtwo alive to Azela Town within the next forty-eight hours, since e's clearly not fucking in this house. Or else . . ."
He let go of me and pushed something hard and cold against my temple, whispering, "I simply can't guarantee her safety."
I could not suppress the pathetic cry when I realized that it was a gun, and it was then that I realized how hopeless the situation really was for me.
He put the gun away, threw the Pokénav on the bed, then grabbed both my wrists in one of his hands and pinned my arms above my head against the wall. I cried out again, still not looking at my attacker.
"I'm only gonna ask this once: where's Mewtwo?" he shouted at me.
"I . . . I don't know!" I blubbered.
Without hesitation he slapped me across the right side of my face. I screamed again and started crying.
"Don't you fucking lie to me! I watched the two of you come in an' outta this bloody 'ouse for two bloody months now, so don't tell me 'e isn't 'ere!" he bellowed.
"He left today!" I sobbed, "he just left!"
"You think I'm that stupid?!" he roared and slapped me in the same place.
I cried out again as I touched my cheek; it throbbed angrily in response.
"I–I made him leave," I choked out, "I lied and told him that I was going t–to sell him back to Team Rocket, a-and then he—"
"Ha! An' the dumb bastard believed it? Like hell we'd buy that good-for-nothing back!" the Rocket laughed.
He let go of my arm and punched the wall next to my head in anger, making me scream in fright once more. Then he grabbed a fistful of my hair and dragged me out of the room. I was still crying hysterically, and it didn't help when I thought of what would happen if he found my bag with my precious Pokémon right outside the house.
"W–Where are you taking me?" I cried as he practically threw me down the stairs in front of him. I stumbled and would have fallen flat on my face, had he not grabbed my hair again.
"I'm taking you back to the hideout with me!" he growled in response.
"No!"
"Boss said come back with Mewtwo, or don't come back at all! So, I'm bringin' the little sneak that'll tell 'im where the damn thing is!"
I fought against his strong grip on my hair.
"Don't take me there! I really don't know where he is, please!"
Though I was feeling too scared for Mewtwo and my Pokémon to care about them getting to me, I was also terrified of going there without any kind of protection. I struggled to free myself with all my might, but the man held firm. He dragged me across the kitchen, through the broken glass, over the front door on the ground, and into the night.
Thanks to the darkness, he walked by my grey bag without so much as glance; a small wave of relief washed over me. My sobbing lessened as he dragged me all the way to the helicopter, then pushed me up to it and shouted, "Cassidy! Take the monkey!"
A blond head with a pretty face appeared, her eyes looking at me with revulsion.
I stopped sobbing long enough to look at her with wide eyes.
"I'd say it's nice to see you again," she said in the strange accent she used on the phone, "but, we're not here for you."
She turned and addressed her partner when she asked in her normal voice, "Why are you bringing her on here?! We came here for Mewtwo, not the brat!"
I was so dumbstruck that I still had not resumed fighting his grip
"Apparently, Mewtwo's not 'ere! I got the kid so she can tell Giovanni where the bloody 'ell 'e went. It's our only choice!" he exclaimed, clearly annoyed by her displeasure.
Cassidy's eyes widened, too.
"He's gone? But then why is she here?"
The man shoved me into the helicopter. I landed on the floor with a yelp, and then she pulled me up by my hair and started tying my arms to my sides.
"Yep, 'e's gone! Stay 'ere a minute, I'm gonna check again."
"You'd better find him, Boss is going to be pissed!"
He went back toward the house, thankfully still ignoring the bag near the front door. Cassidy finished tying me as the man came back toward us, swearing under his breath.
"No sign of 'im," he said, "but I bugged the place in case that bastard comes back."
He grunted as he heaved himself on board, then pulled a strange-looking device out from his belt and said, "Guess I 'ave no use for this gun, then."
The weapon was carelessly tossed into the helicopter.
Cassidy hastily finished tying me, then got up and slapped him with a slender hand.
"Butch, you have to be careful with that! Giovanni said it was dangerous!"
"Ah, the 'ell with Mewtwo!"
He picked it up again, despite Cassidy's protesting.
"No! His orders were to only fire it at Mewtwo!"
"Shut the 'ell up, will you? I just wanna see what it does!"
Before she had time to argue any more, Butch aimed at a tree that wasn't too far from my house and pulled the trigger. A blue sphere emerged from it and flew at the tree, emitting a bright light when it hit its target. I watched, horrified, as tree turned brown and died on the spot.
Butch dropped the weapon on the floor again and complained, "It didn't even leave a bloody mark on it!"
Cassidy, however, looked troubled as she hissed, "That's what makes it dangerous, stupid! It kills instantly!"
At this point I was terrified for Mewtwo's life; these Rockets were desperate to get their hands on him, dead or alive. I hoped that he was safe, somewhere far away.
I kept silently reminding myself that this was for him when the helicopter took off for the Rocket Base. As I looked at the house from the window, tears started to run down my face again as I lamented my fate.