A/N:
Sorry for the long wait. Had a long list of deadlines for getting everything prepared for college. Another shorter chapter here that sets up for important events later. Anyways, hope you all enjoy the latest chapter.
Thanks to Umi x3 for reading over this chapter ahead of time. Also, want to thank Lunar Knight Archangel for all his work in beta reading this story over the past half-year. For now, he is undergoing basic training, so wishing him the best in the army.
"…" - Spoken dialogue
Italics - Michael's thoughts
'Italics' - Telepathic dialogue
/\/\/\ - Lemon Scene
"The people that are quick to walk away are the ones that never intended to stay."
-Unknown
Ch. 19 - Back in the Game
The water began to cool - a result of Michael being in the shower for over half an hour. Still, though, he stood against the wall, letting it run down his body as he continued to be lost within his thoughts. It had been nearly two weeks since the incident; so soon, and yet he could hardly remember a thing since he had come back to base. Wesley and the girls had all tried to comfort him along the trip back, but not a word registered to his troubled mind. All he could recall was stumbling into his room, throwing his revolver into the nightstand drawer, and collapsing onto the bed.
Michael wanted nothing more than to wash the memories away; forget that it all ever happened. He should have been better by now. He was over it, wasn't he? But if he was done with it all, why did it still hurt so much? There had always been a huge gap between him and his father, and Michael could say, without a shadow of a doubt, that the girls had always been closer to him than his own parents. But he also could say that what happened that day on Guiles Creek… that hit hard.
The later autopsy had found that the hollow-point .357 had blown through the lower part of his left lung and had opened up the left ventricle of his heart. The exit wound in his back was about the size of a shrunken pokéball - far too big a hole in the chest cavity for someone to survive. It could even be considered a miracle that he had managed to last the twenty seconds he did after taking the shot.
Even in death, Ethan Higgs proved to be a pain in the ass. His prominence within the community led to questioning when he just disappeared in the midst of what seemed to be a military operation in the suburbs. The night the house was taken over, the media was already in a frenzy. And Carrie Higgs had not helped at all - whereas Wesley had tried to settle the reporters, she had gone to others and had the audacity to tell them that her own son had taken Ethan's life - without including his criminal status, or the fact that Michael acted in self defense. This, of course, led to a local outrage and cries for justice, which was only settled through the revelation of what the army had hoped could remain military secrets. In the end, Ethan's involvement in the trafficking organization was stated and left at that.
But this couldn't prevent the media from doing what they usually did - get in the middle of everything. Three news stations had already begun speaking of the distraught Reaper before Commander Hawkins could step in and tell them to knock it off. Even when he was able to get the reporters away from the story, the damage had already been done. Enough had been released to blow Michael's cover. Once his former mother had mentioned the presence of a latias with Michael, it didn't take a genius to figure out that the very same Michael that had recently won the championship in Cianwood was also the Reaper that helped destroy the Power Plant. At that point, there was no stopping it; the papers, the channels - they had all connected the dots. Here was the alleged 'Grim Reaper' that won the Cianwood Solstice Battle and killed his father. Damn.
People knew of him. That wasn't exactly something they liked in the special forces. Extra precautions were taken in order to keep each of the soldiers' identities from coming to light. But now, that was completely out the window for the young Reaper. What the hell was he going to do now? He would have to speak with Wesley about it all.
"Here's the key," he heard outside. Wow, Charlotte… Someone began fumbling with the doorknob, and a light click could be heard.
"Michael?" Alaina called out. He rolled his eyes, turning off the water.
"Huh, seems privacy is a bit too much to ask for…" She approached the shower door and opened it.
"Nothing I haven't seen several times already." She grabbed the towel, wrapping it around him before placing her arms on his shoulders. "Come on, let's get you out of here." He was grateful that he had such loving and supportive pokémon throughout this whole ordeal, but nothing had lifted his spirits ever since New Year's. With his direct family torn apart and his cover having been blown, Michael doubted that anything could cheer him up. Maybe it was only a phase that would pass as time went on. Hopefully.
As he walked into the front of the house, full dressed now, he was greeted with several scents. They made breakfast… "There you are," Charlotte said, she said. "We've all pitched in here. Well, all of us except for someone," she jokingly said.
"No fair," Elise said shyly, "I don't have hands…" Veronica carried the plates out of the kitchen - each one with an omelet on it. To tell the truth, Michael was quite impressed with the endeavor.
"How did you all learn to make that?"
"I looked it up," Alaina responded. They must've done it to cheer me up, he thought.
"Thank you all," he said quietly. It was relieving to know that in the midst of all this, his girls were there for him. They would have his back no matter what - even when his own family wouldn't. No… they aren't my family… He had stuck to his words when he said that he was dropping their name. Michael would be damned if he took the name of the very people he had fought to destroy. But what to replace it with?
As they ate in silence, Michael became more and more adamant about his position. No, he was not kin to thugs and traffickers. He and the other Reapers had pledged their service to obliterating forces like that, and that ideal had become a very prominent part of his personality. Everything they stood against were the very things that Ethan had stood for - crookedness, hatred, hatefulness - were the things that they had pledged to stop. There really wasn't even any reason to be upset, was there? Ethan Higgs had been just another piece of shit that deserved the bullet he took. He wasn't sorry for what he did, nor did he regret it. Not only had he acted in self defense, but he had also removed one of the most dangerous men throughout all the regions. Inadvertently, he had partially accomplished what he had set out to do from the very beginning. And if anything, that brought a small grin to his face.
"You know what?" he finally said. "Fuck him. I'm over it."
. . . . .
Later that afternoon he had received a knock on the door. "It's open!" Wesley entered, of all people. "Ah, Commander Hawkins. Nice to see you." Currently, Michael was laying on the couch, with both Elise and Charlotte laying against him.
"You sound… well, happier than I would've expected…"
"I've moved on. Stopped giving a shit about the fate of a trafficker. Never did before - why should I now?" Wesley seemed surprised to hear this, but continued nonetheless.
"Alright then," he said. "Well, we have thoroughly searched through every piece of evidence in Ethan's house."
"What did you find?" Michael asked.
"Not much that he didn't already tell you. He was smart in what he revealed. But… we know exactly who we're up against now."
"Great. Who is it?"
"We'll discuss it over a debriefing in an hour. I've already made contact with the others. They'll be video chatting us. Have you talked with any of them yet?"
"No. Not since New Year's. But I'm sure they've seen the news by now." That reminded him of something he wanted to ask, though. "Say, this uh… publicity that I've recently received … Is that going to be a problem?"
"Well… no, it shouldn't be. If I know you half as well as I think I do, then I can safely assume that you won't release classified information to the public. Just stay silent and stay outta trouble. The loss of anonymity shouldn't be too much of an issue unless you make it one." He paused, clearly treading lightly on his next words. "I mean, not trying to come across as harsh, but it's not as though there are family members that could be used as leverage against you." That was true… And both his friends and his pokémon were safe under military protection.
"Good to hear. What time is the debriefing?" he asked.
"Four - in the meeting room."
. . . . .
Wesley and Michael sat on alternate ends of the table, while five of the black screens buzzed to life. After all this time, they would finally learn more about who had been stirring up all this trouble. One by one, the faces of his comrades appeared on screen.
"Hey man," Alex said. "You seem to be the center of attention lately."
"Is it true?" Samuel asked. "All the stuff that's been said? About your father?"
"All of that will be addressed," Wesley stated flatly. "But to sum that part up - yes, that was all true. Ethan Higgs was maintaining funds and orchestrated several hundred operations for the traffickers."
"…Damn man," Kevin said. "Listen, I'm sorry you got wrapped up in all of that…" Michael shook his head.
"No. Messed up as it sounds, I'm glad I got to be the one to send him to hell. He's not my father."
"Shit…" Kevin replied, "that's kinda cold…"
"Never had any sympathy for terrorists before. Ain't gonna change that view just because Ethan was involved with a bunch of terrorists." With the shock having settled down, Wesley decided to refocus the conversation towards its main topic.
"Before we begin, are you all in safe and secluded locations?" Four yeses.
"I should be good," Thomas said. "Back of the house."
"Is anyone home?" Wesley asked.
"Nobody but Ivy."
"Alright then." Wesley stood up, picking up a folder from the table. "Where to begin…" he trailed off. "Well, it's safe to say that we recovered a lot of data from the Higgs' house. Upon inspection, we were able to finally to identify our main target." From the folder came a large, printed out picture of a man in his early twenties with bright blond hair and a wide grin. A sceptile was beside him, draping her arm over his shoulder casually while also smiling at the camera. She wore a bracelet that had a green mega stone embedded within it. That must've been the treecko Ethan mentioned… "Boys, meet Douglas Stone." The room went dead silent. No... it can't be...
"Stone? As in…."
"Yes," Wesley said, finishing John's sentence, "that Stone. We've already brought Steven in for questioning. He says he knows nothing about it, and that he and his son haven't spoken in years." The champion's son… is responsible for all this? More surprisingly, the champion of such a left-leaning region… "What Ethan had said was true - Douglas was caught up in the conservative revolution in Hoenn. He wasn't a big player at the time, but he became prominent among the pissed off citizens in both Kanto and Johto upon fleeing his country. Fast forward a few years, and he starts up an alt-right terrorist organization for the purpose of taking the regions back for conservatives, and not in a very democratic manner…"
"Where is he now?" Thomas asked.
"We aren't sure. Nothing in Ethan's records indicated Stone's location, aside from hinting that his HQ is somewhere in Kanto. They've done an excellent job in keeping off the radar."
"So then back to Kanto?" Michael asked. Wesley shook his head.
"Before long, that might be the case. If the CIC can't take care of the traffickers, then we'll step in. Right now, though, we should be more concerned about purging the traffickers out of Johto."
"Wait, they're here too?!"
"A few of them, yes. They're trying to set up a base of support - and it isn't gonna take them long to get that. I'm sure you all know exactly who I'm talking about…" Michael thought about it for a second. Who could the traffickers possibly appeal to? Some alt-right extremists… there definitely were those within Johto's borders, though they weren't too terribly common. But a unified group of them that would be willing to follow Stone's narrative…
"…It's The Assembly, isn't it?" he finally said.
"Bingo. The Assembly has the passion and the resources that the traffickers need - viewing the political opponents as subhuman and being willing to back their beliefs with violence. The traffickers won't need to hire lowlife thugs - they'll get the average people in on it all if The Assembly manages to break through. Fortunately, the fact that they won't use electronic communications helps us a ton, but we still need to act fast to ensure that the last remaining admins don't make contact with The Assembly. If those guys join in with Stone… it won't be like anything you've faced before. They aren't like the thugs that Stone's organization has hired over al this time - these men know their way around this land. And if we get engaged in a civil conflict… a trafficking organization will be the least of our concerns. Johto is almost exclusively right wingers - some of which may be compelled to join Stone's cause via The Assembly if the right speakers appeal to them. Some may see it as an opportunity to join in and fight for a cause that represents the beliefs of core conservatism. And before you all would know it, we could be conveyed as the enemies - those who want to protect an establishment that in turn protects the lives of the lefties. I could easily see the country falling apart, and that would be catastrophic for all of the regions."
The realization of how grave the situation was struck them all as terrifying - they may have to fight people within their own country… maybe within their own military. The Assembly certainly held soldiers in high esteem; many assemblers probably had experience with the military. If a civil war were to break out within Johto… a trafficking organization truly would pale in comparison to what they would be facing. That would be a war that they could not win - not with the sheer numbers that they could potentially be facing.
He stood up, placing his hands on the table. "Obviously we can't let this happen, so we need to take these admins out now. We've mobilized troops to protect the border from any who may seek to cross, and we have dispatched operatives to intercept nearly all of the remaining admins that we discovered - thanks to Ethan's records. Once we finish them off, we will be done with this whole thing, and the trafficking organization will be destroyed."
"How'd you find them?" Michael asked. "Didn't they take pride in their anonymity? How were you able to track them using the intel you got at the house?"
"Ethan dealt with nearly all of the funds of those below him. Granted, you can make an alias if you want to conceal your identity, but you can't manipulate numbers nearly as effectively. He had records of deposits and withdrawals - records that we could match at corresponding bank locations. At that point, it was only a matter of tapping in to the security footage. Then we had the faces to match it all to. And if you think that you can live in today's society and hide forever… you're gravely mistaken. Phones, computers, traffic cameras - hell, satellites… all those records wind up in our hands. There's no way to hide from the highest powers, unless you decide on living off the grid." He sifted the papers through the folder once again, leaving the photo of their still hidden enemy. "Off the grid… like this son of a bitch. All we can do is take out his organization from under him. In time, he may resurface. That's when we'll take him out as well."
"So… the admins. Are they all taken care of?" John asked.
"All but one or two, which we're going to have to send standards in for."
"Don't you think assassinations are a bit much for standards?" Michael questioned.
"Maybe, but we're out of options. Nearly all of our specials are assigned or overseas. We've got no other choice. Not like it's a whole lot of 'em, anyways."
"Then send me," Michael said.
"What?"
"Send me to take out the remaining admins."
"We could easily send in half a dozen or so privates to take them out. And besides, you're on break," Wesley replied.
"So? I still capped Ethan."
"Well… that is true," the Commander admitted. "But these missions are going to need to take place in the next few days or so - probably one right after another." Maybe he should have thought this over before he mindlessly threw out the idea. How would the girls respond to him volunteering to go back to work in the middle of his break? This was supposed to be, after all, their time together. But it needs to be me, he thought. Those boys won't be trained for that sort of stuff. Me on the other hand… If his pokémon would be mad at him, so be it. Right now, the Reapers needed to finish what they started, and make sure that Johto would remain safe from the evilness they had been fighting over the course of their first tour.
"I can be ready by then."
. . . . .
"This just in - a surge of military personnel have been stationed along the borders of Johto and Kanto for no clear reason. Over fifty-thousand troops are guarding the border this very moment, making this the largest mobilization within the last three decades." The screen was filled with footage of armored vehicles of every sort patrolling the wall between the two countries, especially pooling around major roads between Kanto and Johto such as Routes 27 and 28. "Furthermore, members of Kanto's CIC regiment have also pitched in to assist the army in whatever operation they are engaged in," the news anchor stated. A clip of Kanto's president followed shortly after - a speech made to the open press.
"I am uncertain as to what has suddenly alerted our allies in Johto for seemingly no reason. Rest be assured, though, that we will get to the bottom of this and find out what issue has led to Johto's heightened vigilance." The mass mobilization to the Kanto-Johto border had certainly taken everyone by surprise - only the special forces seemed to understand fully what was going on. "Regardless of what it may look like, it is safe to say that both Kanto and Johto will cooperate just as we have always done to ensure the safety of our people. Despite the importance of what was being displayed by the news, though, the girls and Michael were hardly paying attention. Rather, the more pressing issue at the moment was the heated argument between Michael and the flygon.
"You did what?!" Veronica growled. "Are you kidding me right now?" The dragoness had clearly taken the news of his volunteering harshly.
"It'll only be a single mission or two, tops," Michael responded.
"I don't give a shit! You aren't supposed to be working now! I mean - seriously?! Tomorrow?!" Right now, it seemed as though she was hardly withholding herself - as though she were about to strike him. "You even said that they could be sending others out to do this!"
"Yeah, they could be sending others out there - guys that may have never pulled a trigger on a person in their life! We're talking about an assassination here - they want someone who's willing to walk into a man's house and kill him in his bed. Ver, that's one hell of a job to pull - especially if you haven't done it before." She didn't seem to want to hear it.
"There's no excuse for this bullshit! You know damn well that they could handle it! They are members of the most powerful military in the world! As if they can't take out one man!"
"Well this 'one man' seemed to do a damn good job of evading us all this time," he countered. "Listen up - these assholes are trying to work their way into our homes, where they will hook up with The Assembly. If that happens… everything we will have done will surely be for nothing. That's a battle we can't win - one within our own borders. Against our own people. We can't fight 'em all, Ver." She stood there silently; his words were true, but she despised the very fact. "We're going to finish what we started, and we won't have to worry about stuff like this anymore. If this man does not die tomorrow night, then we may just lose this war after all. That's a risk I'm not willing to take. Look Ver - I don't need anyone's approval to do this. It's my choice - not yours - and you're going to have to get over that." The moment he said those last words, Michael realized how harsh it had come across. Ver went wide-eyed, then slowly nodded.
"Alright then," Veronica said with a clear animosity in her voice. She left the rest of the group in the living room, retreating to the back room. He flinched as the door was slammed shut. Ah great, I had to go and piss her off… Granted, he was still set about doing the mission - he had even stayed behind in the debriefing room to hear the information regarding his target. But he could have been much less hostile in defending his point. A nicer tone of voice surely wouldn't have hurt.
"Great," he muttered. Slowly, he took a step towards the hallway, but Layla reached out and grabbed his hand.
"I uhh… I wouldn't do that if I were you," she whispered. "I'm sensing a lotta emotion back there - she's really pissed." A loud bout of swearing from the back room confirmed this. "Just give her some time. You know Ver - she'll cool down, then probably apologize for being such a drama queen." Hopefully. Right now, he really didn't have hours to devote to resolving her petty anger - there was still something that he wanted to do before he left for the mission tomorrow.
. . . . .
He had hitched a ride from a departing supply helicopter in order to make his way back to town - it was highly unlikely that Ver would be willing to fly him anywhere for the time being. When he got back, he should probably apologize for snapping back at her the way he did. Even though she had been overstepping her boundaries by trying to keep him there, despite the fact that he truly needed to do this, her cause of frustration really was justified. After all, this was supposed to be his time off.
The helicopter landed at the airport, snapping him out of his thoughts. Throughout the taxi ride to the city courthouse, Michael couldn't help but wonder if he was making the right decision. True, his identity had been blown - that much was a given. But should he really do this? Well, Wesley was right - it wasn't as though family could be used as leverage against him. The evening ride gave him enough time to settle on an answer. Despite the lack of threat, Michael would not bear that last name. Yes, he was going through with this.
The courthouse wasn't busy; he was able to gain assistance quickly, and thus, the form that he needed. Michael wordlessly sped through, filling out all the required information before pausing at the final blank line. Well… they know who I am now. I'll live up to the infamous title they've given me; I'll give them something to be afraid of. The last question stared back at him - what did he want his new legal name to be? With a quick stroke of the pen, he filled in the blank before handing the form to the receptionist. Michael Grim.
A/N:
Hope you enjoyed reading, and see you next chapter!
