by pikajenn
Author's Note: Cirrus is all mine, don't try to use her. It's not nice to use someone without their permission. Oh yeah, I don't like disclaimers so here's something new. It's a disclaimer from Xena: Warrior Princess.
Yes I know it has absolutly _nothing_ to do with Pokémon, just let it flow, go with the flow. Yeah, I've seen the episode with Prima in it one to many times.
On to the disclaimer....
Although Xena finally conquered her dark nemesis Callisto, it took her weeks to get the sand out of her leather unmentionables.
--Return of Callisto
*****
~Cirrus~
I followed the man through the bustling streets of Viridian Ciry. Although something bothered me about this man, I couldn't put my finger on it. A short time later, he walked up a strange looking building, tall columns lined the cement walkway. Two guys dressed like Roman guards banged their staffs once on the ground at the sight of the man and his Persian walking up to them. They nodded once at him and the doors slid open, revealing darkness.
The man turned and motioned for me to follow. I walked past the guards and into the cool darkness of the building, a refreshing turn from the heat outside. The doors slid shut behind us and I paused to let my eyes adjust to the sudden dark, when lights lit up the inside and I gasped.
It was an arena. A balcony at the far end with red swagged curtains kept up the Roman trend. The man led me across the arena, with its dirt brown floor and strange white marks painted on it, to a flight of stairs. We went up and to a level that past by the balcony. The man strode right past it, but I stopped. I walked out on that balcony, past a plush chair and to the edge of the balcony. I heard the Persian call out to the man, but I ignored it.
The arena lights were still on and I gripped the stone railing as I saw what lay below me. I knew what it was and more importantly where I was. Ther Viridian City Gym, where Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket, was the Gym Leader.
I stared at the white League markings on the floor and felt a presence behind me.
"Have you ever been in a Gym before?"
"No." I didn't hesitate. I turned around to face him.
Giovanni lifted an eyebrow, "Come with me. There's someone I want you to meet."
Again I followed him, not taking note of where I was being led. I didn't get a sense of evilness from him, he just seemed like a very successful man, powerfull, but not evil.
Who would I meet? Jessie and James? A mysterious scientist?
None of my speculation could've prepaired me for what I saw. We walked past row upon row of caged Pokémon, some whimpered or squawked, some did nothing but cower in the back of their cages as Giovanni walked past, all of them made me feel like something bad was gonna happen.
Down a narrow corridor and into a dark room.
"I don't know who you are. Or why you fell from nowhere. But I will find out." He snapped his fingers and a spotlight fell on a Pokémon standing not fifteen feet directly in front of me.
Mewtwo, I thought wildly. Even with all the gadgets on it, I knew what it was. I could see its sides moving as it breathed, felt its very presence. This was a very powerfull, very psychic Pokémon.
Suddenly, its eyes glowed a bright blue. What is this? Who is this person? The voice was confused.
From beside me, Giovanni smirked and his Persian hid behind him. "That's what I need you to do. Find out who she is, where she's from, and who sent her. I want to know everything." He turned to leave, Persian racing for the door, "Inform me when you are done."
The door closed behind him, leaving me with Mewtwo. I'd seen the first movie and I played the video game. I'd cheated with a Gameshark and caught Mewtwo at the beginning of the game with a Masterball cheat. Mewtwo was my favorite.
He stared at me, then spoke, his voice nearly identical to the one in the movie, but the real Mewtwo, this ones voice was more melodical to listen to.
You are human, but you are different. Why?
"I'm not from this world." Picturing the events in my mind, I told him. Told him everything from my mom slapping me, to me falling through the portal; I felt like I could trust him.
A world devoid of Pokémon? How...tragic for you.
I thought of telling him about the movie and decided against it, when I felt a gentle tug. What are you doing?
You are not telling me something, something you feel is important. What is it?
The tugging got harsher.
"Okay!!" I cried out, falling to my knees, "I admit it! I have a thing for Lance from Nsync!! Let me go, please!"
The tugging stopped suddenly and Mewtwo froze. I got to my feet, my head starting to hurt. "What's wrong?"
What is this? What am I seeing...in your mind...What have I done?
Aww, crap, the movie! I thought to myself. "Mewtwo, that's just a movie, it's not..."
I saw his eyes glow again.
"...real." But wasn't it real? Here I was talking to Mewtwo.
It is real, here and now. Not all of the events in the movie have happened, yet.
"Yeah, yet." A thought occured to me. "They must happen, they have to. It's your destiny as well as Ash's."
To be that cruel..
"Everyone, human or Pokémon, makes mistakes," I shrugged, "They're lessons we learn from. It makes us, makes life, better."
Giovanni's coming. All he knows is what he wants to know, he knows nothing of what is to come.
The door opened, Giovanni stood there, minus Persian and walked in. "So, Mewtwo tells an interesting tale. Is it true?"
I nodded, not sure if I could trust him, but what could he do?
Giovanni just stared at me for a second.
He's talking telepathically to his Drowzee, but I can't find out what they are saying.
But how's that? You're the most powerfull...
Not yet. I grow stronger each day, yes, but I am still young. The lab events in your movie only happened last month.
Oh.
"With the help of my powerful psychic Pokémon and my unlimited financial and scientific resources, I could find a way for you to get home. Would you like that, my dear?"
My dear? What's his scam? I really didn't wanna trust him, but a way home? I had to agree, duh I do want to get home.
Giovanni smiled and motioned for me to follow him.
Bye Mewtwo.
Goodbye, Cirrus.
I hesitated at the door, hating to leave him behind.
Go! I will be allright.
With a small smile and a nod, I followed Giovanni.
He led me upstairs to an empty sterile lab room. On a bare table sat six small...
"Pokéballs!" I gasped as I picked one up.
"Yes and they're yours."
"Huh?"
"There is a Pokémon in one of them; it's yours to keep for the duration. The other five...Well, you have to catch five hard to find Pokémon. Valuable Pokémon."
"Why five?"
"I'm not going to find you a way home for nothing. Get me five valuable Pokémon in an even exchange for a way back to your home dimension. Get these Pokémon from the wild or steal them, I don't care. I won't be sending you out alone. I've arranged three tour guides and I trust you already know them.."
I was trying to pay attention, but what he was saying was in a monotonous voice, plus I was fixated on the small Pokéball I held. I wonder what Pokémon is inside.
Giovanni cleared his throat and I looked up, blushing in embarassment.
"That one is empty," he said, picking up the last Pokéball in the row. "This one holds your Pokémon."
Quickly, I put down the Pokéball I'd been holding and said, "Okay. When do I leave?"
"For now, we will be heading down to get you something to eat and maybe some more respectable clothes."
I blushed again, but followed him out of the room, leaving the Pokéballs on the table. I guess he doesn't like my workout clothes.
*****
I followed Giovanni to an unmarked room that was filled with rows upon rows of new clothes. From dress pants and flowing skirts to sweatshirts and designer jeans.
"Whaaa??? You guys have Tommy Hillfiger here??" I stared at the Tommy logo on a pair of jeans.
Giovanni looked at me. "No, that designer is called Toné Heracross, what are you blabbing about?" He walked down the row.
I blinked and looked inside the lable. Sure enough, it was Toné Heracross, but it was so similar. I picked up a size eight tall anyway and ran after Giovanni.
He thrust a white sweatshirt at me and then led me to the shoe row. "Size?"
Oh geeze, "Nine and a half," I said.
Giovanni handed me a box and then led me out. "I don't usually do this for the people who work for me, but I've learned that if I want something done right, I have to do it myself. I also don't trust you to not make an attempt to run off and you could do that with someone else." He led me to another unmarked room. "You have ten minutes to change; leave your clothes and shoes in the room. They will be returned to you later."
I stepped into the room and closed the door. As soon as the door closed, a light came on in the room. The white walled, windowless closet of a dressing room. One bench was built into the back wall and I set my new clothes on it. I got changed quickly, lacing up my hiking boots firmly and standing up. The boots felt good and I stretched, standing on first my toes then my heels.
I didn't really trust Giovanni, but I left my clothes there, my new Nike cross-trainers, but I kept my sunglasses, no way was I gonna leave those there.
I stepped out of the room and Giovanni nodded in approval. "Let's find you something to eat."
Once again, led to another floor, then to an elevator which opened up to a café. A bustling, busy café, full of people in Team Rocket uniforms.
I laughed inside, it looked like a Comic Convention. I resisted the urge to flash the Vulcan peace/prosperity sign thing at a passing Rocket in white. 'Sides, he was looking at me oddly enough.
The Rocket Café actually had really good food. I chose a hamburger and a small order of fries and something that had the Pepsi logo, but was called Persian!. As I ate in a small booth in the back, Giovanni left to take care of some business. He left my booth guarded by three Rockets in grey. I'd never seen Rockets in grey and they gave me the creeps. They didn't talk, didn't acknowlege Rockets that passed by, didn't do anything. They reminded me of the Royal Guard guys that stood outside of that little Palace in England. Minus the funny hats, of course.
When I finished eating, Giovanni was back in seconds. Maybe one of the guards had a Drowzee or other Psychic Pokémon. As soon as Giovanni got there, the greys vanished. Literally.
I blinked and looked up at Giovanni.
"Come on, we have one last thing to do."
I followed him and dared to ask, "What is that?"
"You are going to meet your guides."
We passed by the balcony again, after about twenty minutes of walking, and I heard the sounds of a battle in progress.
"Huh? What's that?" I asked, walking towards the balcony.
This time, Giovanni followed me. From the balcony, I could see two men, one on a raised platform on either end of the gym. They were both wearing white Rocket uniforms and the trainer closest to me had a rather small Charmander, unlike the other Rocket who had a nice sized Wartortle.
"But aren't Fire Pokémon vulnerable against Water Pokémon?" I asked.
"Yes," Giovanni answered, watching the battle intently. "This Charmander has been extremely difficult to train. It's very stubborn and doesn't like to obey commands."
"So this is your Tough Love program?" I asked sarcastically.
"If it doesn't win this battle, it will be put to sleep." Giovanni said casually.
If it doesn't win this battle, you won't have to worry about putting it to sleep, I thought, watching the flame on its tail tip die down.
From below, the Charmander stumbled and weakly said, "Chaaar."
"Wartortle, Water Gun!"
"Charmander, Agility now!"
But the Charmander barely moved and the water attack found its mark easily, hitting the Charmander again and again. I was horrified as I watched the flame grow even smaller.
"Won't its trainer do something? Doesn't he care?"
Giovanni shook his head. "No, that pokémon belongs to no one. If it wins this battle, I suppose someone might want it."
If it makes it.
Go rescue it!
Mewtwo?!
It will listen to you. I'll talk to it, you just get down there.
Yeah...yeah!! I had to rescue it. I bolted, running down the stairs to the gym floor.
"Water Gun, finish it off!"
"NO!!" I cried out, running in front of the Charmander, blocking the fire Pokémon. The water hit hard, knocking both of us backwards.
"Enough." Giovanni's voice calmly rang out over the gym. "This match is over."
I may have bruises from that. I thought as I stood up. Behind me, Charmander lay huddled on the ground, its tail flickering weakly. I knelt down next to it and stroked it reassuringly, "It's gonna be okay, Charmander, I won't let you die. They won't kill you." Charmander was warm beneath my hand.
One of its sapphire blue eyes opened and it muttered, "Char, char," before it fell unconscious.
No...Mewtwo, is it okay?
Yes, but you better get it to a Pokécenter quickly. I think...No, just go. Now.
I scooped up Charmander and stood up, it was only about 15 pounds and I ran to the exit.
The trainers both yelled out at me. One yelled for the Wartortle to stop me, but I saw the Wartortle smile and it made no move to stop me. The door slid open and I ran past the two guards and down the street.
The streets were busy and more than one person got a little singed from Charmanders' barely burning tail fire. But I couldn't find the stupid Center. Frustrated, I yelled out to a tall guy a few feet in front of me. "Excuse me, sir,"
He stopped and turned around and squinted at me.
Ohno, it's Brock! But no Misty or Ash..
"Yes?"
Disappointed that he wasn't oogling me, I asked, "Could you please take me to the nearest Pokémon Center? It's an emergency." I raised the sopping wet Charmander at him.
"A Charmander? Aah! What did you do to it? Let's go!"
*****
Together, we ran for the center, Brock yelling a warning to all the pedestrians so they wouldn't get singed by Charmander. I was glad I took up jogging, or I'd never be able to keep up with him. Brock turned to the left suddenly with a, "This way!" yelled at me.
We burst through the doors and stopped at the front desk.
This was where Brock turned from concerned to, well, an airhead.
"Uh, uh, uh, uh...Hellllo, Nurse Joy!"
I was astonished at the abrupt transfomation.
"I think this girl let a Pokémon battle get out of hand. Everyone knows you don't put a Fire Pokémon against a Water Pokémon unless it's well experienced."
"Hey! I know that!"
"Hmm..It'll live, but you really should know better." Nurse Joy said to me, disapproval in her eyes.
"But I didn't..."
"You didn't know. That's okay. Chansey..."
A Chansey rolled up a cart and took Charmander away.
"If you'll wait in the waiting area, I'll be back as soon as possible with your Charmander."
I sighed, unable to compete against Nurse Joy and Brock. I knew that!!! I mentally shot at the two of them.
Brock walked towards the big circular room to the left. Its center was sunken and outside the sunken area were tables. Windows lined the upper walls of the waiting area. I followed Brock to a booth that had a window that looked out to the main road.
I was curious about the people from this dimension, that lived here in this world. They seemed so vibrant, energetic...so full of life. So unlike people in my world.
"So, why're you sticking around? Don't you have somewhere to go?"
Brock looked at me. "No, not really and I just wanted to know how your Charmander's going to be."
I had to set this right. "Well, actually that isn't my Charmander. I rescued it from a battle it was loosing."
"So you stole this Pokémon?"
"No, that isn't...that's not it at all..."
"Well, actually, it was." A feminine voice broke in.
"Huh?" I turned around and saw two people standing nearby.
Brock lept to his feet. "You! What are you doing here?!"
Que?
"Hello Cirrus, don't tell me that you're surprised to see us!" It was Jessie and James was standing behind her, both wearing their Rocket uniforms.
"Yes, you see, the Boss sent us to get you. He's concerned about your Charmanders' condition. After your first Pokémon battle and all." James said smoothly.
Brock looked at me with disgust on his face. "You're with Team Rocket? Ugh, stay away from me." He walked away and I heard him mutter, "What a liar..." when he passed by me.
After the doors slid closed behind him, Jessie's polite smiling expression turned angry. "Listen up good, Twerp. We're in charge of you from now on. Plus the Boss upped the Pokémon you have to get from five to ten or no ride home."
"We know all about you and where you've come from, so don't try any tricks, " James said, handing me a yellow backpack.
"You'd better not try to get any outside help again."
"Yeah," James chimed in, "Or you'll never get home." He laughed and Jessie gestured for me to get up. When I did, she handed me a Pokéball. It was a little scratched and dirty.
"This is that Charmanders' Pokéball. Go see Nurse Joy and get it so we can get going."
I walked quickly to the front desk and Nurse Joy smiled at me. I smiled back and she said, "I was actually about to come and get you. Your Charmander is in perfect health and ready to go." She got up. "Come with me."
I followed her down a wide hall, Jessie and James waiting in the front.
Nurse Joy led me to a pleasant back room where Charmander was lying on its stomach on a padded table. It looked up at me, smiled, and said, "Char!"
"Geeze, Charmander, you are so silly." I walked up to it and looked at it. "But I'm glad you're okay." I looked to Nurse Joy, "Is it okay for me to take it?"
"Of course! It's your Pokémon."
"Do you wanna come with me?" I whispered to it.
In response, it jumped off the table, wobbly for a moment, then it walked towards the door. It looked back and said, "Chaaar?", a twinkle in its eye.
I shook my head, smiling. "Okay, let's go!". It followed me back out to the main area.
"What are you doing?" Jessie shrieked, "I gave you that Pokéball for a reason! Put that thing away now!"
Nurse Joy wasn't behind me, she'd stayed back to look after a suddenly sick Raichu. From behind me, Charmander kind of growled, but I knelt down next to it.
"Don't worry, it'll be okay" I held out the Pokéball. "Besides, you still need some rest and I promise you, I will let you out later on. Okay?"
Charmander glared with hate at Jessie and James, but nodded.
I stood up and took a deep breath. "Charmander, return!" A beam of red light shot from the Pokéball, engulfing and pulling in the Fire Pokémon.
I looked to Jessie and James, "Let's begin."
So whaddya think? Should I continue it? I know it took me a loooong time to get this part out from the prologue, but let me know if you liked it!!