S H E L L O F O B L I V I O N
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chapter one
Disclaimer: Now to appease the mighty gods of licensed products! Pokemon does *not* belong to me, no matter how much I cling to those corprate executives's shoe and cry. However, all the characters that I make up do belong to me and if you use them I'll either sue you for a million dollars or be very flattered. ^_^
Author's note: Sorry this took so long! Have I lost all my fans? ;_; *dodges some tomatoes* Anyway, I am looking for editors and people to help me come up with ideas! Of course I will give you credit. Email me or leave your email when you review and I'll email you! Please? I'll be your best friend!
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"A promotion! The boss is finally recognizing us!" the red haired girl cried. Her and two others, a boy and a meowth, danced around with pleasure.
"I can't believe it's really true," the boy said, "but the best part is he wants me personally to pick it up!" He looked absolutely delirious with happiness, voice cracking on the "up."
The girl put her arms across her chest. Her face went from ecstasy to anger in a matter of seconds. "Stop bragging, James. Get ready. He wants you down there in two hours."
The boy looked unfazed, as if he had seen this all before. "Sure Jess," he replied simply, and went into their small cabin in the woods.
One hour later, James told his friends goodbye and went straight to his boss's headquarters in Viridian City. He looked over the horizon and frowned. Dark storm clouds were billowing over the hill tops, and some might take it for a bad omen. He dismissed the thought like a passing glance, and opened the doors to the Viridian City Gym, or the Team Rocket Building.
That is when it all went black.
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"Exactly what is the motive for us to be doing this?" a woman with maroon hair and deep brown eyes filled with skepticism asked. She looked down at the blue haired boy on the table in front of her, peacefully sleeping.
"It's for the good of all Team Rocket," her boss, Giovanni replied. He was a middle aged man with brown hair and an eternal smirk on his face. "What was your name again?"
The girl sighed. She tried to remind herself of why in the word she was doing this, but found she was unable to. She had been in Team Rocket for at least five years, and she had never seen the likes of such an experiment before. No one had ever forgotten her name, either.
"Naz. Naz DuVahl," she said curtly. "Can we begin now?" She wasn't in the mood to just stand around. If this had to be done so be it. Just get it over with.
"Naz..." Giovanni said, tasting the word. She began to get a little uncomfortable. "Alright, Naz," Giovanni said, almost cheerfully. "Let's get this done."
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James awoke to sun on his face. He slowly sat up, taking in the scene around him. Viridian Forest? Why was he here? Wasn't he at the headquarters?
He slowly stood up and looked around. Everything seemed to be just the way it was before he went into Giovanni's office, but something wasn't right. It was hard to figure out for sure, but it seemed like the air was different. Like he didn't belong there. Suddenly, he heard two people fighting.
"I told you I didn't wreck your stupid bike!" a boy with spiky black hair yelled. "Quit following me around!"
The girl, whom he recognized to be Misty, yelled back in the exact same tone he had heard over and over again when he encountered them and that Pikachu. "I won't stop following you until you pay me back for my bike you ruined!"
Ash looked at her incredulously. "How much was it?" he said at last. He reached into his pocket and took out what looked like a wallet stuffed with cash.
Misty balked for a split second when she saw the wallet, but continued in the same fiery voice. "10000 pokeyen, for your information!"
Ash counted all the money his mother had given him before he left home. Exactly the amount she had asked. What a lucky break! Now he would be rid of this girl and could get on with his pokemon training.
He handed her the money. She took it, and from where James was standing, he could see the remorse in her eyes.
"Well..." she said, "Thank you. Bye." Ash waved his hand and they parted ways.
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Faint traces of sound made their way into James's semi-conscious thoughts. Words and sounds mixed into sentences, but the voices he could not recognize.
Where am I?
"I can't believe we actually did this, Giovanni."
A girl? Who is she? Why is she talking to Giovanni?
"Believe it, my dear. This is the fist step towards the future of Team Rocket. Think about it... Naz? You helped me create my most powerful weapon."
Powerful weapon? What am I doing here?
"It just feels wrong. I want to reverse everything."
What's wrong?? What's happening?
"Reverse it and I'll reverse your paycheck, girl. You may go home, it's been a long day."
The girl packed her few belongings and left.
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"James sure is takin' forevah," Meowth said. He was sprawled out over the couch as he and Jessie watched TV, oblivious to the storm around them. "Maybe we oughta call da headquarters ta see what's up wid im.'
"He's probably just caught in the rain. Nothing to worry about. If he's not back tonight, he might have just stayed in a hotel to escape this weather," Jessie said with an air of authority. "We can get worried tomorrow."
Jessie stretched and yawned. "Are you sleeping downstairs, Meowth?" Meowth nodded. "Okay," she said, "tell me when he comes home."
"Alright Jess," Meowth sighed. His eyelids were already closing. "I'll be sure ta wake ya up when he gets here."
He never did.
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Naz didn't own an umbrella to shield herself from the downpour. She trudged along, half regretful, half seething, and lost to her own thoughts.
So what if my paycheck is higher? That doesn't give me the right to do what I did.
She gazed at the full moon, blurred by rain. All around it was wisps of clouds, creating a somewhat chilling effect. Stars were sprawled erratically over the velvet sky, and the light they cast down on her was cool and calming.
This light has traveled billions of years to finally come to me.
She always did love rain. In it, no one could ever tell she was crying.
I don't understand myself. What possessed me to do what I did? He came in looking so happy, and then Giovanni knocked him out. I first saw him in the examination room, and he looked so innocent. Why was he even in Team Rocket?
Why am I even in Team Rocket?
I know I could have done better for myself. Maybe. Everywhere I turn people slam the door in my face. So what do I do? I join Team Rocket. All the education I received, gone. Now no one will even look me in the face. Not even Momma.
She looked up at the night sky.
Momma...
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Momma....
Giovanni was finishing the final preparations. Everything was so perfect.
That Naz girl is certainly good with engineering. I'm glad she was here. Maybe I won't fire her after all. I bet if mother was here she would be so proud of me...
Don't think like that.
His original aura of happiness vanished. Scowling, he went about cleaning up the area more violently. What a mess! He carefully picked up a syringe. He arranged bottles of who knows what in alphabetical order. He wiped down the counters and cleaned the sinks.
Today had indeed been a very long day.
He looked over at the bed. A sheet was draped over a prone figure. He smilied and walked over, very slowly, as if each tile was a potential bomb. He pulled back the sheet, and looked into the face of a young, blue haired boy. James Morgan. Experiment #1. Perfect weapon.
Welcome to a new chapter in your life. Hopefully you won't carry the burden of the old ones with you. Remember, you're perfect. Live up to what you are. You already failed me once.
t o b e c o n t i n u e d . . .
R/R please! :)