What matters?, Chapter 2
By Arina Ketchum
Author notes: Based on a character created by my friend Electra. You don't really need to read her fanfics in order to enjoy this story, but you do get a different perspective when you do read them. :) This is my interpretation of Ele's fanfics, with no nudging from her at all. This is completely my doing. :) Many thanks to Electra for allowing the use of her wonderful character.
This fanfic is rated 'R' for language and certain topics broached. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
* * * *
"Team Rocket's 'rocking at the speed of light!
Have you surrendered or are you willing to fight?
Die! That's right!"
Two years had passed since my parents murder. Under threat of death, I joined Team Rocket, even though I never wanted anything to do with them. They were my parent's murderers, and here I was, this child, with nowhere else to go, helping them capture Pokemon for Giovanni.
And before you ask, yes, I would have rather been dead at that point. But something, I'm not sure what, with every day that dawned, told me to get up, get through this day, and then go back to bed, only to face another one just like it the next day. Somehow, I managed not to drive myself crazy, pushed back the thoughts of the the vicious murders of my parents. They wouldn't want to see me suffer. What had happened was past, was over. I had to move on, had to survive.
For them.
I moved up in the ranks much more quickly than most of the new recruits, making me look like a damned brown-noser. I got to be a high-ranking official in the Rocket League, within only two years of my induction. Most people were jealous of me, I know, but I couldn't help it. I didn't understand why I was being promoted so quickly.
One day I was called into Giovanni's office. I didn't know what he wanted with me, unless I was being promoted *again*, which was more than a little embarrassing. I had surpassed any friends I'd made in the lower ranks, only to earn their disgust and disrespect.
I saluted Giovanni as I stepped into his spacious office in Viridian City, then stood at attention.
"Electra, I called you here for a very important reason. You're not going to like what you hear next, but it is for your own good."
Oh God, I thought to myself. What could it possibly be?
"Electra, you knew Ranger Jenny and her husband as your parents, however, you were easily misled because no one wanted you to suffer anymore than necessary. Jenny and her husband were, in fact, not your real parents at all, but your blood relatives, an aunt and uncle."
Slowly my serious facade weakened, my posture started to loosen up. "Sir?"
"You were adopted by them, because your real parents did not know how to take care of children. Your real mother died a few years ago from a bout with cancer. And your father -"
"I do not wish to hear any more, Sir."
Giovanni held up his hand. "Rocket, you were not ordered to argue with me. Your real father, the one that dumped you in foster care as a baby - is me."
The world spun, that's the only way I can describe my fainting spell. The world went completely black as I tried to repeat, "My father?"
I awoke hours and hours later back in my bed in the quarters I shared with Jessie. She and her teammate, James, had recently been premoted to my level. James was putting a cold compress on my forehead as I opened my eyes again.
"Why is it everytime I enter Giovanni's office, you're there, looking worse than when you came in?" James asked with a smile.
I only burst into tears at James' words.
"Electra, I'm kidding! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" James tried to calm me down. Jessie would have his head if she found out that he'd upset me.
"He said - he said -" I gasped. I couldn't stop sobbing then. James helped me sit up and I held onto him and sobbed into his shoulder while he tried to soothe me. We must have held each other for an hour, maybe more. When I finally pulled away, I said, "Thank you, James."
"No problem. Jessie will be back soon, with something to eat."
I swung my legs over the side of the lower bunk bed I was laying on. "No, I have to go. I have to get out of here now."
James looked at me, bemused. "Go? You mean leave Team Rocket?"
I nodded and pushed myself off the bed. "I don't belong here, I never did." James nor Jessie never heard about my past, and I didn't want to get into right now. "I - have to go, before Giovanni finds out. I'll slip out before the guards catch me -"
"Electra, that's nuts! You'll be killed for abandoning Team Rocket! Even if you do get away from the compound, they'll track you down and kill you."
"I don't care!" I yelled and grabbed onto a chair for support. "I don't care if I die tonight, tomorrow, or the next day, it's all the same! Nothing matters anymore! Please James, you're friends with the guards at the front towers, please you have to tell them they saw nothing! I don't care if I die, but I can't stay here!"
James hushed me, afraid someone in the hallway had overheard, then he turned to me. "All right, I'll do my best, but I can't give you any promises. Pack only the neccessities, then wait for Jessie to come get you."
I nodded. "Thank you, James."
It dawned on me while I was grabbing my stuff, that while I didn't want to believe I was Giovanni's daughter, it seemed to all fit into place. The high level positions, the easiest missions...
*That's the stupidest explanation*, I thought angrily. I worked hard, only because they threatened to kill me, too.
But if I hated them so much, and they wanted to do away with me so badly, why didn't they just kill me and dump my body somewhere...I'd seen it been done in the two years I'd been here...
Unless I really was his daughter....I stopped going to through my underwear drawer for a moment. Why would he suddenly want me back now though, two years after I'd been here, why wouldn't he want me at all? He dumped me in a foster care unit, and my only salvation came in the form of my beloved parents, now known as my aunt and uncle.
I knew the murders were coincidental; far from accidental though. What were Giovanni's plans for me now, if I stayed? Become a Rocket, turn into power hungry madman who cared nothing about the value of others lives?
I shut my drawer, then stuffed the last sweater into my suitcase, as Jessie snuck in.
"Electra!" Jessie hissed. "Come on, James has a van waiting for you. We're getting you out of here."
James must have met Jessie on the way out and given her a truncated version of the plan. I grabbed my case and both of us ran out the door.
* * * *
The guards at the front gate of the compound stopped the Rocket truck as we were about to leave.
"What's the mission, soldiers?"
"No mission." James, who was driving, shook his head. "One of the recruits is violently ill, and none of the doctors here knows what's wrong, we've got to get her to a hospital. Giovanni's orders.
The guard peered in. I was in the middle, huddled next to Jessie, my face hidden from view. "I think I'm going to be sick." I mumbled, playing the role of a dying woman.
"Please, let us go. Giovanni's angry enough with us already." Jessie pleaded.
The guard nodded, and pushed the button to open the gate.
As soon as we were past the compound's entrance, and on the highway, I allowed myself to let go of the breath I was holding, and began to sob. Jessie held me and James grabbed my hand.
But even with their comforting words, their ideas of what a great future I would have now, I could swear I could hear Giovanni's menacing voice, his laughter ringing in my ears as we drove farther and farther away from the compound.
End Chapter 2
By Arina Ketchum
Author notes: Based on a character created by my friend Electra. You don't really need to read her fanfics in order to enjoy this story, but you do get a different perspective when you do read them. :) This is my interpretation of Ele's fanfics, with no nudging from her at all. This is completely my doing. :) Many thanks to Electra for allowing the use of her wonderful character.
This fanfic is rated 'R' for language and certain topics broached. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
* * * *
"Team Rocket's 'rocking at the speed of light!
Have you surrendered or are you willing to fight?
Die! That's right!"
Two years had passed since my parents murder. Under threat of death, I joined Team Rocket, even though I never wanted anything to do with them. They were my parent's murderers, and here I was, this child, with nowhere else to go, helping them capture Pokemon for Giovanni.
And before you ask, yes, I would have rather been dead at that point. But something, I'm not sure what, with every day that dawned, told me to get up, get through this day, and then go back to bed, only to face another one just like it the next day. Somehow, I managed not to drive myself crazy, pushed back the thoughts of the the vicious murders of my parents. They wouldn't want to see me suffer. What had happened was past, was over. I had to move on, had to survive.
For them.
I moved up in the ranks much more quickly than most of the new recruits, making me look like a damned brown-noser. I got to be a high-ranking official in the Rocket League, within only two years of my induction. Most people were jealous of me, I know, but I couldn't help it. I didn't understand why I was being promoted so quickly.
One day I was called into Giovanni's office. I didn't know what he wanted with me, unless I was being promoted *again*, which was more than a little embarrassing. I had surpassed any friends I'd made in the lower ranks, only to earn their disgust and disrespect.
I saluted Giovanni as I stepped into his spacious office in Viridian City, then stood at attention.
"Electra, I called you here for a very important reason. You're not going to like what you hear next, but it is for your own good."
Oh God, I thought to myself. What could it possibly be?
"Electra, you knew Ranger Jenny and her husband as your parents, however, you were easily misled because no one wanted you to suffer anymore than necessary. Jenny and her husband were, in fact, not your real parents at all, but your blood relatives, an aunt and uncle."
Slowly my serious facade weakened, my posture started to loosen up. "Sir?"
"You were adopted by them, because your real parents did not know how to take care of children. Your real mother died a few years ago from a bout with cancer. And your father -"
"I do not wish to hear any more, Sir."
Giovanni held up his hand. "Rocket, you were not ordered to argue with me. Your real father, the one that dumped you in foster care as a baby - is me."
The world spun, that's the only way I can describe my fainting spell. The world went completely black as I tried to repeat, "My father?"
I awoke hours and hours later back in my bed in the quarters I shared with Jessie. She and her teammate, James, had recently been premoted to my level. James was putting a cold compress on my forehead as I opened my eyes again.
"Why is it everytime I enter Giovanni's office, you're there, looking worse than when you came in?" James asked with a smile.
I only burst into tears at James' words.
"Electra, I'm kidding! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" James tried to calm me down. Jessie would have his head if she found out that he'd upset me.
"He said - he said -" I gasped. I couldn't stop sobbing then. James helped me sit up and I held onto him and sobbed into his shoulder while he tried to soothe me. We must have held each other for an hour, maybe more. When I finally pulled away, I said, "Thank you, James."
"No problem. Jessie will be back soon, with something to eat."
I swung my legs over the side of the lower bunk bed I was laying on. "No, I have to go. I have to get out of here now."
James looked at me, bemused. "Go? You mean leave Team Rocket?"
I nodded and pushed myself off the bed. "I don't belong here, I never did." James nor Jessie never heard about my past, and I didn't want to get into right now. "I - have to go, before Giovanni finds out. I'll slip out before the guards catch me -"
"Electra, that's nuts! You'll be killed for abandoning Team Rocket! Even if you do get away from the compound, they'll track you down and kill you."
"I don't care!" I yelled and grabbed onto a chair for support. "I don't care if I die tonight, tomorrow, or the next day, it's all the same! Nothing matters anymore! Please James, you're friends with the guards at the front towers, please you have to tell them they saw nothing! I don't care if I die, but I can't stay here!"
James hushed me, afraid someone in the hallway had overheard, then he turned to me. "All right, I'll do my best, but I can't give you any promises. Pack only the neccessities, then wait for Jessie to come get you."
I nodded. "Thank you, James."
It dawned on me while I was grabbing my stuff, that while I didn't want to believe I was Giovanni's daughter, it seemed to all fit into place. The high level positions, the easiest missions...
*That's the stupidest explanation*, I thought angrily. I worked hard, only because they threatened to kill me, too.
But if I hated them so much, and they wanted to do away with me so badly, why didn't they just kill me and dump my body somewhere...I'd seen it been done in the two years I'd been here...
Unless I really was his daughter....I stopped going to through my underwear drawer for a moment. Why would he suddenly want me back now though, two years after I'd been here, why wouldn't he want me at all? He dumped me in a foster care unit, and my only salvation came in the form of my beloved parents, now known as my aunt and uncle.
I knew the murders were coincidental; far from accidental though. What were Giovanni's plans for me now, if I stayed? Become a Rocket, turn into power hungry madman who cared nothing about the value of others lives?
I shut my drawer, then stuffed the last sweater into my suitcase, as Jessie snuck in.
"Electra!" Jessie hissed. "Come on, James has a van waiting for you. We're getting you out of here."
James must have met Jessie on the way out and given her a truncated version of the plan. I grabbed my case and both of us ran out the door.
* * * *
The guards at the front gate of the compound stopped the Rocket truck as we were about to leave.
"What's the mission, soldiers?"
"No mission." James, who was driving, shook his head. "One of the recruits is violently ill, and none of the doctors here knows what's wrong, we've got to get her to a hospital. Giovanni's orders.
The guard peered in. I was in the middle, huddled next to Jessie, my face hidden from view. "I think I'm going to be sick." I mumbled, playing the role of a dying woman.
"Please, let us go. Giovanni's angry enough with us already." Jessie pleaded.
The guard nodded, and pushed the button to open the gate.
As soon as we were past the compound's entrance, and on the highway, I allowed myself to let go of the breath I was holding, and began to sob. Jessie held me and James grabbed my hand.
But even with their comforting words, their ideas of what a great future I would have now, I could swear I could hear Giovanni's menacing voice, his laughter ringing in my ears as we drove farther and farther away from the compound.
End Chapter 2