Pokémon - The Final Journey in Fenyuu
Chapter 39: The True Black Rocket Nightmare
With his recent victory, and his recent Pokémon evolution, Matt decided to take a break. Much to his and Lizzie's surprise, there was a large hotel in the latter parts of the Silver Quadrant. Wondering if it was placed there to attract tourists or not, Matt checked the guide book and realized that there would not be a Pokémon Center for miles around. They decided to check in, although it costed a fair bit amount of money. They had acquired a room on the fifteenth floor, which was to Matt and Lizzie's delight, for now they could witness more of the Fenyuu League in a high view.
In their cozy, two bedded bedroom, Lizzie picked up her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. "I think we'll need some more accessories. I'm starting to run low on Potions and Greatballs."
"Take all the time you need," Matt replied, polishing a Pokébell. "I won't be going anywhere today."
"All right then. I guess I'll see you later." With that, Lizzie left the hotel room, closing the door on her way out.
Matt put the Pokéball down and noticed that there was a remote control sitting near a lamp on top of a dresser between the two beds. He looked and noticed a television set on the other side. "Wow. It's been a long while since I've watched TV. Let's see what's on."
Putting down the Pokéball, he managed to get himself comfortable on top of his bed and switched it on, with the first thing appearing being a news channel.
"...With a slight chance of rain to follow then. That's it for the long range forcast; now we will go back to you, Alex."
"Thank you, Robyn," the news anchor said, as he shuffled through a series of papers. "The Black Rocket terror has been going on for at least six weeks now, and there seems to be more sightings of Black Rocket infested territory appearing more every day."
Six weeks? thought Matt. Has it really been that long? He sat up, and pulled himself towards the foot of his bed, and sat straight with his feet touching the floor, staring attentively into the television set.
"Black Rocket has been spreading out through most of the Terrust region, where the illustrious Fenyuu Pokémon League resides."
"So it is true," Matt commented.
"Security has been building up, and until things settle down, no trainer or visitor will be permitted to either enter or leave this league."
"What?!" Matt jumped up, allowing the remote to fall on the floor. "Now Rachel won't be able to get in!" He stopped to think a little bit. "Oh geez, Now my mom's going to get worried. This is just brutal." He sat back down and listened to more news.
"We have a journalist researching this incident, and we'll learn more as we turn to Bob Walker. Robert?"
"Yes, Alex, the security here at the entrance to the Fenyuu League has become very anxious, and quite unsteady. There are now security cameras surrounding the perimeter of this building, and will soon be installed in every gym of all four quadrants of this league."
"That's a lot of cameras," Matt commented.
"We do have some footage of Black Rocket from this tape that was handed to us just recently. It dates back to last night around 9:27pm. A young man and his Squirtle were battling a stout man wearing a black and silver uniform. Suddenly, the man disappeared, and there has been security surrounding this gym ever since."
Matt picked up the remote and turned off the television set, not wanting to watch anymore. "I just don't get it. I feel like wherever I go, Team Rocket is following me. Well, Team Rocket is pretty much down, but it's Black Rocket." He looked out the window and witnessed what he felt was a fine view. Forests, rivers, plains extending as far as he could see. "They always seem to be finding me. It's almost as if they're tracking me, or something."
From the corner of his eye, he noticed a girl who looked like Lizzie, wearing a backpack walking towards the forest. Looking closer, he realized that it was Lizzie. He was confused, because there was neither a mart, nor any building.
"Hey, that's not the way to the mart. Where is she going?" He kept a close eye on her as she walked further into the forest. "Oh, maybe she's going to catch Pokémon." He quickly changed his thought. "No, that can't be. There's no way she could've already been at the mart. She even said herself she's out of Greatballs."
He heard a muffled rumble and saw some dust fly from the forest. "Is there a gym out that way? It has to be underground or something. Wait a minute, I didn't even see a gym in the guide book when I was looking earlier."
Matt walked over to his bed and picked up a magazine. He tried to read it, but was constantly distracted by what he saw. "Lizzie."
* * *
"Hey, I'm back!" Lizzie smiled, putting her backpack on the floor near her bed.
"Hey!" Matt responded, putting down the magazine. He then looked at the clock. "Wow, you certainly took a while."
"Yeah, sorry about that. There was a big line-up, and I had to wait at least ten minutes to finally pay for everything."
That's a lie, Matt thought to himself. "That's too bad," he said. "Anyway, where do you want to eat tonight?"
"Tonight? Oh, um...I was thinking we could eat now. I'm starting to get hungry."
"Really?" Matt replied. "We only had lunch just a little while ago."
"Yeah, but I only had a salad."
"Along with a soup and a gigantic sub. I don't want you to over-eat or anything."
"I must have a fast metabolism today."
"Lizzie, what's going on? You're not really hungry at all, are you? Are you in a rush to do something this evening?" Matt couldn't take it anymore, he had the urge to ask her.
"What? Oh no, of course not. Well, sort of. I'm really eager to get back out there and catch some more Pokémon!"
Matt blinked, staring directly into Lizzie. If she had been hiding something from him the entire time, she certainly seemed more nervous now than she ever had, Matt figured. It was almost as if she was eager to leave. "Lizzie, this isn't like you at all. What's wrong?"
"Nothing! I'm fine, okay?!"
"All right, all right, I'm sorry I asked." Matt picked up the magazine and started reading again. What a little liar, Matt thought to himself. But suddenly he had an idea.
"You know what? I think you're right. We shouldn't be relaxing the entire time," Matt smiled.
"Huh?"
"Actually, I've been sitting around all day. I think I'll go out and find some trainers." Matt put down the magazine, and started placing some Antidotes and Potions into his backpack.
"That's fine," Lizzie replied, taking items out of her backpack. "Oh! Wait!"
Matt stopped at the door. "What?"
"Some trainer told me that the forest just outside that way is out of bounds. I tried to get in earlier, but there's a sign in there saying that nobody's allowed."
Suddenly Matt felt relieved. "All right then. That's no problem." Afterwards, he closed the door, locking it behind him.
As soon as Matt left the hotel, three trainers already challenged him. He reluctantly turned them down, but promised them that when he returned that they could challenge him then.
Matt walked exactly where Lizzie entered the forest and looked up into the window where his room was. Surprisingly, he saw that the curtains in the room had been drawn closed. This meant that he could enter without being seen. "If she really was hiding something, she would be watching me right now."
As he walked inside the entrance of the forest, he saw a large barb-wired fence that seemed to run long for miles. 'Keep out', the sign said. Matt sighed in relief. "Good, she was just curious then." He turned around to leave, but then stopped. "Wait, where did that big dust cloud come from, then? It's from the other side of the fence."
Matt approached the fence, then noticed something strange about the barbed wire. "It's giving off a reflection." He approached it and touched it slowly, with his finger able to slide along it without doing harm. "This one's fake." He pulled it gently as suddenly part of the fence began to open up.
"It's a gate. How clever." He opened it widely and moved to the other side, closing it behind him. Matt then took a deep breath, then began walking.
As he continued, he noticed a square of grass that was somewhat brighter than the rest of it. "You couldn't notice until you got as close as this." He noticed a small, thin chain appearing from it. "I knew it." He picked it up and pulled, the square of grass was a lid that revealed stairs.
"Is this where she went? How could she have known about this place?" Matt turned around. "How could she lie to me? What is she hiding?" He threw the lid backward as it landed with a mellow thud, followed by some dust rising into the air.
Matt could only see the first few steps as the lack of lighting made it impossible to see the bottom from where he was standing. After taking in a deep breath, he moved forward, slowly one step at a time. As he continued to climb the stairs, he heard the dripping of water, along with his eyesight beginning to fade due to the darkness that now surrounded him.
He stopped for a brief moment to let his eyes adjust to the poor lighting, then took the final few steps to the bottom. As he looked ahead, there was a steel door that was shut, along with a lit keypad to the right of it, with a slot.
Matt approached the keypad and examined it. "It's locked by password," he quietly said, with some echo afterward. "I wonder if she got inside." As he turned around, he heard a strange sound as his left foot landed on something flat, yet solid. As he bent over to pick it up, he held it up to the light from the entrance. "A keycard...?"
Matt turned around and noticed the slot next to the keypad. "What happens if I do this...?" After swiping the card, he heard a few strange noises, followed by a loud clank. The steel door then slid upwards, revealing a hallway.
Matt gulped as he began to walk down the long hallway. At the long end, there was another keypad and slot as Matt slid the keycard across that as well.
"Verifying code...complete. Please enter, Miss X," a computerized voice said, as another door slid to the side, as Matt cautiously entered through the door.
"Back so soon Miss--" a voice spoke, yet interrupted itself as a tall, bald yet well-dressed man stared directly at Matt. "Who the hell are you?"
Matt looked straight back at the man, but couldn't say anything.
"How in blazes could you have gotten in? Guards!"
In a move of desperation, Matt pulled out a spare smoke bomb he found from his pocket and tossed it to the ground as the room began to fill up with gray smoke, and the scent of carbon dioxide. Blindly, Matt began to run, unsure where to go, what to do, or where he is.
"After him! Somebody sound the alert!"
A siren sounded shortly after along with a loud, clear voice. "Attention all personel: an intruder has entered the Black Rocket core through the G-58 entrance. Arm yourselves and take him down! I repeat, arm yourselves and take him down at once!"
Matt cursed under his breath as the smoke bomb began to clear around him. Oh hell, what have I gotten myself into? he asked himself. He continued running until he found an elevator. He started pressing buttons hoping the door would open. "Come on, come on!"
"That's as far as you go," the tall man replied. "Surround him."
Other soldiers armed with machine guns appeared at the entrance of each hallway, all of them surrounding Matt.
The tall man approached Matt and looked at him straight in the eye. "How did you get here, kid?"
Matt put a stern look across his face. "That is none of your concern. Who do you people think you are anyway?"
"Hey, it's him!" a voice cried out. As Matt looked, he noticed it was the fake gym leader he had seen recently. He noticed that both of them looked somewhat alike, despite the fact that they were both bald. Matt guessed that they were related. "That's the kid that beat me in the gym! You can't let him get away!"
Matt clenched a fist.
"I'll only say this once more: how did you get here?"
"And I'll only tell YOU once more: mind your own damn business!"
"You don't seem to understand, kid. Look around you. On my command, these men will launch bullets right into you. You don't want that to happen, do you?" He stared straight into Matt's eyes, then turned around. "I won't ask you again."
Matt's face slowly fell, as he pulled out the card from his pocket. "This."
The tall man walked over and picked up the keycard that was in Matt's hand. He examined it. "How did you get this?"
"I found it."
"Where?"
"I don't have to answer you."
"I've had just about enough of this stubborn brat. Somebody take him to the cell. I'll think of what to do with him afterwards."
* * *
Matt sat around in his jail cell for the remainder of the afternoon, and late into the evening. He looked out the window and saw that the sky was beginning to become surrounded with thick, gray clouds. He sighed and looked back down towards the tiled floor. Unlike the Silph Co. prison, the jail cell was well lit and well kept; almost as if it was the only one in the room.
"I'm sick of being thrown into these stupid prisons," he commented. "It makes me wonder even more what Lizzie was doing back here. Unless it wasn't her that came here. It better not have been her."
He suddenly realized he had his Pokémon with him. "Hey, they didn't take them from me." He looked around, searching for security cameras. He found none. "If I release Onix, I could make a break for it."
"You'll do no such thing," a familiar voice sounded. She walked over to Matt's cell.
"Lizzie!" He jumped up, and noticed that she was now fully clothed in black. Perhaps she stole it and used it as a disguise, Matt said to himself. "How did you get in?"
She didn't respond.
"It doesn't matter. Help me break out of here."
She still didn't respond.
"Well?"
She shut her eyes and clenched a fist. "You stupid...stupid jerk."
"What?"
"I hate you! If only you weren't watching me come here in the first place, I would have never had to reveal this to you!"
"What in God's name are you talking about?"
"Oh, don't act so stupid; you had to have seen me come down here. I mean why else would you have explored it in the first place?"
"I don't understand, Lizzie. How in blazes could you get into this place anyway? And why would you want to? This is a Black Rocket hideout!"
"Of course it is, you moron!"
"So what are you saying? Why would you want to break here in the first--"
"Because I AM part of Black Rocket, you idiot!"
Matt became silent. He was somewhat shocked, but yet not. Why didn't he feel so surprised? He then recalled some vague memory that he had seen something like this before. He shook his head, refusing to believe what Lizzie was saying. "No...that's impossible. There is no way."
"There's no more denying it, Matt. I am Miss X. I've been spying on you since the day our eyes met."
Matt continued shaking his head. "No, that's just not true at all. You were a new Pokémon trainer just like I was. We gave each other gifts, told each other stories, and yet you say you were spying on me all along? I don't believe it."
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to accept the truth."
"Damn it, Lizzie! You must have been brainwashed or something, because I won't believe you for an instant that you were a Black Rocket spy all along!"
"If I tell you my story, then will you believe me?"
"What story?! How can there be a story behind this, what's going on makes absolutely no sense!"
"It wasn't you I was sent to spy on," Lizzie began. "It was supposed to be a middle-aged man who worked at Silph Co.," she continued.
"I was disguised as a Pokémon trainer to actually find this man, then kidnap him at the last second, for he was the executive vice president of the company, and we were to use his money to help launch Black Rocket.
"However, some goons from that pathetic Team Rocket appeared, and had stolen my Vulpix. I was very upset, since that Pokémon was a gift from my mother. I couldn't have been happier when I had gotten it back. Seeing you gave me a change of plan. I thought that by joining you I would be able to travel unexpectedly. It worked, until now.
"I never did manage to kidnap that man, and I never had the desire to do it afterwards. I just...wanted to be with you."
"This still doesn't explain anything to me," Matt replied. "How did you join this organization in the first place?"
Lizzie sighed. "Do you want to know the reason...?"
Matt nodded.
She sighed again. "Very well. I never told you this, and I had good reason not to, but late one night only a few months before I met you, my mom was late coming home one night. She called home and told me that her and my dad would be home soon. A half hour later, there was a knock at the door. A tall, bald man with eyes as cold as ice told me my parents had just been killed in a car accident. I couldn't believe it. Where was I to go? What was I to do?"
"But wait, Lizzie," Matt interrupted. "When I called you from my house that one time, I was sure your mom answered the phone."
"No, it was actually me using a voice filter. I remember I had kept speaking to you about my parents, and you may have found it strange that I didn't answer it."
"Actually, it made me a little bit suspicious. She actually sounded like you a little bit, but I thought it was because of genes. Regardless, keep going."
"That man decided to take me in. He sheltered me for the next few months, and said that if I ever needed some extra money I could take a part-time job at his company. I never knew what it was about, since I was mostly delivering Pokémon and accesories to the other small companies that are connected. I hadn't realized until recently what this company really was. It was a dark, secret evil organization called Black Rocket.
"I caught that man one night torturing a poor child, for reasons that I may never know, and I saw everything that happened. He was hitting it and yelling at it, and I decided to stop him. He told me to mind my own business as the child ran off, and said that if I ever told anybody what I just saw, he would kill me. He didn't want his reputation around the neighbourhood ruined, plus he didn't want to face charges. I didn't have a choice but to do as he said, because now I was being blackmailed. I had to do everything he asked, everything he said, and my first assignment was kidnapping that Silph Co. worker."
"So what made you come with me?"
"I know I said it was to lower suspicion, but that's only the half-truth. The truth is that I was scared, so scared that I intentionally aborted the mission, and stayed with you, for protection of my life. I've used you, Matt. Danger only followed us everywhere because I was with you."
"Team Rocket followed us around, never Black Rocket. And I still don't know why you came back here, if you didn't want to get caught."
She sighed. "I came to do a report; I lied to that man saying that I was still on the case for kidnapping that Silph Co. VP, but really I thought I had the courage enough to say that I quit. I'm not strong enough to actually stand up to him. I thought I could keep avoiding him for as long as I lived, but since you stepped in to see what I was doing, now I've put your life in danger as well."
"I don't care, Lizzie," Matt said. "I understand your reasons, and now I respect you more for telling the truth."
"Truth? I've lied to you! I've been secretly part of this organization all along, allowing Team Rocket to constantly find us! You always blamed yourself when they found us; even though it wasn't the truth! Don't you realize why I couldn't bare to have you give yourself up to them that one time? It was ironically me that was putting us in more danger!"
"Whatever. The fact of the matter is now we can do something about it. Get us out."
"How can you be so calm?! Look at me! Look at how miserable I've been making your life!" Lizzie wiped away a tear. "How come you're not furious with me?! You should be resisting the urge to kill me, like you did with Arrmun!"
"I can't explain why I'm so calm right now," Matt replied, then took in a deep breath. "The feeling is...is so strange." He walked around in his cell, trying to find a way to put his thoughts into words. "Somehow, it's...it's almost as if I knew all along. But, right now, my head is spinning; all of this has happened so fast.
"It's a lot to take in at once, isn't it?" Lizzie replied. "Particularly since you didn't even suspect anything until recently. I should have been more careful; I should never have come back, at least not yet. I should have done it when you weren't watching. That way, you wouldn't have had to worry about me, and we could have continued our journey."
"Why didn't you want me to know something like this?" Matt asked. "Is it because you didn't trust me, or because you didn't want me to worry?"
"No, Matt, it's because I did trust you that I never told you. You wouldn't have believed me anyway. If I was going to tell you anything, it would have been the day that we met." She wiped away another tear. "I mean, I wanted to tell you, it burned me and it killed me never to let you know, but the longer I waited, the more inappropriate and difficult it seemed. I mean, how would it have felt if I just approached you and said, 'I've been spying on you all along' without you even suspecting me, or without my doing anything in order to have you suspect me? It wouldn't have made much sense, would it? You would have thought I was telling some sort of cruel joke."
"I understand." Matt then approached Lizzie. "Lizzie, please, open the bars. We'll have to escape. If all it'll take is to approach this man and tell to his face that you don't belong to him anymore, then--"
"No, Matt, you don't understand, I need that man." She sighed. "He gives me money, shelter, and--"
"Terror, torture and blackmail. That doesn't sound like the type of life you should be living. I can take care of you, you know I can!"
Lizzie turned around, her back facing Matt, continuing to wipe away tears.
"Lizzie, this is your last chance to stand up to that man. Sure, we can escape, and run away from this, but it'll be just like it was with Team Rocket. We'd have to watch our backs constantly, never knowing when they'll strike."
"That's all we can do."
"But by running away from him, he's only going to put our lives in even more danger."
"Who's going to be running away, now?" a deep voice spoke, suddenly jumping down from the ceiling. "Well, well, well. We've been tracking you for a while, but we found it most peculiar on our radars when suddenly you managed to vanish while approaching a spot of grass. We've been searching for this place for a while, and all along, it was literally right under our noses."
"Arrmun!" Matt cried out.
"We've got everything we need on this guy to shut us down, but our only problem was finding this place, and I definitely have to thank you kids for helping us out. But by the look on your faces, you didn't come here intentionally."
"See? I told you!" Matt smiled, with Lizzie's face also grinning. She took out a key, and unlocked Matt's cell, swinging the steel door wide open.
Arrmun pulled out a communicator. "This is Agent F; I'm inside the jail facility, and I'm rescuing these two kids, over."
"I copy, Agent Falcon; we have all entrances surrounded and we are prepared to attack. Use the emergency exit by going South, then Southwest, over."
"Understood, over and out," Arrmun turned off the communicator and reattached it to his belt.
"Lizzie, you're free!" Matt replied, with the biggest smile he has ever given anyone.
TO BE CONTINUED.
Chapter 39: The True Black Rocket Nightmare
With his recent victory, and his recent Pokémon evolution, Matt decided to take a break. Much to his and Lizzie's surprise, there was a large hotel in the latter parts of the Silver Quadrant. Wondering if it was placed there to attract tourists or not, Matt checked the guide book and realized that there would not be a Pokémon Center for miles around. They decided to check in, although it costed a fair bit amount of money. They had acquired a room on the fifteenth floor, which was to Matt and Lizzie's delight, for now they could witness more of the Fenyuu League in a high view.
In their cozy, two bedded bedroom, Lizzie picked up her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. "I think we'll need some more accessories. I'm starting to run low on Potions and Greatballs."
"Take all the time you need," Matt replied, polishing a Pokébell. "I won't be going anywhere today."
"All right then. I guess I'll see you later." With that, Lizzie left the hotel room, closing the door on her way out.
Matt put the Pokéball down and noticed that there was a remote control sitting near a lamp on top of a dresser between the two beds. He looked and noticed a television set on the other side. "Wow. It's been a long while since I've watched TV. Let's see what's on."
Putting down the Pokéball, he managed to get himself comfortable on top of his bed and switched it on, with the first thing appearing being a news channel.
"...With a slight chance of rain to follow then. That's it for the long range forcast; now we will go back to you, Alex."
"Thank you, Robyn," the news anchor said, as he shuffled through a series of papers. "The Black Rocket terror has been going on for at least six weeks now, and there seems to be more sightings of Black Rocket infested territory appearing more every day."
Six weeks? thought Matt. Has it really been that long? He sat up, and pulled himself towards the foot of his bed, and sat straight with his feet touching the floor, staring attentively into the television set.
"Black Rocket has been spreading out through most of the Terrust region, where the illustrious Fenyuu Pokémon League resides."
"So it is true," Matt commented.
"Security has been building up, and until things settle down, no trainer or visitor will be permitted to either enter or leave this league."
"What?!" Matt jumped up, allowing the remote to fall on the floor. "Now Rachel won't be able to get in!" He stopped to think a little bit. "Oh geez, Now my mom's going to get worried. This is just brutal." He sat back down and listened to more news.
"We have a journalist researching this incident, and we'll learn more as we turn to Bob Walker. Robert?"
"Yes, Alex, the security here at the entrance to the Fenyuu League has become very anxious, and quite unsteady. There are now security cameras surrounding the perimeter of this building, and will soon be installed in every gym of all four quadrants of this league."
"That's a lot of cameras," Matt commented.
"We do have some footage of Black Rocket from this tape that was handed to us just recently. It dates back to last night around 9:27pm. A young man and his Squirtle were battling a stout man wearing a black and silver uniform. Suddenly, the man disappeared, and there has been security surrounding this gym ever since."
Matt picked up the remote and turned off the television set, not wanting to watch anymore. "I just don't get it. I feel like wherever I go, Team Rocket is following me. Well, Team Rocket is pretty much down, but it's Black Rocket." He looked out the window and witnessed what he felt was a fine view. Forests, rivers, plains extending as far as he could see. "They always seem to be finding me. It's almost as if they're tracking me, or something."
From the corner of his eye, he noticed a girl who looked like Lizzie, wearing a backpack walking towards the forest. Looking closer, he realized that it was Lizzie. He was confused, because there was neither a mart, nor any building.
"Hey, that's not the way to the mart. Where is she going?" He kept a close eye on her as she walked further into the forest. "Oh, maybe she's going to catch Pokémon." He quickly changed his thought. "No, that can't be. There's no way she could've already been at the mart. She even said herself she's out of Greatballs."
He heard a muffled rumble and saw some dust fly from the forest. "Is there a gym out that way? It has to be underground or something. Wait a minute, I didn't even see a gym in the guide book when I was looking earlier."
Matt walked over to his bed and picked up a magazine. He tried to read it, but was constantly distracted by what he saw. "Lizzie."
* * *
"Hey, I'm back!" Lizzie smiled, putting her backpack on the floor near her bed.
"Hey!" Matt responded, putting down the magazine. He then looked at the clock. "Wow, you certainly took a while."
"Yeah, sorry about that. There was a big line-up, and I had to wait at least ten minutes to finally pay for everything."
That's a lie, Matt thought to himself. "That's too bad," he said. "Anyway, where do you want to eat tonight?"
"Tonight? Oh, um...I was thinking we could eat now. I'm starting to get hungry."
"Really?" Matt replied. "We only had lunch just a little while ago."
"Yeah, but I only had a salad."
"Along with a soup and a gigantic sub. I don't want you to over-eat or anything."
"I must have a fast metabolism today."
"Lizzie, what's going on? You're not really hungry at all, are you? Are you in a rush to do something this evening?" Matt couldn't take it anymore, he had the urge to ask her.
"What? Oh no, of course not. Well, sort of. I'm really eager to get back out there and catch some more Pokémon!"
Matt blinked, staring directly into Lizzie. If she had been hiding something from him the entire time, she certainly seemed more nervous now than she ever had, Matt figured. It was almost as if she was eager to leave. "Lizzie, this isn't like you at all. What's wrong?"
"Nothing! I'm fine, okay?!"
"All right, all right, I'm sorry I asked." Matt picked up the magazine and started reading again. What a little liar, Matt thought to himself. But suddenly he had an idea.
"You know what? I think you're right. We shouldn't be relaxing the entire time," Matt smiled.
"Huh?"
"Actually, I've been sitting around all day. I think I'll go out and find some trainers." Matt put down the magazine, and started placing some Antidotes and Potions into his backpack.
"That's fine," Lizzie replied, taking items out of her backpack. "Oh! Wait!"
Matt stopped at the door. "What?"
"Some trainer told me that the forest just outside that way is out of bounds. I tried to get in earlier, but there's a sign in there saying that nobody's allowed."
Suddenly Matt felt relieved. "All right then. That's no problem." Afterwards, he closed the door, locking it behind him.
As soon as Matt left the hotel, three trainers already challenged him. He reluctantly turned them down, but promised them that when he returned that they could challenge him then.
Matt walked exactly where Lizzie entered the forest and looked up into the window where his room was. Surprisingly, he saw that the curtains in the room had been drawn closed. This meant that he could enter without being seen. "If she really was hiding something, she would be watching me right now."
As he walked inside the entrance of the forest, he saw a large barb-wired fence that seemed to run long for miles. 'Keep out', the sign said. Matt sighed in relief. "Good, she was just curious then." He turned around to leave, but then stopped. "Wait, where did that big dust cloud come from, then? It's from the other side of the fence."
Matt approached the fence, then noticed something strange about the barbed wire. "It's giving off a reflection." He approached it and touched it slowly, with his finger able to slide along it without doing harm. "This one's fake." He pulled it gently as suddenly part of the fence began to open up.
"It's a gate. How clever." He opened it widely and moved to the other side, closing it behind him. Matt then took a deep breath, then began walking.
As he continued, he noticed a square of grass that was somewhat brighter than the rest of it. "You couldn't notice until you got as close as this." He noticed a small, thin chain appearing from it. "I knew it." He picked it up and pulled, the square of grass was a lid that revealed stairs.
"Is this where she went? How could she have known about this place?" Matt turned around. "How could she lie to me? What is she hiding?" He threw the lid backward as it landed with a mellow thud, followed by some dust rising into the air.
Matt could only see the first few steps as the lack of lighting made it impossible to see the bottom from where he was standing. After taking in a deep breath, he moved forward, slowly one step at a time. As he continued to climb the stairs, he heard the dripping of water, along with his eyesight beginning to fade due to the darkness that now surrounded him.
He stopped for a brief moment to let his eyes adjust to the poor lighting, then took the final few steps to the bottom. As he looked ahead, there was a steel door that was shut, along with a lit keypad to the right of it, with a slot.
Matt approached the keypad and examined it. "It's locked by password," he quietly said, with some echo afterward. "I wonder if she got inside." As he turned around, he heard a strange sound as his left foot landed on something flat, yet solid. As he bent over to pick it up, he held it up to the light from the entrance. "A keycard...?"
Matt turned around and noticed the slot next to the keypad. "What happens if I do this...?" After swiping the card, he heard a few strange noises, followed by a loud clank. The steel door then slid upwards, revealing a hallway.
Matt gulped as he began to walk down the long hallway. At the long end, there was another keypad and slot as Matt slid the keycard across that as well.
"Verifying code...complete. Please enter, Miss X," a computerized voice said, as another door slid to the side, as Matt cautiously entered through the door.
"Back so soon Miss--" a voice spoke, yet interrupted itself as a tall, bald yet well-dressed man stared directly at Matt. "Who the hell are you?"
Matt looked straight back at the man, but couldn't say anything.
"How in blazes could you have gotten in? Guards!"
In a move of desperation, Matt pulled out a spare smoke bomb he found from his pocket and tossed it to the ground as the room began to fill up with gray smoke, and the scent of carbon dioxide. Blindly, Matt began to run, unsure where to go, what to do, or where he is.
"After him! Somebody sound the alert!"
A siren sounded shortly after along with a loud, clear voice. "Attention all personel: an intruder has entered the Black Rocket core through the G-58 entrance. Arm yourselves and take him down! I repeat, arm yourselves and take him down at once!"
Matt cursed under his breath as the smoke bomb began to clear around him. Oh hell, what have I gotten myself into? he asked himself. He continued running until he found an elevator. He started pressing buttons hoping the door would open. "Come on, come on!"
"That's as far as you go," the tall man replied. "Surround him."
Other soldiers armed with machine guns appeared at the entrance of each hallway, all of them surrounding Matt.
The tall man approached Matt and looked at him straight in the eye. "How did you get here, kid?"
Matt put a stern look across his face. "That is none of your concern. Who do you people think you are anyway?"
"Hey, it's him!" a voice cried out. As Matt looked, he noticed it was the fake gym leader he had seen recently. He noticed that both of them looked somewhat alike, despite the fact that they were both bald. Matt guessed that they were related. "That's the kid that beat me in the gym! You can't let him get away!"
Matt clenched a fist.
"I'll only say this once more: how did you get here?"
"And I'll only tell YOU once more: mind your own damn business!"
"You don't seem to understand, kid. Look around you. On my command, these men will launch bullets right into you. You don't want that to happen, do you?" He stared straight into Matt's eyes, then turned around. "I won't ask you again."
Matt's face slowly fell, as he pulled out the card from his pocket. "This."
The tall man walked over and picked up the keycard that was in Matt's hand. He examined it. "How did you get this?"
"I found it."
"Where?"
"I don't have to answer you."
"I've had just about enough of this stubborn brat. Somebody take him to the cell. I'll think of what to do with him afterwards."
* * *
Matt sat around in his jail cell for the remainder of the afternoon, and late into the evening. He looked out the window and saw that the sky was beginning to become surrounded with thick, gray clouds. He sighed and looked back down towards the tiled floor. Unlike the Silph Co. prison, the jail cell was well lit and well kept; almost as if it was the only one in the room.
"I'm sick of being thrown into these stupid prisons," he commented. "It makes me wonder even more what Lizzie was doing back here. Unless it wasn't her that came here. It better not have been her."
He suddenly realized he had his Pokémon with him. "Hey, they didn't take them from me." He looked around, searching for security cameras. He found none. "If I release Onix, I could make a break for it."
"You'll do no such thing," a familiar voice sounded. She walked over to Matt's cell.
"Lizzie!" He jumped up, and noticed that she was now fully clothed in black. Perhaps she stole it and used it as a disguise, Matt said to himself. "How did you get in?"
She didn't respond.
"It doesn't matter. Help me break out of here."
She still didn't respond.
"Well?"
She shut her eyes and clenched a fist. "You stupid...stupid jerk."
"What?"
"I hate you! If only you weren't watching me come here in the first place, I would have never had to reveal this to you!"
"What in God's name are you talking about?"
"Oh, don't act so stupid; you had to have seen me come down here. I mean why else would you have explored it in the first place?"
"I don't understand, Lizzie. How in blazes could you get into this place anyway? And why would you want to? This is a Black Rocket hideout!"
"Of course it is, you moron!"
"So what are you saying? Why would you want to break here in the first--"
"Because I AM part of Black Rocket, you idiot!"
Matt became silent. He was somewhat shocked, but yet not. Why didn't he feel so surprised? He then recalled some vague memory that he had seen something like this before. He shook his head, refusing to believe what Lizzie was saying. "No...that's impossible. There is no way."
"There's no more denying it, Matt. I am Miss X. I've been spying on you since the day our eyes met."
Matt continued shaking his head. "No, that's just not true at all. You were a new Pokémon trainer just like I was. We gave each other gifts, told each other stories, and yet you say you were spying on me all along? I don't believe it."
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to accept the truth."
"Damn it, Lizzie! You must have been brainwashed or something, because I won't believe you for an instant that you were a Black Rocket spy all along!"
"If I tell you my story, then will you believe me?"
"What story?! How can there be a story behind this, what's going on makes absolutely no sense!"
"It wasn't you I was sent to spy on," Lizzie began. "It was supposed to be a middle-aged man who worked at Silph Co.," she continued.
"I was disguised as a Pokémon trainer to actually find this man, then kidnap him at the last second, for he was the executive vice president of the company, and we were to use his money to help launch Black Rocket.
"However, some goons from that pathetic Team Rocket appeared, and had stolen my Vulpix. I was very upset, since that Pokémon was a gift from my mother. I couldn't have been happier when I had gotten it back. Seeing you gave me a change of plan. I thought that by joining you I would be able to travel unexpectedly. It worked, until now.
"I never did manage to kidnap that man, and I never had the desire to do it afterwards. I just...wanted to be with you."
"This still doesn't explain anything to me," Matt replied. "How did you join this organization in the first place?"
Lizzie sighed. "Do you want to know the reason...?"
Matt nodded.
She sighed again. "Very well. I never told you this, and I had good reason not to, but late one night only a few months before I met you, my mom was late coming home one night. She called home and told me that her and my dad would be home soon. A half hour later, there was a knock at the door. A tall, bald man with eyes as cold as ice told me my parents had just been killed in a car accident. I couldn't believe it. Where was I to go? What was I to do?"
"But wait, Lizzie," Matt interrupted. "When I called you from my house that one time, I was sure your mom answered the phone."
"No, it was actually me using a voice filter. I remember I had kept speaking to you about my parents, and you may have found it strange that I didn't answer it."
"Actually, it made me a little bit suspicious. She actually sounded like you a little bit, but I thought it was because of genes. Regardless, keep going."
"That man decided to take me in. He sheltered me for the next few months, and said that if I ever needed some extra money I could take a part-time job at his company. I never knew what it was about, since I was mostly delivering Pokémon and accesories to the other small companies that are connected. I hadn't realized until recently what this company really was. It was a dark, secret evil organization called Black Rocket.
"I caught that man one night torturing a poor child, for reasons that I may never know, and I saw everything that happened. He was hitting it and yelling at it, and I decided to stop him. He told me to mind my own business as the child ran off, and said that if I ever told anybody what I just saw, he would kill me. He didn't want his reputation around the neighbourhood ruined, plus he didn't want to face charges. I didn't have a choice but to do as he said, because now I was being blackmailed. I had to do everything he asked, everything he said, and my first assignment was kidnapping that Silph Co. worker."
"So what made you come with me?"
"I know I said it was to lower suspicion, but that's only the half-truth. The truth is that I was scared, so scared that I intentionally aborted the mission, and stayed with you, for protection of my life. I've used you, Matt. Danger only followed us everywhere because I was with you."
"Team Rocket followed us around, never Black Rocket. And I still don't know why you came back here, if you didn't want to get caught."
She sighed. "I came to do a report; I lied to that man saying that I was still on the case for kidnapping that Silph Co. VP, but really I thought I had the courage enough to say that I quit. I'm not strong enough to actually stand up to him. I thought I could keep avoiding him for as long as I lived, but since you stepped in to see what I was doing, now I've put your life in danger as well."
"I don't care, Lizzie," Matt said. "I understand your reasons, and now I respect you more for telling the truth."
"Truth? I've lied to you! I've been secretly part of this organization all along, allowing Team Rocket to constantly find us! You always blamed yourself when they found us; even though it wasn't the truth! Don't you realize why I couldn't bare to have you give yourself up to them that one time? It was ironically me that was putting us in more danger!"
"Whatever. The fact of the matter is now we can do something about it. Get us out."
"How can you be so calm?! Look at me! Look at how miserable I've been making your life!" Lizzie wiped away a tear. "How come you're not furious with me?! You should be resisting the urge to kill me, like you did with Arrmun!"
"I can't explain why I'm so calm right now," Matt replied, then took in a deep breath. "The feeling is...is so strange." He walked around in his cell, trying to find a way to put his thoughts into words. "Somehow, it's...it's almost as if I knew all along. But, right now, my head is spinning; all of this has happened so fast.
"It's a lot to take in at once, isn't it?" Lizzie replied. "Particularly since you didn't even suspect anything until recently. I should have been more careful; I should never have come back, at least not yet. I should have done it when you weren't watching. That way, you wouldn't have had to worry about me, and we could have continued our journey."
"Why didn't you want me to know something like this?" Matt asked. "Is it because you didn't trust me, or because you didn't want me to worry?"
"No, Matt, it's because I did trust you that I never told you. You wouldn't have believed me anyway. If I was going to tell you anything, it would have been the day that we met." She wiped away another tear. "I mean, I wanted to tell you, it burned me and it killed me never to let you know, but the longer I waited, the more inappropriate and difficult it seemed. I mean, how would it have felt if I just approached you and said, 'I've been spying on you all along' without you even suspecting me, or without my doing anything in order to have you suspect me? It wouldn't have made much sense, would it? You would have thought I was telling some sort of cruel joke."
"I understand." Matt then approached Lizzie. "Lizzie, please, open the bars. We'll have to escape. If all it'll take is to approach this man and tell to his face that you don't belong to him anymore, then--"
"No, Matt, you don't understand, I need that man." She sighed. "He gives me money, shelter, and--"
"Terror, torture and blackmail. That doesn't sound like the type of life you should be living. I can take care of you, you know I can!"
Lizzie turned around, her back facing Matt, continuing to wipe away tears.
"Lizzie, this is your last chance to stand up to that man. Sure, we can escape, and run away from this, but it'll be just like it was with Team Rocket. We'd have to watch our backs constantly, never knowing when they'll strike."
"That's all we can do."
"But by running away from him, he's only going to put our lives in even more danger."
"Who's going to be running away, now?" a deep voice spoke, suddenly jumping down from the ceiling. "Well, well, well. We've been tracking you for a while, but we found it most peculiar on our radars when suddenly you managed to vanish while approaching a spot of grass. We've been searching for this place for a while, and all along, it was literally right under our noses."
"Arrmun!" Matt cried out.
"We've got everything we need on this guy to shut us down, but our only problem was finding this place, and I definitely have to thank you kids for helping us out. But by the look on your faces, you didn't come here intentionally."
"See? I told you!" Matt smiled, with Lizzie's face also grinning. She took out a key, and unlocked Matt's cell, swinging the steel door wide open.
Arrmun pulled out a communicator. "This is Agent F; I'm inside the jail facility, and I'm rescuing these two kids, over."
"I copy, Agent Falcon; we have all entrances surrounded and we are prepared to attack. Use the emergency exit by going South, then Southwest, over."
"Understood, over and out," Arrmun turned off the communicator and reattached it to his belt.
"Lizzie, you're free!" Matt replied, with the biggest smile he has ever given anyone.
TO BE CONTINUED.
