Thanks to mestwendyfan for reviewing the previous chapter
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Chapter Five: Truth and Lies
Mars never liked Charon; the old man could simply not be trusted. He always seemed to have some ulterior motive that didn't match up with Cyrus's own, yet the boss seemed to trust him. Cyrus trusted Charon over the original three commanders – Charon was the only one allowed to tinker with the boss's machines. Mars didn't trust Charon and neither did Saturn and Jupiter. Of course, she couldn't tell Cyrus about her suspicions otherwise he'd think she was showing weakness by allowing herself to be overcome by feelings of jealousy.
"You have to do as I say," Mars said, not even sparing a glance in the man's direction.
"You don't like me very much do you." Charon mused. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
Mars forced a dry laugh to leave her throat. "What makes you think that?"
"You refuse to make eye contact with me. You seem uncomfortable being in my presence… You do not express these signs when you're around Cyrus, and I wonder why that is? Hmm." He rubbed his chin in mock thought.
Mars's lips tightened. She had to focus on the job ahead, not get drawn into an argument with Charon. "You're right. I don't like you. You shouldn't even be a commander because you haven't had to prove yourself," she said heatedly.
His grin widened. "You shouldn't allow those petty emotions rule your mind, Mars… Haven't you listened to a word Cyrus has said?" Charon paused then continued on. "Not that I blame you for not listening since he can be a real bore at times."
No one mocked the boss. Mars halted, turned around, and glared. "You're not allowed to speak of him that way," she snapped.
"Your devotion to him is interesting, I must say," Charon murmured, running his thumb across his lower lip. "Tell me, Mars. Why have you pledged your services to Cyrus? Do you not realize he is just using you? Or perhaps I have mistaken your devotion for admiration, lust maybe? Correct me if I am wrong."
Mars scowled. "If you think I'm in love with the boss then you're sadly mistaken." She turned away. The smirk on the man's face added to her already agitated state. The man was enjoying this. He wanted to make her squirm. "He saved me. He gave me a chance at a better life," she said softly after a few moments of silence.
It had been three years ago when Cyrus entered her life. Mars had a couple of weeks grieving for the loss for her parents. Her mother abandoned her and her father died of an unknown affliction. Perhaps he had died because of a broken heart? She found a way to cope with the pain, but it was only a temporary solution. Digging into the flesh on her wrists was oddly calming. The pain gave her something else to focus on. It became an addiction – pain was something she began to crave.
That's when he found her, kneeling before his father's headstone, clutching a bloodied arm to her chest. He approached her in the pouring rain, reached out a hand, and promised to heal her pain if she joined him. Mars had been reluctant at first, but the fear of being alone drove her to accept his offer. She no longer resorted to inflicting pain on herself, but chose to unleash it on others instead.
"You don't even know what his endgame is."
She glowered. "Do you?"
He smirked. "Of course. He hasn't shared with me the exact details, but I've put the pieces together. I am the one responsible for helping him understand what he needs to do to ensure his foolish plan becomes a reality. The man claims to despise emotions yet emotion is the very thing that motivates him. Do you not see?" He stepped forward suddenly and grabbed her arm, his grip unrelenting. Mars tried to pry his fingers off but he would not release. "You are placing trust in the wrong person. You're a smart girl, Mars."
"You know nothing about me," she spat.
He twisted her arm gently, running a finger down the scars on her wrist. "Ah, but I do. You and I are more alike than you think. We are both drawn to pain – there is something beautiful in suffering, isn't there?" He brought a free hand forward, and cupped her chin with it, gazing deeply into her eyes. A chill raced down her spine. "What is it you truly desire, Mars?"
She looked back into eyes and saw genuine affection, unlike the cold gaze Cyrus had perfected. Was Charon right? Was she wrong to place her trust in Cyrus? Would she find her quality of her life improve if she followed Charon instead? He was older than her, much older, but he wasn't afraid to feel. "I…"
"Cyrus doesn't realize how truly special you are, but I do. He will never appreciate you the way you would like him to." He removed his hand from her chin and placed it over his other hand. "Cyrus will never reach his goal, I assure you. He will fail and he will abandon you when that day comes. But I won't."
Mars pulled her arm free. "I swore an oath to serve Cyrus. I'm not ever going to turn my back on him, no matter what the end game is."
Charon took a step back. "If you insist, but the offer is there for you to take. In time, you will see that I am right and then you'll be begging for me." He jerked his head towards the Valley Windworks. It was a large building surrounded by a couple of windmills which generated power for the cities of Sinnoh. "Here we are. Let's get this over and done with."
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The commanders spurred into action and immediately went their separate ways, preparing themselves for their tasks ahead. He was glad to be rid of them for temporarily since it meant he had time to himself. Navigating his way through the crowd of grunts, Cyrus headed towards his private chambers, turning around a sharp corner to reach the staircase when someone crashed into him. He didn't fall over, but he staggered backwards from the impact.
The grunt, on the other hand, had fallen onto his backside. He glanced up now, his face paling as he recognized who it was staring down at him. "Oh my… I'm so sorry, boss! I didn't recognize it was you!" the grunt said, climbing to his feet. The grunt, only a young teenage male of eighteen years of age, looked like he had encountered a ghost. He was actually trembling.
Cyrus held back an angry response. He could easily fire the kid on the spot right now and berate him for his stupidity and carelessness, but that would be a sign of anger, one of the many useless emotions he wished to rid the world of. Taking in a deep breath, he recollected himself. "What are you doing?" he demanded.
"I… uh… was looking for the candy machine and I came across something… strange… and I wanted to find you!" the boy blabbered. Cyrus could hardly recognize the guy – he was most likely one of the newest recruits who had signed on just last week – but it didn't matter because the grunts were meaningless to him. When a grunt signed on to join Galactic, they agreed to abandon all forms of their identity. Grunts didn't have a name - they were simply called 'grunts.'
"What did you see?" Cyrus asked.
"Follow me, boss!"
He followed the nameless grunt down a corridor leading down to the public nap room. This is where the grunts slept. There were at least fifty beds, one bed for every two grunts in Galactic. One grunt worked the night shift while the other worked the day shift. While one was asleep, the other was awake and working. Only the commanders and himself had a room of their own.
"Do you see it, boss?" the grunt asked, pointing at a couple lying down in the centre bed. Cyrus's eyes were drawn to the couple and it didn't take him long to figure out what was going on. The male was on top of the female and they seemed to be having a rather good time, unaware they were being watched.
Cyrus made a mental note to himself to create a sign at the entrance of the Nap Room, telling all grunts to ensure the bed was unoccupied before getting into it. The last thing he needed was pregnant grunts in his company. They wouldn't be able to work as effectively and he didn't want to deal with the extra stress of hormonal mothers.
"Explain yourselves," Cyrus demanded.
The two grunts immediately froze. "Boss?!"
"Oh my Arceus…" said the nameless female grunt, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red.
Cyrus crossed his arms over his chest and waited for an explanation. "I will fire you if you do not provide an explanation." He could always find more grunts. There were always fools willing to sign up. "Get out of the bed."
The grunts exchanged horrified looks. "But boss…" the woman said.
"It's nothing I haven't seen before," Cyrus replied, giving the lady grunt a stony glare. Embarrassment. Another useless emotion that only held an individual back from completing a task. "Get up." The two grunts did as they were told, covering themselves up quickly with the bed sheets. He wondered what punishment to give them. "You have both indulged in an unnecessary act of pleasure. As a result of breaking one of my rules, you will not receive pay for the next fortnight. I hope you were both at least smart enough to take precautions?"
The grunts looked at their floor. Cyrus sighed. Of course not. The grunts were too stupid to even know how to protect themselves from the act of procreating even though Cyrus had given them the 'talk' at least once a month. Grunts. So primal. They allowed themselves to be controlled by the desires of the flesh. "Sorry, boss. It will not happen again," the male grunt said, still glancing down at the ground.
"Get out of my sight." They nodded and ran out of the room, not once stopping to glance over their shoulder. Cyrus glanced at the bed then turned to the teenage grunt. "I want the bed cleaned up." The young grunt nodded eager to satisfy his boss. He leapt into action and immediately picked up the discarded clothes on the floor.
Cyrus exited the Nap Room, continuing to make his way to his private office in the secluded part of the building. Tinkering with machines was much more appealing than having to deal with other people since machines didn't have emotions. They were designed to do specific tasks and they did them without complaint. How the world would be better if people were like machines.
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Mars and Charon stepped inside the building. A handful of grunts were already there waiting for her. They bowed their heads as she strolled past them when two male grunts approached her. "Commander Mars, we have captured the owner!" the first grunt, a stocky male with a nasally voice, pointed at a chair behind him.
There was a man sitting on the chair, his arms wrapped around it, his hands bound together by a thick coarse rope. His legs too were tied to the legs of the chair and she noticed there were grazes and even a couple of bruises on his body. The man had obviously tried to resist. She strolled towards him, Charon close at her side. "Tell me, can the power a Pokemon stores be converted into energy?"
The man struggled against the ropes. "I don't know."
"Not good enough," Mars said. "Hit him."
The grunts happily obliged, kicking at the man's right leg. He cried out. "Please… I do not know… I harness the energy created by the wind to generate electricity for the cities of Sinnoh! I do not know anything about Pokemon and their power being converted into energy!" he pleaded. "Just let me go… please… I'll give you anything you want… just let me return to my daughter…"
Mars bent over, brought her face close and wagged a finger in the man's face. "Do you think I'm stupid enough to let you go? I know you'll alert the authorities to our presence. I can't let that happen – I hope you understand."
"Why are you doing this?" the man gasped.
She laid her hands on the man's shoulders and gazed deeply into his eyes. "We are trying to make the world a better place."
"But why do you need energy?"
Mars answered his question with a slap in the face. A stinging red mark appeared on his right cheek where she had struck him. "Stop talking. Now, you are going to remain here and work out a way to turn a Pokemon's energy into a source humans can use. We're not going to let you go until the task is complete, understood?"
"But my daughter…" he begged.
"If you ever want to see your daughter again you will do as I command," Mars hissed. She turned to one of the grunts. "Find him a notebook and a pen for the man. We're going to watch him day and night until he comes up with a solution."
The grunt nodded and went off to find a notebook, and returned moments later with a spiral book and a black pen. Mars reached down into her pocket, pulling out a pocket knife and walked over behind the chair. She brought the edge of the knife down onto the rope and cut into it until it fell apart, accidentally cutting into a bit of flesh. "Oops, sorry," she said, grinning. "My finger must've slipped."
Crimson blood dripped onto the floor. It wasn't a great amount, but if the cut was any deeper, the man would need immediate medical assistance. He clutched his arm to his chest, glancing down at the wound. "You… You're crazy."
"What can I say? I like pain," Mars replied, waving the knife around in the air. "You'll be introduced to a new world of pain if you disobey me." The man nodded, lowered his eyes and gazed down at his paper. Mars turned to another idle grunt. "Guard the entrance. If anyone tries to come in you have my permission to beat them to a pulp."
The grunt nodded. "Yes, commander Mars."
She rubbed her hands together. "Excellent. The boss will be most pleased."
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Professor Rowan had been right. Floaroma Town was a tiny town, but a pleasant place to be. There were flower beds in all directions and even a tiny park for tourists and locals to relax in. She had seen flowers before, but never had she seen such a variety in one place. One bed was home to a few stalks of Early Nir's, another bed had red and yellow Kangaroo Paws and another bed, on the opposite side, belonged to many pink Mountain Coneflowers. There were many other species present, but she didn't know the names of all of them.
"Um excuse me, miss? Would you be able to help me?"
Dawn was engrossed in observing the flowers that she didn't realize a young girl in a yellow summer dress was watching her. Curious hazel eyes peered up at Dawn. "What do you need help with?" Dawn replied.
"My father has been kidnapped by these people in space suits," the girl replied. "They were really scary! Please help me save him, miss!"
Team Galactic again. She had a feeling she'd be seeing them again, but not this soon. Could she face them after what happened last time with the Stunky? "Lead the way." The girl in the yellow summer dress led Dawn towards the eastern path which took them past more flower beds. There was a bridge to the north but it was guarded by a couple of grunts. Dawn and the girl walked past the guards until a white building came into view. There were a couple of windmills a couple of yards away sitting atop a steep hill.
A lone Galactic grunt stood in front of the building's entrance, blocking the door. His head turned in their direction, and immediately scowled. "Hey you! You can't be here! Get out or face the wrath of Galactic!"
The young girl cowered behind Dawn. "She wants to see her father," Dawn said.
The grunt snorted. "I don't know what you are talking about."
"He's in there! I know he is! You beat him down and placed him in a chair!" the girl blurted. "I want to see my dad!"
"You need two sets of keys to open these doors. I have the second key. My friends have the other key and they're hiding in the flower park in Floaroma Town." The grunt immediately cursed himself. "I didn't tell you anything! Wait, it doesn't matter anyway since you're not going to be able to get the other key." He laughed. "I have nothing to be worried about. Commanders Mars and Charon will get the information they need to obtain energy from Pokemon…"
Dawn lifted a brow. "You're trying to capture Pokemon to obtain energy from them?"
The grunt smirked. "Yeah, that's right! We need another source of energy to make the boss' goal to become a reality! And there's no way I'm going to let some uppity brat stop me!" He reached down to his pokebelt and hurled his only pokeball to the ground. "Glameow!"
Dawn immediately brought forth her Gastly. Gastly wasn't yet strong enough to handle a battle against a Glameow in pure offensive power, but he did know status inflicting moves that would allow Dawn to gain the upper hand. "Gastly, use Hypnosis!"
"Glameow, use Scratch!"
Either the grunt was really dumb or he was just fooling with her because Ghost-types weren't affected by Normal-type moves. Glameow's move struck, but did no damage at all. The grunt seemed surprised. Dumb grunt, Dawn confirmed. "Okay, Gastly! Now it's your turn!" Gastly nodded and sailed forward, stopping directly in front of the feline's eyes. He swung from side to side like a pendulum until the cat fell asleep.
"Oh no!"
"Now put the grunt to sleep!"
Gastly nodded, and used the same move on the grunt. The grunt too fell asleep. He dropped to the ground. The little girl crouched down and picked the key to the second door up. "We need to find the other key." Without saying another word, Dawn headed back to the town which was thankfully a short walk.
The park entrance was just a couple of feet away from the town's centre. She stepped through the archway made of flowers and found two grunts beating down an old man. What was it with grunts and attacking old people? Dawn rushed over, her Gastly following close behind. The two grunts immediately stopped when they noticed her presence.
"Hey, look! It's a cute trainer!"
"What should we do?"
"Let's punish her!"
The grunts approached her, leaving the injured man lying on the grassy meadow. "Go get her, Zubats!" Two blue bats with no visible eyes appeared, hovering on the same spot. His friend threw out his pokeball to reveal a Stunky. A triple battle. She knew these battles occurred in Unova, but never thought they'd take place in this region.
"You seem surprised. You've never seen a triple battle before?"
"She looks like she hasn't seen a lot of things."
Dawn pulled out her Pokedex and faced it towards the Zubat.
Zubat. It checks its surroundings and location using reflections of the ultrasonic waves from its mouth.
Not a word about its eyes. Did it even have them? Dawn summoned Murkrow and Deino to join Gastly's side. Her Pokemon could handle a battle on their own, but a team battle? She wasn't so sure. Team battles were more about strategy than pure offense power. "Murkrow, use Pursuit! Gastly, use Hypnosis! Deino, use Dragon Rage!"
Murkrow emitted a ball of dark energy and sent it forth in the direction of the first Zubat. Gastly's attempt in putting the second Zubat to sleep failed, but it was Deino's beam of draconic rage that took her and the grunts by surprise. The beam was so powerful it took the Glameow down in one hit. "What in the name of Arceus is that thing?" The grunts looked at the Deino with newfound curiosity.
"The energy… the boss would love a Pokemon that strong!"
The other grunt recalled his two Zubats – he probably scared Deino would take them both down with one beam. Deino didn't look truly impressive but the baby dragon sure possessed a lot of power. The grunt with the fainted Pokemon threw Dawn the key to open the first door. "Take the key. Commander Mars has probably gotten what we need anyway so we're no longer needed. You might have won the battle here, but you won't get past Mars."
"Yeah, she'll teach you a lesson in pain."
The pair turned around and ran towards the forest surrounding the park. Dawn walked over to the injured man's side and knelt down beside him. "Do you need any help? There's a Pokemon Centre nearby."
He shook his head. "I'm fine, young lass. You go and stop those spacemen from causing more trouble."
The man didn't look to be all right, but he refused to accept her hand. Dawn turned to the little girl who was standing at the entrance, darting her eyes in various directions, looking as skittish as a newborn Skitty. "I'm going to save your father."
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As soon as she stepped into the building, Dawn was greeted by pained cries coming from somewhere within the building. The little girl besides her, stood right at Dawn's side, clutching onto arm. Together, they ventured further in the Valley Windworks when Dawn spotted two Galactic grunts standing on opposite sides of the room.
"You think you can take us, girl?" the first grunt snorted.
"The commander waits for you up ahead," said the second grunt.
Dawn focused her gaze on the opposite side of the room where a lady with bright red hair wearing a dress stood. There was an old man standing to her left, but it was the figure behind them that caught her attention. A man wearing a suit was strapped down to the chair, a trail of blood running down the side of his mouth. He was gasping, obviously shaken by the events that had occurred.
"Daddy!" the young girl said. She almost dashed forward, but Dawn held her back.
"Stay back. It's too dangerous for you to approach him." Dawn didn't know anything about the ranking system of the Galactic members, but whoever the lady was, she must've been important. Her hands were resting on her hips, her chin tilted slightly upwards, adding to her overall smug demeanour.
The woman's eyes rested on Dawn. "I'm one of Team Galactic's three commanders, Mars. We've been trying to create a new world that's better than this one… But people have shown little understanding about what we do. You don't understand either, do you? It's a little saddening…" She tilted her head to the side. "You remind me of someone… I feel like I've seen you before somewhere… but nevermind."
Galactic were trying to create a new world? These people were certainly crazy. Creating a new world wasn't possible… right? "I'm here to stop you."
Mars threw her head back and laughed. "You're just a little girl. What makes you think you can defeat me, a commander of Team Galactic?" She gave Dawn a defiant stare which sent a chill race down her spine. "But I'm curious. So, let's have a battle to decide what we should do next. If I win, you leave. If you win, we, Team Galactic, will leave!"
"Mars, you are wasting time battling this girl," the old man said, placing a hand on Mars' shoulder.
Mars withdrew her arm roughly, almost elbowing the guy in the face. "I'm in charge here, Charon or have you forgotten the boss' orders?" she snarled. Charon fell silent, taking a step back. He turned his head in Dawn's direction and frowned, as if he had recognized a familiar face. "So, what is your name girl or do I have to beat a total stranger?"
Dawn pulled her gaze away from Charon. "I'm Dawn."
"Dawn eh? A pretty name, but it won't help you win." She reached down to her pokebelt and threw out her first pokeball. A Zubat appeared.
Having battled a Zubat before, Dawn wasn't too worried about fighting another one. It didn't appear to be too strong – in fact, the bat was fragile. Dawn sent out her Murkrow. Murkrow flapped around in circles, cawing loudly. "Murkrow, use Pursuit!" Murkrow conjured a ball of dark energy and sent it forth. The ball sailed into the Zubat, almost knocking it out of the air. Zubat wasn't as fragile as the ones she had fought before though and it steadied itself in the air, hovering in one place. It hissed, bearing its small fangs which were coated in poison.
Mars pointed her finger forward. "Zubat, use Bite!" For a bat that had no eyes, it certainly had no trouble with directions and aiming. It flew with surprising speed, latching itself onto Murkrow's neck, wings beating the air furiously. Murkrow thrashed around in the air, trying to throw the bat off, but his attempts failed.
"Come on Murkrow… use Peck!" Dawn ordered. Murkrow cawed, turned his head and drilled his bill into the Zubat's head. Zubat hissed, released and returned to its owner.
"You think you're so good, don't you? Well, I'm far from finished yet. This battle has only just begun. Zubat, use Supersonic!" Zubat remained in one place, flapping its wings furiously, as a beam of yellow light exited its mouth. The beam struck Murkrow directly in the face. It did not hurt the bird physically, but Murkrow's movements seemed less focused than before.
"Murkrow?" Dawn called out.
Murkrow turned around to face Dawn and swooped down, talons ready to strike at her face. Dawn ducked, narrowly avoiding sharp claws. Before damage could be done, she threw her pokeball at the avian returning it to safety. Her Pokemon had been confused. She pulled out her next Pokemon, her Gastly.
"You seem to have an appreciation for the darkness," Mars crowed. "If you weren't my enemy, I'd welcome you into our ranks. I think you'd look rather dashing in a Galactic outfit. Of course, we'd have to cut your hair and dye it aqua…"
"I would never join Team Galactic," Dawn said. She still hardly knew a thing about them, but if she were to judge them on their fashion taste alone, they were clearly bad news. "Gastly, use Hypnosis!" Her Pokemon swung from side to side until the Zubat fell asleep. The bat dropped to the ground. "Use Lick!" Gastly moved forward. He hovered above the Zubat then stuck out his long pink tongue, pressing it against the Zubat's cool flesh. Gastly ran it down until the bat was covered in saliva. Although the attack appeared to do no damage, the Zubat shuddered.
"What did you do to my Pokemon?" Mars shrieked.
Was that a trick question? "Your Pokemon is sleeping."
Mars hissed. "I know that you stupid girl!" She threw her pokeball to return her Zubat to safety, then replacing it with her other Pokemon. She expected to see a Glameow or a Stunky considering what the other grunts used, but what she saw was a real menace. It was a rather chubby feline covered in thick grey and white fur. The cat's face was crescent-shaped and its whiskers were shaped like zigzags. Surely, this overweight cat couldn't hit hard? It looked far too sluggish to do anything.
Purugly. The evolved form of Glameow. It binds its body with its tails to make itself look bigger. If it locks eyes, it will glare ceaselessly.
Dawn eyed the cat with cautious eyes. The cat hissed, slashing at the air with a paw, her eyes narrowing into slits.
"You're going pale. You have the option of giving up the battle if you wish… or course, that would mean you have to leave."
Dawn shook her head. "I'll never give up."
Mars snorted. "You are foolish little girl, aren't you? If the boss was here he'd put you in your place."
"Who is he? You speak of him highly."
Mars narrowed her eyes. "Of course I do. He's going to make a new world for us – not for annoying brats such as yourself. Purugly, use Faint Attack!" The Purugly rushed forward. It pounced on Dawn's Gastly, slashing it in the face with a blackened claw. Gastly's gases evaporated as he fainted. Dawn recalled her fainted Pokemon. She had two Pokemon remaining capable of fighting. Her Turtwig and her Deino.
Deino tipped the odds in her favour last time, could her dragon do it again or would it be better to rely on her most experienced fighter? She decided to take a risk and use Deino. Besides, the dragon could use some extra experience. She threw Deino's pokeball out and the dragon appeared. "My dragon destroyed one of your grunts earlier. He can do it again if I command him to."
"You think I'm scared of your baby dragon? I've seen far worse, girl." Purugly hissed again, bracing herself for another attack. "Enough talk. I say we finish this battle. Purugly, use Scratch!" Purugly dashed forward, slashing a paw at the Deino's face. The cat's attack struck hard, causing Deino to topple over.
Dawn opened her mouth to order a counter attack when Charon moved forward. "Stop the battle, Mars," Charon said. "You have proven yourself. Dawn is just a child – what do you prove by beating her? The owner has given us what we need. There is no need for us to remain here or do you wish to displease the boss?"
Mars looked at him for a few moments then sighed. "Next time I'll make sure the boss pairs you up with Jupiter." She threw a scathing look in Dawn's direction. "I'm not going to go so easy on you the next time meet. Let's move." She snapped her fingers, prompting the grunts around her to move. As the grunts and their commander exited the building, Charon walked to Dawn.
Dawn stepped back. He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him then leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Consider yourself lucky that I was here to save you from defeat. I know who you are… Dawn." He chuckled lightly. "We will meet again, I'm sure of it." He released her arm and followed in the footsteps of his fellow team members. Dawn rubbed her arm gingerly, as if trying to remove the invisible spot he had touched her.
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"Daddy!" her young companion squealed, running towards her father.
"Deino, bite the ropes that bind this man to his chair," Dawn ordered, still reeling from Charon's words. How did he know her? She had never seen him before in his life. Deino did as ordered and clamped his mouth around the thick rope, gnawing it until it fell apart. The ropes fell to the floor and the man fell out of his chair, but thankfully Dawn rushed forward to stop him from making contact with the floor.
"Thank you… thank you for saving me," the man gasped, glancing up at Dawn, his daughter at his side.
She smiled. "You don't have to thank me. I did what was right. What did they want from you?"
"Energy. They tortured me for hours… I-I gave in and told them what they wanted to know. Energy can be harvested from Pokemon. I don't know why they would want to do that though… the consequences are catastrophic." He hung his head sadly ashamed he had given up such information. "Team Galactic… they want to create a new world by using the energy harvested from Pokemon. I fear for our existence if they should somehow succeed." He gazed into her eyes, pleadingly. "You must not let them succeed."
Dawn arched her eyebrows. "I am just a trainer; not a heroine."
He grasped her arms. "Great legends come from nothing." He released her gently and climbed to his feet with his daughter's aid. "Thank you again for your assistance. I am forever in your debt. If you ever need anything, drop by my house in Floaroma Town. My house is the one with the red mailbox. My name is Joseph."
He hobbled out of the door leaving Dawn alone. A trainer's journey was always supposed to be full of excitement but this was much more than she had expected. The man had said great legends came from nothing. What did he mean by that? Had he been referring to former heroes who defeated crime mobs in other regions? Red had been the first. He defied all the odds and rose to the top to claim the title of Champion, defeating Team Rocket in the process. May had followed in his footsteps, responsible for taking down not one, but two criminal teams to save Hoenn from destruction.
Red and May were unknown to the world at the beginning of their journeys, but their reputation began to grow as their legendary deeds spread through their home regions. Was she destined to follow in their footsteps? Would her name be added to the history books to be remembered forever? Or would she be remembered for another reason? She shook her head and turned to exit the building.
She didn't manage to cover a lot of ground when Looker jumped out from behind the corner, startling her. "Ah, yes. It is you, yes," the man said, gazing down at Dawn, his dark eyes alive. "I have heard that the Team Galactic appeared at this power plant. I have, therefore, come running. So, the Team Galactic… where are they?"
For a guy that claimed to be part of a top notch police team, he sure wasn't good at stopping criminals. She wondered what his story was. "They're gone."
He frowned. "You have run them off, you say? You are a trainer, but… Very well! I shall go investigate inside!" The man pointed to the sky, super-hero style, and entered the building. He came back out several moments later. "Magnificent!" he crowed, throwing his hands up in the air. "Yes, it is! What you have said, it is all true! Superb! Though you are young, you are a trainer through and through!"
"They won't be causing trouble here no more, but I don't think they're finished yet."
He nodded, rubbing his chin, looking thoughtful. "Very well! I shall pursue the culprits! I have received tips that the Team Galactic hideout is in Eterna City, which coincidently is your next stop. To there, I must be off!" The man raced away, reminding Dawn briefly of her friend, Barry. Fortunately, Barry didn't share Looker's eccentric nature. The man was just too weird.
She made her way back to the town and immediately visited the Pokemon Centre to rest. Looker had stated her next stop was in Eterna City and to get there she needed to bypass Eterna Forest. Travelling through a forest meant creepy bugs and humid weather. She was going to have to dress appropriately for that journey. A couple cans of bug spray repellent ought to suffice, she thought, making a mental list of things to purchase. While she waited for Pokemon to be healed, she took the opportunity to rest herself.