Locked Away, Chapter 57
After her extended stay in the colorful land of Kanto, May had nearly forgotten how grey and dreary her home region, Hoenn, was. Even though she could see no further than the shore line, the looming dread was very clear. Unlike the Kanto region, open-handling of pokemon had long been banned in Hoenn since the league officials were sentenced to an unintentional 'never-ending' meeting. The ban included all forms of battling, and pokemon out of their balls was prohibited unless in 'safe zones'. May wondered how many zones were safe, if pokemon could react the way that infernape had. She only saw a creature so angry one other time in her life, and she never wanted to see it, or this grey-hell again.
May felt no happiness, she wasn't returning home, she was returning to a prison and Rustboro City was at the center of it. Realizing that the quickest way through the region was to circle back and enter on the west shore line, she and her brother Max spent more time on the dingy little boat provided by Gary Oak than they expected.
At the break of dawn, they hit the shore line without a pier, crashing against the sand. Eagerly, they both hopped out of the boat and landed with their knees in the sand, and a breath of salty air.
"I never thought I'd be happier to see land." May cooed, brushing her hand against the damp earth while Max climbed to his feet.
"Me either, but we're not done yet. We should get moving now before someone sees us."
"Wait, Max, what about the boat?" Gesturing to the transport that carried them safely over sea, Max reluctantly adjusted his glasses.
"Let it drift out to sea—we can't risk being spotted."
"And lose our only escape route?" May gasped, throwing up her arms in exasperation.
"Then we better not screw up." Max grunted, turning away from his sister and carried forward.
Meanwhile, still wobbly on her feet, May gave one last shallow look at the small boat drifting away, and gave her own small prayer of hope that this would go smoothly—after all, how hard could it be to destroy a building? Ash did it all the time, apparently. Following close behind Max through the dense, and small forest, they refused to speak. In the distance they expected to hear screams of terror, roars of horror, proclamations of defeat—yet, they heard none as they shifted through the tropical island morning, and arrived at the break of trees, staring down the meat of Rustboro City.
Oddly enough, as surprise danced over their faces, the entire city was untouched. No fires. No screams. Nothing. In fact, it looked the exact same as when May last saw it, and back then she thought it was dull.
Now, she thought the quiet was sad, and uncanny. In the distance, the eyesore, metal tower that would rain hell upon the land stood tall and menacing in the distance; at the center of the overly calm town. Simultaneously, they shared a look of great concern.
"I thought this was where the tower was? That is the tower is it not?"
"Yeah, it looks like it." Max replied plainly.
"Okay..." May brushed her bangs out of her face, wincing only slightly at the pain still lingering. "Then why isn't everything on fire?"
Max gave her a look, not bitter or angry—just one of his infamous looks. "...You expected it to be on fire?"
"Well, maybe not—but you heard Pallet Town only minutes after infernape lost his mind—I just thought there would be more—you know...destruction?" Making a slightly violent gesture with her hands, Max's eyebrows twitched and he looked away.
"Personally, I think it's to our advantage that the city isn't on fire, May. Maybe that means we can get the public to work with us here."
"the public? What do we need them for."
Max sighed, then glared at May as if she had forgotten the plan that they did not agree upon, or speak about on their long boat-ride to the island.
"Do you honestly think we could take on a fully guarded signal tower? Just the two of us?"
May shrugged.
"I don't see why not."
"Sometimes I wonder how you made it this far, sis..." Max grunted, then pointed outward to the central part of the city; they could see the fragments of a pokemon center sign peeking over the building horizon line. "Let's get our bearings there."
"Whatever you say." unimpressed, she rolled her eyes, and together they started toward the steps that would lead them up through the beach line, and into the city.
May had long ditched her gloves, but longed for them now that she had chewed her fingernails to the quick as they stomped through the small path. They weren't necessarily in over their heads, but removing a signal tower would take more than two people—usually it would take some kind of special operations group, but the rest of the group was counting on them. If they could successfully take out the tower before it activated—that could really be a service!
Walking to the edge of town took minutes with their stride; and Max rattled off statistics and tactical advantages while May stopped to enjoy the fresh, summer air. It reminded her so much of Petalburg City—how she longed to go back to how it was before her parents were taken. Before training pokemon became a war-mongering ideology.
"May-" Max snapped his fingers in front of her face, watching as the lights kicked back on.
"Sorry, what'd you say?" She blinked her large blue eyes, and Max scowled.
"I said; if worse comes to worse, we could probably just take out the power polls around the facility, that might slow them down at least."
"Don't you think they would have back-up generators?" May questioned as her little brother shrugged.
"Guess we'll have to figure that out for ourselves, huh?"
May's face fell as they emerged from the outskirts, hopping over some bushes that blocked the proper path, and matched onto city territory. Usually, in their ripped and soiled clothing, they would make an uncomfortable eyesore for the rest of the town, but for their appearance to be odd, there would first need to be other people present. In this case, there were not. The silence made perfect sense now—given that there was no one on the street, not a single car moving, to cause any!
With a snort, Max crossed his arms and attempted to clean his glasses; probably making his vision worse. "Did we miss the rapture or something?"
"Maybe they evacuated the city?"
"Would explain a lot... but why?" Max grumbled, walking into the middle of the street and looking inside empty stores. Lights were off in every building, even the traffic lights blinked angrily at them.
"Maybe-"
"Hey, what are you doing here?" A voice in the distance called out, unfamiliar to either of the siblings as they looked up to see a lean, brunette, in police-uniform reds, running over to them. He stopped as May tucked her arms behind her back innocently.
"We were out for a walk—is everything okay here?" She gestured to the clearly empty stores, and the cop tugged on his collar and caught his breath.
"We were requested to gather at the central pokemon center by city officials and league officers!"
Max, who had been unreasonably quiet since the officer arrived scoffed; "What for?"
"The announcement from our champion Wallace to follow up the new Champion from Sinnoh's speech. Didn't you hear about it?"
"...No."Confused, May grumbled. "We just got into town."
"Well..." He looked over his shoulder where he saw his partner approaching them, and May thought for a few moments she recognized the young face of the officer—he spoke quickly to correct his bashfulness. Beneath his hat, May thought he looked familiar—but couldn't place his face. "Regardless, I have to ask you to come with me."
"Under what orders? We don't want to go to the pokemon center." Max rebutted, puffing up his chest to look taller—though forever under 5'5", he mostly looked bloated.
The officer chuckled, and shrugged a bit.
"Err... I said it was a request—but we're under lock down until we hear from our champion, so if you don't come with me... I... I'm supposed to use force."
Somehow, neither May or Max believed the young officer of any sort of violence, but thought better than to press their luck. They needed Hoenn region police officials on their side; the good ones, assuming there were any left.
Ever curious, Max did ask: "What are we under lock down for?"
"Can't say, really... but the neighboring towns have been..."
"Stop talking with civilians, Brendan." the partner glowered, his large brimmed hat covered his eyes, but left plenty of room to view his moustache.
"Sorry..." The officer known as Brendan rubbed the back of his neck while his partner gestured and pointed, then shoved May and Max forward to walk.
"Get a move on. Let's go."
Reluctantly, the siblings allowed themselves to be pushed and prodded along the path to the center, until arriving took their words away. A large sign hung over the door, with a metal detector over the top reading: "No pokemon or poke balls beyond this point." Both May and Max shared a look as they reached the line of the last-round-ups of the day. Apparently, they weren't the only stragglers. Most of the people kindly agreed to have their pokemon taken, but May and Max both knew right now, a decision like that was game over. As was running away.
Instinctively, as they approached the radar, the police officers dissipated into a confused huddle close to the door, leaving open their plan.
"Max, take my pokeballs and put them in your hip pack. Once I go through, I'll create a diversion, and you throw it through the little hole there."
Max looked grim. "Why don't I go through the detector first, and you do the throwing?" Right, Max was never the most gifted athletic. With a giggle, May took her brother's pokeballs and shifted them into her own pack before getting in line.
"Alright, but we only get one shot at this—just like in Johto the first time."
The guards inexperience and dislike of their positions would be their down fall—as Max stepped forward, he dropped his empty side-satchel into the bin provided by the woman, and walked through a temporary detector, where he came back clean—on the other side, Max looked to the room gathered with hundreds of people packed into a room shoulder to shoulder and inhaled, before turning back at his sister, who was behind a woman and staring right at Max, then, he tripped.
"Ah! My leg!" he shrieked, falling down dramatically. within seconds, a handful of guards were at his side, and the attention of the lady checking the items was drawn just long enough for May to toss her bag over the side of the machine, and land safely against a cranny between a desk, and the wall on the opposite side.
Moments later, as Max's 'leg cramp' dissipated, May crossed through the detector, but did not immediately approach the discarded bag. Instead, she approached her brother and concerned employees and waved them off with a laugh.
"Oh Max, you're always so dramatic—I can take care of him from here. Thanks, guys." Had it not been for her pretty face and fluttering eyes, they might have believed some suspicion. Even still, one by one, they said their goodbyes, and parted ways. Brendan, however, the officer who walked them there; still squinted in suspicion.
Max's short and loathing "thanks" that followed protruded the full embodiment of complete dislike of May's reaction; though she only responded with a wide grin, and a toss against his shoulder.
"C'mon, let's check this place out." May pointed to the grouping of wall to wall people, while kicking the pack she tossed earlier up into her hands, and clutched under her arm.
Inside the large center was just as they both imagined it—people were separated into a minor groups, but most people sat around, twiddling their thumbs as they watched the news playing back at them. Faintly, May saw traces of Dawn on the screens, and while they moved about the center, they heard the many suffering cries and moans about the situation. Fear for their families, for their homes, and an abundant number of souls who had long given up their fight.
Phrases like, Team Rocket's still around. I can't believe it. And Do you think they have already started on Hoenn were passed around like arcade tokens, leaving May and Max both physically and mentally stunned, until the video in question played back on repeat.
Dawn, standing as the champion of the Sinnoh region, announcing Team Rocket's devious plans the last ten years. Dawn, who was practically a household name and star, confirming the suspicions of the previously thought-crazy, now dead, Elite Four member, Misty Waterflower, seemed to be a tough pill to swallow. To assume Unova's innocence, and divert the blame was nerve wracking.
It was no wonder Hoenn region was under lock down. People who believed in what they saw, who looked around them and watched, would have retaliated immediately. Now this lock down had to be another ploy and attempt to keep them quiet until the game was played. Hearing from champion Wallace after his long absent was a joke—May wouldn't be surprised if he was found dead suddenly like Cynthia—now seemed like the perfect time to declare the region's captain-less.
"May..." Max muttered beside her quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. From what she could hear, he sounded scared—but so was she.
News reporters tried to eat the message alive—saying it was a ploy, but dedicated casters from Kanto, and some from other regions verified the information, as well as more recent attacks on other regions. Not unlike usual, Hoenn was missing from the game. For whatever reason, they were waiting, which meant...
Now or never.
"We need to act."
"May, look around you—what are we supposed to do right now?"
"I don't know Max—anything!" desperate, May pushed through a crowd of people, and found herself standing on a bench before her brain could argue with her. She looked at several faces, but most people were too occupied to look at her. A lot of people were simply irritated and inconvenienced by the announcement—at least half as many didn't even care. May had to speak to the ones that did care, who looked at her with she started yelling frantically.
"Dawn said we have to stand together!" May shouted, Max's arms flew up, trying to get her to sit down again.
"So let's stand together! Why are we all sitting here like sheep, waiting for some unknown champion to tell us what to do? We haven't heard from Wallace in years! We should be taking matters into our own hands! Like we should have years ago when they first started bullying us!"
She thought it was a really clever speech, given at an appropriate time, around specific, detrimental circumstances that made her words socially acceptable—but of course, people weren't easily swayed, and with the majority scared or uncaring, a laugh was shared instead of battle cries. Guards were approaching, and Max pulled on May's arm to get her down.
"What are you doing? Stop!"
She swatted his hand away, and pumped her fist, looking at anyone that would stare into her eyes.
"C'mon! Look around you-! You all know it's true; you know Team Rocket is planning something, and we know how to stop it! That new tower they've been working on for the last year, it's going to send out a signal that turns pokemon crazy—it's already started to effect pokemon in other regions and-"
"Get down from there!"
"Stop it, Max!" May snapped, eyes angry. "I know a lot of you—or at least, I'd like to, but for the last five years we haven't been able to meet because pokemon battling has been banned. Travelling has been banned, we've been affected by Team Rocket a lot longer than you can believe, so stand with us—help us destroy their property and mind-controlling machines! Let's take back our home!"
Honestly, she had them going for a minute, a few people looked up as the officers tried to trample their way through, and easily pushed Max aside—it was the comment about mind-control that made her look like a raving lunatic—she was never as poetic with words as her brother; and often time, her actions spoke a thousand times louder.
Once upon a time, she remembered that her father, Norman, said that the Hoenn region was full of a million gifted people who only needed to believe in themselves. Their inability to rise in the face of conflict was their ultimate downfall before; and May was worried it would be again. However, May knew, that in face of danger, no one was stronger; so she inhaled.
Maybe she did appear a bit crazy when she jerked, spinning around to face the oncoming peacekeepers, who seemed genuinely concerned with her safety, and instead of stepping down, she twisted her arm, and within seconds a large, furious blaziken stood between her and the police officers—some who looked angrier than others—some she assumed worked for Team Rocket; and those, like Brendan, who simply looked concerned.
Maybe she was a bit baffled, and insulted that when she offered the chance of an uprising—not a single person rose with her, aside from Max, who swore endlessly and cursed her name and heritage and stupidity—but they had to act; whether it was a gut instinct or nerves, she knew if she didn't; the Hoenn region could be buried in catastrophe worse than the Sinnoh region; and May wouldn't see that happen.
"Blaziken, clear a path with flamethrower!" with a loud yell, she threw out her arm and hoped onto the ground to dip out of the view of the guards, as massive flames erupted through the entirety of the building; causing panic and attempt to flee.
"May, what the hell are you trying to do!?"
"Cause a riot—intentionally or not!" Fire burned in her icy blue eyes as she stared down the only object in the way of her march; a window and gates, and of course a few angry guards people with weapons, but guns were outlawed years ago so really she only had to worry about their pokemon.
Across from them, flashes of red grew throughout the center as retaliating pokemon tried to keep May's in check. Which in turn, forced people to flee through locked exit doors, smashed windows and where ever else they could squeeze through—with May starting a fire, it was only natural that the guards and police officers who were trying to maintain the peace until the announcement, would try to stop her—all by summoning their own pokemon. Lucky her, Max had her back with two of his own pokemon.
"We don't have enough power to get through to that tower—did you think about this at all!?" Max screamed angrily, trying to grab May from the fight, using the smoke created by her angered pokemon to his advantage—without having to exchange battle tactics, the pokemon on the ground took off, fighting one another, and defending their trainer. Max pushed May toward a wall for cover.
"Do you want to get us killed? Because this is how you get us killed!"
May threw up her arms. "Well we have to do something!"
"We've been here for ten minutes—blowing up the pokemon center was not on the top of our priority list!"
"Well! Excuse me!" out of defensive stances, she threw up her arms. "I just acted, okay! Someone had to!"
"You weren't thinking clearly! There were a million other options before this!"
"Well we're already here, so we might as well make the best of it! Blaziken use-" May whipped around as the back of a baton found her head and Max sprung to her rescue.
She tumbled to the ground, smashing her knees against the tile; ears ringing. Somewhere she heard Max scream her name before taking on the man himself, and for a moment, she rethought her plan—but only for a second. The people of Hoenn were a family; and as a family, they would stand together. They only needed someone to follow. They had to stand together, surely they saw that.
Trying to gather her strength, it was a blast of water that cleared her senses, as a swampert tag teamed with blaziken to create a diversion, and open a place of escape for her and her brother.
"I've seen a lot of stupid shit since I joined the force, but I've never seen a former ranger lose their mind!" The voice belonged to Brendan again, and May grinned this time—now remembering the voice as she smiled up at him with Max at her side, lifting her up—maybe she was still light headed and injured from that explosion a few days ago. May snorted.
"And I never thought a ranger would join the force. You know, I didn't recognize you in that uniform."
"Yeah, I noticed." An embarrassed Brendan scoffed, then helped Max carry May out of the center and to the street, where more than one battle was going on—May grinned proudly as Max realized her actions were right. Once trainers had their pokemon back, a full riot had ensued without so much as a command.
"We're not sissys like Sinnoh." May groaned, forcing herself to stand on her own and removing two more of her pokeballs. "We're not going to wait for someone to save us—we're gonna carve the path ourselves."
A make-shift leader in the midst of battle; she shouted loudly for trainers all around her, of all shapes and sizes to focus their rampage on the tower, and the area around it, as Max trailed behind terrified.
"I love my crazy sister... I love my crazy sister." He muttered under his breath as hundreds of people, officers and leading officials included, poured out of the center, and forward to the street to reclaim their lost society.
Logic be damned.
XOX
"It's impossible to follow anyone with this smoke!" Jessie hissed, covering her mouth with a make-shift mask created by the extra fabric of her shirt. Each of them carried some fabric over their faces as togetic hovered back and forth alongside meowth in their best attempt to follow Misty's tracks. The trail died off after the location of the signal flare, and within the hour that they had ran in circles—she could have already been out of the city, or worse; dead. They were wasting their time out here. Misty was gone.
Stubbornly, they found themselves following their steps back to the outskirts of Viridian City, on the east side, where they watched the damage above them. There was no coming back from this—the fire had already eaten through a quarter of the forest, with small fires starting in other parts. Lugia and Ho-oh's battle took a tumble southeast, lumbering over and near the cycling route, and pushing their destruction on. Giovanni needed not the help of his signal towers after all; Ash Ketchum always had a trump card for destruction.
"What do we tell Ash...?" Brock muttered, watching as Lugia snapped his large beak at Ho-oh, grasping at his neck and with a powerful swish, blew a gust of wind that culled the flames temporarily, then forced them to burn three times larger.
"The truth: we couldn't trace her steps. She's long gone." Jessie said, coughing. James quietly added:
"We need to stay focused on the plan... if we stop after him now...we could lose."
"Lose?" Brock scoffed, looking onward at the forest. "We're already losing!" He shouted, angry as he gestured hopelessly to the forest. Ho-oh and the other legendary pokemon were supposed to be their outs. Their plan was to out-smart Giovanni, but it was them who were being out-smarted.
"Misty's gone, Ash is teetering off the edge, and there are legendary birds fighting each other! Viridian City is going to burn to the ground and as far as we know, none of the signal towers have been stopped—and you're worried about losing?"
"..we may have lost a battle or two..but the war is still..."
"We should have went for Giovanni from the start—you—you-!" Brock hissed, wrath fuelling his eyes until he was too exhausted to keep yelling. He turned from them, shoulders slumped.
"...If we knew this was going to happen, we would have acted sooner... I'm sorry." James said, grabbing Brock by the shoulder kindly. "But we can't lose focus now. We have to find where he's holed up. But first, we need to rendezvous with Ash."
"Isn't that what Ash is after?" Brock questioned as togetic brimmed in agreement, hovering around the group to keep moral up.
"Yes, but we shouldn't put all of our eggs in one basket—not now."
"So...what happens if we can't find Giovanni?"
"Then we focus on the towers. If we can't cut the head off the snake, we'll have to try to win at his own game. Take out the signal towers, flush him out."
Disheartened, Brock ran his hand through his hair and exhaled loudly.
"...and what if that's only acting exactly the way he expects us to?" His dark eyes turned to the former Rocket members. "He's got all the legendary pokemon now—what else does he need?"
An eerie silence hung between them, aside from the crackle of fire burning wood; Jessie, James, and meowth shrugged. Unfortunately, there was no easy answer to what Giovanni's true motives were. His actions were undoubtedly destructive; but the true end goal of his motions was lost on the former evil-doers.
"Like I said—we'll find him."
Brock scoffed, the gun he took from Ash in his hand, tracing the trigger hitch. "...and what about Ash? Is.. he going to be the same when all this is over?"
A pause first, then a sigh, disrupted by the cry of Lugia falling into the ground.
"Are any of us going to be?"
Somehow, that wasn't the answer Brock or togetic wanted to hear, as the former egg flew away, shouting in the distance that he was going to find Ash.
XOX
This was Ash's personal hell, being trapped in the trunk of a car for heaven's knows how long. It felt like hours to him, but it could have been minutes. For the first time, he was sitting still, and in spite of his circumstances, his body ached. His back felt chiselled away, and his nerves frayed from stress. Confined in a small space, he could smell the stench of fire filling his nose, and the constant breath of gasoline from outside. Occasionally, Sebastian would hit a bump that would knock Ash forward and wake him once more—but he would be lying if he said the majority of his trip wasn't him passing in and out of consciousness.
Maybe it was the fumes from the gas that made him feel so damn tired. His head lolled back and forth, and his legs had spasms because of their twisted positions. He couldn't be sure that pikachu would follow this fast, for this long, and yet, he wasn't afraid. No matter what, he was going to succeed; even if success felt like sleep right now.
Unable to keep his eyes open any longer, his eyelids slipped shut, and the darkness enveloped the rest of his body and mind—opening only when the tires screeched, and he was jerked forward. The engine died shortly after, and Ash heard car doors slam. The jingle of keys, and incoming foot falls made Ash sit forward to prepare himself. Sweat dripped from the back of his neck, soaking through the collar of his shirt—then, the night air hit his nose, his eyes dilated from a flashlight being shined into his eyes, and he reeled backwards. Ash didn't hesitate, maybe he was panicking.
"Pikachu, now!" Ash screamed as loudly as he could, but his heart sunk when nothing happened.
Terrified, Sebastian looked around, completely stunned, but then rolled his eyes sarcastically, obviously believing that Ash didn't have a plan at all. He tucked the gun into his waist band and laughed maliciously as he gestured for Ash to leave the trunk.
"You're pathetic to try and scare me like that-"
"Chuuu!"
Lightning erupted from all directions, lighting up Ash's view as he sat forward to watch Sebastian hit the ground, ignited with electricity, and then nothing. Left as a twitching, unconscious heap on the ground. Pikachu raced to Ash's side, his small nails scratched the side of the car, and around his shoulders, Ash's pokeball belt was draped around the mouse's shoulders—where it had been left previously in the parking garage.
"Pikachu, pika pi." The mouse explained, noting that he wanted the element of surprise while the weapon was down. Without words, Ash smiled at the mouse.
"You did great, buddy. I can always count on you." briefly, pikachu nuzzled against Ash's chest, and then tried to assist him. "Let's get the keys."
Once out of the trunk, falling twice, Ash could see the distant red hue of fire as his eyes focused on the semi-darkness around him. Smoke poured through the forest that burned his throat and eyes, but he still pressed on. Pikachu poked and prodded through the unconscious' man's pockets until he found the object in question and held them up between his teeth: the keys!
Ash's hands were free in moments, one cuff dangling on the side, and then he took of the last and rubbed his sore wrists.
"Nice work, but we need to see if he has anything written down—you didn't...you know... right?" awkwardly, Ash rubbed the back of his neck and pikachu gave him a look, then shook his head—just a small shock. Not lethal. Not yet anyways.
"Looked pretty violent, though...You're getting better at controlling it, aren't you?" Ash hummed, stepping over Sebastian and beginning to rummage through the front of the car as pikachu explained that he was very upset, but it wasn't a strong attack. After all, they needed him alive, and pikachu was far better trained than that!
The car was empty, aside from a few notes, and Ash slid back out of the drivers seat, and removed the pokeball belt from pikachu's shoulders, and fastened it around his waist once more. He unzipped his jacket, too; the heat was getting to him—as was the smoke. It was easy to tell they hadn't gone too far from Viridian City, because the birds were still having a power-play contest above his head. In the deep of the northern forest though, Ash knew they were out of town, on an unbeaten path.
In the distance, he heard water, and turned to look into the darkness. It smelled like salt water. His nose twitched, and with pikachu at his side, he approached the darkness, listening in. Below the small cliff side was a small dock that Ash recognized was part of one of the routes being built by the league—something he read about once before. A bridge that would connect Saffron City and Viridian City, but for now, there were empty construction signs, and a boat. Next to the floating vehicle, was the cut rope of another anchor, and Ash slipped down to investigate. His pants were instantly soaked in mud and pikachu hissed at the scent. Oil and tar filled their nostrils, and he stumbled, eventually reaching the small boat's dock.
Cautiously, Ash approached, moving quickly up the side and wandering onto the small deck—it was a single seat boat, no more than a sports vehicle. When Ash realized he was alone, he dropped his guard, and walked into the captain's wheel and looked ahead—the coordinates were already punched in, and inside he found a laptop and case resting on a table, neatly tucked aside; as well as a day's worth of clothes and some food supplies.
He honestly wondered why Sebastian returned to his apartment at all—then recalled Abigail's words. He liked to water the flowers. Stubborn to a fault, Ash assumed, or there was something else he needed—not that Ash could recall. It had to be on his person. Whatever it was, it didn't matter now, Ash could end this now. If these coordinates truly took him to Giovanni's location, he could sail away and finish this without ever involving his friends again.
Then again...if these weren't the correct coordinates, and Ash went out on a wild goose chase—it could cost him and his friends their lives.
"Chuu, pikachu." The mouse crooned, offering Ash hid advice not to leave, not without answers from Sebastian, and not without his friends. Ash couldn't do this alone—and he didn't have to.
Staring out into the ocean, Ash inhaled.
"You're right." he muttered, releasing the wheel. "Let's get back and tie up Sebastian. We'll find the others after that."
XOX
A mindless riot turned into a wrecking ball of complete destruction, with the combined efforts of over three dozen pokemon trainers and official guardsmen, gaining access into the signal tower's parameter was easy, ripping through the security system was children's play—and getting the operators to sit outside and watch the tower slowly collapse was only slightly frustrating. Many of them refused to leave their positions, so the rioters were forced to take action. Those who didn't confirm would go down with the tower.
May was even more proud to see that when they attempted to hurt their pokemon by activating the signal tower, only a very small handful turned against their trainers, and were easily tampered down after the signal was destroyed. Maybe Sinnoh couldn't retaliate against Kanto—but there was no reason Hoenn couldn't fight itself.
They watched from a distance as their work forced collapse by the day's end, a proud and meaningful conquest served with exhausted trainers, and tired pokemon.
"Why do you think they waited to activate the tower?" Max asked, approaching May who was shaking hands with Brendan. Max had been gathering as much information from the Rocket members running the tower as possible—but found none of them would speak. He almost doubted that any of them really knew what was going on themselves.
"There's no telling, honestly. Maybe they didn't think we were much of a threat—proved them wrong, didn't we?" She nudged Brendan, who appeared genuinely unhappy.
"I wouldn't consider this a victory. Police members actively fought against league orders during a riot."
"You did the right thing."
"Like rangers did the right thing when we actively stood against the operation of pokemon facilities? They took away the region's right to train pokemon for that—what will they take away next?" Brendan groaned, looking over the crowd of people that celebrated their small victory.
"...Maybe we don't have to stop here?" May suggested, earning an eyebrow raise from everyone else.
"What's stopping us from going directly to the pokemon league—we could gather people from other towns, and finally take back control of our region! Let's face it, they've had our gym leaders, champions and Elite Four members since the ban, maybe this riot could be a good thing."
"...You mean civil war, May?" Max groaned. "We can't start a civil war!"
"Why not?" She whined, throwing up her arms. "Pokemon and trainers are supposed to work together, not live in shackles and redundancy—we shouldn't stop here. The signal tower was only the first phase. Who's going to stop them from just building another one and trying again? We have to make change."
Brendan, who had been out of the loop for the majority of events, having only what Dawn's speech informed the people of, and what Max and May had tossed him; nodded in agreement.
"I think you're right. We shouldn't stop here. I know a ton of other rangers who lost their jobs, and rivals that would march with us on our way to the league grounds. We can't sit back like we did last time."
"C'mon guys, think rationally! Dawn is trying to avoid a war-"
"With other regions. This doesn't involve other regions, Max." May raised her fingers. "Besides, maybe we can find mom and dad."
Max's cheeks puffed him. "Don't try to change my opinion with that! We can't start a civil war."
"It isn't a civil war if the people we're fighting were terrorists to begin with. Team Rocket needs to be eradicated."
"But-"
"Max, don't argue with us. We're doing this whether you want to or not."
"You haven't asked anyone else yet! How do you know they'll follow you, huh?" He shouted, trying to keep them within reason, but Brendan and May started back to the rest of the group; quietly, she told him to pass on the message and see who will come, and then stopped Max from following closer.
"I'm not being reckless, I promise."
"You said that last time and almost died, May!" Max screamed, tears stinging his eyes that he hid by removing his glasses quickly and wiping off the lens.
"Yeah, but I was just a kid back then—I've gotten a lot better. We can't let them have control of us anymore. We've forgotten what freedom feels like."
Max outwardly swiped at his tears, sniffling and trying to control his breath. "This is more than a protest May—more than a test run with those stupid microchips."
"Max, everyone else is fighting Team Rocket right now, too. Ash and Misty are taking Giovanni head on, Gary, your mentor, is tackling a tower all by himself, and Drew and Dawn have an entire region to look after and a war to stop—everyone has something to do in this fight, and not letting them have control over Hoenn any longer is mine."
His shoulders stiffened. "Then what do you want me to do?"
With a broad smile, and closed eyes, May hugged him tightly. "I want you to go to the old Kalos league—take out the signal tower we were warned about there. The other former rangers and I are going to take care of things here. Without the signal tower in operation in Hoenn—this will be cake, right?"
In times of desperation, Max never shared his sister's optimism. As a natural pessimist, he shook his head.
"I think you're crazy."
"And I think you think too much!" She grinned. "So stop acting like you're twelve again, and help me out, will you? Let me lead us for once."
"Every time you lead I usually have to pull you out of some kind of fire."
"Well, it's a good thing you won't be around, because I'll stay in that fire this time!"
Max's eyebrows raised, as realization seeped into May, who started to sweat and look at her fingers.
"I mean, I'll get out of the fire myself?"
Max sighed. "Whatever sis—just don't die." He face-palmed as she tried to adjust her sentence, failing miserably. She stuck out her tongue.
"You don't die, either. I mean, how could I explain that to mom and dad?"
"You wouldn't." Max smiled finally, even though he was uncomfortable with the idea. "Let me borrow blastoise to cross the ocean—I think we're missing a flying pokemon, right? Told you we shouldn't have let the boat go."
May handed him the pokeball with a very loud scoff. There was no point in arguing with him about who did what, so instead, she scoffed and said: "Shut up."
Max was ready to turn and leave, just as May's arms wrapped around him again, squeezing him tightly.
"You're my little brother, Max. Please come home safely."
"...you, too."
XOX
Ash had a million crazy ideas over the last year that worked in his favor, but as he sneezed, he had a feeling around the world—crazier ideas were being hatched. That, or the smoke was crawling into his sinus and making his eyes water up. He fastened his jacket sleeve over his nose, and ripped a piece of his shirt for pikachu to use as they trekked over uneven terrain. It might have been easier to fly with charizard, but Ash was concerned he would earn to many looks, as the majority of town was trying to flee north on foot, by vehicle, and by pokemon. Ash had never seen so many flying pokemon in one place before—and he had a sure feeling that the majority of them didn't have their flying licenses, either!
However, it was good to see them running; at least he knew some people would survive. Hopefully, the other cities weren't hit as hard as Viridian City and Pallet Town. Ash marched up a trail that wound in behind a set of trees and shrub, and walked for a decent thirty minutes until familiar voices flooded his ears. The smoke was making him light-headed, however.
"..Is he going to be the same when this is all over...?" Brock asked quietly just as he wrapped his arms around his chest.
Ash wanted to be. He would love to be that ten-year old again, without a care in the world; but Brock was wrong, Ash had already changed so much. Done things he never thought that he could. The moment togetic broke from the group, he circled back around to Ash quietly and stooped behind the tree-line where his trainer was hiding.
"Hey." Ash mouthed, and brushed his fingers over the pokemon's scalp as his wings fluttered happily. "Sorry I took so long."
"To-kuuu." The flying pokemon responded, nuzzling Ash's head, and then sharing a head-butt with pikachu.
"I still think we can solve this without violence. Giovanni should stand before the rest of the regions." Brock muttered to no one in particular. Both former Team Rocket members shared a look of concern, and at the notion, Ash emerged from the trees as four pairs of eyes watched him dangerously, demanding immediate explanation.
"I rode in the back of a car and pikachu shocked Sebastian—I locked him in the trunk of his own car and found a boat to get us out of the city—so we should probably...go."
"That explains nothing." Jessie whined, though they followed Ash up the trail he took to find them.
"I didn't really learn a lot, just that Sebastian wants me alive, and was going to take me to Giovanni—he let his guard down though."
"He wanted to take you to that guy?" James asked as they wandered through the trail. "What for?"
"You know, I forgot to ask..." Ash's voice was muffled, hidden behind his sleeve as Brock trailed close behind. "We'll talk more when we get out of this smoke."
So they trekked silently; but Ash's mind screamed louder than ever before. When he didn't see Misty with the group, he could only assume the worst—and pray the rope from the absent boat belonged solely to her, but he couldn't let himself wonder what happened to her; not yet. Ash had to believe she survived a massive explosion once—mind control, or whatever was happening to her, had to be easier to survive than that.
What he couldn't take his mind off of, was Brock's words. The man hadn't spoken a single word to Ash since he arrived, unusual, given Brock's general mother-hen persona. Even if Ash had asked him before to stay quiet, he was sure that Brock would have hammered him with questions. Now, he saw the way the older man's brow crinkled and twitched, and his face sullen and dark. More than likely, he felt as terrible about being unable to find Misty as Ash would. Jessie, James, and Meowth, who curled over James shoulder for efficiency, were already so aware and used to losing people they cared about, they were unburdened with the loss of a friend.
The trio talked among themselves, while the usual peppy and conversational duo walked in bitter silence.
"I'm...not gonna change, Brock." somehow, he found the courage to speak, and Brock winced.
"Don't worry about it, man. Let's just concentrate on the task."
"And we're going to find Misty, at some point. She always finds her way back." He felt like he was lying to himself, but he had to try to think positively.
"I know, man..."
"Then try not to look defeated already. The night's still young. A lot can change."
"I'll try not to look so defeated when you can say that without looking so dead." Brock countered, walking in stride. Togetic's head lowered and pikachu's ears fell. "Listen, I know this going to be difficult, but I'm with you. You don't need to sugar coat the truth for me. I've been here longer than you; Team Rocket took my dad, remember?"
"I remember." Ash muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets, finding the smoke thinner as they neared their destination.
"...but I also... I know you want to help Brock, I do. I get that. Giovanni has..." Ash exhaled, he was never great with deflection, Misty was great at that, Jessie and James had taught him some of it, but Ash wore his emotions on his sleeve. He wasn't good at keeping secrets, he wasn't good at beating around the bush.
"I need you to stay behind when we go."
Brock stopped immediately. "what?"
Ash exhaled, cracking his neck to one side, both pokemon stopped to complain, and Jessie and James continued forward without a second thought, but meowth trailed behind to listen as Ash faced Brock with furrowed brows.
"I don't want you to come with us to fight Giovanni. Stay here; go turn off the tower in Saffron City, convince Lance to step down—focus on protecting the league."
"No way! I'm not leaving you again! I left you and Misty alone for a few hours and-"
"I know!" Ash screamed, he did not need to be reminded of what happened again. "I'm aware, I get it. Misty could be dead, we could screw up again, and Giovanni could be right there waiting for us—!" Ash inhaled, regaining his composure, or at least what was left of the threads.
"That's why I need you to stay here. If I screw up again, I have to know that someone is going to be here to pick up the pieces. This has been one bad call after another, and now Viridian City is under total evacuation. Pokemon are going crazy, and people are getting hurt—dying. More than I need you to watch my back, I need you to make sure there's still something left to save."
"But if you're coming back why do I-?"
Ash's face fell, his eyes turned away from him, and Brock threw his hands up and stormed away. Ash's promise to return was a fruitless promise, if he came back was the key phrase, and if wasn't good enough for Brock.
"I'm not letting you go alone with those two!" Brock yelled over his shoulder stubbornly while chasing down Jessie and James. They had stopped momentarily at the shouting behind them, but did not pry into their personal lives. Outside of the mission, they showed little interest in their affairs. Brock didn't stop to greet them, despite not knowing which direction Sebastian was in, but when Ash found them, they looked worriedly at him.
"You know...he could be helpful..." meowth mewed, but Ash groaned.
"I can't have him there." His chest hurt as he walked and pet pikachu's head. "He doesn't get it."
James frown deepened as he shared a passing glance to Jessie who could also not make eye-contact with either male. Ash was right, Brock didn't understand how dangerous and violent and hectic things could become the very moment their feet touched the same soil as Giovanni, and the three of them knew that there would be no peaceful resolution. Not anymore. Giovanni crossed too many lines, and prison didn't work last time—it won't this time.
"Yeah... I get it." James murmured, brushing his hand against Jessie's as a habitual comfort and followed Ash into the darkness.
XOX
Had the forest not been on fire, and legendary pokemon fighting around them, they might have considered taking the night off—but time was running thin, and now they had a direction.
"These coordinates take us to the Sevii islands. To think he's been so close all this time." Jessie sneered, approaching the vehicle with a map in her hands. Ash and James had wrangled Sebastian out of the car. His body was still limp and malleable from pikachu's shock, and Brock still hadn't spoken to Ash since the request.
"We should take him with us." Ash suggested to James and Jessie, behind them Brock scoffed and threw up his arms.
"Probably would be safest. If we left him here, he could escape and warn Giovanni."
"Worse comes to worse and the coordinates on the boat aren't Giovanni's location, we can squeeze him for more info." Jessie suggested while snapping her fingers.
"Mew—owth." the cat extended his claws, walking back and forth in front of the body.
"We probably shouldn't do that, meowth-!" James squeaked, his face turning red; both Jessie and Ash laughed nervously and Brock shook his head.
"So the crazed, evil therapist gets to go, but I have to stay behind?"
"Brock-" "No, no, it's fine. I'll be on the boat where I'm not needed." And he disappeared behind the tree line, with togetic on his heels in his best attempt to cheer him up. Pikachu chirped on Ash's shoulder, feeling sorry for Ash's decision, but no matter how angry Brock became. Ash wouldn't change his mind.
"James, help me lift him." Ash pointed to Sebastian's feet, that the lavender haired man was quick to grab, and then they heaved him up and away. Jessie triple checked the car for any last minute details and then followed after with meowth at her feet. There was no point in hiding the evidence. If the forest continued to burn, the car would be destroyed with the rest of it.
Sloppily, they tossed the handcuffed Sebastian onto the platform, where Brock was already sulking off to the side of the washboard. One by one, the rest of them climbed in, and James released the hitch and they started to drift. The ocean was chaotic due to the splashes caused by the Legendary pokemon, but there were no seas that Jessie, James, and Meowth couldn't handle.
"Where to first?" Jessie asked, manning the wheel.
"Celadon Bay port to drop off Brock."
"Pfft!" The man scoffed, and both Jessie and James awkwardly found the place beside one another, squeezed into the bulkhead of the boat. Meowth slowly joined them, believing that an argument was on the rise.
"I can't believe you. After everything that's happened, you honestly think leaving me behind is smart?"
"Yes."
"Even after what happened with Misty."
Ash hesitated. "Yes."
At this, Brock shook his head, licked his lips and then leaned forward, prepared to tear into Ash.
"For the last six months, I have tried to be supportive of every decision you've made. Sometimes blindly so in belief that your intuition was better than my own, but Ash, think about this. When you went to Unova, you nearly failed. When you went to find the other Legendary pokemon, you nearly failed—when you started this journey to see Giovanni you nearly failed and we played right into this trap. He has to know you're going to come for him, and you can't go, Ash. Not without me. I'm not leaving you again."
"Brock..."
"I'm not staying on the sidelines again while I watch my family get picked off one by one!"
"I already said, you have to!" Ash screamed his sharper voice silencing Brock.
"I can't have you there making me feel guilty for my actions! Peace isn't an option anymore, Brock! There's no taking Giovanni to court to answer for his deeds, there's no convincing the league, or changing the minds of the people—they don't need their minds changed, they need to be saved. So when we go to face Giovanni, it's his head or ours. Are you okay with that?!"
Brock didn't reply immediately. Ash already knew, from the time Brock took the weapon from him, to trying to cut off the root of the problem. The answer was no. Ash continued. "That's why I need you to do what you do best. Be the political one and help the region now. They need it more than ever and it needs to be you. If Misty can't do this, you have to."
"You don't have to be the only hero, you know. You don't have to shoulder this alone."
"Yeah, but I'm not really alone." he glanced slightly at Jessie and James, recalling their stories; recalling the journal, his confessions to Sebastian. They may not have been friends, but they had the same goals. "I started this, so I have to finish this."
Twitching, Brock shook his head in disagreement as the Celadon Bay pier moved closer. How many times had he said goodbye to this young man? Now for the first time, he thought it could be the last, and he was so angry.
"I should be there."
"No, you shouldn't. I should have never gotten anyone else involved in this."
Scoffing, Brock shot him a worried look. "We got you involved, don't twist the story."
Ash smiled, and shook his head. Irrational, suppressed guilt eating at him. "Brock, I came to you with pipe dreams and nightmares and pulled the rest of the region in with me. If something happened to Misty, it's because of me. If something happened to my mom or my brother, it's because of me. If Kanto burns to the ground, it's because of me. Believe it or not, when I woke up a year ago, I started this somehow, some way, and I have to set things straight. Do you get that?"
"Not at all. I think you're being dramatic, and it doesn't suit you." Brock admitted harshly, his anger boiling behind a calm composure, but Ash shrugged.
"You don't have to." Ash looked down, brown eyes void of sadness, full of acceptance. "Thanks for being my friend, Brock."
The boat rocked against the pier, and Brock grabbed his back pack without a passing glance and shook his head stubbornly as he exited off the deck, stepping over Sebastian and practically growling at Jessie, James and meowth, who he believed only made the situation worse, and Ash crazier.
"Thank me when you come back."
"I'll try."
Ash watched until Brock disappeared from sight, probably due to the smoke before staring back at James, and the back of Jessie who was steering the boat once again. Meowth informed Ash that he made the right call, but James sunk slightly.
"That wasn't a very warm goodbye." as opposed to their usual; no hugs, no hopeful solutions. Ash inhaled sharply.
"That's alright..." he sunk into the side of the boat, glaring at Sebastian, stewing in his own frustrations.
James looked like he wanted to pursue the conversation and issue, Ash's sudden aloof coldness, but instead nodded. Maybe now wasn't the time to press the issue. Regardless of the reasons, Ash was right to send Brock away to contain Kanto's rampage. Otherwise, there might not have been anything left to return to. No one left to protect from the evils of the world.
Ash, looking back at the pier once more, where Brock's shadow disappeared only moments ago, squeezed his eyes shut, and stroked the ears of a very worried pikachu.
"This is for the best..." I hope.
Author's Note:
I've hinted before that May had friends who were former rangers (In this case, Brendan)—as well as Hoenn's weak grasp on civility. In the games, the rival (Brendan, in this case) are a huge factor in helping out the protagonist, so I thought the throwback was good; not to mention they are no longer trainers at the end of the game; but they are still friends. I thought it was just a good tie-in to May's heritage in Hoenn, as well as understanding that the population was teetering for years on a revolution, they just needed a push.
See you in a little bit!
NINT