Locked Away, Chapter 60
Brock hated this.
He was sidelined by his best friend.
Ash's reasoning for Brock staying behind was solid. If Ash failed, someone would need to be here to pick up the pieces. Someone needed to make sure that the towers were disengaged. Someone needed to be ready for a counter strike against Team Rocket. And Someone had to tell their story if Ash didn't come back safely.
...But damn it, why did it have to be Brock?
Brock wasn't with Ash from the beginning, he knew that. It took time before he and Ash were even comfortable in the same room, but they had all been through a lot of issues together, and it was together that they managed to survive.
Brock knew that Jessie, James, and Meowth were with Ash on this journey, but Brock couldn't trust them. They tied them up and left them in a cabin in the middle of no where, sent them to Unova without real information, and used them.
If anyone should have stayed behind, it should have been them! Brock was one of the first people that was screwed over by Team Rocket, after all. They killed his father, separated his family, scared away his mother... Brock had every right to see through as much as Ash and Misty did!
Yet he sat quietly on the moving train, his head occasionally rattling against the window, and his stomach tied in knots. After leaving the Celadon City Bay, he took the first train to Saffron City where citizens were being transferred for safety reasons. Parts of Celadon City were uninhabitable because of violent pokemon, and the parts that were safe were encased in smoke from the distant fire in Viridian City.
Rumor had it that Saffron City was safe; untouched by the chaos. That would be news to Brock, who traveled with fellow citizens for numerous reasons. One was originally to attend Misty Waterflower's funeral, which he presumed would be canceled due to the mayhem in the region. The next, was to warn the remaining Waterflower sisters, and take out the tower that was causing troubles in neighboring cities.
Brock was here to grieve as much as he was to keep the peace.
Unfortunately, as the train drew closer to Saffron City, Brock was uncertain how he could take the rest of the league on his own. With the towers out of the picture, he still had the entire Elite Four breathing down his neck. Assuming they had a safety net if plans went wrong, Brock wasn't sure the people of the region would believe him unless he could get Lance to confess to his life of crime. Brock was never great at getting people to talk, or see situations from a new angle; those traits belonged solely to Ash and Misty, where Brock was more of a side-character, a support character. Without them, he felt hopeless, and couldn't help but bury his face in his hands.
The heart. Misty referenced before, when informing Brock about what role he played in Ash's dreams. Repressed emotion, frustration: dedication. Right now, Brock didn't feel like any of that; it took all of his mental capacity to remain focused during evacuation. Staying quiet when people asked what happened to him was heart wrenching. With carts packed full of trainers and residents, there wasn't room to breath, let alone wrap his head around what came next.
The two hours on the train felt like twenty, and regardless of his will, he occasionally drifted in and out of sleep, where nightmares plagued him.
In his dreams, everything was over, but everyone he cared about was dead. How would he move forward with everyone else gone? Betrayed by the people that he trusted; Agatha stabbed him in the back, and twisted the knife. The hope he had for humanity was diminishing, and what was left of sanity seemed lost to everyone.
What was worse would be the casualties, the horror stories. People hiding in their homes. The equality between pokemon and humans would forever be damaged after this; if it ever ended. There wasn't yet a break in the chaos, and Brock was trying his best not to drown. He prayed that there was some good news when he reached Saffron city, that the blizzard in Sinnoh stopped, that Unova wasn't planning to go to war, and that hopefully Dawn somehow managed to convince people to work together after her speech. But... the closer he travelled to the city, the more unlikely his hopes became.
Everyone around him was terrified.
Under their breath, people swore that they knew this was coming, they hoped that it wouldn't, but it was inevitable. Some people prayed, others were angry. The majority wanted to pretend that it wasn't that bad, that there was a strong case of melodrama, and Saffron City would be a safe haven.
Brock found it hard to believe, that only a year ago, he was no different than these strangers on the train. Perpetually in denial, wishing it would get better—pretending it wasn't getting worse.
How completely stupid.
Wrapped in his own thoughts, deep in a trance of despair, Brock nearly missed the train roaring to a full stop, even though they were still a few miles outside of Saffron City.
"Please stay calm. Given recent events, we must proceed with caution. Please take your personal items and exit the train."
"Exit the train? Are they joking?" Brock groaned, sitting up as the few people he shared a cart with started wailing in disagreement.
Doors opened, followed by military foot stops, and Brock was on his feet, scouting out the isles, where he saw Kanto Region Military officers escorting people off of the train, and explaining themselves.
"We mean no harm, and we request that you to stay calm. With Saffron City under full lock down, from here, you'll have to walk the rest of the way. It's a thirty minute walk, and once there, you'll be asked to go through a security check, and then will be assigned a safe zone within the city. Thank you for your cooperation, and please follow my fellow officers, and stay on the path marked by orange guide posts."
One by one, people were shuffled from the train, and into the open, muddy ground of the forest, helped only by a small rail from the cart to the ground. Brock vaguely remembered landing here with Ash and Misty only a few weeks ago, and his skin crawled.
Back then, they were on the run, in search of answers. Now, he had the answers, but didn't like the solutions he was given. Above, lightning crackled, as the fires in the Viridian Forest were already pushing storm clouds above them. A light mist soaked them all within seconds as the officers motioned for people to begin following.
XOX
Luckily, the thirty minute walk felt like a stroll for Brock, who over the last few months trained for far worse. When they reached the city, he stayed at the back of the line, in hopes of stalling.
People were placing their pokeballs into bags, and handing them over to the guards at the check station, but Brock was not comfortable with that. For what it was worth, the security guards were trying their best to accommodate the many different people arriving from other cities, but call him crazy, he didn't trust anyone, especially not with his pokemon.
"Alright, Harrison. Stop stalling, let's go."
Brock shouldn't have been surprised that someone recognized him, after all, he was the Pewter City Gym leader, but he was still surprised.
The officer that approached him was a few inches taller than he was, and grabbed Brock's upper arm with a gentleness that the gym leader found familiar. The helmet the guard wore prevented him from seeing his face, but beyond the eye-shield, Brock thought the young man looked familiar.
Shame he didn't have more time to investigate before he was told to part with his pokemon.
"Where will they be taken once you have them?" Brock asked, begrudgingly picking them off of his belt, and placing them in a sac that the familiar guard held. The number written on the bag was "250", and the guard handed Brock a matching tag.
"They will be placed in a secure location and returned to the owners after we have been cleared."
"And if we're never cleared?"
"Then whether or not you have your pokemon with you should be the last of your concerns." The guard gestured to the metal detector. "Now please enter through the doors and speak with the woman beyond the counter to be transferred to your location."
"Thanks." Brock's jaw felt slack. He felt naked without his pokemon on his belt, and wouldn't feel better until they were there again.
The metal detector had no miscommunication, and Brock went through without problems until he was standing in the line up to receive his ticket to his safe zone.
Around him, he felt people were watching him. A few people were police officers, which scared him, knowing from his last visit that the police were compromised. Brock kept his eyes glued to the vans escorting people out of the entrance zone. He recognized the people sliding into the vehicles. Other gym leaders, like Erica were placed in smaller vans, while regular citizens were placed in larger buses to take them to their destination. Everyone else had a ticket, but Brock was not given one.
A gut feeling, perhaps, but he had a daunting feeling that his final destination would be less like a safe house, and more like an uncomfortable, metal place with bars and stone walls. His paranoia was proving to be true, as the police called one another, then one by one filed in to speak with him.
Brock tried to stay cool as blood pumped into his legs and sweat dripped from the back of his neck.
If they got near him, he was going to run. Brock couldn't take the chance getting caught, he would never get the tower shut down. Ash was depending on him. However, he was without his pokemon, and the Kanto Military used brute force—if he couldn't outrun them, maybe he could out-smart them. Inhaling, Brock refocused his attention, and moved forward, just as a guard he overlooked grabbed his upper arm.
"I'm sorry, sir. You have to come with me."
Brock didn't resist. There was no point in drawing so much attention to himself, so he nodded grimly, and allowed the man to guide him away from the safety of the public eye, and around a corner, leading into the darkened streets of Saffron City. His breathing slowed.
When he was away from peering eyes, Brock would escape. Around the corner, he saw another, smaller vehicle, and whipped his arm down, breaking the guard's grip, and turned violently around to fight the man. Immediately, Brock recognized the guard as the one who escorted him into the city, but he didn't pull his punch when he sucker punched the man, only to be twisted, and put into a headlock.
"Let me go! You don't understand what they're doing!" Brock pleaded seconds before he was slammed against the wall, and held there until he quieted.
"We know that there's something wrong." The guard hissed, releasing Brock and removing his helmet quickly, revealing the same, tanned skin, narrow eyes, and dark brown hair; spiked in several directions. The voice, Brock recognized more clearly now, and when he glanced at the perpetrator, he was less surprised to see that it was his brother, Forest, staring back at him. Brock's entire body heaved.
"Forest?"
"Shut up." He commanded, then replaced his helmet. "They were going to bring you directly to Lance, for your connection to that terrorist, Ash Ketchum."
Brock scoffed at the word 'terrorist'. "And you were going to let them?"
Forest responded by shoving the bag with '250' written on it, back into Brock's hands, and shaking his head.
"We may have grown apart the last few years, but I know you're not a criminal."
"So let them take me to Lance, I wouldn't mind having a chat with him, anyways." Brock mused, straightening up his shoulders.
"I can't do that. Lance has... been crazy. The last few people we brought to him were thrown in jail, and none of them were as unspeakable as being associated with a terrorist."
Brock raised his eyebrows, blinking twice as Forest continued. "Lance doesn't seem to care who is right or wrong anymore. He's just taking out anyone with opinions different than his."
"So where are you bringing me?"
"To the same location as the rest of the gym leaders and prominent members of our society. We're going to drop you off between the two vans arrival. You'll slip in like you were supposed to be there all along."
"Forest... don't get me wrong, I appreciate your help... but why are you helping?"
"...Because I'd assume you're not just here for the funeral. And, if your track record is correct, you may have a solution for all the chaos."
For a moment, Brock thought to open up to his brother about what he was really here for, but kept the details to himself, in favor of a nod.
"Thank you."
Forest rolled his shoulders, probably a bit flattered. "Don't thank me yet."
Around the corner, a car that Brock saw previously pulled up, and Forest shoved Brock into the the open door, then immediately shut it. The darkness swallowed him, as well as his confusion. The men were clearly fellow officers that Forest trusted, but as they hit every bump in the city, Brock wasn't sure if he trusted them. They didn't speak, they hardly looked at Brock, and when they finally stopped, it was in front of the Northeast pokemon center, where they slid open the door, and kicked Brock out into the swarm of people waiting to get inside.
Forest shared one last glance to his older brother, with a confident nod, and then they sped off before Brock could thank them. The sun was fading fast, and the lights of the city were overtaking the crippling fear, and doom.
Carefully, as Forest suggested, Brock followed the swarm of people that entered the pokemon center, completely unnoticed. At the front of the line up, standing on top of a desk, a nurse shouted directions. She had long teal hair, and wore a pink set of scrubs; with a gorgeous face. If Brock wasn't so stupefied by what his estranged brother helped him with, and the weight of the world wasn't crashing down on him, he might have asked for the nurse's number.
"Please, everyone stay calm. If you're returning from a walk, please stay in your rooms, if you're just arriving please come to the lobby for processing while we wait for more information!"
Brock certainly didn't envy her position, and made his way to the lobby, and kept his head low.
"Feels like we're in a prison." Came a voice from a corner he thought he recognized, followed immediately by one he did know.
"Yeah, this is crap."
When he turned to see the rainbow-hair -color sisters, Brock faintly smiled. At least he wouldn't need to hunt them down. Maybe luck was still in his favor.
Standing by the window, watching people as they were brought inside, were the three Sensational Sisters themselves, dressed all in black, with their hair tied up, and far-too professional looking for their normal attire. They wore similar black outfits. The blonde, who Brock recognized as Daisy, was the only of three sitting at the table. She wore a pair of slacks with white lines, suit jacket to match, and white blouse. Lily, known primarily for her bright, pink hair had on a fitting black dress that went past her knees, and a scowl over her face. While Violet, wore a simple black blouse with a black pencil skirt. Compared to their usual fun attires, it was shocking to see them dressed like this….
And so sad. Brock's heart ached.
They had no idea what was going on. They came to Saffron City for the funeral of their beloved sister. Completely unaware of what horrors were about to begin when they arrived.
Now they were waiting in a Pokemon Center, tapping their feet and throwing back coffee. Aside from the time he knew them alongside Misty, he saw the sisters from television and at several board meetings throughout the years, but he had never seen them look so worn out and tired. Daisy stared lifelessly at her coffee, as if she had failed gravely. Lily and Violet scowled, wearing their anger as a mask to hide their sadness.
At first, Brock wasn't sure how to approach them. He didn't want to lie. Originally, his intent was to tell them that Misty was fine—but the necklace Misty gave him as proof burned his neck now. Since that promise, situations changed. He wasn't sure that Misty was okay. Whatever Giovanni did to her messed her up pretty bad, she ran off, hurt Jessie and James, and was no where to be seen. He hesitated, but when blue eyes saw him, Daisy didn't.
"Brock?" Daisy's voice cut the air between them, as well as Lily and Violet's complaints as the eldest sister launched herself at the tall man, and hugged him fiercely, tears already filling her eyes.
"Thank goodness you're okay. We thought when Misty..." She backed off, looking him over. "I'm glad you're okay."
It was like he had swallowed his tongue, because when he tried to speak to the sisters, his mind went blank. Suddenly, it didn't matter where Misty was; only that he had to tell them. Anything so they wouldn't cry, as they were all about to start.
"Misty's not dead." fell out of his mouth—it was far better than she's okay, and not nearly as bad as the full story, but in the moment, it was all he could manage and the look of surprise that replaced the grief was the smallest of victories.
XOX
At first, the three women were shocked into silence, staring ghost faced at Brock as he searched for more appropriate words to fill the void.
"She… There was an accident outside of Pallet Town, but thankfully, she and Gary survived. It was a trap...and…" Brock stopped, feeling as if he was still being watched, and turned to look around him.
"I think we should speak in private."
At that, Daisy was the first to clue back into reality and shook her head slightly.
"They have us monitored most of the time. We aren't supposed to leave the building unless we have an escort or legitimate reason." She lowered her voice. "It's almost like they have put us in prison."
"And they only allow family members or direct employees of the pokemon league into this center." Lily gestured with her hair, but did not look. Brock tried not to.
"Surge and his gang of weirdos are over on that side. They have been helping police the place in order to have more authority and action."
"Then why are you three here? Misty is..well, they think…"
Their eyebrows twitched in unison, it was fairly terrifying.
"You know, we did help run the Cerulean City gym for years before Misty took over."
"Yeah, but that was years ago."
Unimpressed, they kicked their foot out and tilted their heads. "So?"
"Well... never mind...then.." Brock shrugged nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. Often time, he found Misty intimidating, so seeing that it was a trait that ran in the family was refreshing. Unfortunately, it made him miss Misty even more.
Smiling softly, Brock gestured around them.
"I think we should discuss everything else in private." he repeated, as he was not going to risk the entire operation simply because he was rejoiced to see Daisy, Lily and Violet.
"Yeah, that's fine." Daisy replied, having taken the position of temporary leader of the trio.
Quietly, they sat back at the table, though the air about the sisters was much lighter than before. Lily and Violet complained a great deal less, and Daisy even tried small talk to pass the time. She asked how the other one was, more than likely referring to Ash; who Brock still had a sour taste in his mouth over.
"He's alright." Brock muttered, pursing his lips, and drinking the water that was brought over to him by the same nurse that has been shouting; who was now trying to talk with other groups around the center.
"So... they plan on just keeping us here?" He asked, wanted to change the subject to something more reasonable.
"Yeah. We have already been here for a few days. We have designated rooms, but they don't want people in them during the day." Lily explained, swiping a strand of hair from her face.
"So they can watch everyone and everything?" he asked, to which they nodded.
"Pretty much... We were told that Lance was supposed to be here any time to give further instruction on what's been happening, but, as you can tell, we're all still here." Daisy elaborated.
"You wouldn't want to see Lance anyways, he's kind of a terrible person."
"No, really?" Daisy taunted with a sneer.
For a moment, their visit was lighthearted and playful, but as most events have happened lately, it changed in an instant. The front doors swung open, and Brock naturally flinched, believing he had been caught running away. However, walking through the doors was non-other than Lance with four armed guards behind him.
Talk about making an entrance.
All eyes were on the Dragon master's stern expression as he adjusted his suit, and looked around the room at the many confused and concerned expressions. Brock dipped away, trying to hide himself from the Elite Four member, but without much effort, they made eye contact from across the room, and Brock's stomach threatened to leap out of his mouth. Surprisingly, Lance made no effort to leap at Brock, and instead, he marched forward until he was at the center of the room.
"Good evening, my friends."
Lance's voice demanded silence as he twisted his fingers together, and looked out at everyone. He was a wonderful performer, displaying genuine remorse, despite being evil.
"Kanto has fallen under a siege, it appears. Unova has started a war by attacking us at our hearts—our pokemon. We wish that there was more we could do at the moment, but for now, we can only wait until we are prepared to take the fight to them."
Gesturing, he mad a fist, and slammed it into his hand as he sadly shook his head.
"And now, our neighbors to the north, the Sinnoh residents, are asking to come into our home, after declaring us unfit members of the league because of an imaginary connection to Team Rocket." he paused for dramatic effect. "We are not influenced by Team Rocket, which you may believe is exactly what we would say if we were; but what would we have to gain by working with such vile members of society? These last few hours of destruction around the regions, coupled with these accusations has lead us to devastation, and we can only hope that in the end, we can rebuild in peace."
"What if there's nothing left to rebuild, Lance?" Brock asked hastily, straightening out his shoulders.
The older man's expression changed from one of grief, to anger in a second; but then returned to a calmer expression as not to deter those that remained loyal to him.
"Harrison.. I believe you are in the wrong location, are you not?"
"Nope. This is where they brought me."
"Well..." Lance shook his head. "Then be mindful of your peers. Not everyone elected to help a madman who crossed the seas into Unova that started all of this. After all... it was your interfering that cost us the life of our dear, Miss Waterflower, was it not?"
Brock grit his teeth, people looked at him with disdain and frustration. They looked down on him for his decisions—and they knew nothing.
"Really? Because the changes Misty was working for didn't come to an abrupt end because of her unfortunate death?" Violet piped in, eyes like daggers to the dragon-master.
For that, he had no answer.
"If you choose to defy me then..."
"Alright, that's enough!" the woman with teal hair cut in. Black bags rolled layers beneath her eyes when she threw her arm out between them. "There will be no fighting here. Lance, if you've said all that you need to say, can I please get these people situated?"
Lance thought hard about his next few moments, and then nodded. "I will keep in touch. Hopefully these will not be our living arrangements for much longer."
Sulking away, he approached the table where Brock and the Waterflower sisters were sitting, and leaned over, pressing his hand again the table.
"...I must add, that I am terribly sorry for your loss..." He licked his lips, as if he was trying to hide a smile. "Misty was a phenomenal young woman."
"...And Brock, seeing as you somehow avoided your original location, until we can sort out Ash Ketchum's role in these attacks—my guards will be keeping a very close eye on you." then he leaned forward, and whispered into the man's ear, leaving Brock with a very dark scowl.
When he turned away, he rubbed his face with his hands; as if he was wiping the smirk away so no one would see him in his treacherous ways, and finally Daisy clawed her nails into the table and growled as Brock added:
"I want him to burn in hell."
XOX
The sun set behind the horizon, a sinking feeling left behind that they wouldn't be successful. The air quality was already effected by the smoke in Viridian Forest, and they were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
It all seemed so crazy, that they were being held against their will. The nurse with teal hair watched them from a distance, talking among themselves, trying to figure a way out of the center. There was not one, not for them-not for people that would be contained at the sight by all means necessary, if the armed guards stationed at the doors were any indication. This was exactly what she feared for all these years, since Team Rocket was first found infecting the Kanto Region.
Ash Ketchum, that boy from a few months ago, who she believed started Route Eight's fire. Who rode in on a charizard with a sick pikachu. Who spoke to pokemon and who wanted a peaceful life.
People will take advantage of that gift. Was the advice that Suzy gave him at that time, and since then-she saw his picture everywhere. A kind, confused soul; but no terrorist. No mastermind of evil. Now, his friends, or at least people that knew him were trapped against their will, waiting for the fight to be over.
Here she was, waiting alongside them. Waiting for years, for months. For any opportunity to flee-but never fight back. Tucked beneath a binder on the desk was a flight to the Sinnoh Region: dated for a week from now. She was finally going to start helping pokemon again, instead of pretending to be a nurse in a pokemon center that stopped helping pokemon years ago. However, plans changed, and snow had overtaken the city, the champion, Cynthia, was dead, and she was stuck in lock down with the rest of the citizens of Kanto.
Stroking her hair, she leaned back in her chair, resulting in a large creek, and a concerned look from her fellow nurses, who were just as stressed out as she was.
She closed her eyes, trying hard to remember that visit with Ash-he was only one of a million people, and yet somehow so familiar. Inhaling, she had a few decisions to make, that were better forced out than thought over. The nurse approached the table where Daisy, Lily, Violet, and the Pewter Gym Leader, Brock were sitting.
"Hi, sorry for bugging you," Her voice was overly sweet, nothing like her meeting with Ash. Her hands were clasped together. "I just wanted to check up on you?"
Brock, who had been silent since the argument with Lance stared baffled out the window, begrudging to listen to anyone who might be siding with Lance. He hadn't even spoken with the sisters, who were scratching out escape plans-all of which were decorated with so many holes, it would never possibly happen.
Desperately, the girls flung out their arms to tuck the papers away before the nurse saw it, but she didn't seem to mind. She wanted out, too.
"Were fine. Just fine. As fine as prisoners could be." Responded a rude Violet hastily, smiling while Suzy shrugged gently.
"You're not prisoners." She tried, but their glum and hateful expressions begged to differ. She placed her fingers on the table, reaching for a pencil. Her back was up in a weird way-as if she was intentionally blocking the view of a camera resting above their heads.
"In fact, I have a few rooms with extra beds in them. I'm sure we could make some room if you asked."
Her words said one thing, the note she scratched said another.
I WANT OUT. Was written on the paper Daisy tried to hide, and the three sisters' backs arched while the nurse flipped the paper around, then crunched it into her pocket. Beneath the table, Daisy kicked Brock for his attention as the woman tucked her hands into her scrub pockets and offered them a smile. It took them a moment to realize that she was waiting for a reply.
"Uh... yeah, sure. Do you have one with a shower? We're still in funeral clothes, and..." Daisy leaned in jokingly, and whispered: "I think we're starting to smell."
"While I have a few spare beds, I'm afraid outside of those, the only shower remaining is the one that the pokemon use."
While the sisters remained quiet, and possibly disgusted. Brock finally turned at the nurse and shrugged.
"It's better than nothing..." he squinted at her for a moment, searching for a name tag.
"Suzy, my name is Suzy." She extended her hand. "And you're Brock Harrison and the Sensational sisters."
"We haven't been called that in awhile." Lily laughed, stroking the back of her neck while they exchanged pleasantries.
"We should get going then, I'm sure they don't want you gone for very long."
"Probably not." Brock grumbled as he scoot out of his chair with the Sensational sisters in tow.
Suzy backed away from the table, her shoes scuffing the floor while she turned to lead them down a hallway around the back of the counter. Most of the rooms were past the lobby, but since that was occupied by over three dozen people, she lead them around the back, to the pokemon room—only, they were stopped at the entrance by a guard.
"Wait, they can't go back there." His tone was deep, hardened from a life of being given heinous orders, and forced to follow them out.
"I know, but there are no more available showers, and they would like to get out of their funeral clothes before going to bed."
"Funeral clothes?" he glanced over, the three girls he believed, Brock, who was still in worn jeans and a tee-shirt covered in dry dirt and stains, not so much.
"Harrison can't leave our sight, you can take the Waterflower sisters..." he paused uncomfortably. "I'm so sorry for your loss."
They scowled at him, and retracted into themselves at the comment while Suzy pressured the guard.
"I'm not sure you have stood next to Harrison for very long, have you?" She leaned in, trying to hide her expression. "People are complaining he smells like road kill."
Even though the guard wore a face mask, and combat armor, they still saw the grimace and shudder as he watched Brock, who was simply unimpressed.
"I mean...I still can't. I have direct orders."
Suzy smiled. "Then why don't you follow us back there?" She suggested with a flutter of her eyes. "That way, you're still following orders and he gets a shower."
Obviously, the guard had to think about it he looked at his fellow guardsmen who hadn't seen excitement all night as they were bringing in more people even after the sun had set, and eventually nodded in agreement.
"Alright, but no funny business."
"Believe me, no one wants to get shot." Suzy laughed, but no one else thought it was funny other than the man she invited with them. With a turn of her head, she pat Daisy, who stood the closest on the shoulder, and ushered them forward.
"Alright, come, come, let's go."
Sharing nervous glances, Brock realized this may not have been the best idea, and perhaps Suzy's idea of out was different than theirs. Hesitantly, he follow the guard and Suzy who tried to make small talk, all the while trying to find his own way out. Other nurses were around them as Suzy twisted corridors to the back entrance, where she jingled keys from her pocket.
"Don't mind the mess, this is where the pokemon are bathed." Suzy inserted the key into the small keyhole, and then the heavy metal door swung open to reveal a steel room with several curtains and drains. The room was large enough to fit several fully grown tyranitars, and they were stunned by its cleanliness.
"Pardon the mess?" Brock echoed in concern while Suzy waved them over to the bath supplies. Brock saw soap, and towels and some large metal objects that appeared very frightening, as well as restraints. Suzy, however, didn't seem to mind them.
"Not all of the pokemon like to bath, so we have to hold them down." She explained while handing each sister a towel and some soap, as well as fresh linen robes to cover themselves with. Even the sisters were concerned but only Brock hesitated—not as easily trusting. He exhaled.
"Thanks for the help." he muttered in disgust at her while she simply smiled and nodded.
"You're welcome." She then pointed around the corner. "The showers to this side of the building are the most human friendly. Turn the knobs a little to the right—they stick a little so you might have to give it a little bit of a twist."
Suzy gestured with her hands, far too peppy to be normal and Brock rubbed his scalp. With the guard there, he couldn't even flee, and the idea of overtaking him was laughable. He was a fully armed, and trained soldier. Brock was fit, but he was also exhausted, worn out; a little beaten up and sore, and far too fragile to take on a man with a gun and a knife. This was what being helpless felt like. Brock actually wondered if Ash would have tackled the man, or thrown a pokemon at his head. Brock couldn't lie, he thought of throwing a pokemon at the guard's head, but Rock pokemon moved slow, and he couldn't risk putting Misty's sisters or Suzy in danger if he didn't go down right away. Brock turned into his small stall, two down from the sisters individual ones to give them more privacy, and exhaled quietly to himself.
Maybe that was why Brock was a coward, he thought far too much about-
"Agh—Fuck!"
Brock dropped his items and spun around, jolting out of the curtains to look out at the guard who was lying on the ground, twitching—and then with another zap and light show, stopped all together. Standing as horrified as him, the sisters watched as Suzy backed away from the guard, holding one of the large metal objects that Brock only now realized were stun-rods. The top of it was smoking, and she held almost no remorse in her eyes when she looked up.
"They expect us to use them on pokemon, why not them?"
As if that was a logical reason behind her behavior. They put their hands up as a precaution, and took steps backwards.
"We're not next, are we?"
Suzy was offended by the remark, and snarled at the woman. "What? No." She shook her head. "I would have preferred not to hurt anyone, but I wasn't going to argue with him and make a suspicious scene. Now, everyone thinks that we're being monitored—which gives us more time to access the tunnels."
"Tunnels?" they echoed while Suzy pointed to Brock's waist.
"I saw you have your pokemon on you—which ones?"
Brock, flabbergasted shook his head while all eyes watched him. He thought that he had them hidden better.
"Geodude, onix, aerodactyl, ryhorn... I haven't been home in awhile, so I haven't switched it up."
"Geodude will have to do. There's a grate just around the corner here-" She lead them across the large, metal room, to an area in the back that was grated off; a passing point into the sewers. Clearly, this was where all the excess water that wasn't caught in small stalls would drain off, as the entire room was angled slightly to the edge of the trap.
"-If he can bend the edge enough we can crawl inside. There's an access in there where they clean the traps every weekend. We can use that to access the utility tunnels and hopefully the old Saffron Sewers."
"...Oh, I hate those." Brock grumbled, having had enough experience in a sewer from his last visit, though, he didn't complain when he released geodude and gave him the orders.
"This might take a minute, so make sure no one can follow us."
"No problem. I'll go lock the door."
When she left, Brock went in close.
"Geodude will have that grate out in less than a minute—we need to discuss what we do with her."
"Suzy?" Daisy echoed. "Well, she got us out of here, so I guess we bring her along?"
"She just went full Abigail on that guard back there."
"...Full what?" asked Violet, who scrunched up her face.
"Never mind that—can we trust her?"
"I don't know..." they said while glancing back at the woman who made full strides back to the grate, looking none-the-wiser to their conversation. Suddenly, when they crossed their arms and stopped her in her tracks, she finally lowered her shoulders.
"What?"
"Why did you help us?" came immediately, and Suzy huffed.
"Does it matter?"
"...Well, yeah. We've just been stabbed in the back so much we have to cover our asses."
Suzy's eyebrow arched but she exhaled and folded her arms with a hasty nod.
"If I'm being honest, I was leaving anyways. I have a cabin out by Lavender Town that I can stay in until this is over."
"Then why help us?"
She shrugged. "My civil duty, I suppose? You knew that Ash, kid, right? The guy who talks to pokemon? I'm assuming Lance is up to no good since he's been policing the city since I can remember, and you guys seem like genuinely decent people that want to stop that, so...Is that good enough of a reason?"
"So you don't want to help us stop whatever is happening?" Daisy asked, confused.
Temporarily, her brown eyes softened. "I mean... I'm devastated to see the pokemon behaving like this, but if Team Rocket is involved—what can we do? I told that kid to be careful, and he wasn't."
"Wasn't a coward? Yeah, Ash is one of the bravest kids I know." Brock mocked her use of the word 'child' and shook his head. "You can do what you want. Thank you for helping us to this point."
And without another comment, geodude groaned to let Brock know that he was finished, and one by one, they filed into the tunnel. Brock asked geodude to seal the grate behind them so if the guard Suzy went stun-gun happy with woke up, he wouldn't be able to easily follow them. If at all.
Once they were in the sewer tunnel, Brock was happy to know this one was mostly out of service—the water canal was drilled into a back-up system beneath the former sewer tunnel, which meant the smell was minimum, and the journey wouldn't be grated with sickening toxins.
"I wasn't implying that Ash was a child—I was simply stating that..."
"You know, you don't really know anything about him, so just stop, okay?" A little sensitive, Brock jerked forward in a huff, until the light disappeared, and he came to a standstill.
"Then why don't you tell me what happened?"
"Pfft, do you have all night?" Daisy asked, but then looked to Brock. "Actually, we have questions, too." She added. "Maybe we should talk about what's been happening before we leap into the next step of this plan—whatever it is."
Brock stopped, he hadn't fully thought about involving the sisters, or Suzy, but staring back at them, their beady, concerned eyes watching him; he finally nodded in agreement.
"We'll talk about it as we walk. I don't want to be found by crazy people..."
So, Brock started from the beginning, the parts he could remember, like meeting Ash, and hearing about his crazy dreams. He talked about deciding to remove Team Rocket's hold on Kanto after proving it existed, about how they believed they would win, and had all the means necessary... until they didn't. He talked about the bad stuff, which lately seemed to outweigh the good. He told them about Unova, about Jessie, James, and Meowth. He told them about the accident—about the old laboratory in Pallet Town. He told them about May and Gary's accidental involvement, about Dawn's choices to join them. He told them about his concern for Ash's mental health, and the future that they were fighting for.
For as much as he could remember, for all the parts he didn't want to; he told them everything until their feet were tired, slagging against the concrete of the old sewer tunnels, and wondering what to do next.
"...So... We have to basically destroy the signal tower that is inside of the Saffron Tower?"
"Pretty much." Brock nodded solemnly, though they couldn't see his expression. It was far too dark.
"Saffron Tower employs thousands of people; we can't destroy it like the rioters in Hoenn." Suzy spoke as the only voice of reason.
"Yeah, but we can't let Team Rocket win, either. They're destroying innocent pokemon—and there's no telling how many people have gotten hurt already."
"Then..." Daisy muttered, pulling on her sister, who pulled on the next person in front of her to bring everyone to a full stop. They had been wandering around in the sewers for a good hour, mindlessly listening to Brock's tale as they tried to decide what to do next.
"Why don't we separate?" Daisy paused, waving her hands around. "Like, half of us can go to Saffron Tower and convince everyone to leave, and the other half can go to Silph Co. to find that computer guy—Clement?"
"Clemont." Brock corrected, "but why? He could be in jail, for all we know?"
"But do you really think someone as brilliant as you described him would be beneficial in jail? If anything, I bet Lance's too cocky to lock him away. I would almost bet that he's still there."
"...That's a big risk, Daisy." A concerned Lily whined, crossing her arms.
"But it's really the only shot we have! He practically designed these towers, didn't he?"
"Well... we aren't sure, but he did help."
"Then he should know how to bring them down without destroying everything, shouldn't he? We need him on our side!" Daisy exclaimed, throwing up her arms. "I don't care if I have to go and get him myself!"
"That's the thing, you can't." Suzy chimed in, "They shut down the roads leading to the tower and Silph Co about a week ago..."
"Probably shortly after we left the last time." Brock added nonchalant while Daisy huffed.
"So we do what? Sit on our hands?! I thought we were supposed to be the heroes here!"
"Well... Sort of. Really hadn't decided on a way to stop the signal tower yet..."
"We're out of time, Harrison! I'm deciding for us unless you have a better idea!"
Brock fumbled, he definitely didn't like Daisy's tone—but the rage and passion beneath it reminded him of Misty's voice, and a pang shot through his chest so painful he had to inhale to catch his breath.
"I don't."
"Then it's decided. We'll split up and somehow we will end this. Tonight."
"I like the idea, Daisy." Violet nodded her agreement, speaking for the first time since they entered the sewers; when she did, she brought with her a spark of light she managed to put together using the stun-rod that Suzy brought, and her jacket.
"It'll be like one last Sensational Sister hurrah." She smiled, their faces visible now thanks to the homemade torch.
"So we'll go." Daisy smiled, but the grin didn't last long.
"No, you, Lily, and the nurse will go to Saffron Tower; you're both great at acting, so you'll figure out some way to get in there, won't you?"
"But-" Before Daisy had time to finish, Violet waved her home-made torch at Brock and narrowed her blue eyes.
"I'll go to Silph Co. with Brock, and see if we can find this Clemont guy, since I'm assuming we won't be able to just walk in there. If he's not there, they probably have some kind of paper trail to his location. "
Brock shook his head. "And how do you expect to help?"
Pursing her lips, Violet tried to hide her smirk. "Where do you think Misty learned all of her nefarious habits? We practically raised her, you know."
XOX
Violet was far handier than Brock originally gave her credit for, she found a way out of the endless sewers, a trick she learned from the youngest sister, by keeping her hand on the right wall, and walking in that direction until they found a manhole cover that wasn't filled in. Surprisingly, that lead them to the center of town, in the midst of the controlled chaos.
Patrol officers went back and forth, and they timed their movements until there was an opening just long enough for them to squeeze through. One at a time, the group traveled from the sewer cover to the cover of a dark alley way, where the majority of them tucked behind a large trash bin.
"I shouldn't have worn heels..." Lily complained quietly, trying to keep the group grounded. When no on replied, she muttered tough crowd under her breath, and pushed her hair behind her ears.
Violet was across from her, looking the opposite direction as Brock covered the manhole and followed toe-to-toe with Suzy to meet with the sisters. He stood next to Violet, and knew this was their goodbye. From here, left was Saffron Tower, and right was Silph Co. The sisters, who were inseparable on their worst days, lunged temporarily to hug with one last squeeze and comments of hope.
Violet mouthed be careful before shoving Brock hard in the side to get him walking. He barely managed a wave over his shoulder before he was ushered deeper into the alley, as Suzy and the other sisters watched them leave. Suzy inhaled deep, then exhaled to make a point as she huddled the girls in with her.
"What's the plan?"
Daisy's mouth opened, then closed, not sure of what to suggest. She shrugged. Lily however, clucked her tongue and brought their heads together closer, keeping her voice low.
"Guess we can always say that Brock took Violet hostage and ran away?"
XOX
Brock expected explosions, grand motorcycle entrances, thrown punches, broken bones—action movie-level commitment to accommodate the crippling fear at the back of his mind. What he was given instead, was a young woman with dark hair picking the locks on all of the poorly crafted chain link fences around the building, and slipping in and out of cover like a ninja. He was too tall for this shit, and too damn old! His back was killing him dipping and diving in every such direction.
Without even breaking a sweat Violet had them to the back doors of Silph Co, while he was a bucket of water pulling at his sweaty tee-shirt and wiping his brow. The temperature either jumped a few hundred degrees, or he was burning up from the inside.
"Relax, would you?" Violet snapped, jimmying the back lock with some hair pins she plucked out of her neatly tied hair. When the bobby pin snapped again, she let out a sigh that sounded more frustrated than disappointed.
"We're gonna need something more than a few pins to get this door open."
"I could have told you that. Last time Misty and I had to send Drew in, first."
Violet rested her head against the door, trying to think of another way in that wasn't going to include putting a hole in the wall. All of the windows were two-stories up, there were no ladders, and the exit Brock showed her originally was still broken, and therefore guarded by lazy security personal who smoked cigarettes and complained about the weather.
"We could always smash in the door?" Brock suggested, but Violet huffed angrily.
"And then follow that up with being shot? Not likely." She looked Brock over once, aside from the kind and buffoonish nature of his expression, he was very well built.
"Can't you take out a few security guards? You look like you work out."
"First of all, thank you." It had been months since someone commented on his physical appearance, but he tried not to let that get to his head. "Second of all, no. I'm not bullet proof."
Exasperated, Violet exhaled and leaned against the wall. So far, and to no avail.
"Can't you go and.. you know, charm them?"
Narrowing her eyes, she tilted her head at his begrudging comment and smacked her lips. "This isn't a 1950's movie, Brock."
"You'd be surprised. Men are easily distracted."
"You're easily distracted. They're getting paid to stand at a door."
"Then we've settled on the idea of a distraction—but what kind?" Brock decided to change the subject before he got himself into trouble, and peeked around the corner at the guards who appeared to be talking now.
Brock wasn't the greatest at sneaking around, he usually handled his battles up-front; he and Ash both shared that trait. Maybe it was associated with his appreciation of rock pokemon, but he stood his ground. He wasn't familiar with thinking outside of the box.
What would Ash do? Well, he knew what Ash would do. He would have gone in, arms waving, pokemon blasting fire in every room. Not the best case scenario if they wanted to find Clemont, rescue him, and shut down the towers—if the kill switch was here.
So Brock asked himself the next question: What would Misty do?
She was more difficult to predict, when Brock thought she would stay calm, she tended to fight aggressively. When she would usually fight, she approached the situation with an air of relaxation that usually concerned him for what terrors came next. Brock usually just followed suit. When they were planning to uncover Team Rocket's affairs in the Kanto region, he followed Misty's approach, took her advice... now, he wasn't sure.
Violet watched him expectantly, after all, she got him this far, it was only fair he take the rest of the claim.
"...So, one way or another, I'll get us inside. If this goes down poorly, take my pokemon and keep going."
Then, without further conversation, he jolted out from behind the wall, with his hands up. Immediately, the guards turned at him with their hands on their holsters, and nasty looks on their expression.
"How did you get in here?"
"Honestly? I came around the back. Through a few of the rickety fences. You really need to work on those." He nodded to them, but they didn't find his approach humorous whatsoever.
"What's your name?"
"Man, someone who doesn't know me..." Brock muttered under his breath, and smiled. "I'm Brock Harrison, I'm the Pewter City gym leader."
"Oh yeah, I know you... I thought you would be bigger."
"Most people say that, yes." Brock snickered, walking another step closer, but they alerted to that.
"I don't think you should come any closer."
"Right. Sorry." And Brock took a step back. "I just need to talk to the both of you."
"Then talk." Said one with a lower voice.
"Are you two the only guards on the outside of this building?"
"No, there are other patrols on the south side." the guard who wasn't talking elbowed the chatty one.
"Shh! Don't tell him that." He whispered loud enough that Brock could hear. "What does the Pewter City Gym Leader want at Silph Co? You know you're trespassing, right? We could shoot you and no one could say a thing."
"Yeah, don't shoot me." Brock said abruptly through a hiccup of a fear before correcting himself. "I'm here because someone has to stop the horrible things that have been happening in the region."
"And you can do that?"
"No, but there's a scientist up there that can. His name is Clemont, he helped design and manufacture the completed version of the microchips that failed a few years ago, as well as the signal towers that control them. Any of that sound familiar?"
The two guards shared a worried look, then shook their heads quietly.
"Yeah, I didn't think so. That's what is making pokemon run rapid right now. There's an antenna in Saffron Tower emitting these horrible sound waves and making pokemon go crazy."
"That sounds stupid. Who came up with that stuff?" Snorted one guard, clearly not believing.
Brock frowned. "Your boss. Lance, and Team Rocket."
They were quiet after that. The joke ended, and this time, Brock took a step forward without being stopped.
"So what I'm asking you, is you let me through that hole in the wall, let me find my friend, and you two could be heroes."
"How do we know you're not lying?"
"I am standing here, covered in mud and god knows what else. I just traveled around half the content, witnessed the fires in Viridian City and watched one of my closest friends die. Why would I lie? I have nothing to gain by lying." He embellished a little bit, he didn't really watch Misty die, and by the time he went back to Viridian Forest, the fire already started, but his words reached the young men, and that was all that mattered.
"So, if you can tell me why it's so important that you stand here and make sure no one disturb the company while the rest of the world is burning down; then I'll leave."
When they said nothing, Brock took another step forward until only a few feet were between them.
"So what do you say? Remembered as heroes, or mindless guards who let Lance burn Kanto to the ground?"
"I've never even seen Lance before." Said one guard to the other, who scratched the back of his neck.
"You won't rat us out?"
"Not unless we win. Which we will." Brock assured them extending his hand for a deal.
In any other situation, Brock would have expected his hand to come back at him with a hard swat. A hand-cuff, a bullet to the gut; but instead, they shook his hand assertively one after another, and stepped aside to allow Brock room while Violet came around the corner flabbergasted. Even if the guards got cold feet and called security on Brock and Violet, their easy access would still give them some time to get ahead on finding Clemont. When they zipped through the caution tape and tarp, Brock nodded to the young men.
"Thank you."
"...Don't mention it... like...seriously." One of them nodded, the other inhaled.
"That Clemont—he's the one with the lemon hair?"
"Yeah."
"Try the third floor."
At that, Brock pat the guard on the shoulder and nodded reassuringly. "You made the right decision."
"Arceus, I hope so." replied the guard before turning around, engaging in his post while Violet was already ahead, scouting out the hallways. Unlike last time, it was fairly dark in the building, probably keeping the staff low during the emergency, if Brock didn't know any better, he might think that Lance was stupid enough to put his staff under quarantine as well.
"They said we should check the third floor."
"And you trust them?"
Brock thought hard about that, then nodded. "They trusted us, didn't they? Maybe we all need to trust each other a little more."
Together, they walked the dark, and cold hallways that were painted wall to ceiling white, with the only color an occasional security camera. If anything was going to give them away, it was footage, but Brock hoped he could weasel is way out of that one. People weren't inherently bad. There had to still be good in a lot of people.
"How did you do that with the guards?"
"I was honest." Brock explained, he wanted to elaborate, that perhaps he had an epiphany. That he had been following Ash and Misty for so long, he forgot to pave his own path to his own destination; his own way to his goals. Maybe beating around the bush wasn't always the answer, but maybe being forward, and challenging problems peacefully head on like a secure rock in the middle of a flowing river was his answer. Brock smiled at the irony as they stormed up the stairs, and stopped at the third floor.
Maybe it was premature hope, but Brock felt for a fraction of a second, that there was still a future when all of this was over. A brighter, happier existence—maybe even the world Ash explained to him so gleefully before.
That was the world he wanted to strive for, he hadn't lost sight of that, no matter how dim the lights were. Someday, it would all be bright again.
"Brock, head in the game. We're not done yet." Violet urged, her voice drawing him back from his illusions. The third floor was bright and swarming with people running back and forth. Not guards or security, but worn out, over-worked, exhausted scientists in white lab-coats that barely looked up to see Violet and Brock when they entered the building.
"...this wasn't like this last time." Brock murmured with raised brows, Violet shrugged.
"Doesn't seem like they care that we're here."
"They probably think we work for Lance... or something." Another scientist whizzed past Brock who flinched out of the way, and the look of concern he had for them was already growing.
"Wow. I've never seen so many nerds in one place." Violet observed, crossing her arms and making a face while Brock shook his, and continued forward.
They were ghosts moving through a sea of people; passengers to some greater picture. They didn't respond, didn't look up. Some of them probably hadn't left this building in ages. Clemont hadn't—what reason would they have to let any of the other scientists out on vacation?
This was horrible was an understatement. They were the walking, mindless dead, ironic, because they were all probably geniuses who lost their muse, and their way. By the time they circled around to a room with a window, they saw Clemont sitting at a computer, by himself, clicking the same button over and over.
When Brock opened the door, the blonde immediately answered.
"We're not do for inspection for another three hours. If you're looking to scare us, don't bother, you've already taken the life out of this entire facility."
"Glad you're still fighting the good fight." Brock answered back, watching the young man's ears as he spun to face the tall man, then run at him in a barreling full force. For a small man, he sure knocked the wind out of Brock.
"You guys came back! Where is Misty?"
"She's busy." Brock lied, then pat Clemont on the shoulder. "We're here to rescue you."
"And to see if you can shut down those pesky towers you helped design." Violet added mercilessly. Clemont offered a very puzzled, worried expression, but luckily, Brock waved off her comment.
"They signal towers are activated, we didn't have time to shut them down."
"I know." Clemont backed away. "I started them, well, this one."
Brock's face fell. "You...what?"
"There's a switch..." He pointed to his desk. "This is the one that I flipped, shortly after you guys left... it was almost like I wasn't in control of myself."
"So you know that pokemon all over Kanto are ripping their trainers to pieces?"
Clemont chuckled halfheartedly. "I hoped it wouldn't be that bad." He sluggishly found his seat back at this desk, and stared into the void of his computer screen.
"They weren't supposed to be activated for another month. We weren't ready, and the frequencies can't be controlled. We were worked to death to make the coding for them, now we're being worked at gun point to turn them off."
"...and...can you?" Brock asked, tiptoeing around Clemont's strange behavior. If their last conversation told Brock anything, it was that Clemont was sporadic, and mentally unhinged from his time spent behind the white doors of Silph Co.
"No. Unless we completely turn off the power, there's no way to access the information from here; but Lance doesn't want to believe that Giovanni betrayed him. Go figure."
"One liar betraying another, gotta love it." Violet chimed in, but Brock put another hand on Clemont's shoulder in reassurance.
"You said that it felt like someone made you start this early?"
"Yes. Like some terrible force. I had a headache for hours." Clemont flipped the same switch he was flipping when Brock saw him outside in the hallway again, then again, and again, as if the motion brought him comfort. "For awhile, it didn't care that it would bring chaos, or that people would die. All that time I spent stalling, and for what...? I wanted to help people..."
Brock pat the man on the back. "It wasn't your fault, Clemont. Really, it wasn't, and if I had time, or the words to explain it, I would... right now, I need to know if you know how to shut down the Saffron City tower."
He looked up at Brock, his eyes were blood shot, trying to contain tears. "Someone in Johto recently tried shutting down the electric company, but it was turned back on... That could work here, but the security over there is really beefed up."
Gary... Brock thought with a loud sigh.
"...say we knocked over some power polls instead?" Brock suggested and Clemont blinked, hope returning behind his glasses.
"Yes, actually. If we take out enough power lines there would be no electricity running to the tower. There's only twelve power lines that supply power in that area of the city, we wouldn't even need to touch the electric company!" As if he found his second wind, he was up, snapping his fingers and wriggling his messy hair behind his ears.
"That's great—then let's get out of here and-"
"And do what?" Lance's voice was always a nuisance, every time Brock heard it, he wanted to throw up. Clemont clearly flinched upon hearing him, and only Violet seemed unimpressed.
"Really, guys? C'mon. Even if you managed to bypass my naive security guards, we had you on camera since you picked the first lock." Lance shook his head. "Honestly, we just wanted to know what your great plan was. Knocking down power lines?"
He shook his head in disappointment. "You must be desperate."
Violet tucked her hands behind her back, frowning as Lance continued to berate them. What he didn't know was that Violet removed her cellphone from her back pocket, and began clicking the familiar patterns to text her sisters.
"If you two are here... where are the other two? It's not very often we see only one sister—well, unless you're that detestable little sister."
"You know, what do you have against Misty?" Violet snarled. "She really so much better than you that you have to take a jab at her every chance you get?"
"Yes. Everything was running smooth before she came into the picture."
Violet rolled her eyes. "Plans thwarted by a twenty-two year old. You must be an evil genius."
"Okay Violet, let's not mock the man who has guns pointed at our head, okay?" Brock smiled putting a hand out in front of the woman who didn't back down. Clemont was cowering behind Brock entirely, his large frame completely shielded the younger man.
"That's why I always liked you Brock. You were always the smart one, it's a shame you picked the wrong side."
"The wrong side? Lance, not even you have your head stuffed so far up your ass to still think that this is a good idea." Brock retorted.
"You're right. There have been some minor changes, but we've sorted out the kinks..." Lance raised his hand. "See, when this blows over, we're going to say that you and your little friends plotted with Unova to turn pokemon against their trainers over the sad death of your best friend, and little sister. The Elite Four were the people responsible for stopping you, and putting an end to all the chaos."
"You don't have a way to turn off the chaos. Only Giovanni does." Clemont said behind Brock, Lance exhaled angrily.
"You're right, so if we have to eventually take down the towers ourselves, we'll do that. But right now, everything is going in our favor. People are terrified, and willing to listen."
"You're a jackass." Violet responded with a broad smile. Lance frowned again when she spoke. "I mean, your entire attire screams 'I'm evil, ask me how!'"
"You're not helping..." Clemont whispered, narrow eyed at Violet when he realized she was texting on her phone. She was merely buying time until she could send an appropriate message. Swallowing down a lump in his throat, Clemont pointed at Lance.
"And you have bad hair."
Lance was revolted at the comment, so much he touched his hair and shook his head. "I would kill you, if keeping you alive wasn't necessary to the plan." He growled, snapping his teeth.
"Enjoy rotting in a prison cell."
Violet clicked send, unsure of what she had written as the new front men approached the three of them, grabbing their shoulders and pushing them forward.
"And when you're framed...we'll remove you from the picture."
"Eat me." Violet groaned tucking her phone back into her pocket, praying that Lance didn't see her. Unfortunately, he had, because he snatched the phone as she was pushed into the hallway, and checked the locked screen.
"What's the password?"
Violet rolled her eyes.
"It's, like, finger print controlled." She shouted a nasty valley girl accent and spit out her tongue. Clearly, she hated to lose. When he grabbed her hand and pressed her thumb against the screen; he was happy to see that she wasn't lying. Least she was smart enough to remain honest while she was being handcuffed and pushed to her prison sentence.
"I'm sorry." Brock mouthed but Violet shrugged.
"Won't be the first time I go to jail. Might even be fun." She pursed her lips thoughtfully while Lance read through her messages.
"Well. At least your family will rot together." He dropped Violet's phone onto the marble floor while Clemont was forced back into his computer seat, then stepped on the small screen with the heel of his boot.
"I'll take them myself." Lance shook his head, tired of mistakes being made. "Clemont, I suggest you find a way to control the signal tower before I see you next, or there will be dire consequences."
With a quivering lip, watching his only chance of escape be escorted down the hallway violently, Clemont sniffed.
"Eat me."
And so the guard hit him over the head, smashing his face against the desk and causing a nose bleed. His glasses broke on one side, and the frame inched into the bridge of his nose, but the pain only fueled his rage.
"Do behave better, Clemont. You're smart—but very replaceable."
XOX
"Really have to hand it to those Waterflower sisters. They must all be born stubborn." Lorelei, who walked into the meeting room, cracked her neck. Her fist was smeared with blood, and she wiped it with a tissue.
"The blonde is mouthy." She added, taking a seat at the round table. "They put up a good fight, but, well, not good enough. We threw them into the prison with the rest of the troublemakers."
"...and his pokemon?"
"Removed. They'd be executed but since they're rock pokemon, we're just throwing the pokeballs into the Saffron Lake."
Lance nodded his approval.
"How is the power flow?"
"We've shut off some of the lower floors to provide more energy to the signal tower." Bored, Lorelei picked at her fingers. "I still think we should have killed the extras. We only needed the one sister."
"Any blood on our hands would make us look like the villains." Bruno, who was pale-faced and quiet through most of the meeting finally piped in his opinion.
Lorelei sighed dramatically. "I suppose...but they really are a thorn in my side."
"You're just pissed off that it was your position they were looking to remove before Koga stepped down." Bruno barked in a burly voice as Lorelei turned with viper like eyes and deadly pursed lips. She glared behind her bridged glasses, but when she prepared to speak, Lance stood up.
"We need to speak more about the offer presented by the new Sinnoh Region Champion."
"Tell her we're not interested."
Lance glared at Lorelei, and she instantly shut her mouth, and straightened up.
"Right now, we're a month early in plans we weren't clued in on, with Unova breathing down our necks, and half the region on fire." he sat back down, and twisted his fingers together. "She's desperate, and desperate people play important roles. Especially when we need new options."
"Do you think Giovanni betrayed us?"
"It appears so."
"Not surprising when you have a snake charming other snakes." Bruno announced and Lance, nearly fed up with Bruno's secondary opinions slammed his hand on the table, demanding silence.
"If Giovanni will not act as the savior, then we will skip over him, and do it ourselves. Most of his loyal men have already defected, leaving us with a limited military and government. I think it's safe to say we're on our own."
"Maybe we should have listened to the young Waterflower, after all." Bruno suggested neatly, but the comment fell on deaf ears. Lance gripped the table until his knuckles were white, and his fingers were numb.
"Wherever Giovanni is, he isn't answering our calls anymore. Hoenn and Sinnoh are write offs, and Johto is hanging by a thread. For all we know, Giovanni is dead, which means if we have to play nice with the false-champion of the Sinnoh region, then we will."
"What do we do about the tower?"
"Apparently it can't be shut off from here unless we take out the power to the tower. We'll have to designate a time to have our agents do it that will correlate to the time we imprisoned those brats. We'll use it to our advantage, show that we saved the region and gain the trust of the people once more."
"What if Giovanni isn't dead?"
"Then we'll handle that when he gets here. Starting now, we think of ourselves. We'll use the rest of the Rocket members that haven't fled to fight off our enemies. We'll blame the rest on Ash Ketchum, and the tormented Waterflower's. They'll regret the day they double-crossed us. In the meantime, we will be remembered as the people who brought peace between Unova and Kanto again. And saved Sinnoh."
Bruno, who watched his hands for the majority of the meeting swallowed hard as Lance sat back during Lorelei's slow clap of approval, and typed in the coordinates for Dawn's previous phone number.
"Hello, Lance." Dawn answered immediately, her voice a bit strained. Tired. They all were.
"I've returned your call. You and your region's people will be accepted into Kanto borders so long as you meet with me first, and agree to my terms."
"...What are the terms?"
"Does it matter when your people are freezing?"
She went silent for a long time, and then they listened to her sigh.
"No... I suppose not. I care about them more than my own pride."
Lance rubbed his fingers together, basking in the first absolute victory of the day.
"Smart girl. Now let's discuss where this meeting will be held."
Little did he know he was making his greatest mistake.
Author's Note:
This chapter... just isn't what it used to be. I had this written before I lost all of my documents, and in the midst of rewriting it several times, it simply doesn't resonate with me like the previous creation did. So, in the end, you get this rushed and slightly everywhere chapter about Brock.
I mentioned in the beginning of the story that Forest was a member of the Kanto Military, so I hope that doesn't seem to come from nowhere. I originally sent them to Saffron City as the end-game, because of the nurse Suzy, who was specifically fleshed out back in the first part so I could reuse her again for this scene. However, I lost a good half of the document, since this chapter was originally pushing 30,000 words; and is now only 14,000ish. Life is hard when you aren't tech savvy.
Originally, this chapter was about growth. A kind of sub-story with Brock, seeing all the characters that Ash has touched on his journey and those who existed before Ash, as a way to understand that while Ash did CHANGE the world; it will continue to grow without him, just as it did for ten years while he was in a coma. They have to work together, collectively making better choices, not following the leader, or the next hero, but each person making a difference. In the end, I don't think this recreation of the chapter captured that feeling, but in the end, I can't bring back the original creation, so I'm just going with this. A lot of the scenes also came out a bit more ruthless than the previous version but... ugh. I give up.
See you soon, hopefully.
NINT