Locked Away, Chapter 61
Since the moment that Iris was released from her prison, Dawn knew that the woman was plotting to leave this island. With the help of Cilan and her friend Bianca, they managed to wrangle just enough movement to plan and escape route—not a war tactic. Which confused Dawn, because the entire reason that she and Paul agreed to travel to Unova was to prevent Iris from going to war with Kanto, only to find out that she was bluffing all along.
Curiously, Dawn asked: "...So if you never had the ability to go to war? Why would you threaten Kanto?"
Iris sneered as she brushed her hands off, walking the path to the old cruise ship that would be their escape. Since they decided a few hours ago to leave the island officially, Iris had been in a huff; often discussing in private with Cilan, when she thought no one else was listening, that she was upset they had to leave, and anyone who helped in her removal was going to face her wrath. Cilan, who Dawn assumed was the voice of reason, attempted to calm the Dragon Pokemon Master, but Iris was still in a foul mood.
"Because, no one else would. And if it came down to it... we would rather be in a prison cell that doesn't risk the chance of being blown up, than one where a group of legendary pokemon continue to mark their territory." Despite her explanation, her response came off as angry and sadistic.
Dawn could never begin to understand how Iris and the few civilians left managed to stay afloat in the worst terrain they ever faced, but she also couldn't grasp how Iris could be so aloof to the rest of them. Yes, it was her home, but Dawn had to flee her home as well!
"You know, you could treat us with more respect." Dawn snapped, though Iris paid her no mind, and in the end, refused to reply to the blue haired woman.
Upset, Dawn stomped her foot, and turned to face Paul and Cilan, who were assisting the last of the refugees onto the boat. Before she spoke, Cilan beat her to her complaint.
"You don't have to like Iris, you just have to work with her. I promise that she isn't so bad. She's just under a lot of stress right now."
"We're all stressed out!" Dawn squawked, pulling at the hems of her dried shirt. Perhaps it was because she was used to a certain level of treatment—or because she wasn't used to being filthy for a number of days, but she was miserable.
And terrified. Absolutely terrified.
"Dawn...please, try to see it from Iris' point of view..."
"Her point of view? She's not the only person that has lost her region! Her friends!"
"Right, but unlike you, who I'm sure has lived a rather comfortable life, she—we-have been living in a dark cage, where until a few weeks ago, we believed everyone had thrown away the key and forgotten about us! Do you know what it's like to think you may never see the sun again? To know that the days continue, but to never know when it's light or dark outside? To hear your friends cries in the distance, but see no one for days except the piss-poor guardsman who throws food into your room through a hole at the bottom of a metal door?"
Cilan snapped, huffing as he adjusted his hair with a swipe of his hand.
"You're uncomfortable, and unsure of yourself—but you have no right to complain! When that decrepit, old jail cell fell by the hands of your friends, if it hadn't been for Iris, who quite possibly suffered worse than any of us, we wouldn't be standing here, helping you!" Cilan growled, brushing past her to meet Bianca and Iris, who were preparing to leave.
Tension was high, and Dawn felt immediately shamed for her behavior. But she was terrified, and seemed to be the only one that was. Dawn was wobbly and stunned by his outburst. Eventually Paul offered the slightest shrug, and a pat on Dawn's shoulder.
"I'm anxious, too." said Paul, in his most comforting voice—which wasn't all too comforting.
Dawn tried to smile, but struggled.
Iris and Cilan, and everyone else from Unova suffered, and Dawn felt gravely for them. She would have loved to help them, save them. It's just... if war was never suggested, Dawn could have already met with Lance herself. Then again, that was Iris' intention.
Except, offering herself over to Lance frightened her. She wanted more answers, someone to lean back on—but there was no one else who could do this, but herself.
Now let's discuss where this meeting will be held.
Dawn knew that trying to make peace with Lance wasn't going to come without a price. He wanted both Iris and Dawn to step down; a feat they would both eagerly commit to, in order to create a safe place for their people. Only, like most greedy tyrants, Lance wouldn't stop there. Dawn knew that there had to be an alternative motive, he just hadn't showed it to them yet.
They were to meet where this all started—Route Twenty Five, off the shore of the late researcher, Bill's house. Once they were there, in order to ensure their devotion, they would have to agree to being put into handcuffs, and before they could have their people allowed on the shores, they would need to publicly renounce Lance and the Kanto's region involvement with Team Rocket, and Iris would have to agree to a life-sentence, as war threats were not acceptable.
Dawn had no idea what to expect, but a part of her felt like she was walking into an execution. If Lance wasn't lying—then she knew that Iris was. The woman agreed without complaint to all of the terms that Lance made. Maybe Dawn was wrong, but someone who was so defiant, powerful, and strong-willed as Iris didn't strike her as the type to back down. Since the agreement, Iris hadn't spoken with Dawn too much—actually kept her at an arms length away, even though they were both on equal grounds.
And if you stray... I think it would be valuable information for you to know that I have the rest of those Waterflower girls and, oh, what was that gym leader's name? Brock Harrison?
Dawn's eyes watered at the memory, nails curling into the flesh of her palm beneath her clenched fists, and white knuckles.
You would try to black mail me? She voiced her concern, to which Lance replied wickedly:
I'm just giving you perspective.
Perspective that Iris didn't care about, and that no one else seemed to understand the weight of. If they tried anything with Lance, Dawn knew he wouldn't hesitate to hurt any of those people. After all, Giovanni may have been the puppet master, but Lance was the nefarious apprentice, chuckling in the background, waiting for his chance to pull the strings. Over the last ten years, Dawn danced a very controlled ballet within Sinnoh, and the rest of the Pokemon League's Elite Four members and champions. Of all of the regions, outside of those who disappeared like Hoenn and Unova, Kanto's Elite seemed hellbent on controlling the rest of the leagues, like they did the Johto Region and the Orange islands. Kanto always picked a fight with Sinnoh, and none were more ruthless than Lance.
Rumors about his nature circled him far before they discovered he was working with Team Rocket. Lance was as beloved as he was terrifying to the general public. Some people believed that a person needed a certain behavior to control dragon pokemon, and others believed the power went to his head.
Dawn believed neither of those.
Dawn believed that some people were born evil, born with a chip on their shoulder, and a seed of self-doubt that urged them to control the masses. There was no good in Lance. He cared about money, and power and didn't care who was hurt along the way...and when someone was as crooked as that, Dawn didn't know if she was going to be shot on sight, or locked away for the rest of her life.
Anything to stay in control.
"Dawn?" Paul approached her once more, touching her shoulder gently to pull her back into reality. When Dawn looked up, she realized that she had been standing in the same spot for nearly an hour, looking out into the dock.
"I'm fine."
"You look pale. Maybe you should drink some water?"
"I said I'm fine." Dawn brushed her hair out of her face, braiding it back slightly. "Are we finally ready to go?"
"Yes. Iris asked us to meet her on the deck. Everyone else is inside."
"...Alright, then what are we waiting for?"
XOX
The soft breeze of the ocean, the salty air and the lull of the moon reflecting over the seas nearly distracted Dawn from the plan Iris created to get them off of Unova. The moon was bright, like a light held up by the stars, and it reminded the blue-haired woman of simpler times... She missed those days. To be ten, and carefree again.
"Stop spacing out, it's time to get a move on." Iris brushed past Dawn, bumping her shoulder as she stepped onto the open deck of the small ship, and dug her nails into the railing. Hopefully, they could get away from shore without being spotted. No one bothered to share their escape plan with Dawn, otherwise.
"Aye-ye captain." Dawn muttered with a very noticeable eye-roll. She took a stand beside Iris, with Paul standing only a few feet away, watching the two of them.
Uneven purple hair flicked in the breeze, carrying away the stillness of the night; then Iris spoke.
"If someone asked me a few years ago, that I would be fleeing my region, I'd have laughed at them."
"You couldn't have known what Team Rocket had in store."
"...Oh, but we did... or at least, we had some warning. Some time to prepare... in fact, we nearly won—now look at it. Ruins of a once great utopia for pokemon."
Dawn's face screwed up. "How did you know they were coming? If it wasn't Kanto who warned you... then?"
"...Reggie." Turning slowly, Iris blinked at Paul who looked far paler than previously. Even Dawn was awestruck when she turned to the lavender haired man.
"...That's who you're looking for, right?" A grin tugged at her dark lips. "Truthfully, the resemblance is uncanny. He talked a bit more and didn't frown as much, but..."
Iris faced Unova once again, the tree-line coming to life with the movement of dragon bodies, realizing that a ship was leaving shore. Shudders ran down Dawn's spine, looking inward.
"He came in injured on a young dragonite, warning us about Giovanni's plan, as well as the ships on the horizon. Funny enough, we had already left to help Kanto, so our forces were scattered. With his advance, we were able to take the upper-hand, after all, this was our home..."
Her face twitched, fire broke above the shore, and a few large dragons prepared to launch themselves out to sea to catch them.
"He sent that monster after us."
"MewTwo, right?" Dawn asked quietly, voice quivering.
"If that's what you want to call it, then yes." As she spoke, Iris lifted herself up, balancing herself on the railing and poking her arms out to her sides, then raised a red pokeball to the sky, just as Paul found his voice.
"Reggie is...?"
"Unfortunately, I can't say for certain. Dead. Alive. Trapped. If it hadn't been for him, Team Rocket would have taken everything from us. He was a hero, "
As she inhaled, she closed her eyes, then smiled. The wind whipped against her, pushing parts of her loose-fitted clothes up, revealing the scars she earned during the years as a prisoner,
"They kept us in cages... but they could never take our spirit." Then with a large flash of red, the largest pokemon Dawn had ever seen up close emerged through her pokeball—a dragonite half the size of the cruise ship burst forward, with Iris on its back.
Until that moment, Dawn hadn't realized that Iris wasn't only speaking to the two of them—but to the rest of the citizens and trainers on the cruise ship who witnessed the original battle, or were preparing to escape. They didn't cheer, as to avoid drawing attention back to themselves when Iris moved to distract the oncoming dragons with her own pokemon, but Dawn knew now that Iris was a leader unlike any she had ever seen before. It was no wonder the last tabloids surrounding her name and the incident painted her a hero, a marvel. She was far stronger than any of them.
It was then that Dawn realized, if they had any chance at all to bring Lance down, Iris could do it. The fear in Dawn's bones faded bit by bit as she watched the dragonite swerve in and out of ruthless dragon grasps. If they worked together, they could win this.
XOX
Unable to sleep after the excitement, Dawn sat with Paul on the deck with two blankets, and a cup of warm tea. On the horizon, they could see the storm above Sinnoh spewing violently even now. Probably covering the last of Sunnyshore in a wall of snow and ice.
Iris disappeared after leading the dragons away, nearly six hours later on the cusp of daybreak, and she hadn't returned. While no one else appeared worried, Dawn and Paul were both low-key freaking out. Especially Dawn, who hadn't slept a wink, and was meeting with Lance in less than an hour. Paul wasn't the pushy type, and refused to tell her what to do, or when to sleep, because he wasn't either. Disturbed by the last bit of information that Iris shared with them, he pestered Dawn with a million questions about Reggie—all of which she replied 'I don't know!', after all, she wasn't the one that saw him. Dawn knew as much as Paul did.
"Maybe I should go back to look for him."
"That island is a mess. You would never find him."
"I could at least try." Paul pondered, but Dawn shook her head.
"No. Try later, I need you here right now." Dawn didn't care how selfish her words sounded at the moment; if Paul left, all that remained were the Unova people, and Dawn wanted to save them, but she didn't trust them. Not really. Paul was her only friend, she needed someone on her side—despite their differences throughout the years.
Paul shifted silently, looking off into the distance where Unova was at some point and sighed.
"When this is over then."
"Thank you." Dawn whispered, pulling the blanket around her tighter and finally turning to see Kanto on the horizon.
No Iris. Only Dawn. Her shoulders sagged. She should have known better. No one, not even Iris could get away from that many dragons—or legendary pokemon. They were near the shore of the late Bill's laboratory, and Dawn recalled the events here. The first showdown between Team Rocket and Kanto—where they supposedly drove them off. Dawn often wondered why such an event wouldn't warrant a historical site, only now she understood it was because they wanted Kanto and all of its people to live in denial. Easier to control that way.
"Are you two ready?" Cilan popped out from inside the deck, and Dawn sighed loudly, then nodded.
"As ready as I'm ever going to be."
XOX
Getting to the island proved easy enough. Instead of taking a water pokemon, she and Paul used a life-raft and paddled their way to the shoreline. Looking up, they saw that the lighthouse was framed on a massive cliff side, and both Paul and Dawn exhaled for the oncoming walk. There was one path leading up the mountain, and it wasn't an easy one. Up hill at a near vertical angle.
Behind them, Cilan waved, reminding the duo with his hands the 'help signal'. It was some bullshit of fancy hand movement, but Dawn was sure that if the situation went sour, it was her screams they would hear first.
"I wonder if Zoey and Drew have been as unlucky as us." Paul grumbled taking the lead up the mountain. Dawn walked in his foot steps, as climbing wasn't usually her strong-suit. Actually, a lot of the events the last week weren't her strong-suit. Publicity and media manipulation she could sing and dance around, the hard, gritty word behind warring territories and crazy warlords: she was lucky to have any footing at all.
Despite Paul ensuring her the entire raft ride over that they would be fine, he would be there if anything happened, the pit in her stomach was endless. She finally gathered some faith in Iris, and the woman bailed on her—or got herself killed, either way, that left Dawn with a massive hole in her story, and Lance wasn't the forgiving or understanding type. Dawn was walking in with only half of her agreement—who was to say that Lance would keep his, especially now?
The ground beneath her wasn't solid, and distracted by her thoughts, she missed a step, and fell. One knee hit the hard rock and gravel and her palms supported her drop, digging small cuts into her skin. Outwardly, she barely made a noise—probably the shock. Inside, however, she had started screaming, and could no longer hear herself.
"I can't do this." She spit out, arms wobbly. They were still a few minutes from the top, but anxiety set in, and wasn't moving.
Paul back tracked, and knelt beside her, grasping her arms for support, and trying to stand her limp body up.
"You can, and you will. It's too late to go back now."
Not comforting. He was so rarely comforting. Dawn shook, squeezed her eyes back and nodded. After all, this, compared to some of the latest stories she saw, listened to, and discovered, was nothing, right? There was no reason to be scared. She had to do her part, like everyone else.
With a jab, Paul urged her forward, not moving his hands from her shoulders as he guided her up the rock path so she wouldn't fall down again. Her skinned knee bled through her pants, but the pain in her palms faded as she squeezed her hands waiting for the forest clearing.
At the top, Paul finally removed his hands from her shoulder and took a few steps back.
"Remember, I'll be right here."
Dawn wanted to say thank you, or ask him not to leave, but her eyes couldn't stray from the group of individuals up the path, at the edge of the destroyed laboratory. They hadn't seen her yet, probably didn't think she was really coming.
She recognized Lorelei, Lance, and Bruno. Lance was dressed in an all-black suit, dawning his fashion-disaster red cape and a smug expression. Lorelei appeared to wear a far-more revealing pencil skirt and suit-top with her long hair tied back into a braid. Bruno, wore his traditional mess; loose gym sweats, and a baggy hoodie; of the three individuals, he appeared the most worn down and tired. It was a look Dawn was familiarizing herself with—a look of defeat.
Paul may had whispered some words of encouragement behind her, but the words fell on deaf ears as her feet moved on their own accord. On the outside, she had to at least appear fearless, strong. Nothing short of acting, and she did a lot of that throughout the years. Inside, she could be a complete mess, but she could never present that to the Kanto Elite Four. Not ten years ago, not today. Her voice didn't give her away, but the sound of her boots hitting the gravel did. One by one, they turned at her, their faces either lit up, or grew darker by the second.
"Champion Dawn, you really came." Lance motioned her forward, a large smile plastered across his face.
"It's been awhile..." Dawn choked on her words, swallowed hard, and spoke once again. "The league party, wasn't it? Feels like that was so long ago now."
Lance crossed his arms, seemingly proud of Dawn's existence.
"A lot has...changed since then, wouldn't you say? All of the regions are a complete mess—well, all but Kanto."
Dawn had a deep rooted concern that Lance was bluffing. Kanto was no safer than the rest of the world, only, it wasn't being buried in snow. She blinked, didn't respond. Lance looked back and forth.
"And Iris, where is she?"
"She..." Dawn should have suspected this would happen. "...She died, I think."
The humor in Lance's eyes faded, his mouth twitched. "Died?"
"Or got separated. She went to distract the dragons from attacking the boat we left Unova on, and she never returned."
Lance sneered, snickered, jerked one way, and then screamed. "You mean you lost her?!"
Dawn took a defensive step backwards, startled by Lance's quick rage. As the adrenaline pumped back into her icy veins, she was no longer numb.
"Well, that's what you wanted, right? Her out of the picture!"
"I wanted her to pay for insulting me!" He screamed, raising a pokeball from his back pocket, and Dawn took another step back.
"You think you can tarnish my name, then walk back her, begging for mercy? You and all of your friends will rot for the rest of your lives."
"But you said you would let my citizens in!"
"Psh!" Lance laughed. "Are you stupid!? With Iris out of the picture, the towers shut down in Kanto, and you under my nail, what makes you think for one second I would have ever agreed to your stupid terms—how does it benefit me in any way?"
"By bringing peace?" Dawn challenged, but Lance shook his head, even Lorelei began to laugh.
"Peace? Who needs peace when I control the regions."
"Control? You don't have control over anything, Lance." Maybe she was feeling braver. "You're a coward and always have been! First you hide under Team Rocket to expedite your plans, and now that isn't working, so you flaunt your lack of power by showing off? You're a complete joke! You're weak!"
At that comment, Lance released his dragonite in a very bright, red blur that Dawn shielded her eyes from. Not quite as impressive as Iris, but still a comparable size—she remembered it hovering over the city after Ash, Misty, and Brock ran from the indigo plateau. Back then, it was terrifying, now it was sad.
"So you plan to what? You can't keep control like this, there will always be people who will stand up against you!"
"And when that time comes, I'll hurl them all into a bed of fire." He raised his hand to speak and Dawn shifted her weight to grab her own pokeballs. She was out a few that she needed, that she lent to Zoey—Piplup was too small and... A red light erupted from her back pocket, and in an instant piplup emerged from her bag, and launched itself forward, striking Lance, and knocking over Lorelei with a fierce headbutt.
"Piplup! No!" Dawn called reaching out for the pokemon just as the world went upside down and fire brushed past her legs. It took a moment to get her bearings, and she thought she heard foot steps come up from behind her, but it wasn't until she was laying on the ground, head throbbing, that she realized Paul pushed her out of dragonite's blast area.
The world spun, and as she was standing, Paul threw aggron out of his ball. The pokemon wasn't his strongest fighter, but in a battle against dragon types—steel had a high resistance to the sharp claws and fire attacks most dragons had.
"Piplup, come back!" Dawn demanded getting to her feet, then dragged back up by Paul against her will. She was wobbly as piplup skid beside her and Paul once again, and they were both staring down the face of a tyrant, and his misguided pokemon.
"I think I'll kill that stupid penguin first." Lance sneered, wiping blood from his cheek where piplup's beak scratched him. Even Lorelei was getting into the battle—at least, preparing to. Bruno, however backed away until he was practically in the ruins of the laboratory, leaving the hostile ones to fight.
"What'da we do?" Dawn asked Paul, after all, he was the most proficient battler in the Sinnoh Elite Four.
"We stand our ground." He remarked angrily.
This is exactly what Dawn didn't want to happen—and the odds were entirely against them. Lance, Lorelei and Bruno had complete pokemon teams, at full health, and Paul and Dawn had weak pokemon—in fact, Dawn only had piplup left. The flight side of her brain chimed in quickly.
"I think we should distract them and make a run for it."
"Alright, I'll distract them, and you make a run for it."
Dawn glared at Paul, but he didn't budge. Nothing was going to make him back down from this fight; however, Dawn couldn't leave, so she buckled down and prepared to fight until Paul shoved her fiercely, bruising her arm.
"I said, I'll distract them and you run."
"but-"
"I don't think so!" Lorelei shouted throwing out another pokeball, but before the pokemon inside landed successfully, Paul countered with magmortar, effectively stopping her in her tracks so that Dawn could leave—however slowly she did, but piplup refused to leave the battle. Squawking in defiance and bravery.
Paul was always very secretive about how many pokemon he carried on him at any given time. Most of Sinnoh knew that he didn't believe in putting them in pokemon banks, even though the law required him to. Frankly, Paul didn't trust anyone else with his pokemon; he probably had a large portion of his team with him, and since there were no battle restrictions or rules in an off the charts battle...
Dawn stayed. "How many pokemon do you have?"
Paul, frustrated now, gave her an evil glare, but Dawn couldn't leave. She wasn't a quitter, and if they could defeat Lance now—well, that would take care of the mess, wouldn't it?
Lance, however, appeared upset over their decision to fight.
"Tell you what, I'll let you go if you stop fighting now."
"You're a liar, why would we ever trust you!" Dawn shouted back, prepared to go down with the ship.
Unova was still behind them. Then, dragonite took off into the sky prepared to drop a hailstorm of fire on Paul and Dawn; however, an even larger shadow filled the void, rising from the depths of the sunken laboratory and cliff side. Sparks of red blinded the hopeful battlers, and both Paul and Dawn took cover—Paul grabbed Dawn and piplup, while Aggron shielded them from the onslaught of possible blasts.
White noise filled their ears and eyesight, for a good minute, they couldn't see. Dawn felt the pressure of Paul's arms and the weight of aggron preparing to take damage, but when nothing happened, they opened one eye at a time and were knocked over by a gust of wind behind them. A meteor fell out of the sky, for all that they knew, sending tremors through the earth and knocking them over. Dust sprayed violently in all directions and Dawn fell over on her butt, with piplup in her lap and looked onward at a larger dragonite subduing Lance's smaller dragonite, and she finally realized what had happened.
Gawking at the sight before her, Dawn was late to the realization that Iris arrived and wrapped up the battle.
At one side, a furious garchomp held both Lorelei and Bruno to the ground, and with claws and an ax-shapped head, a haxorus held Lance above the ground, struggling to breath, and kicking out his feet. Lorelei's sad attempt to battle with dewgong was prevented by magmortar, and complete befuddlement, brought on by Iris' arrival.
"Well..." She started, hands on her hips. Her hair was dirtier, and her clothes were damp and torn. "I always did call you a weasel, all these years, and you've only been able to successfully train one dragon pokemon?" At that, Iris offered a very coy smile.
"Lance, how do you ever plan on walking away from this?"
He responded with a strange gurgle, grabbing onto haxorus claws and kicking out his feet.
"I'm sorry, what was that? Was that 'I give up Iris, I can't defeat you?'" she mocked him, sticking out an ear. Lance struggled again, going a bit purple under the pressure being placed on his neck.
"Put him down Hax." Iris crossed her arms as Dawn and Paul got back to their feet, mortified.
"I'm proud of you two, standing your ground even though you didn't know I was coming." Iris didn't look over at them as she approached Lance, and with a strong arm brought him upright, staring up at her from his knees.
"You wanted me to surrender." She warned him in a very low, and violent tone. "...I would never." She growled and stepped back.
"You on the other hand, will crumble beneath my fist. After all, I'm the biggest player now, right? I have the most power, which makes me the leader—if that's how you want to play this."
"You..." Lance spit blood, cradling his stomach.
"You what?" She asked, holding out her ear once again.
"...bitch." He grunted, but Iris shook her head and twitched her head to haxorus who knocked Lance back to the ground, releasing a gasp from Dawn, who covered her mouth. Using pokemon to attack humans was taboo, it always had been. It had been happening for years, but Dawn had never seen such violence. She almost covered her eyes until Iris snapped her fingers to keep Lance awake.
"Now, I don't want anything to do with a pee-on like you, I want Gold. The previous champion. You remember that he was in charge right? Where was he?"
"He only appears when Giovanni requests him." Bruno spit out from beneath garchomp. Iris blinked, smiling at Bruno.
"Bruno, are you still with Kanto? I thought that was you."
"Y-yes." he stuttered, and with a wave of her hand, garchomp released the husky man.
He cleared his throat, rubbed his wrists then looked to Iris with guilty eyes. "Gold wouldn't agree to Giovanni's terms. He was here a few weeks ago, but we never see him in person. Lance... has been standing in for years."
"Hmmm." Iris thought, looking back at Lance, who spit again. "Greedy little man, aren't you?"
"Iris, you said you wouldn't hurt anyone!" Dawn pleaded, but Iris didn't budge.
"Did I? I don't remember." She crouched to Lance's level, meeting his red eyes with her brown, glaring. "Must have been the years of prison. You remember when I sent out an SOS, don't you Lance? After the battle...right here?"
He didn't speak, but glared at her in a way that revealed that he did, in fact remember.
"And how it was ignored, and shortly after connection to the rest of the leagues was sabotaged. You remember that, don't you?" She pat his cheek, then gave it one hard slap, until he was back on the ground again.
Dawn, at this point, had seen enough, and raced to grab Iris, despite the hostility and anger.
"Stop it, Iris!"
"He's a monster!" Iris ripped her hand away from Dawn. "And he deserves whatever he gets."
"And that's to stand trial in front of millions of people. If you kill him, he can't talk. People will still think you're the monster! With him, we can sink Giovanni's entire game plan."
"...I thought you said your friends were after Giovanni?"
"Better safe than sorry, right?"
"Wrong. Because we keep them around, they have the chance to take power again—don't you see that? After all, you tried Giovanni in court, didn't you? Aren't the courts swayed in his favor?"
Dawn opened her mouth, but couldn't form words. Iris wasn't wrong.
"So." She looked at Lance. "What should we do with little bugs to be crushed?"
She then smiled. "Or... you could tell me everything, and I might let you live. A small life, rotting in a cell somewhere until you start to lose the last flickers of your sanity... but you'll be alive."
She hummed. "Maybe I'll even send you to Unova, to live like my friends and I had to, avoiding death at every corner.. does wonders for ones self worth."
Lance laughed, shaking his head, just as his dragonite called out in pain. "I won't tell you anything."
"I will." Bruno cleared his voice, and Lance looked over, irritated. Intrigued, Iris tilted her head.
"I want the unnecessary killing to stop. The wars, the fighting. I'll tell you everything, if you promise to end this."
Iris looked down at Lance, knowing that 'endless killing' included the life of the petty Lance, and inhaled.
"I'm listening." then over her shoulder as the rest of the Unova people crawled up the same mountain, prepared to back up Dawn and Paul stopped as Iris smiled.
"Easiest war I've ever won."
XOX
Dragonite carried Dawn, Bruno, Iris, Paul, Cilan, and Lance without effort. Lorelei was left in the capable hands of Bianca, who promised to take very good care of Lorelei while Iris was away. Black mail, in case Lance had an ace up his sleeve. However, no one knew what that meant—it did, however, mean that the Sinnoh refugees would be greeted at the border, and allowed entrance to Kanto, Bruno made sure of that with a phone call to the guards, proceeding everything else.
During the flight they were brought up to speed about the fires, about Team Rocket's disappearance, about the early activation of the towers, and how a few trainers successfully destroyed the hook-up lines, and now they were working to shut down the Kanto-tower for good.
"We need to work together now, more than ever. Put these evils behind us, and make things right in the world again."
It was a sentiment that they could all agree on.
However, when they arrived back at the Saffron Tower, Dawn couldn't help feeling she let a mad woman loose on the Kanto region.
Up in the main hall, Bruno gave Iris everything regarding Giovanni, and his plan to take control of the league as the primary chief executive over the league. Now that Giovanni had apparently betrayed all of them, Lance was working on turning the events of the day against the actual heroes.
"Why didn't you act sooner?"
"I thought I would have a chance when Ms. Waterflower came onto the team but...then her untimely death." he looked down, saddened. "I should have stepped in sooner...I'm sorry."
Iris didn't feel as much sympathy as Dawn did, who took Bruno's hand, but didn't verify that Misty was, in fact, still alive. "It's alright, you picked the right side now."
"...I just don't want to see anymore of the world burn because of my failures. I'll do anything to set it right. I'll take the fall."
"You always were a giant man-child." Lance spit behind his cuffs. Iris replied to him by sticking a piece of cloth in his mouth, to shut him up.
"We will all pay for our sins later." Iris brushed off the comments, then sat on the table. "We still have an active tower in Johto, and Giovanni to fish out of the Sevii island prison.." Iris was still talking when Cilan and Paul arrived to the top floor with Brock, the Waterflower sisters, and some nurse that Dawn didn't recognize.
Immediately, Dawn hugged the four of them, as Iris continued.
"...as I was saying. We need to take out the Johto region tower, provide backup at Sevii Island, put the fires out in the south, and ease the region's turmoil."
"...Iris?" Brock asked, appalled by her livelihood. She, however, took joy in that, and smiled. She didn't comment that Brock was covered in bruises, or that the sisters, who were imprisoned only hours ago, were shaking and full of fear.
"It's a long story." She explained then twirled in her chair. Everyone else was still getting their barrings, but she seemed to thrive in absolute chaos.
"The Waterflower sisters, you still have water pokemon to spare?"
"...Maybe."
"Because I'll need you to get a team of people together to help put out the fire in Viridian city."
She pointed at Dawn next. "You're something like the face of the region, correct? Get on any news camera that you can and let the world know that we are going to save them. Let them know Sinnoh refugees are safe, and we have the situation under control, and that Lance is going to pay for his misguidance."
She gestured to Bruno. "And more importantly, tell them the whole truth."
"No one will believe you." Lance sneered, having spit out the cloth.
"And throw him into that horrible prison cell, would you, Cilan? Get rid of the key."
"My pleasure." And as he said that, he grabbed Lance, and pushed him forward.
"Wait," Daisy growled, throwing up her hands. The situation was moving far to fast, and since Brock was stunned, and still wobbly on his feet, Daisy glared at Iris. "Since when are you in command?"
Dawn gave Daisy a look of pure astonishment, but Iris didn't bat an eye.
"Since I saved your sorry asses."
"We could have handled Lance."
"You were doing a knock up job, let me tell you. How were you planning on getting out of that jail cell?"
Daisy opened her mouth, and then closed it. Dawn crossed her arms, uncomfortably.
"As I was saying..." She brushed her hands over the smooth edges of the desk. "I'll go to the Johto region and take care of this signal tower before it creates more of a ruckus."
"Paul, finish what the Waterflower sisters started, kill the power. I don't care if we sit in darkness for the next few weeks. If it means keeping that tower turned off, then do it."
Paul grumbled, but did not refute the duty.
"And Brock, those... friends of yours, they went to the Sevii Islands, didn't they?"
He nodded.
"Go back them up. Hopefully they aren't already dead by the time you get there." Brock tried not to let the cool tone of her voice get beneath his skin. How carelessly she threw around the word 'dead'.
"Gary is also in the Johto region, he was supposed to turn off that tower." Brock explained. "Last time I saw him he was hurt pretty bad, if you find him..."
"I'll look for him. I'll take down the tower, and I'll help control the masses—just... get that announcement out so people don't run from me."
All crazy eyes and behavior aside, Iris put her shoulders down.
"...I saw what Team Rocket did to my home... to my family and my friends. I don't want that to ever happen to anyone else." Tears were in her eyes, though they doubted that she would ever let anyone see her cry. "I'm not here to hurt anyone, or make enemies. I just want to save people... any means necessary. I didn't have the courage before... but..." She drifted off.
I'll never be weak again.
She smiled this time, a full-force grin.
"Shall we get started?"
Cilan returned, just in time for her to leave haxorus' ball, as well as garchomp with Cilan, and exit through the last-story balcony. She jumped, then with a massive shock, was gone, riding on the back of dragonite.
"...She's crazy, isn't she?" Daisy asked, holding her arms.
"Well, she did live in a tree fort for the first twelve years of her life." Cilan snickered, but Brock, rubbing his face piped in again.
"We may be able to shut the towers down without turning the power off in Saffron City. Clemont, the scientist that worked on the microchips originally, is still at Silph Co. We were about to break him out when Lance caught us." Brock tapped his chin with his finger. "Maybe the power outage only has to be temporary that way?"
Paul nodded his agreement. "I can go directly to the electric company then and divert the power."
Violet, still wobbly on her feet and holding her stomach where she had been hit previously agreed as well, staring at Brock.
"I can go back and get him, I remember how to get inside."
Dawn paced the entire length of the floor with piplup watching from the table with large, curious eyes. "We have to send out that announcement before we kill the power... Bruno, will you help me?"
"The league has a recording station on the second floor for special events. Lorelei redirected the power from the lower floors to the top floor after they took out some power lines, but we can fix that."
"...Great. Let's get the message out and get ready to end this. Finally."
XOX
Dawn wasn't entirely sure what she was going to say. She had Bruno with her, as well as Cilan, who twirled the keys to the cell below in his fingers. Paul left to go finish what the Waterflower sisters started, and Violet was off to collect Clemont, while the rest prepared for their own jobs.
You're the face of the public, aren't you? Iris asked her, but Dawn wasn't sure anymore. After everything she had been through the last couple of days, she wasn't sure what anyone thought of her. She didn't take back what she said about Team Rocket when they fled Sinnoh, but what else could she say to keep people from panicking? Everything was going to sound like she sided with Iris, and was invading. Plus, the legendary birds were still fighting in the south, they had no verification that Giovanni was dealt with, and no way of reaching Zoey or Drew to make sure that the Sinnoh residents were safe.
Once the power was redirected, and the lights were set up, as well as a camera for emergency broadcasting, Cilan made it very clear that if Bruno tried to 'weasel out' it would be the last thing that he did. Dawn wasn't familiar with the threatening behavior that Unova people brought with them, but she couldn't hold it against them.
When the camera started to roll, Dawn stared blankly at it. Reflected in the image back at her, she saw how dirty she was; how her long blue hair was braided back, but matted against her scalp and face. A few cuts that she didn't remember getting were dried with blood and dirt, and her clothes were soiled, and filthy. They were already broadcasting, if there was anyone still listening outside of Saffron City, their television screens and public radios were watching or listening to her dumbfounded silence.
"I..." She blinked, then inhaled.
"The last time I spoke to the world, this time, I'm speaking directly to Kanto. The situation has gotten much worse, escalated. I can't lie to you about that—and you already know. Look to the streets, cherished pokemon you've loved have turned against you for no apparent reason. Fires have claimed your homes. This is the power of Team Rocket. Their strength to divide us. The results of the lies that those who worked with them told us."
"Lance has been permanently removed as the temporary stand in for the Champion, Gold, as well as from his position as an Elite Four member. The threat of war with Unova has been thwarted thanks to the work of myself, and my assistant Paul. Unova is no danger to Kanto, at least no worse than Lance ever was."
"The Dragon Pokemon Master, and Unova Champion, Iris has moved on to help defend Johto, and prevent the insanity running rapid in the streets by destroying the source. If you plan to fight us, to defend Lance, or if you work with Team Rocket. Don't bother. You'll only hurt yourself in the long run."
Dawn inhaled, growing more confident, more angry as she spoke. "Effective immediately, the Kanto borders will be open to any, and all regions affected by Team Rocket's misgivings or other disasters. Sinnoh to the north, Johto to the west, and Unova to the northeast. Any and all members of the Kanto military that does not comply, will meet the wrath of our combined nations, and will only result in the end of your region, and everything that you love."
"This sounds like a hostile take over, and it is. But it only has to be as violent as you make it. I ask you to look around yourself again, at your friends, at your enemies. Team Rocket has been here since the beginning, and unless we work together, they will continue to prosper, and we must defeat them. We must work together."
She stopped, just as Bruno nodded behind her. "If you do not believe Dawn Matthews, than believe me. I have watched Lance, and Lorelei, and even myself as we've travelled down the path with Team Rocket, and this chaos was the end result. In time, our wounds will heal, but we must be vigilant to prevent this from spreading."
Dawn swallowed, and took over once again. "I know that we've all suffered, especially in the last seventy-eight hours, but we must rise together. In less than thirty minutes, the power will go out in Saffron City, allowing your pokemon freedom. Many of them will be injured, and must be taken to a pokemon center immediately. Saffron City's North, East, and West centers will be opening to the public, and any nurses willing to assist should also make their way to one of those locations. Anyone with well-enough water pokemon should move to the outskirts of the Viridian Forest, where Daisy and Lily Waterflower, will be waiting to help cull the fires created by the once-mythical, legendary birds. I know, in hard times like this, it's easy to stay inside, and hide—wait until someone else takes care of the problem, but we must stay together."
"I've never been one to make appropriate motivational speeches, but I know that in the end, we will prosper. We can come back from this. Kanto, you can come back from this."
Around her, the lights started to dwindle, and Dawn nodded solemnly. "Keep fighting." was the last words spoken before the tower went completely dark in the recording room.
Bruno gave a slight applause, and Cilan smiled.
"You've only known Iris for a few hours, but I think she's rubbed off on you!"
XOX
Once the public announcement went out, Bruno requested to be put behind bars for his crimes, but Dawn refused. Both she and Cilan saw that Bruno was trying his best to do what was right, and while they did not trust him, it took guts to confess to the crimes that he committed.
Already, a cluster of people formed outside of the Saffron Tower. And from what they could tell, no one immediately retaliated, though the distant screams started to fade away. A couple of nurses from the pokemon centers directed traffic to the remaining centers, and Dawn knew that she had to go down there at some point to assist in controlling the masses while Clemont worked his magic to dismantle the tower, and get the power turned back on in the rest of the city.
Brock stumbled, holding his side where he had been kicked not once, but several times, while Suzy knelt beside Brock with a first-aid kit, trying to keep a split in his eyebrow together.
"...Well, at least it will be a cool scar." She offered quietly as Dawn made her way to them.
"Suzy, was it?"
The teal-haired woman looked up to Dawn with bright eyes. They hadn't spoken since they were taken from their prison cell, but Dawn watched as Suzy put the Waterflower sisters, and Brock back together again. She was talented, to say the least.
"Yes, how can I help you?"
"When you're finished here, could you help any injured people? I feel like the hospitals and pokemon centers are going to be over ran."
Suzy glanced down at her hands, then back to Brock's eyebrow. Bitterly, she nodded. Originally, she planned to leave, but looking at these strangers, trying so hard, especially after Dawn's announcement, she felt it was her duty to see this through until the end.
"I believe Saffron Tower has a small unit on the main floor, if it's alright, I can work from there once the power is turned back on."
"That's perfect, thank you." Dawn smiled to Brock, and squeezed his shoulder. Brock pat her hand, trying his best not to move so the needle Suzy used to suture his eye wouldn't pierce incorrectly.
"You've done well, Dawn. Thank you."
After his stitches were finished, Brock gathered together enough supplies to bring to a boat, as well as tracking down his pokemon that hadn't yet been thrown into the bottom of a lake. He wouldn't be left behind this time, is what he kept arguing; and refused to let Daisy, Lily or Violet go. It had to be him. With Dawn calling the shots, the region would be safe, right? Ash's request was fulfilled, which meant Brock's hands weren't tied, and only hell on earth would keep him from coming to their rescue.
"Don't thank me yet." She chuckled, watching the growing mass of people below. The morning light from the windows still illuminated the office they were in, but her thoughts were elsewhere. She wanted to leave, to help—but not until they had some power. She had no way of hearing from Zoey, and she wasn't comfortable leaving the tower until she was sure that Zoey and the rest of the Sinnoh natives were granted peaceful access to cross the border. She prayed that the woman was able to get everyone into Cerulean City safely.
"It looks like they never activated the tower in Lumiose City." Daisy observed, glancing over a map scattered on the large table as they got their barrings.
"Dawn," called Daisy, who spoke about the fact that perhaps the old Kalos region was spared because it was no longer a part of the league, but was completely ignored by their pseudo-leader.
"...Are you alright?"
Dawn wasn't sure how to answer that. Brock had been nearly successful in saving Kanto, but she had brought... Iris here. A tyrant. People would ask questions. People would be confused, terrified. Asking questions she didn't have answers for. Why this? Why them? Why now? What was the point?
Dawn swallowed hard, then forced a smile the best that she could.
"...Yeah... No need to worry." She turned at them. Daisy and Lily carried a back-pack full of pokeballs. Before the power went out, they circled down to a transferring machine, and removed the majority of their pokemon from their pokemon bank. After all, the more water pokemon they had, the better off they would be. Cilan seemed indifferent, looking outside to the sea of people.
"Violet and Clemont will watch over the tower?" Dawn asked, mostly to answer herself than anyone else... "Then the rest of us have jobs to do. Let's go lead by example."
Even Bruno nodded fiercely, his large muscles pulsing as he removed his hoodie, and swore to protect Dawn, if anyone came after her as they sought to help. One at a time, they exited the top of the tower, the cave of Lance's wrong doings—hopefully, for the last time.
Author's Note:
The moment with Iris coming out of the water on Dragonite was a reference to that one pokemon episode when they see the huge dragonite in the water. That's like, my two cents on how Iris was connected to the original series.
See you soon!
NINT