"Come on, Fido!" Denise yelled at Theophilus, who was grudgingly shuffling on all fours behind them. It wasn't the funniest nickname ever, but with the bright pink canine collar he was wearing, it sure was.
I'd claw your eyes out if not for these, he grumbled, holding up his claws, which were covered by pretty pink booties that matched his collar.
"Maybe if you were good enough to add clothes to your illusions you wouldn't need them," Denise grinned, enjoying herself very much. She pulled on the bedazzled leash that matched his pink collar and pink booties. It wasn't that he couldn't add clothes (having seen his illusions before on a test run, Denise saw that he actually had an amazing eye for details) but he couldn't replicate the actual feel of them, which would've been a problem if anyone bumped into Denise, Aries, or Theo while they were outside, and the point of using his illusions in the first place was to hide from the overactive Team Rocket members that were also in disguise all around Johto.
With a terrible sense of humor, Theo made himself a pet Furfrou with a Heart Trim (Denise had asked if that made him a female, which he pointedly refused to answer) and her and Aries a—bleck—a married couple. She would've throttled him for it but Aries held her back and, well, she didn't want to rile him up anymore; and besides, if any Team Rocket Grunts saw the three of them like that, there was no way they could recognize them—unless they had a Psychic-type or something, in which case Aries would give them a warning and they'd make a run for it.
"You look great, sweetheart," he grinned, thoroughly enjoying himself more than she was. The illusion made him appear a foot taller and a lot more debonair than he usually did in a dark suit and with nicely-gelled hair. Denise was a little shorter and looked too much like an '80s sitcom's housewife; even more annoying, she had to act the part too, and while Aries was too happy (as he always was, damn it) it was out of her nature to act generous and lovey-dovey. "Oh!" Aries put his arm out, stopping her just as she was about to cross the street.
"What?"
"Allow me," he said, his grin widening as he took off his blazer (which was actually a secondhand Trainer's jacket) and laid it over the puddle she was about to step in. She rolled her eyes and made sure to step on his hand as she walked past—well, his good hand. She had also been trying to avoid looking at the bandaged stump of his left wrist. Mew said that it was psychically possible to put his cells in overdrive and regrow it similar to how a Heliolisk could regrow its tail, but not with the amount of energy it or Aries himself could produce; if they found another Psychic-type Pokémon or strong human psychic, it said, then they could do it, but until then he had to become right-handed. She couldn't help feeling responsible for that too; it was her suggestion in the first place to try Team Rocket's HQ, and look where it got them.
They had went to the Goldenrod Pokémon Center and managed to get two rooms this time, since it was late at night and a trip back to Mahogany Town would take a while. Denise shared a room with Mew and Aries shared a room with Theo and Henry, the three of them being males (or for Aries, close to one {old habits die hard}). Denise took a long shower and dug in her bag afterwards for her clothes, and in the process she found her original clothes, the ones she left Pewter in that Aries had hand-washed. The thought of it made her feel happy and sad at the same time.
Denise, can I ask you a question? Mew asked, sitting on the windowsill.
"Sure, I guess."
Do you like Aries?
"What?" she asked. "Why would you ask that?"
Any time you look at him or speak with him, I sense a tangle of emotions from you I can't really decipher. They aren't bad, but I can't tell if they mean anything either.
"Well I don't know either, okay? What, do you have a problem with how I care about him?"
No, no, on the contrary; I'm like his parent, and knowing that he's found a special someone is very, um, entertaining, to put a word to it. Mew giggled at Denise's irate expression before she became serious again. But right now isn't the time for it, okay, Denise? After all is said and done, then you can decide what happens next.
"I'll see about that." She found a different t-shirt and jeans she picked up in the city and changed into them, flopping onto the bed tiredly. "This month's been a major adventure… I would've never done all of this had I stayed in Pewter. It's funny; I never really thought past all of its greys and browns, and here I am goin' through regions with you and Aries. It's ridiculous."
You're not homesick, Denise? Mew asked, flying over to land on Denise's raised knee. She sat up with a sigh.
"Of course I am; I have been since we left, Mew. All of this though… All of this has just been one big distraction. You know, Dee never challenged the Pokémon League, even though he had all eight Badges?"
Why is that?
"Not sure, although I wish I could ask him."
Mew nodded. You know, I believe this Pokémon Center has video communications.
Denise sat up again, eyes wide. "Really? You're serious? Then…"
You can go talk to your brother, Denise.
This is stupid; I mean, he might not even be in the Pokémon Center. Why would he be? It's two in the morning, she thought, shaking her head at the screen. It's been saying 'Dialing…' for the last ten minutes; he's not gonna pick up, he's not—
"I have a call from Goldenrod?" Denise's heart picked up as Dee appeared on the screen. He was looking over his shoulder at the Nurse Joy back home, who shrugged and went back to her work. When he saw Denise he immediately broke into a grin. "Denise! Damn, it's been too long!"
"Yeah, Dee! I missed you too."
"How's it going? I see you're in Johto," he said, looking around the PokéCenter she was in.
"Yeah, it's going pretty good. Not the best, but that's a Trainer's life, you know?"
"Yeah… Where's Henry?"
"He's in a room with Aries," she replied. Dee was silent for a few seconds.
"That boy you were with?"
"Yeah, him." He was silent again, which made her suspicious. "What's the problem with that?"
"Your tone changed as soon as you mentioned him," Dee said, causing her eyes to widen. "I mean, I was joking before, but…do you really—I mean, you and him…?"
"No! Of course not!" she said, shaking her head. He made a small noise in the back of his throat but didn't continue. "Why're you in the PokéCenter so late at night anyway?"
"Oh, um, Champ threw his back out a few hours ago," he said. "He's fine now though." His Machamp appeared on-screen pumped as ever.
"How'd that happen?"
"It was weird. We were passing a construction site and a steel beam almost killed me; Champ saved my life though, and I'm ultra-grateful." He fist-bumped Champ. "Don't know how it happened; the workers can't explain it either."
"Well I'm glad you're still alive 'n' kickin', Dee."
"Yeah, me too," he beamed. "Anyway, I gotta go before Mom has a coronary. I'll talk to you later, yeah?"
"Promise," she said before signing out. She sighed and dropped into one of the waiting chairs. The Pokémon Center's lobby was completely empty; even Nurse Joy and her Chansey had gone to catch some Zs. She thought about her house back in Pewter and plenty of other things too and started to ask herself the big question: Is all of this worth it? "That's impossible to answer," she muttered aloud, leaning back in the chair with her eyes closed. She was just starting to fall asleep when she heard footsteps and immediately leapt to her feet, fists clenched.
"Oh, Theophilus, it's just you," she sighed, running her hands through her hair. He watched her carefully as she sat down again. "Don't scare me like that again. Hey…what's up?" She noticed something different about his eyes. They were the same color, yeah, and the same width apart and all that crap, but something was different. "…Theophilus?"
He suddenly smirked, which made her think things were alright, until he said what he said next: I thought I'd never hear that damned name again.
She lurched to her feet but he had her beat; he raced forward fast—faster than Theophilus, in fact—and slammed his fist into her stomach. She fell to her knees coughing and sputtering while he chuckled. "Y-You must b-be Val-Valentine," she choked out.
So my brother mentioned me, eh? he chuckled, still highly amused. It took a great deal of tracking to find him after all of this time, but it'll be worth it when I can finally rip him to shreds. He turned away, pacing across the waxed floor. Denise noticed something about his hair/fur; while Theo's was long and tapered to an end, Valentine's was sheared off around the beginning of his ponytail.
Aries, she thought, hoping that by some miracle he ignored her wishes and chose to invade her mind at that very moment. If you can hear me, get the others and get out of here! Right now!
"What is your beef with Theo anyway?" she asked, trying to stall for time.
Oh, he stole my girl, stole my bag of chips, stole my new sneakers, Valentine said blandly. Does every supervillain have to have a horrible sense of humor? Denise thought. He's not as good a guy as he makes out to be, he said gravely.
"How would you know what he makes himself out to be, unless you've been stalking us?"
No, no, no! I would never, he gasped, genuinely affronted. I just know my brother very well. My dear brother Theophilus loves to pin his blame on humans—humans do wrong with Pokémon, humans mess our lives up—and acts aloof as to not put any blame on himself, but the both of us and our pack know his wrongdoings very well.
"Bull," she snorted.
It may sound that way to you, but not to all of us who had to witness our pack leader lose his mind. He looked at Denise and scoffed before kicking her in the stomach again, harder.
"Lucario!" Denise raised her head and saw Henry standing in the hallway's entrance, his fists clenched and an angry vein popping out of his neck. "Lucario, lu lu Lucario!" he yelled at Valentine, and Denise could sense his barely-repressed anger.
Don't do what again? You mean…this? He kicked her again, this time hard enough that she fell flat on the ground and couldn't catch her breath for a few seconds and tasted blood. I mean, it's all the same to me, he said passively, and that was about it for Henry, who rushed him and punched him so hard Denise's jaw got sore. While Valentine was out of the park Henry carefully rolled her onto her side, lifting her shirt to investigate her stomach.
"Henry, it's okay," she muttered, her voice coming out breathy and rough. Valentine apparently did more damage than she thought, because if it was possible, Henry grew angrier. "Henry…"
"Lucari… Lucario…" '…kill…circumcision…'
"Wait, what?" she coughed, looking up. "Henry, say that again."
'The circumcision?' he asked, blinking.
"Circumcision is…disgusting…"
'You understood me. You understood me!' he said, eyes wide.
"You always were verbose when you were pissed off," she grinned. The smile fell off of her face when she looked back at Valentine, who was beginning to recover. "Are the others safe?"
'Yes, thanks to your warning. Get outside and find them while I handle this one.'
"But—damn it," she groaned as she tried to straighten up. Henry helped her to her feet, concern bright on his face. "He would—he would kill you, Henry."
'I won't die while I still have you to protect,' he said reassuringly. She rolled her eyes and tried to move forward before a fresh wave of pain stopped her, this time coupled with blood that welled up in her mouth and splattered on her chin when she started coughing. Henry caught her before she fell. 'On second thought, maybe I'm not fighting today.'
"Zoroark, zo, zo," Valentine suddenly growled, rubbing his jaw where a welt was forming. He looked at Denise, then back at Henry. "Zoroark. Zoroark zo zo Zoroark ark!"
'You're not going to touch her again or any of my friends,' Henry growled in response, lifting her into his arms. 'And if you try, I'll skin you alive and wear your fur as a coat.'
Valentine laughed humorlessly. "Zoroark zo!" he snapped, brandishing his claws.
'I don't rely on advantages,' Henry said. 'Like you do apparently, attacking a defenseless human. As Pokémon, we don't hurt humans, Valentine.'
"Zoroark? Zoroark zo zo ark Zoroark."
'She's not weak; none of them are.' Henry backed towards the door but Valentine followed him, his eyes focused like a predator's. He clenched his jaw and turned, bursting through the glass doors at an amazing speed, especially considering he was carrying Denise, who was taller than him and outweighed him. Even so, she could see Valentine gaining on them quickly as he moved through Goldenrod's streets. He neared a canal and suddenly slid to the left into an alley; Valentine wasn't expecting it and tripped over the railing, falling into the water. Henry laughed as he passed through several alleys, elated.
"You're a tricky bastard," Denise grinned.
'Thanks.' He barked as they neared the Magnet Train Station; she could see Aries, Mew, and Theo waiting by the train anxiously. He set her on her own feet and rushed forward just as a black blur raced out from the shadows. Everybody froze as Valentine stopped just in front of the station's steps, a grin on his face and blood dripping from his claws; Henry stopped too, his paws grasping the fresh slash marks on his chest. He fell to his knees as blood soaked through his fur, then he fell on his face.
I don't like getting wet, he said, flexing his claws. He spotted Theo and grinned; Theo scowled, stepping forward. They didn't talk—or maybe they didn't speak for all of them in retrospect, but the energy between them was clear.
Run, Theo said, the thought so sudden Denise had a hard time understanding it. In a second he had Valentine on the ground, the two of them locked in a stalemate. I said RUN! he repeated, louder.
"Come on!" Aries called as the train started moving. The shrieking whistle cut her off as she began to reply, then she just said To hell with it and rammed Theo off of Valentine, grabbing Valentine's wrists and sending both of them tumbling across the asphalt. Theo hit the ground on all fours, staring at her in a mix of shock and a little bit of gratitude. Valentine growled and pulled his left arm free, slashing her across her cheek; she tasted blood and saw it drip on his fur and twisted him around, pulling his arms behind his back and holding him down with her boot.
What was that? Theo called, startled.
"Denise's hostile takeover," Aries called back.
She did say she would be the one to defeat Valentine, Mew said.
But it's my brother—
"It doesn't matter!" she shouted at him, struggling to keep Valentine's arms down. "I told you I'd be the one to fight him and I'm going to be the one to fight him!" And brothers shouldn't have to fight each other like this, not in any world, she thought, imagining Derrick and Dee going at it so roughly and cringing.
"Zoro—" Humans aren't built to fight Pokémon, and that's that! Valentine said, his hair bristling as he hit her in the face again with Shadow Claw; she moved back in time to avoid the worst of the pain and injury, but she didn't doubt that she'd have scars later.
"You don't mess with my friends," Denise hissed, tightening her grip on him. He started shaking from the effort he was making to escape. "You don't mess with Theo." Theophilus gave her a perplexed look. "And you don't mess with Henry, because then you're messing with me."
Ack! Valentine opened his mouth and released a Flamethrower. She gasped and raised her arms to her face, but at such a close distance it didn't do anything to stop the fire. She felt the heat prickling her skin and smelled the smoke for just a second, then she couldn't feel it at all; as a matter of fact, she could stare at it as if there was glass between her and the smoke.
One advantage of Protect is that the barrier can be molded to fit the physique of any Pokémon—or in this case, human, Mew said. Denise looked up and saw that her eyes were glowing, and to a lesser extent so were Aries' and Theo's. Denise smirked down at Valentine, who actually started to look like he was panicking.
L-Let go of me, damn it! he cried, struggling against her grip. She released one of his arms to punch him in the face.
"That was for Theophilus." She hit him again, harder this time, and heard his jaw pop. "That was for Henry." She hit him again and again and again, angry. "That was—for every—damn person—you ever laid—your hands on—Valentine!" She was pissed off—well, that wasn't new, but everything had finally caught up to her—all that crap with Team Rocket, Team Galactic, Silver, Mewtwo—and Valentine was just unlucky enough to have pushed her buttons and ended up as her stress ball—or Pokémon, but if she kept knockin' him like that he'd end up in a ball shape.
She punched him again, hearing her knuckles crack and bruise and hearing some bone of his crack. He was groaning, halfway to unconsciousness with blood dribbling out of his mouth. He already had a black eye and a swollen nose; she could've done more damage too if Aries hadn't grabbed her fist.
"Denise," he whispered, gripping her hand gently but firmly. She whipped her head around to glare at him, infuriated, then felt her face fall at his blank expression. He had made plenty of faces in the time that she'd known him, but never ever ever had he just looked so empty. She shook her head as she stood up, leaving Valentine groaning on the floor.
"I'm sorry," she murmured to nobody in particular. She saw Theo inspect his brother's face and he sighed.
He'll live, albeit with a few more bone protuberances, he said, lifting Valentine onto his shoulder. Them being the same height, it was awkward, but Theo managed. I'll take him back to the Pokémon Center. He shuffled past Denise and Aries, avoiding looking at either of them.
"Oh, Arceus," she groaned, digging her palm into her forehead.
He's going to live, Mew said, perplexed.
"That's not the…damn it… That's not the point. I shouldn't have beat him up like that; I shouldn't have." She kicked the ground angrily, then remembered that her anger got her in that situation in the first place. "I just… Gaaaaah!" She clenched her head, grinding her teeth together. Mew touched her shoulder, trying to console her, and Aries kept looking with that blank expression.
"We should go," he said. "Henry needs a PokéCenter, and I really don't think we're wanted at this one, and you need medical attention too, Denise."
Yes, Mew said for Denise, taking her hand. Denise moaned a bit.
"I'm coming," she muttered. "I'm coming…"
