May 25, 2008. Cerulean City
"Thanks man," Gary said to the bus driver as he hopped off of the bus in Cerulean City, his phone glued to his ear. "Leaf, this is ridiculous. If Misty's not the bride, there's no way she's even going to the wedding." he argued, clearly frustrated with the stubborn girl. "I don't even know if I want to go."
He thought this whole Ash getting married before him was a pile of bull. Ash was 23. Gary was 24 and didn't even have a girlfriend. I guess that's what I get for being a researcher… he thought as he made his way past the PokeMart. At least he had one person to travel with. Leaf had reluctantly agreed to meet him in Saffron City later in the evening.
"Gary, this isn't about you," Leaf sighed into the phone. "You've known her for years; as long as you're not being a jerk, she should at least be receptive to going."
Gary furrowed his brow as he kicked a rock in his path. "Receptive? Misty?" he scoffed, shaking his head. "Yeah Leaf. Whatever. If she murders me, it's your body I'll haunt."
"Come on. At least she'll keep you in check," Leaf scoffed.
"Yeah, yeah." Gary turned the corner before the gym came up. "I'm almost there. I probably won't talk to you later because I'll be dead. If not, I'll see you later." He hung up his PokeNav and slid it into his jeans pocket.
He and Leaf had conversed quite a few times in the past few days, trying to solve the mystery of the unnamed fiancée. They were both surprised to find out it wasn't Misty, as she was the only one Ash had shown any interest in (besides Gary himself, of course). He always thought Ashy boy had had the hots for his bod, which was fine as hell, so Gary willingly welcomed his advances. In fact, he welcomed anybody's advances.
Before he walked to his fate, he decided to give Ash a call, which went straight to his voicemail inbox. Which was full.
"What the hell, Ash," Gary muttered, sliding his phone in his pocket. "You give me a wedding invite and you don't even call?" He looked at the invitation again, noting the date of the event-May 28th.
As he approached the Dewgong-faced building, he noticed a sheet of paper on the door. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the note was from none other than Misty.
5/23-Closed until further notice-Misty
Gary furrowed his brow. Out of all of the gyms in Kanto, the Cerulean City Gym was closed the least. Misty was very dedicated to her job. She was almost obsessive about her work. The last time the gym had closed was two years ago, when Misty and all of her sisters had gotten the flu (granted, that was only for a week). Gary had asked her out for drinks a few times, and she had always declined because of "work."
Gary turned the doorknob. As soon he pushed the door open, he heard the voice of the fiery redhead yelling (not to his surprise).
"I'm not going!" Misty yelled, her voice echoing throughout the gym. "And you can't make me!"
Gary finally was in sight of Misty and…Brock? Misty turned away and continued her rant. "Just because we've travelled together doesn't mean I support his decision to get married on a whim. I have no intentions of leaving the gym unmanned for a silly wedding."
"You mean you didn't close the gym to go to the wedding?" Gary interjected. Both Misty and Brock turned their attention towards the surprising addition to the group.
Misty scowled. "Gary Oak," she sneered her eyes narrowing. She crossed her arms. "What are YOU doing here?"
Gary shrugged as he sauntered over to the duo. He then turned to Brock. "Hey man, long time no see!" he said as he politely stuck his hand out for a handshake. Brock smiled and returned the gesture. "Hey Gary. What brings you out here?"
"Hello, I just asked that question!" Misty fumed, clearly annoyed at the friendly get-together the two males were having without her. In her home.
Gary pulled his hand away. "I was wondering-well, Leaf was wondering-if you wanted to accompany us to Ash's wedding, but it sounds like Brock beat me to the punch." He winked at Brock, who in turn frowned.
"I've been trying to persuade her into going for the last ten minutes," he sighed, running a hand through his spiky hair. "There's something fishy going on here, and it's not anything in this pool here."
Misty scowled. "I don't want to go with Brock. What makes you think I would want to go with you?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
Gary feigned being insulted. "Aww, Mist, I'm so hurt. I can't believe-"
"Save it, Oak." Misty spat. "I don't want to leave the gym for that long, that's all" she added, a little more quietly.
Gary frowned. "But the gym is closed. There's no reason for you not to go."
"That's what I said," Brock added. Misty rolled her eyes.
"Guys," Misty sighed as she wiped her forehead with her arm, "Lily's Pokémon pooped in the pool. We're shut down for a month for cleaning, draining, and all that fun stuff. I've got to stay here to supervise."
"No you don't," a familiar voice inserted. The trio looked up to see none other than Lily Waterflower walking down the stairs with a martini in her hand. Misty scowled. Gary noticed that this had seemed to be a common response to well, everything today. He decided now wasn't the best time to bring that up.
"Yes I do, Lily." Misty muttered. "Maybe if you would have taken responsibility I could have gone."
Lily rolled her eyes as she descended from the final step. "Yeah right Misty. Stop making excuses," she drawled, walking towards the group. "It's like, sooo not true. You know I can take care of everything here as long as you give me a list of very specific directions to follow." Misty quirked a brow. "Are you high?! I would never do that!" she objected.
Lily stuck a finger in her sister's face. "First off, I'm buzzed," she admitted as she leaned against the wall. "Second, you need to go to this wedding. I mean, what if Ash is in huge trouble? What if he, like, dies, and you were the only one who could save him?" She waved her free hand dramatically, careful to not spill her martini.
Misty shrugged her shoulders. "Tough, I guess?" she muttered as she bit her lip, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by the others.
Lily laughed sarcastically. "C'mon Mist, don't you live for this kind of thing? I mean, you read all those Nancy Drew books, right?"
Gary raised his brows, suppressing a chuckle that threatened to spill. "You love yourself a good mystery, do you? Well, Ash is getting married. Get your magnifying glass, missy," he teased, elbowing the redhead lightly. She glared at him before shoving her elbow into his ribs, eliciting a groan from the researcher.
"Come on Misty," Gary sighed, rubbing his side. "You're running out of excuses. Can't you just tell us you don't want to go so we can get on with our lives? Chances are this isn't even a wedding; it's probably Ash going after the Unova League Championship or something weird like that."
Misty didn't respond.
Defeated, Gary looked over at Brock. "Brock, I would be proud to accompany you to Ashy-boy's wedding. Celebi knows he needs all the support he can get."
Brock blushed. He turned to the sisters, shrugging. "I guess we'll see you around, Misty," he added. The two boys began to make their ways towards the door.
Misty groaned. "…wait, guys," she piped in. The duo turned to her. "Give me 20 minutes so I can get a list up for this negligent Pokémon owner and pack."
Lily smiled, then, the smile suddenly dropped. "Wait, I actually have to do work now?"
May 25, 2008. Jubilife City; 5:00 PM
Paul was standing in a painfully bleak room containing the basic kitchen essentials: a fridge, a stove, small countertop, microwave, coffee maker, a few cabinets, and a small, round table. Reggie's kitchen. He watched as his brother walked through the door to the stove. Reggie grabbed the coffee pot and poured out two cups.
"You know, you should do something about this kitchen. It's incredibly bland, even for my standards," Paul said as he made his way to the kitchen chair. Reggie rolled his eyes as he carried the steaming coffees over to the table. "Here," Reggie said as he offered one of the cups to Paul. He nodded in thanks, and sat down at the small table meant for two. Reggie respectively took his place in the other chair and picked up the newspaper. "I've got an egg bake in the oven for us. Kind of like the one our parents used to make," he said, ignoring his younger brother's insult. Paul nodded.
"I'm going to get some air," he muttered, making his way into the living room, where he kept his bag.
Beep, beep, beep. Reggie's kitchen timer was very basic.
"Reggie, can you get that?" Paul asked from the couch. He waited for a response, but got none. "Reggie?" he called, getting up.
Suddenly, the kitchen was filled with smoke. "Reggie?" he yelled again as the beeping got faster and the smoke got heavier. He could only faintly see the outline of his brother's figure. He ran towards him. "Reggie!"
Paul then froze in horror as he watched his brother begin to burn, not moving from his previous position of reading the paper. Paul looked up and saw a large crack in the ceiling. He then realized the roof was about to collapse. "REGGIE!" Paul screamed, frantically looking for anything to put water in, as the beeping got louder and faster. Only, he realized that he too was now surrounded by flames. His head began to pound and his ears started ringing. He looked up just as the ceiling collapsed on them.
Paul jumped up and gasped for air, only to be held down by a woman. "Get off of me!" he shouted, a sheet of cold sweat covering the boy's face.
"Paul, you're safe," a nurse reassured him as she pulled away. He looked up at her inquisitively, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His head was throbbing, and the beeping pierced through his already pained head. He looked over to his left and noticed a heart monitor flashing and beeping. He closed his eyes. "Can you turn that thing off?" he muttered as he rubbed his head. The reality of the dream had shaken him up quite a bit. His breath was unsteady, and his hands were shaking.
The nurse turned over to the machine and muted it. "Sorry about that, Mr. Robinson," she mused, moving over to her computer. "I can get you something for the headache in a bit." Paul looked around the hospital room. "How did I get here?"
The nurse typed something quickly on the computer. "Well, someone found you unconscious. They called an ambulance, and that's about it," she mused. "Your Pokémon are fine-they're hanging out in the center with Nurse Joy."
Paul frowned. He didn't remember getting knocked out. "Well, thank you for all you've done. I'll be leaving now," he said, pulling the blood pressure cuff off of his arm.
"Nope. You can't leave. You could have a concussion," the nurse said, leaving her computer to grab his chart. "First we have to do a concussion check, and then we can release you to someone who can monitor you for adverse effects." the nurse stated, setting her chart down.
He cursed inwardly. He only knew one person in Jubilife City, and that was his brother. "I'll pass," he stated bluntly as he turned over and leaned his legs over the side of the bed, only to be stopped by the nurse again.
"By law, we can't let you leave," the nurse persisted. "Anyone you'd like to call?"
Paul frowned. "Reggie Robinson, I guess. He should still be at work in the…" He trailed off as he recalled the fiery scene. "..the mine." He began to breathe heavily.
The nurse froze. She turned towards him. "How exactly did you get knocked out?" she asked, her eyes narrowing curiously.
Paul paused. "I watched something hit the mine. It blew me into Torterra's shell, and I don't really remember much beyond that."
The nurse nodded. She looked around the room and grabbed a pen and piece of paper. "What's his name again?" she asked. "I'll look him up in the system."
Paul sighed. "Regino Robinson." The nurse gave him a funny look. "He was supposed to be a Regina." he added, exasperated with the nurse's existence. He wished she would just leave.
She wrote the name down. "I'll let the doctor know you're up. It might be awhile. We're pretty full," the nurse noted as she walked out of the room.
Paul hoped that didn't mean what he thought it did.
When he was sure that she was gone for certain, he looked around for his belongings-his shoes and backpack were on a chair. He looked under the blanket-he was still fully clothed. He pulled the plug on the heart monitor and pulled all of the sticky probes off of his body. He slipped his shoes on in a hurry, before he grabbed his backpack and jacket and walked out of the room.
May 26, 2008. Unknown Location.
Iris felt something strange. Different. Maybe it was the deep throbbing of her head that made her feel sick. Or the cold, dull ache in her limbs. Like she was craving something she didn't know. As if she hadn't felt anything in months. Maybe she just needed a Lum Berry. She yawned and went to stretch her arms, but a rope restrained her. She slowly opened her eyes as panic began to incite itself. She noticed Cilan and Ash unconscious on the floor next to her. She also noticed a camera in the corner of the small room. "Cilan?" she croaked as adamantly as she could have with a strangled voice that hadn't been used in some time. How long, she was not sure. She noticed her feet were tied together as well.
She tried to remember the last place she was. She was in a flower field. Her mother was there.
Iris gulped. Her parents had been dead for years.
This was not good.
Think. Think. Think.
Iris squinted her eyes, as to appear as close to sleeping as possible, just in case someone was watching. She slowly scanned the room, as to not attract any more attention that she already may have done. Blue room with fluorescent lights. Door. Seemingly cheap tiled ceiling. Feet shuffling down the hallway.
As the door opened, Iris closed her eyes, silently praying that whoever was holding them wouldn't notice she was awake. She tried her best to put her meditation practices to use to slow her breath and heartrate.
"-and it's not like it matters anyways. They're unconscious. We've got them in hallucinogenic dreams, but to them, they feel like simulations. We'll wake them up eventually." a male voice said. "Isn't that unethical?" a higher voice-probably a girl, said. "I mean, they're already trapped. How do they eat?"
Hallucinations? Iris wondered.
"We inject them with sustenance as well. Listen here, girly," the man spat, "If you don't like how we do things, go talk to the boss. I don't know why he wants us to do this, but it must be important."
Iris heard some clunking and clattering before she felt something sharp going into her neck. She bit her tongue; she was terrified of what they would do to her if they discovered she was awake. 'In, out, in, out' she mentally told herself as she tried to remain calm. The man then pulled the needle from her neck and she heard him clunking around again a few more times.
"Come on, shorty," the man called, probably to the girl? Iris wasn't sure. She felt a hand brush hers, and then the door slammed. Iris sighed in relief. She hadn't been caught.
Suddenly, a painful ringing sound filled her mind. She inhaled sharply as she opened her eyes, fighting the dizziness that clouded her reason. Her hands were no longer tied up. Iris groaned as she leaned up, her body heavy, the ringing dulling. She untied her legs and looked around.
They were sure to notice she had woken up. Iris didn't know who they were, but frankly, she didn't really care.
She just knew she had to get out of there.
Iris scanned the room for something-anything to use to block the door, but the only thing she had was her ropes and the two boys. She slid the rope in her pocket and crawled over to the wall, using it for leverage to stand up. She cried out loud and clutched her stomach as she felt a burning sensation, as if her whole torso was on fire. She took a few breaths, unmoving. The serum was starting to take effect. She had to fight it.
Get out, Iris.
Her heart was racing.
She stumbled over to Ash, and gave him a good shake, trying to wake him from his unconscious state. "Ash!" she whispered harshly, giving him a light slap in the face. Ash didn't wake, so Iris went and dragged his body to the door, leaning him onto it. She went back, and did the same with Cilan. If they didn't wake up from that, she figured they weren't going to wake up at all.
"Guys, I'm going to get help, okay?" Iris said quietly as she untied them both, sticking the extra rope in her pocket. She might need it later. She then began looking for ways to escape.
The door was obvious, but she knew that she'd be caught. She looked up and tiles lined the low ceiling.
That was her out.
"The girl's awake!" someone yelled from down the hallway, presumably. Iris knew this was her only chance, so she jumped to the ceiling, punching a couple ceiling tiles out of place, setting off a burning sensation in her gut again. "Agh!" she spat, forcing herself to her feet. She jumped again, and got a decent grip on the edge of the opening. Iris swung her legs back and forth to gain momentum to get up into the ceiling. She finally got her legs up into the other side of the opening and channeled the remainder of her energy in pulling herself up into the ceiling. She screamed as she pulled herself up, in the way that she had climbed trees in the past. This was considerably more difficult, as she had lost some muscle. Iris nearly fell when she heard the door being pushed open. Please please please, she prayed as she crawled away from the hole, looking for an escape.
She felt like the life was trickling from her. The serum must have a sedative effect, she thought as her eyelids began to droop. She had gone too far to stop now. She looked around and noticed a vent that looked like it went down, like a slide.
Her eyelids became heavy. "Only a few more feet," she muttered, pushing herself as hard as she could to the downward facing vent. Her only way out. She clenched her eyes shut, and when she opened them, she saw her mother in the vent. Iris' eyes widened, freezing in her place.
"Mom?" she asked, her heart sinking in her chest.
"Don't let her escape!" a man yelled. Iris snapped back to attention and continued crawling towards the exit. She wasn't even sure it was an exit. She just wanted her mother.
Iris cried as she fell to a shoulder, the pang of stomach pain being simultaneous with what sounded like a gunshot.
She wasn't hit, but it sure felt like she had been. Tears began welling into her eyes. "I can't do it," Iris whispered as tiny colorful orbs began to cloud her vision. "I can't."
Come on, my sweet wildflower. You're almost done. Just a little bit further…" her mother chanted gently, opening her arms to the struggling girl.
Iris grunted and pushed herself up, dragging herself to the vent.
Mom.
She finally reached her mother in the vent and went in to hug her-only it was an illusion, and she fell forwards into the vent, the serum finally forcing her eyes closed.