Chapter 2:
Determination
A/N: Due to some transfer errors, my section breaks did not appear in the previous chapter. I apologize that this may have made it slightly difficult to follow, but it was out of my hands. I am attempting to find an alternative means, so bare with me if they continue to vanish during the upload process.
Also, I don't know why I have to say this, but if you read, please write a review.
"Sarah, may I have a word with you outside?" Sarah and Luke stood and went outside of the glass door, closing it behind them. "How can you possibly think of doing something like this?" he asked in a fierce whisper.
"Prof. Oak is out there somewhere. I'm not going to sit by if he's in danger."
"So let them take care of it. They only want to find this city for them."
"…Maybe so. But I'm not going to leave Oak hanging like this."
He was about to fire back, but Sarah opened the door and went back inside, leaving Luke still outside fuming.
She sat down across from Smith and Hamilton. "When do I leave?"
"As soon as possible. We will have full transport ready for you."
"Give me till tomorrow morning."
The deal settled, Smith and Hamilton both shook Sarah's hand and departed. Outside, they unlocked their black BMW and crawled inside. "You know we shouldn't be doing this."
"Yeah. But we don't have any other choice." The engine revved and drove off.
--
Luke walked into the house late that night. Sarah was in the bedroom packing a few items with Ivysaur's help.
Of all Sarah's Pokemon team, only Ivysaur and Lars, a Rattata, still remained. Sarah had released the rest back into the wild after she won the Grand Tournament. The two had chosen to stay with her.
Ivysaur handed Sarah an extra shirt. "I can't believe you aren't letting us go with you."
Sarah took the shirt and stuffed it into the bag. "I don't want any of you getting hurt. So I'm going alone."
"Is that so?" Luke said, suddenly appearing in the doorway.
Sarah and Ivysaur froze, looking over at him. He had a stern look on his face. "I…think I'll leave you two alone." Ivysaur jumped from the bed and slipped past Luke.
No one spoke for several minutes. "Say something, Sarah."
She finally met his gaze. "This is something I have to do."
"That's fine, but why do you have to do it alone?"
"I JUST DO!" Her abruptness even scared herself. "Look…it's one of those gut feelings. If one of you comes with me, something will go wrong. I just know it."
"And what happens when you're hurt and no one's there to help you?"
Sarah shut the bag and slung it over her shoulder. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." He twisted and let her by. She dropped the bag by the door. "I'm sleeping outside tonight." The door closed softly behind her.
When she slept outside, it usually meant that she had some thinking to do, and Luke knew better than to disturb her at times like that.
--
Sarah lay as a Bulbasaur outside the city limits. It seemed that no matter how many Pokemon forms she had, she'd always had a slight affinity for the small starter Pokemon. It may have been because this was what she became every month around the full moon. That phase was still a week off. Now she was here under her own will, gazing at the stars.
Her mind was still rolling the new details of her life around her head. The gift had never been from the pill at all; it has always been there, just dormant. In a way, she wished that she had known this sooner. The world was well past its days of race discrimination.
"But would that have really made a difference?" another part of her mind asked. It probably would not.
"It still would have been nice to know."
A crunch of grass declared a visitor, but Sarah had smelled Lars long ago. The small rat crawled out from a bush. "Hey, chum. Why so glum?"
"I'm going to go ahead and assume Ivysaur told you everything."
"You are tactful as always." He lay back against a nearby tree, following her gaze up into the sky. "If it's any help, sometimes it's better to not know your past."
Sarah held her gaze on the stars. "And why's that?"
"Well, look at me. My grandfather was a traitor to our original clan. He gave us away to a group called Team Rocket just for a bit of power. The few that got away with me turned me into an outcast. All because of something he did." Sarah was now looking him over. A tear seemed to form on the edge of his eye, but it was wiped away quickly. "And you…you're the descendant of power hungry dominators. Not the kind of history I'd want."
Sarah shook her head. "You're wrong. We aren't bound by our ancestor's choices. We make our own."
"Oh, I completely agree. Don't get me wrong." The silence returned for several minutes. "Well, I have some things to take care of. I'll see you in the morning." He scurried of the way he came.
So Sarah was once again left alone with her thoughts.
Tomorrow she would leave to find Prof. Oak and maybe a city of her ancestors. But…did she really want to find it? Like Lars had said, knowledge of your past could be dangerous. Maybe it would be better to simply be left in the dark.
"No." She was not bound by her blood. And Oak needed her.
Whatever dark secrets she'd learn on the trip will just have to be accepted.