CHAPTER TWO
Take back the city for yourself tonight, I'll take back the city for me.
~Snow Patrol-Take Back the City
The night was closing in, Senka released Shine, it was getting too dark for her. Earlier she'd fed her other Pokemon, giving them the last of a can of Pokemon food. Shine was big enough, she hunted for herself.
"Alright, there's a path here, I think it leads into the city. It's probably been looted before, but we've still got a chance. There's a lot of food other people won't eat. Come one." She started walking, Shine behind her. The final rays of light from the sun sunk behind the horizon, shrouding them in darkness, except for the brightly burning flame of Shines tail.
The path twisted, then turned back north again. It started getting better worn, as if more people had been traveling it recently. She saw a print in the dirt. "Shine, come here. I need a little more light here."
The Charizard came over, placing her tail in the spot Senka had indicated. "It looks like a human, and an Absol I think. It can't be more than three days old, it rained out here just a little while ago, it's not unlikely another trainer ran for cover in the city. I hope they're still there, it would be nice to meet up with someone else, as long as they aren't a ranger."
Shine nodded, then they continued along the path. They came to a small clearing, the trees breaking around it, a cover of grass and leaves was illuminated by the light of Shines tail. Senka stopped paying attention to the ground, and looked up. No stars anymore, no moonlight could break through the clouds. It was depressing, it was terrifying. The wall of black clouds seemed to pull her in. She shuddered and looked back at shine, just in time to see her disappear, the dark suddenly became much closer. Senka ran up to the spot she'd seen her disappear, panicking.
"SHINE! SHINE, oh god, oh Shine, are you okay?" Senka was on her hands and knees, at the edge of a pit, her Pokemon trapped in a net, woven out of fireproof materials, wound tightly so she couldn't move. It was the work of an expert. Senka immeadeatly got on guard for Rangers, if there were any watching the trap, she'd be dead. They'd stopped trying to be nice a long time ago. If you didn't surrender, they shot.
"Don't worry girl, I'll get you out of there." She pulled off her backpack, and pulled out a knife, long and sharp, the first half was smoothe, the back half serrated, the blade was black. The weapon looked fully lethal, but right now it was being used as a tool, to free a friend from a frightening trap. Shine let out a low growl, trying hard not to roar. The trap had not been made for a Pokemon her size, and it hurt. She sighed as Senka jumped down, backpack on, and severed the first rope.
*******
The Pokéball had landed perfectly, and the Pokemon hadn't resisted. It was now his, to take care of, to train, to guard from the rangers, who surely wanted more than it's obedience and friendship.
"Storm, you never cease to amaze me. That was perfect." Hikaru grinned, as Storm picked up the Pokéball in his teeth and brought it over. He was glad his master was happy. To himself, the attack had been too eager, it had begun sloppy, with the Pokemon dodging his first attack, and landing a hit on him before he'd managed to get out a second Ice Beam. The Razor Wind had hit perfectly, but the Stunky had gotten in another move, making him loose his senses. It was bad enough as it was, his attraction to the Pokemon, without it using Attrat. He'd fought through it though, his loyalty to his master was far more important than a simple crush. He knew he'd done well in general, but he hadn't really done his best. That was inexcusable. Storm hung his head a he handed his master the Pokéball.
Hikaru petted his head. "You made no mistakes. The Pokemon is strong, and probably used to belong to a trainer. We got out target, mission complete. There's a treat for you tonight after we check the traps and go to town. In the tore there's still a lot of supplies. We'll make it a real party." Storm began to wag his tail. Returning to camp, Hikaru sent out his new Pokemon.
"What should we call her. I wonder if she had a name before all of this started?" The Stunky turned to him, and growled slightly, as if to state that she did, in fact, have a name.
"Well what was it then? I can't understand you, but I know you can understand me." The red Pokemon rolled it's eyes at him, her tail slightly puffed. She scratched the ground twice.
"It probably had something to do with you personally…" He started guessing names at random. He finally started getting close, when the un began to sink.
"Scarlett?" the Pokemon jumped slightly, then shook her head, then nodded, then shook it again. He guessed that it was close.
"Uh… what's close to Scarlett? Arlett arlett Charlotte?" The Pokemon bowed, comically. It was the most personality he'd seen out of a free Pokemon in months.
"You're rather peppy for a Pokemon who used to belong to a trainer." He laughed. She gave a small growl, shaking her head. Storm scratched deep in the ground, Tirade and Rukko seemed a little upset.
She huffed at him, and curled into a ball, ignoring him. "What's wrong?"
Storm rubbed his head against his arm, then turned to his side. There was a thin scare there, where the fur had grown in black. It was his only mark from a bad relationship while he was still young. He'd been abused by his previous trainer. "Oh."
Hikaru quietly walked over to Charlotte, carefully stroking her back. "I'm sorry. I promise to take batter care of you, much better care. I promise."
No one could take care of her better, her lady had been the only one to take care of her, she was the only one who really knew how to take care of her. Now she was dead. She would put up with this child until he finally figured out that her lady was the only one who had really given her what she'd needed. It was always what she'd said, and it had always proven to be true, even though it hurt and was sometimes bad, she'd loved her lady. She would love no one else, no one knew when it was proper to punish her, when she'd done wrong.
He returned Tirade and Rukko. "You can walk with me while I check the traps and go into the city if you want. Storm always stays out of his Pokéball, he'll be walking with us." The skunk Pokemon uncurled, and decided to follow along. Maybe this boy could prove himself to actually be a good master. Never as good as her lady though, never.
The traps were set around the woods, a couple in small clearings, two pitfalls on trails he walked, four more in the woods, carefully and painstakingly covered in in leaves and dirt, with nets to cover the Pokemon that fell through, in case one could jump high enough to get out. The rest of the traps were snares. Checking them, he found a few Spinarak, two Vulpix, an Aipom, and a Shinx. He checked the pitfalls, placing the dead Pokemon from the snares in a bag. The Spinarak would feed Tirade, the rest could actually be eaten. Even though it was a little weird, food was, after all, food.
In the second pitfall he found a Girafarig, two of it's legs broken. The Pokemon immeadeatly started trying to jump out of the pit, screaming as it fell, again and again, it's broken legs buckling beneath it, the net tangled around it. The creature was sane, but frightened, and there was nothing Hikaru could do for it now. He felt terrible. He'd never captured a sane Pokemon in one of the traps before, and it broke his heart knowing what he had to do. The Pokemon fell a final time, and couldn't bare to put any pressure on it's legs anymore.
Hikaru jumped down into the pit, pulling the knife out of his back pocket. The pokemons tail snapped at his feet. It wasn't the first time he'd done it, and it wouldn't be the last, but it was the first time the Pokemon had been injured by his own folly. He became an emotionless shadow of himself, crouching by the Pokemon, he swiftly slashed the knife through it's thick neck, then through the neck of the tail, still snapping at him. The life left the Pokemon almost immeadeatly. No tears would be openly cried for the creature.
"Help me fill the pit." He said to Storm.
Hikaru went into the woods for a second, and came back with a shovel. It was dark when they finished, building a small moat around the mound of dirt covering the Pokemon. They checked the rest of the pits in silence, until they began to come upon the last. It was along the path to Ecruteak, designed to trap anyone or anything following them. Hikaru was surprised to see light coming from it, he could see well in the dark pretty good, but he knew he couldn't make holes in the ground glow. He walked a little closed, and could hear noise. "Oh God, please, please be a ranger, or another trainer, anything but another Pokemon that was only hurt badly." It was a real prayer, he couldn't deal with burying another pit.
He lit a cigarette and walked over to the pit, nervous. He slowly crouched down, and looked in, extremely relieved at what he saw. "Thank God. Oh Thank God."
Senka glared up at him. "That isn't exactly apropriate for the situation you know. If you're just going to stand there and thank me for freeing my own Pokemon, you should just leave."
"No, no, I'm sorry. I've already had to bury one Pokemon today, because of one of my pits. I was worried. I have a knife, I'll help." he jumped down, carefully avoiding stepping on one of the Charizards wings. He helped her cut through the net, and helped her get Shine out of the pit. The two teenagers climbed out, covered in dirt and sweat.
"You aren't a ranger, are you?" Hikaru asked Senka, a little wary of her.
"No. I don't think you are either. If you haven't noticed, rangers carry guns, usually. What the hell are you doing digging pits in the woods?"
"I live out here, in a tent. I have traps set all around here, there are a lot of crazy Pokemon out here, and several of the traps are in case rangers are following me." He put out his cigarette on the ground, and lit another.
"You know smoking-" Senka started.
"Yeah, I know. It will kill me, I'll get cancer, whatever. I don't plan on living that long anyway." He'd heard the same argument a thousand times. It didn't matter, he'd die when he was supposed to die.
"So you're suicidal?"
"No, I'm just a risk taker. I do what I want. If something I do kills me, then I figure that that's when I was supposed to die anyway."
"Right. Well, I have to get to Ecruteak, my supplise are running low, since Mahogany Town is completely wiped clean of anything that we'd need." She started down the path.
Hikaru followed, a little upset that this trainer would come in and take supplies from his city. It was also a free-for-all though, and most of the trainers seemed to have disappeared a long time ago anyway. "You going anywhere, besides the city?"
"No, I'm going to get what I need here, then I'm going to go home. I'll probably end up eaten one of these days, but my house is pretty secure."
"You have a house?" He was surprised, most homes were abandoned, people preferred to stay in group now.
"Well, I broke into it first, then I kind of just adopted it. My plan was to leave, and keep heading up north, but I just never got there."
Hikaru looked at her, she was odd. Most of the kids heading through hadn't even stopped to talk to him, they just asked where the town was, and went. "Why not, and what's with the whole north thing anyway? Everyone has been heading there, it doesn't seem like they have a specific location in mind either."
They had almost arrived, the road had changed from dirt to pavement. "You don't feel it?"
"Feel what?"
"Ever since I decided to leave the warehouse, it's felt like north was the direction I needed to go. I don't know why, but I still haven't gone."
"Why not? Did you get some sense in your head? It's cold up there, and half the trainers I've seen go up, have been dragged back half frozen. By the Rangers. They've been kind enough to keep my traps and camp secret while they're dragged through."
"That's lovely. I haven't gone because I just don't want to. It has nothing to do with sense."
"Which means it has something to do with fear."
Senka began to ignore him. Maybe going north would be a better plan than staying there anyway.
"I was joking. What kinds of supplies do you need?"
"Mostly food, I have a can opener, so canned is good. Stuff like crackers, you know. My Pokemon eat most anything. Shine hunts for herself, she never really liked those pellets anyway."
"That's your Charizard? Shine?" The Charizard released a puff of smoke, glancing at him.
"My Absol here is Storm, I've had him since I joined team rocket, the Stunky I just caught. She's called Charlotte."
They had arrived in the city, passing a few houses, Senka had fallen quiet. How was such a nice boy part of team rocket?
"That bothers you, doesn't it? That I was part of team Rocket? It bothers a lot of people."
"Sorry, it's just weird. It explains the traps though. You seem too nice to really be part of anything to do with them."
"Here's the store." He said, motioning towards the building. "I needed a job, they had free lodging. I was twelve, and very good at stealing."
"So. Anything I shouldn't even bother looking for?"
"I've left the store mostly alone, except for some meats, I've only looted the houses. Before the power went out we had a lot more recourses besides a fire. We've been living off of canned hotdogs for a while now. There's nothing I can say for other travelers."
They walked inside. "Ug! Do you smell that?"
"That would be all of the meat I never got a chance to eat. Try not to think about it. The canned meats are in aisle seven, canned soup in six, fruits and vegetables in two. Cereals and granolas in five. Jut walk around and get what you can get." He looked around, walking in the door, there was a display of Pokemon supplies, the latest stickers, bags, belts, necklaces, Pokéballs. Status healers. He could see that several of the items had been picked through. There weren't any ice heals at all.
"What about camping gear? I need a new backpack, a bigger one, and a sleeping bag. I also need some warmer clothes, since winter is starting."
"Hunting, camping, and fishing are all the same section, at the back of the store. Clothing should be near there. I'd return your Charizard after you get a flashlight, you don't want to set anything on fire. They have all the crappy ones on display, get a good one, they're behind the gun counter." He returned Charlotte and Storm. Storm whined about it, but didn't outright object.
"Why would they keep good flashlights behind the gun counter?"
"The owners of the store never liked kids buying flashlights for their adventures. Felt like it was cheating, since they didn't have any when they were kids."
"You know a lot about this place. Were you stationed here?"
"No. I was on a mission when the syndicate collapsed. I learned everything I could. My two partner ditched the town when their Pokemon went nuts, giving what information they could to the rangers."
"What was your job?" They were walking straight to the back of the store. They stopped at a display of Backpacks.
"Do you have a Pokemon that can wear a backpack?"
"Uh… Why?"
"You can carry a lot more supplies that way, I noticed you have four Pokéballs. Assuming that one is Shines," he gestured towards her. "You have three others. A second pack of supplies is better than one."
"I have a Gallade, a Scyther, and a Lapras. I suppose Ennio can carry a pack, he's the Gallade. I'll have to ask him though." She released a red beam from her Pokéball.
"Ennio."
The Pokemon nodded, his eyes glancing around quickly. "I need to know if you can carry a pack."
"I never thought you would ask. Who's the boy?"
"He can talk?"
"No, I can't talk, your just hallucinating. I like this green and white backpack, it seems to be sturdy too."
Senka laughed a little. "I don't believe you ever actually told me your name."
"Hikaru Sovet. Former Team Rocket member, Smoker, and eighteen-year-old. Why can he talk?" He pointed at Ennio.
"I'm Senka Hayes, trainer, and Seventeen-year-old."
"Don't forget fearer of the dark." Ennio smiled, modeling the backpack. "What do you think? Good?"
"You're afraid of the dark? And you're seventeen? There has to be a good reason for it."
"That's the problem, there isn't. It's like it just chokes me. There has to be a good reason you aren't laughing."
"I never found someones fears funny. I think laughing about something like that is rude." He didn't know his own fears, but he knew that if he did, he wouldn't want someone laughing about them.
"Thanks, I guess." She looked over the packs one last time, then grabbed and orange and green one.
"You still haven't answered why he can talk. I understand that he's psychic and fighting, but still…" A Pokemon like Ennio would have been worth his weight in anything you wanted. Psychic types had been known to speak, but never extensively as this.
"It's my story to tell, and I'd rather not right now. The basic is that it's something between a curse and a gift. I'm glad your team never actually caught me."
Hikaru smiled a little. "I'm glad I was never on your case."
They wondered around the store for another few hours, grabbing a few flashlights, and whatever food they would need. Senka grabbed a lot more than Hikaru. The Pokemon food was picked through, leaving mostly eight pound bags, the kind that you use if you're keeping one as a pet. They decided to go back there after getting clothes.
"So. You have a plan for the Pokemon food?" Hikaru asked, as they walked back to the aisle.
"Yeah, ever hear of gallon sized bags? I fill as many of those as will fit in Ennios pack. That's my plan." It was reasonable. None of her Pokemon were picky eaters, due to having been in tough situations before.
"Sounds good. What about weapons?"
She looked at him incredulously. "Are you serious? If something gets bad, I have my Pokemon, and I have a knife. That's all I need."
"Even I taught myself how to use a crossbow. If your Pokemon feint, or get hurt, you're screwed. You have to know how to use something!" Hikaru couldn't imagine not knowing how to use a weapon besides a knife, before he'd decided they were too loud, he'd had a gun. "Can you at least throw darts?"
"I am not throwing darts at people."
"Look, I've been camping out here for a few months, and I've never met anyone stupid enough to not get a weapon. Even a gun is better than nothing!"
"A gun is better than nothing? Most people have that as their first pick. Why not you?"
"They're loud. Even with a silencer, Pokemon can hear and smell them for miles. I never liked the jolt anyway." It was true, even though they were efficient, he'd never actually liked them.
"Great. So you think throwing darts at something is a good idea?"
"They'd be my first pick if I could hit something with them. I can barely throw a Pokéball straight. You can poison the tips, and they're smooth, and thin, like a needle. You can't even feel them stab you. Plus they're hard to see. If I could actually throw anything, it'd be darts."
"I think you're crazy. So you want me to just get a box of darts and practice with them?"
"Yes."
"Not to interrupt this wonderful conversation, but Senka, you should probably use his advice. Knowing how to use a weapon doesn't mean that you're going to be attacked, it just means that you're prepared in case you are. It will also give you something to do until you finally decide to leave and go north."
She had returned Shine earlier, and Ennio was usually pretty quiet. "Fine. I'll get some darts and a dartboard." She sighed, and turned to Hikaru.
"Are you happy Mister you-need-a-weapon? Next you're going to make me learn a martial art."
"Don't bother, me and Shuni have been trying to teach her for years, she has no interest at all."
Senka ripped open a bag of Pokemon food, filling the plastic baggies.
"I'll go grab a couple boxes of darts. Make sure there's enough room in one of the backpacks for them." Hikaru ran off.
Senka sighed, and looked at Ennio. "You're about ready to drag me north, aren't you?"
"Yes. I don't want to leave the boy behind either. He's important."
"This is getting annoying. I can't just go!"
"Discuss it with the boy. I'm going back into my Pokéball. The pack should come with. It's full now anyway." He turned into a swirling red beam, and disappeared into his Pokéball.
Senka looked at her pack. She could fit another bag of food, and she was pretty sure that a few boxes of darts would fit in the side pockets. She still had hundreds of bottles of water in the house. She mostly got her water from the faucet. "I should invite him over, living in a tent can't be comfortable, and there is another room." She muttered to herself.
She looked up as he jogged back into the room, three boxes of standard darts in his arms. And what looked like a rolled up target. "They didn't have any normal dart boards, sorry. This will have to do." He placed the boxes of darts on the ground next to her pack, and unrolled it. It was a typical dart board, with five rings. The only difference was paper.
"I guess it's a good thing my father liked darts."
"Your dad played darts?"
"Yeah, and a lot of the time he was drunk while doing it. If I have any of his blood, I'll be able to do this with my eyes closed in a week."
"I take it you didn't have a really good relationship with him."
"It was good until I got a Pokemon. He just liked a drink and a game. I wasn't surprised when I heard he had been killed by a Pokemon though, he never liked them. He was probably pretty excited about getting to pick them off."
"Oh." Hikaru was a little jealous. He'd had to resort to joining team rocket just to keep himself and his brother alive. His mother and father weren't even in the picture.
Senka folded the targets, he'd grabbed several, and the darts, and put them in her bag. She knew she would practice, reluctantly or not. "Ennio wants to drag you North with me. He says he's going to kidnap me there if I don't leave soon."
"Why does he want me to come with?"
Senka stood and put the pack on her back. It was heavy, but not to heavy. She would be able to carry it for a while before having to put it down. "I have no clue, he says you're important for something. It's that stupid curse of his."
"Why should I go, just because he says I'm important?"
"I don't want to go, I'm not going to make you. I am going to ask you if you'd rather hang out at the Lake of Rage than live in a tent out here. I still have electricity, and it's a lot more shielded from Rangers."
"You live out by that place?! What about the Gyarados?" He was a little confused. This girl would go live in a lake with a bunch of terrifying Pokemon that would gladly eat her, but wouldn't learn how to use a weapon to keep herself safe?
"They killed each other a long time ago. No one goes through there because they're afraid of the Gyarados, not even rangers. In reality, there isn't anything there but a bunch of fat Magicarp. They've gotten to the point of being edible." They began walking out of the store.
"And you're inviting me to come live with you?"
"No. I'm inviting you to stay in the same house I am out of your own self interest. It's already nearly impossible to get there without a Pokemon that can fly, and a lot of berries grow around there." It would be better for her to have human company when the real snow started. Her Pokemon were great, but sometimes you just wanted to talk to your own species.
"Sounds good. I'll have to pack my stuff, and get more supplies, and a fishing pole. I'll also have to remove my traps and fill in the pits though. It will take a while for me to get ready."
"I could come back tomorrow and help you out."
"That would take you a long time. How about you stay the night here, and we both leave at the same time tomorrow? It would be easier, and your Charizard wouldn't have to fly as far."
Senka agreed, and they agreed that meeting in front of the store in the morning. Senka slept in one of the houses, it was cold, but she got a lot of blankets. She sent out shine, and she slept next to the bed, trying share her heat as much as possible.
Hikaru went to his clearing, and decided to pack up everything besides his sleeping bag and tent. It had been a long day. At least now he had a warm bed to look forward to.
*******
Kane watched as they entered, and exited, the store. They had spent two hours in there, at least. His boss hadn't mentioned a girl, so he assumed that this was another rouge trainer. He knew the girl had a Charizard and at least three other Pokemon. The boy had an Absol, a Stunky, and two others.
Kane was dressed as a normal trainer, he even had a Pokemon, despite the fact that most weren't allowed to. They had found a Charizard, one that hadn't gone completely insane yet, and captured it in a Master Ball. His Ranger badge was hidden safely in his jacket, and his Capture Styler remained in his backpack, so did his gun. His sharp green eyes watched as the girl went into a house, and the boy walked into the woods. Whichever came first in the morning, would be his. He could probably manage to catch them both, using one as bait for the other. This would be over before it started.
Kane set an alarm on his watch, and climbed up a tree with wide branches. Hanging a hammock on it, he surveyed the area for anymore activity. If he was caught by any others out here, he would look like a really resourceful trainer.
He climbed down the tree and went to a water source that was nearby, to the east. "It seems too easy, so it probably won't be, but at least it's a plan."
He half wondered if he hadn't been set out just so they could get rid of him. The leader had offered him the base, and he could probably get that boy tonight while he was sleeping, but if one thing had been taught to him while working for the rangers, it was that being patient was better than rushing in. He would wait for morning.
When he had his back turned to the water, he herd a splash, and turned immediately to see what it was. A Buizel was pacing back and forth, watching him. It looked ready to jump back into the water at a seconds notice. He knew he should kill it, but he also though it would be a shame to kill a potentially sane Pokemon when he was currently allowed to use them. He carefully took off his back pack, backing away, and pulled out a Net ball. He would use the Pokemon if he needed to, then hand it over to the rangers when he was done with his mission.
He took a few more steps forward, and the Pokemon stood still. He took another step, and it stood on it's hind legs. Kane threw the Pokéball, then ran towards it as it hit, sucking in the water type. He grabbed it and held it shut, keeping the top and bottom pinned together. He felt it shaking, it would have broken by now if he didn't hold it.
Forcing Pokéballs to stay closed had been illegal before all of the Pokemon had gone completely insane. Pokemon had been vicious sometimes before, attacking without warning, but that was territorial, and completely understandable. Then Pokemon had started to wildly hunt down humans, usually ignoring their Pokemon and attacking them. They attacked each other more violently than before, and trained Pokemon had completely lost their senses. One of the elite four had been mauled by his own Fearow.
The Pokéball let out a reluctant 'ding!' and stopped shaking. Kane had been holding it for five minuets, his hands hurt. He let the Pokemon out of it's Pokéball. "Hello Buizel."
It hissed at him, and jumped into the water. "Return." The red beam shot out, and recaptured the Pokemon as it dove underwater.
"I suppose I'll have to break this one then. At least it hasn't attacked me yet." He walked back to his tree, canteen full, and ate a granola bar. Looking up at the black wall of clouds, he wondered how many trainers had gone uncaptured. Several trainers had escaped from them, grabbing what they could and running, some had gotten shot, and still run. He wondered if any had survived. The northern regions weren't friendly, they were cold and unforgiving.
"What makes them so intent on getting north? There isn't anything out there, and even the strongest trainers refuse to go there. Why have so many suddenly decided to go there, into the cold, and why would so many be willing to go back?" He knew he asked these questions to the wind, but he didn't care. Maybe he could get the answer out of one of the two that he was planning on capturing. It had seemed that the further south they were dragged, the harder they fought to get back.
Maybe he would go himself, just to figure it out. Kane chuckled at this idea. It was ridiculous, walking north, while being attacked by wild Pokemon, maybe even joining up with some trainers? Suddenly an idea hit him.
"If they intend to go north, then I can call in other rangers. We can round up all of them, and let the Pokemon destroy each other." Kane grinned at this, it would be perfect, and he wouldn't run into any trouble from lazy rangers either. No one would be holding him back anymore.
"The hunt will begin tomorrow then. I'd better get a good nights rest." He climbed into his hammock and shut his eyes.
