A/N
Welcome back to all those who haven't forgotten that this exists and are still interested in reading! I've been lazily slacking off in editing all this, so I have quite a bit of writing that just needs to be posted into Word and then copied over here. Let me tell you! Koilate and I write an awful lot.
Speaking of writing, I hear tell that she's started work on a little bit of back story for a few of her characters. Most of these characters haven't appeared here in the story yet, but that's okay! They will soon enough. For now, this is a slightly more relaxing chapter in which everyone talks about everything and the villains have a villainous-ly good time just being evil friends.
Disclaimer: Pokemon does not belong to me or my friend and we take no credit for any of them. The only things that belong to us are the human characters, the personalities of the Pokemon that are central to the story, and the story lines.
Chapter 9: The Resistance and The Villains
"I want her moved into this room, that way she'll be in the same room as her brother. It's only fitting."
"Benn, are you sure they're allowed in here?"
"This is the safest place for them. Now we have a new enemy to keep an eye out for. This one's dangerous and sneaky, from what I hear. No one's found out where this base was since this place started running, thanks to Ten, Les and Rix. They're affiliated with Nathan, so it's fine to have them here. Now take these to your father, Sam, and tell him these should clear that headache of his in a few hours. And thanks for delivering the message to the nurses for me-"
"But you never asked-"
"Didn't I? Then please tell the nurse to move the girl in here. Please and thank you."
This conversation was the first thing Matt heard when he started to come around. Half of it seemed like complete gibberish and there were several names he couldn't recognize. Sam? He'd never met a Sam. Ten, Les, and Rix? Those didn't even sound like names, but from whatever context he could vaguely grasp, it seemed like they were being used as names. Of people? Maybe. Regardless, this was the first thing that floated into his brain when he awoke. The second was a question: Where am I?
Well, there was only one way to answer that. Matt needed to open his eyes and take a look around. The first thing he really registered when he attempted to open his eyes was that one of them refused to open. He couldn't feel it, of course, being that he was feeling rather numb, but when he cracked open his eyes, his range of vision was more limited than he thought it should be. The ceiling swam in and out of his vision, so he raised a hand to his head to try rubbing away the fogginess in his brain. What the heck was going on?
Footsteps moved away from Matt as something on wheels was being moved into the room. "Put her over there, please," Benn's voice was soft, but firm in his instructions. The wheels squeaked every couple of seconds as they grew closer to Matt's right, only about two feet away from him.
"Doc, he's coming around," came a soft female voice. Footsteps, then Benn was at Matt's side.
"Matt," he was at Matt's left, peering over the red-head. "Matt, can you hear me? It's Benn."
Matt's mind was hazy, trying to figure out exactly what was going on and what all these noises were. Footsteps. Something rolling along the ground. Voices... Voices? Yeah, someone was talking to him. "Hm?" His question wasn't so much of a question as it was an inquisitive sound because he hadn't yet found his voice in any coherent capacity. He had responded to Benn, though, and that had to be a good sign. Awake, aware, and probably more than slightly dazed; Matt was alright. For the most part. Bandages wound around his head and there was a thick patch over his right eye; the eye that had been scored by Ariana in the fight with James. The pain had mostly receded, but that was probably because he was more or less numb there.
Benn gave a light chuckle in response to Matt's little sound. He was awake and aware. The man smiled to himself. "Good to hear you're aware." That was all he said for the next few minutes, allowing Matt to wake up further and process his surroundings and where he was and what was going on, or fall back asleep, whichever happened next. Benn would be there regardless, even if he fell back asleep and woke up later. He was a doctor, after all, and it was his job to be there for his patients. He was a patient person and would wait for whoever needed him. For now, he was content scribbling something down on a clipboard.
Matt took those few minutes of silence to gather himself and figure out where he was. His head stopped spinning, finally, and he was able to stare up at the ceiling with one eye and figure out what was going on. He was somewhere in some kind of a hospital, that much he could tell by the calm presence of Benn and his surroundings. When he thought he finally had full control of his muscles, he levered himself into a sitting position with the help of his arms. "What..." he needed to pause a moment to catch his breath and regain his voice. "Where am I?" There was the question he wanted to ask. The next two were probably going to be obvious: 'What happened?' and 'Where is my sister?' in no particular order.
Benn could only guess what his other questions would be after this one and answered all three of them. "Nathan and I found you in that abandoned base. You were injured and eventually passed out from the pain. Luckily it seemed we got there soon after you got hurt. We took you, Adria, and your sister Tary to the hospital to stabilize you before having all three of you transfer here, into safer hands. By 'here', I mean in the Resistance, which is the name of the organization I am part of. You're resting in the medical wing right now. And your sister is on your right. Over all she's fine, physically. Mentally, however… Well, I can only guess it won't be pretty," he answered.
The mention of his sister had Matt's full attention, making him almost completely disregard all other information, and when he learned that she was close by he looked to make sure. She was there, alright, asleep and resting. The bruises were plain to see, as well as the dark circles under her eyes probably caused by the continued use of Nightmare against her. Matt didn't know that fact, but he knew Alex and knew the kind of things she could and would do. Still, it was a relief to see that she was here and alright. Physically. Benn was right; there was no telling how Tary would fare mentally after what had happened. It wasn't like this was the first time she had been attacked by Alex, but it didn't get any easier.
When he was assured of her health and presence, he turned back to Benn with a few more questions knocking about in his head. "Adria?" What had happened to her, and Ender for that matter, after they had split up? Was she okay? What had happened between her and Alex?
Benn pointed somewhere toward the door. "Across the hall," he answered simply. "Bruised, but physically alright." Again, he couldn't speak for her mental condition. "Your ghost Pokémon is probably still recovering with the other Pokémon, but I don't know for sure. I'm not a Pokémon doctor," he shrugged. The medical bay for Pokémon was down the hall. "Cerberus is there, as well. He got a beating, but he's relatively fine; just in a really bad mood, is all," he shrugged again. He didn't get any closer than he had to with Cerberus in quite a huff. Being confined in sticky webbing after getting a beating by Syler or Ariana wasn't exactly something he enjoyed. But he was fine, over all.
Matt seemed to take a moment to let the information sink in. Despite their harebrained scheme, everyone was alive. Adria was alive, though no one could account for her mental condition after Alex got a hold of her. Tary was alive, though probably terrified to go back outside alone. The Pokémon were all alive, including Cerberus who had been strung up from the ceiling and very possibly could have been sucked dry by the spider Pokémon that had put him up there. Despite all of their bruises, cuts, and other physical damage, they were miraculously okay.
"Did... did either of you catch sight of Alex or James?" Or had the two baddies made a complete escape?
Benn shook his head. "No. They fled before we arrived. But we've been on the hunt for James for a while, so he'll be caught eventually. We're working hard to track him down, infiltrating Rocket bases for him as well. But he doesn't ever seem to be in any and no one really knows where he is until it's too late." Benn didn't look very happy at the idea that they failed to catch the two. "You'll have to talk to Nathan or Sam for more information about that, or anything who isn't me; I don't infiltrate, I stitch people up and send them back out. As for Alex, she's not on our radar either."
Matt sighed, running a hand through his hair and scratching at his scalp. "It's so hard to pin Alex down... I'm guessing that James is the same way." Sure seemed like it, for how long he had been running around and how he acted. He'd disappeared out of that base quick after Matt got hurt. "The police never managed to catch her and they have all the information we gave them." By 'we', he must have meant his family in general. His father had provided much of the information because Tary and Matt had still been very young when Alex had turned on them.
"Speaking of stitching up, however," Matt changed the subject, not exactly eager to talk more about Alex. "What exactly happened?" He pointed to the bandage over his eye for context for his question. All he really remembered was a burning, unbearable pain there.
Benn smiled to him in regards to Alex and James. It was very much the same, but that was because James had been evading them for quite some time. In the beginning he was caught, but there was a bit of an accident in one of the labs that allowed him to escape when they were evacuating one of the off-site bases. That place was long abandoned after that accident because there was damage beyond repair. The terrain hadn't been all too well, either. Meanwhile, it was likely that Alex wouldn't have heard of the Resistance; no one did, really. Hopefully they could catch her.
"Ah, I was wondering when you'd ask about that." It was a grim topic. "Well, I don't exactly know what happened. But I looked at that eye of yours. There are scratches in and around the eye, kind of like they were created by little barbs. And knowing James, it was probably from that Ariados of his, Ariana," he frowned. "However, Ariana wouldn't have done it on purpose, so it was only an accident. I know that the Umbreon and the Ariados under James aren't that sinister- Dyavol is the most innocent while Ariana merely listens to her trainer, but wouldn't have the heart to attack someone's face, let alone the eye. Basically, your eye was damaged and it's beyond any repair. I'm sorry to say but you won't be able to see out of that eye again."
Matt listened with quiet intensity to what the doctor had to say about his eye and what had happened to it. He remembered Ariana falling onto him from the ceiling because of the Earthquake; he remembered that she'd been flailing around and then here came that searing pain in his eye. Ariana's barbed leg must have scratched him in the eye when she was flailing around. The final verdict of the doctor made him frown. Never see out of that eye again? That wasn't exactly good news.
He raised a hand to touch the bandages that covered the damaged part of his face and imagined what it looked like underneath. Mangled, scratched, unpleasant; all words that would probably describe what happened to him. This... this was going to take some time to get used to. "Nothing?" He wanted to verify that it really was gone for good. He wanted to know if there really was nothing to fix it.
Been shook his head. "There's no way that I know of to fix the damage. Maybe in the future if technology evolves enough to fix your eye safely, you'll have a chance to see out of it, but at the moment, it's going to be nothing," he sighed. Benn didn't sound all too happy the fact that Matt wouldn't be able to see, either. It was horrible, being unable to see in one eye after growing up with both for so long. It would take some time getting used to the lack of sight.
A ragged sigh escaped the boy and he sat back against the head of the bed. Nothing for it, then; he'd lost an eye in the confrontation with James. Nothing could be done to fix it, so now Matt would be living without and getting used to just one eye. This was probably going to be rather a rather unpleasant learning curve. Okay, he needed to get his mind off this. He'd gain nothing by dwelling over it. "You said our Pokémon are healing somewhere?" Maybe it would be good if he could get his and Tary's Pokémon. Ender, if he was feeling well, could also help take his mind off this. Shida would like to curl up with Tary, and Waka probably would too.
Benn nodded. "Yes, down the hall. Shall I fetch yours for you?" he asked. Someone else came into the room, drawing Benn's attention for a moment.
"He says thanks, Benn." The voice itself sounded like it came from a kid, and a kid he was. The speaker was a young lad, no older than 13 years old with shaggy blond hair pulled out of his line of sight. His eyes were a bright green- peridot, would have been the proper shade for these his eyes. He was dressed in simple jeans and a grey flannel with a white tee-shirt peeking out from underneath.
"Wonderful!" Benn clapped his hands together. "Sam, this is Matt. Matt, that's Sam." The boy simply waved.
Matt didn't get the chance to answer Benn. If Benn was offering to go fetch his Pokémon, Matt would happily accept, but he'd like to get Tary's Pokémon, too. No doubt she'd feel better for it when she finally woke up. Speaking of, Matt had thought of another question to ask Benn when he got a chance. For now, his attention had been grabbed by the kid that had just entered the room.
When introduced, Matt waved back to the little boy, looking him over with his good eye. Why was there a kid around here? This was supposed to be a top-notch government organization designed to fight against evil organizations and there was a kid randomly wandering around? It was odd. This kid couldn't be much older than Tary.
Sam was there for good reason, and Benn would happily explain if Matt, or anyone, asked why he was there. But Benn said nothing about it at all and simply smiled a bit more, relaxed at the moment. "I take it you want your Pokémon? And maybe your sister's Pokémon? Is that right, Matt?" Benn guessed. "Sam can get them for you, won't you Sam?"
The blonde boy shrugged. "Sure. What are they?" The Pokémon were just down the hall. Sam didn't mind going to grab the Pokémon. It wasn't like he had anything better or more important to do.
The question caught Matt slightly off guard. Sure, he could spout off what his Pokémon were, but he had no idea what his sister had anymore. He knew she had a Growlithe, but beyond that... He didn't know if her Mareep had evolved, what starter Pokemon she'd picked up, or any other Pokémon she had gotten along the way. "Um..." It took him a moment's thought to gather himself and tell Sam what his Pokémon were: Haunter, Dragonite, Scizor, Furret, Metagross, and Politoed. As for Tary's Pokémon, he could only say that she still had a Growlithe and some Pokémon from the Mareep line of Pokémon. "I don't really know what Pokémon she's picked up in the last week or so."
Sam thought about it for a moment, memorizing the Pokémon he'd said and repeating it the list back. "Haunter, Dragonite, Scizor, Furret, Metagross and Politoed, and a Growlithe and something from the Mareep line?" he repeated.
Benn chuckled. "I had all of the Pokémon picked up from the base set off aside from the other Pokémon. Just ask for the newcomers, and they'll give you all that we found over there," Benn commented. He'd made sure that the ones picked up were separated from the other Pokémon since he didn't know who's was who's, really.
"Got it!" with a salute, the blonde boy was off in a skip.
Matt watched the little boy run off in search of the Pokémon that had been brought in. When the boy was gone, Matt looked to Benn for an explanation. "Who was that?" Of course, he knew the boy's name, but he didn't know why the boy was running around the base. It didn't seem like this would be an ideal place to have children around, being that this was some sort of super secret base that housed an organization called 'The Resistance'. Whatever the case was, at least the kid was well behaved; running around and doing errands around the base. He was an intelligent kid, but it really didn't seem like he belonged around here.
Benn smiled back down to Matt. "That's Sam. I used to babysit him a while back when he was younger. He's the boss's son. Being the head of our base, things were naturally dangerous. I babysat Sam when he was younger, but then his father decided to just give him some sort of training and he learned to defend himself. Good fighter, but he's still has a bit to learn." he explained. "The kid doesn't belong in the Resistance as an agent so he's our errand boy until he's old enough to become an agent. His father's scared someone'll be out to get his son, so he keeps him close and brings him when he goes anywhere. And since he's the boss, he's able to." Benn shrugged. "He's a good kid, either way. Friendly with the Pokémon, so it's not all running around doing errands for him."
Matt's mouth formed an 'o' as he finally understood just what was going on. The kid was the boss's son and the boss was no doubt a big target to anyone that knew about the Resistance. Therefore, the boss's son needed to be protected. Matt understood that. People with a grudge go after the weakest link and everyone would see the kid as the weakest link. The kid was trained, now, and kept close to the secret base. "Alright. I get it. Seems like a good kid, though."
Matt paused for a moment to think about what his question before had been. "How long have I been out?" It didn't seem like a terribly long time, but Matt didn't know because he had been unconscious and when you pass out like that, it seems like no time at all has passed. It could have been days since they had been in that dark base.
"Mm... A little less than a day," Benn hummed out, going back to scribbling on his clip board. "You all have, though you're actually the first of all three to wake up." he added. "I suspect Adria should come around soon enough, as well, and maybe even your sister. It's why I had her stuck in here; she knows you, so you'll be able to help calm her and let her know where you are and all that," he pointed to the small girl with his pen. "Any more you want to know, I'll be happy to answer," the blonde man smiled.
Matt scratched his head, looking back to his sister. It was a relief to see her again, though the damage that Alex had inflicted made his blood boil. To think that witch had his sister for who knows just how long! To think of what she had done! Regardless of what had happened, Tary was here and she was safe for now. "No more questions for now. I just hope they both wake up soon." It would be good to see Adria and Tary awake again. Matt was feeling a little guilty for dragging Adria into this mess, even if he had protested her coming along in the first place.
The smile on Benn's face never faded. "I understand. I too hope they wake up soon. Perhaps they will very soon." More footsteps and Sam had returned with a plastic tub with Pokéballs rolling around in it.
"These are them, I believe. I don't recognize these Pokémon, anyway," the boy approached with the bin with all the Pokéballs rolling around in it. It held all of Matt's Pokémon, all of Adria's Pokémon, and the ones Tary had on her person as well.
A smile spread across Matt's face. It would be nice to have his Pokémon back. He picked out the Pokéballs that he had marked, counting to make sure they were all there. Of course they were. Ender was the first Pokémon he released. The Haunter looked a little tired, but otherwise no worse for the wear. He spun to take in the room. "Oh good, we're safe." His eyes landed on Matt, then flicked over to Tary; the siblings were reunited.
"Ender, help me pick out Tary's Pokémon." Her Pokéballs hadn't been marked and Matt needed a little help to pick them out of the crowd. Ender would be better for that; he knew Psychic and could probably use it to figure out who was in what Pokéball without opening them all.
Ender looked down to the boy holding the bucket and then peeked into the bucket to see the 11 Pokéballs rolling about inside. It couldn't be too hard to pick out the five that Tary had.
There was only one special Pokéball in there that belonged to Adria, and that was a Safari Ball from Sinnoh, which housed Darteng. The other Pokéballs were relatively unmarked, save for all the scratches along the sides.
Benn turned to check on Tary while Sam was left holding the bin and watching the Haunter, which had spoken only moments ago. He didn't seem too entirely startled by it, but seem to be just a bit inwardly confused on something, though said nothing and remained silent as the two picked out the Pokéballs.
Tary was still sleeping, mostly peacefully. The Nightmare, along with whatever Alex had done to her physically, had probably drained her of energy. That was kind of what the move Nightmare did when used in a legitimate Pokémon battle: it drained away the victim's life in large increments. The Gengar hadn't wanted to kill her, though, and had toned down the Nightmare so that it was more or less just giving her terrible nightmares.
While Ender searched through the Pokéballs, Matt released Shida. Before Matt could actually say anything, Shida had taken off, crawling over anyone in her way to get to Tary and curl up next to her. Shida was the only Pokémon in the fight with James that had escaped unharmed, and it showed; she was more energetic than Ender was and seemed generally healthier overall.
Ender, meanwhile, had picked up the five Pokéballs that owned unfamiliar Pokémon, except Waka of course. He was familiar with Waka. The rest were Adria's, which Ender was mostly familiar with. While doing this, he felt eyes on him. Sam was watching him and Ender looked back at him, catching his eyes. "Something on your mind?"
The boy was silent for a moment and watched him, and then he finally answered. "Nothing I can't figure out..." he commented quietly. It was no lie, either because he couldn't lie. Or, rather, he wouldn't. His father had taught him to never lie in his life, but if someone didn't specify, it was okay to not say the exact truth. This was as true as he could get. It wasn't anything he couldn't figure out.
Another chuckle escaped from Benn. He'd known Sam since he was very young, so he could easily read what Sam's thoughts were, even without looking back to him. "Yes, Sam, you have the right idea." He abruptly answered Sam's unvoiced thoughts. He could understand the boy very easily. "He's just wondering if you really did talk, is all." Benn glanced back to Ender, filling him in on what Sam was wondering.
Ender furrowed his brow for a moment, taking in the information before it really clicked. "Oh... ohhhh, so you're that kind of person." Ender shot Sam a rather amused glance. "I see."
Ender understood something about Sam, then; that Sam could probably hear Pokémon and understand them even if they weren't speaking English. This was a different kind of confusion than the type of confusion that Ender usually got. Usually, people wondered if they were hearing correctly and tried to figure out if they were actually hearing a Pokémon talk. Sam was different, though; it was a different kind of confusion.
It didn't matter at this point, though Ender was going to have to test his theory sometime. Matt seemed confused; he'd probably missed part of the conversation.
Sam shuffled a bit under the Pokémon's words, but said nothing at all, choosing not to respond to what the Pokémon was suggesting. He was a bit timid around people he didn't know very much, let alone Pokémon he didn't know very much. He was a quiet boy, mostly, and didn't like to talk very much if he didn't have to, especially to people or Pokémon he didn't know very well.
Benn only found he was more amused than before, but said nothing for the moment. The boy was skittish and would likely run away the moment he was no longer needed to stick around. "Should I return these other Pokéballs to the Pokémon medical wing?" he asked quietly.
"I think you should return those to Adria across the hall, wouldn't you agree, Matt?" Benn asked, glancing between both Matt and Ender. "It's better to wake up and be surrounded by friendly faces, right?"
"I think so, Doc," Matt replied, smiling slightly over to Sam. "Go leave those for Adria across the hall; she'll want them when she wakes up," just like Matt had wanted his Pokémon when he woke up. They were both trainers and both cherished and loved their Pokémon. It would be best if Adria had her Pokémon when she woke up. It would probably make her feel more comfortable. Plus, it would give Sam an excuse to get out of here. It didn't take a genius to see that he wasn't exactly comfortable.
Ender smiled as well, examining the Pokéballs he had fished from the bucket. "Having good friends around you when you wake up is always a good thing." That's why he was currently trying to sort out which of Tary's Pokémon he was going to release. The decision was easy. Two Pokémon appeared on her bed; a Growlithe and a Flaafy. Both were fluffy and adorable, but the Flaafy looked terribly irritable.
The young blonde nodded his head. It was always better to wake up with faces that you knew around you, even he had to agree. It was always better. After all, if he was hospitalized, he'd want to wake up with his father at his side, or his best friend, or Benn. He liked Benn because Benn was nice and he was a very trustworthy man.
After seeing the Growlithe and the Flaafy being released, Sam took the plastic bin that was filled with the rolling Pokéballs and scampered across the hall. One could actually visualize a tail tucked between his legs if they wanted to. The boy was skittish at first until they got to know him.
Benn smiled a bit more. "He's not much of a stranger person, but he's a good and kind lad," Benn offered, turning back to Matt. "Now, are you hungry?"
Matt watched the boy run off. For a trained fighter and the son of the Resistance boss, he was pretty skittish. If Matt and Tary were going to hang around here for a while for their safety, however, maybe they would see him around more and he would get used to them.
Benn caught his attention. "Hungry?" he repeated. When he started to think about it, the answer became apparent. "Yes, actually." He'd been out for a little less than a day; the last time he had eaten was before he learned of his sister's whereabouts when he took over Nathan's kitchen. Some food would be lovely.
Tary's two Pokémon had settled beside their trainer while the humans were talking. Tary was now surrounded by three very fluffy creatures, each sharing and radiating warmth.
Benn was glad that he was feeling hungry. He'd be recovering fast, hopefully and eating something would be just the thing. They all would (physically) recover soon enough, and then they had a choice to do what they wanted from there. It would take some time, though, for all three to recover to the best they could.
After the earthquake caused by the Dugtrio, James had hid out in one of the abandoned rooms away from where light could find him and had waited for Alex to be done with her fun. They were done about the same time. After that, he led Alex to one of his hideouts nearby, which was an abandoned, run-down old shack. The shack was haunted – or so James always said to keep people away – and used that for his base of operations, so to speak. The shack had a single bed, which was clearly used, a couch with fluff spilling out the seams, along with one toilet, a single sink (both bathroom and kitchen use) and a tiny little shower. It wasn't anything special and James didn't care if it looked nice and furbished on the inside. In truth, he'd found it like that long ago. It was a place to stay the night, and he offered a roof over Alex's head if she had wanted to stick around. James, again, didn't care.
Alex didn't seem to care much either way, though she did thank him for the offer. It was nice of him to offer her a roof over her head for the night. At the moment, she was examining the fluff falling from the seams of the couch, pinching a little between her fingers and pulling it away to examine it closer. "So Matt was the one to fall into your little trap. Sorry you didn't get much of a chance with your girl. Did you have fun anyway?" Alex was rather interested in knowing what had transpired between the two boys. They could swap stories about what they had been up to.
The Gengar had returned to Alex's side after they had left and informed her of what had happened. The Gengar couldn't speak, but he could get his point across well enough. The boy had come and the boy had taken the girls away. Alex would have to inquire a little bit more about this boy; he was protective of Adria and it seemed like it might be fun to toy with another new target.
The man seemed to merely wave it off as if it didn't really matter. He was disappointed that he hadn't got his prey, but figured that he could get her in the future. He'd have to do a bit of hiding for now. "Not exactly what I had planned, but it was alright. We played a game, had a battle, upset the Dugtrio, had an earthquake and Ariana fell on him and injured him. I think in the eye," he shrugged, feeling rather indifferent about the whole thing, playing with Dyavol while talking. He had plopped down in the middle of the floor and was taunting him playfully with his hands, moving them around and poking at Dyavol's sides and paws playfully as Dyavol attempted to catch the hands with his teeth, his jaw snapping down whenever he thought he'd be able to get the hand that waved in front of him, goading him. His bites were sometimes painful, though, but that didn't stop James from playing with him like so. "I think it was fun just kind of getting him riled up in the beginning. Syler enjoyed kicking his Scizor's ass, though." At least Syler had a bit of fun. "You?"
Alex giggled as he mentioned injuring Matt. That was good; Alex liked to hear that people enjoyed her toys. "Adria was fun. I can see why you like her. I beat her, bruised her, and cut her up a little bit. Her screaming was music to my ears. I will admit, though, girls are never as fun as boys; Tary and Adria both as so physically weak that it was a cinch to make them scream. Boys are more fun; it's more fun to try and coax it out of them. Plus, they can take a lot more physical abuse before I have to stop." She turned to face James, watching him play with Dyavol on the floor. "Speaking of boys, who exactly were the two that came after our toys? That one with Matt looked like he was a doctor, but the boy that went after Adria... who was he?"
He didn't seem to care much of what her preference of toys were, though only thought about it for a moment. He knew Adria didn't enjoy sharp things to begin with, even before she came across Syler. Not many did. He dismissed the thought silently.
"I don't know if Benn's his name or not- I can't remember- but I believe that was Nathan's friend. Nathan is my younger look-alike. He's Adria's elder brother, currently her guardian, as she lives with him rather than her mother for the sake of traveling and convenience." James explained. "Benn's a co-worker of his. He's well into his early-30's while Nathan shall be 20 in a few months, if I'm correct..." his gaze shifted up toward the ceiling as he cocked his head to the side: an easy recognition of him trying to remember something; a bit of a habit of his. Shifting his gaze back to the woman, he asked, "Why?"
"According to my Gengar, he was getting all protective over the girls. It sounds just too adorable to me. I think I saw him run past in the hallway while I secluded myself in one of the rooms." Alex grinned very girlishly; it almost sounded like she was a teenager talking about a crush. "And he's part of Adria's family. If I could get a hold of him, would you like to play with him?" Alex was more than happy to share her targets; it was fun to see people get hurt even if she wasn't the one doing it. It was, of course, more fun to actually participate, but she didn't mind too much either way. "He seems like a tough one. I bet he could withstand a really good beating. I'd just love to get my hands on him for a little while." Nathan was older, he was stronger, and he was a male; these were some of Alex's favorite things in toys. It took a little more effort to make them scream; more effort to make them beg. It was a thrill, though sometimes such a challenge made her a bit frustrated and liable to do more, sometimes irreparable, damage.
James almost snorted at her offer. "No thanks. Like I said, I'm not the type of guy to do things hands-on and Syler wouldn't be very tolerant of Nathan. Syler isn't as patient as I am, and even I'm running a bit low on it myself when it comes to that boy. He's strong-willed indeed, if he's anything like his father." His lips curled up into a mischievous smirk. "And I'll assure you; his father was very tough to deal with and was strong. If his son is anything like what I had to deal with, even on a small scale, you'll be quite satisfied." James promised, pulling an apple out of a nearby wooden bowl. He broke the bitter red skin of it with his teeth and bit off a large chunk, then offered it to Dyavol.
Alex giggled, clapping her hands together once. "Oh, I'm so glad I met you! You're just a wealth of information and connections. And you're quite fun to be around if I may say so." She grinned, so very pleased by the information that James had provided. "I'll catch him all by myself this time." This time, she wouldn't ask James to help her catch her target. Nathan wouldn't be expecting her. All she needed was, "Do you, perchance, know a place or time I might be able to get close? Or, at least, let my Pokémon get close and distract him long enough to take him out? I don't know exactly where I'll take him, but I think I'll try to keep him longer than we did Matt and Adria. If he's so stubborn, it might take a little be longer to get what I want from him."
James shook his head in response. "That I do not know. You see, Nathan and his friend Benn work for a rather large organization that specializes in the taking-down of groups like Team Rocket. Nathan's a rookie while Benn's their best doctor. It's unlikely that they'll send Nathan out and it's unlikely he will come out unless it's something personal, or he returns home. Benn, on the other hand, only comes out of the base when he needs to help someone, but other than that he doesn't come out." James fell into a quiet thinking process for a moment. How could they draw the boy out?
He was unlikely to come out if his sister was there. So long as his girlfriend was with him, he wouldn't travel back home to go and get her. "I think maybe setting off the alarms at his house would do. It will draw his attention, and it might draw him out to turn it off if he sees the alarm was triggered accidentally."
"Brilliant idea!" Alex commended him for the bright idea. Setting off the alarm would pull Nathan out of the base. He was bound to be on guard after everything that had happened, but Alex was fairly confident that she could trick him long enough to grab him. "I'll do that tomorrow, after I find a good place to take him." Honestly, Alex wasn't picky about locations. It wouldn't bother her if she just did it all outside; she could pay with him outside and leave him there if she wanted to take a rest at a more comfortable, close-by location. She really didn't care as long as she could play with a new toy.
The man chuckled in response. He might be there when Alex had her fun. He could be there to watch and maybe mock him a bit if he felt like it, but otherwise would allow Alex to take charge and do whatever she wanted to him. "You know, the more I stare at you, the more I start to see some similarities between you and the boy," James began. "I don't know what it is... maybe your nose, or the placement of your cheek bones..." he thought for a moment, tilting his head again and looking down, past the Umbreon munching on the apple, completely content with just sitting there with his apple. Dyavol liked apples. "Perhaps both, and more, or less…" he mumbled to himself, still thinking. He couldn't help but notice.
Alex giggled, placing her hands on her cheeks as James examined her. "So nice of you to notice! It should be at least somewhat noticeable; I am his mother, after all. But speaking of similarities, Nathan is the spitting image of you. Somehow, I don't think that's just a coincidence." While she spoke, she flopped down on the floor beside him and Dyavol. "What's your connection to him? And Adria, for that matter?"
Psy, who had been lying on Alex's shoulders the whole time, looked down to examine the Umbreon that seemed so friendly and playful; perhaps annoyingly so. That innocent attitude, however, couldn't make her that irritated. It almost made her want to join him.
James laughed. No wonder their features were so alike; mother and daughter and son. It almost made him wonder why she'd turn against her own skin and blood. But then again, why did he? "I was actually surprised the first time I laid eyes on the boy, to be honest. No, it's not at all a coincidence, but it's not exactly your case either. I have a brother, you see. We're actually identical twins, and that was the best part about it! We could pull bat-shit crazy stunts as the other and blame them. I had no idea my brother had a wife, let alone a son and a daughter.
"Nathan's the spitting image of his father and therefore the spitting image of myself. It seems the only similarities I hold with the girl is our forehead and nose-shape, but definitely not size. If I'm correct, that must be from the mother, whom I've never met nor do I know where she is by the way. But the hair: that odd teal-shaded hair I know came from my side of the family. My great grandmother had the same hair, I remember," he grinned. "And there you have my family history."
He ran his fingers over the Umbreon's sleek body and settling his short black fur back. Dyavol seemed to purr at the small sign of affection and nuzzled his master's arm, glancing up and catching Psy's eye. Dyavol couldn't help be innocent and playful, even if it was to a point of being really annoying. The Pokémon loved to play and only got violent when his sleeping spot was taken. That was why James loved him so much, too. Dyavol was innocent, and even if James himself wasn't the good guy, he felt his Pokémon shouldn't be the bad guy with him all the time, either. He preferred Pokémon that were obedient, but otherwise were good. Syler just sort of tagged along for the good times.
Alex giggled, amused at his family history. "Lovely story, there. So you're their uncle. How fascinating." She didn't bother to ask why he had turned on his family. What did it really matter? All that really mattered was that they were working together now and could probably be classified as friends, even if they had only known each other for a couple of days. "It must be quite a coincidence that your nephew came out looking identical to his father. Really, I think it's very amusing. Oh, just talking about him makes me so excited! He's a fresh target, and fresh targets are fun. I can't help but think it might be a little weird, though, playing with someone that looks so identical to you," she pointed out, slightly amused with that train of thought. Nathan was younger, though, so there was that difference.
Psy slid off her trainer's shoulders and landed smoothly on the ground. This Umbreon had caught her attention and she was a little curious about him. It was odd to find such an innocent Pokémon with such a mean human. She had no idea how that had happened, but it had happened and now Dyavol was traveling around with James.
James only shrugged to himself, though he didn't particularly care if that was how she thought. If she saw Nathan as a younger version of James, he didn't care. The boy was young, and the boy wasn't him, and that was that. "But it's not," he reminded her simply, glancing down to Dyavol and Psy.
Dyavol watched her warily. She wasn't very friendly and liked to sleep a lot, and was lazy from what he gathered. He held her attention, and she held his. But why? Had he done something wrong, or did she maybe want an apple, too? Come to think of it, had she and her master eaten something at all since they'd met? There were more apples in the bowl behind him if she wanted an apple, since apples were very tasty and juicy and sweet. The skin was bitter and he didn't particularly like the bitter part, often having James carve it for him, but otherwise loved them very much.
"Of course it's not! It'll just be odd, is all." Alex shrugged, an amused smile still spread over her face. James was so amusing, so entertaining. Alex was very glad that they had met and were now hanging out as friends would. Maybe they could continue to be friends for a while; Alex rather enjoyed the company. It got a little lonely out on the road while trying to avoid the attention of the media or the cops. The toys helped, for sure, but it wasn't the same as good old fashioned conversation.
They hadn't really eaten since they'd met, though; Alex had been too jittery and just generally excited. Even though some time had passed since Nathan and Benn had retrieved the toys, Alex had been a little wound up. Now was the first time they were really relaxing. Psy wasn't all that hungry, though; at the very least, she was keeping her mind off of it. There would come a time in the near future when Alex would need to get food for her and her Pokémon, but now was not the time. Instead, she just sat and watched him curiously, sizing him up. He was a very interesting Pokémon in the company of this very interesting man, was all.
James only smiled, watching his Pokémon watch the other Eeveelution, his ears strained back in caution, almost scared to know what she was thinking. James chuckled a bit. "I think they're bonding," he joked, watching the pair curiously.
Dyavol cocked is head to the side, lowering it a bit to analyze Psy at another angle, curious about her. He was an odd Pokémon to be the cruel man's company, but James was good to him, and kind to him, and loved him, and was a wonderful master to him. He played with him and let him cuddle with him at night. James was good to him even if he wasn't good to the girl and other people, and he liked that about James. James liked how innocent the creature was despite being present to this hideous nature of his. It was some sort relaxing thing to him for him.
Alex laughed slightly; bonding... right. It sure looked like they were bonding. The sarcasm in his comment had not gone over her head. They were certainly curious about each other, though.
Psy had not seen very many other Eeveelutions. They weren't the most common Pokémon around and it was kind of nice to see another one, even if he was a little irritating with his bouncy, playful, innocent personality. Maybe she would warm up to that, but whatever the case was, there was one thing she knew for certain: she would like to get to know this curious creature a little more. Where she had previously been sitting, Psy was now standing and moving closer to Dyavol to get a better sense of him. Right now, she didn't seem rude or cold or lazy; she was just curious.
Dyavol watched her, crawling away and toward the bow of apples. He turned and propped himself up on the low table, swiping a apple out of the bowl with his paw and watching it roll across the floor and towards the other Eeveelution. He'd seen several Eevee and fellow evolutions across their travels, but he'd not seen an Espeon until now nor any other Umbreon, and Vaporeon. He'd seen one Jolteon, one Flareon, and a Glaceon and Leafeon owned by the same trainer off in the distance, though he'd never met those ones before. "It's kinda cute," James mused softly.
Psy watched the treat roll towards her, stopping it with her Psychic. She used the same powers to pick the treat up and examine it a little. When satisfied that the item she had been given was good enough, she ripped it into pieces; Psychic was good for something like that. Now that the apple was in jagged pieces, she didn't have to worry about eating the hard, nasty skin. She offered a contented purr to Dyavol to thank him and then began to nibble on the apple. It was good; sweet and juicy and perfect for a snack.
"I think it's adorable," Alex concurred, sitting back and watching the two Eeveelution interact.
The Pokémon cocked his head to the side in interest as she'd used her Psychic abilities to rip the apple apart like that. How interesting. He couldn't do that, though. He didn't know Psychic. He knew Substitute, Moonlight, Dark Pulse and Assurance. None of those moves could rip open an apple like that. He felt envious, and it was clear in his eyes as he watched her nibble while munching on the rest of his apple. The only way he could cut his was to have his master do it for him.
James chuckled a bit more, smiling as he did so. "Think they'll get to know each other more? Psy seems to be quieter; more to herself. Dyavol's nothing like that. He loves attention and playing around. Opposites tend to attract, though. Think they'll make the cut and be friends?" he asked.
"Maybe," Alex answered, watching her Pokémon nibble on the apple she'd broken apart. The Psychic Pokémon had noticed the envy in Dyavol's eyes and was amused. Poor Pokémon could split open his apples to avoid eating the skin. Maybe she could help him with that; only with permission, though. Psy wouldn't dare steal food from someone else. It was bound to end badly, as she wasn't sure if Dyavol got defensive over his food. A lot of Pokémon did. The quiet Pokémon sidled up to Dyavol and motioned to his apple. Did he want her to break his apple up too? If she did break it up, it meant that he wouldn't have to eat the skins and he could skip straight to the delicious insides.
Watching the two interact was adorable. "They seem to be getting along alright, right now. Maybe, if they spend a little more time together, they'll get along even better."
Dyavol looked between the lilac-colored cat and his red apple, already gnawed at. Only a portion of the red skin was gone and there was a large bite taken out of the side from his master, James, before he'd passed the apple over to Dyavol to finish off. It would be nice if Psy broke his apple apart. It would allow him to get to the juicy inside easier rather than gnawing on the flesh of the apple and eating the bitter skin to get to the sweetest part. He pawed his apple over to her, telling her she could do it.
"Dyavol's known for eating apples quite often. He's a maniac for apples and has me buy bundles of apples every two days or so. I'm surprised he hasn't grown sick of them, honestly," James shrugged. "It's either risking myself by running into a local store, or climbing up a tall tree where the better apples are for him. He doesn't like ones that hang low. I don't know why, since the ones we buy can be ones that hang low on the tree." He was going to be the death of James, he swore.
Psy took the apple in her Psychic grasp and split it into several jagged pieces for him. She set it back on the ground for him to continue eating and gnawing at before returning to her own split apple. The insides were sweet and juicy and Psy was enjoying the treat. Apples were familiar to her and her master and they tasted good, to boot. It was a nice little treat.
"Apple trees, eh? I used to live in a house just outside of Pallet Town that was practically surrounded by old apple trees. I'll have to show you sometime; there's a lot of good apples ripe for the picking at the right time of year." Alex seemed amused that they had this connection with apples. Dyavol loved apples, making James buy them and steal them from the boughs of trees, and Alex had used to live around a whole bunch of apple trees.
James grinned. "Wonderful! You'll have to bring me there. Dyavol would love you for eternity, I'm sure." He couldn't help but give a slight giggle, running a hand over the Pokémon's sleek black fur once again, greatly amused with his little Dyavol and his crazy adoration for apples. It was almost an addition, which was far better than James's own addiction.
Dyavol grinned in the goofiest fashion he had and happily went to munching on the apple, purring his happiness and thanks to Psy. Perhaps she wasn't all bad. She was cold and ignored him quite a lot, but maybe they could be friends. Dyavol was crazy enough to be friends with James, after all, so he could probably pull of trying to be friends with Psy. It would take time, though.
Alex smiled. James was such a wonderful person to make friends with; she hadn't felt this happy and relaxed in years. It was nice to finally have a friend.
