A/N: I'm very sorry about the length of this chapter. I just didn't seem to have any inspiration over the last week. Anyways, hope you enjoy it and please leave me a review letting me know what you thought. Stay tuned at the end of the chapter because I've got a little gripe that I want some opinions on.
"Misty would you just listen to me?" Jay said with frustration.
She continued walking in silence, ignoring his pleas.
He sped up, grabbing her shoulder and spinning her to face him. "Misty you can't give him that location. If you do, those rebels die."
The three mercs kept walking across the bridge, ignoring Jay's stoppage.
"Why should I care?" She retorted. "I only agreed to help you because you could help me? Or do you not remember that we were both using each other? You needed the rebels, and I needed an army." She motioned to the mercenary. "I found another army, so what use do I have for our agreement?"
Jay hung his head. "You'd go back on your word, just because you found an easier way?" Misty nodded, choosing not to say anything. "Just because it's easier, doesn't mean that it's right."
Misty shook her head. "The world doesn't let us take the path that's right Jay. I learned that the hard way. I guess you haven't learned that lesson yet."
She moved to walk away from him. Jay grabbed her by the shoulders, stopping her. "Look at me."
When her eyes wouldn't meet his, he let her go. She turned and walked away, following the mercenaries that were still walking towards Cerulean.
Jay sighed. "If you do this, then you've got their blood on your hands." She stopped, head drooping slightly. "I know I'm just some stupid farm boy, but doesn't this feel wrong to you? Don't you feel anything? What if Ash and Gary found the rebels without your help? They'll die because of something you did to make your life a little bit easier. Do you even care?"
"Jay stop…" Misty's voice was soft and quiet. "Of course I care." She turned to face him. "I just have to do this. Cerulean should be mine. I need to make things right."
"And you think this is right!" He yelled. "Killing people you promised to help just because it makes things easier?! If this is what you have to do to take back Cerulean, then maybe weren't meant to rule Cerulean. Maybe this time the cost is too high."
Misty hung her head. "Of course the cost is too high. The cost is always too high. But I still have to do this. I've trained my whole life to take over for my mother. If I don't do this, then what do I do?"
Jay frowned. "You leave it behind. Is one city really worth throwing all your principles into the dirt?"
Misty shook her head. "I can't leave it behind. Cerulean is my home. It's hurting right now, and it needs Lady Kasumi's heir."
Jay leaned in, almost whispering. "Then be that person right now. Cerulean needs you, not whatever you're trying to be." He looked at the mercenaries, which had stopped and were leaning on the side of the bridge waiting for them. He looked back at Misty. "Buy their loyalty."
"What?" She asked incredulously.
"You heard me." He said. "They're mercenaries. They answer to the highest bidder. Make yourself the highest bidder."
She snorted, bursting out into laughter. "You really think I have that much money?" She asked.
"No." He smiled. "But the Rockets do." He looked at the mercenaries with a huge grin. "And I know an army or two that can help us."
"What are you saying?" Misty asked, eying him.
"Enlist the rebels help in wiping that base off the map." He answered.
She looked confused at that. "And the mercs will just go along with that because?"
"Because they're getting whatever is inside that base."
"Oi!" Shouted the commander. "Are you two lovebirds done?"
Misty looked back at him with a massive grin. "Commander, I believe I've got an even better deal for you than before." The commander raised his eyebrow at her. "And it involves sticking it to the Rockets."
Brock knocked on the wooden door, wine bottle held in one hand.
"Come in." He heard from inside the room. He opened the door to see Daisy standing on her balcony looking back at the door. She smiled at him and motioned towards the empty glasses on the table. She turned away, looking back out onto her city. "I don't know how much more of this I can take." Daisy said. "The Rockets have us shut down. Checkpoints on every street, random searches, the curfew… My city is suffering."
Brock poured two glasses of wine, then started walking towards her. "Perhaps I should have visited sooner. It's beautiful enough with the Rockets here, I can only imagine what it looks like free from them."
She turned to look at him with a smile on her face. "Oh my! Lord Takeshi, you certainly know the way to a woman's heart."
"And that is?" Brock said, feigning ignorance.
She responded with a smirk. "Flattery, my dear."
Brock handed her the glass of wine, taking a sip from his own in the process. "Well in that case…." He smirked. "Cerulean is beautiful indeed my lady. But it pales in comparison to its ruler."
"Oh?" She said with surprise. "I think I like flattery." She walked past him, away from the balcony. She took a sip and turned to look at him with surprise. "A Fuchsian Red? One of my favourites." She pulled a chair out from the table. "However my instincts tell me that you're here for more than just flattery and wine." She sat down in one of the chairs at her table. "To what do I owe the pleasure Lord Brock?"
He sat in the chair opposite her, taking another sip of his wine. "I'll be blunt." He said. "I didn't want to force this on you, but our alliance is tenuous at best. I cannot be sure that my bannermen will follow me into a war for you. However, there is a way to solidify our alliance."
She raised an eyebrow. "So what are you suggesting?"
He sighed. "A marriage. If you are my wife, my banners will not be able to refuse coming to your aid."
She frowned momentarily before looking up at him wearing a mask of seriousness. "I see..." She trailed off. "And this would be the only way to completely assure that your men answer the call?"
He nodded solemnly. "I apologize my lady. I should not have been so blunt."
She waved her hand absentmindedly. "No, no, not at all. It is a good match after all."
"Then do we have an agreement?" He asked.
She shook her head. "I have a few terms." When Brock motioned for her to continue, she kept speaking. "My family has always had a woman at its head. That will not change. If a suitable female heir is not produced as a result of this marriage, then Cerulean shall pass into one of my sister's hands."
Brock nodded. "I find your terms acceptable." He paused for a moment. "What say you my lady? Will you be my wife?" He asked.
She hesitated for only a second before nodding and holding out her wine glass. "I will. Here's to a prosperous marriage for the both of us."
Brock held out his glass to the cheers and downed the rest of his glass. He put his glass down, watching her finish hers. With a smile he held out the bottle. "Might I have the honour of sharing my wine with you?"
She nodded and pushed her glass towards him. "Where'd you end up finding this wine? I was under the impression that the Rockets had seized all the alcohol in the city."
Brock smirked. "Attempting to seize and outlaw all alcohol hasn't ever actually worked. It usually just ends up fuelling organized crime. Considering what Team Rocket started as, it's kind of ironic."
"So you're supporting organized crime in my city?" She asked.
"No." He answered. "I inquired with Lord Galbert about your preferred wine. He supplied me the bottle. No doubt, he viewed it as a way to curry favour with the both of us. I'd bet all of Pewter that he knew my intentions in a heartbeat."
She relaxed, satisfied with the answer. "So how is Lord Galbert? Is he comfortable with our new arrangement?"
Brock laughed once. "I doubt anyone is truly comfortable these days." He reclined in his chair, sipping on the wine. "The man is an opportunist at heart. He saw us as a great opportunity, and leapt at the chance."
"Self serving as he is, I will have to reward him for his loyalty." She said. "Perhaps I should give him a title?" She asked.
Brock contemplated her suggestion, taking a moment to think. "I wouldn't suggest that, however I'm not as knowledgeable about Cerulean's politics as you. It could alienate you from whatever enemies the man might have." He thought for another moment before taking another sip of the wine. "On the other hand, it could draw in more allies by showing that you reward those loyal to you." He put the glass down with a frown. "If anything, I'd give him an honorary title. Name him as your court advisor or something. If you give him any landed titles you run the risk of making him too powerful."
She downed the rest of her glass, looking Brock in the eyes. "So there's a risk in whatever I do?" She asked.
Brock nodded. "There's always a risk. Part of being a good ruler, is knowing when to take that risk."
"You're a good lord." She said. "Should I take the risk?"
Brock nodded. "I'm not so sure about me being a good lord, but it's a risk I would take."
"So how do I know if I'm a good ruler?" She asked.
"Well…" Brock started. "You look back at the end of your life, and if the good outweighs the bad then you've done well."
Ethan peered around the corner, ducking back in an instant. He looked at the ranger beside him. "Three men, I'll take the one on the left." The ranger turned, relaying the information to the men behind him.
"Go!" Ethan shouted as he burst around the corner. In an instant, he realized that he had made a grave mistake. Instead of outnumbering the rockets on guard, there were four more standing out of his view. Before they could react, Ethan and the two lead rangers had their blades buried in the chests of the three men they'd seen.
The four remaining Rockets rushed them, getting inside the reach of the rangers' blades. Ethan lost all sense of direction as one of the Rockets plowed into his shoulder into Ethan's stomach. The two went down in a mess of tangled limbs, blades sent clattering along the stone. The Rocket clawed at Ethan and forced him to the ground, hands wrapping themselves around Ethan's throat. Ethan bucked wildly, smashing his knees into the Rocket's back. Ethan bucked again, throwing the Rocket off him.
The two men stumbled to their feet. Ethan ripped his knife from its sheath as the Rocket charged him, not bothering with weapons. Ethan went down a second time, with the Rocket hammering a fist into his nose. Ethan's nose broke with a sickening crunch. Blood spilled over his face as the Rocket drew back his fist for a second blow. Ethan thrust his arm with all the force he could muster, jabbing the knife he held into the Rocket's stomach.
The Rocket gasped and cursed as Ethan twisted the knife, spilling hot blood all over himself. Ethan forced himself upright, pushing the Rocket off him. Ethan grabbed his sword from where it had fallen. He turned back to the dying Rocket. The Rocket had managed to stumble to his feet. He had one hand pressed against the wound in his stomach, and the other weakly gripping Ethan's knife.
Ethan shook his head. The Rocket had to know that he couldn't win the fight. Ethan raised his blade, gripping with both hands. The Rocket attempted a clumsy lunge with the knife. Ethan easily parried the blow and swung his sword, severing the man's knife hand. Before the Rocket could react, Ethan had shoved his sword into his gut and disembowelled him.
Ethan turned away, surveying the damage. Two rangers were dead or dying, blood leaking from the holes in their bodies. All four Rocket troopers had been dealt with, all of them laying in puddles of their own blood. The remaining ranger was slumped against the wall of the tunnel, panting and holding his leg.
"How bad is it soldier?" Ethan asked, grabbing the ranger's attention as he wiped the blood off his sword and sheathed it.
The man gulped, slumping harder against the wall. "Knife went clean through my leg. Damn thing won't stop bleeding." He looked up at Ethan with dying eyes. "I'm not gonna get out of here. You've got to go now, before they sound an alarm."
"With all due respect…" Ethan started.
"Kiss my ass!" The ranger spat. "You get the information we came for, then you get out of here." He pushed himself up further. "And then you bring every soldier you can find down on these bastards heads."
"But…" Ethan started again.
"No." The ranger growled. "With this leg, I'm done for." Blood bubbled out of his leg as if to prove his point. "Just get going. Soon enough they'll find the trail of bodies we left on the way down here." Ethan opened his mouth to say something but the ranger stopped him. "What the fuck are you waiting for?! Go!"
Ethan stood up and turned around, looking at the path deeper into the well. He picked his knife out of the Rocket's severed hand and grimaced at the blood and gore covering it. "Fuck it. Here goes nothing." He stepped into the tunnel, leaving the mess of bodies behind.
Lyra hated everything about Azalea. She hated the bugs that constantly harassed her. She hated the muddy training field, the bruises the training had left on her. Most of all, she hated her bed. No matter how she laid, the bed seemed to press into her bruises and make it nearly impossible to sleep. Nearly impossible because after a full day of training both herself and her pokemon, she was so exhausted she'd practically pass out over dinner.
Her sentret jumped up on the bed, cooing. It curled into a ball, nuzzling up to her side. Lyra smiled and put an arm around her pokemon. It promptly sprawled out, smacking her in the face with its fuzzy tail. She sighed and rolled over, leaving her back facing the sentret. The pokemon's tail started wagging, smacking Lyra with every swing.
After five minutes of being attacked by a sleeping sentret, Lyra sat up. Her pokemon barely moved, not even registering her movement. She swung her legs off the bed, standing up and stretching out her aching back. She walked over to the window, staring out at the night. A soft coo from the bed told her that her marrill had joined the sentret. She smiled, walking back to the two pokemon and pulling one of the sheets over their bodies.
Sighing and resigning herself to a restless night, she climbed into the bed. She made sure she had given the two pokemon enough room to both sprawl out however they wanted. She closed her eyes again, attempting to drift off to sleep. Just before she passed out, she felt the soft tapping of her sentret's tail begin to wag.
"It's risky kid. You've got balls, I'll give you that much." Said the mercenary commander. "Rob the Rockets of any support they've got, then hit them while their pants are down." He smirked. "Short stuff gets her city back, the Rockets lose their hold on the area, and I get filthy rich." He dropped the smirk. "There's only one problem. You can't guarantee me payment. At the end of the day, I still need my money."
Misty shook her head. "I can still pay you the same amount of its not in the base. It might take me a year or two, but I'd be able to."
The merc cocked his head. "Usually I ask for payment up front kid. But for a chance to stick it to the Rockets, I'll overlook it this time."
Misty looked at him with hope filling her eyes. "So you're in?" She asked.
The merc nodded with a vicious smile.
A/N: Alright, so my gripe has to do with fan fiction in general. I notice it a lot in Pokemon fics, but the problem really does extend to a ton of other categories.
Personally, I'm finding it very difficult to get my fic noticed. I mean, it's amazing that I've gotten over 2000 views to this story, but when I see a generic "Ash fucks all the girls in Pokemon" or "Ash's friends randomly decided that they hate him" fic that gets dozens of reviews per chapter it tends to get me down. Some of these fics are basically the same as vomiting onto a page and arranging it into vaguely recognizable words.
I've spoken to another author about this, and he told me that there isn't really any way to get my fic noticed in the mountains of garbage. The best way to get your stories noticed are to write in noticeable categories, and ensure that I'm always making progress in my fics.
I don't know the point of this whole tangent, but it's just something that's bothering me. I don't want to sound like I'm whining, but it's really been pissing me off lately. Anyways, that's for reading the story so far! I love all of you and thank you for getting this story to 2000 views! Sqcircles out!
