Chapter 2: Seige
Cyrus nodded politely in response to the receptionist and turned himself around to begin a walk for the revolving doors of the Floroma Medical Center, feeling no real need to be here any longer as he was mildly annoyed with the beeps and mechanical voices of the intercom system, the sounds of moaning patients waiting for treatment by a doctor... hospitals like this, while acknowledged as a necessity by the fifteen year old boy, were one of his least favorite places in the world.
They were filled with pain.
He pressed a hand against the cold glass of the revolving doors and allowed himself to slip out and go into the world beyond, his foot pressed firmly down against the grass. It was a beautiful day out today, the sky shining bright with the light of the sun. The air was of a mild temperature, just cold enough to be almost tangible and covering the boy's skin, but warm enough so that it didn't really bother him. As was the norm in Floroma, or so he'd heard from most of the residents when he had once commented on the subject.
Floroma Town was a lovely little place, but Cyrus was itching to get out of it. All one needed to do to understand why he would want to get out of a lovely town like this one, was look him in the eyes. The receptionist back there had seen it, he knew. It was why she didn't ask him if he was going to stick around to see about the boy's recovery: she didn't want him around. His gaze was a piercing pool of aquatic blue, shining like the stars in the night sky.
"... Now," he thought aloud, not really meaning to but not at all caring... it wasn't like he was talking of super secret plans. "I believe I was heading to the 'Valley Windworks'?" He glanced down to his hand, which in a previous moment had instinctively slid down into his pocket and pulled out his town map, examining it closely. He had gotten a new one printed out recently, so it was fully updated to modern standards unlike a lot of maps trainers seemed to have these days. Plus the only blemishes on its otherwise normal skin were wrinkles from his folding of it.
According to the map, the Valley Windworks was just to the west of Floroma, not even a mile's walk. Cyrus only wanted confirmation for the slight bit of doubt in his head that all human minds carried on themselves, but for the most part he knew he was correct already... for he had already researched the place. It was nothing to do with his real interests, but he still found it an interesting place to explore the possibilities of. It was a generally controversial subject.
The Valley Windworks was a recently opened center dedicated to furthering the productivity and efficiency of the field of renewable energy sources, their main focus being located solely on Windmills, hence the "Windworks" in their name. He had always thought the project a bit noble... polution was something to ruin happiness, whether it be domestic or wild. The effects on the planet that burning fossil fuels had on both people and Pokemon was step one in the many things human beings needed to eliminate. He wanted to tour, and he wanted to give them his signature of approval, though he knew a fifteen year old's would not matter a bit.
He let loose a small sigh, masked in sound by the wind that rolled through Floroma Town at that particular moment, causing his long blue hair to waver a bit, and pocketed his map.
*
Within half an hour he was there. He was a quick walker, his long legs having a distinct swiftness and grace to their steps.
He tilted his neck upward to observe the place. It was pretty big for something of its kind, he had to admit, but the destruction of habitat would at least be gone to a good cause. It was as white as a sheet, excluding some grayer patches where paint had already been a bit decayed by the environment (Cyrus figured perhaps some of the employees had done Pokemon battles or something to scar it). Atop its pale surface stood a multitude of poles each equal in size and topped themselves by spinning wheels, which caused a large breeze to blow through the area periodically. In his walk here, he had felt it three times.
Right outside was a small toll both, with one of those pricing things that more modern stores used on their cashiers. Seeing it unmanned, he figured it best to ask inside.
He sighed once more, before pushing open the door and stepping inside.
"Ah, hello, sir! I haven't seen your face around here before!"
Before Cyrus could even get the door open completely, a cheery voice greeted him, its tone almost scary with its rehearsed glee. He recoiled slightly, when he realized... well, nobody was at the desk that sat in front of the entrance.
"... Hi?" He half-replied, half-questioned.
"Welcome to the Valley Windworks! Are you here for the tour?"
Suddenly he found himself stumbling backward, letting out a startled yelp. The voice was coming from a source he had not thought possible. In the instant after he spoke, a flash occured in front of his eyes, and hanging upside down in front of him was a combination of various metal plates painted jet black with small eyes of blue carved into the steel. An antenna stuck out from the machine's head. It lowered itself in front of him, hovering with a low whirring sound.
"... Uhm, yes," Cyrus glared at the creature with mild apprehensiveness, but figured it best to trust the thing if he were to get the thing he came here looking for.
The robot suddenly creaked, as a mechanical smile crossed its previously unseen lips.
"Okey doke!" the machine said, then turned around and began to buzz off toward the east. It stopped just before turning a corner, and looked back to observe the stunned, quietly observing Cyrus. It screamed out at him next, trying even further to get his attention. "Are you coming or what, sir?"
Cyrus blinked, then nodded, running after the thing. He had to do so because with the confirmation of his following the robot did not stop to let him catch up, instead continuing to buzz forward leaving Cyrus in the dust. He eventually caught up with him when the machine came to a complete halt, staring intently into a room: it was about the size of a small home's kitchen, but taken up entirely except for a small walkway in the direct center by computers, their inner workings buzzing and beeping frantically.
The robot fell to the floor with a thud.
click
Over the sound of the computers, Cyrus heard an all too familiar sound very close to his ears. As he prepared to turn around and investigate, his hand reaching toward his belt to unleash his single way of protecting himself, he felt cold hard metal press past his hair and dig into the flesh of the back of his forehead.
"Hand off the belt, kid. One move after that, and I'll make sure your brains are all over the floor."
-
AT THE SAME TIME...
-
His head.
His fucking head.
Good god, why did his head hurt so fucking much?
He heard beeping, and the sound of voices, low and droning, almost mechanical. Like over an intercom or something. He wanted it to stop, so he reached up weakly through the dark envelope that surrounded him, clenching his hand weakly into a fist. He realized almost immediately that it wasn't possible, but he was damned and determined to do it anyway even if it killed him. Which at this rate, he was pretty sure it would.
He heard voices. They were mumbles in his newfound sense of hearing, but he could tell they were close; close enough to place their cold flesh upon his own, forcing his hand back down to his side. He wanted to struggle against it, but he was weak: too weak to fight back against the domineering, invisible foe. He let himself moan lightly, and with this power he realized he had, his consciousness truly began to return.
His eyes opened quickly, but the effects of sleep blurred his vision for a couple of moments. He could make out the faint shape of lights on the gray ceiling, and the walls to his sides that he saw in his peripherals were painted with an uplifting floral pattern. He made out pink then, and then the shape of a woman's body who he recognized almost immediately to be the one who pushed his hand down when he lifted it. He wasn't all too objecting to this normally, but right now he looked up to her and managed to groan out a question.
"... Where am I ..."
The nurse offered a kind smile in response, concern for him evident in her eyes. He felt like crap, so he imagined he probably looked like crap too.
"Sir, you're in Floroma Town Medical Center."
Floroma Town didn't sound familiar to Volkner in the slightest.
"What...? Floroma...?" he asked, glaring at her to try and give her the clue that he was totally confused.
She understood, it seemed. "You were in the Old Chateau, according to the person who brought you in. We think a Pokemon..."
It hit Volkner then. "... a Gastly attacked me. Right."
The nurse nodded, showing slight signs of optimism in the fact that he at least remembered what had happened to him.
"Do you know your name?" the nurse asked.
"Volkner," he responded.
"Where are you from?" she continued.
"Olivine City..." Volkner muttered. The implications this could possibly have eluded him for a couple more moments, before they hit him.
... crap. Think.
"Oh? Olivine in Johto? My, were you on a tour...?"
"You mean this is-... uhm, I mean... yes. I was." Volkner slipped the sentence past his lips after a couple of moments, after realizing just what was going on... he wasn't in Johto anymore.
"Is there anyone we can contact? Friends, family?" she asked kindly.
Volkner merely shook his head. "I'm here alone... I brought along a Pokemon though," he said, remembering Chuseph's presence. "Do you have him?"
She nodded.
"Can I get him back then? I'd feel a little more comfortable with him by my side..."
It was a genuine lie through his teeth, but he felt it a necessity.
She nodded, and reached for the desk that sat next to his bed, and slipped open the first drawer. She pulled out the red and white ball, and pressed the release switch on the center, pale skin touching silver steel. Volkner shut his eyes as a bright flash echoed through the room for a moment, but opened them again when he felt soft fur touch his skin, a familiarly warm hand placed against the side of his head.
"Aww, he's a cute little guy..."
"He is, isn't he...?" Volkner replied between gritted teeth.
"Well," the nurse started. "I'll leave you alone to get some rest. We'll be giving you some medicine for your muscle fatigue... should last, say, two hours. I'll be back then to administer another dose."
Volkner nodded in response, his plan beginning to form in his mind. A bit struck down by the Nurse's next statement, though.
"It'll eliminate the fatigue so you can move at maximum efficiency. So if you need to use the bathroom, or anything of the like, you can get up and do it on your own. You're in need of hospital care, but only slight. I'm sure you can handle things by yourself... but if you do go somewhere, tell a nurse, because if the drug wears off, you will be incapable of moving for a couple of minutes. Nasty little side effect of the drug, but we'll take care of that if you're just responsible. Understood?"
Volkner nodded, and cursed to himself.
After a couple of awkward moments in silence while the nurse administered the medicine through syringe, he watched as she walked away... and almost in an instant, he felt amazingly better. The strain on his muscles, the tiredness... he felt normal again.
He grabbed Chuseph's Pokeball and returned him, then pulled himself out of the bed and began to prepare for his escape.
-
The only reason his plan worked was because he looked so normal. They hadn't placed him in a hospital gown, and had instead left him in his old clothes, so he only looked like a really dirty trainer visiting someone. He was able to slip out the door without a problem.
He quickly moved away from the front of the hospital, and instead got himself up to a small dirt path inbetween a row of trees. He had to admit this place was nice, flowers blooming everywhere, fragrance beyond the saltiness of the sea he was used to. The wind was also quite nice as well. He was a teenager running off into the theoretical night, as he knew that his patience would not leave him bed-ridden for even the slightest amount of time when adventure stood in front of him, and his only sense of direction was now the way the wind came. He decided to go opposite of it, and that had led him up to this path... he only hoped that when he went through it, he would end up at a safe place before the drug wore off.
-
The walk only took him forty-five minutes. He made it through the forested path with no problems, and now stood at the foot of a large building with a white painted surface, an array of windmills dressing its top.
"Hello, s-sir..."
He hadn't even noticed that someone was out there with him. He stood in front of a small desk that seemed to be a reception desk, the small cash register in front of him. This place apparently charged to get in, Volkner realized.
"... Yo. Sorry, I'm jus-" Volkner tried to speak. The blue haired person cut him off, a hint of fear evident in his voice.
"To enter here, you'll need to pay ninety-one dollars and ten cents. Minus zero." he said, irritating Volkner slightly. A huge sum, and he was even trying to tell him that he refused to cut off the price in the slightest.
"... I'm not here to get in, just taking a l-"
Once again, the blue haired person cut him off, his silver-sleeved arm reaching up to scratch behind his head. He winced a bit, as if something pained him.
"You wanted to ask questions? Same price."
Why was this guy so intent on-
Ninety-one ten spelled out nine-one-one-zero. He said minus zero.
Nine one one. Was this guy in some sort of danger? No, it couldn't be. Even so, why would he ask a boy like Volkner to save him?
Volkner's hand wrapped around the cold, tiny ball on his belt and pulled it out. He pressed the release switch, and a bright flash of light entered the area, in which he noticed that the blue haired, silver-shirted man winced even more. Something was paining him, definitely. But what?
"Sorry sir, there's a G.U.N. policy here. It's a spanish term, I don't really know... but no Pokemon are allowed out..." Another wince, enough to make him groan a little.
G.U.N.
Gun.
So, here he was with a choice. Save a guy who was being forced to con money out of people by gunpoint, or walk away with it on his conscience.
He returned his Pokemon, and glared at the cashier-hostage.
... God damn it.
Volkner walked forward. Faster by the second, until he was in a sprint, where he leaped up over the desk, sliding his foot against the blue haired person's face. It was rag-tag, ineffective tactical manuevering but damn it, it worked. He heard a loud banging sound, and was shaken for a moment... but he recovered quick enough to land on his feet and toss the ball in his hand beneath the desk. It opened up upon contact with the front, and he yelled out his orders in some language not plausible to him at this particular moment where all of the world seemed to be utter nonsense, a babbling variety of language that he tuned out.
He saw the mouse pop out of the light that came forth, and follow his orders for a Thunderwave attack, leaving the gunmen that kneeled beneath the desk and had been pressing his gun up against the blue haired person's leg paralyzed. The gun dropped from his hands, and Volkner ran to pick it up.
Things started to make sense again.
The blue haired person sat at the front of the building, blood trickling from his what Volkner assumed to be his nose but couldn't really tell because the person had his hands over it as if the gesture would suddenly heal the wound. Volkner placed the gun on the desk, and moved over to him.
"Smart. You alright? Didn't really mean to kick the shit out of ya... didn't see any other way, th-"
It seemed the blue haired person made a habit out of interuppting people midsentence, even if he was safe.
"... I'll be fine. Thank you, but there are more people inside. They want to take advantage of the tolling system for the tours this place is giving and charge outrageous prices, to get them some extra cash. They have the director of this place and my Pokemon inside. Toss me the gun on the table... you're done here if you want to be."
Volkner only sighed.
"... I haven't got much else to lose, I guess," he muttered. "I'll help you."
"Thanks..." the blue haired person said. "What's your name?"
"Volkner. Yours?"
"Cyrus. Now, let's go take this place back..."
Volkner then grinned, a bit excited by the prospect. He jolted to his feet and went to the desk, picking up the gun and handing it to Cyrus once he got himself to his feet and moved over to him.
Both of them were nervous as hell, but Volkner really had nothing to lose. He was left in a foreign world where he knew no one, plus he was sort of running off an adrenaline-clouded mind.
Cyrus just wanted his Pokemon back, for he was useless without them.
"Well then," Volkner responded. "Let's go."
-
Wee! I totally went off script of my plan here, but I like this idea better. Sort of develops a bond between the two like I DID plan, don'tcha think? Plus it works better with some later plans too...
Next chapter... Volkner and Cyrus take back the Valley Windworks!