CWCollateral: A Tale of the Resistance

by Manajerkop

All CWCollateral Material is Copyrighted

May, 2012 - ? by.

Manajerkop.

*Any names, or persons, mentioned

in this story's content, except

that of Christian Weston Chandler,

that may seem similar

to anyone

in real life, are purely coincidental,

or otherwise parodic.*

Chapter 0: First Contact

Extract from Kevin Shaw's Journal

No matter how many years go by, everyone I've ever talked to always remembers exactly what they were doing when they first heard the news. It's one of those little things in life that you can never fully explain…an event so massive and unbelievable that it sears itself permanently into your subconscious for the rest of your life. Even when your brain cells start to wither and you can't remember what year it is, you'll never, never lose those memories.

I was eighteen, fresh out of high school with a near-straight-A report card, a clean record, and a special place on the honor roll, yet I didn't have that much to look forward to in the not-too-distant future. I was your typical slacker – all play and no work, not even a part-time job at the local McDonalds or Chick-fil-A. It's not like I didn't apply to any colleges…I just didn't see the point of school or work when I could pursue my lifelong ambition.

Basically, I wanted to be the very best…like no one ever was. A Pokémon trainer. You don't need some fancy degree in Applied Science or a CADD certificate to toss a ball or duel with other people…all you need is some basic animal magnetism, a backpack, and one hell of a good throwing arm. A few elementary friends couldn't hurt either.

During high school, I opted for all the necessary classes – biology, animal care, varsity baseball, etc. I wasn't exactly what you'd call Mr. Popularity, but I kept a close circle of friends and even dated a few girls from time to time. Quite a few kids left school early to embark upon their own Pokémon journeys, but I'm not the kind of person who rushes right into a situation without being prepared. So I did my homework, read my books, and studied like a good boy. Once I graduated, it looked as though I finally had the chance to break free and get out of this deadbeat little town.

I was in the living room, discussing my future with my father, when chaos struck Station Square.

June 1998, 54 mies from the city of Station Square

"You're not a kid anymore, Kevin, and you've got to learn that life sometimes doesn't work out the way you want it to." Jack Shaw leaned forward in his chair, his face grave as he spoke to his son. "I don't want you risking your future on some ridiculous…'pokeymans adventure.' Jesus, when I was your age, kids went out and actually did things to help people. They didn't run around all day making innocent animals fight to the death!"

"It's more than that, Dad," Kevin replied coldly. If his father meant to belittle or intimidate him with this conversation, it wasn't working at all. "For one thing, Pokémon don't fight to the death. Don't you know anything about what it means to be a..."

"I've heard enough about your barbaric little hobby to know that I don't want you having any more to do with it," Jack cut in abruptly. "Look at you! You did so well in school, yet you haven't even lifted a finger to help your community. And don't," he continued, raising his hand as Kevin opened his mouth to protest, "even start with me about that League bullshit you pulled sophomore year. Helping kids play a goddamn card game…that's not community service, that's a goddamn card game. When have you ever actually applied yourself to something that could help your future? I've read your so-called 'college applications.' You've been trying to undermine me from the very beginning."

"You think I want to go to some stuck-up, pretentious rich-kid school so I can spend my life designing buildings or some other wussy job? I'm eighteen, Dad! Kel has a house now, she already applied to the Trainer's College, she owns a fucking Dragonite, and, oh yeah, she's fucking twelve!"

"Don't use that tone or that word with me, Kevin," snapped Jack. "You're my son, and I just want you to get out and do something with your life. Just…listen to me for once. You aren't your cousin. I don't approve of what Ed and Laurie did…allowing their daughter out on her own at her age…" He shook his head in disappointment. "What am I supposed to do, just smile and wave as I watch you walk out on us…on your future?"

"It's my future. I'll do what I want with it."

Jack sighed. "Jesus Christ, and here I thought Nate was the stubborn one. Look at him…he went through college and ended up with a great job. He's a robotics engineer! You're talking about a career…raising animals to fight one another."

"What Nate does is his own business," retorted Kevin. He resented the way Jack was always comparing him to Nate, as if his brother had caught Arceus itself. "What I do is mine. If he wants to work for Robotnik, well, good for him. Dad, just leave me alone. I already bought a ticket for the Pallet bus."

"It's not just your business! Your mother and I have invested so much in your…what do you mean you already bought a ticket?"

"There's an orientation bus leaving two days from now. Every trainer starts in Pallet. Come on, you know Oak's got a good reputation. I'll be fine. I'll write to you and Mom every week."

The expression on Jack's face twisted chaotically, finally ending up somewhere between shock, anger, and bitter disappointment. For an instant, Kevin felt a sudden urge to apologize, to tell his father that everything had just been a big joke, to assure him that he was, in fact, going to visit Celadon City next week to try to find a good, well-paying job. But in his heart, he knew what he wanted to do with his life. To be the very best.

Like no one ever was…

Jack stood up. "Then you're on your own. I can't believe that any kid of mine could ever be so goddamn selfish. After all I've sacrificed to help you get a life, you're just spitting in my face."

"Dad…"

"Just pack your things and go. You're right, what you choose to do with your life is none of my business…or your mother's. That doesn't mean we have to do anything to help you ruin it."

"FINE!" shouted Kevin. His voice shook with helpless anger. "It's my real test, it's my cause, it's my life, and I don't need you interfering! You always loved Nate more than me…well, I'm sorry I couldn't be him! Isn't that what you always wanted?"

His father took a step forward, his eyes wide with astonishment. "You-"

RING! RING!

"I'll get it. Don't you even think about leaving now," Jack growled as he turned and grabbed the phone from the table next to the sofa. "Hello, this is Jack Shaw."

Kevin never heard the voice speaking on the other end of the line, but he didn't need to. In less than five seconds, the color of Jack's face had shifted from an angry red to a pale milk-white.

"W-when? When did it happen?" stammered Jack. The phone shook in his hand as he collapsed back into the chair. "Wait, what? It's still…" He sat bolt upright. "KEVIN, TURN ON THE TV! IRENE, LUCY, GET IN HERE!"

Startled at the terror in his father's voice, Kevin grappled for the remote and finally managed to switch on the television. It had to be the news network – something big was going down. A pulse thundered in his throat and chest. Tense with apprehension, he quickly flicked through the channels, passing a scene from Mary Poppins and another from some stupid '80s cartoon about patriotic rabbits before…

His mother and fifteen-year-old sister, both confused and alarmed, bolted into the living room.

"Jack, what's happening? Is everything all…"

Jack motioned for Irene to sit down and watch the screen. The news channel was up now, and a news anchor was busy reading something from a sheet of paper. Kevin turned up the volume while Lucy and their mother sat down on the sofa beside him, still not entirely sure what was going on.

BREAKING NEWS: STATION SQUARE FLOODED, BESIEGED BY "PERFECT CHAOS"

"…and the footage we've been getting from our on-site news teams has been absolutely amazing," said the anchorman, glancing up at the camera. "What appeared at first to be a high-pressure explosion - indeed, a tidal wave - from out of the city's sewer system has now transformed itself into a moving, apparently living creature that experts are calling the 'Perfect Chaos monster'…I'm not even sure how I can describe this…some sort of colossal water monster that is currently wreaking havoc in downtown Station Square. Initial reports estimate civilian casualties at somewhere between five hundred thousand and one point five million…and that's an optimistic guess, of course. A joint effort from the S.S.P.D. and the military has been dispatched to evacuate…"

"My God…" gasped Irene, clutching her husband's hand in panic. "Jack, do you think Nate could have…"

"Shut up!" Jack's eyes were glued to the images on the screen. "Shut up Irene, don't even say that! Kevin, Lucy, I want you two to go to your rooms and-"

"NO!" both siblings shouted simultaneously. For once, their father didn't even attempt to enforce his command.

"…especially in the wake of the rocket attack by an unknown terrorist cell. Whatever set off this incident, it looks as though the military has been unable to stop this beast, even though we have multiple reports of air-to-surface missile strikes coming in from the teams in the field. Hold on…we're now going live to Lisa Jansen in Station Square. Viewers be advised – this footage is coming to you live and uncensored, directly from the disaster area. Go ahead, Lisa."

The newsroom disappeared, replaced instead by what looked like a scene from a war movie. The once-magnificent skyline of Station Square had been torn to ruins. Black smoke columns billowed skyward in the distance, mingling with the tiny black dots of dozens of helicopters taking off and landing throughout the city. Lisa Jansen, a young, very frightened-looking reporter, was standing beside a rooftop helipad with a microphone in her hand and headphones over her ears. Her makeup was smeared with blood from a scratch just above her eye, and two of her painted nails had been chipped. She glanced back and forth, waiting for her cue, then began to speak.

"I'm here, on top of what used to be one of Station Square's finest hotels. As you can see behind me, the city is in a state of utter destruction. I've tried to get a report from the officers coordinating the rooftop evacuations, but they won't say how many people are dead or injured down there. From up here, I can…I can see bodies floating in the streets below…oh, God, there's thousands of them." Lisa choked and turned away, holding a hand across her eyes. It looked as though she was fighting back tears. In the distance, a monstrous roar rang out across the fallen city, followed by a dozen faint explosions. "Those sounds you're hearing…those are jets attacking the monster – they're trying to push it back…buy everyone enough time to get out of here. Right now we've got two helicopters on the roof…they're taking people to safety as fast as they can, but there are literally thousands of survivors packed into this building alone. We'll be on the next flight to the military's FOB, or forward operating base near the city outskirts. Reporting live from Station Square, this is Lisa Jansen." She looked up at her cameraman. "GO! Cut away, for God's sake! Go put that on the-"

The news anchor's expression of disbelief mirrored the look on every face of the Shaw family. He took a deep breath, straightened his tie, and continued.

"Thank you, Lisa. We've just received an urgent call from someone, a Mr. Mike Carter, who tells us he is very close to the creature now, and can describe it. Mike, this is Dan Stevens. You're on. Can you tell us where you are?"

"Hello! Yes, I hear you!" a terrified voice, heavy with distortion, replied.

"Mike, where…where are you right now?"

"I'm in my apartment, on the twenty-first floor, and I'm looking right at this thing! Oh God, it's right next to the window, it just tore through an apartment on the other side of the street! There's people trapped in there, they're all-"

"Uh, Mike, you say you can see the monster…this 'Perfect Chaos'…clearly? Can you describe what it looks like?"

"I don't care what it's called, it's big, it looks like some kind of dragon or dinosaur…or no, it looks like an Onyx fused with a Tentacruel and grew to the size of a fucking skyscraper! It's made of WATER! They're throwing everything they have at it and NOTHING'S WORKING!"

"Mike, I need you to calm down. Take a deep breath. How many people are in the room with you?"

"It's just me in here…I just came home from work – we got let off early 'cause of the rocket attack – and I'm taking the elevator up when the whole building starts shaking like an earthquake just hit! Next thing I know I run to the window and see this huge wave sweeping across the city, and then this thing just explodes out of a building ten blocks away and starts leveling the place! You gotta send help…tell them I'm in here or something…JESUS!" A deafening whoosh - the roar of a passing jet - interrupted Mike's voice. Another explosion, louder this time, resonated just outside the building. "They hit it again – two jets just put about four missiles each into the thing's face and it's not even scratched! There are people down in the flooded street…looks like soldiers…firing up at it. I can see rockets flying and…OH GOD! Jesus Christ, it just wiped out the entire street! There's people falling from the building over there, it's crumbling down and…"

The phone call cut out suddenly. Perhaps Mike had been killed, perhaps the phone line had been cut, or perhaps the news network had decided to pull the plug before things got too disturbing. Dan Stevens didn't wear an expression of shock anymore…only a grim frown that seemed to age his photogenic face by a good twenty years. Kevin had seen him on TV before, reporting from Pokémon tournaments and other minor news stories. This was Stevens' first time covering something on this scale.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he spoke softly, adjusting his glasses. "What you've just seen and heard is happening at this very moment, all across what was once Station Square. The mayor has been safely evacuated, and just recently declared a citywide state of emergency. We have reports that he has been coordinating with the military to establish a rapid and large-scale bombing operation…"

"STREET SHOT! WALTERS! CUT TO WALTERS!" someone yelled. Stevens looked around in confusion, but the camera cut away before he could speak. Gary Walters, another reporter, looked as though he had run ten miles through a war zone…though given the circumstances, he might have been doing just that.

"This is Gary Walters reporting live from the streets of Station Square. Behind us, the being known as Perfect Chaos is…no, don't look at me! Get the shot! GET THE SHOT!" The camera edged to the right, away from Walters. In the street, a colossal liquid creature resembling a dragon with tentacles loomed overhead, roaring furiously as it crashed through another building. "We've been making our way through the flooded street to the nearest evacuation point…and now it looks like we found the monster itself. It just took out an entire platoon of soldiers a block away, and now it's…WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"

Kevin and his family couldn't believe what they were seeing. Something…a shining, golden blur with red streaks underneath had just shot down the street toward the Perfect Chaos monster. Water splashed across the screen, and Walters' cameraman cursed as he tried to wipe off the lens. When the camera refocused, the gold blur seemed to be flying, circling the watery beast and zigzagging to dodge its attacks. Multicolored fireballs and swirling miniature tornadoes spewed forth from the beast and impacted against the surrounding buildings, but to no avail. The newcomer remained airborne.

"Are you getting this?" Walters asked incredulously. "Please tell me you're getting this. Uh, Dan, the situation's changed. Something's attacking the creature now…it looks like a yellow or gold ball of light, or energy of some sort, and it's giving Perfect Chaos the fight of his life." He waved furiously at what must have been a band of onlookers who were trying to watch the duel. "Get back, GET BACK! The gold thing just took a hit, it looks like it's falling back this way toward…is that a Pika-"

As the camera zoomed in down the street and focused on a tiny yellow and brown creature sitting on what had once been part of a bridge, a surge of blinding white light exploded across the screen. The gold blur had struck the Pikachu at full force, presumably annihilating it before it knew it was dead. Lucy let out a sob – Pikachus were one of her favorite species of Pokémon, and she always hated seeing animals killed, even by each other in nature shows. Kevin reached over and hugged her gently, but his eyes never left the television. There was no way he could ever believe what he was seeing and hearing was real. He half expected a title screen with "COMING SOON TO THEATERS" to pop up…as if this whole incident had been faked in a clever marketing campaign for some new disaster movie. Godzilla - the one with Matthew Broderick - had just hit theaters last month, and maybe some rival studio was now trying to outdo Roland Emmerich. But no, if this was a movie trailer, it was the longest, bloodiest, and most horrific one he'd ever seen.

The light had faded, leaving a faint glow and a massive, beautiful rainbow in its place. Gary Walters was furiously rubbing his eyes, swearing under his breath as he tried to get his act together. Dangerous though the situation might have been, he was still a reporter, and so far he was doing a damn fine job.

"Dan, I don't know if you got all that, but we just got blinded by an explosion of white light – the gold thing smashed right into a wild boy Pikachu…I mean, a feral male Pikachu that must have wandered into the city…and exploded. What we're seeing now is a huge, and I mean, HUGE rainbow…looks like it's stretching about fifteen miles away…what is that? Get that! Get that!" The camera panned over to a red and white-striped building on the other side of the street, showing a second blur – yellow this time – racing along the side of the skyscraper with no regard for gravity. The newcomer sped up and leapt, arcing toward the Perfect Chaos monster like a bolt of electricity. Meanwhile, the true and original blur continued its assault, unaware of its newfound ally.

As the yellow blur sparked in midair, the beast let out a thunderous bellow and lunged forward to meet this new foe.

It almost sounded…afraid.

BOOM! Three jagged forks of lightning stabbed down into the head of Perfect Chaos, just as the golden blur smashed into its chest. Roaring and shrieking in agony, the monster reeled backward. Electric current coursed across its watery skin, lashing and crackling and spearing deeper and deeper, until the dragonish being could hold its form no longer. With a final cry, it collapsed inward, falling apart in a spray of steam and light. There wasn't even anything left to hit the ground.

In the silence, Walters took a tentative step forward into the streets, ignoring the sea of corpses that surrounded him and his cameraman. He was past the point where his job mattered anymore – all he seemed to want was to get a glimpse of the thing that had just saved Station Square.

Fifty feet away, kneeling in the center of a crater, was a blue hedgehog-like creature wearing no more than a pair of red running shoes. People…groups of survivors…were beginning to gather around their savior. A faint sound emanated from the massing crowd, something like a chant or a prayer.

"Come on," Walters said, nodding toward the crater. As the two men approached and slid down the side carefully, the hedgegog stood upright and dusted itself off. Though clearly exhausted from the battle, it nevertheless flashed the reporter a satisfied grin as it stepped forward.

Walters had only one question. "Who…who are you?"

The creature smiled again. "I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog!"

The crowd exploded into cheers. People were screaming, crying, shouting their thanks to the skies as they clustered around their hero – and at last, Kevin realized what they had been chanting.

"SONIC! SONIC! SONIC! YAY!"

June 1998, two days after the attack on Station Square

Kevin pushed his last suitcase into the Pallet bus, wiping the sweat from his forehead as the hot sun beat down on him. Packing had been hard enough considering the circumstances, but at long last, all of his worldly possessions now resided in a storage compartment beneath the bus.

It felt strange to be leaving home so soon after the mayhem and chaos of the Station Square attack, but it also felt right. A new chapter of his life was beginning now – a chapter he himself could write without having to worry about his parents editing anything out. The world was his to explore, and with enough luck and skill, he might just become a gym leader, or even a master worthy of the Elite Four. But for now, he was just a would-be trainer, off to get his first Pokémon from Professor Oak in Pallet Town.

His family, even his father, had come to see him off. Irene had packed him a bag lunch for the bus ride, the way she'd used to pack his school lunches when he was little. Lucy gave him a little trinket she had made with the clay she was always using in her pottery class – a medallion with a Pikachu's face. Kevin knew he would never wear it in public, but he kept in nonetheless. He would always remember her while he was out on his Pokémon journey, every time he opened his backpack and saw it hanging inside on its beaded string.

"Well…goodbye, Lu," he mumbled, a little embarrassed. He'd never been particularly good at saying goodbye, but luckily, his sister knew exactly what to do.

"Write to us as much as you can!" she yelled, and hugged him so tight that he thought his ribcage was going to collapse in on itself. "If you catch a Pikachu, send me a picture!"

Kevin halfheartedly freed himself. "You know I will, Lu. Mom, thanks for the lunch. Tell Nate I said hi."

"Of course," replied Irene, hugging him as well. "You be careful. Promise?"

"Promise. True and honest."

Kevin turned to his father last. He'd been dreading this moment for days now. They hadn't spoken about his decision since the day of the attack, and now he didn't know what Jack had in store for him. No matter what, he was set on starting the journey, and nothing was going to stop him now.

"Goodbye, Dad," he said. "Thanks for everything."

"Go, son." Jack extended a hand, pointed to the bus, then offered it to Kevin. "Go out and…catch 'em all."

"I will," Kevin laughed, accepting Jack's handshake with a smile. "Thank you, father."

The bus slowly shrank into the distance, trailing exhaust as it rumbled down the road to Pallet. The Shaws watched it leave until it was nothing more than a speck on the horizon, then turned to go back inside.

"I'm going to miss him," sighed Irene. Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her gently.

"Don't worry," said Lucy with a grin. "He'll be all right. You'll see. He's gonna be the very best."

Jack ruffled his daughter's hair. "I know he will, Lu. Like no one ever was."