Chapter 18
Homesick
Not much to say.
Eventually we reached Pewter city and dicided to rest in their Pokémon center, where I sat at the phone for about ½ an hour after everyone else had already gone to sleeep, before picking up the headset and dialing home. The phone rang a couple times, a happy bird eagerly chanting.
"Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring!"
On the 6th and fianle fing my father answered, he looked at me startled, I could see the worry lines on his face, before his face became stiff and rouph, as he tried to seem emotionless, however I could see in his eyes that he was worried.
"Claire." He said politely, quitely.
"Hello dad." I said unable to look him in the eyes. "We are coming home, we are in Pewter city, we should be back by tommarow." I said sounding defeated.
"What happened? Is everything alright? Where is Ruby?" he asked a little anxiously. "I told you the world was to much for you now."
"Father!" I cut him off. He fell silent. "Everything is fine, Ruby is a little Homesick that's all, We are dropping her off then I am going to cuninue traveling." My dad nodded morbidly silent and we sat in quite for a few minutes.
"Claire…I heard something happened to my mewtwo, do you know anything." My eyes turned to daggers. I am gone for months, with Ruby and he asks me about work!
"Good bye father." I said quitely.
"Claire, wait!" he said as I reached for the hang up button. I waited for him to finish.
"It's not what you think. That's not why I am asking…" He trailed off.
"Then why?" I asked him, my voice bitter.
"I can't tell you." He told me regrefully.
"Exsactly, goodnight father." Once again I reached for the button.
"Claire…..just be careful." He tol me as his screen vansihed and turned grey. I sighed relaxing in my chair before putting the headset back and going to bed. The next day we took the short trip to Veridian and made it home where we found my dad waiting for us outside. Ruby ran up to him hugging him gratefully.
I didn't move towards him, I kept my distance, unsure of what to do, I wanted to forgive him, but I hated what he did. Lance stood off to the side with Ash and the others, his arms crossed as he stared at my father, Ash, Misty and Brock were all tense, waiting on the side lines. I tried ot think of what to say but nothing came to mind.
"I guess I am leaving." I said flatly, a little dissapointed. Ruby ran towards me wrapping me in a hug.
"Why can't you stay?" Ruby asked me pleadingly.
"I will be back soon." I promised. I looked up and said to both Ruby and my father. "I will return every month or so. Just to check up on you." Dad nodded. Ruby stepped back when suddenlly there was a large wind and I saw something black fly out of the forest at break neck pace. Ruby screamed before I could, and I found myself wrapped in tight, hard metal cables, hands behind my back, Ruby was in the same position only the force had knocked her to the ground. Something large came out of the forest, it seemed like a small airship.
Painted black with a red 'M' on it. Dad growled, and Lance gasped in shock, taking a step towards us but was only pushed back by the wind. The hovercraft flew to us, and someone lifted me up by my restraints, same with my sister. Behind my back I quickly began working my belt, desprately pulling it free and throwing it over the side of the hovercraft with all my Pokémon, it landed by Ash's feet, it was a good thing I carried Ruby's with me since she didn't like wearing belts. A middle aged man, dressed in red with a red bandanna turned and exsamined me. Taking my chin in his hand and smiling, exsamining me closely.
"So you are the famous Claire, daughter of the great Goevonni." He said amused.
"Maxie!" My father yelled over the raoring wind. "Let them go!" the man, Maxie, laughed.
"You better let them go! Maxie or I swear to Lugia I will come after you!" Lance threatened as we rose in alitude. Maxie laughing.
"If you want them you can try and save them." He called down as we zipped away in the aircraft.
Lance yelled in frusteration, before turning to my father.
"You!" He said, "This is all your fualt!"
"My fualt!" dad defended. "This would never have happened if some caped vigialante hadn't convinced my daughters to run away!" Geovoni yelled both of them in each others face.
"If you hadn't lied to her!" Lance yelled. "If you didn't have so many Enemies there would be no one TO kidnap them!"
"Guys, Guys!" Brock called out getting between them. "Everybody just shut up for a moment!"
"It doesn't matter who started it or whoes fualt it is." Misty said defiantly.
"we need to get Claire and Ruby back which means we are going to have to work together to do it." Ash finished. Lance and my dad turned away from each other, crossing their arms.
"Come on guys make up!" Misty yelled. They both reluctantly shook hands, squeezing them tightly trying to intimadate the other. "Good, now who in the world was that?" She asked, both Lance and Geovoni looked distant for a moment, and Geovoni was the first to answer.
"That was team Magma."
"They are arch rival to team rocket, both of them struggling to take over the world, Magma focuses more on fire types and controling fire if not the world as you can probably guess by their name."
"I tried to warn Claire yesterday over the phone but she refused to listen to me. I know where their lair is, that's probably where they are taking them. More then likely they took them to get to me so I will get them back." Geovoni said, her voice a mix of sorrow and determination.
"Sorry old man, but I am going to save Claire." Lance said. Geovoni glared at him.
"She is my daughter, boy." He growled.
"Everyone just shut up!" Ash demanded stepping forward. "Look she is your friend and your daughter." Ash said pointing to each of them. "they are my sisters too so I am going too! You two should just shut up and get along for now we can ALL save them!" Ash made sense and Lance and Geovoni glared at each other for a moment. Agreeing in silance as they both backed away from the others gaze. Ash looked at them both sternly. "Good, now lets get going. You two have to lead us to their base." Ash turned around and let Pikachu jump onto his shoulder. Seeming a lot more mature for his age, determined to save his sisters, He picked up the pokebelt, holding them tightly in his hands. He just found them and he lost them again.
"Ash," Geovoni said quitely, Ash turned to look at him. "…I am sorry." Geovoni was at a loss for words, he hadn't played any role in his life, he had secretly sent money to his mother to help fund Ash's Pokémon journey but…money couldn't replace a father. Ash nodded, his eyes softening, unsure himself of how to react, so he just turned away.
"Let's go find Claire and Ruby." He said, accepting his father's apolagy in silance.
I sat close to Ruby, resting her head on my arm as she quitely chocked back tears, whimpering now and then. I did my bes to offer her what little comfort I could with my hands tied. The man was in front of me, steering the aircraft, a smug smile plastuered across his face. I glared at him.
"You won't get away with this!" I growled at him, he barely glanced back at her. "My friends and my dad are going to come and my father, they will stop you." I stated defiantly. The man just snickered. Glancing back at me with a evil grin.
"I'm not scared of your puny friends or your rotten father kid, he's the reason I'm here in the first place, if he doesn't show up to save you, I can sure you there would be no point to this." He said turning away. Ruby whimpered, pressing her face against my side, leaving tear marks on my shirt.
"Don't think you can defeat my father, he is leader of team rocket and my friend is Lance, Pokémon champion of-"
"Yes, yes I know who all of your little friends are." The man cut me off. "You see your father and I are in somewhat of a dissagreement. When two people want similar goals, there is compition." The man turned and glared at me, his voice darkening. "And I really don't like compition." I shrunk back, quickly regaining my posture, it was hard not to shrivle under the glare of his intense red eyes. It felt like if he stared at me to long, they would burn a hole in my soul. "And that Lance boy, I don't necissarily like him eaither, they can both rot in hell for all I care." I growled, getting angry now.
"You shut up," I demanded. "Lance and my father are by far better people then you!" the man glared at me but this time I didn't shrink back, instead I let the anger fuel me. "Don't ever say anything bad about them again, ya-hear? I don't care what your plans our or who you are but they will come they are better then you they will beat your-"
"That's enough!" he yelled at me, bringing his muscular arm down, his hand colliding with my cheek. I shrieked and he turned around going back to steering the aircraft. "Little brat, you need to shut your blabbering mouth or else we won't get along eaither." He turned enough for me to see one of his intense firey eyes glaring at me. "And you won't like it when we don't get along."
I fell silent, Ruby glanced at me sniffling as she looked up into my defeated face. My cheek stung and was undoubtedly red. Ruby sniffled, rubbing her face back into my side, this time in an effort to comfort me, and it worked.
"It doesn't matter." I said barely above a whisper, my voice monotone. "They will come, and they will save us, and when they do, you'll be sorry." I finished tilting my head up to look at him with a death glare. The rest of the ride was in silence.