Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, its world or characters. Only the story and original characters herein.
Chapter Two
100 years later
The streets of Cerulean City weren't often crowded. Maybe it was because it was originally known as a city of water, but the builders understood flow, and as people went about their daily lives, they passed from place to place with ease. It also made the streets easy to blockade, and allowed for funneling the population into one location.
Today was one of those days.
Lyss hated crowds like this, and kept her long, raven black hair up in a tight braid to prevent it from getting snagged in the press of bodies. People milled around the square, their feet shifting back and forth with nowhere to go. The chatter of voices was just loud enough to be annoying, and the young girl wished it was later in the year. During the winter it was cold enough for her to wear the wool hat with the floppy ears – it looked ridiculous, but it kept her warm and helped her feel separate from everything going on. She tried to be out of town when these kinds of thing happened the rest of the year, something she'd failed at on that particular day.
Bodies shifted around her, pressing at her, and she pushed back to keep from getting crushed against the wall. She always kept to the fringes of the throng, kept her back to the wall, but as helpful as that was, it had its downsides too. She threw a longing glance at the rooftops. It wouldn't be hard to get up there, and she'd done it on calmer, normal days, but not these kind of days. The last thing she wanted was to stand out. Even with the other kids sitting up there out of the way, it still felt too exposed to her.
No, better to stay down on the ground, invisible behind the lines of people in the square.
The crowd pulsed outward again, and she growled at the uncomfortable position she was squeezed into in order to keep her backpack from getting crushed against the wall. If they didn't give her some room in about three seconds-
Lights flickered into life in the sky above them and the noise of the crowd stopped. Their shifting stopped. Silence penetrated the air, and Lyss used the opportunity to squeeze out into a open spot. It put her in better view, no longer between the crowd and the building wall, but they'd suffocate here if she stayed in there. She could see the image in the sky come together better from there too, but that wasn't high on her priority list. It wasn't the first time she'd seen him up there, and she knew it wouldn't be the last. She didn't understand this whole mess in the first place. They could watch him on their vid-screens at home and hear it all just as well, or better, but instead they were corralled out there like Tauros.
With a sigh, she resigned herself to being stuck there and stared up at the sky. If any Rockets came by, it was better if she appeared to be paying attention.
The man in the image stood straight and tall, his hands clasped behind his back, and even from so high above, he still managed to look down his nose at the rest of them. His black hair was slicked back, his suit crisp and expensive. Everything about him screamed money and control. It was repulsive, though that wasn't the intended impression.
"Citizens of Kanto," the man's voice boomed out over the square, "you know who I am. I am your leader, your provider, and if need be, your executioner. I am Giovanni, and you are here because I will it."
He paused, probably thought it was dramatic, before continuing with his mind numbing speech. Lyss tuned him out, instead slipping her headphones in under her hood. Music filled her ears, blocking out the words she had no interest in hearing, and she relaxed. Now she just had to wait the whole thing out.
It was always the same thing - I'm Giovanni, I don't age, obey me. Not that it wasn't true, but she got tired of hearing it. He already forbid them from rebuilding anything where the Cerulean gym once stood. The pile of rubble there was just another way of rubbing their faces in it all.
Lyss knew she should be terrified of Team Rocket, but she hated them too much for everything they did to feel anything else. Most of the time.
A hand spun her around, bringing her face to face a man with one of the very Rocket uniforms she was thinking of. His face had an annoyed set to it as he jabbered at her, and she reached a hand through the hole in her coat pocket to yank the headphones out of her ears.
"-tion to the boss!" The tone was harsh and though she didn't catch all the words, he got his message across well enough.
"Of course I'm listening," she scowled back as she stalled long enough to hear a few of Giovanni's words. "He's warning us not to go near any pokemon. They're dangerous."
He glared down at her. "You're pretty mouthy. Maybe I'll confiscate that bag of yours, you could be a rebel."
She jumped back a step. "You can't do that." This was trouble she didn't need.
"You new around here?" he snorted. "Team Rocket does what it wants."
His words were a little too true, and she squeezed her hands into fists. "Maybe Giovanni can, but you're just his flunkie!" she spat.
His expression darkened and he stepped toward her. Laughter from behind him spared Lyss his intent, as he stopped and turned to the sound. An approaching woman was the source, and his mouth twisted as she approached. "She called you a flunkie!" the woman cackled.
"Be quiet, Eva, I'm handling this."
A shiver went through Lyss on seeing the woman approach, a second Rocket. No matter her feelings on them, they were dangerous, and things were spinning out of her control far too quickly. She turned and bolted into the crowd.
A shout went up behind her - they didn't miss her departure - and she pushed harder, desperate to disappear among the crowd.
"Stop her!" the man yelled as he shoved through the onlookers with less success. "Stop that girl!"
As the people in the crowd shifted their barren gazes from the sky to the shouting man, the feeling in the area changed. The sight of a Team Rocket uniform among them caught the attention of everyone in view, and the news spread to those who couldn't see in hushed murmurs that grew in volume before she made it ten feet through the crush. She could hear it all behind her as people she'd shoved out of the way only a moment before put it all together. It wasn't hard to guess who the Rocket wanted when Lyss was the only one running the other direction. She still wasn't close enough to the edge of the crowd, and she'd never make it before the people in front of her joined her pursuers.
A flash of inspiration had her slipping between a few more people, with stealth rather then force. Then she grabbed a girl about her height she'd spotted and shoved her hard as she could into the crowd just as the shouting caught up.
"There she is!" Lyss shouted, pointing as she pressed back into the still unaware crowd. "Grab her!"
Lyss didn't wait to see the result. Making herself as small as possible, she squeezed into the crowd. Her heart pounded as she forced herself to slow down. Going any faster would draw attention, but at any moment Team Rocket would figure out her ploy, realize they had the wrong girl, and take up the search all over again. She needed to be out of there before then, and her heart jumped into her throat with every new shout that rose into the air.
Finally she slipped from the crowd, stumbling at the sudden freedom. The city streets lay open before her, but still she made herself walk while her blood urged her to run. Only once she turned down an alley out of sight of the square did she let loose. All the tension left her exhausted before she even started running, but she refused to stop until she got out of the city. She had to get out of town until things cooled down.
Her guardians would be furious with her for going missing, but part of her didn't care, and either way it was the least of her worries. Streets flashed by as she ran, each new lane bringing a new bloom of unease in her chest. She never ran into anyone though, everyone in the city was still back in the square, or at least not any further out then her. For once, she was grateful for the eerie emptiness of the city during these gatherings.
When it appeared, the treeline was a welcome sight. The forest around Cerulean wasn't dense, more of a scattering of trees and general foliage, but at the moment it was a sanctuary, a fortress of safety. Out there she could hide from just about anyone, and she should only need the rest of the day. Lyss couldn't imagine the couple Rocket members worrying enough about her to conduct some full scale manhunt, and they didn't know who she was so they couldn't put a price on her head. And over what, a little backtalk?
No, a little time to herself out of the city would sort the mess out. Everything would be fine.
A clap of thunder made her flinch, and she cursed for jinxing herself with such thoughts. Clouds were a common sight on the gathering days, they made it easier to see Giovanni's projection, but she hadn't noticed the darker shade of those overhead. She eyed the sky with concern. Now she'd have to find shelter of some sort since she couldn't go back to the city. On a positive note though, a storm would help dissuade the Rockets from spending their time looking for her, and she should have some time before-
A fat raindrop splattered across her forehead, dashing her hopeful thoughts as she wiped the water away before it could roll into her eyes. She glared up at the clouds, which earned her a drop to the eye. Another hit her nose. Two more plopped onto her head.
Then, like a lever opened the floodgates, the deluge began. She shrieked as a curtain of water cascaded over her, drenching her to the skin before she even made it under the nearest tree. Unfortunately, the leaves above did little under the wrath of the downpour, and she groaned as she leaned against the stiff trunk
"I hate rain," she muttered as the world around her darkened through the sheets of water.