Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, its world or characters. Only the story and original characters herein.
Chapter Five
Considering ownership of pokemon was outlawed, and being friends with them didn't really count as a viable loophole, hiding Smoke while she tried to catch a ride was a nerve wracking experience. Without a bag all they could do was have him dash in and out of sight, and pray that if someone picked them up there'd be somewhere for him to sneak into.
As another pair of headlights approached, they repeated the process. Smoke dashed off behind a tree while Lyss tried to flag down the vehicle. To her surprise, it pulled over to her and stopped. She lit up, glad to finally have a chance, but as she peered in the open window her words failed her.
"Hey there!" said the young man, someone she recognized, if not well. "Lyss, right? Your dad said you'd be out here. He sent me off on an urgent delivery, asked if I could give you a lift."
She hesitated. What if Team Rocket sent him? "Who're you?"
He looked confused by the question. "I'm Mark," he said. "I work for your father. We've met before."
Mark. Right. She did remember him. "You know why I'm out here?"
He shrugged."Sort of. Your dad said you got into some trouble, needed to get out of the city for awhile." Did that make him more or less trustworthy? When she still didn't get in, he went on. "I'm guessing it has to do with Team Rocket, since they were snooping around when I left, and I know how your parents try to keep you away from them."
That got her attention. It was similar to what her father had said before pushing her out. For now, she needed to trust him. It wasn't like she had a lot of options. With a call to Smoke, she hopped in the car, keeping the door open long enough for him to hop into the backseat. Some of the people in town knew about her friendship with him, those closest to her family, so that at least was one less thing to worry about. Besides, getting off her feet was too compelling.
As she buckled in, Mark got the car going again. "Alright," she started after savoring the comfort a moment, "now, what was that bit about me staying away from Team Rocket?"
He shrugged. "It's just what I've been told. They said you'd be in danger if Team Rocket got their hands on you." He glanced at her. "More so then normal."
"Why?"
"They didn't tell me." Mark kept his eyes straight ahead, watching the road. That was a good thing, but she couldn't help feel he just didn't want to look at her.
"They told you something," she pressed.
His fingers tapped a rhythm over the steering wheel as he drove on in silence. When he did glance over she was still staring at him, waiting. He groaned and rolled his neck. "Look, they didn't really tell me anything," her glare deepened when his eyes flicked over her, "I just overhead something, that's all. They said it was because of your parents."
Lyss' face twisted. "Wait, my foster parents said it was about themselves? Or Team Rocket said it was about my parents?"
"Neither. Your parents weren't talking about themselves. They meant your real parents."
She stared at him as that sank in. "Oh."
"And that's all I know, really. I don't know any more about them then you do."
With no response to that, Lyss fell back into her seat and turned to stare out the window. So what did that mean? Were her parents important? Did her foster parents know who they were, even after insisting they didn't? "So does this Slate guy know?"
Mark flicked a glance at her. "Who's Slate?"
Her shoulders slouched. "Just someone I'm supposed to meet."
The conversation died after that as she fell into her thoughts, staring out the window. Trees flashed by in the dark, phantoms visible only in the light. The area was a stark contrast to the city. Team Rocket made all sorts of technological advances since they'd been in charge, but all of it benefited them. The routes between the cities didn't. What electrical lines once connected them had long since been destroyed or broken down with lack of maintenance. It made traveling eerie in the best of nights, and downright terrifying in others. Team Rocket didn't care, they flew over it all. The open areas were actually the safest, if you wanted to stay away from them.
Didn't help you with wild pokemon though. Individuals weren't allowed to have pokemon, and after everything Team Rocket had done to them, wild pokemon were true to their name - wild. Being outside a city was a good way to get killed.
Lyss sighed, resigned to waiting and watching the world flash by outside. Questions bounced through her mind without answers. Her dad wasn't forthcoming about this Slate guy if Mark didn't know. You'd think he would've told the guy he sent after her, but Mark was just her ride apparently. Still, why wouldn't her dad send her to a friend of the family, someone she knew? And if Slate was a friend, why had she never heard of him?
All she could do was wait and see. Slate would have some explaining to do.
#
Mark dropped her off outside Pewter with a wave and a wish good luck before driving off. Which left her alone again, and the silence wasted no time wrapping around her. Smoke was a friend she wouldn't trade for anything, but he wasn't talkative.
She took a deep breath before heading in to the city. She had no idea where to go or what to expect. Pewter was too close to Viridian for comfort, but otherwise not worth notice. The city was small and unremarkable. Why would they send her there? Standing there wouldn't get her anywhere, so slipped down the streets with a watchful eye. The sun came up some time ago and the early morning hours wrapped the town like a blanket as the warm rays cut through the leftover chill of night. Still, lots of people got an early start, and she had no way of hiding Smoke as she made her way through the town, leaving her jumpy and anxious.
The streets didn't reveal much. She caught a glimpse of the old gym in the center of the city, but didn't dare go that far inward. The place was easy enough to recognize though, just look for the pile of rubble. Every city was the same. After taking over, Team Rocket destroyed the gyms and prohibited anything from ever being built over them. A constant reminder of their power. Foolish bravado. What better way to ignite people then to rub their faces in what they lost?
Against what she thought though, the tactic seemed to work. Team Rocket kept full control over the cowed citizens. There'd never been an uprising against them, or maybe the Team was just that fast in putting them down. They didn't hold back, and had no qualms destroying whole cities if need be. They'd just rebuild them later and call it job security.
Except Pallet. The little town never had a gym, but that didn't stop Team Rocket from turning the once green plains into a wasteland. It was still the same to that day.
Spotting something she needed, Lyss ushered Smoke off to hide as she went into the nearby building - a general store. The shop opened early, a blessing to her just then, and its bell rang as the automatic door slid aside. Across the store, the clerk looked up and smiled.
"Welcome and good morning, young lady," the older man called out. It sound like something he'd said day after day for years.
Lyss smiled in return and walked up to him. Might as well take the most direct route. "Hi, I'm looking for a backpack, with a lot of space."
"Traveler, eh?" he asked as he slid out from behind the counter. "Thought you might be new in town. Don't get many visitors this far south." She bet they didn't. Only Viridian and Pallet were further south, and nobody but Team Rocket went anywhere near the two. She stayed silent though as he led her on. "Here we go. We've got your backpacks, knapsacks, shoulder bags, duffel bags, courier bags, and, if you need, sleeping bags."
Lyss smothered a laugh. "Umm," she poked around through the available bags, passing right by the purses. Those weren't even remotely useful. It needed to be large enough to carry Smoke, and everything else she needed, which wasn't much. Some basic supplies, emergency food, her wallet-
"Ah!" she shouted, startling the man as she dragged a hand through her hair. Groaning, she turned to him. "Sorry. I came to replace the bag that I lost, but I forgot my wallet was in that bag."
"That's rough," he replied. "You might be able to find some work here in Pewter. Can't go anywhere without some funds, right?"
She sighed, gazing at the bags she couldn't buy. "Yeah, maybe." Things weren't going her way so far, and she was only a day on the run. A memory struck her then. "Oh, do you know someone named Slate?"
His eyes flicked away as he rubbed his chin. "Slate? Don't believe there's anyone in town by that name."
Her shoulders fell. "Are you sure? I was supposed to meet him here..." Without Slate, she had no idea what she was doing. She couldn't go home, Team Rocket was looking for her, she had no money, and she couldn't even travel with Smoke safely.
"Now hold on there, girl. No crying now." Blinking, she looked up to him. Her eyes were dry, but her feelings must've shown on her face. "Why not stop by Mr. Nolan's house? He's... well, not our mayor, can't have one of those, but he's respected. Might be able to help you out or your jam."
"Maybe," she nodded. "How do I get there?"
"Just across town. Here," he went behind his desk, "I'll get you a map."
After thanking him, Lyss left the store, map in hand. The town was small, no denying that, and across town wasn't even father then she could see, so she picked out the large house with ease. The map felt unnecessary for such a town. Maybe the store owner just liked giving them away to tourists, the ones he said they never got.
Guess they didn't run out of maps then.
Regardless, Pewter was no Cerulean. At home she spent days exploring the streets, finding every nook and cranny. Not because it took days, but more for lack of anything better to do. Even in a larger city life got boring fast, so she couldn't imagine growing up in Pewter. People either grew up and worked for Team Rocket or they got stuck working in the corner store like the old man that helped her. Team Rocket allowed nothing else.
Lyss strolled up to the house, checking it as she went. It looked quiet - though the early morning explained that - and old. White siding, brown door, and the kind of porch you expected to see people sitting on in the evenings, relaxing in their chairs and watching the sun go down. Curtains blocked view through the windows but a rough mat sat just outside the door, a large 'welcome' emblazoned on it.
Hesitation held her back from the door as she glanced off to the sides. Small rows of bushes scattered around the streets, a meager attempt at mixing greenery in with the stone strewn town, and she peered into them until a flash of orange caught her eye. Relief flowed through her as a pair of bright eyes stared back into her own, hidden as well as one of his coloring could be. Feeling better, she went ahead and knocked on the door.
It was a moment before she heard any movement inside, though not as long as she expected given the time. When the door opened she found herself faced with an old woman. Lyss would even call her ancient as she leaned over a cane, wool shawl wrapped around her shoulders, and Lyss was even more impressed at how fast she'd gotten to the door.
Lyss pulled on a smile as the woman stared at her. "Hi, I'm just, well..." she paused - what did she want exactly? "Umm, I was told there was someone here I could talk to for help? I'm kinda stuck in town."
"And who told you that?" Though the woman's voice came out just as old as the rest of her, there was a clarity to it that suggested nothing was wrong her mind.
The answer stuck in her throat - she hadn't asked the man's name. "The man who runs the general store."
The woman grunted and turned away. "Come on, you're letting all the cold air in." Lyss jumped across the threshold and shut the door behind her. Inside the house looked as she expected, a place of simple means. Quaint. "Sit." The woman's voice snapped like a whip, drawing Lyss from her thoughts. She hurried over to the chair as the woman wandered off, offering a parting comment of, "Wait here."
So Lyss waited. No sounds carried to her from down the hall. No animals, no children, not even the morning news from a nearby vid-screen or radio. It was unnerving. Maybe it was just too early and the house was still asleep, or maybe the old lady lived alone, though if that was the case then where'd she go? Maybe she was the type that felt compelled to serve tea to everyone.
Lyss sighed. She could throw maybe's around all day, it did nothing to calm her nerves. Her eyes jumped around the room as she waited. A decorative rug coated the hardwood floor while a couch adorned the other side of the room, a quilt draped over its back. Beside her chair was an end table with a little dish of candies filled to the brim. No books or magazines lay around the room, nor dishes or clothing or anything else you might expect to see. The place was immaculate. Used to her own... well lived in bedroom, the house just felt wrong.
"Girl." Lyss jumped again at the woman's voice, only then noticing her standing in the hall. "Come with me." Considering her lack of options, Lyss chose to do as the woman asked. Her heart pounded. They passed a single picture frame on the wall, what looked like a family posing for the image, and then a bookcase stocked and sorted to perfection, free of gaps.
The woman stopped at a door, causing Lyss to nearly stumble into her. "Down here," she said as she opened the door.
Lyss couldn't help herself. "Where are we going?"
"You wanted help," was the simple response. "Down here." Lyss glanced down the stairs, glad to at least see the place well lit. Her nerves still buzzed, all of them alert in case the woman tried to push her down the stairs. Or something. She went anyway, taking tentative steps down.
The door clipped shut behind her and she spun. The woman wasn't there, she'd shut the door and left Lyss to her fate. Maybe the lady kept wild pokemon down there, and Lyss was breakfast.
"Ugh!" Lyss shook head hard, hair whipping around her face. "Enough with the dramatics, Lyss," she chastised herself and forced her feet to descend at a more reasonable pace. It didn't stop her from gripping the small stone charm in her pocket though.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she was almost disappointed to find it rather normal looking. No bloodthirsty pokemon or torture devices in sight - and the fact that part of her really expected either of those things said a lot to her state of mind. Movement across the room caught her attention as a man took a step toward her.
"Hello," he greeted, smiling and not looking at all like an axe murderer.
Questions bounced around her head, there was so much she didn't understand. Instead, she managed a meager, "Hi." She grumbled right after that and stood straighter. "I mean, who are you? Why'd you bring me down here?" A pause. "Are you the mayor?"
His smile didn't diminish. "No. I keep telling Grant not to call me that, but he doesn't care to hear me." He waved her toward a chair. "Sit?"
She thought to refuse, but it wouldn't make a difference, so she sat, glad to see him take one that wasn't right beside hers. "But you are the person he meant then. He said you might be able to help me?"
"Well now, that depends on why you were looking for Slate."
She blinked. "How'd you know that?"
"We'll get to that," he said, his voice harder then before. The smile suddenly felt like a mask on him. "Where'd you hear the name?"
Her paranioa didn't feel so far fetched just then, and her hand tightened around the stone in her pocket, her thumb rubbing across it like a tic. "My father in law told me to find him. Back in Cerulean."
"So nobody really knows you're here then?"
That was not the question she wanted to hear, and her hand clenched around the stone. Smoke. She needed Smoke. "The store owner. He sent me here."
"Yes, I think we already went over that." He leaned forward, his eyes boring into hers. "Who's your father in law? His name?"
"Carson Lake."
His entire facial expression changed at the name. The menace vanished as his eyes widened and his mouth opened. "Then you're Lyssandra..."
She didn't have time to ponder the odd turn. They heard the old lady upstairs shout in alarm moments before the door Lyss came through burst open and a form barreled down. Smoke pounced and planted himself in front of Lyss, his fur stood on end and he growled at the man.
"It's alright, Smoke," Lyss said, laying a hand on his back to calm him. "I think so, anyway. How do you know my name though?" she asked the man. "And who're you?"
"A Flareon," he said instead with a lopsided grin. "How ironic.
She frowned. "What-"
"Nevermind, we'll get to that later. As for myself, I am Slate."
"But the man at the store said he didn't know you."
He waved it off. "Can't be too careful. Team Rocket would love to get their hands on me after all. As they would you." Lyss started - how did he know they were after her? "So, Carson finally sent you to me, did he? What brought that on?"
"Team Rocket at my house."
His smile fell. "They found you?"
"Well they did have my ID," she said, a warm flush in her cheeks. "So it wasn't hard."
"But-" he frowned and stopped. "Wait, why'd they have your ID?"
What was the least incriminating way to answer that? "They kinda captured me after I helped some wild pokemon escape from them."
He stared a second before barking a laugh. "This whole thing's just a coincidence then. Can't stop fate I guess."
Now she was lost. "What're you-" Her breath caught and she cut off. Of course. "You know who I am. Who I really am." With his face, she knew she was right. "Did you know my parents too? Who am I?"
"Now hold on, there's time for that later."
"There's time for it now," she insisted. Smoke responded to her tone with a growl. He always was on her side.
The man sighed, "Alright, yes, I know who you are, but no, I didn't know your parents. Not really. What's important though is that Team Rocket may not know who you are yet, but if they find out everything's going to get much worse for us.
"Now, we have some place for you to stay here, where you'll be safe. After that-"
"Stop dodging me!" she snapped. "Who am I?"
"A Waterflower. You're Lyssandra Waterflower."