(I'm sorry, updates have been slow. This is filler I must slog through; only one more chapter left of it, tops. I am so sorry. The Resistance Order's backstory isn't coming out all at once. After all, where's the fun in that? For now, I leave you with a small teaser of what might be.
Bweh heh heh. Oh, I love myself for what I did to Roger. I hope this is a better chapter than the last one, and I promise soon they'll improve. Please be patient.
Two more quick notes; one, you may want to put this on alert, because by another two chapters or so, it's going up to M rating, for drugs and smut and stuff. Meaning no front page alerts for me. So yeah, just a warning. Two, everything is going to be explained further, even the Exempt thing.
I don't own anything, okay?)
Oh, this is awkward. The clothes feel nice, though; they don't constrict as much as my old pants do. I beckon to my Pokemon, and kneel down to Rukario and Becka's level. "Listen to me," I whisper urgently, "I need to be inconspicuous for a while. Please don't come out of your Pokeballs; I know it's hard, but I can't raise suspicion." They don't look thrilled, but they nod. I sigh, and recall the two of them.
I hastily unclip my other Pokeball, and whisper softly, "Lissery, come on out." A sweet little Vulpix phases out, and nuzzles me. I traded Karash for her, and Ripper, I gave to a passing scientist doing field work.
I adjust my hair extensions, and sigh, adjusting my skirt and wedge heels, before saying softly, "Let's go."
Jack's mouth was agape, staring at Amai in utter amazement. "But... they're the good guys! Livvy, Silver, Anna, and Gold fight for them! And Red's a good man!" Amai sighed.
"Let me explain. Once upon a time, the Resistance Order was led by a man known as Steven Kent. His comrade and partner-in-arms was Giovanni. Before he broke away and formed Team Rocket, they were inseparable; they actually worked against Bruce. They led a small band of rebels in through the Pokemon Leagues, but when they failed..." Amai sighed.
"I don't actually know much about this part; it's kept very hush-hush. I think the story goes is that Morgan's other aide, a woman named Bethany Moore perished in the riot, and he gave up on fighting, but... I don't know. What I do know, however, is that after Morgan quit and Bethany died, Morgan took over Kanto, and the Resistance Order sort-of reformed itself to fight against one of the men that founded it." Amai chuckled softly.
"Ironic, no?" Jack sighed.
This was really strange, to be honest. He didn't know if he could really trust them anymore, but... the people he'd met were nice, and he trusted Livvy implicitly. So he'd just have to see.
Gold crashed through the bushes, and looked at the two of them. Shaking his head, he called, "They're here!" Silver and Opal traipsed after them, and Opal frowned.
"Fantastic. Now we just need to find Anna." Amai looked at him oddly. "She's gone?" Opal nodded. "She went off with Akira... we don't know where she is. I saw her go with him down by Rock Tunnel..."
Jack looked up. "Rock Tunnel! That's where Livvy went too!" And with that, he rushed off to find his trainer. Opal sighed, and beckoned. "We should go too." The others nodded, and followed him.
"You could've been hurt." Akira said in an accusatory tone. Anna frowned at him, and kept moving ahead. "You worry too much. I was fine, Akira. I needed some alone time, that's all." Akira grunted in annoyance, and shifted his weight to leap in front of Anna.
"You haven't told them you've got..." Akira trailed off, not wanting to admit that the woman he loved was dying. Anna's eyes hardened, and her temper flared.
Goddamnit, she was dying, but she wasn't a debilitating nimwit! She would and could take care of herself! Why ruin her last year on earth?! She turned to him, and began roaring.
"Look, Akira, I HAVE CANCER! Do you hear me?! CANCER! I AM DYING! I want to enjoy myself before I die! You can't control every one of my movements!" She screamed at him. "You're not my father! You don't own me, you don't know me, and how do I even know you love me?!" She stared at him, breathing heavily, tears in her eyes.
Akira was silent. He slouched to the ground, and then he shook his head. "You... you don't. You just have faith. I just have faith. Please, Anna, don't be like this..." Tears welled in the Gallade's eyes. "I love you, I do. I know you're hurting. But I only want what's best for you. I need you with me... Anna?" He stood up. "Anna?"
His girl had disappeared into Rock Tunnel. Without hesitation, Akira ran right into the belly of the beast, valiantly following Anna into hell.
And so it goes.
I looked around hesitantly, trying to piece together what I'd just heard. Anna? With cancer? It couldn't be... could it? I mean, of all things... though it'd explain the bald head. And Akira... how could she yell at Akira like that?
And, I realized, I'd done the same thing to Jack. Was that really how I sounded? So angry and harsh?
I slid down back into the grass, and closed my eyes. It was a minute before I felt a light weight pressing into my lap. I opened my eyes slowly, and there he was. Jack, in his silvery glory, was sitting on my lap, grinning his foxy grin. I wanted to cry. I picked him up, and he whispered in my ear, "Livvy. It's okay. I forgive you." I shook my head.
"I haven't earned it. Jack, look at me." He gazed into my eyes, and I felt this odd warm sensation, almost like there were bees buzzing around inside me, and they were on fire. His eyes were such a beautiful shade of silver, a shade lighter than his fur. Looking at him quickly, you'd say he lacked an iris, but if you got close, you'd see better...
His eyes were beautiful. I shook my head, and rubbed behind his ears affectionately, pulling my knees up to my chin. "Jack, we need to work together. We have to try to win—together. I want to learn to work with you. We'll do it together. Can we? Should we even try?" I wasn't sure how I could ever do what I was saying. I mean, it was so trying to work with him, but...
He nodded, and pressed a paw on my heart. "I do it for Livvy." He said softly.
And then I knew it was worth trying.
I buried my face in his ruff, and picked up on the memories of his conversation with Amai. I almost pulled back in shock, but what I now knew about Opal, Amai, and Jack altogether would certainly be best kept secret. Saving it for another day, I said,
"Anna and Akira went into Rock Tunnel. We're going in after them."
Gold and Silver finally got their wits together, and called Red. "Why is a raven like—" Silver grabbed the phone. "Shut the fuck up, and I swear to god, quit asking that riddle! NONE OF US KNOW THE FUCKING ANSWER!" He screamed into the receiver, face turning redder than his hair. Gold snickered quietly, while Red huffed angrily.
"Fine. No need to be so rude, grumpy emo boy. Anyways, what's up?" Gold grabbed the phone. "Forest and Livid have gone missing. We're searching by Rock Tunnel, and we wanted to know if Sapphire or Ruby were in the area." There was silence on the other line for a moment.
"If they're really in Rock Tunnel, go after them. Truth be told, we're planning a rendezvous in Celadon, so you're going in the right direction. And if all else fails, just find those two. Now." There was a click on the other line, and Gold made a face.
"He always does that. Eh, well, Opal? You coming?" Opal nodded slowly, Amai at his side. And so we started off into Rock Tunnel, everyone going in at different times, and hopefully, all coming out the same.
I shivered. "Brrr. It's really cold. Santi, come out and warm us up! Grimwald, come out and give us some light too! Lev... uh, come out for comic relief!"
"You're nuts." Santi grunted, whisking his tail around to spread the light. I found a stick, and lit it on his tail, so now I had a makeshift torch as well. I grinned as Grimwald wrapped his tail around my neck. Lev had frozen his hand in an Ice Beam, and was sucking on it like a lolly. I sighed, and went forward.
Christ, it was dreadful in here. By the faint light, I instructed Lev to hold the torch, and I opened my guidebook.
"Oh, Celadon's famous for its' clubs, eh? Well, that's nice." Someone said from over my shoulder. I jumped, and screamed loudly, surprised by the intrusion. I turned around, Grimwald's cheeks flashing—
And there was a girl about my age standing there, in a slim pink skirt with a red vine knotting its' way up the side, and a plain white top, revealing a rather flat chest. I was a bit curious, but let it be. Her hair was a light cornsilk blond, and she grinned self-consciously at me.
"Hi... sorry, did I scare you? My name's... Roxie Hayll. It's nice to meet you, miss...?" I acknowledged the shock with a wave of my hand, and said, "Olivia Kent. Pleasure to meet you, Roxie." I saw her eyes widen instantaneously with shock, but it was gone as quickly as it had come.
"Did you see a girl with a very short fuzz of green on her head and a shiny Gallade pass here at any time?" I asked her, quickly trying to inquire of Anna's whereabouts. She nodded.
"Said she was going to Celadon. I saw her about twenty minutes ago, so she could be about halfway there by now. Would you like it if I guided you through here? I know my way around." I nodded gratefully, and she gestured to her feet.
"This is Lissery, or Liss for short. She's my only Pokemon so far." I nodded at the sleek Vulpix, and started off. Roxie kept up on my heels, and said, "So, you're a trainer, right? It's weird; you share the same surname as our champion, and his son..." I nodded.
"Roger? Yeah, I know him." I didn't tell Roxie he was my half-brother, but I noticed a spark in her eyes. I winced. Roger's start as a trainer had been rather high-profile. The slavering supporters of my dad called it 'a step forward for a new breed of trainer, one completely for Kanto and country.' Bleh and puke.
"Oh, my god! Really! I think he's soooo cute, don't you?!" I blinked. Well, he was cute. I mean, not like that, but I could see girls swooning over him. I nodded.
"He's really nice-looking, I guess. I know him okay enough. I met him in Vermilion, on the S.S. Anne." Roxie grinned.
"Oooh, wow! I wish I'd been there... lucky." She clucked her tongue, and pointed forward. "Look, there's one of the catacombs. Let's go, it's the one that leads to Celadon." I nodded, and said,
"I thought it opened out into Lavender?" Roxie nodded. "It does well enough, but Morgan sent a construction crew in to drill a hole into the mountain, so trainers could get right to Celadon. It's where I was coming from to go to Cerulean. I wanted a Clefairy from Mt. Moon." I nodded, and sighed. Well, I'd wanted to go to Lavender, but I guess it would wait until after I got my fourth badge.
The tunnel was dark, even with Santi and Grimwald, and Lev, the torch-bearer. And he took his duties quite seriously, solemnly carrying the lit wooden stick, marching ahead of all of us. I continued on with Roxie in silence for a bit, before she ventured, "How come you have a Charmeleon? I thought they were illegal?" I shrugged.
Funnily enough, I hadn't been caught for it. Was there a specific reason...?
There was, in fact, but I didn't know it.
Morgan grumbled. His son Roger had skipped out on the rest of the S.S. Anne cruise, fine, but now he was unaccounted for. No one had seen him yet, and Morgan actually was worried by now. But he had other matters to attend to.
"Tristan! Are you paying attention!?" Morgan yelled. His Ivysaur snickered, and whacked him over the head with a Vine Whip, jolting the raven-haired man back to reality. He saluted Morgan, trying to compose himself.
"Right! Sorry, sir. Checking Houndoom and Weavile's progress in the training rooms. What is it?" The Elite Four member asked. Morgan frowned.
"Pull up the file on Trainer Olivia Kent. And then give her Exempt status." Everyone gasped.
Only two trainers had ever, in the past twenty-five years, been given an exempt status; Bethany Moore, and Celeste Trent. Now this girl?
"Sir?" One of the other Elite Four said quietly, a man named Derek Rivers, who right now had an accusatory look in his eyes. "Why her?" Morgan smirked.
"Simple; I want her to challenge me. I see a lot of potential to harm us all in here, and it's better if she makes it through the League, then you all, and then faces me." The third Elite Four member, Collins Furse exclaimed,
"Madness! You want her to beat you?" Morgan frowned.
"Do you honestly think she's going to have a chance? I saw her perform in Vermilion, and while it was good, it was in no way up to snuff. I am eliminating her as a problem; when she inevitably loses, I will be able to kill her, and remove all doubt from that pathetic Resistance Order who obviously supplied her with the Charmander she had when I encountered her." He turned to Tristan.
"Secure the file." He nodded, and typed in a few lines of code. Her picture flashed once, and, "EXEMPT" became stamped across her file. Morgan grinned at the expressions on their faces.
"Impress me, Olivia. Show daddy what you can do, princess." He thought, turning back to the screen.
"Oh, that homosexual in Cell 5? Execute her." He said. The four Elite Four, who had been silent through the entire proceedings, said, "Me, sir?" Morgan shook his head.
"No, not you, Jeremy." The man known as Jeremy Slate faltered. "But..." Morgan turned to Tristan.
"You do it, and now, Tristan." Tristan gulped. "...Yes sir." He stood up, beckoned to Ivysaur, and got up.
With that, he turned away and shut the door with a final click.