"This plan isn't going to work. I'm not letting you go through with this!"
"Aiden, shut up. As of right now, we are engaged. Once we see what Grant wants, we can plan accordingly. We have to make him think we are going through with his plan." I ordered angrily. This plan is going to work. Grant will not get away with this.
The two of us walked down the hallways in silence, and eerie feeling looming over our shoulders. After what seemed like an eternity of walking, we arrived to Grant's office. Aiden knocked twice and took a step back, his hands behind his back. The door unlocked and we stepped in. "Leader." Aiden saluted. I grumbled to myself, rolling my eyes slightly. "You wanted to see us?"
Grant smiled evilly. "First things first. Aiden, did you complete your task?" Task? That's what a proposal is to him? A simple step? What a douche. Aiden nodded. "Excellent! Sadly there is no time for a wedding, of course. Your name is no longer Summer Minami. You will take on the name Holmes from now on. Is that understood?" I nodded. "Good. You are to treat him with all the respect in the world. He is now your lifeline. What he says goes. If you disobey him, there will be severe consequences. You are to be a good wife. Your mother may still be here if she had learned her lesson." My eyes widened. I almost can't believe he said that. Anger suddenly filled my entire being. As if being forced into marriage wasn't pushing it. But to have my deceased Mother insulted is crossing the line.
"Don't you dare speak of her like that in my presence! She took care of me and did the best she could to protect me from you! You're nothing but-" Aiden took hold of my hand, giving it a warning squeeze.
With all my will power, I shut my mouth. "Bite your tongue, girl." Grant growled. "Now for the real reason I called the two of you here. I need a raid to be done. There is a bank in town and we need money to fund an upcoming project. The two of you need to go and raid the bank. You will be able to choose the team you wish to accompany you. Do not get discovered. You will be going in a few hours when the bank closes. I expect perfection. Dismissed." He pushed us out the door, slamming it shut.
Aiden sighed, leaning his back against the wall. "I can't believe you agreed to this.. Sooner or later, he is going to notice something is up and our plan is going to backfire." He stated negatively. I scoffed.
"Gee, Negative Nelly. Why don't you shut up and go get Porter and Thorne." I growled, beginning to make my way to the front entrance.
"Porter and Thorne? Why them?"
"Cause they are the only two recruits I trust."
A Noctowl hooted in the tree above use. Probably searching for some Rattata or other small Pokemon to snack on. Aiden waked in front on me while Mablyn and Flynn followed behind. A belt strung with sinister knives hung loosely around my waist. I decided to keep the bow and arrow behind for this mission. One death weapon is enough. Aiden insisted he didn't need a weapon. That his hands were deadly enough. Yea, right. I could take him. Mablyn and Flynn were given small pocket knives.
"There. Let's move while the coast is clear." Aiden swiftly jogged to the back of the bank. The three of us followed in suit. The bank was rather small, seeing as it was only one story. Windows lined the front with only a single window in the back. Aiden began cutting into the window with some strange looking knife. Somehow, it was able to cut through the window without shattering it.
Suddenly, the feeling of being watched loomed over me. A strange pounding in my head set in. I turned to face the pitch black woods, trying to peer through. Something is definitely wrong. "Summer. You coming?" Aiden whispered. I nodded, hopping in through the hole in the middle of the window. "Don't make any loud movements or noises. There are sound detectors all over. The technicians back at base were able to disconnect the security cameras. Lets get what we need, and get outta here." Aiden walked to the vault with Thorne and Porter, typing in a series of pass codes.
The pounding in my head intensified. I nearly yelped out in pain. "You know what you're doing is wrong, yes?" A small, almost child-like, voice asked in my head. I fell to the ground startled, going unnoticed by the three. What the fuck is going on? "I can tell you know it isn't right. I can also sense you are doing this against your will. Why?" Who is talking in my head?!
Out of no where, a Kirlia appeared right in front of me. She continued to speak in my mind. "I'm quite impressed you can understand me. Your communicative skills surpass any human I've come across." Skills? You say that as if there are levels. "Now that you've come to understand your situation and the powers you actually have, they will continue to develop and adapt to your environment and behavior. Ultimately meaning you can do absolutely anything."
Am I really talking to a Pokemon in my head right now? "Yes. Now why are you allowing this to happen?" I have no control over it. If I don't cooperate, thousands of innocent lives will be lost. "You are in quite the predicament. Perhaps-" What's wrong?
The Kirlia's eyes widened as she looked around frantically. "The police have surrounded the building." Almost on cue, bright lights flashed in through the windows, blinding us. Aiden cursed, stuffing the last of the money into a bag. "Be careful, Summer. I sense that you are destined to do many great things, but you will face many hardships. An upcoming event may be the breaking point for you." Why are you helping me? "With the power Celebi has bestowed upon you, you are able to do practically anything. If you were in my position, wouldn't you do all you could to make sure it was used for good?"
Kirlia smiled lightly before slowly disappearing. Aiden yanked me to my feet by my arm. He pressed a small button on some strange device. "Think you can handle the Arcanine?"
"What the hell do you propose I do? Destroy the town? Absolutely not." I growled. What has gotten into him lately? This is not like him at all.
He opened his mouth to say something but the pounding down of the door interrupted him. Police officers rushed in. "Thorne, Porter! Out the back now! Wait here for Arcanine and lead them away from the headquarters." Why do I always have to do the dirty work? Regardless, I nodded my head. Before I could process it, Aiden cradled both my cheeks and pressed his lips to mine. As quickly as it happened, it ended. He ran out the back with the other two. My heart pounded in my chest. From what, I'm not sure.
"We have the building surrounded! There is no where to run so surrender now!" One of the officers yelled. I began to feel an aura of sorts rapidly approaching. Suddenly, Arcanine burst through the large glass window. Glass debris flew everywhere, some scrapping me. Officers scrambled everywhere, trying to avoid the large Pokemon. I ran to him, hopping onto his back. Arcanine ran back outside but was startled by all the bright lights and people. He roared loudly, nearly bucking me off.
I rested my hands on his back. "Relax. I'll protect you." My voice was calm and smooth. He instantly calmed down and sprinted into the woods the opposite direction of headquarters. Once we lose the Police, we will circle back around.
After a mere twenty minutes, Arcanine was able to lose the officers. He circled back around and we finally arrived back at headquarters. Grunts guarding the front rushed over to us. I dismounted Arcanine and walked past them. "Take care of him and make sure he is well fed and groomed. He did extremely well tonight." The both did as told.
I walked into the building and made my way to the lounge. The T.V. was on but I paid no attention to it. Instead, I sat on the couch, trying to ignore my rib tweaking and the constant throbbing in my leg. Just as I almost drifted off to sleep, Aiden burst through the doors. He pulled me off the couch and into his arms. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "I've been so on edge after finding out what Grant is capable of doing. I just care so much about you and I don't want anything bad to happen to you." He separated us slightly, his arms still wrapped around me. I opened my mouth to say something but a loud warning sound went off on the T.V.
A woman appeared on the screen. "This is an emergency telecast. At eleven twenty nine tonight, a robbery took place at a local bank. The crime organization 'Team Explosion' are the suspected culprits. News casters on the scene as the robbery took place were able to snap this photo of one of the suspects." The screen went black for a second and a photo of a girl on an Arcanine popped up. Fear blazed through her eyes as she gripped onto the Pokemon's back. Semi-dark circles littered the bottom of her eyes. Her skin was a sickly pale. As I looked at her, I realized that girl, is me. "The young girl featured in this photo is thought to be Summer Minami. A student at The Ranger School here in Almia. She went missing around three weeks ago and has yet to be found. Summer is the daughter of Team Explosion's leader, Grant Minami. Though the picture is blurry, police computer technology was able to identify features from the girl and match them to Grant and they have come out with a match. If anyone comes into contact with a Team Explosion member or Ms. Minami, please call your local police station. We will do our best to keep everyone updated." The television went dark.
"Y-you were spotted.." Aiden whispered. He looked to me, almost in disbelief. My breathing got heavy as he took a step away from me. Big deal? They knew I was related to Grant and that I was missing. "You don't understand. Grant doesn't tolerate-"
The door burst open, the knob punching a hole in the wall. Grant stormed in, making a beeline to me. I gasped as he grabbed my neck and smashed me to the ground. "You idiot. Do you realize what you've done!?" He yelled. I gasped for breath, nearly choking, when he let go. "You two, grab her." He instructed the two grunts at the door. They both grabbed either of my arms and dragged me behind Grant. My struggles were futile. We finally gathered in the chambers. Every single Team Explosion member was there, all in a circle around me. For some odd reason I felt too weak to move. My legs wouldn't support me even if I tried to stand. Instead, I chose to kneel on both knees, slumped over. Grant's voice rose over the idle chatter. "Attention. All of you know of the news cast that was just televised region wide. All of you also know what happens to members who are caught while on missions." An uneasy silence spread through the room, bearing down on me like a hundred bags of bricks. "But seeing as Lieutenant Holmes has something very special about her, we can't go through with that." My eyes found Aiden. It looked as if a wave of relief washed over him. "Regardless, there still must be a punishment." Grant paused. "General Holmes!" He called. "If you would please join me." He swallowed hard, making his way to Grant.
"Sir?" He asked dryly. Grant whispered something in his ear. Aiden's face went pale. He began shaking his head. "I-I won't."
Grant grit his teeth. "Do it, or so help me gods I will kill her right now!" He shrieked. Aiden glared him straight in the eyes, taking the black object from Grant's hands. Aiden turned to me, revealing the whip in his hands. My heart beat sped up rapidly as I began to crawl away. "Thorne! Porter! Hold her down!"
They both hesitated but obliged, grabbing either of my arms and holding me in place. They whispered apologies, not able to look me in the eyes. "Aiden please don't do this." I begged, tears threatening to spill over.
"How about twenty lashes? It's nothing new, right, Summer? Ohh, I almost forgot to mention. Make sure to congratulate the newlyweds." Grant cooed. I could hear the leather squeak against Aiden's grip. The anticipation made me shudder. After a long pause, Grant cut in quickly. "Aiden, you know what to do."
With hesitation, I felt Aiden reach and grab a knife off my belt. He split my uniform down the middle, exposing my scarred back for all to view. Goosebumps littered the cold blade's trail. "I'm sorry.." He choked out.
"Aiden, please.. no." I cried. He grunted softly. The ripping pain of the whip against my bare flesh elicited an agonizing scream from me. Sweat rolled down my forehead. The searing pain of another lash tore through my body, crippling every nerve end. The room was completely silent, save the cracking of the whip, and my screams of pain. Black dots began to litter my vision as the next lash struck. I could feel the warm red liquid begin to flow easily down my back, dripping to the floor. Everything went completely black.
Ben's P.O.V.
I stared at the television set, my mouth slightly ajar. I can't believe what I just saw. She.. she is alive. And she is in trouble.
Alright so kinda got graphic-ish but regardless, I hope everyone enjoyed. -A