-Chapter XXX: Falling for Heartbreak-
-Roy-
"Gooooood morning, you lovebirds!"
Roy opened his eyes, and Galvantula was perched on a branch above him, dangling from a strand of webbing.
"Gah! What?"
Galvantula snickered and said, "Man, you've sure got charm, lemme tell ya! Ha!"
"...What?" Then he looked to his side, and Dawn was lying next to him, pressed up against his body, sound asleep with a small smile on her face. How had he not woken up?
"Uh… Okay, I can explain… ah..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah… That's what they all say!" Galvantula giggled. "I'm gonna tell Alice! Ha-ha!"
Roy sat up with a jolt and glared at him. "Hey, I'm serious!" Perhaps I got a little too carried away with that illusion… Arceus, now I feel horrible.
Dawn's eyes shot open. "Huh? What's wrong?"
He looked at her and remained as calm as possible. "Why were you so close to me...?"
"Uh…" her cheeks turned a bright shade of red, and he shook his head. "Okay… Well, when you do that, it sends the wrong message to others."
"Yeah, others like me." Galvantula agreed. "I came out here to find you scrubs after we couldn't find you anywhere else, and guess what I see? I see you two practically spooning in the forest! You know how lucky you are that I found you, and not someone else?"
Dawn closed her eyes and began levitating away in a hurry. "Let's get back."
Roy stared at her as she drifted off, and Galvantula whistled as she floated away. "Okay, don't be mad at me. If it were anyone else from either party, it would've been way worse. Trust me, I'm like the most easygoing one here. Especially compared to Briar, Basileus and Celebi."
Roy sighed and said, "Galvantula… It's a one-sided feeling. She feels attracted to me as more than a friend, but I can't say the same. But it makes me sad, knowing that I will never feel anything more for her than strong friendship."
"Oh, I gotchu. You don't know how to break it to her, huh?"
"Yes… I don't know how. She isn't receptive to my implied messages, even though she can read minds." And I let her kiss me in her dream… Which is not good. That totally gave her the wrong message.
"Meh. I can read minds too. Just not the same way she can. I can tell you that it only helps so much. She's crazy into you, though."
"But… I don't know why! I'm literally just being nice and treating her like she's normal!"
Galvantula smiled and said, "Okay, I'm not gonna read your mind to get what you mean by that. But yeah, I think that's why. Nobody else treats her the way you do. She ain't one of those shallow girls that just likes money and looks."
"So… what, I should stop being nice to her?"
"Not exactly. You're involuntarily doing things that lead her on, such as giving her your cape. That was a big move."
"She was cold."
"Pfft, yeah, she did that herself. Icy wind, brah."
"What? Why?"
"Seriously? Did you not get- Alright, I'll explain it slowly. She used icy wind. She made it cold outside. She wanted you to give her your cape, or get close to her, because she likes you. Make sense yet?"
"Yes… But I made a fire for the cold. Why would she go through all the extra effort, knowing that I don't feel the same way?"
"Okay, now you're just being redundant. We can't read emotions like Alice. We read minds. We can get direct thoughts, images and sounds. Aside from that… Nothing's really obvious."
"So she doesn't know if I like her or not?"
"She thought you did. But now… I don't know. I think she gets it now."
"Good." Roy sighed and shook his head. "I can't allow her to be heartbroken because of me." Galvantula pat his back and landed on the ground next to him. "Don't worry about it, bruh. We've all had girl problems."
"Really? Even you and Tyranitar?"
"Of course! T's like the cool guy that everyone wants to get with, and I'm his funny, smaller friend that gets all the rebounds!"
"I don't get it."
"Ladies love Tyranitar. I can't tell you how many of the Temporal Guardians have tried to get with him! Well… Actually, the only girls are Celebi, Lapras, Briar, Amber and Emm… wait a minute… I'm not supposed to talk about the other two. But they're smokin', lemme tell you!" Then he waved his arm in a dismissive gesture. "Ah, enough about girls. We're leaving for Treasure Town. That's why I came over here."
Roy nodded and floated upwards. "Alright. Time to find Valerie."
-Alice-
"Alright, everyone! I found them!" Galvantula swung out of the forest and landed on the ground, accompanied by Roy and Dawn. As soon as Alice looked at Dawn, she felt an immense wave of grief wash over her. She sat down to avoid falling over from the headache. She shook her head clear and focused on Dawn.
Where did she get that coat…? Alice was intrigued by the fancy coloration of the piece of cloth she had draped across her shoulders.
Now now! Alice scolded herself and honed her attention. Everyone had begun asking Roy and Dawn where they went. Alice knew that Vincent wouldn't be able to read either of their minds. Dawn obviously had a psychic block up, and Roy was immune to mind reader. While Roy was pretty much the same as always, except for a single spark of shame, Dawn was an entire maelstrom of negative emotion.
Not good. Alice sighed and thought to herself. Dawn knows I can read emotions. If I confront her now about anything that happened, she'll block me out entirely.
Then she looked between the two, reading her body language, until she nearly gasped out loud. Oh! Dawn… I'm so sorry… Heartbreak is the worst… Roy, you so led her on, didn't you?!
She found herself glaring at Roy in spite of herself. She knew it wasn't his fault for not being able to love anyone the way they did. But it still made her angry to see anyone go through the same things she did. Especially another girl.
Oh, stop with your staring! Even I can sense it! Roy said with telepathy. Alice flinched, but didn't reply. After Roy and Dawn both got an earful from Connor, Briar, and Vulcan alike, Alice concluded that neither of them told anyone what had actually happened. And Galvantula knew what it was. But she knew he wouldn't say anything either, so she just pondered what was wrong.
-Connor-
They had been walking in silence for about half an hour before Connor said, "So… why can't we just teleport?"
"Vincent's not strong enough to teleport this many pokémon, and I'm kind of… weakened right now." Dawn replied somewhat aggressively.
"Weakened? How?"
"When my emotions get all out of whack, it affects my psychic powers."
Connor sighed and sunk his shoulders. "Alright."
It obviously had something to do with Roy. He knew that Dawn liked the ghost-type, but… If Roy didn't like her back, which is what he's been claiming all this time...
She's probably mad that he doesn't like her back.
As they passed a familiar landmark, a trio of trees that intertwined like one enormous vine cluster, Connor called out just loud enough for the rest of the group to hear. "We're twenty minutes away from Treasure Town!"
"Alright!" Vincent did a fist-pump in the air. "We're almost home!"
"Remember," Briar immediately replied, "We aren't going in to Treasure Town. The Mafia more than likely has scouts or spies posted everywhere. We will head straight into Wigglytuff's guild. And Vincent, you will transform into another pokémon. The Police Force thinks you are dead, so if they see you, that will arouse suspicion."
"What? That's not fair!"
"Deal with it." Aaron spoke up. "Life isn't fair. The world's a mean and cruel place. It'll put you on your knees at every chance it gets. But it's not about how many times you're hit. It's how many times you can get up and keep moving forward. That's how you claim victory over bad pokémon like the ones after us."
"Whoa, where did that come from?" Vincent jested. "I was joking."
Aaron shrugged and picked up his pace until he was up front with Connor and Amber. Connor smiled and said, "Well… We're almost there… It feels like we've been away a lifetime. But it's only been a week and a half, if that."
Aaron shrugged. "I've never been. It'll be a nice change of pace."
"A change of pace from what? We're not staying. We can't."
"Really? Why can't I? There's no way they know I'm with you guys!"
"They know a lot more than we think they know. They probably know we're on our way to Treasure Town right now, and are probably suspecting that we're gonna head to Wigglytuff's Guild." Connor said.
"Then why are we going?"
"Because we need his help. And they can help us find Valerie. It'll help Roy combat that Chandelure, and it'll give us someone else on our potential ally list!"
"I agree with that statement," Leroy said as he glided just over their heads. "Aaron, you always did have a hard time grasping the big picture."
"Oh, shut it, you..." Aaron stopped his insult mid-sentence.
"You what?" Leroy pressed
Aaron crossed his arms and scowled. "Nothing."
After that, they all walked in relative silence until they reached the dirt path that marked the crossroad leading away from Treasure Town. He could see Wigglytuff's guild perched atop the highest hill, with the morning sun rising behind them reflecting off of its glossy finish.
He began jogging and smiling at the familiar sight. "Come on! We're almost there!"
They all moved swiftly to keep up with him, and maybe thirty yards before they reached the intersection, they heard a shout. *Halt!*
Magnezone floated in front of them, making them all stop in their tracks. Vincent had apparently transformed into a Sawk while they weren't looking, because when Connor looked back, the tall, slender, blue pokémon was standing in the midst of the group.
*Zzzt! Connor, leader of Team Firestorm, you, Vincent and Rose are under arrest for freeing a ten star rank outlaw from the maximum security prison! Anything you say can and will be used against you in the jurisdiction of the law. Zzzt!*
"Whoa, what?!" Connor tried to move backwards, but three Magneton floated around him and surrounded him with an electromagnetic barrier. Somehow, the electricity still hurt him in spite of his ground typing. He stood in the center and stared incredulously at the Chief of Police. "What are you talking about?!"
*Zzzt! Do not pretend that you don't know. Zzzt! You freed Soulburner after using one of my officers to gain access! Zzzt!*
"No I didn't! Are you kidding me?!"
*Zzzt! It pains me to do this, Connor… Your team has done more for us than any other team in history. But rules are rules, and no pokémon is exempt from the law. Zzzt!*
"Hey, I can tell you, Magnezone, that he's been with us for the past week! We can all say that!" Vulcan growled as he stepped forward. "You will not take him away from us!"
*Zzzt! Vulcan, you know the law. Zzzt! If you interfere with an apprehension, then you will be taken into custody as well! Zzzt!*
"Magnezone, you're not listening! He was with us!"
*Zzzt! Chief, Vincent and Rose are not here! Zzzt!* A Magnemite floated over their heads, and Magnezone sighed, a metallic, echoing noise resonating through the air.
*Zzzt! I apologize Team Firestorm, but according to the rules set in place by the original chief of police… I am required to hereby strip your leader of Exploration Team Status, and as such, every member of Team Firestorm not directly involved will be sent back to their dungeons of Origin on charge of guilt by association. Zzzt!*
His magnets began rotating, and all of their badges were drawn off of their skin, directly to him. As soon as that happened, Alice asked, "Guilty by association? What does that even mean?!"
Aaron scowled and said, "It means that we're under arrest too. They think we knew that Connor was going to do that. And since we didn't tell anyone… We're guilty for not stopping a crime we knew was happening."
"That's so stupid!"
"That's the way laws work." Aaron sighed and hung his head low.
*Zzzt! We have acquired proof that your leader, along with Vincent and Rose, have used one of my officers to gain access to a Ten Star rank outlaw containment facility, then proceeded to free Soulburner, a vicious Chandelure, from our custody! Zzzt!*
"That's insane! Why would we do that?!"
*Zzzt! I do not know. Zzzt! However, because it is you, Connor... I will show you the proof. Zzzt!*
One of the Magneton's faces glowed white, and it cast a picture onto a sheet of metal that Magnezone constructed out of a metal burst attack. It was… him. A Swampert, the spitting image of himself.
"What…?" Connor was so surprised that he couldn't find the right words to say.
Then the picture started moving. Everyone's eyes widened as a video played forth, with audio and everything.
*Zzzt! Connor! Zzzt! What brings you here? Zzzt!*
"Soulburner, a Chandelure recently detained by team blackmist, attacked some of my team members. I wish to speak with him." he replied.
*Zzzt! I cannot allow that! He is a ten star rank criminal, arrested for countless murders and escaping arrest on multiple occasions!"
"With all due respect, officer Magneton, how many ten star rank outlaws are there?"
*Zzzt! There are seven that we know of. He is one, and only three were ever successfully captured. The rest have gone into hiding, using other criminals to do their bidding. Zzzt!*
"...Ah. What were their names? I could probably apprehend them with my team."
The Magneton shook its body. *Zzzt! That is classified. Zzzt! Only the chief of police, Magnezone, can give away such information. Zzzt!* Then it looked around for a few seconds.
*Zzzt! Where is Vulcan? Zzzt! As I recall, you two are normally inseparable. And wasn't Sharpedo Bluff the site of a massive explosion? Zzzt!*
"Y-yes… Vulcan is healing up in a secret location. We are currently being hunted down by a mysterious group of pokémon, and I believe that Soulburner is affiliated with them."
*...Zzzt! Very well! I will allow you access. But only for a little bit. And only because it's you, Connor! Zzzt!*
It turned around and stared right at Vincent and Rose, who both suddenly appeared. *Zzzt! When did Vincent arrive? And Rose? Zzzt!*
Connor watched in silence, his jaw hanging open the entire time. This wasn't him! But… that was his voice! There's no mistaking it!
No, but Rose… She's dead! That's not us!
"Officer Magnezone, that's not us!"
*Zzzt! Do you have any solid evidence against this motion picture? Zzzt!*
"It's impossible for that to be us, because Rose is dead!"
Magnezone's eyes widened, but he shook his head in defiance. *Zzzt! I cannot deny the evidence presented before me! This is taken directly from the memory of one of the officers, and it is impossible to create illusions inside of my containment facility! Rose is not present, so that forces me to presume that she is simply in hiding, and you are covering for her, as well as Vincent! Zzzt!*
The video moved at an accelerated pace, until he saw himself turn around in the blink of an eye and use power-up punch on the Magneton. Then Vincent slammed it into the ground with a giant paint fist while Rose snaked through the corridor and used Flamethrower on the officers that floated down the hallway.
"Hurry!" Fake Connor said to Vincent.
Then the video jumped forward to one of the cells being opened by Vincent. A Chandelure floated out of the cell and used inferno, a massive wave of indigo fire washing over everything. Then the video went dark.
*Zzzt! This is the evidence that is presented against you. As such, until we can find evidence to prove your innocence, you are under arrest, and Vincent and Rose are now wanted outlaws! Zzzt!*
Their detached badges began glowing, and one by one, every one of his team members was enveloped in a translucent blue sphere. Atlas gasped and used focus punch to try and break the orb, but his fist slid down the inside of the sphere without so much as a scratch, almost as if it was coated in grease soaked in oil. Vulcan used inferno, but the sphere held fast, the flames doing nothing but swirling inside of the orb. Then, all at once, they were lifted into the sky. Vulcan first, then Atlas, then Vincent… One by one, with Dawn and Aaron vanishing last, but Leroy remained on the ground, since he didn't have a badge, as did the rest of the Insurgo.
Connor roared and mega evolved, breaking apart the electromagnetic barrier. "STOP!"
He leapt into the air with ancient power and slammed the boulders into the spheres, but they just bounced off harmlessly. Then the orbs picked up speed, rising even faster, until they vanished in a flash of light. He fell to the ground from a hundred feet up, his anguish at losing his team making him lose control over the stone. He hit the ground with sickening force, and he looked up to see the Insurgo staring at him with tears in their eyes. All except Basileus and Briar.
Grovyle knelt on one knee and let a single tear fall. "Connor… We will get you out. ...I'm sorry."
Then everything went dark.
Welp... Here's the bad thing you guys have probably been expecting to happen... They're all separated now.
Also, Roy's been kind of playing Dawn... Not cool at all. So what did you guys think of this chapter? Was it good? Did it make you gasp in disbelief and reread the passage a couple times, then hate me for making it so sad? Let me know! As always, I hope you guys enjoyed reading! If you have any questions, comments, concerns or theories about what might happen, feel free to leave them in the form of a review or PM!
The next and final chapter of the Blazing Hearts will be released in a week, solely for the purpose of a cliffhanger, because I love you guys. :P So yeah, don't hate me, just follow me for updates about the next story! I will see you all in a week! Much Love!
-PL