Hello guys, it's been four months since my last update. I wanted to rest for a while, but now that I'm back I am starting to write the story once more. I am happy to announce that 50,000 Volt's 1st anniversary is here! (November 30th) I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter!
Several hundred miles away from Viridian City, in the heart of the Kanto region, lays the impressive capital known as Celadon City. With several very small unnamed towns scattered nearby and an expressway littered with countless cars, it is one of the busiest places to be: which is bad news for Km and the still-unconscious Ansel 'Cy' Jefferson.
After driving for hours parallel to the vast Viridian forest and then ending up on route 16 northbound, Km has finally reached her destination just as the clock strikes twelve.
"Move out of the way!" She honks the jeep's horn, almost hitting a car ahead of her.
Km drives through the business district, which is surrounded by very tall skyscrapers. Most are tall while some are as small as the trees in the Viridian Forest but all of them have one thing in common: they shine with the colors of the rainbow every night. Billboards on top of several buildings advertise products for Humans and Pokémon alike, and some even promote government sponsored advertisements in Japanese letters.
Report any suspicious activity to your local station: protect yourself, protect your city.
Other than that, the entire city is eco-friendly: with most of the buildings supplying their own energy and gardens from inside their infrastructure.
Km stops the car at one particular building in the northernmost section of the city that is not eco-friendly and is anything but friendly: the building is one of the oldest and is actually an apartment located in one of the poorest places in the city. She looks at the apartment number: 129. Km turns off the engine and grabs Cy, who is smaller than her. She carries him toward the entrance. As she climbs the steps, she looks toward Cy's leg: it is discolored and most likely infected. Km sets him down on the ground and grabs his bag and takes out a card key. She inserts the card key inside a card reader next to the door and presses four buttons on its number pad. The door is unlocked and the duo enters. Once Inside the building, Km sees what she hasn't seen in weeks: ironically a clean, polished floor. She carries Cy across several seemingly endless hallways until she arrives at an elevator. Km presses a button on the wall and soon after the elevator door opens and she takes Cy inside. After pressing the 4th button on the panel, they arrive on the fourth floor and make it down another hallway before Km stops at a particular door labeled, 404. She knocks repeatedly and forcefully on the door and soon after it opens slowly to reveal a frail-looking woman.
"Mrs. Catherlyn…"
The woman can only see Km and a person's legs, "Leila…what do you want…didn't I tell you to never come back here-" Km, with a serious expression, moves aside and reveals an unconscious Cy. The woman behind the door panics, "Ansel!"
…
Chapter twenty-seven: Celadon City
Km sits on a chair beside a table: the family table…or at least it was before Cy left on his last visit two years ago. Cy is now laying on the couch, still unconscious with a wet towel on his forehead. She stares at Cy and does not pay attention to the lady talking to her from up close.
"Leila, I deserve an explanation...I'm waiting."
"Don't call me that…you know I hate my name." Km says.
"I'm…waiting."
Km plucks her lips together in annoyance before looking up at the woman, "We got in trouble."
"Well you're in serious trouble now." Cy's mother retorts, "What happened."
"Team Rocket turned on us and we ran away...and we got hurt." Km explains, pointing at Cy.
"Tell me everything."
"Everything…" Km retorts.
"Everything…every little bit of detail that caused my son's injury."
"Why does it matter? It already happened…why aren't you calling a doctor to help with his leg?" Km crosses her eyebrows in anger, pointing towards the unconscious Cy.
"I did…and I've called the authorities."
Km stands up, "You what!?"
"If you won't tell me what happened, then maybe you will tell it to the court."
"You stupid-" Km moves closer towards the older woman, threatening to attack at any given moment.
"Sit down." Cy's mother demands, calling in a household needlebot inside the living room with a remote: Km stops moving toward her, "You bitch…do you realize what this means…"
"What I've realized is that you will be locked away in a cell for years to come, Leila."
"Not just me you swine…your son as well…we're both Team Rocket members remember! The region will lock both of us away no matter what you say to help your son!"
The needlebot moves closer as Mrs. Catherlyn walks toward her son, "By the time I found out what Team Rocket really was I was frightened but it was too late…my son was now a part of a criminal organization…and he refused to come home after I begged him too…claimed that he made friends for the first time In his life…yet the only friend he has ever told us about was you…you're no friend…you've turned my son into a criminal…If he will be in court…I'll say you caused him-"
"I don't need to hear this." Km says to herself.
Km unleashes a fire ball toward the needlebot and destroys it: setting the floor on fire when its remains hit the ground. Mrs. Catherlyn looks back and screams in fear as Km walks closer to her: extinguishing the fire on the floor with her boots. She then extinguishes the fire on her hands. Mrs. Catherlyn protects Cy with her body and cries, "Stay away from my son!" Km pushes her out of the way and picks up Cy from the couch. Soon after the door to 404 bursts open as Km runs out with Cy. She heads down the hallway as the woman comes out and points toward the Ex-Team Rocket, "Please help me, she's taking my son away!" People from adjacent rooms come out and look in confusion as Km kicks open the door to the stairs: rushing down them as she hears police sirens outside the window. After reaching the 1st floor, Km walks down the same hallways before she stumbles upon several policemen, they stare for moments before one of them shouts, "Stop!"
Km turns the other way, still holding Cy and runs for the other exit on the other side of the building.
"Stop!" The policemen draw their tasers as they follow behind the fugitives. Km turns back and, using one hand, creates a wall of fire to prevent the officers from following, but one of them fires their taser and almost strikes Km's back as she continues running away. After a few moments, Km kicks yet another door and makes it outside, but she has to make it to the other side in order to get to the jeep. She runs through an alleyway adjacent to the apartments and makes it there: she uses her powers to burn a wooden fence and she walks through them: she is then stopped by two police cars and several policemen, "It's over, drop your friend and put your hands on your head!"
Km does so and she does put her hands above: she uses them to create a large fire wave that causes the policemen to scatter. As fire consumes the police cars, Km picks up Cy and runs to the jeep while the policemen open fire with live ammunition. Soon after, one of the cars explodes as the other explodes as well: this makes several policemen fly into the air and hit the pavement hard. Km quickly puts Cy on the back seat and jumps toward the front seat to start the car. She starts the car and crashes what's left of the fence to escape. She drives down the abandoned alleyway.
"Cy's mom was always delusional…" Km avoids pedestrians and traffic as she thinks of an alternate location, "Well…I had a plan B…I just hope he's still at his office…" Km continues to drive through the city as police cars separate to find the fugitives.
…
Sometime later, Km arrives at an abandoned auto shop under a high-tech bridge near the largest river in the city: she parks the jeep and quickly knocks on the door as she waits for it to be opened.
"Come on damn it, open up…" Km can hear sirens blaring throughout the city; she hears an even louder noise: someone unlocks the door and opens it. A man comes out: he is a tall slim man who looks down at the girl in surprise.
"Leila…what are you doing here…shouldn't you be at Viridian City?" He asks. Km suddenly hugs the man for several moments before she breaks the hug and looks at him with a stern expression, "Michael, I need a favor…it's a friend…he needs help. His leg is bad." Km walks toward the jeep while Michael closes the door behind him and locks it: he follows the female Grunt towards Cy. She gestures toward Cy as the man stops next to the jeep beside Km. He inspects the twenty year old's leg for a minute and then turns toward Km, "…Sis…bring him inside, hurry…afterwards park your jeep inside the garage." Km nods at her brother, "Thanks bro."
Several minutes later, Km has placed the unconscious Cy on another couch while Michael closed the door to the auto shop and the garage: locking them securely. When Michael appears again he laughs, "So, the authorities finally caught on huh?"
"I've got something else to worry about right now."
"Right, I'll see what I can do."
After ten minutes of checking Cy's leg once more with several instruments, Km is leaning against the wall next to a window, watching for any signs of police officers as the sirens continue to be heard outside.
Michael stands up and walks toward Km, "Thank goodness you brought him here because I have bad news…he has a bone fracture but fortunately he has no infection. His injury was caused by a traumatic force no doubt…what happened?"
"He told me that he fell off a balcony and several rocks fell on him." Km explains.
"Why didn't you take him to a medical outpost?"
"Well…3C 273 was out of the question…we couldn't go there because it's been decommissioned…" Km manages to grin slightly to herself for saying that, "Besides, we were near town when it happened so I figured we would go see you instead."
The man raises an eyebrow after she explained her reason and he stares with confusion, "I see and…what's his name?"
"Cy."
Silence fills the room for several seconds before Km crosses her legs after sitting down, she points her finger at the discoloration on Cy's leg, and asks, "If that's not an infection then what's going on with his leg?"
"Swelling, it is normal. It's a closed fracture which means that his bone has not broken through the skin. He's going to need a cast."
"Wonderful…" Km retorts with sarcasm, "That'll slow us down for sure."
"Just be sure that he doesn't do anything stupid for the next month or so." Michael retorts as he walks into a room and grabs several supplies. He brings them into the room and places them on the ground next to Cy and then he turns to Km and asks, "Would you like anything to drink?"
Km stares at Cy, not paying attention to Michael until he raises his voice a little louder than before, "Leila." Her concentration is broken and she looks at him and makes a small smile, "Yes?"
"Would you like a drink…maybe a glass of water?"
"No, I'm fine…and please stop calling me Leila…it's Km now."
"…alright K-M, just let me know if you need anything." He teases her.
After a few more minutes, Michael has placed a cast around Cy's injured leg. He wipes the sweat off his forehead with his arm and looks back at Km, "Done, he should be fine now. Whatever you kids were doing to get Pokémon from people, don't do it the same way again."
"Don't worry…we won't plan on going anywhere with high cliffs again anytime soon." Km retorts, she raises her head, "So…what do I owe you?"
"This is a freebee, don't worry about it."
Km runs to hold her brother tightly: she is engulfed by his arms as they hug as most siblings do, "I missed you so much this past year…"
"Well I won't be going back Km…you know I don't want to."
"Of course I know…I don't want to either…" Km says the last part to herself without letting Michael hear her.
Michael moves away from Km to look down at her, "You know…you could stay here for a while if that's alright with you?"
"That would be great."
…
An hour passes by and Michael is sitting down in another room reading a book while Km watches over Cy. Finally, Km can sense movement from the young adult. She stands up from her chair and rushes toward him happily: he opens his eyes and becomes frightened. He moves about until Km calms him down, "Calm down Cy. It's okay. We're far away from Team Rocket…calm down."
Through rapid breaths, Cy asks, "Where are we Km?"
"Celadon City, hiding from the cops."
"Celadon City…jeez…you drove us all the way to the Capitol?"
"It wasn't easy." Km retorts.
Michael heard the groans and loud bangs on the wall next door and rushed to the duo and asks, "Everything alright?"
"It's fine." She tells her brother. She turns back to Cy and says, "Cy, this is Michael, my brother."
"Your brother...this is your brother?" He looked up toward the man who fixed his leg to say this.
"Cy, how are you feeling?" Km asks.
"Like shit." He moves the blankets covering his legs and sees the cast on his leg, "Oh…hell no."
"Sorry Cy…it's the only way to fix you." She adds.
"Well that's just great…" Cy tries to place his feet on the floor and after he does he feels pain, "So you helped with my leg?"
"That's correct." Michael simply says.
"Thanks."
…
The trio sits down at a table to have a discussion: all three are now drinking beverages provided by Michael despite Km saying no earlier. Michael had decided to play some background music: "Knights in White Satin by The Moody Blues" plays from the vintage radio which he has on a counter against the wall. A dim light hangs above them and torn curtains by the windows are closed.
"So what do we do now?" Km asks after tasting the beverage handed to her. This is the first time in weeks where she has been able to drink what she wanted and the taste seemed to quell her uncertainty slightly. Cy on the other hand was more inclined to hear the options that the group may have. Cy turns to Km and thinks for a second, "We can go see my mom and find out-"
"No…that's a bad idea. We can't trust anyone other than Michael 'cause your mother tried to turn me in."
"What?" Cy looks in disbelief but somehow accepts this answer, "Does my mom really hate you that much?"
"She found out about us…that we work for Team Rocket. I barely got us out of your apartment in time…now the cops know we're here."
Cy sets his drink down on the table and leans back on his seat, "Pretty much everyone who didn't know about us found out after they started putting posters of us on every single wall they could find." Cy looks down in sadness. For a few moments he stays looking down, thinking about what he just said to them, but it feels longer for everybody else in the room especially for Km who feels the same as Cy. Finally, he looks up toward Michael and Km with a very serious expression on his face, "We can't stay here. We have to leave Kanto while we still can."
Distraught, Km stands up from her seat quickly and raises her voice, "What?"
"You heard right." Cy responds, standing up carefully to show his dominance at the table. He holds with his hands a wooden crutch that Michael had given him to support his leg, "It's the only way if we want to stay away from prison. I don't know about you Km but I'm not going to start running away for the rest of my life when I can just leave."
"And how do you suppose we do that? Planes, trains, and ships will all check our I.D. if we try to cross the border." Km retorts.
"It's not safe here in the capital, and we can't go anywhere else in the region now can we? We're being chased by everybody…and if we get caught it's over for both of us…and you know that." Cy responds, looking at Km eye to eye. He stares with his brown eyes: he makes her look at them to know how serious their situation is: she backs down as a result, "I don't want to end up like my guitar…broken and useless. We could start a new life somewhere else, make things different than before. We've got to at least try, Km." Cy adds to his statement.
Michael, knowing the gravity of the situation, also sets his drink down on the table to get their attention, "Why not cross into Johto by foot?" He suggests calmly.
"That's crazy Michael." Km gestures her hands at Michael, in a way that means 'forget it'.
"I agree…even if we tried, we won't ever make it past the first checkpoint." Cy adds.
"I thought you were open to the idea of leaving Kanto by anyway you can?" Michael retorts, looking at Cy.
"One thing is leaving the region quietly and unnoticed, and another is running straight into a minefield!" Cy snaps back.
Km looks toward Michael, "The Johto-Kanto border is one of the most heavily guarded places on the planet…" Km supports Cy's argument without any question.
"They have border patrols everywhere no matter where you go. You mind as well try anyways. Once you get into Johto, it'll be a lot easier to hop to another region." Michael folds his hands in an aggressive yet informative nature.
"And then what Michael, where do you suggest we run to after Johto?" Km asks.
"Sinnoh…Hoenn…the list goes on." Michael explains.
"Sinnoh…why that ugly region?" Km retorts in disgust, surprised that Michael would even suggest such a region in the first place.
"Sinnoh is not too far and not too close." Michael explains.
Cy has his right hand on his chin, thinking about Michael's suggestions, "And Hoenn?"
"Well honestly I'm much more familiar with Hoenn. It's more nature oriented…not any large city that I know of there, so you can definitely live there. It has tropical weather, nice and warm all year round…almost, and-"
"I like Kalos…what about that region. I heard they have nice architecture, and a wonderful sense of fashion."
"It's too far." Michael retorts.
"Then Unova…they have-" Km adds.
"Too far, both are on the other side of the world…and besides everyone speaks different languages in those regions…it'll just be chaos for both of you." Michael stops her yet again.
"But that's the point! They're so far away why should Kanto care to waste resources looking for us there?" Km responds, making gestures to prove her point.
"Well Leila…it's your choice not mine. I'm simply giving you a realistic scenario: you won't have enough money to travel to those regions anyway."
Cy interrupts to say, "Either way, wherever we choose to go to, we must leave the Kanto region and we have to leave as soon as we can-"
Suddenly, someone outside knocks on the door and everyone but Michael jumps in surprise. He stands up and gestures a finger toward a dark room, "Both of you…go in there, and stay there, and stay quiet…I'll tell you when it's alright to come out again." He orders them as Km helps Cy get to the room. After some struggle they make it into the dark room and they hide against the wall next to the door. After hearing two people have a short conversation, Michael closes the door and comes toward the room, "Alright, come out."
As Km brings Cy out she asks, "What was that about?"
"Police officers, they warned me about you guys."
"Terrific." Cy responds sarcastically.
"Go get yourselves cleaned up…we're leaving for my place." Michael tells them as they nod.
Km and Cy head to the bathroom and both wash their faces clean of dirt and mud from their time inside the Viridian Forest. To both of them it's a fresh feeling as both take some time to clean themselves. Cy looks in the broken mirror of the bathroom and frowns when he notices something terrible: his black and green jacket, which he has had for two years and survived countless adventures with is torn and dirty beyond repair: found in a part of the jacket which he hasn't seen before. He removes the jacket and fiddles with the torn area repeatedly in an attempt to fix it. Failing to fix his jacket, he sighs heavily as Km looks at him with deep regret. She places a hand on his shoulder and he looks toward her, "I've lost too many things…this was my favorite jacket…I should have killed him when I had the chance…" Km and Cy both hug each other tightly.
"I know…let's just follow Michael for now…he'll help us try and escape the region…I hope."
"Your brother…he's kind…likes to help people." Cy tells her as they break away from each other.
"He should have been the first person to visit when I brought us here. I trust him."
"Well he IS your brother." Cy retorts. When they're finished the young adult male leaves the room with Km to meet up with Michael. The older man looks at them and says, "Ready?"
Cy looks at his jacket and then towards a nearby trash can. He thinks for a moment before he looks up and says, "Yea…let's go."
Cy throws his signature jacket inside the trash and is escorted outside toward a car that Michael has: he is placed in the back with Km and they drive off…leaving Cy's black and green jacket behind…
