Apologies for the extremely long wait. I know all of you waited so long for the next chapter. You'll be glad to know that I haven't abandoned this story nor do I intend to. My last upload was in March, which, evidently, was around the time Zootopia came out. So, naturally, I started writing fan fiction for Zootopia. Then, school started to get more demanding, especially this semester. Despite all of this, I'm happy to bring you the next chapter to my flagship story. Enjoy!
Chapter thirty-seven: The Celadon River Part 1
Celadon City: daytime. Hard rain overwhelmed everybody, yet most found shelter easily inside their cars, their offices, or their homes. Some, however, were not as fortunate. A young boy from a poor family background walks through the busy streets to find food and, for the most part, is successful. It wasn't his first time begging people for food, and finding it where others wouldn't dare to look was common too. He was already street smart at a young age.
After finding some scraps that will quell his hunger, he catches sight of a crudely made shelter in an alleyway that seems to be abandoned. The boy approaches the shelter and enters it. Rain stops hitting his head and body and he sighs in relief. Then, a low voice forces the boy to jump up in fear before hitting his head against the ceiling.
"Who's there!?"
The same voice again enters his ears, "This is my house."
"Sorry, I'll go." The boy prepares to leave but the person, unseen because of the darkness from within the shelter, appears thanks to the light from outside and grabs his arm to stop him, "Is that food?" The young girl asks.
"Y…yes." He responds nervously.
"You can stay here if you give me some," She proposes to him. "I don't have much." He retorts.
"I haven't eaten in days." She begs silently.
"Okay." The boy gives in. Normally, he wouldn't trust strangers since they could easily con unsuspecting victims, but this girl looked truly impoverished and hungry. And, he could see how her eyes were full of desperation, full of misery…she wasn't conning him.
He shares with the girl the little food he found that day and she devours it within seconds. "What's your name?" He asks.
"Leila." She introduces herself, sucking on her hands as if the food crumbs on her fingers was dessert.
"I'm Ansel." The boy returns the introduction.
"Where are you from?" She asks.
"West camp." Ansel answers.
"I'm north camp." Leila adds.
After a few seconds of silence from the both of them, allowing the sound of pouring rain to dominate their ears, Leila turns to Ansel and asks, "Wanna be friends?"
"Sure." Ansel finishes.
…
Cy stares outside the car window silently as the trio approach their destination: Celadon Mall. Reminiscing the days when he and Km met as kids helped to support his theory of how corrupt the country of Kanto actually was toward them.
"We're almost there," Michael says silently. It was not long before sirens passed by on the opposite road; authorities were headed towards Michael's apartment: and soon, the news of what happened inside there will jeopardize the trio's plot to escape the city.
"You alright?" Km rubs Cy's shoulder softly to get his attention. He snaps out of his trance and turns toward her, "If we pull this off and leave Kanto…this nightmare will finally be over." He says quietly, not answering her question.
For the most part, the heavy snow and near-gale winds slowed down activity throughout the city, so pedestrians and traffic were practically non-existent; however, it also presented problems for the group as well: they are taking too long to get to their destination.
Suddenly, the car hits a heap of snow and all three of its passengers go forward in a violent reaction: thankfully, seatbelts were there to stop casualties from happening. Michael attempts to start his car again for a few times but it is a futile attempt.
"Fuck this." He simply says, getting out of his car in a near-panic. As he gets out, the loud wind almost makes his next sentence inaudible.
"I'll meet you guys at the Game Corner, okay?"
Barely able to hear him but understanding what he had said, both fugitives inside the car nod before Michael closes the door and walks away. He gestures Holo, which had been clinging to the bottom of the car, to follow him. Soon afterwards, the two disappear into the blizzard.
The Game Corner, Cy thought to himself. It's been a while since the duo has been there and both knew that the place was nearly empty at this time. Although it was possible that it was closed due to bad weather, it was better for the fugitives since there would be nobody nearby right now and it was fairly close to the Celadon River.
Km unbuckles her seatbelt and does the same for Cy. She exits and heads to the other side to lead him out. Once Cy is on his feet and supported by Km, the two begin their journey. They slowly make their way down the street and then they make a right to get to an alleyway.
"How long has it been…?" Km softly asks, breaking the silence.
"A few months, maybe a year." Cy replies.
"…could be our last time at the Game Corner…" Km says with genuine disappointment.
"I miss all the times I lost my coins there." Cy says sarcastically.
"We used to hang out there a lot…before all this…" Km adds.
"Yea…if only we didn't get assigned to the Viridian Forest…none of this would have ever happened." Cy finishes.
Before they get out of the alleyway, the two quickly hide behind a wall when police cars pass by: the sirens echo throughout the street before being silenced. Km thoroughly examined the area: nobody was around; nobody would dare be out in this storm except emergency services.
Km went back for Cy and the both of them soon arrive to the front of the Celadon Game Corner: it was open.
Once the pair enters, heated air relieves them, and the two scan the place for trouble: but it seems empty albeit a few employees at a counter who smile at them (which is weird because the place is usually littered with tourists or locals). Both Cy and Km tried to hide their faces as much as possible while also not trying to stir attention from the employees or the cameras.
The game corner is just like how Cy last remembers it: lines upon lines of games for people to bet their money on and lose miserably until their wallets were vacant. The strange floor pattern and the Pokémon Printer also seemed unchanged and very out of place like how he remembers them.
The duo sits down at the far right of the room by the wall. Upon sitting, Cy eyes the poster that seems to be the only thing that's changed. Both fugitives take this time to relax. Km seems entranced as though she is trying her hardest to take this moment in as much as possible. After all, she loved this place much more than Cy ever did (that was for sure).
Soon, the silence in the room invited Cy to ponder as well. He turns to Km and nods softly, "Imagine…I started coming here when I was 9 or 10, hated it then, still hate it now."
"I remember playing here as a kid too…my parents brought me a lot, I guess it was to take the thought of living in the camp away for a while." silence again overwhelms them.
Cy turns his head to her again, "Yea, my parents brought me here occasionally, but it wasn't for me. They always wanted to bet big, hoping to win big to move elsewhere from the shit stain we were forced to live in."
"Cy." Km leans forward on her chair toward Cy, "Can you imagine how things would have played out differently if we met as kids in the arcade? Like, if our families met, what we could have achieved together? Maybe…we would be living far away from Kanto right now and none of this would have ever happened…"
"Try not to contemplate too much on the past, it's something that has passed by. Alllthoouughhh," Cy says in an almost playful and ironic manner, "Now that I think about it…I'm just thinking about how different I would have turned out to be had I never met you." Cy adds.
Km retorts by shaking her head and trying to convince him that a change would not have happened. He ends up interrupting her, "Because of you I learned how to catch Pokémon and become more confident with myself. Because of your brother, you ended up in Team Rocket and dragged me along for the ride…and I gotta say…it's a crazy ride I'm on…it never seems to stop."
Cy takes a short breath, turns his head partially away from Km as if to hide his face in shame, and continues, "I joined Team Rocket to help my mother…" He clutches his head in grief, "We needed the money and it helped a lot…it's a cold and miserable world that we live in and we're forced to do what we have to do to survive in the end, no matter at what cost it may be in the end. Good or bad, I don't believe in any of it, I only believe in surviving till my last breath and making sure I enjoy it. People don't really live until they realize what's at stake, and then they try to hold on to what's left of their lives before letting go. That's why I don't think much about the past, only the present."
"To think, I joined Team Rocket because I liked some of the things they stood for." Km responds, "Kanto never lift a finger to help my family or my community."
"Well Km, we were starving. They left us to starve in those camps, in those tents that they called 'temporary shelters'."
Km crosses her legs and places a hand on her cheek, "Well, being a Team Rocket member was getting boring anyway…all we ever did was steal…deliver…steal…deliver…the same cycle and it got boring. Then all this happened. Now that I think about it...I've never had much going on around me when I was working."
"Blowing kisses at me or pecking my cheek wasn't much going on?" Cy says with an almost mischievous voice with a mischievous expression to accompany it.
Km nods and also moves her hand up and down at Cy in response, "Okay, okay."
Both laugh softly until Km begins telling a joke but she can see Cy remaining still, as if he has just seen something terrible.
"Cy?" Km asks for a split second before turning her head around, almost gasping in response.
By one of the slot machines there are two people dressed in all black and sporting the usual R symbol on their hats. One grunt was playing the slot machine while the other, a female grunt, leaned on the machine in a casual manner.
"I thought the rumors were proven false!" Cy says quietly to Km after she turns around towards him, "No Team Rocket Grunt would be stupid enough to go out in public like that unless it's to steal, this is a hideout!" Km adds.
"Hurry up." Cy tells Km as she helps the young fugitive back on his feet. After they begin their escape, they can hear the front doors open as somebody else comes in. The duo tries to avoid the two Rocket Grunts by hiding behind some slots across from them. Cy can see more grunts enter the area.
"It's too crazy out there right now."
"The whole city is on alert, and not just for the fugitives."
"This damn storm will be the end of our operation if this continues."
Km leads Cy toward the exit, which is a few feet away.
Hey! It's the fugitives!
Km and Cy didn't even need to look behind them to know that they needed to shift to a higher gear, but before they could get out, Cy could feel something wrap around his legs as if an Ekans wanted to restrain him. Cy falls down on the floor and his face hits the tile floor with violent force. Km tries to take out her tranquilizer gun but several grunts from behind take her into custody as well. When Cy goes for a Poké ball he is electrocuted by the bolas that have restrained him.
Once he awakens from his brief sleep he finds himself and Km in an office and in the presence of somebody they hoped to never see again: Rk.
…
Michael places the raft and other essential supplies (like food, water, etc) inside his car before heading out to the game corner with Holo. Once he arrives he finds the task of entering harder than usual when he spots a few Team Rocket Grunts entering.
"Oh no…" Michael says softly before slowly advancing toward the entrance by the side, using the blizzard as cover. Across from him he can hear two grunts talking casually.
"They just captured the two fugitives."
"Holy gun, man! This is big for us! Imagine the award!"
"Just calm down and keep a look."
"Right."
Michael crouches down, "Damn it…stay close, Holo."
Michael and his robot companion run down the alleyway adjacent to the game corner and looks around for another way in: he spots an access ladder to the rooftop. Holo perches on Michael's shoulder before he starts climbing as fast as his body would allow him to under such extreme weather. He hears a group of grunts arriving below him but neither group can see each other because of the blizzard.
"We gotta make sure this ladder is secure too." The next conversation is inaudible once Michael reaches the top.
Damn…the bars are cold, he thinks to himself. Michael makes it to a window where he and Holo can see the office below and are barely able to see Cy and Km.
"There you guys are…" He says softly to himself.
Michael looks toward Holo, "Make sure those goons don't get up here, will ya?" Holo moves toward the edge to stand guard. Michael leans slightly on the window to get a better look inside.
Meanwhile, inside the office, Km and Cy stare at Rk with furious expressions.
Rk leans toward Km in a calm fashion, "You hit hard." He chuckles before Km spits on his face, but he wipes her spit off with a mischievous expression, as if to show that he enjoyed it. He then proceeded to smudge Km's spit on her cheek which disgusts her even more. Rk breaks away and folds his hands behind him, "Leila, for how long have I been a friend to you? Far too long. Your brother and I taught you the ropes and this is how you repay my munificence? You ruined many things for us recently. Preston gave you the chance to reconcile…" He snaps his fingers.
"Don't you get that Team Rocket Grunts are being used for Bartoli's experiments? Did you ever wonder why all those grunts back at the Viridian Forest Base all suddenly disappeared? They were turned into Pokémon, and they died!" Cy explains.
"I know." Rk laughs, almost manically. A grunt arrives with two syringes for the duo before they begin to move about in panic.
"What…you're going to turn us into Pokémon too, just like the rest of them?" Cy shouts.
Although Km still refused to believe this is what happened to all of the grunts, she now felt as though the syringe given to her back at Outpost 3C 273 played a part in Cy's theory. Rk was about to give them something that Km felt was going to alter them, or kill them...
"They'll do it to you too!" Cy shouts, "Eventually!" Cy adds.
"No they won't." Rk prepares to give Cy a dose of the dark fluid, the same used to turn all the others into Pokémon, "Preston is my uncle. Besides, we won't be a part of Team Rocket any longer, now that my uncle has the formula…it's a shame Km…you could have joined our group…Team Destiny. Once we're done here, Kanto will yield and you two will be left in cages to rot." Rk chuckles as the needle is about to pierce Cy's skin.
"Wait, don't!" Km shouts before glass breaks and falls from above them. Rk drops his syringe and is shielded by the grunt next to him. The grunt is shot with a tranquilizer by Michael. Rk quickly leaves the room while Michael drops to the ground and takes cover behind a desk. The other two grunts in the room take cover outside the door before taking out their guns to return fire. Holo jumps down from the rooftop to release Cy and Km. Holo's arm transforms into a metallic claw and uses it to cut the rope on Km. As Km is freed, Michael and the grunts begin an exchange. Once Km is able to move her arms again, she purposely pushes Cy's chair so that it falls sideways to avoid the tranquilizers.
"Damn it, Km!"
"Yea, I know!" Km crouches and frees Cy and the both of them crawl to join Michael behind the desk.
"Holo, I could use some help!"
Holo flies toward the two grunts by the door and then displays a gun-like appendage from his body and fires tranquilizers at the two grunts, leading both humans to fall down unconscious.
Michael then carefully checks the area and sighs for a moment.
"Glad you're here." Km says to him.
"Just get your stuff and let's go!" Michael shouts back. Km stands up and heads for a counter that has the duo's backpacks. When she quickly searches for her stuff she curses when she doesn't find anything in both backpacks.
"Damn him!"
"Forget about it, Km, let's go!" Cy says.
She helps put the backpack on him before she puts her bag on. By this time, Michael had already searched the door outside and looted the two unconscious grunts. When Km reaches the door with Cy, grunts on the rooftop begin firing at them from the broken window.
"Oh crap!" Michael shouts as he forces the two fugitives out of the room before returning fire, "Take those guns!" He points at the floor as he takes cover again. Km and Cy arm themselves the same moment grunts from down the hall begin shooting at the group.
"Make sure they don't escape!" A female grunt shouts.
"You two take care of those guys on the roof…Holo and I will clear the hallway!" Michael tells them before Cy and Km nod.
"Go, Holo!" Michael shouts to his robot.
Holo flies toward one grunt hiding behind the wall to the left and opens fire while Michael races toward cover to the right. He peeks momentarily and then fires at the female grunt before she shoots back at him. Holo heads for the female grunt, distracting her: allowing Michael to finish her off.
Once the hallway has been momentarily cleared, Michael shouts for Cy and Km, who make their way to him.
"So?" Michael asks with little context.
"They stopped shooting. They're probably getting help." Cy says, understanding Michael's question.
"Damn it, okay, the both of you stay close to me and cover our backs!" Michael orders them as the duo nod.
The group makes their way to an elevator where they enter. Michael presses 1F and the lights above them flicker momentarily as they reach their destination. Once the doors open, the group is greeted by a dozen grunts waiting for them to yield. All three humans take cover inside the elevator. Michael presses the STOP button and the elevator remains idle.
"Send in the needlebots!" One grunt shouts. A few seconds later, several needlebots fly towards the elevator and prepare to end the encounter once and for all. Michael hears the sound of needlebots and presses the elevator button which closes the door.
"Now what!?" Cy asks in panic.
"I don't know!" Michael retorts, "There has to be another way out of here!"
"The roof!" Km asks.
"Are you crazy, they'll be waiting for us up there!" Michael retorts again.
"Better than being here right now!" Km suggests.
"Damn it!" Michael finishes as he presses the 4F button.
Once they reach the fourth floor again, the three rush toward the room they were all originally inside of. Holo flies outside and soon comes back. Michael nods his head slowly, "Coast is clear, come on…we'll use furniture to climb up."
Km locks the door to the room and then helps Michael. Meanwhile, Holo decides to land on Cy's shoulder while he isn't looking and soon brushes the robot off with spitefulness, "Get off me, bug."
Soon after, the siblings are able to reach the top. Michael uses his sleeves to brush off any glass still stuck on the broken window and then nods to himself before climbing out. Km jumps down and helps Cy get to the furniture to climb. After a minute of struggle, Cy and Km are now on the rooftop with Michael, who is observing the ladder that leads to the alleyway.
"I don't get it, they're gone…" Michael shakes his head.
"We better hurry before they come back then." Km retorts.
"The cops, they're coming…" Michael turns around to say to his sister, "I think they ran because of the cops…"
"How are we going to get back to the supplies?" Km places her hands on her hips.
"We're not." The siblings turn toward Cy, who is sitting beside the broken window, "We're going without supplies."
"Are you crazy!?" Michael walks toward Cy in an aggressive manner, but Km stops him when she walks in front of him, "We'll die!" Michael adds.
"Cy, we need those supplies, the trip is going to be almost impossible." Km explains.
"...the more time we waste..." Cy doesn't finish his sentence.
"Michael, I'll go get them. Send Holo with me." Km says, "You take Cy to the bridge on 6th street. I'll meet you guys there, under the bridge."
"Km..." Cy objects but Km shakes her head, "No, I'm doing this. Crossing that river without a raft and supplies is definite suicide."
"Km...don't." Cy's plea goes unheard.
Michael taps his feet repeatedly, "Holo, take her to the car." Holo starts following Km as she begins climbing down.
"Damn it, Km!" Cy shouts.
"Wait, Km." Michael stops her, "Just bring what you can."
"Right." She continues climbing down.
Michael looks up at the sky and sighs before going to pick up Cy from the ground, "Come on you."
"Don't you care about your own sister and what she's about to do!?" Cy asks while hanging on.
"I do, and I know you do too, but she's right and you're wrong." Michael retorts.
Cy scoffs softly to himself.
The two men climbed down slowly and once they reached the bottom, they carefully made their way out of the alleyway and into another empty street, away from the approaching police cars. Km sprinted through the street with the robot on her shoulder, wondering if she was going to make it out of the city and out of Kanto with Cy.
The weather started getting bad again, yet all three fugitives, with absolute assurance and determination, pressed onward.
