Chapter 24; after the storm
Minutes went by like centuries as Sonic was flooded and coping with all the conflicting emotions of hatred, rage, sadness, despair, disappointment and regret.
They had spent 1 hour at that clearing outside Saffron city doing nothing. Mike was mourning his Jolteon, not lifting his head of its side as his body shook while he cried. The surrounding pokemon, now freed from team rocket, had observed their fallen savior for a while until Alakazam, its mother and pinsir started telling them to get away and run towards freedom. In the span of half an hour they had all left and now only the two defeated heroes were left along with their fainted pokemon. Raichu was curled next to Jolteon also mourning the loss of its friend.
Sonic was feeling his phone buzzing in his pocket. He had looked at it once. He noticed a message from Tails stating that police had managed to enter silph co. After that he had no more strength to look at it again. He couldn't even bare the thought of telling his friends of how it all went down.
Hearing sirens Sonic lifted his head slowly. The police must had just finished their search of the building and rescued the CEO. Now they were starting searches around the city to find any escapees of team Rocket.
"Mike" he said. He was shocked by the sound of his own voice. Defeated and pessimistic with no energy.
"Mike the police is nearby. We have to go".
Mike lifted his head as his red eyes met Sonic's.
"And go where? And what does it even matter anymore?"
Sonic's heart broke but knew they couldn't risk it.
"The police could mistake us for rockets. What we did wasn't exactly legal. We have to hide".
"Hide where? Where could we go in such a short notice where we will be safe to hide for a while?"
Sonic knew the answer before he even pondered the question.
"I know a place. Let's go quick" he said mustering up all his remaining energy to get up. Recalling Pinsir he was faced with a dilemma. Alakazam had finally found its mother. He couldn't possibly ask it to follow him now.
"Alakazam" he said taking out its pokeball and letting it fall to the ground "I kept my promise to you. We found your mother. I can't ask you to follow me anymore. You should go with her".
He closed his eyes raised his foot and went to stomp on the pokeball intending to break it.
However his foot met the ground instead. He opened his eyes and saw Alakazam's mother having moved the ball with her psychic power.
"W-what?"
Sonic's Alakazam turned to its mother in surprise. The two communicated for a few moments and then hugged. Sonic noticed tears on Alakazam's face. The next moment, Alakazam's mother brought the pokeball to her child's face and it opened, Sonic's Alakazam turning into red energy and entering the pokeball. She then moved it with her psychic powers to Sonic's hand and Sonic heard words in his head.
"Take care of my boy. I will take care of the freed pokemon" he heard. His eyes widening he nodded and the female Alakazam floated away.
Getting back to their original problem he helped Mike get up and take the deceased Jolteon in his embrace. They then made a run for it through the woods avoiding the road in order to avoid any possible encounters with the police. Finally reaching Celadon city, they made their way discreetly to Reina's house's backyard. Jumping over the fence they knocked on the back door. After a few moments they were met with Reina's worried then shocked beyond imagination face. She covered her mouth with her hands. No words were needed.
"We need to hide for a while" Sonic said hurriedly "is it ok if…?"
Reina stepped aside immediately and they rushed to the guests' room. Looking outside the window they saw a police car pass by as they dropped officers including several that looked like officer Jenny that Sonic had met back in Viridian city at the beginning of his journey.
"What's with them looking all the same? Some kind of dress code?" he surprisingly managed to wonder.
The police did knock on Reina's house asking if she witnessed any strange activity regarding the assault on Saffron and silph co. Covering up for Mike and Sonic, she lied saying no. The officers then went on their way. After Reina had successfully lied to the police, she went to see Sonic and Mike.
Entering the room she found them both in terrible condition. Mike was in a state of catatonic depression unable to feel anymore, the lifeless body of jolteon next to the guest's bed and raichu still curled by its side. Sonic sitting on the couch next to the window with his eyes looking permanently widened from the shock. Reina closed the door and sat next to Sonic putting her hand on his shoulder.
"I know I shouldn't be asking… but what happened? For the last 2 hours rumors and news went back and forth about the attack on Saffron".
"We…" Sonic began talking but his voice cracked. He couldn't speak the words that would lead to him saying out loud what they were still in denial of "we… we invaded the silph co building… fought off the grunts… saved the pokemon and employees… I made sure that Tails… oh my god Tails!" he said taking out his phone remembering the barrage of messages from him.
"Who's Tails?" Reina asked him.
Sonic entered his chat with Tails apparently having not heard the question. Tails had sent him many messages asking if everything was ok and reporting on all developments of the situation. After sending the virus through the computer Sonic had connected from, he leaked the data he got from Sonic by sending it to Kanto's biggest news report program. In the span of 15 minutes the entire region found out everything about the master ball as well as team rocket's aspirations. Tails had mentioned that that was the reason team rocket abandoned their posts. Because they were fleeing the scene and made a detour to save their boss.
"Sonic!"
"What?"
"Who's Tails?"
"A friend of mine" Sonic answered hurriedly to read the rest of the messages "he helped me leak the info on team rocket to the public. Problem is after that we sort of performed a cybernetic attack on silph co to destroy all data on the master ball. All technical data that is. I couldn't let anyone possess such a creation".
"And that caused you to be too late!" Mike said in anger "my gengar was weakened! If it wasn't… Jolty could have still been alive!"
"I know" Sonic agreed believing it "I took too long".
"You should have let us deal with it later! If we had driven out Giovanni first…!"
"Then the master ball would fall on someone else's hands! I should have been faster! But I had to destroy it!" Sonic said but then gasped remembering something "Oh no! The prototype! I never got my hands on it! What if team rocket gets its hands on it?!"
"WHO CARES?!" Mike screamed on the top of his lungs "who cares?! Jolty is dead! Nothing will change it!"
Sonic lowered his head and once again let his tears drop. Reina hugged him as he released all the pressure he was feeling over his guilt.
"This is one the reasons we came here" Sonic told Reina after he was stable enough to speak clearly again "cybernetic attack is a punishable offense. My friend made sure to cover our tracks but our mere presence there if detected could put us in trouble".
"I see" Reina said not believing what they had gone through "and after that?"
"After sending 2 of my pokemon one of them being my Alakazam whose mother we found captive by team rocket to help the employees and the pokemon teleport to safety we confronted Giovanni. We tried our best but…"
"You lost to him?"
"No" Mike said grabbing the side of the bed hard "we beat him. But he used every dirty trick on the book. He ordered his goons to seize us and our pokemon. And he tried to use horn drill to kill raichu and Sonic. Jolty… he…"
"He sacrificed his life…" Sonic finally found the strength to say "to spare raichu from this fate".
Reina gasped as she covered her mouth with her hands again.
"What a monster. Horn drill is an illegal move in tournaments for a reason. All moves that knock out pokemon in one hit are. They are so strong they can actually kill".
Sonic made a note to the back of his mind to have Pinsir forget guillotine later if it really was an illegal move.
"After beating him…" Sonic continued "I tackled him to the ground. I broke his arm. His nose. I was ready to kill" he admitted in shame "I was actually ready to kill him. The only thing that spared him is the chopper that destroyed the wall freeing him from my grasp".
Reina was now crying herself. The two boys had experienced hell.
"That briefcase" Mike said in realization in between his crying "he tried to get it. It must have contained the prototype master ball. And you sent it to the ground!"
Sonic remembered this detail and grabbed his head on the sides.
"What have I done?!" he whispered in horror. That master ball was still out there. And so was team rocket.
"All of it was for nothing!" Mike screamed in anger.
Reina looked at them and decided to speak her point of view.
"It wasn't for nothing. You both said it" she said causing both of them to look at her "you saved all of the captured employees, all of the captured pokemon".
"We even found Mike's old beedrill" Sonic said remembering that detail.
"Not anymore" Mike said stuffing his face in the pillows "I didn't have its ball. It fled alongside the other pokemon".
"Damnit" Sonic said in disappointment.
Reina knew that even though they had saved so many the loss was too fresh to feel good about it. She sat back down deciding to just sit with them for the time being for emotional support. Sonic on the other hand got up and headed for the bathroom.
Once inside the bathroom, he allowed himself to collapse again. He let his tears shed once again relieving the pain over and over as if experiencing it would revive Jolteon.
After a while he felt stable enough. Looking at his wristwatch he saw it was 5 in the afternoon. The attack had been over for 3 hours and no one knew where he was. He called Tails, Knuckles and Jet at the same time.
Tails and Jet answered instantly. Both of them were mad, Tails the most of the two, but upon seeing their friend and brother's broken face of sadness they knew something had gone horribly wrong. Knuckles joined in the next moment.
"Oh no" he said worriedly seeing Sonic utterly broken.
Sonic spent the next hour explaining the entire attack with every detail. When he got to the point where Jolteon sacrificed itself Jet couldn't believe it. Once he was done he broke down again unable to keep going as his friends and brother remained silent.
"Damnit" Tails said "if we had known about the attack earlier. If we were there with you…"
"Tails" Knuckles stopped him with a serious look on his face "don't ask what ifs. The reality is painful. But it's also the one thing we need to focus on. Sonic you will need to accept it eventually. Or you will revert to your previous self before you started your journey. Trust me I know".
Sonic listened to his friend but felt it was impossible. How did you move forward from such an experience? Getting over a rejection was one thing but mourning someone's loss…
"I'll do my best Knuckles. Tails" he said finally deciding it was time to assess the damage "what were the results of our cyber assault?"
"All data on the master ball were corrupted beyond recovery. Unless there was actually a functioning prototype this plan will have failed for them".
"There was one. I think it was in a briefcase that dropped to the ground floor during the battle. I have to go look for it later".
"Shit this is serious. I'll try to dig in police reports to find out its possible location".
"Good. Was silph co affected a lot?"
"Very. It will take a while before it can recover as a company. It's not bankrupt but it will have to play the game very carefully to recover".
"Damnit" Sonic said thinking of how many employees' lives would become harder because of their reckless actions.
"But there was one good result. Exposing team rocket at such a level cause it to collapse almost entirely. Without the contracts and the resources of silph co their operations will go back months if not years. They are on the brink of total disbandment".
"Good" Sonic said still not convinced that the cost was worth it.
"Bro you do realize what you effectively achieved right?" Jet asked him "you brought down the mafia of Kanto".
"Maybe. But the cost was too great. And we're not done yet" he said getting up "I have to go back to Saffron and find the master ball".
From Tails' side a notification beep was heard.
"I wouldn't bet on that being a choice anymore. The whole city is on lockdown for the next week. You're going to have to lay low for a while. Rescued employees talked about one to two trainers saving them. The testimonies on the pokemon the trainer or trainers had are contradicting each other a bit but you should lay low for a while make sure they drop the search for you and Mike and focus on team Rocket".
"Shit. Fine. Anything on the briefcase?"
"Nothing. No report on it".
"Damnit. Ok thanks pal. Thank you all. I have to go for now. Talk soon" he said hanging up and returning to the guest's room.
While talking to his friends, mr Fuji had arrived, called by Reina. He was comforting Mike when Sonic walked in.
"Sonic my boy" he said approaching and putting his hands on Sonic's shoulders, his face full of sadness and something that Sonic took as guilt "I'm so sorry to hear what happened. You two were so brave to do such a daring thing".
"Thank you mr Fuji" Sonic said "but the damage is done. The plan was successful but reckless. We did more harm than good".
"What?!" Mike said in anger "after my partner literally dying you tell me we did harm?!"
"You're right. I did more harm than good. The cyber assault was my idea" Sonic admitted.
Everyone in the room looked at him in question. Sonic continued.
"I just contacted my brother and friends. One of them was the one who sent the virus to the company software. It corrupted more data than just the master ball data. The company will suffer economically because of me. Many innocent employees will suffer because of my choice. Because of my determination to stop Giovanni. To stop him from completing project two".
At the sound of the words project two mr Fuji's expression turned to horror and regret combined. Reina was the only one who picked up on it but didn't bring it up.
"So you're right Mike. Jolteon's blood is on my hands".
"Sonic" mr Fuji intervened "your idea was indeed harmful. But you're wrong. Jolty's blood is on the boss of team rocket's hands. He ordered his rhydon to attack with that illegal move" mr Fuji said and then sat back down on the couch.
"Mike" he said referring to the heartbroken trainer "I know I will sound inconsiderate. But I need to suggest you bury Jolty as soon as possible. Its blood will be all over the scene in saffron".
Mike wanted to burst out at mr Fuji for suggesting it so bluntly. But he knew deep down they had no other choice.
"Ok. But not at the tower in Lavender. They will look there first. And plus… I don't want Jolty to be buried there. With all the other pokemon. It died a hero. It needs a place no one will think to look. But to also be worthy of its sacrifice".
Sonic's mind went to such a place. A place where he first witnessed Jolteon being a happy pokemon with its trainer.
"I think the beach where we had our battle is an ideal spot" Sonic suggested "it is beautiful there. Jolty loved the place when we battled. I can't think of a better resting place".
Mike looked at Sonic and slowly nodded.
"We will take my car to get there" mr Fuji suggested "travelling by foot is dangerous for you two at this moment. I will be back in half an hour. Dusk will be the perfect time. Few people therefore few witnesses".
"Jolty loved sunsets" Mike said as more tears flowed down his cheeks.
Half an hour later all 4 were riding mr Fuji's car to the east coast. No word was coming out of anyone's mouth. Each one lost in their thoughts.
They passed outside Saffron city with the car. From the window Sonic spotted the hole on the side of the silph co building. He saw with the eyes of his imagination Giovanni's helicopter fly away towards the west even though he knew they could have flown anywhere after he took his eyes off them.
"At least he is finished for the most part. And if I can recover the master ball it will all fall neatly in place" he thought as he scratched raichu's head. He had gone so long without showing his partner some affection.
As raichu closed its eyes to the touch Sonic realized how important this moment was. Raichu could have been the one to die instead of Jolteon. He would be the one burying his partner right now.
"Buddy" Sonic thought as he kept scratching its head "I love you".
After an hour-long ride they reached the coast. Finding the spot Mike and Sonic had their battle, Reina kept watch for passing people, while Sonic, Mike and mr Fuji began digging a big enough and deep enough hole not only to fit but to make sure Jolteon's body wasn't found anytime soon. Mr Fuji suggested having Mike's dugtrio use dig. Mike bluntly refused.
"No way in hell! Every ounce of energy, every drop of sweat every moment we take to dig is a gift to Jolty" he said in a mournful tone.
After a lot of hard work the hole was dug. Sonic witnessed as mr Fuji put Jolty's limb body to the bottom of the hole and petted its head as if it would feel it. He then climbed out of the hole and started pouring the sand back into place. Mike broke down again, trying not to cry too loudly but at the same time to release the bottled up emotions. Sonic put his hand on his shoulder to let him know he was with him but Mike angrily shoved it aside. Sonic lowered his head as he felt Reina's fingers meeting his own and her hand taking his. He did not look at her but felt grateful for her support.
After the completion of the funeral mr Fuji drove everyone back to Celadon. Mike immediately went to leave. Mr Fuji and Reina tried to convince him to stay with them for safety but he turned them down. Sonic chased after him needing to ask one question. Mike stopped when he realized he was being followed.
"What do you want Sonic?"
"Are you leaving because of me?"
"What?"
"Reina and mr Fuji are kind enough to let us both hide here. So why are you leaving?"
Mike went silent.
"As mr Fuji said… Jolty blood is not on my hands. But it was my actions that led to that outcome. So I think it's only fair that you stay with them. I'll figure something out".
"… Yes. Your actions did lead to the outcome we have. But I don't care anymore. I have lost my partner twice now. No thrice. Beedrill left. It remembered me but still left. I can't take this anymore. This is why I'm leaving".
"But then… let me help you find it. Let me help you find beedrill".
"Like you helped me find it the first time?!"
His words pierced Sonic's soul like a sword of lava.
"And no. I'm not leaving because I don't have a partner anymore. I'm leaving because I can't bear to look at you and your raichu!"
"Me and raichu?"
"What you did back there... you broke free from their control. I don't know how. But that bond reminds me of me and Jolty. All we went through. And now it's gone. So I'm leaving".
"Mike…"
"Don't look for me Sonic. Or your raichu's fate could end up like Jolty's. That's what happens when you play hero. Others suffer" Mike said and left, leaving Sonic alone in the dark street.
Returning to Reina's house he excused himself and shut himself and his pokemon to the guest's room. Mike's words echoed in his mind over and over. Closing his eyes he went to sleep praying he would wake up back in Fuchsia and all that would have just been a bad dream.