Monarch's Journey
Chapter 6: Unveiling Truths
As Ash looked over at the chipper movements that Misty made down the path to Cerulean, he could only focus on what Tizeriz said, before her own tone turned chipper. However someone wielding a shovel like a bat could be classified as chipper, considering the woman was currently white-knuckling the wooden handle like it was about to vanish from her hands.
Looking over at Brock, Ash felt a bit uneasy at the way their newest member glanced between Misty and Tizeriz, before looking at Ash with a calculated gaze. Leaning down, the older teen whispered a question into Ash's ear. "Did Misty mention anything about her family to either of you two? She hasn't been very talkative about them."
"Eh? No, Misty did say a bit, but it was all positive for some reason. I saw that she was scratched up, and bruised pretty badly… I was more focused on her clothes than anything though." The raven-haired trainer whispered back, to Brock's knitting eyebrows.
"And Tizeriz mentioned that she was carrying all of Misty's clothes right?" Brock asked again, calling back to a conversation the group had, a day before yesterday.
Ash nodded before frowning as he stopped, letting everyone else go ahead, besides himself and Brock. "You don't really think that she's been… abused right? I mean… she has self-esteem issues, even I can see that. Although…" Ash trailed off as he looked down the hill, watching as Misty turned around and started talking animatedly to Tizeriz, causing the older teen to chuckle as she rubbed the girl's hair.
Saying something that wasn't heard further back, Ash sighed as he stared down at his hands, ignoring the way Alissa stopped walking part way, and turned back at the two of them. Listening in, Alissa frowned as she heard the distress in Brock's voice.
"Ash, I know that you might've not connected all of the dots, but if she got emotional over Tiz buying her clothes, I highly doubt that her sisters were very kind to her. Her mind must be a wreck if she's viewing them as good people!" Brock's voice raised slightly before Ash shoved him back, and stomped his foot on the ground.
"YOU THINK I HAVEN'T REALISED THAT YET!?" The rookie trainer hissed back, causing Brock to back step and give Ash a sympathetic gaze, while the boy took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Feeling Pikachu rub against his cheek, he let out a sharp exhale and sighed. "I noticed it, and didn't want to see the signs connect fully. What's worse is that looking at her scars makes me feel weird, Brock."
"I understand if you don't want to talk about it Ash, but we really should go and report this to the Jenny here." Brock calmly comforted, only for Alissa to sigh.
"Don't bother." Alissa interjected, eyes lowering to the ground as the trio moved forward now. Slowly catching up to Tizeriz and Misty, who were still talking to each other ahead. Misty was smiling at Tizeriz as she watched the woman wince lightly, rubbing at her bandaged cheek gently.
The bruising had gone down thanks to a small spritz of a Full Restore, even if the stitches were still in her face. Yet as the woman walked besides Misty, the duo smiled before turning to Brock, Ash and Alissa with a wave. "C'mon gang! Let's go!"
"...We're going right for the gym, right?" Ash asked before looking over the hill that overlooked a large cityscape. Staring down at it, Tizeriz nodded as she sighed, and leaned forward slightly. "Oh wow!" the Raven-haired teen shouted as he came over, before looking at Misty's pride filled grin.
"I'm home!" She shouted before waving everyone over to a worn down path. "Let's go!" Misty shouted again as she ran ahead, Ash rushing after.
"... This is going to be an eye-opening experience, isn't it?" Alissa asked before Tizeriz slumped lightly, and huffed.
"Yep…"
Once the gang reached the outskirts of the city, Misty paused and frowned as she looked around the buildings, spotting no one in sight. Eyes growing concerned, she craned her neck before sighing. "Okay… I gotta go talk to the Bike Shoppe owner, so why don't you guys go ahead, okay?"
"Alright." Tizeriz watched as the girl vanished before sighing. Turning back to the remainders of the group, the woman shrugged before looking at Brock specifically. "...Guess we're going to the gym right?" She asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, that is a good idea… The Gym." Brock stiffly answered before walking further into the city, Ash trailing behind him, leaving Tizeriz and Alissa alone, looking at Cerulean with a bare hint of unease. Especially at the lifelessness it was currently emanating.
"Where the fuck is everyone?" Alissa asked before looking around, and frowned as she, and her sister, walked further into the city, trailing behind the duo ahead. "...Tiz, I don't like this, it's too empty right now."
"You ain't wrong sis, it's dead silent. Where the absolute bloody hell is everyone?" Tizeriz asked right back, before the split up group, perked up at the sound of commotion further into the city. All three teens, Pikachu and one Gardevoir, ran over to a large gathering of people, surrounding a very odd looking building.
Looking like a Merry-Go-Round threw up on a simple building, with a Dewgong plastered over the top of the dome. Tizeriz immediately had a comment for the awful look it was giving off, disrupting the loudness. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!"
"I believe the locals call it a… gym." Alissa whispered as the noise around the gym itself died down almost immediately. "I dunno."
Ash looked back at Tizeriz with an annoyed look before glancing at Brock, then jumped as he came face to face with Officer Jenny. Staring at the concerned look of the woman, the officer pulled back and turned to Tizeriz, waving a finger at her.
"Okay, you better not try anything here. I heard from my sister on what you did to her in Pewter." She threatened, to Tizeriz's annoyed eyebrow raise, before continuing. "She's too scared to even leave her station now because of you! Meaning, we were down one officer to try and deal with this whole mess my sister in Viridian, and her Nurse Joy forced on us!"
"Excuse me?!" Tizeriz shot back, before stomping over to the officer, forcing the much taller woman to shrink away. "I WAS MAKING SURE YOU FUCKIN' BIGOTS DID YOUR DAMN JOBS!" She shouted, drawing the attention of the group, forcing them to leave the, now shown to be, condemned Gym.
"I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO MAKE YOU ARREST CHILD ABUSERS BECAUSE OF HOW SHIT THIS REGION'S BECOMING!" Tizeriz continued, causing the officer to shrink further, as Tizeriz leaned over her, pointing her shovel at Jenny's throat. "So you tell me this… What did you idiots find, and do to them?"
"W-we arrested them, found them just packing Misty's stuff up… and were about to throw it away when we found them…" Jenny stammered out, her voice breaking slightly under the glowing eyes of the shorter woman above her. "T-they're in the League's prison right now… a-and when Lance comes back from his mission in Joht-"
"I'm sorry, I couldn't quite hear you, what the fuck is Lance doing?" Tizeriz asked, her eye twitching lightly before the shovel pressed between the officer's chest, applying a bout of pressure to her sternum. "Pray tell, what is more important, than a fuckin' child abuse case?"
"H-he said he found something pertaining to Team Rocket's existence over there…"
"Oh, like they don't exist over here?" Brock chimed in before Tizeriz could go off again. "Lance hasn't even done a flipping Gym Inspection for years!"
Tizeriz paused, before pulling her face away from Officer Jenny, and gave Brock a very confused look. "I'm sorry, he hasn't even inspected his gyms in Kanto, for several years?" She asked, eyes searching Brock's for clarification. Getting a grim nod back Brock scoffed as the crowd drew closer.
"Yeah, he hasn't done one, at least not since I initially became a gym leader." Brock clarified, Ash giving him a much more concerned look, than everyone else was to their city's officer. Tizeriz closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose before she sighed in frustration.
"So Brock, when we get to the actual Indigo League Tournament… Remind me to fuckin' strangle Lance. Okay?" She asked, Brock nodding before she moved the shovel off of Officer Jenny, allowing the woman to take a deep breath before scooting away from the shovel wielding Tizeriz.
"Noted." The former gym leader stated before looking at Officer Jenny with a grimace. "Although… I think you should stop terrorising the local Jenny clan. Soon enough, the League will put a target on your head." He added to Tizeriz's eye roll, and waved off motion.
"Pssh, as if." Tizeriz shrugged before looking down at the scared Jenny. "Seriously though luv… What the hell is goin' on around here?"
"Routine condemning of the gym, Misty's travelling with you guys… a-and a good thorough inspection of any, and all abuse." The officer answered before flinching at the gleam of the shovel in Tizeriz's hand.
"Gotcha. So, perchance… if Misty comes home, will the gym still be condemned?" The woman asked, even though the voice sounded less than pleasant, nor in a bargaining tone.
"Y-yes?" The officer asked meekly before flinching again as Tizeriz crouched and laid a finger over the officer's lips. Flicking her nose, Jenny winced at the lackadaisical look plastered on the older trainer's face. "B-but she did take the test… I-if we grab some of the badges, sh-she could give you two, her gym battle."
"Tiz?" Ash asked as he looked down at the nonchalant expression Tiz had on her face. "I think we should get Misty's opinion first. I don't wanna force her into something before she's uh… you know, realising how awful her sisters are?"
Tizeriz pondered the words, mulled over them silently, before decidedly throwing out said words, and sighed as she stood up. "Fine, fine… I just wanna make sure she could verify her shit was still there, and not, ya know… thrown the fuck out?"
"I get that, really… but… She shouldn't be coddled, or forced into positions like that." Ash almost coughed out as he took a step back instinctively. However, as he did so, he heard the sound of a bag dropping behind him.
"What's going on?" A familiar voice asked, the tone almost hesitant. Turning around, the raven haired teenager almost winced at the lost, almost scared look of Misty. Glancing across the crowd, Officer Jenny on the ground, and the blank look on Tizeriz. "Why uhh…why is everyone here at the gym? Is there a show today that I didn't see a notice for?" She asked a bit slowly before Brock glanced away and sighed.
"Nope." Tizeriz announced before a scowl overcame her features, her eyes narrowing at the local Jenny slowly getting back to her feet. "Apparently, thanks to a little birdy from Viridian, your sisters," the woman spat the word like it burned, "were found guilty of abusing you dove."
"A-abuse… my sisters?" The red-head almost implored, only to glance at Officer Jenny and take a step forward. "T-they wouldn't hurt anyone! My sisters loved me! T-they took me shopping for my birthday last year! T-they got me a bike for it this year… They l-loved me!" She denied, only to flinch at a different voice speaking up from the crowd.
"Misty, your sisters bought you a bike frame with a bent wheel, no handlebars, or even any chains." Misty turned to the man speaking, and backed up slightly as another voice chimed in, followed by another. Then another piled on until a cacophony of voices overtook the clearing before the gym.
"Your sisters took you to a second-hand store, Misty!" "You were better than them at the Gym Leadership during your coronation, but they took the title away from you!" "You were never included in the shows!" "They called you a RUNT!"
Overwhelmed by the voices echoing around the red-haired girl, she took several more steps back as her breath became shallow, eyesight became hazy and her eardrums started ringing. Clutching her ears, she turned tail, and ran off into the city, stumbling over her feet as Tizeriz's voice boomed above everyone else. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!
"You fuckin' lot! You're scaring her more than whatever the fuck they did! Keep your bloody mouths shut, or else I'm not going to play nice! GOT IT?!" Tizeriz demanded as her eyes snapped to the crowd, a deathly silence falling over everyone present.
"Good. Now that you bloody Kantoians shut up for a single second… Brock, Ash, let's go. We need to go find her before she does something I'll kill everyone present for." She hissed out, before pointing to Jenny and stalked over to the officer. "You keep them away from that damn gym, and get them the fuck out of here. Or else, I'm going to give you a new hole to get fucked in. Got it?"
Nodding rapidly, Jenny lifted a radio in trembling hands, before Ash, Brock and Tizeriz bolted from the Gym, the crowd shoved aside. Alissa glared around them, staying behind as she huffed, and flicked her fingers. "Now that they're gone… I don't have to sugarcoat anything…" She sighed before several glowing leaves fluttered in a ring around her waist.
With the crowd's attention fully on her now, Alissa snapped a finger as dark clouds swirled in, blotting out a bright sun, darkening the mood as thunder crackled in the air. "To those who said awful things, but never did a damn thing about the abuse, please. For Arceus sake… Don't hide." Eyes glowing a dark pink, electricity crackled around the Gardevoir, before several people decided then, and only then, that they should've ran away…several minutes ago.
Rushing around the natural maze that was Cerulean, Tizeriz glanced down alleyways, and natural alcoves, before stopping as she nearly slid forward. Planting a hand over her eyes, she squinted down a darker alleyway before huffing as rain started falling from above. "Great. FUCKIN' GREAT! Misty's lost, and now it's Arceus-damn raining!" She complained before kicking over a nearby table, seated right outside a restaurant. Huffing angrily, she glared around her, before dropping her head, arms planted against the back of a chair.
"Dove… come back please." She begged softly, her anger vanishing almost immediately before she snapped her eyes shut. Rain pattering down around her, Tizeriz let the coldness seep into her jacket before she slouched slightly. Hands crushing the metal chair slightly, the woman gritted her teeth before she snapped her eyes open. Lifting the chair, she threw it towards the thrown over table, and took another deep breath.
"I can't believe it… Of course she didn't realise it. Of course I was stupid enough to think that there wasn't something else wrong there." She huffed before trudging down the street again, ignoring the water clinging to her hair, bandage or even clothes. Too caught up in her own funk while searching, she missed the sound of sobbing coming from further down the street. Covered by the sound of rain hitting metal, she trekked away, eyes hollowing as she sighed.
Only pausing several metres away from a darker alleyway, Tizeriz turned her head and peered down it. Eyes too unfocused on anything, she narrowly missed the dark shadow shuffling further. The sound of shoes hitting the pavement alerted her, but it was the sight of the shadow slamming into a large puddle that got her full attention.
Walking into the tunnel, Tizeriz looked down at the figure slowly climbing to their feet, before they slid down the wall, and onto the ground, did she stop nearby. "...Hey dove." She called out, voice hoarse from screaming, but it got the attention of the figure. Pausing in their own sobbing, Tizeriz saw green eyes coming into view, and felt her heart stopping for a second.
"W-what are you doing here? Come to tell me more awful things about my family?" The figure asked, voice confirming it was Misty.
"...no." Tizeriz admitted as she walked over, and tore her jacket off without a thought. Wrapping it around Misty, the older teen sat down beside the younger girl, and looked at the rippling puddle before them. "In fact… I came to just talk about my awful mother."
"Really? I highly doubt it's that serious Tiz… you're usually so kind to us. Yeah a bit hot-headed to anyone else… but still." Misty mumbled as she wrapped the short jacket around her frame, frowning at how it swallowed her petite abdomen. Pushing the jealous thoughts away, Misty turned to gaze at Tizeriz, only to flinch at the glow of the older woman's pink eyes.
Blank faced, and eyes wider than usual, Tizeriz blinked before chuckling emptily. "Yeah. I do have a hateful mum. She told me that if I failed the WCS, I didn't have a family to return to." The woman bluntly stated, ignoring Misty as she looked back at the rippling puddle before them. "No family, and unfortunately, no home either. Didja know that I bought the home for them? I did. After losing in Sinnoh, then winning in Unova."
"How did they take it?" Misty asked as she huddled closer to the older woman, flushing as Tizeriz wrapped an arm around her loosely. "I hope its better than what everyone here said about my sis-"
"She didn't give a single fuck. I got us a mansion yeah, couldn't live in it, but hey. They could move, and so they did. Never even got a thank you." Tiz huffed back as she hung her head slightly, eyes taking on a more intense glow. "But hey, just because your own fuckin' daughter sacrificed her life to make sure you had a good home, doesn't mean that she's awesome huh?"
"I-I don't kno-"
"Then there's my fuckin' father. Useless twat can't even tell his wife to bugger off, and instead… All he does is watch TV, and informs us via mail. Actual paper mail. What a fuckin' tosser…" Tizeriz interrupted before she held a hand to her face. Wiping the rain off of it, she sighed before slamming her head into the wall behind them. "My grandfather has been tryna help me but he can't. All because of my friend's biological mother's project."
"...I'm sorry." Misty mumbled before sniffling as she buried her face into her sleeve covered arms, eyes watering as she squeezed them shut. "But apparently I'm a runt of a quartet of sisters, never allowed to even perform for the gym, or even become its leader… I'm just a kid that nobody cared enough about until you and Ash came along…"
Silence fell over the duo as Tizeriz narrowed her gaze into the rippling pool, before a firm hand pulled Misty closer, and forced the girl to look up at the older teen. "Since when did you let yourself think like that?" Tizeriz asked before cupping Misty's chin, and forced her head away from her arms. Misty quickly glanced down at the dark skin usually hidden away, and felt her brain give pause.
White lines ran up the arm connected to the hand she was being held by. White lines that, while hauntingly uniform, burned into Misty's eyes as she glanced back at pink eyes, feeling pity well into her own. "You're much stronger than I am… at least when it comes to enduring that kinda abuse…" Misty heard the older teen mutter, before feeling the hand dropping.
Almost immediately, Misty whimpered before tugging at the hand, and held it in her own. "You're not weak Tiz."
"…Damn well feel like it dove… I can't even tell my own mum to take a fuckin' hike." The older woman huffed before Misty pulled her arm again, causing the teen to jerk slightly, trying to avoid hitting the water.
"Well get it through your head, you're not weak. Never are, never will be." Misty firmly stated as she gave Tizeriz's dull eyes a glare. Seeing some colour return, Misty smirked as she shoved Tizeriz's arm away, before standing up and grinned. "Dunno what I gotta do to prove it to ya, but you're not weak."
Tizeriz found herself blinking at Misty before looking further up at the sky. Wincing at the sunlight beaming through bushes seated near the roofs, she slowly stood up at Misty's beckoning, before looking back down at the redhead, noting how her face was level with the other. As she stared at her friend, Tizeriz felt a fleeting thought pass through, before she willed it away with a shake of her head. "...Is it bad that I really hope you prove me wrong?"
"Hmm… Nah, I don't think so."
"So uh, can I get my jacket back?"
"Let's see…" Misty pulled a face as she pretended to ponder the thought. Mulling it over for several dragged out seconds, she stuck her tongue out, and darted from the alleyway grinning. "No!"
"Wha- Hey! Get back here!" Tizeriz shouted before scrambling after Misty, her face contorting into a smile as she ran. Chasing Misty, the duo failed to notice the fact that with the storm vanishing, a large exodus of the Gym was occurring, with Alissa as the main cause.
"Go on! Keep on Running! I'll just have all the more fun chasing every last one of you down!"
"Brock, didja see where Misty went?" Ash frantically asked before darting around the small junction that the duo were at. The rain coming in didn't help much, but with Tizeriz going her own way, it left the boys alone again. Still in a tizzy, Brock ran over to a building and peered inside the darkened interior, before looking back at Ash with a shake of his head. "B-because if she's been overwhelmed…I don't wanna see her do anything stupid."
"I'm sure she's… well not fine really, but Misty probably just hid somewhere people wouldn't want to find her. Meaning, almost anywhere in this place." Brock huffed back before looking around again, pace slowly staunching as he soon stopped near another junction. "Listen Ash, we're not going to find her panicking like this."
"I know that." The raven haired teenager grunted as he stared down another path of the maze they flung themselves into. Upon not seeing anything, especially with the pouring rain, Ash grunted as he turned away and looked at Brock.
"Ash, we better search more methodically."
"I know that."
"You're going to burn out before we even find her."
"I know."
"Ash. Stop." Brock almost demanded, voice sounding more defeated every block, before he just stopped again at a junction, spotting a turned over dining table outside a closed restaurant. "You're just blindly searching for an answer, or a person who doesn't want to be found."
"…I can't Brock." Ash finally admitted as he came to a stop under a streetlamp. Sighing he leaned his head against it, before tugging his cap off. Shaking it clear of rain water, he closed his eyes and waited for Brock to say anything else.
Nothing came, and when the rookie trainer opened them to give the older teen a gaze, he found his words dying on his tongue. Brock looked even more distraught than Ash thought, and with a sigh, the boy tugged his cap back on and walked over, frowning. "Brock? You look like you're staring at a ghost type." Ash commented as he pulled at the teen's vest.
Jerking out of his mental spiralling, Brock looked down at Ash and sighed as the two walked further into the maze of buildings and trees, before coming to a halt ahead, sitting down on the steps of a small apartment complex. "Sorry for pestering you Ash, I've just got either a bad feeling, or something else is causing me to think that she's crazy enough to do something awful…"
"…Hopefully Tizeriz found her, because if not… I doubt the rain here will help in the long run, and I don't even know where the heck it came from…" Ash sighed before slamming his head against the door, only to jerk forward and wince. "Ow, ugh… Of course it's the metal latch."
Waiting a few minutes for the pain to fade, Ash looked back down at the water rushing down the streets before it slowly started getting brighter. Standing back up, both teens brushed any residue of water off of their shirts, before walking back out slowly. "Still Brock," Ash began before looking up at his older friend, "I doubt Tiz didn't find her, let's keep searching, and if nothing tu-"
Both teens paused as a thunder calamity of noise echoed across the street. Only to jerk back as people ran by, several dozen running away from the main stampede. At the epicentre was Alissa floating after the crowd laughing maniacally, while Jenny was turned to her, holding a whistle up.
Ash felt slightly uneasy at the sight of blood on the Gardevoir's pale white skin.
"We better go stop her before the two of them end up on Lance's personal hit list… He'll deploy the G-men on her if she keeps attacking the region like this…" Brock sighed before tugging on Ash's shoulder, pulling the boy after Alissa, missing the two laughing girls running back to the gym.
"Alissa! Hey! Let them…" Trailing off, the duo ran after the wayward Gardevoir.
Running back to the location where Misty's bag sat, untouched, the red-haired girl rushed over, and snagged the bag. Taking a second to breathe quietly, she sighed, only to scream with laughter as Tizeriz pounced, and tackled her to the ground, rolling to a halt under a tree, Tizeriz pinned Misty to an exposed root, and grinned as her breathing remained haggard. "G-gotcha… now gimme my Jacket back you little dove." The older woman breathed, almost into Misty's face as the duo grinned at each other.
Despite being pinned by the shorter woman's weight, Misty didn't seem to struggle to sit up, and force Tizeriz into her lap. "Make me. You offered, I'm just making sure I get my use out of it." Misty stuck out her tongue again, only to shiver as Tizeriz chuckled, and leaned against the girl, forcing Misty to lean against her elbows on the ground.
"Well, you got the interior of it wet, got it soaked actually, and still…" Tizeriz trailed off as she shifted her weight, and pulled Misty towards the trunk of the tree. Pinning Misty with a finger, the older woman grinned slyly as she watched Misty's expression shift rapidly. Playful became calm. Calm turned into surprise. Surprise turned into apprehension as Misty looked down at the finger poking her sternum. Only to flinch as the digit smacked her nose, sending her head careening into the trunk.
"Still, you demand to keep wearing what is mine~" Tizeriz teased before watching as Misty rubbed at her nose with the sleeve. Pausing absently, Misty looked back at Tizeriz before flushing as she looked away, eyes narrowing as the girl huffed.
"Maybe it's because you're a massive jerk to everyone but us." Misty scoffed before crossing her arms, fingers absently rubbing at the leathery material. Eyes dropping from Tizeriz's smug, pink orbs, Misty snapped them shut, as she wiggled a foot out from under Tizeriz, and pulled it close to her body.
"Perhaps, but my dear dove…" Tizeriz shrugged as she leaned forward and tapped Misty's jaw as she smirked. "It's my damn jacket. My arms are freezing, and I want it back." She nearly deadpanned before shaking Misty's head wildly, causing the girl to laugh as she tried throwing Tizeriz off.
Which only happened after Misty slammed a foot into Tizeriz's flat chest, and shoved her back. The older teen let out a grunt as she landed flat on her back, and glanced at Misty's flushed face as the girl scrambled over, and looked down. "Oh I'm sorry! Are you okay?"
Tizeriz stared at Misty, face framed by the sunlight peeking through the foliage above, and blinked lightly. Remaining silent for several seconds, the older trainer slowly sat up, and nodded absently. "Yeah… yeah I am, dove…" She almost whispered back, before shaking her head as she jumped to her feet suddenly. Misty followed suit immediately before the shorter teen frowned and looked at the red head. "Seriously though luv… can I get my jacket back? I don't feel like advertising myself right now."
"O-oh yeah! Here." Misty hastily answered before tugging off the leather short jacket from her thin frame, before handing it to Tizeriz. Who just absently threw it on, and stared down at the black fabric covering her own dark skin again. "Tiz?" Misty asked, hesitantly leaning down to look at the older teen's face.
"Are you actually okay?"
Tizeriz held a hand to her chest, and frowned at the slowing of her heart rate before she looked at her gloved hand silently. Looking over at the gym, her fist clenched before she forced her thoughts down. "Yeah. Let's just wait for the boys to come back, and wherever the hell Alissa went."
Smiling softly, Misty looped a hand through Tizeriz's absently, before giving the older woman an affirmed squeeze.
"Okay… So thankfully, we got her under control… Thanks Jenny." Ash huffed as he turned to Officer Jenny, who was busy tightening the rope around Alissa's arms, wedged to her back. Frowning the Gardevoir blew a strand of hair from her face and gave Ash a flat look.
"Listen, those asshats didn't say anything about her abuse until it was convenient. I was just pruning the numbers." She admitted before shrugging her shoulders as she turned to Jenny. "Also you really should go and pick up a knot book. I can easily escape this abysmal tie. But first, mind making sure nobody else was benefitting from her abuse? I don't want Misty to ever return home, only to suffer at someone else's hand."
"She's not ever coming back here." Brock interjected as he frowned at Alissa's nonchalant demeanour. "Not if I have any say, we can move her elsewhere, but I don't want her returning here if everything is just going to end up with her hurting again."
"Ditto." Alissa added before Jenny huffed and walked away from the group, pulling out a simple pocket book, and pen. "Hey. I hope you realise that this isn't gonna stop us from changing who's in charge around here." she added, causing the officer to stiffen.
"My sister declared an ultimatum, and that means that, with or without any help from your clan, we're changing the pecking order here. I don't care if Lance will have to be dragged away from his champion status kicking and screaming, or even in a body bag. We're gonna make sure that Kanto gets a better representative than even Steven."
"Okay that's a bit much." Brock started only for Alissa to smile as she turned back to him, noting how Jenny was now walking away even faster, probably to avoid filling out another charge or something against Alissa. "Still… did you see where Misty went, or were you having too much fun being a terrorist for this city?"
"Oh she got found by my sis, saw them running back towards the gym." Alissa helpfully answered before walking back with the two boys, both of them huffing as they turned back at the street. Walking ahead of Alissa, the Gardevoir smirked as she flicked her wrists, letting a smell of smoke emanate from her hands.
Snapping the rope from her arms, Alissa took a few skips forward, before turning around to the two teens and grinned. "C'mon! Let's go catch up to them before we miss anything noteworthy!" She shouted before rushing off ahead, ignoring the two teens behind her.
Left alone again, Brock sighed as he turned to Ash and gave the younger trainer a weary look. "How on earth do you keep up with her? I've known you two for less than a week and I'm already getting worn out."
"I don't." Ash answered honestly before gesturing to Alissa's darting form, pausing at random shops in the street before continuing ahead without a thought. "She is just like this. Dunno how Tizzy can keep track of her, but apparently even she has trouble. Like any actual sister would."
"So from what you're telling me, is that being alone with those three in Viridian's forest, was awful?" Brock asked again before Ash just shrugged and shook his head. "How the- You know what? I don't even wanna know anymore Ash. Let's just go before Tizeriz decides to break into the gym, and set fire to water."
"... Are you tempting fate right now, or just trying to think optimistically?" Ash asked as the duo slowly caught up to the, now easily distracted, Gardevoir. "Cuz she managed to get the jump on us with berries before, but that was well before I even got to witness her even trying to cook. Alissa definitely saved us a lot of pain."
"You're telling me Ash… She's the worst cook I've ever had the displeasure of meeting, and I had to feed one of my siblings hot corn flakes for dinner, and the other cold spaghetti every morning." Brock huffed back before he paused at a store's window. It was displaying a poster of the Cerulean Waterflower Sisters, sans Misty. Each looked like a local model, almost cut and paste with how their dresses looked, nearly identical.
Frowning at the image, Brock walked closer and narrowed his eyes as he glanced over the three, yet jumped as Ash ripped the poster down, crumbled it up unexpectedly and threw it in the nearby trash bin. "How the hell was she related to those washouts? She looks way better than them!" Ash proclaimed before stomping away from the discarded poster.
Walking away with an annoyed huff, Brock ran to catch up with the raven haired trainer and stopped him short of rounding an intersection. "Ash, wait up!" The older teen shouted before Ash sighed and looked back at him.
"What? I said what I thought." Ash huffed again before Brock gave him a critical look. Feeling small, Ash shrugged Brock's hand away from him, before looking down the street sighing. "Those three can't be beautiful… Look at what they did to Misty. They took someone who already looked nice, and turned her into something that can't ever look as pretty as she should be."
"Like an angel statue with cracks running across it~?" Alissa asked as she walked over, pausing behind Ash as he lifted a hand and turned towards her.
"Yeah exactly that. She could look as beautiful or awesome as those marble statues are, but ended up looking more nice with broken cracks running through her." Ash admitted again before waving Alissa's smirk off. "Like yeah, she may be covering scars up, but that doesn't mean that she should be ashamed of her body." He muttered before shoving Alissa back without any care, or real force.
"But c'mon, we're wasting time here worrying about useless stuff, when we should be worried about Misty's mental health." Ash added before he walked ahead, leaving Brock and Alissa behind, both trainer and Pokemon staring at each other with concern.
"I hope she's okay… I don't wanna see Ash beating himself up if she isn't."
"Alissa, I think they're okay. If Tiz was chasing Misty, then Ash'll be fine." Brock comforted before looking further ahead, spotting the unsightly gym in the distance. Walking closer, the trio came to a point where they saw Misty and Tizeriz, sitting beside each other, on a bench under a tree. Smiling, the two were talking in hushed voices, which became louder the closer Ash and the others came to them.
"…so that's why I'm not looking for a relationship Tizzy, cus of how… well, roughed up I look." Misty muttered before getting a shoulder rub from Tiz, the older woman pulling Misty closer before smirking.
"Nah. You're beautiful, don't ever let anyone say otherwise." Tizeriz sighed as she flicked Misty's nose, causing the girl to flinch lightly. Still rubbing her nose lightly, Tizeriz shrugged as she sat back lightly. "By the way, they're back." The woman sighed as she stood up.
"What's up you lot? Find Alissa?" She asked, looking over at Alissa standing tall and proud beside the two teens, while Misty stood up behind her rapidly, walking over with a bright smile. "What happened to the crowd here?"
"I attacked them for hurting Misty." Alissa whispered loudly, eyes widening as she gave Tizeriz a small smile. Only to get smacked by the woman as she frowned. "Ow! What the hell was that for?! You'd do the same fucking thing!"
"Yeah but… Not in front of the local Officer, I already assaulted her, no need to escalate everything else. You know?" Tizeriz asked before Misty nodded rapidly, looking down at Tizeriz before the shorter woman huffed and walked towards the gym.
"Anyways… we got something important to do, then we gotta get her stuff moved to somewhere safe." She continued before Brock frowned.
"Where exactly?" He asked as the group made their way into the condemned gym, Alissa making a point by breaking the barricades in her psychic grasp.
"Dunno, probably my home, or maybe wherever Ash is from." Tizeriz waved off before Ash interjected with an annoyed tone.
"Pallet Town." He sternly reminded the older woman, before said woman rolled her eyes. Slapping the wall absently, Alissa watched as the lights inside the building kicked on. "So Misty… decided to give us a gym battle considering we're coming in here?"
Turning towards him, the redhead smiled as she held a hand to her chest and sighed. "This will be my first, and last time as Cerulean's Gym Leader." She declared before she walked over to a room she visited long before heading out.
Heading in, she came right back out several moments later, clutching two badges in her hand. Standing at the other end of a swimming pool the size of a football field, the girl grinned as she held two fingers up. "As Cerulean's last remaining gym leader, I must prove my worth by giving you two a fair challenge! I'll be taking on both of you, at the same time!"
"...Alrighty then. Ash, I'm gonna just use my only Pokemon who might make this fair…" Tizeriz sighed as she simply held up a worn out Poke Ball, tossing it high up in the air, the group backed away as a large shadow formed across the ground. Melting into Tizeriz's own shadow, a dark purple figure rose into view.
"Gen…gar." The figure slowly croaked out, eyes weary and movements slightly slow. Standing with arms crossed behind his back, Tizeriz looked behind her at her Gengar, taking a lumbering step forward. Standing beside his trainer, Shade gave the group a leery gaze before nodding at them. Closing his eyes, Shade sat down and placed his hands on his knees. "Gargen… Gengar."
"Hey Shade, up for a gym battle buddy?" Tizeriz asked before crouching down to Shade's height. Getting a slow nod back, she smiled. "Alright, we're set."
Ash frowned at the slow movements Gengar made before looking at Alissa, who to his surprise, was turned away, eyes closed. However, he ignored the surprise and held out a hand to his Poke Balls, and pondered an idea. "Hey Pikachu, you feel like fighting for me today?" He asked, only to chuckle as Pikachu jumped from his shoulder, and landed in Alissa's arms, shaking his head.
"Thought so. Alright, let's give Spearow his first go through." Ash sighed before fishing out Spearow's ball and threw it high up. "Spearow! I choose you!" Ash called, letting the tiny bird land on his head, before wincing with a laugh, as Spearow pecked at his noggin.
"Alrighty, I'll go play referee, and we'll get this official match under way." Brock announced before Alissa carried Pikachu down to a bleacher set hidden in the wall. Seated, Tizeriz walked over to one side with Shade slinking across the shadows of the pool, before floating above it, standing just on the surface. Fluttering into the air, Spearow hovered over Shade as Misty grinned and turned her back to Ash and Tizeriz.
"As my first, and final challengers of this gym, I hereby declare this as my last decree before retiring. I will be participating in the League, no matter the status I possess then. I hereby declare my challenge official in the eyes of the League." She stated before tossing two Poke Balls into the air, "This city has failed me, so this challenge is as a rival, as much as it is my duty."
With Starmie and a green, slightly sparkly Piranha fish forming from their respective Poke Balls, Misty turned sharply and smiled. "And you know what? Screw this city, they didn't do a damn thing to try and help me, you all did. So from me to you all… Thanks." She added before her gaze turned serious.
"Starmie! Use Swift on Spearow, and Basculin, try and Bite Shade!" she commanded before watching as Basculin dove deeper under the water. Vanishing from sight, Shade glared at the water, before hearing a command coming from his trainer.
"Shade, follow suit, but use your sleeping combo if need-be!" Tizeriz shouted as she watched Shade vanish under the water, sinking quickly before turning her attention to Spearow above, watching as the bird ducked under, and banked around the pool as Starmie hovered in the air, a whirlpool forming below as it turned, golden stars flying out, and narrowly missed the bird.
Watching the movement, Tizeriz's eyes widened before she slammed her foot down, a narrowing gaze boring into the swirling waters. "SHADE BACK UP NOW!" She shouted before Gengar flew up, undisturbing the water before a jumping Basculin jumped into the air. With teeth glowing dark, the Basculin flipped, and dove back under, its white stripe helping it vanish under the light hitting above.
Narrowing his own eyes, Shade ducked as he looked over at the stars flying from Starmie. Huffing, the ghost lifted one arm back, as a darkness swirled into a ball at his digits. Flinging it with an overreach, Shade stumbled, and dodged another bite from the Basculin. Huffing, he turned, and grabbed the tail of the piranha.
Opening his mouth, Shade gave the Basculin a large lick from his tongue, before slamming a fist into its side, and threw it away, laughing lightly at the way the Basculin struggled to move. Landing in the water roughly, Shade watched as the Basculin sank deeper before ducking again as Spearow nearly clipped him. "Gengar!" He shouted before turning to blink at the Starmie now coming right at him, spinning in a hypnotic fashion.
Watching as Starmie phased through Shade, Tizeriz frowned before snapping her fingers twice, while Ash shouted something when Starmie slowed down. "Spearow! Mirror Move the next attack!"
Stalling to a halt, Spearow waited as Starmie's gem began lighting up with a yellow glow. With his own wings taking on the same hue, Spearow felt the lights above flicker out of life before he shot out a curtain of Thunderbolt, meeting Starmie's head on. The twin attacks pierced through each other, before grounding out between the two Pokemon.
Not willing to drop, Spearow huffed as he flapped his wings harder, buffeting against the electric attack. Almost immediately, Starmie fell away first, as it dodged out of the way from a Shadow Ball being flung by Shade. The ghost type floated downward slowly, eyes boring into the Starmie. With a huff, the Gengar formed another Shadow Ball from the vast darkness of the arena, and flung it downward, striking Basculin again, causing the tiny piranha to struggle in the air, only to be recalled by Misty.
"Alright Tiz! You might've beaten my Basculin, but if you want the badge, you're gonna have to deal with my ace, and have Ash win too!" Misty grinned before clapping her hands once.
Spinning in the opposite direction now, Spearow and Shade watched as the pool water rose higher into the air. Before Starmie's gem glowed a brighter red, and slammed down on one of the swirling pool platforms. Spinning its back legs rapidly, the whirlpool twisted into a cone rising high above. Wrapping around Shade and Spearow, the two flying pokemon gave the other a glance, before Shade huffed.
'Shade, duck in, and hide.' Shade heard echoing in his mind, before giving where the shadow of Ash and Tizeriz were at, a nod. Turning to Spearow, he gestured to the stationary Starmie, and held a digit to his lips.
Nodding back, Spearow smiled as his Mirror'd Thunderbolt petered out, before flapping his wings again. Rising higher, Spearow watched as Shade vanished into the whirlpool before a fist punched out and slammed into Starmie from behind. Startled by the sudden attack, Starmie flipped over, and fired a Thunderbolt into the whirlpool, lighting it up with a glow. Water flittering down into the pool again, Gengar floating to the surface, ears poking through as he grinned, and ducked back under. With Starmie following his movements, the starfish missed the moment where Ash shouted an attack, and turned to see Spearow rushing it.
"Spearow! Use Peck while Starmie's distracted!"
With a moment to spare, Starmie wasted the moment as Spearow's beak slammed into its gem, cracking it. Momentarily dazed, Starmie flipped over in the sky, before slamming into a pool platform. With the sudden weight dropping back in, the pool cracked, sending a slight tremor out.
Misty recalled her Starmie before looking up as the splashback hit the ceiling, shorting the rest of the lights out. Cloaked in darkness, the floor cracked further, before sunlight peaked in through several fissures along the wall. "We better leave guys!" Tizeriz shouted before Alissa huffed and jumped from the bleachers, over to the gang as they gathered at the doorway outside. Watching as the ceiling collapsed into the pool, Tizeriz shoved everything outside, before she stumbled from the shockwave and fell flat on Ash, sending both to the ground.
"FUCK!" She shouted as Misty turned with Brock back at the downed teens behind them. Slowly standing back up, Tizeriz stumbled slightly before huffing as she held a finger up. "We do not speak of this to anyone."
"Agreed…" Ash whined as he remained flat on his face, having been squashed by the shorter woman. "Now get off of my back Tiz… I can't feel my spine." He continued, only for Tizeriz to take a step over his head, slamming it further into the dirt.
"Alright." The older girl stated before grinning as she turned around. "So… Misty…"
Turning to the slightly taller girl, the woman gave her a wide grin before sliding closer, poking her arm lightly. "We get the badge?"
"Oh absolutely." Misty stated without hesitation before handing Tizeriz a teardrop badge, causing the older woman to grin. Hugging Misty she held a hand into the air and chuckled, while Ash slowly got to his feet, wincing as he stumbled into them slightly.
"HELL YEAH! NEXT STOP! VERMILION!" She shouted before Ash laughed weakly, and accepted his badge from a flustered, now former, Cerulean Gym Leader.
Ash cracked his back to readjust the misalignment thanks to a certain Galarian who quite literally fell on top of him. "Oh man, that's better. Two things: One, Tiz, I'll get you back for that. And two, I got a Cascade Badge!"
With the building collapsed, and a bout of laughter ringing around, nothing was going to crush the spirits of the group. Not even the fact that for the next few days, there was only going to be pain, and a general sense of being absolutely lost.