Book One: Wrath, Chapter Nine-
The girl kneels by a pink blob shape, crying excessively burying her face into its soft flesh. On the opposite end is the man standing by a fierce red dragon with smoke seeping from its shut jaws. He lends a sympathetic look.
"We have to start the battle sometime," he says. Her crying slows.
"But Ramune loves me," she states, wiping her tears. "We played together ever since you got her. I don't want her to get hurt, and I just know she would if she has to fight Mooky."
"Now there, Ramune's tough," he reminds his daughter. "She'll be fine, especially in your hands," he adds to boost her confidence. None of it is true, however, since Mooky is undefeated.
"Really?" she asks. His nod confirms it. Pausing to think awhile, she then throws her arms around the balloon, squeezing it tight, and whispers to it, "Please be safe. For me." Giving it a quick kiss, she releases it. Steadily, it hops out to the battlefield.
The huge winged lizard takes to the sky as the creampuff chants a divine melody. Sleep overcomes the beast in flight and causes it to crash into the earth. The long eared shape dashes towards the landing site, but the waking creature swats it away with a sweep of its wing. Rolling and bouncing across the ground, it looks up to see the girl staring back with watery eyes. It remembers and stands back on its feet.
It changes its body to have a rigid and faceted surface as the dragon launches a tornado of flame that completely engulfs it. A slight silhouette of the fat body is visible through the fire, and at this, Mooky aims a mammoth blaze that drowns out all shadows. It strikes its target with a great explosion, wiping out the swirling fires. The image of Ramune shatters and crumbles to ashes, but before they all can fall, the real Ramune reappears with its eyes shut and glowing. Taking all the force that had come onto its clone, it fires a beam of all that force amplified. The single blow lays waste to the lizard.
The girl, in a fit of joy, grabs the victor and swings it around merrily, saying "We won, we won!" over and over again. The man cries out her name. She stops dancing and gradually turns towards her father, expecting the worst. He sweeps her off the ground and into his arms. The actions puzzle her.
"I am so proud of you," he tells her. "You were able to win. And I was really trying hard that time, too. I always knew you had it in you. You'll be a great trainer, just like your parents. But what ever you do, I'll still be proud of you."
That last sentence echoed in Rei's head as she was pulled back into reality. There she stood in front of a mirror. The reflection was draped in black leather and other fashions that even she could not be proud of, but it was all necessary. Her father's jacket, however, remained on her. She had finally reached her first destination. Rocket activity was definitely abroad here, and if she wanted any chance of infiltrating them, she would have to look the part. She purchased her new wardrobe with some help from the man she had clobbered a couple days back.
Within Rei's stay at the city, she had been eavesdropping on various conversations and spying on suspicious people to gather information. She found out were their covert meeting place was hidden and had observed several meetings secretly from windows and rooftops. Once she had felt sufficient information was gathered, she took a chance and attempted to slip into one of their assemblies.
Rei watched from a shadowed alley as one by one shady figures would slip into the seeming abandoned building in the rundown part of town. The Rockets would crank their necks around to insure no one saw them enter, and as they did, a bulky fellow acted as a guard to see if they were welcome to enter. Checking to see that the streets were clear, Rei took in a deep breath and made her way from the shadows to the door. At her feet was the Flareon, whose dark fur had earned it the name Cinder, whose grim demeanor added to believability to her guise. Turning around, her eyes mimicked the shifting of the ones before her as she stepped backwards to the door.
Silently opening it, she slipped through. Keeping her head down, in case anyone recognized that she normally did not belong there, she confronted the gate keeper. She remained in his presence for a while, inferring that the man was to perform some purpose, but he was as idle as she was. Taking a risk, she walked away from him, hoping that it was what she was suppose to do. She glanced out of the corner of her eye to make sure he was not eyeing her distrustfully; however, the man was not looking at her in general. Surpressing the rage she felt from the guy's leer as not to blow her cover, she played along with it until she had safely and comfortably left his vision.
Rei was now inside. She stood staring out upon a cleared out warehouse. All crates and boxes were replaced with people. Maps, schedules, and plans were scattered about on tables, walls, and the floor. In the far corner, it looked as if several weapons, explosives, and other dangerous materials were stored up. Each character looked more nefarious than the next. Everyone there was young, and a good wager could be made that no one there was even close to being thirty. The bulk seemed to be rebellious teenagers, trainers gone rogue, many not even in true Rocket uniforms, but punk biker gear. The overwhelming majority was also male. Rei hoped that she would blend in, but, luckily, everyone appeared to be engaged in their own affairs. Clusters of people would be talking, another would be arguing, and many were quarreling betwixt themselves. It was as if no order existed amongst them.
Rei pressed her way through the crowd in an attempt to overhear valuable conversations. As she bumped into people, quick glances over their shoulders turned into long stares, and some even followed her around for a bit. She had hoped not to draw any attention, for the more people that noticed her, the more chances that someone could figure out that she did not belong there. Her poise was retained amid the sea of catcalls and rude remarks until she came to the back of the depot. There, a massive platform rose up, topped with a few tables and podium. She tried her best to stay incognito up front, but soon, a voice called to her.
"Well, well, well," it started, "there are actually others here." Rei peered up and saw a woman perched at one of the high tables. She was draped in black cloth with a mask over her face and a hat adorned with a crimson 'R'. Although she barely was older than anyone else, her hair was a snowy white. "I was beginning to doubt that there were other women at this place. Sweetheart, why don't you come up here and join us?" the woman called. At the same table were other individuals wearing actual Rocket garb. It looked to be inhabited by the senior members. Knowing that she could get deep into their plans, Rei thanked the woman kindly and jumped onto the stage accompanied by Cinder. That single feat rattled up the onlooker furthermore. "Animals, aren't they?" the woman asked.
Rei nodded and added, "Well, at least they make good pawns." Her remark got a chuckle from the lady. When she stopped, Rei bowed. "They call me Rei."
"Serenity," the white haired woman noted. "Please, Rei, join us." She pulled out a stool and sat down. Cinder came and stood vigilantly, as if on watch. "That's a fine beast you got there," Serenity confessed.
"Thanks," Rei responded, "I swiped it from some loser just a few days ago. The poor sap." Serenity laughed again. Rei glanced about the table at the other people. There were four others, all men, and all but one was scrutinizing her. The other was the one closest to her. She leaned forward and spoke sharply to stir him from his daze. "Can I help you?"
Startled by the speaking but quickly returned to his ogling, he replied, "Yes, you can." For once his eyes went to hers. "Why haven't I seen you around here before?"
"Shut up, Scorn," Serenity told the gawker, "or I'll shut you up."
"Now, wait a moment. Scorn has a point," the man sitting beyond the one called Scorn spoke up. "Why haven't we seen this dame before? She doesn't exactly hide well in a crowd."
"Quiet, guys," Serenity ordered. "I like her. She has spunk."
"Besides," the deep voice of the man furthest from Rei croaked, "we have more important business to attend to." He was a big fellow. By his guise and aged face, Rei could sense that this was no low ranking thug, but one of the highest generals. He sifted through the papers on the table, comprised of typed documents and sketchy, wrinkled, handwritten pages.
Talks began. The five of them strategized and labored over what course of action was going to be taken. Rei had no idea what the plan was about. They mentioned high numbers of troops going out and high stakes. In the searching for papers, one was tossed by Rei. She examined it and was horrified. It was a map of the city they were currently in, and the arrows on it pointed towards a building marked Silph Co. They were planning a full scale raid on it.
Maintaining her straight face, Rei dabbled in some of the documents, but performing them so that her actions were concealed. She came upon an older document and in it was map with a line winding throughout. It pierced dots marked with city names, most of which were crossed out. She then realized what it was. It was a path of destruction, and the line went straight through what once was her hometown. She traced the line backwards and looked at the dates. A town not too far from hers was taken out only months before. She traced it further back and found one obliterated four years ago. She traced it further back still. For over a decade, the Rockets had been looting and crushing all in their path.
Overran by fear, Rei traced the map for were they were seven years ago. She could not hold her emotions back anymore as a tear slipped out. The line intersected the area her father had journeyed to. He was a casualty of the Rocket's sweeping raid. The debating between the headmen stopped, and they spoke clearly and audible.
The eldest declared, "Then it is decided. The police will be so tied up with the petty crimes caused all over the city that we will have no problem taking down the Silph building. We'll loose a lot of men, but it's not like we'll have trouble replacing them." There was an air of amusement around the table. Since the losses would only be the scum that lined the storehouse floor, none of them cared.
"Okay, boss man," agreed Scorn. "Serenity, give the orders and make them look pretty. We don't want these fools to realize they're being used." She nodded and approached the podium. Feedback rang though the vast room as she adjusted the microphone. All eyes and ears heeded her. She began elaborating on how they were to attack and plunder the outskirts of the city. She instructed them on the many weapons they would be given, pointing to the great pile in the corner. As she spoke, Scorn looked over and nudged the Rocket next to him.
"Hey, what happened to Serenity's friend?" he asked since Rei was no where in sight. He shrugged. He sat confused for a while and tried to listen, but his own question still lingered in his mind. It then struck him what had transpired and he leapt from his seat. As he did this, a glowing ball of flame crashed through a window. It spiraled around aimlessly and crashed into a wall. Shortly after, three more followed. The Rockets on the floor were consumed by panic. Most of the high ranking officials had already fled just in time, for the last fiery sphere crashed into the ammo stocks.
Outside, Rei was running away from the building with Cinder, smoking at the mouth, at her feet. In a brilliant explosion, the warehouse was set on fire. Rei did not stop nor care about the people inside. They were in no real danger, and those who did perish would do so from their own stupidity and deserved it. As she dashed across the open field, she could see flashes in the night sky. A storm was brewing, and with it was an ill omen.
