FicWad

"Did you hear about the kid in there?"

"Yeah, I heard he was a member of Team Magma. What about him?"

"They say he was the one who broke into the Institute and stole the Weatherite Crystal."

"What?! Him? No way! Did they find it on him?"

"Well... no, I don't think so... they'll probably beat it out of him or something. Anyways I feel sorry for the kid."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, he had to fight Hawk, for one."

"Ouch..."

"Yeah... anyways, when they brought in the kid's Eevee, it was TOTALLY out of commission. Probably dead, from the looks of things."

"You think so?"

"Dunno, maybe. Shame, though. It was one of those rare shinies. Anyways, how's that report coming?"

Batoy sighed miserably as the voices faded away. He'd been taken to one of the penal centers in Calcite City, about 52 kilometers away from the Mystical Coliseum close to Terra, and confined in a stone room. He sighed again, his back pressed against the wall. Even now, it ached occasionally. The room was dark, lit only by the natural light filtering from a small barred window. Absently, he reached down and rubbed the dead Eevee beside him. "I'm so sorry, Meto..." he whimpered quietly. Rigor-mortis had already claimed the Eevee's body.

He shifted around so that he was sitting with his legs to the side. The room was completely barren with the exception of a single wire frame bed jutting from a corner. The whole place had a foul odour about it. The very atmosphere was grimy and grim. Batoy could hear the pitter-patter of raindrops falling outside. "I just... I just want the sun to shine again..." he moaned before looking back down at the unmoving silver Pokemon. Blood had dried on its muzzle. Its sides had been crushed, and much of its fur had been charred by the power of the Meganium's Hyper Beam.

The boy continued to gently caress the stiff Pokemon, and his fingers made their way up to the Eevee's neck. Batoy paused and frowned. No pulsing could be felt in the Eevee's chest. For a brief second, a desperate smile came to his face as a tear rolled down his cheek and Batoy continued to stroke the Eevee. "You're... really dead.... I... I can't believe it..." He gently picked up the Pokemon and clutched it tightly, but there was no warmth, no beating. "You can't... really be dead... you're sleeping, right?" he said with a whimper. A tear tugged at the corner of his eye.

A mighty clank jolted the boy and he instinctively rose to his feet, clutching the Eevee all the tighter. Two men, each dressed similar to Hawk, with camouflage gear covering their fine-tuned bodies, entered in. Batoy stopped and glanced at them, his stomach curling. "Wh-What do you want?" he stammered. They said nothing, but advanced. Each of them towered over Batoy, and with large hands, grabbed him by the shoulders. "H-Hey?! Leggo!" the boy protested, but against the strength of the two men, he couldn't resist. Handcuffs were slapped over his wrists, and he winced in pain as he dropped the Pokemon. He glanced behind to see the Eevee, its eyes open and soulless before the door closed.

The hallways of the Penal Center were incredibly bright and clean. Batoy couldn't help but wonder how such a clean facility could have such grimy rooms. The hallways were lit by series of florescent lights. They walked briskly for several moments, turning down one hall and moving up another. Eventually, they came to single door which opened into a dark room. Batoy was forced inside, and the door closed behind them, drowning them in darkness.

A sudden bright light flashed into Batoy's eyes, and he winced. His eyes were pried open and immediately began to water. The youth began to cry out, but an authoritative voice silenced him. "Quiet! Batoy Guilderos, member of Team Magma, you are being held in custody for the alleged possession of a rare and valuable material." The voice changed and the boy heard a click like something being turned on or off. "Now... enough of the formalities, you're gonna tell us what we want to know." A dark rough hand gripped Batoy's chin, squeezing painful. "Understand?"

The young kid's eyes blurred. Some sort of adhesive, like tape, was keeping his eyes pulled apart. "I-I!" he cried, shaking as he twisted, trying to blink and shield his eyes from the abusive light. But he was bound firmly. Batoy began to sniffle and cry. "Pl-Please... lemme go... I didn't do nothing...." He cried out piteously. His eyes began to spasm.

"Cut the bull, kid!" a voice roared. Batoy flinched. "We know you stole the Weatherite! Tell us where it is! Where'd you hide the damn crystal?!" Only excited and frantic gasps of air from the pained boy answered his interrogators. "Fine. If you're not gonna talk, maybe your Pokemon will." Batoy's chest tightened. The voice continued. "We have Pokemon more than capable of communicating with humans. I'm sure your Umbreon would have some interesting things to say. Or maybe the Castform?"

"N-No!!" Batoy screamed. There was a satisfied chuckle. "Pl-Please don't hurt Flip and Stream!! I'll do whatever... whatever you want!! Just don't hurt them!" Almost immediately, the bright lights were snapped off, and the room was plunged back into darkness. The adhesive was removed from his eyes, and Batoy gave a sigh of relief as his burning eyes finally rested.

The sniveling boy was escorted into another room, this one a little more accommodating than the last. He was placed in a slightly more comfortable chair and given the freedom to move his bound hands. He immediately covered his eyes and rubbed them. Besides his two escorts, there was another man in the same room. He was middle-aged, with signs of grey peeking through his brown facial hair. He was dressed like he was a member of the Pokemon Rangers. He glanced down at the boy, his eyes full of hidden contempt. "This him?" he asked in a gruff voice. Batoy's two escorts nodded. The man rolled his eyes. "You're dismissed. Wait outside." The two men nodded and disappeared from Batoy's side.

The man glanced down at the sniffling boy, and nearly spat. "Team Magma scum... couldn't do well enough alone so you had to go screw up the entire world.... What were you planning to do with that Weatherite?" the man demanded. Batoy looked up, shivering in fright. "I... I wasn't gonna do anything... I was just told ta get it..." he said softly, trying to keep from sobbing. The man scowled. "Let me rephrase for you, then. What was Team Magma going to with the Weatherite."

Batoy glanced at the steel table in front of him. He could see his reflection. His cheeks had become red with crying, and his eyes were reddened from exhaustion. He was a wreck. "They... we... we were gonna try to stop Kyogre...." Through his exhaustion, a sort of hopeless desperation bloomed within him. "I don't understand why you guys keep calling us evil! We weren't the ones that awakened Kyogre! It was Team Aqua! They're the bad guys, not us! All we wanted to do was make the land a little bigger, but look at what happened! Nippon's being flooded! That's not our fault! It was Team Aqua!! They're the ones that let Kyogre kill Groudon!" Batoy's eyes became swollen wells. "If we could just use the Weatherite, we could stop Kyogre's ability to cause floods and stuff! Please, just let me go!"

A look of sheer disgust overwhelmed the Ranger. "You and your ecoterrorist cult are a danger to humanity and Pokemon alike!" The boy's mouth dropped. "I can't believe that a kid like you would be so completely absorbed into those lies. I'll tell you right now, kid; the world isn't so black and white. The land isn't God and the seas aren't the Devil. Both are necessary for life, and both are responsible for death. There was a balance until Magma and Aqua decided to interfere. Now that balance is ruined and NO ONE knows how to fix it! Not Team Magma, not Team Aqua, not us. And now that one fight is over, Team Magma is still trying to look for ways to mess things up even more!"

Batoy shook his head furiously. "No! You're wrong! We can fix it! When we beat that demon, Groudon and the world will be at peace!" he protested.

The Ranger shook his head disappointingly. "...Too bad. You seemed like a reasonably intelligent kid, too. Oh well, our discussion is through for now. Your escorts are waiting." The Ranger had been given a signal through a clear window in the door. Batoy stood miserably and walked out. He was returned to his cell.

All sense of time had left him. As Batoy looked out through the outside bars of his cell, the sky looked at violent and turbulent as ever. "This isn't natural..." he mumbled to himself. "I shouldn't be in here... I should be out there... trying to fix this. Why can't they understand?" He pulled away from the bars. The Eevee lay just as it had, its eyes open, unblinking. "Stop... looking at me...." The boy muttered as he made his way to the cot-bed. But the Eevee's eyes followed his movements. Batoy put a hand over his face. "Please... just... stoppit.... Leave me alone..." Batoy reached into his pocket, withdrawing one of the red and white spheres. "I wish the others could come out... this place is jamming the controls for the Pokeballs..." He sighed and stuffed the Pokeball back into his pocket. The Eevee's eyes continued to stare.

Hours passed, and Batoy resigned himself to an uneasy sleep on the small bed. For the first time in ages, his sleep was nothing but an empty void. Unceasingly, the rain came down hard, mist floating through the open bars and coating everything with a thin film of water. The air was chilly, and in his sleep, Batoy shivered. The sound of an opening door stirred Batoy into awakening. "H-Huh? What now?" Two uniformed men stepped through, their boots smacking on the wet floor. "What... do you want?" he asked, a nervous tingle growing in his stomach. The two men beckoned him to rise. "Gather your belongings. You're being bailed out."

A look of surprise claimed him. "Wha... bailed out?" he stammered as he rubbed his eyes. How long had he been in here? A week? Two weeks? It was probably October already. Had that been enough time? "What belongings?" Batoy mumbled to himself. He had nothing but what he carried in his pockets. Instead, after a moment's hesitation he scooped up the Eevee into his arms as gently as he could as if not to wake it. It was stiff. "...Isn't there anyway to fix this....please... isn't there any way?" he mumbled, yet the Eevee did not even twitch. A wave of disappointment fell over him. He trudged out of his damp, dank cell, escorted by the men, a dark shadow having fallen over his face.

This time it wasn't a dark foreboding room which Batoy was led to, but a well-lit reception room. The entrance doors were made of glass, and he could the outside drizzling lightly. There weren't many people around, at least not many that were Batoy's age. There was one spiky dark-headed boy who caught his eye. He was close to the side, silent while an official spoke to him. But that wasn't what interested Batoy the most. There on the boy's sleeve was small, almost unnoticeable emblem, a circle with two 'bones' sticking out underneath it and a small point on the top. Suddenly, the boy glanced up, and their eyes met. A shiver passed though Batoy and he turned his head and continued walking.

He was led into a small waiting room where another official and a woman in a maroon blouse and tunic were waiting, sitting at a circular table. Immediately, Batoy ducked his head and avoided her sight. He was directed to a seat right next to her, and he sat down, the Eevee still cradled in his arms. The official took a seat opposite of them. "You're a very lucky boy," he stated professionally.

Batoy winced and glanced up sheepishly at the woman beside him. She did not return the glance. "Thank you for taking care of Batoy for us. I assure you, he WILL be punished for what he's done. We don't take kindly to our family name being tarnished," the woman said harshly, causing Batoy to cringe again. He sighed and absentmindedly stroked the Eevee.

The exchange between the official and the woman continued on for sometime before they finally came to a conclusion. "The only reason we're allowing him to be released is his age. Had he been a year older, we wouldn't have allowed him to be released on bail. Have a nice day," the man finished and stood. So did the woman, and Batoy followed suit. The woman moved swiftly, and Batoy galloped behind her until they'd reached the outdoors. The Penal Center was located in rural Route 462 just outside Calcite. There were heavily wooded mountains surrounding the center, the farthest of which were hidden by the thick thunderous clouds over the horizon. The skies overhead had lightened considerably, and even the sun was shining. Batoy sighed as he soaked up the warm rays. "Yeah... this is what we want.... Groudon, please be with us...." he mumbled to himself, but there was a bit of emptiness inside.

"Batoy, come on!" The boy snapped out of his daze, and scampered over to the woman. She'd already taken her seat in a sleek blue hover-car. He slipped into it, the dead Eevee in his lap, and it took off with great speed. Within moments, the Penal Center was out of sight, and the hover-car was racing along the winding Route road, taking hairpin turns at over 80 kilometers an hour with ease. For several minutes, they rode in silence. A growing pit of despair grew within Batoy's gut.

"L-Liz?" he asked nervously, glancing up at the expressionless woman.

She responded neither with speech or look for several moments. Her massive amount of deep black hair whipped in the winds of the open-canopy vehicle. Finally, without a glance, she spoke. "How's Meto?" she asked without the least bit of concern audible.

Batoy glanced down at the unmoving Pokemon. "He... he's... he's dead...."

The woman, Lizbeth, went silent. The road tamed a bit and began to incline. She glanced down. "You panicked, didn't you?" she asked, the answer already known to her.

The boy glanced down, shame radiating from him. "I-I... It was an Elite! He was just way too strong!"

The woman shook her head. "Batoy, don't try to play me. Were the Elites the ones that prevented you from securing the data on the creation of the Pokemon Castform?"

His head went down. "Well... no, but..." He still hadn't told her that he'd kept the Castform.

Lizbeth sighed. "Look... I know you mean well, Batoy, but my superiors are getting very impatient with your lack of success. I seriously doubt I can get you another assignment."

"B-But, Liz!! I'm really, really trying! But whenever I meet officers, I just get so nervous and fold! It's not my fault! Honest, Liz!" Batoy said, cringing over the shocking news. "I didn't mean to mess up, and I...!"

His pleading was silenced by a stern look from Lizbeth. "Batoy, I know you're dedicated, but you have to realize what sort of situation we're in. The Leader can't afford to take such a loss, and I feel I've jeopardized my own influence as an Admin. That crystal was probably our only chance to right the very wrong that plagues the world! Now it's probably out of reach forever... Batoy, you'd be lucky if the Leader doesn't have you executed."

Butterflies fluttered in his gut. "You think... he'd go that far, cousin?" Batoy asked meekly. More legendary than the Leader, himself, were the rumors of his terrible wrath. Talk circulated about the horrendous things done to traitors and turncoats. Mercy seemed not to be a part of the Leader's vocabulary. The whole of Team Magma held him in both reverence and fear. Batoy looked down and shivered. "What should I do?"

The hover-car slowed to a halt along the side of the road. The wooded areas had returned; the massive pine trees reached high into the air. A sweet aroma drifted through the air. Batoy glanced around, unsure of why they'd stopped. "Huh? What're we doing here?" Lizbeth motioned him out of the vehicle; he complied reluctantly, the Eevee still in his arms. The woman exited as well, a strange metal case in hand.

"I won't be able to take you into Amethyst City, so you'll have to go through this forest to reach it. Just head south-southwest and you should reach it within a few days. But that Eevee... it'll rot before you reach there. You should bury it. How much food do you have?"

Batoy shook his head before slowly laying the Eevee on the ground. "Not a lot... we were gonna pick up some food before we got caught." He sighed as he glanced up at the high pine trees. "Not enough to get through this forest, I don't think...."

Nodding, Lizbeth pulled out three small red spheres from within the metal case. "Here, take these. I'd assumed they would come in handy. They're items balls. They should have enough food in them to last you a few weeks. Anyways, you should get going before the storms come. We're at a high elevation, so you shouldn't have to worry too much, but still. Be careful, Batoy." After handing him the three spheres, she retreated back into her car and sped off in the direction they'd come.

Batoy watched as she disappeared from sight. The sudden quiet left him feeling insecure and lonely. He glanced down at the Eevee and scooped it up. "Yeah... bury you... Ollie and Flip are gonna be so upset.... I wonder why she wanted me to go back to Amethyst City? Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter..."

A roll of thunder echoed from the distance. A shiver ran down his spine, and Batoy disappeared into the trees. Progression through the mountain forest was easy, except for the ever-steepening incline. The trees were spaced apart, and their trunks were think and their branches high. The sound of wind sweeping through the canopy filled Batoy's ears as he trudged forward. But the hard, rocky ground did not make for a suitable burial ground, and so Batoy had no choice but to progress deeper. Amethyst City came second to Meto's gravesite.