SURVIVAL PROJECT
chapter 23 ; [SENORI]
armageddon
*
Sai's breakdown in Ecruteak City had to be the worst of them all. His eyes were insatiably wild, as if they were about to roll into the back of his head and make him pass out. Instead he ran off, struggling with wobbly knees. He screamed about how Mahogany Town was such a wretched place, and then came along obscene words about what he would do to it if he ever got the chance. It seemed Sai was only violent because he deemed it necessary to be so, since I could never picture him doing it out of malice.
Sai darted off too fast, as if to make a point about us not following him. I could understand, though, wanting to put to an end the city that had apparently ruined his life. Still, I felt guilty about his second disappearance. I was responsible for Sai's overall well-being, but I knew no more about how to control him than I did my own life.
We knew where he was going. That was our only consolation. It would have been ever better if we knew how to get there.
“The fact that none of us are human is really a catastrophe. Then again, if we
weren't pokémon, we wouldn't be in this mess,” I said. I was trying to keep everyone's spirits up, but I was failing.
Ezrem shook his head. “I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to be human, just to go somewhere,” he said.
“Agreed,” Rennio said woefully.
Kuiora remained quiet. I knew she loved being a pokémon, but it would've been nice to not be helpless and reliant on a trainer.
We stood awkwardly at the gym's entrance, ignoring passers-by. It was strange for a pack of pokémon to be out and about by themselves. It was good that no one could understand us talking about our missing trainer, or perhaps they could call the police, like Marty had threatened once.
And then it hit me.
Marty. Marty knew Sai and his untamed personality. As soon as that boy saw us, he would question us and do something about the situation. The search could lead to some unfavorable consequences, but at this point, I was desperate.
“It's risky,” I said to the team, “but I think I know who to find.”
*
The most obvious place to look was the Pokémon Center. That was where most trainers decided to rest, after all. Inside, the four of us disregarded stares as we went from room to room, knocking on each door. We split up, though Rennio stayed by my side because he wasn't sure what Marty looked like. Some people answered, and when I didn't recognize them, I bowed in apology and moved on. In the end, no one found Marty.
“It was a good idea,” Ezrem said. I was grateful for his presence. “But it didn't work.”
“And we don't have time to wait for him here, do we?” I said. I rubbed my chin, making it seem like I was thinking. I was spacing out, but it was okay to pretend for once.
Next we checked the fancy restaurant and the pokémart. We scoured the entirety of both buildings, but we got kicked out for causing a disturbance or, more realistically, for being considered wild pokémon.
We were more lost than we were before.
“Ecruteak City has a lot of history behind it, right?” Kuiora said.
“Right,” I said. Even I knew about the towers in the north without the croconaw telling me.
“That means there's lots of visitors, right? Like... Professor Elm was famous, so people would come to New Bark Town just to see him. I think they stayed in hotels. Maybe Ecruteak has something like that.”
“A brilliant idea, Kuiora,” Ezrem said, hopping over to her. He was getting along well without the use of both wings. “Let's go find one.”
I hadn't wanted to explore unknown buildings, in case we weren't allowed in, but Kuiora had a point when she said Marty might be there. I nodded and went along with them. So we went to each building, choosing to look in the windows rather than trespassing. We saw normal houses, more restaurants, a dance hall... I saw Kuiora take a peek into the towers, though she clearly knew they weren't part of a hotel. She reminded me of when I tied to get Sai to quit stalking others, but I wished we could do that all over again. Back then, things somehow made more sense than they did now.
Eventually, Rennio spotted the hotel, saying he recognized the bellboys walking up the stairs with trays in their hands. We rushed in eagerly and avoided anyone who might call security on us. Again, we went from room to room, knocking and hoping.
By some great stroke of luck, we found Marty on the third floor. He opened the door and looked around confusedly. I went up to him and stood on his shoes to get his attention. He rubbed his eyes, and I assumed he had just woken up.
“A furret?” he said, then yawned. “And a croconaw... I've seen that rufflet before. Sai's team?”
I nodded furiously. “Sai isn't here,” I said, even though he couldn't understand me. I had to say it to make it feel real.
Marty was fully alert now, anyway. “What the hell?” he said in a whisper. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Sai isn't here,” I said, holding back tears. They had snuck up on me when I least expected them. I motioned for Marty to come with us.
“Do you need me for something?” he said, not moving an inch.
I pulled him harder. The rest of the team looked up ta him pleadingly, unable to articulate a single sound.
“I don't know what you want... I'm sorry... Here, maybe Gracie will know,” Marty said. He got away from my grasp and disappeared for a moment. He returned with the fire-type pokémon I had fought way back when. She had evolved since then. She had maroon-colored eyes, and her body was longer and more slender, though her cream-colored fur hadn't changed. She shot flames out of her head at us, as if to shoo us away.
“You've grown,” I said stupidly. How could I start a conversation about a crazy teenage boy who had disappeared on a whim?
“You too,” Gracie said. “What do you guys need? This is a little, um, different...”
“Our trainer is... missing. He went to Mahogany Town, and we have no idea where it is. We were hoping Marty would know. We only know him and Sasha...” I said, trailing off. I hadn't realized I was talking as fast as Sai had been. It seemed that I had adopted some of his idiosyncrasies.
I smiled widely when she replied, “We've been there once or twice. I'm sure we can take you there.”
“Oh, geez, this is great. Thank you so much,” I said, attempting to hug her.
“Watch out for the fire-type,” Ezrem said, grabbing the scruff of my neck.
"Ahem,” I said, leaving that clumsy situation just to head into another one. “I don't mean to be pushy, but can we go now? We don't want him to get himself hurt or lost.” I didn't say he had done it once before.
“Of course,” she said. “One minute.”
*
Gracie somehow conveyed the situation to Marty, who told Sasha what was happening. Gracie led all seven of us out of the hotel and took us to the eastern edge of town. I had a feeling that the only reason Marty was listening was because it was his own pokémon. If it weren't for Gracie, we wouldn't be going anywhere at all.
When we reached a gate, Gracie pointed to a sign and signaled for Marty to look at it.
That was when Marty got angry.
“Are you kidding me? Sai went to Mahogany Town and left his pokémon here?” he said. Suddenly I didn't want to be the leader of the team. Ezrem could take the heat for this one.
“Marty,” Sasha said serenely, “maybe he had a reason to go. We don't know anything yet. Let's get his pokémon to him.”
“Fine,” Marty muttered, walking ahead of us now.
Sasha turned to us. “I'm sorry about him, guys,” she said. “We'll find Sai. It'll be all right.”
Despite everything, I had to admit I wasn't optimistic this time around. Sure, I was certain that we would find him, but I wasn't so certain about us being glad when we did.
We went on. The guard waved at us, and it was a relief to not be given menacing looks. Sasha waved back and smiled. She was always kind to us, exceedingly so. It was preferable to her brother, who had quite a temper and easily held grudges toward others. I remembered hearing Marty's story at the pokémon fan club and was somehow happy he was here, anyway. More than anything, he cared about us, even if we weren't his.
I caught up with Gracie, excited by this revelation. “I know why Marty was so keen on battling us before,” I said. It seemed like a perfectly pleasant way to start a conversation.
The quilava flinched. “You do?” she said. “I don't... I don't know what you're talking about.”
Marty interrupted the beginning of our talk. We had reached a crossroad, where we could either enter a cave or surf through a narrow river. I could already see the other side of the latter path. I could deal with Gracie being distracted if it meant Sai was over there.
“Well, there's no way I'm spending a week in a cave for Sai's sake,” Marty said, sighing. “So we're going over the river.” He drew a plain pokéball from his belt and threw it casually into the water. A massive water-type floated to the surface. It had long blue fins that resembled a flying-type's wings. A pair of antennae sat on its head, swishing around with the joy of being released. Its beady black eyes looked at us expectantly
“She can help us, guys,” Marty said. “Marin, I need you to do us a favor. Do you think you can carry all of us?”
Marin analyzed the group. Her face scrunched up when her gaze met Kuiora's. “The croconaw can swim,” she said sourly, and then she smiled.
“Fantastic,” Sasha said, stepping toward the edge of the river. Marin got close enough to her, so she could climb on her back without falling over.
Marty did the same. “Do you want to go in your pokéball, Gracie?” he asked.
“No,” the fire-type said. “I have to get over my fear sometime, right?”
So the quilava was scared of water. It was typical for a fire-type. I thought maybe that was why she flinched at my presence, but soon I would learn that that had nothing to do with it.
Kuiora lowered herself into the river. She started to mention the last time she could swim freely, but then stopped. After that, the rest of us hopped on Marin. Gracie stood on her hind legs behind Marty, and I went next to her. Rennio and Ezrem sat in Marty and Sasha's laps respectively.
Sasha noticed Ezrem pretty quickly. “Your poor wings,” she said. “What happened to you?”
Ezrem didn't answer.
“Hmm,” Marty said. He avoided looking at Ezrem, as if his wounds were too much to bear. “I suppose we're off.”
Marin turned around so that she was facing our destination. A few seconds later she was wading through the water at a peaceful pace that kept us all balanced.
It occurred to me that it could be a long ride, so I said to Gracie, “But yeah, I know what Marty went through. He told the pokémon fan club everything.”
“Oh,” Gracie said simply and without emotion. She was shy, and perhaps I was pushing too far, but I needed something to distract me from Sai.
“Do you know anything about it? You're part of the family, after all. Marty's father was... Well, he was abusive.”
“...I was originally supposed to be a pet. I was in the house when he did terrible things. It was because of that man that Marty left home. He doesn't like his father... as you could probably guess,” Gracie finished.
Though she was speaking more, she was being vague. A part of my heart instantly ached for her, knowing now that was fearful of touching in general. I almost slapped myself because I hadn't seen the truth sooner.
“Well...” I said, not wanting to force her to admit anything she didn't want to. I hated talking about my clan, and similarly, she probably hated talking about Marty's father. “Would you be a pet again if you could?”
“It doesn't matter to me either way,” Gracie said. “It's just... Marty can be overwhelming. You know how he's acted with your trainer. He acts the same with everyone, even if the trainer doesn't seem too bad. Sasha's the only one who can keep him sane.”
Gracie didn't know that I knew what was going on inside her head. I felt like I was invading her mind and making her spill all of its contents against her will, when in reality I was doing no such thing. We were also betraying Marty's privacy. We were talking about a very intimate part of his past, and right in front of him, no less.
To avoid feeling more guilt, I kept quiet. It was Gracie who intentionally went on and said, “I wish that he'd leave it alone and let me forget.”
“You'll move on,” I said. “I don't know how exactly, but you will. I did, too, so I know you can.”
“Thanks...” Gracie said.
The trip was relatively quiet from then on. Sasha murmured something about Ezrem's wings occasionally, and she checked on them often to make sure the bandages were tight. Marty made a comment about dropping Rennio in the water and accidentally electrocuting us all. Kuiora accompanied us on our journey with gurgling sounds as she enjoyed her swim.
I thought about Gracie. I thought about myself, my team and Sai. I originally thought that nothing bad could happen to me, that once I was banished, my story was the most unique in the world and no one else's could ever compare. Like most older pokémon, I thought I knew everything I needed to know. When I met Sai, I realized I'd been a total idiot and that I needed a lot more focus in my life. I worked hard as his pokémon, and when it dawned on me that my heart wasn't necessarily my best friend, I tried even harder to beat it. I evolved and got rid of my tail, my last connection to the clan. Now, as Sai's relocation was a hair's breadth away, I felt that everything I knew was wrong, that my perspective was utterly indefensible, and that there are no objective standards for anything anyone could imagine, including the concept of age. When you think about it, you see there's not much creativity there. Humans and pokémon alike created age as a hierarchy of artificial goals because we wanted to be able to explain how the world works.
To redeem myself I could only spend the remaining time in my life with my team. To do that, I needed Sai to come back safely.
*
Mahogany Town seemed pleasant enough. It looked like the humanized version of a forest. I would have loved to spend more time there, if we weren't on the lookout for our renegade trainer. The buildings were built with green-colored bricks and topped with black roofs. The grass seemed well taken care of, especially since there was no pavement. Several carriages lined the makeshift roads building, with a crowd of people waiting for their turn to buy whatever goods they could.
Not a single person looked like they wanted to be somewhere else in the world. We, of course, effectively ruined that trend. We wanted to be at the Ecruteak City gym with Atis again, while Marty, Sasha and Gracie most likely wanted to lay cozily in their hotel room.
“Let's start looking,” Marty said. As expected, his mood was growing lower and lower by the minute.
Sasha took over the hard part for Marty, saying that Marty would talk bad about Sai and then we'd never find him. She spoke to anyone who would talk back, asking them if they had seen a boy of about sixteen years passing by. Some people told her to get back in line, and others told her there weren't many teenagers in town.
“Skinny but decently tall, black hair, blue eyes... Plain clothes...” she said, adding anything that would make Sai stand out. His personality would surely stand out, but...
Finally, someone answered nonchalantly, “I saw a boy like that. Hard not to miss him when he's shovin' everyone out the way. He went to the lab over there.” The woman pointed to a lone metallic building to the east.
“Thank you,” Sasha said, bowing curtly. She strode over to the laboratory with us, as if she too were in a hurry.
“Of all places, he sent Atis to a lab?” Ezrem scoffed. “Maybe Atis left us to be a lab rat.”
“Shut up,” I said. “Sai wouldn't do that, and Atis wouldn't agree with him if he did.”
Ezrem coughed. Rennio shrunk back and stood behind the bird. Kuiora glanced at the building in awe, never having seen something more creepy yet fascinating. Gracie didn't react, and Atis... He wasn't here with us. He was in this building with Sai.
Marty barged right on in, fists clenched. He wouldn't hesitate punching Sai in the face if given the opportunity. My team was more reluctant this time, but we couldn't back down now.
The first floor was anticlimactic. I didn't know what we expected to see, but what we got was an empty floor with a simple counter, much like the ones we saw at Pokémon Centers. A fountain stood in the middle of the room, with house plants and chairs surrounding it. There was a guard blocking the upstairs.
Marty approached the guard and said, “Excuse me, but we were told our friend came through here. We really need to see him. Would you let us through?”
“Sorry,” the guard said in a husky voice with the slightest hint of an accent, “but no one is allowed upstairs. Authorized personnel only.”
“Like hell the guy's authorized to be in a place like this,” Marty said, eyebrows raised with suspicion. “He can barely tell his right foot from his left.”
“If he was able to get upstairs,” the guard said firmly, “then he was authorized.”
Marty grit his teeth. “I didn't come all this way to be told that Sai is mysterious and that I should let him stay that way. Let us through.”
“The answer is no.”
“Marty...” Sasha said, about to lightly touch him on the shoulder, but it was too late.
Marty gestured Gracie to attack. She obeyed him, dashing forward and knocking the guard backward. His head hit the tile floor and he groaned. Marty thanked her and stepped over the guard. Though we were stunned, we followed.
The second floor stunned us further. Along the walls were several computers and full desks where people sat, wearing white coats. They experimented with the vials in front of them, then held their clipboards and scribbled on them with their pens furiously. A large machine hung from the ceiling in the center of the room. Part of it was connected with the ground and a cot. On the cot lay a purple snake-like pokémon, and it writhed in pain as a man took notes next to it.
Soon the machine buzzed and there was a ton of screaming.
“Keep going until you find him!” Marty yelled to us.
We scrambled to the second set of stairs. The scientists looked at us with curiosity, and once they figured out we were intruders, they panicked and demanded we be destroyed. On the third floor, it was quieter, aside from the heavy breathing of two pokémon fighting to the death. A serious practice match was taking place in a field marked by white chalk. Blood stained the floor and dripped from the pokémons' mouths while the trainers looked on, unscathed.
“What the hell is going on here?” one of them asked.
“I swear... If I see Sai touch one of these pokémon like those bastards, I'm gonna pound his skull in,” Marty said. Sasha didn't protest as her hand was raised over her mouth in shock. They had caught up to us without our noticing.
...There was something wrong with this laboratory. There was something even more wrong with the fact that our trainer was associated with it. More and more questions arrived as we went on.
“Attack the intruders!” said an unfamiliar voice. Behind us we saw some scientists pursuing us.
The two battling men nodded to each other. One said, “You heard the guy. Attack 'em, Granbull!”
“Join him, Sunflora!” cried the second man.
“Oh, this is such a joke,” Marty said, rolling his eyes. “You mean to fight with two injured pokémon? I'm just trying to find someone. Out of my way.”
“No can do,” said a scientist behind us. He released his pokémon along with the other scientists with him. I didn't bother to get a good look at our opponents. I wanted to find Sai, leave and forget any of this had ever happened...
“Senori,” Marty said harshly as he released Halcyon and Marin, “go find your goddamn trainer. Tell Sai I'm gonna beat the crap out of him. Me and Sasha will be fine here.”
“Sure...” I said. “Come on, guys!”
I darted forward and crossed the arena. The granbull tried to catch my tail in between its teeth, but I narrowly escaped. The sunflora aimed for Ezrem, but the flying-type used his beak to make the grass-type shrink back and cradle its own wounds. Kuiora and Rennio got by without a problem, unless you counted Rennio's sobbing as problematic.
“I want Annie!” he cried, then stopped moving. Kuiora picked him up and carried him the rest of the way. Rennio realized his uselessness and suddenly begged to fight.
“Not now,” Ezrem said.
The fourth and fifth floors were standard rooms with more desks and machines. On these floors were individual offices for the people who worked here. The enclosed walls offered us some privacy and the chance to crawl by without being noticed. Kuiora let out a sigh of relief, but that was the only sound anyone dared to make.
We traipsed through each and every floor, scouting for Sai. Pokémon chased us and tried to trick us, but to no avail. As confused as we were, we knew tricks when we saw them. And by the the time the other scientists saw us, we were already on the way to the next floor. We couldn't be stopped, except we intentionally stopped around the seventeenth floor. The seventeenth floor imitated a modernized living room. There was a leather couch with a wooden coffee table in front of it, as well as some house plants in each corner, giving the room a rather relaxing atmosphere.
We were anything but relaxed, however. Where was Sai? Why was he a part of the laboratory? Where was Atis and what kind of tests were they running on him? We had been asking for so long... Weren't we entitled to some answers by now?
The answers lay beyond the next door. I could tell because there were no more stairs. There were no more chances. And from the light that was pouring through the bottom, it seemed that the door led outside.
“Well, guys,” I said, out of breath, “he's here. Or not. Whichever you prefer.”
Sai indeed was at the top of the building. Physically, he was unharmed, but he wasn't alone and that seemed to bother him as he swayed back and forth. Atis stood, shuddering, about ten feet in front of him, along with a woman I didn't know. She was short and small in stature, but she had a firm grasp on the fighting-type's arm.
“You have some friends here to see you,” the woman said, eyebrows raised.
“Mother, please—” Sai tensed up. His eyes went wide with amazement as he saw us.
Why wasn't his mother in Vermilion City, his hometown? Was that another lie he told us? She didn't look like him, either. She had green eyes and brown, highlighted hair.
“You've grown, Sai,” the woman went on. “You have such loyal pokémon now... just like you always wanted.” She squeezed Atis's arm, and he shook harder. “And you look even more like your father than before. You've got the same wild, lonely look in your eyes. Are you still lonely, Sai?”
“Stop it!” Sai snapped at her. “I want Atis back. Give me Atis back right now...!”
“You willingly gave me the hitmontop. You let us poison him so we could capture him. And you're telling me you want to take it all back?” she said, a taunting tone present in her voice.
I gasped. Sai couldn't have have been so unnaturally cruel...
“I am,” Sai said. “I thought... I thought I could abide by your rules, if it meant I could be free. I can't do it, though. I won't.” His words sounded more reassuring, but I was beyond confused. I stood there with the others, frozen in place.
“You were ordered to prepare pokémon like this and to give them to us. You've done exactly so. We thank you for it.”
“No! I want him back! I've seen what you guys do to pokémon. You call yourself Team Rocket and say you're trying to make the world a better place, but I've seen what you do! It's nothing good. Nothing good at all. I won't put Atis through that. I won't—”
“And then you will never see the light of day again. That was the deal, was it not? I created this project to
save you, Sai, and to give you a life you've always dreamed of...”
“I never wanted this! I never did. I only did it because you promised me things would get better. But they never got better! Not even for a second!”
“It's not my fault you believed me,” the woman said evenly, but her words didn't match the ruined expression on her face.
“You
promised...” He sobbed as he pulled out the knife he had bought in Goldenrod City. He held it toward her, as if he'd been waiting for this moment all his life.
“Are you going to hurt me, Sai? Just as I've supposedly hurt you?” she asked.
“Why not? You like weapons. You love them so much that you named me after one. How nice of you,” he said sarcastically between sobs. “Give Atis back. I don't want to have to use this.”
The woman frowned, but she let go of Atis and put her hands in the air. Atis ran quicker than I had ever seen him run before. I saw real terror in his eyes as he approached. I went up to him and hugged him, but he said there was no time for a reunion.
“We've got to get Sai out of here,” he said. “Before he goes crazy. Please, Senori, you've got to talk to him and... and...” He trailed off, unable to continue.
Sai wasn't fond of this woman, but she knew more about him than any of us did. “If she knows Sai,” I said slowly, “maybe she can help us.”
Sai heard me. “Don't talk to her! She's tell you all the bad things I've done. Even if what she says isn't true, she's won. She always wins...” Sai said, his arm twitching as he stared directly at her.
“Sai,” his mother said. “Just as you weren't allowed to be close to your pokémon, I'm not allowed to be close to you. I'm your mother. Why else would I act like this toward my only son? I don't want to do this. Please understand and put the knife down.”
“No,” Sai said. “I won't. I'm done listening to you.”
“...Then you will pay for it.”
“Please, Senori,” Atis begged again. “You have to do something.”
I felt as if I lived to help Sai, but... he already seemed too far gone.
