What a great friend he was…if you considered him a friend in the first place…

She was tired, tired of being used. It felt like she had been clinging to Ryuu for the past few weeks and she had to do it, if it weren’t Ryuu it was Misty, or Daisy, Lily and Violet. They were all training her till finally the muscles in her body wouldn’t give anymore.

I’m only twelve! She mentally cried as she felt herself slowly awakening, feeling the mattress and sheets rather very comfortable and warm.

"She’s only twelve!" someone echoed her thought aloud within the room, it was a male voice, not Ryuu’s though. Lighter in base, more into tenor but tough all the same.

"It’s life Corey,"

Ah…that’s his name… she thought groggily, not willing to open her eyes just yet.

"You’re here in Vermilion aren’t you? Give the kid a breather!" Another male voice exclaimed.

"She can breathe freely all she wants after I talk to her," Ryuu replied.

"You mean, after you lecture her. Don’t be so hard man, that kind of experience leaves most people dead-"

"Whole point of the test,"

Test!? He calls that a test?! The thought made her blood simmer all over again, her nerves and brain waking faster.

"But Ryuu-"

"You have no concern as of yet Kouka,"

"Of course we do, you’re going to be staying here for a while aren’t you? We’ll be having to look out for the kid too." The one called Corey stated in a reasonable tone, giving Ivory the impression of a male version of Misty, except without the flaring temper she hardly sensed in Misty in the first place.

"That would be too much asking on my part guys," Ryuu replied sternly.

"You don’t need to ask anything of us man, we’re you’re buddies. Always gonna be like that," the REAL Kouka stated.

"…" Ryuu had no reply ready or so it seemed, Ivory had calmed her blood pressure by a bit, ears watching the three around her.

"Lt. Surge knows we’re here right?" Ryuu asked.

"Aye, matters have come and been done Ryuu!" Corey proclaimed.

"Fine," Ryuu said.

"Does anyone want something to eat? I’m headin’ out for a bite." Kouka asked.

"Sure, I’ll join you. What about you Ryuu?" Corey asked.

"Don’t bother with me, when she wakes up it’s best she sees me first. She’ll probably have questions," Ryuu said, stoically.

"All right man, good luck." Kouka said as the door clicked open.

"Yeah, you’re probably going to need it." Corey said as he followed Kouka out. For several minutes did Ivory lay there and wait for Ryuu to do something, her eyes clamped shut. The more she thought about Ryuu and what he had done the more her blood simmered. In these times wasn’t comfort and kindness the best remedy around? Or so her father mentioned…

"I know you’re awake." Ryuu’s voice pierced through her skull; surprising her. She stiffened, knowing she had already given away her actual condition, indeed she was awake, but…

"C’mon, we have to talk." Ryuu encouraged, Ivory stifled a hiss.

"What makes you think I want to hear what you wanna say?" Ivory managed out in between virulent curses stringing themselves together in her head. She heard Ryuu sigh, as if he knew this was coming. "Sorry if I sound immature Ryuu. But if I must admit, I don’t go around hitting people meaninglessly." She added sarcastically. This time Ryuu snarled.

"Stop acting like that and sit up Ivory!" Ryuu snapped, obviously unhappy.

Not as unhappy as I am… she still felt the sting on her cheek where he hit her.

"What will you do? Hit me? Again?" This conversation was not going to be pretty, Ivory was going to make sure of that. If she were to go through hell, then Ryuu’s coming with her.

"If you would shut up for a minute I’ll explain why we did what we did!"

"We? You mean your friends? What are their names again? Corey and Kouka? Or do you mean you and I in terms of master and slave? Because if you ask me-"

"I’m not asking you anything-"

"I said if moron!" Ivory growled, both volumes rising as the conversation carried on.

"Stop acting like a child-"

"If you haven’t noticed I-am-a-child!" Ivory corrected with a pungent tone, Ryuu backed away, his expression darkening.

"If you want to be a trainer Ivory! Then you better learn to grow up then!" Ryuu retaliated suddenly soon after Ivory thought she had the last say. Apparently not, she realized and sniffed.

Was she crying?

No, there were no tears. But her vision was blurring…who knew Ryuu could imitate a blob…

"You and Team Rocket are almost the same!" Ryuu shouted now, he wasn’t holding back. "You both think life is a game and if you mess up it’s no big deal and you can push ‘restart’ despite the lives you may or have put in danger! Life is no freakin’ game Ivory! If you kill someone you can’t go back in time and avoid it! You have got to expect the unexpected and take responsibility for your actions and do what is expected of you!"

What he was saying Ivory knew was true, but it stung…no, burned her insides. Her stomach was rebelling against her, she was happy she hadn’t eaten anything yet but her throat all the same began to gasp. Her face suddenly felt hot and her eyes blazed and wetness chilled her cheeks for mere seconds before sliding down her chin. Her breathing became choppy and she found it hard to keep her teeth together as sobs racked her body.

In fact when she felt sick at the most did her body lift, someone pulled her to their chest and embraced her tight.

"I can’t apologize Ivory for what I’ve done, I did it on purpose to give you a taste of what Team Rocket would do. I don’t want you hurt and to tell the truth…I had to see how you would be in that kind of situation, because…if you were ever in that kind of situation without me, I want to know that you can take care of yourself." Ryuu explained as Ivory cried into his shoulder.

"I really don’t want you hurt…"

By noon did Ivory reawaken to find herself alone in the white room, Ryuu gone and his friends no where to be seen. Not even Nurse Joy or Chansey were there to greet her.

I wonder – oh! Her face burned crimson when she remembered how she fell asleep a few hours ago. She raised her hand to her forehead, it still tingled…

"I really don’t want you hurt…" The soft peck still lingered on her skin, she blinked several times before dropping her hand.

Did Ryuu like her?

Did she like him?

Maybe as a friend, but she wasn’t ready to go any further than that. She didn’t want to think anything of the sort when her birthday came around.

"What’s today?" she asked no one in particular as she fumbled around her stuff that was placed beside the bed for the poke’gear. Pulling it out she ‘beeped’ it on, instantly the screen greeted her with the date, time and place.

Glancing around then looking back at the poke’gear, she tapped into the phone numbers. Maybe she should give it a try here while she had the chance…

Deciding at last she decided on Professor Oak, she wouldn’t really know how to talk to someone across the phone she didn’t know, and if the original owner knew Professor Oak maybe he could give her some pointers on this Marina Dani. Clicking on the name she waited silently as the color flashed from green to black until finally she could hear a ringing.

Ring…ring…ring…

"H-Hello?" It was Tracey Sketchit.

"Hey! Tracey?" Ivory greeted, pushing all depression behind, this was not the time to make things sound more worried, as Tracy already sounded like a train wreak. "What’s up?"

"Nothing good," his only reply came with great difficulty. Ivory stammered over words in her mind, what was she suppose to say to that?

"What? What’s going on?" Ivory asked into the phone.

"We…yesterday we were sent a letter from Team Rocket." Tracey began.

"And…?"

"And they said they would bomb Pallet if they discovered we gave a pokemon to you!" Tracey proclaimed, she suddenly heard some rustling and Tracey burst out ‘It’s Ivory!’ and instantly a new voice came to her from the poke’gear.

"Ivory?" It was Professor Oak.

"Professor?" she replied.

"Listen to me, they know who you are." Professor Oak stated.

"So I’ve heard,"

"This is no time to be silly Ivory, you need to know that they have a full body image of you-"

"Not that it’ll be any good," Ivory said cheerfully, Professor Oak pressed her. "You see, I went through a whole make-over done by the Cerulean Gym sisters, excluding Misty."

"Where? How? No wait; don’t tell me anything over the phone we could very well be tapped into. But before we go on anything more, tell me how you got a hold of Marina’s poke’gear?" Professor Oak’s voice sounded urgent, it made Ivory’s heart speed up.

"I got it from a man in Viridian City Prof. He said that Team Rocket might have left it in his house after it was searched." Ivory answered.

"Reasonable, but why they had her poke’gear…gawd I hope she’s all right."

"Why? Who is she Prof.?" Ivory was becoming more impatient by the minute.

"She’s an old student of Professor Elm’s, she went on her own pokemon journey years ago in Johto. We crossed paths at the beginning of it at an old pal’s house. If you indeed got the poke’gear you’re holding now from the hands of Team Rocket, I’m afraid I have to accept the worst." Professor Oak went on sadly.

"They might have her…" Ivory’s voice sounded mono-toned.

"Or she may be among them."

"She could’ve struggled with them and left her poke’gear in their possession Prof. Don’t get so down yet, she may be in hiding somewhere." Ivory tried to reason, but Professor Oak’s tone didn’t cheer up however.

"You mean to tell me her whereabouts are untraceable? Even with her poke’gear?" Professor Oak asked.

"It gets all fuzzy when you click on the map, therefore I can’t even find out where is where." She said, even though she didn’t need a map after two years of studying, it was still suspicious and needed looking into.

"She’s a strong-willed trainer, she’s probably fine or in the same condition as Gary. But anyway, listen to me carefully Ivory. Wherever you are, keep to your friends and pokemon at all times. If you’re spotted by the smartest of Rockets, you might as well say bye-bye to Pallet Town." Professor Oak said.

"Or I could go back home-"

"Absolutely not, the risk is all the same if you try to get back here and if you’re spotted within town. You’re as wanted as a dark criminal to Team Rocket. With pokemon or not. They want you," Professor Oak replied, Ivory nodded.

"Yes sir, but-"

"Go to Lt. Surge, he used to be a Team Rocket executive and a dangerous one too, but he’s proven himself trustworthy as well as Koga and Sabrina. Be careful all right, you’re father is worried but I’ll have him know you called. Oh, and don’t call anyone from anywhere on anything, everything is being watched and the more you stay down low the better chances of survival you have. Got it?"

"Yeah, you guys be careful too." Ivory said.

"We’re as careful as you are." Professor Oak said, before hanging up, with a click, the poke’gear shifted off as well.

"I better get dressed." She said softly before placing the poke’gear over her neck and uncovering her legs. She discovered she was in a white gown. Not that it was important as she wobbled onto her legs and grabbed hold of her stuff. Slipping into an all-new outfit that consisted of tight blue Jeans and a white tank top beneath a maroon jersey. A maroon sports cap to complete the look along with a pair of shades. Placing her pokemons’ balls in her pocket she slipped on her shoes and wandered to the door.

"And where do you think you are going?" She froze in her tracks…that voice belonged to the one named Corey.

"Eh?" She slowly turned her head to look at the window; sure enough a slim guy sat on the sill munching on a green apple.

"Name’s Corey Wilmstone, I’m suppose to be watching you today." Corey stated, his navy blue hair spiked from the back to the front over his face with shining, tricky chocolate orbs watching her every move. He wore a pair of black sweatpants and jacket lined with yellow and white along the arms and pant legs. His top unzipped to show a low-cut T-shirt of gray and nicely shaped chest from what she could see at the top-

Good lord girl you’re nearly thirteen and the guy looks Ryuu’s age! Refraining from shaking her head, she reluctantly waved.

"Hey," she greeted, now didn’t she sound weak? Corey grinned, closing his eyes.

"You’re Ivory Koguu right? Don’t worry about Ryuu, he went out for some business with Kouka. Oh, and by the way. Kouka isn’t a bad guy. He wasn’t ever that big either," she supposed he was talking about when Ryuu and she greeted the Rocket Kouka back before the tunnel. Was in disguise back there to scare her?

Probably.

"Anyway, I take it you want to do some battling." It wasn’t a question, it was like Corey knew what was running through her mind as he reopened his eyes and watched her again.

"Er – yeah."

"All right, but let’s get some food into your system first, be in a flash." She took this as her cue to hurry as Corey leaped out of the window (she gasped since she didn’t know she was on the ground floor and hurried out into the hallway).

"Lobby’s this way…" she thought aloud as she spotted a sign, directing her where to go.

"Chansey!" the gleeful, pink blob of a pokemon came around the corner in front of Ivory (who nearly fell over her).

"Hey Chansey," Ivory greeted nervously, trying to shove the thought of running her over away in the trash storage.

"Chansey!" she cried as she pulled at her jersey, urging her to follow her.

"O-Okay," Ivory let the pokemon lead her away towards a large room, the cafeteria? Already Corey was sitting at a table, now sipping some sort of drink now.

He’s fast… she thought as he looked up and spotted her, he flicked his wrist in greeting to her. The nurse pokemon waddled away, leaving Ivory alone with the odd, and extremely fast person.

"You travel quick." She stated, not knowing what else to say.

"It’s convenient in times of trouble, messaging through other lines of communication are risky nowadays." Corey replied as he lowered his hand. "Why don’t you get something to eat?" He appeared to have already had something to occupy him as he shooed her towards the other side of the cafeteria where the food was held.

"All right…" she was eager to question this boy, but then again she was nervous, she didn’t understand why but it might have been because Ryuu assigned him to watch her. Where did Ryuu have to go that he couldn’t afford with her around? Just business? Or maybe it was just because she had just woken up so little ago? It was probably the latter…she had been asleep when he left.

He better be careful. I have a bone to pick with him after all… Ivory mentally snarled as she picked up a tray. Then she blinked as she looked down at it. I wonder how much my pokemon will eat?

Wrong question to ask herself, in fact, the proper question was whether or not if the cafeteria had enough food to fill her pokemon.

"God forbid…it looks like they haven’t eaten for weeks!" Corey exclaimed as Ivory arrived with yet another armload of food carried off from the nearly empty buffet. The workers hurrying off throughout the Pokemon Food storage hoping to find more for their patients and other folk.

Kameko, Aldara and Panther alone devoured twenty pounds of food each, and apparently didn’t gain an ounce yet. Fascinating Corey and Ivory, both staring down at them as they wolfed the food down, or in Ivory’s case, as she placed the food down she literally leaped back by several feet to evade her pokemon’s hungry paws.

"Have you been feeding them worms and space tube foods?" Corey asked, jaw hanging and eyes gawking. Posture didn’t seem much of a hassle to him. She sighed and with a shrug dropped down in her chair. Then she blinked.

"Space tube foods?" she imitated, Corey regained a straighter manner of sitting before shrugging.

"They look tiny." He replied.

"So you mean they don’t look filling?" Ivory asked with a grin.

"Nu-uh,"

They sat in silence, excluding the pokemon’s hungry chops before she looked over at him.

"Have you and your pokemon already eat?" she asked, he nodded.

"We’re early birds," he said, drinking more from the cup in his hands. "But anyway, let’s get down to business while no one’s around." It was then that Ivory noticed that indeed, as Corey stated, everyone was gone. There no longer was anyone scurrying about behind the buffet counters; there was only Corey, Ivory and her pokemon.

How odd, it’s like they all left on command…wait a minute. "It does look like they left on command!" Ivory exclaimed, Corey raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?"

"I’m not that stupid, it is either that everyone has something to do nowadays – especially nowadays – this early in the morning or everyone simply has good timing?" It was more of a question aimed at Corey after she finished; Corey gave her a bored look.

"Either you are very dense or you have no clue what is going on in Vermilion of 2006. I prefer the latter," Corey said, Ivory stared at him; apparently waiting patiently for an explanation. He cracked his knuckles and sighed, giving a few moments’ time before beginning – annoying Ivory in the process.

"Can you get on with it already?" she asked impatiently, this time he grinned.

"I thought you were never going to ask, all right," he became stern, much like Ryuu. "Haven’t you noticed that you’re pokemon are eating freely within a room in a Pokemon Center?" She blinked, that’s right, she didn’t even think about her pokemon out in the cafeteria. Was it because she was around one of Ryuu’s friends?

"You are very naïve Ivory-chan, I could have easily have been a Team Rocket agent incognito and could’ve swiped you’re pokemon right from underneath your nose. You are very lucky, in this case, that I am not." Corey began; she flushed a deep pink.

Idiot! There wouldn’t even be anyone to help me either, there aren’t any windows or – eh? "There aren’t any windows," she stated, forgetting the reprimand Corey cast out upon her.

"That’s right," Corey said, seeming to forget as well. "This room is high in security, there are rooms like this in every other Pokemon Center that are hidden behind Psychic barriers of alias, Psychic pokemon. In this case, the pokemon hiding this room is a kirilia named RosaJoy whom just recently evolved from a ralts. I’m afraid where she is, is only known to Nurse Joy. So when you wanna come down here for a snack, keep your motives intact and mind calm, if there are any sinister waves in the air (that’s how the kirilia sees) RosaJoy will pick up on that and the barrier will not allow you in."

"Oh…right." Ivory was stunned needless to say, while she was with her father and grandpa up in Mahagony Town in Johto, she didn’t know any of the danger Kanto was in, or how far people have gone to avoid detection. However she did not say she was unimpressed.

"Here’s some more facts you better know while you’re here." Again Corey grew stern, if not grim. He set his elbows on the table, his posture and gaze demanding every pound of her attention. Even Ivory’s pokemon listened intently.

"Vermilion has been under a lot of stress, like Saffron and Fuchsia. Because Lt. Surge, Sabrina and Koga used to be Team Rocket executives, Team Rocket has thought of every way to make his or her hometown a living hell. Unfortunately, every minute of every hour of every day of every year became just that. In fact, it’s so bad that unlike other gyms in Kanto that fight back, these three gyms are completely shut down like Viridian City’s gym where they’re gathering dust and locked up tighter than a glacier is thick." Corey explained, his eye unfaltering as they kept Ivory’s in contact. Aldara looked around cautiously, Kameko looking somewhat paranoid all of a second and Panther sat there quietly, still too young to understand the condition.

"You see, every citizen of Vermilion, Saffron and Fuchsia had been expected to work out tasks that are given out on every day schedules in the halls that have been built just for this propose. They’re recognized by the Team Rocket logo screwed onto them. So if you happen to come across these buildings without us around – though I doubt you’ll be wandering about on your own – walk away calmly in the opposite direction. Snipers are rumored to lounge about on the roofs if you so happen to cause trouble or on rare occurrence, have pokemon with you. You’re pokemon will taken or possibly killed along with you on the spot, or if their lacking potential, they’ll see what you have in underground battle stadiums away from the public eye and even some enhancements." Corey said with great detail, Ivory’s jaw dropped in wonder, but she quickly clenched her mouth shut before asking.

"You seem to know a lot about what goes on around here…" she didn’t like how gruesome his eyes turned, from a calm, sharp chocolate came to a hideous, rageful copper.

Slowly, his hands went to his waist, when they came back up, the bottom of the jacket came up with them. Ivory literally fell backwards onto the ground with shock, the crash didn’t even wake her pokemon from the horrible sight. All three gaped, not daring to move as if some terrorizing creature will strike them if they twitch.

Under his jacket and shirt was his midsection and more than half of his upper torso where heavily charred skin was stitched together like patches on a quilt, connecting to the healthy skin above, there was even some plastic casing near his hips that continue further beneath his pants. Was that even skin? Or was it actual cloth used to keep Corey’s body together?

Ivory was too sick to her stomach to think about it as she tried to place her chair back on all four, but her hands were too shaky while the rest of her trembled.

A tear rolled down her cheek as a hand came down on her head gently.

"You see? There are much more things worse than death." It was Corey as another hand gripped her left hand; pulling her up into the straightened chair. By this time, Aldara had buried her head into her empty bowl, Kameko withdrew to her shell and Panther appeared to be on the verge of tears; small squeaks emitting from his small throat.

"You speak of death…like, it was too far away…" she couldn’t help saying as Corey quietly walked around Ivory and scooped up the eevee pup.

"I have thought of suicide once," he said aloud without hesitation; turning to look at her, in one of his large hands sat Panther, crying silently with the other stroking his head softly. Ivory watched Ryuu’s friend close his eyes, as if thinking of what to say. "If there is anything in this world you must understand, is that to live, you must hunt or be the hunted. I once preferred thinking of myself as invincible at least eight months ago that was when I stood outside of Vermilion’s task hall. Before I was in hiding, growing angrier and angrier as I watched Team Rocket shred our Kanto to pieces. Until I figured I had enough, I was foolish…an idiot to think I alone could take on those in that hall."

When he saw that Ivory showed no intention of interrupting, he continued.

"I came up to the hall’s entrance as people were leaving to complete the tasks Team Rocket assigned them. Everyone stared at me and my poke’balls, but I didn’t care, and neither did they care if I died trying to push Team Rocket out of the city. Unfortunately, it was they that flattened me..." he took in a shuddering breath. "They attacked me with a Fire Blast that totaled my Brute Root…he managed to recover completely, but I woke up several hours later in a TR lab…I was told I was in a coma, where I discovered not only had the Fire Blast destroyed most of my internal organs, but now my life could’ve gone. It was gone I mean, when I couldn’t feel my legs or my waist or practically my whole body…I knew I wasn’t paralyzed…not from a Fire attack, no, my body from torso down had melted from the flame."

"But, you…now-"

"Days later after painful experiments Team Rocket used on me did something give, there was an explosion I remember…the face I saw was blurry, the one that came and didn’t wince my way. The opposite happened, I recall being lifted and then I…blacked out…" Corey’s eyes clamped down tighter before relaxing, until finally he reopened them, his chocolate orbs lingering on her azure pools.

"I woke up not only three weeks ago; whatever was gone was prosthetic." Corey appeared finished; proving this he dropped Panther into her lap and wiped Ivory’s cheeks dry of fresh tears that spilled during the story.

"Did you ever find out who it was that rescued you?" Ivory asked, somewhat shaky still.

"Yeah, it was Ryuu. He also saved my whole pokemon team too, at the cost of one of his own." Corey replied before looking away, his right hand went to his ear.

At the cost of one of his own… recalling memories of the Cerulean sisters talking about Ryuu around her, she confirmed something…Ryuu really was looking out for her well being. With a case like Corey’s, she could see why he was concerned.

I’ll have to apologize… Ivory thought glumly as she looked up when she felt Corey’s gaze come down on her.

"C’mon, we’re going outside." Instead of replying, Ivory stood with a simple nod. Corey grinned and watched as she recalled her pokemon to their poke’balls.