Within a dark bedroom, a twelve-year-old boy sat straight up, breathing heavily, the nightmare he had engraved in his memory. He looked around to confirm where he was, seeing his Charmander lying on the ground and his Pidgey perched on his desk chair, both sleeping, undisturbed by the boy's sudden movement. Everything seemed to be in order.
He turned his head toward the window suddenly, thinking he saw something there. Nothing was there except a tree a bit distant from the window. The tree used to spook him quite a bit, but he swore something else was there.
The dream he had seemed to be a memory, but it wasn't his. He recalled seeing a boy younger than he was lying on the ground, telling him to run. He remembered that the boy called him Tim, and he knew somehow that they boy's name was Carter. 'Carter' tossed him a pokeball and told him to get out before the complex blows up. When he left, another boy about the same age as the previous approached him. 'Des', as he recalled the name was furious that he let Carter die. Then, he could just watch as the boy stormed off, openly saying he quit the organization, whatever that was.
What bugged the boy even more was that this 'Tim' he was supposed to be had a familiar personality, but something was different. He seemed colder and harder than what he was thinking of. Maybe it was just a coincidence.
He tried to shake it off and palmed his forehead. He just needed to sleep it off, but he was hesitant to do so. After a few minutes, he just flopped back onto the bed and lied there, letting his mind wander and drift back into unconsciousness.
On top of the house, a Misdrievous appeared next to a woman, who seemed very impatient. "Had enough fun, Necro?" she asked.
"Heh...this kid is an interesting character. Syria, think you can let me play around with this kid. I can really mess him up," the ghost called Necro said.
Syria sighed. "I'm concerned about that boy. Something about him has 'Chimera' written all over him. I should just kill him right here."
"Even if he is a Chimera. He's nothing to you, Syria. He's obviously too underdeveloped to do much damage. Even those losers Jessie and James can deal with this guy," Necro reassured her.
"Fine," Syria said, waving off the ghost. It wasn't like she could do anything to him if he disobeyed. She had bigger things to deal with than trying to pry Necro's new 'playmate' away from him.
"By the way, where's Razor and Venom?" Necro asked.
"Apparently, they found an 'old friend' of theirs. They'll be back," Syria said. They better be or they'll be in a world of hurt, she thought.
Chimera Saga: Renegades
Chapter 2: Another's Memories
By: Izumi Ryu
Concept by: Theo 'Blitz' Leung
"Daniel, you gonna get up or what?" Daniel head a voice as something seemed to push him around.
"Five more minutes, please," the boy called Daniel said, not even opening his eyes.
"Five more minutes? It's almost noon, what have you been doing last night?" another voice remarked.
Daniel opened his eyes upon hearing the time. "Oh, shit," he muttered as he sat up and looked around. He could tell it was mid-day just from the light coming through his window. "Sorry, guys."
"This isn't like you," the Charmander said. "Is something wrong?"
"Woke up in the middle of the night last night. I still can't make sense of what caused me to do that," Daniel said. "How's Mom? Is she alright?"
"Ummm...about that..." the Pidgey stuttered.
"What happened, Bomber?" Guile glared, his eyes narrowing.
Then, their attentions were turned as they heard the sound of something breaking downstairs. Guile simply sighed as he stood up and walked towards his closet. He rummaged through the closet and threw on some clothes before running towards his bedroom door.
As he ran out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen, he saw his mother bringing out the broom to clean up some broken glass she dropped onto the floor. "Mom, you know you should be resting," Daniel told her mother.
Ms. Nash looked up at her son, glaring. "You were asleep, what do you expect me to do?" she asked, as she started to sweep up the broken glass. "Besides, this is light work."
Daniel sighed as he walked towards his mother. He couldn't believe oversleeping like that would bite him in the butt this hard. His mother had been terminally ill for the last couple of years. He never really understood the details, but from what the doctors told him, she was stable, but not getting any better. This news came up shortly after he left with Ryna on a journey, when they reached Viridian City. He was forced to come back home to take care of her. Ryna chose to continue without him, insisting that she'd be fine on her own.
As she stood back up from sweeping the glass into a dustpan, she started to get dizzy. Daniel ran up to her and held her to keep her from falling, but he wasn't able to prevent her from spilling the broken glass back onto the floor in front of her. "Are you okay?" Daniel asked.
"Yes, just another dizzy spell," the woman replied. Daniel guided her away from the broken glass and to a chair at the dinner table for her to sit. Then he took the broom and dustpan from her. Then he went back to sweep up the glass and throw it away.
"Mom, sorry, I slept late. I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep for a while," Daniel said. "But you should get back into bed. You don't need to be up and around like this."
Ms. Nash smiled at her son. She should be the one taking care of him, but it was the complete opposite. Daniel shouldn't be here at all, though. He stopped his journey just for her sake. "When are you going back on your journey?" she asked, knowing full well that that's what Daniel always wanted.
"When you get better," Daniel replied. Though, Daniel knew very well, that that could take forever, and by the time she's well, he'll have other things to worry about than a journey. He was stuck here, so he might as well make the best of it.
Daniel finally tossed the glass into the trash. "I have errands to run, so, please, once you're able to walk, go back to bed, Mom."
Ms. Nash nodded silently as she rested. Daniel walked back to his pokemon. Bomber perched on Daniel's shoulder while the Charmander followed behind them as Guile walked out of the house.
A Geodude glided down the corridor of some lab facility. He couldn't shake this feeling of uneasiness he had, looking around as if someone was following him. The corridor was actually silent and empty. Considering what kind of lab this was, that was actually surprising.
Just as he approached another corridor, a Weepinbell jumped from around the corner, lashing out a vine at the Rock-type pokemon. The Geodude reeled back as the Vine Whip attack hit him multiple times, each time cutting into the rock. As he stopped himself, he looked up at the Plant-type, which seemed to be ready use a Razor Leaf attack, which wasn't exactly the way he wanted to end his life.
The Weepinbell suddenly stopped, paralyzed by some unknown force. Walking up behind it was a girl that was about twelve years old, wearing what appeared to be a summer dress. "Are you okay, Rocker?" the girl asked the Geodude.
"I'll be fine, but I'll probably have to cancel training today," the rock-type replied.
"Wimp," the Weepinbell spat out, taunting the fallen Geodude.
"Be glad I don't breathe fire, Razor," Rocker spat back, glaring at the grass-type.
The girl simply sighed as she walked away, pulling Razor towards her.
Rocker slowly opened his eyes, and lifted himself up to where he could look at his surroundings. A gray-haired man in a lab coat caught his attention almost immediately, which made the Geodude worried. He tried to remember how he got here in the first place, but all he could remember was encountering a Victreebell and Arbok last night. He swore he recognized them from somewhere, but he just couldn't figure out where.
"Professor Oak. You needed me?" a young male voice asked as he walked into the lab. Rocker thought he was hearing someone from the past, but as the boy came into view, his hopes were shot.
"Sorry, Daniel. My plans got canceled. Found a Geodude by the side of the road that looked like it had been abused or something."
The rock-type saw the boy approach him. "Well, he looks fine, now," Daniel mused. "Mind telling me what happened?"
Professor Oak smiled. Just like Ryna, he knew Daniel could communicate with Pokemon. It only made sense that both ended up becoming best friends in some odd way.
"Venom and Razor happened," Rocker said, finally remembering who the two pokemon attacked him were.
"Venom and Razor? Who or what are they?" the Charmander with Daniel asked.
"Old 'friends' of mine, so to speak," Rocker explained. Then, he looked up at Daniel. "You've grown strong since I last saw you."
"Since you last saw me?" Daniel asked. "What are you talking about?"
"Let's just say, I know where you came from," Rocker said, smiling.
Daniel just looked even more confused. He just shook it off, thinking it was nothing. Then, he looked towards the outside. He let Bomber fly around to get some exercise, and look around Pallet Town. However, Daniel couldn't see the Pidgey flying anywhere, which made him a bit worried.
"Well, this Geodude is wild. Would you like him, Daniel? It's not like you can capture more pokemon while staying in town," Professor Oak said.
Daniel looked down at the Geodude. It may be in better care if he kept the rock-type, but what use would he make of it? He hasn't left Pallet Town for years.
"Why not?" Daniel replied, making Geodude smile. The sooner he was out of that lab, the better.
Professor Oak nodded, as he started to register Geodude to Daniel's team. Daniel seemed to be a little anxious as he did this. He needed to find Bomber and see what was wrong. Bomber usually didn't take this long on his flights.
"I don't need you or your Geodude around to finish what's left. I'm sure you're worried about your mother right now," Professor Oak said.
Daniel nodded as he offered Rocker a hand. The Geodude grabbed it and pulled himself off the table, and glided down to the floor as he let go. He then followed Daniel along with the Charmander. "So what's your name?" the Charmander asked.
"I'm called Rocker," the Geodude muttered.
"The name's Charlie. Glad to have you sticking around," the Charmander greeted.
Daniel was walking at a rather fast pace towards his home. He constantly looked towards the sky, as if expecting it to fall on him at any moment.
"What's wrong with him?" Rocker asked.
"Bomber is flying around somewhere. He usually doesn't take so long," Charlie told him.
"Daniel! Bad news!" a voice yelled from above as he dropped down to a level just above his trainer. Daniel looked up as he saw the Pidgey dive towards him.
"What's up?" Daniel asked.
"There are Rockets surrounding Ryna's house," Bomber said.
"Rockets?" Rocker said in surprise, but before he could warn Daniel, Daniel ran towards his best friend's home as if his life depended on it. "Wait!!" Rocker yelled, but it was way too late.
Bomber just sighed. "Follow me. I know where he's going."
As Daniel approached the house, he started to hear gunshots being fired. "Dammit, Tim, Ryna, please be alright," Daniel muttered. The Rockets seemed to be hidden. However, he swore he saw someone in the middle of a wooded area, away from the action going on. He tried to get closer to the guy, wanting a better look. Obviously enough it was a Rocket, but the boy just seemed too familiar. He tried to figure out where he saw him before, then he remembered the boy yelling at him during his nightmare the night before. It was that 'Des' guy.
"The target's been captured. Our men are withdrawing now," the boy said. Then, he muttered something that surprised him even more. "I'm sorry, Tim."
Daniel made a mad dash towards the guy, then made a diving tackle, pinning him against the ground. Des just struggled to get out of it, but nothing worked. "Who are you? What do you want? And what are you to Tim?"
Des just looked at the boy with a look of confusion. How does this boy know Tim? "I don't know who you are, but you shouldn't get involved in this," Des told him.
"Like Hell I shouldn't. You're the one attacking my friends," Daniel told him.
Daniel then got up and jumped back as a stream of fire rushed past him. Another Flamethrower attack collided into the first, resulting in an explosion that burned several of the trees in the area. They looked around to see Charlie and a Flareon in a pinsir formation around them.
"Klik! Stand down!" Des yelled at his Flareon.
"Stay out of this, Charlie," Daniel scolded the Charmander.
"Geez, I come to your rescue and that's the thanks you give me?" the Charmander complained as Bomber and Rocker approached the area.
"It's not you're concern. This guy, I swore he was in that damned nightmare I had last night," Daniel retorted.
Des smirked, the conversation between Charlie and Daniel showing him what this kid was. "Perhaps you should be involved in this, but I'm not the one you should be attacking," Des told the boy.
"What are you talking about?" Daniel asked.
"You should go to your friend's house and see for yourself. Just advice from a friend to a friend," Des said before walking off. "Our fight is over."
"Your name, it's Des, isn't it?" Daniel asked, causing the Rocket operative to stop.
"Heard that from Tim?" Des asked.
"Something like that," Daniel said. "Most people around here call me Guile. We'll probably meet again."
Hopefully, on the same side, Des thought as he gripped his shoulder where Daniel had pinned him down. The kid was too strong for his own good.
Daniel looked towards where Des was going for a couple of seconds before he ran towards Ryna's house. The three pokemon just looked at each other, seeing it was best not to pursue either of them at the moment.
Daniel stormed into Ryna's house, catching a glimpse of her mother crying, and Tim standing there in shock. "Tim, what the Hell just happened here?" Daniel asked.
Tim looked back towards the house entrance. "Guile?" Tim said in surprise. A nickname Tim seemed to prefer to call Daniel by. Then, he looked down. "They took Ryna."
Daniel just stared at Tim for a second, before punching a wall in frustration. "Dammit! I'll find those punks and make them pay!"
"No, you won't," Tim said. "It's way too dangerous."
Daniel just glared at Tim. "Like Hell I won't."
"You shouldn't get involved at all," Tim told him.
"I'm already involved, Tim, whether you like it or not," Daniel spat back.
Tim just sighed. This guy was as bull-headed as he was.
"By the way, you wouldn't happen to know a guy called Des, would you?" Daniel asked.
Tim looked at him in shock. "How?" he trailed off, wondering just how this guy knew Des.
"Just asking. Sorry if I upset you," he said. Daniel finally walked out of the house to start heading home. He needed to figure out where to go. As much as he liked to start searching for Ryna, he didn't even know where to start.
As he walked out, he noticed all three of his pokemon passed out on the ground. "What? Guys!" Daniel yelled as he ran up towards the trio of pokemon. He looked around to see what could have attacked him.
"Don't worry, they're just asleep," a disembodied voice said. A Misdrievous materialized in front of Daniel, with an evil smirk on its face. "Those words were rather bold coming from an inexperienced boy, but do you even know where to find the girl?"
"You're with the Rockets, aren't you?" Daniel asked, glaring at the ghost.
The Misdrevous chuckled. "They call me Necro. And if you want to find your friend, you should come to Saffron City. We'll be waiting for you," Necro told him before disappearing again.
"Wait!" Daniel yelled, but it was too late.
"Uhh...did someone get the number of that ghost?" Bomber asked as he woke up from his hypnosis. The other two seemed to follow suit, waking up in a groggy state.
"Sorry, guys. If I had known..." Daniel started.
"We're still alive, aren't we?" Rocker asked.
"Yeah..." Daniel trailed off, a lot of things starting to clutter his mind.
As much as Daniel wanted to just get out of town right that moment, he had other things to take care of. There was someone he needed to talk to. Normally, he'd go to Ryna if there was something on his mind, but since she wasn't around, there wasn't much of a choice on that matter. He knocked on the front door of someone's house that evening, wondering if the person he wanted to talk to was home.
Daniel was relieved when a brunette girl about his age opened the door. She was a couple inches shorter than Daniel. She only wore a white tank-top and jeans. "Hey, Guile," the girl greeted, rather surprised to see the boy.
"Hey, Catherine," Daniel greeted back, sounding depressed. "Mind if I come in?"
"Sure," Catherine replied, sensing that something wasn't right. She wondered if it was because she was gone all day, but something like that wouldn't disturb Guile.
"So, where were you today?" Daniel asked.
"I went to Viridian City today," Catherine explained.
Daniel knew the only reason she would go there. She went to the firing range. Though, she still practiced using a gun on her own ever since her father taught her how to use one, she's usually out to relieve stress when she's gone for longer periods of time. "What happened now?"
"Dad got a new job with Silph, Co. Apparently working as some security guard at their main office," Catherine said. That struck Guile as something odd. Why would a top-ranking police officer take on a job as a security guard? Then, again, stranger things have happened.
"Do you have to move to Saffron City, now?" he asked.
"Thankfully, no. We can still stay here, but I won't be able to see him much. Apparently, Silph, Co. will provide him housing for him alone."
Daniel had some suspicions about this job, but it wasn't something for him to worry about. He had much more important matters to worry about.
"What happened today?" Catherine asked, knowing full-well why Daniel came here. "Why didn't you go to Ryna like you usually do?" Though, she had a crush on Daniel, she did acknowledge that Daniel and Ryna were best friends. Besides, what's there to be jealous of when Ryna already has a boyfriend.
"I came to ask you a favor. Today, for some reason or another, Team Rocket kidnapped Ryna," Daniel blurted out. "Can you please take care of my mom? I can't exactly leave her alone."
Catherine didn't know what to say. It was a surprise that Ryna was kidnapped, but why on Earth would anyone want her? However, she knew Daniel's plight. As much as he wanted to go after Ryna, his mother's health was slowly deteriorating. "I understand," Catherine sighed. "Guile, just be careful. Don't go in over your head, please."
"I can't even promise that, but I'll try," Daniel replied. "I mean, I am going against Team Rocket."
Catherine silently nodded, then reached into a pocket to take out a strange pendant. The pendant was diamond-shaped. She handed it to her friend and said, "Apparently, my dad got this from President Silph. I have no value in it, but I figured it would be something to remember me by."
Daniel took the pendant, looked at it, then put it on himself. "Thanks," he said, as he walked towards the front door. "See ya later," he told her. Catherine smiled, as doubtful the situation seemed, she truly believed that he'll make it back.
"Something bothered me about that Charmander," Klik finally said, which caught Des' attention. He walked alongside his trainer in the evening air. "It was obviously well-trained, but at the same time, I saw innocence in those eyes, despite him being angry with me."
"Guile was the same way, too," Des said, reaching for his shoulder. Though the pain subsided, Guile's grip wasn't exactly an easy one to forget. "But at the same time, he looked like he bore a responsibility that was too much for him. Harsh home life, maybe?"
"Is that why you let him get involved in this? I thought you just wanted Tim to help you out," Klik inquired.
"Such a journey would do him good. He needs the experience. Plus, you heard it from him, too, didn't you?" Des explained.
Klik realized what he was talking about. It was obvious that Guile could understand Pokemon tongue, a mark of a Chimera. "Yes, I know..." Klik trailed off.
"Don't worry, Klik. We'll need as many allies as possible if we're going to do anything to the Rockets," Des said, earning a nod from Klik.
"I just hope you know what you're doing. If things go wrong, we could lose this kid," Klik warned.
"Don't you think I know that?" Des asked. Klik never replied. They just continued to walk in silence, trying to catch a ship.