I rode my motorcycle for a few miles before entering Hilo, the town I'd originally met Kalini in. It was night now, so I wasn't going to find too much to do. Farmer's Market was closed, same with a lot of the parks and other attractions.
Still, that didn't mean the town had no activity at all. I parked my motorcycle (a civvie one, not the tank made to carry Grace and my soon-to-be giant Pokemon) next to the side of the road.
I put my helmet away (an actual helmet, not my skull mask) and walked away swinging my keys. This late the normal tropical heat was fading away. I could smell the ocean in the air, almost impossible to get away from in Hawaii.
I felt like I was at a loss. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been on my own just finding something to do.
I went into a small store and grabbed a bottle of water, a protein bar, and some coffee with a mermaid emblem on it.
Then I just walked around for a while. My thoughts were a bit spacey. After so long doing nothing but training and patrolling or fighting, I finally had a moment to think.
Of course, as always, those thoughts went to my Pokemon and the DC Universe as a whole. I couldn't help it. Say what you will about the way my life was going, at least it was interesting. Blessing wrapped around a core of curse.
Still, my thoughts were tied to a bunch of things. Back in the Pokemon world, I hadn't wasted time on theories. My one focus was finding a way home. I'd gathered a team as best as I could, fought alongside them, taught them, and fed them as much as I could. But I'd never gotten into things the way a trainer would in that world.
In the Pokemon world, training was something more akin to the brutality of becoming a samurai, Roman legionnaire, or a knight. Day in, day out, forcing yourself to understand combat in every level. I'd gone into it with all the practicality of someone learning it for survival. But there was a spiritual side too.
I ended up on a hill overlooking the ocean and beach, next to a tall palm tree. I leaned against it as I continued thinking.
The spiritual side of Pokemon training. It wasn't something I'd put a lot of focus on. But back in that world, there were running theories on it. On why psychic trainers often had mental abilities of their own. On why fighting and rock type trainers were often stronger than normal people. More importantly, why Ace Trainers were so adaptive in combat.
I hadn't done much training. But I'd seen some clips of what a really good Pokemon trainer could do. It was… stunning. Giovanni had gone easy on me, but I could guess he was at the heights of the legendary.
I didn't know how much he shared with his counterparts, but Team Rainbow Rocket had taken over his world. The entire world. In a place without Red, he'd still become so powerful even Blue, Lance, Cynthia, and far more, had been beaten by Giovanni. So he had to be insanely powerful.
Which meant he was a top dog. And thus capable of the same as the best in the world. Something about being a trainer… the spiritual side of it. There was something there. Some reason certain people in that world became so personally strong.
Ash Ketchum hadn't won every championship he went to. But he'd gotten top cut every time, usually with teams he'd made nearly from scratch.
But was that the Pokemon world being different, or just a product of humans in general? It's said that most people never have more of an impact on the world than the dirt moved to bury them. It's not true of course, but the analogy makes sense. Some people, though, just rise above. Some become legends beyond the rest of us, so powerful they become iconic. That's a power of its own. So maybe if I worked on it, I could make myself and my Pokemon just as iconic, so powerful that we couldn't be touched.
Of course, that was just me musing without real thought. I sat down against the tree and enjoyed the chill breeze as I enjoyed the view of the starlit ocean.
The DC universe was wide and wonderful. I'd only seen a small portion of it, but it was enough to make me think. Magcargo had gained a new level of power from encountering and allying with Pele. Who was to say my other Pokemon couldn't do the same. Who was to say I couldn't? We'd need more power anyways. Even with Alakazam in my back pocket, I knew there were powers that could break him. Somewhere in those beautiful stars above me, Apokolips, Warworld, and more horrific places rested. Even on Earth, there were monsters.
God. I was supposed to rest, right? Why was I thinking all this foreboding stuff? Hell, my thoughts had meandered so much. Where had they started? Something about the spiritual side of Pokemon? Why trainers and their Pokemon could reach such insane heights of power, to the point I was sure Lance or Red could win fistfights against most assassins in the DC Universe?
Must have been worse at relaxing than I thought.
I chuckled a bit, feeling the rough texture of the palm tree against my back, taking a bite of the protein bar. What did people think about to relax? Well, I was a teenage boy now. Maybe I could think about sex?
The thought was dismissed before I could even really consider it. My body was fourteen, but my mind was 30… I think? Lost track of time. Point was, my brain and body were at odds when it came to that kind of thing. I'd see Roxy, Grace, and Pele, my hormones would kick in. Then reality would shut those down. I just didn't have time to consider those things.
I hadn't watched any movies or read any books that my Pokemon hadn't pulled me into watching or reading.
Hilarious. I had a lot of good things in my life, but no clue how to relax. I should have called Kalini. That old reprobate knows how to party.
There was the old thought. How to get back home. All my research into that was stalled. But I could find a way. This universe had dozens of ways to create portals to other realities. It was all a case of finding a way through. Then I could introduce my family to my Pokemon. My brothers would lose their minds over that.
Ah, I was thinking of serious things again.
Then again. Despite what I was thinking, I was actually feeling good right then. I finished my protein bar and coffee. Sipped the water. The waves below were crashing against the sand in a rhythmic sound. The peace in the air drew you in, the warm night and chill breeze from the ocean mixing and flowing around me, carrying the salt scent with it.
I'd wake up around four hours later, still resting against the tree. My phone was ringing. I picked it up as it buzzed and blearily stared at the number there. Alakazam?
Uh oh. What had happened!?
Mimikyu
Four hours before the call
Mimikyu moved in the shadows, dipping into the darkness. The city she was in was called Waianae, but it wasn't where she'd started. She'd been tracking her quarry for some time. Master had told her that a vigilante was following the path of a ghost. She was confused at first, because she followed Master, Master didn't follow her?
She felt a little embarrassed when Master told her he was talking about a different vigilante.
Mimikyu had her mission though. Go out to the last place the vigilante had been and track the ghosts energy. Alakazam had dropped her off in a random alleyway that smelled like violence. Very sweet and tangy in the spiritual plane.
From the alleyway, she'd entered the shadows. It was easy. Someone else had gone there. Like some walking across through snow, leaving a path to follow.
She dipped in and out of the shadows, following the path. Violence's sweet smell permeated through that path. It was pain, anger, fear, excitement, the idle emotions that joined together with it.
She found herself in Waianae after some time. She stopped on the rooftop of a house to look over everything from above. The city was right next to the ocean. So just like everywhere in Hawaii. It was a small town however, with no really tall buildings, so you could see the mountains in the distance.
Mimikyu looked down at the streets below, and felt something strange. Not the ghost she'd been following. This called to the other side of her.
"Kyu?"
Curiously, she hopped down and landed gently on the cement below, moving quickly. This second energy was pulsing a bit. She felt it wash over her and the sensation tingled across her body. How fun!
Mimikyu turned a corner on a street called Manunūnū St. It was wide, and a house rested on the corner, painted blue on the first floor and white on the second. Behind the house was a large empty parking lot. Empty except for the motorcycle.
Approaching slowly, the tiny costumed Pokemon felt another pulse. She stopped as she saw a head poke up over the motorcycle. The head's eyes stopped on her. Mimikyu stared back.
The owner of the head was very pretty! She had long brown-red hair pulled up into a ponytail, dark brown skin, and bright brown eyes. Mimikyu did her best to seem non-threatening as the girl in front of her, around her masters age, stared back at her.
She smelled like a Fairy Pokemon. Not quite. There was a hint of Dark to her. But she was mostly Fairy. The same smell was coming from a beat up old backpack resting on the motorcycle.
"Um… hello?" the girl said hesitantly.
"Mimikyu!" She said back with a small wiggle, the Pikachu costume on her head flopping about slightly.
"Are you… Aumakua? One of Kahu's spirit monsters?"
"Kyu," she nodded at the girl.
"Wow," the girl muttered, slowly coming around the motorcycle. She looked fascinated. And was holding a pair of golden sticks in her hands. Sticks that felt like Fairy-type power as well. She kept her distance, but lowered down a bit to meet Mimikyu's gaze. Well, her costumes gaze at least. "I knew you were a spirit, but I didn't expect… well, to feel you like this."
"Kyu?" Mimikyu hopped closer, the young girl stepping back in surprise. Hm. This girl. She felt like Fairy power. But while master might be interested in that, it wasn't the mission tonight. She had to track down that ghost and vigilante."
"Maybe you and I are on the same mission," the girl mumbled under breath. But Mimikyu heard, zeroing in on that.
"Mimikyu?" she said imploringly.
"Oh, uh," the girl lowered the two sticks in her hand. "My dad. He's been tracking someone for his boss. A Night Marcher, we think. But a weird one. An evolved one, maybe."
Ghosts could evolve here too?
"So I wanted to help him, and I came out here…"
"...Kyuuuuuu."
The girl flinched at the disapproval in Mimikyu's voice. "Hey, it's fine! I've done things like this before!"
"Mimi."
"Why do you sound like you don't believe me?"
Because she didn't.
Before they could continue, a loud sound filled the air from a few streets over. A clanging sound.
"An alarm?" the girl said.
Mimikyu turned to face it, but hesitated. Should she just leave this girl behind-
"Oh no, you aren't leaving me!" the girl reached into her backpack and ripped it open, pulling out a purple face mask trimmed with gold. She put it on, and Mimikyu noted the feeling of Fairy-type energy again. She spun the sticks in her hand. "I'm Anita, by the way."
Mimikyu cocked her head at the girl, then turned and zipped towards the direction of the alarms.
"Ah. Right, you can't say my name," the girl mumbled with some chagrin. Moments later, she was following Mimikyu.
The two costumed girls ran together, Mimikyu just a bit ahead of the human. The building the alarms were coming from was close. They ran for almost three minutes before reaching it. It was a simple one story building with a rudimentary sign labeling it 'Spicy House: Thai Food'. The smell of happiness, hunger, tinges of annoyance, and a lot of pride.
People loved this little restaurant.
The Freshest smell from it, now entering Mimikyu's senses, was fear.
"Kyu!" she hopped over a fence and approached the doors. They were wide open despite the lateness of the time. The girl, (Anita she'd called herself?) followed quickly.
They got to the door in time for a man to come stumbling out. The girl panicked at the sight of what was in his hands.
"Gun!"
"Wha-"
Before he could say anything, Anita leaped forward and smashed the gold sticks in her hand into the man, the left stick smashing the handgun out of his grip, while the right broke his jaw with a wet thunking sound. The man screamed only to get a kick to the chest that dropped him onto his back with a sound like beef on marble.
"...Mimikyu."
"I know, that was scary," Anita mumbled.
Actually, Mimikyu was saying the man had clearly been running. He'd already had a black eye, was hobbling like he'd broken his ankle, and looked terrified. But the girl was so cute that Mimikyu decided to let it go.
A loud noise came from inside the restaurant.
"More people?" Anita prowled forward, dropping to lower her stance. Mimikyu hopped onto the girl's shoulder. She jumped in surprise, looking at Mimikyu, then continued forward.
Anita froze at the sight before. A woman with a silver dragon tattoo across both forearms. Both broken forearms, twisted around entirely. She rested in the remains of a table, unmoving. Her left leg was bent badly, and her nose was broken.
"Holy…" Anita looked at the next person. A man who had been shoved upward into the ceiling, his legs dangling limply below while the rest of him went upwards into the hole. A bit of blood dripped rhythmically off his boot to land on the floor. He groaned, the only indication he was alive.
Another woman rested on the counter where hungry patrons would usually order food. For her, she was staring vacantly forward, vomit on her shirt. A broken baseball bat was resting on her stomach, the print of a boot across her face, her fingers twitching.
"Who did this?" Anita whispered.
"Kyu…" that sweet scent again. It filled the air.
A sound came from the back. Anita rushed towards it, Mimikyu holding on tight and getting a Protect ready.
They entered the kitchen. The sound of a knife entering flesh filled the air.
"AHHHHHHHH!" a man screamed in pain with his hand nailed to a wooden cutting board by a thin knife. He was huge, around three hundred pounds of muscle. And he was blubbering like a scared child. "Please, please, please!"
A cheery recording of a woman played from a black blocky recorder on the counter where the man was being stabbed. "We respectfully request an answer."
"The-the girls are getting shipped out tonight, maybe!?" the man screamed when the knife twisted. "I don't know man, I don't know, we were robbing this place! I don't have anything to do with the shipm-'' another violent twist. "-EEEEEEEENT! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!"
The man twisting the knife noticed Anita and Mimikyu then. The three costumed people met eyes. Mimikyu noted the large size of him. The yellow mask with an insane grin stretched across it. The leather outfit, beaten from use. And most importantly. The feel of a fellow Ghost. It soaked into him. He wasn't human. Or not entirely. Something had entered him. Something filled with blood soaked rage.
Maybe he was a new friend!
"Mimikyu!" she said cheerily.
Anita snapped her head to look at Mimikyu, as though she was surprised that Mimikyu was trying to be nice. The man cocked his masked head to the side in confusion. And the Silicon Dragon being stabbed sobbed.
"..." the man in the smiling mask reached slowly out and tapped at the black box. It let out the same cheery female voice from earlier.
"The following presentation has been approved for mature audiences only."
"What the hell is this!?" Anita finally said, sounding horrified. She seemed to be staring at the blood on the floor, a small gagging sound leaving her.
"Mimikyu," the Pokemon pointed at the man with a shadow tendril.
"Yes, I know it's him! I'm asking what he's doing!?"
The man tapped the recorder again. The voice that came out this time was male, dry and unimpressed sounding.
"I'm just doing my job. You give me that "juris-my-dick-tion" crap, you can cram it up your ass."
"Wha-" Anita blinked. "Was that from the Matrix?"
The masked man raised a thumbs up. His other hand was still on the knife.
Mimikyu hopped off of Anita's shoulder, moving over until she was on the counter next to the hand of the man being stabbed. The man was weeping. "Please let me go. Please."
"Just let him go alrea-"
The masked man tapped the recorder.
"It's human trafficking."
Anita stopped. She stared at the masked man. Then at Mimikyu. Mimikyu had ignored the others to reach out and grab the man's phone, holding it carefully, then grabbing his wallet next.
"...How do you know?" Anita still sounded horrified, but a hint of worry joined it.
Another tap. The voice was female again, but a different one, with a hint of an accent to it. "Look, I've been working on this case for months now…"
The purple masked girl hesitated. Then, swallowing, she approached. Despite the mask, a sense of fear and disgust emanated from her. Even so, she walked closer and leaned down to look the Silicon Dragon in the eyes. "You said something about tonight?"
The criminal hesitated. The man in the smiling mask cocked his head, tightened his grip on the knife, and pulled it out. The criminal gasp, then screamed when the knife slammed into a new spot in his hand, the blade shivering where it impaled the wood beneath. Anita flinched heavily, clenching her gloved hands around her sticks, but the white eyes of her mask stayed on the screaming man.
"Okay, okay! I can text them! Let me text the boys! I'll tell them I want to help out, get the location! PLEAS-"
His phone bounced off his face, Mimikyu letting out a small 'Kyu'.
"Okay… can you let my hand go?"
Anita hummed, looking at Mimikyu. The Pokemon shook slightly, which Anita seemed to understand. "You can text with one hand."
The man sobbed, but dutifully grabbed the phone, lifting it up to begin typing.
The smiling mask looked between Mimikyu and Anita, befuddled. Then he tapped his recorder again. "Why are you helping me?"
"Who is that, Shia Lebouf?" Anita said confused, then shaking her head. "Before this I just wanted to find you," the man pointed at himself questioningly. Anita sighed. "Yes, you. But now I… if people are getting trafficked tonight, I need to help them. I can't just watch them get hurt."
Mimikyu vibrated happily hopping onto Anita's shoulder and snuggling into her neck. "Kyu, Mimikyu!"
Anita was a good girl!
The human chuckled, rubbing Mimikyu. She still sounded scared. Nervous. And she was still staring at the display of violence in front of her. Even so, she was petting Mimikyu and her breathing was calming down. "All right, all right. God, you're adorable for a creature of darkness."
"Mimi!"
The man in the mask watched, apparently not knowing how to feel about the sight before them. Anita seemed to notice. She coughed.
"So… I'm A-...aaaaaaaaaaaaaah," Did she forget her name? As Mimikyu watched curiously, the girl looked at the criminal, then at the masked vigilante, then desperately around the kitchen. Her eyes landed on a box in the corner, the kind that would hold disposable cups or plates. A single logo rested there.
"Empress!" the girl said, looking back at the masked man. "Call me Empress! And this is Aumakua," Mimikyu looked around to see who Anita was talking about. "How about you?"
The man pointed at his mask.
"...That's uh. Not an answer."
He pointed again.
"What? You're a Smiley face?"
The man shook his head, pointing again.
"...Okay, can I just call you Smiley?"
He thought about it. Then tapped his recorder.
"Sí, entiendo." The robotic female voice said.
"Okay, what is with the recorder?" Anita asked.
"Right?" the criminal agreed.
Mimikyu, Anita, and the newly named Smiley all looked at the Silicon Dragon. He coughed and kept typing.
"I'm going to regret this," Anita mumbled.
"Mimikyu!" No way! Beating up bad guys was fun! Tonight would be amazing!
Smiley gave them a thumbs up.
"Also, please pull the knife out of that guy already," Empress said, sounding like she was having trouble saying it for some reason. "I don't want him to bleed out."
Author's Note: Mimikyu is good at making friends. She's a good girl.
So yeah, Mimikyu meets Smiley and Empress. Now to reveal what the two can really do. I've got ideas on how the Silicon Dragons are defending their operations nowadays, but I'll keep that secret for now.
THis chapter was delayed due to illness, so sorry it took so long to finish. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Plus side, I have another story that I was able to put more chapters on. If you guys could take a look at that one, Rewired Saga, I'd appreciate it. It's an original fic that I could use help on. You can find it on RoyalRoad or Spacebattles.
As a final thing, I'm doing something where when people reply/comment to my stories with direct observations/questions, I'll make a video replying to them. I don't know if that has any interest, but my brother recommended it to me as an idea, so I'm trying it out.
Uh... finally, please support me on pa tre on or Subscribestar. Those sites are keeping my dumb butt alive, and you'll get the next chapters 4 days ahead of the general public