Chapter 50: One Wild Night and the Morning After
The elevator went ding as we reached the top floor of our building. As soon as we got out, I could hear the faint sound of music which got louder as we walked down the hall to our penthouse. Well so much for relaxing the rest of the night.
“Sounds like a party.” Axel noted when we got to our door.
“Yup.” I agreed. I put the key in, opened the door, and sure enough our place was full of people and Pokémon. Some were dancing, some were having idle conversation which was muffled by the blaring music, and some were holding solo cups which most likely contained some sort of alcoholic beverage.
“Wh-what’s going on?” asked Chane nervously at this unexpected event.
“A party obviously.” I answered bluntly. But whose idea was this? Certainly not Raiden’s.
“Oh hi guys! You’re back!” greeted Zack with a girl on each arm. Somehow I’m not surprised he’s behind this. I’m actually more surprised he was able to seduce two girls at once. “Did you enjoy your date?” he inquired hopefully.
“It wasn’t really a date, but we did enjoy our day out.” I answered making sure the correction was heard over the music. “So is this shindig you’re doing?”
“Yup! In celebration of our victory, I invited all the Neos members that participated in the raid last night!” he confessed. “I’m actually glad you two got home when you did to enjoy it.”
“Come on Zack! You promised us a dance!” said one of the girls persistently.
“Alright, alright. Enjoy yourselves now.” he told us with a wave as he was dragged to the dance floor.
“Do you think Raiden knows about this?” inquired Chane.
“Probably not. I can’t see him agreeing to something like this.” I presumed. “But that just begs the question, where is he? And where is Eve for that matter?” I wondered.
“Do we care?” Axel pointed out.
“Not really.” I shrugged. I wandered through the crowd keeping Chane and Axel close while looking around for our other teammates. Mostly though it was to pass the time and figure out what to do. Outside by the pool there were more people and Pokémon dancing, talking, and playing in the pool. Only about half of those people were actually wearing bathing suits while the other half still had their clothes on. A Starmie, a Crawdaunt, and a different Azumarill frolicked in the pool with the people.
“Wh-when d-do think the party will end? I-I’m not r-really comfortable being alone in my room with a-all of these people around.” Chane said worriedly.
“In that case why don’t we just sleep together.” I suggested before instantly regretting my choice of words! “That came out wrong.” I said shamefully.
“B-but how would th-that work exactly?” she asked getting fidgety.
“Simple, you sleep in the bed and Axel and I sleep on the floor.” I proposed.
“Don’t just go deciding things on your own again! I mean, I would, but still!” complained the monkey. I only grinned at him in response.
“I… I don’t know. Sh-sharing a room with a boy i-is kind of…” she trailed.
“Do you trust me?” I asked her straightforwardly. “You know I wouldn’t try anything on you.”
“I trust you.” she responded after taking a moment to recompose herself.
“Awesome! My room or yours?” I asked.
“Mine. I think I’d be more comfortable there.” she invited. “Thanks.”
“No problem! You did me a huge favor today, even if you benefitted too. The least I can do is keep you company until the party dies down.” I told her. “So should we at least enjoy the party some or do you just want to go back to your room?” I inquired.
“Did I just hear that right?” asked the worst possible person to overhear us. I turned to see Eve standing only a few feet from us. She must have noticed us and came close enough to hear the last part of that sentence. “Are my two favorite virgins about to have their first time?” she teased.
“No.” I said flatly.
“I-it’s not what you think! We’re just going to sleep together! N-no! I-I mean, Brian… my… my room… k-keep me company…” she stuttered before whimpering in frustration.
“You two are adorable together!” Eve complemented sarcastically practically beaming with sadistic joy. “First you run off on a secret date and now you’re going to have sex! I’m so jealous.”
“Let me correct you on both counts. It wasn’t a date, it was an outing to help Riolu and Lucy evolve into Lucario and Blissey which they did. And now we’re just going to hang out in Chane’s room because even with her Pokémon to keep her company, this many people makes her nervous. As her teammate you should know that already.” I explained with enough venom to make sure Eve knew I wasn’t in the mood for her games.
“I like my version of the story better. Yours is just too… well, you.” Eve contradicted with her usual false sweetness. “You two go do whatever you want, especially if it’s each other. I’m going to the bar for a drink like a real adult. Who knows, I might find myself a new toy to play with.” she mused giddily. As she wandered off to do her wickedness, Chane turned to me worriedly.
“Everyone is getting the wrong idea about us.” she said fretfully.
“Who cares. As long as you and I know the truth it doesn’t matter what the others think. Zack only thinks about sex so he’ll always draw that conclusion and Eve is just a bitch so she’ll always find something to bother us with. We know where we stand with each other so let them think what they want.” I told her. “If it bothers you than just--”
“Stand up, be strong?” Chane interrupted confidently. I smiled and laughed.
“Not what I was going to say, but yeah, that!” I agreed pointing at her.
“Someone’s been paying attention.” Axel said with a grin.
Since it was a beautiful night, we decided to stay on the balcony for a while. At any rate there were less people outside than inside despite the pool. Even though we had that afternoon nap, an hour later sleepiness soon took hold of us again. It was more like a groggy sleepiness that comes from having a fucked up sleep cycle. We retreated to Chane’s room but I had to wait outside again while she got changed. She let me in when she was ready of course. As promised, I claimed my spot on the floor with Axel while she made herself comfy in her bed.
--------
What is my life? I mentally asked myself that question after a few hours of staring at the ceiling. Despite being so tired, I could not fall asleep what so ever. Maybe it was the noise from the party which for some reason was still going on. They must have all spent the entire day sleeping after last night’s battle so now they’re wide awake. If it was the noise keeping me awake though then it was just me. Both Chane and Axel were sound asleep.
I suddenly felt a vibration in my pants pocket. Dumbass. I forgot to turn off my phone. Maybe it’s a good thing I couldn’t sleep or that might have woken me up. I pulled it out of my pocket to see the call was from Raiden. I quickly got up and darted to Chane’s bathroom before answering.
“Hey Master Raiden. What’s up?” I asked him in a hushed voice. My mind may have still been going a mile a minute but it seemed my body wasn’t quite up to speed yet.
“Sorry Brian. Did I wake you?” he asked apologetically.
“Nah, it’s fine. What do you need me for?” I inquired.
“Are you at the penthouse right now?” he questioned sounding a bit irritated.
“Yeah, why?” I asked.
“What is going on in there? I am standing outside, but something seems to be blocking the door. I need you to move it for me.” he requested urgently.
“Zack decided to throw a wild party.” I informed. “I’ll go see what’s in front of the door so just hang tight Master.” I hung up and quietly left the room, quickly opening the door, running out, then closing it again. I waded through the crowd to the front door where someone was passed out on the floor.
“Move.” I ordered. When the poor sap didn’t respond, I dragged them to the side. I then opened the door to see Raiden standing there with an unamused look on his face. “Wasn’t my idea, I swear.” I told him guiltlessly. Raiden walked past me into the house to survey the area. He then reached for a Pokéball and sent out Electabuzz.
“Thunder.” he ordered in a no-nonsense tone. Electabuzz raised his right hand summoning a bolt of lightning to strike himself with a loud crash that silenced everyone. Even the DJ shut off the music in response to the lightning strike.
“The party is over. Everyone go home.” Raiden ordered authoritatively.
“And what right do you think you have to kick everyone here out?” demanded Feng pushing his way to the front with his two flunkies. Zack even invited him? Or rather, that greasy, arrogant bastard actually came to a party like this?
“This is my house Feng. You all were invited without my permission so now I am putting an end to the party.” Raiden answered straightforwardly. Feng got an arrogant smirk while chuckling condescendingly.
“As a First Seat, my order out ranks yours Third, so I’m going to say this party continues!” Feng said defiantly getting a few cheers from people.
“You!” I growled fully prepared to rip his head off. I didn’t care who saw. Raiden put his hand on my shoulder to keep me from doing something stupid I would most likely regret in the morning.
“You would dare pull the rank card for such a petty reason.” Raiden said in disappointment. He reached into his pants pocket. “Then it seems I must do the same. Indeed, a First Seat outranks a Third Seat. However,” Raiden pulled a red armband from his pocket, “a Lieutenant outranks a First Seat.” he said unfolding the armband to reveal the Team Neos emblem with an ‘L’ overtop emblazoned on it. My eyes grew wide in surprise as did Feng’s. People in the crowd started murmuring to themselves at the revelation.
“*Grrrr* That’s a fake! There is no way you were promoted to lieutenant over me!” dismissed Feng refusing to belief what he had just been told. I had to admit, even I was still having trouble believing what I had just heard.
“Captain Ross made the decision herself. Call her if you like.” dared Raiden getting another growl from Feng. “Now, by the authority vested in me, I order you, First Seat Ken Feng, get out!” he commanded.
“You would dare pull rank on me!?” demanding Feng indignantly.
“Hypocrite. You seem to put a lot of stock in rank. Are you defying the orders of your superior? There will be repercussions if you do.” warned Raiden.
“*Grrrr* This isn’t over Arka!” Feng spat before conceded defeat and walking to the door. Raiden clasped Feng’s shoulder to keep him from walking out.
“That is Lt. Arka to you.” he corrected. Feng growled as he pushed Raiden off and continued out with his lackeys. All it took was a piercing glare from Raiden to get everyone else to follow suit.
“A lieutenant huh?” I queried looking to my master once the premise was completely vacated.
“Yes. I will explain everything tomorrow when all four of you are present.” Raiden promised. He then looked around the empty room. “Where are the others anyway? Not even your shadow is out here.” he mentioned. It took me a second to realize the only ones present were me, Raiden, and Electabuzz. Looking around the penthouse, I saw a bunch of cups, plates and miscalaneous trash strewn about. Looks like Zack will have his work cut out for him tomorrow when he cleans this mess up.
“Well Axel and Chane are sleeping. I don’t know about Zack or Eve.” I answered. I would have thought as the one who started the party Zack would have stuck around for the whole thing.
“Well whatever. I have had a long day so I am going to bed. Good night Brian.” he said returning Electabuzz and heading to his room.
“Night Master Raiden.” I responded before going back to Chane’s room. The people may be gone, but Axel was still in there and I wouldn’t want Chane to panic if I wasn’t there when she woke up. I got back on the floor and had no trouble drifting off to sleep this time.
-------------------
“Kyaaaaa!!”
I shot awake and quickly sat up at the sound of Chane’s scream which was quickly followed by the sound of her slamming her door shut.
“What’s wrong?” I questioned urgently. Chane pointed to the door while babbling incoherent syllables.
“What’s going on?” asked Axel groggily getting up as well.
“We’re about to find out.” I declared scooting Chane to the side so we two monkeys could investigate. As soon as we left the room, I saw Zack standing in the kitchen wearing nothing but a black banana hammock with green stripes that looked like grass on the crotch.
“Morning Brian! Axel!” he greeted shamelessly.
“Morning Zack.” I said returning the greeting. “Where are your pants?”
“Oh I won’t be needing them. I just needed to grab a quick snack and some water.” he explained quickly. Before I could even ask, I got my answer.
“What’s taking so long Zack?” I turned to the doorway of Zack’s room to see Skylar wrapped in a sheet and nothing else. Well shit. She then noticed I was standing there. “Oh. Hi… Brian.” she greeted uncertainly.
“Hi.” I responded in a monotone voice with a wave. I looked back to Zack who nodded proudly.
“They mated didn’t they?” Axel realized in a deadpan voice.
“Yup.” I said still in monotone.
If this couldn’t get any more awkward, Raiden then came out of his room wearing a pair of grey sweat pants and a white undershirt. He took one step before pausing. He looked at me for a second before shifting his gaze to Zack. Then he turned to Skylar. Then back at Zack and back to Skylar. Without a word or change in his stoic expression, he took a step back in his room and shut the door. I would probably find it more amusing if I wasn’t still in shock from the two half-naked people standing in front of me.
“Well this certainly wasn’t awkward.” Skylar said sarcastically while trying to maintain her composure. “Yup. I think my libido is gone now.”
“Yeah, kind of a mood killer.” Zack agreed. “Can I at least come back in to get dressed?”
“It is your room.” Skylar allowed. A minute later Axel and I were the only ones standing in the common area.
“Axel.” I said blankly.
“Yes Brian.” he answered in the same tone.
“You wanna go for a walk?” I requested.
“You’re not wearing shoes.” he pointed-out.
“You wanna go to the roof and spar?” I counter offered.
“That sounds like a good idea.” he agreed. I just wanted to get out of the house before anymore fanservice showed up. Eve could walk out any moment wearing sexy lingerie, I could accidentally walk in on Chane changing if I went back for my shoes or to go back to bed, plus I just plain didn’t know what to do with myself right now and I’m sure Axel felt the same way.
---------------
After beating the shit out of each other, I felt much better. We returned back to the penthouse to find Eve slumped over the kitchen table wearing the same clothes she had on the night before with a cup of coffee in front of her. By her groans and disheveled appearance, it was obvious she was hungover. Axel and I took great pleasure in tormenting her. What can we say? We love ourselves some good old fashion revenge!
Chane was next to come out still in her pajamas. She wanted to know what happened to us so I explained why I didn’t return. She understood and thanked me for my chivalry which only caused Eve to groan in disgust. That earned her another round of torment. That is until Raiden told us to knock it off. We were finally joined by Zack and Skylar, who were thankfully fully dressed this time, accompanied by Lloyd who I didn’t see earlier.
“Can I keep him?” Skylar requested wrapping her arms around Zack from behind.
“No.” Raiden denied flatly. “I need all of my squad members for the missions to come.”
“Pleeeeaaase. If it’s numbers you’re worried about, I can trade you Spenser?” she offered.
“No.” denied Raiden again. “The five of us already have team synergy. I do not have the time to rework our strategies to account for new members.”
“Damn! Sorry Zack. It looks like our relationships amounts to nothing more than a one-night stand.” she lamented while stroking Zack’s hair.
“Wouldn’t be my first. But I’ll booty call you between missions.” Zack suggested.
“Gag me.” Eve droned.
“That will not be possible. Due to my promotion, my squad is being reassigned to Unova.” Raiden informed. We’re going to Unova now? I’ve never been there before. Sounds exciting!
“Promotion? What promotion?” queried Skylar is surprise.
“Well, now that everyone is here, I should explain. Yesterday morning, I got called into the Saffron headquarters by Captain Ross. She learned from the mission field report that the four Rocket Executives were slain by the four members of my squad. She was impressed by their skills. She put me through the Lieutenant’s Aptitude Test to see if I qualified for the rank. I just barely passed with a score of 2000 even. She wanted to make sure that all five of us were capable of more difficult missions. With my new rank as Lieutenant, Captain Ross wants us to go to Unova since Team Neos presence is practically nonexistent over there. We will be the vanguard to establish a foothold.” he elaborated.
“That is awesome Master!” I cheered followed by congratulatory cheers from the others.
“I can’t believe you managed to outdo me like that.” Skylar said sounding impressed. “Oh man, Kenny will be pissed when he finds out!” she realized with a mixture dread and pleasure at his reaction.
“He already knows. He found out last night when I broke up the party.” Raiden informed while shooting Zack the same stern look I usually get when I misbehave. Zack turned away pretending not to notice he was in trouble.
“I thought I heard the roar of thunder last night. I just thought it was the charge between me and Skylar.” reminisced Zack with a passionate grin.
“Hate you. Hate you both.” groaned Eve. I actually had to agree with her on that. I didn’t need that mental image.
“Jealous?” accused Zack playfully.
“I would rather die. I’m halfway there already.” she retorted dryly before sipping her coffee. “Cold.” I heard her grumble in a low whisper.
“There is one more thing Captain Ross mentioned. On July 8th at 1:00pm Kanto time, Leader will highjack all television networks for an important global announcement. She suggests we be ready to watch his message.” Raiden told us.
“Thanks for passing that on. I’ll be sure to let my squad know.” Skylar said appreciatively. “Speaking of, I should probably get back to them. Bye Zack.” she said giving him a quick kiss. “See you guys when I see you I guess. Have fun in Unova! Congratulations again on your promotion Raiden!”
No sooner did Skylar leave, Raiden turned to Zack with an unamused look.
“You have a mess to cleanup.” he said straightforwardly.
“Just me?” questioned Zack in shock.
“Eve is too hungover to do anything, and Brian tells me he and Chane were not part of this. Therefore, the onus falls on you and Lloyd.” he commanded.
“Ha. Ha. Ha.” Eve laughed mockily while Zack only rubbed his head in shame.
---------------
While Zack was cleaning up the place, I raided the fridge with Axel looking for breakfast. Threre weren’t many options to pick from.
“So Brian, I couldn’t help but notice you came out of Chane’s room this morning.” Zack pointed out in a naughty tone.
“We didn’t do what you did. I was simply hanging out on the floor all night serving as moral support.” I corrected.
“Too bad.” he said disappointedly.
“What about you? When I last saw you, you had two girls with you. How did you end up with Skylar and not one or even both of them?” I inquired.
“Hey now! I may be a slut, but I’m a monogamous slut. If I’m dating someone I stick with them only. All I did was dance with those gils because they asked. When I told Skylar how I defeated Archer, well, you know how she is with strong Trainers. I had to put Lloyd in his Pokéball in order for us to get down to business.” he explained. The Golduck nodded in confirmation. I was actually surprised. I didn’t think Zack knew what monogamy even was. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t impressed.
“I found frozen pancakes!” Axel announced checking the freezer.
“Sweet!” I cheered.
-------------------
The next five days were rather uneventful. I spent most of my time watching the live broadcast of the White City Tournament. I was kind of upset that I didn’t get to go this year, but what I did was more important than glory in a tournament. The winner this year was a Trainer going by his initials.
Team Neos was pretty quiet as a whole after the destruction of Team Rocket so there were no new missions. There was even talk on the news of people wondering if Team Neos was still active after wiping out all of the world’s major criminal organizations. I of course knew that wasn’t true. Raiden had already said Leader would be making an announcement soon, not to mention his alluding to a Phase 2 of our operations.
When July 8th came, Axel and I had ourselves an anniversary breakfast but other than that we stayed in all day waiting for Leader’s broadcast. Then at last the fateful moment had arrived. We were sitting around the TV when it suddenly got very staticky. The screen then faded to a stage set up in an unknown location. Entering the stage was Leader dressed in his armor, cape, and hood. He was followed by two Neos members dragging a beaten and bloody man wearing ragged black pants and a whit shirt stained with blood and dirt behind him. It took me a moment, but I quickly recognized the man as Giovanni! He was actually alive!? Leader stood at the edge of the stage to make his grand announcement.
“People of the world! I am called Leader. I am the High Commander of Team Neos!” he introduced in a booming voice. “Some of you would call us heroes, saviors who destroy evil in the name of justice. Some of you would call us vigilantes, a necessary evil taking justice into our own hands to destroy the greater evil. Some of you would call us criminals, the same as the evil that we destroy. Some of you would call us terrorists, worse than the evil we destroy. I think of us as visionary activists. You see, the goal of Team Neos is to destroy the decadence of society, eliminate crime and corruption! Team Rocket. Team Aqua. Team Magma. Team Galactic. They were the worst examples of organized crime to ever exist and we eliminated them. But we wouldn’t have needed to if it wasn’t for this world’s corrupt and broken governments! Why is it that we were able to do in less than two years what law enforcement has not been able to in over ten? I blame the corrupt politicians that rule society. My hostage here is a prime example of just how corrupt the world governments really are!” Leader then pointed to Giovanni cuing the Neos to drag him closer.
“Do you know who this man is? This is Giovanni Terremoto. Former Viridian City Gym Leader and former Boss of Team Rocket! In what world could the head of the greatest criminal empire to ever exist and a Gym Leader appointed by the Pokémon League be one and the same? Just what kind of background checks do they do? Most likely none as there are also children Gym Leaders in some parts of the world. Disgraceful!” Leader then lifted his claymore prompting the Neos holding Giovanni to scatter. The broken man looked up in fear knowing that his life had come to an end. In one quick swing Giovanni’s head was sent rolling across the stage! I knew Arthias was ruthless but to execute Giovanni on live TV! He certainly made his point.
“To realize our goal, Team Neos needed a plan. Phase 1 of that plan was the elimination of the four biggest criminal organizations to expose just how powerless the people in charge really are while simultaneously proving how mighty ordinary Trainers are when they work together in harmony with each other and their Pokémon. Phase 2 of our plan is to tear down the worthless society that would allow such criminals to exist in the first place! To achieve our objective, Team Neos will be filling the void left by the former criminal Teams before foolhardy rabble can claim it. If you thought crime rates were high with the likes of them running the criminal underworld, just wait until you see what we are capable of. Team Neos will also be extending its presence to Unova and Kalos, two regions that have thus far been devoid of major criminal activity. Consider it a social experiment. Is law enforcement more robust in those regions thus preventing organized crime from gaining a foothold or are their governments just as fragile and corrupt meaning they have just been lucky so far? We will see. Team Neos offers a challenge to all the people of the world! To the politicians! Prove to the people you supposedly serve that you are worthy of your power by defeating us! To the people sick of tyranny and being victimized by crime! Rally behind us and fight for the new world we seek to create! That is all!” With the conclusion of Leader’s speech, the screen faded to the Team Neos logo.
I had to admit, I was shocked. I hadn’t expected such a grand performance. It was Arthias speaking, but the words were clearly Strife Maxwell’s. I found myself trembling with excitement. So that was Phase 2. Yes. I was ready. I would gladly assist in dismantling society, in destroying the world and recreating it anew. A world where good men don’t get arrested for defending their homes against burglars. A world where little girls aren’t brutally murdered. A world where humans and Pokémon can live in peace. I look forward to what new surprises and adventures Team Neos has in store for me. Next stop: Unova!
***********************************
And that's it. Volume 1 has ended. Now I have a question to all of my readers: Who is your favorite character so far and why? Answers will have no impact on the story or anything, it's merely out of curiousity on my part. If you have any questions for me about The Rise of Team Neos, I'll be more than happy to answer them so feel free to hit me up anytime! ^_^
The elevator went ding as we reached the top floor of our building. As soon as we got out, I could hear the faint sound of music which got louder as we walked down the hall to our penthouse. Well so much for relaxing the rest of the night.
“Sounds like a party.” Axel noted when we got to our door.
“Yup.” I agreed. I put the key in, opened the door, and sure enough our place was full of people and Pokémon. Some were dancing, some were having idle conversation which was muffled by the blaring music, and some were holding solo cups which most likely contained some sort of alcoholic beverage.
“Wh-what’s going on?” asked Chane nervously at this unexpected event.
“A party obviously.” I answered bluntly. But whose idea was this? Certainly not Raiden’s.
“Oh hi guys! You’re back!” greeted Zack with a girl on each arm. Somehow I’m not surprised he’s behind this. I’m actually more surprised he was able to seduce two girls at once. “Did you enjoy your date?” he inquired hopefully.
“It wasn’t really a date, but we did enjoy our day out.” I answered making sure the correction was heard over the music. “So is this shindig you’re doing?”
“Yup! In celebration of our victory, I invited all the Neos members that participated in the raid last night!” he confessed. “I’m actually glad you two got home when you did to enjoy it.”
“Come on Zack! You promised us a dance!” said one of the girls persistently.
“Alright, alright. Enjoy yourselves now.” he told us with a wave as he was dragged to the dance floor.
“Do you think Raiden knows about this?” inquired Chane.
“Probably not. I can’t see him agreeing to something like this.” I presumed. “But that just begs the question, where is he? And where is Eve for that matter?” I wondered.
“Do we care?” Axel pointed out.
“Not really.” I shrugged. I wandered through the crowd keeping Chane and Axel close while looking around for our other teammates. Mostly though it was to pass the time and figure out what to do. Outside by the pool there were more people and Pokémon dancing, talking, and playing in the pool. Only about half of those people were actually wearing bathing suits while the other half still had their clothes on. A Starmie, a Crawdaunt, and a different Azumarill frolicked in the pool with the people.
“Wh-when d-do think the party will end? I-I’m not r-really comfortable being alone in my room with a-all of these people around.” Chane said worriedly.
“In that case why don’t we just sleep together.” I suggested before instantly regretting my choice of words! “That came out wrong.” I said shamefully.
“B-but how would th-that work exactly?” she asked getting fidgety.
“Simple, you sleep in the bed and Axel and I sleep on the floor.” I proposed.
“Don’t just go deciding things on your own again! I mean, I would, but still!” complained the monkey. I only grinned at him in response.
“I… I don’t know. Sh-sharing a room with a boy i-is kind of…” she trailed.
“Do you trust me?” I asked her straightforwardly. “You know I wouldn’t try anything on you.”
“I trust you.” she responded after taking a moment to recompose herself.
“Awesome! My room or yours?” I asked.
“Mine. I think I’d be more comfortable there.” she invited. “Thanks.”
“No problem! You did me a huge favor today, even if you benefitted too. The least I can do is keep you company until the party dies down.” I told her. “So should we at least enjoy the party some or do you just want to go back to your room?” I inquired.
“Did I just hear that right?” asked the worst possible person to overhear us. I turned to see Eve standing only a few feet from us. She must have noticed us and came close enough to hear the last part of that sentence. “Are my two favorite virgins about to have their first time?” she teased.
“No.” I said flatly.
“I-it’s not what you think! We’re just going to sleep together! N-no! I-I mean, Brian… my… my room… k-keep me company…” she stuttered before whimpering in frustration.
“You two are adorable together!” Eve complemented sarcastically practically beaming with sadistic joy. “First you run off on a secret date and now you’re going to have sex! I’m so jealous.”
“Let me correct you on both counts. It wasn’t a date, it was an outing to help Riolu and Lucy evolve into Lucario and Blissey which they did. And now we’re just going to hang out in Chane’s room because even with her Pokémon to keep her company, this many people makes her nervous. As her teammate you should know that already.” I explained with enough venom to make sure Eve knew I wasn’t in the mood for her games.
“I like my version of the story better. Yours is just too… well, you.” Eve contradicted with her usual false sweetness. “You two go do whatever you want, especially if it’s each other. I’m going to the bar for a drink like a real adult. Who knows, I might find myself a new toy to play with.” she mused giddily. As she wandered off to do her wickedness, Chane turned to me worriedly.
“Everyone is getting the wrong idea about us.” she said fretfully.
“Who cares. As long as you and I know the truth it doesn’t matter what the others think. Zack only thinks about sex so he’ll always draw that conclusion and Eve is just a bitch so she’ll always find something to bother us with. We know where we stand with each other so let them think what they want.” I told her. “If it bothers you than just--”
“Stand up, be strong?” Chane interrupted confidently. I smiled and laughed.
“Not what I was going to say, but yeah, that!” I agreed pointing at her.
“Someone’s been paying attention.” Axel said with a grin.
Since it was a beautiful night, we decided to stay on the balcony for a while. At any rate there were less people outside than inside despite the pool. Even though we had that afternoon nap, an hour later sleepiness soon took hold of us again. It was more like a groggy sleepiness that comes from having a fucked up sleep cycle. We retreated to Chane’s room but I had to wait outside again while she got changed. She let me in when she was ready of course. As promised, I claimed my spot on the floor with Axel while she made herself comfy in her bed.
--------
What is my life? I mentally asked myself that question after a few hours of staring at the ceiling. Despite being so tired, I could not fall asleep what so ever. Maybe it was the noise from the party which for some reason was still going on. They must have all spent the entire day sleeping after last night’s battle so now they’re wide awake. If it was the noise keeping me awake though then it was just me. Both Chane and Axel were sound asleep.
I suddenly felt a vibration in my pants pocket. Dumbass. I forgot to turn off my phone. Maybe it’s a good thing I couldn’t sleep or that might have woken me up. I pulled it out of my pocket to see the call was from Raiden. I quickly got up and darted to Chane’s bathroom before answering.
“Hey Master Raiden. What’s up?” I asked him in a hushed voice. My mind may have still been going a mile a minute but it seemed my body wasn’t quite up to speed yet.
“Sorry Brian. Did I wake you?” he asked apologetically.
“Nah, it’s fine. What do you need me for?” I inquired.
“Are you at the penthouse right now?” he questioned sounding a bit irritated.
“Yeah, why?” I asked.
“What is going on in there? I am standing outside, but something seems to be blocking the door. I need you to move it for me.” he requested urgently.
“Zack decided to throw a wild party.” I informed. “I’ll go see what’s in front of the door so just hang tight Master.” I hung up and quietly left the room, quickly opening the door, running out, then closing it again. I waded through the crowd to the front door where someone was passed out on the floor.
“Move.” I ordered. When the poor sap didn’t respond, I dragged them to the side. I then opened the door to see Raiden standing there with an unamused look on his face. “Wasn’t my idea, I swear.” I told him guiltlessly. Raiden walked past me into the house to survey the area. He then reached for a Pokéball and sent out Electabuzz.
“Thunder.” he ordered in a no-nonsense tone. Electabuzz raised his right hand summoning a bolt of lightning to strike himself with a loud crash that silenced everyone. Even the DJ shut off the music in response to the lightning strike.
“The party is over. Everyone go home.” Raiden ordered authoritatively.
“And what right do you think you have to kick everyone here out?” demanded Feng pushing his way to the front with his two flunkies. Zack even invited him? Or rather, that greasy, arrogant bastard actually came to a party like this?
“This is my house Feng. You all were invited without my permission so now I am putting an end to the party.” Raiden answered straightforwardly. Feng got an arrogant smirk while chuckling condescendingly.
“As a First Seat, my order out ranks yours Third, so I’m going to say this party continues!” Feng said defiantly getting a few cheers from people.
“You!” I growled fully prepared to rip his head off. I didn’t care who saw. Raiden put his hand on my shoulder to keep me from doing something stupid I would most likely regret in the morning.
“You would dare pull the rank card for such a petty reason.” Raiden said in disappointment. He reached into his pants pocket. “Then it seems I must do the same. Indeed, a First Seat outranks a Third Seat. However,” Raiden pulled a red armband from his pocket, “a Lieutenant outranks a First Seat.” he said unfolding the armband to reveal the Team Neos emblem with an ‘L’ overtop emblazoned on it. My eyes grew wide in surprise as did Feng’s. People in the crowd started murmuring to themselves at the revelation.
“*Grrrr* That’s a fake! There is no way you were promoted to lieutenant over me!” dismissed Feng refusing to belief what he had just been told. I had to admit, even I was still having trouble believing what I had just heard.
“Captain Ross made the decision herself. Call her if you like.” dared Raiden getting another growl from Feng. “Now, by the authority vested in me, I order you, First Seat Ken Feng, get out!” he commanded.
“You would dare pull rank on me!?” demanding Feng indignantly.
“Hypocrite. You seem to put a lot of stock in rank. Are you defying the orders of your superior? There will be repercussions if you do.” warned Raiden.
“*Grrrr* This isn’t over Arka!” Feng spat before conceded defeat and walking to the door. Raiden clasped Feng’s shoulder to keep him from walking out.
“That is Lt. Arka to you.” he corrected. Feng growled as he pushed Raiden off and continued out with his lackeys. All it took was a piercing glare from Raiden to get everyone else to follow suit.
“A lieutenant huh?” I queried looking to my master once the premise was completely vacated.
“Yes. I will explain everything tomorrow when all four of you are present.” Raiden promised. He then looked around the empty room. “Where are the others anyway? Not even your shadow is out here.” he mentioned. It took me a second to realize the only ones present were me, Raiden, and Electabuzz. Looking around the penthouse, I saw a bunch of cups, plates and miscalaneous trash strewn about. Looks like Zack will have his work cut out for him tomorrow when he cleans this mess up.
“Well Axel and Chane are sleeping. I don’t know about Zack or Eve.” I answered. I would have thought as the one who started the party Zack would have stuck around for the whole thing.
“Well whatever. I have had a long day so I am going to bed. Good night Brian.” he said returning Electabuzz and heading to his room.
“Night Master Raiden.” I responded before going back to Chane’s room. The people may be gone, but Axel was still in there and I wouldn’t want Chane to panic if I wasn’t there when she woke up. I got back on the floor and had no trouble drifting off to sleep this time.
-------------------
“Kyaaaaa!!”
I shot awake and quickly sat up at the sound of Chane’s scream which was quickly followed by the sound of her slamming her door shut.
“What’s wrong?” I questioned urgently. Chane pointed to the door while babbling incoherent syllables.
“What’s going on?” asked Axel groggily getting up as well.
“We’re about to find out.” I declared scooting Chane to the side so we two monkeys could investigate. As soon as we left the room, I saw Zack standing in the kitchen wearing nothing but a black banana hammock with green stripes that looked like grass on the crotch.
“Morning Brian! Axel!” he greeted shamelessly.
“Morning Zack.” I said returning the greeting. “Where are your pants?”
“Oh I won’t be needing them. I just needed to grab a quick snack and some water.” he explained quickly. Before I could even ask, I got my answer.
“What’s taking so long Zack?” I turned to the doorway of Zack’s room to see Skylar wrapped in a sheet and nothing else. Well shit. She then noticed I was standing there. “Oh. Hi… Brian.” she greeted uncertainly.
“Hi.” I responded in a monotone voice with a wave. I looked back to Zack who nodded proudly.
“They mated didn’t they?” Axel realized in a deadpan voice.
“Yup.” I said still in monotone.
If this couldn’t get any more awkward, Raiden then came out of his room wearing a pair of grey sweat pants and a white undershirt. He took one step before pausing. He looked at me for a second before shifting his gaze to Zack. Then he turned to Skylar. Then back at Zack and back to Skylar. Without a word or change in his stoic expression, he took a step back in his room and shut the door. I would probably find it more amusing if I wasn’t still in shock from the two half-naked people standing in front of me.
“Well this certainly wasn’t awkward.” Skylar said sarcastically while trying to maintain her composure. “Yup. I think my libido is gone now.”
“Yeah, kind of a mood killer.” Zack agreed. “Can I at least come back in to get dressed?”
“It is your room.” Skylar allowed. A minute later Axel and I were the only ones standing in the common area.
“Axel.” I said blankly.
“Yes Brian.” he answered in the same tone.
“You wanna go for a walk?” I requested.
“You’re not wearing shoes.” he pointed-out.
“You wanna go to the roof and spar?” I counter offered.
“That sounds like a good idea.” he agreed. I just wanted to get out of the house before anymore fanservice showed up. Eve could walk out any moment wearing sexy lingerie, I could accidentally walk in on Chane changing if I went back for my shoes or to go back to bed, plus I just plain didn’t know what to do with myself right now and I’m sure Axel felt the same way.
---------------
After beating the shit out of each other, I felt much better. We returned back to the penthouse to find Eve slumped over the kitchen table wearing the same clothes she had on the night before with a cup of coffee in front of her. By her groans and disheveled appearance, it was obvious she was hungover. Axel and I took great pleasure in tormenting her. What can we say? We love ourselves some good old fashion revenge!
Chane was next to come out still in her pajamas. She wanted to know what happened to us so I explained why I didn’t return. She understood and thanked me for my chivalry which only caused Eve to groan in disgust. That earned her another round of torment. That is until Raiden told us to knock it off. We were finally joined by Zack and Skylar, who were thankfully fully dressed this time, accompanied by Lloyd who I didn’t see earlier.
“Can I keep him?” Skylar requested wrapping her arms around Zack from behind.
“No.” Raiden denied flatly. “I need all of my squad members for the missions to come.”
“Pleeeeaaase. If it’s numbers you’re worried about, I can trade you Spenser?” she offered.
“No.” denied Raiden again. “The five of us already have team synergy. I do not have the time to rework our strategies to account for new members.”
“Damn! Sorry Zack. It looks like our relationships amounts to nothing more than a one-night stand.” she lamented while stroking Zack’s hair.
“Wouldn’t be my first. But I’ll booty call you between missions.” Zack suggested.
“Gag me.” Eve droned.
“That will not be possible. Due to my promotion, my squad is being reassigned to Unova.” Raiden informed. We’re going to Unova now? I’ve never been there before. Sounds exciting!
“Promotion? What promotion?” queried Skylar is surprise.
“Well, now that everyone is here, I should explain. Yesterday morning, I got called into the Saffron headquarters by Captain Ross. She learned from the mission field report that the four Rocket Executives were slain by the four members of my squad. She was impressed by their skills. She put me through the Lieutenant’s Aptitude Test to see if I qualified for the rank. I just barely passed with a score of 2000 even. She wanted to make sure that all five of us were capable of more difficult missions. With my new rank as Lieutenant, Captain Ross wants us to go to Unova since Team Neos presence is practically nonexistent over there. We will be the vanguard to establish a foothold.” he elaborated.
“That is awesome Master!” I cheered followed by congratulatory cheers from the others.
“I can’t believe you managed to outdo me like that.” Skylar said sounding impressed. “Oh man, Kenny will be pissed when he finds out!” she realized with a mixture dread and pleasure at his reaction.
“He already knows. He found out last night when I broke up the party.” Raiden informed while shooting Zack the same stern look I usually get when I misbehave. Zack turned away pretending not to notice he was in trouble.
“I thought I heard the roar of thunder last night. I just thought it was the charge between me and Skylar.” reminisced Zack with a passionate grin.
“Hate you. Hate you both.” groaned Eve. I actually had to agree with her on that. I didn’t need that mental image.
“Jealous?” accused Zack playfully.
“I would rather die. I’m halfway there already.” she retorted dryly before sipping her coffee. “Cold.” I heard her grumble in a low whisper.
“There is one more thing Captain Ross mentioned. On July 8th at 1:00pm Kanto time, Leader will highjack all television networks for an important global announcement. She suggests we be ready to watch his message.” Raiden told us.
“Thanks for passing that on. I’ll be sure to let my squad know.” Skylar said appreciatively. “Speaking of, I should probably get back to them. Bye Zack.” she said giving him a quick kiss. “See you guys when I see you I guess. Have fun in Unova! Congratulations again on your promotion Raiden!”
No sooner did Skylar leave, Raiden turned to Zack with an unamused look.
“You have a mess to cleanup.” he said straightforwardly.
“Just me?” questioned Zack in shock.
“Eve is too hungover to do anything, and Brian tells me he and Chane were not part of this. Therefore, the onus falls on you and Lloyd.” he commanded.
“Ha. Ha. Ha.” Eve laughed mockily while Zack only rubbed his head in shame.
---------------
While Zack was cleaning up the place, I raided the fridge with Axel looking for breakfast. Threre weren’t many options to pick from.
“So Brian, I couldn’t help but notice you came out of Chane’s room this morning.” Zack pointed out in a naughty tone.
“We didn’t do what you did. I was simply hanging out on the floor all night serving as moral support.” I corrected.
“Too bad.” he said disappointedly.
“What about you? When I last saw you, you had two girls with you. How did you end up with Skylar and not one or even both of them?” I inquired.
“Hey now! I may be a slut, but I’m a monogamous slut. If I’m dating someone I stick with them only. All I did was dance with those gils because they asked. When I told Skylar how I defeated Archer, well, you know how she is with strong Trainers. I had to put Lloyd in his Pokéball in order for us to get down to business.” he explained. The Golduck nodded in confirmation. I was actually surprised. I didn’t think Zack knew what monogamy even was. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t impressed.
“I found frozen pancakes!” Axel announced checking the freezer.
“Sweet!” I cheered.
-------------------
The next five days were rather uneventful. I spent most of my time watching the live broadcast of the White City Tournament. I was kind of upset that I didn’t get to go this year, but what I did was more important than glory in a tournament. The winner this year was a Trainer going by his initials.
Team Neos was pretty quiet as a whole after the destruction of Team Rocket so there were no new missions. There was even talk on the news of people wondering if Team Neos was still active after wiping out all of the world’s major criminal organizations. I of course knew that wasn’t true. Raiden had already said Leader would be making an announcement soon, not to mention his alluding to a Phase 2 of our operations.
When July 8th came, Axel and I had ourselves an anniversary breakfast but other than that we stayed in all day waiting for Leader’s broadcast. Then at last the fateful moment had arrived. We were sitting around the TV when it suddenly got very staticky. The screen then faded to a stage set up in an unknown location. Entering the stage was Leader dressed in his armor, cape, and hood. He was followed by two Neos members dragging a beaten and bloody man wearing ragged black pants and a whit shirt stained with blood and dirt behind him. It took me a moment, but I quickly recognized the man as Giovanni! He was actually alive!? Leader stood at the edge of the stage to make his grand announcement.
“People of the world! I am called Leader. I am the High Commander of Team Neos!” he introduced in a booming voice. “Some of you would call us heroes, saviors who destroy evil in the name of justice. Some of you would call us vigilantes, a necessary evil taking justice into our own hands to destroy the greater evil. Some of you would call us criminals, the same as the evil that we destroy. Some of you would call us terrorists, worse than the evil we destroy. I think of us as visionary activists. You see, the goal of Team Neos is to destroy the decadence of society, eliminate crime and corruption! Team Rocket. Team Aqua. Team Magma. Team Galactic. They were the worst examples of organized crime to ever exist and we eliminated them. But we wouldn’t have needed to if it wasn’t for this world’s corrupt and broken governments! Why is it that we were able to do in less than two years what law enforcement has not been able to in over ten? I blame the corrupt politicians that rule society. My hostage here is a prime example of just how corrupt the world governments really are!” Leader then pointed to Giovanni cuing the Neos to drag him closer.
“Do you know who this man is? This is Giovanni Terremoto. Former Viridian City Gym Leader and former Boss of Team Rocket! In what world could the head of the greatest criminal empire to ever exist and a Gym Leader appointed by the Pokémon League be one and the same? Just what kind of background checks do they do? Most likely none as there are also children Gym Leaders in some parts of the world. Disgraceful!” Leader then lifted his claymore prompting the Neos holding Giovanni to scatter. The broken man looked up in fear knowing that his life had come to an end. In one quick swing Giovanni’s head was sent rolling across the stage! I knew Arthias was ruthless but to execute Giovanni on live TV! He certainly made his point.
“To realize our goal, Team Neos needed a plan. Phase 1 of that plan was the elimination of the four biggest criminal organizations to expose just how powerless the people in charge really are while simultaneously proving how mighty ordinary Trainers are when they work together in harmony with each other and their Pokémon. Phase 2 of our plan is to tear down the worthless society that would allow such criminals to exist in the first place! To achieve our objective, Team Neos will be filling the void left by the former criminal Teams before foolhardy rabble can claim it. If you thought crime rates were high with the likes of them running the criminal underworld, just wait until you see what we are capable of. Team Neos will also be extending its presence to Unova and Kalos, two regions that have thus far been devoid of major criminal activity. Consider it a social experiment. Is law enforcement more robust in those regions thus preventing organized crime from gaining a foothold or are their governments just as fragile and corrupt meaning they have just been lucky so far? We will see. Team Neos offers a challenge to all the people of the world! To the politicians! Prove to the people you supposedly serve that you are worthy of your power by defeating us! To the people sick of tyranny and being victimized by crime! Rally behind us and fight for the new world we seek to create! That is all!” With the conclusion of Leader’s speech, the screen faded to the Team Neos logo.
I had to admit, I was shocked. I hadn’t expected such a grand performance. It was Arthias speaking, but the words were clearly Strife Maxwell’s. I found myself trembling with excitement. So that was Phase 2. Yes. I was ready. I would gladly assist in dismantling society, in destroying the world and recreating it anew. A world where good men don’t get arrested for defending their homes against burglars. A world where little girls aren’t brutally murdered. A world where humans and Pokémon can live in peace. I look forward to what new surprises and adventures Team Neos has in store for me. Next stop: Unova!
***********************************
And that's it. Volume 1 has ended. Now I have a question to all of my readers: Who is your favorite character so far and why? Answers will have no impact on the story or anything, it's merely out of curiousity on my part. If you have any questions for me about The Rise of Team Neos, I'll be more than happy to answer them so feel free to hit me up anytime! ^_^