Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Placing The Pieces ❯ Pieces ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Part Three
"Pieces"       The warm sun's early rays were just barely beginning to creep over the horizon, signaling the beginning of early morning with brilliant shades of reds and purples splattered elegantly across the sky. Light began to spread across the city like a thick blanket, and as it filled every corner of an abandoned alley where Jason sat hunched down against a bare cement wall, his shadow began to stretch across the ground. Waking up, he blinked the tired blurriness from his eyes as he raised his head to look over at the illuminating horizon.

      That's when she appeared. Sky. Hardly more than a shadowy silhouette, she paused only for a moment, gazing across the distance at Jason with a smile. As she began to move forwards again, coming more clearly into view, Jason couldn't help thinking there was something.. different about her. Maybe it was the way she held herself up, or the pace at which she took her stride, or the way she continued to stare at him. He wasn't quite sure, but he did know that it was as if some invisible heavy weight had finally been lifted off Sky.

      Upon reaching Jason, Sky stood over him with one hand placed on her hip. "Hey," she greeted him simply before collapsing down against the wall to sit next to him.

      "What are you doing here?" Jason asked in a monotone voice, never turning his head to look at her.

      "I got out of the house earlier just so I could come and visit you before I have to be at work," Sky replied, continuing to smile.

      Only then did Jason turn his face to the left to glance at her. Indeed, she was already dressed in her police uniform, pokeballs clasped firmly at her belt. Jason wondered how Sky could look so strict and firm standing up with straight posture in her police attire, yet also look so laid back and relaxed slouched against the wall in a similar position to his own. Jason mentally shook these thoughts out of his head.

      "Well, I don't know what you were expecting, coming here. I've really got nothing to talk about that concerns other people. All the time." Jason finished with a wide yawn. How was Sky able to look so alert so early in the morning?

      "Why don't you want to be near anybody?"

      "'Cause I just wasn't made to be near people. And I don't mind. I don't give a crap about them, even if I was good at talking to them. But I'm not. I talk without thinking first, 'cause I don't really see any reason in thinking about my words."

      "So, in other words, you antagonize people," Sky replied, crossing her arms behind her head. "Well then, I guess I'll start. Lately at work, we've been focusing on taking down that new criminal organization led by Crescent."

      "At work... you mean the job you're doing because of James?" Jason asked with a smirk.

      Sky furrowed her brow. "James?"

      "Yeah, you know. Your boyfriend. The reason you came here to see me."

      Sky now raised her eyebrows. "The last boyfriend I had was years ago, back when I first started high school. I don't know who you're talking about."

      Jason wracked his brains to try to remember the previous day and the words Sky had shouted out at him from inside her car in her rush to reach work. "Oh. Maybe I've got the name wrong, then." He shrugged, letting it go.

      Sky remained silent, digging the heel of her shoe at a small pile of dirt blown across the cold cement. "Crescent... we don't know his true identity yet, but I can easily tell what his personality's like. It's usually what causes a lot of people to become criminals. He wants a lot of big things. And unfortunately so far, everything he wants, he gets. And he's used to that. We need to show him he can't get everything he wants." Sky's gaze turned determined.

      "'He'? Didn't you say you don't know Crescent's identity yet? I bet Crescent is a girl."

      Sky laughed. "Oh really? And why would that be?"

      "I don't know.. people just usually assume all criminal leaders are guys. It's kinda tiring. It would just be a nice twist if it was a girl for once. I get pretty sick of listening to you people assume things all the time." Jason replied, his voice sounding slightly angry.

      "Oh, give it a rest," Sky replied to his anger.

      The two of them remained silent for a moment, staring off into different directions, absorbed in their own thoughts.

      Then Jason spoke up. "You ever use that thing?" he asked, gesturing to the gun at Sky's belt beside the pokeballs.

      Sky raised her eyebrows at him, placing a hand on her gun almost unconsciously. "We prefer not to. If force is needed, we usually use pokemon for both defense and offense. Besides, even as police officers, we don't have the legal right to kill anybody unless its for defense against a criminal who has attacked us while in pursuit, or if mass killings are in their previous record. Either way, it's illegal to use pokemon to actually kill, which is why we even have guns in the first place. But again, I prefer not to have to use it."

      "So, if you found Crescent in person, you could just shoot them right then and there?" The violent thought seemed to please Jason.

      Sky continued to gaze at him with raised eyebrows. "Well, yes, but it would be unadvisable to do so. It would be much smarter to bring him in for arrest and questioning."

      "But that's so boring," Jason complained with a groan.

      "No, that's so civil," Sky corrected him, rolling her eyes. "That's why it's good." She then stood up, brushing dirt off her uniform with a careless sweep of her hands. "But I've got to leave now. It was cool chatting with you, though. See you!"

      And with that, she strode away at a brisk pace, back towards the way she came, her footsteps echoing off the walls. Jason was left staring into the distance once again, their previous conversation repeating in his mind. It was one of the longest conversations he had ever held with another person before. *****************************************************

 &nbs p;    Sky found herself lounging in her office chair, resting her head against the open palm of her hand with her elbow propped up on the empty desk. She used her other hand to absent-mindedly flip around a smooth black pen. She had not received any assignments concerning field work all day long. Sitting alone in her office, waiting, she was left to wade through her own doubts of why she was even there. What's stopping me from quitting this job right here and now? she wondered.

      Immediately after mentally asking herself that, the intercom in her ceiling sounded a loud ringing beep through Sky's ears. "Since today's been a slow day, can you come and interview a guy? He's applying for a job here, and our usual officer who does the interviews is off sick from work today."

      "Sure, why not? Like you said, it's been slow... I don't have much else to do," Sky replied with a heavy sigh. When a small click signaled that the intercom had been turned off, she then continued to herself in a quiet voice, "It's not like I have much of a choice, anyways. If I refused I'd probably get in trouble... not that I'd really care if I did."

      Sky shoved open her door and trudged down the hallways at a slow pace. Doing job application interviews.. just what had she been reduced to? She was supposed to be outside, running, jumping, leaping... But Sky reluctantly shook these thoughts out of her head as she reached over to open a door into another room, small, enclosed, and brightly lit.

      The man patiently waiting at the only desk placed in the room was slightly older than herself. Half amused, it suddenly occurred to Sky that despite the small differences in their ages, she had thought of Jason as a boy while she thought of this new one as a man. His jet-black hair was of medium length, smoothly groomed, gracefully laid down upon the sides of his expressionless face.

      Sky scooted the chair across from him backwards so she could sit down, extending her hand forward to shake his as she did so. "Hello, my name is Sky," she greeted him with a smile. "I'll be doing your job interview today."

      He took her hand to shake it. His grip was neither too soft nor too rough, and as he let go, he smoothly passed her a filled application form. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sky. Here's my form."

      Sky mentally perked up at the sound of his voice. Whenever he spoke, it was as smooth as velvet, refreshing and entrancing all at the same time to her ears. She quickly glanced down at his application form, skimming its contents, barely reading. "So, the name's Darien, then. And what brings you here to apply for a job, Darien?"

      "I hear that this police force has been working on taking down the new criminal organization led by the person you've dubbed as 'Crescent'. I have a strong desire to bring a stop to this organization as well," Darien answered, speaking politely and carefully, continuing to remain expressionless.

      It was nothing more than Sky had expected. Who didn't want to bring a stop to this organization that wanted to or was already working here? She was already beginning to feel bored with the whole situation. "And what is it that motivates you to bring a stop to Crescent's organization?" she asked him, continuing to flip through his application form, pretending to read it. She could already predict what his answer would be like. It would be along the lines of believing crime in general was morally unjust.

      "Well, I'm skilled in the areas of using pokemon, making important decisions under extreme pressure, and tracking - the skills of a police officer. Isn't it my role to help bring an end to this criminal organization, whether the desire is there or not?" Darien spoke slowly.

      Sky's hands paused in flipping through the application for once as she finally glanced up at him, caught off guard by his unexpected answer. It was then that Darien's eyes stood out to her for the first time. They were an odd shade of a light baby blue, flecked with small amounts of gray, shining bright amidst his dark hair and otherwise pale complexion. Through his eyes, unseen emotions Sky couldn't understand seemed to swirl. Staring into his eyes was like staring into a dark valley, not bottomless, but very deep. And then she couldn't help but to wonder, what's my role? Am I really supposed to be here?

      "And... how do you feel about Crescent's actions?" Sky asked, trying to pry a predictable answer out of Darien for reasons unknown to her.

      Darien answered without hesitation or pauses. "I feel that he or she is a person who wants many things they're not supposed to have, and therefore acquires them through criminal ways that must be put to a stop for the sake of peace."

      The beginning of his answer reminded Sky or her own words about Crescent towards Jason. She felt stumped, and tried to ignore the fact that the interviewer should not be the one to feel these things. He's good, that was the only thought that stood out in Sky's mind at that moment.

      Interrupting Sky's shocked silence, Darien spoke without waiting for her to ask another question. "When you think about it, isn't it a police officer's general role to keep us all peaceful?" he asked, referring back to his previous statement about roles.

      Sky didn't know whether his question was rhetorical or not, but she couldn't help herself from replying to it anyways. "Or to keep themselves peaceful," Sky replied softly, unsure of where the words came from.

      For the first time, Darien showed the slightest bit of emotion in the simple action of raising his eyebrows just the slightest bit at Sky's remark. Her words seemed to interest him.

      From that point on, Sky stopped trying to pry predictable answers out of Darien and instead stuck to the first questions that came out of her mouth without a thought, regular questions someone would hear during a standard interview. But even without her trying, again and again Darien surprised her with unexpected answers. It sounded as if he very much wanted this job, but for very unique reasons Sky couldn't quite figure out. Before she knew it, Sky had lost track of the time.

      She glanced up at the clock. "Well Darien, it looks like your interview is over. Thanks for coming here." Sky stood up and reached out to shake his hand once more.

      "When can I expect to hear back from you?" Darien asked, also standing up to leave.

      "Uh..." Sky let go of his hand and glanced down at his application form once again, swiping out her black pen and clicking it open. "Right now," she answered, quickly signing her name at the bottom in one quick motion. "Congratulations, you've got the job. Go to the office to receive your uniform and badge and fill out a few more papers."

      Darien raised his eyebrows only for the second time. "Don't you have to look over my application and your own notes and contact me about it later?" he asked in a curious tone.

      Notes? Was she supposed to take notes during that whole time? I must really suck at this whole interview thing, Sky thought, amused at herself. "Yeah, but oh well. Just be glad you've got the job," she replied simply, dropping all professionalism now that her mistakes had been made obvious.

      "Okay. Thank you for your time, then. I look forward to starting this job," Darien told her, keeping up the polite tone despite Sky's lack of it. But as he exited the room, Sky thought she saw a slight amused smile appear across his lips as he turned his head away from her and walked out the door.

      There was something about Darien that deeply intrigued Sky. During the rest of her quiet day at work, her thoughts never strayed far from him as scenes from the interview kept replaying inside her head. She realized that she wanted to know more about him. For the first time in a long while, she was actually looking forward to her following days at work. Sky smiled to herself. Maybe I'll stick around for a little while longer. *****************************************************

       James was sitting down at his table in the kitchen, watching the clock as nighttime dragged on by. Even through his usual patience, he was beginning to worry. Where was Sky? She was usually here by now. And if there was ever a reason why she couldn't come visit him one day, she usually called James to alert him of this fact. But then again, Sky's cellphone was still lying on that very table, unknowingly left there from the previous night. But couldn't she still have called him from work or her own home?

      Whatever her reasons for not coming to visit him that night, James figured he should at least inform Sky about the whereabouts of her lost cellphone. He picked up the cellphone and flipped it open, dialing Sky's home phone number by memory with careful fingers. Holding the phone up to his ear, he listened to it ring with growing tension. Something didn't seem right.

      Sky's voice sounded in his ear. "Hello?"

      "Hello. I wanted to let you know that I found your cellphone."

      "Really?! Oh, that's great! I was looking around for it all day!" She sounded delighted. "Where'd you find it?"

      "It was at my house," answered James.

      There was a slight moment of silence on the other end of the line. When Sky spoke again, she spoke slowly and suspiciously. "Why was my cellphone at your house?"

      "Because you were over here last night, remember?" James reminded her, the tension growing inside him more.

      "Um, who is this?"

      James's face seemed to freeze. "This is James."

      Now Sky just sounded confused. "I'm sorry, but I don't know you."

      All of the tension that had built up inside James seemed to silently explode. His stomach sank with a sickening feeling. "Really?" His voice was no more than a whisper.

      "Yeah, really. You didn't steal that cellphone, did you?" Sky asked, her tone suspicious once more. "'Cause I'm a cop, you know."

      "No. I'm being completely honest when I say I did not steal it," James assured her. "What do you want me to do with it?"

      "Alright." Sky didn't seem completely satisfied with his assurance, but continued on anyways. "You can just drive down to the police station and go to the office. It's right at the entrance of the building. Ask the secretary to drop it off in my mailbox... my name's Sky," she instructed him.

      "Okay. I'll do that sometime tomorrow."

      "Bye!" And before James could say bye back, Sky hung up on the phone.

      "Goodbye..." James whispered anyways, staring distantly into space as he slowly took the cellphone away from his ear.

      Sky didn't remember James. She really didn't remember him. As this fact dawned on him, all of his insides began to sink lower and lower. She doesn't know who I am, my love doesn't know who I am, kept repeating loudly inside James's head until it became a mental shout. He felt lost. How was this happening? What had caused it? A rare event, a rare illness, possibly some type of physical accident? James ran the previous day's occurrences through his mind, searching desperately for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing seemed especially different about that day except for Sky's sudden leave during the middle of their dinner after she had received a phone call.

      James flipped her cellphone back open. With the press of a few buttons, he opened up the list of recently received calls. He did not recognize the number of the latest one, and the ID name appeared unknown too. There was no last name, only a first name - "Clara".

      After pressing a button, James held the phone next to his ear, listening to it ring once again. But no one answered, and there was no answering machine to take a message from him. James sighed and set the cellphone down, staring at it for a moment. Resolving his mind, he stood up and dug through some drawers for a slip of paper and a writing utensil, and then returned to write down the phone number, tucking it away afterwards for safekeeping. With a heavy grunt, he brought out a large phone book and dropped it noisily on the table, calmly flipping through its many worn pages for an address.

      No matter how much it took, James knew what he wanted to do. He had to contact this Clara person. He had to find some answers to the horror he had discovered.