章 29: Leave It To Me

The atmosphere was awkward as Georges stared at me in disbelief.

"They are trying to capture legendary pokemon? Create a new universe? The lake guardians... Kid, how in the hell did you find out all of this?"

I was currently in a private room at the center with him. I knew I could trust him with my life, so I pulled out my backpack and revealed a bit of the uniform, only to watch his facial expression drop.

"No…. After they attacked Maylene… You joined them?" He asked in pure disappointment and confusion.

I quickly shook my head before taking his worries away.

"No, no, no. I would never do that. I also want to take them down. They are very dangerous, and what better way to disturb their plans and take them down than breaking them from the inside."

My face was suddenly slapped so hard that I almost fell from the chair I was sitting on. It hurt, and as I turned to look at him, I saw pure anger.

"Are you stupid!?! Why would you do something so stupid?! Do you not know how risky that is? There was a massive explosion today that could have taken many lives. I have lost one student to them before, and I almost lost one to them again when they attacked Maylene. I will not allow any of my students to lose their lives by their hands again.

Kid, I thought you were smart. You learned fast, but what sort of idiot are you to do this without asking for help?"

I placed my hand on my face where I had been slapped before answering.

"I knew it was risky. I knew it was stupid. But I didn't want to get others involved and have them get hurt trying to help me. I would rather get hurt than cause someone I care about to get injured or die.

Plus is not like the police are doing much. You and I both saw that first hand Veilstone. I am sure there are Galactic members in the hierarchy of the police and the authorities. They get away with far too much. Any time a Galactic member gets captured, they are either released pretty fast, or are suddenly found dead.

You saw the interviewers. They were obviously working for Galactic. They were just trying to make you look bad to ruin your reputation. To be honest, the main reason I am telling you is because you are already fighting against them somewhat publicly. And because I trust you."

Georges closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before standing and pacing around the room for some seconds.

"I am worried for you, Georges. They are probably mad that their plans failed, and I think that they are going to take out that anger on you."

He stopped pacing after a few seconds before asking.

"Who else have you told?"

"....no one."

His face became dead serious before I added.

"Rowan is currently hiding while researching. Olympia has started to deal with Team Flare over in her region. They are going to cause a big mess. She saw it in a vision, and she is working nonstop to prevent it.

Even though Carolina is retired, she has been trying to help keep Rowan safe after all of the people infiltrating his previous facilities. And from the few things she let slip to me, Cynthia is already working on dismantling Team Galactic."

Georges took a few moments before looking me directly in the eyes and asking.

"Do you know anything about the explosion that happened in the windmill and in the building in Eterna City?"

"...That… I did that."

Georges pinched the bridge of his nose again before asking me to elaborate. Once I did, he said.

"You are not ready, kid, far from it. You are lucky no civilians got hurt, or I would give you the beating of a lifetime. If I were anyone else, I probably would have you arrested. You got lucky today, but there is no guarantee that this will happen again. Next time, you will probably be caught. Though I have to admit that if what you said about their plans was true, then it was probably for the best."

His face became calm as he continued.

"I will bring this up to people I trust. But I need you to make me a promise. Promise me you will not do something so risky again. At least not until you are strong enough to stand up for yourself. Teleporting away won't always work if they have a psychic pokemon interfere with you."

He raised his hand with all five fingers extended.

"Five gym badges. Once you get those, I will let you start to help with small stuff. Once you get all eight gym badges, I will have you join our team fully. I want you to make Fantina your final challenge. If you can beat her when she is going all out, then you will have proven yourself to me."

It would take too long to complete all of the gym challenges. What if Galactic was able to succeed in the time I was busy working on the gym challenges? But I had to accept that I wasn't ready to fight the final boss yet. But even though I wanted to push all of this out of my head and accept, I couldn't help but feel a slight bit of hesitation.

I had promised Alakazam that I would my gut. So, if the time came when I felt I had to intervene, I would keep that promise.

"I will try."

Georges sighed after hearing this answer. But he must have somewhat expected this answer since he simply nodded his head.

"Put some trust in me. After what you told me, I will make sure that they are not able to complete their plans. No matter the cost. Kid, I can tell you are going to stick your nose into this again in the future. But for the time being, just let yourself be a kid."

His face turned serious before he added.

"You need to edit my memories of this before I go. There are certain things I need you to keep in a way that won't make me doubt the memories, so I will guide you as to what changes to make. I won't put you at risk if someone else decides to go through my mind. After I leave, I want you to go out there and practice like there is no tomorrow.

I saw the recording of your fight against Roark, and while you were good, I can tell you are still inexperienced. Your pokemon need to be way stronger."

I nodded my head with determination as Kirlia appeared next to me, ready to assist.

— — —

(Mars' Pov)

Months of work gone in an instant.

Not only did months of work gathering energy disappear. But the time it would take to clean up this mess would delay us severely.

The member that had caught my eye had also probably died or been severely injured to the point of becoming useless. Espeon teleported away because of the explosion before she was able to rescue him. The explosion and the fire eventually caused the collapse of the building, so nothing would really be salvageable.

The worst part was the expression on Cyrus' face. Pure indifference with traces of anger, as if I was nothing but a bug. Something useless.

I was kneeling on the ground with my face touching the floor. Saturn was right next to me. His body was slightly shaking as he awaited Cyrus' words. I was also filled with dread as I heard of the explosion that happened in the building in Eterna City, but now I was calm; I just felt resigned.

Reporting to Cyrus resulted in me and Saturn getting demoted from commanders to serve under Jupiter and Charon.

Those few minutes I spent in front of Cyrus had been the worst of my life. He didn't let the anger he felt show on his face, but I could see it in his eyes. His cold, indifferent demeanor had been slightly broken. Though he had shown some leniency to me and Saturn by only demoting us, I could tell it was only because he did not have replacements for us ready.

I knew I had to prove my worth with the chance that had been given to me. Otherwise, I would never get to see the new world he would create. I would be left behind. I would be discarded. I would not allow that to happen.

Just as I was lost in thought, an idea came to mind that brought a smile to my face. A way I could earn back my trust.

~Author's note~

Special agent… Ex-special agent here. I am mounting a rescue mission for my husband, and I require power stones to fund it. It will be the heist of the century from the vaults of webnovel. As I bargain for my husband's freedom, I will steal some extra chapters from the vault. Viva la revolución.