Story Notes:
... good stuff? But seriously, this is my entry for the contest, and will be based off the song Dani California. It will be three chapters, and hopefully you will enjoy it.
She Will be Remembered
Dani closed her eyes before pulling the mask over her face. She was a ninjask half-breed, a peculiar mix, but it yielded great benefits. This robbery would make seven banks, and thirty million dollars. That was more than enough to get across the border and sponsor their movement. She looked at her partners in the van. Her rough crew of half-breeds was a force to be feared
In the driver's seat was Donny, the leader of the little escapade, a half-vaporeon and cool as ice. If he ever lost his head, it was best not to be in the line of fire. In the passengers seat tapping on a laptop was Tonia, the half-alakasam, and brains of the team. She was responsible for everything technological of the heists. Last, but not least, was Strongarm, or Arms to his friends. He is a German half-machoke, and the muscle of the team.
Dani had no more time to think as the van screeched to a halt. Donny looked back and pulled his black bandits mask over his eyes. He gave the group an encouraging smile, then turned to Tonia.
"Yeah, yeah." She said, "Go straight in, down the hall on your right, third door on your left, and straight back. The vault has two security guards." Donny nodded and looked back at Arms and Dani.
"Ok you two, clean and sharp just like always. First, I will freeze the doors and Arms will bust them down. Make it fancy, try to startle, but no hurt the bystanders." He told us. Arms saluted mockingly.
"Aye, aye chief. Watz du you want wit de guards?" His accent lay thick in his voice. Donny looked at Dani.
"As soon as the doors are down, use extremespeed. Gather all their guns, side-arms too. When you have them all stop in the middle of the room. Command everyone on the floor. That should be all that is needed, but stay in the building just in case. Got it?" They both nodded. "Alright, move!"
The van doors opened and the three man crew jumped out and ran at the bank doors. Donny started firing an ice beam against the door, freezing it in its frame. Dani got a glimpse of First Pokemon National Bank before Arms hurled himself against the ice. The moment it was broken Dani took off. Flying through the lobby, she collected the primaries and secondaries of the thirteen guards. She let them all clatter to the floor except for a shotgun and assault rifle, which she now pointed into the mass of people.
"Everyone, your day just got a little more exciting. Get your asses on the ground!" As her feminine voice rang out people began to drop, hands behind their heads. As they did this Donny calmly walked in followed by arms.
"Excuse me everyone, may I have your attention?" All eyes turned to him, "Thank you. We will be taking all your money. Rest assured, it is going to a good cause. Dani, would you mind taking care of the guards blocking the vault?" She disappeared for a moment, then returned with two unconscious guards. "Excellent, now feel free to inform the police of our arrival, I promise we will be long gone before they arrive. Five minutes of your time, I promise." He walked calmly away, down the right hallway with Arms in tow. The people turned to Dani frightfully. One brave woman spoke up.
"I know y-y-you." Her voice cracked, "Your the Half-breed Endorsement and Liberation Legion." Dani smiled and walked over to her. She paused at the sound of ripping metal and grinned.
"That's right," she said, "We are HELL, and we must be going." Strongarm came around the corner carrying several pallets of money bags. Donny was smiling. When he reached the door he gave a small bow.
"I so enjoyed your hospitality, but we really must get going. When the police arrived, tell them you had a brush with HELL." He walked out behind Arms. Dani waited a few seconds, then backed away slowly. When she was five feet from the door she dropped the guns and ran for the van, which was already driving down the highway, back door open. She easily caught up with extreme speed and jumped, slamming the door behind her. The open space that had once been the back of the van was now filled with money.
"So," Dani glared at Donny, "couldn't even wait for me?" Everyone shared a laugh before Donny turned serious again. Pulling off his mask he sighed.
"Were finally done. Now we just need to get our asses to Canada, where are kind is accepted. Thirty million dollars should be enough to fund HELL for a while, maybe until half-breeds and pokephilia is allowed in the good ole U.S. of A. Right now though, were on the run." He sighed and settled in for long drive from Louisiana to the northern border. Everyone got more comfortable and Dani closed her eyes, and began to reflect on her life up to now, deciding to write an autobiography when this was all over.
*****
Her name was Dani. She was born in Mississippi, daughter to Paul Smith, a police officer, and his pokemon, a ninjask named Danielle. The relationship of different species was and still is forbidden in Mississippi, and as a result the small family had moved to San Francisco, California, one of the few places that allowed interspecies relationships. Despite its allowance, many people still opposed it and beatings and abuse were regular sites.
Because of this hate towards what some called "an affront to God," Dani's family was hounded by "sweepers", people who attempted to forge some kind of evidence against people that do not conform, to have them imprisoned. The Smith's tried to stay a quiet family, and thus were immune to threats from the sweepers. Eventually they turned to violence, and Danielle was killed in an assault on their home. In fear, Paul fled to South Dakota with Dani, who was only two at the time, where pokephilia was not only legal, but publicly accepted.
There Dani grew to be a strong individual, proud of her heritage, and quick to stop insults thrown her way. Her fiery spirit caught the eye, and the heart, of Steve Clarrison. By this point Dani had blossomed into a fine young lady of eighteen. Steve, nineteen and already a successful business owner, married her and together they moved back to California, determined to right the wrongs of so many people.
Together they formed a coalition, Half-breed Endorsement and Acceptance Legion, or HEAL. They lived peacefully for four years, despite many death threats, and soon had a child of their own on the way. Unfortunately, tension was still high on the subject of interspecies relationships, and the public announcement of the coming child didn't go well with the public.
On one unfortunate day, the very pregnant Dani was shopping in an open market with Steve. An angry mob had attacked them before they had time to realize what was happening. By time the police had shown up, too much damage had been done. Dani had to be dragged away from her dead husband, beaten to death. Her pokemon heritage had given her more resistance, but her unborn baby was not so lucky. When news of this reached her, she broke. Mentally and spiritually. Unable to care for herself, she was sent back to her father, now twenty-six.
Ridden with grief, she refused food, did not sleep, and turned away doctors and psychiatrists. It was expected she would die before her twenty-seventh birthday. It was then she heard of HELL, the Half-breed Endorsement and Liberation Legion, supposedly a more forceful form of her own legion. The news of this lifted her spirits, and she began to search for HELL. They found her first though, enlisting her for their cause. Under the leadership of Donny, and along side Strongarm and Tonia, she made a name for herself. They traveled among the southern states, robbing banks as they went. There goal was to get the money to fund HELL and finally put an end to the segregation of pokemon and their children.
She left without a good-bye to her father, and was left with only the words he threw at her as she jumped into the back of the fated van.
"I swear to you, if you try to cross that border, I will stop you myself. Heed my words well, for as an officer, I am not forgiving to outlaws. Today, that is what you are, and shall remain until your death, Dani California." And thus she is known today, Dani California, the liberator.
*****
Dani opened her eyes, satisfied with the synopsis of her life. Now, at thirty years of age, she found herself hurtling towards her goal at sixty miles a hour. From Louisiana they would take at least three days to reach South Dakota. Dani lay back to sleep, her dreams filled with her father in those last few moments before she left him, and the possibility that he would keep his word to stop her.
Dani jumped with a bump in the road. They had reached the badlands of South Dakota and were driving through the desert. Dani couldn't help but think back to her father's promise to stop her. She shivered slightly at the thought. Tonia looked at.
"You ok? You've been getting increasingly more uncomfortable as we neared here. What's wrong?" Dani just shook her head and looked away. She knew her father could find her. At an early age he had captured her in a pokeball. It was safety precaution, with a pokedex on could monitor her location, health, even progress in knowledge. But that same technology that was used to protect her so long ago could now be used to ruin her dream. Her father could, and would keep his promise. Dani turned to Donny.
"Hey, Donny? Could you tell me if you see any other cars out there? No matter what?" He looked surprised and laughed.
"We're in the middle of a desert in the South Dakota badlands. Even I will be worried if I-" He was cut-off in surprise when a station wagon pulled itself out of the desert haze. He slammed on the breaks and watched as the car slowly came up beside them. Dani sighed when a familiar face climbed out of driver's seat. "Dani, who the fuck is that?" Donny asked, more than a little freaked out now.
"My father." Dani sighed again, climbing out the back of the van, "You guys keep going, I'll catch up. Or not." With that she slammed the van doors and watched it slowly drive away. She turned to her father. She didn't even flinch when she found her self string down the barrel of a .45.
"You shouldn't have come back, Dani. I told you I would do this if it was necessary. After I have stopped you, I'm going to have to stop your friends too." Paul's voice was calm. He had no fear in his eyes. Dani smiled.
"You did promise you would be here, waiting. It's good to see you, dad. Now, I'm going to go catch up with my team. Please don't try to stop us." They stared at each other for a long time. Dani looked at the wrinkles carved into the old man's face, old and new. His thinning white hair was covered with a black silk cowboy hat. Dani remembered that he only wore that hat on very important occasions. The last time was when her mother had been killed, and he had worn it in mourning. She came to the conclusion that he was determined to stop her this time.
"Don't do this Dani." His usually gruff voice soft with an inner pain. He lowered the pistol to his hip, but it never faced away from her. "You can't blame the world for what happens. There is nothing stealing and violence will do to correct the wrongs, only make them worse. You need to stop, you just need to stop and rest, Dani California." Dani turned to leave. She heard the hammer of the gun pull back. "If you take that step, it will be your last." She took a step in the direction of the van.
The shot rang out loud and clear. Dani felt no pain when the bullet hit, only a sudden release, bordering on ecstasy. She fell slowly, face first to watch the ground come to meet her. Before she hit she found herself bathed in light, blinded by its beauty. There was her mother, and Steve, and even her unborn child, all smiling at her. She smiled too, reaching her arms out to hold them in eternal embrace.
Paul watched as Dani's body fell to the ground with a soft thump, in sharp contrast to the gunshot ringing in his ears. Sighing he went to her and lifted her body, carrying it back to the car.
"Now your soul may rest Dani, rest forever Dani California."
*****
Donny and the crew heard the shot ring out, but did not stop. Dani had warned them of this day. They knew what had just happened and would mourn her. Arms gave out a long, pained sob. In it he expressed the emotions of anyone who Dani California. Only now did Donny realize what she had meant to him, only know that she was gone. He looked at Tonia, who was for once not typing away at her keyboard.
"We will remember her," he said, "People will know her story, and her battles for our rights. You may not know this, but I always wanted to be a musician. Now I'm going to right a song for her, my first song and greatest. It be a story of her life, how she would have wanted it." He closed his eyes for a moment, just like Dani always did. He opened them and began singing.
"Gettin' born in the state of Mississippi, papa was a copper..." He sang her song over and over again, being sure to keep it in his mind for when he could finally write it down. He promised himself the name Dani California would be well known.Chapter End Notes:Hope you liked that, the next chapter is coming soon. Review, I always like advice and critiques
In the driver's seat was Donny, the leader of the little escapade, a half-vaporeon and cool as ice. If he ever lost his head, it was best not to be in the line of fire. In the passengers seat tapping on a laptop was Tonia, the half-alakasam, and brains of the team. She was responsible for everything technological of the heists. Last, but not least, was Strongarm, or Arms to his friends. He is a German half-machoke, and the muscle of the team.
Dani had no more time to think as the van screeched to a halt. Donny looked back and pulled his black bandits mask over his eyes. He gave the group an encouraging smile, then turned to Tonia.
"Yeah, yeah." She said, "Go straight in, down the hall on your right, third door on your left, and straight back. The vault has two security guards." Donny nodded and looked back at Arms and Dani.
"Ok you two, clean and sharp just like always. First, I will freeze the doors and Arms will bust them down. Make it fancy, try to startle, but no hurt the bystanders." He told us. Arms saluted mockingly.
"Aye, aye chief. Watz du you want wit de guards?" His accent lay thick in his voice. Donny looked at Dani.
"As soon as the doors are down, use extremespeed. Gather all their guns, side-arms too. When you have them all stop in the middle of the room. Command everyone on the floor. That should be all that is needed, but stay in the building just in case. Got it?" They both nodded. "Alright, move!"
The van doors opened and the three man crew jumped out and ran at the bank doors. Donny started firing an ice beam against the door, freezing it in its frame. Dani got a glimpse of First Pokemon National Bank before Arms hurled himself against the ice. The moment it was broken Dani took off. Flying through the lobby, she collected the primaries and secondaries of the thirteen guards. She let them all clatter to the floor except for a shotgun and assault rifle, which she now pointed into the mass of people.
"Everyone, your day just got a little more exciting. Get your asses on the ground!" As her feminine voice rang out people began to drop, hands behind their heads. As they did this Donny calmly walked in followed by arms.
"Excuse me everyone, may I have your attention?" All eyes turned to him, "Thank you. We will be taking all your money. Rest assured, it is going to a good cause. Dani, would you mind taking care of the guards blocking the vault?" She disappeared for a moment, then returned with two unconscious guards. "Excellent, now feel free to inform the police of our arrival, I promise we will be long gone before they arrive. Five minutes of your time, I promise." He walked calmly away, down the right hallway with Arms in tow. The people turned to Dani frightfully. One brave woman spoke up.
"I know y-y-you." Her voice cracked, "Your the Half-breed Endorsement and Liberation Legion." Dani smiled and walked over to her. She paused at the sound of ripping metal and grinned.
"That's right," she said, "We are HELL, and we must be going." Strongarm came around the corner carrying several pallets of money bags. Donny was smiling. When he reached the door he gave a small bow.
"I so enjoyed your hospitality, but we really must get going. When the police arrived, tell them you had a brush with HELL." He walked out behind Arms. Dani waited a few seconds, then backed away slowly. When she was five feet from the door she dropped the guns and ran for the van, which was already driving down the highway, back door open. She easily caught up with extreme speed and jumped, slamming the door behind her. The open space that had once been the back of the van was now filled with money.
"So," Dani glared at Donny, "couldn't even wait for me?" Everyone shared a laugh before Donny turned serious again. Pulling off his mask he sighed.
"Were finally done. Now we just need to get our asses to Canada, where are kind is accepted. Thirty million dollars should be enough to fund HELL for a while, maybe until half-breeds and pokephilia is allowed in the good ole U.S. of A. Right now though, were on the run." He sighed and settled in for long drive from Louisiana to the northern border. Everyone got more comfortable and Dani closed her eyes, and began to reflect on her life up to now, deciding to write an autobiography when this was all over.
*****
Her name was Dani. She was born in Mississippi, daughter to Paul Smith, a police officer, and his pokemon, a ninjask named Danielle. The relationship of different species was and still is forbidden in Mississippi, and as a result the small family had moved to San Francisco, California, one of the few places that allowed interspecies relationships. Despite its allowance, many people still opposed it and beatings and abuse were regular sites.
Because of this hate towards what some called "an affront to God," Dani's family was hounded by "sweepers", people who attempted to forge some kind of evidence against people that do not conform, to have them imprisoned. The Smith's tried to stay a quiet family, and thus were immune to threats from the sweepers. Eventually they turned to violence, and Danielle was killed in an assault on their home. In fear, Paul fled to South Dakota with Dani, who was only two at the time, where pokephilia was not only legal, but publicly accepted.
There Dani grew to be a strong individual, proud of her heritage, and quick to stop insults thrown her way. Her fiery spirit caught the eye, and the heart, of Steve Clarrison. By this point Dani had blossomed into a fine young lady of eighteen. Steve, nineteen and already a successful business owner, married her and together they moved back to California, determined to right the wrongs of so many people.
Together they formed a coalition, Half-breed Endorsement and Acceptance Legion, or HEAL. They lived peacefully for four years, despite many death threats, and soon had a child of their own on the way. Unfortunately, tension was still high on the subject of interspecies relationships, and the public announcement of the coming child didn't go well with the public.
On one unfortunate day, the very pregnant Dani was shopping in an open market with Steve. An angry mob had attacked them before they had time to realize what was happening. By time the police had shown up, too much damage had been done. Dani had to be dragged away from her dead husband, beaten to death. Her pokemon heritage had given her more resistance, but her unborn baby was not so lucky. When news of this reached her, she broke. Mentally and spiritually. Unable to care for herself, she was sent back to her father, now twenty-six.
Ridden with grief, she refused food, did not sleep, and turned away doctors and psychiatrists. It was expected she would die before her twenty-seventh birthday. It was then she heard of HELL, the Half-breed Endorsement and Liberation Legion, supposedly a more forceful form of her own legion. The news of this lifted her spirits, and she began to search for HELL. They found her first though, enlisting her for their cause. Under the leadership of Donny, and along side Strongarm and Tonia, she made a name for herself. They traveled among the southern states, robbing banks as they went. There goal was to get the money to fund HELL and finally put an end to the segregation of pokemon and their children.
She left without a good-bye to her father, and was left with only the words he threw at her as she jumped into the back of the fated van.
"I swear to you, if you try to cross that border, I will stop you myself. Heed my words well, for as an officer, I am not forgiving to outlaws. Today, that is what you are, and shall remain until your death, Dani California." And thus she is known today, Dani California, the liberator.
*****
Dani opened her eyes, satisfied with the synopsis of her life. Now, at thirty years of age, she found herself hurtling towards her goal at sixty miles a hour. From Louisiana they would take at least three days to reach South Dakota. Dani lay back to sleep, her dreams filled with her father in those last few moments before she left him, and the possibility that he would keep his word to stop her.
Dani jumped with a bump in the road. They had reached the badlands of South Dakota and were driving through the desert. Dani couldn't help but think back to her father's promise to stop her. She shivered slightly at the thought. Tonia looked at.
"You ok? You've been getting increasingly more uncomfortable as we neared here. What's wrong?" Dani just shook her head and looked away. She knew her father could find her. At an early age he had captured her in a pokeball. It was safety precaution, with a pokedex on could monitor her location, health, even progress in knowledge. But that same technology that was used to protect her so long ago could now be used to ruin her dream. Her father could, and would keep his promise. Dani turned to Donny.
"Hey, Donny? Could you tell me if you see any other cars out there? No matter what?" He looked surprised and laughed.
"We're in the middle of a desert in the South Dakota badlands. Even I will be worried if I-" He was cut-off in surprise when a station wagon pulled itself out of the desert haze. He slammed on the breaks and watched as the car slowly came up beside them. Dani sighed when a familiar face climbed out of driver's seat. "Dani, who the fuck is that?" Donny asked, more than a little freaked out now.
"My father." Dani sighed again, climbing out the back of the van, "You guys keep going, I'll catch up. Or not." With that she slammed the van doors and watched it slowly drive away. She turned to her father. She didn't even flinch when she found her self string down the barrel of a .45.
"You shouldn't have come back, Dani. I told you I would do this if it was necessary. After I have stopped you, I'm going to have to stop your friends too." Paul's voice was calm. He had no fear in his eyes. Dani smiled.
"You did promise you would be here, waiting. It's good to see you, dad. Now, I'm going to go catch up with my team. Please don't try to stop us." They stared at each other for a long time. Dani looked at the wrinkles carved into the old man's face, old and new. His thinning white hair was covered with a black silk cowboy hat. Dani remembered that he only wore that hat on very important occasions. The last time was when her mother had been killed, and he had worn it in mourning. She came to the conclusion that he was determined to stop her this time.
"Don't do this Dani." His usually gruff voice soft with an inner pain. He lowered the pistol to his hip, but it never faced away from her. "You can't blame the world for what happens. There is nothing stealing and violence will do to correct the wrongs, only make them worse. You need to stop, you just need to stop and rest, Dani California." Dani turned to leave. She heard the hammer of the gun pull back. "If you take that step, it will be your last." She took a step in the direction of the van.
The shot rang out loud and clear. Dani felt no pain when the bullet hit, only a sudden release, bordering on ecstasy. She fell slowly, face first to watch the ground come to meet her. Before she hit she found herself bathed in light, blinded by its beauty. There was her mother, and Steve, and even her unborn child, all smiling at her. She smiled too, reaching her arms out to hold them in eternal embrace.
Paul watched as Dani's body fell to the ground with a soft thump, in sharp contrast to the gunshot ringing in his ears. Sighing he went to her and lifted her body, carrying it back to the car.
"Now your soul may rest Dani, rest forever Dani California."
*****
Donny and the crew heard the shot ring out, but did not stop. Dani had warned them of this day. They knew what had just happened and would mourn her. Arms gave out a long, pained sob. In it he expressed the emotions of anyone who Dani California. Only now did Donny realize what she had meant to him, only know that she was gone. He looked at Tonia, who was for once not typing away at her keyboard.
"We will remember her," he said, "People will know her story, and her battles for our rights. You may not know this, but I always wanted to be a musician. Now I'm going to right a song for her, my first song and greatest. It be a story of her life, how she would have wanted it." He closed his eyes for a moment, just like Dani always did. He opened them and began singing.
"Gettin' born in the state of Mississippi, papa was a copper..." He sang her song over and over again, being sure to keep it in his mind for when he could finally write it down. He promised himself the name Dani California would be well known.Chapter End Notes:Hope you liked that, the next chapter is coming soon. Review, I always like advice and critiques