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MATURE: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 100

Blog Eleven: The Paths Untaken
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 59

    Blog Eleven: The Paths Untaken

    Hello once more, my vivacious internet dearies. How's this whore we call life treating you all? Devilishly, I hope – no one likes an angelic whore now do they?

    It is a tad difficult to describe how my own life has been these past few days. Obviously, anyone following the news will probably have gathered that I was involved in that incident at the casino, though I am pleased to say that was probably the only significantly life threatening situation I got into this week! I've been explosion-sober for a few days, so go me!

    Essentially, my life this past week has been made up of walking – walking and thinking, two of the dullest activities on the planet, but I think I have deserved a dull week, don't you? I would recommend this to anyone out there who finds their life is usually full of exploding robots and nuclear arms wielding mad men: head to the very west of Kanto and just spend a week strolling down that concrete path, let your mind wander and simply relax. It will do you the world of good.

    It's just been me and Sandy for the most part, and I couldn't be happier about that. It was nice to interact with some other humans whilst in Celadon, but me and other people don't really click, so going back to just the two of us having a nice little wander down this coastal path was rather refreshing. Mostly it's been quiet, and this route is so much more relaxing than anywhere else I have been lately, and it gave me a lot of time to think just with myself. I did dwell on some of those bastard questions that I have not yet managed to shake, like why our beloved champion has sent his legendary pets after me, or who exactly my shadowy stalker is, but largely I thought about simpler, non-earth shattering things.

    I thought about my family who I have not seen or spoken to for months now (I did give them the link to this blog, so they either are following my every move like every other bloody person in this region, or my mother had a heart attack the second she saw the words giant robot Beedrill together in the same sentence. Considering my dear mother can't open the internet without assistance, I think I may be safe.) I am almost enviously wondering about my sibling's school life – to be honest, I would rather have to do mathematics at the moment than get shot at again. You may hate denominators, but they are pretty easy compared to fighting deranged weirdos. I pondered on the current state of ViridianCity and how that is going, I thought about all the shows I haven't watched, all the big news stories I have missed, the fact life is chugging on without me while I am living in my own little world with only Sandy, my Pokemon and assassins for company.

    Ultimately, the biggest thing I think about is what my life would be like if I had not gone on this journey. Sometimes I just wonder how worthwhile this has really been, and how normal things may have been if I had stayed in Viridian, gone to school, raised Paige in my backyard and taken the non-trainer lifestyle like the rest of my school. Would Paige have evolved by now? Would my school grades have improved? Would I have somehow met Sandy in less life threatening circumstances? Would I be setting myself up for some boring desk job for the rest of my days? And what about Gideon and the giant robots? Would all those plans have been carried out if I had not been there to get involved? Maybe some of them would have never happened or maybe they could have been worse, who knows? That seems to be the curse of living a life like this, never being able to know what would have happened to you or anyone else if you had never gotten involved.

    I got a new Pokemon today, a little Shellder who I have simply dubbed Shelley (Sandy told me it wasn't very imaginative, but I like it, what do y'all think? Feel free to abuse me in the comments if you want). Her mother, a Cloyster, saved our lives and wanted us to take her daughter with us as a thank you, to give her the life and experiences I guess the Cloyster never experienced herself. I can only imagine what was going through the Pokemon's mind, but I feel she was having similar thoughts to me: wondering what path her life may have taken if some trainer had captured her all those years ago. I guess these are things we must live with after the events of our life have unfolded; what if I had chosen to do that instead, what if I had did this, what if I hadn't done that. I only remembered afterwards how my own mother had been supportive of my decision to go on a journey, and it makes me wonder how both our lives would be different had she gone travelling as a child– though I try not to dwell on that too much, as I know I never would have been born…

    I should probably keep you up to date on the other things that happened to me this week, considering that's what a blog is for; as I said above, Sandy and I nearly died again, but compared to everything else this latest freak Barney registered about a 3 on the Maniac-Scale (patent pending), and we met Mitchell and the reality stars again, but we all walked away unscathed. Normally these things may have made things a bit more interesting, but I really couldn't care less about them. My thoughts were all that mattered to me this week, everything else just got in the way of me realising a few things I probably should have considered a while ago. I had a long talk with Sandy – well, I say talk, we largely argued at first. When we finally talked like sane human beings and I heard what my friend had to say and what she had been keeping from me, I knew that there was one thing that I would change if I could go back. I just wish all of my decisions could be this easy.

    My little adventure this week began with being flown away from a gunfight in the arms of a Dragonite, and it has ended in a tent in the middle of nowhere, listening to the world moving on outside this triangle of fabric. This has ended so peacefully that I have to think back to that dark floor beneath the ground, surrounded by men with guns, fallen limousines and broken rubble around me. As I type this I am looking back and wondering where I would have ended up if I had not been flown away to safety, and thinking what happened to those I left behind.

    I have done enough soul searching for one day; it is time for a rest. This blog is probably rather vague and makes little sense, but I had to get these thoughts out there and say what has been bothering me. This journey has affected me in more ways than anyone reading this could possibly ever imagine, and these changes are going to stick with me for years to come (if I survive my way through this all, that is). The other week I was forced to make a decision on the future of my travels, and while I am now set firmly on this path to train for now and die another day, as Shelley and her mother will tell you, wonders of what could have been are a part of our daily thoughts – I just have the misfortune of mine being on a much larger scale.

    Until next time - here's hoping your what ifs do not keep you awake at night,

    Alaska




    Been so long since I did one of these, yet when I began writing it things went faster than probably anything else this year. Not quite as humorous as the others, but I figured that this was something Alaska needed to say. Next up, the first interlude in who knows how many months!
     
    • Interlude Eleven: Six Degrees of Madness
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Blog 11

    Just a warning, this chapter contains spoilers for Kris vs Gold, so avoid the first paragraph if you are reading that story. Sorry for another delay, on holiday now, hope things will come along faster


    Interlude Eleven: Six Degrees of Madness

    "Well, I guess that's me done for the night. I might as well head off if we have nothing else to discuss."

    "Mmmhhhhmm."

    "Girl, are you even paying attention? What are you still doing out there anyway, it's getting late."

    "What, it is? I had no idea! I could have sworn dark meant it was morning! But you are the expert on these things; I shall have to take your word for it."

    "Well, I am here only to serve you, my Champion," Karen replied with a broad grin, unfazed by the younger girl's sarcasm. She strutted out of the dining room, her black boots clunking on the wooden floor, and stepped out once more onto the balcony. Kris Soul did not seem to notice, too focussed on staring across The Champion's Park, currently hidden within the darkness of the night, tiny pinpricks of golden light penetrating the gloom.

    "Can you even remember what I came here to talk about?" Karen asked, leaning against the railing, feeling tired and light headed from her several glasses of wine, but she felt a need to check on things before leaving. It took Kris several moments to respond, her attention not wavering from the darkness beneath her. "Kris?"

    "We discussed the Open Day that's happening in three weeks, and you reminded me that I am to have an exhibition battle with all four of you so I should really start training again, as you also reminded me that it has been six months since I last battled someone, and a further nine months since I last checked into my proper facilities," Kris responded quickly, tilting her head and smiling back at Karen for a moment before returning to her night view.

    "Very good," Karen replied. "For a second I thought you had completely disengaged your mind for the duration of the night."

    "I am the bloody Champion, my job description is essentially battling and paying attention to what I am told," Kris said coldly, and she raised a glass tumbler to her lips, taking an over-long slug of Hoenn wine. Karen remained silent, staring down at the folders clasped in her aging hands, allowing Kris to drink in peace. She recalled a discussion she had had the other day with her fellow Elite Four members, their concerns suddenly rushing back to her; she had thought them silly, not worthy of much note, but after tonight, Karen had quickly realised the warning signs about Kris had been right in front of her for months, that she had simply been ignoring them.

    "I really should go before it gets any later," the Dark trainer said after several tense moments of silence. Kris gave no response, her attention drifting back to the nothingness below her. Karen turned to leave, but she before she could stop herself, words came trickling from her mouth. "However, I feel that you need some advice before I leave."

    "Isn't that what you're here for?" Kris snapped. Karen rolled her eyes, unable to bite her tongue any longer, and she turned back to her Champion.

    "Kris, we are all worried about you," she said, though she almost spat the words out, her calm, cool demeanour evaporating in a second as the concerns she had harboured for months burst through. "You have not been right for a while now; months, if not years. I cannot pretend that I know what is happening inside that head of yours, but all I know is that you are far too young to have gone through the things you've been through, but also far too young to become a bitter little bitch that treats everyone around her like dirt. I want to see the passionate young woman that first defeated me four years ago, not her ghost that seems to be here by force rather than choice. You have three weeks to get things together before the Open Day, otherwise the entire region will know and that will make everything worse, and I am sure more media attention is the last thing you want. You are the bloody Champion, so it is time you bloody act like it."

    With that, Karen set off, marching through the living room, leaving Kris alone on the balcony. She felt that she may have been too harsh rather helpful, and probably a bit rash, but as Karen descended the staircase, she simply hoped that her words would have some effect.

    Kris sat there, listening to Karen disappear. She retrieved her glass from the table, still processing the words of the woman who, currently, was probably her only friend in the world.

    The bloody Champion, here by force, not choice, she thought bitterly, and downed the last of her wine. She felt a slight rush to the head, but whatever was in this that should make her feel better wasn't working; Kris felt as down as she had for the past two years.

    "The passionate girl… passion… you were the one that told me to fight with passion, and look where that got me!" The teenager muttered to herself, hearing her front door slam shut, catching a slight shadow gliding across footpath before it disappeared into the night. "Passion… this is no place for passion…"

    It had been four years since Kris had won the title of Champion, though it had taken two battles before she was finally allowed to claim that honour. She had fought her eternal rival Ethan Hartley, a battle that had nearly killed several of the Pokemon and had ended with him being arrested, his drug cheating ways finally being exposed. Kris had thought she had finally triumphed, but Gold was able to get one last thing over her: Lance, the previous Champion, the glorious, the powerful, the popular, demanded a battle, as it became clearer that he had only lost to Gold due to his cheating.

    For the second time in only a few months, Kris was forced to battle on a truly Champion level. Afterwards, she had been told the battle was 'beautifully epic', 'a masterpiece', and 'the greatest battle Johto had ever seen.' To Kris, it had simply been two of the most gruelling, exhausting and painful hours of her life. Her Pokemon push themselves to the limits, but Lance's Pokemon were powerful, years of experience making them nearly unbeatable. It had taken Latios to finally secure the win, nearly killing herself to bring Lance's Salamance, Hydregion and his oldest and strongest Dragonite down.

    And when a Pokemon you have a Psychic link is being destroyed, you feel every ounce of their pain.

    It had been a cruel battle, one Lance had insisted go ahead despite the death of Kris' mother only a month prior. Now he had fled to Kanto and his original Elite Four, spreading ill-will about Kris across the regions and forcing her to keep battling long after Dragonite had crashed back to earth.

    For four years now, Kris had called herself Champion, but she had done little to earn the name. Her biggest achievement had been headlining the rebuild of Champion's Stadium, after Dragonite and Latios destroyed half of it with an Outrage-Mist Ball collision, and renaming the entire area Champion's Park. Since then, Kris had only fought in ten battles as Champion, two of which had been from the bi-annual Johto League tournament. She had seen the horrors of Team Galactic's plans atop Mount Coronet, images that still haunted her nightmares, but most of Kris' life these past years had been regulated within the four walls of her house, alone…

    No friends, no family, no point… Kris thought grimly. She had no reason to return to New Bark Town anymore, not when her childhood home was now occupied by other people; nor could she bear seeing her aunts and grandmother in Ecruteak, and suffer their thinly veiled concern that was more uncomfortable than helpful, or watch as death began to catch up to the great Hanoko. And it was rather difficult to see the love of your life when he worked for the family of the man whose legacy you crushed.

    You have every right to be worried Karen, in fact, I would be upset if you weren't, Kris thought with a sigh. I sacrificed everything for my journey, a journey that nearly destroyed me, and only to lose everything that I gained. Sometimes, Kris wondered what life would be like had she not become Champion; it wouldn't have saved her mother, but Kris liked to imagine what she might be doing, where she would be living, who she could be living with: these thoughts dogged her more than she would like, as attached to her as her own dark hair. Kris had once spoken of it to Red about it at a function, and he had smiled sadly at her and whispered 'That is the curse of the Champion; you get everything you had ever dreamed for to only wonder how better your life would have been if you hadn't.'

    Reassuring words as always, Kris thought. She looked at her empty tumbler and sighed, her head starting to feel heavy and sleepy, the darkness losing its appeal. Karen was right on one thing; if Kris didn't start training again, things were not going to go well for her come the open day. It would be interesting to see how the public treated her, considering people still referred to Lance as 'The People's Champion' – the one the public wanted, the one they had wanted to win.

    Kris forced herself out of the chair, wobbling slightly, and stepped back into her house. She enjoyed watching the nothingness of night, letting her imagination float away and the darkness of her thoughts disappear. The recent events across the border in Kanto had not helped her mood; more death and destruction, with a young girl in the very heart of it all. Kris wanted to help and bring an end to it, but the Indigo League had insisted they could handle it; even they didn't want a bar of her.

    Suddenly, Kris stumbled, white spots dancing before her eyes; one second she was upright, staying at her pale brown walls, trying not to stay bitter, and the next she was doubled over, and knew it was not the wine. The glass smashed against the wooden floor, the sound barely registering, but Kris felt the pain as her knees fell onto the tiny shards. She winced from this, but she was more distracted by the fact her head seemed to be splitting in two, as if someone had come and taken an axe to it. Memories suddenly rushed through her mind; her father leaving on his Skarmory, receiving Chikorita, battling Gold in the Goldenrod Underground, the explosion outside the theatre in Ecruteak, meeting Leaf on a rainy beach, her and Spike at her Christmas, the day of her mother's funeral…

    "What… the… hell…," Kris puffed, clutching a bleeding hand to her head, trying to block out the pain that was consuming her. She blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the spots, but saw something much stranger instead; blue light illuminated her entire house, filling every square inch in a dazzling glow that Kris would have appreciated were her head not being split in two, a glow that seemed oddly familiar.

    Krystal Soul, I have searched for you for many days. A deep, beautiful yet frightening voice whispered inside her head, and Kris screamed in pain. I cause you no harm, I am simply scanning your memories to see if it is truly you. This process would have gone sooner, but I fear that I am in sudden need of your help.

    A familiar sound echoed above Kris' screams, and she managed to open her eyes for a moment to see a silhouette hover across the room, eyes glowing pink as it moved towards the source of the voice.

    Brother!

    Hello sister… it… it has been a long time

    BROTHER!

    Kris was certain her brain was being torn apart. Unable to take it anymore, she turned, trying to find the source so she could possibly stop it. Instead, she saw Latias reaching out, facing a Pokemon that seemed to be her twin. The two reached out, their hands coming together, and Kris screamed as her mind burst, images of an exploding city swelling inside her mental vision, and suddenly everything was white.

    ***

    "I am here for one reason only boy, and that's because they forgot to take Casimer's good scotch with them when they packed up his crap. I don't give a damn about your problems: they are far too big for anyone to handle, even me, and you should be able to fix them on your own by now."

    "As always, it is a pleasure to be in your company Vivian," Red replied with a false smile, bringing the aforementioned alcohol and several glasses over on a tray. His brunette guest laughed, her trademark cackle echoing inside the confined living room.

    "I'm always a pleasure darling, you know that!" Vivian purred. She was wearing a tight, lime green dress that looked horribly uncomfortable, and her feet were resting on the table, encased in black leather boots, looking far more dressed up than Red's casual t-shirt and old pants. Red smiled half heartedly, collapsing wearily into the chair opposite. It had not been easy arranging this meeting with the illustrious Vivian Winters, bitchy talk show therapist who could reduce anybody to tears within seconds, and Red had been tempted to not bother, but he was in desperate need of advice, and Vivian could be the only one to give it.

    Things were not well in Kanto; the attack on the casino had made it clear that Gideon was not the only one out to cause harm and destruction. Red had nearly lost a gym leader and several supporters in the attack, who barely escaped unharmed; he had flown over as soon as he heard the news, but it had been too late for Red to help and or to catch the criminals. The entire region was getting worried, and the Champion needed help if he was going to stop things, and in this hour of need, he had no choice but to turn to his eldest, cattiest advisor.

    "So, tell me boy," Vivian said with her trademark smirk, as she poured herself a glass of the rich, mahogany liquid, "how is your battle against this latest megalomaniac going?"

    "Not very well, I am afraid," Red replied with a sigh. Vivian did not respond, simply raising her eyebrows and taking a long draught of her drink, and Red rolled his eyes at her control of the conversation. "As far as we can tell, there are at least two different groups targeting our region at the moment; Gideon is responsible for the attacks in Pewter, Vermilion and Lavender, while we believe a bigger group is behind the casino, but is also planning something far more significant. I have no idea where Gideon is nor do we have confirmation on our other assailants, but if we do not stop them than I am sure they will rival Team Rocket's actions five years ago in levels of violence and destruction. Yet the only person capable of stopping them seems to be is a thirteen year old girl who has no idea just how much of a role she could have in this, and I have no idea what I am supposed to do to save her or save Kanto!" Red barely scratched the surface of the situation, but Vivian was not one for details. The therapist nodded, finishing half of her scotch in one long gulp, and Red waited impatiently for her advice.

    "A thirteen year old…," she said at last, "fighting a force much greater than herself – my, my, that sounds so very familiar, doesn't it?" Red tensed up at this, his fingers digging into the arms of his chairs, trying to avoid Vivian's triumphant smirk.

    "This isn't about me, this is about Kan –" he began, but Vivian interrupted.

    "You want to protect the girl because you know what will happen to her if you don't, as they are grooming her for glory the same way they groomed you," she purred. "The Indigo League is the oldest and proudest league in the world, and the one that is most image obsessed. They are well aware that these people are probably going to target you for what you did to Team Rocket, and Miss Avocado has gotten herself involved, so she is the prime person to take your place and become the first female Champion of Kanto and make up for the disappointment of Krystal Soul."

    "How is any of this relevant?" Red asked, beginning to regret inviting her over. "I need advice on how to stop Gideon and save Kanto, not a bloody therapy session!"

    "Oh Red, everything is relevant to you when you're Champion!" Vivian laughed, refilling her drink already. She paused, swigging back the scotch, shuddering slightly as it slid down her throat, and then looked back at Red, her face turning serious. "You want advice on how to handle this, well, here is what I have to say: you watched your best friend die in a hole in the very depths of Kanto, unable to do anything as Team Rocket got one final thing over you long after you though you had defeated them. None of this would have happened had you not been pruned like a show Ponyta into becoming Champion, so now that you see the same happening to Alaska, you want to save her in order to avenge your friend and finally vanquish Giovanni's failed attempt at glory once and for all. If you want to save Kanto, accept that as a fact and stop letting your guilt over Blue's death hold you back; now if I am wrong, I will donate my entire fortune to charity."

    Red was taken back by the calmness in her voice despite the power in her words, and for a second he was left dumbstruck. He wanted to argue, Vivian always brought that out in people, but for once he was speechless, collapsing back into his own thoughts; was she right, was that really what he was thinking? Red had wanted to protect Alaska since he had learnt about her, knowing deep down there was no other course of action, but had his concern sprung from four year old guilt?

    No, this isn't about him, this is not about Blue! Red told himself determinedly, but another side of his mind, the side he sometimes imagined Lapras had control over, hissed back but of course it is, it has always been about Blue, you have not stopped thinking about him since that bloody cave…

    "You really should donate that money anyway," Red muttered finally, lunging towards the scotch, and Vivian laughed, though it was less bitchy this time. She waited until Red had filled a glass, downed it and refilled before talking once more.

    "I may have a botox-riddled, thin lipped, unfazed ice queen persona for the cameras, but there are some things that get under my skin, asides from silicon," Vivian said glumly, looking at Red over the top of her famous red glasses. "I have been following this girl's blog, and I must say I am not impressed with how she has been treated, left alone to fight in another bloody war."

    "I let things get out of my control," Red sighed. "The League told me they would handle things, and that I was too stay out of it and not risk my own life. I wish I had never listened to them; I sent Zapdos and Suicune to protect her, it was the only thing I could do at the time, but I have to do something else. I don't care about my own life at the moment, not when Alaska and her friend are risking their lives to save our region!"

    "And the lives of everyone they meet," Vivian purred icily. "I presume you were spurred into calling me by the casino attack?" Red nodded his head in dismay, remembering the jagged crater in the road, smoke rising from deep below the ground as the magnificent fountain emptied itself into one of his old battlefields.

    "Too many people that are close to me were nearly killed that day," he explained. "What happened to Vermilion and Chrono Island was terrible, and we still don't know why Gideon acted the way he did. But… but these other people, we have no chance of stopping them, and they are starting to get personal. What if they go after my mother next, or Professor Oak, or Murdoch or… or… or Leaf…," he finished weakly, well aware of how selfish and pathetic he sounded, but for once Vivian did not comment.

    "This is a war, Edward, we are both aware of that – not as bad as five years ago, or what happened in the other regions since then, but it has already claimed too many lives and caused too much destruction. The League may want to protect you, but a general can't win his war miles from the fight, and you can't save us all from the side of a mountain. You are the Champion; it's your job to fight, and its time you did." Red nodded along to her words, a slight smile creeping across his face. The idea had been inside his head for weeks now, but now that Vivian in all her catty wisdom had confirmed it, there was clearly no other choice.

    "I'm taking this with me," the therapist said, snatching the bottle of scotch with purple manicured fingers and slipping it into her handbag as she heaved it up from the floor. Red stood up with her, pleased that he had called her now, a hundred ideas quickly coming to mind. However, Vivian was not moving, remaining where she stood; face sinking, eyes suddenly full of pity.

    "You know nothing is said in this region that doesn't reach me eventually, I have heard the rumours," she said as sympathetically as she could. "You know who these other people are, and they are coming for you, aren't they?" A lump formed in Red's throat, a chill creeping through his spine. The League refused to accept the truth, were ignoring the grainy security footage, ignoring the whispers and rumours that had dogged the Champion for months. Even Professor Oak was sceptical, assuring him that if the reality show really was an ex-Team Rocket front, he would know. But Red knew the truth, had sent Leaf away for her own safety, waiting for his killers to come to his doorstep.

    "Yes, yes they are," he replied, trying to sound confident but his voice cracked slightly, the fear and intensity suddenly getting to him. Vivian sighed and lunged into her bag, pulling out a ruby cigarette holder and lighting its cigarette. Tense silence filled the air as she took a long puff, blowing the smoke out like a steam engine, letting it float up to the roof before talking again.

    "Six years ago, in this very room, I warned Casimer – back when this all began, when Giovanni changed our world forever, I warned him to be careful, that Kanto would need her Champion. He smiled at me, but he was too confident for his own good. Will you make up for his mistakes Red; you Champions are all douches anyway, but will you try and not get yourself killed?" Red laughed, a chuckle bursting from his lips before he could stop it, and he let it carry on, the sound swelling inside the room. Vivian raised an eyebrow, her lips sucking on the holder, but Red simply kept on laughing, trying to find the situation funny, but it was ultimately fear fuelling this joy.

    "Of course I will be careful, but what's the point?" He said finally, breathless with his own insane laughter. "You said it before; I've already been replaced, haven't I?"

    ***

    Sleep refused to come to Leaf Oak.

    The eighteen year old turned to her alarm, aggressively slamming a button so she could see the time. Luminous red numbers suddenly appeared, the flash blinding in the dark, but Leaf was able to keep her eyes open long enough to see the figures: 2:37 AM

    "Shit," she hissed to herself, and angrily shoved the clock backwards, the numbers fading and the room retreating back to darkness. Four hours I've been awake! FOUR! Leaf reminded herself. She was tempted to scream in frustration, to throw her sheets around and vent all this rage, but all she could do was sigh.

    It had been this way ever since she had arrived in Fuchsia City. While Leaf spent her days in bliss, exploring the city with Janine and training with her fellow gym leader, her nights were an absolute terror. She had not had a proper night's sleep since leaving Champion's House, and there had been some nights where she had not slept at all, simply laying on the mattress and waiting for morning to come and the nightmare to end. Leaf had reached the point where it was making her unwell, and she knew she needed to get help, but the Viridian native knew she had plenty of reasons for being restless.

    The last few months, after three years of calm, of rebuilding their world, of finally finding a sense of normality in life, Gideon had turned everything upside down. Leaf had been horrified by the scientist's action, and she had wanted to find a way to help, but Red had refused. He had insisted she quietly close the gym, disappear away from the cameras and become obscure. Leaf knew it was his way of protecting her, but Red had no idea what his decision was putting his girlfriend through.

    I have heard the rumours, everyone bloody well has! Leaf thought bitterly. She remembered when she had arrived in Fuchsia, and Janine had thrown her arms around her in greeting; the embrace had been uncomfortable, as if she had just hugged a widow, and the look in Janine's eyes had been pitiful. Leaf was not going to let Red Lowe die, not after all they had been through together, but she could do nothing from the other side of Kanto, rarely speaking to him, forced to get updates from her cousin, the news or, worst of all, Alaska's blog.

    Poor girl…, Leaf thought wearily. She could remember what it was like, forced into battle against a powerful enemy with only few allies; watching as towns and cities were destroyed, struggling to protect yourself let alone anyone else, winning at the last moment long enough to get away, but only for the battle to catch up eventually. But at least when Leaf had fought for her life every day for several months, there had been Red and Blue, she had had her Pokemon, and Janine, and Daisy, and Mark and Murdoch and Madame… but Alaska had no one, only Sandy and less than ten Pokemon between them. Leaf had seen a new blog post before going to bed, and she had been concerned by the talks of tension between them. There had been times when her little trio had fallen out, and it was at those times that they had been weakest. Leaf hoped Alaska would be strong again soon, and hoped someone would go in and help her out of this mess before something worse happened…

    A white flash illuminated the room. Leaf leapt up in her bed, trying to shield her eyes from the sudden blinding flash. For a second, she thought she was hallucinating, that her mass tiredness had finally gotten to her, but than a voice sounded from within the glow.

    "Sorry babe, did I disturb your beauty sleep?" It cackled. Leaf stopped shielding her eyes, her arm flopping to her side, and she irritably turned towards the light.

    "What the hell do you want Charlotte?" She moaned. The glow disappeared, and the ghost appeared clearly before her, a wicked smile stretching across her transparent face. It had been over a year now, possibly even two, since Leaf had last lain eyes on her, and her life had been all the more pleasant for it.

    "Don't worry your pretty little head, I am only here for a moment," Charlotte replied, her grin only getting wider. "I am still a bit sore after I ran into Gideon the other week, so I can't stay long even though we haven't caught up in foreveeeeeer!" The ghost giggled to herself, but Leaf remained stony faced, refusing to let Charlotte get under her skin. Silence fell as she stared defiantly at the ghost, who was waiting for some kind of response, but it quickly faltered and she tutted.

    "Fine then, be a stubborn cow!" Charlotte huffed. "You need to call Sabrina and warn her to be on her guard tomorrow."

    "Sabrina?" Leaf repeated in shock; the Psychic trainer was rarely seen outside of her gym, and Leaf had not spoken to her properly for at least a year. "Why do I need to warn her? And hang on, why can't you just teleport over there and tell her yourself!"

    "I just told you that I'm still weak, rude little non-listener!" Charlotte huffed. "Her gym has too many protective forces around it for my liking, and I really can't be bothered with them right now. So, can you just call her as soon as you wake up tomorrow?" Leaf was tempted to think of some witty response and get one over the frustrating ghost, but she was taken aback by the tired look in those long dead eyes, and her own weariness left her in no mood to fight.

    "Yes, fine, whatever!" The brunette groaned. "As long as you bloody well piss off, I need to get some sleep!" Charlotte clapped her hands in delight, somehow managing to make noise despite the fact they weren't solid. Leaf rolled her eyes and fell back onto her pillow, hoping it was over now, but there was no flash signalling Charlotte's departure, and she turned back to face her.

    "Thank you Leaf, I do appreciate this," the ghost said once her audience had returned to her. "In return of your generous gratitude, I shall give you a warning; the thing you have longed hoped to occur will happen soon, as will the long you have dreaded for longer. And you are going to meet the lovely Alaska soon enough, so I would suggest you start thinking up some advice to pass on."

    "What are you talking about?" Leaf snapped her mind suddenly awake once more. "What have I been dreading? Is this to do with Red?"

    "You'll never get to sleep with your head so full of questions," Charlotte replied with a smirk, and she floated forwards, her right hand outstretched.

    "No Charlotte, answer me, what are you on about?" Leaf shouted. "Answer me, for fucks sake! ANSWER ME!" But Charlotte's hand brushed against her forehead, and suddenly Leaf was falling backwards, asleep before her head had even hit the pillow, her fears evaporating for tonight at least.

    ***

    Here we go again…

    In the shadow of the Magnet Train Terminus, hidden away from the other passengers that had disembarked the Late Night Express with him five minutes prior, a man watched Saffron City sleep. He watched the train travellers leaving in twos and threes, talking in hushed tones so as not to wake the massive city before them, but their voices were filled with excitement about the journey and what lay ahead for them.

    I wonder how many of them will be alive next week, the man thought grimly. He instantly was annoyed at himself for the macabre thought, but he really couldn't help himself; three years of peace and civility, three years of small jobs busting low scale crime rings and Pokemon poaching, three years of built up calmness about to be shattered, and all because of one girl.

    The middle aged man reached into a pocket of his tatty old trench coat, retrieving the lone cigarette he kept for times like this. It would not look terribly suspicious, an old man smoking in the shadows, and he was doubtful anyone was watching him just yet. The crowds had dispersed now, heading for cheap motels or homes of friends, and the man was left alone, turning his attention towards the heart of the city several blocks down. There lay the cities famous skyscrapers, some of the tallest buildings in Kanto, steely symbols of big business that dwarfed the rest of the city, which was a hard feat considering nothing here was smaller than three storeys.

    However, the tallest of them was the Silph Company Building, a god amongst giants; one hundred plus storeys, appearing to be made entirely out of purple glass, it was so tall that lights on the roof turned on at night to warn airplanes and night Pokemon of the beast before them. Silph Co. was the biggest company in all of Kanto and Johto, and that building housed everything from the science and development team from which the company had born to the new initiatives like book publishing and television production.

    The man smirked at the red lights so far above, twinkling like a beacon that was drawing everything towards it. Well, you've brought me here, now what do you want to do with me? He had no idea what would happen tomorrow when he stepped into that building, but all he knew was that this had turned into something that Trevor, his protégée, had been unable to handle alone. Tomorrow, the day would either end with the growing resurgence of a criminal organisation brought down, or with him lying dead on some executive's office, wiped off the face of the earth.

    Here goes nothing, Looker thought bitterly. He took one long, last puff of the cigarette, letting the smoke swirl inside his throat one final time, before throwing the disintegrating stick aside. Looker snuffed it out with a single crunch of his heel, and then the spy walked away into the night, ready to see what tomorrow had in store for him.

    ***

    The burnt black floors beneath the Celadon Casino creaked under Gideon's feet.

    It had been years since the scientist had last been here, in the final days of Giovanni's war against the world, and Gideon was dismayed to see how it fallen into disrepair; he could still remember the day when this glorious building had been destroyed, and since being acquisitioned by the Athlew family, it had remained a broken shell of what had once been the greatest facility in Kanto.

    When he had seen the news, the scientist had not wanted to return to his old base, unsure of what security there would be and the deciphering of Charlotte's book taking up most of his time. Eventually, nostalgia and curiosity had overpowered him, and Gideon knew he had to see what it had become.

    As he walked, his feet stirred up ash and dust, rising up to greet him like an old friend. Gideon was frowned at the layer of filth, a grim reminder of what the base had been reduced to. They would have repaired it, had they won the war, but after the final battle, Gideon had only had time to save his own skin rather than rescue a dilapidated building.

    He paused and looked around, trying to remember what had been where, searching through his memory for the colour scheme and layout, but he could only see was what it had become; burnt, broken, the blackened façade dented by bullet casings and rubble from the road above, scattered with the burnt out remains of several limousines.

    "What happened to you?" Gideon sighed, staring into the darkness that surrounded him. He could remember it had once been bustling, the hub of everything he and Giovanni had tried to achieve five years ago, the place where the plans had been made, their army had been trained, and their experiments had been concocted. It had been massive, it had been glorious… and now it had become this, the skeleton in the Athlew's closet on their path to unnecessary riches.

    Gideon tensed up as he remembered all the things he had achieved here, and everything he would have – if it hadn't been for them. His nostalgic feelings evaporated at once, anger quickly taking over; those miserable little children had brought this place down in one night, all those years of effort going up in a literal cloud of smoke, ruining years of planning and research. Gideon had thought it would be over, that the two survivors would be tied down with their responsibilities, yet here it was happening again; Alaska Acevedo bringing her hero act right through his old workplace.

    "YOU BITCH, YOU WILL NOT REPEAT WHAT THEY DID, YOU WILL NOT BRING ME DOWN!" Gideon screamed, and he bent down and grabbed a piece of rubble and threw it at the nearest limo, forcing the scorched door off its hinges. "If only you would break so easily!" He hissed, and he fidgeted furiously with his watch. Gideon stared around at his broken paradise one final time, imagining what it would have become of this place had they won, if his own marble monument would be towering above him right now instead of a filthy casino, before the power of the teleportation field took over.

    He had failed five years ago, he had let himself get defeated by children, but Gideon was not going to let that happen again; Alaska would die before he was ruined again.

    ***

    "Wartortle, use Water Gun!"

    "Confusion Kadabra – no, to your right!"

    "Hurry up Vulpix, Energy Ball, knock them out!"

    Amanda watched the challenge unfold with dismay. This doesn't make any bloody sense, she thought irritably, but it had been the best they could come up with in a short space of time. The producer watched as her three stars, standing in a triangle around a wide area, commanded their blind-folded Pokemon to try and defeat the others, all the while navigating ramps and obstacles that had been left behind from previous challenges. It was a silly game, and Amanda could tell the crew were all as bored as she was, one of the boom operators even appearing asleep.

    We have to keep going though, just a few more minutes, it should be done by then, Amanda thought. She was feeling uneasy, her eyes continuing to flicker in the direction of the tent she knew was just further down the grassy road. The team would be there any minute now, and as long as Amanda kept everyone distracted, things would finally go to plan.

    Silly little bitches, they didn't expect a thing, Amanda thought, her lips curling into a smile. It had been a shock when she had seen Alaska and Sandy back in her domain once more, acting so rude and defiant towards her as if she was just some lowly peasant they could simply walk all over. It had been infuriating, being treated that way again after so long, by someone as wretched as Alaska Acevedo…

    Amanda was stressed to her limits these days, struggling to keep this front of a show going as well as keeping up with Buzz and his ever changing plans. The attack on the casino had been a catastrophe, and Amanda had been angry when she learnt how Buzz had stupidly risked his life for something as pointless and ostentatious as that. It was damaging their cause rather than helping, and it had done nothing to make Amanda calmer about the weeks to come.

    However, after Alaska and Sandy had finished tearing her down before her own crew, a crew that barely looked up to her as it was, Amanda had had an idea; there was no way the two little whores would be able to get very far away from their site that day. Amanda had never been able to act on them before, not when there had been witnesses, not when her stars had been about (though it was not as if the boys liked her anyway). But now, the darkness provided the perfect opportunity to act, and Amanda had been almost gleeful when she had realized Alaska had walked right into a trap. Buzz had been on a phone within minutes, and a team had been organized a quarter of an hour later. Buzz's words had been kind and gentle for once instead of loud and hurtful. Amanda had almost cried, both in joy and relief, as she drank from the secret bottle of vodka she carried around in her suitcase, there for times like these.

    She could feel the effects now, her vision slightly blurry, her stance not as steady as it should be. Amanda hoped no one noticed, but she also knew it could allow for a fine distraction should one be needed. She got bored of watching Wartortle spraying water several metres off target and glanced back in at tent; sea breeze struck her face, cool and tender, and Amanda greedily watched the night, hoping for some sign that her job had been done, but beyond their portable lights it was simply darkness.

    As if the universe had heard her, her phone buzzed loudly, shrill enough to catch everyone's attention. Amanda smiled awkwardly and turned away, slipping the device out and quickly searching for the message. She eagerly hoped it would be news that they were moving in now, asking that no one's attention turned away from the game. She came across the text, from a blocked number, and opened:

    We have caught a Pidgey and a Caterpie – B

    They did it… they've finally done it… Amanda thought, eyes bulging, a strange rush of emotions coursing through her body; surprise, excitement, horror, happy, sad, it was almost orgasmic. She put her phone away and turned back around, barely noticing as Kadabra hit Vulpix, sending her flying up a ramp. Her attention was solely on the distant darkness, where some team had already swooped in, grabbed the girls and left without a single soul noticing… without even her knowing…

    "YES!" Damian yelled exuberantly, the sound cutting through the night, and Amanda turned to see Wartortle and Vulpix flopped on top of each other, the competition finally finished. The crew muttered sounds of relief, and the production assistant dished out the next orders. Amanda forced a smile, pretending that the game had gone well as her mind drifting back to her vodka and how thirsty she suddenly was for it. She knew she should be happy, she knew she should be pleased, but Amanda could not ignore the strange, empty pit swelling inside her chest.

    They did it, they caught them… without me…


    As I forgot to in my last chapter, I would like to thank everyone who voted for the story, Alaska, Sandy and Paige in the recent Awards. I really appreciate the feedback and here's hoping it turns into a positive result!
     
    • Chapter Sixty: Waking Up to a Brand New Death
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Interlude 11

    Chapter Sixty: Waking Up to a Brand New Death

    Several months ago, if Alaska had woken up to find herself not in the tent she had fallen asleep in, but instead gagged and bound to a chair in an unfamiliar room, she would have been rather startled. However, after a journey that had involved at least three different exploding robotic Pokemon, jumping from the top floor of a museum, having her brain swapped with a Pidgeotto, suffering massive head trauma, meeting a ghost and getting tsunami-ed by an insane fishermen, Alaska simply looked across at Sandy, hands tied with wire, mouth taped shut, eyes wide and frightful, and thought Wow, I'm surprised this hasn't happened sooner.

    That was not to mean she was not frightened. Alaska was deeply unsettled by the fact she had fallen asleep in her tent on Route 13 and had managed to be kidnapped and transported without waking, and apparently without anyone noticing and stopping their kidnappers. She had no clue where she was, how had kidnapped them or what was going to happen, but she did knew she could not let her fear get the better of her. Whoever was behind this latest setback would simply win if Alaska's courage failed, and even though she was doubtful how this situation would go, she had to remain confident.

    With little else to do but wait for someone to arrive, Alaska let her eyes wander around the room; it was plain and boring, with colourless white walls decorated dully with diplomas and photos, a typical businessman's desk to her right, two leather couches either side of a tacky Persian skin rug on her left, and a sole pot plant resting in one corner, the only other sign of life so far. Floor to ceiling windows beside the couches let in glorious, early morning sunshine, a giving a sparkly view of multiple skyscrapers and towers; Alaska wondered if this meant they were in Saffron, though there was always the chance they were in Castelia or Goldenrod: there was no telling what day it was, how long they had been unconscious and far they had travelled.

    Alaska and Sandy had been placed opposite each other, like a distorted mirror that was able to tell Alaska several things about herself: Sandy was still wearing the clothes she had fallen asleep in, and she appeared visibly uninjured, so things had not been a struggle it seemed. Alaska was trusted she was the same and was mildly reassured, but she was shaken by Sandy's terrified expression. Only the previous night (or so she hoped), the two had sorted a lot of their issues out; Alaska had been shocked by Sandy's story of her life before travelling, but she had been pleased that her friend was confident enough to share that information with her, as well as voice the tensions that had been lying between them. It seemed made this situation almost ironic, Alaska thought, having told Sandy she wanted to protect her but only to simply sleep through a kidnapping. .

    I am not going to let her die. I don't care what happens to me, but Sandy is not dying for me! Alaska told herself determinedly, and she tried to smile at her friend, but the tape across her mouth prevented that and she had to resort to make her eyes look as kindly as possible. Sandy did not look very comforted, but before Alaska could think of a better way to calm her, a door behind them creaked open.

    "… and I won't be taking any calls for the next hour or two, I have a lot of paper work to catch up on!" A smug, loud, very male voice uttered. There was a mumbled reply from whoever he was talking to, and the voice laughed loudly. "Well, you tell Frank that next time he offers a round of drinks!" The receptionist or whatever laughed back, and the man continued to laugh even after he had closed and locked the door; however, all genuine humour quickly disappeared, and a shiver went down Alaska's spine as the maniacal laughter echoed within the tiny room as she realised she had heard it before.

    The man stepped into her line of vision, and Alaska was able to clearly see the person who had attacked the casino for the first time. He was not a tall man, but was mildly intimidating in other ways; buff and bronzed like a contestant in a Lt. Surge look alike competition, but with the gelled black hair and pinstriped three piece suit Alaska had only see in movie stars from the fifties. The man smiled at her, a malicious grin that bared his white teeth, and his blue eyes dazzled as they stared greedily down at her, a look like a hungry Liepard. Alaska had no idea who this man was or why he had brought them here, but he seemed more like the type of person who thought they were richer than they really were, not to lead gunmen on an attack underneath a casino. His appearance did make Alaska curious though; why exactly was this seemingly run of the mill businessman coming after her, and what role did he play in the wider scheme of things?

    "Well, well, well…" the man said once he had stopped laughing. He looked at Alaska and sighed dramatically. "After all this time Alaska; after all your attempts to stop my plans from succeeding, after all the suffering and chaos you have caused, we finally meet!" He boomed. "Though, at times, I feel like I do know you, Miss Acevedo. I have read your blog religiously and I have studied your words and mannerisms quite well, and I have heard detailed reports about what the things you have done; the Pewter Museum, Mt Moon, Lavender Town, the Power Plant… such an expansive CV for a girl so young!" He smirked at her, and Alaska would have kicked him, well aware of a perfect target right between his legs, had her legs not been tied to the chair.

    "Would you two ladies care for a drink?" The man asked, gesturing towards his desk and a pitcher of water. "Raise your hands if you want one… No? Nobody's thirsty? Oh well, more for me then," he said with a smile, and he poured himself a tall glass which he noisily and slowly gulped down before refilling. Alaska looked at Sandy and rolled her eyes as dramatically as possible, and her friend could not but unleash an involuntary snort. The black haired man turned towards them, fire suddenly burning in his eyes, and he let the glass fall back onto his desk, not noticing as it rolled over the side.

    "Something funny, ladies?" He asked quietly, his eyes rapidly darting between them both. Alaska crafted her face to appear steadfast and unmoved, and Sandy attempted the same determined air, but her confidence wavered as the man strutted towards her. "Would you care to share what it was that made you laugh?" He hissed quietly. "I really would like to know. Alaska always seems to say funny things; I was hoping she would say something clever while we were having this little meeting. She has done this one very hilarious thing of costing me over twenty MILLION dollars by ruining nearly every single one of my plans! Now tell me: WHAT MADE YOU LAUGH?" He roared, and he lashed out before Sandy could have answered, striking her across the cheek. He hit with enough force to make the chair tilt, and a huge red mark formed on the visible parts of her face. Alaska yelled into her tape, and she tried to stand only to collapse backwards, her legs unable to move. The man turned away from Sandy, his face red, but a smile was coming back onto his features now.

    "Ah... I seem to have found a soft spot," he purred. He reached out and grabbed Sandy's face, giving it a little squeeze that made her whimper. "It seems you have failed in this particular area, Alaska. The first rule of taking on an empire bigger than you could ever imagine is never create any relationships – it simply provides more targets for your enemies, and will only hurt more when we finally succeed." The man smiled viciously, the sun making his eyes glitter and his pearl like teeth shine, but he appeared more insane than attractive. Alaska put as much anger and contempt into her stare as she could muster, but it did not faze her enemy; he looked down at Sandy and made a sound of disgust, and let go of her lips with a shove before walking away. The blonde watched him go, her eyes burning behind the tears that streaked down her cheeks, and Alaska was furious; partly for what this monster was doing to her friend, but mostly because she could do nothing, forced to be an angry but helpless observer. Though it pained her to admit it, this man was right: Alaska could do nothing without her withering words or her Pokemon to fight her battles for her. He had stripped her of all her power, and there was nothing she could do.

    "Now, I am sure you are both wondering why I brought you here," the man said, spinning around and popping himself on his desk. A remote appeared in his hand, and Alaska wondered what it would do; torture them, open the window and send them flying out, call for a new jug of water? "I have wanted to meet you two for a while now, ever since you first interrupted things back in Viridian Forest. These plans have been in the works for quite a few years now – indeed, the general idea has been around longer than I have been involved in it, really; I have simply adopted the ideas of my former boss. Anyway, regardless of the history, this was supposed to be the time this grand plan came into effect. It was meant to run smoothly and be close to completion by now, but you two have ruined everything and have cost me a lot, both financially and very, very personally. If you have not yet worked it out, I tried to stop you last week at the casino, a plan I had hoped would serve as a relaunch of this master scheme, yet, once again, you went and ruined things! But, thankfully, I am now finally going to put an end to that!"

    The man eyed them both, his smile sadistic while his eyes were hateful, and pressed the remote's only button. Alaska and Sandy turned as the floor whirred, and the Persian rug had slid aside, revealing a rectangular pit in the floor. Most of its contents were hidden from their current position, but Alaska could clearly see a large screen that was rising up on a metal arm. The man walked between the girls and towards the pit, swiping a finger across the screen before reaching inside.

    "I have been following your every move ever since you first interrupted things in Vermilion," he told them, watching them while his ferreted about in the pit. "I have managed to capture nearly every single one of your more spectacular moments since then. Anything you'd like to watch again before you die? I have footage from Pewter Museum, I have security cameras from Vermilion and the Power Plant, I have you and Chloe fighting in the bar – I even have a traffic camera that caught the moment you sent Alexis' Meganium crashing through the back wall!" The man laughed as he got back to his feet, a dagger clutched firmly in his hands. Alaska eyed the blade cautiously; it was long, at least several inches, with a jagged blade that shone silver, though she was sure it would be stained red with her blood within minutes.

    "I know! How about I show you something you haven't seen!" The man announced as if the idea had only just come to him. He pressed several buttons on the screen, which was perfectly positioned so Alaska and Sandy could both clearly see it, and a fuzzy security image appeared. It did not seem to show anything of interest, only an empty room with a table in the centre, but when Alaska focussed, she was able to make out two familiar bags on the wooden surface.

    "Ah, worked it out, have you?" The man chuckled, watching her now terrified eyes. "Your possessions are locked away within the very depths of this building, and have currently gone undisturbed. However, when I make one little call, the entire room will be sprayed with oil and set alight, where it will burn for several minutes before we pour concrete on top of everything. You will watch and see if the flames destroy your PokeBalls, and then we will see them get forever entombed. I will give you several moments to let grief consume you, and then I will cut Sandy into tiny pieces before your eyes Alaska, which I will do so across a long period of time in order to let your pain and suffering build up and up before you cannot take it anymore. Then I will destroy you in ways you cannot possibly begin to imagine, and once I have done that in within, perhaps, a fortnight's time, I will give you the sweet release of death. Are we all fine with that?"

    Alaska's mind went blank. She felt sick, and wondered if she could make herself throw up, and die choking on her own vomit before he got to her first. It would be a vile way to go, but Alaska would prefer a disgusting death than being tortured and brutalized by this maniac (besides, it would be an almost rock star death, if you looked at the positives.) She looked at the fake businessman before her, a man that was prepared to kill them in his own workplace with a receptionist outside the door. What plans had she interrupted in order to make this man wish such a horrific death upon them? Surely defeating a few robots, as she now figured he was their creator or controller, was not worth dying in such a manner?

    "Good, it seem you both understand," the man boomed, and he pressed a button on the side of the screen. "Once I have connected with my people downstairs, things will begin straight away!" He flashed another smile (Alaska could not help but wonder how his face was not getting tired), and glanced eagerly between them as if wondering who would be more distressed. Alaska looked across at her friend and could see Sandy was trying to stay tough, but her eyes were swimming with tears as they stared upon the screen that would soon show the death of their Pokemon.

    Sandy and Butterfree have been together for so long, Alaska remembered. What sort of psychopath would make someone watch the death of their oldest friend in the world? It's just like if I had to watch Paige die… which I am about to see as well…shit…but she cannot die, not like this, not after all this time! Whoever this dickhead is, he is not going to win, we are not dying without fighting back first!

    "MHHRRMRRRHHMM!" Alaska yelled into the tape, screaming so loudly inside her head but barely making a sound through the adhesive. She leaned the chair forwards as much as possible and then fell backwards, the sound ringing out inside the room. The man paused in his plotting and turned towards her, eyebrows furrowing at the disturbance. Alaska ignored the glare and watched him with huge eyes, refusing to look away even though every inch of his boy made her sick with rage. The man watched as she screamed and banged for over two minutes, and then his face softened, laughter once again filling the room.

    "Ah, but of course, of course! The great Alaska Acevedo must have her last words before this begins," the man boomed, laughing joyfully. He strutted towards her, chest puffed out slightly, and loomed over her as he approached. Alaska caught a whiff of aftershave that nearly made her gag, but she kept on yelling, refusing to stop until she definitely got her way. "Very well then, Alaska," the man hissed through his smile, "I have always wanted to hear some of your famous insults, let's see what you come up with for me." He grabbed the corner of the tape, pinching her face as he did so, and slowly peeled it off. Alaska stopped yelling, her throat already getting sore, and stared up at her mysterious captor, trying not to grin now that she had a slim shot at victory.

    "Has anyone ever told you what pretty eyes you have?" She said, and flashed her own wide smile. The man laughed briefly, but his face was lacking any trace of humour, and Alaska soldiered on before he could speak. "So, just out of curiosity, what exactly is your grand plan? I mean, if we are going to die, I don't see why –"

    "Nice try, but I am not falling into that spy film trope," the man retorted quickly. "I am not going to tell you everything I have planned, convinced I have won, only for you to miraculous survive and use my own words to defeat me!"

    "Ah, so you think I am going to get away then?" Alaska asked, and the man's smile disappeared, taken aback by the question. He looked uneasy for a moment, his calmness and control disappearing, but he quickly tightened the grip on his dagger and pointed it towards her neck. "I will take that as a no then. How about your name then, can I at least know that?"

    "Why not, it's not my real name anyway – they call me Buzz," the businessman replied with a confident smirk, but Alaska could not help but snort at the letdown; she had been hoping for something more threatening, like Doctor Death, the Lord of Nightmares, hell, even Mittens would have been more of a surprise!

    "Like the sound Beedrill's make?" She giggled. "Look at that Sandy, we've come full circle!" Alaska leaned around her intimidator as she yelled, winking at her friend and beaming. Buzz did not fake laughter this time, but instead lashed out, smashing his right hand into the side of Alaska's head before grabbing her by the jaw, pulling her face towards his own. Alaska winced as she felt pain in her neck, and wondered if he was going to snap it. However, he simply stared at her with cold rage, an anger that seemed to be casting a shadow across the room.

    "You make think you are the greatest person that has ever left a shit hole like Viridian and set out on a journey, but you are WRONG!" Buzz snapped. "At the end of the day, when we dispose of what remains of your body, you will be remembered as just another little girl who had dreams of defeating Red and being Champion, only to fail miserably like the hundreds that came before you. If you had not stuck your nose in where it did not belong, this world would be a better place and you would have lived a slightly longer, safer life. I so desperately want you dead, but I want you to see the fates you have bestowed upon your Pokemon and your only human friend, and then you can die with a heavy conscience as you see the true consequences of your actions!"

    "MHHRMMRRRHHHM! MHHHRRRRM!" Sandy began to yell from behind him, but Alaska did not pay any attention, staring back into Buzz's malicious eyes, ignoring the muscular hand crushing and misshaping her face; if she was going down, she was not going to go down silently.

    "People will notice if I disappear. The cast of Indigo Dreams will wonder, my family will wonder, the gym leaders and all the elite and powerful of Kanto will wonder. You cannot kill us and get away with it; eventually, you will be found out and caught by people that are far more powerful than you could ever dream of being. I do not know what you are planning, but thanks to me, I am pretty sure you will never succeed." Genuine humour appeared on Buzz's face this time, a wide smirk unveiling his too white teeth.

    "I am sure you sleep well at night thinking such a childish thought, but trust me when I say there is nothing anyone in Kanto will be able to do to stop me, not when they don't know who I really am or what I am truly planning," he replied icily.

    "EHMMRRSKA! EHMMMRRSKA!"

    "Team Rocket thought they were pretty great, and look where they ended up – crushed twice by children exactly like me," Alaska hissed in reply. "They were just glorified loonies that tricked the idiots of Kanto into thinking they were powerful, and you are just a tanned wannabe loser who thinks he will be the next Giovanni."

    "EHHMMRSKAAA!"

    "When I am done, Giovanni will be a distant memory!" Buzz snapped, shaking with rage. "I will succeed where he failed, I will bring Team Rocket back from the ashes, I will lead the world into a new millennium with Rocket as the rightful dominant power, and within a year no one will ever think that a stupid little Viridian WHORE was ever a threat against the likes of me!"

    "So you're former Rocket, are you?" Alaska asked simply, and Buzz froze, the grip of her face instantly slacking.

    "EHHHMMMMMRRRSKAAAAA!"

    "WHAT IS IT?!" Buzz roared, turning around with his hands raised, but he quickly became still. Alaska wondered what was wrong, but it did not take long to realise that the room had gotten a lot darker since they had first arrived. The lights were still on, but a strange gloom now filled every inch of the office. Buzz looked nervously between Alaska and Sandy, struck dumb by the sudden change, but Alaska could see Sandy staring pointedly at the window. She looked curiously to her left, and Buzz caught her gaze and turned to face the glass, his mouth forming a perfect 'O' as he did so.

    Alaska had only ever seen Zapdos once before, but then it had been flying above Vermilion in the midst of a violent terrorist attack. Now there was only a few metres and a piece of glass separating her from the legendary, and she could see every part of the creature in detail; the Electric type was a brilliant shade of yellow with black feathers beneath its wings, staring around the room with large, judgemental eyes resting either side of its javelin like beak. The Pokemon was so large that it was able to block all sunlight from getting it, but now that it had become the centre of attention, Zapdos began to glow, a lemon-like light spreading from the centre of its body that lit up the room. Sparks began to fly, and Zapdos pushed itself backwards, a shrill cry loud enough to sound through the glass.

    "Wh… wh… what is this?" Buzz cried, stumbling backwards, the dagger falling to the floor. Alaska tore her eyes away from the magnificent bird, catching a stunned but joyful look in Sandy's eyes, and faced her captor.

    "Some people might call this a legendary encounter, others might call it impossible, but I think you and I would refer to this as a miraculous survival," she said with a sweet smile on her face. Buzz turned to her, fear fading from his face and being replaced with pure rage, and he let out a scream like a tribal warrior, launching himself forwards with murder in his eyes.

    It was at that point that the window shattered, and the entire room exploded within a burst of golden light.
     
    • Chapter Sixty One: Shock in the City
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 60

    Merry late Christmas to all my readers! Thanks for sticking with the fic this year, even though it has been rather slow on the update front, but hopefully things can move along soon! I hope you enjoy this Christmas treat.

    Chapter Sixty One: Shock in the City

    It was lunchtime on what was meant to be an ordinary day for the people of Saffron City. As many of those working in the heart of the city were business people, this was the time when the street was lined with men in smart suits and women in sensible heels, evacuating their respective office buildings and suddenly crowding the sidewalks as they rushed to the nearest, and usually cheapest, eatery within the vicinity of their workplace. It was a methodical and repetitive experience, a daily ritual that all office workers of Saffron went through: work till noon, eat and shop for an hour, return to the office, work till five, leave work, walk or drive home, arrive home, eat dinner, watch television, sleep and prepare for the next day. No one ever expected anything grand to happen when they went to work, and the highlight of their rushed lunch hour was usually a new soup of the day at the local café or bumping into a friend as you tried to make your way down dirty, litter strewn concrete catwalks. It was fair to say that the life of a Saffron City office worker was not an exciting one, one that the workers begrudgingly accepted, and they went on with their days simply hoping for it to be over.

    So the appearance of Zapdos was definitely an improvement.

    Workers stopped eating, they halted conversations and their heads turned to the skies as a massive shadow was cast across the street. Jaws dropped, eyes bulged, phones were whipped out to record this monumental occasion; a legendary Pokemon, one belonging to their Champion, had flown into their city and was hovering above them. The workers turned to each other, to colleagues and friends and strangers, they exchanged excitement, they debated why Zapdos was here and was hovering before Silph Co. They all knew this could be a moment to recount for years to come, something to tell their wives, husbands, children, families!

    Everything changed when Zapdos attacked. At first, people were further impressed by the sudden display of electricity as the flying Pokemon turned bright yellow and unleashed a fearsome bolt. It took a few moments before people realised that there was now a gaping hole in the side of the tallest building in Saffron, and that many of the windows were now cracked and broken.

    Within a minute of Zapdos' appearance, people had gone from bored to excited and now frightened; workers on the street abandoned conversations, they abandoned food and shopping bags, they simply fled as glass rained down upon them all. Screams turned from thrilled to frightened, and even people sitting comfortably inside became scared as they watched metre high shards of glass bombard the street. Food carts were obliterated, trees and rubbish bins annihilated cars and buses torn apart. Most manage to escape, but some were not as luck, yelling as shards cut their faces and necks, larger pieces getting them in the arms and legs. Victims collapsed to the street and people rushed to their rescue, but at the same time trying to protect themselves as glass rained down on them all. Those that remained indoors wearily watched Zapdos, who was now shrouded in smoke, and wondered why it had attacked, what was going on inside Silph right now, and many wished that their day had just remained boring.

    ***

    Alaska woke up against the back wall of Buzz's office, unaware of the chaos below her, more concerned of the nightmare she was still trapped within in.

    Zapdos had blown apart the office. The force of the electricity had shattered the window, firing glass into the enclosed space and tearing it apart; the couches were torn to shreds, there were deep groves in the wall, and Buzz's desk was shattered and marked with shards. The explosion from the Thunder had set the pot plant on fire, whilst cracking the wall and separating the metal Persian rug from the pit it protected. All the photos and degrees had fallen from the wall, and smoke floated around the room, a grey veil that Alaska struggled to see through.

    At least I'm not dead, she thought wearily, and quickly checked her body to make sure flying glass had not impaled her. It took her several moments to realise that her hands were free, and Alaska looked excitedly around, finding that the chair had broken apart. It seemed the Thunder had thrown her across the room and into the wall, with the force of the collision breaking her chair apart. Her back and legs felt bruised and her head throbbed, but Alaska was simply relieved she had not yet been shot, and hell, she had had a headache since the moment she left Viridian – this was hardly going to slow her down.

    "Sandy, Sandy where are you?" She hissed into the smog. There was no sign of either her friend or Buzz, and Alaska simply hoped that Buzz had been knocked out and she would get a chance to find Sandy before their captor awoke. A growling noise echoed throughout the room, and in the distance, Alaska could hear a whining siren, either coming from the streets below or on the other side of the wall. The door was to her left, and Alaska was tempted to make for it and get some help, but after all her experiences these past few weeks, she doubted Buzz would have begun torturing them without having someone outside to stop him getting interrupted.

    Hell, there is probably a robot guard dog, Alaska thought bitterly. She freed herself from the remnants of the shattered chair, flexing and massaging her hands and legs for a few moments, but it was clear that she had not found freedom just yet. There was no still no sign of either friend or foe, and not willing to abandon Sandy to risk finding help, Alaska abandoned any idea of leaving the office right now and instead set out to arm herself and find her friend.

    Alaska went to stand, but she knew that would expose to Buzz should he be conscious; instead, she sunk down to hands and knees, and, mindful of the shattered glass across the floor, crawled around the desk and into the open part of the office.

    Now that Alaska concentrated, she was certain the alarm was coming from within the building, whining in the background of her latest nightmare. She tried to ignore it as she crunched over broken glass, doing her best not to cut herself, but the siren was on her mind now and Alaska found herself wondering what was going on in the rest of the building; where people fleeing from the rampaging Legendary, or was it a an alarm alerting Buzz's henchmen to the attack and sending them to their battle stations? It did strike Alaska as strange that no one else had come into the office; where was Buzz's back up? She thought surely someone else would be aware of his plan to torture and murder two girls in this office space, but not even his receptionist he come to check on him.

    It was confusing, but Alaska forced herself to focus on the task at hand. The smoke was getting thicker as the fires continued to burn, Alaska noticing for the first time that the couches were both burning as well; orange and yellow light flickered in the heart of the room, flames growing as more of the leather was consumed. Alaska didn't find the extra threat helpful, but the light did highlight the pit in between the two, loaded with things she had been unable to spot before. She glanced around, making sure Buzz was not stirring, and she crawled rapidly forwards, barely registering as slammed her hand down a shard, slicing her palm open.

    Alaska made it to the pit, but before she looked inside something else caught her attention; the 'whoosh' sound of flapping wings, a similar noise to what Paige sometimes made but much grander, sounded nearby, along with a deep, crackling groan that came from the back of someone's throat. Zapdos, Alaska thought, and she stared fearfully through the smog, seeing only the briefest hint of yellow; what if the bird was to attack again, would she survive a second blast of Thunder?

    Just what I need; to be killed by something that is meant to protect me, Alaska mentally groaned, and she hurried along with her investigation of the pit. The screen had been blasted off its arm and now lay sparking alongside, its image now blank. Alaska had hoped to find out the fate of her Pokemon, but instead she fought back her fear and peered through what had survived; it was mostly uninteresting, a stack of discs in one corner, an array of multi coloured key cards in the other, but several hand guns and what looked like grenades made things more dangerous. She saw a metal sign to one side, half of which was melted and burnt black, and grabbed it to examine; only the letters AND were unmarked, but as Buzz had kept it, Alaska decided to pocket it, figuring it might be worth deciphering later. Satisfied, she glanced around but the only other thing of note was several rolled up blueprints placed to one side.

    So, you didn't want to tell me your grand plan in case I survived? Alaska thought with a smirk, grabbing the top most one. Well, maybe you shouldn't leave evidence lying around then! She smiled to herself, despite the fact she was between two burning couches and had the pleasant stench of smoke creeping into her nostrils, and she unfurled the blueprint across the pit. The flickering light and grey smoke cast annoying shadows across the paper, so all Alaska could make out was the layout of a large, oval shaped floor building, which was crawling with official labels and scrawled, handwritten footnotes.

    Is this a stadium? She thought, trying to furl down all sides and searching for a name, but it appeared to have been crossed out with black ink. This definitely looks like a stadium… could it be… not Champion's Stadium? Are they… are they going after Red?

    "HOUNDOOM, WEEZING, CROBAT, GO!" Someone roared behind her, and Alaska jumped and turned; Buzz stood on the other side of the couch to her right, briefly being illuminated by three red flashes. The businessman looked demented, his face blackened by ash but his eyes shining white against the dark backdrop. His fine suit was in tatters on his muscular frame, and Alaska could see a piece of glass embedded in his left arm, but Buzz did not seem to care as he began to walk around the couch. Stunned, Alaska looked at the blueprints in her hands and, without thinking, tore the paper in two and threw it onto the couch. She then dived into the pit and managed to get one hand on a gun and the other on the remaining blueprints, but before she could turn around she was grabbed by the back of her neck, and Alaska gasped for breath as thick, hairy fingers began to squeeze her throat.

    "YOU BITCH!" Buzz screamed as he heaved her upwards. "YOU HAVE RUINED EVERYTHING!" Alaska could see dots in her vision now, but she still tried to bring the gun around, her finger poised on the trigger. Buzz seemed to notice and grabbed onto it, and while Alaska held tight he was too strong and easily pulled it free. However, she was not going down without a fight, or at least without harming his cause further; Alaska threw the remaining blue prints onto the burning sofa, not knowing what was on them and now never being able too, but it was worth being ignorant to stop the madman

    "NOOO!" Buzz roared, and he threw her forwards; Alaska gasped for breathe before landing on the other side of the pit, rolling over glass that attacked her skin before stopping just short of the edge. She was beginning to feel sick, her lungs desperate for air but the oxygen around her was being stifled by the ever thickening smoke. Wheezing, she could see Buzz trying to save his blueprints, but Alaska knew his attempts were fruitless and managed a smile.

    "DOOOOM!" An angry roar sounded next to her, and Alaska suddenly scrambled backwards, turning to find a large Houndoom next to her. She had never seen one up close before, but the Pokemon had a reputation for being fearsome and violent; briefly, Alaska remembered how a girl at her school had been badly bitten by one and required extensive surgery. It was the most random memory to have in a situation like this, but it was all Alaska knew of Houndoom, and she slid across the floor to away from it.

    However, Houndoom was not attacking her, and Alaska's attention turned to see what t was firing flame at; she looked around just as Zapdos soared past, screaming at the top of its voice, sparks flying from its body like yellow streamers. It was an angry but majestic beast, and Alaska would be forever grateful to the Pokemon for saving her, well aware its appearance was no coincidence. In hot pursuit of her saviour was a Weezing and a Crobat, two poisonous Pokemon spewing attacks left right and center; Zapdos fought back with powerful bursts of electricity, firing bolts across the skyline and shattering windows with each blast. Alaska could feel the heat of the attacks from here, could sense the electricity that filled the air; she wanted to sit and watch the fight all day, knowing it would be a truly epic battle to witness, and for a brief moment she forgot where she was, her mind drifting off as she remembered why she had left home, to see clashes like this…

    "WHORE!" Buzz yelled, pulling Alaska back into reality, and she turned just as his meaty hands slammed into her, winding her with a single strike before heaving her by the shoulders and throwing her against the wall. He stared directly into her eyes, his face more enraged and deranged up close; Buzz held her tight, pressing his large body against and keeping her pinned against the wall. "I SPENT YEARS COLLECTING THOSE BLUEPRINTS, I HAD TO PAY PEOPLE, I HAD TO KILL PEOPLE, I HAD TO DO THINGS YOU WOULDN'T EVEN DREAM OF! AND IT TAKES YOU A MINUTE TO RUIN THEM JUST LIKE YOU HAVE RUINED EVERYTHING ELSE!"

    "In my defence," Alaska wheezed, struggling to breathe as Buzz's massive body slowly squeezed the air out of her, "I wouldn't have been able to set them on fire if it wasn't for Zapdos, so really you should blame –"

    "SHUT UP!" Buzz screamed, and he slapped her hard across the face before banging her head against the wall. Alaska could only see stars now, her head spinning and stinging and ringing. She tried to draw breathe but only got smoke, and coughed as Buzz continued to crush her. "I no longer have the pleasure of time or secrecy on my hands to properly ruin you, but there is still one particular way in which I can destroy you, one that will stay between you and me. And when I am finished, I will throw your useless body from my office as a message for Red so he knows what happens when people try to stop me! But…, of course, you really shouldn't blame me; I wouldn't be able to do so if Zapdos hadn't shattered the window." Buzz began to laugh manically, sadistically, evilly, right into her ear. Alaska was choking on smoke and her head felt cleaved in two, and her delirium was not helped by the blood pouring out of her body. She tried to break free, but she felt weak, unresponsive, phasing in and out of conscious; one second she could feel Buzz squeezing her shoulders, the next sounds of Zapdos screeching and sparking became crackling background noise.

    "Relax Alaska, there is no point fighting anymore," Buzz hissed, and his massive hands moved away from her shoulders and slid down her sides; Alaska shivered in repulsion, but found there was nothing else she could do…

    "Oh no you don't!" someone suddenly shouted. Alaska half opened her eyes, and for a moment she could see Sandy's shining blonde hair in the distance; but then Buzz was roaring in her ear, and Alaska cried out as she fell to the side, landing in a heap on carpet. Her head was spinning, but she saw Buzz collapse to his knees, his face red as he grappled at something that appeared to be jammed in a leg, but when he rolled onto his side Alaska could see it was really stuck in between.

    "Come on Alaska, we need to go, now!" Sandy exclaimed, but Alaska did not have the energy to move or respond. She felt herself raise though, a softer arm around her middle, and soon Alaska was being half dragged towards the door, trying to make sense of what was going on as smoke turned the room grey.

    "Did you… did you stab him in the balls?" Alaska asked.

    "Well, I woke up and saw Buzz harassing you and I wanted to help but the only thing near me was the broken pieces of my chair. So I just figured a pointy bit of wood in the testicles was the least he deserved," Sandy replied, and she looked at Alaska and smiled. "It did seem like a good idea at the time." Alaska managed a laugh, but she still felt dizzy and barely registered as Sandy helped her through the office door and towards a cluttered desk. She was deposited onto a cushioned office chair, and Alaska sat there clueless for a what felt like minutes until Sandy forced it a polystyrene cup into her hands

    "Drink up; I am going to need you focussed!" She said, and Alaska greedily downed the water in one long gulp. It was a few minutes before she could do anything else, but now that she sitting down and breathing clean air, Alaska could settle and refocus, letting her battered body rest for a moment, and began to think logically about the situation at hand.

    "We have no idea who or what else is out there, so we are going to need weapons. Back in that pit Buzz had –" she began, but paused, stunned to see Sandy had a handgun tucking out of her pocket.

    "Grabbed some after I stabbed him," Sandy said, smiling as she caught Alaska's eye. "I got a few grenades as well; they might just come in handy! Now, we need to get you back to reality and find out where the hell we are!" Alaska smiled into her empty cup, pleased to see that, despite their current situation, Sandy was still riding high on their earlier conversation. She suddenly realised that the siren had gotten louder, and she looked up to find a speaker in the ceiling right above her. Alaska went to comment on how irritating it was, but with a sudden jolt something else dawned on her.

    "Where is his back up?" Alaska asked cautiously, recalling her theories about the alarm. "He must have had someone looking out for him, don't tell me they scampered the second that began to sound!"

    "I have no idea, I can't see anyone around," Sandy said. "But to be honest, this doesn't seem like the lair for a criminal organisation. It just looks like… an office," she finished meekly. Puzzled, Alaska spun around in her chair, her head throbbing less now, and she was able to digest the scene before her; the floor was mostly open planned, cubicles spread out in the middle with printers, photocopiers, decorative pot plants and art work and water coolers scattered about. There were several closed off offices, but the doors were open and there were no sounds or signs of anyone else being there. Upturned chairs and dropped papers made it seem as though everyone had scampered the second they heard the alarms, and not a single person had stayed behind to check on Buzz. However, as far as Alaska could see, she had to agree wit Sandy; it did simply look like a random office. No machine guns lining the cupboards, no henchmen preparing to kill them, not even a pentagram painted in blood. It was simply an office.

    "Maybe he was acting alone after all," Sandy whispered, staring towards Buzz's office as smoke began to seep through the open doorway, "but why bring us here of all places? We seriously need to get out of here and find some help!" She said determinedly. Alaska nodded, and she carefully rose to her feet, placing her hands on the desk to steady herself. She began to turn to Sandy when something suddenly caught her eye; pausing, Alaska grabbed an envelope lying by the keyboard, staring at the two words she had recognised, and her jaw dropped as she read what else was there.

    "Come on Alaska, we need to move before anyone else shows up!" Sandy wailed as smoke began to fill the floor. "Buzz won't stay down forever, and we don't have any idea where we are, so –"

    "We're in Saffron City," Alaska hissed, turning and passing the envelope across. "Level 87 of the Silph Company Building, to be precise – the television production department." Sandy was confused, and she stared at the envelope and the letter inside, her face quickly filling with shock while Alaska stood silently, struggling to stifle her own surprise.

    "Buzz Bolton, executive producer for… Indigo Dreams?!" She whispered, and Alaska gave a curt nod. For a moment the two simply stared at each other, alone in the massive, empty floor, the siren screaming all around, neither sure quite what to do now.

    ***

    Buzz crawled across to the pit. He was weak, he was in pain, but he was burning with rage and nothing would stop him now. He could feel warm, wet blood around his thighs, and Buzz recoiled at the thought of the injury Sandy had imparted on him – but then, it only made him want to kill them more.

    Ignoring his Pokemon as they continued to rage against Zapdos, Buzz reached his pit, nestled between the two burning couches, and he pressed a button near the sparking remains of the hydraulic arm. There was a whirr and a groan, and the rectangular box slid aside, revealing a narrow passageway under the floor.

    He had known it would be a risk to bring Alaska here; his workplace, the disguise that he had built up for the past five years, one that was so good and he played so convincingly that sometimes Buzz thought television was the place for him. There had been other options; disused warehouses, abandoned houses, dark forests, islands in the middle of the ocean, dozens of perfect locations for committing murder. However, the one thing those places didn't have was technology, and Buzz knew that was where he could win.

    The Silph Company Building was the most state of the art, advanced tower in Saffron, most likely Kanto and potentially the world. After an attack by Team Rocket, one which Buzz had been apart of, Mr Silph had rebuilt his families legacy with security in mind. Part of that had been the ability to shut down every floor, elevator and stair well with the push of one button, and secret passageways and rooms had been built so people could hide should they require it.

    Buzz knew every inch of these passageways, and knew of some that very few other people did. He had been building a criminal empire inside these glass infused walls for five years now, and that was the one true advantage he had over Alaska Acevedo. If they had been out in the open, Alaska had the opportunity of running away, something she was quite capable of. But here, there was no place to run and there was nowhere to hide.

    "The bitch is loose on my floor," Buzz growled into his a radio he clasped firmly in his hands, trying his best to disguise the high pitched tone he had now had. "She is unarmed and she is injured; find her, find her and kill her, and bring me back her corpse: I want to see the great Alaska Acevedo silenced forever." Buzz threw the radio aside and silently slid through the escape chute, trying to forget his pain and thinking instead of the great pleasure he would feel when he finally saw Alaska's cold, lifeless, unmoving body. Smiling, Buzz disappeared into the darkness, leaving his office to burn.



    So there we go; ending the year with a threat for the new year, and Alaska and Sandy finally learn some more information. You will have to tune in next year to see what the revelations about the reality show and the robots will do to their cause, and hopefully I will have the Saffron Arc done by February. Until then, Happy New Year!
     
    • Chapter Sixty Two: Science Behind the Madness
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 61

    @AetherX: Thanks for the feedback, it is appreciated :) Things will get more interesting from here on in as we are building up more and more towards the final, so expect to see the repurcussions of that chapter affecting all the characters


    I will say now that there is perhaps a tad more swearing and violence then normal, so be warned.



    Chapter Sixty Two: Science behind the Madness

    "Do you want to know how I know this place is rich?"

    "How?"

    "This stairwell is fancier than my entire fucking house," Alaska replied with acid. She stared with contempt at the smooth, unmarked white walls that enclosed her and Sandy, the shining metal railings that had been polished so they sparkled as brightly as silver, the stairs that had been painted different colours to signal the many different departments.

    "This stairwell has more colours than all of Viridian!" She added with an indignant snort. "Who exactly is Mr Silph showing off to? 'Ooooh, look at me, I can afford to paint my staircase five different colours, and I piss gold and shit bronze in my flying emerald outhouse!"

    "I'm sure if you had the money for that dream house of yours, you would probably use more than one colour of paint for your stairs," Sandy replied with a smirk. She paused as she reached another landing, a heavy grey door barring them from moving onto the next floor. Sandy fiddled with the door handle, but it refused to budge. "Another one locked."

    "If I had some money, I would not waste it on paint," Alaska continued as they moved down the next flight. "I would just buy a ton of jewels and craft my entire house out of rubies and sapphires, and maybe a few emeralds as well."

    "That would be subtle of you," Sandy laughed. "What would be next, diamond encrusted door handles? A pearl infused bathtub?"

    "Something like that," Alaska replied with a wink, and the two laughed as they strolled down the next flight, their laughs echoing inside the empty stairwell. The two had quickly decided that they could not risk staying in the Television Department, not with their Pokemon stolen and a killer on their tail. Once they found the lifts inoperative though, they had resided to climbing down from the eighty-seventh floor and finding somewhere else to recuperate or someone to help them. So far, they had climbed down about ten flights, but they had still not yet found an open door, and were both beginning to wonder if they would have to climb down the remaining seventy-seven flights to reach the bottom.

    "This one's locked as well," Sandy sighed as they passed another one. "If we end up getting trapped in here, I am going to blame you! You insisted we come down here!"

    "Would you have preferred we stayed in Buzz's office, either choking to death or having our throats torn out by Houndoom?" Alaska snapped icily, and with those words their humour disappeared, both their faces sinking. It had been nice to joke for a few minutes, but Alaska knew there was no point pretending anymore; they were trapped and alone in one of the most prominent buildings in Kanto, their Pokemon and possessions stolen and in danger, and all the while one of the biggest shocks they had received so far was hanging over them, a dark cloud that they were struggling to process.

    "Sorry, I shouldn't have snapped," Alaska sighed. "It's just learning about Buzz and the reality show, it's quite a shock, you know?"

    "Do you… do you think they knew?" Sandy whispered her voice suddenly soft and sad. "Lachy and Damian, do you think they know who their producer really is? I know we aren't really friends with them or anything, but after all the times we've met them… after yesterday… I couldn't bare to think they have been plotting against us this whole time!"

    "What?! No, of course not! They can't have," Alaska replied, trying to sound sincere, but she was not sure what to believe anymore. The revelation that the man who had just tried to kill them was also responsible for Indigo Dreams was strange, confusing and ultimately unsettling, and Alaska's mind was reeling as she tried to process all this information. Everything Buzz had said about them interrupting his plans made more sense now, but Alaska was not sure what role Indigo Dreams had to play in the bald man's grand plan; somehow, the robots, Buzz and the reality show were all interwoven and building up to something big, potentially happening at Champion's Stadium. Alaska knew they would have to warn someone about this, such as Daisy or the Athlews, but in to do that she needed to get out of this building and find her Pokemon before Buzz caught up with them once more.

    "Damnit, another one locked!" Sandy hissed, cutting through Alaska's thoughts, and she turned to find her friend banging against yet another unmoving door. "What's the bet we make it all the way to the bottom and none of these damn doors are going to be open!" Sandy snapped, and she angrily kicked out; the lightweight however simply bounced off the solid surface, nearly falling down the stairs before Alaska grabbed hold of her.

    "Come on now, keep it together!" Alaska scolded, though she tried to keep a smile on. "You are always the calm one that's supposed to stop me from injuring myself! What's wrong with you today?" Sandy sighed as she steadied herself, and she looked at Alaska with wide, mournful eyes that were red around the edges.

    "This is all just so infuriating!" She groaned. "After last night, I thought we had finally managed to get a grasp of this stupid situation; we were both in a good place, and I was hoping we could spend a few more days staying away from everything. But it's less than twenty four hours later and everything has changed already and I can't wrap my head around it! How are we supposed to have any control over this situation when we have no idea who to trust or who we are even fighting?" Alaska knew if the situation had been reversed, Sandy would be offering her something comforting right about now, but Alaska could not think of anything when she felt exactly the same way.

    "We will find out what everything means eventually," she said, "if we survive, that is. Meeting Buzz could actually fill in some pieces of the puzzles; Gideon can't have built the robots if one of them nearly killed him, and Trevor and all those elites have always implied there was something else going on here. This is all one big puzzle, and every psychopath and every murder and every ghost and every stuck up rich women with cobwebs in her pants is just another piece we have to slot in."

    "That is perhaps one of the most disturbing mental imagines you have ever given me," Sandy said wearily. "I'd almost laugh if I didn't think the last thing we'll ever see is a multi coloured staircase." She looked down at the painted concrete beneath her feet and furrowed her brow. "Your right, Mr Silph is a douche – what sort of pretentious dickhead paints their fucking staircase?"

    "Why Miss Samson, I do believe you just said a swear!" Alaska gasped, and she melodramatically faked fainting. Sandy finally cracked a smile, and the two friends began to laugh once more. They could have kept it up for minutes, however, a sudden crash sounded nearby, and the two seized up, looking frantically around for the source.

    "Down there!" Sandy hissed, and she pointed at a door two flights down, a crack of yellow light seeping through an open gap. The two girls exchanged looks before sprinting down the stairs, pulling out their stolen guns as they did so. Their footsteps echoed inside the deep stairwell, and Alaska felt dizzy as they took three steps at a time and raced around corners, but neither of them was going to lose this opportunity. Muffled voices came from behind the door as they got closer, but by the time Alaska and Sandy they reached it there was not a single sound coming from behind.

    "Maybe they heard us," Sandy whispered, her voice barely audible. "They could be arming themselves!" She added frightfully

    "Maybe they are, but we for once, we're armed too," Alaska replied, smiling confidently at her friend, and she kicked the door open and stepped inside.

    This floor seemed like it belonged to a completely different building to the offices below; rows and rows of benches filled the area, laden with everything from computers and stacks of folders to test tubes, microscopes and strange machinery varying in heavy machinery at the end of each row. Everything was bright and white, giving off an sterilized feeling, and the fluorescent lights shone off every surface. The lifts and doors were the same as above, but there were no rows of offices like the production floor, and there were no windows, simply more walls trapping them in. It seemed deserted, and Alaska stared tensely around, wondering if the voices had been imagined. However, something glinting caught her eye, and Alaska looked down at the tiled floor and saw a large piece of glass a metre from her feet, looking out of place amongst the order.

    "There are still people here," she whispered, and she held her gun tighter, quickly gazing around the rest of the floor; there was a boardroom near the stairwell, but Sandy was already looking inside, so Alaska briskly marched down the rows, looking for anything shifty. There were definitely odd things here, with beakers holding strange liquids, pieces of what appeared to be flesh pinned to rectangles of glass and several jars that smelt like death, but as far as Alaska could see there was no one around.

    "I can't see anyone," she called out. "I think we are in some sort of research lab, there is all this creepy and nerdy crap around, and this place just seems synthetic."

    "No one's in the boardroom either," Sandy yelled back. "I can't see where else they would be though, unless they escaped into the lifts before we got here."

    "The lifts aren't working, remember – I'm pretty sure the entire building has gone into lock down," Alaska replied. She sighed and turned around, trying to find somewhere that people could be.

    Suddenly, two figures leapt out from nowhere, white coats flickering as they landed centimetres in front of her. Alaska quickly raised her gun, but before she could fire, a screaming Sandy unleashed a hail of bullets upon them; there were several loud gunshots that mixed in with her hysterical cries, but after a few seconds the gun simply clicked uselessly, though it took a few more moments for Sandy to realise and halt what she was doing.

    "Are you quite done?" Alaska hissed, and Sandy nodded fearfully, tossing her now useless weapon aside, her bullets having hit no one. Eyes rolling, Alaska turned back to face the two figures, and saw they both had thin metal rods in their hands, presumably meant to be weapons, but Sandy's gunfire had stopped them in their tracks. Alaska smirked and raised her gun, but she was startled when the figure to her left looked towards her, and distant recognition signalled in her head.

    "Alaska Acevedo!" The man gasped. He was lean and lanky with a thin face and pointed rat like features and Alaska was finally able to click who he was.

    "Mr Melton!" She said in equal shock, lowering her gun as he lowered the rod, and she felt a strange mixture of surprise and relief. "Sandy, this is Mitchell's dad Alistair. I forgot you worked at Silph Co.!"

    "Well, I had heard you had left on your journey, but I never expected us to cross paths in such a manner!" Alistair Melton said, his face practically glowing now with relief. "What on earth are you doing here though, and why have you not evacuated the building?"

    "Why haven't you?"

    "We were right in the middle of an experiment when the sirens went off and we had to stay behind to finish," Mr Melton explained. "We had just finished when Samuel heard laughter in the stairwell and thought we were under attack!" Samuel, who was much younger with messy black hair and a round, freckly face, blushed at this, but Alaska did not give him a second glance.

    "That was just us thankfully," she replied, though her mind was suddenly spinning; she was aware she would have to lie about why they were here, otherwise, trusting they got out alive, Mr Melton would tell her parents all about how she had been kidnapped and nearly tortured, and that was the last thing Alaska wanted. "We were just seeing someone we know from Indigo Dreams in the production offices, and then Zapdos suddenly attacked and Sandy and I were knocked out. When we came to, the entire floor was empty, the lifts weren't working and we had no choice but to head down the stairwell. This is the first open floor we've come across."

    "I'm not surprised; the old building was attacked and destroyed several years ago, and with all these attacks in Sevii and Vermilion recently I suspect everyone thought things were happening again and couldn't wait to get out," Mr Melton explained grimly. "The entire building shuts down after a few minutes and all doors get locked from the stairwell. The Scientific Research and Development doors lock from the inside too, so we would have been trapped in here if we hadn't propped the door open." Alaska looked back, wondering if they had shut it on their way in, but thankfully there was still a thin gap allowing them to escape.

    "How we are going to get out of here then?" Sandy piped up as she joined the quartet. "If the entire building is shut down, how will we get through the entrance?"

    "The building will only remained locked as long as Zapdos, if what you said is true, is a threat; once they remove it things will be fine," Mr Melton explained calmly. "Doesn't our Champion possess him? I'm not sure; I don't follow gossip that much, or Pokemon news really! I only ever care about Pokemon when we're studying them," he added, gesturing with his head the way he had come. Alaska and Sandy both turned and for the first time saw a corridor leading to the other side of the floor, though it was unsurprising they had not yet seen it; there was only a thin gap of the tiled floor that was not filled by massive white boxes the exact colour of the walls.

    "Do you want to take a look?" Alistair asked, seeing the curiosity on their faces, and he led the way between the boxes. It felt claustrophobic, stepping away from the harsh whiteness and into the enclosed corridor, but what was more startling for Alaska was the fact they were not boxes but cages; about a dozen different species, including several Rattata, a Beedrill and a muscular Poliwhirl, were housed within the five metal walls, with a sheet of glass separating them from the outside world.

    "Can they breathe?" Alaska asked, staring incredulously at the confined Pokemon.

    "Yes, and before you ask, they are perfectly happy in there," Alistair said, with the tone of someone who was judged on this matter frequently. "They have been loaned to us by their trainers, and they get returned after we are done with them. The cages have panels that are similar to those inside a PokeBall, recreating the Pokemon's natural habitat, so they do not feel out of place."

    "What exactly are you using them for?" Sandy asked.

    "Various things; these Zubats, for example, we are testing a special type of repel that only works on them," Mr Melton explained, pointing to a smaller box in which a trio of Zubats were flapping about. "And we were recently donated an Eevee by the Athlew family to look into its evolutionary make-up." Sandy's jaw dropped, her eyes bulged, and she looked excitedly at Alaska before rushing over and pressing her face against the cage, making sickening cooing sounds. Mr Melton seemed taken aback, and it took Alaska a few moments in her frazzled mind to make sense of it.

    "Oh yeah – we stayed at their house for a while, and Sandy bonded with the Eevee cubs," she explained.

    "Well, in that case then, why don't you say hello properly!" Mr Melton cried, and he pressed a button on the cage; the glass slid open, and Sandy squealed as the small furry Eevee leapt into her arms. Alaska smiled broadly, pleased to see Sandy happy after their troubling revelations. She wanted to relax too, but Alaska couldn't when she had no idea what was going on around them; the windowless walls gave no view of Zapdos outside, she didn't know if Buzz was coming after them (though she smirked to herself at the fact he wouldn't exactly be coming at anything for a while…) or if he had sent henchmen, Houndoom or even robots to hunt them down, and the thought of remaining in the one open floor in the whole building was not reassuring..

    "Is there anyway of contacting the ground floor and explaining our situation?" She asked, briefly noticing Samuel's eyes bulge as if in horror but ignored him.

    "We have working phones, but if there is a crisis I doubt they will be manned," Alistair replied, walking back over while Sandy played with Eevee. "Trust me Alaska, things will be sorted soon enough! We have some free time to ourselves, you should be relaxing, not fretting – it's not like anyone's coming to kill you!"

    "You don't follow my blog, do you?" Alaska replied with a smirk

    "I am not much of a blogger," her old neighbour replied with a chuckle. "We have some time spare until you and Sandy can go, so why don't you tell me a bit about your adventures? You left around the same time as Mitchell, have you seen him at all?"

    "We've crossed paths a few times," Alaska said with a careless shrug, "but we don't really stay with him for that long, something always happens that forces us apart again. I am sure he would have told you about all those," she added. However, she received no response, and Alaska looked across to see Mr Melton's face had sunk.

    "Actually, no… no, I haven't heard much from him… it has been a few months now since we last spoke, if I am too be honest…," Alistair replied, his voice going high and slightly squeaky. Eevee gave a delighted squeal from behind, and the scientist turned to face them. "Umm, actually, on second thoughts Alaska, we will discuss that later," he said, and quickly walked into the corridor and began rapidly explaining the experiments to Sandy. Alaska was taken aback by her neighbour's rash change of topic, and she stared at his back in wonderment; was there something going on with Mitchell or his family she was unaware of? She looked away, not sure quite what to make of that situation, and found that she alone in the lab with Samuel; the assistant was yet to say anything, but he was looking at Alaska was a strange mixture of embarrassment and seriousness. Alaska was unnerved by the bizarre watchful look, and stared absently around for a conversation to distract them.

    "What are the rest used for?" She asked drolly, raising her eyebrows at Samuel. For a moment, he remained as red faced as a school boy, but then his awkward frown stretched into a wide smirk. Cautious, Alaska took a step backwards, a sudden but familiar feeling that something was about to go wrong seeping through her body.

    "We were asked to work with them; to study them, to watch how they move, how they act, how they react to friends and foes," he replied, his voice slow and cold. A bang sounded distantly in the background, and Alaska fearfully looked around but saw nothing. Samuel took a step closer, and Alaska tensed, staring defiantly back at him even though she now felt sick, aware of what this was. "And do you want to know what we use that information for?" He asked quietly.

    "No, why don't you enlighten me?" Alaska asked forcibly, looking at the others for help, but Mr Melton and Sandy were distracted by the excitable Eevee. Samuel suddenly lunged and grabbed onto Alaska's right arm with sweaty palms, and he leaned up right next to her ear, his foul breathe warm against her skin, making her spine shudder.

    "We build robots," he hissed. Alaska's froze, a million emotions rushing through her head, and her eyes turned to the cages; there was a Beedrill sleeping at the bottom, a Golem housed in the largest one near the back, two Electrodes were sparking only a few metres away. Samuel began to laugh, and Sandy and Alistair turned curiously as shouts echoed from somewhere nearby. Alaska could not process the fact she had walked right into a trap, but anger quickly replaced her shock, and she turned bitterly to face the freckled foe before her, her heart beating cold rage throughout her body.

    "Oh fuck you," she hissed and brought her gun around; Samuel stopped laughing as the handle hit him in the nose, blood spurting out both nostrils as he stumbled towards a desk. He hit the floor with a thud and Alaska felt brief satisfaction, but there was no time for joy. "SANDY, WE NEED TO GO!"

    "What is going on, why did you just attack my assistant?!" Alistair gasped, watching Alaska in horror, but Sandy pushed past, the Eevee cradled in her arms and fear spread over her face. Alaska ignored the question and she began frantically considering their options, but it quickly became clear they had none; scarce weapons, no Pokemon, and there was nowhere to run in a completely sealed building. This was the most trapped Alaska had ever been, and she tensed up as Sandy looked pleadingly at her, unable to think of a way to escape her enemies when they had control over her surroundings.

    There was the sound of a door slamming, and Sandy and Alistair both gasped. Slowly, fearfully, Alaska turned around, well aware all hope was draining away.

    A crowd of men stood before them.

    A dozen muscular men stood at the other end of the floor in front of the boardroom, huge black machine guns resting against their meaty chests. They all wore similar snarls and sadistic smirks, combinations of scars, shaved heads, stubbly jaws and black and khaki coloured clothing to add to their intimidation. Alaska stared across them, wondering how they had gotten in when the door appeared untouched. She looked at the gun in her hand and knew it would do little. She stared at the two people on her side, but fear and shock had made them freeze as well. They were vastly outnumbered and had nowhere to go, trapped in the middle of the floor.

    Essentially, they were screwed.

    "So, I take it you men aren't here to learn about the wonders of science?" Alaska asked casually. Some of the men chuckled deeply, others grunted, but one stepped forwards, his face mostly hidden by greasy black hair and a matching bushy beard, and raised his weapon upwards.

    "To be honest with you sweetheart, the only science I give two shits about is how my machine gun here works," he said with a gravely snarl. "Want to take a closer look?" The henchmen laughed louder at that, and before Alaska could respond a metal rod appeared around her neck, and she was suddenly pulled back against Samuel, the rusty iron wedged hard against her throat. She tried to speak, but Alaska found herself unable to breathe for the second time today. Samuel grabbed the gun from her hand and threw it aside, and the bearded man stepped forwards, cackling.

    "Girl, you have no idea how many people want you dead, and we are just the ones to make their wishes come true!" He sneered, to the laughter of his cronies, and he pointed his machine gun directly at her head. "They all have different requests, but let's give you an option. So tell me dear, how do you want to die; head or heart?" Alaska could not help but stare fearfully at the big black weapon as the man edged ever closer, the barrel suddenly seeming so wide as if it would obliterate her with one bullet; she fought against the rod against her throat, Samuel breathing creepily against her neck, but she was rapidly losing her strength and was close to passing out. Was this really going to be it…

    "Excuse me," Sandy suddenly called out, stepping forwards with her hands around her back, and the bearded man stopped, turning quizzically towards the blonde. "I just wanted to check; do you men work for a Mister Buzz Bolton?"

    "Yes, I think that's his name," the man responded with a shrug.

    "Good, good; and are you here to kill me and my friend?"

    "Um… are you blind dear? Obviously!" He sneered back.

    "Oh no, of course not, I just wanted to make sure before I did this," Sandy said, and she whipped the gun around and fired; the man gasped as a bullet slammed into his chest, blood quickly pouring out of the wound and down his shirt. His weapon fell to the floor, and he stared, along with Alaska and the other gunmen, in shock at Sandy.

    "You shot me… they didn't tell us you'd have guns…" he mumbled, before collapsing against a table and knocking over a row of beakers.

    "Yeah, well Alaska and I are hard ass mother fuckers now!" Sandy hissed with the level of sassiness Alaska had only previously seen in hairdressers and angry housewives, and she pointed the gun at the other men. "Samson and Acevedo at your service, and we aren't being messed around with ANYMORE! So you can go back and tell Mr Bolton that we say heeey, and if he thinks he's messing with us than he has another thing coming!" Her voice boomed inside the confined space, and even though she was rapidly losing oxygen Alaska still managed to feel proud. The remaining gunmen exchanged quizzical looks with each other for a few moments, then another one, this time a bald man with black stubble, stepped forwards.

    "You are aware we still outnumber you, we have bigger guns than you and we still control the building and have possession of your Pokemon?" He said, his voice slightly higher than his dying colleague. Sandy paused, mulling this over, her eyes moving between the handgun grasped in her hands and their opponents twelve or so machine guns that were about quadruple the size.

    "Oh right…," she said, realisation washing over her. "Umm… that's a tad awkward, isn't it? So your not going to leave then, are you?" The bald man shook his head as he lifted his weapon up. "Ah, thought so… well then… all I can really say is DUCK!" And Sandy turned towards Alaska; the black haired girl tilted her head automatically as the gun went off, and Samuel cried out. Machine gun fire began to sound throughout the floor, glass shattering and equipment exploding, but Alaska miraculously was not hit; Samuel was still standing but the bullet had startled him, his grip on the rod slacking, and Alaska used the opportunity to grab on and pull it off her throat, taking a sharp intake of air before lashing out at the table in front. Her feet pushed off it and she and Samuel went crashing to the floor, avoiding a hail of bullets as the gunmen turned their attention towards her, the ammunition instead hammering into the walls.

    "EEEEEEVEEEE!" Sandy's friend shouted, and Alaska briefly saw a purple-black ball soar through the air but her attention was focussed on Samuel. She rammed an arm into his stomach just below his ribcage, and the traitor assistant yelled out, his hands flying from the rod. Alaska seized it and spun around, smashing it across his head repeatedly until Samuel's eyes fell shut, a long red graze now across his forehead. Relieved, Alaska threw the rod aside, well aware it would be pointless against machine guns, and turned back to the battle.

    "SANDY, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" She shouted.

    "I'M FINE!" Sandy yelled back, quickly followed by three gunshots as she took aim at the gunmen. Alaska saw her friend and Mr Melton were hiding between the cages, the Eevee a few feet out firing attacks at the gunmen, and she realised she was very much exposed right now. Staring around, Alaska looked at the nearest table and saw it was not attached to the ground.

    "IS THIS EQUIPMENT EXPENSIVE?" She yelled at Alistair.

    "EXTREMELY!" He roared back, his voice shaking with fright.

    "Oh well, I've broken worse," Alaska mumbled and she leapt up and grabbed the end of the table; with a mighty heave that made her arms and back groan, she tipped it onto its side, computers, beakers and microscopes smashing to the ground. Alaska rolled up against it as bullets instantly smashed into the surface, making significant dents but the table thankfully held.

    "Sandy, use the grenades!" Alaska shouted. Sandy nodded over at her and pulled a pin from one of the small grey capsules. She lobbed it over towards the slowly advancing gun men, and Alaska peered around, waiting for the explosion; however, instead of fire and heat, a thin jet of grey smoke was unleashed from the top, spraying the nearest man in the face but doing little else.

    "A smoke bomb… great, the one time I actually need to blow something up and it's a dud!" Alaska hissed. She could see that no one had fallen yet, and Buzz's gunmen were systematically emptying their weapons, half aiming for the table around her and the other aiming at the small gap between the cages. The only thing saving them were the crowded tables, the heavy equipment and computers taking the brunt of the bullet barrage, and the multiple rows were forcing the men to move slowly as they navigated their way forwards, perhaps weary of getting too close in case Alaska had any other weapons up her sleeve. Unfortunately, there was very little she could do; for once, Alaska had nothing she could whip out and use to defend herself or fight back, nothing that would stop herself getting shot in the head at least. She simply leaned back against the table and stared across at Sandy, whose gun was coming up blank, and a frightened Mr Melton, trying to think of some miracle solution.

    I never would have thought I'd die alongside one of my neighbours, Alaska pondered as she watched stared across at the father of her of the biggest nuisances in her life. Alistair Melton was leaning against a cage, his entire body visibly shaking, eyes shut tight as if it would end the nightmare. It struck Alaska as almost full circle, coming all the way from their joint homes in Viridian, only to find death looming over them in the exact same location. The question of his reluctance to properly discuss Mitchell still struck Alaska as odd, and she looked at Mr Melton, wondering what secrets there were hidden in that head of his, and why he had not fled to the other half of the floor, as if he could somehow help them leaning against the cages.

    Actually… Alaska thought, a thought rushing through her head. She stared back out at the incoming swarm of men, and saw that the smoke bomb was spewing a grey vapour across them, quickly engulfing the gunmen as they tried to get through the tables. Alaska smiled; it would provide enough cover to allow her a chance to reach Sandy, but they would need a distraction. Thankfully, despite her earlier thoughts, Alaska could see now they were not totally unarmed.

    "MR MELTON, THE CAGES – OPEN THE CAGES!" She roared. Alistair looked up fearfully at the sound of his name, but then he saw Alaska and her words clicked into place. Alistair Melton jumped to his feet, his fear quickly melting away, and he ran past all the cages, slamming his palm against the buttons. Sandy jumped aside as the glass doors disappeared, and suddenly nearly two dozen Pokemon were racing out and heading for the gunmen; Alaska had learnt enough from her travels to know the sounds of battle would activate the Pokemon's natural instincts to protect their territory. The gunfire ceased and was replaced by screams replaced, roars and growls quickly filling the room instead. Alaska seized the opportunity and sprinted forwards, only briefly staring at the chaotic scene before her; smoke now filled the floor, hiding everyone in sight, but in the few seconds she watched Alaska saw Beedrill, Zubat and Poliwhirl came in and out of the vapour, each duelling a different gun toting henchmen.

    "It worked!" Sandy squealed excitedly when Alaska reached them.

    "No thanks to you," she said with a beam at Mr Melton, and the lanky man smiled youthfully back. "I'll make sure to tell Mitchell next time we see him about how his father may have just saved our life!" Alistair continued to beam and opened his mouth to talk, but it appeared Alaska had spoken to soon; an angry roar sounded from behind, and they turned just as the bald man lunged out from the smoke, a shard of glass clutched in his hands. Sandy screamed and Alaska pushed her out of the way, and the henchmen missed and collided into Mr Melton.

    "Run!" He bellowed frantically, quickly grabbing onto the gunmen's arm. Alaska was taken aback, and for a moment she stayed, trying to find a way to help her neighbour. But Alaska was unarmed and her throat still hurt from where the rod had dug in; she merely nodded at Mr Melton and turned, hoping against all odds he survived, and with nowhere else to run, she and Sandy sprinted into the smoke.

    There was something acrylic about the way it smelt; Alaska gagged and held her shirt up to her nose, and Sandy did the same, though she had more of a struggle as the Eevee was bundled up in her arms again. The two run up past the lifts, automatically heading for the stairwell and a chance of getting away before any gunmen noticed them. It was hard to see through the smoke, with anything more than a few feet away disappearing from sight; they could only hear the cries of the gunmen and the shouts of the sparring Pokemon, with the occasional smash of glass or metal clang of equipment falling. There seemed to be no gunfire though, and Alaska moved quickly, desperate to escape.

    "Alaska Acevedo?" Someone cried, and instinctively Alaska turned; a man emerged out from the smoke, but it was clear he was no gunman; he was thin, the grey in his hair exemplified by the smoke, and was dressed in a long, tattered brown coat. He stared at Alaska with both glumness and franticness, and she paused, not sure how to react.

    "Ummm, yes, why?" Alaska replied cautiously, her eyes flickering to the door but her curiosity was overpowering her need to survive.

    "Thank god I've found you – you need to come with me right now!" The man said, reaching out for her arm, but Alaska stepped backwards, looking at him in revolt. Suddenly, like a dam bursting, all her anger and confusion came spilling out at this stranger, unable to hold it back any longer.

    "Listen here buddy, I don't know who you are or what you are doing here, but if you know who I am, you are aware that I have great cause for being a teensy bit untrustworthy when it comes to meeting mysterious strangers, especially when it happens in the middle of an ambush by the henchmen of someone who was prepared to viciously murder me for interrupting his reality show. So unleash you have some damn good evidence to prove you're on my side, I will gladly kick you all the way back to whatever backwater ditch you emerged from!" Alaska finished, her chest heaving, the entire battle besides her going ignored. The strange man looked puzzled for a moment, but then his face spread into a smirk.

    "You remind me of several young ladies I dealt with in Sinnoh," he said with a strange smile. "If you must know my name, it is Looker as far as you're concerned, but the most important thing to know is that if you want to live, you are going to need to trust me, starting from now," he continued, and before Alaska could say anything else, he shoved her sideways towards the lifts. There was a chance Alaska wouldn't have minded this, but there was just one problem.

    The doors were open, but there was no lift waiting.
     
    • Chapter Sixty Three: Parental Consideration Advised
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 62

    Chapter Sixty Three: Parental Consideration Advised

    I wish my days stopped ending up like this, Alaska thought bitterly as she plummeted seventy floors towards her doom. Plummeting warm

    It was freezing inside the elevator shaft, made no better by what rapidly falling from an extreme height did your body; Alaska was battered by cold air that was forced into her eyes and ears, a wind-like noise deafening her in the silent lift shaft. She was forced to shut her eyes against the generated breeze, but it was so dark that there was little to see anyway. She could, however, feel the closeness of the walls she was falling between, her outstretched fingers brushing against cool stone and icy metal. Alaska could barely control her body though, the shock stunning her, the speed stopping her from acting, leaving her falling like a puppet cut from its strings, tumbling and twirling through the air, unable to prepare for what comes once you start falling…

    However, for once, Alaska had a tiny glimmer of hope; the mysterious Looker knew who she was and wanted her to trust her, so she had a feeling he had a reason for shoving her into an empty lift shaft and, as a result, was not going to let her die. So instead of focussing on the shock or the landing, Alaska shut her eyes and disappeared inside her head; things seemed to slow down, her mind drifting away from the tingling sensation of falling, and Alaska thought back on all that had happened in the past twenty four hours. She had nearly been killed by a wave around this time yesterday: Alaska knew a normal person would be concerned by this, but she could not help but see the funny side, surviving a certain hell one day only to find herself in another the next...

    Thanks to the unsettling information she had learned today, Alaska could see several pieces of her bizarre puzzle falling into place. She know knew the faces of her enemies, namely Gideon, a madman scientist she was connected to only by chance, and Buzz, the man seemingly behind the robots who was purposefully targeting her, though the specifics for why were lost on her. One of her prior encounters with the show must have done more damage on the meticulously planned ratings event than she realised, but Alaska could not place her finger on what.

    Nor could she quite work out what role Indigo Dreams itself had in things, though she knew must be some level of awareness there. It occurred to her now that they had been captured yesterday after setting up camp in close proximity to the reality show, the first time they had done so, and that Amanda had been very frustrated by their appearance. Sandy had mentioned an unease about the thin lipped, tight arsed woman, but Alaska did not want to leap to any presumptions about anyone else on the show yet, not when she had no way of knowing how much the really stars knew about their boss…

    Alaska remembered what she had told Sandy twenty minutes ago, and she hoped that it was true, but knew these doubts about the stars would linger, burrowing their way into the back of her head until they got the chance to prove them either true or false. She could not be certain, not after weeks of unsettling surprises at every turn, but Alaska hoped the stars (even Chloe) would prove to be innocent. She had spent much of yesterday afternoon talking to Damian; it had been nothing of importance, merely discussing their journeys and their Pokemon, however it was not the type of conversation Alaska wanted to be marred by a revelation of his betrayal…

    Alaska opened her eyes, unable to bear dwelling on it any longer, and was stunned that she could just make out the bottom of the shaft, a solider mass of darkness than the shadows she had fallen through. She tensed up, wondering now whether she would face blinding, deadly pain, or a miraculous survival, but then what would the rest of her day spell? Briefly, as the concrete prepared to greet her, the many mysteries that still dogged her rushed through her mind; the attack on Vermilion, Suicune and Zapdos, Gideon and the fossils, what purpose the robots served, the prophecy; somehow, all these things and many others were connected, and Alaska hoped she survived, merely to see what this puzzle looked like once it was completed. Yet the ground was coming ever closer, tripling in size every second, and there seemed to be nothing waiting to stop her…

    Suddenly, almost as quickly as it begun, Alaska stopped.

    She blinked rapidly, and was horrified to find her nose a centimetre above concrete. Alaska looked around frantically, wondering what was holding her up and if there was still a chance of falling; but instead of going forwards, she rose up, tilting backwards until she was upright, and then was placed softly on her feet.

    "Well… alright then," Alaska muttered, rather taken aback by her sudden survival. She glanced about the lift shaft, trying to find what had saved her, but a sudden screaming distracted her; Alaska looked up and could see a familiar head of blonde hair falling through the darkness; Sandy was not quite as relaxed about the whole experience as Alaska had been, and her screams were loud enough to rouse everyone in Saffron. Alaska stepped cautiously backwards, not wanting to get crushed once again by a falling Sandy, and tensed up, waiting for the saviour to make itself known…

    About a second before Sandy hit concrete, a pair of pink eyes flashed in the shadows, and she stopped instantly. Her screams carried on though as Sandy wiggled frantically about, eyes shut and hands clasped tightly around a rather unimpressed Eevee.

    "Shut up Sandy, you're not going to die just yet," Alaska snapped, grabbing her friend by the collar and hauling her upwards. Sandy fell quickly silent and looked around, shaken and dazed by the experience, but Alaska left her behind and stepped over wires and metal poles, heading towards the source of the pink eyes a few metres away.

    "I know there is a Pokemon here, so you might as well show yourself," she called, trying to sound friendly. There was a moment's pause, and suddenly dazzling white light illuminated the shaft; a tall, humanoid Pokemon stood proudly before her, long, sword like green arms held respectfully at its side as it gazed down at her. Red triangles came through its front and back, and Alaska got the impression that this was a creature born for fighting, not for hiding in lift shafts.

    She opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly the creature's eyes flashed pink again, and Alaska turned as Looker and Mr Melton landed gracefully on the concrete, the latter looking rather shaken up, unsteadily collapsing against the wall. Alaska could now see they stood on a square of concrete, surrounded by three solid walls, a number of wiring and piping and metal frames separating them from the other lift shafts.

    "I see you have discovered my Gallade," Looker said calmly, as if falling down lift shafts was nothing of concern. "He is very useful in situations like these – excellent Psychic precision, you usually find Gallade are better fighters than thinkers, but mine is both."

    "That's wonderful," Alaska said icily, quickly forgetting her awe at Gallade and wheeling around to face the stranger. "Now, would you mind explaining who the fuck you are and why you threw me down here?" Looker's face sank and turned sour, and he reached into a pocket and retrieved a golden badge, which he held up for all to see.

    "I am a Senior Investigator working for the International Police, codename Looker," he explained. "I arrived here to investigate reports into connections between the television department and recent events in Kanto. My brief was to hack into the network and look for any information to prove these connections, which can only be done from within the building, but I was interrupted when Zapdos attacked and the system began to shut down. I was about to leave and investigate why Zapdos was here but I had just gained access to the security cameras on Level 87 and discovered you were here." Looker paused, and a slight smile spread across his face. "I have heard a lot about you, Alaska Acevedo, and I must say it is truly a pleasure to finally encounter you."

    "International Police – so you must know Trevor and Daisy?" Alaska asked.

    "Indeed, and I was told that if I ever encountered you to say both are well and hope to meet you again soon," Looker replied. Alaska nodded, but was silently elated at the fact both were safe; she was now sure how they would have survived either circumstance, but it was a relief to know neither had died trying to save her.

    "Once I learnt you were in the building and possibly in danger," Looker continued, "I realised I would need to rescue you before leaving the building. I was held up accessing floor plans and the remaining security cameras before the system crashed, otherwise I could have gotten to you before you reached the precautionary trap it seems Mr Bolton set for you." At this, Alaska could not help but glance at Mr Melton; her old neighbour still looked flustered by his freefall experience, but at the mention of the chaos that had consumed his workplace, his face seemed to darken slightly, a mixture of what Alaska perceived to be both anger and shame.

    "Well yes, thank you for saving us, but how exactly is being in a lift shaft going to help us escape?" Sandy asked incredulously. "And Buzz still has our Pokemon and our bags locked away somewhere in the building!" Looker turned to her, his face falling into a frown, and Alaska had to say that the man seemed quite moody.

    "Ever since the old building was destroyed and this one was built," he continued, turning slowly away from Sandy, "there have been many rumours about Mr Silph having a number of safety rooms built in case Silph Co. was ever attacked again. It seems that these rumours are true, as the floor plans reveal an expansive basement area, and the security cameras show a variety of used and disused spaces down here. I believe at least some of these safety rooms have been utilized by Mr Bolton for whatever his plans may be, and if we go there now, we should be able to find your Pokemon, and perhaps learn more about what is being planned.

    "There is a reason why I choose to tell you all this at the bottom of this rank lift shaft. You see, the lifts are designed to reach these secret floors – specifically, the lift that normally travels up and down this shaft, but is currently stuck on Level 93. All you do is type in the code or swipe your key card, and the wall right behind you opens and the elevators slide through." Alaska, Sandy and Mr Melton all turned to look at the wall behind them, but it simply looked as dull and dirty as the rest.

    "Do you have the code?" Alaska asked.

    "No, but I am a master hacker and I brought something with us with the necessary tools– Mr Melton, your swipe pass please." Alistair looked startled by this request, but before he could move a thin piece of white plastic flew out from a pocket, glowing pink, and Alaska watched as Gallade directed it towards his trainer. "All I have to do now is make the system accept Mr Melton's key card as being one of those that has the code, and then we are through!" Looker concluded, pulling a sleek tablet device from one pocket. He quickly typed in the details from Mr Melton's card and then loudly tapped away for another minute. Silence fell, and Alaska briefly glanced upwards, wondering if any gunmen had survived the Pokemon attack, and what they were doing now…

    "And there we go," Looker said after several minutes, dramatically tapping the last button, and everyone looked at the wall; there was a groan of gears, pins and locks being removed from their safe little homes.Alaska watched in amazement as a section of stone slid backwards about three feet before disappearing into the wall to their left.

    A long tunnel was revealed, one that reminded Alaska of an old fashioned mine shaft from her dads old movies; the walls were of the same concrete blocks at the lift shaft, but the only lighting were narrow fluorescent tubes set every few metres, and the stone floor was covered in a thick film of dust separated only by metal tracks, presumably for the elevator.

    "Oh joy," Alaska murmured sarcastically. "A dark, gloomy, dust filled tunnel – there must be fun times waiting for us at the end of this!" She glanced at Looker and raised an eyebrow, but the spy did not seem to share her humour.

    "Now you listen to me; I want to go in there even less than you do," he snapped. "I have had more than my fair share of dealings with criminals over the years, and I was hoping that Trevor and Daisy could handle this investigation on their own. However, their involvement with you has compromised their abilities to be incognito and forced me to return to the field! Now, if you want to get out of this building alive then you will stop the jokes, listen to my orders and go down the damn tunnel without complaint!" His voice echoed so it seemed like dozens of angry people were shouting at Alaska. She stared defiantly back at the spy, but she knew after a few moments he was not going to be worn down, at least not as easily as the others; instead, Alaska nodded to show she understood, and at the same time wondered what exactly had made this man so bitter.

    "Good; now follow me," Looker snapped before stepping inside the tunnel. Sandy with Eevee quickly followed behind, seemingly frightened into action by her telling off; Alaska gestured at Mr Melton, and her former neighbour reluctantly climbed in after, leaving her and Gallade to bring up the rear.

    "Looks like you're going to be my guard of honour!" She said, turning to Gallade and smiling, but the Pokemon did not seer to hear and walked past her, and Alaska rolled her eyes as she stepped into the tunnel. "Does no one have a sense of humour these days? You'd think we were all about to be killed!"

    The walk through the tunnel was dull and silent, no one talking as they marched across the carpet of dust. There was no sound, only their softened footsteps and their breathing, amplified by the tightness of the walls. Gallade continued to glow, but the light only extended as far as Mr Melton; he and Alaska were bathed in the pearly shine that turned the walls white, while Sandy and Looker were barely visible in the darkness ahead. Alaska realised she had never been alone with her neighbour before, but currently a tension lay between them, one he may not notice, but Alaska could not ignore what she had learnt back in his lab.

    "I bet you didn't think your day would turn out like this," she whispered, unable to bear the silence anymore. "You wake up, you go to work, do your job, go home; wash, rinse and repeat. Something like this must have never happened before."

    "No… no it hasn't," Alistair said quietly back, his voice hushed and shaking. There was a pause, and then: "and you, Alaska? Did you think your day would turn out this way?"

    "I hoped it wouldn't, but I am not surprised it had. Usually though I get to wake up and do something first before the shit catches up to me. This is not the first time something like this has happened to me Mr Melton, and, trusting I survive today, it won't be the last – not until I stop everyone behind this massive mess. And, unfortunately, you currently count in that equation," Alaska finished with a touch of coldness. Alistair Melton stopped abruptly in his tracks, his feet kicking up a small cloud of dust. He turned and faced Alaska, and in Gallade's glow his face was thrown into great detail; it was older and more lined than Alaska remembered; his hair was greyer than before, and his eyes looked red and tired, the purple sheen of his lids shining grimly in the unfortunate spotlight.

    "I hope you do not hold me accountable for those robots," he whispered, staring deeply and pointedly at Alaska. "I was never told what they were to be used for. My department performs experiments on Pokemon for the purposes of serving the company, testing various products and equipment to determine what will go on sale. We have done some robotics work in the past, creating realistic test dummies to replicate rare Pokemon, and a year ago Buzz Bolton asked us to build a variety for his new show. We were contractually obliged to, as we were to hire Samuel as an assistant and liaison to the department. I… none of us did… we never thought there was anything suspicious with them…"

    "Even though they were rigged with explosives?" Alaska asked pointedly, and Alistair's dull face changed into an expression of complete shock.

    "Explosives? What? I have never handled explosives before in my life!" He said, mouth hanging open in horror. "We simply examined the Pokemon they requested and created designs before delivering our plans to Level 87. The Mechanics Department actually constructed the machines. I never made any plans for any explosives or weaponry, we were just told they needed robotic Pokemon – they must have altered our plans later on." The two had not moved for a couple of minutes now, and Alaska could no longer see any sign of Sandy or Looker, and the muffled sounds of their footsteps had disappeared. However, she felt as though any movement would disturb , any disruption to the stillness and silence they had shrouded themselves in, a cloak of doubt and blame that lingered between the two. It felt strange to Alaska to be confronting her old neighbour like this; or indeed that a man she had lived next door to could be so intrinsically linked to her, to have played such a mighty hand, whether he was aware of it or not, in her life these past few months. What a strange thing to discover, after having dealt with men and women that were famous throughout Kanto and around the world, to have encountered murderers and spies and aristocrats and assassins all involved in this interlinked, interwoven conspiracy, and yet Alistair Melton was too involved…

    "I… I have to ask…" Mr Melton suddenly spluttered, and Alaska snapped out of her thoughts and looked back at him. "Mitchell… you said you've encountered him a few times… when you have been attacked by… by my robots… has he ever been with you?"

    "Yes," Alaska replied curtly, seeing no point in lying. Mr Melton nodded stiffly, and Alaska could see his had tensed up; she could only imagine the images her answer had conjured up, the terrible pain that must come with unknowingly putting your own child in such danger. "Now I have to ask – earlier, when I brought him up, you seemed very reluctant to talk about Mitchell. Why is that? Is there something going on at your home?" Alistair did not say anything, and for several moments Alaska wondered if he had actually heard her, his face showing no sign of recognition, his eyes nearly lifeless as the scientist disappeared beneath his own fears.

    "It is a difficult thing to do, to let your child leave home on a journey," Alistair said after several moment, though his voice was so low Alaska strained to hear him. "You are letting your child choose a very limited and particular life path for themselves, and after everything that has happened, with Team Rocket and Galactic and all those people, Wendy and I were uncertain about letting him go. But… but we thought it would be safe… there had been no incidents, no attacks or anything, we thought it was a harmless time… Mitchell so wanted to go, and who we were to deny him of this choice, especially when you were going, the only other person he had really been close to." Alaska was taken aback; she was sure Mr Melton did not intend them this way, but it seemed a lot like she was being blamed for Mitchell's journey, as if she had forced him into it; had Mitchell really looked up to her that much?

    "Once a child leaves, it is difficult to stay in contact, even with all those devices they have these days," Alistair continued. "And… and… and when things go wrong… when you hear that they have been explosions and terror attacks… when you can't find out whether your child was involved or not…" He paused here, his voice having become high and hysterical but still quiet, and Alaska saw a new side to him she had never seen before – one she had never seen in any adult. Mr Melton was shaking, his body jittering so violently she felt concerned, and tears poured down his cheeks as his face contorted into something of pure anguish; mouth ajar, throat contorted, only a pained gurgling making it through. Alaska thought it would be inappropriate to interrupt, and instead she stood silently, watching and waiting, thinking…

    It was a minute before Mr Melton regained himself; he reached up with his hand inside his coat and dabbed his eyes. When it came down, his face was blank again, and his eyes refocused as if he had just woken up. He looked down at Alaska for the first time in several minutes, and she could see concern and sadness behind his glasses, the last of his tears still hanging around his eyelids.

    "I didn't want to discuss Mitchell before because it can be too painful at times," Alistair said, his voice louder but still sombre, still pained. "We receive occasional letters and the odd phone call, but asides from that we try not to think on him. That may sound cruel, but it is the only thing for a parent to do when their child disappears off into the wilderness – the only thing you can do when cities are being bombed and entire islands are being annihilated. Otherwise I would never be able to do those things you said before; I couldn't go to work, I would never be able to sleep, I would be up all night sick with worry, imagining Mitchell lying dead in the middle of some unknown field on the other side of Kanto. You have to detach yourselves from your children; you have to make yourself believe they are somewhere happy, calm and safe where they cannot possibly be hurt, and you get along with your daily life telling yourself that is the case and not letting anything tell you differently. And now I must contend with the guilt of knowing my son could have been harmed by something I was forced to create, and it is time I go and find out why that nearly happened."

    Alistair turned away the second he had finished speaking, perhaps unable to look at Alaska any longer, not with the revelations of his involvement in Buzz's plans standing between them. He quickly marched away into the darkness, moving with such determination that his feet disappeared beneath a haze of dust. Alaska was left alone with Gallade, and she was interested to see the Psychic Fighter had paused, his wide, intense eyes following after her old neighbour; was it trying to read his mind, to make sense of the discussion between the humans in front of him? Alaska had wondered at times throughout her journey what her Pokemon made of all of this; did Paige, Frances and Nadia understand the mystery and danger their trainer was embroiled in, or were they simply her soldiers, fighting her war for her?

    At that thought, Gallade turned and looked intensely at her. She was taken aback by the glare, and she stood frozen as Gallade looked at her up and down, his glowing body entirely focussed on her. Then, as quickly as it had begun, the Blade Pokemon turned and walked away. Alaska waited for a few seconds, wondering what that had been, and realised suddenly her heart was beating rapidly. She paused, waiting for it to calm down, and then followed after a few seconds later. Everyone else seemed much further ahead now, but Alaska walked slowly, putting aside Gallade and thinking about Mr Melton, suddenly feeling as if she was carrying a large burden with her.

    Was this the same thought process her parents were going through? Were William and Robin Acevedo sitting at home right now, watching television or preparing a meal, telling themselves Alaska was fine, telling themselves that she could not possibly be involved with any of the chaos that was currently plaguing Kanto? Alaska wondered when she had last spoken to her parents or tried to make contact – in Celadon, hadn't she called from the PokemonCenter? It had only been a short time ago, but in the whirlwind nightmare she was trapped in everything was a blur. Had Alaska ever talked to her parents about the things she had seen, the people she had met, the horrors she had faced? Did they know she had nearly been killed by a number of robots, or that she blown up a generator purely to make a point? Had she even told them about her badges – that was why she had left home, after all; to prove that she and Paige could conquer the league alone. Here she was, four steps into that master plan; was that what her parents thought, that she was merely training and battling, fighting for glory instead of fighting for her life?

    The real question was though; how would they feel if they knew the truth? Did they deserve the right to know what she had been through? They would surely demand it of her if they had suspicions, but how would they react, how would they cope? Alaska thought of Mr Melton's reaction a few minutes ago, she thought of Sandy's father, alone in their house with no idea where his daughter was; did he even care, was he looking at the news and worrying for his missing daughter?

    There was a grunt, and Alaska stopped, startled; her feet had carried her towards the others without her realising, and she now found Looker, Sandy and Mr Melton standing before her, a solid wall bringing them all to a halt. She felt her face may give away her troubled thoughts, and quickly settled it into an expression of impatience and tiredness that she felt they may expect. She looked between her fellows; Sandy looked weary and nervous, clutching Eevee tightly to her chest; Looker's face was serious but gave away his tiredness, perhaps his lack of desire to be here and his unwillingness to carry on; Alistair almost looked expressionless, but he could not hide the fear that shone through in his eyes, his mind clearly still dwelling on the possible fate of his son.

    "Now that we are all here," Looker said coldly, his eyes flickering between Alaska and Alistair before turning back to the wall, "I believe this is designed to part only when it senses a lift coming," he explained in hushed tones, examining what appeared to be solid stone. "However, I believe Gallade should be able to open this."

    "Gal," Gallade said shortly, and he silently stepped between them, casting the quartet directly in light before raising his arms against the door; suddenly, the light disappeared, and Alaska felt as though she had been swallowed, darkness instantly surrounding her. The tunnels bulbs did little, and Alaska suddenly felt alone, lost, trapped, the fact she was inside a confined space heading to confront potential murders dawning on her for perhaps the first time. She raised her arms, feeling around in the darkness, and felt immense relief as her left hand grabbed onto another person, and they held her hand in response; she was not sure if it was Sandy or Alistair, but it was reassuring to know she was not alone.

    "The second the door opens, we need to make a break for it," Looker whispered. "I cannot promise what is waiting for us there, but the way I left things in the lab, hopefully they will not suspect we are coming. Gallade and I will attack, you three stay behind and we will find your bags before doing anything else. Are we all clear?"

    "Yes," the other three replied, though Alaska noted she was not the only one who sounded unenthusiastic, who sounded concerned about what was about to happen.

    "Gallade, are you ready?" Looker said from somewhere in front, and Gallade must have nodded as there was no response from him, merely the loud groaning of metal pistons and gears being twisted against their will. "Alright, let's do this… on the count of three… one… two… THREE!"

    The door slid open with a thud, and light poured inside the tunnel; Looker leapt out first, a handgun raised, and Alaska followed, dragging Sandy with her, their hands still entwined. Then went Mr Melton, and finally Gallade stepped out with his arms raised like a shield. Alaska's head was still spinning from her conversation, making it hard to take in any details of the room they'd stepped into; the ceiling was high, a large amount of empty space above them, while the walls and floors were still stone. For a moment, Alaska thought it was empty, only able to hear her own, constant thoughts…

    Then there was a groaning, the sound of something heavy being lifted; their eyes all turned towards the wall to their right, which was suddenly and slowly rising upwards. Looker cried out and turned, but the door behind them had already shut. Men burst out from hidden doors, heavy black machine guns clasped in their hands; the group froze, hands raised, but Alaska's attention remained was on the rising wall, which was now halfway open, and what stood behind.

    Shock silenced her. Alaska stared straight through the gathering gunmen, her attention fixated on what awaited them on the other side of the wall. The only thing she registered was Sandy's grip on her hand intensifying, and Alaska could feel that her friend was as terrified by the sight as she was.

    Laughter, great booming laughter echoed inside the stone square. A voice in the back of her head told Alaska it was Buzz, but she did not know until he began to speak, yet even his words could not pull her attention away.

    "To think after all the trouble I went to you almost got away again!" He hissed from afar. "But you are not getting away this time; I have caught you, and I am finally going to see you dead! However, I thought you deserved one last little treat before you suffer the worst pain you will ever feel. This will be the last image you ever see; it is time you saw what you are really up against, Miss Acevedo, so you can die knowing you will not have to suffer the horror I am about to unleash on Kanto."

    And a horror it was. Alaska felt like surrendering there and then; there was no way of beating him now. She had scarcely escaped the Beedrill, the Golem had been too close a call, and the Electrode had nearly claimed her life, and none of them she had managed to defeat herself. But standing on the other side of the wall, rows and rows of robots were waiting, possibly hundreds of glistening, metallic monstrosities, insults to nearly every species of Pokemon, but unstoppable, murderous machines, an entire army under Buzz's command.

    An army Alaska knew she could not beat; this truly was defeat.



    The end may jar with Alaska and Alistair's chat, but I felt it would have been a poor way to start the next chapter to have a big reveal right at the start, so it had to close this way. Hope you enjoyed it though and the next chapter will be BIG!
     
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    • Chapter Sixty Four: The Fun Times at the End of the Tunnel
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 63

    @kintsugi; Thank you for the feedback, much appreciated. I have recently begun looking over the prologue and nitpicking it, as there is some stuff that is embarassing to read three/four years on :p I hope to rewrite some stuff, but I guess I do want to try and get more of the story done too as I have been writing this for years now and I would have liked to be nearer to the end by now :/ I have quite a slow burner style where I prefer building up to things, and I do think it has let things down with early characterizations but I plan to rectify that in later chapters rather than going back and making the characters more even when Alaska seeming to be better than them is meant to add more to her cockiness than be detrimental to them, but hopefully I can rectify that as well. But thanks again for the feedback, I shall do my best to use it :)

    New chapter!


    Chapter Sixty Four: The Fun Times at the End of the Tunnel



    "I must say, I thought for a few minutes there that I may have lost. I cannot tell you how relieved I am things have gone back to plan – I would hate to think what may have happened if you had gotten away."

    Alaska tried her best to ignore the words, knowing that Buzz was attempting to goad her on, but she could not ignore them, not when they echoed inside the cavernous safe rooms, not when his metallic army surrounded her on all sides.

    Alaska felt powerless as they were led in single file between past robots. They were the last thing she wanted to see, yet she could not look away; one row contained Electrode like what had attacked her in the tunnel, the next had Raichu, large and imposing, their shine hidden by realistic fur. Then there were a trio of Sandslash, their iron claws and spikes resembling daggers, while the Graveler standing behind seemed to have been crafted with actual rocks. There were so many Alaska could not take them all in, but Buzz seemed to have prepared a wide range; Lickitung and Vulpix, Kadabra and Growlithe, a Gyarados that filled an entire row, even the Kanto starter Pokemon were there, Charmander, Bulbasaur and Squirtle robots standing neatly in line, like small children waiting for their teacher.

    This is sick, Alaska thought, finally looking away and staring forcibly into Mr Melton's head bobbing in front of her. Testing Pokemon, tricking people into creating weapons, letting them loose. This bastard is planning something, and I want to know what it is…

    But, what will I be able to do to stop it? A second voice hissed, and Alaska resisted the urge to scream in rage and desperation. This was the problem she could not shake; how the hell was she meant to defeat these robots? None of her Pokemon had the abilities to tear about metal; if Alaska and her team could actually make it out alive, how would they ever be able to defeat Buzz and this indestructible army?

    And there was the other big problem; escape. Alaska peered around Mr Melton and saw they were being led through a doorway, while behind them the wall was coming back down, cutting them off from the tunnel that had been their only hope. They were being shut in, and if they wanted to get out, a few walls and two armies stood in their way.

    Alaska reluctantly followed Mr Melton through the doorway, but was stunned to recognize the room they entered; it was what Buzz had shown them eighty floors up. She wanted to make a break for it and run towards her bag, which still lay on a lone table besides Sandy's, but Alaska could see the gunmen were filing in with them, their weapons poised and ready to shoot if she even stepped out of line. With a stifled sigh, Alaska merely glanced at Sandy, whose eyes had widened fearfully at the sight of her purple bag, and her grip on the frightened Eevee seemed to have tightened.

    A black-clad henchman gestured with his gun at the wall, and Alaska, Sandy, Looker, Alistair and Gallade stepped backwards towards the cold brick; the second their backs were against the stone, about two dozen guns were raised and pointed at their chests. A trio of Houndoom had been sent out, their razor-like teeth bared, knees bent ready to pounce, had been sent out, and they stood like sadistic guard dogs before them. Alaska tried to avoid them, but she could feel their hot breathe wafting over her, and she had a feeling they were not just there for Gallade.

    For a few moments, silence filled the square room, a tense quiet that pressed down against Alaska. Trying not to imagine the metallic army in the other room, she glanced at her fellow prisoners; to her left, Looker at the end wore a face as though bored with proceedings, but his eyes were darting tensely around the room; Mr Melton was twitchy and screamed of having nerves, his eyes flickering about more frantically, rubbing his hands against each other; Sandy was to her right, and Alaska was pleased to see that while her eyes were as round as saucers and fearful, Sandy stood tall and proud, seemingly ready to fight, holding her rescued Eevee tightly.

    However, Alaska was becoming more drawn to the fourth member of their team; Gallade had not tried to fight back, had not shown any fear of their situation, and currently was staring blankly forward, not even watching the prowling Houndoom. Some may view it as stupidity, but Alaska could tell that Gallade was focussed, perhaps psychically scanning the room. She looked at Eevee for comparison, and saw that the furry Normal type seemed uncomfortable and uneasy, disdainfully watching the Houndoom and armed men before them, and became even more curious; how strong must a Pokemon be to willingly enter a room where it could potentially die, simply on the command of their trainer. Alaska's eyes finally fell on her bag lying several metres away, and her mind turned to her Pokemon, how they could soon be dead without even realising it, without getting a chance to fight back…

    The silence was broken suddenly by a squeaking noise; Alaska looked at the doorway a few feet from Looker as Buzz entered the room, the producer sitting calmly in a wheelchair and being pushed by one of the henchmen. Alaska watched as her latest foe paused in the middle of his men and wheeled around; Buzz smirked at them, hands resting calmly in his lap, now dressed in a long dark robe that did little to hide a bulge around his middle.

    "Would you like a Meowth to stroke while you're sitting there?" Looker said drolly, and Buzz laughed highly in response, but his eyes did not the sound, instead watching the spy with anger.

    "No thank you, Agent Looker, I am perfectly comfortable – and I must say, it is a pleasure to finally be able to meet you. I have heard much about your work in Sinnoh, and I was wondering if we'd ever cross paths."

    "By the end of today, you'll wish you hadn't," Looker replied coolly.

    "We'll see," Buzz retorted quietly, and it was now that Alaska finally clicked what had changed about him; his voice had lost its cold deepness that had shuddered through her body back in his office. It was higher now, not as pitched as Mitchell's but more as though he had sucked a bit of helium. Alaska struggled not to laugh, but she did manage to just catch Sandy's eye, and the two exchanged the briefest of smiles.

    "Now, I am sure our male guests are wondering why I have brought you here," Buzz began, smiling softly at Looker and Mr Melton. "I am sure Alaska and Sandy recognise what is on the table, but for the spy and the scientist, those bags belong to the young girls next to you. They have not been messed with since being brought here; everything that was in them last night is still in there, including all of their PokeBalls.

    "Next to you, you will see a computer," he continued, and gestured lazily towards a table besides them. Alaska had been too focussed on the guards before to realise it, but now she turned and took it in; it was several years old, with a chunky monitor besides a number of wires and a hefty hard drive piled on the desk. "Mr Silph built these safety rooms with a number of defensive measures in order to fully protect his employees from future attacks by people like me. That computer is to communicate with the outside world and between rooms, but it also controls this room's anti-terrorism systems. As I briefly mentioned earlier Alaska, there are pipes in the walls and ceiling, pipes that can, for example, spray oil across every surface or that can fill the room with concrete – two very gruesome, uncomfortable ways to die, I am sure, but you will all experience for yourselves soon enough." Alaska kept her face calm and defiant, and stared boldly back at Buzz as the wounded businessman grinned maliciously at her, but her heart was beating faster and faster, their impending death closer than ever before.

    "However, before you all die," Buzz said, turning away from Alaska, "I want you to tell me Looker, what drew your attention to my plans? I am curious as I have been ever so careful with covering my tracks." His smile widened so much that Buzz now resembled some manic clown, and his eyes bore deeply into Looker. The spy did not look fazed by the bizarre look and did not respond for several moments, looking back at Buzz as if they were having a staring contest.

    "The International Police have been watching you for several months now," Looker replied eventually. "Your name change and new hair colour did fool us for some time, but our face recognition software was able to match your features with some of the only footage we managed to retrieve from ChronoIsland. However, despite our best practices, you have indeed been protected behind the security measures of Mr Silph, one reason I presume why you came here to work. If it was not for Alaska here and all her blogs about, you may have gotten away with it, but other agents read between the lines of her posts and saw connections between the events she described and the man behind the reality show."

    "Ah, I see, I see, so you came here today to find some actual evidence to use against me then?" Buzz asked, and Looker casually nodded. "Excellent, looks like Silph's paranoia has paid off; it has forced my enemies to enter my territory in order to gain information, and they cannot even make it out alive. But now, if you have done your research properly, surely you would have had to tell the League what you know? Why have Red's legendary pets not come knocking before?" Alaska turned to watch Looker as Buzz's words washed over him; for the first time, the spy looked uncomfortable, the confidence he wore wavering, his face sinking.

    "That information is not for me to disclose; this is not my mission, I have merely adopted it," he replied, his voice quieter, but it seemed to be what Buzz wanted; he tipped back his head and roared with laughter; it was loud and cruel inside the confined space, and there was escaping the triumphant cackle as it echoed incessantly.

    "Of course, the Indigo League will deny any attacks against them until their stadiums lie in ruins around them," Buzz boomed, his smile wide and vicious. "What old fools they are, ignoring signs when they are right in front of them. If they had only taken more notice, they would not soon have the deaths of two thirteen year old girls resting on their consciences." Buzz stopped laughing and turned to face Alaska once again, the humour lingering on his face. Alaska was confused by their exchange, wondering what both had meant and tried casting her mind back but failing to come up with anything; however, she now felt annoyed, having thought for a few minutes that this puzzle had begun to make sense, only to see that it merely got bigger with each piece she found.

    "Now, my lovely dears, things are back to how they should be," Buzz purred as he greedily eyed Alaska and Sandy. "You nearly escaped from me, you nearly outsmarted me, and you managed to wound me, but all you have done is make me angrier and cleared my mind. I thought torturing you would be fun, that it would make up for all the time, money and pain you have cost me, all the embarrassment I have faced thanks to you both, but I see now that you two are like a virus; you have to be killed quickly before you can spread and get worse. So now you and your Pokemon can die together, all of you getting buried slowly within fast setting concrete, and I will watch as you endure a nice painful death, one that will give you time to reflect on all your actions.'

    Buzz flashed another wide grin and clicked his fingers; the henchmen that wheeled him in walked briskly towards the computer keeping his eyes forward, not even looking at the people he was about to kill. Alaska angrily watched him strut across the room, but she became distracted; out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mr Melton suddenly looked more focussed, his tense, nervous demeanour disappearing, his hands clenched in fists by his side. Alaska could see her neighbour was not looking at Buzz or the gunmen, but was instead staring at the computer, his eyes wide and serious. Alaska watched him until Alistair finally noticed and glanced down at her, his face a mixture of fear and anxiousness, but her old neighbour looked back at the computer, then back to her, and slowly, he winked.

    "Before you kill us, I want to know," Alaska yelled, turning quickly away as her mind began plotting; Buzz looked at her with vivid curiosity, and he raised a hand, making the grunt pause next to the computer. "I have to know; what is the deal with the robots and the reality show? What do they have to do with each other and me?" Buzz smiled wickedly, a grin that lingered for several seconds, and Alaska slowly reached out and grabbed Sandy's left hand, at the same time looking back at Gallade, projecting her thoughts out to the universe; was the blank faced Pokemon able to hear her?

    "I suppose there are some things I can tell you, though I am not telling you everything," Buzz purred. "Ever since you interrupted the first challenge back in ViridianForest, you have thrown a spanner into my plans, and every time you appear, every time you stuff up a show or anger my contestants, I have had more reason to wish you dead. The robots have a role to play in this, but I sent two of our more defunct ones after you; when both failed to kill you, I became more desperate, and set up multiple traps. I had a footbridge in Diglett Tunnel damaged, and I hired a gunman to kill you should you make it to the Rock Tunnel; all those places were dark and confusing, and your deaths there would have meant weeks before anyone found your corpses."

    "When you unexpectedly appeared at the Power Plant, I had the local barman paid off to poison your drinks should you enter his establishment. Unfortunately, you and Chloe fought before you could take a sip, though your friend would have died had she not been shot and bled out the next day. It was a foolish plan, but it just shows how desperate I have been to kill you; my hatred has made me sloppy."

    "That doesn't really answer my question though," Alaska replied, though she did shelf away the information in the back of her mind, several minor details falling into place. "What purpose do the robots serve, and why are you hiding behind a reality show?"

    "Did you get the picture out there?" Buzz snapped, his anger shining through as he gestured at the door. "They are my army, creatures I have created to defy anyone that stands in my way, and –"

    "There was a Beedrill at ViridianForest," Sandy interrupted, and Alaska took the chance to watch the henchmen; their guns were still raised, but each one was looking between their boss and the two girls, none even looking at Looker and Alistair at the end.

    "The robots had a role to play in the show, before you botched that up," Buzz hissed. "None of this would have ever happened had you not gone down into the Beedrill Nest; we may have never met, Miss Acevedo, and the robots could have filled their original purpose."

    "So this all comes back to the reality show then?" Alaska asked, almost forgetting her mission at the possibility of answers. Buzz paused for a moment, his lips curling back into a smile, and all of the gunmen now watched for his reaction.

    "My dear, have you not worked it out yet? Everything comes back to Indigo Dreams."

    "NOW!" Looker yelled, and Alistair shoved Alaska forwards as he ran towards the computer. The gunmen were taken aback by the sudden change, and Alaska used her momentum to sprint forwards, pulling Sandy with her, and she had nearly reached Buzz before the shooting began; gunfire echoed within the small room, and Alaska felt several bullets skim past her, but nothing hit and she reached Buzz without injury. Her enemy's eyes widened as Alaska approached him, and Buzz fumbled clumsily at his side for a gun. Alaska smirked and pushed Sandy towards the table before jumping, lunging forwards and landing on Buzz; the chair tipped backwards, and the two fell to the floor, but Alaska managed to fling the gun away before he could use it.

    "CROTCH SHOT!" She yelled, and drove her right knee into his groin. Buzz screamed in pain, and Alaska laughed coldly. She left him to wallow and quickly crawled towards the table. Sandy was hiding underneath for protection, sheltering Eevee from the attacks, but she had grabbed both of their bags and passed over Alaska's battered black backpack.

    "What the hell is going on?" She wailed, shaking slightly as she stared out at the battle, and Alaska turned and watched; Looker had gotten hold of a machine gun and was firing sniper-like at the henchmen, taking them out one at a time while he protected Alistair at the computer; meanwhile, Gallade had his arms raised and his eyes flashed pink, but two of the Houndoom were jumping at him, engulfing him in Dark attacks and holding him back from helping.

    "Alistair is doing something with the computer," Alaska explained as she rummaged through her bag for her PokeBalls, feeling relaxed now that it was back in her possession. "I am not sure what though, but I guess he will try to get us – wait a second," Alaska paused, her hands freezing around the brownies as a thought occurred to her.

    "What, what is it?" Sandy cried, eyes widening in fear.

    "There were only two Houndoom attacking Gallade," Alaska replied quietly, fear descending through her body. She quickly turned around but did not have to look far to find the missing Pokemon; a great big Houndoom stood right in front of her, smoke rising from its nostrils. It was standing so closely Alaska could count individual furs on its face, and could feel the heat rising in its throat…

    "HOOOOOOOO-DOOOOOOOOM!" The Dark Pokemon roared, and Alaska barely had time to pull out the brownie tray before flames were unleashed. The rock hard desert deflected most of the fire, but Alaska winced as her fingers were singed, and the heat was burning her skin as the Flamethrower was forced towards the table. By the time the attack stopped the table was in flames, and Alaska frantically leapt out from under it and reached desperately inside her bag for a PokeBall. However, Sandy suddenly yelled, a sound so shrill and painful that Alaska's heart nearly skipped a beat; she turned and found Houndoom had targeted her friend as she escaped the burning furniture. Sandy was pinned beneath the creature and could only scream as razor sharp fangs slashed at her arms, while Eevee lay in a heap beside her.

    "GET OFF HER!" Alaska yelled, and without thought she sprinted forwards, leaving her back behind and raising the tray high above her head. Houndoom turned at her cry, but was not expecting the attack; Alaska beat it across the head with the tray, and the Dark type whimpered as she wildly struck it with the brownies. With a furious glare, the Houndoom turned and sprinted away, heading off to find easier targets.

    "Are you alright?" Alaska breathlessly asked Sandy, who still lay cowering on the ground, her eyes painfully wide. Her dress was splattered with blood, the lilac fabric turning a rich purple as red seeped through, and Alaska bent down to look.

    "That wasn't a very nice way to treat a Pokemon, was it?" A deep voice growled. Alaska froze half bent over her friend, the unfamiliar voice making her spine shiver. She turned cautiously around, but only saw the stranger's black clothes before something large appeared in her face; suddenly, unimaginable pain spread throughout her head, and Alaska tried to scream as she toppled over backwards. Stars appeared in her eyes, and the entire room split in two and swayed around her. She heard Sandy scream and an angry yell, but Alaska could only focus on her face as the taste of blood appeared in her mouth; slowly, she raised her hands and felt the lower part of her jaw, but winced at her own touch. She realised fearfully that someone had just kicked her in the face, and they had managed to shatter her jaw in the process.

    "Someone should have done that to you a long time ago," the loud, cruel voice hissed, and Alaska cried out as something suddenly pressed down on her stomach, forcing the air out of her body. A face appeared above her, and it was one of the ugliest things Alaska had ever seen; it was covered in huge, hideous burns, making the man bald and turning his skin red. Only one eye appeared to be open, and his mouth looked more like an unhealed wound than lips. It was the thing of nightmares, and Alaska knew that this was her attacker, one of Buzz's henchmen sent to kill her.

    "You have given my boss a lot of grief," he growled, his entire body now pressing down on Alaska's ribs, and he raised a hand. "Now you need to be stopped." His fist came down so quickly it was a blur; Alaska could only whimper as her head shuddered, feeling as if a brick had just fallen on her nose. Blood spurted out of both nostrils, but before it could even register her pain the man grabbed her by the collar and heaved her up before throwing her against the wall. Alaska cried out and slumped to the floor, her entire body shaking now, blood pouring down her face and neck while her vision turned completely fuzzy, the entire room swaying before her; Alaska could see five Sandy's a few metres away, her friend staining the floor red as she crawled towards her bag.

    "I have lost count of the amount of people I have killed," the hideous man boomed, though his voice now sounded as though he was at the bottom of a well. Alaska turned towards him, unable to hold back groans of pain, and a wide grin distorted even further by her blurred vision swam into view. "You are not the first women I have killed, you are not the youngest and the sad thing for you is that killing you will mean nothing to me. This is the dying thought I leave all my victims with; no matter what you achieve in life, no matter what you did do, planned to do or could have done, eventually, everyone dies; yours is perhaps sooner than you expected."

    Alaska felt nothing except pain as the tall man grabbed her by the head, crushing her ears and tearing hairs out as he lifted her into the air. She could not look at him even if she wanted to, her vision had blurred so much that all she could see were colours, a weight pressing down against her brain. Darkness was already closing in, and as the scared man began to squeeze her head, disjointed thoughts flew across Alaska's ailing mind; she would never see Paige, Frances, Nadia or Shelley ever again, she would never see her family, she would never laugh with Sandy; she would never learn why Buzz or Gideon were terrorizing Kanto, she would never learn the mysteries of the reality show, she would never have to face the robots in open battle…

    Maybe that is a good thing…

    The pressure on her head suddenly lifted, and Alaska cried out as she fell suddenly to the ground, landing painfully on her leg before collapsing onto her back. Her scarred assailant was no longer there; instead a green and white creature stood shining next to her, a towering saviour glowing so brightly it hurt her eyes.

    "Gah-lah-da," Alaska groaned through the blood filling her mouth. Gallade stared down at her, and his wide, empty eyes suddenly seemed so clear, so solid in her distorted vision. The two gazed at each other for a moment, and Alaska got the feeling again of being judged, analyzed, examined by the Psychic type; then, a blue light lit up the room, forcing Alaska to blink, and when she opened her eyes Gallade was gone, replaced by something huge and grey, a massive, writhing statue. Alaska shut her eyes as the beast roared, but she did not have the strength to open them again. As distant cries of her name fading away to nothing, Alaska resigned herself to accept the darkness, knowing full well what Gallade would have seen had he entered her mind, knowing that she should feel guilty for giving up so easily, for accepting this fate so readily. But really, Alaska thought, her pain disappearing, the pressure on her brain lifting, what is the point in fighting this any longer… I am never going to finish this puzzle…
     
    Last edited by a moderator:
    • Chapter Sixty Five: Saving Private Acevedo
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 64

    Another long delay, but I have plans to aim for a once a fortnight update schedule which hopefully will come to fruition. Last chapter of this arc next.



    Chapter Sixty Five: Saving Private Acevedo

    It was not a good day to be Mr Samson Silph the Sixth.

    Most days, it was great to be him; Mr Silph was worth around five hundred billion dollars, and went to sleep every night in a rooftop apartment, where his bedroom was roughly the same size as most peoples houses. He was always confident that the next day would be just as great as the one before, and he had little reason to worry that anything would go wrong.

    But today, Mr Silph was worried. He stood on the ground floor of the building that would be his family's legacy, a neat, tidy and colourful reception area that usually was bustling with life and excitement. Now though, only he, his assistant Leanne and several security guards filled the empty floor; everyone else had been evacuated to avoid Zapdos as it tore the Silph Co. headquarters apart.

    "There are news teams at both ends of the road and in helicopters," Leanne chirped, gazing rapidly between the abandoned reception computers and her Silph-brand phone and tablet. Mr Silph turned and watched fearfully as electricity turned the outside yellow and more glass fell. This was the worst thing to happen to the company since the previous headquarters had been destroyed five years earlier, and Mr Silph was not going to let the same thing happen again; already he could feel himself slipping back into the immature, inexperienced boy who had to be saved by children, and he tried to gain control of himself.

    "We need to get in contact with all the major trainers; Sabrina, Alexis, Misty and Surge are closest, they should be able to help us, and I want the bloody Champion here NOW!" Samson boomed to his staff. "We lost our last building because of that damn overcharged bird, and I will not lose this one over the same Pokemon!"

    "Right away sir!" Leanne replied, and she began dialling four numbers at once.

    "Do you want to go down into the basement sir?" A tall, brooding security guard boomed, but Silph shook his head.

    "No, I need to see this out!" He replied sharply. "I am CEO, I run the biggest company in the world, and I will not be seen hiding away and leaving everyone else to sort out this problem!" He felt that saying that made him seem cool and smart, and Samson imagined that the passive looks on his staff's faces were ones of admiration at his calm and controlled demeanour.

    "Sir, Zapdos appears to be moving away from the building," a shorter guard said, and Silph frantically rushed around the desk to watch; a screen showed the Legendary Pokemon flying backwards away from the building, no longer attacking.

    "It looks likes it's leaving; maybe it defeated those Pokemon it was fighting and has gotten bored?" The security guard suggested, but Mr Silph did not care for the reason; the chaos was over, the beast was leaving! He breathed a sigh of relief and looked at his watch; this chaos would have started and finished just within an hour, and now they could put the mess behind them and move on.

    "Let's go outside and take a look at the damage, then we can talk to the press," Mr Silph said eagerly, and he briskly marched towards the glass doors. There was already one reporter rushing towards the building now that all appeared safe, and Mr Silph put his most serious face on whilst smiling childishly on the inside; Zapdos was no longer a threat, everything would be fine now…

    Suddenly, Mr Silph heard a distant rumbling noise, and he paused as the floor beneath his feet shook. He turned and looked curiously at his staff, wondering if he had just imagined it, but they seemed to have not noticed so Samson kept on walking, certain that his day couldn't get any worse.

    That was when the Onix appeared beneath his feet.

    Mr Silph emitted a high pitched scream as the tiled floor exploded, and a large, grey, boulder-shaped head burst into his building. Leanne squealed, dust filled the air, and Mr Silph leapt fearfully onto a nearby sofa as a huge section of his ground floor sunk into a hole. He stared frightfully at the writhing Pokemon that now took up half his lobby, briefly seeing several figures clinging onto the creatures head, but then the Onix roared so loudly Samson nearly wet himself. Mr Silph looked between the Pokemon, the broken glass both outside and the cracked, irreparable floor, and he fainted into a heap on the sofa, unable to take any more drama.


    Two minutes earlier…

    Fear; that was all that went through Sandy's mind as she scrambled across the floor. Fear for herself, fear for her Pokemon, but ultimately fear for Alaska, who she had just witnessed getting attacked by a man twice her size, and had been helpless to do anything.

    Please be alright, please be alright, please be alright,Sandy thought as she grabbed her friends discarded bag, shoving the tray of brownies inside, picking up Eevee and getting to her feet. She nearly fell back over, her own blood loss from her torn up arms making her dizzy, but Sandy was able to stumble towards her friend, who now lay in a heap against the wall. She could not be sure if Alaska was still alive, but as the ceiling was now collapsing on top of them, Sandy knew there was no time to waste.

    "Weepinbell, hold her with Vine Whip, and Butterfree you hold onto Weepinbell!" She cried hoarsely at her team, who had barely been out thirty seconds but were already in the middle of a war. Butterfree and Weepinbell nodded at their orders, and Sandy left them to rescue her friend, casting Alaska one last look before turning towards the chaos that surrounded her, clutching the unconscious Eevee tightly against her heaving chest.

    Buzz's soldiers lay all around the rapidly shrinking room, many lying in a pool of their own blood, bullet wounds all across their chests. Only a few were still standing, and they were now fighting hand-to-hand with Looker, their guns cast aside as knives and fists ended the battle. Sandy could see Mitchell's father scrambling across the room, the computer he had thrown himself at now a smoking mess, and the scientist was cautiously watching Onix's tail; the Rock Snake was not happy with his enclosed environment, and Sandy watched in horror as Onix continued to ram his head spike into the ceiling, strong enough that it was tearing massive holes in the concrete and showering them all.

    I need you to get us out, but could you kindly not kill us in the process? Sandy thought, knowing she needed to train Onix more, though her current top priority was making sure they escaped. She looked around to make sure there were no surprises; the scarred man was slumped against the wall, while Gallade was fending off the last of the Houndoom. Now was as good of a chance as any to leave, Sandy thought, before any reinforcements arrived, such as the nightmare army waiting in the next room…

    "LOOKER, WE NEED TO GO!" She screamed, and the spy briefly looked at her and nodded; then, fast as lightning, he slammed his palm into the nose of one of his assailants before punching him in the throat, grabbing the man's knife and stabbing a second henchman with it. Sandy watched the two men fall, but Looker had already moved, grabbing hold of the third and smashing him into the wall and giving him a solid few kicks before leaving him to fall. The spy jumped across his victims, ran towards Mr Melton and grabbed hold of the scientist before rushing him past Onix's flailing tail.

    "I suppose this is our way out of here?" Looker asked normally, as if he had not just beaten up three men.

    "Well yes, I was hoping Onix would be able to protect us and get us through the robots if they attacked, but he seems a bit… violent?" Sandy said meekly.

    "No… need," Mr Melton suddenly said in a hoarse voice, and Sandy was shocked to see how pale he was. "I disabled the security systems… we should be able to get into the pipes… and get… out…." He stopped speaking and began to cough violently into his hand, and when it came away it was red. Sandy was stunned by the sight of blood, but Looker seemed unfazed and placed Alistair at the end of Onix's tail. At the weight of a person Onix stopped writhing and looked curiously down, his massive eyes meeting Sandy's, and she quickly snapped out of her shock; both Alistair and Alaska could be saved, as long as they got out.

    "Onix, we need you to drag us all through the ceiling and keep going until we tell you to stop… is that alright?" She asked, trying to sound confident but her voice shook. Onix watched her unblinkingly for a moment, but then he nodded with his great big head, and Sandy nearly squealed in a brief moment of delight.

    "Gallade, we're going!" Looker yelled, and his Psychic type nodded, casually slamming his large green arms into Houndoom and quickly appearing beside them. Sandy climbed onto her Pokemon, wrapping one arm around the thin part of his tail while holding tightly onto Eevee with the other. Butterfree fluttered over, clutching Weepinbell in her hands, and the … Pokemon had her brown vine wrapped around Alaska. Sandy looked at her friend and felt sick; Alaska was nearly unrecognisable, her jaw swollen and her face smeared with blood.

    Please be alright… you have to be, you can't die now… please be safe! Sandy thought sadly. However, her thoughts left her as she felt pressure on her back, as if something was forcing her up against Onix; she looked around and saw Gallade climbing onto the Rock Snake, his eyes glowing pink, and Sandy realised they were being psychically bound together.

    "We need to go Sandy – NOW!" Looker yelled, and Sandy understood why; the door had been blown off its hinges, and now all manner of creatures were coming in; a massive metal Kingler, a pair of Growlithe bound in realistic fur, flapping Zubat that shone as they moved; the army had finally been brought into the fight.

    "GO ONIX, GO!" Sandy yelled.

    "ONNNNNNN!" Onix roared, and he stretched up to full height, his head entering the hole he had made, and Sandy yelped as her stomach gave an almighty jolt, and she was suddenly heaved rapidly into darkness.

    All sounds of battle and gunfire disappeared, replaced by a heavy silence that pressed down on Sandy as much as Gallade's Psychic did. Despite her protection, Sandy still clung as tightly as possible to Onix, keeping her body low as they were pulled through piping. She had no idea where they were going or how Onix was able to move his large body so smoothly, but she ignored the sickly sensation in her stomach and the jolt she got when Onix turned and looked ahead to their escape.

    Get us out; I don't care how, just get us out of here and away from those people, just let me take Alaska to a doctor, just let me save her… Sandy thought, her eyes shut tight against the darkness. Something soft brushed against her hand and Sandy nearly jumped, fearful of the robots that had begun to attack. Slowly, she half opened her eyes, squinting through blackness to see what was touching her; Butterfree's outline was clear even in the dark, the silver of her wings still managing to shine, and Sandy smiled tearfully and lightly grabbed hold of the Pokemon's outstretched hand, it only hitting her now how close they had come to nearly being separated forever…

    Onix suddenly slowed, and metallic clangs and grunts filled the silence; Sandy looked cautiously upwards, feeling Butterfree's hand tighten around her fingers, and fear cascaded through her mind as Onix slid backwards; was the path ahead blocked, would they need to go back?

    But then, with a tremendous roar, Onix shot forwards, and Sandy could not help but scream as light exploded into her view, and her stomach lurched so violently she thought she'd be sick; Onix seemed to jump out of the pipes, lunging upwards like some graceful ballerina, all while what seemed to be rocks bombarded his passengers, only Gallade and Psychic saving them.

    The sudden light and Onix's speed made for a disorientating combination, but as the Rock Snake came to a stop, Sandy began to take stock of their surroundings. They were still inside but now in a cavernous room, roughly twice the size of her childhood home. It was very white, with colour interjected in the form of rugs, sofas, tables and plants. Her eyes were attracted towards the largest thing in the room that wasn't her Pokemon, a huge waterfall built into one of the walls, cool water rapidly tinkling down a metallic surface into a large pool, the Silph Co. logo emblazoned behind the stream.

    "We need to keep moving, we can't stay here," Looker yelled.

    "Where are we meant to go though?" Sandy cried. "We won't be able to move fast on foot, and Onix can't exactly hide behind buildings – though there are a lot of skyscrapers in Saffron, aren't there?"

    "Gallade knows where we need to go, he can relay the directions, we just have to go!" Looker yelled back. The angry spy was beginning to annoy Sandy, but she gave Onix a gentle kick all the same; the Rock type roared and slid forwards out of the building. Glass rained down on them as they crashed through the shattered sliding doors, and then sunlight hit Sandy's face for the first time all day; the day was bright and hot, and she had to shield her eyes as Onix swerved to the right and rocketed down a crowded street. With her hands blocking the light, Sandy was able to make out some of the street; huge shards of glass, some as tall as her, lay across the street and footpath, many having crushed cars and flattened trees and plant boxes. Sandy could see terrified faces watching them from inside cafes and shops, and she felt unsettled as her attention turned eighty floors upwards, finding the smoking hole that marked where she and Alaska had been an hour before.

    Did Zapdos cause all this damage just to save us? She asked herself as Onix turned down an alleyway. What if people had been hurt, or killed, just so we could be saved? And Zapdos didn't even get us out unharmed, Sandy thought as she stared down at Alaska, her neck and the collar of her shirt now stained with blood.

    "Are we being followed?" She called back to Looker, looking around as Onix entered a smaller street, his large body sending people scattering and stopping a bus in its path.

    "Doesn't appear to be, but I doubt they will send anything out, not with our flying guardian watching over us," Looker said, and Sandy looked up; the yellow and black Legendary that had shattered Silph's windows was now circling above them, occasionally sounding her cry. Sandy knew she should be grateful to Zapdos, as this was now the second time the Electric type had saved them, but her experiences inside the building had made her a tad bitter, and she wanted to know why she had known to rescue them in the first place.

    "A robotic army, a bloody robot army… if I had suspected anything like that for a second, I would have come here with my own damn army," Looker grumbled audibly. Sandy was trying to stay focussed on the path ahead, not wanting to think back to the horrors they had just witness, not wanting to dwell on Alaska's limp body nor the blood seeping from her arms, but she knew that if her friend was awake then she would be demanding answers, and Sandy had to keep up with their bargain.

    "Why were you there anyway? He… Buzz, he said something about forcing his enemies to come to him; why couldn't you have found this all out without coming here?" She called back.

    "Silph Co. is one of the biggest companies in our world, but that didn't stop Team Rocket destroying them five years back," Looker explained. "I didn't work on that case, but I heard that Silph was nearly killed and every floor was damaged. As a result, when Mr Silph had his headquarters rebuilt, he installed a number of advanced computer security protocols that prevents anyone from hacking into his system."

    "The only reason I could hack the system back there," Alistair interjected between coughs, "is because those computers are archaic compared to what Silph has us working with normally, and the security was not as modern."

    "Silph had the basements put in as a precaution, but I suspect he has forgotten about updating them as there have been no threats to his livelihood for years," Looker added. "But regardless of that oversight, the main software that Buzz uses as part of his front is completely protected from outside attacks, so I had to come here in order to try and find out what he was doing. Zapdos attacked before I could get further than the security cameras, but I guess that little debacle back there had its benefits; I now know how he plans on attacking, and his little joke about the league partially proves the rumours."

    "Rumours, what rumours?" Sandy asked, vague memories from her discussions with Alaska stirring in the back of her head, but her loss of blood was making her woozy and she could not place a finger on anything.

    "Several months ago, the International Police received a tip off a few days after the reality show was announced that the show was a cover for something far more dangerous. We investigated and used old security footage and face recognition software to identify Bolton as being an ex-Team Rocket member, one of the last that our champion ever defeated in 2008. We raised our suspicions with the Indigo League superiors and several key people who make up the backbone of Kanto, but most of them have refused to accept anything is wrong, not until there is legitimate evidence of Red being under threat."

    Sandy did not inquire any further, silent dwelling on what Looker had said. Why was the League ignoring the information before them, why was no one coming to help them fight Buzz and Gideon, and how many other people had they met on their journey, from gym leaders to Bill, known this information and not bothered to warn or help them? Sandy knew Alaska would be enraged once she knew about this, and the blonde knew she had a right to be annoyed that they were being left on their own like this, but she could only feel saddened by the news; even if some of them had not been very nice, it had been an incredible experience meeting all the gym leaders and the influential trainers, scientists and celebrities that Sandy had watched on TV or read about as a child, and she had hoped to hold onto those memories. But how could she be happy about meeting Steven Stone or encountering all those gym leaders, when surely they all knew the threats she and Alaska faced and none had properly told her what to expect?

    "We're here," Looker said, and Sandy looked around as Onix came to a sudden halt. They had left the skyscrapers behind, and were now surrounded by smaller buildings, the tallest being about four storeys. They were at the edge of the city, with tall trees behind the nearest buildings leading to forests and the surrounding routes. Sandy saw one building she recognized from TV as being the terminus for the Magnet Train, but it was further down the road from them so she presumed they were not going there. However, Sandy saw no other buildings of note; the only other one that stood out was a dull single storey wooden building, most of its tiled roof missing, surrounded by a courtyard of cracked concrete slabs.

    "Are we going there?" Sandy asked incredulously as she slid down Onix's tail. "That place just looks… serial killer-y."

    "It's different on the inside," Looker replied. "Now withdraw Onix and let's get moving. Gallade can carry Alaska, let's just go before anyone sees us." Sandy nodded and grabbed the Great Ball from her pocket. Onix turned his massive head, which could barely fit in the alleyway they were in, and Sandy froze, arm half raised, as the Rock type stared down at her. She thought back to the fearsome beast she had caught in Mt Moon all those weeks ago, the massive creature that had destroyed a bar within seconds, but right now Sandy could not see rage; Onix looked at her with an expression that has hard to read in a face that carved from stone, but his wide, staring eyes looked as mournful, concerned and depressed as Sandy felt, and the blonde stifled a soft gasp of realisation.

    "We'll be alright, don't worry about us," she whispered, and Onix gave a short, reluctant nod, and Sandy's mind raced as he disappeared inside his Great Ball. She had never thought Onix cared for her, but it was clear the Rock Snake was concerned about leaving his trainer unprotected, and now Sandy was not sure what to think.

    "We need to go, now!" Looker hissed, and Sandy snapped out of her thoughts and nodded. She set off across the road, Butterfree flying beside her still holding Weepinbell. Sandy could feel Eevee stirring in her arms, and she hoped the furry little Pokemon was alright, but her attention was wavering between Onix's brief show of caring to the fate of her friend. Looker and Gallade ran on her other side, both Alaska and Mr Melton floating alongside, and Sandy felt a pang of guilt, having put little thought into the scientist's clearly deteriorating health; he had saved them, creating that passage for Onix…

    "Head straight through the doors," Looker called, and Sandy turned back around; they had left the smooth road behind and had stepped through a dilapidated fence into the broken up courtyard. Sandy ran cautiously over cracked paving slabs, and her eyes cast wearingly over a dead tree covered in bird crap to piles of rubbish that seemed blown in from the street. The building looked worse up close, with missing window panes, mould and mildew in the wood, and the half open door seemed to barely be standing up. A faded sign above the door read 'Saffron Fighting Dojo', and Sandy could not help but wonder why they had come here.

    "Are you sure this is –"

    "Yes!" Looker snapped, and Sandy obediently nodded, trying to be optimistic that Alaska would find proper medical treatment inside a building that screamed 'crack house'. She had just stepped inside, thinking that if that was the case then at least there'd be hypodermic needles around, when a new voice sounded around her.

    "Oh lord, what's happen to the bitch this time?" The voice scoffed, and Sandy's whole world changed. Her view of a long, dark and empty room began to change, and all Sandy could see was a harsh purple light that seemed to bore into her brain. She nearly collapsed, feeling Eevee squirming in her arms, her vision now so neon she thought she was on drugs, and then suddenly things became clear.

    Sandy, Looker and their Pokemon were now standing in what seemed to be the reception area for a futuristic space ship. The mouldy wooden floor and hole-strewn walls had been replaced with tiles that seemed to be moving slowly between purple and blue as Sandy stared at them, creating a confusing cube of a room where the corners all seemed to blend into one another. People sat in desks that blended into the walls, a bizarre group of strangers that had not been there when Sandy had entered; it would have been hard to miss their rich maroon uniforms or their large black wristbands. More people were rushing towards them, emerging from what Sandy presumed was a back wall where a large green light on the floor seemed to be letting off sparks, but Looker seemed to be expecting this strange wine-coloured army.

    "Where the hell are we?" Sandy cried, holding Eevee tightly. The voice began to laugh, and Sandy suddenly realised she knew who it belonged to.

    "Come on now, I thought you were the smart one," Clyde sneered. "Haven't you done your local area history yet? I guess dropping out of school to train a Bug to fight criminals is a much better life choice than getting an education..."

    "This is the Saffron City Gym," Looker interrupted as Gallade lowered their charges towards the approaching staff. "It specializes in Psychic types, and they created this hidden gym inside their rival's old base after their old one got destroyed –"

    "Let me guess, five years ago?" Sandy asked, and Looker smirked.

    "The doors have shut behind us, but even if Buzz got inside he would never be able to find us, we are completely hidden by their unique security methods. It is safer than taking them to a hospital at any rate," he finished before turning to the gym staff; their wrist bands glowed pink, and Alaska and Alistair were both floating between them.

    "We will take the male to our medical wing," one of them explained. "Sabrina wants to treat the girl personally, if you approve."

    "Of course," Looker said, and the staff walked back towards the green light, their patients moving with them. Sandy made to follow after, but Looker grabbed her shoulder. "No, you can't go with her – Sabrina will want to see her alone."

    "What?! I have to go with her, I can't leave her alone!" Sandy cried, wheeling around to face the spy. "What if something happens to her?"

    "She will be fine, Sabrina's staff is perfectly capable of treating both of them, I have heard great things –"

    "I don't care, Alaska is my friend and I need to be there with her! What if she is dying Looker, I can't let her die alone!" Sandy yelled; she could tell she was on the verge of tears but did not care, too frustrated with her situation to give a damn about her emotions. She expected Looker to say something in response, but he merely sighed and moved towards one of the desks, a stool suddenly appearing behind him.

    "I am getting too old for this," he groaned and collapsed into his seat. Sandy couldn't bear to look at him any more, and instead turned to see where Alaska had gone. However, she and the staff had disappeared, the green square suddenly still and dim. Anxious, hurt and ultimately confused, Sandy wheeled around, ignoring Gallade's intruding stare, and focussed on her Pokemon, trying to rein her thoughts in. Butterfree and Weepinbell were watching her worryingly, and after a few moments of watching them, Sandy sighed and put everything else aside. For a little while she had thought her Pokemon were lost to her, but now she, Butterfree, Onix, Weepinbell and Pichu were all back together; all the questions and lies could wait for later, they had escaped with their lives and Sandy couldn't be more thankful.

    "Vee… Eevee Vee," a timid voice muttered, and Sandy looked down at the brown ball stirring in her arms, big black eyes gazing fearfully up at her.

    "Ssssh, it's alright, we're safe, we're all safe now, that's what matters," Sandy whispered, cradling Eevee in her arms, and as she smiled down at the Normal type, part of her actually believed it was the truth.
     
    • Chapter Sixty Six: Teenage Bitch
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 65

    Chapter Sixty Six: Teenage Bitch

    Be patient Alaska… be brave… I am still coming for you… I will find you some day soon… my warning still stands… protect yourself, protect those around you… I cannot promise what will happen if you do not heed my advice…

    Latios… what is going to happen to me… what are you trying to warn me about?

    I will find you soon… my strength has weakened… the pain of my escape is getting to me… my sister is healing me, I will find you soon… be patient Alaska... be brave… my warning still stands…

    Where are you? Why have you been following me all this time? Answer me… why won't anyone just answer my questions… ANSWER ME!



    "I believe she is awake."

    Alaska's eyes burst open, and all she could see was blue. She could feel a dull pain throughout her body, and she had a feeling as though she had woken from a dream, but the question she had just asked disappeared from the back of her mind and a new one leapt to the front: Am I dead?

    "I need towels for the patient, she appears to be sweating," someone said calmly and quietly a few feet away, and Alaska instantly snapped her head towards them. The simple movement though sent streams of pain coursing through her body, namely the lower part of her face, and Alaska groaned softly and collapsed back onto a thin mattress.

    "That was not very intelligent of you," the cool voice said. Alaska had her eyes shut to the pain and could not see who the speaker was, though she could tell the voice belonged to a woman and a stranger. Suddenly, something cool and soft began to lightly dab her skin, and Alaska felt waves of relief wash over her: she had not realised how hot she was, and the simple touch of a wet towel against her body made a world of difference.

    As the pain faded, Alaska opened her eyes again, looking to her left for her carer. Calling her a woman seemed erroneous, as the person beside her looked only a few years older, but when the stranger met Alaska's gaze, there was something in her eyes that made her seemed older. Blue hair framed her youthful but wise face, and when Alaska glanced down at her bedside guest and saw she was wearing a tight, wine-purple leather shirt and long black trousers.

    "Either angels dress a lot more scandalous than I imagined, or I take it I am not dead?" Alaska groaned, and the girl smirked for a brief moment.

    "Why would you have died? Do you know many people who have been killed by having their jaw broken?" Alaska realised that this mysterious woman had a point, and gave a simple shrug that sent new shockwaves through her body. "I am sure you would have liked to have died though," the girl continued, raising her arms above Alaska's chest and revealing two large, glowing metallic bracelets on her wrists. "In fact, I can tell you are disappointed you are still alive and that you will have to carry on living through pain and uncertainty." The girl had a knowing look on her face, and Alaska frowned, her pain numbing as doubt flooded her mind.

    "Would you mind telling me who you are and where the hell I am before you continuing judging me?" She asked viciously, but the girl seemed unfazed by her sudden hostility.

    "My name is Sabrina, and you are currently in my private offices at my gym. One of my assistants was here but I sent her away when you awoke so we may speak privately." Alaska stared at the strange girl in shock for a few moments as her words registered, and then she began to laugh. It hurt; her chest and neck and jaw and everything feeling as though knives were being wedged into her skin, but Alaska just let herself laugh. "Would you mind telling me what is so amusing?" Sabrina asked calmly.

    "I'm in a gym!" Alaska snorted in between giggles. "Yesterday I was out on Route 12, expecting to head down to Fuchsia and battle Janine, but here I am… in Saffron… in your gym… and I'm alive!" And Alaska collapsed back into her laughter, ignoring the slightly judgemental look Sabrina was giving her, unable to control her own deranged amusement: what a strange, messed up day this had been, to have begun in the offices of her enemy and end up in the offices of a gym leader. Alaska continued to laugh for several minutes before the humour began to die and reality began to creep its way back in. Looking for a distraction, Alaska turned her attention to the room she had awoken in: the walls, ceiling and floor swirled between purples and blues, making her feel as though she was inside a lava lamp.

    "What's with all the lights? It looks like someone's throwing a rave and we're the only people that turned up."

    "I have never been to a rave before so I cannot compare, but I understand certain people find joy in them," Sabrina said coolly, her owns eyes flickering around her room as if seeing it for the first time. "They are not lights; it is the Psychic energy that flows through this building. It is part of our defence system so that no one can find us, and the energy is stimulating for the Pokemon that my staff and I train."

    "I guess that's fair enough: Misty has a pool, Alexis has a garden, so it makes sense you'd have… psychic energy walls?"

    "It is a tad more complicated than that, but I shan't burden your mind with the specifics when you already have so much to tend with," Sabrina said, and despite it sounding like a compliment Alaska had a feeling it was meant to be an insult. She gazed at the gym leader as Sabrina waved her bracelets over Alaska's body, and it dawned on Alaska that she could not read this newest leader's personality. With the other four she had faced, it had been easy to work out their moods and intentions, but Sabrina was a blank canvas, showing neither kindness nor hatred towards her, and that was just as unsettling as everything else Alaska had faced today.

    "How is the pain?" Sabrina asked, raising her arms and tapping away at the bracelets.

    "On a scale of one to ten, I'd say it's about a hundred," Alaska replied.

    "That's not on a scale of one to ten," Sabrina replied, and Alaska wasn't sure if she was meant to laugh. "My Pokemon and I have managed to reset your damaged bones and stop your internal bleeding, and with medication you should be fully recovered – physically, at least – within a few days."

    "Splendid," Alaska said with a fake smile, and she half heartedly raised her arms in the air in celebration. As Sabrina cast another perplexing look, a sudden thought struck Alaska. "Where is everyone else? Sandy, Looker, my Pokemon, where are they, are they all fine?"

    "Yes, in a sense," Sabrina replied. "Alexandra has received stitching for the bite marks she sustained, and Alistair is currently receiving treatment for the gunshot wound to his back. The former should heal fine but I cannot offer anything but pointlessly hopeful guesswork about the latter. The spy is unharmed and all Pokemon escaped without injury either. I have your bag here if you would like that for comfort." For a brief second, Alaska went to say yes, desperate to see her Pokemon and see that they were all fine. However, that temptation only lasted a moment, and then Alaska shook her head, a crushing weight pressing down on her body.

    "No thank you, I am alright for the moment – I should probably rest more before I see them."

    "Of course, you will need a while to accept your submission to death," Sabrina said. It took several moments for that comment to register, but when Alaska turned back to face her the gym leader was sitting calmly watching her, her eyes almost eager.

    "What do you mean my submission to death?" Alaska asked incredulously. "What the hell are you on about?" Her tone got sharper and louder with every word, but Sabrina just calmly stared at Alaska as if examining an animal inside a zoo.

    "I spoke to Gallade shortly after you arrived here. He passed on your thoughts from the last few minutes inside Silph Co.," she replied calmly, and Alaska had a brief image of Gallade watching her before she had faded to black. "He told me about how you were willing to embrace death, how you were willing to die so you could avoid facing your foes in open combat. Do not tell me I am lying or that I am incorrect: I find lies only delay the unavoidable, and by being able to psychically converse with others I am able to always see the truth. Gallade knew and now I know exactly what you were thinking as the man who goes by Scar tried to crush your head in." Alaska stared at Sabrina in shock, rage brewing beneath the surface as the gym leader stared calmly back: Alaska wanted to say Sabrina was wrong, wanted to yell at her, to argue with her, to tell her none of it was true. But the more Sabrina watched her, the more the willingness to argue disappeared, and eventually Alaska fell back onto the mattress defeated. She shut her eyes to avoid Sabrina's stare, but that only dredged up those last moments from Silph Co.; the Houndoom attacking her, the hideous man beating her, Buzz laughing, the robots, the endless rows of robots, the robots she had never defeated…

    "Your right… I was ready to give up then… I just can't see the point in fighting them anymore. How am I supposed to defeat a massive army of robots when I have never even been able to defeat one of them on my own before?" She felt childish for saying the words aloud, but Alaska could not keep them bottled up any longer: seeing the army, seeing how easily Buzz had captured her and Sandy, how close she had come to dying, how close her Pokemon had come to failure…

    "I know I cannot be free of Buzz, that he and Gideon and whoever else are going to follow me until either I defeat them or I die, but I know I cannot win against all the things they can throw at me so what is the point in carrying on with this cursed life?" For the first time since waking up, Alaska thought of the eerie voice that had haunted her dreams, the same one she had heard before, and remembered the warning she had received what seemed like a lifetime ago.

    "If I stay alive, then that means Sandy, my family, and, most importantly, my Pokemon are going to be in danger, and what sort of person would I be if I continued to risk their lives like this? When that man – Scar, is that his name? How fitting… Anyway, when he had his hands on my head, when I felt him squeezing my skull, at that moment I wanted to be dead, I wanted to die so that Sandy and Paige and Frances and Shelley and everyone else can live. I can't escape this, no matter how hard I tried: it was so difficult for me to choose gyms over this madness, but I set myself a goal and I knew I had to defeat all the gyms before facing Gideon again, to strengthen myself and my team. Yet I make that decision and I end up learning more about this madness then I ever have before! No matter what I do, no matter how hard or fast I run from it, all these freaks and madmen and killers just follow after me, and I really don't know how long I can stay ahead of them before they finally catch me for good. If you can read minds, then why don't you read mine and find out all the things Buzz said he was going to do to me? I don't want to die… no one wants to die… but what else can I do? I can't carry on suffering, I can't carry on getting hurt and weakened every time I face them, I can't carry on putting everyone else's lives in danger. Death is the easy way out, and I wish that I had died back in that basement and that all of this was over."

    Silence filled the room at the end of that. Alaska had only just met Sabrina, but she could not bring herself to look at the mysterious gym leader, unable to meet her eyes after pouring out her heart and soul like that. She could feel the inquisitive and empty stare of the Psychic trainer watching her, but Alaska merely stared at the glowing ceiling, watching the colours swirl and spin, letting her mind slip away, away from all of the pain.

    "Death is nothing for you to be afraid of," Sabrina said finally what felt like many minutes later. "I commend you on your bravery of being willing to accept the inevitable like that: it is something I believe few people are capable of, especially not at our age, and I respect you for that. However, I also think you are a much weaker person that I had initially anticipated, and for that I am rather disappointed."

    "What do you mean?" Alaska asked, raising an eyebrow and opening her eyes to face the blank faced gym leader again. Sabrina paused for a few moments, staring deeply at Alaska, so deeply in fact the trainer wondered if her mind was being read right at this moment and she could not tell.

    "I have been able to read minds since a very young age," the gym leader said at last. "I cannot remember my life before this gift occurred. My father raised me alongside and an Abra and a Ralts, treated me as though I was a Pokemon and not his daughter, trained me to utilize the gifts of the Pokemon around so that one day I could replace him as the leader of this gym. It was unfortunate that he died earlier than we expected, but I had brought my powers to a place where I could be an effective trainer, and the Pokemon I was surrounded with proved admirable in supporting me. I believe I am a decent gym leader, but my true gifts lie in my powers.

    "I can read everything that you are thinking Alaska, and more than even you have worked out. I see the voices inside your head, I see the cards you were shown in LavenderTown, I see the family you have not spoken to and I can see every one of your fears, and this is where your problems lie. You are afraid of the inevitable and the unpredictable, of the situations you have no control over. You have made it these far in your journey because of luck: the right moves against trainers with lesser capabilities than yourself, the right explosion at the right time, even the right object in the museum so you could escape a bomb blast without harm. Your fear lies in the fact you know you cannot rely on luck to defeat Buzz and Gideon, that you will not always have someone else to rescue you, and you are not sure if you are strong enough to win." Alaska sat in silence, letting Sabrina tell her these things, unable to bring herself to speak as the onslaught of truths was thrown at her.

    "However Alaska, I can also see potential," Sabrina continued. "We humans are cursed with the ability to feel fear, but any fear can be overcome when you put your mind to it. In order for you to win yours, you need to cut yourself loose of the people that are trying to control you, and you must learn to be a normal trainer once again. I can see that you feel the need to solve mysteries and to solve the problems at hand, but you cannot be of any help to anyone until you have defeated Janine, Blaine, Leaf and myself."

    "I have already beaten four gym leaders and nothing has changed: what do you expect defeating you is going to achieve?" Alaska asked icily.

    "Because you need to learn to battle properly against an intelligent opponent if you hope to overcome your fears," Sabrina replied. "You have beaten Chloe Carmichael a number of times because she is not a wise child, and that has made you unfortunately confident. You have won many of your other battles by destroying the gym or by using tricks. You realized that today down in that basement, when you realized that you have never defeated one of Bolton's robots before. Your readiness to accept death comes because you believe it will be too difficult to defeat the army, but I can tell you that you can defeat them if you put your mind to it.

    "You will stay in this building and recuperate, and once you healed enough, you will battle me for the Marsh Badge and you will fight your hardest and you will win on your own accord: no tricks, no destroying my facilities, just simple, honest battling. If you battle to a good enough standard, I will pass over the badge and you will be free to leave and do what you want afterwards. I cannot guarantee what will happen when you leave, but I am certain you will be able to face your enemies properly once again and continue your journey." Alaska sat there, taking all of it in; not just what Sabrina had said, but everything that had happened today, everything that had happened in the past week and month and ever since she had left Viridian City. Had blowing things up and outsmarting Chloe altered her more than she thought? She looked down at her fingers, realising for the first time they were wrapped in bandages; Houndoom had nearly killed her, it had only been the brownies that saved her, the brownies Freddie had baked for her…

    "I don't need to sit here and listen to this crap," Alaska hissed, and Sabrina's eyes widened. "You have probably just read my blog and read between the lines: I bet you are just some big fucking phony, just another person who thinks they know me and thinks they can control me. Well guess what, you blue haired bitch, I'M MY OWN PERSON AND NO ONE CAN TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" She tried to sit up, pushing herself up and ignoring the pain that erupted in her chest at the simple movements, simply knowing she did not have to sit here and let herself be deconstructed like this, let her personality and actions be torn apart by a stranger. She had nearly gotten herself up when Sabrina lunged: Alaska didn't see the foot coming, but than it was in her stomach and she was back on the mattress, groaning.

    "Crazy bitch!" She yelled, and Sabrina scoffed.

    "You are not the first person to ever call me that," she replied, and there was a sudden intensity in her voice that had not been there before. "I have been an outcast my entire life, I have spent most of my days inside the walls of my gym training. I rarely leave here, and you know why? Because when people see me they have the exact same fears you do: they are afraid of the unknown, they are afraid of what they cannot see and what they cannot understand. Humans are fools because we try and fix things so that they become our way: when my father died, teachers took me away and tried to fix me because they thought I was broken, and you tried to train your Pokemon but now see death as the easiest solution. You are just like my teachers Alaska, uncertain, doubtful but ultimately afraid of what I can do, but the treatments they forced me to have never worked, and your death will do nothing but take away the greatest resource our region currently has in this war. Of course people want to use you, but I am not one of them Alaska Acevedo: I want to help you, and in order to do that, you have to defeat me on my terms, not yours, and you will not be leaving this building until you have defeated me."

    "Excuse me?!" Alaska screamed, clutching her stomach as if it would burst. "You cannot keep me here like some sort of prisoner!"

    "Well, actually, I can if I want to: no one leaves this building without my allowance," Sabrina replied coldly, suddenly tapping away at her bracelets. "I am not a fake Alaska, my powers are very real. I can read your mind and I can alter it if I want, just as I have been doing for this entire conversation." The gym leader towered powerfully over her, and her eyes did not leave Alaska as she pressed one more button on the bracelet.

    "What are talking about?" Alaska screamed, putting hatred into every syllable. For a second, she was convinced she had spoken these words out loud, expected to hear them echo back inside the glowing room. But there was something strange about the way Sabrina was looking at her, and slowly, cautious of what she might discover, Alaska raised her hands gingerly to her face and felt her jaw. For the first time she realised how swollen it was, how much her face hurt where she touched, and Alaska knew there was no way she could be speaking.

    I… I haven't actually said anything, have I? She thought, looking up at Sabrina.

    "Not aloud you haven't," the gym leader replied, and Alaska's heart nearly skipped a beat. "Your jaw will healer faster here than it will in a proper hospital, but you are not near talking yet." Alaska sunk into her mattress, wishing all of a sudden that it would open up and swallow her whole so she would not have to face the gym leader, not have to face anyone ever again; everything Sabrina said was true…

    There was a soft thud beside her, and Alaska turned and saw Sabrina had pushed her bag forwards, the battered black backpack illuminated by the bizarre lights of the gym. She lunged towards it, ignoring the pain, and pulled out her four PokeBalls, suddenly desperate to see her Pokemon again and to have something else to think about.

    "I expect we will be battling within a week, if you're healing goes to plan," Sabrina said, and Alaska looked up and saw the gym leader was standing in a corner of the room, tapping away at her bracelets and barely looking at her. "Think about what I said Alaska; think about what you need to do to defeat me, and what you need to do to overcome your fear. Your death will not solve anything, so you need to find another way to fix this mess." Alaska stared at her, the four capsules cold to touch, and wondered when the two would face each other next.

    And what if I can't defeat you, what I can only win on my terms? She called out with her mind. Sabrina paused, a gloved finger hovering over a button, and when she stared up at Alaska the gym leader looked her age for the first time.

    "Then you will never be able to defeat them, our Champion will die and Kanto shall fall alongside him," Sabrina whispered, her eyes wide, her voice cold and quiet. Her hovering finger came down on the bracelet, and with a flash she was gone, leaving Alaska alone with her PokeBalls, her thoughts, and the unsettling knowledge that she was not the only person in their conversation who was afraid.




    Apologies for a massive delay: uni got in the way and stuffed things up a bit. I sped through this chapter a bit so I could actually get it done before the end of the month/more assignments got in the way, so apologises if it is a bit choppy in places but hopefully Alaska's confession and Sabrina's motivations make sense. If not please let me know and I will try to clarify: next chapter will be a blog so that should smooth out Alaska's thoughts.
     
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    • Blog Twelve: #YODO
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 66

    Blog Twelve: #YODO

    Life is a bitch.

    I think I have probably made a point of this in the past, but I just felt like clarifying that as we head into this blog entry; no matter how much we try, no matter how much we ponder and hope and dream, at the end of the day, life just plain old sucks.

    You may be wondering what has led me to this profound realisation. Well, I am typing this very gingerly as my fingers are quite tender after being burnt, trying to stay focussed on the screen while my vision continues to slip in and out or focus on the account that my head was nearly crushed to a pulp, and to top that all off, my jaw is broken so I can't talk (To anyone who said good riddance, RUDE!)

    I am sure you are now speculating about what cataclysmic event led to these injuries; to those who guessed the recent hoo-ha at the Silph Company Headquarters, then top points to you! It may seem rather tame compared to the usual calamities I find myself in, so you may be interested to know I had very little to do with the million dollar damage caused to the company's windows – I actually pride myself in the knowledge that I did not cause one single explosion while I was there, and I would pat myself on the back if my fingers didn't hurt like hell.

    Now, I bet a lot of you are now thinking Hang on a second, how did she end up in Saffron City? Wasn't she just on her way to Fuchsia? Well, it is funny you should think that, cause Sandy and I were wondering that too when we woke up the morning after my last blog, and found that instead of being in our tent on that lovely, secluded, robot less coastal route, we were actually inside someone's office!

    You see, my enemies are no longer content with me stumbling across their plans and blowing things up: oh no, now that have decided to kidnap me and try and eliminate me the old fashioned way. This is probably making my life sound like some cheesy spy thriller, and, unfortunately, it kind of is at the moment – I'm like the James Bond of Pokemon trainers, except without the abs or the sex, though I must say Sandy and Paige would make lovely Bond girls.

    For an event that only lasted about two hours, if I tried to explain everything that happened in detail, I imagine it would fill about seven chapters of a book I'm sure some people wished had wrapped up years ago. So, instead, I'll summarize:

    - An evil television producer-dickhead yelled at us, threatened to kill us

    - Zapdos showed up and was all like "BZZZUUUUUHHHHAAAPPPP!" and blew up the office

    - Sandy stabbed the dickhead in his dick (I am still so proud of her – I bet this is how parents feel when their children are getting married)

    - We walked down some stairs (riveting, I know)

    - I bumped into a familiar face with some revelations, then some assassins bumped into us

    - A spy showed up and pushed us all down an elevator shaft – you know your screwed when that's how your allies treat you

    - We tried to go to safety but walked into a room full of robots

    - Evil Producer tried to kill us again, we tricked him, fought him, and I nearly died

    - Sandy's Onix got us out, we ended up at our hidey hole

    - The End!

    Oh, my dear readers, how I wish it could be that simple – how I wish I could just say 'The End', close the book and move on. I wish that my story would end, I wish it had ended long ago, but this story is out of my control and I have no idea where the plot is heading. I can't lay down my weapons and walk away from this like I presumed back in Celadon, the story does not end there. If I want to end the story on my terms, if I want to leave this all behind, then I have to die, and that struck me for the first time.

    This brings me back to the start; life sucks, and if I am being honest with you, my anonymous cyber readers, there was a brief moment during my Silph Co drama where I decided death might just be the answer. I have not really thought this way before, but when I found myself getting my head bashed against a wall, I realised how much easier death would be than living through this nightmare. In my mind at the time, I realised that death would mean never having to face my foes again, I would never be put in any more danger, I would never be in any more pain – if you had led friends into gunfights, nearly been blown up countless times and become the target for powerful villains, don't you think you would rather just die than carry on living that nightmare?

    When I woke up in what I can only describe as a nerdy nineties ravers wet dream, I met someone new – for the sake of keeping things secret, lets just call her 'The Brain' (I had another B word in mind, but Sandy thought it was mean). She has some interesting abilities at her disposal, and she knew exactly what I was thinking and why I was thinking it. The Brain told me that I, like most humans, am afraid of the unknown and what we cannot control. She thinks I am use to fighting in my own way in situations I can control, but because those do not work against the likes of Gideon or the robots, I have become afraid of my enemies because I have no idea how to defeat them. She thinks, rather rightly, that I have seen death as an easier solution than trying to engage in war I believe I cannot win. In order to overcome these fears, she wants me to battle her and defeat her on her terms, terms I cannot control, without using any of my usual tricks (i.e. explosions): a battle where I have no idea what the outcome will be, but one I have to face anyway.

    It was a long and unsettling chat. The Brain gave me some harsh truths and I am not sure if I am really ready to accept everything she told me. I admit I have been fighting my way this entire journey, and that it is unsettling when something happens I have no control over, but am I really afraid of the unknown like she said? And this battle… I can see what The Brain is trying to teach me – to not be afraid of the unknown, to prepare me to face anything in battle, and therefore preparing me to face my enemies, but how is that really going to help me? Winning a conventional battle won't help me stop the army of killer robots, and I don't see it convincing me that carrying on in this unpredictable nightmare is a good idea. I have no idea what will happen if I can't win on her terms, but the battle is happening whether I want it to or not, so I have no choice but to see where it gets me – maybe there is some hidden message I haven't worked out yet?

    I have been training for the last few days with Sandy and all our Pokemon. For a while during the Silph debacle, I thought I had lost them, so it feels so good to have them by my side and out of danger for now; my loyal but silly Paige, my frightful but powerful Frances, my tough and feisty Nadia, and brand new Shelley, who is just all so excited by everything that she it's hard to train her, but we have fun all the same.

    Training with them has gotten me thinking more than the chat with The Brain did. Like I said at the start, life is a bitch, but do we really know if death is going to be any better? And, if I die, what is going to happen to all my Pokemon, to my family, to Sandy – and, not to sound melodramatic, but what will happen to Kanto? I don't really want to toot my own horn (trust me, I really don't), but there doesn't seem to be anyone else trying to save Kanto from all this mess, is there?

    I am sticking to the choice I made back in Celadon; I need to beat the final four gym leaders before I face my enemies directly, and I need to finish the journey I originally set out on. However, I have realised that my enemies have not made the same decisions I have, so I need to be on a vigilant watch when I venture out again. The key thing now is to defeat The Brain and show her I am not afraid, that I can fight in any conditions… well, I say show her, but really I am trying to show myself that, aren't I?

    I'm not sure what else there is to say. I just have to wait and see how this battle goes, whether I can win on someone else's terms or not. I am still not certain if living in this nightmare is really the best option for me, but if death is not the answer, and if there is a giant army of robots out there waiting to kill us all, I better find a way of stopping them, shouldn't I?

    Yours fearfully,

    Alaska

    P.S. I wish I could have told you more about the things I learnt and the people I met, but the spy we met has said revealing any details could only cause panic, that we have to be smarter about things. For the time being, I simply warn y'all not to venture too closely to Silph Co. – and for the love of Arceus, stop watching Indigo Dreams. Trust me when I say it is worse than we original thought – much worse. You have been warned.





    Short and sweet, but hopefully conveys everything I intended. A revealing interlude next before we kick off a new arc. Just like to take the moment to thank everyone who has voted this story, Alaska, Sandy and Buzz through to the Judging Round of the Awards - I may not get a lot of reviews, but it is nice to receive recognition like this and know some people are reading this!

    For those that are interested, Sandy's Onix is also nominated
     
    • Interlude Twelve: Motivational Speaking
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Blog 12

    Interlude Twelve: Motivational Speaking

    Four days after he had been found unconscious and bleeding in the lower basements of Silph Co., Buzz Bolton finally had to answer for his crimes.

    He had put it off for the past several days. Whenever Mr Silph had arrived at his room in the Saffron City Hospital and Medical Centre, Buzz had pretended to be asleep, or had urgently requested treatment that prevented his most senior boss from harassing him. However, on his fourth night in the tiny, bland and overly sterilized room, Samson Silph arrived right after Buzz had finished having his wounded groin checked and was unable to escape from this latest visit.

    His nerves, his fears at what may have been revealed, held Buzz back at first, but it was fortunate for him that Mr Silph only cared about his reputation and money, and was otherwise as thick and useless as Snorlax shit. The producer talked up how his memory was hazy and he had forgotten most of that day: he claimed he had no idea why Zapdos had attacked them, and said he had headed down to the basement as he believed that was the safe thing to do.

    "But what about all of those robots in the basement?" Mr Silph huffed, and this was what Buzz was afraid of; how much did the foolish man know, and could he stand in the way of his final goal now that it had been exposed so publicly?

    "They are part of Indigo Dreams, sir, and we have been storing them down there until they are needed," Buzz explained cautiously. "Anyway, when I got down to the basement that was when I saw that Alaska Avocado girl and several of her associates clashing with these armed men. I have no idea how the girl got down there or why she was there, but I do know she has it out for my show – I only learnt recently that she auditioned and was cut after the first round of interviews. Anyway, I was attacked moments after I stepped into the room, and that is all I remember until I woke up here."

    There were several tense seconds when Mr Silph did not reply, staring beadily at his producer as he dwelled over the story. Buzz Bolton rarely got nervous or intimidated, but he felt weak and exposed here, dressed in a flimsy hospital gown, and he had no idea what Silph did or did not know.

    "Okay, that helps clarify a few things," Samson said finally a minute later. "Thank you for sparing some time to talk to me, your statement fills in a lot of blanks. I must go chase up the Champion and find out why his Pokemon destroyed my building."

    "I hope he tells you why it targeted it my office!" Buzz added. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to get some sleep."

    "Oh yes, of course, of course – good luck with your recovery," Mr Silph said, nodding absently, and he left the room without another word. Buzz watched his superior go with a smirk growing across his face. It had been stupid to be so concerned about the rich idiot. Samson had no idea how to run a company and relied on whatever his senior staff told him to make a living. He had sapped up everything Buzz had said without a second thought, even the garbage about Alaska auditioning, a fact that could be easily disproved if he bothered to check, but Samson was far too gullible to do that.

    Buzz laughed to himself as he rolled over in his bed, tenderly keeping his legs apart as to not upset the fresh stitches in his groin. This latest loss had been the most painful and humiliating yet, and his strive to ruin Alaska was more powerful than ever, but he could not help but laugh at how easily he had gotten away with things. Silph would have no idea that Buzz had kidnapped the two girls, that the robots were not simply for the show, and that all the dead bodies Looker had left in the basement were all tied to the company. Buzz roared with laughter as he imagined Silph's reaction when his plan came to fruition, and the daft fool realised how easily he had been played.

    "My, my, Miss Samson really did stab you in the groin – and here I thought our mutual enemy had simply embellished."

    Buzz's laughter died instantly, and instead cold fear spread through his body. He remained frozen on his side for a moment, eyes bulged, the hairs on his arms and legs standing on end. He had suspected for weeks that this day would come, but in all the pain and confusion of the past few days he had not stopped to think for a second that it would happen here, where he was most exposed, the most unprotected…

    "You really should have killed her when you had the chance; I, of course, tried, but we all know Charlotte likes to make sure things go her way. Rest assured, once I am finished, the ghost will quite literally be a thing of the past, but for once she is merely a background character in the latest drama engulfing Kanto. As you can imagine, that is what I am here to discuss with you today Bolton, if you and your genitals are up to it."

    Buzz could not put it off any longer; full of dread at what he may find, he rolled onto his back and stared up into Gideon's cold, pale face looming over him from the end of the bed. The scientist flashed a yellow toothed smile as he put down the clipboard detailing Buzz's status and moved to a cushy armchair beside the bed.

    "Do you plan on staying long then?" Buzz asked coldly as Gideon sat down, the producer doing his best to stay calm, but it was unsettling to lay eyes on a man he had last seen five years ago in a burning building.

    "Oh no, not really, but it is much easier to see people entering when you can actually face them," Gideon replied with a gentle smile, pulling a black pistol out from his pocket as he spoke and aiming it at the door. Buzz knew that any chances of him gaining control of this unexpected meeting had evaporated with that one move and he sat in silence, waiting for his former colleague to speak, wondering if he would survive this little chat.

    "It has been so long since that last day on Chrono Island, hasn't it?" Gideon purred, his smile thin and sadistic. "Five years, yet I still remember it as though it was yesterday. The searing pain, the suffocating heat, watching as years of research and planning went up in smoke. It's hard to imagine that the Charmander I defeated in Mt Moon would end up destroying my life…"

    "How did you survive?" Buzz asked quickly. The question had been inside his head for the past few weeks, and it slipped out before he could stop it.

    "Easily enough," Gideon replied, shrugging. "After you and Amanda abandoned me, I knew I would not be able to escape the building without greatly risking my life in the blaze. Instead, I retreated further into the warehouse and reached a bomb shelter I had had built in years ago." Gideon explained all this with an almost misty expression in his eyes.

    "I will admit it was painful to leave my life's work to burn, but by chance I was able to find one of the key components from one of my riskier projects, and I have spent the past five years rebuilding my scientific empire with the limited resources I had left." Buzz nodded, intrigued and further frightened by what Gideon may mean, and startled to think that this scientist could have lived inside a tiny room for five years. Gideon had never been the most stable man in the first place, but what would half a decade of isolation have done to that mind?

    "Well, I am so relieved to know you survived," Buzz said with his broadest grin, the one he usually slapped on whenever he wanted something from someone. "Amanda and I felt terrible once we realized we had left you behind, and –"

    "Oh, do not insult me with your lies Buzz," Gideon interrupted, his eyes narrowing as he spat out each word, and Buzz sank deeper into his mattress. "You and Amanda are afraid of me, afraid because you left me to burn, and you have been terrified since the moment you learnt I was back about what I may do to enact my revenge! We both know that you two fled to save your own skins, abandoning your posts as at the first hurdle we came across. You would have been Admins under my rule, you could have been better than even Archer and Arianna, but instead you ran, ran like little children, and right now you are probably wishing Zapdos had killed you instead of leaving you to face me!" The words echoed inside the tiny room, and Buzz's shivered in fear and revulsion, feeling as though there were a hundred Gideon's surrounding him, hissing at him, spreading their evil words.

    "Well, if you are going to kill me, get it over with and don't draw out my misery!" He snapped. He looked across at Gideon and saw the scientists face had gone blank, and then the mad man began to laugh. It sounded worse than his hate filled words: high, shrill and cruel, and Buzz felt weak and pathetic as his question was so openly mocked.

    "Kill you, kill you? Oh dear Buzz, if I wanted to kill you I would have put this gun against your temples and decorated the walls the second I arrived. I have had countless opportunities to kill you over the past weeks – you have remarkably low protection for someone planning on murdering the Champion – but instead I have decided to bide my time until I was sure we could be alone and talk undisturbed. You see, I am quite curious about what you are planning on doing, and I do not want you dead until I know for certain what your grand scheme is."

    "Same here," Buzz said quickly, not wanting Gideon to have all the control. "The museum, attacking Vermilion, Lavender Town – I have no idea how any of those connect, but I certainly have wondered why." Gideon flashed another vicious smile at this, and Buzz suppressed his own grin, his confidence slowly returning. .

    "Shall we take it in turns then? You tell me what you and Miss Anderson have planned for our Champion, and I will tell you what I have planned, revealing as much as you see fit. Agreed?"

    "Agreed," Buzz said. He had not prepared for things to go this way, but there was no denying that behind his fear for Gideon there was an insatiable curiosity for what his former comrade had planned, and he was willing to sacrifice a few details if it meant putting them on even ground.

    "Very good – the reality show: it is just a front, I take it," Gideon asked quickly.

    "Yes," Buzz replied. "Amanda and I needed to hide after everything that happened to Rocket, so we decided to emerge ourselves into a new career, one where no one would think to look. Silph TV was only just beginning then, part of the re-branding after what we did," Buzz added, winking at Gideon, "So we created a fake CV, said I had come from a great career in Unova, knowing no one will bother calling them up, and Samson Silph hired me as soon as we met.

    "At first, we just planned on working stably and trying to build a normal life. Making TV shows was actually fun, and for a while it seemed we could forget about everything that had happened. But everyone else saw Red as this great hero, this saviour of Kanto, and the more I heard about him the more my resentment towards him grew," Buzz explained bitterly. "He and Leaf ruined our lives, stole the glory and power that Rocket deserved. Every time I saw his face on TV, my desire to embarrass him, to humiliate him the way he humiliated Rocket all those years ago grew, and I knew I had to do something."

    "So you want revenge against him – fair enough reasoning, if a tad simple," Gideon chastised. "Now tell me, how do those wonderful robots fall into all of this?"

    "I began work on a reality show concept where the end destination would be the League, something that would bring me easily into Red's home, but I needed a way to properly defeat him," Buzz continued. "I learnt that the Research and Development Department were creating realistic Pokemon robots, things they could test on without having to harm real Pokemon. I wondered what would happen if you modified them and added weaponry, and then wondered how you could use that power…

    "I pitched the idea of Indigo Dreams and it was picked up immediately, and we were given a huge budget because Silph wanted it to be big, but he has no idea more than half of that money has gone into building our own take on the robots. The reality show was going to give us an opportunity to test them on real Pokemon, to find weaknesses so we could keep improving and make them indestructible. Unfortunately, that bitch Alaska got in the way, posting about the robots on her blogs and ruining any chance we had of working them into the show without drawing comparisons or suspicions."

    "But I suppose you planned on making them a key part of your show, and once you reached the Indigo League it would be perfectly acceptable to bring your army in with you?" Gideon asked with a smirk, and Buzz nodded, dismayed at how easily his plan had been cracked.

    "We'd bring the best robots in with all of our crew and equipment, and then have them defeat and destroy Red's team live on camera before killing him and destroying the stadium." Buzz had lost every sense of fear he had had felt earlier, all the concerns and nerves Gideon's appearance had generated: he had not been able to speak so openly about his mission for months now, not to anyone new, and now that he had started Buzz could barely stop. "We are not doing this for power or glory or anything like that: I simply want to murder Red and have him die embarrassed and humiliated like he left Rocket! He needs to pay for what he did, and Amanda and I are the only ones left to do anything about it, and I will not rest until I see him suffer!"

    Buzz stopped as he heard a rapid beeping noise ring out through the room. He turned and realised it was his heart monitor, the leads attached to his chest feeding his excitement into the machine. Buzz leaned back into his tower of pillows and breathed deeply, trying to steady himself, but his fingers and toes felt jittery with excitement and pride.

    Gideon did not say a word. He sat calmly in his seat, eyes focussed on Buzz, the gun lying carelessly across his lap. Buzz watched him, waiting for some kind of reaction, hoping for positive and dreading the negative, but Gideon gave away nothing, his face as empty as a blank piece of paper. There was a brief second where Buzz thought he saw something light up in Gideon's eyes – was it amusement, scorn, or perhaps something more knowledgeable than that – but it was gone a second later.

    "Aren't you going to say anything?" Buzz snapped before he could help himself, but his irritation at the situation was beginning to boil over: what right did Gideon have to come here when Buzz was at his weakest and question him about his plans, only to offer nothing in response? This is supposed to be my chance to be powerful, Buzz thought angrily. I will not let him or Alaskatake my shot at glory and revenge away from me!

    "I did not realise you were so petty that you need the commendations of others to gain satisfaction," Gideon replied in a tone that was both cold and bored. "You want feedback, Mr Bolton? Well, your plan is… interesting, to say the least." He paused there, and Buzz waited several moments for him to continue, but Gideon gave his interviewee a look that implied he was finished. And that was when Buzz snapped.

    "Interesting? Interesting? Is that all you have to say?" He hissed, hands angrily clutching the side of his bed. "This plan has been in development for years now, and the only thing you can think to say is interesting? Fuck you Gideon: fuck you and fuck your fucking opinion! You have always been a self indulgent dickhead; one of those people that thinks being smart and being able to invent things makes you the most important person in the room, when really everyone thinks you're a great big fucking idiot! How about you tell me your plan, let's see if the mad shit you've planned this time is any better, eh?" Buzz was breathing deeply again, and he was well aware Gideon could kill him at any moment if he really wanted to, but it felt good to unleash these built up feelings. The wound to mark where Sandy had emasculated him felt like a constant presence in the room, something that perhaps showed Buzz to be weak, but he was not going to let Gideon think he could still control him, still get the better of him.

    Gideon did not respond straight away, simply sitting in silence as the outburst echoed around them. Buzz thought the scientist looked uncomfortable, and his beating heart swelled with pride at the thought of bringing a once superior down to his level. But then, moving as rapidly as an Ekans through grass, Gideon stood and lunged for the bed. All of his confidence faded, and Buzz reached for the button that would summon a nurse, but before he could reach it Gideon had swatted back his hands. The scientist climbed onto the bed, making the old springs creak and the thin frame judder, and he sat so his legs were either side of Buzz, his knees resting firmly on the producer's hands. For a brief second, Buzz was reminded of Amanda, the way she had done this back in his office after a long days planning, but that thought escaped him as Gideon grabbed hold of his lower jaw and forced it open with one hand, while the other aimed the rich black gun inside.

    "My goals, Mr Bolton, are the same as they have always been: to gain power through the use of my own intelligence and the skills I have developed in the fields of science," Gideon whispered coolly to his prisoner. "Everything I have done, all the research and projects I did before, during and after the rise and fall of Rocket, have been to fulfil my own science based curiosities and wonderments. I never originally cared for power before I met Giovanni, but after I saw the things his money and his protection did for me, I realised what power can do for a person. Humans are nothing unless they can feel dominance, unless they can assert their natural authority. We thought we had power when we tamed the beasts that live among us, but I am not satisfied with the simple, repetitive control of Pokemon. There are far greater things to worship out there, and I intend to show this region a thing or two about what really power is."

    "How does everything you've done fit into this?" Buzz managed to gurgle. "Blowing up Five Island, attacking Vermilion, what was the point of all of that?"

    "Oh, that was just me having fun," Gideon purred back with relish. "I don't want to reveal my end goal until the eleventh hour, so I am having fun confusing my opponents. I had to cover my tracks with Five Island anyway, and I thought Giovanni's safety supply of nuclear material would be sufficient to obliterate the last five years of my life and perplex the authorities. And with Vermilion, I decided some random terrorism would help spice things up after Alaska interfered…" Gideon trailed off, apparently lost in thought, the joy dying from his face and being replaced with something cold.

    "Alaska… yet another teenager meddling where she does not belong…," the scientist mumbled, the power and gravity of his voice all but gone. He turned and looked directly into Buzz's eyes, his eyes manic and mournful at the same time, a stare that sent fresh shivers through Buzz's body. "I did have ideas about causing some wide spread destruction to further befuddle everyone, but it may have been another city at another time, I may have never attacked Vermilion if it was not for her. I just happened to be in Vermilion that day, taking some time to appreciate the chaos and horror my latest actions had caused, when I saw Alaska walk past, wandering around with Steven Stone… another teenager, another opponent being moulded and trained to defeat me… I had to send her a lesson, to show her how powerful I am, how far I am willing to go to achieve my goal, the goals I have had for decades.

    "You see, one place where you have failed Buzz is that you have made Alaska hate you. Hate makes her vengeful, hate makes her want to defeat you, to crush you – it was Giovanni's greatest mistake, the thing that cost us the war. Alaska undoubtedly hates me too, but I can tell she fears me above anything else. She knows what you want to do, but she has no idea what I want, why I have acted how I have, and what I plan on doing next, and that scares her more than she will ever realize. When the girl sees me next, she will remember Vermilion, she will pause and think back to the fear she felt when my Pokemon attacked, and she will pause just long enough for me to finally bring her down. I do not care if Oak, Bill, Stone, if any of those old fools try to stop me, but I will burn everything to the ground before I let another child steal my glory…" and fear makes people pause, fear makes people think, fear makes people wait until it is too late.

    Gideon seemed to have finished his rant, and Buzz lay unmoving beneath him, waiting for this ordeal to end. The scientist had not actually revealed anything about his plans, but Buzz no longer had the courage to ask, his attention falling on the gun still aimed towards his mouth. He wished now that he had been given a room with other patients, some witnesses to try and hold Gideon back. But would a man who used a nuclear bomb to clear his tracks really be stopped by a few more pairs of eyes?

    "So, are you going to kill me now?" He asked finally. Buzz heard his voice, heard how high and weak it was, and felt ashamed, feeling like the Grunt he had been all those years ago. Gideon, who had been lost in thought, looked down at his former colleague, and his smirk appeared once again. He wrenched open Buzz's mouth once more, and this time shoved the gun inside: it was cold, hard, the metallic taste quickly overpowering all of Buzz's sense. He wanted to gag, the barrel edging towards his throat, but Buzz forced himself to stay focussed on Gideon, the scientist now leaning forwards.

    "Maybe one day, dear," the madman whispered, leaning right in so his warm breath brushed Buzz's ear. "Perhaps, but not now… I need you, for the foreseeable future… for once, you can do something useful." And then Gideon began to laugh, his cackle filling the room and bouncing off the walls. Buzz opened his eyes in fearful curiosity, and stared up at Gideon's wide, evil, sadistic, laughing smile. He laughed as he pressed something that looked like a watch, and continued laughing as he finger tensed across the trigger, pulling on it like he was going to fire…

    And then, he was gone. Buzz had blinked at the moment of teleportation: one second, Gideon was sitting on him, the gun rubbing against his lips and teeth, the next he had vanished in a flash of light, the weight disappearing from the producers body, his mouth empty though the metallic taste lingered. The second he realised he was alone, Buzz began to gag, finally free, finally able to react: he took deep and rapid breaths as he felt bile crawl up his throat, his chest heaving up and down while the rest of his body remained frozen, locked up in fear. How could he have been overpowered like this, torn down, humiliated, made to feel so, so weak? Why had he let Gideon take advantage of him, and reduce him back to the pathetic Grunt he had been all those years ago?

    Rapid footsteps echoed from down the hallway, and Buzz's head snapped forwards as a doctor, two nurses and a security guard came racing breathlessly into his room.

    "Is everything alright in here, Mr Bolton?" The doctor, a strapping, middle aged blonde man, shouted the second he stopped. "We heard shouting and laughter from down the hallway; we thought someone else might have been in here." Buzz looked up at them, the urge to vomit lingering, the rapid beep of his out of control heart filling the silence. For a moment, he wanted to tell them what had happened, he wanted them to move him to a new suite, to call Amanda and have her come immediately, to comfort him, to discuss this latest threat, to pleasure him…

    But that moment quickly passed. Buzz looked at the medical staff waiting impatiently for an answer, and he felt sick with himself. He had been pushed around by people his entire life: his family, schoolmates, his superiors at Team Rocket. This new life, this new career path, this new mission, they were all meant to be Buzz's way of regaining control. But in the past week, he had let Sandy wound him in the most embarrassing way possible, he had let Alaska and Red expose parts of his plans, and he had just let Gideon walk all over him. If he wanted to win, he had to ensure none of them would ever interfere with him again, that no one else would ever stare down at his master plan.

    Buzz turned and looked at the empty chair, thinking of the weight that had just left his hands. He had been wondering what Gideon's plan was, but had been too focussed on his own plans to care: yet it was the scientist who had come to see him, to come and see what his adversary was planning, his opponent in this race to destroy Red was planning.

    He's the one that is really concerned, Buzz told himself. He wants to know what my plan is so he can eliminate us, eliminate a new threat. Warmth filled Buzz's body as this realization washed over him, and a smile filled his face as he stared up at the doctor.

    He was trying to scare me, but I am not that easily beaten, because he knows we can stop him, we can beat whatever it is he has planned. Nothing can stop my robots, not Gideon, not that bitch Alaska, not our glorious Champion. All of them are afraid, and all of them will fall when my plan truly begins.

    "Everything's fine, doctor… everything's perfectly fine…"




    A bit of insight into how Buzz and Gideon both think, and some revelations behind what they are both planning and why they have acted how they have - some have been asking why Gideon attacked Vermilion especially, so I thought I would clarify his reasonings here. If anything else is unclear please let me know. Next time, Alaska takes her fifth step forwards...

    Also note that the Prologue has been rewritten slightly to fix old typos and expand on the plot and characters a bit. Will hopefully update and edit more old chapters before the end of the year
     
    • Chapter Sixty Seven: A Game of Strategy
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Interlude 12

    Chapter Sixty Seven: A Game of Strategy

    So, this is what I have been waiting a week for, Alaska thought as she walked slowly towards the Saffron Gym battlefield. She had noticed that the gyms seemed to get grander and bigger with each one she visited, and part of her had been hoping for something exciting and unique from someone as bizarre as Sabrina. However, as she stepped towards the challenger's area, Alaska was disappointed by how identical the battle field was to rest of the gym: it had the same glowing walls and floors with the same swirling pattern, with only a fluorescent green outline marking both the pitch and the area as being any different to the dozens of other rooms in the building.

    "I see you chose to save money on the decorations," she called out to her opponent, and the gym leader turned towards her, their eyes meeting for the first time in a week. Sabrina looked same as she had in their first and only meeting, wearing a similar purple shirt and black trousers combo and her face was plastered with the same look that Alaska could only describe as blank judgement.

    "We gym leaders design our arenas to play to the strengths of our Pokemon and further test our opponents: a pool for Misty, sand for Brock, flowers for Alexis and Erika before her. With Psychic Pokemon, there is nothing physically I can create that will enhance their skills, so we battle differently to everyone else, while still having the necessary upper hand to defeat those who grace our battlefield."

    It seemed clear to Alaska that there was a hidden meaning behind Sabrina's words, but she instantly stopped herself before she began over-analysing the statement, knowing doing so would only throw her off rather than help her win. She had been doing a lot of that over the past week: dwelling on what Sabrina had said during their sole meeting, wondering about what the gym leader had said, her warnings and her threats, and her parting message that had kept Alaska awake at night. Yet after a week of thinking about things, Alaska had had to put the information aside, knowing that if she focussed solely on Sabrina's apparent message, than there was no chance she would ever win the match, not when her mind was too distracted deciphering the warnings of a crazy girl.

    Alaska snapped out of her thoughts as a referee stepped up to the middle of the field, one of countless, nameless gym attendants wearing the burgundy uniform. Behind him, Sandy, Looker and Alistair Melton sat on a long glowing bench, but there was no buzz of excitement coming from them. Even Sandy was worn out and bored after a week stuck inside the walls of the Saffron Gym, and Alaska knew they while they were watching to support her, they also wanted to ensure they too would be able to finally leave.

    "This is a Saffron Gym battle between the gym leader Sabrina and the challenger Alaska Acevedo. The match will be four on four," the referee announced. Alaska had been expecting this, but it was no less annoying to know she may require all her Pokemon no matter who Sabrina sent out. "The first trainer to successfully knock out all of the opposing trainers Pokemon will be declared the winner. It should be noted that, in this case, should the challenger not win, they will be required to remain inside the gym until they do win. For the sake of transparency, the challenger will be given a headband embedded with the ruby of a Sableye, which will prevent the gym leader Sabrina from reading your mind."

    "Not that I would do something so underhanded and petty, but we find it reassures the more unstable and imaginative trainers," Sabrina added as a second attendant suddenly appeared behind Alaska, a leather headband clasped in their hands.

    "Well, thanks a lot; having a dead Pokemon's jewels on my head is really going to be reassuring," Alaska retorted. Sabrina merely smirked but otherwise ignored the jibe, and Alaska put the headband on, the ruby glittering as it reflected the glowing patterns.

    "Is the challenger ready to begin the battle?" The referee asked. Alaska opened her mouth to say 'yes', ready to get this over and done with. However, despite her desperation to win and be done with this gym, she paused. Instead, Alaska turned and stared across the pitch at her opponent. Sabrina looked disinterested by the whole thing, her expression neutral hindering on bored, but Alaska had a feeling the Psychic trainer was as interested in the outcome as she was. Of all the gym leaders she had met so far, Sabrina was the most difficult one to work out, and it made her the most dangerous and unpredictable opponent Alaska had faced in this arena.

    It was not just the unreadable personality that had Alaska worried. The past week had been one of the strangest experiences of this entire journey. Staying within the gym was meant to protect them, but Alaska instead felt like she was being watched every minute of the day, as if the glowing walls were hiding something sinister. After a long day of training, Alaska wanted nothing more than to sleep and forget about life, but instead she lay awake, unable to shake the feeling that someone was watching her every movement. And it was in those moments that her debate with Sabrina came crawling back, the questions and truths the gym leader had cast into the universe. It was in those moments that Alaska had to ask herself if Sabrina was right, if she had really let her early wins get to her, if she had caused herself to hit this streak of depression and fear…

    Standing opposite her enemy now, Alaska knew now what that feeling had been: it had been the look in Sabrina's eyes while she psycho-analysed every aspect of Alaska's personality. The way the gym leader had stared at her, the way she delivered all her opinions like fact, it had been cold and unnerving, and Alaska was not surprised she was unable to sleep properly where everything that made her who she was had been torn apart.

    Now, as she looked Sabrina in the eye, Alaska knew she had to win this battle. She had to prove to Sabrina that she was not afraid, prove that the psychic had not worked her out just yet, and prove that she could handle anything that came her way. Alaska was not going to let Sabrina control the battle; she was not going to let her change her, manipulate her, become just another person out to rule her life. Alaska wanted out of the gym, and she would do everything in her power to defeat Sabrina and win the badge.

    "I'm ready," Alaska purred, and Sabrina nodded in approval. The referee raised his hands, both trainers grabbed hold of the PokeBall they send out first, and a quiet, tenser atmosphere took over the arena: there had rarely been a gym battle that had so much riding on it, and Alaska was prepared to ensure things ended her way.

    "Let the battle begin!"

    "Frances, let's win this!" Alaska yelled, and threw a Great Ball forwards. As blue light poured onto the field, a similar red glow shone on the opposite side. Alaska watched as a humanoid Pokemon formed opposite Frances, though this creature looked more like a caricature than anything else, with curled blue shoes, pink spots across its body and a wide, clown-like face.

    "Mime Mime Mime!" The pink and white Pokemon chimed, grinning brightly at Alaska. She raised an eyebrow and exchanged surprised looks with Frances.

    "I take it this is a Mr Mime?" She asked, receiving a brief nod in response. Alaska tried to look nonplussed, but Sabrina's use of such an unusual first Pokemon had her worried: Mr Mime were generally used in circus or street performances, and were not seen as the greatest battlers. There was obviously a strategy going on here, but Alaska did not have time to dwell on it.

    "Hit him with X-Scissor!" She yelled. Frances nodded and scuttled across the field, her large pincers glowing with a magnificent green. She raised them in an X formation and let out a cry, but before she could get near Mr Mime, the Psychic type began waving his hands about in midair. The tips of fingers, which were usually pink, flashed yellow, and the glow extended like a wall in front of him. Alaska feared for a moment Frances would crash into the translucent barrier, but the Parasect managed to scuttle through and slam her claws into Mr Mime's legs.

    "Mime!" The Psychic type wailed, stumbling to his knees, and Alaska managed a smirk at getting in the first blow.

    "Again!" She ordered. Frances nodded and raised her claws, but before she could get in a close range hit, Mr Mime jumped to his feet and leapt backwards. Frances' pincers flailed wildly as her target disappeared, the yellow wall moving with him. The Parasect steadied herself and chased after, but Mr Mime ignored his attacker: instead, he waved his hands in front of him once more, this time his fingers glowing white, and a second wall erupted in mid air. While the first was a murky yellow like a stained window, the new one was clear but reflective, showing a faint version of Frances rushing across the field.

    What the hell is going on, Alaska thought, and she stared curiously at Sabrina, certain the trainer had not uttered a single word so far in the battle.

    "PARA!" Frances yelled as she jumped through the two walls and made for Mr Mime. Her X-Scissor hit, green striking white, but this time Mr Mime flinched but remained standing. Alaska was left stunned and wondering what had happened to suddenly weaken the power of X-Scissor like that.

    "Hang in there, Frances, don't lose any confidence!" She called to Frances, fearful that the only Pokemon she had with a type advantage could revert to the fearful state they had worked so hard to snap her out of. "Try another X-Scissor, aim for his chest!"

    "Parasect Para!" Frances cried, and rushed forwards once again, her beady eyes burning with determination. But she had barely made it a metre before Mr Mime suddenly disappeared into red energy, sucked back towards Sabrina. Alaska seized up in shock as the gym leader quickly swapped PokeBalls, throwing the second one towards the middle of the field. The two walls shifted across the field as a second Pokemon formed, this one covered in golden fur with a sparkling spoon clasped in one hand.

    "A Kadabra…," Alaska mumbled, unable to think of anything more intelligent to say as the speed and surprise of the battle overwhelmed her. She had been expecting Sabrina to be a tough opponent, but her strategy so far was the sneakiest and most mysterious Alaska had ever come up against. She watched as Frances ran back across the field, moving quickly despite the confusion that covered her face, and struck Kadabra with her X-Scissor, but the Psychic type simply looked down at the Parasect as if she was a small Caterpie getting in his way.

    This is impossible, Alaska thought angrily. X-Scissor is about the only move I have that can bring down her Pokemon, yet it isn't doing a thing.

    "What exactly did Mr Mime do?"

    "I don't have to tell you that," Sabrina answered blankly, a sudden twinkle in her eyes, and Alaska felt like she had just been punched in the head, her mind spinning as the confusing battle took shape.

    "Excuse me? What does that mean? Surely the rules state –"

    "There is nothing in the official Pokemon League rulebook that states a trainer has to audibly give their commands," the referee interrupted, the tone of his voice giving off the air that he had been prepared to say this. Alaska felt a strong urge to punch something, but knew that would only prove some sort of point to Sabrina, and repressed her rage as she accepted that she had walked into a trap: the gym leader wanted to make Alaska win in a challenge she had no chance of predicting, and what better way to achieve that than by giving commands that Alaska could not hear?

    "This is fucking ridiculous," she hissed.

    "In your eyes it may be, but I am the one that has set the challenge, so you must play by my rules and find a way to defeat me," Sabrina responded simply. Alaska clenched her fists tight, wanting to run across the field and knock every ounce of quiet superiority out of Sabrina's system.

    However, Alaska knew she was stuck in this battle, that the only way to free herself was to play Sabrina's little game and come out victorious on the other side. If she wanted to win, she needed to set aside her rage for now and concentrate on winning the battle.

    "Stun Spore!" Alaska ordered, and she saw Sabrina nod , the gym leader clearly satisfied they were playing this game. Frances was right beside Kadabra and it would be an easy hit, one Alaska was certain the two strange barriers would not be able to stop. However, as Frances breathed in and readied to fire the cloud of yellow particles, Kadabra's spoon glowed white. Alaska tensed up, certain this would not be good, but she was not expecting the Psi Pokemon to shine a glorious white and disappear. Her jaw dropped, and a stunned Frances released the Stun Spore onto nothing in shock.

    "Was that Teleport?" Alaska asked aloud, but Sabrina did not answer, purposefully avoiding eye contact. Infuriated, Alaska looked around the field, waiting for Kadabra to reappear, but the Pokemon seemed to have disappeared for the time being. It was unsettling, facing an opponent that could vanish like this, and Alaska could see Frances was becoming unsettled.

    "Stay focussed, Frances, use Stun Spore again as soon as he reappears!" The Mushroom Pokemon timidly nodded in reply, but barely had time to prepare herself before something white flashed behind her. Alaska watched as Kadabra formed less than an inch behind her Pokemon, and she gasped as the Psychic type lunged with his spoon.

    "Kadab," he whispered, and the spoon flashed blue as it touched Frances' head. The Parasect stumbled backwards, and Alaska feared confusion or something similar that would force Frances out of the battle. However, the Mushroom Pokemon steadied herself and looked up at Kadabra, her face screwed in concentration as she tried to release the pores, yet nothing seemed to be coming out.

    "It must have used Disable, Alaska!" Sandy yelled from the sidelines. "He's prevented Frances from using Stun Spore aga –"

    "Quiet in the stands!" The referee yelled. "This match is between the two people on the field, the challenger must work things out for herself." Sandy looked like she had been slapped, and another spat of rage rose up inside Alaska.

    "You know, when I battle in the real world, I do tend to have help from Sandy: if you're trying to teach me a lesson, you really should tailor it to suit how I do things," she snarled bitterly.

    "Getting help from others is not the lesson I am trying to teach you. Besides, I thought you were so desperate for independence that you would not let anyone tell you what to do: surely that extends to your friend as well?" Sabrina replied, and Alaska grunted and turned back to the battle. Frances was fearfully moving away from Kadabra, still trying to use Stun Spore despite the mental blockade placed upon her.

    If she becomes afraid again I am done for, Alaska thought. "Slash, quickly!" Frances frantically turned to face Kadabra, her right claw turning white, yet she had barely moved before Kadabra flashed white again, and Alaska swore as the Psi Pokemon disappeared a second time. However, she hardly had time to be angry, as while Frances looked frantically about, Kadabra suddenly appeared behind her, left fist glowing red with fire.

    "Behind you!" Alaska shouted, but Kadabra had already swung his fist. Frances yelled out as the Fire Punch squarely struck her mushroom, and she was sent rolling across the pitch.

    "I must say Alaska, if this is how you normally battle, I am surprised you have managed to survive for so long," Sabrina said calmly. "I intended for this match to be difficult, but any attentive trainer surely would have realised my tricks by now." Alaska literally bit her tongue in order to stop the onslaught of insults that longed to burst from her mouth. She instead surveyed the two Pokemon standing on the field: Kadabra to her left looming over the weakened Frances to her right, who was struggling to get back to her feet with a fearful look in her eye.

    I am never going to win if Frances becomes scared again, and I can't shift her out either: she is the only one with the type advantage… if only those skills would actually work. Alaska thought back to the first move of the match, when Frances had managed to cause serious damage to Mr Mime before his second attack came up. Staring at the pitch, she could see the translucent and reflective barriers were in front of Kadabra, who simply looked straight through them as though they weren't even there.

    X-Scissor was effective when it was just the one barrier, but when the second one went up it hardly did a thing…, Alaska thought, staring quickly between the two Pokemon. Whatever Mr Mimes first attack was, it did nothing to stop X-Scissor, but the second one did, which means Sabrina's strategy was to simply put both up as protection. Think Alaska, think…

    THAT'S IT! Alaska's face lit up as inspiration suddenly struck. X-Scissor is a physical attack, meaning the second wall weakens those moves – it must be Reflect or something like that… and that means the first wall probably stops special attacks… Light Screen, maybe? Whatever it is, those moves both fade after a while, but Light Screen will probably fade first…

    "Frances, charge for Solarbeam!" Alaska shouted. Sabrina raised an eyebrow but said nothing, and Alaska ignored her to focus on Frances. However, when she looked across to her Pokemon, she was dismayed to see the Parasect was shaking, fearfully staring up at Kadabra as he prepared to Teleport once again. Alaska knew her plan wouldn't work if Frances was terrified, and the success of this battle rested on her pulling off this strategy.

    "I know you are afraid, Frances, but you have to get past it!" Alaska shouted, and Frances half opened one eye and looked towards her. "They are using mind games in order to defeat us, and if we let those games get to us then we are bound to lose! You are a strong Pokemon and you have the ability to win, but you have to believe in yourself!" As she let those words settle in, a white flash signalled Kadabra's reappearance, and Frances squealed in terror as a second Fire Punch collided. It looked painful, and Alaska could almost feel the blow herself. However, she finally noticed something she probably should have a while ago: the barriers were once again in front of Kadabra, when they had been shimmering before him in his previous position.

    They Teleport with him… maybe I can then… yes! Alaska thought quickly, and looked back at Frances. "Don't give up yet, you need to keep charging, you need to put all your energy into this Solarbeam and then double it!" Frances looked at her shaking, her legs and claws and even her giant mushroom quivering with fear, and she looked as though she wanted to run behind Alaska's legs. But Alaska was not going to let her give up.

    "Remember the day you evolved, when you learnt Solarbeam and helped defeat Gideon? I was so, so, sooo proud of you that day! It was amazing the way you defeated his Pokemon and saved our lives, one of the greatest things I have ever seen!" Frances suddenly stopped shaking, and looked at Alaska with an almost disbelieving look. "It's true, Frances! You have been with me for so long now, we have been through so much, and there is no denying the bond we have or how big your role is you on my team! I just need you to prove that you still have that fighting spirit in you!" Frances didn't look very confident, but she gave a tiny nod with her whole body, and the top of her mushroom began to glow.

    There was a flash behind her, but Alaska was not afraid. "Watch out!" She called, and Frances briefly turned as the glow got brighter. Alaska watched carefully, and smirked as the two barriers suddenly shifted across the field a moment before Kadabra formed. She hardly even cared that another Fire Punch got in considering her theory was proven now: all she had to do was make sure the next hit was theirs.

    "Run across the field, Frances, and keep charging!" Frances nodded, and she quickly scuttled away from Kadabra towards the middle of the pitch. Kadabra silently watched her go and began to glow white for a fourth time, and as he disappeared, Alaska intently watched the two barriers: the reflective one that Mr Mime had created second remained, but as she watched, the first one, the yellow one, began to fade away.

    "Watch the Reflect, see where it goes!" Alaska yelled, pointing towards the remaining wall, and Frances nodded intently. Sabrina showed no emotion at her strategy being cracked, and Alaska held back her joy, waiting to see what happened next…

    "You need to strike the moment Kadabra reappears; we cannot let him get another hit in! Focus on the wall, watch where it goes, find out where Kadabra is landing. You grew up inside a cave; put your… cave senses, if that is even a thing, to the test! Just concentrate and ready your attack!" Frances nodded, and she looked the most confident she had all battle. A tense silence fell across the arena as everyone waited, all eyes flickering between Frances and the Reflect, watching to see what happened next… You can do this, Frances… just focus… you can do this…

    With the blink of an eye, the wall suddenly moved, sweeping across the field, over Frances, and coming to a stop right behind her, a white glow erupting in the middle.

    "GRAB HIM!" Alaska roared, and Frances, her beady eyes having already seen the move, turned around with her claws raised and clasped onto Kadabra's legs the moment he had formed. The Psychic type looked stunned, pausing briefly with a flaming fist, and it was in that moment Alaska knew she had won this match up.

    "NOW!"

    "PARAAAAAAAAAA!" Frances screamed, and a brilliant beam of green exploded from the top of her bulb. The column of light and energy slammed into Kadabra from close range, and the Psi Pokemon roared as the attack washed over him. Yet he could not escape, Frances holding onto him too tightly, and everyone watched transfixed as the attack pulsated throughout the room. Alaska wanted to cheer, but as the attack died down she knew the hit would not be enough, and she stared through the glare, trying to see if her final obstacle remained standing, but if she waited too long it would be too late…

    "X-SCISSOR!" She shouted. Frances did not even stop to take a breath, leaping up the moment Solarbeam had faded, and with a second yell she swiped her glowing green claws across the frazzled Kadabra's chest. The Psychic type merely grunted, his eyes wide and his fur on end, and he toppled to the field at the same moment Frances landed triumphantly beside him.

    "Kadabra is unable to battle," the referee announced, and Sandy let out an explosive cheer from the sidelines. Alaska briefly smiled at her before looking down at her tired Parasect, giving her a broad grin as she swelled with pride.

    "That was amazing, I am so proud of you! I have never seen anything like that be – what the hell?" Alaska came to a stop mid sentence as Frances suddenly cried out and tumbled forwards. Confused, she looked around for the source of the attack, and was startled to find something small and green flying directly in front of her. For a second, she wasn't even sure if it was a Pokemon or not, but than the tiny tennis ball-esque creature looked at her and flew away with wings the size of sticking plasters.

    "You could have waited a moment, I had not idea you had even released a Pokemon!" Alaska called out angrily.

    "This is a battle, these are my rules, I do not have to wait for you to give your Pokemon compliments before sending out my next one," Sabrina replied plainly. "In war, your opponent would not kindly wait like that before putting a bullet in your head."

    "You never know, they might be having an off day," Alaska replied caustically, frustrated that once again Sabrina's lesson was ruling the battle. She was even further dismayed to see Frances was struggling to get back up, all confidence gained from defeating Kadabra evaporated in one moment. Alaska looked around at the Pokemon zipping around the room, barely staying in one place longer than a few seconds, and knew this was going to be a challenge.

    "Is that a Natu, by any chance?" Sabrina nodded, and Alaska sighed with annoyance, guessing it would have at least one Flying type attack to defeat any Bug types that came up in battle. She could always swap Frances out and bring her back later, but there was no telling who Sabrina would send out next, the chances high it would be something that would wipe the glowing floor with the Parasect before she even got one hit in.

    "Slash." The single syllable echoed, the depression and anger behind it clear to everyone, and Alaska had to avoid Frances' gaze as she looked fretfully up at her trainer. What sort of trainer have I become when I disappoint my own Pokemon with my lack of skills?

    Alaska didn't watch as Natu flew down, wings outstretched and glowing, likely an Aerial Ace, and cut across Frances before she could even move. She caught out of the corner of her eye something orange fall, and then the referee announced the loss to her side. Wearily, Alaska withdrew Frances and put the Great Ball away with a heavy heart: her best chance of winning was lost, and now she would have to defeat Natu, Mr Mime and a mysterious fourth Pokemon with no type advantage.

    "Have you taken my lesson to heart yet?" Sabrina's voice called across the pitch, and Alaska cast her her deadliest side eye. "If you had trained this past week with my warning in mind, you would easily be able to win the battle. It appears, however, you have not focussed on it, and have instead gone blindly into battle with no hope of finding your way out." Alaska looked up as Sabrina finished her tirade, a dull feeling of pain and annoyance rising up. The gym leaders words echoed inside her head, all her warnings and judgements from a week ago sounding on top of one another, and Alaska decided than and there she was not going to take another second of Sabrina.

    "You can take your bloody lesson and shove it up your ass," Alaska snapped, and she threw her second PokeBall onto the field, only the thinnest glimmer of a strategy in mind. She briefly caught Sabrina's empty but judging eyes look down at Shelley, who seemed to be positively brimming with joy at being chosen to fight. "I have fought hard to make it to the previous four gyms, and I fought hard to win all four badges, and I did it based on my own strategies. I do not need to be judged by you in order to win this match. All my strategies have paid off in the past, and I am not changing that for your benefit. You think you know me, but you have no idea who I am or what I have been through. I have every right to feel the way I feel after that, and I do not care what you or the league or anyone else expects me to do, but if I am going to keep fighting people like Buzz and Gideon, I am going to fight them MY WAY!" Silence followed her words, and Alaska only realised now how deeply and heavily she was breathing, her anger tiring her out. She glanced across at the trio on the sideline, hoping for support, but none of them met her gaze, all three looking either at the field or down to avoid eye contact.

    "Do as you wish, Alaska, but be warned that this aimless strategy of yours will not work in the long run, no matter what you believe," Sabrina said after a few moments, and there was a cold rage behind her words that brought Alaska back to attention. Despite her annoyance at this charade, the words managed to sting, and Alaska had to literally shake her head to clear away the dark thoughts settling into place. This is just a mind game, I am not going to let her get to me, I am not letting her win like this, I can't be distracted, she told herself, but the way everyone had avoided her eyes lingered at the back of her mind.

    "Icicle Spear!"

    "Shell Shell!" Shelley cried happily, and the Shellder bounced about on the spot as she tried to find her opponent. Natu, however, was sitting still for once, its eyes glowing a faint white as a transparent ball appeared in the air above. Shelley opened her mouth wide, her tongue turning light blue, and five long, sharp icicles rocketed into the air. The tiny Natu winced as they slammed one after the other into her, shattering and sending the Little Bird rolling backwards. Alaska was pleased to get such a direct hit early on, but then she noticed the ball: it was simply floating in mid air doing nothing, like an ominous moon.

    That can't be good, she thought grimly, but tried not to let it get under her skin. The Icicle Spear had been successful, but Alaska knew she could not rely on it again, not when Natu was normally so speedy.

    "Bubblebeam!" She ordered, and her suspicions were instantly proved right: the command was barely through her lips when Natu shot forwards, becoming a green blur, and Shelley yelled as the tiny body slammed into her shell. It was clearly Quick Attack, and Alaska could see what Sabrina wanted: while it was not a powerful move, the speed allowed Natu to score a hit and then get away before getting attacked up close. Alaska had sent out Shelley on a whim, thinking her small size would be a nice counter to the minuteness of Natu, but she realised now what she needed was a Pokemon capable of taking up the chase, or one with an arsenal of long distance moves, something her Shellder could not do.

    Don't tell me she was right after all… Alaska thought bitterly, and shook her head, trying to think of a way around her problem. She needed to give Natu less room to move around in and increase the chance of Shelley hitting her. Alaska watched as the BubbleBeam floated through the air, and while several hit the zipping Natu, most missed their miniscule target.

    They sure do spread out though… Alaska thought, trying to think of something. She stared around, trying to look for inspiration in the glowing walls and getting nothing. However, after a few moments, she realised the glowing pattern reminded her of something…

    "Shelley, BubbleBeam again, and then use Aurora Beam!" Alaska looked across the pitch as she gave the command and saw something like rage briefly cross Sabrina's face, and she smiled to herself in victory.

    "Shell!" Shelley exclaimed happily, and she unleashed her barrage of bubbles once again. As soon as they were unleashed, the Bivalve Pokemon opened her mouth wider and fired a shimmering, rainbow coloured beam towards the attack. It looked as though the two attacks would collide, which was what Alaska wanted, but before they did, Natu swooped down, eyes narrowed and shining pink. Her mouth opened wide, and a ball of pink energy shot out, sparks flying and spinning about inside. Alaska tensed up as the attack soared past the bubbles and headed straight towards Shelley, unsure how effective the move would be. The Shellder saw the attack coming, and at the last moment turned, firing the Aurora Beam towards the ball rather than the bubbles.

    A rainbow explosion illuminated the field as the two attacks collided, and Alaska threw her hands in front of her face as a cold shockwave washed over her. Through her outstretched fingers she saw endless flashes of colour, like a light show gone wrong, but did not get a proper look until the energy from the explosion had died away. When she lowered her arms, Alaska expected to find the worst, and she was taken aback to discover what had truly happened.

    The collision of Aurora Beam and the Psychic attack had had an unprecedented effect: glittering chunks of ice now covered the field, walls and ceiling. It was what Alaska had been trying to do, but the collision of Psychic and Ice had doubled her desire outcome. She looked up at where the BubbleBeam had been, and saw a huge pack of jagged, misshapen ice across the ceiling: it was ten times better than what Alaska had anticipated, and when she gleefully looked across at Sabrina, the look of undisguised horror on her face made Alaska whoop in celebration.

    "Oh, this is too good!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands and resisting the urge to dance on the spot. "I never expected this to happen – this is just perfect! Thank you, Sabrina, thank you so, so much!" The gym leader did not say anything in response, but her lips had thinned in annoyance, a look replicated by Natu. I probably shouldn't be pissing her off, since she can keep me here forever if she wants to, but I am not letting anyone push me around, not anymore, Alaska told herself, smirking back to Sabrina.

    "Aurora Beam again!" Shelley had been staring in awe of the frozen landscape that had appeared around her, and as such did not pay attention as Natu came hurtling towards her again. The speed of the Quick Attack was strengthened by Natu's rage, and the force of the attack sent Shelley hurtling across the pitch, skidding over patches of ice. Shelley cried out as she spun wildly, and she aimlessly fired off the Aurora Beam. However, the ice barrier had worked, forcing Natu to change path several times, and Alaska cheered as the attack struck the smaller Pokemon.

    "I would not celebrate so quickly if I was you," Sabrina purred. Alaska paused, wondering what the gym leader meant, and then saw it: the hovering orb had suddenly shot forwards, having doubled in size and brightness since she had last looked at it, and the trainer gasped as a white beam like a spotlight was fired at the spinning Shelley.

    "SHELL!" She cried, the attack exploding against her shell and sending her flying into the air. Alaska seized up, knowing that when Shelley landed it would not end well, and knew she had to improvise.

    "Use Clamp on one the icicles!" She shouted, and Shelley responded just in time, stretching out and grabbing onto a jagged bit of the frozen ceiling formation. Now she was several metres above the field, Natu hovering weakly about underneath. Alaska was pleased to see her opponent was moving slower now, knowing one last move would be enough to wipe her out, but she had no idea what to do with Shelley now.

    "You should have heeded my advice, Alaska, rather than trying to turn things to your favour," Sabrina called out. "Freezing the field was a clever move, but you need a better strategy than that if you want to win the battle." Alaska opened her mouth to reply, but Natu did not give her the chance: the Flying type was soaring towards Shelley with her wings outstretched, going in with Aerial Ace to ensure the attack hit. However, that was not the only part of Sabrina's plan, as Natu's eyes were glowing pink once again, and Alaska knew that the mysterious Psychic attack would hit this time unless she did something to stop it.

    Shelley is not strong enough to survive two attacks at once… I have to do something, anything to help her survive, as Aerial Ace will hit no matter what… actually…

    "Push yourself off the ice as hard as you can!" Alaska yelled. Shelley did not respond immediately, likely weary of falling so far, but with Natu coming in hot she had no choice: using her tongue, Shelley launched herself away from the ice, falling at an angle and forcing Natu to divert courser. Shelley fell faster than the minute Psychic type could fly, and Alaska watched attentively as her Shellder soared towards a curved bit of ice.

    "Come on, come on, come on…. YES!" She cheered, watching as Shelley slid down the ice and rocketed off the other side. Natu turned a second time and sped after the flying Shellder, and Alaska knew it was time to initiate an attack. "Icicle Spear, GO!"

    "Sheeellllllll!" Shelley wailed as she flew above the field, but she still managed to fire, shooting out five deadly looking icicles that raced to meet Natu.

    "Tu Tu!" The Psychic was not willing to go down so easily, and it fired the pink blob to meet the ice. Alaska tensed as the attacks came towards each other, and winced as ice and energy met above the field. A shockwave of psychic energy was unleashed across the arena: Alaska shielded herself, Sandy yelled out from the sidelines, and both Pokemon shouted as chunks of ice began battering everyone. A white cloud of frost hung above the pitch, and Alaska stepped forwards and stared forwards, trying to see the outcome.

    Come on Shelley, hang in there. We can't lose, I am not letting her win this battle. I have come too far, I have lost so much already that I cannot lose my freedom, I cannot let these people control my life anymore. We have to win this, Sabrina can't think she knows me, we can't let what she said be the truth… I am not like that, I am not afraid… I am not giving up my freedom… I am NOT LOSING THIS BATTLE



    Yes, we have a two part gym battle on our hands! It was going to be far too long for people to read in one setting had I done it in one, and taken far too long to write, so I have split it up. The next part will see things carry on and the mind game carries on. And if you found Alaska a bit annoying this chapter, then don't worry, that was intentional - this Arc will really explore her psychology and why she acts the way she does. Expect a lot of home truths over the coming chapters.
     
    • Chapter Sixty Eight: That Psychic Feeling
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 67

    Chapter Sixty Eight: That Psychic Feeling

    "Natu is unable to battle. The challenger is now in the lead."

    The words seemed to come from nowhere, as the white fog still hovered over the field and throughout the gym, preventing Alaska from seeing anything more than a few metres away. She wasn't sure whether she had imagined the statement or not, but as the haze disappeared and revealed a scowling Sabrina, Alaska had to crack a smile. Shelley did it, she actually won!

    The fog lifted, revealing the conscious Shelley resting a few metres from her fallen opponent; Natu was so tiny it was hard to see it amongst the shattered ice, but when Alaska did spot her, the Psychic type clearly wasn't moving. Alaska quickly smiled at Shelley, who seemed tired but was otherwise shaking with excitement at her first big defeat.

    "That was excellent!" Alaska called out. "Don't get too cocky though; there are still two more Pokemon we need to defeat first! Though I have the advantage: I am doing it, I am actually beating her…

    "I must admit I am impressed," Sabrina said coldly across the field as she withdrew Natu. "You have done better than I expected, which is admirable. I am not pleased though with the fact you continue to ignore the meaning of my lesson."

    "Well, I haven't really had the need to do so. My usual strategies seem to be kicking your ass pretty efficiently so far."

    "We shall see," Sabrina purred, and her next PokeBall shot out across the field. Alaska had a feeling she knew who was coming, and as soon as the red light began to take a humanoid shape, she grinned to herself.

    "Clamp, now!" She shouted. Shelley swivelled about on the ice and sprayed water out of her back, launching herself towards Mr Mime. The Shellder opened her body wide and then closed it tightly onto her opponent's right knee. The Barrier Pokemon had barely been out for a second before he was under attack, and now appeared perplexed and stunned to find his opponent had clamped onto him already.

    "You should be proud, Sabrina," Alaska called out with a sly grin. "I have adapted things to suit you: you want Mr Mime to set things up again for your final Pokemon, I could see that coming from a mile away. Maybe your words are finally settling in? Aurora Beam, close contact!"

    "SHHHHHHHAAAA!" Shelley replied with her voice muffled but the close range working perfectly. Mr Mime cried out as light shone from Shelley and the Psychic type stumbled forwards as his leg began to freeze. He raised his hands, causing the translucent yellow wall to appear once again, but it did nothing to free himself of the Pokemon causing him pain.

    "Icicle Spear!" Alaska shouted. She knew Sabrina was aware of what would happen to her Pokemon, but the gym leader did not change her strategy. Instead, Mr Mime produced the clear Reflect, the mirroring wall shooting up right in front of him. It seemed like an odd decision to Alaska, Sabrina sacrificing Mr Mime to help her final Pokemon, and she had to wonder what the gym leader was planning.

    "MIME!" The Barrier Pokemon wailed, and suddenly toppled backwards, flailing his limbs in pain as Shelley fell to the ground. The force of the Icicle Spear had forced her to let go, but Alaska did not care as the attack seemed to have worked: Mr Mime continued to spasm for a moment, but then he fell still and silent. Alaska was stunned the Icicle Spear had done so much damage, but then she remembered Frances' earlier X-Scissors, and smiled, pleased to see they had dome more damage than first thought.

    "Mr Mime is unable to battle. The gym leader now has only one Pokemon left against the challenger's three." Alaska beamed brightly and widely as Sabrina quickly withdrew the unconscious Mr Mime: the battle was actually going in her favour, and she had three Pokemon left to face off against Sabrina's one. It was incredible to think she had spent the last week fretting about the battle, wondering what Sabrina's message meant and getting worked up about being trapped here. That all seemed so pointless now, now that Alaska was actually facing her: Sabrina was simply another puffed up gym leader, just like all the rest, and Alaska wanted to laugh, her victory basically secure.

    A red flash appeared behind Shelley. Alaska looked up and was surprised to see a green and white Pokemon form behind the barriers, the creature seeming to float above the field, the end of her flowing skin shimmering like a dress caught in the wind, while watchful eyes peered out across the field.

    Alaska had been expecting a powerhouse Pokemon like Gardevoir all along, and it was surprising and worrying that Sabrina had only saved it for now. She presumed it was the same one who had helped treat her last week, but Alaska was not going to hold back on that account.

    Yet, as she opened her mouth, ready to give her command to a still smiling Shelley, who was slowly pivoting back to her enemy, it happened. One second, Gardevoir's eyes flashed a brilliant yellow. The next, lightning so strong it made Alaska's hair stand up was flowing throughout the field. The harsh yellow and white light forced Alaska to shield her eyes, everything around her turning yellow as Shelley cried out in pain amongst the onslaught.

    The attack ended as soon as it began, steam rising from where the electricity had hit melted patches of ice. Alaska lowered her arms and looked down to her feet, bile again rising up her throat: Shelley lay unconscious a metre in front of her, the Electric attack so powerful it had blasted the tiny Pokemon right across the field. Smoke rose from burnt patches on her shell, and her tongue stuck out comically, but Shelley had a look as though she had endured a lot before finally succumbing.

    "You should not have gotten so cocky." Sabrina's voice emerged from the other side of the pitch, but when Alaska looked up she could only see Gardevoir, the Psychic type calmly watching her as though she had not just defeat her Pokemon. "Mr Mime and Natu were always pawns, intended to weaken your side and improve my own. Everything I have done in this battle has paved the way for Gardevoir. I set up barriers to weaken your attacks and eliminate your one Bug type, and I allowed Natu to fall in order to get your hopes up. I spent the last week devising this strategy, and had you actually adapted to the situation like I warned, you would not have walked into every trap. Instead, you simply came charging head first into battle and hoping I would fall as easily as Brock or Misty."

    Her words were like a fist ramming repeatedly into her head. Alaska felt angry and sick and disappointed all at once, stunned that she had been manipulated and fooled so easily. Her elation at Mr Mime's defeat had vanished. She could see now Sabrina had trapped her: she may still be in the lead, but with a powerful Electric move at her disposal, Gardevoir could defeat Paige as easily as her Psychic moves would eliminate Nadia. Alaska was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and it pained her to admit she had put herself in this position.

    The only way to end this nightmare is to win and play Sabrina at her own game, Alaska thought bitterly. She wants to see what I do when someone else sets the rules, so I need to adapt to field around me and kick this bitch all the way back to the loony bin.

    "Nadia, let's crush this bitch!" She threw the PokeBall forwards, and a second later Nadia formed on the glowing field, the gruff Poison type sneering at Gardevoir while she took in her surroundings. Alaska knew Nadia was at more of a disadvantage than Paige, but she would rather get at least one solid Crunch in before falling back on her starter.

    "Interesting choice," Sabrina purred behind her Pokemon. "Have you not realised that I am aware of what Pokemon you own, which is why I chose the Pokemon I did? Did it not occur to you that Thunderbolt may have been a simple ruse to ensure you sent out your Nidorina?"

    "Of course," Alaska snapped back, though really it hadn't, and she was bitter and frustrated once again.

    "The tables have certainly turned," Sabrina added after a few moments of silence. "Freezing the field probably seemed like a good idea at the time, and it certainly worked, but Nidorina must now run across the ice you created, while Gardevoir can simply float over it." Alaska swore loudly, having not considered this either, and Sabrina fell silent, clearly knowing the battle was basically won. Nadia's rough, war-ready face slipped as she examined the ice, and the last thing Alaska needed was her toughest fighter to lose confidence.

    There are ways around this; we are not going to lose this easily. Alaska knew her options were extremely limited at this point, with Reflect and Light Screen weakening her attacks and Gardevoir would likely know Psychic, hampering any attempt at Crunch. What she needed was to make it easier for Nadia to get in close and score one strong attack.

    "Fire Ice Beam and build on what is already there!" Nadia hesitated for a moment, confused by the order, but eventually fired the light blue Ice Beam at the formations Shelley had created. Instantly ice began to grow over what was already there, the misshapen fragments generated by Shelley and Natu's battle growing and solidifying.

    "Freezing the field will not help you in the long run."

    "You have no idea what my long run is!"

    "I can guess," Sabrina retorted, and Alaska directed a hand gesture at her before looking across at Gardevoir. The Psychic type was not even looking at her opponent, and was instead staring intently at Alaska as if trying to read her thoughts. Alaska watched unnervingly as Gardevoir's emotionless eyes flashed pink, then a pale light spread across her, briefly lighting her up before fading.

    That isn't going to be good, Alaska thought, presuming it would be some type of status move designed to further increase Sabrina's control over the situation. She forced herself not to fret though, instead watching as Nadia built up the ice around her. The Nidorina had created a chest height wall of ice across the pitch, right up against the two barriers, and was exactly what Alaska wanted.

    "Now, ready Skull Bash!" Nadia stopped firing the beam and sat squatly down on the pitch, staring intently through the ice barrier at her waiting opponent. Alaska wondered if Gardevoir would attack now that Nadia was held up for a turn, but the Psychic type did not move, her eyes and skin merely glowing again. Alaska cautiously bit her lip, but put aside her worry and focussed on her own Pokemon.

    "NIDA!" Nadia shouted, and she suddenly sprinted forwards, forehead glowing white. It was going to be tricky to pull this off, and Alaska watched intently, heart hammering against her chest, taking slight solace in the fact Gardevoir had not moved yet either.

    Nadia ran towards the wall of ice she had created, and Alaska did not tell her to move: instead, she ran straight into it, and the wall shattered, sending huge chunks of ice hurtling towards Gardevoir.

    "CRUNCH!" Alaska roared, and Nadia leapt up, jumping past flying ice and through the barriers, and came up right in front of her opponent. She clamped down hard on the horn in Gardevoir's chest, and the speed from Skull Bash saw her slam into Gardevoir and send her stumbling backwards. Alaska wanted to cheer, her complicated plan paying off, but a voice in the back of her head held her back from celebrating, the voice whispering Why didn't Gardevoir defend herself?

    "Get away from there, Nadia!" Alaska shouted, a feeling of fear rising in her chest. She saw Nadia look back at her, glowing black teeth still biting down on Gardevoir's midriff, her eyes questioning why she was being denied this treat.

    And then it was too late to move: Gardevoir looked down at the Nidorina as if only just noticing her, and her eyes flashed a brilliant, violent pink. Broken ice rose up from the field, and like missiles they began to bombard Nadia. Alaska could hear her grunt in pain, refusing to let go of Gardevoir despite being throttled by the frozen ammunition, but the ice was coming in thick and fast. Alaska knew that with the Dark move enclosing her chest, Gardevoir could not force Nadia off her body just yet, and the ice would continue until the Nidorina did.

    She is going to faint one way or another… I might as well get another shot in before that happens…

    "Let go and use Ice Beam!" Through the translucent barriers, Alaska saw Nadia look at her again, disappointment clear in her eyes, well aware of what her trainer was asking her to do. This was the second time in one battle Alaska had failed her own Pokemon, and she was not sure whether to be angry with Sabrina for putting her in this position, or frustrated with herself for falling for these traps.

    With an air of reluctance, Nadia released her grip of Gardevoir and blasted the Embrace Pokemon with the frozen beam. Gardevoir flinched but her eyes continued to glow: with a casual flick of her arms, the ice fell to the ground and Nadia was sent flying backwards, the Ice Beam petering out as she slammed head-first into the floor. Alaska watched as Nadia rolled towards her, hoping that her Nidorina was merely dazed and would leap back to her feet any second now. Yet it became clear once Nadia fell to her feet, eyes shut and limbs comic spread out, that the battle was now at its lowest point yet for Alaska.

    "Nidorina is unable to battle. Both trainers have only one Pokemon left."

    Alaska stared wordlessly at Nadia for several moments before the silence combined with the sight of her crushed Pokemon became too much, and she withdrew her without another glance. She gazed across the pitch before her: large chunks of ice lay across the field, distorted and magnified by the swirling glow of the floor; the formation remained on the ceiling, half a set of threatening frozen teeth waiting to fall down on whoever fought next; the two barriers that were still standing, and behind them stood Gardevoir, who had not moved since she began battling and seemed to have barely broken a sweat.

    "If you want your Pidgeotto to last more than one move, you will need to change your strategy," Sabrina's voice called across the eerily silent battlefield. "I do not want you to lose, Alaska, you must understand that, but I also refuse to let you win using your current methods. This is not a cruel or elaborate test designed to infuriate you: this is a lesson you need to learn, and a lesson you must learn before you can leave this gym."

    "Stop going on about the fucking lesson!" Alaska snapped. "I am so sick of hearing about what I have to do to change. Why, Sabrina, why do I need to change? Is there someone telling you teach me this, is that what's going on? You mentioned Red last week – is this the League, the bloody Kanto Elites, is this just them telling you I have to fight for them but I'm not doing a good enough job?"

    "I have very little to do with the League, and I am not the type to teach lessons on the behalf of others," Sabrina replied coldly. "Is that what you took out of our discussion? If my mention of the League distracted you and prevented you from accepting what I am trying to teach you then I apologise, I did not realise –"

    "What has stopped me accepting your bloody lesson is that it is a lesson I don't actually want," Alaska interrupted. "The League stuff, I hardly even thought about it, I only just remembered… but that isn't the problem here! The problem is that you read my mind and made your own assumptions about me, and you think that it gives you permission to lock me in your gym for a week until I meet your damn standards! You have decided that I need to be taught how to fight Buzz and Gideon properly, but I don't want to keep battling them, I made that perfectly clear last week! I made a decision in Celadon of what I path to focus on, and I chose to put my gym battles, but thanks to you, those paths have now crossed over and… URGH, I just can't fucking win!"

    "Everything you say highlights the gravity of what I am trying to teach you," Sabrina said, a slight hiss of anger slipping into her words. "You are frustrated because the choices you have made have been altered by outside sources, and that has made you angry and has weakened your abilities as a battler. You complain that everyone has altered your plans and how much it has annoyed you, and what I am trying to teach you is to accept those outside influences and learn to adapt with them.

    "Change is a natural part of aging and maturing, it is one of the fundamental parts of society. I could argue that the ability to change is what makes us human, but even the Pokemon world has changed: barely a century ago, if you had tried to walk through Viridian Forest, the Rattata and Beedrill likely would have killed you, or if they were in a good mood, merely maimed and poisoned you so that you would die slightly later on. But they have adapted and have accepted to living alongside us, and now their descendants choose to kill and maim and poison at our command. Everyone has to change, Alaska; everyone has to grow up and accept that their fate does not lie entirely in their hands, and that choosing a path does not automatically mean they will be able to stick to it!

    "I think the true problem lies with the decision you made last week, back in the basement of Silph Tower. You were willing to die rather than face changing how you battle, and you have spent the last week grappling with that moment of weakness instead of focussing on this battle, letting yourself get angry and annoyed by what I revealed to you about yourself so that you do not have to reflect on what drove you to succumbing to your injuries and seeing dying as the easiest option."

    "I chose to die because I wanted to die!" Alaska shouted back. "I explained this all last week, I told you more than I have ever told any other stranger, and then you trapped me here and have tried to change my very being! That is the only reason why I am annoyed with you and why I am ignoring your blasted message, so stop trying to analyse me and stop trying to change me! You're the fucking gym leader here, you're the one who can read minds and manipulate people, so why don't you go out there and see how you fare against Buzz and his robot army and leave me to get on with my journey?!"

    The silence that followed instantly felt stifling, and Alaska found herself breathing rapidly, her chest heaving as air entered and left with such rapidity that she began to feel faint. The only sound in the entire gym was her heavy breathing, no one else saying a single thing. Alaska turned and looked to Sandy for support, but for perhaps the first time in one of her gym battles, her friend was staring intensely at her feet and not at the battle field. Alaska let all the air escape her, the lack of support winding her, and she quickly grappled for her one remaining PokeBall, needing support, needing someone on her side, needing to know she was in the right.

    "All you have to do is defeat me, and then you may leave," Sabrina replied after what felt like hours, her voice quiet and emotionless once again. It was as frustrating if not more then everything that had come before, and Alaska let out a short, sharp scream before hurtling Paige's PokeBall onto the pitch, the capsule hitting the glowing ground so hard that she thought for a second it might have cracked.

    The Pidgeotto formed without issue though, and she rose into the air before Alaska and stared beadily between her and Gardevoir: the tension must have been obvious, the heated exchange still hovering in the air. Sabrina made no further comment, and Gardevoir did not move to strike down Paige.

    Your waiting for me to move first, aren't you? Alaska clenched her fists and looked around the field, taking in the ice, the barriers, Gardevoir and her powerful Thunderbolt. I really have no choice in this, do I? Very well then… if I have to win your way, I will play your little game. You keep telling me to adapt to the situation, adapt to what my opponents throw at me… you said last week about how it would be your rules, so what are your rules exactly? The only thing you do differently is make me wear this stupid headband because of the psychic… psychic… psychic energy…

    The thought was mad, insane, perhaps the stupidest thing she had come up with all day. But Alaska was running out of options for defeating Sabrina, not just through strength but in a way to counter her strategy, and it was almost as idiotic that she had never considered this earlier.

    She did not pause to evaluate her options; instead, Alaska grabbed the headband and pulled it off in one fast movement. She threw it towards the referee, and then shut her eyes and concentrated.

    I know you can hear me… you always have been able to hear me, at least for the past few months, so I know you are listening to me now, wherever you are. I want you to know this is a last resort talking to you, but I need your help, and I think you are going to give it to me. You seem to want to protect me, and I am willing to let you, but you cannot help me if I stay trapped inside this gym, and I will stay trapped if I don't win this gym battle. If you are prepared to help, then tell Paige to land on the ice… do it… please, I am begging you, help me!

    She opened her eyes, catching a vague glimpse of the referee watching her quizzically but ignored him, her attention falling on Paige. The Pidgeotto was still hovering in mid air, likely examining the field and all the ice that surrounded her, and showed no sign of receiving Alaska's command. Land on it, Alaska thought. He says he wants to help me, so if he wants to help us, then he will tell you to land on the ice… come on, Paige, land on the ice… land on it… land on it… LAND ON IT LAND ON IT LAND ON IT!

    Paige's head swivelled; she looked at Alaska in fear, confusion and worry clear in her eyes. Desperately, Alaska gave her a reassuring nod, heart beating so loudly she thought she was going to die, but then Paige floated down towards the nearest shard and perched on it, tucking her wings in and looking at her trainer in complete confusion.

    Victory exploded inside Alaska's head, and for the first time since Mr Mime had fainted, she cracked a smile: the battle was not lost yet.

    Thank you… now, let's battle…

    "Pidgeeeey!" Paige squawked, casting Alaska another strange look before suddenly shooting up into the air. Gardevoir's eyes followed the Pidgeotto, and Alaska was certain she could see a yellow glint in them.

    NOW!

    "PIDGE!" Paige cried, tucking her wings in as her body turned orange, and as Gardevoir began to glow yellow, the Bird Pokemon unleashed her Heat Wave upon the gym. The air turned a dark red, and Alaska smiled as the blast of warmth brushed her skin. She watched as the broken ice chunks began to melt, forming a giant puddle on the floor, but more importantly, Alaska could see Gardevoir stumbling as the attack washed over her.

    Let's see how you like surprises, Alaska thought bitterly, and saw Paige dive rapidly down, chasing her attack as it dissipated.

    "Gah!" The soft cry escaped the silent Gardevoir, the Quick Attack hitting her right in the middle: it was not a powerful move, but she had been caught off guard, letting Paige strike her before she could prepare herself.

    "How did you do that?" Sabrina's voice was like thunder crackling through the gym, so angry it made Alaska smile. "You do not possess psychic abilities, I would have been able to sense them if you had!"

    "I don't know what you're on about, Sabrina," Alaska replied, shrugging her shoulders. "You wanted me to play by your rules, so that is exactly what I am doing. You made it very clear that a trainer does not have to audibly give commands, so I am simply following your rules." Sabrina did not respond, but the air in the gym was tense again. Part of Alaska was concerned about what the gym leader would do to ensure her message sunk in, but the other part was over this whole experience: she simply wanted to win, get the gym badge and move on.

    Let's keep things going, shall we?

    Paige was circling the field while Alaska and Sabrina had their exchange, but as soon as the next order was given, she stopped and dived down once more, her wings outstretched and shining a brilliant lilac.

    "Gar," Gardevoir said quietly, and her eyes flashed pink. It was like an invisible fist had punched Paige in the stomach: the Psychic sent her spiralling upwards until she crashed into the melting ice on the ceiling. It was fast and powerful, and Alaska remembered the mysterious move Gardevoir had used earlier.

    "Let me guess, that was something like Cosmic Power, what you had her use earlier? Am I right?"

    "Calm Mind, actually," Sabrina replied, a hint of annoyance still there in her tone. Alaska simply nodded and digested the information: a boosted Special Attack explained how easily Nadia had fallen, and it meant that a single hit from any move could be enough to bring Paige down.

    Speed is going to be the key here… if we can do things quickly, then we might just stand a shot…

    "OTTO!" Paige cried, shaking the water off her feathers before rocketing back to her opponent. There was nothing Gardevoir could do to stop the Quick Attack, but this time, Paige made sure to hit her right in the face: the Psychic type nearly fell to the ground this time, briefly giving Alaska a glimpse of Sabrina's thunderous face before her attention turned back to Paige.

    "GAAAAAAAR!" Gardevoir cried, her tone calm but ominous, and electricity flew out of her body. Paige soared around the entire gym, yellow lightning chasing after her, and by sheer luck she managed to avoid getting fried. The Pidgeotto now rocketed back towards the field, tucking her wings in and spinning about, and Gardevoir floated forwards, body already crackling as she readied the next Thunderbolt.

    "NOW!" Alaska shouted, and Paige shouted as the purple energy swirling around her grew, and a Twister quickly engulfed her body. She was flying inches above the battlefield, and Alaska nearly whooped as the melted water was whipped by the spinning Twister, and a wave washed over Gardevoir.

    "NO!" Sabrina cried out, but it was too late. The Twister did nothing, type advantage, Calm Mind and Reflect working wonders, but that had not been Alaska's plan. Gardevoir screamed painfully as her attacked backfired, the charging Thunderbolt reacting to the water and electrocuting her rather than Paige. Her body lit up, and her graceful demeanour faded as she began to spasm, trying to shake off the water.

    Alaska hoped the water would stop her, but despite her pain, Gardevoir managed to blindly fire off the Thunderbolt. The attack soared through the gym, forcing Alaska to step backwards as the giant puddle of melted ice began to crackle. Yet while Gardevoir continued to torture herself, Paige used the momentum of Twister to fly to safety: she flew up and clung to one of the larger roof icicles, and the electricity harmlessly bounced off the frozen surface.

    "Am I meeting your requirements yet?" Alaska called out teasingly, but Sabrina did not respond to her jeer. Instead, a frazzled Gardevoir stared up at the ice with a look that must have been emulating the rage her trainer felt, and the pink hairy in chest began to glow, shining and sparkling a mix of pale pink and hot white.

    "VOIR!" She shouted, and she fired off a beam that shone as white and brightly as a full moon. Paige launched herself backwards as the shimmering attack struck the ice, shattering it in a explosion of sparkles and ice and sending the chunks soaring across the field. A huge piece landed right in front of Gardevoir, and the Psychic type was forced to hover backwards as the piece showered her in flakes. Alaska raised her arms to shield herself, but through the gap she saw something that made her heart jump: both Reflect and Light Screen had fallen during the last few rounds, going unnoticed during her Thunderbolt strategy, and there was now a clear path to Gardevoir.

    DO IT, HIT HER, AERIAL ACE!

    "PIDGEOTTOOOOO!" Paige screamed, and she soared through the falling ice, her wings shining such a brilliant shade of purple that Alaska knew all her strength was going into this attack. Gardevoir looked away from the fallen ice and up to her rapidly incoming opponent, and suddenly her eyes glowed pink. Paige froze as though she had hit an invisible barrier, and Alaska could see her starter quivering all over, fighting back against the Psychic attack trying to defeat her.

    "You can fight this, Paige; don't let it get a hold of you!" Alaska roared. She could not see Paige's eyes, but her red and yellow head feathers bobbed as she nodded, and suddenly, miraculously, she began to move forwards: her wings only flapped slightly, but Paige forced herself onwards, fighting back against the mental grip on her body. Alaska grinned determinedly, and she looked to see Gardevoir was shaking as well, eyes narrowed and burning pink, doing everything to stop the Aerial Ace hitting.

    "Your Pokemon is just like you, Alaska," Sabrina yelled, "trying too hard to fight a losing battle. You both need to give up: you cannot defeat me, not in the way I have set things up for you."

    "I can win! I can win, I will win, and I will win on MY OWN TERMS!" Alaska shouted furiously enough. "It has been enough to get me this far."

    "You can keep telling yourself that, but you are the one that was willing to die in Silph's basement, you were the one who was ready to give up, and you were willing to die because you know you cannot defeat Buzz. But you will stand a chance if you just let other people help you, and if you simply learn to fight on other people's terms!"

    "This is MY journey, Sabrina, and I am going to win this on my own terms!" Alaska snapped furiously back. "Everyone I have met since I left Viridian has tried to control some aspect of my journey. I have been waiting years to do this, to go out and prove myself to the world, and I am not letting anyone else dictate how I live my life! Now COME ON, PAIGE, SHOW HER WHAT WE ARE MADE OF!"

    "OTTOOOOO!" Paige screeched, and with her face screwed up in pain, the Pidgeotto suddenly flashed a violent orange. Alaska was startled, but Paige knew what she was doing: the Heat Wave wafted across the pitch and blasted Gardevoir in the face, the burning air enough to make her stumble. Her eyes returned to normal, and Paige shot forwards, a brown and lilac blur ready to end the battle.

    Everything happened in a flash.

    Gardevoir waved her arms and the Heat Wave vanished, giving Paige a clear line of sight towards her opponent. She was like a speeding bullet, and she managed to cut across her opponent, the Aerial Ace a purple flash as it struck Gardevoir. Alaska thought it was over, but it seemed Sabrina was refusing to go down without a fight, and despite the fact Gardevoir was still covered in water, she began to glow yellow and turned towards the retreating Paige.

    Everything faded from view as a brilliant yellow flash like lightning lit up the gym. Paige and Gardevoir both yelled as the Thunderbolt electrocuted them both, steam rising from the giant pool of melted water that acted like a conductor around them. Alaska cried out, her hair standing on end, but it was not the pain of the exploding, ricocheting attack that hurt her: she had come so close, the battle had been won. Was she really about to lose so late in the game?

    The flash quickly faded, but the sparking water and a cloud of steam made it hard to see anything. The cloud began to disperse though, and Alaska saw Paige lying slumped on a piece of ice. She was breathing slowly and looked in pain, and Alaska's heart nearly stopped. Quickly, fearfully, she looked across the field, and saw Gardevoir had collapsed to her knees, chest heaving and arms shaking as she tried to hold herself up. Smoke rose from both Pokemon, joining that which shrouded the field, and silence fell as trainers, referee and spectators alike watched to see who fell first.

    "Gah," Gardevoir whispered simply, and her arms gave way, a soft splash sounding as she face planted into the water. Paige made a gurgled noise of relief, and she let herself slump backwards, no longer needing to hold on.

    "Gardevoir fainted first. By the rules dictated by the Pokemon League, this means that the winner of this gym battle is the challenger, Alaska!" The referee announced, though his gusto felt forced, and only silence greeted his words. Alaska smiled weakly, knowing she should be happy; that she had beaten Sabrina and guaranteed her future. However, the tense, uncomfortable silence before and after the announcement was uncomfortable, sucking away all feeling of joy.

    "That was the most appalling battle I have ever had." Alaska looked around to find Sabrina standing before her. The gym leader had walked silently through the water, her face as stoic and blank as always, but her eyes burnt with an undeniable rage. She pulled something out of her pocket and briefly showed Alaska the yellow, perfectly round Marsh Badge before dropping it to the floor.

    "Sore loser much?"

    "Do not try and insult me with words, Alaska, I am over it," Sabrina replied coldly. "The rules state that I cannot deny you this badge when you have won fairly, but that does not mean I think you deserve it. You ignored my advice, you fought in the same arrogant, attention seeking way you have done so in all your previous battles, and then had the audacity to play tricks and manipulate the situation to win. I do not know how you managed to psychically give Paige your orders, but there is something dirty about what you did, and I cannot forgive you for that."

    "Fuck, what is your problem?" Alaska snapped, stepping forwards so their faces were only inches apart. "You wanted me to win playing by your rules, so I played by your rules and won. If you were expecting me to bend over and just do whatever you told me to do, than you and the League should have found someone more co-operative!"

    "Oh, Alaska, you have learnt nothing from this whole experience," Sabrina snapped, her face flashing with anger. "You resisted the restrictions I put on you up to the final minute, and you still relied on cheap tricks to win. When you face Buzz or Gideon in a real life or death situation, there won't be convenient ice structures to melt or psychic energy to use against them – you will have to learn how to adapt to the situation and fight properly, without the time to set up elaborate schemes."

    "Judge me all you want, but I won fair and square, so you cannot keep me hear any longer!" Alaska hissed.

    "I wouldn't dream of it," Sabrina replied coldly. "I hope we meet again one day, Alaska Acevedo, I truly do – in fact, I believe we will see each other again sometime very soon, with all that is happening in our region at the moment. And I hope that when that day comes, you would have finally learnt the error of your ways. Right now, it disgusts and saddens me that the future of our region lies in the hands of someone so incapable of understanding the consequences of her actions." And with one last empty glare, Sabrina turned and walked away.

    "Hey, you can't just insult me and walk off like that!" Alaska shouted. She made to follow after, but the crunch of her badge beneath her feet and quickly bent down to retrieve it. When she stood back up, the entire gym was gone.

    "What the fuck…," Alaska muttered, taking a step back in her confusion. The glowing walls and floor had disappeared, and she found herself standing in the middle of a run down wooden building, with broken floorboards and the smell of mould in the air. Alaska looked fearfully around and saw Sandy, Looker and Mr Melton standing near a wall with all their bags, while an unconscious Paige lay in a puddle.

    "We have to move on, quickly now," Looker said, his voice echoing inside the empty hall. "We are no longer protected by Sabrina, it is not safe for us in Saffron City anymore." Alaska nodded dimly, not sure what to make of her situation, and she looked to her travelling companions for guidance. However, all three ignored her, talking amongst themselves as they gathered up their gear. Sandy briefly looked up from the trio, and Alaska smiled towards her, but then her friend flushed and turned away, unable to meet her friend's eyes.

    Shaking slightly, Alaska looked down at the Marsh Badge in her palm: she wanted to be happy, she should be happy; she had finally completed the fifth step in her journey, the one thing that had kept her going during their week by the ocean. Yet Sabrina's words and Sandy's inability to even look at her made Alaska feel guilty of something, and that feeling grew the longer she looked at the badge.

    I didn't do anything wrong: I won, fair and square; they cannot hold it against me.

    You tell yourself that if it makes you feel better, a voice whispered in the back of her head. Alaska jumped and looked fearfully around, as though she expected Latios to suddenly be there. She waited, wondering if her guardian would say anything else, if he would comment on what the two of them had done to win the battle, but his words lingered without response, and Alaska wondered how she meant to carry on if even the Pokemon destined to protect her couldn't support her decisions.




    The revelations keep coming next chapter as we return to an old location. The arc will continue to develop the argument between Alaska and Sabrina through other parties, so while Sabrina may not reappear anytime soon, Alaska will still ramifications of her decisions during this battle. I have also updated Chapters 63 and 66 with new or heavily revised scenes.
     
    • Chapter Sixty Nine: The Least Sexy Chapter
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 68

    Thanks for the feedback @diamondpearl876. Enjoy the long journey through this story!


    Chapter Sixty Nine: The Least Sexy Chapter

    Eevee's delighted squeals sounded throughout the entire garden. Sandy watched maternally as the Normal type danced around, being chased frantically by an eager Pichu. Evelyn the Flareon watched contently from the shade of a large rose bush, while Vinnie the Tangrowth stood in the middle, his eyes showing the smile his face could not, as the two Pokemon chased each other around him.

    "They look like they're having fun, don't they?" Sandy turned around to see Daisy beaming at the running Pokemon.

    "They definitely seem to be," Sandy replied, smiling back. If only the humans were as well…. Daisy continued to smile, and Sandy reluctantly grinned back, pushing the thought to the back of her mind, glancing once more at her delighted Pokemon before emerging herself back into the world she could not escape from.

    She had never expected to return to the Celadon Mansion garden, not after how Alaska had left things last time. To be back, sitting at the long outside table, having breakfast again; it almost made Sandy want to laugh, that the world was in such dire straits that they all had to resort to being pleasant to each other simply to survive.

    That was not to say things were not without tension. Alaska sat silently to Sandy's left at one end of the table, barely touching her food and glaring down at the human Evelyn opposite. In between, Sandy, Daisy and Alexis sat on one side, Looker, Trevor and Jericho opposite. Enough food to last Sandy for days was spread out in between: giant bowls of fruits and berries of every colour and flavour, piles of toast amongst an array of spreads, pancakes, waffles, muffins, bagels, jugs of juice so big you could drown in them.

    It's all so much, she thought, gazing at the seemingly endless piles of food, wondering where to begin. It would almost be exciting if you couldn't cut the tension with a knife. Last time she had been here, Sandy had still been nursing her bullet wound. Yet things felt worse this time, and it disturbed her how having to be saved from a gunshot to the chest by a ghost was not the worst or strangest thing to have happened to her on this journey: things were simply getting bleaker and bleaker, and her delight a few weeks ago at being seated at such a luxurious table, eating such rich and heavenly food, celebrating simply being alive, that had all vanished, the true horror of what she and Alaska had found themselves in beginning to settle in.

    "Does anyone know how Alistair is going?" Daisy said, throwing the question out to the table at another attempt of conversation.

    "I spoke to the nurse girl before, she said that his wounds appear to be healing well," Evelyn replied, gesticulating with a fork laden with fat red berries. "The doctor will be coming around this afternoon; he will be able to –"

    "Her name is Amelia." Sandy tensed up, a deeper, more anxious silence fell across the table Alaska looked past her fellow diners, seemingly ignorant to the effect her words had had, and she stared down at a slack jawed Evelyn.

    "The little nurse girl, her name is Amelia. It must be nice, having so many staff you can't even remember their names." Evelyn did not reply for a moment, mulling the words over, though everyone knew her reaction would not be good. Finally, after a minute of everyone (except Looker, who continued to crunch away on dry toast like nothing was wrong) waiting, as though a firecracker was about to explode, Evelyn tutted and laid down her fork.

    "Right then, Miss Acevedo, it seems we cannot even have a nice meal without making a scene anymore."

    "The food may be pleasant, but this was never going to be a nice meal, not while there are so many questions to be answered," Alaska snapped back.

    He should have known this, he should have been prepared for this, Sandy thought, briefly looking at Looker, wanting to be annoyed but too worried about what was about to go down. Alaska had been too shaken by her battle with Sabrina to protest when Looker had Gallade teleport them here, but once she realised they were at the mansion, surrounded by the faces of those they had encountered along the way, something seemed to snap inside of her. Alaska had quickly retreated to the room set aside for her, leaving Sandy alone to reconnect with their old allies. She had laughed and joked all night long, but deep down, fear and worry threatened to bubble to the surface, and Sandy had eventually gone to bed early, too busy wondering just what had annoyed Alaska so much.

    And now it was all about to come out. On one side, Sandy was relieved that Alaska was getting it over with sooner rather than later, instead of letting her anger stew for days and days, seeping throughout the house until everyone hated them. But on the other hand, Sandy knew that there would be no coming back from this: she glanced briefly at the other faces around the table, and everyone around her age seemed to be as on edge as her. It felt like Sandy had shown up to a fancy dinner party with a violent drunk as her date, and she knew that whatever Alaska said would have an impact on her as well.

    "I do not want to spend all morning exchanging insults with you," Evelyn said, pushing her plate aside and placing her elbows on the table. She leaned forwards, resting her chin on her cupped hands, and stared inquisitively at the teenager opposite her. "If I am going to be brutally honest, I think you are a nasty little bitch who clearly wasn't controlled at all as a child, and I quite frankly would rather kick you in the face then sit here spending money feeding and housing and protecting you. However, there are bigger things at play in our region right now than my feelings, so I am prepared to wave those aside for the benefit of solving the crisis at hand."

    "How very big of you," Alaska snarked, and Evelyn smirked.

    "I received an email report from Sabrina last night, with attached footage courtesy of Clyde. Coupled with Looker's take on the matter, it is clear that your personality is more of a danger to Kanto's future than it has been before." Evelyn paused, her eyes looking Alaska up and down, and Sandy wondered where this was leading. "It is troubling, given how much faith everyone has put in you. So I believe the best course of action is to give you some of the answers you so clearly desire. Note that I may be giving you free reign, but prove volatile and I will not hesitate to cease this conversation. Are we understood?" All eyes flickered to Alaska. Sandy watched her, waiting for the sign things would be alright. Say yes, Alaska, just say yes, maybe then we can move on.

    Alaska nodded after what seemed like a lifetime, and Evelyn cracked a smile. "Excellent, now you may begin." Alaska leaned forwards, her eyes flickering around the table, and Sandy noticed Looker put down a crust of bread, the spy finally beginning to pay attention.

    "Firstly, who exactly are you all? Gym leader, elderly housewife, friends," she said, looking at Daisy on that one, and the brunette ashamedly looked away. "What exactly do you all have to do with me?"

    "My husband was always involved in politics and the inner workings of Kanto – being rich, those looking for control generally tend to come to you for help," Evelyn said, winking slightly at Jericho. "He would be told little snippets of what was happening from time to time, and moved in certain circles to be seen by the right people. It was not until Jericho here stopped a rampaging Dragonite several years ago that our family was seen as potentially being more useful in the wider scheme of things."

    "The International Police regularly looks for civilian assets who can be of help in whatever field," Trevor explained. "Wealthy individuals are highly sought after as they see and hear a lot, associate with people with the money to fund dangerous projects, and… and they tend to enjoy the importance that comes with the role. No offence," he added, but Evelyn waved a hand.

    "No worries, dear boy, I will be the first to admit that the rich have a significant array of faults that comes with the lifestyle," she said, shaking her head and laughing slightly.

    "As a gym leader, I have certain responsibilities and I am pertain to a great deal of information about the safety and protection of the region," Alexis continued. "After I was appointed as Erika's replacement, Trevor suggested creating a small group to monitor the goings-on in Celadon and the surrounding routes, using the Mansion as base and a potential safe house."

    "I was assigned to the case of monitoring Silph Co., and that led me to crossing paths with you two." Alaska looked towards Trevor as he spoke, her eyes twitching slightly, and Sandy got the impression that a number of puzzle pieces were flying around in her head.

    "You two brought us here to try and keep us safe," she said. "That wasn't just to protect us after Lavender Town, was it?" She turned towards Daisy now, and the brunette tensed up under her gaze. "Back in Sandy's hospital room, you were reluctant to go into much detail about what would happen. Are we part of some secret operation that no one has told us about?" Alaska stared intently at Daisy, not blinking, not looking away; Daisy shook slightly, trying not to look at her, but then a sob escaped her lips.

    "I am sorry, Alaska – you too, Sandy! I wanted to tell you, I have never been good at this whole spying thing, but Trevor told me not to say anything, so I had to keep quiet, even though you were both so lovely, and I…" Daisy stopped there, her eyes watering slightly, and Sandy reached out and held onto her hand, smiling softly back at her. It seemed to calm her down, but Alaska did not pay attention, instead turning back to Trevor, eyebrows raised. The spy briefly glanced at Looker before sighing.

    "The Indigo League wants you to stay out in the open and to continue fighting against Buzz and Gideon for them, but the International Police does not share that viewpoint. I was tasked with bringing you in before you were harmed, and the idea was to keep you out of this war for as long as possible. The attack on the casino ruined that plan, and it would be foolish now to try and keep you here, but that was the original intention."

    "Why? Why did you want to bring us in, why were you and the League monitoring us anyway?" Alaska snapped. "Does everyone with a blog that runs into a homicidal maniac automatically get marked as being the saviour of the region, or am I just special?"

    "Everyone with a blog that may have a connection to a legendary Pokemon gets marked, yes," Evelyn purred, and Alaska looked like she had been slapped. Sandy watched her friend sink back into her chair, the anger fading from her face to be replaced with confusion.

    "Not long after your first encounter with the Beedrill robot and Gideon, the legendary Pokemon Latios broke out from the Dragon's Den in Blackthorn City," Trevor said. "Do you know about Latios? He is not native to this region, but –"

    "I know him," Alaska whispered back. How? Sandy asked herself, staring quizzically at her friend, but Alaska did not meet her gaze. Is there something you're not telling me?

    "That makes things easier," Trevor said, quickly looking at his comrades before carrying on. "There are a number of stories over what role these two play in our world – I know that some believe they are the embodiment or creators of our souls, but that is not important right now.

    "What is important is that the two Pokemon have long since been connected with these rocks called the Enigma Crystals. There are two, each with a bit of what is called the Soul Dew inside that has something to do with Latios and Latias' powers. Latias roamed freely for many years before Kris Soul was given possession of her Enigma Crystal, but Latios has not been seen for decades. His crystal has been held by the Dragon's Den for protection up until his rightful trainer made them known. Shortly after you faced Gideon at the Pewter Museum, Latios somehow appeared through his Enigma Crystal and then disappeared again."

    "Through the crystal? Like he was trapped inside there?" Sandy asked.

    "That is a possibility," Alexis answered with a nod. "I happened to be at the Dragon's Den at the time they explained to Kris the significance of the crystal, and they spoke about how Latios was known to be moodier and more withdrawn than Latias, and that he regularly released energy from the crystal during times of peril. However, I cannot remember them making any definite remark that he was actually inside the crystal."

    "What does Latios have to do with me?" Alaska snapped suddenly, and all eyes turned back towards her. "So a Legendary broke out around the time I started my journey, big whoop! That doesn't prove anything." Silence fell again, and Sandy watched the others at the table, their bodies collectively tensing, looks being exchanged as though they were having a psychic conversation, and there was a feeling of nervousness amongst them, as though they had come across a problem they couldn't solve.

    "Well, it looks like they won't tell you, so I will." Looker pushed his plate aside and turned to face Alaska, an obvious weariness in his expression. "Two thousand years ago, when the hell beast we today call Charlotte was created, the prophetic abilities she was cursed with drove her insane. In order to relieve the madness and while she adapted to her powers, Charlotte carved a number of her visions into different caves, mountains, lake beds and cliff faces around the world. The International Police, the various Pokemon Leagues, researchers, private organisations, and even crime syndicates like Team Rocket have spent decades searching for these since the first one was discovered after a train crash in a Hoenn valley back in 1910. There is no telling how many of them are out there, as Charlotte both doesn't remember and is highly uncooperative, but a vast number have been documented by various sources. And, as it so happens, there is one carving that we believe is particularly relevant today."

    Sandy had been expecting it from the moment Looker began talking. In fact, part of her had been wondering if something like this would come out eventually: some big ancient secret, a thousand year old conspiracy that she and Alaska had stumbled across, just like in the adventure movies she had watched as a child. However, as Looker placed what looked like a smart phone on the table, Sandy realised her heart was beating rapidly, her entire being focussing on what had been said and what would come next, her past, her present, her future all hanging on this moment.

    Looker pressed a button: the screen flickered on, and a projection rose into the air. Everyone looked at the generated holograph, which showed a large chunk of rock that had been removed from its origins. The image carved into the surface had been damaged by time, but the central figure was as clear as day: a person with long hair, presumably female riding on top of a Pidgeot, with what resembled a war raging on beneath them.

    "Fuck off." Sandy had been transfixed, mesmerized and amazed by what had been produced, but the two words Alaska spat out pulled her out of her trance. Her friend had gotten to her feet, staring not at the image of a thousand year old carving of her, but instead glaring down at Looker. The spy looked up at the teenager with an air of amusement, nothing like the concerned glances their fellow diners were exchanging.

    "I take it you do not see the resemblance?" Looker asked a smile on his face but Sandy could hear the exasperation in his voice. "I understand the scepticism; if you thought Charlotte was vague now, these pictures really show how undetailed she can –"

    "Are you telling me that I am embroiled in some stupid war between the league, an insane scientist and a sociopath television producer because of a two thousand year old carving by a ghost?"

    "You can't make this stuff up," Looker replied, his glass and raising it in a mock toast. Alaska looked the angriest Sandy had ever seen her, her face seeming to meet in the middle as it twisted with rage. Her hands were going white as she clenched the table, and veins seemed to pop out of her skin.

    I have to do something; I can't let her scream at them all, not before we have all the answers. "Does the League know about this?" Sandy asked quickly, and Trevor and Alexis nodded simultaneously. "Well, why haven't they been trying to help us?"

    "Trust me, they want to, they don't want another war destroying Kanto. But… it just isn't the right time." Alexis sighed, rubbing her temple for a moment and sinking back into her chair. "I really didn't sign up for this when I agreed to be a gym leader. I thought it would just be battling a few trainers every week, training Pokemon, training protégées, promoting things… if I had known what was really involved…"

    "None of us expected this," Jericho replied, reaching out and grabbing her hand. "We just need to move past that and put a stop to this all, and then things will go back to normal." Alexis smiled at him, and Sandy's heart fluttered slightly, softening at the sight of compassion and warmth between them, imagining what it must be like to have someone by your side during these difficult times…

    "All of the Pokemon Leagues in every region have been dealt massive publicity blows over the past few years," Alexis explained, turning back to face Alaska and Sandy. "They all received a lot of criticism for what happened with Rocket, Galactic, the turf war in Hoenn – everything made training Pokemon look dangerous and the Leagues suffered as a result. We have had peace for a few years now, and before the attack on Vermilion we were seeing pre-Rocket levels of trainers signing up."

    "So the Indigo League sees Gideon as bad publicity?" Sandy asked, and everyone nodded, a shudder of irritation flickering through the table. Perplexed and unnerved, she turned to Looker, who had returned to his breakfast as though nothing was wrong. "When we were fleeing Silph Co., you told me that the International Police tried to warn the League about Buzz. Why didn't they listen?"

    "Indigo Dreams is the best thing to happen to the league for years," Alexis answered "The League does not want to harm their brand any further, so they have chosen to continue to build the partnership and let the promotion carry on. With Gideon posing a bigger threat at the moment, having the show on provides a distraction and offers the ideal to everyone that there aren't any problems and to continue going on gym challenges."

    That… that's messed up, Sandy thought. She couldn't look at anyone, the words simply washing over her. I was shot, I could have died… and if they hadn't ignored the threat, if they had offered us protection, if they had tried to stop it sooner, instead of relying on two teenage girls just trying to get away from their homes… this is… this is revolting…

    "Sandy, are you alright?" Sandy snapped out of her thoughts. Daisy was holding her hand again, smiling softly but with concern obvious in her eyes. Sandy forced a smile on and briefly looked at Alaska, who still towered over them all, looking ready to scream. One of us has to carry on; there are still things we need answers to.

    "Sorry, I'm fine, that was… that was just a bit much to hear," Sandy replied, trying to phrase her rage and disgust as eloquently and neutrally as possible. "If the League does not want to get involved though, why has Red sent Zapdos and Suicune after us?"

    "Oh, please!" Daisy snorted, letting out an echoing laugh. "I have known Red since he was born, and trust me, no one, not even the Pokemon League, is going to put to tell him what to do!"

    "He is concerned for you, all of us gym leaders are," Alexis added. "He doesn't want the same thing to happen to you like what the League did to him, so he is trying to help you from afar. The League has expressly forbidden us from getting involved, especially after Surge nearly got killed alongside you two during Gideon's attack. The death of a gym leader would be terrible publicity, just like it was when Blue di – … oh, Daisy, I am so sorry, I didn't mean –."

    "It's fine," Daisy replied automatically, though she blinked rapidly to disperse the tears. "It has been four years; I don't let it bother me anymore." She turned to face Alaska. "Every gym leader wants to help you, but if they go against the League's wishes, they face significant punishments. The League has a plan, and they want to stick to it as much as they can, no matter what the costs are." Sandy noticed everyone exchange looks again, and even Looker glanced up from his toast, eyes furrowed and looking at Daisy as though she had just sworn.

    "Plan?" She asked tentatively, not liking the feeling they were all giving her. "What plan?" The six all looked at each other at once, flickering eyes seeming to dare each other to be the one to say it, drop the terrible secret Sandy realised had been hovering above them this entire time. A sigh of complete exasperation sounded from the top of the table, and Evelyn looked past her guests, ignoring their stunned gazes, and she locked eyes with Alaska, a grimness settling into her face.

    "They are grooming you."

    The five words were like a slap: Alaska stumbled backwards, her rage disappearing to be replaced with confusion. She appeared flummoxed for a moment, and then began to laugh. Sandy knew her well enough to know that laughter was not genuine; it felt forced, unnatural, a strangled noise like someone pretending they weren't in pain. Alaska looked at everyone as though expecting them to find it funny, but no one else laughed, and her smile quickly died.

    "Groomed? Groomed? Am I a Furfrou all of a sudden? What the fucking hell do you mean by groomed?" Alaska hissed, spitting the words out, her anger returning with a force. Evelyn opened her mouth to speak, but Looker raised a hand, silencing her with a single finger.

    "Red is going to be murdered in a few weeks time," he said, throwing the words so bluntly into the universe that Sandy barely had time to react. "Buzz, the reality show, the robot army, all of it is part of some grand scheme to get revenge on him for destroying Team Rocket. We do not know the full details or the scope of Buzz's plan, but one can presume he plans to use the show to gain access to the stadium, and then will pull his army out as a surprise and publicly destroy Red. It would have worked perfectly if we had not received the tip off and if you had not ruined the unveiling of the first robot."

    "Beedrill?" Sandy asked, and Looker nodded.

    "We believe the robots were going to be part of the reality show, be involved in the challenges and such – it would explain why Silph would willingly fund an army of killer metal Pokemon, and why people like Alistair were unwittingly brought in to work on the project. But anyway, that isn't the important part. The important part is that there is a very significant chance that Buzz is going to succeed, leaving Kanto without a Champion and a homicidal maniac taking over."

    "Unless I stop him," Alaska murmured, and Looker nodded.

    "The League does not want to fight in the war, but lo and behold, the perfect candidate for future Champion just happened to stumble across the wannabe dictator!" The spy boomed dramatically while rolling his eyes obviously. "Fighting with a Pidgey, writing your blog, going up against the villains so early – you have the perfect back story, plus you're pre-destined to capture yourself a legendary, an added bonus! The League has ordered for you to be guided by the gym leaders but not helped; while they wait for absolute proof that they are ignorant wankers and that they have basically welcomed an army into their backyard, they want you to defeat the villains for them. If you win, you save Kanto and will earn yourself a gym, an Elite Four spot or get a battle with Red he is told to lose. If you die, then that proves they are wrong, they send Red, the Elite Four, the gym leaders, Kris, Alder, everyone to storm Silph Co. and wherever Gideon is holding up, becoming the heroes who avenged your death. And if you and Red both die, well, then, Lance gets to be Champion again. Either way, should you fail to defeat everyone for us, high profile trainers from across the regions will be called upon to take them down."

    Alaska did not reply immediately at this; instead, she tapped her fingers against the glass surface of the table, chewing on her lips, staring intently at the toast rack as though imagining it catching on fire. Sandy struggled to keep her face calm, her head spinning and her stomach churning in rage; in just over a minute, Looker had torn down everything she still believed in, everything she thought she had been fighting for. Were she and Alaska really so disposable, that they could die and be replaced straight away without anyone caring, simply becoming figureheads for trainers much more powerful and famous than them to take over the fight?

    "And what is the International Police's take on all of this?" Alaska hissed eventually.

    "We think that the League is certainly going to doom all of us with this plan of theirs. Our plan was to bring you here for your protection and wait until we had more information, or Latios showed up, before letting you go out there. You did resist our attempts at help, though, and the attack on the casino forced us to take you away."

    "If you wanted to protect me, why didn't you find us after the attack?" Alaska snarled, and it was now that Looker's face truly faltered. Sandy sensed another uncomfortable truth, and Alaska did as well, tensing up besides her.

    "You are the only person that has been able to gather solid intelligence on Buzz and Gideon, and real world experiences will teach you more than you can learn inside a mansion, especially if you are the person meant to end this war. We decided it was for the best that you continued on your own and matured under your own steam."

    "Gideon has only appeared where you have been so far," Trevor added sheepishly. "We have no idea what he is doing, so…"

    "You expect us to fight him for you so you can gather more evidence?" Alaska snapped, and she grabbed her plate and threw it on the ground. Pichu and Eevee cried out in shock, and Vinnie and Evelyn the Flareon stepped forwards, cautiously watching Alaska. Everyone at the table jolted, including Sandy, who was fearfully clutching at her chair.

    "Alaska, now isn't the time," she whispered, carefully watching Looker and Evelyn.

    "If now isn't the time, then when is?" Alaska snapped back, and she grabbed a glass and threw it across the garden. Sandy winced as it shattered, but Alaska didn't notice, her rage exploding. "So I have just been a pawn this entire time? The second I walked out my front door, I have been marked as either being the hero of the region or some martyr that will force the League to action?"

    "Well, in all fairness, you were only marked after Pewter City," Looker retorted, and Alaska snatched his plate from beneath him and hurled it backwards. Vinnie's long arms shot out and grabbed hold of it before it broke.

    "What about you lot?" Alaska yelled, pointing between Daisy, Trevor, Alexis and Jericho. "Why did none of you tell me about this back when you first met me?"

    "That was not what we were ordered to do," Trevor replied. Sandy could tell he was keeping his voice calm, but that would do nothing to stop Alaska. "As Looker just said, Daisy and I were assigned to bring you back here for your own safety while we investigated what was going on. When the tunnel collapsed on us, I used the opportunity to split from you three and find out if the carving really was of you, and when we confirmed it was, it became clear the only thing to do was –"

    "Let me fight two maniacs on my own?" Alaska screamed, and she grabbed another plate.

    "Put the fine china down, madam!" Evelyn roared, rising to her feet and emitting such a presence that Alaska froze. "You can destroy as many of my dinnerware as you want, but that is not going to change anything! There is a war going on out there; two men have plans to ruin our region and the powers that be have made it so that there is little hope of stopping them except for you. We have told you the truth now, and it is up to you to decide what we do next. Like it or not, you were born to fight in this battle. You need to accept that and help us find a solution before you get yourself killed." There was fierceness in Evelyn's voice that reverberated throughout the garden, powerful enough to send chills down Sandy's spine. Alaska stared angrily back at the matriarch for a moment, and then she threw the plate back onto the table and stepped away.

    "I never asked for this, any of this!" She yelled, and Sandy could see she was on the verge of tears. "If I had known what was being expected of me…" Alaska trailed off, looking between everyone with her face flickering between pain and anger. Sandy reached out for her hand, but Alaska stepped further back, casting a final look across all of them before turning and storming inside the house.

    "Well, that went well," Evelyn sighed as Alaska slammed a door shut behind her. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting any better, but still… we have well and truly screwed that girl over."

    "She can fume for the rest of the day if she has to, but we need to pull her out of this rage," Looker said, brushing shards of broken plate off the table. "Meeting Buzz and seeing his army seems to have thrown her, but as the League refuses to pull their heads out of the sand, Alaska is the only hope we have. We know what Buzz is after now; we need to start planning for it."

    "It won't be easy talking her around, Alaska knows how to hold a grudge," Sandy said, staring at the chair her friend had vacated.

    "Then you need to talk to her for us." Looker leaned into her line of sight, forcing Sandy to look at him, even though the sight of all of them was sickening. "Can you do that, Sandy? We need you and Alaska in on this if we have any hope of stopping Buzz."

    Why didn't you tell us this months ago? Sandy thought, trying to stay calm but was struggling not to grab a chair and throw it right though the table. We could have helped you, we could have done more to stop Buzz if we had known who he was and what was being expected of her. I was shot in the chest; I nearly died because we were left to fight this battle on our own. Why didn't you tell us, why didn't you try and save us from this earlier?

    "I will do my best," Sandy replied, forcing a smile back, and Looker nodded in approval. Everyone smiled weakly back at her, and then their attention fell back to the abandoned breakfast. Sandy simply sat in silence, watching them all with a smile plastered across her face. She knew how to keep up appearances, how to pretend things were fine when they were anything but. Sandy knew now was the time for smiles and laughter, to be like Eevee and Pichu and focus on the good things in life, but no matter how wide her smile got, there was no denying the crippling pain of knowing that despite everything she had done in defence of Kanto, her life meant less than a reality show.



    Hopefully this chapter cleared up things about some of the wider goings-on in the story. The fallout from this will seep through the remainder of the arc. If there is something you want expanded on from this chapter, let me know.
     
    • Chapter Seventy: A Neighbourly Chat
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 69

    Chapter Seventy: A Neighbourly Chat

    "Your battle back in Saffron, I had never seen anything quite like it. The way you set up all those moves, paving the way for Pidgeotto's final assault, it was… breathtaking, there is no other adjective for it!"

    "Well, it was wrong, wasn't it, in the end? I won the battle but failed the test. So that really took the joy out of things."

    Alistair did not respond to this. Part of Alaska felt guilty, remembering what her old neighbour had done to save her, knowing that he was simply trying to distract her. But Alaska didn't want or need reminding about what had gone down in Sabrina's gym. She shut her eyes, slowly breathing in and out for a minute. She grabbed hold of those thoughts, those memories, everything that had happened, and she pushed them away to the back of the head, back with all the other bad things she didn't want to remember.

    Alaska breathed out and opened her eyes, feeling clear once more.

    "Again."

    "Pidgeeey!"

    "Nidooo!"

    Alaska stepped backwards, and Paige and Nadia charged for each other again. Aerial Ace collided with Poison Jab, soft and rich purples brushing against each other. Paige became unbalanced and swerved to the right, allowing Nadia to jump back up and score a second strike against her breast.

    Paige is faster, but Nadia puts more strength into her attacks, Alaska thought. Her mind was racing with analysis, her eyes darting around taking in every detail. She watched as Paige soared around a potted tree, briefly flying out over the roof, before turning and rocketing back forwards. She shone white for a moment, and Nadia's strength was not enough to stop the Quick Attack from knocking her backwards.

    "Nido!" Nadia snarled as she rolled back onto her feet and quickly blasted an Ice Beam, but Paige dropped down so that the attack struck a plant box, coating two sides in thick blue ice.

    "Careful!" Alaska hissed, stepping quickly between the two. "We may be allowed to train here, but let's try not to destroy anything, okay?" God knows they would have a field day with that, she thought bitterly, but resisted the urge to say it aloud. Paige and Nadia nodded, the latter with the air of reluctance, and Alaska stepped back to let them continue.

    "Funny; from what everyone has said of you, I thought you would have loved the opportunity to destroy something like this."

    Oh, how I would love to burn this house to the ground, Alaska thought, but she held her tongue. "Occasionally, but doing in a rooftop vegetable garden doesn't give you the same rush as taking out half of Kanto's power." Alistair chuckled for a moment, and then quickly began wheezing. Alaska turned away from the battle and lunged for the jug of water, but before she could pour Alistair was waving his hands.

    "I am fine, please do not worry about me," he coughed. Alaska stared uncertainly at him, but the coughing quickly died down and Alistair sank back into his chair, sighing with his eyes shut.

    "I am going to pour it anyway." Alistair merely grunted, and the rooftop fell silent as Alaska filled a glass, the soft tinkling of cascading water a pleasant break from the sounds of battle.

    "Sit, have some with me," Alistair said as the glass was thrust into his hands.

    "I should really keep battling –"

    "You mean distracting yourself?" Alaska glared at her neighbour, but Alistair opened a tired eye and smirked. "Don't think I don't know your game! Sit and have some water, it will do better for your health than barking orders at those tired creatures." Alaska knew there would be no arguing, especially not when she knew he was right, so she signaled for Paige and Nadia to join them and collapsed into a seat herself.

    As she poured herself a drink, Alaska stared around the garden, remembering the conversation she had had the last time she was here; it had been powerful and emotive, and she had walked away from her meeting with her mystery man thinking that all her problems had solved. It was strange to think she had been naïve then despite all that had happened already, yet each day that passed her innocence was broken just a bit more and her old view of humanity faded even further into darkness. After everything that had been thrown at her at breakfast, all the secrets revealed and lies finally exposed… it was too much to process. Alaska felt like she was deflating as the chat came back to her, her initial rage disappearing to be replaced with an almighty and overwhelming feeling of defeat.

    "Has anyone ever told you you're an old soul?" Alistair said, snapping her out of her thoughts. Alaska shook her head and the scientist smiled. "I have always thought that about you. Even when you were a little girl, I use to tell your parents that you were far too wise for someone of your age. You always saw things differently, you always spoke up when other kids were not even paying attention, you always managed to command attention by doing very little." He turned and smiled softly at her, but there was sadness in his eyes, and Alaska suddenly felt a bit colder. "What happened to that little girl?"

    "This happened," she replied quietly and said nothing more. Alistair merely nodded and slowly refilled his glass, eyes transfixed on the pouring water.

    "I have read your blogs while I have been bedridden. All the things that's have happened to you… I cannot even fathom. It is like all my worst fears come true."

    "I am sorry that Mitchell got caught up in some of my problems, I never asked for that."

    "You never asked for any of this," Alistair replied kindly. "Do not worry; I don't blame you in any way. If anything, so much of this is my fault. If I had not built those bloody machines…" A sob escaped his lips, and suddenly Alistair was weeping, hands clutched to his face. Alaska was taken aback, having never experienced an adult break down before her, certainly not someone she hardly knew. She looked blankly at Paige and Nadia; the former shrugged her wings, while the latter stared at Alistair with a mixture of horror and disgust. Alaska turned back to him and reached out, patting him on the shoulder.

    "You cannot blame yourself, you had no idea what you were making and you had no choice in it anyway!"

    "I know, I know, I have told myself that every night this past week, but that still does not dull the fact that someone I invented could have killed you… could have killed my son…" He continued to weep, and Alaska knew there was nothing she could do but let him get it out. She knew that was how she felt sometimes, so she sat back and let his tears flow undisturbed.

    As she did, the memories continued to surface of that stormy night. Everything over the past months had happened so quickly and so rapidly that they were beginning to blur into one long nightmare, but Alaska could easily recall that night; the pain of abandoning Darwin, her own tears as they mingled with the rain on her face, the heated words she and her shadowed watcher had exchanged. It was that night she had decided to face the gyms and become the best trainer and person she could possibly be in order to defeat Gideon and Buzz, yet that dream had only lasted a few days. Now she was tasked with defeating an enemy far stronger than herself, while another lived in the shadows waiting to pounce, and her dreams of league championship were tarnished, the battle with Sabrina likely to have sent ripples of repercussions further down the last of her journey. All those promises she had made to herself, ruined…

    "That girl disappeared a long time ago," Alaska said suddenly, and Alistair looked up, eyes red and puffy but quickly attentive. The cynical side of her brain wondered if it had been a trick, showing his own emotions to get her to show hers. But Alaska could see the hurt in his face, and remembered their talk from the tunnel, and knew his pain was genuine.

    "I started this journey because I wanted to prove that you didn't need a Charmander or Squirtle or Bulbasaur to defeat the League," she began. "That was the main reason why I left home – well, that and because home was becoming quite unbearable. Dad being unemployed and the house falling apart wasn't the best environment to grow up in, but it was the reality show that actually gave me something to strive for and gave me a reason to leave. I wanted to travel around, get some money, make my point, maybe win in the end, but I wanted to live life and prove something to myself.

    "But then the robots appeared, I met Gideon, and I learned that basically nothing in my life since I signed up for this challenge has actually been in my control. So I couldn't afford to be inquisitive or attentive or funny anymore, not when every day I seem to be fighting for my life or for Sandy's or in order to save the world. I have left this journey take control of me rather than taking control of it myself, and it is just really difficult to accept that everything I do now will be out of my hands."

    A moment passed. Paige and Nadia sat quietly by her feet, and Alaska appreciated their comfort, though their presence did little to numb the pain she felt. She had held her feeling and these memories back for a reason, because all she had been through was too much to bare thinking about. Alistair coughed quietly and took another sip of water, his eyes still focused on her but without the warmth they have possessed earlier.

    "If I may ask, is that why you were willing to die when that brutish man attacked you?" The question was barely whispered, yet it resonated all around Alaska. She paused, letting in sink in, before slowly nodding.

    "I don't want to live a life that I have no control over. What is the point of that? I may have been born to fill some role in history, and I seem to be destined to fight in some glorious battle, but that isn't what I want. What I want is to just battle and do my best at the League, yet that is never going to happen, so why carry on?" More silence followed. Letting her words linger without response made Alaska feel awkward; why exactly was she spilling her soul like this? Maybe seeing her neighbour so distraught and broken made her feel the need to reciprocate to lessen his embarrassment of weeping before a child. Or maybe Alistair's tears had merely torn down the barriers of age between them; for once, there was someone wanting answers from her that was actually on her level.

    "You have been through a lot, my dear, too much for any one person to go through. But I do not think that dying is the right answer. What will happen to Sandy and your Pokémon, your family, all of us if you die?"

    "And what happens to me if I keep going? I asked for death in that basement knowing that it would either happen then or drag on until the very end, and I just don't think I can really last the rest of this stupid conflict. And it seems I literally have no choice about doing this, thanks to the League and that bloody ghost."

    She isn't the only one that predicted this though, Alaska reminded herself, casting her gaze down to Paige. She was suddenly back in that tent in Lavender Town, a series of cards being placed before her, the old woman with the perfect face sitting smiling across from her: And she shall be a Pidgeot by the time you ride her into your final battle. Did this woman also see a future where Alaska and Paige rode into war together? Just how set in stone was her future? She felt angry just remembering everything she had been told earlier, and the spiteful, vicious side of her still wanted to attack. Yet, and it annoyed her how mature this seemed, doing that would do little to change the future or fix anything that had already happened. Her fate had been dished out, and now Alaska had to work out what to do with it.

    "Sabrina thinks I am scared on the unknown. We spoke for some time and with some ferocity after I woke up in her gym, and she told me all about how she thinks the future scares me because I cannot control it. Part of me thinks she may be right, and I probably would have accepted her lesson had I not been further controlled. The way I was used and manipulated, my gym battle being turned into some test where I needed to prove myself, only confirmed my thoughts about the League. Breakfast this morning was just the cherry on top confirming every dread and fear and concern I have about my life."

    "So is that why Sabrina battled you that way?" Alistair asked. "I got the impression there was some sort of lesson being imparted, but it all seemed a bit jumbled up if I do say so myself. Do you know exactly what she wanted you to learn?"

    "Honestly… not really." Alaska had dwelled on this a lot over the past twenty four hours: the anger and disappointment in Sabrina's voice, the way her supposed allies had nearly shunned her, and the final words from their conversation last week: Then you will never be able to defeat them, our Champion will die and Kanto shall fall alongside him. She had felt proud at the time, rebelling against the constraints of the League and the situation she was in, making a point that no one told her what to do. When she had done this weeks ago, Alaska had felt happy afterwards, proud that she had prevented herself from becoming a further pawn in a game she wanted no part in. But yesterday, after all was said and done, she simply felt empty. As soon as the joy of battle had ended, Alaska felt as though she had done something terribly wrong, botched an opportunity that may never come again. There definitely was a reason why she had done what she had, but at the same time, there was clearly a lesson Sabrina was trying to impart on her; Alaska thought she had worked it all out, but it had quickly become clear she had behaved terribly.

    She and Alistair sat in silence, both dwelling in their own thoughts. Paige sat dozily by her trainer's feet, while Nadia was beadily staring around as though attackers were waiting for them at every corner. Alaska looked at the two in her contemplation and wondered what they made of the situation, what they would say to her if they could talk.

    "I wish I could give you advice, Alaska, but I am afraid I have nothing to give." Alaska could hear the sadness in Alistair's voice, and knew it pained him to be unable to help her, the memories of his role in her nightmare likely resting on his mind. "There is a difference between being intelligent and being wise. Intelligent people are capable of analysing situations and answering problems in whatever area they are most intelligent in, whereas wise men and women simply know the best thing to say no matter what the problem is. I am so sorry Alaska; it is actually painful to see someone in a situation like this but be perfectly incapable of helping them through it."

    "You are not the one that needs to apologise," Alaska replied quietly, but as the words passed her lips, she wondered, as she had often this past week, who really was to blame for the chaos she found herself in; Buzz and Gideon for playing the antagonists in this war, the League and the International Police for being supporting players only from afar, or did the protagonist herself need to answer for all that had happened?

    "Mr Melton, the doctor has arrived for you." Alaska nearly jumped out of her seat, the sudden third voice sending a jolt through her body. She turned fretfully to find Amelia the maid standing awkwardly between two plant boxes. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you. You are both just so lost in thought, and –"

    "It's fine, don't worry," Alaska replied, smiling to cover up her embarrassment. Amelia smiled timidly before turning her neon-like eyes towards Alistair, who was awkwardly rising from his chair.

    "You would think the brute would come and see me, I am the one with the darn gunshot wound after all." His voice was rough and angry, but when he looked up, Alaska saw a tired smile on his face. "Can't take things too seriously now, can we dear? If this wound has taught me anything, it is that life is far too short for getting worked up over the little things. I hope you keep that in mind."

    "I will try to; it sounds rather wise to me."

    "Huh – your right! I suppose I am not quite so intelligent after all." Alistair and Alaska laughed, and he gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder before wobbling off through the plant boxes. Alaska turned and watched him leave, feeling somewhat at peace with herself even though all these questions and all these burdens still weighed heavily on her mind; the simple pleasure of airing them had relieved some of her burden, if it had done nothing to solve any of the problems. With a sigh, she finished the last of her water while Amelia picked up the jug.

    "Mrs Athlew wants to finish her conversation with you," the maid said. Alaska groaned in response: she was too tired and too defeated to face them again. "Shall I pass that message on?"

    "If you want, it is much cleaner than anything I would actually say at this point." Amelia smirked for a moment before gathering herself. Alaska smiled, and suddenly remembered something else from the last time she was here. "Did I ever thank you for your advice, the last time we were both up here? It helped me considerably win that battle against Alexis."

    "No, you did not, but you are very welcome," Amelia replied, smiling before turning to head off. She only walked a few steps though before pausing and turning and back to Alaska. "If I remember correctly, my advice pertained more towards Gideon than it did towards Alexis."

    "It did, but as you may have noticed, I do not exactly follow the traditional ways of doing things."

    "And I am not scolding you for that, but perhaps you forgot the real meaning after you used it to win the match." Alaska turned to face her, eyebrow raised, and Amelia coughed nervously before stretching to full height. "You see, I feel it may pertain to your current predicament. They may not want you to fight your own way anymore, but you can still decide what happens next." Amelia was smiling so kindly that Alaska could not bear being rude, but her words were yet another reminder of the cruelty of her circumstances.

    "Thank you for your help, but I don't think you quite understand the full story here –"

    "The prophecy? Oh yes, I know all about that. We could hear your, um… discussion, shall I call it, all through the house this morning. From what I understand, there is simply going to be a war, but they do not know when."

    "True… but your point is?" Alaska asked with narrowed eyebrows.

    "Well, why does the other side have to decide when that day comes? It is your destiny, after all; why not take some control. Take it from a maid that you probably have a lot more freedom than you probably realise." Amelia smiled warmly, and she walked off before Alaska could respond. The trainer simply sat there in silence, alone in the expansive rooftop garden, letting those words swirl around with everything else that was bubbling away inside her mind. As they settled into her membrane, a number of different thoughts and ideas struck Alaska. She had been looking for answers for the past week, wondering what to make of everything what to do next. And now, it was as though a switch had been thrown, casting a new light over the ever jumbled up puzzle that made up her life. Everything shone under a different point of view, and for the first time since she had fallen asleep in her tent last week, Alaska had a feeling as though things were going to work out.

    "Pidge Pidgey Pidge Otto?" Paige chirped by her feet, staring quizzically up at her trainer. Alaska looked down, catching the intrigued looks of her Pokémon, and she managed to crack a smile at them.

    "What next, my dear? Control… that's what comes next."
     
    • Chapter Seventy One: Keep Your Friends Close
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 70

    Chapter Seventy One: Keep Your Friends Close

    She moved quickly. Alaska withdrew her Pokémon and descended from the roof as quickly and quietly as possible. She felt the need to stay silent, to not risk being noticed: bodiless voices sounded from all corners of the house, but the mansion was so cavernous that there was no way of telling how close or far their owners were. Cautiously, Alaska walked briskly back to her room, eyes peeled for anyone who might try and stop her.

    After several minutes, Alaska made it to her second floor room undisturbed. Once inside, she packed as though Evelyn or Trevor might appear at any moment; she had emptied her bag last night out of boredom and rage, but regretted it now as she was forced to speedily shove all her possessions back inside her tired and beaten backpack.

    Once she was done, clothes, medicines and brownies threatening to overflow, Alaska paused and gazed around. The room was roughly the same size as her parent's house, the walls painted a colour that was too bold and proud to be simply called 'green', decorated with portraits and landscape paintings placed on the wall as an added reminder of how wealthy the Athlews were. Even the thought of being confined here, surrounded by all these too-obvious signs of wealth, sent a shiver down Alaska's spine, but she knew she had nothing to fear now.

    No chance of me ever staying here again. Smiling slyly, Alaska hoisted her bag onto her shoulders and turned to go, leaving behind only a hastily scrawled note for Sandy. It felt like a betrayal, leaving just a scrap of paper as explanation, but Alaska did not have time to fully explain herself in text, and getting to Sandy in this surprisingly overcrowded mansion was not an option either.

    I will see you again soon, and I will be a better person for it, Alaska thought, though her guilt weighed her down as she left the room behind. As she descended the spiral staircase, she noticed how quiet it was, the echoing voices seeming to have gone. That surely meant the coast was clear, but Alaska was still worried about being stopped. Her determination to make a change was overpowering, and Alaska knew she had to claim this feeling before anything else stopped her.

    Her fears were unfounded though: the entrance hall was empty, only a number of small tables, mirrors and half sized statues spread out across the black and white tiles. It was so quiet that her footsteps seemed to boom as they touched the undisturbed surface, and Alaska rushed towards the gigantic front door and slipped out before anyone heard her.

    Freedom!

    She had only been outside a few minutes ago, yet the waft of fresh air, the smell of flowers and grass, it all rushed through Alaska's senses, and she paused for a moment soaking it all in. She had made it outside without anyone stopping her; the hardest part of her escape was over, and now there were only fields of green and flowers spread out before her. Alaska could see Celadon in the distance, the scattered skyscrapers reaching out like beckoning fingers, calling for her to leave them. She had not felt this good all week, even with her win yesterday, and Alaska could not help smile as she walked down the marble steps and headed for the gates.

    The driveway was long, never ending, always turning around corners so you never knew quite where you were going. Gravel and dirt crunched beneath her feet while the bordering trees cast strange shadows. Alaska knew she was not up for walking, but she really didn't care. Her only other option was to stay here and learn more about how much she had been screwed over. A bit of foot pain was nothing compared to the rush she felt at the simple thought of sorting her life out.

    It isn't going to be easy, finding the answers to all these questions, but I have to start somewhere. Amelia had opened her eyes and given her a sense of purpose she had been simply lacking. Alaska felt sick at the thought of how she had behaved, letting everything from Buzz to Sabrina to this morning simply overwhelm her. Already Alaska was looking forward to the time to analyse everything and put the pieces together on her own: it would be gruelling and depressing, but it had to be done, and she was not going to let anything get in her way.

    "Alaska, there you are!"

    Alaska froze, swearing under her breathe. She should have known escape would not be as easy as this, fate just lulling her into a false sense of security. Irritable but with a touch of guilt, Alaska turned to face Sandy. Her friend was leaning against one of the giant trees that bordered the driveway, white shirt and navy skirt fluttering in the breeze. Pichu and Eevee were playing around her feet, and Sandy smiled kindly at them before glancing back up at Alaska, eyebrows raised slightly.

    "What are you doing here?" The deflection of her question made Sandy's brow rise further, risking disappearing into her hair, and her eyes flickered towards the overstuffed bag swinging from Alaska's shoulder.

    "The three of us were playing while we waited for you to come back down, and they chased me over here – just in time too, it seems," Sandy explained, her voice calm but some syllables shook with a hint of stifled rage.

    Just my luck, Alaska thought angrily. There were enough wide fields, greenhouses, flower displays and water features around the rest of the property where Sandy could have been, yet she had to be waiting and watching when Alaska tried to disappear. Alaska looked behind her, over a particularly flowery field and back towards the hedges that bordered the outside table.

    "Everyone else is inside discussing what to do with you, no one else is around. So come on, out with it, where are you going with that?" Sandy snapped. Her features were neutral, but her voice betrayed her true feelings, the words coming out short, sharp and sour. "You're trying to run away, aren't you? Did you really think you could just up and leave without telling me?"

    "Sandy, look, I left you a letter; it will explain everything much better than I –"

    "Don't give me that!" Sandy shouted. Eevee and Pichu froze in their game, looking fearfully up at the two girls as they faced each other. "You know damn well Alaska that I deserve a lot more than just some bloody letter!"

    "Sandy, I don't want to argue with you again. It is just getting repetitive, and our lives seem to get threatened every time you shout at me, and I am trying to avoid those situations."

    "We wouldn't need to argue if you didn't keep breaking your promises!" Sandy hissed.

    "What promises?"

    "You said you were going to tell me everything, and for a few days there I was beginning to think you had. But when we had our little chat in the tent, you left out the part where a legendary has been communicating with you over the past few months." Alaska opened her mouth to reply, but she knew Sandy had her now. Defeat must have shown on her face as Sandy smiled slightly, proud to have been proven right, and she straightened up and cast a withering look down on Alaska. "Well? What have you got to say to that?"

    Alaska sighed, dropping her bag to the ground, tempted to fall down with it. "I didn't tell you about Latios because I had no idea what his role in this was. He has whispered in my head a few times when I have been weak, and he protected us back in Vermilion, but asides from that he hasn't done anything useful. So I didn't tell you because I didn't want to add another layer to it all when there were more pressing things to work out, and… and… well, I didn't want to get your hopes up."

    "Excuse me?" Sandy's proud composure faded, Alaska's words making her deflate in surprise.

    "Well, you know, after everything that has happened… I thought if you knew there was another legendary looking over me, there might be more of a chance of surviving all the insane stuff that keeps happening to us." The words hung heavy and solemnly in the air, and a quiet tension fell between the two. A bored Eevee and Pichu began to sprint around the tree, but even their delighted cries of joy did little to move the two girls standing alongside them.

    "It is nice to know you care," Sandy whispered after a few moments, "or you at least did at some point. But if you care about me, why exactly are you trying to sneak away?"

    "I need some time on my own!" Alaska groaned, putting all her built up frustration and annoyance into that single noise. "I was just talking to Alistair, and while I haven't quite worked out and processed everything that has happened in the past week, the one thing that is clear is that no matter what the future holds, my destiny is mine to control, and it is time I work out what I want my future to be."

    "And that somehow involves you leaving?"

    "I can't exactly decide my own destiny if people keep telling me more bits and pieces about what may or may not happen. I don't know if you've ever seen a movie, but when the protagonist finds out what a prophecy says about them, that usually leads to it coming true. If I talk to Evelyn and Looker and all them again, they will keep throwing details and revelations at me, and while I do want more answers, I also want to have some leeway in how I live my life and how I end up fighting this bloody war."

    "I get that, but why do you have to leave me?"

    "I need time to think about everything on my own, to make my own decisions and answer at least a few of these questions that have been hovering over me for the past few months. I don't want to ignore you or forget about you or anything like that, but if I want to get control of my life and myself, I think I need to be alone for a while."

    For a moment, Alaska relished in her self-awareness. For so long her mind had been clouded by everything she had suffered through, she had let all that hate and anger and despair grow on her. The thoughts were still there, resting in the back of her mind, but saying these words out loud, taking back some of her own life, Alaska felt freer than she had in weeks, free to finally look at things from her own perspective, free to finally achieve what she promised to herself the last time she was here.

    But that moment passed the longer Sandy stayed silent. After over a minute without a response, Alaska felt her joy slip away. Sandy stood stoically opposite her, arms quivering by her side, eyelids blinking rapidly as tears came to the surface. All too late, Alaska knew she had handled this wrong; she had forgotten the fragility of her friend, and a strong sense of guilt quickly weighed her down.

    "Sandy, I didn't mean to –"

    "You really can be so bloody selfish at times, do you know that? I get that you don't want any part of this, that is perfectly understandable, but you seem to think that you are the only person being affected by this. I should probably be used to it by now, but I am actually stunned that you would think you could just slip away without anyone noticing and leave me behind like I am just another person on the side lines trying to control you!"

    "I thought it might be good for you, Sandy, to give you a break from things while I sort myself out. You don't need to get any further involved than you already are, and –"

    "How could I not be more involved, Alaska? This entire thing is as much about me as it is about you! I was shot, for crying out loud!" Sandy screamed, the words echoing across the field, the ferocity and anger in her voice bringing her Pokémon to a halt. "Yes, Charlotte saved me basically straight away; yes, I can hardly remember any of it; yes, I never bring it up, but I shouldn't have to, Alaska. I left home to travel around Kanto and see the sights, and because of you I was shot right in the chest, right here," and Sandy opened her shirt, exposing the tiny sliver of a scar that was the only physical reminder of what had happened in Lavender Town. Alaska had seen the scar before, but the way Sandy was using it now was wounding, brandishing her injury like a weapon, a brutal reminder of all Alaska had and hadn't done.

    "You can be pissed off and angry with everyone as much as you want, Alaska, but do not for a second think you are just going to cast me aside like some… oh, I don't know, used band aid! Urgh, see, I'm so annoyed I can't even think of a good analogy!" It was the type of comment that in a less tense moment Alaska would have smirked at. She could even feel a grin try to force itself onto her face, but the pain radiating off Sandy was devastating, and Alaska could feel it consuming all her own emotions.

    "I… I… I have no idea what to say, Sandy, except for… I'm sorry." Alaska paused, for once thinking about her words before they fell from her mouth. "I am sorry for getting you mixed up in this, for ignoring your suffering, for ignoring you. I never intended on leaving you behind here forever. I thought I needed some time to myself, but I knew I would come back for you eventually."

    "I kind of knew, but part of me… well… you can be a real bitch at times, let's just put it that way." This time, Alaska could not stop herself; she snorted with laughter, and Sandy managed to crack half a smile as well. "I mean. A lot of the things you've done over the past few months have been fairly shocking."

    "Were you just saving that to tell me when we were in the middle of an argument, keep the blows coming one after the other?" Sandy's smile widened a bit more, but there was no denying the heaviness in her eyes.

    "No, of course not. I just… well… I told you back in the tent that you're the first real friend I have ever had. All the stuff you did after we met surprised me, but I never had the confidence to tell you off about it because I thought you might leave me." A gasp escaped Alaska's lips before she could stop it, and Sandy's smile guiltily disappeared. "You seemed so determined to smite everything and everyone that angered you that I had no idea if our friendship was strong enough to last me standing up to you. Every gym battle or confrontation where you did something that shocked me; I just put a smile on and cheered for you, hoping it would keep me in your good graces. It's only in the past weeks that I have actually felt strong enough to put you in your place."

    Alaska fell silent. She was not sure how to respond to this. Sandy seemed to notice the effect of her words and she sighed and collapsed against the tree beside them. "God, that wasn't the time to say that, I'm sorry, I –"

    "Sandy, please, you do not need to apologise." Wearily, Alaska copied her friend and sank to the bottom of the tree, coming to a rest on some thick roots. Eevee and Pichu looked cautiously at the two as they settled uncomfortably on the roots, their timid faces making it clear they were unsure if the shouting was over. Alaska had a feeling Sandy had more to say, but when she warily turned to face her friend, she found Sandy staring exhaustedly back.

    "All the books I used to read before I left home, basically every one of them was about some teenage hero faced with an impossible task or some sort of quest they had to embark on. I used to marvel at how they would outsmart the malicious villain that stood in the way, how they managed to pull through in one piece and still save the day. I always thought doing something like that would be fun, but the further we go on this journey, the more I see how fake those stories are. Those heroes aren't real teenagers, their villains are just caricatures. I mean, Buzz is fairly incompetent for a psychopath, but even he was about ten seconds away from cutting our throats."

    "The difference between us and them is that we aren't the heroes of this story," Alaska replied tiredly. "I may be in this bloody prophecy, but I am not saving the day for me, I am saving it for them. Red is the person they really want to save, I am just the understudy." That thought had been on her mind since breakfast, but saying it aloud framing her life like that, Alaska felt as though a cold, metal hand had just yanked all the remaining joy from her body. She and Sandy sat in silence, their backs against the tree, staring blankly at the endless grass. Control suddenly seemed so far away again, and Alaska's thoughts turned back to the mansion, part of her wondering exactly what Evelyn and them had planned for her, wondering just how bad that would be…

    "Good, you're both still here." Alaska and Sandy turned simultaneously towards the voice, and Looker smirked at them as he and Gallade briskly approached. "I had to make sure everyone else was busy before I came here, but I have no idea if they heard you or not. Why they put their faith in you I have no idea…"

    "What do you want?" Alaska asked, exasperation oozing from every syllable.

    "I saw you packing your bag and I read your note to Sandy after you left, so it did not take long to work out what was happening."

    "What? You saw… how… where were you?"

    "I am spy; I am an old spy, but I am still a spy," Looker replied quickly. "Anyway, Gallade can teleport you both anywhere you would like to go, but decide quickly, I am only a step ahead of Evelyn; she knows everything that goes on in this bloody house. Sandy, here is your bag," the spy added, tossing the lavender coloured bag towards its owner. Sandy caught it with a look of surprise on her face, and she and Alaska exchanged confused looks.

    "Why are you suddenly helping us now?" Sandy said with a slight hiss. "Your lot seemed pretty content to let Gideon shoot at us for a while,

    "Oh, cut the bloody whiny teenage bullshit, I don't have the time for it," Looker snapped. "We handled things pretty terribly, I am sorry for that, but you two need to get some perspective. Even if Gideon shot you both a hundred times that is nothing compared to some of the terrible crap I have seen in my job. Was either of you in Kalos when the entire region got razed to the ground? I didn't see you two on Mount Coronet three years ago, did I? You may be getting a raw deal right now, but just be glad that a few robots and a homicidal scientist are all you have to deal with."

    "Well thanks for making our problems seem so utterly pointless," Alaska snarled. "Don't come here and berate us as though feeling bad about all this is somehow our fault. If you lot had just done your bloody jobs instead of relying on a bunch of teenagers like some Dumbledorean figure, then just maybe –"

    "For fucks sake, shut up!" Looker snapped, and Alaska fell haughtily silent. "I am here to help you, for crying out loud. If you weren't so quick to antagonise people then maybe you wouldn't be in this mess." The spy rolled his eyes as he pulled out a cigarette and a lighter from one pocket, quickly lighting it and taking a long puff. Alaska watched silently as Looker let the smoke escape, her eyes following the thin grey streams as they dissipated into the atmosphere.

    "Your anger is particularly ill placed with me; I am about the only person who wants to help you." Looker did not look at them, his eyes focused on something in the distance, anger and tiredness shining clear on his face. "After everything I've seen, I know that letting you go off on your own was a bad idea, but I know from experience that trying to control teenagers doesn't really work out. You remind me of some of the people I dealt with in Sinnoh, and we all know how that turned out… well, not everyone. Only a few of us ever actually saw what happened on the Spear Pillar…" He fell silent, and when Alaska looked back at him, she saw the spy appeared to have frozen: his body was tense, unmoving, his unblinking eyes staring into space as though looking back through time, only the smoke wafting from the cigarette showing any sign of life. Of all that had happened over the past few years, the bloody war on Mount Coronet was the biggest mystery of them all, but the whole world knew how bloody, violent and destructive it had been. Alaska and Sandy briefly exchanged glances, both wondering what Looker must have seen, the pain he must have gone through.

    "After all of that, I knew how we did things wouldn't work again should another such occasion arise," Looker continued, dropping the cigarette and aggressively stamping it out with his foot. "I would love to do more to protect the two of you, but trapping you both here is not going to help the situation." He replaced the lighter in his pocket and reached into another of his large trench coat to pull out a slip of paper. "My friend, Bertram Henry, is a wealthy breeder in Fuchsia City. Gallade can take you there, he will house you and provide safe passage to Seafoam and Cinnabar after your gym battle." Alaska took the scrap of paper and skimmed over the address scrawled on it.

    "So… you aren't going to stop us?" Looker shook his head and smirked.

    "What would be the point? You want to go, so there is nothing I can do to stop you. You have to be ready to hear what is coming for you, and you will not find the answers or clarity you want staying here under lock and key. Go and find out what you have to, and we will do our best to pick up our game."

    "Ok… well, thanks…"

    "One last thing: you need friends in times like this. Being alone is no good when you are in a dark place. Your mind does funny things without company; the bad thoughts and the bad memories all fester and grow on you until you can't think of anything else. Even if the other person is as pathetic and alone as you, at least you can be pathetic and alone together." Looker finished, flashing his grin at Alaska, though she noted it extenuated his aging face and did not quite reach his eyes. For the first time, she really paid attention to his face: thin slivers of scars were buried amongst his wrinkles and baggy eyes, wounds that had healed but would never fade away. For the first time, Alaska wondered what she would look like at the end of this, if she would have to look in a mirror and find all the pain and suffering she had gone through staring back at her, never leaving her, never letting her be. She turned to face Sandy, and the two silently locked eyes, the words from their latest argument hovering between them like an impenetrable barrier.

    "Go. Go on, piss off before anyone else notices – god knows you screamed enough for the entire city to hear you."

    "That's an order I think I can handle," Alaska said, smirking, but Looker merely grunted and gestured forcefully at the gates. Alaska hoisted up her bag and turned to leave, but at the last second her eyes met Gallade's and she paused. It was only now that she realised the Blade Pokémon had been watching her throughout the entire conversation, and a chill spread down her spine at the thought. Their eyes met for the first time since she had lain on the basement floor, and suddenly it was all rushing back to Alaska: the pain, the physical and emotional, the fighting, her longing to die…

    He told me about how you were willing to embrace death; how you were willing to die so you could avoid facing your foes in open combat.

    "Is something wrong? Do you want him to teleport you somewhere?" Alaska shook her head, forcing herself to stare away from Gallade's penetrating glare, wishing it was as easy to silence all her thoughts.

    "No… no, it's fine. I would rather walk, clear my head a bit. Are you ready?" Alaska asked, turning to Sandy. Her friend nodded silently, Eevee and Pichu sitting contently in her arms. Alaska turned to Looker, mouth open, but the spy shook his head and turned back towards the house. Storing the 'thank you' away for another day, Alaska faced the gardens once more and set off down the path. The confidence and clarity she had felt only a few minutes ago was still there, but it felt tainted now, now that all had been said, now that she had realised the task that lay ahead. Looking into Gallade's eyes, stirring up all those memories, Alaska could see that taking control was not the automatic solution to her problems.

    Looking across at Sandy, Alaska was suddenly very pleased she had not escaped unnoticed, and with grim determination the two walked side by side down the driveway, the gates suddenly looking a lot closer than they had been.
     
    • Chapter Seventy Two: The Short Walk
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 71

    I don't think I have ever rewritten a chapter as much as this one. Nearly every scene in this I reworked at least twice, the middle part I did about five times before I found the tone I wanted. Apologises for the delay, but hopefully it will be worthwhile



    Chapter Seventy Two: The Short Walk

    Well that looks reassuring. Alaska paused in her path, staring up towards the slate coloured clouds that loomed threateningly on the horizon. She had first noticed the grey mass about two miles back, and the further she walked the closer it seemed to come, like a parasite crawling across the sky to greet her. The threat of rain was being preceded by a bitter wind blowing in from the sea, a gust that got stronger the closer they neared the water and further back the trees went from the path.

    "Do you think we should stop at the gatehouse for the rest of the day?" Alaska called out, pointing towards the clouds. "I really don't want to be caught up in that when it hits."

    "And what happens if we wait there all day and it just turns out to be cloud?" Sandy responded quickly, barely looking up from her guide book. "It is only noon, Alaska, stopping this early would waste an entire day. The Cycling Road has shelter if it starts to piss down, but a bit of rain won't harm you."

    It might, Alaska thought, but quickly felt like mentally kicking herself: that was exactly the type of attitude she was hoping to get rid of. It seemed as though negativity followed her everywhere these days, as attached to her as her own shadow, and everything grim came across as yet another bad omen threatening to tear apart her life….

    A horn blared horribly through her thoughts, and Alaska jumped, finally turning from the sky and facing the truck that was roaring past her.

    "For crying out loud!" She wheezed, stepping away from the metal barrier as more cars and trucks whirred by, clutching her chest as the surprise continued to send shivers through her body. So much for clearing my head, Alaska thought as another truck roared past, horn booming and tyres screeching. "Remind me again why we took the route that goes alongside a highway?"

    "Because the only other option was to head east, through a city where the people trying to kill us work, and down Route 12 where we were nearly killed and kidnapped."

    "When you put it that way, I think I can handle a little noise." Sandy nodded knowledgeably, and Alaska set off again in her path. She peered over the fence running parallel to the path and down to the highway, watching all manner of cars as they sped up and down the road. "You'd think I would be used to cars by now, but I have never seen so many in one place before."

    "I know what you mean. I had only seen about a dozen or so before I left home, and I have seen about ten times that number go past in the last minute. It is pretty exciting, really, when you think about it – much nicer than being shot at."

    "Most things are nicer than that," Alaska replied with a touch of weariness. Dark thoughts quickly became to blossom and she shook her, pushing away the thoughts before they settled in. "It is funny how quickly cars have caught on here, since everyone in Kanto pretty much hated Unova and all its inventions for ages."

    "Well, the Kantonese always used to travel by boat because of most of our towns are on the ocean. Unova is landlocked and twice our size so they needed another way to get around and move products across the region, which led to them motorising their carts. Most people here have never seen the point, but when they rebuilt the Cycling Road they added the road and that seemed to be enough to turn people."

    "And it does help that the road directly connects the four richest cities in Kanto where people can actually afford cars," Alaska added. "You know, travelling with you makes me feel much better about skipping school. Who needs teachers where I have a friendless know-it-all to impart wondrous knowledge on me!"

    "Gee, thanks," Sandy sneered, but when she and Alaska looked at each other, the two began to laugh. Their giggling lasted several minutes of walking, bringing them closer towards the bridge in a state of ignorant bliss, the world simply whizzing past while they soaked up a brief moment of joy.

    She laughed, that's a positive sign. As the humour left her system, Alaska studied her friend's face, looking for any signs of the hostility and rage that had been there yesterday. But Sandy was all smiles and laughter today, her guide book back out and their conversation seemingly forgotten. Alaska was pleased, not just because it meant there would be less yelling, but because Sandy had finally gotten her thoughts off her chest and was ready to move on. Everything she had been holding onto was out in the universe now, and it was up to Alaska to decide what to do with it.

    And I need to decide quickly. With a stifled sigh, Alaska fell silent. She tried to ignore the clouds edging sinisterly towards her and focussed on the route itself. The path had only been completed last year and still had some signs of newness, the speckled grey cement not yet worn down. Bushes were in full bloom on either side but were yet to replace the trees cleared by the project, an empty space with all the gloom of a graveyard falling between the footpath and forest.

    Alaska looked up at the tree tops, watching the mighty branches sway in the wind. A large shadow passed over one, and she watched as a large Pidgeot swooped down. It landed on the very top of a towering oak, red and yellow plumage been blown gallantly by the wind, and Alaska saw the magnificent beast was watching the clouds, clearly wondering whether to carry on or not.

    I can't wait for Paige to evolve, to be as big and beautiful as that. When will she evolve though: we have been travelling all this time and she hasn't evolved since Pewter. Am I doing something wrong? Should I be training her more instead of blindly fighting everyone I come across? Do I even want her to evolve… when she does, I am going to have to ride her into a war, that's what the prophecy says… what if I gave her an Everstone, would that change everything, or anything, or nothing, or… or… or…

    "Alaska, watch out!" She could hear the growling engine, a distant, dirty sound cutting through the serenity, but it was not until Sandy yanked her aside did Alaska realise it was on the path, not the road below. Startled and confused, Alaska turned and watched three motorbikes speed noisily past, plumes of oily black smog rising from their exhausts. The lead rider turned to watch them as the trio slid past, his leather jacket, jeans and helmet as dark as coal, making him look like some strange addition to his bike. Alaska could feel his eyes staring at her through the visor, and unexplained rage suddenly burst from her.

    "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING NEXT TIME!" She yelled, but the bikers ignored her, driving off unperturbed. Fuming, Alaska flipped them off before turning steaming to face Sandy. "Are they even allowed to up here, there's a bleeding road right below us!"

    "Bike gangs used to control the Cycling Road before the old one was destroyed, and that was half the reason they put a road in: make the cycleway and the footpaths too narrow for them and force them onto the roads. It works for the most part, but Alexis was telling me about how some stubborn youth gangs have taken to hanging around a picnic area outside the gatehouse and harassing tourists and trainers."

    "I knew I had a reason to be worried," Alaska huffed. Sandy rolled her eyes and tutted, and Alaska raised an eyebrow, her lingering anger pushing her to do so.

    "We don't have to engage them, they are fairly easy to ignore. Besides, our Pokémon combined would be more than enough to get rid of them. Not everyone is out to get you, Alaska."

    "Trying telling that to Gideon and Buzz," Alaska snapped, and she set off again, walking so vigorously that her footsteps echoed as her feet pounded the pavement. After a few seconds, a hurried set of footsteps followed after her, and Sandy quickly fell into her stride.

    "We have been dancing around everything that happened yesterday all day, which I am fine with, I am used to it by now," Sandy began, earning a glare from Alaska which the blonde quickly flicked aside. "Don't give me that look, you know it's true. Anyway, I was hoping we could wait until we stopped for the night to discuss things, but it looks like we have to start now."

    "Really, right now? Are we going to discuss the end of the world and all my hopes and fears on this lovely coastal –"

    "Cut it out Alaska, I don't have the time," Sandy snapped. "You were all set to leave yesterday and go find yourself, so why not start now?"

    "Yeah, at my own pace, I didn't expect to have to find myself on command." Yet even as the words left her mouth, Alaska knew the real reason why she hadn't started discussing it yet: where the hell was she meant to begin? She had been so happy to have found the right path for her that she had not stopped and actually thought about what getting control meant. So much had happened and was still happening, from the prophecies to Gideon to Buzz and his robots to her meeting with Sabrina, that there was no obvious place to stop and start.

    With an irritated grunt, Alaska eyed a rock lying across the path and gave it a good kick. She watched as it spiralled away, a tiny grey projectile hurtling down towards the road. Part of her expected it to smash a windscreen, yet another horrible calamity falling on her recklessness. Suddenly guilty, Alaska raced towards the fence, fearful of what the rock may do, but was startled to watch it fall past and road down towards blue.

    In her speed, Alaska had not realised they were now standing outside the gatehouse, the one storey building their last hurdle before reaching the Cycling Road. From their vantage point, Alaska could see the bridge in all its glory, all curved glass and purple steel stretching down the Route 17 coastline, looking almost futuristic as cars disappeared into its tunnel. The only ocean visible was right beneath the bridge, but Alaska still sniffed, and managed to find a hint of saltiness over the stench of petrol. If she turned to her right, Alaska knew she would be back beside the forest, the green and brown pillars rising tall and proud above her.

    Three worlds converging at one point – this is incredible. And I nearly missed it all… who knows what else I have missed on this journey…

    Buoyed by her thoughts, Alaska turned to face Sandy, forcing a tired smile that her friend reciprocated. "I think the thing that has haunted me the most the past week has been my conversation with Sabrina," she began without hesitation. "When we first spoke – well, she spoke, I just… thought – I could see some point to what she was saying, and for a few days I tried to work out what it all meant. But after a week trapped inside that gym, being forced just to train and think and train and think and train and think, I could not help get annoyed with her and whatever point she was trying to make I just sidestepped."

    "She did handle it the wrong way even if her intentions were good," Sandy said with an agreeable nod. "All through that gym battle I was expecting her to just bring it to a stop and tell you to try again once you had seen what she is trying to teach you. I mean, I am as clueless as you when it comes to trying to work her out, but I sat through that whole thing with my fingers crossed, hoping you would see things from her perspective and it would all work out."

    "Fat lot of use you are then," Alaska joked, and the pair smiled as they turned towards the gatehouse. "I was actually really surprised she even let me leave: when the battle ended, I was hoping she would let me go, but I never expected her to."

    "Maybe she realised you wouldn't work out the message locked up inside her gym?" Sandy suggested as the sliding door parted to let them enter. Alaska nodded silently, and she entered the gatehouse ready to take a break and talk things out.

    After all the beauty of the natural world outside, the gatehouse was quite the change of scenery. Alaska knew from her brief stays in the ones around Viridian and Pewter that these one storey buildings existed as sanctuaries for trainers and travellers in Pokémon heavy areas, as well as trying to limit illegal Pokémon poaching on the main routes. They had been built back in the sixties and seventies but had been sparsely updated since then. And it took only a few seconds for Alaska to see this one was no different: the chequered carpet was worn and faded from years of use; the furniture looked like it had last been fashionable in the eighties; and the completely beige paint scheme left a lot to be desired.

    "I don't know what it is, but whenever we reach a gatehouse, I always feel like I haven't peed for ages," Sandy said matter-of-factly, staring around the open space as though hoping the bathroom would jump out at her.

    "I can't say that dirty sofas really stir up much in my bladder, though I really wish we had something to eat," Alaska murmured. She looked around, trying to find the best spot to sit, when the smell of diesel caught her attention. She was about to point this out to Sandy when a bang and several angry shouts got in before her, and the two looked at each other before turning in mutual dismay towards the commotion.

    The three bikers who had passed them were now at the opposite end of the gatehouse, protesting as the two guards on duty examined their motorbikes. Alaska realised she should have seen this coming, since they had gone down the path before them, but it didn't make the actuality any less frustrating. She could feel her emotional high fading away the longer she looked at them, dread and foreboding replacing her joy.

    Trust us to stumble across something like this, Alaska thought bitterly, and she felt her body go tense, not just at the threat before them, but at the fact her moment of realisation had slipped just out of reach once again.

    "What are we going to do?" Sandy whispered, watching as the bikers stepped towards the guards, chests puffed and fists clenched.

    "We have to stop them, isn't it obvious?"

    "How exactly do you plan on doing that, because I don't really think blowing up the gatehouse is an appropriate option!" Alaska glowered down at Sandy, but knew she had a point: destroying the building was not going to do wonders for her already violent reputation, and such a reaction to three bikers was not called for. However, the three were taller and appeared stronger than the guards, and there was no way of telling what weapons or Pokémon they had on them.

    "Why are you wankers always hassling us!" One of them shouted. "Just fuck off before we trash this fucking hole!"

    "There is no need for that language!" The stouter of the guards squawked, sweat pouring down his face. "You know the rules, you know you aren't supposed to be here, and we… we just have to…"

    "Oh, fuck this," the biker shouted, and with a single swift movement there was a knife in his hands. Fear and horror rushed through Alaska, and she stepped forwards without any hesitation.

    "OI, leave him alone!" She shouted, and the biker froze with his knife inches from the guard's face. He turned and faced her, a sneer spread across his pale face. Alaska stopped, leaving a metre between them, and she took in her opponent: his clothing was black, battered and stereotyped, his hair shoulder length and greasy, his face covered alternatingly with pimples and scars. He was clearly more toddler than threat, but the knife was nothing to joke at, and Alaska responded by raising her PokeBalls.

    "If you think you are going to harm this guy, you are going to have to get through me and my Pokémon first. And my guess is, if a knife is your weapon of choice, than I'd say Pokémon aren't exactly your strong suit." She raised an eyebrow in challenge, and tightly gripped the capsules, making sure all four were visible. He looked at her hand, and Alaska could see the thought processes going through his mind. Their eyes met, and for a moment, Alaska thought she saw something more sinister in his stare. Part of her wanted it to just be her irrationality, months of emotional, physical and psychological torture warping her view on reality, but a louder voice in her head told her it was something more real than that, something much more violent.

    But after a few moments, the biker stepped away from the guard and raised his hands. "No need for a fight, love! We'll be on our way, if that's alright with you." Alaska was taken aback, and for a moment said nothing. The biker looked her up and down and smirked, and she snapped back into reality.

    "Off you go," she said, signalling for the door, and the biker gave an over exaggerated bow before sliding back onto his bike. Alaska waited until all three of them were back on their bikes, and only once they had roared away did she let herself relax: no explosions, no violence, crisis averted. The guards looked as relieved as her, and she smiled as the two whipped out handkerchiefs and began to mop their soaked faces.

    "Go you," Sandy whispered as she appeared by her shoulder. "No smouldering ruins, no fire tornadoes, no death and destruction, I am impressed."

    "Thanks for the condescension," Alaska replied with a sarcastic grin. Sandy winked back as the two breathless guards stepped forwards, wearing much more sincere smiles. On close inspection, Alaska struggled to see how either of them had been hired for this job. One was like a tree branch, all skin and bone with a distinct lack of muscle, while the squat one resembled an Electrode with limbs, making it no wonder why he was so sweaty.

    "I cannot thank you enough, that was an incredibly brave thing to do," the shorter guard said, smiling breathlessly as he grasped Alaska's hand. "Those bikers have been getting worse and worse since the bridge came in – that is not the first time I have had a knife pulled on me, but never have I thought they would actually use it…."

    "It's alright; I've dealt with worse people than them." Alaska looked down at the sweaty palm wrapped around her own, the moist warmness thoroughly off putting, but the fat guard's smile somehow made it alright.

    "Well, we are told we are supposed to be stopping smugglers, but the worst thing any of our colleagues go through is chasing away the odd Snorlax or running out of tea." The lanky guard looked barely older than Alaska, his tuft of chin hair more comical than manly, and he was shaking as he stared captivatedly at her. "For a minute there, I thought we were dead, and then you can along, and… and… wow…."

    It was nearly half an hour before Alaska and Sandy left. The guards had insisted on sharing their lunch with them and doting more gratitude upon them that it was impossible to leave. While Sandy hovered back waving them goodbye, Alaska set off on a stroll through the picnic area that stood before the Cycling Road.

    The world was completely different this side of the gatehouse. Lost in quiet contemplation, Alaska let her mind wander and found herself absorbed by the new environment. A ragged, brown cliff replaced the forest, coming off the path and diving down into the oceans below; there was not a single bit of green or brown in sight, the ground beneath her completely concrete; empty picnic tables, metallic in a completely foreign style to what sat inside the gatehouse, were dotted around alongside bins, bike racks and a small children's play area. The Cycling Road glittered even more up close, and Alaska could see just how long it was, stretching the entire coastline towards Fuchsia.

    Despite all these sights, Alaska kept getting drawn towards the sky. The clouds loomed right above them now, still dark and threatening, rain seeming more likely than ever. The wind was roaring now, as though the ocean was trying to make them go back, warning them of danger ahead. The sea itself was dull and grey like the clouds above, the sound of waves crashing replacing the grumble of cars silenced by a cinderblock wall. It was bare and depressing, the only hint of nature a narrow path between the cliff and gatehouse, yet Alaska felt strangely calm standing amongst the grey.

    "Those two were really sweet." Sandy appeared suddenly beside Alaska, looking at her friend with a twinkle in her eyes. "Trying to feed us like that, isn't it just adorable?"

    "It's certainly something," Alaska muttered, and Sandy's smile faded.

    "Is something wrong?" She asked suspiciously. "Don't tell me they annoyed you. God, what could they have possibly done to –"

    "I'm not annoyed!" Alaska snapped in a tone that completely contradicted that. She paused and sighed, collapsing onto one of the sticky benches dotted around the gatehouse. "It is just… different… it feels weird for someone to actually be thankful for what we did…"

    "Would you prefer they had shot at us instead?"

    "Of course not! But haven't you realised that throughout all of this, we have had so many people tell us what to do and how we should be saving people, but never once has anyone thanked us for the things we have done? Obviously not everything has gone to plan, but think of the robots! They never would have been discovered if it wasn't for us. Gideon probably would have gone undetected for months. They may have all had their suspicions and rumours to go off, but while they have been trying to control us, we have been the two that have actually done stuff. But they have never thanked us."

    Sandy opened her mouth to reply but remained silent, shutting it after a few moments and stoic silence falling between them. There was no tension this time though, just a mutual understanding of what Alaska had said. Alaska looked out at the ocean, at the grey clouds reflected in the water, but for the first time she saw blue on the horizon: the storm clouds were moving directly above them now, but far off in the distance, there were signs of clear skies following soon after.

    That was the least I have ever done to help someone. Apparently doing nothing is more appreciated than acting out. Alaska sat there for several minutes, mulling it over, all thought trails leading back to Sabrina, Looker, Evelyn, Amanda, Alistair, Latios and the prophecies. Things were starting to fall into place: she had no idea what the puzzle would look like when it was completed, but for the first time in weeks, Alaska had an idea of where it was going and what it all meant.

    "Oh good, your still here." The oily voice cut through Alaska's daydreaming like a wet knife. Her mind snapped back into the present, where the storm clouds were still present, blocking out the sun and casting dull grey light over everything.

    "I was hoping we would catch up to you two. I wanted to talk about what happened inside over there, you know?" Alaska leapt to her feet and faced the speaker, and felt a mixture of annoyance and dread at what she saw. The three bikers had returned, bringing a handful more cronies with them: a dozen teenagers stood in a semi-circle, with several squirming heads behind indicating more. They were dressed all in either denim or leather, arms crossed and faces twisted in looks they considered threatening. Alaska knew they were barely older than her, with pimply faces and most too thin to break a twig, but the group of them gathered like that, standing so close together as though hiding something, she could not help but feel concerned.

    "Oh look Sandy, no wonder we couldn't find any black leather jackets, they seem to have cleared out the entire eastern coast," Alaska snarked, trying to mask her fear of the unknown. Her hands slipped into her jean pockets, reaching for her PokeBalls, and she was relieved to see Sandy already had hers gripped tightly in her palms, but when she glanced back up the lead biker, the one she'd confronted earlier, didn't seem the slightest bit bothered.

    "Ah yes, your Pokémon," he said smiling, "that's exactly why I've come back. The names Jack, and despite what youse think, I have some brilliant good Pokémon. So I want to battle ya." If Alaska had been taken aback by their arrival, she was completely blindsided by his reply, so much so that a laugh briefly burst through her lips. Sandy turned quickly and raised an 'are you serious?' eyebrow, but Alaska continued to giggle even as Jack cockily stared her down.

    "You want a battle? That's seriously all you want, a battle?" She laughed harder, and even the bikers began to smirk, a few chuckles rippling through the scrawny group. "Why the hell do you want to battle?"

    "Because you're that Alaska Avocado girl, aren't you?" Alaska fell silent instantly, a laugh dying in her throat. He knows my name, how the fuck does he know my name? She thought, looking to Sandy and finding her own fear and horror reflected back to her. Instantly, her mind thought of Gideon and Buzz; were these idiots affiliated with them, roaming the streets trying to hunt her down?

    "I knew it, I told you boys it was her!" Jack cackled, gleefully lapping up their fear, and real laughter sounded amongst them now; deep, echoing laughs that sounded much older and much more threatening than their thin frames suggested.

    "How do you know who I am?" Alaska finally asked, the situation becoming less funny for her with every second that passed. Jack reached into his pocket; Alaska tensed, remembering the knife, but saw it was simply a PokeGear.

    "Those pricks may not let us drive through their precious gate house, but we can still access their Wi-Fi," the teenager sniggered, holding it up for them to see. Cautiously, Alaska peered at the screen. The banner at the top of the page told her it , an infamously trashy forum littered with spam, Yet, right there in the middle of one page, there was a photo, and Alaska felt her stomach drop as she realised she was looking at a photo of herself and Sandy at the ABC Café, their faces clear for the entire world to see.

    How is this happening? She thought, her mind racing with horror, disgust and fear. How do I have all these people and organisations watching over me, yet they can't even stop some trashy forum from stalking me?

    "Everyone is looking for you," Jack explained, smiling at her horror. "That blog youse wrote is famous, everyone wants to find ya. When we drove past youse before, I thought I recognised ya. And then when you spoke up, I was like 'guys, this got to be her, no other bitch gonna threaten me like that'." Jack looked like he had won the lottery, with a smirk that had become increasingly more sinister since the conversation had begun.

    "Well, you've got me, congratulations Columbo!" Alaska snapped, trying to gain control of the situation, but knew any attempt was pointless. "What do you want, an autograph? Because I'm sorry, but the only pen I have is black, so…"

    "Piss off, I don't want no tarts signature – I told ya, I want a battle!"

    "Why on earth would I battle you?" Alaska hissed. "If you know who I am, then you know I don't waste my time battling pathetic wannabes on the side of the road. Why don't you just piss off before I make you?" As she said it, her mind began running through ways to get rid of him, Pokémon combinations and Bill's weapon coming to mind. The more she thought of them, the clearer it became the bikers weren't going, and Alaska looked at Sandy, trying to silently communicate they would need to fight.

    "I have something you want." Fists clenched, patience waning, Alaska turned and faced her latest enemy again. Jack was still smirking, still standing there, unfazed by anything she had said. She realised now that this was what it had been building towards, some secret surprise that had made him so keen to come after her. Part of her hoped it might still have to do with Gideon or Buzz, but her realistic side, the side that had picked up on the way Jack had looked at her in the gatehouse, knew something dark was going on here.

    "And what exactly would that be?" Alaska asked tentatively. Jack grinned his widest grin yet before stepping aside, unveiling the people who had been standing behind him this whole time, a magician revealing his final trick.

    Oh fuck no. Bile rose up her throat, nausea washed over her. Never, not in her wildest thoughts, would Alaska have ever imagined her day would end like this. She wanted to be sick, her shock transforming into something horrible and physical, but she couldn't look away. She couldn't take her eyes off him, not as he stared back at her, his eyes bloody and red, his arms clasped tightly in chains, blood stains all down his body. Instead, she grabbed onto Sandy for support, struggling to make herself grounded.

    The bikers were laughing, jeering, sneering at her with triumphant, evil smiles. Alaska wanted to leave, she wanted to run away and never stop, leave all of this horrible chaos behind her. But she couldn't go, there was no way she could leave him now, not now she was realising just how much she had missed him, how much he had been on her thoughts without her noticing, not now that she actually had something real to fight for.

    Darwin…



    Anyone see that coming? Next chapter, this arc will finally draw to a conclusion.
     
    • Chapter Seventy Three: A Test Too Far
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 72

    Chapter Seventy Three: A Test Too Far

    It was decided the Cycling Road would be their battleground. Jack said he did not want the guards to interfere, since battling was not allowed inside the picnic area. It was banned from the bridge as well, as a large sign warned them as they stepped inside, but the bikers did not mind fighting here: it was out of sight, cut off from the rest of the world, a place where anything could happen.

    Alaska and Sandy went first, walking side by side in silence. Alaska was annoyed with herself, for letting her guard down for even a short time. Now they were trapped, confined to another round of torture: she could hear the sound of Darwin groaning as he was dragged along by the bikers, each cry like a knife to her chest. She wanted to do something, anything, but Alaska knew this situation was impossible, not when they were outnumbered and outgunned like this.

    Stepping onto the Cycling Road was like entering another world. The concrete path led directly onto five lanes, one for walking down the middle and the rest for bikes, with a dome of green tinged glass forming overhead. It was filled with an intense silence, every noise and movement being echoed back to them. Alaska could hear her own heart beat as though it was outside her body. The silence simply made her more tense, and a brief glance at Sandy showed she felt the same way.

    "Stop." The word rang out echoing from all sides. Alaska stopped and turned in a single movement. The bikers were all stretched out in a row, covering the entire road: there was no going back the way they had come, only about two kilometres of road behind them leading to freedom.

    If we tried to run, they would catch up to us in seconds. They have no reason to keep me alive, to prolong my death like Buzz or Gideon. It would all be over in a second. I could let them kill me, end it all, but then… what would happen to him…

    Through the sea of black and greasy hair, Darwin and his scarlet stained fur stood out like a lighthouse amongst darkness. Alaska met his eyes again, looked into the anger and hatred that burned in his gaze as normal, but there was a weakness, a pain that had never been there before. Whatever they had done to him Alaska could not bear to think about, but she knew she could not leave him to suffer further at their hands.

    "Eyes on me, bitch." Darwin winced as a leather boot slammed into the back of his head, sending him tumbling to the floor. Jack began the chorus of laughter as he stepped forwards, PokeBalls in hand, but Alaska simply blocked their cackles out, refusing to let them in further.

    "Are we battling or not?" she called out, and Jack flashed back a smile.

    "Cool yourself, love, you left this one behind months ago, a few more minutes won't hurt – that is, of course, if you win," he added, winking and setting off a fresh burst of laughter. Instinctively, Alaska's eyes flickered back to Darwin, who was struggling to even bend his legs to get back up. The sight made her sick, but she pushed the thought away, stopping it before she got any angrier. I just need to battle, I just need to win, and then we can all move on…

    "Ok youse, here's the rules: double battle, two Pokémon, whoever loses both Pokémon first loses, no substitutes. No restrictions, no referee – this is a free for all, winner takes it all. You fine with that?"

    "Yes."

    "Direct, I like that in a woman," Jack sneered. "You send first."

    "Paige, Nadia, go!" Alaska yelled. Jack seemed taken aback, watching the two PokeBalls spiral and hit the floor as though they were grenades she had just thrown at him. You don't deserve any wit, Alaska thought bitterly, glowering through her forming Pokémon and staring down the creature that stood opposite her. I am not wasting any breath giving you the time of day. I want this over, and I want to win.

    "Pidgey!" Paige's squawk brought Alaska back to earth, and she looked up, finding the Bird Pokémon fluttering in mid-air as she stared down at Darwin. The Primeape raised his head at her cry, meeting the eyes of his former training partner, and another layer of his pain and innocence was revealed.

    "Way to be original," Jack sneered. "Really didn't see that one coming. Let's see how they fair against these two!" It might have been because she was not truly paying attention, but it seemed to Alaska as though Jack's Pokémon appeared out of nowhere. Suddenly, an oozing, dripping pile of grey and lavender sludge was secreting beneath Paige, while a bipedal blue and white Pokémon stood its ground opposite Nadia, glaring down at her while red ears flopped over its eyes. It took Alaska a moment to recognise the latter, and then, just for a moment, she laughed.

    "An Azumarill? Really? Doesn't exactly seem your type."

    "You'd be surprised," Jack purred back, but there was little humour in his voice now. Alaska knew that the battle was truly on now: putting the joking aside, the biker wanted to win just as much as she did. Why, she didn't know, but there was something dark about her latest antagonist, and Alaska wasn't going to let him get his final wish.

    "Quick Attack Azumarill and Ice Beam on Muk!" She bellowed. The last sniggers from the row of bikers died instantly, and Alaska felt Sandy seize up beside her: the battle had begun, and everyone present wanted to see how it ended.

    "Pidge Pidge!" Paige cried, and she shot forwards in a white blur, rocketing towards the opponents. Azumarill smiled, blue lips spreading slightly in an evil smirk, and Alaska quickly dreaded moving first.

    "Seismic Toss, throw Muk towards her!" Jack roared. Azumarill lunged for her partner, letting Paige swoop by wings barely brushing against her, and blue hands grasped onto a slippery part of the Sludgr Pokémon.

    "AZUUUU!" The Water type growled, and she spun, heaving up Muk and twirling him around. Desperately, Nadia fired her Ice Beam, but Azumarill was moving too fast, the blue beam hitting a motorbike instead. Alaska's eyes flickered from the failed move back to Paige, and she watched in curious horror as Azumarill let go, grey-purple sludge flying through the air.

    "MUUUUUUUK!" The Poison type moaned deeply, and before Paige could move she was hit, crashing into the roof engulfed by Muk. Wide, sunken white eyes appeared in the sludge, and Muk spread a goofy smile as he clung to the glass, body shaking as Paige struggled to get free.

    "Twister, free yourself! And try another Ice Beam on Azumarill!"

    "Body Slam and Mega Punch!" Jack's voice rang with confidence as he shouted his command, and he smirked at Alaska as the second match up began. He's not afraid of me, he doesn't want anything from me, he just wants to defeat me, Alaska thought, fists clenched as she looked across the battlefield. She so rarely battled people she knew nothing about that this was going to be a strange and unsettling experience, and already Alaska had to ask herself what she'd gotten into.

    "Ran Ran Ran!" Nadia dug her feet into the tarmac and blasted out a second Ice Beam; it struck Azumarill squarely in the stomach, making her skid backwards, but after a few moments of wincing the Aqua Rabbit Pokémon leapt forward, letting the attack disperse. Nadia saw the fist coming in and jumped back, letting the punch hit the ground and crack the tarmac, but Azumarill didn't stop there, spinning and bringing another two blows down.

    "Get away from her; don't let her hit you!" Alaska yelled, trying to judge what would happen next, but a screech and a bellow drew her attention to the ceiling; she watched as Muk let go, hurtling towards the ground and landing squarely on a still stuck Paige, his body flattening out and trapping her beneath his gut.

    "Come on Paige, Twister! And hit Azumarill with Crunch," Alaska added. Nadia nodded and leapt forwards with her open mouth spread in a smile, biting down hard on Azumarill's ball-topped tail.

    "Azu!" she roared, brought down to her knees by the single blow. Alaska smiled and looked up to Jack, taking pleasure in watching his face sink. The biker looked away from Azumarill and back to Muk a few metres way, watching as he struggled to hold on. There was a wriggling lump right beneath his face, and gooey arms flailed as he tried to bat it away. Alaska watched tensely, waiting for the moment she knew so well by now….

    "PIDGE!" Her voice was muffled but still came out loud, and Muk suddenly went hurtling again as a blue spiral erupted beneath him. Sandy quietly whooped as the Sludge Pokémon was sent spinning, crashing into the barrier and nearly toppling over onto the road below. It was a moment of pleasure, but even as she revelled in it, Alaska knew it would not last, forcing her joy down as she prepared for Jack's next order.

    "Sludge Wave towards the Nidorina, Scald on her flying rat!" Alaska cursed and Jack's smile grew. There was a grunt, and suddenly purple slime was oozing across the field. Alaska could watch as Muk suddenly launched himself forwards, a flying pile of sludge slipping across the pitch. With the speed of a car, Muk whacked Nadia right off Azumarill's tail, sliding her away and giving his team mate a clear shot at Paige.

    "AZUUUUUU!" Azumarill screamed, opening her mouth wide. Alaska winced as the stream of hot water hit the Twister: the blue energy exploded, and Paige dropped a metre before steadying herself.

    "Scald her again, and Muk, you use Mud Bomb!" Jack bellowed, and the Pokémon were off before Alaska could even think of an order. Thankfully, Paige swerved and let the Thunderbolt smash against the glass roof, but Nadia was trapped within Muk's toxic grasp. Her angry cries sounded from all around as Muk opened his dripping mouth wide and spat up a squirming brown ball.

    "NIDO!" Nadia growled as the mud exploded against her, completely coating her skin in brown.

    You will have to learn how to adapt to the situation and fight properly, without the time to set up elaborate schemes

    "I know, I know!" Alaska cursed under her breathe, trying to push away the memory of Sabrina's voice as it echoed throughout her mind. She felt Sandy staring at her, and the two briefly locked eyes: her friend was clearly worried, her face pale and her hands clutched to her chest.

    "Don't worry, I've got this under control," Alaska whispered.

    "I don't think you do," Sandy hissed fearfully back. "You can't let them win, Alaska, not when we have no idea what they are after."

    "I know, I know!" Alaska replied irritably, turning back to the battle with guilt weighing heavily on her conscience. "Aerial Ace on Azumarill, and… and… Ice Beam on the field!"

    "Yotto Pidge Pidgey!" Paige cried, swooping down with her wings thrust out. She cut across Azumarill's stomach, sending her flying and crashing into Muk. The Sludge Pokémon slid back, his grasp on Nadia lessening and letting her jump away towards Alaska. Landing on her hind legs, Nadia spun and fired the Ice Beam instantly: thin blue ice quickly coated the battle field, spreading like a virus across the surface, surrounding Azumarill and Muk were they stood.

    "Did you think that was going to stop me?" Jack snarked, not even allowing Alaska a moment of relief. "Scald, now!"

    "AZUUUU!" Azumarill cried, stepping past Muk, and Alaska felt her jaw drop as the steaming water soared out of her mouth. The ice melted in seconds, a minute stream of water forming and sliding down the narrow slope of the road. Nadia's feet were quickly soaked, and Alaska looked up and met Jack's eye, the viciousness in his glare confirming her fears.

    "Thunderbolt!"

    "JUMP! CATCH HER, PAIGE!"

    Paige dived down talons first, and Nadia leapt up to greet her as Muk's toxic body flashed yellow. Alaska breathed a sigh of relief as Paige pulled up the same moment he fired, Nadia safely off the ground and scrabbling up her ally's back. Stepping back to avoid the sparking ground, Alaska felt a bitter taste of bile in the back of her throat.

    They want strategy? Here's a bloody strategy for them.

    "Paige, use Heat Wave!" She bellowed. "And Nadia, prepare yourself – you know what for." The Nidorina smiled malevolently and tensed herself up, focussing down on her enemies below. Paige, meanwhile, began to glow orange, and seconds later flapped her wings: the air turned orange, a haze appearing between Alaska and Jack, and cries from his Pokémon sounded as the blast of heat washed over them, huddled together in their corner.

    "NOW NADIA!"

    "NIDOOOO!" Nadia yelled, and she launched herself forwards. The Heat Wave had barely cleared before she hit Azumarill squarely with Skull Bash, the attack coming completely unexpected. Azumarill crashed into Muk, and Nadia pushed both Pokémon down the field so they crashed into the barrier, the Poison type getting smothered by his Water ally.

    Everything had happened so quickly Alaska hardly had time to process. Now, silence fell over the battlefield as everyone paused and evaluated. Steam hung in the air from the evaporated water, a veil rising between Alaska and Jack. Azumarill and Muk were piled atop each other to the side of the field, looking dazed, tired and worn. Paige and Nadia were not in top condition either, but Alaska was relieved to see both her Pokémon appeared able to keep battling, their attacks doing little to wear them down.

    I can win this, what was I so afraid of? Alaska thought to herself, and she let a smile creep onto her face. She glanced across the pitch, her eyes meeting Jack's, and the look on his face made it clear she had made a mistake.

    "Do you think you will just defeat me and walk away, like it's just that easy?" The biker sneered. Alaska tensed up again, and as the steam cleared she remembered what exactly she had found herself in. Jack's gang and their bikes stood behind him like bodyguards, a row of black and metal ready to pounce at any second. Darwin lay at their feet, limp against the chains, too weary to even stand. It was clear, something Alaska should have known all along, that no matter who won the battle, Jack was still going to walk away from this encounter the victor.

    What the fuck am I supposed to do? The storm clouds had gathered overhead, leaving the pitch dark and quiet. The rumble and roar of the cars below them could be heard over the tension between them. Paige and Nadia moved closer to Alaska, facing their foes, prepared to take a stand, but just what could Alaska do? Even if she threw Paige, Nadia, Frances and Shelley all at time, even if Sandy joined in with her Pokémon, who knew how many Pokémon Jack and his cronies had, or what they would do once they got their hands on them?

    There has to be another way, some way we could escape. There is a road beneath us, Onix could tunnel through and help us escape… or the glass, maybe if we smashed… the bikes? Can I do someth – no, no Alaska, keep it out, for fuck's sake! None of that will work, not when they have Darwin – one wrong move and they could and would cut his throat.

    Feeling the eyes of everyone, from Sandy to Jack to Paige to Azumarill, upon her, Alaska found herself inexplicably drawn to the one being not looking at her. Even in the semi-dark, she could clearly see how red and matted Darwin's fur was, with patches where there seemed to be known left. Just how tortured was he, how much damage had they inflicted on him in the last few weeks?

    Look at him. Alaska heard the voice and shivered, wondering how long he had been there, how long he had been watching her. Long enough for him to know she had planned on tearing herself away, unable to bear looking at this defeated creature anymore. Look at him, and tell me what you see.

    Pain, I see pain… pain and torture –

    No, Alaska, that is just the surface. Look through the pain, look beyond it, look at the cause and the effect, what has to happen next.

    What are you talking about?

    You know what I mean, you just don't want to admit it. Why is he in pain, why has he been tortured? In her own way, this is what Sabrina was trying to get you to see, what she wanted you to learn. Look beyond his skin and look into his soul.

    There was movement. Slowly, with great pain, Darwin lifted himself up, likely stirred by the sudden quiet that surrounded him. He raised his head and looked straight at Alaska.

    Everything else faded into nothing: all Alaska could see, all she could focus on, was the look in Darwin's eyes. They looked like red spiderwebs had formed inside, wide, bloodshot eyes staring back at her from amongst his matted red fur.

    Look into his eyes… look behind his gaze… what do you see, what does he see?

    I see pain… hurt… heartbreak… I see him asking me why this happened, I see myself asking why I let it… I… I… I see Sabrina… and Looker… and Evelyn, and Daisy, and Trevor, and Gideon, and Buzz, Amanda, Chloe, Charlotte, Sandy, Damien, the fortune teller…

    Yes, but what do you see? Look beyond all that, look through the surface… look at him and tell me what you see!

    Alaska refused to turn away. Breathing heavily, feeling her heart racing, she stared unblinkingly at Darwin, her eyes on him while her mind rushed through everything she had experienced these last few weeks. Sabrina and her lesson, the prophecy at breakfast, Sandy's confession, Amelia and Alistair and their suggestions, the thankful guards: for the first time, things were all coming together, these thoughts gravitating towards Darwin as his battered, bruised face put everything into place…

    You've nearly got it: tell me Alaska, tell me what you see…

    A pause, and then…

    A finished puzzle

    And like that, it all made sense.

    "Alaska? Are you still with us, or am I going to have to carry on without you?"

    "Why did you want to battle me today?" Alaska called out, her mind snapping back to attention. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she knew Latios was still there, but now he was merely a spectator, sitting back while she did all the hard work. Jack and his cronies stopped giggling, and all eyes were back on her again as her words hung in the air.

    "What do you mean? I had no idea you were coming this way, so why would I –"

    "Oh, no, of course you didn't, but you wanted me to come. You wouldn't have kept Darwin if you hadn't hoped I might come by some day, perhaps looking for him, perhaps willing to do anything to get him back. I guess really the better question is, why didn't you kill him?" Jack didn't reply, his face frozen in an expression like he had been slapped. However, the tension got beneath him after a few moments, and something between a grimace and a smirk appeared on his thin, pale face.

    "I've read your blogs; I've seen all the things you've done. Marching through the region like everyone should bow down towards you, thinking your better than the people your trying to fight. I've seen comments on that forum, people fawning over you, basically cumming every time you catch a Pokémon or win a gym badge, stalking you, trying to be your friend. But I know what you really are: you're weak, pathetic, in above your head. I never cared about you much, but then we were out looking for trainers to rob when we came across this thing." With a snarl, Jack lashed out; leather boot smashing down on Darwin's head so it cracked against the road.

    "We tried catching him, but when our PokeBalls didn't work, I realised who he was. He tried to run, but we knew the area better, we got him in the end. And we've waited a fortnight now, hoping you would come past and I'd be there when you appeared. I wanted to battle you, to prove to you just how weak you are. You don't deserve all this attention; you deserve to rot in a hole somewhere like the piece of shit you are. I want you to watch as I take your Pokémon away from you; then you can go off and spend the rest of your miserable journey knowing what a stain you are on this society, how little you are actually are after all if you'd let this happen to your own Pokémon: too focussed on saving the world instead of saving your own team."

    "NIDO NIDO!" Nadia snarled, stepping forwards with her teeth bared. Azumarill stepped forwards, fist raised, but Alaska raised her hands, smiling quietly as she stared Jack down.

    "You know, you're right in a way. I mean, you're completely wrong about me wanting to save the world, cause I really don't want this burden that's been put on me, not in the slightest. But you are right that I've let it consume, distract me from everything. When Darwin nearly killed Sandy's Pokémon, I thought sending him loose was the right thing to do. Part of me still agrees with that decision, but the other part knows I could have tried harder, could have put more energy into training him, stopping him from becoming like that. It was all too hard, I couldn't handle it, so I let him go and didn't even think twice about it. But I see the truth now… he's my Pokémon, he's my responsibility; giving him up was too easy, too weak of me. I never should have let him go, and for that, I am sorry." She looked at Darwin as she said, and though his face remained blank and pained, his eyes twitched, some recognition of emotion. Laughter suddenly erupted, and Alaska watched as hands grasped onto his head.

    "That's sweet, so moving, but too little, too late bitch," Jack sneered as his cronies dragged Darwin towards him. "I'm bored now, so while you dry your eyes, I'm going to cut his throat."

    "Over my dead body, motherfucker," Alaska spat, and she raised her right arm. Jack flinched, expecting a weapon, but she slowly opened her palm to reveal a PokeBall, dust rising from her fingertips as they brushed against the button.

    "Return." The red beam shot out, and the bikers merely watched as Darwin faded into energy before them, disappearing across the field to reunite with his capsule. Alaska looked down at the PokeBall, part of her unable to comprehend that Darwin was once again hers, while the other was going into senseless joy, as though she was finally complete once again.

    "You fucking bitch!" For a moment there, Alaska had forgotten about Jack and his cronies. Irritably, she looked up at the row of bikers, their faces shocked and angry, but none more so than Jack. "I knew youse were a cow, but I didn't think you were this bad."

    "Get in line, love, there are plenty of people after me, all a lot tougher than street punk shitheads like you," Alaska replied, cracking a smile as she pocketed Darwin's PokeBall. "You've lost the only bit of leverage you had over me, so I didn't really care about you anymore."

    "Oh yeah? Well, the battle isn't over – GET THEM!" Jack roared, pointing towards Paige and Nadia, and Azumarill and Muk leapt to attention.

    Did you think I didn't see that coming? Alaska smirked. "Ice Beam on Twister, go!" And just like her, Paige and Nadia were ready to go: Muk began glowing yellow, but Paige rose into the air and began spinning as Nadia quickly fired. The Ice Beam was sucked into the vortex, and before it could fully form, Paige froze and flapped her wings, unleashing the frozen wind: Azumarill and Muk were sent rolling over by the wave, crashing into Jack and bringing him to the floor. The thud of his back hitting the ground echoed, and while Alaska was amused, the looks on his gang's face told a different story.

    "GET THEM, GET RID OF THEM!" Jack screamed, his voice going high with rage, and his cronies quickly moved forwards.

    "Is that how it's going to go then, twelve of you against the two of us?" Sandy said, stepping forwards and looking up and down the bikers grunting towards them. For a second, Alaska thought she was afraid, but then Sandy tutted and shook her head, a Great Ball appearing in her hands. "You boys really should've brought back up." And with the air of a microphone drop, Sandy threw the ball onto the field. The explosion of blue energy brought Jack's gang to a halt, and many of them quickly backed away as the sheer size of the forming Pokémon became apparent, energy wrapping around Sandy, Alaska and her Pokémon before solidifying.

    "ONNNNNNNN!" Onix roared so loudly Alaska was sure their allies at the Celadon Mansion would hear him, and she weakly smiled as half the bikers fled immediately, driving away before they got caught up in anything else.

    "COWARDS!" Jack screamed, but he was out of sight now, Onix's grey boulder body forming a perfect barrier. Alaska breathed a sigh of relief and nearly collapsed to the ground, feeling like a weight had been lifted from her. She turned towards Sandy and without prompt threw her arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug.

    "What is this for?"

    "Not letting me leave without you," Alaska whispered, and Sandy said nothing, instead putting her own arms around her. The two stayed like this for a moment, but when Jack finally fell silent and the last bike rumbled off into the distance, they broke apart, feeling free.

    "So, Darwin," Sandy murmured.

    "Darwin," Alaska nodded.

    "Are you sure this is what you want?" For a moment, Alaska almost felt like laughing, too tired and worn out to care anymore. She knew fully well why her friend was concerned, why she thought this was a crazy what she was doing. Alaska reached into her pocket and clasped the PokeBall, ready to agree with Sandy, knowing how mad this was. And then she looked down at Paige and Nadia, their quiet, loyal faces staring wide eyed back at her: we survived again, all of us.

    "No, it's what I need." Sandy smiled and nodded, and with nothing left to do, the group set off, Onix snaking his way around them. As she strolled down the path, Alaska felt something warm on her face, and she looked out towards the ocean: the clouds had moved past, letting the sun free to shine across the ocean, a shimmering expanse of blue stretched out before her.

    How obvious, Alaska thought, but she couldn't help smile as she and Sandy walked side by side down the road in silence, leaving their latest battlefield behind.

    Intact, like a finished puzzle.





    After too long, this arc is finished! Blog and interlude up next, which should by be up by the end of May I hope! Fuchsia City coming up! Very special thanks to the amazing @kintsugi who power beta-read this for me and gave me confidence in the ending.
     
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    • Blog Thirteen: I Should Be So Lucky
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Chapter 73

    @Flaze: Thank you for the review, glad you caught up - hope you keep following so there aren't 20 chapters next time :p
    There isn't much to say of this asides from it is one of the more accurate readings I have gotten about 8ES. My stories are, in ways, very large exaggerations of what it means to grow up and move into the real world. I don't want to be all pretentious and go on about that, since very few people would care and this story is far from over so I don't want to give it all away, but a lot of what you said is on the money, so I'm very glad at least one person noticed this :p

    Latest blog! Hope you all enjoy. Some faces we haven't seen for a while return in the Interlude up next - the 100th overall chapter!!!


    Blog Thirteen: I Should Be So Lucky

    Greetings

    It is 11:56 PM on August the 28th 2013. There is a gentle breeze coming in from the ocean, but despite the hour, I don't feel cold. There is a crescent moon out, a tiny sliver of light floating across the night, like the sky is winking at me while I write this. Our fire is on its last embers, so only glow of my laptop is the only thing illuminating the clearing. I can't see beyond the circle of trees that are enclosing us. Anyone could be out there, waiting in the bushes to come and get me as I sleep, but I'm not afraid. I'm tired of being afraid.

    I should be asleep, but I can't shut my eyes for more than a few seconds without feeling overwhelmed. I need to type, to empty my brain a little more before I even can even think about sleep. Sandy's in our tent right now, snoring softly, muttering in her sleep. I hope she is dreaming about something nice. She suffers enough during the day; she doesn't deserve to endure the same while she sleeps.

    Why can't I sleep but she can? Well, something happened to me today, something I am still trying to process. Sandy was shaken by it as well, but not in the same way I was. It is simply impossible for her to feel the same as me in this case. She has not had her entire life, all her actions and decisions over the past few months, lain bare before her. She has not had her mind and soul ripped apart in a matter of minutes. She has not had to stare every bad decision she has ever made in the eye and admit to herself how wrong she has been.

    I have.

    It was hard. For a moment, it was horrible, gut wrenching, torturous. But I survived. And once I had accepted the pain, and accepted why it hurt, things finally made sense. You may think I am struggling to sleep because the horrors of my past choices have returned to me, haunting me in the night. But I am not upset or angry anymore. I am relieved: I cannot sleep because I am basking in the knowledge that the path that lies ahead is the clearest it has been so far in this journey, and I couldn't be happier.

    Back when I was first in Celadon City, I made a huge mistake. I thought I had made big decisions and had found all the solutions to my problems. Instead, I simply let myself get overwhelmed, turned a rash decision into a quick fix and then ignored everything that came after that. Every bit of advice, every clue and hint at my fate, everything that happened between then and today I refused to accept, thinking I had made the right decision. Even reading the blog I wrote at the end of the week, there was a hint of me there questioning my choices, wondering what I had done: if I had only realised things sooner, I could have saved myself a world of suffering.

    Over the past few days, I have been forced to accept my decision was wrong. To sum it all up, I faced Sabrina and was forced to realise that winning in the wrong way is not a win at all. I faced some familiar faces and was learnt some hard facts, but refused to accept them at the time. I tried to leave Sandy, but she made me realise the truth about our friendship. All of these things weighed down on me, making me question everyone and everything, but it was today that things made sense. Today, I saw my mistakes personified, and realised what I have done and what I need to do now.

    What does that mean I will change for the future? Well, not a lot really.

    You see, over this past week, I have realised a few truths about myself. Namely, the world, and particularly the situation I have been forced into, is not as black and white as I have been viewing it. There are reasons for everything people have said or done to me in their mission to guide and change me, whether I have appreciated them for it or not. I can see now that everyone has different layers and reasons for doing things, and that the advice they have tried to impart on me probably has been with the best intentions.

    However, I have also decided that this is my journey, and ultimately, what I want to do goes. People have tried to help me, yes, but they have done a terrible job of it: I have been badly injured multiple times, Sandy was shot, and if it wasn't a few convenient, you-can't-make-this-stuff-up deus ex machina's, I'd have died about ten times by now.

    At the time I couldn't see it, but now I know why Sabrina wanted me to win the battle on her terms. I can see that I need to train harder, better, I need to plot and plan and work my hardest instead of hoping and guessing and setting up. However, I can still plot and train in my own way: it has worked for me so far, so why give it all up now?

    Someone told me I need to take control of my own destiny, rather than letting everyone decide it for me. So far, I have been doing that even when I thought I wasn't, being guided and controlled and manipulated from afar, walking into traps and being used as a pawn in some bigger game. Not anymore. People can give me advice and guide me, but only if they are prepared for me to make my own choices.

    I saw the cost of my mistakes today. I saw what happens when I let my anger consume me, when I force myself down a path my heart believes is right but my brain does not. If I keep down this path, fighting back against anyone who upsets or wrongs me, I am never going to be able to face my real enemies whenever that day comes.

    And now that I know who my friends and allies are, I hope that day happens on my terms. This situation I am in… it's so complicated and strange and violent and weird I still can't get my head around it. Yet I have been running from it and towards it at the same time: I have blinded myself to the world around me, too busy trying to reach the end of this war while also avoiding thinking about it at all cost. Yet you never know who you will run into next – and just because there isn't a robotic army behind someone, doesn't mean they are a good person. There seems to be no avoiding this anymore, but if there is going to be war, I am going to be ready. I need to take control, and I need to prepare myself for whatever happens next. Even if that means doing things someone else's way, but I don't care about all that anymore though. Dying was so last week: all I want now is to live, frankly.

    It is 12:11 AM, August 29th 2013. The skies are clear. The wind is gentle. My eyelids feel heavy. It is officially a new day. I have basically been rolling in cheese all day, but I don't care – this is the perfect place to end this. I am ready to face what comes next, but first, I'm ready for bed. (Look, I've been very busy lately; I haven't had time for jokes. Maybe next time.)

    Yours reflectively,

    Alaska

    P.S. Whoever is stalking me on Trainer.net, fuck off. I may be in a soul-searching, moon-dancing, finger-painting mood right now, but I will still kick the ass of the next person I come across wanting to put my face online.
     
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    • Interlude Thirteen: Doing it for Themselves
    • Re: How to Conquer Kanto in Eight Easy Steps - Blog 13

    @Beth Pavell
    A lot of that stuff, especially around Buzz, gets revealed later on so I can't comment on that, nor would I change it should I go back and edit.
    I do agree that the reality stars hit a bit of saturation around this point, and appearing directly after the previously arc probably was not the best, nor was Alaska's constant state of winning. I need to do better work with them in the earlier chapters, though they will develop and shine soon in the current parts of the story.
    The weapon does not have any deadliness to it, persay, but it is a weapon.
    With regards to Buzz being crazy, I don't think some people need a single defining reason to be crazy. He has his reasons for doing what he does, which have made him mad, but I don't think he or I should justify his level of madness as anything more than him being an unstable person.

    Onto the current chapter!


    Interlude Thirteen: Doing it for Themselves

    "It is very rare we receive guests, especially ones held in such high regard throughout the world. Though I must say, you always seem to flock to us in times like this. So tell me, children, just how is the world ending this time?"

    Clair smirked to herself, taking malicious pride in watching the pair opposite her squirm. She had been expecting a visit for some weeks now, and had been rather insulted when Daisy Oak and Trevor Archer arrived: considering the gravity of the matter there were here for, Clair would have thought someone more senior would come to try and court her help. She was annoyed, and hoped the pair reported her hostile welcome back to Oak and them, a solid reminder for future reference.

    "I am sorry you feel used; it is not the fault of the International Police that all this has happened over the past few years." Trevor spoke with power and finesse, but Clair merely raised an eyebrow and sipped her tea, refusing to give them the upper hand. "However, as one of the most powerful organisations in the world, we need to know you will stand against any threats posed to the region."

    Silence filled the room. Clair merely sat there, sipping her tea, exchanging glances with her attendants by the door. Let them wait, she thought, smirking behind her cup. The two screamed of outsiders: Trevor in a black coat and trousers, Daisy in a demure blue dress with matching blazer, nothing like the uniformed robes of everyone else in the Den. The two looked so wrong sitting there, atop her silk cushions, drinking her tea in her cups: Clair was pleased to make them suffer in any way she could, punish them for visiting her, treating her like some beast they needed to rein in.

    "Of course we will; we did four years ago, when Rocket tried again to end the world from within the heart of this region."

    "You didn't stand alongside my brother and cousin though," Daisy replied so quickly you could tell that line had been waiting there, resting on her tongue to be pulled out. "They fought the true might of Team Rocket without your assistance."

    "That conflict was in Kanto," Clair hissed back icily, "as is this one. We may share a border, but Kanto and Johto are not one country anymore. And now that we no longer serve under the same league, I have even less of an obligation to fight your battles for you." Trevor and Daisy exchanged glances, having clearly expected this reaction. Clair merely smiled: she was not going to be easy, to let this first test as Elder go by so smoothly for them. She did not even meet their eye, instead gazing at the tapestry that adorned the walls, the hand-stitched dragons that were amongst her first memories.

    "This is not about your role as a gym leader; this about your position as the Dragon Elder," Trevor said, his voice rising with each word. "This is your first test with this title, so you think about how you want your grandfather's legacy to be perceived before you –"

    "HOW DARE YOU!" Clair roared, and silence fell across the room. Her words echoed back to her, and Clair paused, breathing deeply. She hadn't even noticed standing up, but realised she was on her feet, her cup upside down, emerald liquid seeping into the rug.

    "I'm sorry for shouting," she whispered. However, she didn't care for them: the windows had been opened for air, and now Clair stared at them, wondering if her voice had reached the houses on the surrounding cliffs. This may be her first test with the powers of Kanto, but Clair was really being tested every single day.

    Leading a gym was one thing, but running a community was an entirely different matter: whispers reached her, whispers that had started in the houses of her people, and what she heard was not reassuring. Shouting at guests would only fuel the fires of doubt Clair knew would soon be burning all throughout the den.

    "We haven't come here to upset you," Daisy said after a while. "We know this is a difficult time for you… moving on from death is always hard. But things will only get harder for all of us should Buzz Bolton or Gideon achieve whatever it is they are trying to achieve. We need to know that there will be support out there should either one of them strike at the pillars of our country."

    Clair sat back down as Daisy spoke, and as she righted her cup and dabbed at the stain, she dwelled on her words. As much as she enjoyed sassing her envoys, Clair knew there was a real issue at hand. She didn't follow politics or movements in Kanto as much as she used to, but she and Lance still spoke daily, and she at least knew all the gossip: Red's life had been threatened, a girl was being used as a pawn to stop those after him, and no one had any idea what to do next.

    My grandfather would have, Clair thought sadly. It had been over a month since he had died; he had been getting old, she should have expected it sooner or later. Yet not a day went past when she didn't think of him, of all he had done not just from the community but for her. She wouldn't be a gym leader without his training, without him guiding her through the rough years. If he was here now, he would know how to help with the problems in Kanto while still respecting the wishes of their people.

    "What exactly do you expect from the Dragon's Den should Red be attacked or killed?"

    "We will need people to stand alongside us: the Indigo League, the International Police, all the people that work in the shadows to keep Kanto in order. If you come to our side, the rest of the Johto League will fall behind you as well as the help of your people. We don't expect you to sacrifice yourselves, but – "

    "Isn't that what you ask of someone when they sign up to war: to put their life on the line in defence of their country?" Clair interrupted, holding up a hand to silence Trevor. "I cannot simply sign up the two hundred people who live under my rule and demand they fight in your war."

    "But we don't know what our enemies are planning," Daisy said pleadingly. "We know Red's life is threatened, but we don't know how either enemy plans to stop him. They could just as easily kill him, destroying the entire Indigo League headquarters and turn their attention towards Krystal – I mean, Johto and –"

    "Okay, you almost had one percent of my attention, but I am not doing anything to help that little bitch," Clair snapped. Daisy looked ashamed, and rightfully so: no name was more toxic in the Dragon's Den then Krystal Soul, and Clair would not aid any quest in which she was involved.

    "She isn't the one who cheated Lance," Trevor groaned.

    "No, but she should have stepped aside when the truth was revealed instead of forcing him into a rematch. And she would have lost if it wasn't for Latios – Kris Soul won by barely defeating a cheat and then using a Legendary to prevent her meek, feeble team from losing her the title. I would gladly let all of Kanto burn if it means that she suffers the consequences as well!"

    "This is pointless – I am not going to sit her and let some stubborn cow screw over the world for a few petty rivalries!" Trevor stood up and angrily jabbed a finger at Clair. "Kris won because Lance is more popular than he is talented, and he should have been disqualified for the tricks he used during that battle. And the fact the Dragon's Den still holds a grudge against the Kantonese over something that happened hundreds of years ago shows what useless allies you would make. I am from the fucking Sevii Islands – we got screwed over a hell of a lot worse than Johto ever did, but we've all moved past it. You can't let one generation suffer because of the actions of their ancestors."

    "Oh, well done Mr Archer, you've let your true colours shine!" Clair yelled, getting to her feet the same time as Daisy, watching as her attendants swung open the doors Dragonite had nearly torn off. "Tell Oak that next time his country is burning to the ground, sending a bigoted, uninformed racist isn't the best way to win someone over!"

    "There won't be a next time: the Dragon's Den died with your grandfather!" Trevor hissed, anger burning on his face as Daisy tugged on his sleeve. "Your people have been going extinct for decades, and your refusal to adapt to the times means you will only die out faster. You have nothing to offer us asides from influence, and once people hear about how Clair Grayson is running this place into the ground, all that will disappear!"

    "Really, no influence?" Clair snapped. "You seem to be forgetting that your saviour is nothing without something I possess!" Trevor and Daisy both froze in the doorway, and Clair mentally smiled, the shock on their faces clear she had won. Moving gracefully over the cushions, Clair walked over to a particular Dragonite stitched into the walls. Why she had been worried when she had this trump card she did not know, but being handed the opportunity to use it filled her with unsubstantiated glee.

    "After we gave the other Enigma Crystal to Kris, Steven Stone gave us the other one to look after in its place. Unfortunately, Latios broke free from it and set off in look for his true trainer. Fortunately, he left this behind." A panel in the wall swung open, and Clair heaved out a wooden box, briefly examining the intricate carvings across the surface before turning to face Trevor and Daisy. The two exchanged stunned looks, and Clair smiled widely as she opened it up.

    "Alaska Avocado needs this if she is ever going to control Latios. As Dragon Elder, I am the one who decides what to do with it, and after what you just said, I am leaning towards making sure this never sees the light of day again. So maybe you could start by apologising, and then I will consider what to do next, okay?" Trevor and Daisy looked into the box for a moment before looking back at Clair: their faces were still for a moment, but then Daisy giggled and Trevor stifled a snort.

    "She needs what, Clair?" The spy asked, and the two turned and walked laughing out of the room. Clair was speechless; she turned the box around and stared inside, and felt her stomach, heart, lungs, every organ in her body dropped an inch as she looked inside an empty box.

    "Where is it?" She growled. Throwing the box against the wall, Clair faced her attendants as Trevor and Daisy made their joy audible, their joy echoing like a hundred people were around her, all laughing, all jeering. "WHERE IS THE FUCKING CRYSTAL?"

    ***

    "Dive low and use Aerial Ace!"

    Really? That's the move you're going for? Oh well, this was fun while it lasted.

    "Grass Knot, go!"

    "What on earth is the Champion thinking? Such a move is going to have barely any effect on a Flying type like Honchkrow!"

    The commentator's words echoed throughout the stadium. The few times Kris had watched Red battle, you could barely hear what anyone was saying over the roar of the crowd, the endless cries from the hundreds of supporters packed inside the cramped stadium and filling the boardwalk outside deafening against even the loudest commentary.

    She had never experienced that herself, not since Lance. Today, barely a hundred people had shown up to watch her latest challenge. While she waited for her strategy to play out, Kris cast her gaze across the rows and rows of empty seats: only her most loyal of supporters and friends of her opponent had turned up for the battle, barely enough tickets to cover the electricity bill.

    "HONCH!" The squawk reached her ears easily as well, and Kris snapped back to attention. Johnny's Honchkrow lay sprawled across the grass, clumps of mud piled around from where she had fallen. He had fallen into the trap so easily Kris had to wonder how he had managed to make it through the Elite Four so easily.

    "Signal Beam, finish this!" She bellowed, disturbed by the eeriness of her echo. Espeon dug her feet into the pitch and fired, rainbow energy hitting Honchkrow square on the head, blasting her back towards the pool. She stopped just shy of falling in, but the close range attack was clearly too much: wings limp, eyes shut; the battle was already over.

    "Matthew the Honchkrow is unable to battle, meaning the challenger Johnny Richards has no Pokémon left to fight. The winner is the Champion, Krystal Soul!"

    Applause and cheers rang out through the stadium, but it seemed sarcastic the way they clapped and shouted. Of course its sarcasm, Kris thought bitterly, withdrawing a barely tired Espeon, no one's going to celebrate that win. That lasted, what, half an hour? She looked across the expansive pitch towards the challenger. Johnny was older than her, about twenty one, she recalled, a fine layer of blonde stubble covering his rigid jaw. He had seemed handsome when they had met before the match, but now he was a blubbing mess, his massive frame collapsed next to the pitch, chest raising and falling rapidly with his tears.

    What's the point in crying, you clearly weren't prepared. Your Dugtrio may have trapped Ampharos, and if I had paid more attention Kingdra would have survived longer, but Latias would have torn through your entire team in five minutes. You couldn't even defeat a Psychic type with a Dark Pokémon. You just wasted your time, my time, the time of everyone working here, anyone watching, anyone even hearing about this…

    "That was a great effort!"

    The stadium emptied within five minutes. Cleaners were already clearing away rubbish, a job that took hours after her and Lance but today would last barely quarter of an hour. Kris had left the pitch quickly, unable to bear the emptiness anymore, and moved into the maze-like upper level where all the private boxes and preparation rooms were. All except the one owned by the League were empty: murmurs of the Elite Four and league officials could be heard as she walked past, but Kris ignored them as she made her way to Johnny.

    The trainer smiled as she passed on the praise, though his eyes were bloodshot and watery. His parents stood quietly behind him as Kris shook his hand and smiled warmly at them all, playing her role dutifully.

    "Are you going to take part in the League Championships next year?"

    "I hope so. I have a lot of work to do between now and then, but I would love the opportunity to battle you again!" Johnny replied, cracking a smile.

    "I can't wait!" Kris replied with her own beam, though it was a struggle not to roll her eyes. Everyone thinks they've got what it takes, but if your Honchkrow can't even stand up to Grass and Bug type moves, then you've got no hope in hell of surviving the shit this job will throw at you.

    She waved the trainer and his family off, waiting till they had rounded the corner before letting her smile fade. Tired and exasperated, Kris turned to leave, desperate to return to her house where she was actually needed. But as she turned, movement on the pitch caught her eye and she paused. The field was sinking back into the basement, where it would be tidied and repaired before her next challenge. But asides from damaged rocks and disturbed grass, there was nothing to fix…

    Not like her two big fights here. Kris froze, staring down at the sinking field; her mind went back three years before she could stop herself. She thought the match with Gold had done some serious harm, but the way Lance fought… she could still remember watching in awe as the entire pitch burnt; the grass, the rocks, the water, everything on fire, everything in ruins. The crowd certainly had been quiet then. You could have heard a pin drop, people told Kris afterwards. She wished she could remember that, but all she could remember of those final ten minutes against Dragonite was pain; pain and fire…




    "You fought well tonight, miss." The nurse wore a bright smile to match her lemon coloured uniform; it was very natural and real, yet when Kris reciprocated, she saw the smile turn false, suddenly an act. Kris was familiar with this by now and merely kept her own smile forced in place: so many people had been nice to her over the years, but it was hard for them to stay happy when Kris oozed darkness from every pore.

    "How is everyone going?" Kris asked, moving past the awkwardness as she passed her PokeBalls over.

    "Very fine miss, you'll be happy with their progress," the nurse replied quickly, trying less successfully to ignore Kris' mood. "I could call them over for you if you –"

    "No, thank you, I need to sleep – it may have been a short one, but every battle is tiring."

    "Of course miss." The nurse kept smiling till the last second, but as she turned away, taking the PokeBalls with her, Kris knew she would be shaken, left wondering what was wrong with the Champion to appear so hate filled even after winning.

    Let her wonder, Kris thought, sighing to herself, and she began her way down the corridor. Her footsteps echoed with each step, making it sound like there were dozens of people when really it was only her, alone yet again.

    She walked past a glass window. Bangs and shouts sounded from behind it. Kris kept walking. The cries got louder, as though they knew she was out there, sensing her through the one-way window. Shaking, Kris kept walking, thinking of home, her bed, sleeping, darkness, anything but…

    "MEGA!"

    She paused. Whimpering, she turned.

    They were all there: the ones who had survived, the replacements she had been forced to accept. Kris watched as Pangoro took a swing at Miltank, the Milk Cow Pokémon dodging and lashing out with her own glowing fist. Mawile and Ampharos fought alongside, electricity and metallic flashes being exchanged, most colliding in the middle. Avalugg reared past the window, blocking the view as his giant frame scraped the wall, ice flecks rubbing off. He fired an attack, and a burst of green blocked it. Avalugg stumbled, and Kris knew who would be standing on the other side. With the echo of a bygone scream firmly in her mind, she turned and walked away.




    Champion's Park was empty. Kris walked through the abandoned complex with only the hum of the lights for company. She could remember her first battle here, when the pavements had been overflowing with people cheering and screaming her name. It took hours for the crowds to thin, leaving behind a layer of rubbish that took days to clean up, a reminder of how many people had come to watch her victory.

    The meagre crowd that had turned up today hadn't stayed. The stalls selling food and merchandise were already closed; Kris knew the apartments available for rent would be empty. Her footsteps echoed as she walked by the four smaller stadiums and the dozens of battlefields scattered in between, feeling like a ghost moving through an abandoned, oversized playground. There was no breeze to keep her company, no rain or thunder or snow: the skies were cloudless, yet the moon seemed to shine dimly down on her, as though even it couldn't be bothered staying.

    It was a long walk back to her apartment. Kris knew a cart would be waiting to escort her home, but it would only take a few minutes, and she wanted to clear her head. Everything that had happened over the past hour, she needed time to let it leave her system.

    Though really you have been trying for years to move on, and yet here we are, still letting the past follow us around. Kris looked around as she walked, wondering if anyone would notice if she screamed. There didn't seem to be anyone physically there, but as she turned Kris noticed a blinking light over one of the stadium entrances.

    Oh, of course, I am never actually alone, am I? Kris thought, watching as the security camera rotate as it scanned the empty park for any threats. I could always scream for them, letting them know how I really feel. Fuel the fires for you, give you more reason to think I'm just a crazy, unstable little girl… The moment of defiance passed. Kris could not be bothered playing up for their benefit, and she skulked up the path, pounding her way up to her house.

    Maybe if they had all been through what I had, they would know why I was how I am, Kris thought. They may have watched the battle, and they probably know what happened on Mt Coronet, but they weren't there, were they… they didn't have to lead a faction into war four months after their mother died, did they? If she shut her eyes long enough, Kris always ended up back there: knees in the snow, blood creeping down her face, Enigma Stone in one hand, Latias' hand in the other, both of them screaming as they tried to save the world. She could still hear the clash of swords as Vanessa and Draco fought metres from her, the former's dress drenched in so much blood Kris couldn't even remember the colour.

    She could explain all that to the League Officials, but they wouldn't care: it would be the final straw, the opportunity to take her out of action – PTSD, she could see that being the excuse. Lance would be brought back in, they'd throw a tournament to decide, he would win no matter what.

    And Kris would go – where? New Bark Town, the place her mother was buried, the home she shared with Gold? Ecruteak, to go watch Hanoko slowly die? Travel, try her hand at another league?

    Oh yeah, cause this one worked soooo well. Kris paused and turned, staring down at the stadium below. This had been her dream, to win this title, to be able to call that giant oval hers. Yet here she was, bored by battles, dreading seeing her own Pokémon, haunted by her past at every turn. How I wish I could just leave, pack up and go… but I can't, not now, not with everything that is about to happen…

    "Are you going to keep looking into space, or do you want to head inside?"

    Kris spun: for a moment, fear coursed through her, but then the speaker stepped forwards, revealing his purple jacket, jet black hair, those eyes she could never forget. Spike beamed his crooked smile, and Kris' face lit up as she ran forwards. The two embraced, and Kris planted her lips on his, kissing him so vigorously she could have left bruises.

    "I'm glad you're happy to see me."

    "I'm glad you are as well," Kris said smirking, her hips pressed against his groin. "I had no idea you were coming, why didn't you – "

    "I had to be on the down-lo after what you requested. If anyone knew I was coming… I can't leave a trail, not after what I did." Kris stepped backwards, her joy quickly turning to intrigue. Spike's smile sank, the moment of happiness gone, and he reached into a pocket in his jacket.

    "No, not here," Kris hissed, looking around. "Inside, now." She grabbed his arm, forcing another smile for whoever was watching, and the two briskly walked the last few metres into her house.

    The door banged open. Kris cast her eyes around the entrance hall, but there was no one there. Relieved, she turned and cast her eyes over her boyfriend: Spike had gotten tall over the past year, now standing a firm head above her; his jet black hair clashed horribly with the purple leather of his coat, yet his muscular frame pulled it off. She wondered what was missing, and realised it was the staff he use to carry with him everywhere. It was strange to see him without it, but that only confirmed Kris' fears.

    "You didn't have to steal it, you know. I am sure Clair would have been more than happy to help me." Despite his sombre face, Spike snorted as soon as she spoke, and Kris had to giggle at her own error. "I mean, you know, help the region."

    "You're still involved, and she won't help you for all the good it would do," Spike replied. "She won the Elder title basically by default, but now she is struggling to prove she actually deserves it. There will be a mutiny soon enough if she doesn't live up to her grandfather's reputation, and helping you in any way would massively damage that."

    "Well, we all know what it's like to live in someone else's reputation," Kris mumbled bitterly. Spike's smile fade, and an awkward silence formed between the two. Kris sighed: with everything that had happened, and everything that would happen, it was easy to forget the awkwardness of her situation. She opened her mouth to apologise, but Spike shook his head, sapphire eyes bearing down on her.

    "Forget about it," he said as he reached inside his pockets. "I did this because it needs to be done. Forget about Clair and all of them: he needs this… you need it." His hand emerged, revealing the sparkling rock for which he had forsaken all his vows for. Faint whispers erupted in her head as Kris stared at the Enigma Stone: the surface was cracked, but otherwise it was nearly identical to hers. She felt relief to have it after all these weeks, but at the same moment she felt dread, knowing what had to be done.

    "Put it on the table and step outside," she said, stepping towards a painting of the Tohjo Falls hanging on the wall opposite.

    "Step outside? Why?"

    "Because this is going to get messy." The painting swung open at her touch, revealing a small safe behind. Kris typed the pin in and turned the bar-like handle: it was empty except for a crystal, glittering in the light. Kris paused, wondering if she was ready for all this, ready to embark on this next step in her journey. Then she remembered her Pokémon, watching them battle, everything they had gone through: what would their sacrifices amount to if she gave up here?

    Flashes from her past danced before her eyes the second Kris touched the crystal. The memories hurt, but she clenched her teeth and turned, slamming the safe closed and pushing the painting back. The whispers were getting louder, but a sole voice sounded over them: you can do this, Kris: he needs your help, only you can do this.

    "Kris, I really think I should be here – what if something goes wrong?" Spike said pleadingly. "Do you remember how much it hurt when he arrived, how painful it was to have both of them inside your head: the two Crystals together will only make it worse."

    "I know." Kris looked at him for a moment, pained by the hurt in his eyes. Yet at the same moment, Meganium's scream flashed bright in her memory: she was winded, and without a moment's hesitation, she grabbed the other stone.

    Pain exploded in her head. The table was sent flying, Spike fell to the floor, the whole house shook. Kris ignored all of it: wincing, she turned and looked down the hall, focusing on a door at the end of the house.

    It swung open. A blinding light burst out of the room, engulfing everything. It was strong, blinding, but Kris soldiered on. Spike yelled out behind her, but his voice was lost in all the cries inside her head: the wars from decades, centuries past, the screams of trainers in their final moments, coupled with her own pain. Tears flowed down Kris' face and she walked towards the light, the shadows of two figures waiting for her on the other side. She shut her eyes, trying to stop the pain, trying to stop her memories…

    She stepped inside the room, and it all went black.

    ***

    The phone rang… once… twice… three times…

    Amanda sighed and hung up. It had been the same response every time she had called for the past week. She checked the time again, just as she had done after every other failed attempt, each time hoping she was wrong and her watch was broken. But no – it was one minute past midnight once again, which meant Buzz still was not picking up.

    Amanda put her phone next to her on the end of the bed and sat still, wondering what to do next. She remained frozen for a minute: she tried to focus on the crashing waves outside her tent, on the distant fog horn echoing in the night, the closer cackles of a party returning home of the night.

    She lasted a minute, and then she screamed.

    Leaping to her feet, Amanda grabbed her bed and flipped it, throwing the thin metal frame against the canvas. As it bounced to the floor, she knocked her laptop, notes and mug off her table and then kicked that across the middle, cracking the wood. She bent the chair, standing on the hinges until they snapped, and then threw through the flaps, listening as it clanged onto the ground.

    You ignorant, selfish, manipulative little prick, Amanda thought, grabbing the plate leftover from her dinner and smashing it, letting sauce and soggy vegetables fly across her possessions. Are you the only one affected by this, are you the only one afraid of what is going to happen next? I have put all my trust into you; I am living in a fucking tent babysitting toddlers for you; the least you can do is show me some fucking -GRATITUDE!"

    Amanda snapped still, that last word echoing as she held a jacket in both hands, about to tear it in two. She dropped it and stepped out through the flaps. Their campsite, made up of about a dozen tents set up around a car on the corner of the Fuchsia Beach Promenade, was empty. Breathing deeply, Amanda stared at the identical tents, waiting for someone to come out and quiz her: she had lost control, letting that last word slip out, drawing the final attention to herself. Throwing everything around, that had been reserved, hidden away behind the tent for no one to see, but even she knew how loudly she had screamed. Everyone would have heard it; what would they say…how could they follow her now…the show, the plan, it was ruined…

    No one appeared. Amanda waited, knowing it was too good to be true to get away with that. But as her rage faded, pushed to the back of her mind where it belonged, she was able to think clearly. Damien had won today's battle challenge, and was staying at a hotel with his Pokémon and a third of the crew. The rest of them had gone to the local bar, leaving only Chloe and Lachlan behind.

    Fervently, Amanda marched towards Lachlan's tent, peering through a hole she had made near the top several weeks ago: the boy was asleep, headphones in and out to the world. Amanda stepped back and breathed a sigh of relief, while swiftly grabbing loose strands of hair and pulling them tightly back into a bun loosened during her rage.

    That's all of them, except for… Chloe. The girl's tent flaps were fluttering in the soft breeze blowing in from the water, and it did not take long for Amanda to turn and spot the girl: she was at the end of the pier, staring out towards the water.

    Her heels echoed each time they rapped against the wooden boulevard. Chloe turned and gazed at Amanda but made no remark, quickly looking back to the ocean. Amanda tensed up but tried to compose herself, not wanting to give her any room to act.

    "What are you doing out here? We have a busy day of filming tomorrow, I don't want you tired and causing a scene."

    "I'll go to bed in a minute," Chloe snapped back. Amanda resisted the urge to slap her. She had spent weeks dealing with these children, all for a mission that was falling apart around her, and they were getting on her nerves their constant bickering amongst each other and inability to pose any threat to Alaska.

    Breathe, Amanda, breathe… you are the producer, you have to be in control.

    "Well, make sure you do," Amanda said, forcing a smile, and she turned to leave. She pushed the rage away and took solace in the fact no one had noticed her outburst: she could carry on how she was, and still have sway over this lot should Buzz still need her. But it had been over a week now and she still hadn't heard from him: was she not meant to be his closest confidante, was she not the one who had done anything and everything he had asked of her, was she not the person he had let degrade, torture and abuse however he saw fit…

    "Amanda." The producer stopped and spun around, biting her lips to stop herself screaming again. Chloe didn't seem to notice though, staring at her with eyes swimming with tears. "Amanda, I just wanted to know… no, never mind, it's not –"

    "Tell me," Amanda said sharply. "I'm your producer, I am happy to deal with any issues you might have." Chloe paused, watching her for a moment, sniffling pathetically.

    "I'm a good trainer, aren't I? Like, I mean, there is a still a chance I can win this, right?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "It's been weeks since I last won a challenge, and the more challenges I lose, the more opportunities Damian and Lachlan are getting to advance." Tears streamed down her face now, and Chloe sniffed and wiped her nose as she stared tearfully at Amanda. "I came on this show because I thought I would have a chance at winning, but I just keep losing, and nothing I do seems to help! I've been training every day, my Pokémon are growing stronger, but I still keep getting my arse handed to me!"

    "Now Chloe, don't sell yourself short, there is still time to –"

    "And BLOODY ALASKA!" Chloe screamed, stamping her foot so hard that snot flew right out of her nose. "Just when I think I am doing better, that cow shows up, undermining me further, thinking she is so great! Why can't she just back off and leave me alone instead of always getting in my way? This is my chance to actually succeed, to be someone other than just my father's daughter. If I won, I would be able to support myself and decide my own future. But every time she appears, she just throws me off balance and it takes weeks to get back on track and… and… just… URGH!"

    Amanda watched as the girl lashed out, kicking a mouldy bit of wood; she cracked it in two, but injured her foot at the same time, adding moans of pain to her cries. She wanted to slap her, to tell her to get over herself and move on, tell her what she really thought of her: spoilt, immature, greedy, demanding.

    Yet now, there was something in her Amanda had never seen before: anger, true, untampered, spiteful rage. She hates Alaska almost as much as I do, the producer thought, her lips spreading in a smile. And she has been training a lot – her Pokémon are improving. She is a halfway competent trainer… better than Buzz ever was.

    "Come here Chloe, we need to have a talk." Amanda wrapped an arm around her, pulling Chloe into her wake and guiding her back down the pier.

    "Talk? About what? And you never answered my question!"

    "Oh honey, there is more going on in this world right now than a little reality show. We have a mutual problem, you and I, and if you have me get rid of it, then I will ensure that you win in ways you never imagined." Chloe looked confused, but Amanda's mind was clearer than it had been in weeks, and she led the girl back towards the campsite, the next stage of her plan already forming.




    I would just like to say that this is the 100th overall chapter of this story. I am amazed I have made it this far, but there is still more to come! Thanks all those who have read and reviewed in the past, and I hope that Fuchsia and beyond will keep you reading.

    Please note that this story is nominated in the Summer Awards in a few categories: Best Journey, Best Protagonist (Alaska), Best Supporting (Sandy) and Best Pokemon (Darwin). If you want to vote for this story or any others, the link is in my signature.
     

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