A/N: I do not own Pokemon, nor any of the characters and places mentioned in this fanfiction! I do not own the songs used, either!
(Proper acknowledgements will be made after the ending of the story to prevent spoilers.)
This is my first Pokemon fanfic, and it's LancexLyra, but readers who know me from other fandoms can expect the usual heaps of foreshadowing, red herrings and clues. And just like how all of my mysteries are structured, it is very much possible to solve the mystery way before the main character (in this case, Lyra) does.
I hope you'll enjoy the story!
SPINNING - 01
"I'll Blindly Follow, Knowing You're Leading The Way"
Find me.
That was all it said.
Lyra turned the card over and over in her hands but there was nothing else. It was just a plain white card with two words hand printed neatly on it in very fancy, loopy cursive lettering.
Find me.
"Lyra, can you help me close the door?!" Ethan's voice rang out loud and clear through the open window and over the blaring CD player in his bedroom, which had been playing the same damn love song over and over since he'd turned it on. "My arms feel like they're about to break! What are you doing out there?!"
"Coming!" She shoved the card into her pocket and dashed back into the house, grateful for the electric heater in the house. At New Bark Town, it was always freezing cold in the early mornings.
"Lyra, I can't hold out much longerrr!"
"I'm here!"
Lyra jumped towards the closet, ramming against it with her whole body right before it gave way.
"On my mark!" She shouted. "One... two...!"
Together, they shoved the closet door with all their combined might.
Click!
A random rolled up-poster managed to escape through the crack in the door and smack Ethan's head, but otherwise they were safe.
"Ugh..." Ethan moaned, sliding to the floor and kicking the offending poster away from him. He watched as it unfurled itself halfway, as if mocking him for being a slob. "That was just horrible, horrible!"
"Then maybe it's high time you clean your room instead of shoving everything into your closet?" Lyra panted. She was also sitting on the floor, fatigued. "What's that poster for, by the way?"
"It's for my new favorite band, Boyce Avenue," he replied with an airy laugh. "I think I have a grand total of sixteen posters of their upcoming concert hidden away somewhere..."
Just how much junk did this guy have lying around his bedroom, anyways?!
"You, young man, need a date with your broom and dustpan," Lyra scolded him mockingly, trying to sound like a stressed out parent.
"Haha, I think you may be right!" Was his carefree response. Typical.
Meanwhile, the CD player blasted away.
So many nights trying to hide it
But now I stay awake just pleading for more
To think this heart was divided
I'm losing sleep cause I can't ignore-
The two teens could barely hear each other over the loud volume.
"Can we please turn that off?!"
"No way, I really like that song!" Ethan argued. "And listening to music helps me get ready for a new day!"
"Why a love song?" Lyra wrinkled her nose. "And why this particular song? You didn't listen to this kind of stuff before... at least until a week ago!"
"But don't you think it's fitting for today, being Valentines Day today and all?"
"I guess... but not during any of those other days!"
"Alright, geez, then I won't play this song when you come over, is that alright with you?" Ethan rolled his eyes and changed the subject. "So, who was it at my front door so early in the morning, and what did they want?"
She gave him a look. "That's just the thing. Nobody was there!"
"Huh?"
Lyra reached into her pocket and pulled out the card she picked up from the front porch. She showed it to him. "All I found was this."
"Lemme see... ehhh, 'find me'? What does that mean?"
"Do you maybe recognize the handwriting?" Lyra suggested. "Maybe this message was meant for you. This is your house, after all. Oooh, maybe it's from your secret admirer, Ethan! Although 'find me' isn't exactly the most romantic thing I'd ever heard."
"No kidding. And I've never seen handwriting like this before. But, if it really is from a secret admirer, are they trying to lead me somewhere? Is that why they wrote, 'find me'?"
-I want to be where you are
In times of need I just want you to stay
I leave a note on your car
When I can't find the right words to say-
"Is it okay if I use the shower first, Lyra?"
"Sure! I'm still too cold to do anything anyways."
Ethan handed the little white card back to Lyra before slowly lumbering to his feet and shuffling out into the hallway with his towel and clothes. Lyra lay back down on her sleeping bag and played with the card, thinking about the mysterious circumstances under which she'd first found it.
Minutes earlier at around 4:40am, a sleepy Lyra and Ethan had been just lying around chatting when the incessant ringing of the doorbell startled them. Ethan had yelled out the window, asking whoever it was if they could wait. Lyra had volunteered to get the door while Ethan put away the mats and pillows they'd used (she was more presentable than him, anyway)... but when she got to the front door, nobody was there.
The mysterious white card was sitting innocently in the center of the welcome mat, message-side up.
Nobody else was around, and all was quiet in New Bark besides the player Ethan had turned on and cranked the volume way up.
Who left the card? And why?
She read the message again to herself, pondering the meaning...
"Find me."
-Find me, here in your arms
Now I'm wondering where you've always been
And blindly, I came to you
Knowing you'd breathe new life from within-
...That song was seriously getting on her nerves. Not because she didn't like the tune, or music or love songs or Boyce Avenue but because it was so damn loud! She could hardly hear her own thoughts anymore! It was a miracle the neighbors hadn't complained yet!
Lyra surged to her feet and marched towards Ethan's stereo, and turned the volume dial until the music was at an acceptable level. Now the voice of the male who was singing the song sounded soothing compared to earlier, when every drop of the bass made her heart jump uncomfortably-
-Find me, here in your arms
Now I'm wondering where you've always been
And blindly, I came to you
Knowing you'd breathe new life from within-
-It was kind of ironic that the singer was crooning to "find him", too. It kind of felt like a direct message.
From the sender of the card.
...
Wait a minute, what?
Lyra blinked and laughed right outloud, surprised at the sudden idea that popped in her head.
It really was a coincedence that the message of the love song was the same. But a direct message from the sender? No way. For one, it was Ethan himself who'd started up the CD player. He wouldn't have known that somebody would stop by at ungodly early hours of the morning to leave him a card. He also couldn't have been the one to leave the card for himself outside his own house, that wouldn't make any sense. Unless her best friend had somehow rung the doorbell outside without ever leaving the bedroom or her sight!
Out of curiosity and boredom, she picked up the Boyce Avenue CD jacket and checked the listing for the title of the song.
-There. It was song number five, "Find Me".
...
...
...
Without thinking really about it, she opened the case-
"Ha."
-It was empty, of course. The CD itself was already loaded in the player! Really, what was she expecting to find in there? A gift? Another letter? The identity of the sender of the card? Rediculous.
She closed the case and placed it back where she got it - but this action caused Ethan's beloved black cap tumbling back into an unreachable area between the bedroom wall and one of the large black speakers connected to the stereo.
"Oops!"
It was her fault, so she needed to get it back. And the only way to do that would be to move the entire thing so she could reach behind the huge speaker with her arm.
Looking down, she noticed that, compared to the rest of Ethan's room, the immediate radius around the speaker (and the speaker itself) was wiped clean of dust. Had the boy actually taken some time to do some serious cleaning lately?
But that was impossible, right? Ethan wouldn't clean his room even if his life depended on it, so...
"There it is!"
Now that she'd found the fallen hat, all she needed to do was reach out as far as she could and grab it-
"Wha-?"
Pulling the hat free revealed a small white cardboard box which Lyra assumed the hat had fallen on top of.
What was it doing there? Was it yet another bit of junk Ethan had hidden away?
Intrigued, she picked up the box, too.
"I wonder what's inside?" Lyra flipped the cover up.
"Lyra, I'm done using the bathroom! You can go use it now!" Ethan hollered a few minutes later. There was the sound of a door opening further down the hallway, and soon the black haired-teen was back inside the bedroom. He was already fully dressed - minus his hat - and he was vigorously towelling his hair. "Lyra, did you hear me? I said I was done!"
For some reason, she was still in her pajamas, and she was staring hard at something in her hands. He had expected her to be dressed in her usual clothes already - she'd taken a long bath just last night so she could cut back on preparation time and get to Battle Tower's grand reopening early today.
She didn't respond, or even acknowledge him.
"...Lyra?" Ethan called out anxiously to his best friend, tossing his towel away and making his way over to her side. "What's up?"
Lyra's face had paled slightly. She wordlessly handed him the white cardboard box she'd found.
Inside was yet another box, but this one was black and the size of an ice cube. Ethan picked it up and examined it in the light - it wasn't see through, he couldn't open it, fold it, or crush it, and all six sides were as smooth as glass. It was pretty weighty, too. "What is this black cube thing? Where'd you get it?"
"...I accidentally dropped your hat behind one of your speakers. When I went to go get it, I found that."
"Huh, really? I don't remember ever hiding anything like this..."
Lyra suddenly spoke again. "This note was in the white box, too."
"A note?" Ethan repeated, growing more concerned by the second. Lyra sounded spooked for some reason... a reason he would find out soon enough.
She held a folded piece of paper out to him. He took it, feeling unsure, but he opened it up and read the fancy loopy cursive - and gasped.
Find me, Lyra.
"Wh-whoa, what the heck?!" Ethan exclaimed, hands trembling nervously. He read the message to himself several more times over before finally believing what his eyes were showing him. "Isn't this the same handwriting as the one on that card you found outside, Lyra?! Does that mean... this note is from the same person?!"
"...Did you do this, Ethan?"
"Huh?"
"Did you write the card... and the note in the box?"
"No way!" Ethan denied vehemently. "You know my penmanship isn't as pretty as this!"
Lyra took a deep breath. "You're right, this isn't your handwriting, I've seen enough of it myself after all... but are you sure you didn't put the box behind your speakers?"
"I'm pretty sure I'd remember hiding something as weird and mysterious as this-" he rolled the cube in his fingers for emphasis "-in my room!"
"So now the question is... who did?"
There was an awkward silence as a horrible realization befell both teens.
"Oh man... did somebody b-break into my house?!"
"That's the only explanation I can think of, myself..."
"Dad is going to kill me if he ever finds out somebody managed to break in," Ethan groaned. He was trying to make light of the situation, but Lyra could see that he was on the verge of freaking out.
...Seeing her best friend like that really hammered home how serious this situation was: someone had managed to sneak into the house undetected while she and Ethan were asleep, defenseless. And to make things even worse, Ethan couldn't have picked a better night to leave Marill at Professor Elm's place... Luckily the intruder's intentions did not seem too bad at the moment. But Lyra knew that could change without warning in the near future.
She suddenly trembled. "What I want to know is why me? Why would anyone go out of their way to break into your house to leave me a letter, asking to find them?"
"Don't forget about the card you found," Ethan reminded her, sounding very serious. "...I wonder... what should we do...?"
"Why don't we look around and see if anything else is amiss inside the house? Let's split up. I'll check around the kitchen and the closet downstairs while you look around here and your parents' bedroom. And if you find anything, holler."
"Maybe we should contact the police right away," Ethan said slowly. He sounded as if if he couldn't believe what was happening. Lyra didn't blame him; neither did she.
"We don't have evidence that somebody broke in. That's why I suggested we search."
"Isn't this proof enough?" He replaced the little black cube and the letter inside the white box, slamming the cover closed a little too forcefully. "Besides, what if this psycho is still in the house?!"
"Oh my God, Ethan, stop it!" Lyra demanded. "I don't even want to think about that!"
The very idea frightened her, but Ethan had a point - who was to say that the guy had already left? If it was indeed the same person who had left the white card at the front door, he could've easily circled around and snuck into the house from somewhere else. To think that, Lyra had gone downstairs all by herself earlier to answer the door... he could've been watching her from the shadows, or even behind the staircase. And Ethan had gone to the bathroom earlier, too-
"Then if we're going to investigate, let's stick together," he urged. "And you should bring your Pokemon, just in case."
"...I can do that."
Lyra tapped the release button on one of her Pokeballs, which were sitting on Ethan's desk. With a flash of red light, Typhlosion stood before her in all his glory.
"Stay close to me, Typhlosion," Lyra instructed him while Ethan turned off the CD player and pulled a wooden baseball bat out from the mess under his bed for protection.
"Ready?" He asked her a moment later.
Typhlosion growled them curiously.
"...Ready."
Ethan pushed open the door, the light from his bedroom shining around them and illuminating the floor in a bright rectangle.
Before this moment, Lyra had never thought she'd ever find her childhood friend's house creepy.
"If anyone were to try breaking in, they would probably try the windows in the living room," mused the boy at her side.
"Then let's go check."
The whole house was eerily quiet. It was only about 5:10 in the morning, after all. Nobody in New Bark Town save maybe Professor Elm and his assistants would be awake at this time. Ethan flicked a nearby wall switch, and both teens breathed a sigh of relief when the hallway lights came to life.
"Okay, let's move."
"Right."
Two apprehensive teens and one confused Fire-type Pokemon slowly tromped down the stairs. At the landing, Ethan also turned on the lights. He repeated this for all the other rooms they were about to enter and search.
"...The windows are securely locked," Lyra said a moment later. They had gone into the living room first to check the windows and door to the backyard, but there were no signs of disturbance. Ditto for all the other windows and possible passages in the house. They had also checked inside the cabinets and closets for anyone who might've been hiding from them. "Ethan, is there any other window or door the guy could've snuck in through, or some tiny space he could be hiding in?"
"No. We've checked everything." Ethan paused. "Except my own room, I suppose."
"We can't call the police like this. We don't have enough proof..."
"Why don't you take a break in the living room with Typhlosion? I'll go back upstairs and check my bedroom again. Maybe we overlooked something." He was already leaving even as he made that suggestion.
"Ethan, be careful!"
"Will do!"
Once Ethan had gone, Lyra sank back into one of the plush couches and took a deep breath.
She had been sitting for exactly four seconds before she remembered something.
"I left my Pokegear down here with Ethan's to charge it, didn't I?"
It was still plugged into the wall socket, right where she'd left it. At the very least, if somebody had indeed broken into the house, he wasn't a thief.
Seeing that it was fully charged, she unplugged the Pokegear and flipped it open. All of her contacts sprang up in an alphabetically arranged list with the sole exception of her mom, who was listed right at the top for convenience. The time was 5:21am.
...Yes, she couldn't call the police like this, so what should she do? Both the card and the note had said, 'Find me', but nothing else. It wasn't as if she could just go out and find this person... not without a clue. Indeed, why her? Why was Lyra contacted? And why did this person want Lyra to find them?
Were they in trouble?
Or was it some other reason?
Did she want to find them?
As Lyra's mind raced, she had been absentmindedly flicking through her contacts one by one so when her Pokegear rang, it startled her so badly she'd nearly dropped it to the floor. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the name 'Lance' on the in-coming call screen, and she hurriedly pressed the receive button.
"H-hello? Lance?"
"Good morning, Lyra," The Dragon Tamer greeted her good-naturedly from the other end. "Did you just wake up? I promised I'd call you, so here I am."
Her earlier concerns were already melting away at the sound of his voice, with something sweet taking its place. She was now feeling positively pink!
"H-huh? Oh yeah, right! I- uh- I have been awake for some time now, ahahaha!" She mentally slapped herself for sounding so pathetic. Keep it together, girl! But... damn, son, she couldn't help it! She just couldn't believe Lance was really talking to her right now! In all honesty, this was the first time she'd ever heard his voice on the phone, and now it sounded as if he was actually right close by, speaking directly into her ear... she definitely wouldn't mind getting used to this-
"You sound a bit strange. Are you still feeling up to the exhibition tournament at Battle Tower today?" There was a lot of excited chatter in the background - Lance was probably already at the tower, early bird that he was.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine!" She assured him, unconsciously loosening her grip on the infernal white box she had been holding onto this whole time. It clattered to the floor.
"Oops!"
She reached down to retrieve it... and all of a sudden, she remembered that Ethan had gone upstairs to search his bedroom for any other signs of a break in. He was taking an unusually long time, wasn't he? Maybe she should check up on him to make sure-
"Lyra, are you still there? Did I call at a bad time?"
"No, no... not at a bad time."
She silently read the white card's message to herself again.
Find me.
The note inside the white cardboard box was a similar sounding message:
Find me, Lyra.
"...Lyra?"
"Lance, can I ask you a hypothetical question? What would you do if you suddenly got a card addressed to you from an unknown sender?"
She hadn't meant to ask him...! These days, Lance had been her mentor of sorts, patiently guiding her as she prepared to take on the role of Indigo League Champion. She would forever be grateful to him for everything he had done, but she also wanted to be able to at least handle her own problems; Ethan getting involved in this particular mystery was inevitable, but it was her own fault for blabbing to Lance right now.
And now that she was asking him, she couldn't seem to muster the strength to stop.
The background noise on the other end seemed to die down slowly - he was probably moving to a quieter location. "I suppose - hypothetically - it would depend on what was written on the card. Can you give me an example?"
"...'Find me'."
She heard him take a deep breath. "...Hypothetical situations are usually based on actual occuring events, aren't they? Lyra, what's happening? Did you get a card?" His voice was so gentle and concerned it made her want to cry.
"...Yes."
"Is this the first one? Or have you gotten any others?"
"I found both of them this morning, not too long ago."
"'Both of them'? So there are two?" Lance's voice was changing again. Now it was troubled. "Where are you now? Have you told anyone else yet?"
"Ethan knows. I stayed over at his house, so we sort of found them together at the same time."
"Okay. Sit tight. I'll be there as soon as I can." It was a promise, and Lyra knew it. In fact, if she weren't mistaken Lance's Dragonite was growling energetically in the background. Was he already preparing to fly...?!
"Wait, hold on! You don't need to come over! I'll just go ahead and meet you at Battle Tower!" Lyra protested. Not that she was protesting to the idea of Lance coming to her rescue - she just didn't think he would be convinced to quickly and so easily to come flying over all the way to New Bark Town.
"I think it would be best if you stayed with Ethan for the time being," Lance explained. "You sound really worried over the phone right now - and there aren't a lot of things that can shake a Trainer like you, Lyra. Besides, I want to come over."
"A-alright."
"Wait for me."
And with those words, he hung up.
Lyra stared at her Pokegear silently, unable to think properly for a few seconds.
Lance the Dragon Tamer was now on his way to New Bark Town to meet her. She felt kind of bad for pulling him away from the exhibition tournament, but at the same time she felt so relieved.
When it came to crime, mystery and intrigue Lance was probably the best person she could ask for help. Heck, when she first met him he was already deeply embroiled in the Lake of Rage experimentation Team Rocket was doing, and they had ended up working together to infiltrate the old ninja hideout and save the Magikarp. It also helped that he was the Indigo League Champion - soon to be ex-Champion that is, but still. If anyone had the experience and the resources to help her figure out what was going on it would be him.
In a way, he was even better than the police-
"Lyra, I heard you talking from upstairs. Were you on your pokegear?" Ethan had finally returned to the living room. He plopped down next to Lyra on the couch with the wooden baseball bat still in his hands. He was looking pretty beat.
"Yeah. I was talking to Lance."
"To Lance, huh? Are you still going to Battle Tower? What did you guys talk about?"
"Lance is coming to New Bark Town."
"Wait, what?" Ethan blinked at her. "Why?"
Lyra looked down at her hands. "I... I kind of told him what happened. He thinks it's serious enough to warrant a visit."
"Well, there you go! All of our problems are solved!"
"Huh?"
"C'mon, Ly, think about it! Lance is still the Pokemon Champion! If he tells the police what happened in our place it's as good as solid evidence of a break in!"
"You think?"
"His reputation is impeccable. Who wouldn't listen to him?"
"Ethan-" she grabbed his arm. "-To tell you the truth, I'm kind of hoping he'll somehow prove that this is all some kind of practical joke, or something. And that we were overreacting all along. Because what if this were the 'real deal'? What would we do then?"
He smiled at her reassuringly. "I'm sure Lance wouldn't let anything happen to you, don't worry."
"Me?" Lyra repeated, narrowing her eyes. "What about you?"
Ethan looked away for a second, looking as if he were debating something with himself, but then in the next moment he turned back to Lyra. "Ly, if that second message we found is anything to go by... the person who is getting targeted here is you."
His words seemed to turn her blood to ice.
"I mean, if it specifically mentioned your name, this psycho obviously knows exactly who you are."
"Ethan-"
"Wait, let me finish." He took a deep breath. "I double-checked everything in my bedroom. There were no signs of a break in."
"But... but if that's true... how did he get in? Did he walk right through the walls?"
He shrugged helplessly. "...He used a key and entered through the front door? That's the only plausible way I can think of right now."
This was getting worse and worse. Whoever it was who left the card and the note was obviously really good at breaking into people's homes. That meant, even if Lyra ignored the messages completely, the perp could just leave her some more messages. And if she continued to ignore them, what would happen to her-?
"Hey, Ly?"
"What?"
"I think you should change out of your PJs now since, y'know, Lance the Dragon Tamer will soon be arriving at my humble abode. Unless you want to show him."
Lance knocked on the door at exactly 5:47am.
"It was quite windy today, so I couldn't make Dragonite go any faster. I apologize."
Something darted past the forefront of her mind and vanished before she could make sense of it. There was something about this situation... it was probably her nerves. "No, it's alright. I'm sorry for imposing on you," Lyra told him.
He smiled, giving her a great view of his perfect white teeth and her stomach did flip-flops at the sight. "You, Lyra? Imposing? Never."
She couldn't help but smile back as she scrambled for something intelligent to say. "I... I-"
"Guys, can you come inside? New Bark is just like other small towns - news and gossip spread faster than a wildfire. I'd never hear the end of it from my dad and my neighbors if they caught you outside flirting," Ethan quipped pleasantly from the living room.
Lance blushed at the same time as Lyra. "Sorry. Thank you for having me."
It took only a moment for the Dragon Tamer to settle down in the living room. "Lyra, I'd like you to tell me everything. Don't leave out any details."
And so, with Ethan's help, Lyra recounted everything that had transpired: The strange doorbell ringing, Lyra finding the white card, Lyra finding the white cardboard box in Ethan's room not long after, and how the two of them looked around in vain for signs of a break in.
"Here is the card, and the box I found in Ethan's bedroom."
Lance studied the writing on the card for a moment before shifting his attention to the box. "So I'm guessing this paper here is the note... okay, it is. But what is this?" He asked, studying the little black cube under some light. "It doesn't feel like plastic or stone... some kind of opaque glass? Or crystal?"
"It was inside the cardboard box alongside the note," Lyra supplied.
"This cube kind of reminds me of Pokemon evolution items, only much smaller. If you found it with the note inside the box, then I think you should keep it for now. It might be important later on."
"Huh?"
"You plan to obey the messages and find this person, right?" Lance stared into her eyes. "I know you won't ignore them."
"Wait, seriously?!" Ethan exclaimed. "You can't just go off and hunt this creep down! You'd be doing exactly like he asks! You'd be his puppet!"
"Lance is right; I wasn't planning on ignoring them," Lyra stated calmly. "But I don't exactly have any leads right now, so I can't start looking for him easily, either."
"What were you planning to do?" Ethan asked suspiciously.
"Wait for another message," she admitted. "I mean, 'Find me' and 'Find me Lyra' aren't exactly enough to go on."
"True..."
Lance looked over the card and the note once again. "Lyra, tell me again how you found the white box?"
"But I already told you."
"It's alright. I really don't mind hearing it again."
"Well... as I've already said before, I couldn't help but think what a huge coincedence it was that the name of the song Ethan was currently obssessing over matched the words of the card I found at the front door. And I suddenly had this idea to check inside the CD case... of course, I didn't find anything. So I tried to put back the case, and ended up knocking over Ethan's hat, and while I was trying to get it back I remember thinking how ironic it was how the area around the speakers were clean, and-"
"Why would you think that?"
"Eh?" Lyra blinked at Lance's sudden interruption, but answered him anyways, "Well, it was wiped clean. There wasn't a speck of dust on the speakers... and the area around the speakers. Ethan is one of the laziest guys I've known, and cleaning is not his forte..."
"Do you think I cleaned the speakers?" Ethan chuckled. "You flatter me, Ly."
"If you don't mind... can I take a look?" Lance asked the younger male.
When Ethan hesitated, Lyra put a hand on his arm. "It's okay, I know we can trust Lance."
"...I got it," he relented at last. "I'll let you look, Lance."
"Thank you."
The three of them (plus Typhlosion, who was still hanging around outside his Pokeball) made their way up the stairs and into Ethan's bedroom.
"So you both slept here last night?"
"Yup."
"And you didn't notice anything out of the ordinary? Anything at all?" Lance probed.
Both teens shook their heads.
"So... are those the speakers you mentioned, Lyra?" Lance moved closer to Ethan's prized stereo and equipment without waiting for an answer. Lyra and Ethan followed close behind. The Dragon Tamer stopped just a foot away, stared the black speakers up and down, and studied the floor in its immediate radius. At last he said, "Lyra is right. Compared to the other surfaces in this bedroom, this part is very clean. It's safe to assume the police won't be lifting any prints from this area, even with their special dusting powder... except maybe Lyra's."
Ethan crossed his arms. "Why do you say that?"
"The culprit must've wiped down the entire area to remove his prints," Lyra said suddenly as the realization dawned on her. "The only fingerprints the police will find will be my own, because I just touched it."
"That's correct." Lance turned around and gave Lyra a grave look. "...If you didn't wipe the speakers yourself... and Ethan didn't, either... then there is only one other explanation. This so-called culprit truly did come in from outside and sneak into the bedroom. While you were asleep."
The room was as quiet as a tomb as Lyra tried to absorb this revelation. Also, there was that nagging feeling again-
"...If the speakers were wiped yesterday morning, or even before that, there should've been a fine layer of dust covering the surface of the speakers right now. Unless you've wiped them down yourself when you came to this room a second time, Ethan?"
Ethan shook his head. "I have no reason to clean up anything in my room. As Lyra already told you, it would take a lot of force to get me to."
"So there we have it, then," Lance concluded. "Ethan, I would recommend you inform your parents about what has transpired here, and to urge them to get better security. Maybe get grills for your windows?"
The younger male nodded mutely. Lance turned around and started slowly walking around the room, his eyes taking in every detail. He was probably looking for more possible evidence of the break-in.
Ethan gave Lyra a shaky smile and excused himself to the hallway to call his parents, closing the door behind him. Not knowing what to do, Lyra watched Lance catalogue the bedroom like it were a crime scene.
...In a way, it was a crime scene. Lance made the perfect pseudo-detective. Lyra was the victim. Ethan was the unreliable yet only witness so far. All that lacked were the yellow police tape... and a list of suspects.
But in all honesty, Lyra wasn't completely worried anymore. Maybe it was because Lance was here? But for some reason, she felt that in the end everything would be alright.
"Lyra, what is this poster?" Lance asked suddenly, his voice betraying his interest. He was staring down at the half-unfurled poster that had bonked Ethan over the head earlier when she had helped him close his too-full-of-junk closet.
"It's a poster of Ethan's favorite band, Boyce Avenue... I think."
"Hmm..."
"What's up?"
"According to the poster, this band will be holding a concert in Goldenrod City today, at 1pm," the redhead mused aloud.
Lyra patiently waited for him to make his point. He never did. Instead, he asked her another question.
"Lyra, what do you think about the card and the note you've found?"
"...They were written by the same person, and they both say 'Find me'?"
"Not quite. The note that was inside the white box said 'Find me, Lyra'."
Lance stared at her, as if waiting for her to come up with the answer. But she still couldn't see what he was trying to get at.
"You found the card first, am I right? Did you immediately assume it was for you, Lyra?"
"Of course I did-"
No, wait. That was wrong.
"-Actually, I thought it was for Ethan," she admitted. "Because..."
"Because?"
"Because this is his house," Lyra said at last. "His house, his front door. So I automatically thought it was for Ethan... from a secret admirer... because it's Valentines Day today."
"And it was only when you found the white box hidden behind the speakers did you and Ethan begin to think that the messages were for you."
"Yeah... that sounds about right."
"Are you seeing the problem here?" Lance stepped closer to Lyra until he was standing right in front of her. When she shook her head, he gave her a mysterious smile. "Based on what you've told me, you were obviously meant to find the card that said 'Find me' at the front door first, and the white box with the note that said 'Find me, Lyra' behind the speakers second. The problem here is 'why'. Why didn't the secret sender write 'Find me, Lyra' beforehand? Why did he make it so that 'Find me, Lyra' was the second message? Why didn't he just state outright that you were the one he was trying to reach?"
Now that... was a good question. Lyra had never thought of it that way before. Indeed, the sender could've simply identified who he was trying to contact instead of letting them think it was somebody else... which meant, the sender definitely made this move on purpose. But what was he trying to accomplish?
When Lyra looked at Lance, he was still smiling at her. It was kind of aggravating.
If he already knew the answer, why wasn't he telling her?!
Lyra looked away and glanced restlessly around the bedroom. Her eyes fell to the Boyce Avenue poster on the floor.
A concert at Goldenrod, huh? Ethan would probably be heading over there in the afternoon...
...
...
The reason why she ever found that damn white box in the first place was because she had fooled around in front of the stereo. She turned down the volume because it annoyed her... she thought it was a funny coincedence that the words in the card matched the name of the song... and she ended up knocking over Ethan's hat-
Find Me, a song by Boyce Avenue.
"...!"
...No. There is just no way! The idea her brain had come up with was just too farfetched! Who in their right mind would even attempt to pull something like this?!
"So, it looks like you've come to a conclusion." Lance's tone was encouraging. "Let's hear it."
This is insane!
"...The reason why the sender didn't write 'Find me, Lyra' first... wasn't only because he wanted to make sure that I found the white cardboard box behind the speakers," she began slowly, carefully watching Lance for his reaction. "He wanted me to notice something else, too."
"And what is it exactly that he wanted you to notice?"
"...The song, Find Me, by the band Boyce Avenue. Rather, he wanted me to notice the band in particular," Lyra continued, her voice growing more confident as she spoke. "It's a really clever play on words. He's telling me, 'Go to Goldenrod City, Lyra... find me at the Boyce Avenue concert.' That's the secret message."
"That is also the conclusion I have come up with," Lance said approvingly. There was this twinkle in his eye that seemed to draw Lyra right in; it and his obvious boyish excitement at her deductions nearly made her swoon. "Except for one tiny difference. I believe this person isn't telling you to attend the concert itself, only to go to the location in question."
"You mean, Goldenrod City in general?"
"No..." Lance turned around, bent down and picked up the poster off the floor. He held it up for Lyra to see, pointing at a certain spot with his free hand. "I mean The Golden Coliseum itself. The mysterious sender may be waiting for you at the Coliseum... or perhaps, you'll find another clue there."
So that's how it is! Amazing! If Lance weren't here to help her make sense of everything, she wouldn't have ever figured it out!
Without giving it a second thought, Lyra threw herself at the Dragon Master, her arms wrapping tightly around him.
"Oof-?!"
He was momentarily stunned by her sudden embrace, the poster dropping to the floor, but to Lyra's delight he returned the gesture, wrapping his arms and the folds of his cape around her, snug and warm.
"Thank you," she mumbled into his bodysuit. "I wouldn't have done this without you."
"Don't mention it... however... there is something else I need to make clear."
"...?"
His arms tightened protectively around her, and his voice became uneasy. "There is another problem."
Another problem? Just what could it be?
"Lyra, why didn't the sender leave the messages at your own house? Why did it have to be at this house, at Ethan's residence?"
That was fairly easy for the girl to answer. "Because I wasn't at home."
"And that's what worries me. This is even more proof that there was a break-in last night." Lance's voice lowered to a whisper. "This guy is watching you."
"?!"
"He doesn't just know your name, he knows where you live. And even now, he may be watching you very closely... How else would he have known that you weren't sleeping at home last night? That he would need to deliver his messages here, to this very room?"
"L-Lance..." He was really starting to scare her now. "I-I don't think this is as serious as you say! M-maybe it's just a really huge, elaborate Valentines Day prank!" She wished she would stop stuttering, as it wasn't making her sound very convincing.
"...I'm sorry for frightening you, Lyra. You needed to become aware of this fact." Lance pulled away slightly so he could look Lyra directly in the eyes for emphasis. "As long as he's watching you, nowhere is safe. I know I won't be able to stop you from chasing this perp down, so please promise me you'll always be careful."
"..."
"Lyra?"
"...I promise."
"Thank you." He went right back to hugging her. Lyra didn't resist, allowing herself to be pressed against his broad chest. "I'm so glad nothing happened to you," he whispered fiercely. "When I think of some strange intruder coming into this bedroom with both you and Ethan none the wiser, and his target is you... it makes me feel angry. Gut-sick. And murderous, even."
Were they really embracing each other right now? Was he really saying all of these make your nose bleed lines to her? It was taking every bit of Lyra's willpower not to squeal in absolute glee. In the name of all that is good and holy, please don't ever let it end!
As if to spite Lyra, the bedroom door slammed open, and Ethan strolled in excitedly.
"So have you guys figured out any- ohmygodIamsosorryIdidn'tmeantointerruptI'lljustbeoutsidedoingmyownthingnowokaybye!"
He backed out as quickly as he had come, slamming the door closed.
Lyra and Lance had separated from each other in that split second, blushing hotly and unable to look each other in the eyes.
Dammit, Ethan!
"So, you two will be heading off to Goldenrod now, and then what?" Ethan asked them a few minutes later.
Lance helped Lyra climb onto Dragonite's back before getting on himself, right behind her.
"I honestly don't know," Lyra replied after thinking it over. "I guess it all depends on whatever I find there."
"I can't believe you're skipping the tournament for this," said the boy with a shake of his head. "But I guess there is always a next year."
"Yeah..."
Lyra was pretty bummed out about it. There would definitely be a lot of strong Trainers at the tournament today. Cynthia from Sinnoh was also supposed to show up! As well as Steven Stone from Hoenn, and Alder from the faraway region of Unova! And Red had promised her he would show up at the Tower, too! Why did the exhibition tournament have to be held on Valentines Day, of all days?! Most importantly, why did this mysterious stalker of hers have to bother her on the much awaited day of hearts?! She was so looking forward to spending the day with Lance...
Well, in a way, they were still going to spend the day together, but Lyra could've come up with a hundred ideas that were more romantic than chasing an unknown person all over Johto... she hoped to God that Kanto wouldn't be part of the plans, either...
"Oh, and Lyra, you forgot this in my room."
"Huh?"
Ethan held out an envelope to her.
"...?"
"It's from me, not the psycho stalker, just in case you were wondering."
Lyra sighed with relief. "Good, because I don't think I'm mentally prepared for any more letters from him at this very moment. Was that all?"
"Yup! Take care you two! And Happy Valentines!"
Lance and Lyra returned the sentiments as Dragonite began its slow ascent into the air.
Ethan watched them zoom into the early morning sky until he couldn't see them anymore.
"I'll read this later."
Lyra tucked the letter into her handbag and replaced her hands on Dragonite's scales for balance.
"Hey, Lance?" She spoke over the roaring wind.
"Yes?" On the other hand, Lance had no need for shouting; he simply had to lean in close and speak directly in her ear in his normal voice, causing goosebumps to break out all over her skin from the pleasant, ticklish sensation.
"Thank you for agreeing to come with me!"
"It's no problem. No problem at all."
"I just don't get why Ethan didn't want to tag along; he's just as involved in this as we are."
"I'm not quite certain, either. But I'll be sure to thank him the next time I see him."
Lyra frowned, puzzled. "For what?"
The solid, muscled arms around her waist tightened. "It's nothing important."
SPINNING - 01
END
NEXT: WHAT WILL THEY FIND AT GOLDENROD CITY?