Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
A Call to Dad
The sun was now hidden behind dark storm clouds, cloaking the area with cold air. Norman couldn't help that he was shivering; the mountains were unforgiving and deadly, even in the summer. The wind blew so strongly that he was nearly blow off course several times. The first snowflakes were beginning to fall, twinkling softly.
Norman stopped and focused his eyes ahead. The mountains parted to reveal the glistening sea, looking beautiful as the snow cascaded down. The sea was still a few days' journey away, and with the snow, it could even be longer. The Gym Leader didn't even know if he would make it; he knew very well that his journey was perilous. Even so, he knew that it must be continued for the sake of Hoenn.
He resumed climbing on the rocky outcrop that sliced its way through the misty mountains. The snow was falling more heavily and began to coat the ground in a large white blanket. Snow already dusted his hair and his sleeves, yet he made no attempt to brush it off. He was focused solely on his quest.
His progress was very slow. Very soon the snow covered the ground like a sheet and its fall would not be lifted. The snow made it harder for Norman to trudge through and even though his spirit was hampered, he would not give up, not for anything.
No. This journey is a life-or-death quest, and as long as it means that Hoenn will live in peace, he would be willing to sacrifice anything.
Norman then stopped and looked up into the snowy sky. A large green figure was flying through the clouds, weaving in and out of them with grace at alarming speed. He rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. The figure was still there, soaring high above his head.
The Gym Leader smiled to himself knowingly.
--
Steph and Brendan found the man inside the giant church-like building. The building appeared to be called the "Devon Corporation", as Steph could see by reading the sign that hung for all to see above the building's entrance. Inside, the building was high-tech. There were many people busy at work on computers. Steph made positive that she made no noise and held Dewdano close to her chest. Brendan crept along, and Steph could tell he was trying not to distract the people at the computers. Some of them looked up at the children with distaste or wonderment, but Steph held her head high and took no notice.
The Devon man led them into a wide, spacious room. A huge black conference table sat in the very center of the room. A few luscious black leather couches were scattered about. At the head of the room there was a smaller work desk that resembled the table in the middle of the room. A middle-aged man sat at the table, his eyes twinkling at the sight of the two children. The worker led Brendan and Steph over to the desk and stood a few paces back. The man at the desk cleared his throat and addressed the two travelers in front of him.
"I am the Chairman of Devon Corporation," he said, taking Steph and Brendan in. His eyes drifted to Steph's feet and his face became tinged with surprise. "I made those Running Shoes of yours."
Steph nodded with a semi-bored look and Brendan said nothing, looking at his own shoes to see if they resembled his neighbor's. The Chairman sighed and drew something out of his suit pocket. Steph gasped and Brendan's eyes became wide as he put two strange devices on the desk. One was red and the other blue. They resembled small hand-held computers, with screens at the top.
"I would like to present you with these Pokénavs," the Chairman said, gesturing to the devices on his desk. "They are very useful to a trainer. They have maps and you can check your Pokémon's contest conditions with them. Go ahead, take one," he added, noticing that Steph and Brendan weren't budging. "You saved my goods, after all."
Steph nodded and took the red one, while Brendan took the blue one. Steph looked up with gratitude and nodded. "Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman!" Brendan shook his head in agreement.
"Oh! I almost forgot," the Chairman exclaimed. He reached into his suit pocket and drew out an envelope and a sealed box. He handed them to Steph, who looked confused. "Deliver the letter to a man named Steven, who is staying in Dewford Town. The box goes to Captain Stern who lives in Slateport City. If you do as I say, I will reward you yet again."
Steph set Dewdano on the ground and stashed the parcel and the letter inside her pack. Brendan immediately looked at his Pokénav and after a few moments he looked up with worry.
"Dewford and Slateport are a long way from here," he said sadly, turning to Steph. "How will we get there?"
Steph checked her Pokénav map, puzzled. All the way at the bottom left corner stood Dewford Town. It was on an island, and the quickest way to get there was the sea route by Petalburg City.
"We have to travel by sea to get there," Brendan sighed. He stood still for a minute and then he had an idea. "I know! I bet Mr. Briney could take us there!" Brendan's face was alive with excitement at the idea.
"Yeah! That's right," Steph said, nodding with approval. "We should go ask him tomorrow!"
"Yes," Brendan said, stashing his Pokénav into his backpack.
--
When Steph and Brendan reached the exit to the Devon Corporation building, a man dressed in Devon attire approached them, smiling.
"I've just developed a new feature for Pokénav," he said, drawing some kind of mechanical part out of his pocket. "May I see your Pokénavs?"
Steph and Brendan glanced at each other, as if to say, Should we trust this man? But Steph took action first and handed her red Pokénav. The man turned his back to the companions and Steph heard a few clicking noises before the man turned back. He handed Steph her Pokénav and took Brendan's, who looked unsure.
After returning Brendan's Pokénav, the man smiled again. "I added a feature where you can call trainers from your Pokénav," he explained. "See, the Devon Chairman has already been added. You can try it out and give him a call."
"Okay…" Steph said while she navigated her Pokénav to the new feature. The call lost was empty except for the Chairman. Steph used the touch screen to hit the "Call" button, and then she put the Pokénav up to her ear.
"Oh, Steph!" a voice exclaimed on the other end. Steph recognized it right away as the Chairman's deep voice.
"Hi, Mr. Chairman," Steph answered awkwardly. She wasn't sure what to say next. She paused for a few moments, lost in thought, until an idea hit her.
Steph cleared her throat and pressed her mouth closer to the bottom end of the Pokénav. "Do you happen to know a man named Norman? I need his phone number to put into my Pokénav." Brendan shuffled his feet uncomfortably.
"Norman? I don't know what he'd want with a child such as you, but…" the Chairman replied, sounding confused. He read out Steph's father's number and she hurriedly added them into her Pokénav.
"Thank you kindly, sir," Steph said with a trace of loss in her voice. The Chairman mumbled something that she couldn't hear and then, without a care about what he said, pressed the "End" button on her Pokénav.
She turned to Brendan, whose confused look was now replaced with one of interest. "I need to make a phone call to my father," she explained. "You can go wait somewhere. I'll be over by that tree."
Brendan glanced in the direction in which she was pointing, drawing out a pair of glasses with black frames. He was nearsighted and often had problems seeing things that were far away. He put them on his face and discovered that he could see much more clearly. A huge oak tree with leafy branches spread abroad stood in a grassy patch, offering abundant shade. "Okay. I'll be waiting," he lied. Brendan hated to lie, but he needed to find out what his neighbor was keeping from him. Steph nodded vigorously and ran over to the oak tree with Dewdano on her shoulder.
Brendan waited until she was out of sight and stashed his glasses back into his yellow traveling bag. He was grateful for his dark clothing and stealthily hid behind the building that was behind him. Steph was only a few paces away, her voice sounding anxious and upset as she chattered away.
Brendan squinted his eyes in the fainting sunlight and crept slowly to the tall tree that sat prominently beside the oak tree that Steph was under. He crouched down low and hid himself beneath the ample shade and strained to hear what she was saying.
"Dad, where are you? Tell me!" Steph's voice had traces of worry in it. Then Steph paused as she listened to the response. She trembled and then yelled into the Pokénav, "Why are you keeping a secret from me?"
Brendan flinched at her tone. He couldn't imagine what she was talking about or why she was talking to her father in such a voice. He moved steadily closer until he could almost reach out his hand and touch Steph's tree.
"What do you mean, you're at the Gym? You weren't there the other day! You…didn't even take the test, now that my memory's coming back to me," Steph yelled, shaking with rage. Brendan had to try very hard to stifle a large gasp. Her father's not at the Gym? Didn't he take the test? Brendan's head swam with thoughts and felt pity for his neighbor, whose father kept secrets from her. Steph's face was reddened with anger as she listened to her father's furious voice. His voice was so loud that Brendan could hear it, although he couldn't make out what he was saying.
"I WILL come looking for you!" Steph hollered. She then drew back in shock and Dewdano flinched as they heard a sonorous cracking noise on the other end. Then the line went dead. She started to brush her eyes and her neighbor knew that she was about to cry.
Brendan drew in a sharp intake of breath and before Steph could see, he made a silent dash to the spot where he was before: in front of a dark gray building. Not even a few heartbeats later, Steph came to stand next to him, trying her hardest not to show that she was upset.
"Okay," she sighed, leaning against the building. "I have something I need to do. You can come with me if you want, because we're still headed for Dewford and Slateport, but I have to warn you: I wouldn't want you to get caught in it." Steph's voice was heavy with anxiety and Brendan scratched his head, as if he had no idea what was going on.
After a few moments, Brendan turned to his companion. "I'll go wherever you go," he answered. He immediately knew that Steph would mock him for such a feeling answer, but she remained silent. She slowly sat down on the grass with Dewdano next to her and sighed again.
"Let's get some sleep," she mumbled. Brendan lay down beside her and glanced up at the darkening sky. He thought he saw something, a dark figure perhaps, racing in the blood-red clouds above. But then he blinked and it was gone, as if it were just his imagination. He closed his eyes and tuned his ears to Steph's shuffling. I guess she's so worked up that she can't sleep, he thought as his heartbeat began to slow and he was plunged into a dark dream…
He found himself clasping onto a slippery, ocean-sprayed rock. Above him he could hear angry voices and could feel the rocky cliff shaking above him. A startled cry resonated, bouncing off the ocean itself, and a figure flew quickly past him, wailing in anger and shock. He reached out his hand to grasp the figure, but he lost his grip and fell with the other, and he could see a shadow of a person standing on the top of the cliff, shouting something that he couldn't hear…