A/N: There's an important author's note about this story at the bottom of the page. For the time being, please enjoy this much overdue chapter...
"Yes, please do. You've embarrassed our good name enough."
Who was that?
Every head hear faces the far end of the clearing to see a bald, muscular man in a white suit and sunglasses – can he even see in this cave? - and two adults, a male and female, in bright red suits and sunglasses with, uh, interesting hair-styles emerge from another tunnel. But this isn't the most astonishing sight. No, what's more astonishing is the look of fear that has come across each of the Magikarp brother's faces.
"Our apologies, sir!" they cry as one, suddenly dropping to their knees and bowing their heads so low they're touching the ground.
"Who are they?" I ask Fennekin as the three newcomers approach, the guy in white looking down on the brothers, a scowl, as far as I can see past the sunglasses, on his face.
"They're Team Flare," Fennekin says, "the criminal organisation threatening the world."
Battle Lines (part two)
At this very moment, the only thing Team Flare are threatening are everyone's fashion sensibilities.
Though this isn't the time for jokes. The chamber has become tense after the arrival of these supposedly evil newcomers. Serena, Shauna and Korrina have gathered behind me – perhaps one of them has decided that I'd make a good human shield – with their PokeBalls at the ready, but I'm sure nobody really wants to battle again after the damage Equipe de Magikarp's Octillery dished out. Unless they have other Pokemon I'm not aware of, the battling responsibility would fall on me.
In that case, we may as well surrender right now.
"How long are you going to keep grovelling for?" baldie growls at the three bowing idiots. The three recoil as if they were struck by something, and hurry to their feet, muttering apologies all the while. The bald guy shakes his head and dismisses them with wave of his hand. "I'll deal with you later. Now leave."
Equipe de Magikarp didn't need a second invitation to bolt out of the chamber and into the network of tunnels, though Albert took the opportunity to leave a parting message.
"Our feud is not over, Calem! You have my word."
The bald guy and his two cronies take a step forward and stand up straight, with their chest baring proudly. Their leader – I'm assuming he's the leader – is tall enough to be able to look down on me. We stare at each other for a moment.
"I don't know what your business with those clowns was," he starts, "but I'd advise you to not meddle in Team Flare's affairs. We are much stronger than those three."
I don't respond and instead focus on mustering up as much apathy as possible. As the supposed-hero of this story, it would be my role to bravely stand up against these guys, to counter their confidence with my own bravado and then fight an epic battle that will drive them away. But let's be real. None of us knows what these guys are actually, except maybe Fennekin and he's told me nothing, and we aren't in a condition for another battle right now. It's best to try and avoid conflict altogether here.
The bald guy smirked, probably assuming that I'm too intimidated to say anything.
"Don't forget that kids who try to play with fire get burned. You have been warned."
Sounds like they're just full of hot air to me.
I would get my coat, but it's currently floating in a swamp back in the Santalune City gym.
Satisfied that he successfully put the scare in a bunch of kids, baldie shares a nod with his two cronies and three strut out of the chamber as if they've just done a good job or something. I feel the tension drain from my body, leaving behind a dull ache, and take a seat on the cool cave stone. I exhale deeply.
"That was only the beginning," Fennekin says, joining me at my side. His voice is grave, and his eyes are serious.
"They didn't look all that tough," Serena comments from my other side. Behind her, Korrina is currently becoming acquainted by Bulbasaur and his all-feeling vines, though doesn't appear to mind much going by her laughter, while Shauna looks between them and Serena with her brow furrowed.
"At the very least, for the super-threatening villains you said they, they certainly didn't look the part," I say. "What was with their hair?"
Serena nods her head in agreement. "I know, right? It was almost like they didn't want us to take them seriously." Then, she adds, "And why were they wearing sunglasses in a cave? What did that accomplish?"
"It's to make them look all dark and mysterious and stuff."
"Their appearance aside," Fennekin interjects, giving Serena and I an annoyed look, "their threat is very real. Those Equipe de Magikarp guys are on the bottom of the ladder, yet look at how much trouble they caused."
Here, he looks at me pointedly. He just had to go there, didn't he? Just when I was about ready to suppress that particular memory...
"I've been meaning to ask about that, actually," Serena says. "What the hell happened to you?"
"Stuff."
Serena stares at me for a moment, looking distinctly unimpressed at my answer. Once she determines that I'm not going to say anything more, she sighs. "Well, I guess I'll find out soon enough."
"When we return to town," I confirm. I turn my attention to Bulbasaur, who's now changed his target from Korrina to Shauna and is approaching her rather creepily. "What are you going to do now, Bulbasaur?"
Bulbasaur cocks his head to one side. "What do you mean?"
"I'm asking if you want to stay with me after... you know, everything," I say, feeling rather awkward.
"You seem to know a lot of pretty girls, so I'll stay."
Fennekin is aghast at that decision. "You're going to abandon your duty over human women?"
"Yeah," Bulbasaur says simply.
Fennekin's tries to say something, but all he can do is open and close his mouth. It's amusing to watch, really. Eventually, he settles on not saying anything at all and just shakes his head in disbelief.
"That settles that," I say. "I'm glad to have you on board, Bulbasaur."
As it happens, Bulbasaur isn't listening to my anymore, as he's returned his attention to Shauna and has successfully managed to wrap one of his vines around one of her bare thighs. Serena is trying to help out by pulling at the vine, but has found her waist ensnared by Bulbasaur's other vine. She sends a pleading look over at me, but I just shrug my shoulders. Not like he's going to touch anywhere really inappropriate. This isn't that type of story.
On that note, it's about time we got out of this cave. I could really do with some fresh air.
"Need some help?" Korrina asks, holding out a hand to me.
"I'm not that hurt." Nonetheless, I take her offered hand and allow her to pull me onto my feet. She does so with surprising strength, and I struggle to regain my footing. Makes me wonder why she didn't just take on Equipe de Magikarp herself.
"To be honest," she starts, "I really wasn't sure if you'd come or not, so I was a bit surprised when you did. I guess you're more heroic than you look."
I snort. "You're the only one who thinks that."
And really, what I did wasn't that heroic. It was more stupid than anything; the stupid actions of a moron backed into a corner with the desire to at least try and put some things right.
When we finally stepped out of Glittering Cave, it took a while for my eyes to adjust to the late afternoon sun that is only now beginning to set. As this area is right next to the Kalos coast, and we're currently perched upon one of the many sheer rockfaces that overlook the beeches, we would probably have a pretty spectacular view of the sun taking a dip in the ocean if we stuck around long enough.
Unfortunately, the need to press on and return to town meant we couldn't linger for too long. The path between Glittering Cave and Ambrette Town was officially known as Route 9, but from what I heard from the locals, it's also called Spikes Passage because of the thousands upon thousands of sharp, jagged rocks sticking out of the ground. That meant that, unless you had a Rhyhorn to ride on, there were very few safe passages between the cave and town. Attempting to walk this road during night time was a sure way to get yourself impaled by nature.
Fortunately, we got back to town without incident, and, after handing our Pokemon to Nurse Joy, went to the room that Korrina had rented at the Pokemon Centre. The look on some faces when I followed in after three girls was priceless.
The girls didn't waste much time in making themselves at home. Shauna immediately flopped down onto the bed and muttered something about needing a nice, long bath and good ten hours sleep, while Serena sat down wearily on the desk chair. Korrina, apparently still full of energy, decided to remain standing. Fennekin... he sodded off a while ago. I've no idea where he is now.
And me? I've gone for the carpet, leaning up against the wall at the back of the room. Really, as the guy with the bruised ribs and sore head, I should have been offered the bed or chair.
As I'm getting comfortable, three pairs of eyes turn to me, each one asking the same question. So I tell them what transpired in Parfum Palace; how I changed my mind about robbing the place, my subsequent "betraying" of Equipe de Magikarp and the retribution I received from them afterwards.
"So that's why they called you a traitor," Serena notes.
I nod. "For a group of petty criminals, they're sure big on gentlemanly conduct."
Though, thinking about it, there's nothing gentlemanly about wearing skin-tight clothing and waving your fish around in public.
"I don't get it, though," Shauna says. "If you weren't going to steal anything in the end, why did you even bother trying in the first place?"
"I don't know how much Serena has told you, but basically, I wanted to cause a big shock in the area by creating the illusion that a huge crime had happened there for the first time so that everyone could stop acting like robots." Shauna and Korrina look unsure at my explanation, but I carry on nonetheless. "Ultimately, whether I stole anything or not was irrelevant so long as people thought that someone had done it. In hindsight, I should have just let that someone be Equipe de Magikarp, but hey, we live and learn."
Serena snorts. "Sure, if you actually get to live. It was pretty shocking when Korrina dragged you all beaten like that. What happened to you?"
"I'd like to know, too. The explanation you gave me before wasn't very clear," Korrina adds.
"A Dragalge tried to kill me." The faces of the girls are incredulous. I don't think there's a way to explain this without it sounding completely and totally crazy. "It was one of the bastard's messengers – you know, like Fennekin and that Riolu you met – only he didn't like listening to humans and thought that offing me was a good way of getting back at his master, or something like that."
Shauna's face has become one of worry. "And where is this Dragalge now?"
The image of that hooded man I spoke to earlier appears in mind. "Someone caught it, as far as I know."
The small girl sighs in relief. "That's good. For a moment there, I thought I wouldn't be able to go swimming in the ocean."
I'm so glad to know that you've got your priorities straight, Shauna. A nice dip in the Kalos ocean is obviously of greater importance than mine, or anyone else's, well-being.
"Some beach time does sound good after the last couple of days," Serena says.
Serena and Shauna launch into an impromptu discussion about beach plans that I promptly tune out. I lean my head back against the wall and close my eyes, feeling the day's fatigue submerge my body. Right now, a good long sleep sounds good. After that... eh, I'll decide in the morning.
The following morning, I got out of bed around 6:30 and went out into the pleasantly mild Ambrette Town morning. My side is still sore, but my headache has cleared up nicely, and my body know longer feels like it's acting under ten times the normal rate of gravity. The sun has already risen, and people are already out and about, either commuting to their day jobs or getting in some morning exercise.
I stretch my arms above my head to work out some morning stiffness and then walk down down the path, past the Pokemon Centre and aquarium. Eventually I arrive at the edge of town, where a stone wall about knee height has been erected to guard people against the steep drop of rock towards the beech. A staircase leading down to the sands lies a few yards to the side.
Sitting on that wall, by complete coincidence, are the ever-lovable Fennekin and Riolu staring out into the ocean in silence. At the sound of my approach, Fennekin turns his head around. He narrows his eyes at me.
"What do you want?" he asks shortly.
"It's obvious, isn't it? We've still got some loose ends to tie up."
I take a seat on the wall on the other side of the staircase, and stare out into the ocean. The waves are calm; calm enough to disappoint the small group of surfers that are aimlessly paddling through the clear waters. I watch as one gingerly stands atop of his board, only to instantly lose his balance and, his arms flailing everywhere, fall into water.
"I don't have anything more to tell you that you don't already know," Fennekin says.
"You don't, but I'm sure Riolu the Hero over there does."
Riolu remains silent and attentive on something further down the beach. I follow his gaze and find Korrina and her Lucario jogging up and down the damp sand dunes. She spots us and waves energetically before continuing her running.
"What do you want to know?" Riolu says finally.
"Where'd you disappear to in Glittering Cave?"
"There was a researcher deeper in the cave that you were meant to protect from Team Flare, as per the script," he explains. "I was making sure he was okay, since you were otherwise occupied."
"If that was the case, why didn't you lead me there in the first place?"
The answer I get is silence, either because he doesn't know the answer or doesn't want to answer. It doesn't look like he's going to break that silence, either, and Fennekin won't answer for him, so I drop the issue.
"Where'd you get those injuries from?" I try. A close look at Riolu reveals that the cuts and bruises I spotted yesterday are still present.
"I got them while I carried out some justice," is all he says.
The silence returns. I sit there a while, sorting through all the information in my mind for anything I may need some clarification on before we go our separate ways again. The two messengers are keeping frustratingly tight-lipped, though at this point I shouldn't be expecting anything less.
My business with them done, I stand up off the wall and begin walking back to the Pokemon Centre.
"Calem," Fennekin says. I stop. "You're not going to change your mind, are you?"
"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to," I respond.
"I just wanted to confirm it so I could say this: you're our enemy now. We're not going to let you do as you please."
I wonder how long my list of enemies will be by the time this journey ends?
When I got back to the Pokemon Centre, I went straight into my room and did an inventory check. My bag, somehow containing infinite space, still contains my wallet, though its been emptied of its paltry sums, that useless pair of roller skates, some standard medical supplies such as a first-aid kit and potions, and a set of spare clothes. I take the opportunity to change out of my ruined shirt and dirty trousers.
The question now is: what next?
With that question in mind, I make my way to the cafeteria. Sitting around one of the many tables are Serena, Shauna and Korrina, each with their packed bags nearby, each tucking into a breakfast of toast, eggs and fresh orange juice. A breakfast that I, unfortunately, can no longer afford.
I pull up a chair, sit down on it and listen in on their conversation.
"...I'm going to go back to Shalour City now that I'm finished with my training," Korrina says. She picks up a slice of toast and takes a large chunk out of it.
"I'll be going to Cyllage City, since that's where the next gym is," Serena says, and then takes a sip of her orange juice.
"And I'm going with her!" Shauna adds.
"What about you?" Korrina asks me, seemingly acknowledging my presence for the first time since I arrived. Serena and Shauna are apparently too engrossed with their food to both doing the same.
I think over my answer. Despite recent events, the goal of ripping up this script and chucking the remains right into the bastard's face remains the same, and as a part of that I want to remove its influence on as many people as I can along the way. As for where there way is, it has to be towards Cyllage City and that second gym badge. I can't do much beyond that if I'm going to be prevented from leaving the city by that mysterious power.
"Cyllage City for me as well," I say. "Then Geosenge Town after that. The professor wants me to do something for him there."
"In that case, why don't we all go together?" Korrina suggests.
Serena and Shauna are on board with the idea. I am too, for the record, though my opinion probably doesn't matter much here. With no money and a shortage of supplies, the last I need to do is travel by myself. The smart thing to do would be to leech off other people, at least far as the next town.
After the girls finish up the remainder of their breakfast, we took our Pokemon back from the Nurse Joy at the counter and did a final bag check before heading out into town and towards the exit leading to Route 8. As we walk, Serena falls into step alongside me.
"You're not planning anything crazy, are you?" she asks me, suspicion plain on her face.
"Not right now I don't."
She regards me wearily. "I'd rather there not be a next time, but next time, warn me when you're about to do something stupid."
"Will do. We are working together, after all... right?"
"Right."
Serena catches up to the other two girls, leaving me trailing behind a few steps. She may not want anything weird to happen again, but with the way things have developed over the last couple of days, it's inevitable that something will.
Team Flare are now at large. They didn't look too threatening back in the cave but if they're going to be playing a big role in this script there's little doubt we'll be seeing them again.
If they're going to show up, then I'm sure Equipe de Magikarp will show up as well.
Then there's the dynamic duo of Fennekin and Riolu who have labelled me as an enemy.
And then there's me; me and my creepy, perverted Bulbasaur. What could possibly go wrong?
A/N: It really doesn't feel like it's been a year since I've updated this story, but, unfortunately, it has been that long. To those who followed and reviewed this story: thank you very much for the comments and the support.
The reasons for that are straightforward enough. This was a project I lost interest in around the time I posted the previous chapter, and so I planned to step away from it for a little while and then return to it with a fresh approach. It just so happened that, around the same time, I was in the middle of wrapping up my A Levels, and then after that I was preparing for university, then before too long I was at uni studying for my degree. I actually wasn't that busy during that time, and could have written more I had the desire to, but here's the thing: I lost the desire. Other things took priority, and before too long this story left my mind entirely.
A recent review brought it to my attention again, right when I was going through a bit of a Pokemon binge. I reread what I had produced, and thought "hey, this wasn't that terrible". So I decided to continue it, as part of my writing practice during my time off from uni. That's where this update comes from.
At this point, my intention is to re-write everything I have so far, because it needs one. The story as a whole is lacking in vital detail, the world building is shoddy, there are inconsistencies with the plot and characters, and the present-first person doesn't sit right with me.
While I do that, I will endeavor to continue to release new chapters for this, and attempt to finish what I started.