Author's Note:
Hey guys! I'm probably not going to post a chapter next week because of Thanksgiving, I have plans and I don't think I'll have time to write a chapter. So sorry about that!
But here is this week's chapter, I hope you enjoy it! :)
Chapter 8: Skies and Rivers
Locke followed Lucinda's Staraptor on its flight, staying far back enough that the Staraptor wouldn't see Locke. It was an easy job, the Staraptor had no idea Locke was following it. That was what Locke believed anyway. One second the Staraptor was there, the next it had disappeared down into the forest. Locke cursed mentally (earning a distant chuckle from Sky who was following along in the back of her mind) and dove after the bird Pokémon.
Locke searched the forest, but the Staraptor was nowhere to be seen. Where did it go?
Let me see, Sky requested. Locke opened her mind and felt Sky's mind join with her own. In this way the two were able to share memories, mental skills, and, relevant to this instance, senses. Locke moved his head from side to side, giving Sky an overview of the situation. Sky's vision was limited to what Locke was looking at as she had no control of Locke's body. Their link was already strained by the distance as well, so they didn't feel as connected as they normally did. I don't see it anywhere either, Sky said finally.
Should I keep looking?
Don't bother. We're heading out for Hoenn so come on back. We'll figure this out some other time.
Locke turned away from the woods and veered back towards his partner. Her soul was like a guiding star, one that never went dark. Locke followed the call unerringly.
Lucinda's Staraptor waited for the Scyther to leave, then continued on its way through the woods. Lucinda was right, Sky was nosy.
The Staraptor flew, finally ending up in a town where it entered the window of a small, run down home. It dropped the bag, then flew back out, returning to its trainer.
Inside the house an older man picked up the money, a sad smile on his face. "I hope you're staying safe Luce," he mumbled softly as he went to put the money away.
The Garchomp had brought the four travelers safely to their destination of Olivine and they were now exploring the town. "So this is Olivine," Pecha mused. "I thought things would look different since we're in Johto now, but this looks basically the same as Sinnoh."
"The world is made of trees and Pokémon, no matter where you go," Zyra said, looking wise.
"Wow!" Nevin gasped. "That's so true!"
"It's also nonsense," Pecha muttered.
"What's that?" Nami wondered, looking at a group of people in the town square.
They seem to be listening to something, Yuki said.
"Let's go see," Zyra suggested, weaving her way through the buildings and wagons like they were a forest made of wood and stone. The others followed less gracefully.
Is seemed that most, if not all, the people in the town were at whatever gathering was occurring. Nami could faintly hear someone speaking, but the human wall blocked the sound too much to make out any words. Zyra waved at her from a rooftop and gestured for Nami to join her. Nami took the extended hand and managed to scramble up the side, which was much more difficult than Zyra made it look.
Nami gasped a bit after settling on the roof next to Zyra (Yuki got to float, lucky ghost). Once she'd caught her breath she looked at the center of the mass. There stood two people upon a small stage, one woman and one man. The man was rather tall and fit. He stood behind the woman, leaning against one of the supports on the platform appearing rather bored.
The woman was the one speaking. Nami could just make out short brown hair and a hint of golden rimmed glasses on her face.
"Join Nature's Guardians," the woman was saying. "The cities are full of pampered rich people who think they're better than we are just because they were born there, and we were born here. They take our resources! They take our money! They send the raiders here, they want us dead. Join us and we can stop them!"
"What is she going on about?" Pecha wondered from beside Nami, she and Nevin having at some point climbed onto the roof as well.
"I have no idea," Nami replied. "Everything she's saying is a lie. Well, except for people being born in the city being allowed to live there."
"Are you sure she is?" Zyra asked. "Wouldn't the cities be able to stop the raiders if they chose to? But they don't. Maybe they are the ones behind it."
"The cities are not behind it! Do you know how many raiders there are? It would be impossible to catch them all! That's why cities have walls. They keep the raiders out, but they don't stop crime. Our crime is just different."
"That doesn't change anything."
Nevin looked between the two girls, confused.
"Hey!" Pecha exclaimed. "Arguing gets us nowhere. But really Zyra, if the cities were behind the raiders don't you think they'd have guns rather than spears?"
"What's a gun?" Zyra asked.
"It's a weapon," Pecha replied. "It shoots small pieces of metal at people." Zyra cocked her head in confusion. "They're dangerous okay!"
"It sounds ridiculous," Zyra said. "Are you sure you're not making that up?"
"I've seen them on TV!" Nevin exclaimed, evidently excited to participate in the conversation.
"Really? So they are real," Zyra mused.
"So you believe him," Pecha grumbled.
"You told me that part of the city floats," Zyra replied. "I know that's made up."
"It isn't actually," Nami corrected. "The city is made up of an upper and lower level. The upper one floats."
"Now you're both trying to convince me that's real?"
"It is!" Pecha insisted.
"Will you shut up?" yelled an old lady in the crowd. She glared at them and lifted a potato, aiming it at their perch.
"Sorry!" Nami squeaked as she ducked and covered her head.
"We can talk if we want to!" Zyra declared.
"Uh, maybe we shouldn't pick a fight," Pecha suggested.
"Should I put her in my friendship journal?" Nevin wondered.
"You deviant youths!" the old lady screamed.
"Deviant?" Zyra repeated.
"Youths?" Pecha added.
The whole scene was drawing the crowds attention, and in turn, the notice of the people on the stage. "What's going on?" demanded the brown-haired woman.
"Those idiot kids won't shut up!" explained the potato lady.
"We're allowed to talk," Zyra said. "I won't be silenced!"
Why are we traveling with these people again? Nami wondered.
We have a lead on your brother now, Yuki replied encouragingly. Focus on that.
Right... Find Blake. Find Blake. The potato flying past her face broke her chant. The vegetable hit the roof with an audible thud and rolled down, falling off the room and landing on another villager's head.
"I think it's time we left," Pecha said.
"Good idea," Nami agreed as the villager who'd been hit turned to glare at them, murder in his eyes.
"I can take them!" Zyra exclaimed.
"I'm sure you can, all the same..." Pecha grabbed Zyra's arm and ran to the side of the roof opposite the crowded square. Nevin and Nami followed.
The four scrambled down to the ground and weaved through alleyways away from the square until all sounds of pursuit had faded. "That was fun!" Nevin exclaimed. "I'm going to add potato lady to my friendship journal!"
Pecha and Nami had both slipped to the ground, panting as Nevin sat and began scribbling in his notebook. Zyra stood completely at ease, as if she hadn't just been sprinting through an unfamiliar town.
"We should head out today," Zyra said. "It's still early we can make a good start on getting to this River person."
"Right..." Pecha gasped. "Which way is she Nevin?"
Nevin shrugged. "I need a map."
"So we'll go buy one," Nami replied.
"You go do that," Zyra said. "I'll go see if I can find some berries. We're getting low on food."
"Fine, meet us over by where the Garchomp dropped us," Pecha said. Zyra nodded and she and Darkfire slipped through the buildings and towards the open fields outside of town. Nami, Nevin and Pecha turned the other way, seeking out a place to procure a map.
Zyra and Darkfire walked along the bushes on the outskirts of town hunting for edible berries. So far they hadn't had much luck, Zhra blamed the proximity of the town. Berries didn't like civilization, they were a lot like Zyra in that way.
"What are you doing?"
Zyra spun around to find a girl staring at her curiously. She was short and quite young, though Zyra got the air of an adult off her. Plus she'd snuck up on Zyra, something that happened very infrequently.
"Looking for berries," Zyra replied, on her guard.
"Berries huh?" The girl replied curiously. "What for?"
"To eat. Who are you?"
"Me? The name's Sky Mayfly! Who're you?"
"...Zyra."
"Nice to meet you Zyra."
A Scyther appeared out from above and settled next to the small girl. The sight triggered a memory Zyra had. That memory was Pecha talking about a girl with a Scyther trying to kill her. Was it possible this was the same girl? They were so far from Zyra's forest by now it seemed unlikely, but Zyra knew something was off about this Sky girl.
I'd rather not find out what her deal is, Darkfire murmured. Let's go.
Zyra gave the mental equivalent of a nod and backed away saying, "Nice to meet you! Sorry but I have to meet my friends!" Sky's knife like smile was all the answer she got.
The girl, Zyra, seemed interesting so Sky followed her. She was waiting for Lucinda to make flight arrangements anyway, so Sky had nothing better to do. Sky tailed the girl into town where she met up with three other people, one of whom Sky vaguely recognized.
Who is that? She wondered as she stared at the blue-haired girl.
I don't know, Locke replied, sounding bored.
Hmmm. It wasn't until a Luxray took a place at the girl's side that Sky remembered. Right! She was that girl we attacked on the statue theft!
Oh yeah, she is isn't she?
Should we go say hi?
I have a feeling you're going to do that no matter what I say. Locke replied wearily.
Sky slipped down from her rooftop perch and into a crouch on the ground. She sauntered over to the four people and grinned at them. "Hi!" she said cheerily.
"Ah!" the blue haired girl squeaked, pointing at her and backing away. The Luxray began sparking and growled at her.
"You know her?" asked a girl with a Frosslass floating by her head.
"Her name's Sky," Zyra replied, though the question clearly hadn't been aimed at her. The sole male in the group appeared confused and was looking between the three girls.
"She tried to kill me!" the girl with the blue hair squealed.
"I did not," Sky said airily. "If I wanted you dead Blue you'd be dead. I did you a favor really!"
"How is trying to stab me doing me a favor?" The girl was standing her ground now which Sky grudgingly respected. She'd run like a little coward last time.
"Made you run faster didn't it?"
The girl's eyes narrowed at this and her gaze turned venomous.
"What are you doing Sky?" Lucinda wondered, looking at the standoff impassively.
"Talking with an old acquaintance."
Lucinda looked at blue hair more closely and asked, "Is that that girl you tried to kill on the road?"
"See! You did try to kill me!" blue hair exclaimed.
"I didn't! Not that I have anything against killing, I just don't want people thinking I failed to kill someone. The blow to my reputation would be huge!"
"Your reputation as what?" Zyra asked.
"An assassin of course!"
"You're an assassin?" The fancy black-haired girl said, horror in her tone.
"Indeed I am! Sky Mayfly, best assassin you'll find in the Republic."
"How could you know you're the best?" Zyra snorted.
"If there were anyone better they'd've killed me."
"It does seem likely," Lucinda agreed. "Assassins are not sociable people."
"Then why are you hanging out with her?" Zyra wondered.
"Can we stop making small talk with the assassin?" blue hair snapped. "We have someplace we need to be anyway!"
"Where you going?" Sky asked.
"We're going to see River Mayer!" the boy answered as blue hair yelled at him not to say anything.
"So you're going to Azalea then," Lucinda surmised.
"Azalea," the fancy girl repeated. "Is that where she lives?"
"You didn't know that?" Sky said. "How were you going to visit her if you didn't know where she lived?"
"We were going to find out!" Zyra countered.
Lucinda extended a hand to them. "I would like payment for my information."
"You already told us, why should we pay you?" blue hair said dryly.
"I can tell you how to get to Azalea," Lucinda replied.
"That could be useful," the boy agreed.
"Or we could go buy a map," blue hair disagreed. "I don't trust her." She pointed a finger at Sky who grinned at her. "Or anyone who travels with her. I'm going to need to verify anything they tell us before I'm willing to follow it."
"You know, you may have trust issues," Sky said. "You should get that checked out."
"I have issues trusting people who attack me yes!"
"If you know something I'd like to hear it," the fancy girl cut in, placing a gold coin in Lucinda's waiting hand.
"Are you serious?" blue hair exploded.
"Azalea is down that road," Lucinda explained. "You'll have to go through New Bark town and its the one after that. River lives in a mansion there, it's the only building that could possibly qualify. You won't miss it."
"Why are you telling them so much?" Sky complained.
"They paid me."
"Gah, money," Sky muttered.
Blue hair glared at the two, holding her bag defensively in front of her. As if that would help her. Just as Sky was contemplating actually attacking the girl with intent, Lucinda distracted her. "We need to leave now if we want to make it to Hoenn by nightfall."
"Fine," Sky replied. As she walked away she paused, then turned back. "What's your name anyway?" She asked the blue haired girl.
"...Pecha," she said finally.
"Okay berry girl, you'd better hope we never meet again. I'm not going to be as nice next time."
"Well I won't either," Pecha spat back. Sky raised her hand in a cheery wave, completely at odds with her previous statement, then darted after Lucinda.
"So she isn't your friend?" Nevin asked when Sky and Lucinda were out of sight.
"No! She attacked me!" Pecha replied.
"Maybe she had a reason."
"Some people are just bad," Pecha said. "They like hurting people and that's all the reason they need."
"Well Azalea is pretty close by," Nami said, looking at the map they'd bought earlier. "It should only take us a couple days to get there so it won't be too much of a loss if it turns out she was lying."
"Fine!" Pecha said, clearly still uneasy with the situation.
"Let's go through the woods!" Zyra suggested, pointing at a green splotch on the map between Azalea and Olivine.
"Uh," Nami said uncertainly.
"I'd rather not," Pecha added.
"Fine," Zyra sighed. "You all would probably just disturb the forest anyway."
The group walked (on the road, much to Zyra's displeasure) to Azalea. It took them a few days, but the journey was uneventful. Zyra kept sleeping in trees, Nevin added everyone they met to his journal, Nami asked about Blake and Pecha yelled at anyone who called her a berry. Business as usual. The group arrived in Azalea early in the day and sought out River's mansion.
There was only one place in town, as Lucinda had promised, that could possible be called a mansion. It was a large white building with a sign in front that read, 'Mayer Manor.'
"This looks like the place," Pecha said.
"It does?" Zyra said, her head cocked to the side curiously. "How can you tell?"
Pecha pointed at the sign.
"What's it say?"
"Can you not read?" Nami wondered.
"I can read!" Zyra protested. "But only small words. And only ones I need a lot. And simple sentences."
"In other words, no you can't," Pecha finished.
"I grew up in a forest!" Zyra said throwing her hands up in the air.
"It says Mayer Manor," Nevin explained helpfully.
"So do we knock or what?"
"What are you doing?" This came from a boy, dressed all in black, who was glaring at the four travelers.
"We want to see River," Pecha replied.
"Get out of my way," the man snarled.
"Why should we?" Zyra snapped. "We were here first!"
"Volke!" Yelled a girl's voice, coming from the direction of the manor. "Stop scaring away my customers!" Volke looked sulkily at the ground but remained silent. "Now what can I do for all of you?"
"You're River Mayer?" Nami asked.
"That's me," River confirmed.
"I was hoping you could help me find someone."
"Then please, come in." River gestured for the four travelers to join her and led the way inside the mansion. It was a huge place and Pecha couldn't even begin to estimate how much it would have cost. Whoever she was, River was extremely rich. The girl led them into a large sitting room. There was a luxurious fireplace (though it was unlit) and several plush chairs and couches settled around it haphazardly.
River settled herself into the largest, most decorative chair and motioned towards the other seats. Pecha selected one of the chairs and upon sitting down realized it was possibly the most comfortable thing she had ever sat on. Ever. She never wanted to leave.
Zap glared at her from her spot on the floor, clearly not wanting to hear Pecha's thoughts of how comfortable the chair she wasn't allowed to sit on was.
Zyra and Nevin both sat on a sofa while Nami chose the chair next to Pecha's.
"This is comfy!" Zyra exclaimed.
"These are great!" Nevin agreed. As Zyra bounced a bit, acting like a little kid, Nevin pulled out his friendship journal and began writing.
"What is he doing?" River wondered.
"That's his friendship journal," Nami explained.
"He writes about everyone he meets in there," Pecha added.
"They're all my friends!" Nevin said.
"Right..." River replied. "So you have yet to introduce yourselves."
"Sorry!" Pecha exclaimed. "I'm Pecha, that's Nami, Zyra and Nevin."
"Pecha like-"
"The berry," Nami and Zyra both finished. "Yes, we know," Zyra continued.
"Get that a lot do you?" Pecha's annoyed glare was the only response.
"I'm looking for my brother Blake Salem," Nami said, bringing the conversation to her request. "I want to hire you to find him."
"Alright," River said. "But I don't come cheap."
"I'm willing to pay what you ask."
"Two gold now," River said. "Just so I know you're serious about paying me. I'll get more when I find him."
"You're certainly confident," Zyra commented.
"I have resources," River replied. "Where are you from?"
"Nimbasa."
"Right, I'll see what I can find out. Feel free to stay here or go out on the town while I look into it."
River turned on her laptop. She hadn't had one to start out with. It had just been her wits and what little she could find at the scene. River was incredibly intelligent and she knew it. It wasn't bragging, it was simply a fact. Things that she could see clear as day, others just couldn't. They didn't see the patterns. They didn't see the truth, not the way she did.
When she was just staring out her career, she didn't have any of the resources she did now. It was just her, Mist and their wits. She'd begun solving crimes that had stumped the local police and slowly built up a reputation. After that, people started coming to her.
She was unsure at first, about all the attention, but as time went on she realized she loved it. River grew quickly bored without any puzzles to solve, having people seek her out to solve mysteries was certainly a way to keep boredom at bay. And boredom was the only reason to work now. She had become obscenely wealthy and would never have to work again if she so desired. River wasn't entirely sure what to do with all the money, so she'd bought a mansion, the one she was currently sitting in now. She soon discovered, however, that sitting in one place all the time made her bored again.
She'd travelled a bit, but in the end she just went back to work. Her laptop was a souvenir from a visit to one of the cities and a purchase she never regretted for a second. It gave her access to more puzzles after all, and puzzles were what she loved.
This was really why she helped Sky and Lucinda. River was not at all a proponent of assassins and their ilk, but to cross Sky Mayfly was asking to be killed. And if Sky didn't get the information from River she'd get it somewhere else. For River's well being and continued life, it was better to simply help. Luckily Sky and Lucinda tended to come to her with theft missions more than assassinations.
Most people, Sky and Lucinda included, came to River now, rather than the other way around and with the aid of her contacts and the Internet she didn't need to travel much anymore. Now she could discover most things from the comfort of her own living room. River had several contacts in the cities who helped her investigate, people like Kai Akiyama and Christopher Xanatos.
River was rather fond of Kai as the two had spent plenty of time discussing the ways they would take over the world if so inclined and River reached out to her now.
She clicked on the name, Akiyama and a window popped up. A prompt with her last name appeared and River began writing.
Mayer: Ever hear of a guy named Blake Salem?
Akiyama: Blake Salem? Really?
Mayer: It's what I wrote.
Akiyama: His name just came up during an investigation. Why do you want to know?
Mayer: His sister is looking for him. Have anything I should tell her?
Akiyama: Nothing she's going to want to hear. It's probable he's in hiding from a group called Nature's Guardians
Mayer: I've heard of them. What would a city kid have to do with them?
Akiyama: It looks like they've been threatening Pokésouls in the cities and forcing them to leave.
Mayer: Thanks Kai, next time I come around I'll buy you a coffee.
Akiyama: Wait! Ask his sister if she's ever been threatened by Nature's Guardians!
Mayer: Fine, fine. I'll tell you later.
Mayer signed off!
River closed the laptop and sighed. If he really was in hiding then finding him would be hard. She walked downstairs to tell Nami the bad news.
The four travelers were still in the living room, apparently basking in the comfort of River's furniture. Nami was the first to notice River's return. "Did you find him already?" Nami asked.
"Sorry," River replied, shaking her head. "It's looking like his disappearance was related the group called Nature's Guardians. Have you ever heard of them?"
"In Olivine we saw one of their speeches, but before that I'd never heard of them."
River nodded and said, "I think you should go to the Mage's guild."
"You can't help us?" Nami asked disappointedly.
"I'll keep looking, but if he is in hiding from Nature's Guardians it will take me a long time to find him. The Mage's Guild should be able to find him faster than me."
"So who are these Nature's Guardians people anyway?" Zyra wondered. "That speech we heard didn't give me much."
"They're a group protesting the division of the cities and the Outerlands," Nevin replied. "They're also generally against technologies that hurt the land."
"They don't sound so bad," Zyra mused.
"They weren't until lately," River said. "Some minor groups got pretty violent, but for the most part they helped people in the Outerlands. But they've been getting worse. They actually bombed one of the Lumiose plants a few days ago."
"What?" Nami gasped.
"They blew up a plant?" Zyra asked angrily. "Why would they do that?"
"I think you're thinking of living plants," Pecha said, coughing to cover her laugh.
"Of course I am, what other ones are there?"
"Power plants," Pecha explained. "They're buildings that provide power to the city."
"Why are they called plants?!" Pecha just shrugged.
"So where is the Mage's guild?" Pecha asked as Zyra muttered to herself about confusing technological words.
"That way," River replied, pointing somewhere to her left. The four travelers al leaned to look and found she was pointing at her wall.
"Uh..." Pecha said.
"Just go in a straight line that way and you'll get there."
"That sounds hard," Nevin said.
"Nah," Zyra scoffed. "That's easy! It's not like I had maps in the forest. I got this!"
"Wait!" River exclaimed before the wild girl could leave. "It was a joke! I have actual directions for you. Do any of you have a phone?"
"I do," Nami replied.
"If you give me your number I can send you the map." Nami rattled off a few digits that meant absolutely nothing to Zyra and River pressed a few buttons.
"Thank you," Nami said after checking her screen.
"You did pay me," River pointed out. "Be careful you guys, a lot of people have been getting assassinated lately."
"By Sky I'd imagine," Pecha grumbled.
"You know Sky?"
"You know Sky?"
"She's a client."
"You help her kill people?"
"No! I help her find them, but she'd find them even without my help. At least if she comes to me she doesn't torture anyone for information."
"So Sky really is an assassin?" Zyra said wonderingly.
"I told you," Pecha grumbled.
"You help Sky?" Nami repeated. "Why?"
"I don't have to explain myself to you," River said with a note of finality. "You should go on to the Mage's guild. If I find something I'll call you."
"Thanks," Nami said politely and the four travelers left, on their way to the Mage's Guild.
Zyra's Lessons in Civilization
The Mage's Guild
"So what is the Mage's Guild exactly?" Zyra wondered. "A place where a bunch of Mages hang out?"
"Basically," Nevin replied. "I've never been but I've met people who have. People do live there, but it's more a place to keep books than anything."
"Books," Zyra repeated sounding disappointed.
"Magic books," Nevin elaborated. "Traditionally Mages are really secretive about their spells, the guild is hoping to spread them around so more people can use more spells!"
"The cities can't be too happy about that," Nami noted.
Nevin shrugged. "I don't know. They haven't stopped them so far."
"So if the guild is actually a giant library how will that help us?" Zyra asked.
"There are Mages there and with all the spell books they have one of them should be able to find and use a tracking spell to help Nami," Nevin explained.
"Okay," Zyra said dubiously. "To the Mage's Guild we go then."
Note:
I hope the conversation with Sky wasn't too confusing/weird with not having people's names, but it was Sky's view and she just didn't care what their names were so everytime I tried to have them introduce themselves it sounded weird. In case it wasn't clear, blue hair = Pecha, fancy girl = Nami and Nevin was the boy.