Garden Cruise Ark: 1

Aria did not know how long they floated but it was long enough for her to calm down and think. Styx swam for shore. With the current in their favor, they were making good time. Aria stayed silent. She hugged Styx's helmet. The calm ripple of the water helped gather her thoughts. The trooper tried to piece together the situation. It happened so fast. The pain in her body kept her from thinking about it too hard. Her knee and shoulder were the worst. Aria could not feel the blood soaked into her shirt. The bit was not horribly deep. No chunks of flesh were missing. Damage was minimal but it did not stop the pain. It was similar to how a paper cut stung worse than the actual damage inflicted. The cold water dulled the pain but Aria was on the verge of shivering.

Styx made his way under the moonlight away from the boardwalk. He aimed for a small strip of beach. It was deserted for the night. The tentacruel swam up into the shallows. His blue pincers dug into the sand to hold him steady in the surf. He sat Aria on the sand and released her from his grasp. Aria shifted onto her knees. She took her time trying to stand. She was stiff from staying curled up in the cold water. Aria stood in the surf. She looked around. The trooper cradled her wounded shoulder. The end of the boardwalk was to her left. The strip of beach opened up to her right. It was narrow. Dunes and beach front business properties were in front. Fancy hotels were further down the beach. Aria had never been here before but at least she knew she was still in Garden Cruise. The adrenaline in her system kept her moving. The trooper's first thought was to find shelter and warmth. She was drenched and standing in the chilly night air. She was weak and nauseous.

Aria looked back to the water. She could see the feint glow of Mile City but nothing else. The fear and distrust she experience tickled her paranoia. She could not go to the police. They would think she was crazy. The trooper started up the beach. She stopped to withdraw Styx. After the great ball closed, she held it to her chest and kissed it. Aria snapped the ball back into place and checked on the others. Everyone was in place. She continued up the beach. It was slow going with her knee. It gave her time to think of a plan. She would go to the nearest pokemon center. That was where her instinct told her to go. From there, she could get food, a bed, and heal her pokemon with little questions asked. Maybe then, she could piece things together.

Aria was not the only one still trying to understand what had happened. The S.S. Surf was in rough shape. It was surrounded by police and coast guard boats. It was afloat with the help of several wailmer. There were several holes in the hull that had to be repaired and bays to be pumped free of water. Many corridors were damaged in some way. Walls were smashed. The cargo was destroyed. Theft had taken place along with a wider set of issues. There were injuries, mostly from those who engaged or were caught in pokemon battles. There were no fatalities.

Police Lieutenant Mickey Hartwell was on deck. He was surrounded by groups of frazzled passengers and his officers trying to keep them calm and organized. So far, all the information he received was muddled with panic, broken by speculation, and riddled with confusion. He did not know how or why his raid on a supposed Dragon Fang shipment had gone so awry. Several people were arrested, some with Dragon Fang apparel. But most were in plain clothes. When suspected of being a member, they claimed harassment and self defense in the confusion. Mickey could hold them for now but he was beginning to feel that most of the charges weren't going to stick. The raid was a complete failure. Most of the evidence in the cargo bay had been destroyed in the flooding or by some other means.

"Captain Marshall," he said as he came upon a woman in police uniform.

Her name was Lucy Marshall. She was the one overseeing the raid and proud owner of a Blastoise among other pokemon.

"Please, tell me you know what the hell happened tonight."

"We don't have all the details yet, but it seems our presence on the ship was compromised before we could start," she said. "There were more Fangs than we thought. They were dressed in plain clothes like many of our officers. We believe one of them stumbled into one of ours and overheard something that made them suspicious. Word must have spread because we soon started engaging them across the ship."

Lieutenant Hartwell sighed. It was too early to get the answers he was looking for if ever at all. He would have to wait for all of the officers' reports to come in. He had plenty of witnesses but they were still taking statements. There would be a lot of information to sort through. The best Mickey could do now was deal with the more pressing safety issues.

"Do you think it's possible that there's a-,"

The frustrated lieutenant waved away her speculation. He did not need any more theories, just facts.

"What injuries do we have?" he said.

"Several of our boys were beaten up with mild or minor injuries. There were two critical cases, one being Officer Jenkins and the other a suspected Fang. They're on the chopper now, ready to go to the hospital."

"Make sure Jenkins wakes up to one of his own and keep an officer with the Fang for precaution. What about civilians?"

"There were several minor injuries, one or two mild after being involved in a pokemon incident. Most of the violence was directed at our officers. At least they were smart enough to keep the hostages out of it."

Mickey nodded. It was one less thing he had to worry about.

"But," Marshall said as if reading his thoughts. "We have one report of a suspected missing passenger."

She motioned over to a group of civilians further along the boat. There was a man with no shirt refusing a blanket, a sailor, and a traumatized man among others.

"One of the crewmen was worried because one of the passengers he was with never showed up at their rendezvous point."

"Well, do they know where they went?"

"The sailor claims she went back for something in the cabin area but he didn't say much more. All we know is that it is a woman by the name of Aria, no last name. We think she is a pokemon trainer. We did a sweep of the ship and found nothing, not even in the wreckage."

The Lieutenant paused. The name sounded familiar.

"Where have I heard that name?" he asked.

Sergeant Marshall felt the same when she first it heard it. Now that the lieutenant brought it up, it came to her.

"That was the name of a person of interest back in Boulder," she said.

"Well, she just went from person of interest to suspect number one. If she's not on the ship then she must have escaped and probably with a reason. I want her found, immediately."

Sergeant Marshall rushed off to start the hunt. If Aria was a person of interest then they would already have a file on her. From there, they could track her digital footprint. Her pokemon's energy signature would be registered in the database. They could use a psychic pokemon with a detect ability to help find her along with other resources. Lieutenant Hartwell turned around to look for the detective who engaged the suspect from the beginning. He found him addressing the concerns of a certain group of passengers.

"Please make sure you find her," Gary said. "The other officers keep saying they'll get to it but we haven't seen her on deck at all."

"There are rumors of a woman who jumped off the ship. What if it was her?" Neddy cried out. "What if she's lost in the ocean?"

"She's not lost so stop your cryin' already," Marcus added from the back. "She's probably already back on shore by now if it's who we think it is. If she's got pokemon like mine then-,"

"Don't worry," Raven said as he finished recording their statements. "I'll make sure we find her."

The musketeer meant what he said. He wanted to make sure Aria was alright just as much as they did. He also needed answers. His encounters with her were looking less and less like coincidences.

"Detective Snow."

Raven turned around at the call of his superior. Lieutenant Hartwell motioned for him to come over. The musketeer excused himself from the group. He walked over to the lieutenant tense and already aware of the subject of conversation. Mickey stopped him before he could speak.

"You better have one helluva explanation for this, detective," Mickey threatened.

He kept his voice at a whisper to keep his frustration down. Raven tried to say something but the lieutenant wasn't finished. He was too annoyed to let him continue.

"You're going with Sergeant Marshall to find this Aria and bring her in. Don't screw it up this time."

"Yes, Sir," was all he could reply.