Chapter 37: Ravvivando
(***)
Claire and I sat next to each other on the beach, surrounded by piles of upturned sand, and watched the tide slowly recede. The dark clouds rolled over us ominously, driving most of the tourists off the shore.
"What are we going to do, Noël?" Claire asked, laying backward to stare at the clouds. "Knowing Sage and Elliot, that was probably their only spare key," she moaned, not caring about the amount of sand collecting in her tousled hair.
'Shouldn't they have a key with them?' I asked, absently digging a little hole in the sand. At least Claire was angry anymore, as the clouds rolled in, her rage had been replaced with exhaustion.
"Who knows when they're getting home, but it's worth a shot," she said, pushing herself up and grabbing at her Holo Caster with sandy fingers. Just as she reached for the first button, it began to vibrate.
"Oh, hey! It's them," Claire mumbled, accepting the call. A holographic bust of Sage appeared before us.
"Claire!" she shouted, causing us both to wince. Claire turned the volume down several notches. Sage looked at us with wide eyes before glancing back over her shoulder. He brown hair flew in every direction, and it looked like she had…ash? Smudged across her cheek.
"Sage, what's wrong! Where are you‽" Claire asked, clutching her Holo Caster with both hands.
"They're on the ship! They're going to sabotage the Poké Festival!" she shouted, and a loud boom echoed from behind her, causing a flurry of static.
"Sage! Talk to me!" Claire said, as the image of her sister reformed.
"Don't trust the police! Don't trust the League!" she shouted, looking over her shoulder again. Her eyes widened. "Elliot!" she screamed, and the line went dead.
Claire stared at the space her sister had been with shock for a moment before jumping to her feet. She grabbed her backpack and sprinted down the beach.
'Claire! Where are we going?' I shouted, running after her.
"To the docks!" she shouted back, reaching for her Holo Caster and dialing a number while running.
'To save your siblings or to stop Reliance?' I asked, finally managing to catch up with her.
"Both!" she said, and I heard her Holo Caster begin to ring. We ran up the wooden stairs to the museum's lawn as the first few droplets of rain began to fall.
Claire Holo Caster clicked, and a mechanical voice rung out. "The number you've reached is currently unavailable. Please leave a message after—"
Claire cursed ending the call and trying again.
'I thought Sage said the League wasn't trustworthy!' I said as we ran down the manicured lawn. The line in front of the museum had vanished now, leaving only wet pavement in their place.
"That's why I'm calling Hilton, but he won't answer," she said, scowling. "God, Hilton this is an emergency!"
'Maybe his C-Gear is dead?' I suggested hopefully. Claire just scowled, barreling down to the end of the street and rounding the corner onto the sidewalk. We fought our way past people in raincoats and umbrellas. Both of us were already soaked to the bone, but we didn't care. My breath felt hot and stifling, and all I could think about was what we could be walking into.
"You know Teleport would be real helpful right now!" Claire said, evading a throng of tourists.
'I told you I can't even remember how!' I called back, hurtling over a stroller. People stared and shouted at us as we ran past, some upset, some just curious.
"There! The ship is docked at the end of this street!" Claire managed through labored breathing, pointing to the advertisement. She slowed to a halt, doubling over to catch her breath. I barely managed to avoid a collision.
"Where's the fire?" asked a curious man passing by.
"Do you know what time the ship leaves?" Claire asked through labored breaths.
"What the S.S. Tidal? Well, they've been boarding since this morning, so I'd guess they'd be embarking pretty soon," he said, holding his umbrella over us. "Good 'ole Briney will probably try to get around the storm. I'm afraid it might be too late to buy a ticket," he said sympathetically.
"Thank you!" Claire managed, and took off again. I groaned but jogged after her.
The dock was a stretch of long, abandoned concrete with black crashing waves on either side. In the distance at the end stood a flat building, the ship's terminal.
'I see it!' I called, pointing to the large white ship in the distance with its orange smoke stacks. As it began to rain harder, the world grew greyer. I saw a flash of purple in the distance as we neared the terminal.
"That looks like a battle! Get ready, Noël!" Claire called as we neared the dark figures ahead.
I extended my elbow blades, imbuing them with psychic power with Swords Dance. A jet of crimson flames rocketed past us, momentarily illuminating the battle.
I yelped in surprise, pulling Claire out of the way. Arceus, was that-‽
"Drifblim, use Payback!" Hilton called, and the large shape began to glow purple again, giving us enough time to reach his side.
Hilton and Drifblim faced off against Alimer—Cyan's red-haired crony—and his Arcanine while Palmer hung back closer to the ship's terminal. The massive cruise ship rocked on the rough waters.
Drifblim released bolts of psychic energy struck Alimer's arcanine, but the mammoth pokémon seemed unaffected, growling at us.
"Is that all you've got?" Alimer called over the rain, laughing.
'Claire, the ship is moving!' I hissed, pointing to the colossal ship that was slowly slipping away.
"Hilton, Reliance is on that ship and they might have my brother and sister, and-" Claire paused, stiffening.
I glanced over, trying to understand the cause of her tension when—oh. Back behind Hilton's battle stood Cyan in the nook of the terminal's doorway. She talked to another woman I didn't recognize.
"Hilton, I need you to try and hold back Alimer while we go after Cyan," Claire said, taking off in her direction.
"Hey, Arcanine, stop her!" Alimer shouted.
"Drifblim, use Ominous Wind!" Hilton shouted, and Drifblim whipped the wind into a storm, creating a barrier between Arcanine and Claire. I spirited after my trainer, overtaking her. My mind raced, and my arms began to tingle with energy.
Cyan spotted us, quickly tossing a poké ball. Frosslass materialized in my path, and I felt the temperature plummet ten degrees. The woman Cyan had been speaking to scuttled backwards for shelter.
"Frosslass, use Hail!" Cyan ordered. Oh, shi-!
The ice-type began to glow blue, floating up into the sky. The black thunderclouds began to swirl above our battlefield. With a clack, the first piece of hail hit the ground. Golf-ball sized rocks of ice showered down on us. I ran back to defend Claire, but she had already hoisted her bag above her head in a barely passable means of protection.
"Eyes on the battle, Noël!" Claire shouted above the rain and hail. The ice beat down on me, smashing into my arms and shoulders. I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take. I pounded down on my head, every impact sending sparks flooding across my vision. I felt the back of my head begin to crackle. I tried to ignore my personal plight to focus on the battle at hand.
Frosslass's breath came out in icy puffs, and the rain of hail didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. Another Flamethrower blasted over my shoulder, and I whipped around to see Arcanine slowly advancing on Drifblim and Hilton. Had Hilton had time to Drifblim heal since the battle on the beach?
"Frosslass, use Ominous Wind," Cyan shouted, devoid of passion. My head snapped back in the direction of the battle. My eyes widened and I sprinted to the left, knowing exactly what was coming.
Froslass's eyes began to glow, and she opened her mouth to release and a hurricane of black wind. The maelstrom combined with the hail, turning them into deadly projectiles. Despite my efforts to dodge, the vortex grew to consume me, trapping me inside swirling darkness.
My chest thrummed as I tried to predict and dodged the hail, but it was too numerous and too fast. It collided with my body, shattering at the force of the impact. I shouted in pain, falling to my knees and trying to protect my head. The ghost-type energy sapped and my strength.
With a loud "whoosh" the storm dispersed, leaving me huddling on the concrete with piles of hail. My body screamed, and I could already feel the large hail caused welts began to bruise. Consciousness slipped from me, but I managed to hold on by a thread.
As sparks played across my vision, humming power filled my arms as they began to glow light blue. My heart throbbed in my ears as I stared up into the Frosslass's soulless eyes.
Claire shouted something, but I didn't hear. The uncontrollable energy battled with my exhaustion, leaving me in a fiery delirium. My entire body felt like it was burning, all culminating at the back of my head and forearms.
Screaming, I rose to my feet, clawing at the air. Slivers of psychic energy launched from my arms towards Frosslass, who dodged easily.
My eyes widened as I panted in exhaustion. What in the—
"Noël, use Heal Pulse!" Claire shouted, and I could finally hear her over the sound of my own breathing.
I directed my energy over my palms and out into a sphere. I allowed the healing energy to flow back over me, healing my bruise and replenishing a fraction of my energy. My legs stopped shaking, and my breathing evened.
"Noël, use Psycho Cut again!" Claire shouted. What? Was that what—
"Frosslass, use Ominous Wind!" Cyan repeated. No! It'd knock me out for sure! I couldn't—
Before Frosslass could conjure another storm, a new figure sliced through the clouds, rocketing towards us, and pulling up short at the last moment.
"Noël, get out of there!" Claire screamed. "That's Deoxys!" she shouted. With the remaining strength in my limbs, I sprinted back to her side, stumbling on the hail and falling to the ground where the chunks of ice ground against my body.
A pair of pointed legs appeared before me, I looked up to see Deoxys standing over me, examining me with its narrow pupils.
It raised its tendrils, and I tried to crawl away, but it stepped forward and onto my arm, pinning me down. I shouted at the weight. It brought his arms down, and my world went black.
"Noël, Noël!" came Claire's voice through the darkness. Slowly I returned to consciousness, blinking slowly and trying to gather my bearings.
I looked around. Through blurred vision, I saw Deoxys return to Cyan's side, where Alimer and Palmer gathered. Cyan withdrew Frosslass and released her Xatu. Unable to move, we watched helplessly as they took off into the sky, soaring after the cruise ship that was just a spec in the distance now.
Groaning, I scraped up enough energy to use Heal Pulse on myself, if only to take the edge off of my throbbing head.
"They're getting away! We've got to go after them!" Claire said, pulling me to my feet. I leaned on her, barely able to support my own weight. My head felt heavy and my feet were leaden.
"Hilton, can Drifblim—" Claire broke off her statement with a gasp. Releasing me, she ran towards him. Barely standing, I looked up, searching for Hilton. My eyes locked on him and my breath caught in my chest.
He lay face down on the concrete road while the ocean roared on either side. Rain poured down on us and thunder crackled above. I gasped, the revelation causing me to sink to my knees. This was my vision. Realizing the implications, I staggered to my feet, running over to Hilton where Claire already kneeled beside him, rolling him over.
"Oh god," Claire mumbled, pressing her head against his soaked chest and searching for a heartbeat
I looked at him with horror. This couldn't be real. The human portion of his skin assumed a deathly pallor, and blood poured down from his nose, dripping into his agape mouth. His glasses lay several feet away, broken in three pieces.
"He's breathing!" shouted Claire. She held his face, crouching over him. "Hilton, Hilton can you hear me?" she yelled.
"Hilton? Hilton Nicolson?" came a tentative voice from behind. My head snapped around to see the woman Cyan had been talking to hovering several feet behind us.
"Stay back! Haven't you done enough‽" Claire shouted. I pulled myself to my feet, extending my elbow blades in preparation for a fight.
The woman wiped her dripping hair out of her face, folding her hands under her arms and stepping forward.
"I don't know what just happened, but my name is Monica Denisov, I was supposed to be on that cruise ship," she said over the rain. "I'm friends with Nicolsons! You have to believe me!" she said.
Claire laughed at that. "Wow, Reliance is really running out of tricks if they're desperate enough to try this. Why don't you just take us by force? It's not like we could fight you right now," she spat, glancing over at Drifblim's unconscious body for a moment.
"I don't have any pokémon on me," she insisted. "And I don't know who those people were, but I've watched that boy run around in diapers before, and if we don't get him out of this rain he might die," she shouted. "My house is right there! You just have to trust me!" she insisted, pointing to a house at the other end of the terminal.
'Do you want me to take her out?' I asked Claire, not fully convinced I had the energy for that anyways.
Claire narrowed her eyes, examining Monica. 'We can't make it back to the apartment without the key, and if both the League and the police are corrupt, the hospital could be too,' she said.
'So what do we do?' I asked, keeping my elbow blades extended and my eyes locked on Monica.
'I don't know.'
(***)
A/N: Four little Indian Boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Fun Fact: Level-wise, Cyan's froslass is stronger than Lawrence.