Chapter 47: For Whom the Bell Tower Tolls
Tom lies in bed shouting in terror. Tia was in the other room listening to her friend in agony. "What do we do Togepi?" She asks afraid that nothing's going to come him down. Darkrai was scary for sure so she could only imagine what that would do to an Empath like Tom. She steps out the room and makes a quick call on her X-transceiver. On screen is a familiar face she didn't think she'd have to call.
"Tia? This is a surprise." Sabrina says happily.
"Hey Sabrina, are you busy?" She asks with a troubled look on her face.
"What's wrong; where's Tom?" Sabrina says feeling her heart sink like a rock.
"How fast could you get to Ecruteak City?" Tia asks. Sabrina hangs up. "Sabrina? Sabrina?" Tia urgently tries to call her back.
"Where is he?" Sabrina walks up from down stairs with an Alakazam behind her. She hears her boyfriend's shouts. "Never mind," she starts to walk off with Tia close in tow. She walks in on Tom who is flailing in his bed and clutching at his head. "What happened?" Sabrina asks never knowing Tom to act this way. She gets on her knees and looks over her boyfriend.
"I don't know? He just had a total break down when Morty called out his Darkrai." Tia explains.
Sabrina's eyes shoot up at Tia, "Why the hell did Morty have to call out that?" Even thinking about that nightmare of a Pokémon disgusted her.
"He was trying to catch Entei." Tia says stoically. "It seemed like he knew this was going to happen too." Tia points out.
"Get Morty. I have to talk to him, but I can't leave Tom." She says affectionately. It hurt her to see him like this.
Tia nods, "I was hoping you'd be able to calm him down." Tia says softly.
"I will certainly try." She tries to touch him, but he flails his arms in protest.
"I'll be back," Tia says quickly run out of the room.
"Tom…" Sabrina says gently. "I know you can hear me. It's me dear; please calm down." She attempts to calm him down with her voice. In a desperate act she throws her arms around him and pins him down. He's stronger than her, but she still tries nonetheless.
Tom finally speaks, "So much hatred. Nightmares… Death!" He shouts and panics. He begins to breathe heavily. "Fear, so much fear." He was practically blinded by terror.
Sabrina was growing more and more scared, but then she realized what it took. He was sensing fear: her fear. She embraces him, "Tom please; everything will be alright. I'm right here. I love you." She says calmly trying to not worry. He's currently responding to emotions on a heightened level so her love should ring through stronger than ever.
He eventually begins to calm down and breathe more regularly. He was exhausted, but still he managed to focus. "Sabrina?" He asks so surreally with a raspy voice.
"Yes, it's me dear. I came as soon as I heard." She rubs his cheek and gives him a soft kiss. "How do you feel now?" She asks softly.
He rubs his head, "Better, bit of a head ache though." He sits up and rubs his temples and throat.
"I guess Empathic headaches are just as bad as psychic headaches?" She jokes trying to lighten the mood.
Tom grabs a glass of water off the night stand, "Yeah I guess so." He says trying to relax his throat too. "God, now I'm hoarse too." He downs the water in a single gulp. "Where's Tia?"
"Getting the ass in the scarf." She rolls her eyes.
"I can't believe Morty. I never thought he'd pull a stunt like that." Tom slams his fist against the bed.
"I know, Tia told me all about it. Let's just calm down for now." She picks up his belt. "Here want me to get Cleffa for you?" She says affectionately.
He gives a weak laugh, "Sure, the more friendly faces the better." He smiles and calls her out. Cleffa's smiling face immediately brightens his mood.
Sabrina notices the Pokeballs on his belt. "A Parkball?" She asks.
"Oh right, my newest catch. You'll like this." He calls out his Beautifly. Who perches herself atop his head.
"A shiny Beautifly!" Sabrina eyes light up; she had a bit of a soft spot for this particular Pokémon. She never really harped on a Pokémon's looks like Tom does, but she couldn't deny how cute Beautifly were. She even secretly had one of her own, but she never flaunted it, because she was afraid people would accuse her of being girly.
"She was supposed to be a surprise." Tom says a little downcast that the surprise was ruined.
Sabrina laughs and sits beside him. "Well, this was a surprise." She says affectionately and kisses him again.
They stop when they hear a series of annoyed growls. "Ow, ow, stop it. Let go of my ear." Morty's voice draws closer to the door.
"I got him," Tia says dragging him in by the ear.
She lets him go and steps back. He nurses his sore ear and notices Tom's company. "Really, you had to involve her?" He glares at Tom.
"Tia's the one who called me." Sabrina glares at him. "So what's this I heard about you trying to catch Entei?" Sabrina says with a threatening glare.
"He was ripe for the picking. What was supposed to do, let him go?" He submits.
"You broke the code Morty." Tom says not thinking and quickly covers his mouth.
"What code?" Tia asks suspiciously.
"Way to go loud mouth!" Morty complains.
He sighs, "The code all us trainers with Legendary Pokémon made. No more than one, we established this so we could be balanced." Tom explains.
"Two or more legendary Pokémon on a single team is next to unbeatable and requires a lot of energy on the trainer's part. We established this code to prevent insurrection amongst us." Sabrina further explains.
"Which brings me to my next question. Why did you try to break the code?" Tom stares at him intensely.
Morty smirks, "Maybe I just wanted to finally put you in your place. Then I could be the best trainer." He says boldly.
"Darkrai and Entei combined couldn't beat my Rayquaza." Tom says with a cocky smirk.
"You are such an ass!" Morty gets defensive.
"Boys quit it." Tia steps up. "You're both acting like children."
"He's the one who tortured me with his Pokémon!" Tom immediately points fingers.
"I wanted Entei and I wanted to prove I'm better than you!" Morty growls while Sabrina is caught in the cross fire.
"Morty that's enough," she says tentatively.
"I can't believe you're taking his side in this!" Morty yells at her.
"Hey don't yell at her." Tom gets on his feet and stares down Morty. "I know why you have such a grudge against me. It's because I'm dating your sister!" He says triumphantly.
Tia takes a second to process what Tom just said. "What?" Tia shouts in utter amazement.
"Tom!" Sabrina was really hoping to keep their family squabbles out of this.
"That's it, get over here you bastard!" Morty cracks his knuckles and reaches for Tom. Tom side steps out of the way and takes off avoid Morty's grasp. "Get back here!" Morty shouts as he takes off after Tom with fire in his eyes.
"Tom, Morty come back!" Sabrina shouts in vain before running after them.
Tia is left inside the room with a surreal look on her face. "What the heck just happened?" She drops to her knees in all the confusion. She takes a few moments to gathers her thoughts and decides to follow after them.
Tia runs outside and sees them both standing at opposite ends of a battlefield. Sabrina is just sitting on a bench shaking her head. "Why can't those two ever get along?" She asks in anguish.
Tia walks up and sits beside her, "So Morty's…"
"My older brother, yes. Needless to say he doesn't exactly approve of our relationship. It doesn't help he's just as hell bent on being the best as Tom is." She just sighs and watches as all chaos is about to break loose.
"Should we try and stop them?" Tia suggests.
"I don't think anything can stop them at this point. You know how head strong Tom can get. Sadly, my brother's not much better." She hangs her head in defeat.
"Hope you're ready to lose." Tom declares grabbing his first Pokeball.
"Please, I already know you can't handle my Darkrai." He threatens with Darkrai's Pokeball in hand.
The two are about to engage in what will no doubt be an explosive battle. That is until they hear the bell toll from the Tin Tower. They both stop and look up. "No way," Tom says in awe.
"The Bell has rung in years. That means Ho-oh's watching." Morty says in wonder and amazement.
The large, wooden structure stood as a pinnacle of Ecruteak City. For centuries the tower has stood as a symbol for the mighty, legendary Pokemon Ho-oh. Legends tell that the bell atop Tin Tower would only toll when in the presence of Ho-oh.
As they look to the top of the tower a rainbow cascades through the clear blue sky above. Tongues of fire dance through the air as a loud cry is head above. Everyone in town is staring up in bewilderment as Ho-oh flies across the sky.
"Wow!" Tia is giddy as she saw the sight of yet another legendary Pokémon.
Both Tom and Morty quickly pull out their X-Transceivers. Both dial Lance at the same time and connect in a three-way chat.
"What is going on you two?" Lance asks in the confusing of getting two simultaneous calls.
Tom and Morty both speak at the same time. "I just saw Ho-oh!"
Lance's eyes widen, "Calm down you two. You're telling me Ho-oh flew over Ecruteak City?" Lance assumes that's where they are. They both nod, "I see, first Entei and now Ho-oh. The legends are certainly more active than they've ever been." Lance says to himself.
Tia walks over to Tom. "Who are you talking to?" She asks as she walks into frame.
"Tom who is that behind you?" Lance asks curiously.
"Oh right, this is Tia. I guess you two never formally met." He looks back at Tia, "Tia this is Lance of the Indigo League's Elite Four." He introduces him.
"Pleasure to meet you," she says politely.
"Likewise," Lance responds stoically.
"Isn't she a totally hottie?" Morty chimes in. Tia quickly runs over to Morty and smacks him on the back of the head. "Ow, it was a compliment."
"Wait are you three like right next to each other?" Lance asks with a look that clearly said, 'you two are idiots.'
"We were both so excited to tell you." Tom confesses rather embarrassingly.
Lance rolls his eyes, "Well, thank you for telling me. I'll keep you two posted on future developments. I also look forward to seeing your skills first hand Tia." Lance is really interesting in her training skills after how much Tom and the rest have built her up. He abruptly hangs up leaving them all speechless while they reflected on their early actions.
Tom finally speaks up, "Hey Morty, sorry I made that comment about your sister." At the same time Sabrina walks up to him taking his hand.
Morty shrugs, "I guess I had it coming. I did kind of drive you crazy. Plus, I may have not always been the most accepting about your relationship." He admits, now ready to give them his approval. It's as if Ho-oh's presence had a sort of calming effect on the two hot headed trainers.
"I'm glad you two are starting to get along." She gives them both a hug. "I have to get back to Saffron now boys." She begins to head off before Tom takes her hand.
"Can't you stay the night?" He asks with puppy dog eyes.
"No!" Morty and Tia both answer resoundingly for her.
Sabrina sympathetically kisses Tom. "Sorry dear, I really have to get back to the gym." She calls out her Alakazam. "It was nice seeing you again Morty, you too Tia." She smiles and gives her brother a playful grin. "Keep an eye on this one. She'll give you a real run for your money." She points at Tia before teleporting away.
Morty takes a sigh of relief. "Man, what a day. So how's about that gym battle Tia?" Morty is raring to go after his battle with Entei and near encounter with Tom.
Tia's eyes light up, "For once you're speaking my language." Tia jumps up excitedly and grabs her first Pokeball.
Tom yawns, "All I'm ready for is bed. Can't we do this tomorrow?"
Tia pouts, "No, Morty is offering so I'm taking him up on this offer." Tia looks back at Morty more determined than ever.
Morty gives her a cheeky grin and looks around as the sun slowly sets on them. "I have a better idea. We'll have a battle out here. This park was built for battling so why not use it?" He offers up his terms.
Tia nods, "As long as it still counts as an official match I'm game." Tia doesn't really care for how flirty he is, but she does like the way he thinks occasionally.
Morty smirks mischievously as he spun a Pokeball on his finger tip. "Then let's take this a step further and give it an hour. That way the sun is fully set and we can have our battle in the dark." His conditions have a very tempting allure to them, not unlike himself.
Tia is intrigued so and she'd couldn't possibly say no to a battle that was in such stark contrast to all of her other official battles. "You're on Morty." She boldly declares by pointing at him. "Don't think you and your ghosts will beat me just because you'll have the night on your side."
Morty laughs heartily, "You know, you're fighting spirit reminds me of another trainer I know all too well." He looks right at Tom. "I think you're rubbing off on her Tom." He laughs again and walks off back to his gym. "You have one hour to prepare; I'll be waiting." Morty's singsong voice did not quite convey his more intimidating nature, but he was too excited to care.
Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. Well we've now moved the series to Tuesdays at Noon (EST) for the next few months at least. All depends on how future scheduling works out after that. Making Sabrina and Morty siblings was a bit of a spur of the moment choice when I first wrote this chapter, but I'm glad I did it. Tia's also getting a lot more recognition for how strong she's becoming too. This was also a very humbling chapter for Tom too.
