Chapter 21: I Will Not Shut My Eyes

"Did you see those Luvdisc? They were so graceful! And wasn't it amazing that we got to see a Relicanth?"

Carla nodded, towelling fiercely at her hair.

"I hope we see them again on the trip back," Tally said dreamily. Then she frowned. "Carly, are you OK? You've been really quiet since we left Mossdeep."

Carla didn't reply. She just shrugged.

Tally walked over to the bed and sat next to Carla, her own hair leaving droplets of water on her jeans. "Carly? Did something happen?"

How could she say it? Tally might not even believe her - and who would?

That girl had not been human.

"Dad knows about Team Scythe," she forced out. "Postal workers have been stealing the money; I'm going to keep sending it, but I'm going to put it in other packages."

"You mean, stuffed into clothes?"

That was an idea. "Yes. That could work."

Gentle arms wrapped around her shoulders. Tally rested her cheek against the side of Carla's head.

"You've done really well so far. You'll get the rest of the money easily; you've got a great team, right? And you've got us."

Carla laughed and leaned into the embrace. "Yeah, I do. Thanks, Tally, I needed that."

The Sootopolis Centre was packed. Luckily, there was one spare room for two that the nurse had allocated to Tally and Carla; Bruno had to share with a trainer called Nathan.

"First thing's first: are you here to challenge Wallace?" the nurse had asked when they arrived.

"None of us are," replied Carla.

The nurses handed over three blue armbands along with the room keys. "Most trainers are here for a shot at the Rain Badge; if you wear these armbands at all times, it'll show you're off-limits for battling. That being said, if you change your mind, Wallace has a rule: three losses and you have to wait for at least two months before coming back."

"How many have got seven badges already?" Carla asked.

"Several. A lot of them give up here."

Carla walked over to a chair and flopped down, leaning against the soft, comfortable back. She felt as if she could sleep for hours - but that could wait. It had to.

Her phone only had four contacts in it.

After only two rings, a familiar voice asked: "Hello?"

"Hi, Ronnie, it's Carla. We met at Verdanturf; I was the girl with the Vullaby."

Ronnie snorted. "You didn't have to mention her, I remember you just fine. Are you up for that battle now?"

"Not yet. I need your help."

Now Ronnie sounded cautious. "OK. What is it?"

"I gave your number to my sister; when she calls or texts you, could you pass on her message?" Carla glanced around nervously before saying: "I don't want our dad knowing we're in contact."

He would know she'd been in Mossdeep by now. Glennis should have given him the money, which was not an insubstantial amount.

"Are you in trouble or something?"

"No. Well...yes, but it's going to be OK and it's not as bad as it could be."

A trainer in a blue jacket trudged into the Centre, brushing his hair back so that it stood up in little spikes. He looked briefly in Carla's direction - and froze, staring at her.

"I'm guessing there's a story there, but I won't ask what it is."

Carla raised a hand and waved. Dave waved back at her.

"Sure. I'll pass on her messages."

"Thanks, Ronnie."

"Gotta go. See you." Ronnie hung up.

Carla put her phone in her pocket and went to meet Dave; within moments, she found herself enfolded in her third hug of the day.

"It's great to see you! How are you?"

"I'm fine."

Dave frowned slightly, but he was still smiling. "You sure? You look a bit...You look pale."

She needed to choose her words carefully. "The past few days have been a bit rough, but we're OK now. Tally and Bruno are here as well."

"Great! I can't wait to catch up."

Carla was looking forward to that as well. "How long have you been in Sootopolis?"

"A couple of weeks. We nearly beat Wallace this time, and it was pretty close." Dave glanced out of the window at the heavy clouds gathering outside. "Just have to come up with a different strategy next time."

"How many times have you battled him?"

"Twice. One more loss and...you know the rules, right?"

Carla nodded.

"After the third loss, the Centre's going to evict me as soon as my team's healed to make room for another challenger." Dave laughed awkwardly. "I've only got one shot left and I don't want to waste it."

"You'll be able to try again," Carla said in an attempt to reassure him. "You'll just have to wait a bit, that's all. It's not the end."

"Yeah, I know, but...I really want this one, Carly. It's the last badge left."

He was so, so close.

Carla looked right into his eyes. "Next time you battle Wallace, we'll watch you win."

Her phone rang suddenly. "It's Tally. Hello?"

"It's hatching! The egg's hatching, Carly, you need to get back here!"

Carla quickly hung up. "I have to go to our room. See you at the canteen?"

"Absolutely."

Carla hurried out of the lobby and up the stairs towards the room she shared with Tally. She frantically slid the keycard into the slot, withdrew it and pushed the door open.

Tally sat on the bed, the egg on her lap. The glow from it lit up her face and eyes; her smile broadened as the white light grew brighter and brighter...and then faded, leaving a tiny white and green creature behind.

"Hi," Tally breathed as the Ralts uncurled itself, stretched and yawned. "You are...so wonderful!"

She caressed the Ralts on top of its head, giggling as the pokémon took hold of her hand. "What am I going to call you?"

"I can check if it's a boy or a girl."

Tally nodded eagerly.

Carla took her dex out of her bag and knelt down, not wanting to frighten the Ralts. She carefully pointed it at the little creature and studied the screen.

"She's a girl."

Tally hugged the Ralts gently. "Flora's a pretty name. What do you think?"

A tiny croon was the only answer.

Flora clung to Tally's jacket, the pink material bunched in her little fists. She stared around the canteen at the people and pokémon gathering around the table and hid her face in Tally's jacket.

"Hey, it's OK," Tally whispered, rubbing her back.

"I think you should withdraw her," Carla said. "She's getting scared." The poor thing wasn't even an hour old and she was being bombarded with all kinds of emotions.

Tally nodded. "I'm sorry, Flora. I'll feed you up in our room, all right?"

Flora seemed to relax before she was withdrawn into her brand-new pokéball.

"There's Dave!" Bruno pointed towards a table in a far corner, where a familiar figure in a blue jacket was waiting. The table already had piles of bowls on top of it, ready and waiting for any hungry pokémon.

"Hey! It's good to see you guys - I've missed you."

Bruno grinned widely at him. "Seven badges, huh? You've just got one to go now."

Dave looked around at all the trainers in the canteen. "Over half the people here have got seven badges."

"How many have the others got?" asked Tally.

"I don't know. A lot of trainers save the Rain Badge for last. Hey, why don't I save the table while you guys go and get food?"

Seven minutes later, the table was surrounded by everyone's teams minus Flora. Shiran seemed to have grown larger and more muscular, and Dave had added an Electabuzz named Clio to his team. Clio happily exchanged small zaps of electricity with Nixie and Frank before eating.

"So where are the good training grounds around here?" Bruno asked.

"I'll show you, but trainers challenging Wallace get priority there." Dave glanced nervously at the others. "I've got to warn you, they're tough and they'll be looking for any opportunity to battle. Not saying you should be careful, but...be careful. Some of these guys are pretty ruthless."

Tally pointed at the band on her right arm and gave Dave a cheeky smile. "That's why the nurse gave us these."

Snickering laughter came from a nearby table. Carla glanced in that direction to see the three boys sitting there giving the small group derisive looks. In return, she gave them the coldest glare she could and looked away again.

Nixie chose that moment to abandon her food and climb onto Carla's lap. Curling up in a ball, she began to busily groom her tail.

"Do your parents and Abby know you're in Sootopolis?" Carla asked Dave. She began to scratch Nixie behind her ears.

"Yeah, they do." His smile dimmed a little.

Carla frowned.

"Hey. You OK, Dave?" Bruno asked.

"Yeah, I just..." Dave stabbed at a couple of chips with his fork. "I don't think they thought I'd get this far; know what I mean? I always said I wanted to be the champion, but lately it hit me that..."

He shrugged and looked down at his plate. "Wallace is the final hurdle and so many trainers don't make it past him. I guess I realised what me and my team are gonna have to do next if we beat him."

Carla folded her arms. "Don't you mean when you beat him? We talked about this earlier; I believe you can do this, Dave."

Now Dave wasn't looking at any of them. "I don't want to let my team down. They've...they've been on this journey with me and if I quit now or can't go any further, what's going to happen to them?"

A growl came to the left of the table: Shiran had overheard the conversation. He moved with a surprising grace for such a large creature; Bruno had to move his chair to make room for him. Shiran leaned down and looked right into his trainer's eyes.

Although everyone else in the cafeteria was talking, their voices seemed very far away, as though drifting through mist.

Then Dave laughed and shook his head. "Thanks, Shiran. I needed that."

The Swampert grunted with satisfaction and went back to his teammates.

"Well," Tally said, a smug grin on her face, "that's you told, isn't it?"

"Just a bit," was Dave's reply. "That's me told, and then some, as Mum would say."

That made everyone laugh.

The sky was getting darker. Having lived by the sea all her life, Carla could sense a storm was approaching. She could smell it in the air.

She didn't move. Instead, she remained where she was, the grass cool under her legs and watched the water ripple gently. If she looked closely, she could see the underwater passage yawning beneath the surface like a gaping shadow.

The rock walls surrounding the city made her feel both safe and vulnerable.

She could do what Dave was doing, and challenge Wallace for the Rain Badge; he wouldn't mind battling a trainer with four badges instead of seven. But the truth was, she wasn't ready.

Her team wasn't ready. Auna was the only evolved pokémon on her team, and she still couldn't use Water moves properly. Zoe needed to use the dawn stone soon or she'd become a Glalie whether she wanted it or not. And the others...speed and persistence were good in battle, but Wallace had power on his side and, most likely, size.

Carla almost laughed at her own hypocrisy. It was easy to tell someone else to believe in themselves, but doing it herself was so much harder.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. Carla continued to stare at the water for a few moments, then she got up and headed back towards the Centre.

A figure was loitering outside the building, hands jammed into his pockets. He turned his head and the streetlamp caught his profile.

Carla froze. She was as unable to move as she had been that night before she left Mossdeep.

No. It couldn't be. Not here. Why was he here?

"You don't tell anyone about this. Tell your dad or the police and I'll kill all three of you. And if you can't get the money - you know what'll happen. Got it?"

He walked past the Centre and up the nearby steps.

Carla waited until he was out of sight before hurrying over to the phone outside the Centre. She dialled the correct number and held the phone to her ear.

"Trainer Emergency. Please state the service you need."

"Police," Carla said without hesitation.

There was a brief pause, then someone said: "What's your emergency?"

"I'm in Sootopolis City, and I've just seen a member of Team Scythe."

"All right, could you describe them, please?"

"He's got a shaved head; he's wearing a cap, but I know it's him." Something flashed into her memory, sharp as a blade. "His Scyther's got a chink in her lower left wing."

There was a brief pause. "Did you see what else he was wearing?"

"Jeans and a dark jacket. The cap was red and white." She looked around, just in case he'd come back. If he'd recognised her...

"Stay where you are, and we'll send someone to your location. Can you remember where he went?"

"Yes."

"Thank you." There was a click on the other end of the line.

Everything was still and quiet. Carla couldn't even hear a single Wingull cry. The clouds above seemed to be growing heavier with every moment.

She blinked once and there was someone standing in front of her, a Pidgeotto on his wrist. He wore a black uniform with white stripes on the shoulders and arms.

"Are you the one who called?"

Carla nodded. "He went that way, up those steps."

"Thanks. Eva, go see if you can spot him."

The Pidgeotto took off, flying above the buildings. Her trainer gave Carla a nod, then went after the bird.

Carla moved towards the Centre again...and stopped. The air was still. The sound of the policeman's steps were quickly fading away.

It wasn't her problem. She'd reported the man to the police, and they'd sent someone to deal with it. It wasn't her problem.

She couldn't afford to get involved again.

Carla sighed and hurried up the steps. Tess couldn't fly yet, but Rakel could float above the buildings and see where they had...

Not Rakel.

Carla called out Layla and Nixie. They looked up at her eagerly, their eyes lit up by the pale streetlights.

"Nixie, I need you to climb as high as you can and find a man in a policeman's uniform. He'll have a Pidgeotto with him."

Nixie nodded and scampered up the nearest building.

"Layla, listen for anything suspicious. There's someone dangerous in the area and he's from Team Scythe."

The Buneary's ears perked up; she turned her head this way and that, while Carla watched her uneasily.

Suddenly, Nixie chittered loudly from a rooftop. She gestured frantically for Carla and Layla to follow her.

"Let's go."

The Pachirisu hopped from rooftop to rooftop, every so often pausing and looking back just to check the others were still with her.

Where could the thug have gone? Was he meeting someone? Perhaps he lived in Sootopolis - that was a possibility.

Nixie suddenly ran down a wall and landed right in front of her trainer. With a jolt of shock, Carla realised they had left the maze of buildings. A wooden bridge stretched over the water in front of them, leading to a small island. A single tree grew out of the middle of the island, branches reaching up towards the sky.

If Carla, Layla and Nixie went over that bridge, they would be exposed.

"Come on. Keep in the middle."

The bridge creaked slightly as they moved. Carla kept a wary eye on the water either side; she was the only one who could swim, and if anyone fell in they wouldn't see any wild pokémon until it was too late.

The moment their feet were on dry grass, Carla asked: "Where'd they go, Nixie?"

The Pachirisu pointed to the right of the tree, at a huge building that seemed to have been carved out of the rock face. Two waterfalls fell either side of it, and its doors hung open.

"They wouldn't."

BOOM.

Carla wobbled, gripping the tree trunk for support. Her eyes, wide and fearful, stared at the Cave of Origin. Rocks tumbled and crashed in the distance, closely followed by angry and alarmed cries from the Cave's pokémon.

Within moments, figures were running over the bridge. Someone grabbed Carla's arm and demanded: "What happened?"

"Someone from Team Scythe is in there; a policeman went after him, but..."

The trainer whipped out a pokéball and ran up to the Cave; Carla quickly scooped up Layla and Nixie to stop them being trampled. Trainers were almost pouring into the cave. Why wasn't anyone calling the police?

And why would the thug go into the Cave in the first place?

"It's a trap."

"What?"

But Carla was already running forwards, towards the Cave entrance. "Get out!" she screamed. "Get out of there, it's a trap, get…"

The second blast sent her tumbling to her knees. She dropped Nixie and Layla, who squealed in alarm, and stared in horror at the Cave.

Screams were coming out of it now.

More trainers were rushing in now. It wouldn't be long before the teleporters arrived - had anyone called the emergency services?

She glanced around; several people were on their phones. Nixie and Layla looked up at her expectantly, waiting for instructions.

"Layla, return." There were always Zubat - or worse, their evolutions - in caves; Layla wouldn't be able to do much against them. "Zoe, come on out! There are people who need help."

Nixie hopped onto Carla's shoulder, and the three of them rushed into the gaping mouth of the Cave.

Two braziers lay on the stone floor. Carla barely stopped herself from stepping on the glowing embers scattered on the floor; Zoe shrank beside her just as a Machoke emerged from the other end of the tunnel, a bleeding boy in its arms. Its trainer was just beside it.

"Be careful, it's a hellzone down there." The girl looked at Zoe and Nixie in shock. "Are you serious?"

"Yes."

Carla was about to take another step when the girl grabbed her arm. "Hey, let go!"

Nixie's cheeks sparked warningly.

"Get him out." Once the Machoke was gone, the girl said: "If they're the best you've got, I'm not letting you go in there."

She meant it - Carla could see it in her eyes. But there were people moving past them in both directions and they were blocking the way.

Zoe tugged at Carla's jeans. Once she had her trainer's eye, she nodded once slowly.

Carla understood. "Nixie, I need you to get down." She took off her bag and placed it on the ground;she unzipped the right compartment and rummaged around until her fingers touched something cool and smooth.

The dawn stone glimmered in the dim light.

Carla touched it to Zoe's body, and immediately the Snorunt started to glow. She levitated off the ground as she grew slimmer and longer; her arms became longer and two stumps grew on top of her head.

"Guess that'll have to do," the girl said begrudgingly. "But I hope you know what you're doing."

Golbat fluttered near the rocky ceiling, screeching and diving at the fleeing trainers. Most of the trainers were helping wounded, bloodied and limping figures, and the Golbat were stopping their escape.

"Nixie, use Swift! Zoe, Ice Shard!"

Golden stars hit the nearest Golbat, who screamed and turned its attention to the three figures. Zoe opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

"Use your hands instead!"

A tiny, glowing ball of energy appeared between Zoe's hands, but the Golbat was already moving towards them.

"Electro Ball!"

The Electric attack hit the Golbat right in the mouth. Screaming, it flew away, but there were still others. This wasn't enough. The others had to help too.

"Tess, Rakel, Layla and Auna, come out!"

Zoe launched the Ice Shard at another Golbat, barely stopping it from sinking its fangs into someone's back.

"All right, girls, I'm giving you a free hand on this. Use what moves you have to, just stop those Golbat from hurting people. And don't hit anyone else!"

Her team turned their attention to the shrieking, flapping horde above. Auna launched Swift after Swift; Tess and Nixie shot Shadow and Electro Ball attacks. Rakel sent rainbow-coloured streams of power at the Golbat; Layla used her speed and agility to kick anything too close to a retreating trainer. And Zoe's Ice Fang attack seemed to be even more powerful now she'd evolved.

A hand landed on Carla's shoulder. "That's enough now." It was a man dressed in a blue uniform. "You can get out of here; we've got this."

Go.

"Girls, we're leaving! Come on!"

The seven of them left the Cave and saw chaos. All around them, trainers were being loaded onto stretchers and teleported away; others were wrapped in bright orange blankets and huddling together.

"Thank you, girls. You've done so well. You can rest now."

She withdrew them and leaned against the tree, eyes closing.

"All right, get him loaded up. And calm down that Swampert!"

No.

Carla opened her eyes to see a figure in a blue jacket lying on a stretcher. Beside the stretcher was a Swampert, strugging against the stylus energy restraining him.

"No. Dave. DAVE!" She rushed up to the stretcher and grabbed his hand. "Dave! What happened?"

Then she saw his legs. Bile rose in her throat, burning it.

"You can go with him to the hospital, if you want," she heard someone say. "But you'll have to wait until there's news."

She nodded.

"What happened?" Belinda's face was as pale as snow. "Carla, what happened?"

"There was an explosion in the Cave of Origin. People rushed in, maybe they wanted to help, and then there was another explosion. I didn't even know he was in there." She forced herself to meet Belinda's eyes. "What did the doctor say?"

Behind her mother, Abby stifled a sob and pressed her hand to her mouth.

"She said some rocks fell on his legs. They're both broken, we just don't know how badly."

"Bel? Abby?" Dave's father stood beside a man in a white coat; he gestured to his family, asking him to join them.

Carla didn't see the discussion, and nor did she hear it. She walked over to the nearest window and pressed her forehead against it. Rain was finally falling; it hit the glass harshly and trickled down it in small streams.

How had this happened? Why had this happened? How could things have gone so wrong so quickly? So many had been hurt today - and all because of Team Scythe.

A cold sensation started flickering inside her. She stared at her own reflection, and saw a gaze as hard and as cold as winter looking back at her.

I know an ice maiden when I see one.

Fine. If that was what it took, she could live with it. Team Scythe had no idea who they were dealing with, but they would find out.

She would become as ruthless as she needed to be.

To be continued in...

The Winter Ghost

This chapter's title comes from Canary by Joy Wlliams.

And that's it! It's been a little over three years since this fic was started; I hope you've enjoyed the first part of Carla's story. Please leave a review and let me know what you think.