By: Pro_V of Pokemon: The Hokubu & Nanka Trek
What happens when Eevy and crew hit the shores of the United States?
A/N: Muahaha! Part three has arrived! Sorry it took so long. ^_^* And remember: This is not a "What if…?" fic. This is to be held to the story, even if it seems kind of…Different.
Part Three: So many problems so little time…
"I wanna go to the gift shop!" Yuu-Yuu flailed before anyone was even off the plane, "Please, please, please, please?!"
Everyone looked back at her, then rolled their eyes and started down the gangplank, "Yuu-Yuu, I think it's time for you to calm down," Medira murmured, carefully patting her head, "Breathe deep now."
While the two of them began to argue, Ensign began leading them around to the doors and hallways they needed to take, "We've got to take a quick ride to the main terminal where we'll get out bags, then catch our rides."
"Rides? But I was told I was getting my car!" Eevy barked, running up beside him, "What goes here, ya' little-"
"Ah-ah-ah!" Morty came up behind her and caught one arm as Eusine grabbed the other, "We've got to get to Miami to get your car, dear sister!"
"NO!" Eevy started wailing, "I can't go that long without my beloved car!"
Lance came running from behind and grabbed her, hurrying forward, "Aww, come on, Eev! Just be glad we're here!"
"Put me down!" she shrieked, kicking and flailing, "You're making us look like idiots! Let go! Oh…" she waved slowly as he ran right past Ensign, "BYE!"
"Hey! Wait for us!" Sooney also shot past Ensign, as did pretty much everyone but Mizu and Eusine, who were walking slowly.
"Wait! You can't just-OOH!" Pikachu used his head as a jumping board and Ensign then careened down the hallway, "Get back here!"
By the time he caught up to them, they were all standing blank-faced beside a black tram with a rainbow painted diagonally on its side. He panted up behind Brock and Ash, who were at the very end of the line, and nearly hacked up a lung. Lance dropped Eevy down in one of the seats and sat beside her, purposely squashing her against the wall so as she was unable to escape. She slapped his stomach, then sat there as if totally innocent, so he slapped her stomach back and did the same. She hit him again, then he hit her, then she hit him…It continued like this until the tram started moving. Ensign sat in the seat across from them, by himself, and Rachel leaned over in the seat from beside Lance.
"Thanks for bringing me, Eevy," she grinned, "It's fun already!"
"Oh, like I'd ever leave you behind!" Eevy smiled back as Rachel sat back down, "I've never come in to and airport this big before though…"
"It sure is big," Luri murmured, peeking out the window behind her, "Willie, did you see all the gates and planes and stuff?"
"Yes, Lurianna. Let's not start, please…" Will rolled his eyes, tracing their basic route on the map with a purple marker.
"Geez…What's your problem?" Luri puffed slumping down in her seat and crossing her arms.
Will glanced momentarily over at Eevy, who merely made a face as if to scream, "You know what to say."
"Nothing, Lurianna," Will refolded the map and tucked it into his back pocket.
"OK, everybody off," Ensign started to stand to go first, but was nearly run over by the running Misty and Kayla, "Woah!"
After numerous others had catapulted off the ride, Ensign carefully wobbled off, still partially disoriented by that sudden rush of air from those running girls. Lisle and Morty stopped and waited for Mizu and Eusine, and Lance waited for everyone else to be off before again picking Eevy up and taking off. She screeched, but he just headed right inside. At least, Eevy decided, they weren't the only ones looking like idiots, since pretty much everyone else was oohing and awing over the place. Lance ran past pretty much everyone else, including those who were working at the airport, then suddenly slid to a stop. He had his left arm around Eevy's waist, and had been more pushing her than carrying her, and they both looked up and around the huge room they'd come upon. They looked right and watched an elevator rise, then looked left and watched dozens of people milling around the doors.
"…Wow…" they both murmured, blinking twice.
Ensign ran up behind them, "Would you please stop doing that?!" he begged, "I'm winded as it is! Now please…Can we go get your bags and get down to busi-AHH!"
He facefaulted as Misty and Luri and Mizu sat by the fountain, gawking at the water as it splashed up into the air, then back down into the pool below it. He was about to start pitching a fit when Eevy pulled away from the still staring Lance. She clapped her hands twice, attracting everyone's attention.
"Ladies!" she chirped off to those by the fountain, "Come on; let's go get our stuff so we can get this show on the road, please!"
Ensign's jaw fell right to the floor as Luri and Mizu and Misty all came hopping back to the group. Eevy looked back on him, both eyes slightly narrow, and showing she was completely unimpressed. And he was now agreeing that he couldn't blame her. He waddled along behind as Eevy stepped down onto the escalator and hopped off a few feet from the bottom. He sighed long and hard, someone bothered by the Champion Mistress's lack of self-control and manners. As Eevy stood watching bag after bag, none of which were hers mind you, run past, there was a tug to her shirt. She turned around and spotted a little girl.
"It really is you!" the girl screeched, eyes shining as she hopped up and down, "Mommy! Mommy!" she ran off, then dragged her mother back, "Look! Look!"
"Oh my…I'm so sorry," her mother covered the little girl's mouth, "But she watches for you on PKMN TV every day. She…Knows you by heart, I think."
"Aww…It's OK. I don't mind," Eevy grinned, "What's your name?"
The girl's eyes practically widened right out of her head, "Danielle," she whimpered.
"That's a pretty name," she stood back up and turned around, "Hey, guys! Commere a minute!"
"Aww, who's your friend?" Luri chirped clapping repeatedly.
Danielle practically shot into orbit and her mother just kinda…Stood there, "My-My name's Danielle. Will you please sign my Poke'Ball?" she asked, holding it and a marker up as high as she could towards Eevy.
"Sure!" Eevy scribbled her name, with a bit of trouble, on the round metallic surface, "What's in it?"
"A Chikorita."
"Nice choice."
Expecting only Eevy to sign, Danielle hopped up and down when she passed it off to Lance, who passed it to Will, to Luri, to Jason, to Medira. Medira tossed it off at Morty and Eusine, and they proceeded to throw it at Ash, who stared for a second before jotting his name on it. Pikachu scribbled all over his hand with the marker and left his print on it as well. He tossed it, right over Gary's head, back to Eevy, who handed it back to Danielle. She stared at it, jaw dropped, before Todd popped up from the side and handed her a picture he'd snapped without telling anyone. She jumped up and down and ran to show her mother.
She turned back around and waved frantically, "Thank you thank you thank you!" she spun back around and proceeded to follow her mother, ranting the entire time.
When they turned back around, Ensign was leaning on a pillar behind them and had every single bag placed around his feet. He looked off at Eevy and narrowed one eye, and she did the same back at him. Obviously he was trying to be impressive to gain her respect. Again she merely picked up her bags…And walked away.
*^~^**^~^*
After riding the escalator, behind the cheering Danielle, who kept waving back at them, everyone stepped outside into thick, hot air. Yuu-Yuu immediately started coughing and Chenille waved a book at her face. The air was tremendously muggy and it was difficult to breathe, so Eevy started searching and searching for their rides. Ensign tapped her shoulder and motioned to their right. When he approached what Eevy had thought was a bus, her eyes went big as dinner plates. They had rainbows on them.
"…What the hell are those?" she asked, pointing at them.
"These are what you'll be riding in," Ensign acknowledged, knocking on the door of one and causing it to open, "There're two more like this one, each one for two Elite, and then we have two tour busses for your guests."
"But…Those are busses," Jason gaped, pointing shakily at them.
"No they're not," Tracey poked in, "They're high-class RVs. I'd say each is probably worth…About seven hundred thousand."
"WHAT?!" Eevy shrieked, holding her head, "You've got to be kidding me!"
"Actually, he's quite far off," Ensign opened the doors to the other two RVs, then the two busses, "Each one cost approximately…" he pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket, "Nine hundred and eleven thousand."
Luri fell face-first to the concrete and everyone else pretty much just gawked stupidly. Ensign blinked twice and coughed a bit.
"You do know you had plenty of money in your League stock for this, don't you? You make millions every year through Gyms and gratuity. Stuff like this is cake," he informed them, only to watch Will fall to his side and Lance catch Eevy when she began to faint, "I…See I've gone too far so as to tell you this…"
Eevy dragged her bags behind her on the ground and stepped up into her temporary "home". Why, she wondered, did they need hotels when they had these? Then she realized that everyone but the Elite were stuck in busses all day long. Then suddenly she liked the idea of a hotel, so as her friends could rest. Lance stepped in behind her and looked around blankly.
"What is this? A rolling apartment?" he questioned, scratching his head, "Geez…I could get lost in here."
"I already am lost," Eevy muttered, "Come on. The bedroom is in the back. We can unpack."
As they started moving, so did the entire vehicle. They tripped side to side and nearly fell all over each other, but then it suddenly stopped and the driver turned quickly around.
"Sorry about that. I thought you were sitting down," he apologized quickly, "I had to pull forward a bit for other cars."
"That's OK," Eevy waved her hand at him, "What might your name be?"
"Call me Joe," he nodded, flipping his cap off to her, "I'll be driving this big lug for the rest of the trip. If there's anything I can do for you or anything you need, ask me. That way none of us have to go through contortions with that bugger Ensign."
"Ahh…I think we'll enjoy having you as our driver," Lance smiled evilly as Eevy nodded over and over again.
*^~^**^~^*
Eevy had a straw in her mouth, gnawing on it subconsciously while reading her book, and Lance was constantly pausing his own reading to remove it from her mouth. Luri was once again, in her own "rolling apartment" with Will, looking over their route, and Will was taking a nap in the bedroom. He hadn't said why he'd needed one, but his eyes were awfully bloodshot, so Luri nodded and let him go. Jason was raiding the fridge for a soda for himself, along with one for Medira, and Medira was comparing her Pokemons' stats with those of the average Pokemon of the same levels. In their busses, everyone else was jumping around and mostly just watching out the windows to watch all the different things they were passing. Tracey was sketching as best as he could and Chenille was having a blast pointing out to Gary all the different things she could name. Having been riding over four hours, all five vehicles pulled to a stop. Chenille was the first to appear on the stairs of the bus she was on, dragging Gary right behind her.
"Wowo!" she shrieked, "Gary, we're in Miami!"
"I know," Gary rolled his eyes, sighing for the umpteenth time, "You've told me this a million times."
Ensign climbed down from the other bus and was again looking at the paper he'd had stashed in his back pocket, "Looks like Maren should be coming in right over there," he pointed.
They waited for what felt like hours to see the SS Shooting Star coasting up to the dock and gently settling beside it. Richie and Kayla started asking how come they didn't just come over on the boat. Eevy shook her head and bounced down the dock, running up the ramp that had just dropped, and latched onto Maren as she stepped over from the ladder.
"Hi, Maren! Thanks a million for coming all this way for one car," Eevy chirped.
"Well…It's not exactly one," Maren smiled innocently as Eevy stared blankly.
Eevy looked over Maren's right shoulder and let her jaw fall open. Not only was her Viper sitting there, chained to the deck of the boat with a cover draped over it, but Lance's Mako was sitting there right beside it. Eevy looked back right at Maren.
"Hey, he asked…And I couldn't say no. He paid me in advance," Maren shrugged, "It's not like it'll kill you."
"That's one more thing we need to worry about while we're on this trip!" Ensign thundered, storming up beside Eevy and waving that stupid little paper at Maren, "Take that back to Rainbow Metro right this minute!"
"Listen, little man," Maren caught onto his collar as Eevy backed away, as she knew it was a bad idea to challenge Skiff's cousin, "In my business, there are no refunds and no exchanges. This car is here now, and until you come back from the rest of your trip, here is where it's staying. Got it?"
"R-Right," Ensign nodded quickly, running back onto the bus just after Maren had dropped him.
"Please tell me you didn't hire that little weasel," Maren grunted while unchaining both cars from the boat.
"That little irritation?" Eevy puffed, "You gotta be kidding me!"
Maren pulled the covers off the cars, "OK. Take 'em on off."
Lance and Eevy took their keys from Maren and slowly pulled down onto the dock and out onto the road, "So…" Lance leaned over the door, "I guess we drive behind the busses."
"No," Ensign appeared in the bus door, "Drive between the busses and the RVs. It'll offer more protection."
"Just a second, please!" no one could help but facefault when a Jenny dressed in red, white and blue came running from the guard station beside the dock, "We need to do a routine search of the two vehicles you just got off that boat."
"Is that really necessary?" Lance grumbled.
"It's policy."
"I'll give you-"
"Lance," Eevy put her arm up in front of him, "Let them do their job."
He puffed something under his breath, but let the Jenny and two other officers examine his car. They popped the trunk and the hood and checked the glove compartment and this and that and the other thing. Finally satisfied with their search, they put a pink slip in the front of the window and moved to Eevy's car. She made it a point to stay in the car. They popped the trunk, then immediately slammed it shut. One officer stepped up to her and knocked on the window.
"Could you step out of the car please?" he asked quietly.
"Geez…" she shoved the door open and got out, slamming it shut, "What?" she whined long and hard, annoying them purposely.
"Are you aware of the contents-"
"Seeing as how I put it there, my guess would be yes," she replied haughtily, reaching into her pocket, "Listen, buddy. I'm not pulling something. I'm just getting my wallet," she snorted, watching his hand sliding for his pistol, "Here. I'm registered with the Rose Town police department in Gertan Rin."
"…Eevy?" Misty questioned, not quite believing that.
Eevy glanced off at them, then turned back to the officer, "I need another ID."
"Cripes…" Eevy flipped over some of her other things and showed her driver's license, "Here. Run my license and my plates and my badge if you want to. Do the whole routine. Come on; ya' know ya' wanna."
"Evangelina Hikoboshi…" Jenny grabbed the license from the other officer, "My cousin worked with you in Rose Town. Your uncle was one of their best officers."
"Hey…I remember you!" Eevy pointed at her, "Jenny was always talking about you. She had a picture of you and her and your Growlithe and a Spinarak on her desk! I forgot she said you moved here."
Jenny dug into her wallet and flipped open a picture, "This is that picture, right? It's OK. She can go," Jenny nodded at the other officer, who just went wide-eyed and walked stiffly away, "Thanks for cooperating. Sorry about the confusion."
"That's all right. I'm used to it by now," Eevy waved as Jenny and the other two walked away, then froze at the strange looks everyone but Ash and Pikachu were giving her, "…Uh…What?"
*^~^**^~^*
"You wanna tell me what's in your trunk now, Eevy?" Lance asked as they carried everything they'd need for a night in the hotel down off the RV.
They'd only been driving about an hour and a half or so when Ensign had pointed out a hotel on their right. Hotel security had had to lock off the entryway while they got out of their busses and RVs, and now there was a seemingly endless group of fans standing just on the other side of the gates, reaching in between the bars and waving. Luri and Will were at one end, about arm's length from the gate, and signing autographs while three security guards stood close behind them, dressed remarkably similar to Ensign. Medira and Jason were at the other end, also signing autographs, but they had only two guards. Jason decided it was because a Medio Mistress and the Elite First would be easier to replace than the Elite Second and Third.
"There's no reason for me to, because there's no reason for you to care. Besides, there's nothing in there that interesting. They probably saw some little food-stuff and decided it was illegal to transport food between Gertan Rin and here or something," Eevy shrugged, swinging her cloak around her shoulders and grinning when it practically summoned a wave of excessive cheers.
"OK, then why don't we go find out what it was? So give me the keys and come with me and we'll look together," Lance put out his hand, "No matter what it is, Evangelina, I'm sure I can deal with it."
She picked her bag up and looked at him, "No," she answered flatly.
"All right. Fine. Play that way," he picked up his own bag and rushed after her as she headed inside, "Then when were you planning on telling me you're a cop?"
"Whenever it happened to come up," she replied as one of the security guards held the door for her.
"Bullshit," he huffed back, "When would something like that have come up?"
"Well, if you made a comment about a cop…Or if we started talking about my uncle…Or something like that. I don't know, but can we just drop it? It's not like I'm some super-secret amazing agent or anything," she shook her head, stepping up beside Ensign, "I'll tell you what, we'll eat here at Nobu tonight, and we'll talk about it later tonight or early tomorrow."
"You had better not blow me off tonight," he sighed, slowly shaking his head as Morty and Eusine tripped up behind them.
"Wowee!" Morty grinned crazily, stopping beside his sister, "This city is fun!"
"Hey, Lance," Eusine leaned over on his shoulder, "There's like a dozen bars right here in this part of town. Wanna go out tonight?"
"Not a chance in hell are any of you going anywhere," Eevy glared, eyes narrowing even more, "The last time you went out, you all got drunk and sat on the porch singing in your little drunken stupor."
"Hey, we weren't singing," Morty pointed out, "Victor was singing."
"Yeah," Eusine nodded, then grinned crazily, "We were doing backup."
Eevy groaned as both her brother and cousin burst out laughing and Lance just sweatdropped, "I can't anyway, you two. I'm going to dinner with Eevy."
"Aww…" they both sniggered, "Isn't that cute? They're going to dinner," they laughed hysterically for a bit before Eusine finally had the chance to talk, "So we'll take Will and go without you."
"No, you most certainly will not," Eevy snapped.
"Aww…How come?" Morty asked, locking his fingers together behind his head, "Don't you trust us?"
"For one thing, I don't need to share his hangover in the morning. For another thing, I'm sure Lisle and Mizu will want to go to dinner with you," she picked up her bags as she saw Ensign approaching, "And for another thing, no, I don't trust you. Don't forget what happened on Mandarin Island."
"Ooh…Scary," Eusine grinned, "Like remember the Alamo."
"We're all checked in," Ensign nodded, "We'd reserved rooms in advance, and every couple has their own room. Uh…Rachel demanded her own room, far away from Brock's, she said, so I tried to make another stay, but there were no vacant rooms. So is there anybody willing to share one with me? There're two beds, before you even comment," he put in quickly.
"Hmm…You might want to share with Brock," Eevy smirked, "It'd protect the ladies of the group quite a bit better."
"Oh…All right, I suppose," Ensign shrugged, "I called ahead to the other hotels, and I'll have my own room everywhere else. I'll go and find the rooms," he waved and ran off to jog upstairs.
Morty turned quietly to Eusine as Eevy and Lance began to follow Ensign, "We'll sneak out tonight, and use the cover of darkness to escape the iron fist of Eevy."
"Keep thinking like that and I'll put you under house arrest," Eevy snapped back at them, waving her finger at them while walking backwards, "Remember; I'm a cop; I can do that."
"Ah, but we're not in a house, dear cousin!" Eusine pointed out, quite proud of his "discovery".
"OK, we'll make it hotel arrest then!" Eevy noted with authority, "Nevertheless, you may want to turn around."
"Turn around?" they both blinked, then looked over their shoulders and jumped about ten feet.
"Sneak out?"
"Cover of darkness?"
"What's going on?!" Lisle and Mizu demanded in unison.
*^~^**^~^*
Eevy poked silently at her dinner, seemingly lost in a conversation with herself. Was she, Lance wondered, maybe bored? Was she not feeling well? Was she worried about her brother and cousin actually managing to "escape"? Was she depressed about something? Had he done something? Was she upset about something? He sat his glass down and looked across the table at her. She seemingly didn't notice him and went on about poking her food.
"Evangelina?" Lance whispered, just loud enough that she was able to hear him, "Are you all right, Eev? You're acting…Kind of distant."
"Oh…Oh, yeah. I'm fine," she nodded, giving a fake smile, "Just tired, I suppose. We've already been traveling for what feels like forever. And we still need to get all the way up to Saint Catherines and then come all the way back down to Orlando."
He smiled weakly back at her, "Is there anything I can do? Like…Kill Ensign?"
"If you want to do that, go right ahead," she nodded, causing him to grin, "But no, there's not really anything you can do," she murmured, the flame on the candle between them reflecting in her eyes.
*^~^**^~^*
"That…Was the most horrible night's sleep…I've ever had," Brock murmured, rubbing his forehead and cringing.
"I take it Ensign kept you up?" Ash sniggered, leaning over the back of Brock's seat.
"Until three in the morning," he snorted, banging his head on the seat in front of him, "He was up looking over the route, and typing stuff up, and emailing people, and oh my GOD my head hurts."
"Hey, Steph!" Misty leaned up over the seat, "How much farther before we hit Atlanta?"
"Only a few more minutes!" Stephanie, their driver, called back, "We're only staying here for a couple hours, then we're moving on to Charleston."
"Aww…How come we're not staying?" Kayla whined, "Can't we stay just for a little while?"
Steph laughed slightly, "Sorry, guys, but Ensign always gets his way."
"That sucks," Richie sighed, "The more time we spend on the road, the longer before we have to get on a plane again."
*^~^**^~^*
"We eat lunch…And we're on the road again," Will muttered under his breath, leaning in the back window of the RV and watching Eevy and Lance putting along behind them, "To Charleston now, right?"
"Yep," Luri replied simply, "Charleston it is."
He sighed low and long, "We're not even a quarter of the way through this trip and I'm already getting sick of seeing highways and screaming fans."
Balancing carefully as she stood up, she tripped down to where he sat and flopped down beside him, "Are you OK?" she asked, hugging his shoulders and leaning on his back, "You haven't seemed to be feeling well all yesterday or today. Is something wrong? Are you sick?" she leaned around him and kissed his forehead, "Well, you don't have a fever…"
"I'm fine, Lurianna," he patted the back of her hand as it rested on his shoulder, "I've just got a lot going through my head right now. I've got my own work, plus a bunch of Eevy's going through my head all at once. It's a real…Clutter."
"Aww…" she patted his head, "Then why don't you take another nap? I'll wake you up when we get to the hotel."
"I've been sleeping too much lately," he shook his head, "No, I'll just have something caffeinated and read a book or something."
"If you're sure…" she murmured, watching him stand and wobble away into the kitchen area before looking back and watching Eevy in her car behind them.
*^~^**^~^*
Eevy was seemingly focused entirely on the road and her driving, but in truth, her mind was wondering around and around. Her mind was set on one subject, yes, but it was twirling and winding around it in a million different directions. The night before, she'd purposely hit the bed when they returned from dinner and faked sleep. She knew it was a slim chance that he'd not notice she wasn't sleeping, but she supposed he must have been tired too. He hit his pillow and-BOOM! Right out.
It wasn't that she didn't want to tell him. It wasn't that she didn't have the willpower to tell him. It was that she didn't know how to tell him. What was she going to say? Oh, I have this, this and this in my trunk. Sure…That'd go over well. She looked up into her rearview mirror and watched him turning his radio up, then looked back and waved to Luri in the back window of the RV ahead of her. Luri waved back sheepishly, then slowly sunk out of view. She was worried about Will, that much he had told her, right before asking if there was anything he could do to help her out. When she told him no, he merely sighed and opened the can of soda he had, then went on about his Stephen King.
*^~^**^~^*
"Oh, wow! Look at this humungous hotel!" Yuu-Yuu shrieked, clapping her hands repeatedly, "Skiff, look at this place!"
Skiff looked at Yuu-Yuu for a moment, processing the whole shiny-eyed thing she was doing, then looked up at the hotel, "It's mammoth," he said quietly.
"Charleston Place? I read about this place once. It's supposed to be world-class," Tracey murmured, carefully sketching away in his notebook, "They even have a tennis court."
"Ooh! I wanna play some tennis!" Sooney chirped, clapping her hands together in front of her before joining Yuu-Yuu's shiny-eye bit.
"The Elite will be in three of their six Hospitality Suites at the Riviera," Ensign muffled, his pen hanging out of his mouth, "I asked them to remove the contents from the bar from your room, Miss Hikoboshi."
"…Thanks for the consideration…" Eevy blinked twice as she stepped out of her car and watched Joe shake his head as he stood behind Ensign.
"Everyone else will be staying in one of the Senior Executive Suites or one of their Junior Suites," Ensign continued, "I took the liberty of setting up some time at the Health Club, via Kratos' wishes, for the ladies as well. And for the men, I've saved them the largest conference room here, for whatever they wish to do which is within reason."
"Health Club?" Lisle asked, leaning into his face, "What are you talking about?"
Ensign merely shut his eyes and answered pompously, "Facials, manicures, pedicures and wraps, but of course. Kratos ordered only the best care for his Champion and her guests."
He was stared at strangely for a few minutes, then Misty shrieked, "Wow! I can't wait to go inside! This is going to be the best trip ever!"
"After that horrible plane ride, I could use some of that!" Kayla bounced around Richie in a circle.
Richie tried desperately to ignore her, though with her speed it was most difficult, "And I think leaving the girls to their own devices for a while…Might not be…Such a bad idea."
"Ya' got that right," Ash replied, leaning away from Misty, then away from Beth.
"Miss Hikoboshi," Ensign tucked his pen behind his ear, "We've set up everything for you, at no expense to you yourself, and Kratos sends his best regards and wishes you to enjoy yourself."
"Wow, Eevy!" Rachel screeched, "I'll bet you'll be feeling a lot better after all this!"
"I'm afraid I'll have to pass, guys," Eevy replied quietly, untying her cloak and handing it to Lance.
"Uh…How come?" Eusine questioned, scratching the back of his head, "Rachel's right; it'll probably make you feel better."
"Can't you pamper yourself just for one little minute?" Morty put in, sighing long and hard, "Evangelina…"
"I want to go for a drive for a little while. Don't worry, I'll be back later," Eevy smiled, though it didn't seem quite genuine, "If she wants to, Mizu can take my place."
"Who? Me?" Mizu pointed to herself, "But, Eevy-"
"You need it, Mizu," Eevy waved, sliding into her car, "And if Ensign finds it necessary to do so, he can put me up for later tonight. I'll be careful and I'll be back before dinner," she waved out her window, "Just toss my stuff in the room and I'll pick up when I come back."
"Are you sure about this?!" Medira asked as Eevy started the car, "I mean, you hardly know the-" Eevy pulled out, spinning the back wheels a few times before tearing forward, "-Area…"
She coughed a few times, the puff of dirt from Eevy's tires reaching her quickly, and Jason patted her back, "I hope she'll honestly be careful out there."
"Oh, me too…" Luri whimpered.
Will just watched her tear down the street, eyes narrowing slowly.
*^~^**^~^*
Finally able to put her radio on, Eevy clicked the dial around and adjusted it until she found a good station. She needed to be alone now, but not in the dead silence. Having been driving for about twenty minutes, she contemplated heading back. She had always loved Charleston, but wasn't about to tell anyone she'd been there before. The only ones who needed to know were Morty and Eusine. As she rounded a corner and prepared to go around the block and head back to the hotel, she pushed the brakes as hard as she was able.
She looked dead forward, her eyes wavering as she looked into the windshield of the car ahead of her. She was faced with a wide grin and beat red eyes. The black Jaguar inched slowly up toward her, and that familiar smile kept getting closer…And closer…And closer. Eevy's eyes shook and widened and she choked a few breaths. With no warning, she pressed the gas pedal all the way to the floor, spinning the wheel frantically. Now behind her, car followed just as fast, and she took a quick-quick corner, fishtailing down the road as the Jaguar continued its pursuit. She glanced back as her most infamous "friend" leaned out the window.
"Oh, angel-girl! Why not stop and come here and say hello!"
She looked back and growled, not realizing where she was driving. When she looked back, it was just in time to watch something spherical and black smash into her windshield, then roll off the hood and explode. It left a crack in her windshield, making it impossible to see. She grunted and leaned out her window, looking around to see what had done what. When she looked dead ahead, she found the source of her beloved car's pain.
"Open fire," Bashou grinned, throwing another bomb out his car window, directly at her.
Eevy shrieked and spun the wheel all the way around, tearing down the street, past Rubeus. He released a large amount of fire at her, but she was just fast enough to avoid it, and took a tight right down a back street.
"Come back, angel-girl!" Rubeus laughed, turning and following her, "Come now! You can't hate me as much as I hate you!'
"Go to hell!" she called back at him, screeching to a halt at the end of the road she'd come to, then spinning all the way around in attempts to backtrack.
"Looks like you're trapped now!" Buson waved as Bashou pulled in beside Rubeus, boxing her down the street, "The Boss will be most pleased, now that he spent all that money to send us here after you."
"Ooh…Now what are you going to do? No one here to protect you," Tyson grinned evilly, "Maybe…Surrender?"
Eevy swallowed as hard as she was able, as her mouth had gone dry. Rubeus stepped out of his car and shut the door, standing with his arms crossed beside it as Bashou, Buson and Tyson also stepped out, smiling down the street at her. Without even a second though, she reached quickly into the backseat and pulled the front of the base off, pulling out something wrapped in black.
All anyone was aware of now was a series of explosions and gunshots before Eevy's Viper went flying down one of the main streets, alone.
*^~^**^~^*
Eevy leaned on the slightly oiled door of the one and only place she would ever take her car to be fixed. Arms crossed and head dropped, she listened to the turning ratchet and the banging hammers in the background, then a rivet gun going off. She sighed slightly as the mechanic came sliding out from beneath the car.
"You've toasted the battery again and you should get new spark plugs. You obviously need to replace the windshield, along with the driver's side mirror. The muffler needs replacing and you bashed both headlights and bent the grill. It could probably use new tires too, since the treads are almost nil," he wiped his hands with an old cloth he'd pulled from his pocket, "What do you do to this car?"
"I drive it," she answered simply, arms still crossed, "What kind of work are we talking?"
"For you…I can have it done in a few hours. I'll get my two assistants working on the plugs and battery while I find the replacement glass and grill. Shouldn't take more than…Five hours," he shrugged, "They don't make that many Viper windshields anymore. Not for this model."
"But you can fix it?"
He tilted an eyebrow, "Yeah, I can fix it," he nodded simply, "You're more than welcome to stay and wait. Help if you'd like."
"I'll just watch."
"Suit yourself," he shrugged, looking over a long selection of headlights hanging on the wall, "So what're you doing here? I thought you were Champ over on Gertan Rin. At least that's what the radio blurts when Michael and Reggie have it on. Ooh, you should have heard me when they announced you were in that League Tournament!" he stood up and threw one arm above his head, "I'll bet every single person up and down the boardwalk heard me!"
"That I am," she nodded slowly, spinning a wrench around in her fingers, "I came over here for some conventions and basically just to drive around and show off the League's new busses and RVs."
"Ooh…Snazzy," he grinned, taking one of the lights down from the wall and throwing it off at the teen sitting and working on a motorcycle, "Michael! Stop futzing with that thing and get me a pair of these!"
"Yes, sir!" he scrambled to his feet and scampered into the back room.
"Bah! Kids today," the mechanic grunted, digging around a drawer in an oil-covered desk for the correct spark plugs he needed, "Still…I thought you said you wouldn't come back here. Did you meet someone new?"
"Yes," Eevy answered quietly.
"Good, good! That's very good!" he nodded, "I assume he takes care of you, as it was wished?"
"Yes."
"Is your family happy with him? Are you?" he questioned, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, "Are you as happy, I mean, as you were way-back-when?"
"Happier, I think."
"Hm? Really?" he looked over at her in total disbelief, "But I thought you were-"
"Sir, I found the lights you wanted," his assistant dropped them on the table beside him.
"Don't you know better than to interrupt people while they're talking?" he snorted in his assistant's face, then turned back to Eevy, who was leaving, "Hey! Evangelina, where are you going?! I thought we were talking!"
"Fix the car, Rigel," she replied flatly, disappearing around the side of the door.
*^~^**^~^*
Eevy wandered slowly down the street, kicking a stone along in front of her. Her hands in her pockets and her eyes frosted over in thought, she didn't notice the car coming up the street behind her. Originally, it was just going to pass her, but the driver slowed and looked her over more carefully. That hair…Those eyes…
"Eva…?" the driver murmured, just barely loud enough for Eevy to hear, causing her to look up, "It really is you. Our little Eva."
"…Netta?" Eevy blinked twice in utter confusion, stepping down off the sidewalk and to the car, "What are you doing here?"
"I live here now," this one called Netta explained, patting the passenger's seat, "Hop in. I'll buy you a drink to say hello after so long," she noticed Eevy looked slightly hesitant, "It'll be a soda," she grinned.
*^~^**^~^*
"…So you're Champion Mistress now…"
Netta looked down into her glass as Eevy did the same across from her at their table, "Yes, I am. And I find it…A good thing to do with my life."
Netta smiled weakly, "I should have known you'd finally cave in and start training…But I'd never have imagined you becoming Champion Mistress."
"What about you?" Eevy asked quietly, "What are you doing over here?"
"I'm helping to train new Growlithe and Spinarak to be sent out all over the country," she replied, sipping her soda, "You always told me my training would take me far. I suppose America is a ways away from the Rose Town PD."
"I hate to say I told you so…"
"But you did…" Netta nodded, "Not to pry…But is there anyone…Special to you these days? I shouldn't think it would be hard for someone like you to find someone interesting."
Eevy laughed lowly, almost nastily, "You're as bad as Rigel."
"Don't compare me to that old sap," Netta huffed indignantly, "But really…Is there?"
"Yes. There are a lot of important people in my life now," Eevy murmured, clasping her hands around her glass, "My cousin…Eusine…He's married now and has a baby on the way…And Morty is married now too."
"Oh, great for them!" Netta nodded with a big grin, "But what about you, Eva?"
Eevy seemed to drift away, "The Elite Fourth…Lance Ryujin," she replied in a quiet tone, but not a whisper.
"Oh, I've seen him, Eva," Netta nodded repeatedly, "He looks like a real sweetheart, if you don't mind me saying so."
"He is. And he is very dear to me," she nodded, taking the last sip of her drink, "I love him very much."
"Good," she noted with sudden firmness in her tone, "That's just the way we all wanted it. But how are you dealing with-"
"I have to be going," Eevy stood quickly up, pushing her chair back, "Here's the money for the bill."
"But…Evangelina…" Netta quickly grabbed the money and flipped it open, "This is close to-"
"There's a paper in there with my number on it if you ever want to call me," Eevy moved quickly to the door, "Thank you, Netta."
"…You're welcome, Evangelina," Netta murmured, looking down at the three numbers on the sheet of paper, wrapped in the nine one-hundred and one fifty dollar bill Eevy had just left in her possession.
*^~^**^~^*
"Rigel!" Eevy stepped quietly in the door of the main office and looked around, "Rigel? Michael? Reggie? Where are you guys?" when she received no reply, she hopped over the counter and headed into the garage, to which the outer doors were locked, "There you are, old man."
"You're back early," Rigel murmured, closing the hood of the Viper, "I told you five hours, not three."
"I know the way you work," she retorted, running her hand over the roof of her car, "It looks great, Rigel. Hey, you took the dent out of the hood."
"I did a lot," he grunted, "Changed the tires, the spark plugs, the windshield, the side-view mirrors, the muffler, the grill, the headlights, and the battery. I un-dented it, washed it, waxed it, vacuumed it, shined it and I got Reggie to sew the rip in the back of the headrest."
"Well, aren't you sweet?" Eevy rolled her eyes, reaching into her pocket for her wallet, "How much do I owe you, Rigel?"
"Nothing."
"Rigel, don't do this," Eevy shook her head, placing her hands on her hips, "Stop being such a stubborn old goat and-"
"Evangelina, whatever happened to respect thy elders? Hm?" he patted her shoulder, "Just take your car and get out of here."
"Rigel, I have to give you something," she motioned her hand to her car, "I mean, that windshield alone must have run you-"
"If you want to give me something, give me something worthwhile," he snorted, jolting her over and patting her back, "You were so little when we first met. You were like the little girl I never had, and you went and grew up and left."
"Rigel…" Eevy attempted to pry herself away from him, "Oh, you old bullfrog, I missed you."
He pushed her back and held her elbows, "You're not a little girl anymore, Evangelina. Take care of yourself and everyone around you. You made that promise years ago, and don't you forget it. And don't ever forget what you did for us either."
"I won't," she backed away and headed for her car.
Slipping into the seat, she nodded and waved at him, then waited for Reggie and Michael to open one of the doors for her to leave. They both waved to Rigel, then headed home for the rest of the night. Rigel stepped out and watched Eevy's car disappear down the street, putting his hands in his back pockets. Slowly drawing his left out and looking at what he found, his eyes widened and slowly began to waver ever so much.
"That little she-devil," he muttered, flipping through the bills and slip of paper that had been slipped into his back pocket, "Kids today…Bah."
*^~^*Part Three: End…*^~^*
A/N: Whee. That was fun. In its own very warped, twisted, disturbed way. But wait; it gets worse. [Itachi: Is that even possible?] [Usagi: From this one's mind? You better believe it.] [Spinarak: Oh yes. It can get much, much worse.] QUIET, you…
*^~^*Pro_V*^~^*
.:O=Usagi-chan=O:.
*))~Itachi-chan~((*
-~+Spin-chan+~-
-=O~The Other Pokemon~O=-
Next: Special Edition: TAA USA: Part 4.
TAA Pokemon Of The Month: June 2003: Latias & Latios
I pretty much don't own…Anything in this chapter. o_O Other than original characters, that is. So don't take them. Or I'll sick Vovo on you. *nods* But, hey, have you ever seen photos of Charleston Place? It's pretty…Aheehee…