By: Pro_V of Pokemon: The Hokubu & Nanka Trek
What happens when Eevy and crew hit the shores of the United States?
A/N: And yet again, here comes more insanity! 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 Four: Another city, another near revelation...
Sputtering in the hotel room door, and feeling like a wet rag someone had just run through the ringer, Eevy flopped down in a chair and yawned. She was seemingly not even partially aware of her surroundings, as she didn't punch Ensign when he barged right in without knocking, demanding to know where she had been and how her car looked so nice.
"Are you listening to me?!" he asked louder, "I asked you a question and I demand I get an answer!"
The next thing he knew, he had been turned around and lifted from the floor by his shoulders, "Listen, you little insect," Lance gnarled, shaking him slightly, "I do not like guys who harass women; especially puny guys who harass my girl. Now, you can either get out the way you came in, without knocking, I might add, or I can dump you out in pieces. I'll be courteous enough to let you decide, though you hardly deserve even that tiny gesture of sympathy."
Needless to say; Ensign left.
"Now then," Lance sat down in the seat across from Eevy, "I'll ask politely. Where were you all this time?"
There was a long, unsettling pause, "Just driving around. And I took my car to get done up and went for a walk," she shrugged, "Nothing all that exciting."
"Uh…Huh…" he blinked twice, then shrugged, "Well, I broke you some room in the Health Club and told them you'd have to decide what you'd have done. Mizu had a blast, so maybe you can ask her for some suggestions."
"I thought Ensign was going to set it up."
"I wouldn't let him. He's such a little irritant."
"I noticed."
*^~^**^~^*
Grinning as she realized she was finally totally alone, Eevy stepped down into the hot tub and smirked wider. It'd been a long time since she was in one like this, with the frosted glass screen and soft lighting. It had to have been, literally, years since she'd even gotten near a place like this. It felt good though. For the first time in a long, long while, she was allowing herself to be freely pampered. Yes, she was Champion Mistress, but she never allowed herself to relax; she was always tense. Maybe it was time to let go and drift.
Or maybe not. Maybe letting her guard down would make her weak…Again. And maybe it was her destiny to remain tense and high-strung, so as she never showed her weaknesses. The one time she had ever let her emotions reign for even a second, all hell had broken loose for her. The longer she sat, the more memories invaded her peace, forcing her to face them headlong. Bad memories; painful memories; depressing memories; relentless memories; all memories she wished she could forget, but which were buried deep in her mind, never to leave and never to give her true emotional peace.
She sighed long and hard, allowing her eyes to open just halfway, merely too look directly upward into the dim light above her. As it reflected into her eyes, she reached off to her right and scribbled something in the steam on the glass screen. After she finished writing, she looked silently over at it.
"EH & LT," she murmured dazedly out loud, "Once upon a time, maybe."
She quickly turned to the door as it opened, then frantically flailed around in front of her squiggles to block them with her head. Lance stretched both arms above his head, then took the towel from his shoulders and hung it over the bar on the wall. He knelt down right behind where Eevy had just been sitting and smiled at her.
"Hello, pretty lady," he acknowledged, splashing his arms and face, "Mind if I join you?"
"Oh, no, not at all," he waved one hand as he stepped down across from her.
"Good," he snickered, "I was starting to get lonely. And I was wondering how you were feeling," he glanced over at her, "Hey, what's that above your head?"
"Eh?" she tipped her head back, only to realize that she had written her little note just above her head, "Uh…Lance, I-"
"That's really cute," he grinned stupidly, "Like a schoolgirl crush. I feel loved."
As he tugged her across and over to him, she took a quick peek at the wall. The water that had dripped from her finger as she jotted those initials on the wall had run, causing the T to look like a very strange R.
*^~^**^~^*
Eevy grumbled and rubbed her eyes, not even partially listening to the radio. She'd been in that God forsaken car for hours straight and was starting to get really annoyed. They were supposed to be getting from Charleston all the way up to Alexandria and Washington by the end of the day. That's about two hours from Charleston to Raleigh Durham (2). Then about an hour from Raleigh Durham to Richmond (2+1=3). Then about another hour from Richmond through Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and the Chesapeake Bay (2+1=3+1=4). And then another two hours to Alexandria (2+1=3+1=4+2=6). Now add on about four hours for constant pit stops and lunch (2+1=3+1=4+2=6+4=10). And since they left at six in the morning, that'd make sixteen, converted into a clock would make four in the afternoon. Oh…Joy. So they'd probably get to Washington just in time for the five o'clock traffic. Yippee…Doo…Dah.
She glanced down at her clock radio and moaned as she realized it was merely eleven thirty, "Oh, good God. Someone shoot me…"
*^~^**^~^*
Lance tossed a series of heavy bags onto Eevy's side of the bed and clapped his hands together, "There's all your stuff," he murmured, "You're sure you don't want me to put it away? You look beat."
"Nah…" Eevy waved her hand at him and shrugged, "You just go grab us something to munch on. I'll take care of this," she shooed him toward the door, "Go, go, go…Go on now. Off with you."
"Well, all right," he shrugged, turning and leaning back in the door to kiss her, "Just don't drop dead from exhaustion on me."
She grinned as she shut the door, then turned around and leaned back against it. In all truth, she really could have used his help with the unpacking, but she wanted to be alone. Running her hands over her face, she crossed the room and began pulling things from her bag and stuffing them in the dresser. The room was nice and big, but she felt for some reason constricted by it. Was it because of what city they were in? That could have most definitely been it. It had to be it. She hoped that was it. Just as she tossed an empty bag in the closet, she got an odd itch on the inside of her head. Like something was scratching her brain. Shutting her eyes, she let it pull her along. Out the door, into the hallway, and to the room directly across the hall. She reached up and knocked on it and was quickly allowed to enter. She stepped into a room the same shape as hers and looked around.
"I know you want to be alone," she looked to the chair all the way on the other side of the room, "But I'm starting to worry about you."
"I'm sorry if my problems are plaguing you, Will. I really don't mean to bother you," she sighed, "But I have quite a few bad memories coming back these days. Memories…I thought I forgot long ago."
"You can always talk to me, Eevy," Will acknowledged, setting his book on the table beside him, "I don't know what it is that you're remembering, but I do know that it's scaring you. And hurting you."
She shook her head and turned away as he stood up, "It's nothing you should need to worry about," she shielded her eyes with her hand, as she would from the sun, "And I refuse to dump it on you or anyone else."
"Evangelina…" he shook his head and crossed his arms, "You shouldn't bottle up like this and you know it. If you do, you'll turn into me. And that's the last thing you or I want. So why won't you talk to me? Why won't you talk to Lance? Why won't you talk to anyone?"
"Because it's not your problem or theirs."
"Maybe. But who's to say we don't want to make it our problem? Evangelina, anything that makes you this upset should be our problem," he sighed and shrugged, finally deciding to just let it go, "I just wish you'd trust us all a little more."
"I trust you, Will," she murmured, causing him to look up at her, "I trust all of you with my life. But I…" she turned around and looked up at him, "But I don't know if he would trust me."
He held his hands up, just about ready to grab her shoulders and shake her straight, "He? Who's he? Evangelina, what are you talking about?"
She covered her left eye with her hand, and then in some kind of emotional stupor (Or at least that's what Will figured it to be), she tossed her arms around him and started crying. He stumbled back a step, twitching ever so much, and stood there, wondering what he was supposed to do next. Something flashed in his memory, but it was so fast he was hardly able to place it. All he caught was that it was Itsuki and Amatsubikei, only Amatsu wasn't crying to Itsuki; she was embracing him. Will attempted to calm her down, but she was just too far-gone in her tears. The door popped open a few seconds later.
"Will, I heard Eevy crying but she's not in…Her…Room…" Luri blinked a few times, then tilted an eyebrow.
"Luri! Uh…" Will looked around, "It's…Uh…Not what it looks like."
Luri just gave a small smile, "Yes it is. Take care of her, William. I'll be back later," she slowly stepped back out the door and shut it.
*^~^**^~^*
Eevy's eyelids shook, then her eyes fluttered open. She looked around a moment before sitting quickly up and scanning the entire room. She was tempted to kick the blankets off and run. This wasn't where she was supposed to be…Was it? If it was, where was Lance?
"Oh, good. You woke up," her eyes shot off toward the chair by the window, "You had me worried for a while."
She slowly let her feet hit the floor and shakily stood up, "I'm…Sorry if I got you in trouble with Luri."
"You didn't," Will shook his head, "She's just as worried about you as I am. I've never seen anyone cry themselves to sleep standing up before."
"How…Long was I asleep?" she asked, holding each of her elbows with the opposite hand.
"A couple of hours. Lance came looking for you," he noted, shutting his book and setting it down, "He left your food there on the table."
"He wasn't angry?" she asked, sitting down next to the table.
"Not at all. He was just happy you were getting some rest," he shrugged, "Stay and eat, then go and get some more sleep, please."
"I don't want to be a bother to you, Will. I'll just-"
"You're not bothering me. Just sit," he waved her back into her seat, "As long as I can fork an egg roll from you, you can stay. You're starving."
*^~^**^~^*
"Wowo! Look at all the stuff to do!" Misty grinned, clapping her hands together, "There's stuff everywhere!"
"Can we go to some museums, Eevy?" Beth asked, clapping her hands together in front of her, "I'll bet there are some really great ones here in DC. Pretty please?"
Eevy backed away from her slowly, "If you want to, yes, you can go. Go anywhere you want."
Rachel squealed and hopped up and down, "That's just great! Thanks so much, Eevy!"
Eevy sweatdropped and smiled stupidly, "Uh…No…Problem."
"Where do you want to go, Eevy?" Morty questioned, crossing his arms behind his head, "Or do you want to stay here and vegetate some more?"
"I don't vegetate," she retorted, "I procrastinate. It sounds productive, don't it?" she laughed crazily as everyone facefaulted.
"You're strange," Medira pointed out.
"Yeah…" Eevy nodded, scratching the back of her head, "Anyway, I don't know what I want to do. I might just stay here and…Gawk or something."
"Can't you ever do anything fun for yourself?" Eusine asked, shaking his head.
"Yeah, you've hardly done anything but drive and sleep the entire time we've been here," Lisle nodded repeatedly.
"Yeah, come on and come to a museum with us or something," Mizu suggested, "Or go to the Library Of Congress. I'm sure you'd find something to do there."
"No…I think I'll just go for a drive," she shrugged, "It's been a long time since my beloved car has had a good workout," liar, liar…LIAR, "And I'd like to see the city anyway."
"Well, I'll stay here in the hotel," Ash grinned crazily.
"Only because you don't want to attempt to cram anything new into that puny brain of yours," Gary pointed out, causing Ash to growl and Chenille to smack him.
"Why don't you come with me, Ashy-boy?" Eevy put in quickly, "We'll have fun; promise."
"The last time I went somewhere with you in that car of yours, I almost got blown up. I'll pass, thanks."
"I'll buy you something to eat."
"Eat?"
*^~^**^~^*
"You're sure Lance isn't going to kill me for coming out alone with you?" Ash asked from the seat beside Eevy, poking his fingers together.
"Of course not. He's going out with the others, so he'll be fine. Richie and Kayla did seem a little annoyed though," Eevy snickered, "What's the matter with them?"
"Misty promised them we'd go sightseeing together at one point or another on this trip," Ash shrugged, rolling his eyes, "And Kayla wants to see Washington."
"And I dragged you away. Oops," she sweatdropped slightly, "Remind Tracey and Sooney when we get back that they promised me sketches of the Capital Building and the Washington Monument."
Ash looked quietly out the window, watching the sky begin to fade to darker and darker blues. Pikachu was seated in the back, also looking out his window, and Eevy was focused on the road. Lights began to flicker on around them and the city started to glow. A flock of Pidgey fluttered overhead and a group of Zubat passed them from the opposite direction. Eevy sighed and Ash looked back on her.
"Are you all right?" he asked, "You're really quiet. And you seem…"
"Lost?" she suggested, glancing off at him, "You could say that, yes."
"Is there something you want to talk about? Or need to?" he tilted his head as Pikachu echoed his request from the backseat.
"Pika…Chuu."
"Maybe," Eevy just shrugged absentmindedly, "But then again, maybe not."
Ash shrugged also, attempting to convince himself that Eevy wasn't finally completely losing her mind. At least not to a straightjacket degree. Though sometimes he did wonder. His eyes began traveling about the inside and outside of the car and finally landed on the rearview mirror on his side of the car. It was then he noticed the letters projected onto the road behind them.
"Evangelina," he murmured, his hands beginning to quake, "Is…That who I think it is?"
Eevy's eyes narrowed, "Hang on."
Eevy hung a hard left and rolled right over the median, the whole time with Ash screaming in her ear, "NOT AGAIN!"
The screech of tires behind them alerted them both to the fact that the car pursuing them had followed in the same manner Eevy had taken. From nowhere, something smashed into the pavement beside them, tearing up chunks of street and dirt. Eevy looked back and watched carefully as another shot past them, crashing into the ground just a few inches from her front tire. When she finally caught a glimpse of the car, Bashou was hanging out the window, holding what appeared to be a large metal barrel. The Champion Mistress pressed the gas harder as explosion after explosion connected just beside them. She wasn't about to stop and ask just where they'd gotten that Gatling gun from, merely because she didn't want her entire car to get torn in half.
Bashou jolted repeatedly as he fired rapidly at Eevy's side of the car, only wishing to blow her tire; they wanted her alive, "This was a good idea," he laughed, his voice shaking, "We'll get her this time."
"Yeah, if you'd actually hit her!" Buson barked, weaving around various things in the road, "Come on, you great dunderhead!"
"Ashura," Eevy clenched her fingers on the steering wheel, "I'm going to ask you to do something. And I need you to swear to me that you're not going to go crazy on me. Can you do that?"
Ash looked at her silently, then nodded, "Yes."
"Pi," Pikachu agreed.
"Reach into the backseat, Ashura. And take the base of the seat off," she watched him do so out of the corner of her eye, "There should be something wrapped in black velvet back there, and beside it should be a black bag. Get them both and give them to me. Quickly, Ashura, quickly."
Ash did as he was told, lifting both heavy objects up over the seat median and setting them in Eevy's lap, "Eevy, please…Just be careful for me."
"I'm always careful," she nodded, "Now reach behind me and take the yellow and black Poke'Balls off my belt and hand them to me," she accepted them from him and released them in Ash's lap, "Yovo, Lovo. Take the wheel, boys."
Ash shrieked as Yovo hopped down to the floor by Eevy's feet and Lovo squished himself in the seat as Eevy unbuckled and sat out the window, "THIS IS SAFE?!" he flipped.
"PIKA?!"
"Shut up, Ashura," Eevy muttered, then spitting a bit of her hair out of her mouth, "Boys, let's do it."
"Umbreon!" Yovo grinned, jumping up and crashing all four paws down on the gas pedal.
"Jolt-e-on!" Lovo laughed menacingly, passing one lone car on the road beside them.
"Oh my God, I'm gonna die," Ash whimpered, sinking in his seat.
"Pikachuu…" Pikachu sniveled, eyes watering.
"Woah!" Eevy ducked as a series of bullets shot past her head, "All right; now you asked for it!" she barked, pulling the tie at the end of the long black thing Ash had handed her.
There was a loud crack from her side and Ash carefully peeked up to look at her. He paled suddenly, watching the long barrel of a rifle hanging down in front of the window. He twitched as Eevy held one bullet in her mouth and slipped the other inside, then loaded the second and snapped it shut. She didn't hesitate to look it over, just leaned it on her shoulder, squinting one eye before keeping both open, and squeezed the trigger all the way back. The kick was enormous and actually shook the car, but Eevy appeared unfazed. All she did was dig into the pouch now tied to her belt and drew out two more bullets. She snapped the gun open, placed them in, and cracked it shut.
"Ashura!" she called in, leaning away from the searing hot bullet that whizzed past her ear, "I need you to help me!"
"LIKE HELL!" he cried back, covering his head as she held something out to him, "What's that?"
"This is called a Glock, Ashura," she murmured, ducking another shot, "Can you shoot?"
"Can I what?!"
"Can you at least tell me what end the bullets come out of?!"
"Uh…I think so," he sniffled, spinning it around and around.
She rolled her eyes and kicked his side, throwing him partially out his window, "Point it at the bad guys and shoot, you nitwit!" she barked, placing her gun on her shoulder, "And squeeze the trigger; don't yank it!"
"Uh…Uh…Uh…" he shut both eyes and leaned out the window, "Pikachu, if you tell a soul about this…"
"PII-KAA-CHUU!"
Eevy fired once again, a spark popping from one of the barrels of Bashou's gun. He started yelling at her that she'd taken one of his guns out, and she made it a point to pull her bottom eyelid down and spit out her tongue at him. Ash was just sitting there out the window, pondering where and when he should shoot. Lovo barked orders down to his brother, who barked back at him, pressing the brake with one front foot and the gas with the other. They came to a long, flat stretch of road, their two cars the only two around. Bashou laughed sadistically, as he now had a perfectly lined shot for Eevy.
Her eyes widened and she pounded on the top of the car, "Turn, turn, turn, turn!" she shrieked.
"Jolt!" Lovo nodded, putting all his weight down on the wheel and weaving to the right, "Jolteon!"
"Umbre! Umbreon!" Yovo spat back at him in return for the comment he'd just made.
Eevy looked across the roof as the bullets passed her once again, "Ash! Watch your head!" she pointed.
He looked up and ducked back inside as they neared a concrete barrier, "Watch it, you two!"
"Back the other way, boys!" Eevy ordered, knocking on the roof again and bracing as they swung back in line with Bashou, "Hidee-hodee-hodee!" she laughed, pulling the trigger again and snapping the target off the top of the Gatling gun.
"Holy shit!" Bashou flailed, ducking down as it spun over his head, "Watch where you're aiming! Uh…" he turned white as Eevy's lips curled and her rifle pointed directly at him.
"JOLTEON!" Lovo sounded, an alert that meant there was something coming at her.
She looked quickly up and watched a blaster ball soaring through the air, "Oh crap…"
There was a loud explosion and a bright flash as someone shot the bomb in midair. Eevy looked over at Ash, who stared in disbelief at the Glock in his hand, blinking repeatedly and swallowing. Pikachu sat in the backseat and clapped repeatedly, cheering for his master. Bashou, Buson and Tyson yelled profanities at them and waved their fists toward the Viper. Eevy waved her hand and hoisted up her gun again.
"JOLT-JOLT-JOLT!" Lovo yelped once again.
Eevy looked over her shoulder and ducked inside the car just in time to miss the tree beside her, then jumped out and pulled the trigger. Both bullets went right through the windshield and grazed Buson's ear before passing Bashou's side and imbedding in the backseat. Buson twitched as his sunglasses slipped down his nose. Eevy grinned nastily and held her gun back over her shoulder as Ash aimed for the car this time. He pointed directly for the hood, as it was slowing down due to the partially paralyzed Buson, and prepared to fire. Lovo, who had been watching his Master and not the road, looked back and had no time to cry out about the corner they were coming to. He arced quickly and demanded that Yovo hit the breaks. Eevy shrieked and hung off the window by her knees, suspending her head but inches from the speeding pavement. Ash nearly fell the rest of the way out of the window, being jolted down and then straight up. He accidentally pulled the trigger and shot out Team Rocket's front right tire. Tyson yelled frantically at Buson, who finally pushed his glasses up and pushed the breaks. The car spun out slightly before coming to a screeching halt. Eevy gave them a long, nasty laugh while rounding the corner and waved goodbye to them.
Bashou slipped right out the window and flopped headfirst onto the ground, "I don't believe…We lost her…Again…"
"Did anybody else expect her to pull a rifle on us…?" Buson questioned, dropping the seat back and groaning dryly.
"That…Hurt…So…Bad…" Tyson murmured, having cracked his head on his side window when the tire blew, "The Boss…Is going…To kill us…"
They all groaned noticeably as the slight rumble of an engine approached from behind. They all looked tiredly up and gurgled as the black Jag pulled up beside them and the tinted side window rolled down. Rubeus leaned across the seat and poked his head out the window, slowly shaking his head and grinning. All three grunted audibly, half expecting him to either sit there laughing at them or to toast them and pursue Eevy for himself. Instead he ran his hand up through his flame red hair and shook his head at them.
"Comfortable, ladies?" he asked seriously, grinning evilly, "My-my, Bashou…That asphalt does look like a nice place to nap."
"Can it, Rubeus…" Tyson snorted, "What do you want anyway?"
"Master Rubeus and I have struck another deal," came the most familiar voice from the backseat as the window slowly dropped, "And I expect you to do your job this time. I went through enough trouble getting us out of quite the mess the last time you screwed up."
All three shot to their feet beside the car, "Your wish is our command, Master Sakaki, sir," Buson nodded as he and the other two grinned nervously.
"What is it you need us to do, sir?" Bashou asked obediently.
"We've got a friend here who could greatly use your assistance in a very important matter," Peter grinned and pointed into the back next to Sakaki.
All three peeked quietly into the car, then shivering noticeably and backing away, "Is that…?"
*^~^**^~^*
The Umbreon beneath the driver's seat of the blue and yellow Viper pressed on the break pedal and flopped to the floor as the Jolteon sitting in the chair above him pushed the gearshift into park and turned the key. They both collapsed and sighed as their Mistress and her companion flopped out the windows of the car and panted heavily.
"Nice shooting there at the end, Ashy-boy," Eevy murmured, nodding firmly.
"It…Was an accident…" Ash whispered, looking over the Glock he still held.
"Hey, at least we got away," she grinned, leaning on the end of her rifle with the barrels on the ground.
"Yeah, well, we might not have!" he barked quickly back, causing her to stumble away, "You could have gotten us all in deep shit!"
She gasped and held her gun tightly in both hands, "Ashura, you don't understand. I-"
"I understand just fine!" he spat back, "You've got some really screwed up bits and pieces of your past hidden from everyone, and one of these days, it's going to cost someone their life! You're insane, Evangelina!" he watched her eyes begin to waver, "And don't think crying will make me change my mind that you're freaking nuts! You're a danger to everyone and everything around you! With all the bullets flying, you were responsible for every innocent bystander around us! What kind of cop runs around with a double-barreled rifle in her car?! And what the hell is in your trunk then?! I mean…GOD!" he held the Glock out to his side, as if he were trying to hold it off, "You've even got me into this mess! Evangelina, what would you have done if one of us had gotten shot?!" he started getting even more aggravated as she didn't answer, "And what's with the clinging to that thing?!" she backed up a step when he stepped towards her, turning as if to protect the rifle, "…Evangelina…?"
He looked up at her eyes and watched them begin to fog over and lighten to icy shades of both blue and green. They began to spill over and he heard her literally gagging back and swallowing the sobs that were fighting to get out. His eyes widened as she began to cry and he reached out to take her elbow and apologize, but she stepped away and dropped her gun. He jumped back, afraid it would fire, and watched it hit the ground right before she collapsed to her knees with it. She covered her face with her hands and let out a long, agonizing wail as her cloak settled around her. Lovo and Yovo both leaned out the car window and whined shrilly, and Pikachu stepped up behind her and gently patted her back.
"Pikaa…" he whimpered quietly, attempting to comfort her.
She didn't even acknowledge his presence, which then made him upset, and he backed away sniffling as Ash stepped closer, "Eevy…I'm sorry. I…Didn't mean to…To say those things…"
"Ashura…" she sobbed, taking her hands away from her eyes and gripping her knees, then looking up at him, "Ashura…I killed him."
"…What?" he asked quietly, "Evangelina, what are you talking about?"
"I killed him, Ashura…I killed him!" she reached out and grabbed his waist, crying into his shirt, "Ash…Ash, he's dead because of me! I killed him!"
He stood looking down at her, his jaw slightly dropped and his hands shaking at his sides.
*^~^*Part Four: End…*^~^*
A/N: Poor Eevy! I am so mean! ;_; [That you are. *nod repeatedly*] Shush up, you three. Anyways, yes this one was a little…Strange…But the next chapter explains things quite a bit better. And I am oh so very sorry that this is so late. Life is hectic, and like Eevy, I procrastinate a lot. Hopefully, the next part will be along faster than this one. @_@
*^~^*Pro_V*^~^*
.:O=Usagi-chan=O:.
*))~Itachi-chan~((*
-~+Spin-chan+~-
-=O~The Other Pokemon~O=-
Next: Special Edition: TAA USA: Part 5.
TAA Pokemon Of The Month: August 2003: Gulpin & Swalot
I don't own anything in this chapter except my original characters. o_O Whee…That was boring to say.