Chapter Eight: Revenge is Best Served in a Double Course

Alaska rose an eyebrow, and a sceptical look appeared on her face as silence fell between them, broken only by the fluttering of Paige's wings as she continued to hover overhead, ready to strike at the next opportunity. Alaska simply stared into her mortal enemies face, wondering what motivation she had for wanting a rematch: the last one was so quick and embarrassing that it was curious as too why she wanted to go down the same path again.

"So, are you going to battle me or not?" Chloe snapped, brandishing the PokeBall around. "You're not scared, are you?" She added with a smirk.

"Me, scared?" Alaska scoffed and burst out laughing. "Don't be so stupid… oh wait, then you'd have to die, wouldn't you?" She finished in a slow voice, and Chloe's eyes widened in shock at the jibe. Paige twittered next to Alaska's head, finally landing as the two exchanged a wing-to-hand high five, and Chloe glared towards her until another laugh sounded behind her: Lachlan quickly stifled it, but not before Chloe shot him a threatening look. Alaska laughed, and was rather glad to see Chloe's plan to best her was failing. As her nemesis looked back around, Damian glanced over at Alaska, who saw her laughing, and smiled and gave her a wink. Alaska was rather surprised about this, especially as she felt a sensation occur in her stomach that seemed to rush through her body.

"I have a new Pokemon now," Chloe explained quickly, with the air of trying to cover up what had just happened. "and I've got more experience now through the show! I want Bulbasaur to take you on again, you and that weird thing you call a Pokemon, so he knows what a great Pokemon he is!"

"PIDGEY PIDGE!" Paige squawked angrily and soared off Alaska's shoulder, diving straight towards Chloe's chest. Alaska quickly grabbed and restrained her, though it was a rather difficult job as she got smacked in the face with an angry wing, having to spit the feathers out.

"Your Pidgey is very funny!" Alaska turned, and had literally forgotten Sandy was there: the blonde girl was chortling to herself, whilst Butterfree giggled into her miniscule hands along side.

"And who are you, exactly?" Chloe hissed rudely, still clutching her PokeBall as if she was about to throw it. Sandy stopped laughing, and Alaska thought for a moment she had been offended. However, she was left rather surprised as Sandy walked determinedly forwards, her happy face turning to a cross between a snarl and a pout.

"My name is Sandy, and I don't like you," She huffed, sounding as if she was talking to a disgusting little animal, but Chloe simply scoffed. Alaska smirked as she continued to restrain Paige, who was now pecking grumpily at her hands, and was rather impressed with how Sandy was staring Chloe down. "If you don't want to battle her Alaska, I'd gladly take on this little madam!" Sandy added in a slightly vicious tone.

"EXCUSE ME!" Chloe bellowed, her jaw dropping comically as Alaska let go of Paige, doubling over and roaring with laughter. Paige didn't attack Chloe though: she was laughing as well, and collapsed to the grassy ground as she emitted squawk-like chuckles. Behind them, Damian and Lachlan were failing to stifle their giggles, and Chloe let out an angry growl as she stared around at all those laughing at her.

"I'll take you both on!" She shouted, and raised her PokeBall as if ti was a grenade, but Alaska ignored her, trying hard not to join Paige on the ground.

"Chloe, you can't take two of them on!" Damian said as he stepped forwards, managing to keep his smirk under control.

"You'd get smashed," Lachlan said rather bluntly, not doing as good of a job. "If you want to battle so badly, I'd gladly join you. That is," He added, glancing at the other two girls, "if these two want to, of course." Alaska stopped laughing and stood up straight, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. She looked at Paige, who was still chortling as she rose into the sky, and at Sandy, who was having a glaring contest with Chloe. Alaska did want to battle Chloe again: she had gone on this journey because of her and the reality show, and wasn't going to back down from an opportunity to prove herself to them. A tag battle would make victory that much sweeter, double smiting the reality show.

"I'm game if you are," Alaska said to Sandy as Butterfree joined Paige in floating in the sky. Sandy whipped her head around to nod at Alaska, and than turned back to continuing staring at Chloe, accidentally giving Alaska a mouthful of blonde hair. Damian and Lachlan smiled, but Chloe merely bared her pearly white teeth and hissed at them.

"Perfect, I'll go see if the cameramen want to film this," Damian said, and he turned and began walking off, and Alaska was temporarily distracted by the tight fitting jeans and the long sand-coloured hair…

"Pidge!" Paige squawked, whacking Alaska around the head.

"Ow!" Alaska grumbled. "Alright, sorry!" She said, and she and Sandy began to walk backwards, creating the battlefield. Alaska had an idea of how to battle, and gave Sandy a look to show she had a plan. Lachlan and Chloe didn't look like they'd be putting their heads together: Lachlan struggled to extract his PokeBall from his pocket, and Chloe was simply staring viciously at them, and Alaska wondered if she hoped laser beams would shoot out and hit the pair.

"I don't have time to wait for cameramen!" Chloe barked, and she threw her PokeBall to the ground: a burst of light later and her Bulbasaur had formed on the grassy plain, looking to the skies and glaring at Paige, who brandished a clenched wing back at him.

"What!" Sandy gasped, looking at Alaska with her more normal gobsmacked expression. "But we need to plan, I can't just go running blindly into this battle!"

"I know," Alaska sighed, shooting Chloe a quick glare. "We'll have to just follow my lead and hope it pays off," and Sandy nodded, looking rather grave.

"AH HA!" Lachlan exclaimed, having finally found his PokeBall, and he threw it to the ground. Bulbasaur glanced over as Squirtle formed, and Alaska noted that it actually looked a bit bigger than it had at the Trainer's House: it had obviously grown more than Bulbasaur had.

"Time to wipe the floor with these fools!" Chloe shouted. "Tackle on Pidgey!"

"We'll use Tackle on Butterfree then!" Lachlan called. Paige and Butterfree reacted instantly, swerving to become back-to-back as Bulbasaur and Squirtle soared past them, tackling right into the ground instead of hitting them, rolling through the grass and stopping a metre away from Alaska's feet. Alaska was quick to look at the situation: Chloe and Lachlan weren't working together properly, same the same moves but on different opponents. The two were weaker than Paige and Butterfree, one who had been training for several years and one was fully evolved. In order to win, Alaska would have to counter their strategy with proper teamwork.

"Use Gust!" Alaska cried. "You use it too!" She whispered to Sandy.

"Gust as well," Sandy mimicked, "on..." She continued, but Alaska shook her head. Both flying types flapped their wings furiously, and their combined usage unleashed a powerful burst of wind: it struck Bulbasaur and Squirtle as they lay in a heap, causing the two to be blasted apart to opposite trees.

"You wanted to separate them, nice job!" Sandy said with a smile, and Alaska mockingly curtseyed as she smiled back: she knew what to do now, and would have won the match by the end of the next move.

"Now, you use a bug move on Bulbasaur, and just trust what I do next," she explained, and Sandy nodded in agreement. Chloe looked furious, and Lachlan simply looked shocked at the swift separation. Alaska smirked: if they thought that shocking, they hadn't seen anything yet."

"Bug Bite on Bulbasaur!" Sandy called.

"Use Gust on Butterfree!" Alaska shouted, and Sandy gasped, looking thunderstruck. "I told you, trust me!" Alaska reassured, hoping herself her plan worked, and Sandy nodded nervously.

"Turning on your teammates?" Chloe laughed, now looking livid with excitement. "Well, I don't think that strategy is going to work very well: Vine Whip on Butterfree!"

"Errr…" Lachlan mumbled, thrown off by Alaska's strategy. "Bubble on Pidgey!" Alaska simply smiled, knowing they'd be too late. Butterfree was already moving, diving towards Bulbasaur with her mouth glowing lime green.

"Pidgey Pidgey Pidge!" Paige exclaimed and flapped her wings quickly: the wind struck Butterfree, and her eyes bulged as she suddenly sped up due to the strong burst striking her wings. Sandy and Chloe gasped as Butterfree rocketed towards Bulbasaur before he could even get his vine fully out.

"Freeee!" She yelled, and smashed into his head due to the force of the Gust. The strong wind was enough to lift the two up, and as the loose Vine Whip came around Butterfree chomped down onto it.

"BULB!" Bulbasaur yelled as Butterfree spun and tossed him towards a tree. Chloe watched as Bulbasaur smacked into the trunk and landed unconscious at the bottom, his vine lying pathetically alongside. Alaska's face lit up with delight, and Sandy clutched her chest, breathing a sigh of relief: they were so happy they didn't notice Squirtle firing a series of Bubbles at Paige, who merely glared down at the blue turtle.

"That was a brilliant strategy!" Sandy squealed.

"Of course it was," Alaska said with a smile, and looked towards their opponents, eagerly awaiting their shock and horror: Chloe's jaw had dropped to nearly below her neck, not bothering to bring Bulbasaur back, simply staring at him with a look liked she just been punched.

"Squirtle… um… use…." Lachlan was thrown off by his team-mates defeat, and his cheeky attitude had failed him as he tried to think of a counter attack. "Water Pulse!" He said at last, clearly trying to use the most powerful move Squirtle could use.

"Water Pulse, interesting…" Alaska murmured: she hadn't expected Squirtle to know a move like this, though she figured the reality stars got Technical Machines as prizes for whatever they did when she wasn't defeating them.

"SQUIRT!" Squirtle bellowed as loudly as he could, and a ball of water that had formed in his mouth seemingly shattered, the cry releasing shock waves of water that soared into the sky, with no clear target in sight.

"Butterfree needs to destroy the pulse somehow," Alaska explained. Sandy nodded, determined as Alaska was to end this battle now.

"Confusion on the Water Pulse, sent it back to Squirtle!" She shouted, and Alaska beamed in approval at this strategy, leaving things open for her to end it.

"Paige, use Steel Wing as soon as the Water Pulse hits him!" She ordered.

"Freee!" Butterfree cried, her eyes flashing pink. The pulses instantly dispelled, turning from circular rings into large droplets that went careering back to Squirtle. As soon as they struck, covering him in water, Paige's wings glowed a shining silver and shot towards Squirtle, Lachlan's jaw dropping in shock.

"PIDGE!" Paige yelled as she smashed into the water starters stomach.

"SQUIRTLE!" He wailed in pain and spun through the air, smacking into a tree opposite from Bulbasaur and landing unconscious on the forest floor: the battle was over.

"YES!" Alaska shouted, leaping up in joy. Sandy let out a squeal of delight and wrapped her arms around Alaska, who didn't bother to shake her off: once again she had defeated Chloe, bringing the reality stars down to size, and her elation was unstoppable.

"That was brilliant!" Sandy said excitedly, letting go and hugging Butterfree instead, dancing around, and Alaska wondered how many battles her partner had won. But the thought left her as Paige fluttered down, smiling widely and happily.
"You were amazing, that last Steel Wing was perfect!" Alaska praised.

"Pidgey Pidge!" Paige called back, and Alaska smiled warmly. The four of them glanced towards their opponents, hoping for good reactions: Lachlan sighed as he brought Squirtle back, but Chloe looked furious, glaring between her PokeBall containing the unconscious Bulbasaur and Alaska and Sandy, who exchanged beams.

"This isn't over!" Chloe hissed, clutching the ball like a grenade.

"Really," Alaska said curiously, "because the Pokemon aren't fighting anymore: that usually means the battle's finished: Chloe made a growling sound as Sandy laughed and made to lunge forwards, but Lachlan grabbed her arm.

"I feel so good right now, I can't help it!" Sandy giggled quietly and Alaska laughed.

"Don't worry about it: joy is a wondrous feeling, especially after bringing a bitch down to size!" Alaska laughed loudly, and Chloe let out an angry scream as Paige and Butterfree laughed. Alaska didn't care as Chloe charged forwards: she had won against two of the reality stars, and her elation couldn't be stopped. But as Chloe got near her, a furious look on her face and a hand raised, a yell suddenly echoed around them. All six of them froze, looking around for the source of the noise: it had been loud and full of fear, and they could clearly tell it had been a male.

"Damian!" Lachlan gasped, and Alaska's happiness quickly faded: she was not close to either Damian or Lachlan, having only met them twice, but the fear-stricken yell was worrying in this enclosed environment, and Alaska didn't want to think what would have caused him to cry out like that.

"Butterfree, use your Compoundeyes to try and find him!" Sandy cried out, clearly as worried about the source of the noise as Alaska was. Butterfree nodded, and her eyes glowed slightly as she revolved in mid air, staring around in the direction the noise had come from. Everyone was watching her now, even Chloe, who had forgotten all about being angry in the sudden fear that they were in.

"Free Free!" Butterfree exclaimed after nearly two minutes, and she suddenly shot forwards through the trees. The four humans and Paige rushed after, sending Caterpie and Weedle fleeing as they raced after the Butterfly Pokemon. Alaska hadn't ventured off the path during her past few days in the forest: the trees were actually very close together, with thick trees combined with large roots and multiple bushes making running all the more difficult. They eventually had to run in a single file, with Paige overtaking them to follow after Butterfree.

"Why would Damian have come in this far?" Chloe sobbed. Alaska didn't want to answer, and focused on getting between two thick oaks, coming out into a large clearing. It was perfectly circular, as if an artist had planted the trees to make the even round shape. There were no trees in the middle, but their branches and leaves extended so far that only a tiny beam of light shone in the middle. The other three got through the oaks, and they all stared around curiously: there was no sign of Damian here.

"Free Butterfree!" Butterfree called from above, and was pointing downwards with her wing: a small black bag was lying right next to a large dark space in the ground. Alaska took a nervous step forwards and glanced into the space: it was a giant hole, the first few feet being illuminated by the little sunlight, before descending deep into the earth. Long vines were growing up the sides, and a combination of clicking and buzzing was sounding from below.

"It's Damian's bag!" Chloe yelled, picking it up and looking shocked. Alaska and Sandy exchanged horrified looks, agreeing on the only possible option for what had happened to Damian.

"And look there!" Lachlan spluttered, his eyes wide with shock. Everyone turned, looking away from the bag and the hole and instead to something white lying in the grass a few feet away. Alaska was closest and picked it up: a white shoe, not big enough to fit Damian, but despite some specks of mud it clearly had only been here recently.

"Someone else could be down there…" Alaska mumbled, and she lifted up the shoes tongue, wondering if there was some identification. A name was indeed on there, but a shiver went down Alaska's spine as she read it, dark thoughts rushing through her mind about what could be there, and what was happening to the person whose name was written neatly across the shoe.

Mitchell Melton.