Second to last chapter of the year! I hope you enjoy
Chapter Twenty One: A Bitch on a Bridge
"Are you going to be alright?"
Alaska smirked as Sandy finished speaking, listening to the six words that uttered from her mouth: Are you going to be alright? Alaska stared towards the people in front of her, being filmed as they dunked fishing poles into the water, and she dwelled over the question. She did want to charge forwards and ram a fishing pole down Chloe's throats, but that was a more broad thought. Staring at Amanda as she walked between them with her eyes on a stopwatch, Alaska realised that she was the one who really deserved to be punished. A feeling of rage burned through Alaska that she had never felt before. She wanted to see Amanda suffer, hurt her, just like she hurt the Clefairy…
But this went entirely against Alaska's new found promise. She was not going to get involved in any dramas that were not related to her becoming the best. The only thought she should be sparing to them was how, in the end, Alaska would have defeated Red before them and they would have no choice but to go up against her.
"I think I'll be fine," Alaska said chirpily, and began walking forwards once more. "Let's just focus on finding Misty. That's the only reason we're crossing this bridge, isn't it?" We're just going to find Misty, ok?" Alaska growled through gritted teeth, and Sandy simply smiled and nodded alongside.
"Finding Misty, right," she said, and the two girls walked determinedly forwards. The people all seemed too focused on whatever their current task was to notice them, and Alaska was certain for a second they would slip past unnoticed. But Amanda suddenly turned around, mouth open to say something, but it dropped further when she saw who it was. Damian suddenly looked up as well, his pole loosening in his hand.
"Alaska…," he said simply, and Alaska avoided his eye, but only to find Chloe turned around with such speed and with such a foul look on her face you'd think someone had just called her fat.
"Well, well, well… are you sure you should be on this bridge?" She hissed. "I heard gold melted whenever a poor person touched it."
"Really? That's fascinating," Alaska said with a false smile and kept on walking, shoving past Amanda and letting her feet carry her away. The camera crew quickly parted as well, and Alaska eyed the green fields on the other side, wondering where they would go to find Misty.
"Running away are you?" Chloe called out. "Lost all that courage and determination? Won't you even stay for a battle?"
"If I stayed to battle you Chloe it would only last a second, so piss off," Alaska called back, and Chloe's laughter followed after her.
"Really? Don't you want to see my new Pokemon?" There was the distinctive sound of energy gushing from a PokeBall, and Alaska found herself pausing, curiosity unfortunately getting the better of her. Sandy stopped in front of her, glancing behind and looking shocked, but as she opened her mouth to warn her, Alaska turned around.
It was a Clefairy.
What a cruel joke it was, staring down at the pink, fairy like Pokemon standing before Chloe. The blonde was laughing her face off, and even Amanda was cracking a smile, staring across at Alaska with a sort of sick pleasure. Alaska felt like turning away, never to see them again. She felt like running forwards and punching them all in the face. But she knew why Amanda was smiling, why she wasn't trying to send Alaska away: it was a test. They were going to see if they could break Alaska, rule her out as a threat that could keep ruining their show. Alaska wanted to punch them but could also see what a smart move it was.
"You don't have to do this," Sandy whispered, but Alaska reached into her pocket and pulled a PokeBall out. She did have to do this. She wanted to make sure they feared her and stayed out of her way, not the other way around: she hadn't asked to get involve in any of this, but they kept dragging her in.
"Bring it," Alaska growled and dropped the PokeBall. It wasn't until too late she realised it was in fact a Great Ball, and it wasn't until Frances formed that Alaska cursed under her breath.
"Para?" Frances said, turning around in fright, and Chloe and Amanda continued to laugh, making Frances back away. Lachlan remained on the sides, clearly not side to take on this matter, but Damian was walking up to Chloe.
"You don't have to do this," he hissed to her, but Chloe just laughed.
"I want to see what Avocado is truly made of!" She cackled, and Alaska felt like throwing her into the ocean. She got down on her knees and looked at Frances, who was quivering in fear from the Clefairy.
"I know you haven't been in a battle before, but if you pull through this, I won't send you into one again until your ready, okay?" Alaska said softly. Frances looked at the Clefairy, possibly remembering the mass that had stormed towards her at Mt Moon. She nodded, though it was possibly just her body shaking, but Alaska accepted it. Chloe stopped laughing once Alaska got back up, and as the two girls stared at each other furiously, Alaska was certain Frances would battle her hardest.
"POUND!" Chloe shouted.
"Stun Spore from close range, go," Alaska said. Clefairy ran forwards, still smiling in a rather sickening fashion, and leapt up a fist raised high. Frances stared up in shock and released the yellow spores from her mushrooms.
"Fairy," Clefairy said and spun to avoid them, though crashed against the supports, ending her move. The two Pokemon were near each other now, and Frances back away to the opposite side.
"Magical Leaf!" Chloe commanded.
"Leech Life," Alaska called, hoping a Special move would be better for her. Clefairy waved her arms into the air, which glowed a bright green, and suddenly leaves were fired from them. Frances backed away to try and avoid them, but there was no chance of dodging a Magical Leaf and they battered into her.
"PAR PAR!" Frances groaned, and fired a lime green needle from her claws at Clefairy. It struck her in the stomach and suddenly began to drain energy from her body. Clefairy collapsed to the ground, weakened by the loss of energy, and Alaska could see that Chloe was becoming frustrated with the battle.
"Use another Pound, end this!" She yelled. Alaska was not sure if Frances could survive a Pound or not, and knew that they needed to unlock the amazing power she had possessed back against Electrode.
"Hit her with Metal Claw, just like at Mt Moon!" Alaska commanded. Clefairy was already running forwards, fists raised, and jumped up once again. Frances stared fearfully up at her, and Alaska wasn't sure what she was going to do: would she turn and run away, take the attack, or manage to fight back?
"PARAAAAAS!" Frances cried, her right claw glowing silver, and she swung it as Clefairy came closer. Everyone watched in surprise as Clefairy was sent rocketing down the bridge, nearly bowling Chloe over, and crashed and rolled into the wood. Amanda's jaw dropped once more, Chloe looked murderous, but Alaska felt a warm, satisfied feeling flow through her body.
"That was brilliant Frances!" Alaska boomed, and the Paras nervously nodded, a slight smile crossing her face. Damian and Lachlan were both staring at Frances in shock, and the cameraman was exchanging shots between a disappointed Chloe and a smug looking Alaska.
"Are we quite done here?" Sandy said behind her, and Alaska couldn't help but laugh as she turned around to face her friend. She nodded and turned back to scoop up Frances, waving happily at the stars, savouring this victory.
"Come on than Sandy, let's get going," Alaska said, and turned back around.
In that split second, that was when she saw it.
It had happened so fast, Alaska thought she had imagined it. But a figure clad in black had been watching her from a small forest on the next route. The figure disappeared as soon as Alaska saw them, and she knew she had to follow after. Alaska began walking without explanation, ignoring protesting shouts from Chloe and questions from Sandy, and simply walked. The last time she had followed a black, shadowy figure had not ended so well, but Alaska had a feeling that this was different, that whoever this person was they were important. The robotic voice in the Beedrill's nest and the fact she was certain someone had been watching her somehow tied in to whoever was now in the forest, and Alaska kept on walking.
Things seemed to happen in a blur as her mind and legs moved quickly: one moment Alaska was still on the dazzling Nugget Bridge, the next she was in a field of grass that reached her knees. The forest looked dark and intimidating, but Alaska simply dived into it, her mind focused on finding this figure.
Instantly there were in near darkness, and Frances began to shake with fear. Alaska soothingly patted her as she turned around, every tree identical, the floor scattered with natural debris that had no footprints. There was a thumping sound and Alaska turned expectedly, but only found Sandy falling between some trees, looking red in the face and rather annoyed.
"What are you doing?" She puffed. "We are meant to be finding Misty! Is this the way to Cerulean Cape?" Alaska wasn't sure if she should divulge her true intentions to Sandy, and had actually forgotten all about Misty. However, she heard something crack up above and turned, something definitely moving in the darkness.
"Yes, it's a shortcut," Alaska said, and began power walking once more. Sandy had to jog in order to catch up, not putting together that Alaska was simply following the sounds of cracking twigs and shuffling feet, occasionally catching glimpses of the dark figure as she navigated the tricky maze of trees.
This better be worth something… Alaska thought bitterly as a pain rose up in her side, wondering if following aimlessly after a random figure in the trees was an intelligent move after all. However, as they rounded what felt like the fiftieth bend, Alaska could see light shining brightly up ahead: the exit from this maze.
"Finally!" Alaska and Sandy said simultaneously, both sounding rather winded, and they burst out into the bright light. It seemed as if the forest was just a mild break in the routes, as this new area looked almost exactly the same: a wide field of green grass that could have stretched on forever. This area was rather bare: a single house was built between rows of trees, and two ponds were twenty metres away. The way back to the city, according to a sign, involved either a hike up a grassy hill, going back through the forest or walking a narrow path along the side of the hill and next to the lake. Alaska was not going back until she could find this figure, but as she wheeled around, she realised that no one seemed to be around. No black figures sticking out against the green and blue, no one waving to her whilst folding a large file titled JUICY SECRETS… nothing. It seemed that this trek had been a waste, which Alaska was about to say to Sandy when her friend cried out.
"Look, there she is!" Sandy cried, pointing forwards. Alaska turned curiously around, wondering what she was on about, but than saw it: a head of fiery red hair on the top of a hill. They had found Misty, and Alaska checked the sign again to see that it did indeed say 'Cerulean Cape'.
"Shall we go and say hello?" Sandy said grumpily, still angry with the gym leader. Alaska sighed and nodded, deciding to forget about the strange shadowy figure for now. As Sandy went storming off, Alaska took a deep breath and cleared her head, putting her attention back towards gym leaders and battles and Pokemon. She then hurried after Sandy and groaned at having to walk up the hill, beginning to feel puffed from her chasing after the figure.
"OI, MISTY!" Sandy cried out, her usual airy voice replaced with something loud and grumpy. Misty turned around, looking rather shocked and confused, and Alaska got her first look at her: slim, young, possibly only a few years older than her. She was wearing a light blue dress that flowed down to her knees and complimented her ginger hair nicely. After seeing Brock and his rather determined face, Alaska didn't think Misty quite looked like a gym leader, but thought this was probably just due to her date.
"What do you want?" Misty asked, giving Sandy and Alaska a curious look. Her handsome blonde date looked rather confused as well, and Alaska now felt a bit guilty for interrupting things, and knew it wouldn't play well for her in at the gym.
"My friend here arrived at your gym for a battle," Sandy explained angrily, "only to find you had gone off on some date, leaving a rather mean voice to guard your gym! I think that is disgraceful gym leadership, and I demand you battle my friend at once!" Misty's eyes narrowed and she looked between Alaska and Sandy, her beautiful face slowly getting much angrier.
"I am allowed a personal life, alright?" Misty snapped, advancing forwards and wagging a finger at Sandy. "I don't need someone's cheer squad to come and bother me into battling! I'll be one more hour, than I'll be back at my gym, okay?"
"That seems fair enough," Sandy said, "but it's still not good leadership!" Misty was looking angry and Alaska stepped forwards to say something, but Misty simply turned around to face her.
"What's your name?"
"Oh, Alaska. I didn't mean to –,"
"I will see you for a two on two battle at my gym in one hour, alright?" Misty growled, and Alaska nodded. The gym leader grabbed her date's hand and stormed off, muttering in a carrying whisper about having to deal with annoying challengers. Alaska sighed and flopped down to the grass, allowing Frances to scuttle down and settle down herself.
"Just what I need: a leader to be pissy with me," she sighed, and stared out to the ocean. It was a dazzling blue that looked so cool and inviting, and Alaska was tempted to leap over the cliff and into the waters below, washing all her dramas away and simply swim, wondering if one of the other regions would be less dramaful.
"Sorry… I didn't mean to get her angry with you," Sandy said. Alaska nodded and smiled up at her, and Sandy smiled back, sitting down next to her. "Well, we have an hour to kill… want to get some last minute training in?" Alaska laughed and fell backwards into the grass, shutting her eyes.
"Frankly, I would rather just have a little break," she said. "There is too much drama in my life: maybe if I simply sit still, no one will try to kill me or get me involved in anything. I am just going to sit here and wait for that battle, and hope nothing interrupts me before then..."
"ALASKA!"
"Fuck."
"Is that –?"
"Yes… it's him," Alaska growled. She simply paused, wondering if the voice had been in her head or simply a particularly high pitched gust of wind. But when she opened her eyes, Alaska was disappointed and a little frightened to see Mitchell standing over her, his smile wide and eager as always. She wondered if he was going to challenge her to a battle, or if his Pokemon had fallen into a giant pond of robotic Magikarp, but what her old neighbour actually said was one of the most interesting things she'd heard all week.
"You have to come with me now. Bill wants to see you."
