Chapter Forty: An Arrow of Hot and Shock
Without another argument, Alaska made for the door, moving as fast as her busted leg would allow. Trevor Archer's Vaporeon lunged ahead of them, leading the safest path towards the safest exit. Charizard's roar mixed with gunshots behind her, though it sounded very one sided now, and Alaska could only imagine what would happen to the person who fired at them.
A million questions were buzzing around Alaska's head now, though she had no idea what to make of the situation. She knew it would have to be someone connected to Gideon or Amanda, but the big question was the appearance of the mysterious Trevor Archer who had come to their rescue. Alaska had no idea who the man was, having only seen a hint of his face, but he had the general appearance of a quite stereotypical spy. Was he connected to Oak, Bill, Red, someone like that, or did was he someone that just happened to be passing by and decided to save them? But Alaska knew from what he had said that he wasn't just a stranger, and wondered who had sent him after her and how long he had been following.
"Vapor Vap," Vaporeon called as they neared the next. The white sunshine was nearly blinding, and Alaska used her free hand to shield her eyes. The light was turning the stones and boulders around them into glowing spectacles, making them shine with beauty, and Alaska could hear noises that weren't just her echoing footsteps coming from the exit.
"Let's get the hell out of this place and never come back!" She shouted, and Paige, Darwin and Butterfree cheered around her as they rushed across the last stretch of rock and broke out from the darkness and into the light.
Route 10 seemed like the most beautiful thing in the world, even though it looked the same as everywhere else. It was enclosed by sheer cliffs, leaving only a narrow, sloping and unstable path before them. There were only thin patches of grass around, and areas of the path suddenly turned to ledges. Boulders and small rock formations were scattered everywhere, with a large section of jagged rocks nearly splitting the route ahead in two, and a light breeze was whipping dust up into the air. However, the path was empty, and Alaska felt relief that there was a chance of escape.
"Oh my god, can people please stop shooting at us!" Sandy wailed as she burst out of the exit, nearly knocking Alaska over. "One minute, we're having a wonderful time and nothing's going wrong for the first time in days, and the next some random is trying to kill us and another random wants to save us! Can't we just meet some random who just wants to give us tea and biscuits?"
"My mother always told me never to accept anything from strangers: do randoms fall under that category?" Alaska asked with a smile, and Paige giggled as Sandy glared back at her. Charizard roared again behind them, and Alaska turned back, seeing a flash of fire inside the cave that was more like a candle flame than a Flamethrower. Trevor Archer was still a mystery, but Alaska was certain he was on their side, even if his intentions and methods were dodgy: if he wanted them dead, than he easily could have arranged his Vaporeon to attack, but the … Pokemon was sitting calmly a metre away, ignoring Darwin as he danced around her, trying to coax her into battling. Alaska smiled at her, and was thinking about asking her something when she felt a tap on her shoulder, and found Sandy standing right beside her, bloodshot eyes staring intensely at Alaska.
"Should we get a move on before this guy comes back?" She whispered, her eyes flickering towards Vaporeon, and Alaska wondered if Sandy expected the Water type to lunge at them. "He seems just a bit… dodgy…"
"I agree, but he isn't the dodgy guy that's shooting at us," Alaska replied in equally hushed tones, "and I want to know what's going on: if there's another party following us, I want to find out who it is." Sandy sighed and gave a reluctant nod, and Alaska felt sorry for her as her friend backed away: she had never signed up for any of this, and Alaska knew that she was only getting to get more hurt the deeper they got involved in whatever was going on in Kanto. Alaska had anticipated it and could handle the pain, but she wasn't sure if Sandy would be able to cope with it much longer, especially if Alaska lingered on trying to solve the situation.
But all thoughts of Sandy left Alaska's mind as footsteps sounded behind them. Everyone turned as Trevor began to emerge from the darkness, his body beginning to come into shape as the light caught him. He was average height, taller than Alaska but not by a great deal. He was wearing a black coat that hide the rest of his clothing, with a matching fedora hat resting on his head. His hair was black or brown, Alaska couldn't quite tell, but his skin was lightly tanned, the same colour as the dusty road around them.
"Sorry about that, but I am afraid I have to be forceful at times," Trevor said as he approached them, stepping casually over Onix's long tail as it stood in his way. He flashed Alaska and Sandy a smile, and the two girls exchanged silent giggles, unable to control themselves: their mysterious saviour was actually quite handsome, and Alaska felt herself swooning over his perfect smile, shining eyes and toned cheekbones.
"I bet you two are quite confused about all of this," Trevor said, ignoring their obvious attraction as if he got it all the time. "I am sure you will not be surprised to know I have been following you for some time." Sandy gasped, ruining his theory, but Alaska simply felt her giddiness disappear as she gave a brief nod: everyone seemed to be following them around these days, so it seemed no surprise to find someone else had an interest in their lives.
"We've got about a million people watching our every move, so I think I can handle there being a million and one," Alaska replied with a false smile. "My only question is who you are exactly and who you are working for." Trevor smiled back at her, and Alaska wondered if he was trying to break down her defences with his smile.
"You have so many questions, yet you haven't even thanked me for saving your life back there!" He said, and laughed at his own joke, but Alaska merely gave him a steely glare.
"Maybe I'll thank you once I know you aren't truly trying to kill me," she replied, and Trevor stopped laughing, though Paige gave a defiant 'HA!' and stared angrily at him, making Alaska smile slightly. Their saviour sighed, the joy and joking fading away as quickly as it appeared, and when he looked back at Alaska his face had become serious: no smile, no laughter, even his eyes and skin seemed darker and moodier as he stared back at her.
"I can't tell you everything just yet, but I do not work for Gideon, I do not work for anyone involved with Indigo Dreams, and I do not for any 'Kanto Elites', as you so frequently refer to them as," Trevor explained, quickly and seriously. "I work for an organisation that fights for the good of all the regions and the people and Pokemon that live there, but we are separate to other groups such as the Pokemon League, Contest Boards and Pokemon Research Groups. And unfortunately for you, you have become involved in something a lot bigger than anyone you ever anticipated, and it has gotten too far out of control for even us to handle.
"My job is to protect you from the two parties that wish to harm you and to get you to safety. It is in the belief of our organisation that neither group will stop until you have been killed and eliminated as a threat, and that means you must be saved for the future of the Kanto region, and the rest of the world." Trevor stopped talking so abruptly that Alaska did a double take, wondering if something had gone wrong with her hearing. However, Trevor had suddenly turned around, and Alaska looked over to see his Charizard was stomping his way out of the Rock Tunnel. In the light, his scarred and cut wings were more evident, and it was easy to tell that the Flame Pokemon had suffered a tough life. Alaska wondered if this was as a result from Trevor's work with whatever his group was, and didn't feel particularly reassured by this site.
"Did you dispose of him?" Trevor asked once Charizard was outside, and the Fire-Flying type gave a short nod before glaring around at all of the Pokemon. Alaska turned to see all of them cowering slightly in fear, including Darwin, who had stopped dancing and now stood behind Vaporeon in complete shock.
"It is time to move," Trevor said, and at his words, both of his Pokemon suddenly moved: Alaska watched as Vaporeon leapt backwards behind Darwin and began to run down the sloping path ahead of them, and she turned around in time to see Charizard flap his wings, sending dust into everyone's eyes, and take flight into the skies above. "They are going to go ahead and watch us to make sure the path is clear. There is a chance that more people could be working with that man, and we need to be ready in case more people come after us. Please bring back some of your Pokemon and keep the ones that could be most useful when it comes to a first defence."
"Easy enough," Alaska said with a smile, and she brought Darwin back before the Primeape knew what had hit him. She couldn't trust him in a situation like this, and it was best to keep him out of the way. As Sandy brought back Butterfree and Bellsprout, Alaska looked at her three remaining Pokemon. Nadia was sitting loyally beside her, but the small Nidoran would be no match for bullets and explosions. "I know you want to help Nadia, but I think you should sit this one out, is that alright?"
"Ran Nido," she replied with a nod, but something sad appeared in her eyes, and Alaska bent down and pulled her into a hug before sending her back inside her ball. Alaska turned back towards Paige and Frances: keeping the Pidgeotto was obvious, but Frances was cowering slightly on the ground, shaking at the very idea of being kept. Alaska looked down at her sadly, wishing she could be braver, and, thinking of what Sandy had said what seemed like an hour ago, knew what she had to do.
"Come on, your both coming with me," she said, and scooped the pair up. Frances looked petrified, but Alaska smiled warmly and stroked her back. "I know you're scared, but I need you to be strong. I know you're powerful and I know you can defeat any foe that comes your way, so I just need to trust me on this one: you can overcome your fears and be the strongest, bravest Paras there is!" Frances only nodded, though seemed more frightened than ever and burrowed herself into Alaska's free arm. Alaska sighed, but turned back towards Sandy and Trevor, who were talking about Onix as he swivelled around them.
"Ready?" Trevor asked, and both girls, Paige and Onix nodded. "Excellent then. Now, let's head to Lavender Town. There's someone we need to meet before we head on our way."
A bit of an uneventful chapter, but its setting up the rest of the very exciting arc, and the next chapter would have been very long otherwise.
