Chapter Forty Two: A Surprise Around Every Corner
Just when Alaska thought her day couldn't get any weirder, something materialized above her.
The rumbling had stopped, but the searing pain throughout her body was still unbearable. Alaska was only managing to sit up thanks to Sandy's support. The sirens continued to wail and Paige was squawking at the ceiling irritably, showing her frustration at the sound, while Frances clung to Alaska's shirt in fear. Sandy was trying to say things to Alaska, but the sound was so overpowering that they had to shout to have a conversation, which only made Alaska's head hurt. She wanted nothing more but to get out of this building, but she had a feeling she'd seen Trevor and the brunette woman run past the door, with Vaporeon scuttling out after them, leaving them behind despite all he had promised. Alaska was ready to scream and yell, her day going just as badly as yesterday, when there was an explosion of white dust, and a see through girl appeared above them.
"OH MY GOD, IT'S A GHOST!" Sandy screamed, and she leapt up in fright. Paige cried out as well, falling to the table with a thud as she had been stunned into silence, and even Frances stopped quivering, staring at the ghost with wide, terrified eyes, the presence of a ghost seemingly too much.
"OH MY GOD, IT'S A BLONDE DITZ!" The transparent figure yelled back. "See, it isn't very nice to be judged straight away, is it? I could be here to help you or give you millions of dollars, but you just want to think I'm something scary, don't you?" Sandy simply stared at the girl with wide eyes, and her mouth opened and closed several times as if trying to save something, but than she turned to Alaska and gave her a look, edging her into speaking. But Alaska was just as stunned as her: the ghost of a girl, seemingly only around their age though wearing an old looking dress, was suddenly floating above them, right after what seemed like an earthquake had brought her crashing down. It was just a tad confusing, though, sadly, Alaska was becoming use to overly confusing things.
"Are you here to help us or give us millions of dollars?" Alaska asked, not sure what else to say.
"I have no money, no, though I can steal some if you want," the ghost replied. "Oddly no one has ever asked me to do that, so I usually just do it for fun," she added with a high pitched laugh. "And no, I'm not really here to help you… well, this will help you in the long run, but at the moment it will help me. All I need you to do is come with me and battle Gideon… I believe you know him?"
"I do," Alaska hissed, and her confusion instantly turned to anger. She should have known Gideon would come back to piss her off eventually, but she wished it had been a time that actually suited her. Alaska wanted to end this war she had become embroiled in against her will, but whenever it seemed that Gideon was ready to face off, she was in an unfortunate state. Alaska was just as injured now as she had been at Vermillion, so how would she stop Gideon now?
"We ha-have to w-w-wait for Trevor to come back!" Sandy said, her voice shaking as she tried to stand up to the ghost. The transparent figure turned towards her, for a second looking frightening and mad, but than began to laugh.
"Trevor Archer and his little love pal have already left the building," she replied with a snort. "He thinks he can stop our mad scientist, but he has no idea what Gideon has just gotten his hands on. If you want to live, you need to come with me."
"How can we trust you, we don't even know your name!" Alaska hissed. The ghost looked at her, an almost smug smirk crossing her face. Alaska had the impression that the ghost looked to stay in control, but she wouldn't let another thing, whether living or dead, try and control her life, and she stared back at her with all the fury she could muster.
"You have balls, Alaska Acevedo," the ghost said, smiling in a proud way. "Very few of the girls I've had to deal with have had balls, and I don't think any of them had balls as big as yours."
"This doesn't sound like a compliment."
"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't," the ghost smirked. "My name is Charlotte, and I am two thousand and twenty seven years old, I think, I've stopped really keeping count. I like long walks on the beach, men that want to settle down, and I hate every single aging dickhead in this region as much as you do. I can give you the answers none of them will give you, and I can give you the knowledge you will need to stop Gideon should he escape today, but we are running out of time to stop him now." Alaska was severely tempted, and a smile crept onto her face, but before she could agree there was a tut alongside, and Alaska turned as Sandy got her feet.
"I am s-s-sorry, but we need to have a q-quick chat… just for a mo," the blonde said with a forced smile before turning to Alaska, the smile fading and being replaced with a mixture of terror and shock. "Alaska, we shouldn't trust her!" Sandy hissed, bending low and whispering, but with her carrying voice it was hardly going to do anything. "She is dead for crying out loud! My mother always taught me never to trust dead people, and she seems the dodgiest of the lot!"
"Why did your mother teach you that exactly? Did you live next to a zombie paradise growing up?"
"Dead people, strangers, same thing!" Sandy scoffed, waving the point away. "The point is why do you suddenly trust this Charlotte? You've known her for five seconds and already you are giving her one of your tricky little evil plan smiles! She may be able to have you fight Gideon, but is that really a good thing?"
"It is the best thing that could happen right now!" Alaska replied, not bothering with keeping her voice quiet and startling Frances. "I want to end this; I want this bloody battle I've gotten involved in over. Gideon has made my life hell and I have no idea why he is still out to get me, but if he wants a fight, than I will give him the fight of his life! Maybe then we can go back to a normal journey where we don't get shot at every day or have something explode near us!"
"To be fair, yesterday's explosion was your fault," Sandy pointed out, but Alaska groaned and turned away to face Paige, hoping for some counsel. The Pidgeotto didn't look happy, but she gave Alaska a grumpy-faced nod, her own way of telling her to go ahead. Alaska felt more reassured and turned towards Charlotte, the dead girl floating above them airily as if she didn't care what happened next.
"I want you to promise you will give me answers once this is over!" She shouted, her tone angrier than she expected. "Plus, for my friend's sake, I want you to give me a reason why I should trust you!" Charlotte smiled at her, and moved forwards so she was directly in her face, dead transparent eyes staring directly into Alaska's with more intensity than anything a real pair had ever given Alaska.
"I promise," the ghost said simply, and she exploded into white dust. Alaska covered her mouth and shut her eyes, but found herself suddenly engulfed in a strange white glow. A blinding pale flash shone through her eyelids, and suddenly Alaska felt weightless as if she was falling through the open air, a feeling similar to what had happened with the water yesterday. Sandy, Paige and Frances were all making noise, and Alaska wondered if they were still near her or had moved far away, unable to tell by their voices as they seemingly fell through the earth.
But barely a second later, Alaska opened her eyes to find herself staring at the Kanto Radio Tower. She was sitting on the lifeless ground in the same position as she had in the room a moment ago, but the world had completely changed. People were running past them towards Route 10, not seeming to notice or care what had just materialized before them, and Alaska preferred this than being stared at by strangers.
"Pidge Pidge Pidge Otto Otto!" Paige squawked overhead, flying frantically around. Alaska looked up and saw she was staring over around, and knew the Pidgeotto was trying to find Gideon.
"Alaska!" Sandy cried out to Alaska's left, and she turned to see the blonde running towards her through the crowd, her lavender dress covered with dust. "Alaska, we need to get out of here before we get trampled!"
"We need to find Charlotte!" Alaska shouted back, but forced herself up to her feet anyway. It wasn't until she had properly straightened up though that Alaska realised that her back was no longer in pain. She pushed both feet into the ground and found there was no pain anywhere in her body: she had gone from lying in agony to a full and proper recovery in barely a minute.
"My leg… my leg doesn't hurt!" Alaska cried to Sandy as she came near. "I'm better! I can walk properly again! Charlotte must have healed me!" She pulled Frances into a tight hug, making the Paras squirm but was not fussed: Alaska could face off with Gideon again, her body back to perfect health, and knew that she had to help Charlotte in return for this great deed.
"That is fantastic Alaska, but we need to get moving!" Sandy yelled, and grabbed Alaska by her right arm and pulled her through the crowd. Alaska cast a glance around, trying to see where Charlotte had gone or if Trevor or Gideon was somewhere nearby, but instead she saw the House of Memories: it looked as if a bomb had gone off inside, destroying large sections of the walls and apparently damaging the cliffs surrounding it, rocks still falling from a sharp gash in the landscape. This explained the rumbling and possibly why a ghost was involved, but Alaska only had to add more questions to her already Harry Potter-length list, wondering what Gideon was doing with the dead.
"Pidgey Otto Otto Pidge!" Paige swooped down, her wings whacking against the head of one of the receptionists but she was unfazed. Alaska pulled Sandy to a stop as Paige hovered above them, her wings flapping furiously and a stunned look on her face.
"Have you seen something?" Alaska asked, and Paige only nodded before flying off towards the next street. Alaska quickly took off, towing Sandy with her, and they pushed through the crowds of startled radio workers. None of them seemed to be running the way Paige was flying, which Alaska didn't see as a reassuring sign, but if Gideon was near than it would at least mean no one would get hurt. Alaska clutched the shaking Frances to her chest, hoping that none of them got injured and wishing that this nightmare would finally end today.
"Pidge Pidge!" Paige cried, stopping and turning towards them, pointing forwards with one wing down a narrow street. Alaska smiled and went to thank her, but a bolt of yellow electricity suddenly shot out from the street. Sandy screamed as Paige was hit, the Pidgeotto glowing as yellow as the sun for several seconds before falling out of range. Alaska ran forwards, nearly dropping Frances to ground as she did so, and managed to catch Paige just before she hit the ground.
"Paige, are you alright?" Alaska shouted, shaking the Flying type despite a level of heat coming off from her. "Paige, can you hear me? Paige? PAIGE!" But the Pidgeotto simply lay in her arms, eyes shut and mouth open. Alaska could feel her heart beating beneath her feathered chest but knew that Paige was out for the count, defeated before the battle had even started. "Thank you for your help today Paige, it's time you had your rest," Alaska said soothingly, and she brought Paige back inside her PokeBall, still stunned at how quickly her closest ally had been destroyed. She turned back towards Sandy with tear filled eyes and pointed towards the street. "We need to stare down there first to see what to expect," she whispered, and Sandy nodded, looking just as shocked. The two girls and Frances poked their heads around the corner of the house right next to them, and found exactly what Alaska had expected.
Trevor and the mysterious brunette colleague of his were standing several metres away, both their backs turned, but Alaska recognized Trevor's coat and his Vaporeon, who stood in a battle position before him with a Blissey standing before the woman. It was instead Gideon that was facing them, a furious, murderous glare in his eyes as he stared towards the two. Alaska became angry just by staring at him, memories of Pewter, Mt Moon and Vermillion rushing back to her, and she wanted to run forwards and hit him with the nearest sharp object. But there was an obvious sickness and shabbiness to the scientist than when they had last met: his clothing was stained and tatty, and Alaska could see his bones sticking through his pale, paper thin skin. He had two Pokemon in front of him: his Electrode, sparks flying off his round surface as he faced off with Vaporeon, and a Pokemon that Alaska had not seen him use before, though it looked like a flying saucer with magnets for hands and a single eye staring blankly out towards Blissey.
"How are we supposed to get involved in this?" Sandy whispered nervously. "That Magnezone is not supposed to look like that, and I bet it used that Electric attack and not Electrode! Gideon is too strong, maybe we should we wait for Trevor to act!"
"I will wait when I die," Alaska hissed back, "and let's just hope that isn't today." She pried Frances from her chest and faced the Paras: the orange Bug type stared back fearfully, her claws wrapped around each other in a defensive way, and Alaska felt sorry for her, but at the same time a touch annoyed. "Frances, I know you are afraid, but you are a powerful Pokemon and need to embrace your strength!" Alaska said, her tone stern in hopes that her Pokemon would listen. "You have defeated a lot of enemies before, so I know that you have the ability to really show your strength today, and I need your power to help me end this once and for all!" Frances stopped shaking, taking the words in, her eyes beginning to stare down as if in shame. Alaska gave her a comforting pat, hoping she would finally show them her power. But before anything else could be said or done, shouts sounded from the street, and Alaska and Sandy looked around again.
"You people still think you can beat me after all these years?" Gideon yelled as Electrode and Vaporeon and Blissey and Magnezone began to fight. "You spies have always been weak and irritating fools that only stand to get in the way! There is nothing you can do to stop me: I will bring this region down to its knees and make you all bow down before me!"
"That is a nice thought, but it isn't going to happen any time soon," Trevor growled. "Ice Beam, now!"
"Egg Bomb Blissey, deflect any attacks that come your way!" The woman cried, her voice familiar from the radio broadcast. The Blissey picked up her egg and threw it towards Magnezone, where it glowed brightly upon impact and exploded. The energy wave shattered a window nearby and made the Steel-Electric type groan in a robotic manner. Cries sounded within the dust, and Sandy gasped as Vaporeon was blasted backwards, crashing into Trevor's legs and falling unconscious at his feet.
"Vaporeon!" Trevor gasped and collapsed to the ground, clutching Vaporeon as she twitched, and Gideon began to laugh, the sound more twisted than it had been before.
"I told you that you were weak, and all you've done is prove my point!" The scientist hissed. He let his cloak fall to the ground and raised his right hand, a handgun clutched within his twig-like fingers. "I should have done this to a spy a long time ago… maybe now you people will get the message!"
"Just try me!" Trevor hissed, jumping back to his feet and pulled his own gun out. The two men pointed their weapons towards each other, a tense silence falling across the battle. Electrode and Magnezone both crackled with electricity and Alaska noticed that Magnezone's sparks were a lot darker, the colour of mustard rather than the bright lemon of the fallen graveyard behind them.
"Give up Gideon, you are never going to win!" The woman yelled, her tone aggressive. "If you even attempt to shoot one of us, Blissey with bring every cliff around this town crashing down on top of you!" Gideon turned the woman and smiled, and Alaska knew from experience that it wasn't a good smile.
"A challenge? You silly girl, you know I always accept my challenges," the scientist sneered, and he pulled the trigger without even looking. Sandy screamed as Trevor was knocked backwards, blood spilling from a wound in his stomach. Alaska was appalled too, but she noticed as Electrode turned towards them, a curious but malicious stare in his eyes.
"He heard you!" Alaska hissed to Sandy, and she pushed her out of the way as Electrode began to glow yellow.
"Egg Bomb Blissey, destroy this little bastard!" The woman yelled, choking back a sob as she looked towards Trevor's unmoving body. Blissey nodded and pulled another egg out of her pouch, but as she began to throw it Magnezone reared forwards, dark sparks circling around its metallic body.
"I was buried under my old workplace for five years," Gideon snarled, his tone not matching the wicked glare in his eye, "and I don't plan on being buried once again. You can try, of course, but I don't think you'll like what Magnezone has to offer. Zap Cannon, NOW!"
"EGG BOMB!" The woman yelled back, and Blissey threw the glowing egg towards Magnezone as a ball of electricity formed between its magnets. The two attacks exploded as they collided, and Alaska jumped out of the way as an electricity-powered shockwave was fired down the length of the road. The house next to them buckled as it was hit, bits of glass and wood flying across, joining the dirt coming from the initial blast.
"I don't like this Alaska; he seems stronger than last time!" Sandy shouted, her face buried in the ground next to her.
"That is wonderful Sandy," Alaska growled, looking up as grey smoke cleared from the explosion. She couldn't see the woman or her Blissey, but Trevor and Vaporeon continued to lie within sight, a pool of blood forming around the apparent spy. "Where the fuck is Charlotte, we need her!" Alaska wondered if this would bring the ghost out, but there was no sign of the mysterious girl, and it seemed they were going to have to go on ahead. "Frances, I want you to use Bullet Seed as a distraction in a few seconds, and then get ready to fight when I call you in, alright?" The Paras nodded nervously, and Alaska felt a sense of pride as she leaped to her feet.
"Wait Alaska, you can't!" Sandy yelled, but Alaska ignored her as charged towards the scene. She wanted to end Gideon and get her journey back on the right path, but with no one else to help her, it seemed she was going to have to be the one to end things.
"PARA!" Frances cried, and Alaska caught a series of green seeds firing down the side of the street. Hoping it would be enough to distract them, Alaska skidded to the ground and came to a stop alongside Trevor, her jeans tearing in the process. Trevor's eyes were shut but he was moaning in a feeble manner, his hands twitching towards his wound. Alaska wanted to do something, but she had no medical experience and could only watch as more blood spurted out.
"Hang in there," she whispered, and grabbed his gun from beside his body. The smoke was clearing now, and Alaska could see that the woman had fallen to the ground, yet her eyes were open and were staring towards Alaska: there was something familiar about her face, which was thin and beautiful, though Alaska couldn't think of where she recognized her from. The woman looked at the gun in Alaska's hand and then back at the trainer, and gave a nod to approve the situation. Alaska nodded back and turned towards Gideon, ready to end this battle, no matter what the cost.
However, the smoke had entirely cleared, and Gideon was standing only a few metres away, pointing his own gun towards her as Electrode and Magnezone flanked him, sparks flying frequently from their smooth bodies.
"Oh deary, do you even know how to use it?" The scientist sneered, staring down at her hands as they clutched onto the weapon. "You need to have a lot of courage and a pretty good reason to fire one of those, and I don't think your pretty little head has properly thought this over. Are you really going to kill me, Alaska Acevedo?"
"I will do whatever it takes to end this!" Alaska hissed back, but she could feel her hands shake, and she wondered if she would actually be able to pull the trigger: she hated Gideon and would love to see him dead, but could she be the one to end his life and live with the consequences? Gideon seemed to see the weakness, and he laughed to himself.
"Just as I suspected," he chuckled. "And to think I thought you were a threat! Well, now that I have my lovely little book, you don't stand a chance of stopping me – none of you do! My plans are in motion, and soon I will be able to destroy this region and get my revenge, and you won't be here to stop me!" Alaska stared towards the gun as Gideon raised it up towards her head, and a million things rushed through her mind at once: the day she had received Paige, the day Freddie had been born, when her father lost his job, leaving on her journey, the first time she met Sandy, her first gym badge, Paige's evolution, capturing Darwin, Frances and Nadia… everything seemed so long ago, and everything seemed so wasted, clouded over by the questions that had plagued her for this entire journey. Had it all been wasted: had Alaska let these battles destroy her journey and distract her from achieving her initial goal? Alaska shut her eyes, waiting for the bullet to come, and wondered what would happen to the world once she was gone…
"PARAAAAAAA!" A scream sounded around them, and Alaska turned and opened her eyes instinctively, fearing for Frances' safety. The Mushroom Pokemon was racing towards the battle, her little legs scuttling as fast as possible while her mushrooms began to glow bright neon green. A ball of the same colour was forming between her claws, and Alaska gasped as she realised what move it was.
"FRANCES, SOLARBEAM, NOW!" Alaska yelled, and jumped out of the way. Gideon looked stunned at the sudden change, and both his Pokemon moved forwards with their bodies glowing yellow, ready to fight back. The scientist turned to face Alaska, who held the gun with more strength than before, and she smiled cheekily at him, daring him to move now. Gideon looked murderous, his entire body shaking with rage, and his right hand clenched around his gun. There was a bang and a small burst of fire, and Alaska turned to follow the path of the bullet: it wasn't aimed at her, and it was too high up for Frances…
"No…," Alaska whispered, knowing the outcome but wishing it wouldn't be true. She turned to face to Sandy and saw a reflection of her own shock on her friend's face: eyes bulged, jaw dropped, a look of pure surprise covering her face. Sandy didn't say a word, but Alaska screamed for the two of them as the blonde collapsed to the ground, her light lavender slowly becoming darker, inch by inch, as the blood flowed from the small hole in her chest…
A cliffhanger to leave you all with while I do the next The First Warriors. The Lavender arc will be concluded in the next lot of four: look out for the answers we have been waiting for and the fates of our characters
