I hope you are all excited about what will happen after the cliffhanger last time!

Chapter Forty Three: Dealing a New Hand

Nothing seemed to make sense anymore… nothing seemed right. Alaska ran forwards, but she felt as if she was falling backwards, a sick feeling knotting itself up in her stomach and sending dark thoughts to her mind. Sandy couldn't be hurt… not Sandy, not when she had done nothing wrong. This had been Alaska's fight, it had always been her battle, her war, whether she wanted it or not it was hers, not Sandy's… but then why was Sandy lying in front of her, why was Sandy the one bleeding and suffering before her… this wasn't right, it wasn't fair… but Alaska could not tell whose fault it really was.

Electricity exploded right next to her, and Alaska paused and stood her ground, letting the attack wash over her. It made her muscles ache, her bones shake and her hair stand up on end, but when Alaska opened her eyes everything was moving normally again, and Sandy was suddenly a lot closer. She sprinted forwards once more as gun fire joined the sounds of Frances duelling with the Electric Pokemon, and Alaska saw that the brunette woman was exchanging gunfire with Gideon. It seemed to be distracting the scientist for now, and Alaska was relieved to have more time to spend with Sandy, and ran the last few metres towards her friend.

Alaska froze as she looked down at Sandy, the full extent of the situation washing over her now that she was this close. Sandy was rapidly going pale, her skin turning milky white, almost as if her skin colour was leaking away through the bullet wound. The wound itself seemed so tiny, barely bigger than a fingernail, yet so much blood had escaped from it, and Alaska could see dark flesh and muscle beneath the broken skin, a sight too unnatural to think about.

"Sandy… no…," Alaska whispered, and she collapsed to her knees and grasped onto her friend's hand, letting Trevor's gun fall to the ground besides her. Sandy was shaking uncontrollably, and she only seemed to notice Alaska now that she was so close: her eyes were wider and more frightened than they had ever been, and Alaska could see the fear etched into her skin. "You'll be alright, I promise… I won't let anything bad happen to you!" Sandy nodded, and then opened her mouth to speak, but only a slight retching sound came out, and Alaska clasped her hand tighter as she felt tears stream down her cheek. Watching her friend's life slip away was too painful, but there was no way Alaska could look away. She had to be here for Sandy and hope that they would be together for longer, but Alaska's fingers brushed against the sticky blood that now soaked Sandy's dress, and she knew that things were not going to end well.

"Try and hang on Sandy, just try! I need you… I don't think I can handle any of this shit if I don't have you to keep me grounded… just promise me you'll stay around, alright… just promise..," Alaska said, struggling to talk through her tears. Sandy looked at her, and gave Alaska what seemed like a nod, but then her eyelids shut. "Sandy, no, don't do this, don't go! SANDY, NO!" Alaska yelled, and tried to shake her friend, unable to think of anything else to do, but she knew in the back of her mind that it was all lost…

"Alaska, get your ass back in there right now!" A voice hissed behind her, and Alaska jumped as she turned and faced the transparent but furious face of Charlotte. The ghost had appeared out of nowhere, though Alaska wondered how long she had actually been there, watching them from the shadows. "Leave her to me, just go back and fight!" Charlotte growled and waved Alaska aside with a careless flick of her wrist. Alaska felt Sandy's hand slip away and tried to hold on, but Charlotte seemed to have control over her body, forcing Alaska back to her feet and turning her away towards the battle. Alaska was furious, both due to the fact the magical ghost was here and hadn't helped earlier and how she was now being shooed away from her friend's own revival. Alaska wanted to give Charlotte a piece of her mind, but when her eyes locked onto Gideon, all her rage went back towards him, and she knew he was the one that deserved to suffer.

"Out of bullets are you Daisy my dear?" Gideon called out, and Alaska looked towards the brunette, who was hopelessly pulling the trigger of her gun but nothing was coming out. "What a pity, I always thought you were quite pretty!" The scientist began to laugh as he raised his gun high, and Alaska looked around for something to save the woman. The only weapon she truly had was Frances, and the little Paras was moving backwards as she charged another Solarbeam, all while Electrode and Magnezone were advancing towards her, about to cross the battlefield.

"Frances, use Metal Claw on your Solarbeam!" Alaska yelled. Gideon turned towards her in shock and instinctively moved his gun towards her, but the damage was already down: Frances' claws glowed silver around the glowing green ball, and Electrode and the strange coloured Magnezone froze in surprise, not sure what would happen.

"PARAAAAAA!" Frances yelled, and she smashed her own attack. A green wave of energy was released, firing out on all sides. Alaska watched as Gideon, his Pokemon and the woman called Daisy were blasted backwards by the beam until the white light of the attack nearly blinded her. Alaska was pushed backwards by remnants of the attack, but as she was standing behind Frances there was little chance of the beam coming back against the Pokemon that made it.

The light disappeared and Alaska blinked several times until her vision was back, and quickly surveyed the scene. Daisy had been knocked over once more, and this time her eyes were shut and she lay limply, reminding Alaska of an unconscious Pokemon at the end of a battle. Electrode and Magnezone seemed to have been hit with most of the blast, flying backwards into the front yard of a nearby house: Electrode was embedded in the ground, only his red side showing, while Magnezone was sparking feebly as he lay on a fence.

"Excellent work Frances," Alaska said with a weak smile and looked down at the Paras. Frances had stopped shaking and was actually smiling, and Alaska could only imagine what a huge confidence boost using this attack was and how happy it would make her feel as a result. She wanted to check on Sandy and see if Charlotte had stopped her yet, but just as Alaska went to turn around something moved in the corner of her eye, and she turned back to see Gideon slowly getting to his feet, seeming dazed from the attack but otherwise unharmed.

"You!" Alaska hissed as she turned to face him. She didn't have a gun, and she knew better than to send a Pokemon in against him, but Alaska was not going to let Gideon get away… not this time, not after what he had done. And without another thought, Alaska began to run. She thought she saw something glow behind her, but didn't pause to check: Gideon was in her crosshairs, and she was going to make him suffer. The scientist didn't even see her coming until she was only a few metres away and he quickly raised his gun, the shock visible across his pale face. But it seemed that Gideon had used up his last bullet, as his gun proved as useless as Daisy's had, and Alaska began to smile as she let out a yell and ran towards him.

"Foolish girl," Gideon hissed, and he swung a fist around. Alaska was caught off guard and allowed it to come across her face, knocking her off balance and gave Gideon the chance to sweep in with a kick to the stomach. Alaska groaned as the air was knocked out of her and she stumbled to the ground in pain.

"Did you really think you could stop me like this?" Gideon sneered as he loomed over her, his face twitching maniacally as he pressed his foot against her stomach. "I can crush you like a bug and there is nothing you can do to stop me, not now that I have my little spells with me!" He began to laugh, the sound distorted and off key, and Alaska wished she had the strength to stop him, but he had knocked it all out of her and she could only stare up at him as blood filled her mouth.

Suddenly green seeds shot out of nowhere, and Gideon cried out as they whacked against his head, forcing him to take his foot off Alaska's stomach. She tried to lunge for him but spasms went through her stomach, leaving her immobile. Gideon gave her one last sneer before scooping a large book off the ground and sprinting down the undamaged parts of the street, down towards a mountain wall.

"Para Para Parasect Para!" A voice said behind her, and Alaska was so distracted by Gideon that she didn't notice the change in words. But a Pokemon appeared next to her, helping Alaska straighten up, and Alaska gasped and had to double take before she recognized who it was.

"Frances?" Alaska asked in shock, and the Pokemon nodded, though it looked nothing like the little Paras: one giant red-orange mushroom with yellow spots covered her larger body, while two giant claws emerged out on either side of her large white eyes. Frances looked strikingly different as a Parasect, but Alaska couldn't be happier and pulled her into a hug.

"Congratulations! I knew you had the power and the courage inside you. It just appears it had to come out in shades of green," Alaska said with a smile, and Frances beamed back up at her before pointing down towards Gideon, who hadn't gotten far just yet. "Good point! You stay here and make sure everyone is alright, and leave Gideon to me."

"Sect Para," Frances said with a nod, and Alaska smiled again before using her tall mushroom to get her back on her feet. Her stomach still hurt but Alaska began sprinting, pushing through the pain as she thought of Sandy behind her, and wondered if the ghost would be able to save her. She focussed entirely on Gideon, not looking at anything else, only following the tatty scientist as he limped towards the mountain wall. There was no way he could escape her now, and Alaska would the savour the moment when she could finally put a stop to him once and for all.

"Until next time Alaska," Gideon suddenly called out, and Alaska was taken aback and nearly stopped running, wondering what he was playing at. But Gideon turned around and smiled at her as he raised his glowing watch up for her to see, and a memory from Pewter City came back to her.

"NO, YOU BASTARD!" Alaska roared and took off once again. Gideon laughed as he body began to glow, and Alaska ran as fast as possible, thinking that maybe she could catch him and teleport away with him, and then kill him in his own territory. The scientist leapt towards the nearest building, and Alaska briefly noted that it appeared to actually be a purple and yellow striped tent before jumping after him. She disappeared through a red velvet curtain and only caught the briefest of flashes before landing on a rug with a painful thud.

"NOOOO!" Alaska roared, and angrily banged her fists on the floor. She had come so close to stopping him that to have it stripped from her at the last moment was so painful that it tore at her heart, and Alaska felt like crying again, as well as finding him and ripping him apart.

"Have you come to my tent to have your fortune read, or do you simply wish to have a tantrum on my floor?" A silky voice asked from above her, and Alaska looked up: the walls and ceiling were draped with crimson red and luscious purple curtains, though very little seemed to be inside. A circular table was directly before her with a high backed wooden chair that Alaska grasped onto in order to pull herself up, and she found the speaker sitting on the opposite side.

The woman had copper coloured skin and seemed to have a glow around her to match, with black hair done up in a bun and a flowing purple dress on that only reminded Alaska of Sandy. Her skin was unlined and undamaged but Alaska could tell the woman was old, possibly in her late fifties, though she wasn't entirely sure why. She had a simple smile on that gave nothing away, though her eyes seemed to be digging into Alaska, drilling her without saying a word.

"I didn't come in here to have my fortune read sorry," Alaska said nervously, afraid to shout at someone like this. "I was just chasing someone in here, but I believe they teleported away, so I'll just… ya know..." The woman nodded without saying a word, flicking a purple backed deck of cards between her hands, and Alaska began to feel unnerved.

"You seem afraid child, don't be," the woman said, her red lips slightly raising into a smile. "I am not a witch or anything: I simply look at my cards and tell you what I believe will come from it." She pulled one card from her deck and turned it the right way up as she placed it on the table, and though apprehensive Alaska peered in to see what it was.

"A sword," she whispered, staring at the simple but beautifully drawn artwork of the classic weapon.

"Indeed, a symbol of a warrior," the woman said with a brief nod. "Tell me, what Pokemon did you start your journey with?"

"A Pidgey called Paige… she's now a Pidgeotto," Alaska replied instantly before wondering how the woman knew she was a trainer.

"And she shall be a Pidgeot by the time you ride her into your final battle," the woman said before picking a second card. This one featured a pair of scales with one higher than the other. "One of my more frequent cards: your life, your quest is riddled with imbalance and you are finding it difficult to manage. You are letting one thing outweigh the other, and the heavier weight is something you do not want, am I correct?" Alaska nodded, thinking of how she was letting this war consume her actual journey so much, and, with a painful thought of Sandy outside, how it was affecting her.

"The next card will be how you can change these weights," the woman said, and placed a card of an old Apricorn ball down on the table, which made the woman smile for some reason. "How funny… it is usually the clients that are not Pokemon trainers who receive this card, which is because the Apricorn, or the PokeBall, represents control rather than Pokemon. In this case, you need to find some level of control, with it is with yourself, you're Pokemon or those around you, which will bring you back to your rightful path and give you the balance you need." Alaska nodded along as usual, though she was more confused by this one: there were so many things out of control that it was hard to actually think of something she could control. She wondered if the fortune teller meant her Pokemon, but the fourth card was already being played, and showed a simple red rose.

"Love and passion, this is what is on the horizon for you," the woman said, glancing up at Alaska for the first time since the reading has begun. Her smile and the look in her eyes seemed almost teasing or mocking, and Alaska froze, clutching the back of the chair with an unnecessary rage. Everything that had happened over the past fifteen minutes came rushing back to her, and anger quickly rose up and began to boil over: Alaska knew the fortune teller didn't deserve it, but she was angry, and someone had to know about it.

"This is probably what you tell every fool that comes in here, isn't it?" She hissed, glaring down at the dark skinned woman. "Any of these things could apply to some bored housewife: she'll win a battle with her children or cleaning or something, her life is imbalanced but she will manage it if she gets a control on things, and her husband will shower her with love. Don't think you can give me the same shit as everyone else, because I am not going to stand here and take this when my friend is dying outside and you are only holding me up!" Alaska pushed the chair aside and turned towards the exit, but was so angry that she couldn't tell which curtains she had come through and furiously wanted to tear them all down. There was the familiar sound of a card being picked up and then placed down behind her, and Alaska paused for a second, waiting to hear what the fortune teller had to say.

"The cracked gravestone," the woman whispered, and Alaska was so surprised by the sudden change in voice and tone that she turned around. The fortune teller seemed to be frowning at a card of a damaged grey gravestone, and Alaska thought she could see fear in the woman's eyes. She suddenly scooped the five cards up and placed them back in her deck, and then looked up at Alaska with wide eyes. "I have not picked up the cracked gravestone in many years. I would watch my back if I was you: I felt the power that man you were chasing had, and if you continue to go after him, it will not end well for you."

"What does that card mean?" Alaska asked, her tone still stony, and she wondered if the woman would ignore her. However, she pulled the card back out from the deck and held it up for Alaska to see.

"The dead will rise before your battle is over, and there is little you can do about it. Go tend to your friend and try to leave this war behind, it clearly isn't for you. But if you must fight, than know that love will be waiting for you and you must find balance before you can win." The woman stood up dramatically, and Alaska turned as she heard the swish of moving curtains, nearly blinded by the light that suddenly filled the dark room. "Go forth, Alaska Acevedo, and make your decision: will you end this war on the battle field or by simply refusing to take part?" Alaska turned back around, half expecting the woman to have disappeared, but she instead found one of the gravest and more serious expressions she had ever seen in her life staring back at her, and all Alaska could do was smile and nod once more before she stepped back out to the street, where she paused and sighed as several new questions found their way onto her never ending list.

There's some imbalance for you; Alaska cursed, the ratio of answers to questions. Maybe I will find control when I actually know what war it is I'm fighting in…

The Lavender Arc wraps up in the next part. Remember the fortune teller's words as they will come up again throughout the series.