Chapter Seventy One: Keep Your Friends Close

She moved quickly. Alaska withdrew her Pokémon and descended from the roof as quickly and quietly as possible. She felt the need to stay silent, to not risk being noticed: bodiless voices sounded from all corners of the house, but the mansion was so cavernous that there was no way of telling how close or far their owners were. Cautiously, Alaska walked briskly back to her room, eyes peeled for anyone who might try and stop her.

After several minutes, Alaska made it to her second floor room undisturbed. Once inside, she packed as though Evelyn or Trevor might appear at any moment; she had emptied her bag last night out of boredom and rage, but regretted it now as she was forced to speedily shove all her possessions back inside her tired and beaten backpack.

Once she was done, clothes, medicines and brownies threatening to overflow, Alaska paused and gazed around. The room was roughly the same size as her parent's house, the walls painted a colour that was too bold and proud to be simply called 'green', decorated with portraits and landscape paintings placed on the wall as an added reminder of how wealthy the Athlews were. Even the thought of being confined here, surrounded by all these too-obvious signs of wealth, sent a shiver down Alaska's spine, but she knew she had nothing to fear now.

No chance of me ever staying here again. Smiling slyly, Alaska hoisted her bag onto her shoulders and turned to go, leaving behind only a hastily scrawled note for Sandy. It felt like a betrayal, leaving just a scrap of paper as explanation, but Alaska did not have time to fully explain herself in text, and getting to Sandy in this surprisingly overcrowded mansion was not an option either.

I will see you again soon, and I will be a better person for it, Alaska thought, though her guilt weighed her down as she left the room behind. As she descended the spiral staircase, she noticed how quiet it was, the echoing voices seeming to have gone. That surely meant the coast was clear, but Alaska was still worried about being stopped. Her determination to make a change was overpowering, and Alaska knew she had to claim this feeling before anything else stopped her.

Her fears were unfounded though: the entrance hall was empty, only a number of small tables, mirrors and half sized statues spread out across the black and white tiles. It was so quiet that her footsteps seemed to boom as they touched the undisturbed surface, and Alaska rushed towards the gigantic front door and slipped out before anyone heard her.

Freedom!

She had only been outside a few minutes ago, yet the waft of fresh air, the smell of flowers and grass, it all rushed through Alaska's senses, and she paused for a moment soaking it all in. She had made it outside without anyone stopping her; the hardest part of her escape was over, and now there were only fields of green and flowers spread out before her. Alaska could see Celadon in the distance, the scattered skyscrapers reaching out like beckoning fingers, calling for her to leave them. She had not felt this good all week, even with her win yesterday, and Alaska could not help smile as she walked down the marble steps and headed for the gates.

The driveway was long, never ending, always turning around corners so you never knew quite where you were going. Gravel and dirt crunched beneath her feet while the bordering trees cast strange shadows. Alaska knew she was not up for walking, but she really didn't care. Her only other option was to stay here and learn more about how much she had been screwed over. A bit of foot pain was nothing compared to the rush she felt at the simple thought of sorting her life out.

It isn't going to be easy, finding the answers to all these questions, but I have to start somewhere. Amelia had opened her eyes and given her a sense of purpose she had been simply lacking. Alaska felt sick at the thought of how she had behaved, letting everything from Buzz to Sabrina to this morning simply overwhelm her. Already Alaska was looking forward to the time to analyse everything and put the pieces together on her own: it would be gruelling and depressing, but it had to be done, and she was not going to let anything get in her way.

"Alaska, there you are!"

Alaska froze, swearing under her breathe. She should have known escape would not be as easy as this, fate just lulling her into a false sense of security. Irritable but with a touch of guilt, Alaska turned to face Sandy. Her friend was leaning against one of the giant trees that bordered the driveway, white shirt and navy skirt fluttering in the breeze. Pichu and Eevee were playing around her feet, and Sandy smiled kindly at them before glancing back up at Alaska, eyebrows raised slightly.

"What are you doing here?" The deflection of her question made Sandy's brow rise further, risking disappearing into her hair, and her eyes flickered towards the overstuffed bag swinging from Alaska's shoulder.

"The three of us were playing while we waited for you to come back down, and they chased me over here – just in time too, it seems," Sandy explained, her voice calm but some syllables shook with a hint of stifled rage.

Just my luck, Alaska thought angrily. There were enough wide fields, greenhouses, flower displays and water features around the rest of the property where Sandy could have been, yet she had to be waiting and watching when Alaska tried to disappear. Alaska looked behind her, over a particularly flowery field and back towards the hedges that bordered the outside table.

"Everyone else is inside discussing what to do with you, no one else is around. So come on, out with it, where are you going with that?" Sandy snapped. Her features were neutral, but her voice betrayed her true feelings, the words coming out short, sharp and sour. "You're trying to run away, aren't you? Did you really think you could just up and leave without telling me?"

"Sandy, look, I left you a letter; it will explain everything much better than I –"

"Don't give me that!" Sandy shouted. Eevee and Pichu froze in their game, looking fearfully up at the two girls as they faced each other. "You know damn well Alaska that I deserve a lot more than just some bloody letter!"

"Sandy, I don't want to argue with you again. It is just getting repetitive, and our lives seem to get threatened every time you shout at me, and I am trying to avoid those situations."

"We wouldn't need to argue if you didn't keep breaking your promises!" Sandy hissed.

"What promises?"

"You said you were going to tell me everything, and for a few days there I was beginning to think you had. But when we had our little chat in the tent, you left out the part where a legendary has been communicating with you over the past few months." Alaska opened her mouth to reply, but she knew Sandy had her now. Defeat must have shown on her face as Sandy smiled slightly, proud to have been proven right, and she straightened up and cast a withering look down on Alaska. "Well? What have you got to say to that?"

Alaska sighed, dropping her bag to the ground, tempted to fall down with it. "I didn't tell you about Latios because I had no idea what his role in this was. He has whispered in my head a few times when I have been weak, and he protected us back in Vermilion, but asides from that he hasn't done anything useful. So I didn't tell you because I didn't want to add another layer to it all when there were more pressing things to work out, and… and… well, I didn't want to get your hopes up."

"Excuse me?" Sandy's proud composure faded, Alaska's words making her deflate in surprise.

"Well, you know, after everything that has happened… I thought if you knew there was another legendary looking over me, there might be more of a chance of surviving all the insane stuff that keeps happening to us." The words hung heavy and solemnly in the air, and a quiet tension fell between the two. A bored Eevee and Pichu began to sprint around the tree, but even their delighted cries of joy did little to move the two girls standing alongside them.

"It is nice to know you care," Sandy whispered after a few moments, "or you at least did at some point. But if you care about me, why exactly are you trying to sneak away?"

"I need some time on my own!" Alaska groaned, putting all her built up frustration and annoyance into that single noise. "I was just talking to Alistair, and while I haven't quite worked out and processed everything that has happened in the past week, the one thing that is clear is that no matter what the future holds, my destiny is mine to control, and it is time I work out what I want my future to be."

"And that somehow involves you leaving?"

"I can't exactly decide my own destiny if people keep telling me more bits and pieces about what may or may not happen. I don't know if you've ever seen a movie, but when the protagonist finds out what a prophecy says about them, that usually leads to it coming true. If I talk to Evelyn and Looker and all them again, they will keep throwing details and revelations at me, and while I do want more answers, I also want to have some leeway in how I live my life and how I end up fighting this bloody war."

"I get that, but why do you have to leave me?"

"I need time to think about everything on my own, to make my own decisions and answer at least a few of these questions that have been hovering over me for the past few months. I don't want to ignore you or forget about you or anything like that, but if I want to get control of my life and myself, I think I need to be alone for a while."

For a moment, Alaska relished in her self-awareness. For so long her mind had been clouded by everything she had suffered through, she had let all that hate and anger and despair grow on her. The thoughts were still there, resting in the back of her mind, but saying these words out loud, taking back some of her own life, Alaska felt freer than she had in weeks, free to finally look at things from her own perspective, free to finally achieve what she promised to herself the last time she was here.

But that moment passed the longer Sandy stayed silent. After over a minute without a response, Alaska felt her joy slip away. Sandy stood stoically opposite her, arms quivering by her side, eyelids blinking rapidly as tears came to the surface. All too late, Alaska knew she had handled this wrong; she had forgotten the fragility of her friend, and a strong sense of guilt quickly weighed her down.

"Sandy, I didn't mean to –"

"You really can be so bloody selfish at times, do you know that? I get that you don't want any part of this, that is perfectly understandable, but you seem to think that you are the only person being affected by this. I should probably be used to it by now, but I am actually stunned that you would think you could just slip away without anyone noticing and leave me behind like I am just another person on the side lines trying to control you!"

"I thought it might be good for you, Sandy, to give you a break from things while I sort myself out. You don't need to get any further involved than you already are, and –"

"How could I not be more involved, Alaska? This entire thing is as much about me as it is about you! I was shot, for crying out loud!" Sandy screamed, the words echoing across the field, the ferocity and anger in her voice bringing her Pokémon to a halt. "Yes, Charlotte saved me basically straight away; yes, I can hardly remember any of it; yes, I never bring it up, but I shouldn't have to, Alaska. I left home to travel around Kanto and see the sights, and because of you I was shot right in the chest, right here," and Sandy opened her shirt, exposing the tiny sliver of a scar that was the only physical reminder of what had happened in Lavender Town. Alaska had seen the scar before, but the way Sandy was using it now was wounding, brandishing her injury like a weapon, a brutal reminder of all Alaska had and hadn't done.

"You can be pissed off and angry with everyone as much as you want, Alaska, but do not for a second think you are just going to cast me aside like some… oh, I don't know, used band aid! Urgh, see, I'm so annoyed I can't even think of a good analogy!" It was the type of comment that in a less tense moment Alaska would have smirked at. She could even feel a grin try to force itself onto her face, but the pain radiating off Sandy was devastating, and Alaska could feel it consuming all her own emotions.

"I… I… I have no idea what to say, Sandy, except for… I'm sorry." Alaska paused, for once thinking about her words before they fell from her mouth. "I am sorry for getting you mixed up in this, for ignoring your suffering, for ignoring you. I never intended on leaving you behind here forever. I thought I needed some time to myself, but I knew I would come back for you eventually."

"I kind of knew, but part of me… well… you can be a real bitch at times, let's just put it that way." This time, Alaska could not stop herself; she snorted with laughter, and Sandy managed to crack half a smile as well. "I mean. A lot of the things you've done over the past few months have been fairly shocking."

"Were you just saving that to tell me when we were in the middle of an argument, keep the blows coming one after the other?" Sandy's smile widened a bit more, but there was no denying the heaviness in her eyes.

"No, of course not. I just… well… I told you back in the tent that you're the first real friend I have ever had. All the stuff you did after we met surprised me, but I never had the confidence to tell you off about it because I thought you might leave me." A gasp escaped Alaska's lips before she could stop it, and Sandy's smile guiltily disappeared. "You seemed so determined to smite everything and everyone that angered you that I had no idea if our friendship was strong enough to last me standing up to you. Every gym battle or confrontation where you did something that shocked me; I just put a smile on and cheered for you, hoping it would keep me in your good graces. It's only in the past weeks that I have actually felt strong enough to put you in your place."

Alaska fell silent. She was not sure how to respond to this. Sandy seemed to notice the effect of her words and she sighed and collapsed against the tree beside them. "God, that wasn't the time to say that, I'm sorry, I –"

"Sandy, please, you do not need to apologise." Wearily, Alaska copied her friend and sank to the bottom of the tree, coming to a rest on some thick roots. Eevee and Pichu looked cautiously at the two as they settled uncomfortably on the roots, their timid faces making it clear they were unsure if the shouting was over. Alaska had a feeling Sandy had more to say, but when she warily turned to face her friend, she found Sandy staring exhaustedly back.

"All the books I used to read before I left home, basically every one of them was about some teenage hero faced with an impossible task or some sort of quest they had to embark on. I used to marvel at how they would outsmart the malicious villain that stood in the way, how they managed to pull through in one piece and still save the day. I always thought doing something like that would be fun, but the further we go on this journey, the more I see how fake those stories are. Those heroes aren't real teenagers, their villains are just caricatures. I mean, Buzz is fairly incompetent for a psychopath, but even he was about ten seconds away from cutting our throats."

"The difference between us and them is that we aren't the heroes of this story," Alaska replied tiredly. "I may be in this bloody prophecy, but I am not saving the day for me, I am saving it for them. Red is the person they really want to save, I am just the understudy." That thought had been on her mind since breakfast, but saying it aloud framing her life like that, Alaska felt as though a cold, metal hand had just yanked all the remaining joy from her body. She and Sandy sat in silence, their backs against the tree, staring blankly at the endless grass. Control suddenly seemed so far away again, and Alaska's thoughts turned back to the mansion, part of her wondering exactly what Evelyn and them had planned for her, wondering just how bad that would be…

"Good, you're both still here." Alaska and Sandy turned simultaneously towards the voice, and Looker smirked at them as he and Gallade briskly approached. "I had to make sure everyone else was busy before I came here, but I have no idea if they heard you or not. Why they put their faith in you I have no idea…"

"What do you want?" Alaska asked, exasperation oozing from every syllable.

"I saw you packing your bag and I read your note to Sandy after you left, so it did not take long to work out what was happening."

"What? You saw… how… where were you?"

"I am spy; I am an old spy, but I am still a spy," Looker replied quickly. "Anyway, Gallade can teleport you both anywhere you would like to go, but decide quickly, I am only a step ahead of Evelyn; she knows everything that goes on in this bloody house. Sandy, here is your bag," the spy added, tossing the lavender coloured bag towards its owner. Sandy caught it with a look of surprise on her face, and she and Alaska exchanged confused looks.

"Why are you suddenly helping us now?" Sandy said with a slight hiss. "Your lot seemed pretty content to let Gideon shoot at us for a while,

"Oh, cut the bloody whiny teenage bullshit, I don't have the time for it," Looker snapped. "We handled things pretty terribly, I am sorry for that, but you two need to get some perspective. Even if Gideon shot you both a hundred times that is nothing compared to some of the terrible crap I have seen in my job. Was either of you in Kalos when the entire region got razed to the ground? I didn't see you two on Mount Coronet three years ago, did I? You may be getting a raw deal right now, but just be glad that a few robots and a homicidal scientist are all you have to deal with."

"Well thanks for making our problems seem so utterly pointless," Alaska snarled. "Don't come here and berate us as though feeling bad about all this is somehow our fault. If you lot had just done your bloody jobs instead of relying on a bunch of teenagers like some Dumbledorean figure, then just maybe –"

"For fucks sake, shut up!" Looker snapped, and Alaska fell haughtily silent. "I am here to help you, for crying out loud. If you weren't so quick to antagonise people then maybe you wouldn't be in this mess." The spy rolled his eyes as he pulled out a cigarette and a lighter from one pocket, quickly lighting it and taking a long puff. Alaska watched silently as Looker let the smoke escape, her eyes following the thin grey streams as they dissipated into the atmosphere.

"Your anger is particularly ill placed with me; I am about the only person who wants to help you." Looker did not look at them, his eyes focused on something in the distance, anger and tiredness shining clear on his face. "After everything I've seen, I know that letting you go off on your own was a bad idea, but I know from experience that trying to control teenagers doesn't really work out. You remind me of some of the people I dealt with in Sinnoh, and we all know how that turned out… well, not everyone. Only a few of us ever actually saw what happened on the Spear Pillar…" He fell silent, and when Alaska looked back at him, she saw the spy appeared to have frozen: his body was tense, unmoving, his unblinking eyes staring into space as though looking back through time, only the smoke wafting from the cigarette showing any sign of life. Of all that had happened over the past few years, the bloody war on Mount Coronet was the biggest mystery of them all, but the whole world knew how bloody, violent and destructive it had been. Alaska and Sandy briefly exchanged glances, both wondering what Looker must have seen, the pain he must have gone through.

"After all of that, I knew how we did things wouldn't work again should another such occasion arise," Looker continued, dropping the cigarette and aggressively stamping it out with his foot. "I would love to do more to protect the two of you, but trapping you both here is not going to help the situation." He replaced the lighter in his pocket and reached into another of his large trench coat to pull out a slip of paper. "My friend, Bertram Henry, is a wealthy breeder in Fuchsia City. Gallade can take you there, he will house you and provide safe passage to Seafoam and Cinnabar after your gym battle." Alaska took the scrap of paper and skimmed over the address scrawled on it.

"So… you aren't going to stop us?" Looker shook his head and smirked.

"What would be the point? You want to go, so there is nothing I can do to stop you. You have to be ready to hear what is coming for you, and you will not find the answers or clarity you want staying here under lock and key. Go and find out what you have to, and we will do our best to pick up our game."

"Ok… well, thanks…"

"One last thing: you need friends in times like this. Being alone is no good when you are in a dark place. Your mind does funny things without company; the bad thoughts and the bad memories all fester and grow on you until you can't think of anything else. Even if the other person is as pathetic and alone as you, at least you can be pathetic and alone together." Looker finished, flashing his grin at Alaska, though she noted it extenuated his aging face and did not quite reach his eyes. For the first time, she really paid attention to his face: thin slivers of scars were buried amongst his wrinkles and baggy eyes, wounds that had healed but would never fade away. For the first time, Alaska wondered what she would look like at the end of this, if she would have to look in a mirror and find all the pain and suffering she had gone through staring back at her, never leaving her, never letting her be. She turned to face Sandy, and the two silently locked eyes, the words from their latest argument hovering between them like an impenetrable barrier.

"Go. Go on, piss off before anyone else notices – god knows you screamed enough for the entire city to hear you."

"That's an order I think I can handle," Alaska said, smirking, but Looker merely grunted and gestured forcefully at the gates. Alaska hoisted up her bag and turned to leave, but at the last second her eyes met Gallade's and she paused. It was only now that she realised the Blade Pokémon had been watching her throughout the entire conversation, and a chill spread down her spine at the thought. Their eyes met for the first time since she had lain on the basement floor, and suddenly it was all rushing back to Alaska: the pain, the physical and emotional, the fighting, her longing to die…

He told me about how you were willing to embrace death; how you were willing to die so you could avoid facing your foes in open combat.

"Is something wrong? Do you want him to teleport you somewhere?" Alaska shook her head, forcing herself to stare away from Gallade's penetrating glare, wishing it was as easy to silence all her thoughts.

"No… no, it's fine. I would rather walk, clear my head a bit. Are you ready?" Alaska asked, turning to Sandy. Her friend nodded silently, Eevee and Pichu sitting contently in her arms. Alaska turned to Looker, mouth open, but the spy shook his head and turned back towards the house. Storing the 'thank you' away for another day, Alaska faced the gardens once more and set off down the path. The confidence and clarity she had felt only a few minutes ago was still there, but it felt tainted now, now that all had been said, now that she had realised the task that lay ahead. Looking into Gallade's eyes, stirring up all those memories, Alaska could see that taking control was not the automatic solution to her problems.

Looking across at Sandy, Alaska was suddenly very pleased she had not escaped unnoticed, and with grim determination the two walked side by side down the driveway, the gates suddenly looking a lot closer than they had been.