Chapter Eighty Seven: She Had it Coming
In her dream, Alaska fell for what felt like an eternity. Walls like jagged glass surrounded her as she plunged backwards into an infinite abyss. She screamed, calling out for Sandy, for Paige, for all her Pokémon, but her words echoed futilely, no one left to hear her. The only sound that resonated with Alaska was the roar of the river. She gazed into the darkness and saw nothing waiting for her below, but the further she fell and the more she screamed, the louder the water became. Soon it was deafening, her own screams lost to her, unable to hear her cries for help as chaos and death reached for her. The roar turned to a high-pitched shriek like static, and Alaska screamed louder, trying to make her brain listen, but she simply kept falling, falling, falling…
"Sandy."
Alaska sat upright before she had even realised she was awake. For a moment she was disorientated, seeing only dim light and an indistinguishable, shimmering pattern that made her think of Sabrina's gym. It was only when she registered the cold and felt the sweat freezing on her face that she remembered where she was.
"About damn time."
Alaska jumped, her mind still lagging behind in her subconscious. Her eyes darted to the source of the voice and she relaxed when she saw Damian, huddled by a fire beneath a silver blanket like giant tinfoil. The flickering light cast shadows over half his face, giving a serious edge to the way he stared at her.
"I thought I was on my own for a moment there," Alaska whispered. She leant towards the fire, hoping the heat would wake her up, and felt a crunch; looking down she saw there was a blanket around her too. Alaska felt at her clothes and found them dry, which surprised her, but she was too dazed to question it further.
"It doesn't really get lonelier than this," Damian said, his tone colder than the ice they sat on.
Alaska was too confused to retort; her head was swimming, and she felt like she was about to pass out. She gazed around the cramped cave, her eyes struggling in the dark, yet she saw no sign of anyone else. "Where's…" She began but trailed off as her situation dawned on her. There was a reason she couldn't see Sandy, and when Alaska shut her eyes, her last memory of her friend returned; Sandy, collapsed on the ice, Chloe's arms around her neck, terror in her eyes as she looked pleadingly at Alaska…
A chirp pulled Alaska back to the present. She turned and felt a rush of joy as she saw Paige, Darwin and Frances sitting behind her surrounded by bowls of food. Darwin watched her heavily for a moment before turning away, while Frances began fretfully chewing her food faster. Only Paige smiled back, and as Alaska looked into her oldest friend's eyes, everything came back to her: the fight, the evolution, Onix's bleeding eyes, the whirlwind, the gunshot.
"Paige!" Alaska flung herself across the ice but collapsed in a heap before her friend, wincing and clutching her leg.
"I think there's something wrong with your leg," Damian called out. "It looks kind of twisted."
"Cheers," Alaska grunted back, her agony distracting her from sarcasm. She felt feathers brush her face and found Paige watching her pitifully. "Forget about me, what happened to you? Are you alright?"
"Gee." The Pidgeot stretched out her left wing so Alaska could see the damage: she was able to stretch it out fully, but a gash ran down the centre, matted blood staining her cream feathers a murderous red.
"Oh my god." Alaska reached out to touch it but Paige pulled away, fear in her eyes. "Right, sorry, that was stupid. Where's my bag, I need to put something on that."
"I already have." Damian threw an orange bottle over the fire. "There's some left in there if you think it will help, but I don't think there is anything more you can do except stitch it up."
"What about the bullet?"
"That was a high powered rifle; it would have torn through her if it had hit square on, there would be nothing for you to find. I think it just clipped her, enough to make her fall."
His tone remained distant, sardonic, and Alaska could see it wasn't simply the fire leaving Damian with a dark glower in his eyes. She sat up, eyes narrowing. "You better not be blaming what happened on Paige."
"I don't," Damian replied, but his eyes lingered on her, and Alaska's body clenched in a defensive rage.
"But you blame me for everything else, right? I'm not the one who came after you with a fucking assault rifle!"
Damian shrugged. "I know I shouldn't blame you, but it's hard not to when everything comes back to you."
The words were simple and without malice, but that didn't stop Alaska from feeling like she'd been stabbed. If her whole body didn't ache, if she wasn't nearly alone in a frozen cave, if she hadn't failed to stop the mad woman trying to kill her and everyone unfortunate enough to come into contact with her, Alaska might have argued back, but she was too fatigued to start a fight, not when she knew her heart wasn't in it.
All these people dying, that's on you. If her enemies and her allies shared the same point of view, what use was there in arguing?
"Do you have any food? I'm starving."
"Only a few snacks. The show usually provided food for us."
"Lucky you," Alaska said and smiled as Damian smirked back. He broke off half of a protein bar and tossed it over; it looked like condensed sawdust and might as well have been given the taste. Yet Alaska was famished, and couldn't help but wolf it down, needing all the energy she could get.
As she swallowed the last piece, she looked down at her clothes. "We did land in the river, right? I didn't imagine that part?"
"Yep," Damian said, slinking back into doleful tones. "Charmeleon dried us out if that's what you were wondering. Made the fire as well."
"How handy. I should get myself a Fire type."
"Good luck with that. I'm sure there are heaps around here." Damian began to laugh, rolling his eyes as he stared into the flames, not noticing as Alaska's eyes lit up. She had forgotten all about Blaine and the reason why she had come here in the first place. If she could find him, he might be able to help them off the island or at least contact Leaf and Janine and work out what to do next.
"Where are we exactly?" Alaska's eyes, finally having adjusted to the gloom, darted around the cave. It looked the same as every other part of the island, but this was much smaller than the ones she'd passed through, the ceiling smooth except for delicate ripples that reflected the fire, dulling the blue light and replacing it with a warming glow. "We aren't near the river."
"Well done," Damian said sarcastically. "I didn't think a frozen riverbank was the best place to start a fire. Didn't really want to be near it anyway," he added quietly, pulling the blanket tighter.
"Where are we then? What actually happened?"
Damian sighed and leant forwards, lowering his face so it was only a few centimetres above the flames. He began breathing in heavily, his smile serene as though there was a salutary element to the smoke.
"Everything happened really quickly," he began, eyes shut, voice forcibly relaxed. "I had pulled out Gyarados' Poké Ball the second we were over the river, but I seized up when we fell. The shock, I guess. We hit the water and that jolted me awake because it was so freezing and I could feel my body shutting down same as you did.
"I sent Gyarados out as soon as I was able to tread the water, but you must have passed out by that point. I got on his back and then Tangela pulled everyone out of the water, but by then we had drifted under this tunnel and Gyarados couldn't turn around. Got ashore, walked for a little bit, and now we're here, wherever here is. Doesn't look any different from the rest of it, so can't tell you if we're near an exit or anything or what side of the island we're on."
Damian finished, but Alaska barely noticed; his voice had been getting quieter and quieter with each passing word, drifting steadily into silence. His voice and face were calm, but his words came out heavily.
"How long were you underwater for?"
"A minute? I don't know, I wasn't counting. It was freezing, though, colder than anything I have ever felt in my life. I thought I was going to die, more than when the gun was pointed at us."
That gun was pointed at me, actually, and if you've made it this far without nearly dying, then consider yourself lucky. The words ran to the tip of Alaska's tongue, and it took all her willpower not to say them out loud. It wouldn't save Sandy. It wouldn't repair the trust she'd broken with her Pokémon. Damian was confused and lost, and while he was putting the blame on the wrong person, he was the only ally she had left. If she had to bite her tongue, so be it; she had lost the privilege to feel contempt.
Alaska looked to Paige for reassurance and found her starter watching her. There was a look in her eyes, one Alaska didn't recognise. She hoped it was something to do with the evolution, but then, Alaska realised, of course it was – that was the problem.
"How far is the water?" She asked, slowly getting to her feet.
"You shouldn't walk."
"Well, it's my fault I'm hurt, just like everything else I guess, so might as well suffer for my sins." Alaska hadn't meant to be sarcastic, but her bitterness erupted out before she could think, though she felt no guilt to get it off her chest.
Damian sighed. "I didn't mean to blame you, I just –"
"Yes, you did. Everyone blames me, even if I didn't start this. You think that if I hadn't made myself an enemy to your little show, Amanda and Buzz would have kept their secret plan a secret, and you would have gone on living this charade right up until a robotic Sunflora shoots Red in the face. You blame me because your dreams have been crushed, even if they were a lie in the first place, but I can't fault you for being angry. It's always better to live a lie and delude yourself than accept the truth, isn't it?" Her words were meant to hurt him, and Alaska smiled coyly as Damian bowed his head in shame, but she knew that a week or so ago, it would have been her in his position, and her joy was short lived.
"Now, where's the bloody river?"
The water was cold. Somehow, Alaska hadn't thought that through; the second her fingers touched the river, she jolted backwards as though she'd received an electric shock. Numbness crawled up her arm, but there was nothing Alaska could do but glower at the cave walls. After all that had happened, she couldn't look at the ice with the same enthrallment she'd had earlier; what had once been beautifully magical was no simply cold and solid like prison bars.
"I hope you evolved some extra insulating because this is going to sting." Cupping her hands, Alaska tried again: the river was freezing, and Alaska bit her lip as the cold spread up her arms. After a few seconds, she pulled back, shivering, and threw the collected water onto Paige's wing.
"Gee!"
"Sorry!" Alaska smiled apologetically as she moved closer to the Pidgeot. Her hands shuddered violently despite the loss of feeling, and Alaska had to stop herself from drying them. With her still damp fingers, she grabbed hold of Paige's sodden wing and started washing away the blood. Dark red water streamed down her arms as she used her fingers to vigorously rub away the thick red crust. Alaska wasn't sure if the blood had frozen or simply dried, but it was tiring work,
"I can't tell if the blood has frozen or simply dried," Alaska murmured. "Your feathers are soft though, I'd forgotten that." She looked into Paige's eyes and smiled.
"Do you remember when I used to do this back when you were a Pidgey? I had to clean you feather by feather; you never let me wash you any other way. Well, not after I tried using the hose, remember that?" Alaska let go of the wing, a fit of giggles coming over her. "I aimed it right at you on full blast. You flew back and smacked into the window. Splat!" She slapped her hands together, the wet smack echoing alongside her laugh. "I thought I'd killed you, but then you shook all the water off and hit me with your wings. You were so angry; it was the funniest thing I've ever seen. Except when Sandy sat on that Diglett."
Alaska fell to her side, squirming with laughter. Her body settled into the foetal position as she laughed, unable to help herself, getting louder and more hysterical the longer it carried on. She looked up at Paige, expecting her to be laughing with her, but the Pidgeot was staring past her, face quiet. Alaska followed her line of sight and saw her own face staring back at her, distorted by the rippling river, and she stopped laughing.
"Why can't you still be that size?" Alaska reached out towards the water, resting her tips just on the surface; streaks appeared as she disrupted the flow, corrupting her face further, her reflection now staring back at her from some carnival magic mirror. Her eyes flickered to the left and she stared into Paige's reflection. Alaska thought it was a trick of the river, but when she looked back, she saw Paige really did look sombre, almost mournful.
"What's wrong? Is it your wound, does it hurt?" Alaska reached back, but Paige pulled away, the wing slipping out of her grasp. Alaska slowly sat upright, a heaviness descending on her heart. "Is it me?"
Paige didn't say anything, but her silence spoke volumes. Alaska sat there quietly for a moment, letting that all settle in, and then her anger manifested in a single, bitter scoff. "Are you angry with me as well, is that it? Do you blame me because you got shot?" Paige remained quiet but looked at her furtively, and Alaska threw her arms into the air. "Great, just fucking great! So I've fucked up so badly everyone, including my own bloody Pokémon, hates me, perfect. I didn't shoot you, you know, you can't blame that on me! Not everything is my fault. The others could have come up with a better plan, it doesn't have to be me. I'm not a war strategist. I just wing it, that's my whole strategy in life, winging everything until it all works out. Why don't you go ask Damian why he didn't send Gyarados out earlier to defend us, eh, or Tangela, or someone else – or go find Sandy and Lachlan, go find out what they are doing rather than blaming the person whose trying to help you."
Alaska wet her hands again and lunged forwards, grabbing hold of Paige's wing. The Pidgeot squawked and turned away, and Alaska held on tighter. "This is hardly the worst thing I've put you through, so shut up and let me help you!" And she began violently working away at the blood, her hand moving so quickly she slipped and shoved her hand right into the wound.
"PIDGEY!" Paige leapt backwards and lashed out with her unbroken wing. Alaska barely had time to register before the feathery cape hit her in the face, thin bones cracking against her skull, before the force sent her flying backwards. For a second she was weightless, her body leaving the ice before she crashed back to earth. The frozen surface made her body judder, and Alaska cried out as fresh pain shot up her twisted leg.
The silence that followed was heavy and painful. It felt as though the ceiling had suddenly lowered and was pressing down on Alaska's back. She lay on her stomach long after the pain in her leg had lessened, staring at the ice, a paroxysm of conflicting emotions leaving her too overwhelmed to do anything else. She touched the place where the wing had hit her; it didn't hurt physically, but Alaska felt a pain she had never experienced before.
Finally, after several long, deathly quiet minutes, she turned back to Paige. Her beak hung open, face dumbstruck, wings hanging limply by her side. As their eyes met, Paige shrunk as though in shame, and her stunned eyes turned sorrowful, pained, the sort of look someone wore before they started crying.
Yet it was Alaska who broke first. She did not bawl, did not explode with tears and snot and pity the way actors always did; silent tears that stung her eyes simply fell down her face, cold by the time they reached her chin. When she pushed herself into a sitting position and slid closer to Paige, a single sob, the note repressed and tired, slipped out, but Alaska muffled herself by forcing her head into Paige's neck, throwing her arms around her friend. She felt warmth a second later as the giant wings enveloped her, and the two friends stayed like that for a minute, their faces pressed sorrowfully together, Alaska's tears dripping down Paige's beak.
"I don't know what I'm doing," she whispered. "I'm not a hero, I'm not the person I have to be. The person they want wants to save the world, they'd know how to handle this situation and what to do next, but I just want to dive into that river and never come back.
"You are right to blame me. When you evolved, I was terrified." Alaska paused as her voice started shaking and forced her face further down Paige's neck, unable to look at her as she spoke. "That prophecy keeps coming up, the one where you and I fighting together. I don't want that, I don't want us to die, and when you evolved, I panicked, and I'm sorry. If I had stayed focused, you might not have gotten shot, we might have escaped, and Sandy…"
Alaska paused again, fighting back a second wave of tears. She could only imagine what Amanda was putting Sandy through now. It would almost be better to imagine her dead, throat slit, bullet in her head, blood seeping into ice the somewhere, but that was the nice option. Sandy was the second place prize, and Amanda would keep her until she found a way to win properly.
The thought terrified Alaska, and her fear must have shown; she opened her eyes as Paige's grip tightened and she rested her head on Alaska's, pulling her trainer in closer, softly. It was the warmest Alaska had felt since leaving the boat, and she reciprocated, moving closer and nuzzling her head against Paige's breast, sinking into the embrace and letting it consume her.
"Do you remember when we used to run around the garden, not really doing anything, back when I didn't have to be responsible for anything? Remind me why we can't back to that?"
"Pidgey Gee," Paige cooed softly, and the two fell back into silence.
Alaska could have fallen asleep there, her pain, both emotional and physical, having utterly drained her of all energy. She knew she couldn't, that her life demanded otherwise, but Alaska had no idea where to go from here. Damian didn't trust her, her Pokémon felt the same, and she was lost in a cave with no idea how to get out or how to get back to Sandy before she got killed.
Why do they trust me again? She thought, internally sighing as she held Paige tighter. I have no idea how to save Sandy, I don't know what to do next. I'm not a hero. Heroes actually want to save the world. Their friends usually actually like them, and they have a grip on reality. And their animals like them. Heroes never have angry monkeys as sidekicks – they have a stead or something grand like that. How am I meant to ride Paige into battle, she can't wear a saddle.
Alaska smirked, and then giggled, laughing at her own ridiculousness. It wasn't even that funny, but she was so tired and worn out that anything that didn't remind her of her depressing situation was hilarious. She was so delusional she could actually hear the clip-clop of hooves, and let out a joyful but weary sigh.
"We should head back to the others and make a plan before I fall asleep." Alaska let go of Paige and sat up, expecting the Pidgeot to do the same, but she saw her starter was staring off into the cave with a look of utter confusion. Alaska turned around, perplexed, and her jaw dropped. "Well fuck me."
A Ponyta was standing there, its head bowed as it quietly drank from the river. It didn't look at them or seem to notice Alaska and Paige, despite barely ten metres existing between them, nor did it give any indication as to where it had come from. It simply seemed to be there.
For a moment, Alaska wasn't sure if she was hallucinating or not; the flames weren't right, for one thing, the fire dancing along the Ponyta's spine a dazzling blue not unlike the ice it stood on. That had to be a trick of the mind, surely. The Pokémon shouldn't be here either; it was about as out of place as a nudist in a family photo.
"I've really lost my mind, haven't I?" Alaska looked at Paige, gazing at the bird's own look of bewilderment. "Maybe we both have," she added, turning back to the Ponyta. Was this Latios playing tricks with her mind – it was blue, and that was his thing, after all. Yet her godly conscience had been quiet ever since he had shattered the icicle.
Is this one of the other gods? Alaska looked at the river, wondering if Suicune was following her again. Or was this Articuno – Seafoam was her former domain, and Leaf was her guardian, could this be their doing? Had they heard about what had happened and had sent this Ponyta as some sort of spirit guide to guide her onto the path of heroism?
Without really thinking, Alaska stood up. A spasm shot up her leg as she put weight on it, but Alaska ignored it, limping her way towards the Ponyta. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she felt the need to touch it, to see if it was real, if this was the sign she was looking for. Cautiously, awestruck, Alaska edged closer and closer, until her right hand touched a spot above the Ponyta's back left leg.
There was a split second, as Alaska's brain processed what was happening, where she felt three emotions at once: mesmerised glee that the Ponyta was real and that she was stroking it; a sudden sense of dread that things here were not quite right; and utter terror that the Ponyta was rearing up much too quickly for her to get away. By the time her brain had reached the last emotion, the hooves were already flying towards her.
"NYYYY!"
"MOTHERFUCKER!" Alaska's shout danced through the empty cave as she was sent flying, clutching her stomach in agony. Her head eventually smacked into a wall; for a moment, black spots clouded her vision, but she could see enough to make out a blue blur streaking towards her.
"Fuck me sideways." As her stomach collapsed upon itself in agony, seemingly sucking her whole body inwards, Alaska feebly grabbed hold of a jagged bit of ice sticking out of the ground and hauled herself out of the way.
The Ponyta skidded to a stop a second before hitting the wall head first. Its eyes turned towards Alaska slinking away and they narrowed. "TAAAAAA!"
Alaska knew the war cry would not be alone and wasn't surprised when Ponyta reared its head and fired off a Flamethrower. Without hesitation, Alaska pushed off the wall and rolled back towards Paige, groaning as the pressure shook up her stomach and her knee bashed against the ice. She stopped and watched the fire consume part of the ice, leaving a small pool in the floor that shuddered as Ponyta started running again.
Alaska turned incredulously to Paige, her eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. "DO SOMETHING!" She shrieked, making Paige jump. The Pidgeot looked between her and the Ponyta for a few seconds, seemingly still in shock, but surged forwards as their surprise enemy gathered speed.
"Pidgeeeey!" Paige twirled her uninjured wing, a lilac ball forming at the end, and after a few seconds, she flung the Air Slash forwards.
Ponyta saw the attack coming and was ready to respond. It unleashed a second Flamethrower, a bigger, more billowing stream of fire this time, and the two attacks collided.
The two moves struck and exploded in a wave hot air that washed across the cave. Alaska threw her arms over her face and winced as the hot flash hit her squarely on the back. The heat lasted only a few seconds, and Alaska lowered her arms carefully as the cold rushed back to her. She saw Paige was laying dazed on the ice by her bag, and quickly checked on Ponyta; the Fire-type was down, slumped against the wall.
Before Alaska could respond in any way, footsteps echoed behind her, and she turned as Damian and Frances ran out from a small tunnel, Darwin bringing up the rear.
"What's going on? Have you gotten into another fight?" Damian paused and looked at the Ponyta. "What's that doing here?"
"Beats me, but the bastard tried to set me on fire."
"Unprovoked?"
Alaska looked silently at Paige. "Yep, totally unjustified. It's a wild thing."
"Wow. Mental." Damian stepped towards the Fire-type, watching carefully as it struggled back to its feet, hooves sliding on the ice. The Pokémon reared its head, and Damian gasped. "It is shiny, I thought it was just the ice. Okay, I am definitely catching it now."
"Excuse me, but –"
"Not on your life, boy." A third voice like the crack of a whip froze Alaska and Damian where they were. The two stared down the cave and watched in amazement and confusion as a man made their way towards them. Even before Alaska caught sight of his snow-white moustache she knew he was old; his upper chest and shoulders seemed bent forwards, at odds with the rest of his body, and he clutched a dark red cane in his right hand, the wooden tip echoing with each rap as he dragged it along behind him.
The man seemed agile though, the cane ignored as he used both hands to help the Ponyta back to its feet. "Easy girl, easy. You'll be alright, not your fault this tragic child startled you."
His words finally snapped Alaska out of her daze. "Who do you think you're calling pathetic, mate?" The man didn't reply, but a deep, throaty chuckle followed a few moments later, and Alaska saw a smirk replicated on the Ponyta's face as she smugly eyed her.
"I knew I was expecting a girl, but I had assumed you were made of tougher stuff. Didn't think you were going to be such a mewling, whiny brat like all the others." The man laughed louder, the sound sharp and mocking, and Alaska felt a surge of anger.
"Listen, you wrinkly old prick, I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but if you call me one more name, I am grabbing you by the haemorrhoids and –"
"Stupid as well, apparently," the man continued, finally turning towards her so Alaska could see his unashamed leer. "You came here looking for a man who specialises in Fire-types, yet can't put two and two together when the answer is staring you right in your silly little face. You better say your prayers, Ponyta, cause it looks like we're all fucked." He spat the last word out, the laughter leaving his face instantly, allowing his tanned, sagging skin to settle into withered rage.
Alaska didn't say anything, her shame leaving her speechless. She felt stupid, afraid, and could see it reflected back at her from the man's thick, dark glasses. "Blaine?"
"Who else would I be – and no, sweetheart, that ain't a riddle." He snorted and managed a final, disdainful guffaw as he eyed her down. "Leaf sent you after me, eh? Well, if you want to talk, missy, let's talk."
