Chapter Ninety One: Another Day
Green was too simple a word. Sure, it was all green, the colour smeared across the whole valley, but Sandy had never realised how inadequate that word was. Emerald, she thought with conviction, but after a few seconds shook her head. That's too cliché. It's not lime, it's too dark for that. Though limes are actually kind of dark, aren't they? Avocado? Acevedo? Oh god, she'd kill me for that. Jade? Teal? Why is this so hard? Why can't this just be… beautiful?
Sandy paused. She let her aching arms sink to her side. She tilted her throbbing head back, feeling her brain, her perspective, her gravity roll back with her. She shut her eyes, feeling the sun burning through her tightly closed lids, and she relaxed. It's beautiful. That's all it is. Not everything has to be something. Not everything has to have so much meaning. It can simply be, can't it?
Gently she opened her eyes and leant forwards. It felt like she was looking at the valley for the first time again, the beauty so entrancing Sandy thought she might cry. The ocean of grass, nestled between the three walls of amber stone, danced in the wind. It looked so peaceful and undisturbed that Sandy wanted to dive right in and emerge herself in the flora. It was not a real ocean, she knew that, but the mere thought there could be an oasis like this in the middle of nowhere put an insatiable smile on her face.
"Do you think we could stay here forever?" Sandy whispered, tearing her eyes away from the field to look at Butterfree. She had sent out her oldest Pokémon back at the beach, needing the reassurance before embarking up this path, yet she had not thought she would need Butterfree as intensely as she needed her right now.
Butterfree didn't say anything at first. She let her gaze linger on the valley for a few more moments, her huge eyes shaking as they scanned the surface, before finally turning to her trainer. "Free," she chirped quietly, fluttering closer to Sandy and shaking her head. "Freeee."
Sandy sighed, eyes welling up as Butterfree wrapped her tiny hands around her arm. "I know. It's nice to pretend though, isn't it?"
"Free," Butterfree whispered into her shoulder, and Sandy used her other hand to stroke her head, gently rubbing the purple fuzz around her antennae as the two of them stared wistfully into the valley.
"Did you have to choose the path up a giant fucking hill?"
The hairs on the back of Sandy's neck bristled. "You could have stayed on the beach," she replied with restrained contempt, glancing at Lachlan; he was not even at the top of the slope yet, still a few metres away panting and wheezing as he stumbled, doubled over, up the dirt track.
"And what, get sunburnt? No thank you. My uncle had a melanoma once, it was not pretty."
"Well, there will be plenty of shade once we get down there." Sandy looked back at the valley; the endless field remained beautiful, but her moment of tranquillity was over. "If we walk in the shadow of the cliffs, we should stay out of the sun," she explained. She was longing to escape the heat herself; she had not struggled as much as Lachlan, but the climb had been tiring, the back of her shirt already dripping with sweat.
With a grunt and a groan, Lachlan finally reached her side before collapsing to his knees, gasping for breath. He had a look like he was about to say something, but as he lifted his head away from his slick, damp neck, he seemed to freeze.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" Sandy said, following his line of sight. "Almost makes you glad we got kidnapped," she added with a giggle before guilt silenced her.
"We have… to walk… through that?" Lachlan puffed. Sandy nodded, and the ginger boy tilted backwards, arms splayed across the dirt. "Fuck… me…"
"What's wrong with this?" Sandy asked crossly.
"Do you hate me… or something?"
"Hate you? Of course not!"
"Then why… did you choose… the hilliest… ROUTE!" Lachlan shouted the last word, briefly sitting up to fire it into the world before falling back to his withered heap.
The sound echoed with the ferocity of an explosion, and Sandy jumped as a flock of what resembled Spearow took flight from down below. Her shudder had knocked Butterfree loose, the Bug-type frowning and fluttering her wings with disgruntled vigour at Lachlan, but he was too zoned out to notice.
"Don't blame me for the fact we were washed up here!" Sandy huffed, trying to control her sudden anger. "You left me to pick which direction we went in, so this is as much on you as it is on me. At least this is leading somewhere."
From their raised vantage point, Sandy could see the thin coastal strip they had left behind; she traced the path, a conflict between sand and nature, until it came to an abrupt stop after only a few kilometres, thinning out and sinking straight into the sea. It looked like a dead end, but Sandy had no idea what islands lay beyond, what chances she might be turning down.
She hadn't had much time to choose which route they took. The minuscule beach had offered no protection from the sun, which shone unperturbed above them, roasting their skin with every passing second. The clock against her, Sandy had weighed up the two options spread so evenly in front of her and had gone for the more obvious, if hillier, option; anything to get moving before her aching body and growling stomach left her immobile. It was one Sandy was regretting now they were up here. The climb had sapped away what little energy they had left, and despite the valley's beauty, it offered no respite from their current problems. Unless there was a restaurant hidden somewhere in the grass, Sandy doubted her stomach would shut up any time soon.
Stop second guessing yourself! You choose to come up here, you made that decision, so you need to own it. There's no one else around to make these choices for you. If he's going to be useless, you need to be the leader.
"Your right!"
"Who's right?"
"I'm right!" Sandy said. She wasn't sure if it was her delirium talking, but Sandy felt powerful as she looked steely down at Lachlan. "This isn't ideal, but nothing about this is ideal. We're here now though, so you can either lay here in the sun all day hoping that some friendly Wingull will rescue you, or you can follow me. That is your choice to make."
Sandy barely let the words leave her mouth before she started walking towards the sloped path leading down into the valley. She felt a pang of guilt for being sharp, but another part was emboldened by her outburst and Sandy clutched onto that glowing feeling she had sought for so long. She walked in silence for a minute, ears pricked and waiting, and finally relaxed when she heard a pair of vigorous, angry footsteps behind her.
"Do you think there will be any food down here?" Lachlan asked as he finally caught up.
"Maybe," Sandy said slyly, exchanging a smirk with Butterfree, and the two lead the way into the valley.
Her sudden boldness vanished as the reality of the valley set in. The slope was sharper than the one they had climbed. Often Sandy found herself gripping the cliff face to ensure she kept her balance, watching as disturbed rocks tumbled away beneath her feet. She and Lachlan walked in silence, focused solely on staying upright. The only upside was they had escaped the sun: the further they descended, the more the mountain's shadow engulfed them, and the pair welcomed it with open arms. It didn't stop them from feeling the humidity, but Sandy was pleased her pale arms, somehow untanned despite weeks of walking, were not going to be burnt any further.
"At least we know we're in the Sevii Islands," she called out as they neared the bottom. "You wouldn't feel this heat in Kanto."
"Mmmhmm," Lachlan mumbled back.
He's a worse conversationalist than Alaska, Sandy thought, rolling her eyes. "How is your Pokémon training going?"
"What?"
"Your Pokémon training," Sandy repeated. "I imagine you must train a lot as part of the show. I've been really slack, actually. Never really find the time with all that's happened, you know?"
One of Lachlan's sweaty hands appeared on Sandy's shoulder, and she turned to find him watching her with narrowed eyes. "Are we really doing this?"
"Doing what? Walking?"
"Chatting. Like we're just off on a normal walk."
His beady gaze confused Sandy, and all she could do was giggle. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"Yes!" He exclaimed. "Because it's not a normal walk, is it? Twenty four hours ago we were unconscious and handcuffed on a stolen luxury boat, we nearly got shot in the face, and now we're walking through some weird island with no idea where we are going next like nothing happened. Nothing about this is normal!"
His words echoed cavernously against the face of the mountain. Sandy jumped again and desperately clung to the wall for survival; they were not far from the valley floor now, but she didn't like her odds if she injured herself in the middle of nowhere.
Once the shock had passed, Sandy began to feel annoyed. Oh my god, one little upset and he acts like the sky is falling. Trying get shot in the chest, mate! she thought, rolling her eyes at the mountain so he wouldn't see. Stifling a sigh, Sandy started to walk again, wondering just how long she would have to endure this attitude.
And then she stopped. She let the thought that had struck her settle, dwelling it over, and then she smiled. He's not Alaska, Sandy thought, and, feeling a surge of confidence, she turned on her heel so she was looking Lachlan square in the eye. "Look, things are not perfect by any means, but that doesn't mean we have to keep pointing it out. That isn't really going to fix anything, is it? We just need to focus on what comes next and hope that things are going to work out."
Lachlan, his face red and slick with sweat, looked unimpressed. "And how do you imagine things are going to get any better walking through all that?"
"All what? The grass?" Sandy smirked, shaking her head exasperatedly at Butterfree. "What's wrong with a little – oh…"
Sandy trialled off as she slowly looked up. From above, the grass had appeared normal. There had been nothing that Sandy had seen that made her think it might be monstrously long. But standing on the slope, the long, whisper thin reeds already reached up to their necks, in some places above their heads. Patches were rustling as Pokémon moved about, but the field was so thick that there was no way of telling what was in there.
"That's a lot of grass," Sandy muttered, almost speechless.
"That is a lot of grass."
"Yep…"
"Did you know there would be this much grass?"
"Of course not. It just looked… normal..." Sandy offered unironically.
"Why didn't we walk along the mountainside? At least we'd have a better view up there."
Sandy shook her head clear and turned back to him. "We'd be getting cooked alive as well. Besides, what path do you think we would be taking?" She pointed to the top of the slope, which now stood so very high above them. Lachlan followed her finger as she moved it around the edge of the valley; there was not a single flat surface up there, just jagged, weathered rock that barely formed a path, with any usable ground missing giant gaps every few metres.
"I… I guess not," Lachlan mumbled, looking more deflated by the second. "At least we won't be attacked up there."
"Well, we'll just have to be on our game, won't we?" Sandy said. She energetically and without fear walked the last few metres to the valley floor; the grass now loomed threateningly above her, as threatening as grass could be, but Sandy didn't let her fear show. "Butterfree's with us, we've got all our other Pokémon. What is there to be afraid of?"
Lachlan said nothing. He simply looked over the silent field, eyes narrow and looking tearful. The jocular nature Sandy had known was gone, and right now she could see only the scared little boy she'd caught so briefly on the beach earlier. She put one foot back on the slope, wondering if she would need to comfort him physically, but the movement brought Lachlan's eyes back to her. Her concern must have been visible as Lachlan sniffed and straightened up, smiling determinedly but weakly.
"You're right, it should be fine. It's only a little grass, right? When's grass ever hurt anyone?" He practically jogged the last few steps and stepped past Sandy, diving straight into the field.
"Boys," Sandy sighed, rolling her eyes at Butterfree, who could only nod. She watched Lachlan for a few moments a she ploughed his way through and she smiled as she followed suit.
The valley had already been quiet, but the second Sandy stepped into the field, sound seemed to disappear entirely. Even her footsteps were muffled by the mass of grass, only the faintest rustle of the reeds being pushed aside disrupting the heavy silence.
"You need to lead the way," Sandy whispered to Butterfree, unwilling to talk any louder. The Bug type nodded, her Compound Eyes already glowing, and she floated ahead of Lachlan. Her wing clipped him softly as she passed, yet Lachlan leapt backwards with such force he looked like he had been electrocuted.
"Have you always been this easily spooked?" Sandy giggled, pushing him back to his feet.
Lachlan blushed and struggled not to grin. "Not really. I guess I just seem that way around you."
"Around me?" Sandy whispered, a sudden heat spreading across her neck.
"Yeah, of course. You also seemed so calm."
"Oh," Sandy mumbled, suddenly disheartened.
"I mean, how are you always this calm about everything?" Lachlan said, waving his arms dramatically.
Sandy laughed. "Everything? You mean nearly being killed all the time?"
"Yeah…"
"Experience," she scoffed, though the laugh died in her throat. "Wow, that sounds depressing, doesn't it?"
Lachlan smiled softly. "Just a little, I guess. I can't even imagine what the last few weeks have been like for you. If there's anything that we've done to add to that, I – "
"Oh, Lachlan, no!" Sandy shook her head furiously. "This has nothing to do with you or Damian, or even Chloe, really. You guys have been used as much as Alaska and I have been. This whole situation is a nightmare, and the sooner we can put it all behind us, the better."
"Agreed!" Lachlan paused as his shout rippled through the grass, earning him a stern look from Butterfree. "Sorry," he whispered, though his cheeky grin gave him away. Butterfree rolled her eyes dismissively, leaving Lachlan and Sandy to giggle in her wake.
"We really shouldn't be doing this," Sandy whispered through her snorts. "I have no idea what Pokémon are out here!"
"See, this just proves my point!"
"What point?"
"You, your whole demeanour, you are almost too perfect," Lachlan said, grinning widely. "Have you always been so…" He paused, trying to find the right word. "Collected?"
"Umm, I guess so?" Sandy said, shrugging. "I can't remember ever going wild and crazy before I left home, if that's what you mean. Things were my dad were pretty strained, so I kind of had to toe the line a lot, be quiet and behaved and all that."
"Until you ran away from home?"
Sandy sniggered. "Yeah, until that. But that was after years of masking everything, pretending everything was fine so I didn't upset him. I had to be calm and collected around him because he never really was."
Lachlan didn't say anything for a while, and Sandy realised she had not really gone into this with him before. The two always seemed to have gotten on well, and had spoken at length before, but they had barely scratched the surface of each other. It was only now that Sandy realised she didn't know anything about Lachlan's past; who his family was, why he signed up for the show – she didn't even think she could name his home town.
"Hang on, I remember when I first met you!" Lachlan paused and spun around, his face glowing with excitement. "That day in Viridian Forest, remember?"
"Of course I remember that day," Sandy said. Running away had opened the door to her, but meeting Alaska and the reality stars that day had changed everything. If I had climbed a different tree, or simply kept on walking, I probably wouldn't be standing here.
"You weren't that calm then!" Lachlan started grinning like he knew a secret she didn't. "I remember thinking you were sort of crazy."
"Crazy?" Sandy scoffed. "Next to Alaska and Chloe? Well, that's simply the cruellest thing anyone has ever said to me."
"That's a pretty low bar though, who is ever mean to you?"
"Um, how about your producer who tried to kill me?"
"She tried to kill me too!" Lachlan huffed defensively. "Alright, what did you think about me that day?"
"Honestly?" Sandy asked, and Lachlan nodded eagerly. "Nothing, really."
"Nothing?" Lachlan cried. "Nothing?"
"Nothing."
"Surely I must have made some sort of impression on you."
"You might have, but that was a busy day. You do remember the robotic Beedrill we had to fight?"
Lachlan said nothing, simply frowning at her. "I bet you can remember what you thought of Damian."
"Damian? What does he have to –"
"FREE!"
Silence fell immediately. Sandy could see Butterfree a few metres ahead, a tiny hand raised above her wings. Everything seemed quiet, there was no sign of anything coming towards them, yet Sandy was not going to ignore the urgency in Butterfree's voice. She remained rooted to the spot, only her eyes moving as she watched the grass for any changes.
"Why is this grass so long anyway?" Lachlan muttered, his mouth barely moving.
"The League mows the routes trainers are expected to take. Clearly they don't have a proviso in their gardening budget for random islands people get washed up on!"
"I was only asking, you don't need to bite my head off!"
"Why are you suddenly being such a –"
The grass started to rustle. Lachlan made a soundless gasp as he stepped quickly to Sandy's side. She barely even noticed him as she stared fearfully at the grass, watching as the shaking movement got closer and closer. She could see Butterfree moving towards them, and Sandy reached slowly for her Poké Balls, wondering just how many she'd have to use against…
"Quag."
"Oh thank fuck." Sandy's hand moved from her pocket and clutched at her chest, breathing deeply. The Quagsire that had appeared before them, a bright blue blob looking like a glitch in the universe as it trampled through all the green, looked at her blankly before waddling past, wagging its tail obliviously.
"Alright, can we put all these fear stuff behind us?" Lachlan said exasperatedly. "Just because the grass is really tall doesn't mean we need to be terrified of every little moment, okay?"
"No one's disagreeing with you," Sandy said, trying not to smile.
"I mean, this is ridiculous. Amanda may be totally fucked up, but I don't want to be afraid, you know what I mean?"
"Loud and clear."
"Good," Lachlan said, nodding vigorously. "Let's just keep walking then, alright? I'm not going to spend the next few hours being scared about tripping over a few shitty Quagsire!" And Lachlan turned and marched stubbornly forwards
"FREE!" Butterfree cried, but she was too late to stop him; Sandy could not see what had caused it, but suddenly Lachlan was stumbling backwards, the grass transformed into an impenetrable wall.
"Oh my god, are you okay!" Sandy shrieked, rushing forwards to catch him before he fell.
"I'm fine," Lachlan said, dazedly rubbing his head. "Where the hell did that come from?"
"Where did what come from?" Sandy struggled to see anything, the mountain's shadow making the thick grass even darker. But then she saw it; sticking through the grass, what looked like the bottom of a concrete pillar was sitting right in the middle of the field. "What the hell?" She muttered, and looked at Butterfree for guidance. But Butterfree was staring at it like it was a threat; slowly, Sandy looked back, and her heart stopped as the pillar began to move.
"Oh shit it's a leg." Sandy felt the sweat on her neck go cold. She watched silently as the thick, cracked limb, the width of a tree trunk, pivoted about. The grass around it was suddenly pushed flat, a giant black trunk sweeping through it like an axe against a tree, two moss covered tusks bordering it on either side; Sandy knew now what it was, but nothing could prepare her for the huge, angry Donphan that was now staring furiously down at the two of them.
Nothing happened for a moment. Everyone seemed to be waiting for the other to act. That thing is ready to charge, Sandy thought. She swallowed fearfully, unable to look away yet terrified of the rage filled eyes glaring from within the thick, leathery hide. "If we don't move, I think we might –"
"SHIIIIIIIT!" Lachlan screamed, and without a moment's hesitation leapt to his feet and began to run.
"You stupid fucking bas –"
"PHAAAAAN!"
There was no time for Sandy to think. As the Donphan somehow raised its giant frame onto its back legs, she forced herself to start running as well. Grass swiped at her bare, burnt arms as she chased after Lachlan, his frantic screams her only guide, but within seconds they were drowned out by the sound of four giant legs galloping after them. The whole world shook, and Sandy forced herself to sprint faster before the ground cracked and swallowed her whole.
"Toxic!" She screamed back to Butterfree.
"FREE FREE FREE!" The Bug type shouted back. Sandy could understand her rage; of course she wouldn't have stopped them for a little Quagsire, of course they should have paid more attention. If she had been focused on what was in front of them, if she hadn't been lost in the past and the future and Lachlan…
Not like Alaska would have done any better. The whole field would probably be on fire right now, Sandy thought bitterly. Though I guess fire would be better than just running away though. She's not here to do all that crazy shit, so I guess it has to be me then.
"Lachlan, you need to send a Pokémon out!" She didn't wait for his response, pointing her Poké Ball ahead of her. By the time the red energy had formed into Weepinbell, Sandy had caught up and was able to catch the Grass type before she fell.
"Hey, welcome to hell," Sandy wheezed. "Please use Magical Leaf on the monster trying to kill us and don't stop until it does."
Weepinbell looked confused but nodded her lemony body and made no objection as Sandy gripped her by the vine and aimed her over her shoulder. She smiled as she heard the familiar swish of Weepinbell's leaves flying through the air, but a furious roar a second made it clear it would take more than that.
Suddenly, the thudding began to sound louder, and Sandy feared Donphan was right on her tail. She almost turned to look, but something ahead of her caught her eye, and at the last second Sandy leapt out of the way as a jagged boulder rolled past. Stunned, she watched as it powered towards Donphan, colliding with a resounding thud into the beast's tusks.
"GRAVELER!" The boulder yelled, and with its four arms it gripped onto the sharp teeth, digging its feet in and forcing Donphan to slow.
"Go on, Graveler, you can do this!" Lachlan yelled from the distance.
Sandy tore her eyes away from the battle to try and find him. She hadn't realised how far they had run, but the entire valley had changed in only a few minutes: the ground was currently flat but got hillier and more uneven as it slowly sloped towards the mountains, which Sandy could now see were narrowing towards each other, creating a dead end about four kilometres away.
If we don't stop it here, there is literally nowhere for us to go. Despite her buzzing head, Sandy cast her eyes across the cliffs, trying to find some oasis for them. After a few desperate moments punctuated by the grunting Pokémon behind her, something caught her eye; halfway up the mountain to her right, something was shining. It took Sandy a few moments longer to realise it was a waterfall: it was only thin, but the white glare at the top suggested a body of water wide and high enough to catch the sunlight.
"Lachlan, you need to run towards that mountain," Sandy cried, using Weepinbell to point vigorously at the cliff.
"Which one?" Lachlan yelled; he raised his hands to try and get her attention, but he was too thick in the savannah and too far away to see clearly.
She tried to shout again, but a deep moan made her freeze. Sandy turned in time to watch Graveler get flung through the air as easily as if it was a beach ball; all six limbs were limp, and when it finally landed a kilometre east of her, the impact made the ground shake.
"Fuck me, why couldn't we have drowned." Sandy began running, this time cutting diagonally through the field. She could hear Lachlan calling out for his fallen Pokémon, but her only concern was getting away from Donphan as it started running again; she had not realised how close it was before Graveler had stopped it, and Sandy did not want to see how far it would throw her.
"Butterfree, keep using Toxic!" She shouted. She waited for a response, expecting to hear something over her shallow breaths and the echoing stampede, but after nearly a minute she realised there was no response. "Butterfree?" Sandy yelled with more urgency. Had she even seen Butterfree since she had started running? Had she heard anything from her since her last order?
"Butterfree?" Sandy yelled, unable to hide the pain that slipped into her voice. She turned around as she ran, hoping to see her, but all she could see was the grass suddenly rising even further above her, almost as though she was on the ground…
"AH!" Sandy realised she was falling only as she hit the earth, which somehow made the impact worse. In her speed she began to roll, the grass wrapping around her arms and legs, Weepinbell spiralling out of her hands. She carried on a few metres before stopping face first in the dirt.
The dust stung, seeping into her eyes and nose, but Sandy made no effort to move. Her body ached too much. The lack of food and water, the heat, the climb up the mountain, and now this; it was too much for one person to bare. Sandy knew she'd need help to stand again, but Lachlan, Butterfree and Weepinbell were nowhere to be seen in this thick forest. This is so pathetic, Sandy thought, whimpering as she reached into her pocket for a Poké Ball.
"DOOOOOON!"
The roar was explosive, a sound so angry that made Sandy's blood run cold. She managed to roll onto her back, a short movement she instantly regretted, but she refused to die on her front. She stared through the trampled path she'd made and seized, hand frozen around a Poke Ball, as she saw Donphan was already coming for her. Its eyes were so small compared to the rest of it, but the blind rage that burnt within them was more obvious than the giant tusks; Sandy knew that the Donphan was not going to stop, not until it had punished them.
Sandy stared at it, immobile. She knew she should be scared. She knew she should be trying to get away. Yet she knew all that was pointless. She'd never get away in time; trying to escape would only make things worse, one last bout of hope that would only make her suffering worse. The Donphan was so close now she could see dust flying from its feet. Sandy clutched at the ground and breathed deeply, refusing to look away. Death had been coming for her for weeks. Now, it would finally catch her.
"FREEEEEEEEEEE!"
Sandy felt her breath catch in her throat. She had felt the air change around as Donphan lunged for her, she could still feel her heart beating, pounding like an engine against her chest. Despite herself, she had shut her eyes at the last moment, the image of Donphan's grass covered leg still burnt into her vision.
Slowly, Sandy opened them, and the sight made her gasp and swallow at the same time. There was still barely a metre between her and Donphan, the Ground type so close she could almost touch it. The only thing separating them was Butterfree; Sandy could not see her face, but she could see the pink glow from her eyes reflected across Donphan.
"Butterfree." The name came out in a quiet sob, the loudest sound Sandy could muster right now. Butterfree was so close that she could touch her if she wanted to, but Sandy could barely lift her arms above her waist. "How are you doing this? I didn't know you could use Psychic."
Butterfree didn't answer, barely even glancing at her trainer in acknowledgement. She simply pointed briskly at the sky for only a moment, her whole body seemingly focused on her new move.
Sandy knew where she was pointing though. Her body shaking with the effort, she pressed the button on the Poké Ball. The capsule split open in her hand and the field shone red as the mass of energy pooled out right beside her. She had never realised how the air shifted when a Pokémon took shape, the hair on her arms tingling as a sudden pressure weighed down on her. There was something strangely magical about it, and Sandy craned her neck so she could trace Onix's body as it took shape; the grass was visible through the energy for a moment before grey stone solidified before it. Sandy looked up to the sky but the Rock Snake's head was against the sun, his face in shadow.
"Can you see a lake?" Sandy shouted, her voice shaking with the effort. "You need to get us there, now!"
Even as Sandy said it, she had no idea how Onix would achieve it, but he seemed to understand; something heavy prodded her stomach, and Sandy realised it was the tip of his tail, nearly wider than her, trying to get underneath. It hurt to lift herself up, but Sandy only had to hold the position for a second before the cold rock went under her and she could collapse on top.
"Weepinbell, Vine Whip!"
"Bell!" Her cry was faint, muffled by the grass, but an emerald vine shot out from the field a few metres away, flailing in the air before sinking towards Sandy; she gripped it as tightly as she could, and felt it contract as Weepinbell used her as anchor, retracting the vine in in reverse.
Sandy pulled her in close the second she was close. "I can't believe I dropped you, I am so sorry," she whispered. "You did an amazing job trying to help."
"Bell Bell," Weepinbell said softly. She was quiet and her eyes were heavy, dust dulling her bright skin, and Sandy felt the weight around her heart get heavier as she found yet another thing to feel guilty for.
"Quickly, we need to go," Sandy said, looking back at Butterfree.
"Free!" Butterfree said sharply, pointing at more forcefully to the sky.
Sandy was confused. "You need to come with us, Butterfree."
"Free Free!"
"No, you have to. There will be enough time for us to get away before Donphan can stop us." Yet even as Sandy said it, she doubted it; the Ground type's body may be frozen, but its eyes were still moving, watching Sandy as Onix slowly raised her up.
Butterfree clearly knew it as well. "Free!" She said, waving her hand. She turned her head slightly, and for a heart stopping second, Donphan's trunk moved forwards. Butterfree turned back quickly, stopping it after only a few seconds, but her body was quivering more than ever.
"Butterfree, please, I am not leaving you here!" Sandy yelled. She loved what Butterfree was doing for her, her love for her had never felt stronger, but the fact she was making her do this made her hate her with what little energy she had left.
"FREE!"
Sandy screamed through clenched teeth. "FINE, HAVE IT YOUR WAY – VINE WHIP, GRAB HER!"
Before Weepinbell could react, Butterfree's hands jerked to the side, and Sandy's stomach lurched as she felt herself move backwards. She thought she'd been thrown aside, but looked down as saw the ground was pulling away from her, the grass slowly getting shorter, Butterfree getting smaller.
The next moment, Sandy tilted to the side, and she yelped as Onix placed her beside the water. She gave the small lake a cursory glance, but her anger was consuming her. "I did not ask you to do that!" She yelled, leaning over the cliff to look down at Onix. "This was supposed to be my chance, my opportunity to make a decision about my own life for once! I've already got gods and adults controlling it for me, I do not need my Pokémon usurping my destiny as well! You get your tail back up here and you lower me down there right now!"
Onix said nothing. The Rock Snake simply raised his head up to her level and stared at her, and in an instant, Sandy's rage faded. In all that had happened since she'd entered the ice caves, she had forgotten the main reason why Amanda had nearly won. Onix did not seem to be in pain; Sandy had never reaslly been able to tell, but it looked like he was smiling, grinning as if his eyes were not both a red so scorching they seem to glow, beaming as if every time he blinked, Sandy did not see deep gouges on his grey lids thick enough she could rest her arm in them if she tried.
Sandy sank backwards. Her energy was completely gone, her pain was numbed, and now she felt nothing but tiredness. The urge to cry was stronger than ever, but her body was too weak to even manage that.
"Lachlan's out there. Can you –" Sandy began, but Onix had already dipped his head, swiftly lowering himself to the ground. Sandy was given a brief look at Butterfree so far away before Onix was back at their height, Lachlan gripping to his fin.
"Was Graveler alright?" She asked as he climbed onto the ground beside her.
Lachlan didn't meet her eye, walking right past her and sinking to his knees beside the water. "He'll be fine," he said eventually, his voice barely a whisper.
Sandy knew something was wrong, but before she could probe him further, she sensed Onix move and turned to watch; he lowered his entire body to the ground, curving his body so his head and tail were side by side, and only when he was in place did Butterfree let herself fall onto him.
"No!" Suddenly Sandy saw herself in her room watching the Caterpie crawling across her windowsill; she was in her backyard swinging from the tree on Sticky Shot while the Caterpie clung to the branch; she was watching that string forming into a thick, green shell; she was standing on a tree with Butterfree by her side, looking over the world and wondering what she was supposed to do now…
You can't leave me. You can't just save me and then leave me behind, you might as well have let it crush me. The world seemed to slow down as Onix's tail rose towards her; Butterfree was balancing on the end looking like a large bruise, her body slumped motionless across the stone. Sandy reached out to her when she was still metres away, her body getting closer and closer to the edge, no longer caring if she fell.
The second Butterfree was within reach, Sandy she scooped her into her arms. Her body was limp but still warm, a faint heartbeat reverberating against Sandy's touch. "Why did you do that," she whispered, doing her best not to sob again.
"Onnnnnnn."
Sandy blinked back tears as she looked into Onix's eyes, the mournful groan reaching into her very soul. "How the hell did we get here?" She sighed, reaching out with her free head and resting it on Onix's forehead, his cold, hard skin making her shiver.
"What the hell do we do now?"
Sandy couldn't bring herself to look at Lachlan. She couldn't face him yet, not when she was the one who had done this. Yet she couldn't look at Onix any longer; instead, she turned back to the fields below, staring at the fields they had just left behind. Even in the gloom of the mountain's shadow, the valley was as beautiful now as it was when she had first seen it what felt like hours ago. She didn't even care that Donphan was still down there somewhere; part of her longed to climb down Onix's body and live there forever, build herself a fortress she'd never have to leave, even if she knew that, just like every other beautiful place she'd longed to see, she had no place here.
"I'm sorry, Lochy, but I have no idea. I have literally no idea." And Sandy slumped against Onix's head, staring at the sun's reflection in his eyes, not even noticing as her tears finally broke through.
