Pokémon Police Force Chapter 9: The Insulam de Claris
Finally here! We had made it through the hurricane and arrived at the Insulam de Claris without a single life lost. In fact, we gained a new "passenger", and I gained a new "ally". I had arrived to the island in a dinghy, since there wasn't enough room to dock the ship.
"This is where you just had to go?" Asked Slowbro, getting out of the dinghy with me, "not much to look at."
Slowbro was right, the Insulam de Claris was a mountainous island with sparse patches of grass and several marble gazebos here and there. A rocky path led up to a temple resting at the top of a nearby mountain.
"That is our goal. That temple up there."
"Insulam de Claris? What does that even mean?"
"Island of the Lost. This remote island is supposed to act as a beacon for those who have nowhere else to go."
"Why are we here?"
"I have questions and only she can answer them."
"Is the path dangerous?"
"It leads to a Mystery Dungeon. If you want to stay here, you can."
"No. I'm going with you. I'm way too curious to see where this little subplot leads us."
We made our way through the Mystery Dungeon relatively easily. Slowbro was no longer able to launch poison at foes, but his Psychic powers were still top notch. Finally, we had arrived at the temple.
The temple was grand, made of white marble and modeled after the classical Greek architecture.
"This friend of yours has great taste."
I ignored him and walked into the temple. Inside, I heard some beautiful singing. This singing was so wonderful that if every other singer on the planet were to sing together, it would only be half as beautiful as what I heard.
"That sounds... wow."
The inside of the temple was just as beautiful as the singing. Shallow streams of water and gold furniture were everywhere. The temple looked like it belonged to a goddess.
"Be as quiet as possible," I whispered, "she gets angry if we interrupt her singing."
Slowbro followed me from the room into a backroom, where the singing was coming from. Inside, was a rather feminine makeup room. Behind a mirror, dressed in a black dress with flowing green hair, was the oracle.
"That is the power of love!" The Oracle sang.
When she had finished, she spun around in her plush, red stool and found us standing there.
"Argyle? Is that you?"
The Oracle flew toward me and hovered before me, looking me over.
"You look like you're doing well."
"Hello, Meloetta."
"Gotta say, the mask is a nice touch. Brings the whole 'bad boy' look together."
"Gonna introduce me to your friend?"
"Meloetta, this is Slowbro."
"Howdy."
Meloetta began looking Slowbro over.
"Like the hook. It makes you look more devil-may-care."
Slowbro was starting to look uncomfortable.
"Don't mind her," I said, "she has a thing for the rough-and-tumble types."
"Got sidetracked," Meloetta said, "I am Meloetta, the Oracle."
"The Oracle? You're friends with the Oracle?"
"Yep! Bestest friends!" Said Meloetta, "some may even say lovers!"
"What!? What's gotten into you?" I asked in surprise.
"I'm just kidding! You should've seen the look on your face!"
Even Slowbro snickered.
"Anyway… I have a little problem and I need your help."
"He's not pregnant, is he?"
"WHAT!?" Yelled Slowbro in surprise.
"Don't worry about her, she's joking again," I said.
"She called me a woman!"
Meloetta began rolling around in the air and laughing.
"That look! Priceless!"
"Can we stop talking about the Queen of the Pirates for a moment?" I asked.
"Hey!"
"Sorry. I love jokes. Now, in all seriousness," said Meloetta, suddenly turning to Slowbro, "could you please leave us? I like to do all my readings mano-a-womano."
"Mano-a- you know what? I'm waiting outside before I become the butt of another joke."
As Slowbro walked away, Meloetta shouted after him.
"See ya at the drag race tomorrow!"
I heard Slowbro give a frustrated growl as he walked away.
"Now onto business," Meloetta said, her tone suddenly becoming serious, "follow me to the reading room."
Meloetta led me back into the main room and up a hidden staircase. At the top stood a small astrology room. Moon reading charts covered the walls and diagrams of different constellations decorated the ceiling. With a wave of her hand, rose-colored curtains drew over the open windows, casting the room in a pink hue.
"You remember the price of my readings?"
"Yes. Do you want me to do it?"
"No. I want to remove it myself."
Meloetta moved her hands and my mask came undone. I let her use her powers to remove mask and hide it far from my reach.
"I don't know why you keep this on all the time. Are you that embarrassed of your face?"
"Not my face. The past it symbolizes."
"You're hiding from your past? There is nothing to be ashamed of."
I looked away.
"You know what I lost that day."
"See, that is your problem! In hiding from your past, you deny a part of yourself! You've become a prisoner in your own heart!"
"It's just a mask."
"Argyle, dear. Even your name is a mask."
"Yet, with all your talk of masks, you still leave that 'mask' intact."
"Out of respect. But never mind that. What problem do you have?"
I sat on the floor Indian style. The thick purple carpet complemented my black fur quite well.
"I told you my home life, how it was just me and my mother. But, my file at the police station said I have a missing half-sister."
"So, your question is that you wish to find her?"
"No. I would like to ask you to point me on the right path for me to take. My half-sister, that revelation just spawned a swarm of questions about my life. So, just point me toward my destiny. I honestly have no idea what I should do now."
"Okay. What I need you to do is close your eyes and focus on everything that has led up to that point. Your memories shall illuminate your future."
I did as asked and recollected everything that had happened so far. When I looked back, I realized that everything that had happened had officer Emerald at its core. She's been trying to discover my past, but what past is she hiding?
"I see it!" Meloetta shouts suddenly.
I opened my eyes and watched her intently, waiting on her words.
"What you seek lies in the depths, in the belly of the sea. A life which is bound and yet very free."
Meloetta takes a breath and continues speaking.
"Seek ye the Terror of the Seas, the one who even the seas bend their ear. Your destiny awaits you in Shipwreck Cove. Forge ahead. Do not flee. Do not fear."
Meloetta breaks her trance and lands softly on the carpet. I run to her and take her up in my arms.
"Don't worry. Just a little tired."
Meloetta used her psychic powers to reunite me with my mask.
"Put me on the bed. I could use a nap."
I sat Meloetta down long enough to put my mask back on. Then, I picked her back up and carried her through an adjacent hallway and onto her bed.
"Take care, Argyle," said Meloetta as she drifted off to sleep.
Quietly, I turned aside and made my way back through the reading room, down the stairs into the main room and outside the front door.
"Everything sorted?" Asked Slowbro.
"Yeah, Meloetta's resting now. Let's go."
We walked together down the mountain, through the Mystery Dungeon and on the path to the ship.
"Slowbro, ever hear of the Terror of the Seas?"
"Only in passing," said Slowbro, "it's supposed to be some sort of beast that lives in these waters. Something Meloetta said?"
"She said to 'seek' it."
"Don't. Wiser Pokémon have gone after it. None have returned."
We continued our trek back to the ship in silence. When onboard, we set off, that is when I deigned to ask the captain about the Terror of the Seas.
"Aye, that'd be the Kraken, mate."
"The Kraken? I thought that was a myth!"
"The Kraken be just another name for this Terror of the Seas, Charybdis be another. Chuthulu, the list goes on."
"But what exactly is it?"
"It's a monster, mate. No one who challenges the beast lives."
"Where does it swim?"
"We've been in the neighborhood before, mate. The Demon's Gauntlet."
"The Terror of the Seas lives in the Demon's Gauntlet!?"
"Aye, lad."
"Take me there!"
"Are you daft, mate? I'm not sailing anywhere near those waters. Our business is concluded. I'm returning you to port, mate."
"I thought this was your particular brand of crazy," said Slowbro, walking up suddenly.
"I might be crazy, but I'm not suicidal, mate. The Terror of the Seas is rightly named. We cannot fight a beast like that."
Captain Jack Spearow flew away and took his place at the helm. The Crystal Froslass gave a lurch and we headed back into the storm.
I grabbed hold of the railing and looked over the starboard side.
(Shipwreck Cove. My answers await me there. Whoever wrote that file, they were incorrect. I've never had a sister.)
I looked up at the sky.
(What if I'm wrong? Who is my sister? Why did she leave mom and I alone? Is she alive? Where does my destiny lead? Meloetta, what did you actually see?)
