Pokémon Police Force Chapter 51: The Second Date
I was floating for the longest time. Floating in something… wet. Groaning, I opened my eyes to the sun beating down overhead.
(No more bottleneck sky.)
I glanced around to my left and right. Water. Nothing but water. By the salt smell, I knew I was floating in the sea.
(My claws are still purple and my arms white. Where am I?)
Then my foot bumped something. It felt loose and shifty. Sand?
"Hey! You all right out there?"
I raised my head up and noticed a gang of Krabby on a sandy shore, staring at me.
"Never better," I lied, "where is this?"
"Well, you're currently floating off the coast of the beach overlooked by Treasure Town. We often come here to blow bubbles."
I lazily sat up and waded to shore.
"Forgive me, I'm feeling a bit under the weather."
"No doubt," said a Krabby, "you look positively pale."
I chuckled and then began coughing.
"Easy there," said a Krabby.
One of the Krabbys side-walked up to me and placed a claw on my forehead.
"This is bad," said that Krabby, "he feels absolutely cold."
"Take him to the guild! That Chimecho lass should know what to do!"
In truth, I felt really weak since arriving here, so I let the Krabbys grab hold of me and lead me away. When we got to the plateau holding Wigglytuff's Guild, I heard Diglett's familiar voice as a Krabby stood on the wooden grate.
"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"
"Who's footprint?"
"The footprint is-!"
"We don't have time for this!" Said Krabby, "we're Krabby from the beach. We have an emergency! A sick Sneasel is out here!"
"Say AGAIN!?"
We were all sitting around the assembly hall. Wolf and Dusk have already come back to our timeline several days ago. They told everyone how the time distortions have been growing worse all over the planet and returning the Time Gears hasn't fixed anything. What's worse, they told us about how, in the future, time has stopped completely and Grovyle was only stealing the gears so that he could fix the problem. We spent the last couple of days trying to find a way to the Hidden Land, but to no avail.
There was still no word from Argyle. Apparently, he didn't make it to the future with them.
Today, however, there seemed to be some distress at the front gate.
"Speak LOUDLY so that I DON'T have to repeat YOU!"
"We have an emergency out here! We have a sick Sneasel!"
"A Sneasel!?" Said Bidoof.
"Loudred, ask if this Sneasel has a mask and a green eye!" Said Snow.
"Is there ANYTHING unusual about this SNEASEL!?"
"He has a mask and his fur's bone white!"
"White fur on a Sneasel?" Keldeo wondered out loud.
"That little detail can wait!" I said, "Loudred, let them in!"
Loudred ran up the stairs. He came back a few minutes later followed by a dozen Krabby. He was holding the palest Sneasel I'd ever seen. His eyes were closed, but even with the ear ripped out, the mask was unmistakable.
"Argyle!"
"What happened to him!?" Asked Chatot.
"He looks like he's been to Hell and back," said Wolf.
Wigglytuff placed a hand on Argyle's body.
"I don't know what this Hell is, but is it the temperature of a freezer?" Asked Wigglytuff, "Chimecho!"
"On it!"
Chimecho floated into the kitchen and came back with several berries.
"Put him in our room!" Said Dusk, "quickly!"
No sooner had Loudred placed Argyle in Wolf and Dusk's room than did the operation begin to save his life. Every Pokémon, even Croagunk pitched in. We each took blankets, pillows and whatever other warm thing we could find and wrapped him up. Chimecho crushed berries and made a paste out of them, which she coated Argyle's body in.
Pokémon from outside the guild even arrived to lend their support. Surprisingly, even Pokémon that Argyle had stolen from in Neo City heard the news and came to help.
I wasn't sure how long had passed, but it was just Chimecho, Keldeo, Snow, Wigglytuff, Wolf, Dusk and I in the room with Argyle. Argyle was still passed out, but he seemed a whole lot better than before.
"Okay, which would you like first?" Asked Chimecho, "the good news or the bad news?"
"Let's look for the positives," said Wigglytuff, "give us the good news."
"Argyle's temperature is now stabilized and is well within the norm for his species," said Chimecho, "It is now safe to remove all the blankets and pillows."
Wolf and Dusk got to work at once, grabbing everything and tossing it aside.
"And the bad news?" Asked Snow.
"He's still no closer to waking up," said Chimecho, "must be some inner turmoil."
"Don't worry about him," said Keldeo, "Argyle's a fighter. He won't quit. Still, why's he still so pale?"
Chimecho shrugged.
"Argyle…"
I placed a paw on his forehead and closed my eyes. Then, I began to see a jumbled mess of images all going by way too fast to make any sense of.
"Woah!" I shouted, releasing him.
"What's wrong?" Asked Wolf, holding a random throw pillow.
Dusk spat out the comforter she was carrying.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I replied, "Argyle. I can read his mind now!"
"Wait, what about Zygarde?" Asked Keldeo.
"Who cares?" Said Wigglytuff, "can you use this to help Argyle?"
"Argyle's thoughts are a mess of random images. His mind is racing. Way too fast," I said, "that can only mean one thing."
"He's dying," said Chimecho bluntly.
"Yes."
"No! Argyle! Don't leave!" Snow began to weep.
"I've never seen a Glaceon care so-" began Dusk.
"Snow is Argyle's half-sister," said Keldeo.
"Wait, that means that Argyle and Snow…," began Wolf.
"That doesn't matter!" Shouted Dusk.
"It's even worse," I said, "when I probed his mind, I found a bit of residual magic. My guess is wherever he ended up, something cursed him."
"What kind of curse?" Asked Wigglytuff.
"Don't know. Don't want to find out," I said, "in order for him to recover, I'll need to purify him."
"What do you mean?" Asked Snow.
"I'll take Argyle's curse upon myself and cast it away, effectively dispelling it."
"I don't know much about psychic rituals, but that sounds dangerous," said Keldeo.
"It's a gypsy ritual," I corrected him, "and it is very dangerous and is likely to put him through agonizing pain."
I looked at Keldeo.
"Take Snow and the others away," I said, "they shouldn't see him like this."
"Count on me," said Keldeo.
"Argyle is family to me!" Protested Snow, "I'm not-!"
"Leaving," said Keldeo, activating Secret Sword, "now."
"But-"
"This is not open for discussion."
"Right…," said Snow, "Emerald, save him."
"Chimecho, will you stay?" I asked, "I could use your psychic powers."
"Of course," said Chimecho, "whatever you need."
Keldeo herded everyone else out of the room, leaving just me and Chimecho alone. I'm not going to describe the ritual to you all because even thinking about the shapes that Argyle contorted into just… I don't want to live through that again.
"Argyle's at peace now," I said, exhausted, "and the curse is gone."
"Are you okay?" Asked Chimecho.
"I'll be fine. Chimecho? Are you okay with some girl talk?"
"Sure. We talking about boys?"
"Yeah, I guess. It's just… Argyle."
"What about him?"
"Ever since we met, I've been following him around. At first, I was convinced I was just doing it to catch him, a criminal that has evaded the law for too long. Now, we have a daughter on the way and even though he's been cleared of all past crimes, I still follow him."
"How do you feel when you're around him?"
"Pretty normal I guess, but when I picture… us my face heats up and I can't look him in the eye."
Chimecho chuckled and looked at me with a smirk.
"What's with the face?"
"Emerald, I think it's obvious what's going on."
"What?"
"You've fallen madly in love with him."
"I have not! That's just crazy!"
"I may not be able to read minds like you, but I know what it looks like when a princess finds her white knight."
"That's preposterous! Like I would ever love a criminal!"
"Have you had any dates?"
"Yeah."
"How that make you feel?"
"It made me feel like I was appreciated. Like I was finally free to be myself, but that proves nothing!"
"Uh huh," said Chimecho, smirking again.
"It seems like the police girl has a bit of a soft spot for thieves."
(That voice!)
Chimecho and I looked down to see Argyle. His eyes were open and he had his arms behind his head. He was wearing the most petulant-looking smirk ever.
"I had no idea I had that kind of an effect on the ladies," said Argyle.
"How long have you been awake?" Asked Chimecho.
"Long enough."
"You were awake the whole time and you didn't say anything!?" I said as 'calmly' as possible.
"Didn't want to interrupt your 'girl talk' Inspector Tsundere Fox."
I slapped Argyle as hard as I could.
"That was for worrying me half to death!"
Then, I grabbed Argyle by the shoulders and pulled him into a brief kiss.
"And that is because I'm happy you're back," I said, "and this-!"
I kicked him hard in the side.
"-was for embarrassing the living daylights out of me!"
Then, I took my stick out and called upon the powers of Psychic. With that power, I threw him against the wall, right next to the window.
"And that! Was because I wanted to!" I said as I stormed off to the door, "jerk!"
"She's crazy about you," said Chimecho.
I fell to the floor, now free from Emerald's Psychic.
"Emphasis on the crazy," I said, "but there is a certain charm to dating the crazy chicks. That's why I dated a mob boss."
"What?"
In truth, Emerald did cause some real big bruises with her… episode… but with the help of Zygarde and Chimecho, those injuries disappeared quickly. I was still kind of weak from the travel between dimensions, so Chimecho helped me walk back to the general assembly room of Wigglytuff's Guild.
"Argyle!"
Snow nearly tackled me as I walked into the room. Fortunately, Chimecho had my back and created an invisible wall, holding my adoring sister at bay.
"Careful, he's not fully recovered yet," said Chimecho.
"I'm still not sure that's really Argyle," said Chatot, "eye and mask look familiar, but the white fur has me baffled."
"It's really me," I said, "I've been through a psychopath's paradise and back, but I'm glad to be home."
"Argyle? How are you?" Asked Dusk.
"I've been better. Getting thrown out of a time vortex will do that to you."
"Last we saw you, you and Dusknoir were fighting in the Passage of Time," said Wolf, "what happened?"
"Dusknoir? That reminds me! Dusk, I have something for you."
Dusk took a few steps forward as I rummaged in my mask.
"If I didn't have so many smoke bombs in here… got it!"
I took the little present from my mask and tossed it to Dusk. It landed a few feet from her.
"My Relic Fragment! I didn't even know I lost it! How-?"
"It wasn't lost. It was pilfered, by me."
"Oh my gosh!"
"You stole it?" Asked Dusk in disbelief, "when? How? Why?"
"It happened when I bumped into you after we got Grovyle," I said, "my Pickpocket ability allows me to nick held items from others as long as physical contact is made."
"Why did you?" Asked Wigglytuff, "that is not something a friendly friend would do."
"Dusknoir asked me to," I said, "said it was part of some sort of device that would endanger your life. So I took it to protect you. Just in case he was right."
Chatot picked up the fragment and began studying it.
"Why didn't you give it to Dusknoir?" Asked Diglett.
"From the first time I met him, I knew he was untrustworthy. My time as a thief has taught me to recognize an Ekans in the grass."
"You were suspicious of Dusknoir even back then? By golly," said Bidoof.
"My suspicions were confirmed when he grabbed the two of you. I dove in without thinking, intent on saving you."
"So, what happened after that?" Asked Wolf.
"And why was Emerald suddenly able to use Psychic on you? You are a Dark type, right?" Asked Chimecho.
"Wait, Psychic worked!?" Gasped Emerald.
"You didn't know?" Asked Chimecho.
"I was mad!"
"Is… she going to be okay?" Asked Dugtrio.
"Cor blimey!" Said Dusk, striking a silly pose.
"Don't worry about her," said Keldeo, "these things happen a lot around us."
"Here's what happened…"
I went into detail about the journey across the Distortion World. Nothing was left out, even my conversations with Zygarde. That last bit of information floored most of the guild. When I finished, no one dared say anything for the longest time. It was Snow that finally broke the silence.
"That place sounds horrible."
"The Distortion World…," said Keldeo, "I've heard a few legends but I had no idea that it was really true."
"Hey, hey! This explains why you've been under the weather. Traveling to an alternate dimension twice," said Corphish.
"That DOESN'T explain why you CHANGED color," said Loudred.
"I'm not really sure myself, but Giratina said that it believes that this is how I really look and the other form was a fabrication made by someone else," I said, "and definitely not a last-minute change by the author."
"Author?" Asked Bidoof.
"What happened to you two?" I asked Wolf and Dusk, "I'm out of the loop here."
The two kids began weaving a tale that I would've immediately discarded as fantasy had I not just looked into the abyss. They talked about a planet devoid of time, light and hope. A planet paralyzed, frozen in time. The plot twist being that Grovyle was sent back in time to save the future.
"Grovyle went off on his own to collect the Time Gears once more," said Dusk, "last we heard, he has four of the five he needs."
"What we need now is a way to get to the Hidden Land," said Wolf.
"So, you're off to save the world?"
"Yes!"
"And I think I know how," said Chatot, "Guildmaster, does this pattern look familiar?"
"Now that you mention it… the cave?"
"What's going on?" Asked Dusk.
"I think I know how to get you to the Hidden Land," said Wigglytuff, "at the Mystery Dungeon, Brine Cave."
"It won't work. It's too late now."
"Funny, didn't take you for a coward."
Every eye looked at me.
"What was that about?" Asked Chatot.
"Nothing. I'm going to take a walk."
I untangled myself from Chimecho and walked up the stairs and out of the guild. Before I knew it, I found myself at the beach. The sun was setting and all the Krabbys were assembled on the beach.
"You're up!" Said a Krabby.
"Yeah, thanks for looking after me."
"Well, feel free to relax. The show's about to start."
"Show?"
"Argyle!"
The voice came from Emerald. She was running towards me.
"Emerald? What's the matter?"
"I came to find you. Thought I'd find you here. This is where you were found."
The Krabbys all began to blow bubbles. The bubbles caught the light from the setting sun and shone with a beautiful golden light.
"Wow. Such a beautiful sight," said Emerald.
"Emerald, do you recognize this beach?"
Emerald glanced around a bit and her eyes lit up with realization.
"This is that beach where we fought!" She said.
"Remember that promise I made you?" I asked, "that I would take you on a date here?"
"Are you asking me on a date right now? Nothing is planned."
"Just enjoy yourself. Nothing has to be planned."
Our date just began with the two of us sitting on the beach, watching the sunset. No one said anything, we were just enjoying the breeze.
"So, Argyle, do you swim?"
"Some. You?
"I've never learned. Think you can teach me?"
"Sure. Get rid of the stick. Probably not a good idea to get it wet."
Emerald removed her stick from her tail and extinguished the flame. She put the stick as far away from the water as she could and joined me at the sea's edge.
"I'm kind of nervous," said Emerald.
"It's only scary the first time. Don't worry. I've got you."
I took Emerald by the paw and led her into the water. The rest of the date was pretty much just a swimming lesson, though, we were probably a little bit closer together than a student and their teacher should be. Emerald had a bit of difficulty at first, but once she got a bit of confidence, she took to the lesson like a Ducklett to well, water.
It was already dark by the time that we called it quits. The Krabby have already gone home for the night and I was a little sore, but it was a good day. Furry Fire types don't shed, we burn off the old fur, so I did that to get dry. As for Argyle, I helped him.
"I know this wasn't really romantic, but-"
"Stop right there, Argyle. Of course, I enjoyed myself."
"Well, we'd better get back to town before it gets too late."
"Before that… I'd like to do something, with you. If you're comfortable with it that is. If not, then forget I mentioned it."
"I don't mind. What did you have in mind?"
We then proceeded to make the rather explicit vision I'd seen of us a few years ago a reality. The same one I'd seen in the company of Rapidash and Zebstrika. I was really nervous since it was my first time, but Argyle was patient with me and was quite the attentive lover.
"Are you okay, Emerald?"
I was leaning against him as we sat on the beach.
"Just don't say anything. Let me enjoy this moment."
After the date, we shared a couple of cold ones at Splenda's Juice Bar.
"This is a pretty swell joint," I said.
"It just opened recently, but the shakes are to die for," said Emerald.
"Have you been here before?"
"Once. When you were having your three-year episode."
"I was depressed!"
"Well, that's no call to-"
The fur on the back of my neck stood up. It's been so long, but that sense is still as sharp as ever. Danger is nearby.
"Behind you!"
I couldn't turn quick enough. Something hit me and then everything went dark.
