Chapter Thirty - Strange Sweet Song
Rosa eyed the grunts warily, her fingers reaching out to touch the cool surface of the pokeballs on her belt. The plasma members didn't appear to notice the action, or perhaps they didn't care, because their expressions betrayed no emotion as they stared at her.
"Searching?" Rosa scoffed. "Following is more like it – you've been trailing us for hours. I'm surprised Ghetsis would send his weakest members after me. He should know better by now." She tilted her head. "Why have you come?"
The woman stepped forward and removed her X-printed cap, allowing her blond curls to spill over her shoulders. Its honey-colored tips darkened in the rain, and within seconds was drenched by the downpour. Her apathy towards being drenched wasn't the cause of Rosa's creeping discomfort, however.
It was her gaze.
Her ocean-hued eyes weren't layered with the famous arrogance Rosa had learned to associate with plasma grunts. They were glazed over, lifeless, as if entranced in a day dream. A glance at her partner showed the same thing. Curtis seemed to notice as well, because he inhaled sharply and took a step back.
"To bring you and your accomplice to justice." The blond stated. "Reports of your sinful actions have become too much to ignore. You live a destructive life, using your Pokémon's strength to build social status. You've harmed plasma members, barred the liberation of Pokémon, and sidestepped justice. It has become clear to Lord Ghetsis that your soul is stained with selfishness. Such behavior is unacceptable; you don't deserve to run freely. We have come to collect you that you may surrender yourself to Ghetsis and right your wrongs."
Curtis pulled a Pokeball from his jean pocket, but Rosa stilled him from opening it with a small shake of her head. It was comforting to know he had Pokémon, but she wasn't ready to fight yet. Not until she figured out what was going on.
Rosa straightened. "I think you've been misinformed. Its Ghetsis who's been destroying Unova, not me. He tried to set fire to Aspertia a month or two ago, and attacked a lab in Nuvema town. One of his followers murdered a friend of mine's Pokémon. I'm sure your leader is just absolutely charming, but I can't bring myself to see how I'm the one in the wrong here."
"You know nothing of this world's imperfections." The man behind his partner said, turning his gaze to burn into Rosa's. His rigid shoulders and straight posture reminded her of a soldier's line. "Aspertia was sinful, using its gym and scenery to lure travelers in for profit. Juniper's lab in Nuvema town hands out bred and caged Pokémon to new trainers, thus stealing what could have been a beneficial life from every ten-year-old child who enters its doors."
Anger boiled in Rosa's stomach. Her mother, a slave to the Pokémon center and its patients, who raised her only daughter by hand, sinful? Ridiculous. "That's your excuse for murdering innocent –"
"Your life has also been wasted training Pokémon, when it should have been dedicated to serving society. Team Plasma will cleanse this world of its selfish ways, starting with you. Surrender yourself, trainer. Come with us, so Ghetsis may restore peace."
"Forget it, you're all insane."
"You cannot reject the purity Ghetsis offers. Come with us, or we will force you."
"Take a hike."
Curtis, who'd been impatiently rolling his Pokeball between his thumb and pointer finger since he'd withdrawn it, interrupted their banter by tossing the ball in the air. Its luminescence sliced through the murky rain, silencing Rosa and the grunts as its blinding beams forced them to avert their eyes. An Espeon burst from the open capsule, its long ears twitching as it settled onto the wet ground.
"I think I've heard enough." Curtis said lightly, replacing the ball in his pocket. "You both heard her – get lost."
The women's face drew shadows as she slowly turned her head to stare blankly at him. Rain drenched her fragile frame, and a few locks of blond were plastered to her forehead, dripping fat drops of rain into her right eye. She did not blink to remove the moisture. "We did not come here to fight Rosa Whitely Mae, or her male partner."
"Male partner?" Rosa bristled. "What's that supposed to mean?"
She tossed Sven's pokeball above her head, and as the enormous pup materialized before her, the plasma grunts reached into the skin-tight uniforms and withdrew their own Pokémon from the pockets. A Seviper and Muk landed in the sand, their melancholy eyes glowing against the gloomy fog surrounding them.
Sven dropped low on his front legs, a menacing growl building in his chest as he eyed his prey. Rosa halfway smiled. Who was she to keep a dog from playing with his favorite toys? "Alright Sven, time to take 'em down. That Seviper's all yours. Thunderfang!"
Curtis followed suit. "Espeon, psychic!"
Her pup wasted no time. He charged forward, an orangesicle wall of pure muscle that rammed the Seviper and knocked them both into the soggy sand. His fangs bared in the dim light, and Rosa could see the sparks of electricity charging on his canines. It had been ages since she'd chosen Sven for a real battle, but she could see he was eager. Perhaps too eager. As a starving animal would do to kill its prey, the pup sank his fangs into the snake's armored body and jerked the thing around like a ragdoll. It screamed and thrashed, its forked tongue whipping between its jaws.
Seviper's owner, the man, did not panic. "Seviper, belch."
Belch?
Rosa's eyebrows drew together, but her confusion didn't last long. Though it was still being yanked around, the snake shuttered, then opened its enormous mouth and gagged. Thick mucus and saliva dribbled over the sand, some webbing over Sven's front toes, and as the snake coughed again, more pooled.
"Sven . . ." Rosa narrowed her gaze, then startled. "Sven, drop it! Get away from that thing!"
Too late. Sven threw the Seviper to the ground, but that only placed him directly in the snake's line of fire. The serpent gagged again, and from its mouth shot a rotten, mucus-covered berry. It splattered across Sven's cheek, coating the fur in bile, and her pup immediately howled in pain and stumbled backward.
What appeared to be steam started rising from the injury. Sven trembled and shook his head, frantically trying to rid himself of the venomous berry, but even when the slimy fruit dropped to the sand, her dog continued whining.
"Sven, calm down! You have to relax." What kind of sick move was that? Sven shuttered and clawed at the agitated spot, ignoring her. The patch was getting larger now, seeming to spread across his face like a virus would infect neighboring cells.
"Espeon, Psyshock!"
A blur of purple darted through the gloom, throwing the hissing Seviper to the ground. Rosa hadn't noticed Muk was already unconscious, she'd been so focused on her own battle, but now her eyes were trained on Espeon. The two rolled, biting and snapping as they struggled to gain control, and their backs covered in sand and grit. Seviper slipped through the fox's grip, twisted to raise its head above hers, but just as quickly was overcome again. Their violent snarls echoed against the storm clouds. At last the struggle ended when Espeon's tail bristled and lashed, her jewel-like eyes glowing kill-you crimson.
It was like being blasted with an air gun. Psychic power erupted from Espeon's body, flooding the beach with invisible energy. Seviper took the hit directly, slipping into unconsciousness before the wave had finished shaking the nearby trees.
The battle was over.
Sven didn't seem to notice. He was throwing his head about again, trying to force the berry juice from his fur. The wound was still steaming and sizzling.
Rosa ran to him. Curtis called for her to stop, to be careful of the plasma grunts standing just a few yards away, but she didn't listen. What had they done to him?
"Sssh, Sven." She soothed, grabbing hold of his neck to calm him. He trembled under her touch. "I know it hurts. We're gonna get it off you, I promise. Just hold still."
"Rosa, don't touch that! It's toxic."
Curtis was suddenly there, snatching her arms away from her partner. Sven growled and shuffled his feet, but Rosa was too startled to pull away. What could she do then, if she couldn't comb it out? Would a hyper potion do the trick, or a pecha berry? Surely he wouldn't have to suffer until they reached a Pokémon center.
"I have sinned against Lord Ghetsis."
Rosa glanced up, towards the female grunt. The woman was staring wide-eyed at her hands, horror lining the traces of her fragile features. Her face was pale, her lips a dim blue.
"I failed to apprehend the criminal Rosa Mae, therefor allowing impurity and destruction to continue wandering Unova." She whispered. "Her imperfection is mine. I . . . I cannot be allowed to live, if this world is to be perfect."
Rosa inhaled sharply. What?
The woman's partner looked just as distraught, though her words seemed to stir him back to awareness. "That isn't for us to decide. We confess to Lord Ghetsis. He will decide a just punishment for our failure. It is only right."
Her glassy eyes blinked once. "If we are to have perfection . . ."
"Come. To Lord Ghetsis."
The returned their Pokémon and turned away, marching back through the footprints that led them. Rosa stared after them, her poisoned partner temporarily forgotten. What did she mean, she couldn't be allowed to live? Would she just . . .?
She couldn't even finish the thought.
"What in Arceus's name is going on here?" Rosa asked, though whether to herself or Curtis, she wasn't sure.
Curtis was still holding her arms, but he seemed to remember himself and quickly loosened his grip. "This has Ghetsis's master plan written all over it. Sounds to me like he thinks the world is a mess, and he intends on cleansing it."
"By doing what, exactly? Killing every selfish person on the planet? That's all of mankind. It's in our nature to be self-serving."
They were quite for a long moment, lost in thought, but then Sven let out another whimper. Rosa's lips fell into a pout. "I'm sorry Sweetie, you're in pain. I think I've got a pecha berry in my bag somewhere." She slung the travel bag around to start searching through the pockets.
"I've got one. Don't worry, it should work. The wound is only poisoned."
Sven accepted Curtis's offering without reluctance, and almost immediately the wound stopped steaming. The spread of poison cured, then receded, slinking back through the cells towards the source. It was hard to watch the progress through her pup's thick fur, but she was grateful when he stopped crying.
"There we go buddy." She said, stroking his ears. "That better?"
He licked her cheek, barely touching it with the tip of his tongue, and she smiled. "Good."
"We better get moving if you want to reach Undella town tonight. I don't think this rain is going to quit anytime soon."
She glanced up, but one look at Curtis was all Rosa needed to shoot down his suggestion. His eyes were dark saucers, his clothes soggy and disheveled, and though he kept his expression neutral as he cuddled his Espeon, she knew she'd pushed him far enough tonight. Undella was a least another hour walk, if not more. They both needed rest.
"Forget it, we're camping here. Sven's exhausted. You'll have to stay wet for another night though, 'cause I'm too tired to set up my tent."
The week went by slowly. Undella town was a welcome reprieve from the storm, but the rain didn't stop because they were finished shopping. By the time they'd left, Rosa received a severe weather warning on her Xtransceiver promising more tropical storms. There was no time to wait for sunnier days, however. They needed to reach Black City.
Rosa was grateful she still had her winter coat. The rain stung like needles slicing her skin, and the saturated sand sunk into her trainer shoes, making her toes numb and soggy. Curtis had his own coat, but it wasn't enough. They both shivered endlessly, so between their chattering teeth and the pattering rain, there wasn't much room for conversation.
Nights were less dismal, but only because she had Sven. His stomach was her pillow now, his flaming tail her blanket. Her team had long outgrown her tent, but they still insisted on sleeping with her. Rosa slept in the middle, and the rest circled around her, a silent wall of protection against any outside threats. Curtis slept with his team as well (his Espeon, a Luxray, and a starry-eyed Gallade who watched Anna constantly) but there was no firetype to keep him warm. He shivered the late hours away, though the noise helped Rosa sleep. At least she didn't need to worry if he was still there.
Training was necessary, but only enough to keep her team on track. She'd felt confident in her ability to wander the routes around Undella and Lacunosa without trouble, but Black City was another story. The Pokémon would be stronger, the trainers greedier, and she didn't doubt they'd be robbed in the street if they couldn't defend themselves. She was still shaken from nearly losing to Seviper - it was obvious she wasn't strong enough yet.
Curtis wasn't excused from training either, though he had proven able to hold his own. His team weren't the hard-muscled fighters her Pokemon had become, but they weren't pushovers either. They double-battled constantly, forcing aside challengers in the routes without much trouble. All the while Rosa watched Curtis with grudging admiration, wondering where he'd learned to battle when work had previously consumed his life.
The chill that night, however, was worse than usual. They'd managed to find a patch of grass to curl up on rather than the sopping sand, and a cluster of trees shielded them from the rain, but the weather was miserable. Wind pierced their clothes down to the bone, and sheets of scattered rain layered their icy skin. Rosa had offered her tent to Curtis, afraid he would catch a cold, but the idiot waved her suggestion away with a stubborn hand.
When it came to preserving his pride, he was worse than she was.
Now he was shivering like the devil himself had control. Rosa was curled on her side away from him, but she could still hear his trembling even as the wind screamed in her ears. It was an itch she couldn't scratch, hearing him suffer while Sven's warmth returned feeling to her fingers and toes.
She rolled, twisting to face her shaking friend. He was tucked all the way down in his sleeping bag, and his Pokemon slept on and around his chest to preserve as much heat as possible, but she could still see him trembling.
"Curtis." He stayed quiet.
She tried again, louder this time. "Curtis. Wake up!"
His eyes partway opened, flashing to meet hers. Of course, he was awake – no one that cold could possibly be sleeping.
"What is it?" He whispered. "Are you alright?"
"No. Get your icy butt over here. I'm tired of listening to you shiver."
"Huh?"
She made an impatient noise in the back of her throat. "You. Next to me on the Arcanine. Now. I'm won't be able to live with myself if you end up getting hypothermia."
Curtis raised his head, causing his other Pokémon to stir, and Rosa shuffled over to make room. When he still hesitated, Rosa beckoned him again. "And bring your Pokémon. Zaveid doesn't bite."
Like a child unsure of whether he's too old to climb in bed with his parents, Curtis hesitantly got to his feet, picked up his sleeping bag, and tip-toed over Gaston's sleeping form. He shifted on his toes, fidgeted with his fingers, then sighed and settled down in Rosa's circle of Pokemon. Espeon and Luxray sprang over Gaston and curled into balls near Sven's face, not at all bashful about being warmer, while Gallade found a spot near Anna.
"Hands to yourself." Was all Rosa said.
Well, at least that problem was solved. She trusted Curtis to be a gentleman, and felt better knowing he was warm. Rolling over again, she sighed and settled back into Sven's fur. Maybe they'd both get decent rest tonight. They'd need it, if they were going to reach Black City tomorrow.
Humming contently, Rosa closed her eyes.
Some to thresh hay, dilly dilly, some to thresh corn. Whilst you and I, dilly dilly, keep ourselves-"
"You have a nice voice."
Rosa quieted, though she swore she could still hear her last note spiraling upward and entangling with the raindrops. Arceus, had she been singing out loud?
"Sorry." Curtis murmured. "I didn't mean to embarrass you. I just thought you should know, since I doubt you get many people out here who tell you."
She shrugged silently, hoping if she didn't speak he'd just drop it and go to sleep, but then he spoke again. "Are you self-taught?"
Ugh. She should have let him freeze to death.
"My father taught me when I was a little girl." She admitted reluctantly. "He used to sing me to sleep every night." She'd curl up in her bed and bring her blanket to her nose, staring at the door until he entered. His special spot was on the rug next to the head of her mattress, and he'd hold her tiny hands in his huge ones as his voice enveloped her room in a soft golden bubble.
It had been eleven years since she'd last heard his voice, but Rosa could recall how it sounded. Rich in tenor, untrained but soothing to his doting daughter. She could hear it now, drifting just above the billowing storm.
She tucked her knees closer to her stomach, trying to block the memories out. Thinking about him was a fiery brand against a jagged scar. "He always sang the same song, but it helped keep the monsters away. I don't think he ever knew how much I appreciated it. But then again," Rosa sighed. "I guess I was too young to tell him."
"What happened to him?"
Rosa closed her eyes. Mom said he'd . . . perished in a work accident? He'd worked at BW Agency, constantly shuffling around Unova actors to draw in money. He'd been flying back home from Kanto . . . no, it had been a workplace fire. Or had he abandoned them? She scrunched her eyebrows, trying to sort the memories. No, that wasn't it, her dad wouldn't have just up and left. Why couldn't she remember?
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up painful memories for you."
Curtis's words were barely audible against the cry of the wind, as if he had only breathed them, but they rang in her ears like he'd shouted. Her shoulders fell a little, and for a moment, she imagined rolling over to face him. She pictured strange light illuminating his face, the rise and fall of his chest, nothing between them but silence and shadows and breath.
Instead she stayed silent. She'd been told the story of her father's passing before, hadn't she? Six years old in a sunshine-colored dress, an open casket surrounded by flowers, the cry of violins in the corner of the chapel . . .
A gentle hand fell on Rosa's shoulder, drawing her back to the present. Curtis's fingers didn't tighten around the blade, but rested, a phantom of comfort to still her aching heart. For the briefest moment Rosa touched that hand. It was warm.
"Thank you, Curtis." She whispered. And somehow, though the rain still poured and her body was drenched and her father was gone, peace blossomed in her chest. It swept her into its embrace, holding her tightly until the dusk of night faded to ribbons of dawn.
Hey guys! I am so, so, so, so, so sorry for the latest update ever. School has completely trapped me, but I freed myself for a weekend, so here it is! Thank you so much for your patience, you are all amazing! By the way, based on the feedback I've received regarding only posting this story on Wattpad, I have decided to continue updating here as well. I want to make it easy for everyone to read this if they want too, so your wish is my command. Thank you everyone for your support, I hope you have a lovely day!