~ Chapter 25 ~
The Coming Storm
"I was right before, of course, when I said that our luck might just run out. That it did, and even sooner than this entry. After our stop at the last Pokémon Centre, I wasn't fully healed, and was still very sickly. The foolish, prideful boy I once was told my friends that I wasn't in need of a doctor or Nurse Joy, and we continued on Route 205. Alyssandra so loved the spring time and the wild Pokémon…she was like a child once more…it was the biggest mistake of my life to tell them I was all right, and to this day I wonder how different our lives would have been if I had been truthful about how bad I felt…and at the same time, I wonder how much worse off we'd be if I had seen a doctor…
The room was dark, but the screen lit up the man's face.
He was tall, he was gaunt, and he looked like he had seen years of disappointment and sadness. He had darkness in his eyes that seemed to emanate nothing but evil, and he gave a look that would strike fear in anyone, even the bravest of men.
Behind him stood two women, both in jumpsuits, one with red hair and the other with violet, while two men stood to his right. The first was tall, with long red hair, a crooked nose that looked as if it had been broken, rectangular glasses and a long lab coat, while the other had blue hair that curved into a semi-lunar shape facing the sky.
Behind them all was a much shorter man, slightly hunched and very deranged looking, staring hard at the screen through the darkness. He seemed to only be paying half of his attention towards what everyone else was, as his attention seemed to be spent bent over a laboratory table.
He hummed madly to himself as he worked, just low enough that only he would hear, but loud enough to cause the red-haired woman to yell back at him every so often to remain silent.
The entire group stared at the screen quietly, as if it was going to come to life and proclaim to them its infinite wisdom; but it was just a screen.
Instead, a shadowy figured appeared on the screen. Nothing could be seen of this figure but his eyes, which shone red like fire in the blackness.
"So," he said deeply, "What news of our plans?"
The moment the group had been waiting for had arrived, and the gaunt man stepped forward to speak. "My Lord," he said softly, "We have managed to gather the energy necessary—I am very proud to say—now it is only a matter of tracing down the ancient Pokémon."
"What is your plan for catching them?" asked the red-eyed man quickly. He cared not for long speeches but wished only for results.
"We will seek out the Guardians of the Lake first—with them we can forge the Red Chain," explained the gaunt man, "Our top Professor is here researching them as well speak; while the other is attempting to come up with a way for us to forge the Red Chain from the Pokémon we capture."
"And what of the dragons? And the Pokémon of Legend?" asked the shadowy figure, "It is them I want; it is them I need. I care not for these 'Guardians of the Lake.'"
"Yes, my lord," said the gaunt man nervously, "We are looking for them as well. As you know, the Red Chain is necessary for us to control them, and we have yet to discover their locations. Though we believe they may be located where the legends speak of; but we need more time to research the validity of these tales."
There was silence, and no one said anything, neither those in the room, or the man on the screen.
Finally, the man in the screen shifted in his seat and spoke in a deep voice, slowly but threatening. "You have not even discovered their locations?" asked the man, "And you dare call upon me? You disturb me with your petty news and you have nothing to show for it?"
There was a long pause of silence, and the shadowy man's voice returned to a normal tone and he relaxed in his chair.
"None the less," he said softly, "You still have your purpose…for now…and you should start becoming more useful soon—or I will replace you."
"Y-yes my Lord," for once the gaunt man showed a sign of fear instead of malicious evil, and for once he seemed vulnerable.
"My Lord what about the boy?" asked the red-haired woman, "And his friends?"
The Lord turned his attention towards the woman and let out a small smile. "So, he has become that much of a problem?" asked the man, "Or is it that your Team Galactic is so incompetent that you cannot defeat a simple child?"
There was nothing but silence.
"No matter, I am dealing with the boy," he spoke, "I have made several attempts to contact him…but the protective wards around him are too strong, and the messages do not transfer between us as well as I would have hoped…and his dreams return. I fear that soon they will signal his Coming of Age and it will be too late."
"Shall we deal with him my Lord?" asked the gaunt man, gaining his courage back.
The shadowy man chuckled. "No, that will not be necessary," he said simply, "I have devised a plan to deal with him. The storm the other day was just practice—this next one should divide him from his friends. Then I shall appear before him…if he is as big a threat as you say, then I shall kill him, and remove him as a thorn in my side—it'll save me the trouble of doing it later. If he isn't, I'll still kill him…and then I'll kill his friends…and then I'll replace you all for being incompetent. So, you had best hope that this boy is as strong as you say he is."
Everyone bowed low in that room. "Yes, my lord," they said, "We assure you that he is."
The shadowy figure simply grunted in displeasure and closed the conversation, leaving the room completely black, and filling it with even more silence then before.
Fear filled the gaunt man as darkness filled the room…he knew his position was delicate…and he knew that if he didn't' deal with that boy before his master got to him…even if he could just weaken him.
"Send out a search party to Eterna Forest," said the man as he walked towards the door, "I want them to scour the area for any signs of the boy and his friends. Have them weaken them and their Pokémon before our lord gets there."
The others replied with a definitive, "Yes sir!" and the gaunt man was gone with the whoosh of the door.
Alyssandra waltzed with carefree abandon as she floated through the flowers of Route 205. The group was getting closer to Eterna Forest, but they were in Alyssandra's favourite part of the route, the flower fields.
The breezes blew through here frequently, and every so often, groups of Drifloon and Drifblim would pass by, floating on the wind like so many lost balloons. Alyssandra was mesmerized.
Sam, Jeremy and Niya, meanwhile, were not as carefree, as Sam had to be supported by them while they walked.
His strength had come and gone since that day at the Pokémon Centre, and their travels had been increasingly slower than before because of it.
Despite constant demands by the others to go see a doctor, or even ask Nurse Joy to look at him, Sam refused, and demanded they push on towards Eterna City.
Unfortunately, as Niya pointed out often, Sam's illness had only posed another burden upon the group; but there was no arguing with Sam once he had made up his mind, that much they did know.
Niya looked over at Sam worriedly, biting down on her lip in an act of nervousness.
Sam looked to be getting worse. The cold sweat that had formed on his brown was now trickling down his face, and his hair was matted with a light layer of sweat. His eyes were heavily ringed as if he hadn't slept in weeks, and he looked very off colour.
"Sam, do you want to rest for a bit?" asked Niya.
Sam shook his head, "No…" he whispered, "Not now, please. Let's keep going."
Sam looked up and watched Alyssandra play with some passing Drifloon. She seemed to be enjoying herself, and the Drifloon seemed to enjoy her company.
Sam smiled, trying to manage a laugh, but only coughed instead. He fell to his knee, and Jeremy and Niya fell with him. The only thought on Sam's mind was how this spring weather turned Alyssandra into a frolicking child again.
Alyssandra always loved spring, all of the colours and sights and smells enthralled her and captivated her to no end.
Niya threw Sam's sleeping bag down onto the nearby grass and with Jeremy's help, laid Sam across it.
Sam protested as much as he could, but he couldn't stop them—he was too weak.
Niya dabbed at his cold forehead with a handkerchief she fished from Sam's bag, and commanded Jeremy to grab some water and boil it as fast as possible, using any means necessary.
"Lyss should be helping too," groaned Jeremy as he walked off towards the river a few hundred feet away.
Niya went to call her but Sam placed a shaking hand on her forearm. "No, leave her," explained Sam, "She loves the spring…it reminds her of all of the good things in life. Let her be happy for a bit."
Niya sighed as she did as Sam told her. "You really should've waited until you were well enough to travel, this could be dangerous."
Sam only laughed. "This is nothing," he coughed, "Just a cold—I'll be all right. It's one of those spring bugs that go around, hay fever probably. Nothing more."
Niya couldn't exactly agree with Sam; but even she didn't know what it was, and for all she knew he could've been right. It didn't calm her nerves completely, but it soothed them enough to allow her to continue her work without a second thought or doubt.
Once Jeremy boiled the water, Niya placed the handkerchief in the hot water, and the placed the wet piece of cloth on Sam's head.
He was freezing, and he needed some warmth to keep his body temperature normal, right now this was all Niya could do for it.
"We're setting up camp," she said quickly to Jeremy as she tucked Sam into his sleeping bag, "Get the tents set up—Lyss is exempt for now."
Niya looked up and Jeremy, then whispered into his ear as she leaned closer to him. "Sam doesn't want her working; says she should be left to enjoy the spring. But I also think she just needs to use this time to get her head off this thing with Sam," explained Niya, "It took her by surprise—hit her pretty hard, remember? She's been worried for days."
Jeremy nodded; the truth was it had hurt him to hear too. Sam was like a brother to everyone of this group; they were a family. When Sam hurt, they all hurt, and vice versa. Now Sam lay there, looking only half the person, he was before, and no one knew what it was that was causing this. They felt helpless, and they couldn't do a damn thing about it.
Jeremy did as he was told and began to set up the tent. Not a moment too soon either, as the winds started to blow, and the clouds started to grey. Jeremy looked over at Alyssandra; she was playing with some Drifloon and Drifblim just a few feet from the camp.
Sam watched her with a smile on his face through the small gap in the tent opening. Alyssandra loved wild Pokémon too, noted Sam, no doubt she wanted to catch one of those Pokémon she was playing with.
All of a sudden, the tent flap flew open, and Niya looked down at him. "We're staying here," she told him, "Just for the night. You're too sick to go on, and a storm's coming. It's going to be pretty bad from what I see—it'll be too dangerous to go on, especially with you like this."
Sam only nodded and rolled over in his sleeping bag.
Niya sighed, she hated seeing him like this but—there was a scream that filled the air, cutting her from her thought.
Sam had already fallen asleep, and no doubt he hadn't heard it.
When Niya exited the tent, she noted Jeremy trying to pull Alyssandra back down to the ground, as she was now hanging from a Drifloon's hand as it was being blown away by the strong winds.
Niya dashed towards her two friends and grabbed tight around Jeremy's waist. "Hold on, Jeremy!" she cried over the raising wind, leaves slapping her in the face, "You too, Lyss! Don't let go! We're going to get you down in a second!"
Alyssandra tried to reply, but her words were lost in the wind.
Niya tugged on Jeremy's waist, hoping it would help pull Alyssandra back down, but all it did was jerk Jeremy's grip on her ankles, and caused her to float off into the sky with the Drifblim, screaming "help" long behind her as she did.
Jeremy swore loudly, knowing full well that the Drifblim and Drifloon travelled with the wind, and would only stop moving when the wind did. Alyssandra could be anywhere within a half hour, and even further now that there was a storm coming.
Niya looked at Jeremy, the two of them wanting to chase after Alyssandra, but they looked back at Sam in the tent, and with a deep sigh, returned to their sick friend.
It was too dangerous to push on with the storm, and as long as the winds kept blowing Alyssandra would just keep travelling. Trying to track her and the Drifloon would be foolish.
All through the night, Niya couldn't sleep, her only though being on Alyssandra and how she was right now. Niya felt guilty for letting her fly off like that. Thoughts filled her head. Thoughts like:
"What if I hadn't tugged that last time?"
"What if I hadn't gotten involved?"
But she knew that she had, and it was her fault Alyssandra was lost. It was her duty to find her now, her and Jeremy, and Sam if he ever got better.
Niya sighed. When did things start to get so bad for the group, Niya wondered as she looked up at the top of the tent, when did things take a turn for the worst?
