A Jewel in Water
Part 36
A/N: To many hiatuses, too many plotlines forgotten. My writing ability is deteriorating…
May folded in half, hands on her knees, as she caught her breath.
"What even was that?!" she cried once she recouped. Brock stood next to her looked back across the bridge that they were now on to check if the old man was on his way.
"I- I have no idea!" he finally mustered. "Why was there a man there?"
"Do you think he was living there?" May asked whilst standing up and joined him in looking over.
"I didn't get a good look at him… but something makes me want to go back." May rolled her eyes.
"You're crazy Brock. Whatever it is, I'm not going back any time soon to find out. Maybe if I find a bat." Brock sighed.
"Well that's my plan ruined. May as well head back to the castle and see what Misty, Rudy and Elliot are up to." Upon hearing Rudys name, May froze up. Brock noticed. "Everything okay?"
"Oh… Everything's fine of course!" May cursed herself again for being so transparent as well as acting so innocent, at her age. She was going to need to brush it off.
"Hey!" A youngster called from the other side of the bridge, "You looked at me, right?" he frantically ran over to May and took a battle stance. "Let's battle!"
Meowth had also stopped running at this point and was catching his breath from up a tree. He had put some distance from his enemies but at this point he was wracking his brain as for what to do. He had left Jessie and James for dead and made his escape. The thought crossed his mind that if he had stayed behind he may have been able to escape with the three of the together. What could a talking Meowth do alone? He hadn't paid any attention when Jessie and James had made their way to the Boss's base, but he knew he was somewhere in Kanto, and west of Viridian City. The boss never struck him as the sentimental type, to come back to his starting grounds the minute he got back into Kanto. Meowth paused for a second as realisation struck him. In their haste to make their way back to the Boss, they never stopped to think why he would call them back, the most useless squad on the team. Just because the Boss had been imprisoned, they were naiive to think that his information network would just abandon him and disintegrate. But Jessie, James and Meowth had abandoned the Boss, and judging by the harsh treatment they received upon their arrival, the Boss wasn't ready to forgive them. Suddenly Meowth heard the sound of a group, pokemon and people, heading his direction. There was no more time to rest, Meowth came to the most logical conclusion as for what to do next: Find Ash.
Elliot waited down by the front entrance of the castle as he waited for Rudy to gather his things and join him out for lunch. Still shocked that he managed to convince Rudy to do anything at all, he took a mirror out of his pocket and unsuccessfully tried to rub off the purple haze of eyeshadow that made him look like he has been on the losing side of a fight. The bandaged cut across his forehead certainly didn't help, either.
"I hope you don't have the wrong idea about me going out to lunch with you," Rudy said from the staircase, as he mistook Elliots violent scrubbing as primping. Elliot looked up at Rudy and couldn't help but smirk a little. From his leather jacket to the sunglasses perched on his head, Rudy did have the basic 'bad boy' look down.
"Oh, I didn't realise you were going to take us out on your motorbike, I would have worn something more appropriate," Elliot joked as Rudy reached him. A scowl spread across Rudy's face, causing Elliot to lift up both his arms in surrender. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, truce!" he pleaded with a smile.
"Don't make me regret this decision to socialise with the common folk," Rudy sneered. Prince Elliot sighed. He swiftly changed the topic before this outing was cancelled.
"Did you have anywhere in particular you wanted to go?" Elliot asked him. He wasn't overly familiar with the area.
"I have a place I usually go. We can walk." Rudy said, as he lead the way forward.
"Mystery phone?" asked Kenny. Dawn sighed in a kind of exasperated way.
"You know, that phone that Misty called Paul on, yesterday!" she tried to remind him. Kenny vaguely remembered something like that happening just before Dawn and Mays big battle.
"How come you have it Deedee?" he asked, "You've picked up a new habit as a kleptomaniac?"
"Ha ha," she voiced, unamused as ever "Jokes aside, listen! This phone is no ordinary phone." Kenny inspected the phone in his lap, and unlocked it.
"It looks pretty ordinary to me," he mumbled as he flicked through the different screens, "for a burner that is." Dawn blinked.
"A burner? You mean it's a temporary phone?" she asked. Kenny tutted and looked up at her.
"It seems as though our dear Paul is involved in some shady business! And I think you just got yourself involved in it." He turned the phone screen towards her, which was now displaying the call log. "Was that you who picked up this call this morning?"
"… Yes, but surely they can't track me or anything, with a phone so old!" she cried.
"That is if they hadn't embedded a tracking device in the phone," Kenny provoked.
"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a burner?" Kenny burst out laughing.
"Deedee, its fine, this is Paul! He's not really a people person, I'm sure this bare minimum phone is more than enough for him."
"But look! There's a redirected call here, that's around the same time that Misty called him. Why would it be redirected, why wouldn't he just put her number in it?" Kenny pondered on this thought, but there were too many variables to take into account.
"He is indirect royalty, you know?" he said finally. Dawn was deeply unsatisfied with Kennys' explanation.
"So, we should get it back to him, right? Then we can ask him!" Dawn replied. "But unfortunately, I have no idea how to contact Paul. Do you have Misty's number?"
"Of course!" Kenny smiled smugly, whilst Dawn rolled her eyes. Dawn's mother poked her head through the kitchen door and called out.
"I hope you two are having fun gossiping," she teased. "Kenny, I'm just cooking up lunch before I pop out for a bit. Lunch for 3?" Whilst Kenny and her mother discussed lunch plans, Dawn took the opportunity to go upstairs and shower. But what Kenny said was still in her mind. When she picked up the phone that morning, whoever was on the other end certainly did not seem amicable, angrily hanging up without a word. Was Paul really involved in something shady?