PokeStones of the Dead - Chapter Nineteen
The sand seemed to take forever to dissipate. Whether Brock had left his Onix there to cast Sandstorm for a longer time, or that the move's power had been enhanced through training, no one knew. Finally, Janine solved the problem by asking her Fearow to Whirlwind the Sandstorm away. Careful to point the attack away from the other Gym Leaders, Fearow drew up a very strong gust of wind that blew the sand away into the distance, creating a safe area for the Gym Leaders to take refuge. Once the sand had been blown away, Misty cleared her eyes with one of her water Pokemon, and soon the Gym Leaders were all lining up at Politoed in order to ease the pain in their eyes. Once everyone had recovered from the sand, it was Giovanni that started talking. However, he did not address his words to the entire company but to two specific members.
"Sabrina, Blaine. Are we to take it that your actions prior to this mean that you have decided on your course? And you will not turn back to the other path that you have just left? We cannot afford, as dangerous the current situation is, to allow the defeat of Lance if it means the subsequent betrayal of Temperance and the restoration of the old system. That would just lead to fanatics like Lance to find out things they should have never have known. In fact, I sometimes sympathise with what he has done, considering the state of Kanto at present. So, declare your intentions."
Sabrina took the lead in replying. "I swear on my blood, that I am committed to the defeat of Lance via the alliance with Temperance, or any loyal to him. I will assist him in any way necessary. I will follow his orders and abide by his judgement after the defeat of Lance." As she spoke, she drew a dagger from her waistband – the dagger was standard protection for all Gym Leaders in a total emergency – and drew some blood from her palm. The blood then magically flew up into the air, forming two circles – one inside the other. The bloody symbol of the Marsh Badge hung in the air, and then grew bright and faded away – signifying the acceptance of the oath.
Blaine did the same. After the Volcano Badge had faded away just like Sabrina's had done, Sabrina took out several documents from her backpack, and handed them to Giovanni. Stopping what he was about to say, Giovanni inspected the documents and found that Sabrina had actually reduced the taxations on Saffron for the past few months, accepted Gym Battles again on all dates without appointments and redistributed the wealth among her citizens by giving away Pokemon vitamins and other objects that she had had in her possession – most of them bought with the money she had collected from her citizens before.
"Guilt – but too little of it. Too little to sever my alliance with Brock and Blaine, at any rate. Too little to allow my citizens to tell others of their improved life – the two still had to think I was loyal to their cause. Enough guilt to take the actions that you now see, however. Was it because I had a vision of what was to come?"
Sabrina fell quiet, and Giovanni handed the documents back to her without a word. However, as he turned back to the company of Gym Leaders, everyone saw the small smile he gave to Sabrina. Then it was gone, and he asked the direct question that had been on his mind since Brock's refusal to cooperate.
"Can we bind Lance with only five Gym Leaders? Lillette – Temperance's um, companion – has told me that six Gym Leaders – or City Elders, as they were once known - were used to bind the evil long ago. There were only seven Gym Leaders then – Cinnibar had not been discovered – and the seventh Gym Leader was the receiver of the power. It has been concluded that Temperance will take the place of the seventh Gym Leader to receive the power that will be transferred with the help of the three legendary birds. This is because the person receiving the power does not need to have the bloodline, but those binding Lance do. As Koga's daughter, Janine, his blood status automatically passes to you with his death, thus theoretically we have six Gym Leaders – enough to cast the binding spell. But…"
"I think we need to go back and ask Lillette about this. She's the one that has done all the research, right? Perhaps we need to ask her each Gym Leader's role in all this – it would help generally in the upcoming battle, after all. And we have no information at present. How will we devise a plan like this?" This came from Misty, who ascertained that their discussion like this had as much use as going up to Lance and attempting to punch him. And hence it was agreed that they would go back to Viridian, where Temperance and Lillette stayed, enjoying their last moments of peace before the final battle began.
Lillette had concluded her strategy. However, she knew that her battle was merely a sideshow when compared to the epic battle that would take place between Temperance and Lance. Both players would be able to brush off any Pokemon or Dead attack with ease. However, her forces still needed to break through the enemy defence satisfactorily for the Gym Leaders to cast their binding spell on Lance. Thus she was pulling out all the stops, leaving none behind in her bid to break through the army of Dead that no doubt awaited them at the sacred location. Turning to Temperance, she noticed that he had vacated his usual spot with the troops, and was walking into the Pokemon Centre. Deciding to follow him, Lillette commanded the troops at ease and entered the Viridian Pokemon Centre.
In the room that they had rested earlier on, Lillette found Temperance lying on the bed, but his eyes were wide open. Seeing the door open, his eyes turned to her for an instant, then returned to the ceiling. "I thought you would come. I'm just so tired – and well, nervous. I mean, I have to take on Lance in solo combat, when he has several advantages over me. He's had time to practice his newfound abilities, for example. Also I will only get the powers of Fire, Ice, and Lightning – as well as the ability to fly. He'll lose those three elements, but he still has plenty more that I don't…"
"Remember what I told you, Temperance. There is no use fretting over what you need to do or what your victory will represent for the various parties involved in this war. You don't see me slitting my wrists over my upcoming death, do you? I have total confidence in you, and my heart tells me that you will triumph over Lance. Whether I will be there to relive the victory with you, I do not know, but no matter what – taking the risk of sounding like a broken record – there is always my love."
"Now, sleep. Use the time you have remaining to recover your energy for the battle later. I saw the Gym Leaders returning from Pewter – five of them. I do not know what this means, but I have to go meet them, and it would be best if you stayed here. I will come back after I see them." So saying, Lillette gave Temperance a light kiss, and exited the room, leaving Temperance on the bed. His worry and nerves had somewhat gone, and his eyes closed, his face peaceful as he went back to sleep.
Lillette went back out to see the five Gym Leaders. All of them, on their various Pokemon, had entered the city boundaries by now. Jumping off their Pokemon, the Gym Leaders collectively recalled their transport and went straight to the point, asking the same question that had been the stumbling block earlier in their discussion. Could the binding spell be cast with only five out of the six members present? On receiving the question, Lillette tried to recall the many lines of text that the book had held, trying to access the memory that would give her the answer.
"Yes, but it will not be easy. The final member of the Gym Leaders would have been required to ensure that the spell took hold, regardless of Lance's status at the time of the binding. With only five Gym Leaders, the basic formation of the spell will form, but Lance can break free from it if he is at his full condition, and is alert. To let the binding spell allow the three legendary birds to siphon Lance's powers away, he needs to be distracted while the spell is cast. Since we have no other way to defeat Lance, there needs to be a distraction of some sort while you five prepare the binding spell. Any negotiation or tricks will simply not work – Lance has gotten access to Psychic powers. The distraction must come from another source."
"So, you're saying… bangs and smoke?"
"No. Lance has no more reason to care about random explosions and whatnot – his Dead are after all just minions under his control, to prevent us from getting the Gym Leaders close enough to cast the binding spell while he focuses on other matters. What we need is someone to draw his attention, someone he has reason to notice, yet he must not suspect a trick if he decides to read the mind of the person we send. That means that this person in question must be on our side, yet must not know he is on our side. It sounds ridiculous, yes, but it is the only way to distract Lance at this stage."
Silence followed these words, as the Gym Leaders pondered on how to distract Lance, when normal events were now beneath his notice. Only someone who he would consider a threat – a tall order – or someone he had reason to hate would fit the bill. Yet neither scenario would allow a person to walk in and distract Lance for long enough, yet not arouse the suspicion of Lance's Psychic powers. Then, Sabrina spoke.
"I think I will be able to manage this through hypnotism. Technically, if the person we are sending is hypnotised, his mind will not be able to give out the needed information for Lance to determine his true intention. I have no doubt that I will be able to implant a false memory in that person's brain with assistance from my Pokemon. So, that only leaves the person that we need to send. Preferably expendable, for there is a high chance that Lance would kill him or her after he finds out of the trap."
More silence. Apparently, the thought of sending someone to his or her death was not appealing to the Gym Leaders. Moreover, it was not a question of randomly picking a civilian to go and sacrifice himself – Lance would simply ignore him, or squash him like a bug. The person had to be reasonably important, which made the decision all the harder. Finally, it was Lillette that spoke, after deliberating whether to raise what she had been thinking for a long time. It would no doubt be controversial, but desperate times did call for desperate measures.
"You could send Brock, you know."
As predicted, expressions ranged from the horrified to the contemplative, with Sabrina not showing any emotion at all. Could she possibly have predicted this…? Of course, she was a psychic. It was perhaps expected. So, is this what we've come to? Sacrificing Gym Leaders like this, all so we can end this war? Well, we COULD have another attempt at persuading him to simply cast the binding spell without all this nonsense, but somehow I don't think that would work.
"Sabrina, go withdraw your Hypno from the Mac at the Pokemon Centre and we shall make for Pewter immediately. We will go directly with the hypnosis. We have to do this quickly!" This was Giovanni, who had obviously analysed the situation and found no other way. As a Gym Leader – one of the Gym Leaders Lance was so against – he would surely plan more to Brock than the straight killing. Everyone else was either indispensable, or not important enough. Brock was the perfect choice, even if it went against all the morals that were held dear by Gym Leaders.
Sabrina walked towards the Pokemon Centre without a word. She was back out again in seconds, Hypno by her side. This was a journey for her alone. It was imperative that Brock not notice an invasion of his city, as Lance would again be able to extract that information from his mind. It had to be done by stealth, and Sabrina was the only one who could carry out the hypnosis needed, so she would undertake the task alone. The other Gym Leaders, decision made, disbanded and walked around Viridian. Sabrina, cutting a lone but distinct figure in the distance, walked slowly towards Pewter, her job to betray the person she had once regarded as what she wanted to be.
Meanwhile, Temperance lay on his bed, as his energy level gradually increased until he could be considered refreshed, the fatigue of all those battles finally removed. Once he woke up, there would be only a short time for him to get ready for the final battle south of Viridian, and his ultimate clash with Lance. Only one could survive that battle, and the result of it would have far-reaching consequences. Would it be him? And even if he won, what would be the price of victory? Lillette? Who else? Maybe even himself?